>Still day 16 in Equestria
>You have just won a sweet basketball game with the help of your best bud, Flizzy, and a group of unusual teammates
>The entire game was anything but usual, actually
>Nonetheless, after the game was finished, a pony in a lab coat came and told you to follow her
>You had no idea where she was taking you, but you decided it was likely best to follow the orders of a prison official
>The only downside is that you couldn't tell Flizzy where you were going, because she disappeared before you left
>The lab pony is taking you down a white tiled hallway, similar to the entrance of the prison
>You had gotten used to seeing so much concrete from the last week that this sudden super clean looking environment felt very odd and uncomfortable
>You get taken past reception and start to follow a hallway that is full of different windowed rooms that look more like examination chambers than hospital rooms
>The rooms are all seemingly outfitted with only a single chair and a few racks containing different tools you have never seen before
>As you travel down the hallway, the chairs in the chambers start to get bigger and more unusual in shape
"Hey, what is up with all of the rooms?"
>You ask the lab pony, feeling a little anxious due to being completely unfamiliar with a hospital that had anything that looked like this
>"The rooms we are passing are each specialized to a different type of creature that the prison has ever contained. We are currently heading to the room that was specially built for you, Mr. Anonymous."
>Wow, you can't believe that they have the budget to create a room for each type of prisoner they have ever had, which the large amount of rooms you are passing by makes you wonder just how many different types of prisoners have ever been in this prison
>As you reach your room, the lab pony tells you to sit on the chair and await the physician
>You do as he says, sitting down on the lone chair in the middle of the room
>Wow! This chair is extremely comfortable, it perfectly fits itself to every curve of your body, even with separate arm rests that feel magnificent to rest your arms in
>Your normally sore back cracks a few times as you fit yourself into the chair and your body reaches seemingly perfect alignment; though some little things do feel off, such as the spine part of the chair having a bump that is jabbing into you
>Are you sure you are in prison? This feels more like a pseudo version of heaven
>Seriously, every day they serve up foods specialized to each individual's preferences that are also extremely healthy
>They build special hospital rooms for your species if it did not exist
>The wardens and guards are extremely friendly, along with most of the prisoners
>Hell, they furnished an entire gymnasium for a single sport you had just introduced
>This prison is nothing like the ones from the human world, you kinda like it here
>It would be much better if you were actually free to go outside and come back, though
>Nothing beats freedom, not even luxury
>But you are in prison, after all, can't really expect that
>As you are in the middle of thinking of your circumstances in this prison a faded orange older unicorn in a lab coat enters the room
>He is holding a clipboard with some documents on it, looking at it, then you, then back at it a few times before putting it down on a small table in the corner of the big room
>"Hello mr. Anonymous, I am your doctor, Bright Blood. If you have any questions for me, I can answer them now. If not, I would like to just ask you a few questions."
>You think for a second and decide to ask the most obvious question that has been bothering you
"Why is there a big one way glass window to the outside on my room?"
>Bright Blood takes a second to walk over to the glass and tap on it
>"You see, this glass is both here for your protection and so that if something is happening in the room, any of us can see it and make sure you are feeling alright."
>He then grabs his clipboard and walks over to you
>"Is that all you had to ask."
>That answer was a bit more vague than you would have liked, but you just decide to shake your head yes
>No use in arguing for more details, it will just make this take longer, which you just want to get back to hanging out with Flizzy
>"Good, then let us get started. Firstly, are you feeling perfectly comfortable in your chair? Anything that needs readjusting?"
>You just shake your head no
>They already built the entire room for you, don't want to seem ungrateful, though that thing in your spine is getting really annoying
>"Is that right? I have to ask you once again, is there anything that feels not quite right with that chair. Our engineers designed it using only basic information about you, it would greatly help if you could perfectly detail any imperfections with the chair."
>You sigh at his pushiness and decide to just tell him, while pointing out the areas you are describing
"Well if you really want to know, there is a bump on the spine of the chair that is very uncomfortable, molded bottom of the part does not fit to how my butt is shaped, the neck part should be arched a little higher, and the end of each of the chair's leg parts should have a place that allows my feet to rest instead of just dangling."
