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The Preservation of Innocence (Part 7)

By Wall-o-text
Created: 2023-01-02 13:56:54
Updated: 2023-01-03 13:39:54
Expiry: Never
anonapplejackwarfeelsanonymousviolenceadventure/tim/politicsfeel

  1. >you are princess cadence
  2. >after rounding up a small portion of the army in canterlot, you and your army made your way through sections of the city
  3. >beating back the changelings was difficult
  4. >you’ve never seen them attack so violently before
  5. >this was nothing like before
  6. >they weren’t after love
  7. >they seemed to be attacking without purpose
  8. >but what could drive them to do this?
  9. >they stood nothing to gain from this attack
  10. >after finishing your defense against the changelings most of them fled
  11. >your soldiers managed to capture a single straggler
  12. >you had questions
  13. >and they were going to give you answers no matter what
  14. >”UNHAND ME!”
  15. >the changeling hissed
  16. >but with the two soldiers holding him down there was little he could do
  17. “Your friends have all been done away with or fled”
  18. “And i want answers for this, this, senseless violence”
  19. “None of you were here to steal love”
  20. “You came and attacked everypony in sight”
  21. “WHAT DID YOU EVEN STAND TO GAIN FROM THIS?”
  22. >the changeling laughed
  23. >”our hive has been desperate for energy”
  24. >”with how difficult it is to steal love, we came for the next best source of energy”
  25. >”fear…”
  26. >”it’s potent, not as much as love, but far easier to get”
  27. >”our attack was only meant to scare you ponies to supply us with enough energy”
  28. >you couldn’t hold back your anger
  29. “YOU KILLED GOOD PONIES!”
  30. “I would have thought murder to be below even a changeling”
  31. >the changeling laughs harder
  32. >”it was all part of the plan”
  33. >”the more fear we create the more we could take”
  34. >his confidence turns to anger
  35. >”BUT WHY WERE THERE SO MANY SOLDIERS STATIONED HERE?”
  36. >”THERE’S A WAR IN THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE, HOW COULD YOU AFFORD TO KEEP THEM BACK IN CANTERLOT?”
  37. “Simple, we won and went home”
  38. >”WHAT?”
  39. >”BUT THIS WAR, IT’S BEEN GOING ON FOR WEEKS NOW”
  40. >something about what he says clicks with you
  41. “You mean to tell me your plan was to attack canterlot while it was undefended?”
  42. >”of course, it was easy prey, at least we thought it would be”
  43. >”for a moment we thought king sombra had made it all the way to canterlot”
  44. >”this place has his stench everywhere”
  45. >you’ve had enough of him
  46. “Guards, take care of him, we have to group up with the other soldiers soon, there’s still fighting in other parts of canterlot”
  47. >with that you turn to lead your soldiers through canterlot
  48. >the changelings were violent
  49. >but they were nowhere near as strong as an equestrian soldier
  50. >let alone the battalions from the crystal empire
  51.  
  52. >when you met up with shining armour you were ecstatic
  53. “SHINING ARMOUR!”
  54. >you ran up to him and caught him by surprise
  55. >”CADENCE? How did you get here? I told you not to leave the castle!”
  56. >being so excited to see him again you told the story of how you met anon, his journey and everything after
  57. >you were filled with joy just to spend time with shining armour again
  58. >you missed him so much
  59. >but his expression was off
  60. >before you could finish the details of getting to canterlot he interrupts you bluntly
  61. >”Cadence, where’s anon”
  62. >his tone was soft but demanding
  63. “Well, i dropped him off as soon as i got here so i could rally the soldiers against the changelings”
  64. >your explanation did little to soothe him
  65. >”Cadence, look at me, that cloud sombra made, it wasn’t an accident”
  66. >”we’re not certain of anything yet, but judging from the symptoms and the fact only extensive magic cleansing can heal it, we think this is somehow king sombra plotting against us from beyond the grave”
  67. >your blood runs cold
  68. >”I need you to listen to me very carefully, if what you’re telling me is true, that means whatever king sombra is planning, anon is likely to be his means of carrying out this plan”
  69. >”with how long he’s been exposed without treatment, surely this curse has developed much more than the ones we’ve seen”
  70. >”we don’t understand exactly why this is happening, hay, it might even be nothing, but we can’t take that chance cadence”
  71. >”we need to find anon immediately”
  72. “Shining, the last time i saw him was where i dropped him off”
  73. “He must be around there”
  74. >”we don’t have any time to lose”
  75. >”SOLDIERS, search the rest of canterlot for changelings, when you’re finished tend to the wounded”
  76. >”alright cadence, let’s get moving”
  77.  
