novelAI improves Diaries of a Madman

 

“I have a name, woman. I’d appreciate it if you considered me a person instead of pretending I’m a science project,” I said.

 

She huffed, angered at my tone and my rough treatment of her. She must not be used to teenagers, I thought to myself. “I’m Twilight Sparkle and this is Spike. Now, what is your name?” she asked me.

 

Not very fucking polite, but I might as well at least give her something. “Navarone, at your service,” I replied, the lie coming easily to my lips. I have always heard that it’s a good idea not to give captors many details about your life, and Navarone is a name I’ve used in the past. It wouldn’t be too hard to answer to until I could get home. “Now, would you kindly tell me where I am, how I got here, and who you are?” I was still trying to stall, to maybe figure out where I was.

 

“A question for a question seems fair to me,” she said. I might have been wrong about her, I thought. Maybe some common sense after all. “Where do you come from?”

 

“Hardly an original question, but seeing as how I still seem to be restrained, we’ll play your game.” Not knowing how to answer, I told her the truth, relatively. I’m a bit of a sarcastic bastard… “Texas, United States of America, North Western Hemisphere, planet Earth, solar system Sol, galaxy Milky Way, third dimension.”

 

“Well that doesn’t tell me much,” she muttered.

 

“From the sound of things, you weren’t expecting it to,” I answered. “Now, where are we?”

 

“My answer will tell you just as little, I suppose. Equestria,” she told me, with a hint of a smile in her voice. “What species are you?”

 

“Equestria? I may be American, but I’ve seen a few maps. If you want to give me crap answers, maybe I should do the same for you.”

***

She sighed and looked up at me, then back down to the ground. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything by it," she apologized. "This is difficult enough without my tongue being tied in knots. Please forgive me."

"No problem," I said. "You're right, it's not your fault. When I woke up, I found myself inside a bag. I was unconscious when they brought me here. They had me bound with magic and left me in this cavern with nothing but my clothes on. I don't know why I was brought here or what happened to the rest of my crew."

"Your crew?" she asked.

"Yes. I am a member of the Royal Guard. We were attacked by a crystal dragon while escorting a caravan through this area. My captain ordered us to retreat, so I did. I was knocked unconscious before I could realize what was happening. The next thing I knew, I woke up here, with no memory of how I came to be here. I assume they brought me here to be studied by you people. I hope I've made it clear that I'm not interested in being a part of any experiments."

"Ah, yes," she said. "We do test our subjects to see if their abilities match the information we have on them. You are here because we believe you have the potential to be a powerful witch. That's all I can say."

"That's not exactly comforting. What do you intend on doing with me once you find out my powers?" I asked.

"It's not my place to decide. I only perform the research that has been requested of me," she explained.

"That makes no sense. If you're going to experiment on someone, shouldn't you have a reason? All I know is that I have a natural talent for using magic. Why else would you bother studying me?" I asked, getting a bit angrier than I intended.

She sighed again and rubbed her forehead. "There are reasons. We need to understand you better to help protect the kingdom. Your ability to use magic is impressive, but there have been others like you. There must be a pattern as to why you are able to use magic. Is it possible that you have a natural affinity for it? Could you be one of the rare ones that was born with it? Or maybe, just maybe, there is something more. Do you remember anything specific about your experience with the crystal dragon?"

I shook my head. "I can't even remember the name of the damn dragon. I can barely recall my own name, much less anything about the creature."