>The doctor writes down all of your criticisms earnestly as you say them
>"Good. Thank you for that information. I am sorry the chair did not fit the specifications perfectly, but we will fix that as soon as possible."
"N-No prob doc.."
>Honestly, you were not expecting him to take your gripes seriously, you were just complaining in the hopes that he would just leave the subject alone
>Oh well, a better chair never hurts
>"So today we will be examining everything we can about you as we are unfamiliar with your anatomy and need to fully understand how your body works if we are to properly treat you incase of an emergency."
>You groan
"This won't take too long will it?"
>That sounds like it will take a few hours and you really don't want to be here that long
>"I am sorry Anonymous, this will likely take the entire day."
>THE ENTIRE DAY?!
"But doc--"
>The old doctor just hushes you and tells you in a very stern tone
>"No 'but's mr. Anonymous. We need to get this all done as soon as possible. The princess will not accept any harm to come to her prisoners, and anything can harm a body badly if there is no way for medical professionals to properly treat it due to a lack of knowledge."
>A group of ponies with a bunch of different tools and machines come through the door into your room
>"Now please just lay back, we will be doing basic examinations today and more advanced ones for the next few days."
>You just sigh loudly, as you know he is right, but you don't want to admit it
>...
>The entire day had passed by the time they were done examining you
>Your doctor was writing a lot more than anything else, with the nurse ponies administering most of the tests
>They told you to come back in again tomorrow for a follow up and more tests
>You REALLY don't like doing this, especially because you have to be naked for most of the tests, with them studying your anatomy and taking x-rays, and the like
>But you guess it is better for the ponies in the.. infirmary?... hospital?... you don't know what to call it, but you are sure that it would be better for them to know how to save you if you're having something like a heart attack or a stroke
>The doctor gives you back your clothes and escorts you back outside towards the prison's main hall
>He reminds you again to come in tomorrow
>"If you don't come in on your own tomorrow or just forget, we will have to send another lab intern to come pick you up. Please don't make us do that, we are understaffed as it is."
>You just give him an exhausted smile
"Yeah yeah, don't worry about it. I am gonna come, so no need to try and guilt trip me."
>Bright Blood just gives you a soft smile back and reassures you
>"Don't worry Anonymous, tomorrow's tests will not take as long. They will require you to be asleep, though, so please don't indulge yourself on anything sugary before it."
>You just start walking away and give a thumbs up, as if you understand; the doctor does not understand your hand signal though
>"Ah. It looks like we may need a little extra time tomorrow to examine your hand's muscles for the causes of its spasms."
>You face palm and sigh as you walk away
>Boy howdy, you sure do not want to do anything else today, it is already extremely dark outside
>Might as well just head back to your cell
>That basketball game in the morning was intense enough to count for an entire day's worth of activities
>You prefer optimism of pessimism, you weren't unlucky because you lost your day to medical examinations, but were lucky because you got the chance to play such a crazy game of basketball
>...
>You reach your cell and look inside to hopefully see Flizzy
>No Flizzy anywhere in sight
>Well she has to return sometime, right?
>As much as you wanted to hang out with her today, your body's demand for sleep overtakes any desire of staying up any longer
>You roll on the top bunk, making enough room for Flizzy to scoot her way on the bed and shut your eyes to get to sleep
>...
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnRsQH7xKXY
>You are floating through time and space
>You watch the Earth, your Earth, as it forms from volcanoes and ash
>You watch life begin to pop up from the newly formed oceans and grow
>You watch as species evolve and die out
>You watch as the first humans take their first steps and watch them learn to discover
>Endless amounts of time keeps passing as if it were only a matter seconds
>You watch humans gather and organize, watch them grow
>You see their beautiful side as time goes by, all of the lovely art, the children growing to make their parents proud, the constant paving of a new road for their descendants to follow as they return to the Earth
>You also see the ugly side, you watch them murder and steal, commit genocide and horrible forms of torture for the gods they worship, always repeating the same mistakes over and over no matter how much time passes or how much their species grow
>Then you see... you
>Little baby Anonymous being born
>Loving mother and father
>Hardships always follow them, but they never stop loving you or sacrificing for you
>You see your childhood, the happy go lucky kid you were always happy to make a new friend
>You watch yourself grow older, and as you grow older you see those other humans around you demanding more than kindness from you, taking it as a sign of weakness
>You watch your young self become isolated from the group for the kind heart you possessed
>Then you grow larger and older, the little Anonymous showing those around him why he is top dog, trying to fit into the group, but always failing; he still has his kind heart, he can't get rid of it
>You continue to watch yourself as you grew and became more reliant on the internet, each day becoming sadder and sadder
>Was it the fault of other humans or his own fault?