  78. >you are applejack
  79. >throughout the trip back to canterlot you were running wildly with your thought
  80. >you’re certain that big mac is in canterlot
  81. >but anon could be anywhere
  82. >you needed to make sure big mac was safe
  83. >but you don’t even know where to begin with getting anon back
  84. >it hurts your heart just thinking about how lost he could be
  85. >he could be starving out there
  86. >thinking such dark thoughts makes you dry heave when you breathe
  87. >the second the chariot stops you bolt out to find big mac
  88. >but something was wrong
  89. >there were changelings everywhere around canterlot
  90. >and they weren’t alive
  91. >there was an invasion…
  92. >and big mac was there…
  93. >you burst back into a full sprint towards every medical tent and soldier outpost you could find
  94. >nothing, nothing, NOTHING
  95. >hay, he wasn’t anywhere in sight
  96. >in your search you found shining armour
  97. “SHINING!!!”
  98. >you rush up to him
  99. “AH NEED YOUR HELP, WHERE’S BIG MAC, HE GOT DRAFTED AND HE SHOULD BE IN CANTERLOT BUT I CAN’T FIND HIM NOWHERE!”
  100. >he seems frantic
  101. >”Look, AJ, no time, big mac is fine last i saw him he was with the other recruits and they were in a safe place when the invasion happened”
  102. >”glad you showed up though, need your help finding anon, and fast”
  103. >you were in shock
  104. “You're lookin’ for anon too?“
  105. >”yeah, listen we don’t have much time, cadence is taking us to the last spot she saw him, grab big mac and make your way back to the west side of canterlot”
  106. >”he’s back in the design store, all the recruits were shuffled in there when we got here”
  107. >”hurry, we don’t have much time!”
  108. >you nodded and ran as fast as you could to where big mac was
  109. >a part of you was ecstatic
  110. >you have a lead on where anon was last
  111. >this is big
  112. >with him being completely unaccounted for during the war you were sure it would have taken far longer before you could find where he was
  113. >but if cadence saw him somewhere then it should be a lot easier to find him
  114. >the second you arrive in the design store you grab big mac and ran
  115. “Big mac, i know you’re a bit startled by whatever just happened but we got bigger problems right now”
  116. “Just follow me and we can get you home”
  117. >he was happy to see you but understood there was something up
  118.  
  119. >once you and big mac arrived shining and cadence ran up to you
  120. >shining spoke first
  121. >”AJ, what’s the fastest way back to ponyville”
  122. >you were confused
  123. “Now hold on a minute, i thought cadence knew where anon was”
  124. >cadence corrected her
  125. >”no, but i know where he was last, and it was here”
  126. >”the only thing he would ever talk about was getting back to ponyville”
  127. >”his ‘rifle’ as he called it is still here, but he’s nowhere to be seen”
  128. >shining spoke up
  129. >”yes, judging by the, well, trail, it seems he went to ponyville on foot”
  130. >you looked down and saw what shining meant
  131. >in in green liquid there was a trail left by what could only be anon, it was no pony that was for sure
  132. “Our best bet to find anon is to take the train, it’s finally up and running again and we better go before it’s filled up”
  133. >in an instant the four of you make your way to the train station
  134.  
  135. >on the way back you had much to discuss with cadence and shining
  136. “How is it that you know so much about anon?”
  137. “I know he snuck off to find big mac but he never made it home on the train with the rest of us”
  138. “Hay, what was he even planning on doing up there?”
  139. >you had a million burning questions
  140. >and with the knowledge that anon was nearby you could rest easy
  141. >cadence interrupted your little interrogation
  142. >”well, it seems you already know that he went to the crystal empire”
  143. >”how about i start from there”
  144. >for a long period of time cadence explained in detail about anon’s journey through the woods, the crystal empire, and his trip back to canterlot
  145. “And how in the hay am i supposed to believe that anon was the one who took down king sombra himself, he ain’t even able to use magic”
  146. >shining agrees
  147. >”yeah, it doesn’t make sense, how can you be sure he wasn’t lying to you?”
  148. >cadence confidently speaks
  149. >”simple, he proved it to me, twice”
  150. >she levitates the rifle
  151. >after looking at it you noticed it had an engraving on it
  152. >’anonymous’
  153. >it was definitely his you knew that for sure
  154. >what it was, you didn’t know
  155. >”his first demonstration was against a building in the crystal empire, you couldn’t see what came out of the end, but the noise against the building sounded like something had hit it”
  156. >”the second time was against the changelings, he-”
  157. >before she went further you interrupted
  158. “AGAINST THE CHANGELINGS?”
  159. “You mean he fought against them?”
  160. >cadence looked a bit nervous
  161. >”well, i mean, we didn’t have a choice, when we made our way to canterlot we were swarmed by them, we could have laid low but we had an obligation to defend equestria applejack”
  162. >”besides, i promise he was safe the entire time, i flew at a safe distance from them the whole time while he did his work”
  163. >you couldn’t believe what you were hearing
  164. >anon fighting changeling?
  165. >but what was more confusing was the contraption in front of you
  166. >you knew anon had a tendency to little experiments especially after the gift he made for you
  167. >this was a whole other level of surprising
  168. >but you still had questions
  169. “The smoke, when it happened all of us made it to the trains, what happened to anon…”
  170. >a part of you was worried
  171. >and the look on shining armour’s face didn’t help
  172. >before cadence could speak shining interjects
  173. >”aj, this isn't going to be easy to tell you”
  174. >his words only made you feel worse
  175. >”after what we’ve seen with the other ponies who were in direct contact with the smoke…”
  176. >he has difficulty explaining it
  177. >”from what we saw with them, we figured it to be something akin to a curse”
  178. >you were feeling sick
  179. >”we don’t fully understand what it is, but some of us believe the smoke was no accident”
  180. >”that it might have been some kind of plan for revenge, we’re not sure how, but the symptoms some of the soldiers got were nothing like a regular illness”
  181. >listening to shining armour say these things was making you go crazy
  182. >you couldn’t express it but the way you felt inside was dreadful
  183. >”they weren’t sick or had any major concerning symptoms, but they acted differently”
  184. >”some of my bravest soldiers seemed to be scared of the night and refused direct orders to stand on night watch”
  185. >”others experienced increased aggression”
  186. >”the only consistent symptom was a large increase in appetite”
  187. >cadence goes wide eyed but shining continues
  188. >”the good news is we can cure it, but we’re not sure if we can cure someone who’s too far gone…”
  189. >”but if what anon told cadence is true, then anon had far higher exposure than anyone else did to it”
  190. >”like i told cadence, it might not be as big a deal as we think, but we can’t take that risk”
  191. >”right now, our mission to protect equestria relies on us finding anon”
  192. >after listening to what shining armour had to say the 4 of you go quiet for the remainder of the trip
  193. >knowing that anon was nearby was a relief
  194. >but hearing about this curse was something else
  195. >you can’t believe all that anon’s been through
  196. >after all you did to keep him out of harm's way he ran off and got caught up in all this
  197. …
  198. >it hurts to even think about
  199. >that poor boy’s been alone for so long…
  200. >the thoughts were too much to handle
  201. >for the sake of the rest of the passengers you stepped outside to the back of the train to be alone
  202. >as you sat behind the railing you spoke to yourself
  203. “This must be where anon sat on his way there…”
  204. >just the thought of him being all alone like that broke your heart
  205. >you tried your best not to think of the worst of it
  206. >but it all came flooding into your head
  207. >you couldn’t help but lay down and sob
  208. >you did everything you could to protect him
  209. >but it just wasn’t enough
  210. …
  211. >if cadence is telling the truth then anon’s a hero…
  212. >he ended the war and brought us all home…
  213. >but the good that he did doesn’t negate how you feel
  214. >he should have never had to go through that
  215. >everything that cadence told you
  216. >those lonesome nights
  217. >the desperation for his next meal
  218. >knowing that the train left without him
  219. >hay, he thought he was going to die
  220. >twice…
  221. …
  222. >it must have been terrifying for him…
  223. >just thinking about it makes you start to choke up again
  224. …
  225. >there’s one thing that frustrates you the most
  226. >the draft
  227. >you knew there was a war going on
  228. >but a draft?