>He can't even tell anymore
>Yourself becomes annoyed with the world and takes refuge on the newest form of communication, the internet
>You find a website where every person can be equal in a way that expresses everyone's individuality through anonymity
>This place becomes a home to you, a place where you can fit in and be one of the crowd
>Though this place does not cure all wounds left by reality
>The world continues to turn and you grow older
>Each day you attempt to better yourself and do things how you want them to be done
>Thanks to your new online family, you are able to brush aside any hatred or criticism you get for being you
>You continue to watch yourself as you have helped and loved, as you have hated and teased, how you have learned and grown, how you have made mistakes over and over
>Farewell to mother and father, who have long ago went their separate ways
>You loved them both and cried the day you left to become your own adult
>Though you promised them, you would do your best and would make them proud to call you their son
>Through a few years of turmoil and hardship, you have graduated with a bachelors degree from your university
>You see yourself as you cheer and feel nothing but happy anticipation for your new life
>But the real world is not that easy
>Months pass and you are still unable to find a job
>You have had to move back in with your father
>He pretends not to care and to be happy you have returned, but you can feel the shame
>But you will never give up
>Day after day, job hunting without rest, each time with no result
>You are not discouraged, you are just more motivated
>Day after day, month after month, you watch yourself try and fail
>Until you finally come across an older man whose boy you saved from getting hit by a car
>That man is a successful businessman who helps you get a great starting position in his company
>You have finally did it, through sheer determination and luck you have finally achieved what you have seeked for so long
>You are no longer watching yourself, but are replaying the events as yourself now
>You know what is about to happen as you try and yell at yourself to just go home and miss the first day of work
>You can't stop yourself, though, your body is not under your own control
>Your body continues its walk on towards your new workplace
>Time begins to slow as you walk towards an intersection
>Something starts to vibrate inside of your pocket
>A phone call
>You look down and see it is your mother
>You keep walking as you decide to answer it
>"Hello honey. I am just calling to tell you how proud I am of you and how much I love y--..."
>Time slows to a point where every millisecond feels like a full second
>Phone to your ear, you hear something that drowns out your mother's voice
>*BEEEEEEP*
>A truck's horn blares in your other ear
>You know what happens next, but you don't want to look
>Your head starts turning towards the noise, inch by inch in the slowed time
>You scream in your head to not look
>It is just a dream, it has to be a dream
>Slowly a massive truck speeding towards you, only inches away fills your vision
>It is only a dream
>The truck makes collision with your body
>It is only a dream
>You feel yourself crumple to the weight of the truck, your phone falling from your hand
>It is only a dream
>The pain is only momentary, but each moment feels like an eternity
>It is only a dream
>Your vision goes to black, but you still hear and feel everything
>It is only a dream
>Your last breath leaves your body and all sensation is gone
>IT IS ONLY A DREAM!
>A familiar forest fills your vision, extremely vibrant and colorful with saturation that defied what you normally believed real colors looked like; in the distance stands a dark blue horse with a horn and wings staring at you
>WAKE UP!
>You fall over as your eyes tear up, overwhelmed by everything
>WAKE UP!
>You can't stop shivering, it's as if you had actually tasted death
>"WAKE UP!"
>A familiar voice wakes you as she shakes you with her massive claw
>"Anonymous! Wake up! Are you alright?!"
>You lift your head up and open your eyes
"F-Flizzy?"
>Flizzy is standing by the bed, looking extremely concerned over you
>"Anon, are you alright? You were crying and shivering. Should I call a nurse?"
>You feel yourself still shaking as you are in a cold sweat
>Your eyes feel damp and you lift your hand to examine it
>It was obviously tears, you must have started crying in your sleep
>But why?