  229. …
  230. >it must have been necessary…
  231. >but sending big mac off to war
  232. >it just frustrated you
  233. …
  234. >you owe applebloom and apology..
  235. >she’s been through so much while the three of you were gone
  236. >you shouldn’t have raised your voice at her like that
  237. >the first she’s seen of you in weeks and all you do is scare her…
  238. >you feel downright awful
  239. …
  240. >the changelings…
  241. >even you don’t think you could have lived through something like that
  242. >just the thought of his desperation against them…
  243. >you don’t even want to finish the thought
  244. >your breathing became short and rapid
  245. >the pain of knowing how much anon suffered tears you apart on the inside
  246. >you think back to the timberwolf incident
  247. >gosh, he had nightmares over something like that…
  248. >this…
  249. >this was something so much worse than the timber wolf incident…
  250. >you can’t even begin to imagine how awful things have been for him…
  251. …
  252. >you hope you can make him feel safe again
  253.  
  254. >https://youtu.be/2C467uoZipQ (The Aftermath)
  255.  
  256. >you are anon
  257. >you’re still struggling to cope with everything that happened
  258. >your journey home is quiet
  259. >you shiver as you walk
  260. >the stains on your clothes are constant reminder of what happened
  261. >the damp feeling on them is hard to ignore
  262. >it’s pitch black out
  263. >you aren’t even taking any kind of path home
  264. >you’re just hoping the direction you picked will get you there
  265. >the silence is unbearable
  266. >you think of what applejack and the rest of them will think when they see you again
  267. >you’re not sure how you can explain it all
  268. >applejacks going to be furious with you
  269. >no matter the excuse you come up with you did exactly what she told you not to do
  270. >the only solace you have is that big mac and applejack are safe
  271. >your goal was met and that brings you comfort
  272. >as you make way through the tall grass you think of all the things you wish to enjoy again
  273. >playing with applebloom and watching big mac talk endlessly
  274. >but most of all you want to see her again…
  275. >you want to fall asleep next to applejack
  276. >you want to hear her reassuring words
  277. >you want to feel her warmth
  278. …
  279. >the further you go the weaker you feel
  280. >you lay on your back and face the sky for a small rest
  281. >the stars were bright and the tall grass surrounds you leaving the only the sky to look at
  282. >unlike earth, the stars in equestria seemed to make a whole galaxy visible to the naked eye
  283. >it was bitter-sweet
  284. >the beauty of the sky was incredible but you wish applejack could be there with you
  285. …
  286. >your small rest did nothing to fix your weakness
  287. >if anything you only feel less capable of moving
  288. >your breathing became more difficult
  289. >it began to feel like you were back in the crystal empire being surrounded by smoke
  290. >a calm realization came over you
  291. >your condition wasn’t getting better
  292. >your weakness only got greater and your breathing only more difficult
  293. >as much as it hurts to think you may never see applejack again your just glad you could reunite her family
  294. >but the thought of her family being reunited without you being a part of it hurts even more
  295. >but you didn’t shed any tears over it
  296. >even though all you ever wanted to do was be with applejack you figured it would be a waste to mourn the loss of it ever happening
  297. >with all your strength you reach to your bag for the old fireworks and the lighter
  298. >staying on your back you lay the firework upright to give yourself a humble funeral
  299. >tilting your head towards it and reaching the lighter to the fuse you hear it flash to life
  300. >turning your head back to the sky you hear it shoot off as a gentle pop rings off
  301. >you use every last one you have
  302. >you smile when seeing all the designs that never made the final cut
  303. >the ones that were too small, the ones you tried to make into certain shapes that didn’t turn out right
  304. >but the final one breaks your heart as you see it go off
  305. >the color scheme of it
  306. >it was meant to be applejack's cutie mark
  307. >but the shape was off making the apples combine together with specks of green inside
  308. >your desperation for her comes back in full force
  309. >and there’s nothing you can do about it now
  310.  