>The dream has mostly gone from your memory, you can only remember bits and pieces of it now; like the blue horse
>As you examine yourself, Flizzy just watches you while she panics on whether she should be calling the nurse or not
>"Anon, you are alright, right dude? Come on. Say something, please. Somepony didn't do this to you, did they?"
>She keeps asking question after question, seemingly trying to get a hold of the situation she had no idea how to deal with
"Y-Yeah. I'm fine. Thanks Flizzy..."
>You wipe your eyes and sit up looking at Flizzy
>"Nopony did something to you, did they? I couldn't find you all day!"
>The sight of Flizzy acting so worked up over this makes you smile and giggle some
"Heh. Naw. I just had a bad dream. That is all."
>Flizzy stops panicking and gives a sigh of relief
>"Oh thank Celestia. You had me worried, man."
>As you fully sit up, you lean over and hug Flizzy
>Right now, you need some contact to remind yourself you are alive
>You just keep thinking of how grateful you are to be awake
>"Hey dude..."
"Huh?"
>"Y-You're sweaty..."
>Flizzy gently pushes you off of her and looks away for a second as you look down and feel embarrassed
>You completely forgot that your nightmare had awoken you in cold sweats
>A massive portion of the mattress, where you were sleeping, is soaked in sweat
"Oh. Sorry."
>You get up and lower yourself off of the bed, as Flizzy inspects the top bunk
>"Did you piss the bed?"
"NO!"
>You immediately respond
"It is just sweat!"
>Flizzy does a light brush off of her scales and replies sarcastically
>"Oh, you mean like the sweat you got on me?"
>She lets out a light laugh as you just give her the best push your tiny body, compared to hers, can manage; which mostly just pushes you backwards
"Shut up."
>She just continues to laugh softly at that
>Her laughing gets to you too as you join in
"Heh."
>It starts with a chuckle and then the both of you are laughing quite heartily
>There is no real reason to be laughing, the only reason your are laughing is because she is laughing and the only reason she keeps laughing is because you are laughing
>This chuckle-fit goes on for about a minute before dying down slowly
>You stop laughing before she does
"Hey, so I am guessing you get the top bunk tonight? I obviously am not 'alpha' enough to keep it."
>She just sarcastically responds
>"Oh wow! Such a privilege. I get the bed with a hyooman sized sweat spot on it. How lucky for me."
>You just give out a laugh again
"Yeah, I guess that wouldn't be fair. Then how about this?"
>You get up and take the sheet off the top bed and put it on the bottom bed, while putting the sheet from the bottom bed on the top bed
"See? Now it is no problem."
>"Oh. I guess.."
>You lay down on the bottom bed
"Then it is settled."
>You turn over towards the wall and just stare at it
"Hey Flizzy.. Thanks. And sorry for that."
>You go silent, feeling ashamed that you had showed such a weak side of yourself to your best friend
"You have a good night, Flizzy."
>You aren't planning to go back to sleep, but you will pretend to so that Flizzy can get some sleep without worrying
>*WHAM*
>You fly up off the bed for a second from a shockwave caused by something hitting the mattress hard behind you
>You look over and Flizzy is laying there looking up at the top bunk's bottom
>"Y'know, I don't really feel like switching the way I sleep. I like having something soft next to me."
>She looks over at you and gives a big smile
>"And it ain't like I am afraid of any hyooman sweat or anything. I was just playing with you."
>You stare silently at her for a few seconds, then start to laugh again
>"What?"
>Flizzy gives a shrug, her smile now being more from confusion than happiness
"Nothing... I just find it funny how I keep forgetting you are a girl. You act like a guy friend I would have, from your slang to the way you carry yourself."
>Flizzy responds with another shrug
>"Well, I mean, I act like I do because it is normal for me. I don't know how girls from your culture act, but we dragons are pretty laid back until we need to get serious, it is just the norm for us. The males tend to be a lot more serious and aggressive most of the time than laid back, though."
>You put your hands up behind your head and look up at the top of the bunk
>"Well I appreciate you being yourself. I very much like yourself."
>Complete silence passes after you say that for a decent amount of time
>That is, until Flizzy decides to break the silence with a question
>"So.. I don't really know much about you or your species. Never even heard of them, honestly. What does your species' genders act like?"
>You ponder that for a moment
>You really never did tell her anything about you, and most of what you think of her has been assumptions based off of the ways she acted or the things she sometimes said; you really don't know much about her either
"My species, eh?"
>Flizzy looks back over at you with interest
>"Surely there must be some interesting things about you and your species."
>You continue to look up at the top of the bed as you ponder what you could possibly say
"Well, I dunno really what to say. Gender roles have some key differences depending on what culture, time era, or some other factors are mixed in. If I were to summarize how men and women act as a general statement throughout human history, it would likely be that men are more aggressive and women are more passive as a general rule. Most of the time it is the man doing the courting of a woman, though in recent times humans have made it so that some women are actually more aggressive."
>"Ah. So are you like that also?"
"Am I like what?"
>"Do you go and court the females of your species?"
>You laugh and wave that away
"Not really. I never was into that."
>Flizzy looks at your concerned
>"You weren't into females?"
>You continue to wave that aside
"No. I meant I was not into courting women. I didn't have the time for it and I wasn't that interested with all that I had going on in my life as it was."
>"So were you ever interested in the females?"
>The thought of a few girls you liked a long time ago does cross your mind as you are asked that
"Well, I have had a few girls I liked."
>"And?"
"And what?"
>"Did you court them?"
>You sigh at the memories
"Yeah... I did."
>"And how did they respond?"
"They didn't."
>Flizzy looks at your confused
>"They didn't respond? Did you not court them properly?"
>That accusation kinda annoys you, but you will try to not let it show in your voice
"No. For one of them, I did everything that was considered 'romantic'. I bought flowers, wore a nice suit, and even invited her to a romantic place to tell her. The rest of them I didn't really try that hard with, though."
>"You didn't try with the rest of them?"
"Yeah, I tried other methods, but I didn't even really want to date them in the first place. I don't even know why I asked."
>"So the one you did try for refused you?"
>You sigh once again
"Eeyup. She was already dating someone apparently."
>"So if she had a partner already, why not just defeat him for mating rights?"
>You chuckle at the thought of you beating the jackass she was dating into the ground and rising like King Kong in your hand
"Yeah, no. That would have been lovely, but sadly us humans have a thing where we can't really do that sort of stuff. It can get us sent to prison, though look at where NOT doing that has lead me anyways."
>You give another chuckle
"Well at least I don't have to worry about dropping the soap around here."
>"Dropping the soap?"
"Heh. Yeah. It's a human joke. Don't worry about."
>Flizzy ponders the punchline for that "hyooman joke" for a bit, but gives up after completely not understanding
>"So then. What do you humans find romantic?"
>Oh boy...
>You tell her about what humans find 'romantic', getting onto a ramble about Sean Connery, the Old Spice man, and most importantly Shrek the importance of romantic acts
>You tell her all about the different types of ways guys have gotten girls attention, how being unique with an approach is something that normally gets humans going also, how confidence is key
>"And you tried most of that?"
"Well I tried some of it, but back then I was a kid who knew only the very basics of what women liked."
>"Has any woman ever tried to court a man like this?"
>You think for a second
"Honestly, I don't really know. It may work, but almost every single experience I have seen in my life when it comes to relationships, it has been the man asking the girl out."
>Flizzy continues to keep asking, which you don't really mind because you love talking about your species and yourself; haven't had much of a chance to do so since coming to this world surprisingly
>"Do you think that sort of thing would work on a human male?"
"Hmmm. Probably. There are a lot of girls that never get the guy, because she waits for him to ask, which he never does. I am sure that some girls have done this, though I have never seen it."
>Enough of Flizzy just asking questions, though, you wanna know more about her too
"But enough about that, I wanna know about your race. Like, I told you what is normal for my race, how does yours 'court' their 'mates'?"
>A huge smile creeps up Flizzy's face as she prepares to inform you about the amazing ways of her people
>"We dragons go for what we want. If we see a mate we want, we either attempt to woo them with a mating call, a public display of strength, or choosing to mate without the intention of procreation."
"What? Dragons can mate without procreating? Is it like a birth control pill or something?"
>"Birth control? I don't know what that is, but it likely is not. We dragons have the ability to reject impregnation or fertilization, most likely because of our ability to mate with almost any species and make offspring with it."