  311. >you are applejack
  312. >once the four of you got off the train it was dark out
  313. >you hoped that anon would be home by now
  314. >but when you made it back it was only applebloom there
  315. >she was ecstatic to see you and big mac home but was asking where anon was
  316. >you tried to avoid the question but you couldn’t
  317. >it was difficult to explain to her that he was on his way home
  318. >you hoped he still was
  319. >but for now the rest of you needed to get some rest
  320. >you offered cadence and shining to use anons old room for the night
  321. >just the thought that someone else was using anons room in his place pained you
  322. >but what was worse was that he wouldn’t be home to share your bed with you tonight
  323. >no matter how hard you tried to sleep that night you couldn’t
  324. >it felt like the bed had a large open space in it that shouldn’t be empty
  325. >and not being able to hold onto anon and make sure he was comforted stressed you too much
  326. >you gave up on sleep and sat on the front porch
  327. >the night sky was beautiful
  328. >anon used to tell you how much he loved the night sky in equestria
  329. >and that where he came from the night sky had very few stars to look at
  330. >oh how you loved to show him things that excited him
  331. >that innocent joy he got from the littlest of things used to melt your heart
  332. >but after everything that happened to him you’re scared that innocence won’t be there anymore
  333. >he endured so much…
  334. >he must be having constant nightmares
  335. >and you aren’t there to shake him awake
  336. >to hold him
  337. >to tell him everything will be okay
  338. >he likely hasn’t had a decent meal in days
  339. >your desperate to take care of him
  340. >but after everything cadence has told you he seems to be completely capable on his own
  341. …
  342. >sometimes you wish he would be completely reliant on you…
  343. >as guilty as that thought makes you feel you really wish it were true
  344. >to have every excuse to spend even more time with him
  345. >to check his temperature even when you know he’s healthy
  346. >to hold him at night even when he seems calm and relaxed
  347. >to do his chores with him even if you have your own to take care of
  348. >you want to revolve yourself around him
  349. …
  350. >what if it becomes a burden to him…
  351. >he’s capable of taking care of himself…
  352. >those little things you do for him amount to nothing compared to what he can do
  353. >it would be a nuisance, you would just get in the way, interjecting into everything he does
  354. >just the thought of being insignificant to him makes you tighten your eyes as tears fall to the ground
  355. >it hurts so much you can barely pull air in to breathe
  356.  
  357. >https://youtu.be/Zo0M3SeVl8A (and then it happened…)
  358.  
  359. >you could hear a faint sound
  360. >a small burst of light in the distance
  361. >everything you were feeling moments ago dropped in an instant
  362. >something inside you knew it was anon
  363. >those were fireworks
  364. >surely it was him
  365. >you sprinted as fast as you could
  366. >constantly checking to see if another one of them would burst in the air giving you directions to him
  367. >it wasn’t far until you came across a field
  368. “ANON, ANON!”
  369. “PLEASE, IT’S ME, APPLEJACK!!!”
  370. “PLEASE, JUST TELL ME YOU’RE OKAY!!!”
  371. >you waited anxiously
  372. >you heard heard a raspy voice
  373. >”AJ… is that you…”
  374. >you followed the voice
  375. “ANON, YES IT'S ME!”
  376. >you ran straight to him
  377. >as you came across him you saw him laying down taking labored breaths
  378. >you lower your voice to an anxious whisper
  379. “Anon, please tell me you’re okay”
  380. >you push against him with your hoof
  381. >he coughs wildly and get on his knees as he puts his hand against the ground
  382. >he gasps for air as he tries to speak
  383. >”aj… aj, i can hardly move”
  384. >you rub your face against his as you reassure him
  385. “It’s gonna be okay anon, it’s gonna be okay”
  386. “How are you breathing, are you breathing alright?”
  387. >he faces back to the floor and continues to cough
  388. >”hardly…”
  389. >he spits on the ground and wipes his mouth
  390. “Anon don’t you worry sweetheart, i need you to stay right here you understand?”