"Wow. That is something us humans can't do. We can take medicine or wear protection, but that is a trait a lot of humans likely wish they had; not being able to get pregnant or impregnate."
>"Most races cannot do that. That is why us dragons take pride in the fact that when we choose a mate for reproduction purposes, we stay with that mate for life."
"So how do the males court?"
>"I already told you."
"I thought you were talking about the females?"
>"And I was."
>You scratch your head
"I don't get it, please explain."
>Flizzy laughs
>"Dragons don't follow rules when it comes to genders. A dragon that wants something will attempt to get it, whether they are male or female. I don't even know why other races designate roles for genders, it seems impractical."
>You could get into the whole idea of raising the children vs. providing for the family, but you doubt dragons follow those rules either
"Sounds like you dragons have a good idea for how to choose mates. Us humans have a similar thing with 'dating', instead of practice mating, but the difference is that personality comes first before anything else."
>You sigh again and remember how hesitation lost you the girl you tried hard for in the first place
"Though I do admit, I sure do envy you dragons. Us humans are a bit cowardly when it comes to attempting to court others."
>"Why would you humans be afraid to attempt to court?"
"Because we are afraid to lose the one we have fallen for, even if just as a friend. As we humans base our opinion on personality so largely, it is scary to be told that your personality, or your looks for another matter, are inadequate. It is even scarier for you to learn the truth and stop being friends thanks to it."
>Flizzy looks concerned
>"You would lose friends based on mating attempts? That is dumb, humans have dumb worries. I would never be worried to lose a friend, and even if I did, I would not care anyways. Dragons are too independent to care about relationships that are unnecessary."
>Ouch. That really hurts to hear
"Hang on... Do you see our friendship as unnecessary too then?"
>Flizzy freezes up for a second
>"W-Well. I-I..."
>You don't know why, but hearing Flizzy think of friendship as "unnecessary" really hurts you; you don't even want to think that the dragon you have been best friends with found you as an unnecessary individual
"Is our friendship... unimportant?"
>Flizzy starts to squirm under the pressure of her own words
>"Ummm.. Well I didn't mean.. What I meant to say was.."
>This really was a crappy thing to hear, welp, there goes your good night
>You want to hope she just messed up her words, but she seems to be very sure of herself as a dragon; you won't question her race's way, it is their culture after all
"Sorry Flizzy. I didn't mean to ask you that. I am sure you don't mean anything malicious by it."
>"Well yeah... but--"
>You turn over and cover yourself up
>This really shouldn't bother you so much, but for some reason it really does
"I am just gonna get to sleep now. Have a nice night, Flizzy."
>Flizzy takes a deep breath and grabs your head, twisting towards her
>She is looking into your eyes and speaking slowly and clearly, so as to not get her words messed up or stutter
>"Listen Anon. That is not what I meant by that. I just meant that I wouldn't care if someone stopped being my friend because they didn't like me. You are not like that and I trust you. I would never view our friendship as unimportant. I value our friendship very much and am glad you became my cell partner. I'm sorry if my words hurt you and gave you a wrong impression."
>Her claws are on your face and you are not sure whether to feel uncomfortable about her face being this close to yours or not
>Oh well, you understand
>You are just glad you were misunderstanding it at first, this is something you are very happy to hear
"Thank you Flizzy. You are an amazing friend and I would be extremely sad if I ever lost your friendship. You are what makes this place so wonderful. You are amazing."
>You once again hug Flizzy, completely forgetting that your body was sweaty before, though it is almost completely dry now
>Flizzy doesn't push you away this time, instead she just freezes there as you hug her, resting your head on the side of her neck
>"Y-You too Anon."
>You release the hug and look deeply into her eyes
"I promise you, I would never break our friendship no matter what. Thank you for being there for me. You are better than any human I have ever met and I truly have been blessed to have gotten you as a friend."
>You give her another quick hug and lay down
"Well I think I should go to bed now. You are my good dream charm; as long as you are around no nightmares will ever bother me."
>You say jokingly
>Flizzy stays silent and attempts to cuddle you and pet your head like she has done since the first night you came here, but instead she retracts her claw and just watches you go to sleep
>As you fall asleep you dream of flying in the air and being unbound to the cruel laws of reality

- END OF PART III -