  391. “Don’t you move a muscle, just sit here and breathe for me alright, steady breathes, your only job is to breathe and wait for me you got it?”
  392. >”yeah… got it…”
  393. >he continues to cough miserably and spit something dark
  394. >in panic you rush back home
  395. >with no regard for those asleep you run upstairs into anons old room
  396. >in a whisper yell you shake the both of them
  397. “Cadence shining, wake up, it's an emergency!”
  398. >”huh, what…”
  399. >cadence rubs her eyes and but shining is at full attention
  400. >”what is it aj?”
  401. “Anon, he’s not doin good, we need to get him to a hospital or something”
  402. >despite cadences previous grogginess she suddenly gets out of bed
  403. >”what time is it, we might be able to make it to the midnight train if we’re fast”
  404. >you rush over to anons clock
  405. >11:23…
  406. >you don’t have much time
  407. “Look, i'm going to wake up applebloom and big mac, you two grab all the bits you have and follow me got it?”
  408. >they both nod in agreement
  409. >after waking up big mac and applebloom and giving them the short version of what's going on the five of you rush towards anon
  410. …
  411. >”ANOOOOON!!!!”
  412. >applebloom yells the second she sees him
  413. >anon looks up just as applebloom jumps right at him
  414. >he falls backwards as applebloom rolls sporadically on top of him in excitement
  415. “APPLEBLOOM NOT NOW!”
  416. >she jumps off of him just as fast as she did onto him
  417. >cadence looks on in worry
  418. >”oh gosh…”
  419. >”shining, look at his arm…”
  420. >anons arm was covered in black spit from wiping his mouth so much
  421. >shining thinks to himself
  422. >”he can’t hold onto you like he did against the changelings, he doesn’t have the strength…”
  423. >everyone goes quiet anxiously thinking of how to move him
  424. >except for one of you…
  425.  
  426. >https://youtu.be/wVqwYsXctxk (somber no more, thanks to you best friend)
  427.  
  428. >you are big mac
  429. >when cadence told you of what anon did, you couldn’t believe it
  430. >that anon went to war for your sake
  431. >you were sad when he told you he wouldn’t be there to say goodbye
  432. >but now you knew why
  433. >and you owe him for it
  434. >you throw him onto your back and bolt for the train station
  435. >the four of them shouted from behind you but you were too focused to pay attention
  436. >keeping him balanced was easy as long as your pacing was consistent
  437. >”big mac… is that you bro?”
  438. >you didn’t respond, you were too focused on getting to that train station
  439. >”ha… it’s damn good to see you…”
  440. >he coughs after forcing out his words
  441. >applejack, applebloom, shining and cadence were close behind you making their way to the station
  442. >shining runs up next to you
  443. >”good thinking there, but are you sure you can get him all the way there?”
  444. >you give a stern nod as you return your focus to getting to the station
  445. >as you got closer to the station you noticed the doors slowly closing
  446. >you weren’t going to let anon down so easily
  447. >you burst through the doors breaking them in the process
  448. >it definitely hurt your head doing that but it was worth it
  449. >the applejack and the rest follow through the opening meekly
  450. >applebloom lowers her head and looks up at you
  451. >”uhh, are we gonna get in trouble for that?”
  452. “Nope”
  453. >you set anon down on the floor and you sit beside him
  454. >you were extremely dizzy after breaking down the door like that
  455. >he lays back against the wall
  456. >he tries to speak but continues to cough
  457. >shining armour speaks to all of you
  458. >”i’m going to talk to the conductor a second, just sit tight and i'm sure we’ll be in canterlot in no time”
  459. >mere minutes after shining armour went to the front of the train you began making way to canterlot
  460.  
  461. I want to take a moment to thank you readers for making part 7 my most viewed paste ever
  462. but I want you to also know that HistoriAnon was a major inspiration for me and I hope you guys can check him out on ponepaste as well, thanks again for your support!

The Preservation of Innocence (Part 1)

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The Preservation of Innocence (Part 2)

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The Preservation of Innocence (Part 3)

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The Preservation of Innocence (Part 4)

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The Preservation of Innocence (Part 5)

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