Original Poster: Love and Powerlifting (ponepaste.org/u/lapsbin)
Reason this is posted here is because LaP regularly doesn't bin things. Will be removed upon or shortly thereafter being posted on his bin. Maybe.

Note: The prior bin has been set to unlisted and this one will (theoretically) be used going forward, only having parts that are not currently on LaPs versions.

>Be Fluttershy
>The train you were currently in was almost empty
>There were a few guards, the crew, Princess Cadence, and Twilight's brother Shining Armor
>The train itself was unlike any you had seen
>It was bigger, wider, scarier looking
>There were very few seats, and no place to put your baggage
>Princess Cadence had said that this was an armored train used by the guard
>Everypony was walking around, looking busy and grim with all of their weapons and armor
>You were in one of the few seats on the train, trying not to get in anypony's way
>When the prince and princess had asked you to come with them up north, you had accepted
>Not eagerly, since you didn't really like going to places you didn't know with basically strangers but you accepted, that nice, strange stallion's words in your mind
>But now?
>Now you were starting to get a little nervous, thinking that maybe this wasn't the best idea
>The soldiers walking around were big and tough
>What the hay was somepony like you going to do about an evil king?
>Still, it wasn't like you could run away now--the fly home would be WAY too long
>The only thing you could hope for was that you won't be needed
>"Fluttershy?"
>Jumping, you looked up to see Princess Cadence
>Like her husband and the guards, she was wearing a suit of armor
>In one hand she held a bat, in another she held a warm-looking coat
>"Here, It's gonna be chilly," she said, offering the coat to you
>You looked outside through the window
>You were far enough north that you could already see snow on the ground
>Wendigos hunted here, eating both aurora borealis and star creatures
>You weren't too afraid of those, you'd always actually wanted to see one--but the snowstorms they caused would make even a pegasus like yourself shiver and shake
"Um, thank you very much, your highness," you said, taking the coat from her
>Princess Cadence smiled
>"There's no need for that princess stuff with me, Fluttershy. Just Cadence is alright."
>Shining Armor, wearing armor as well--looking very nice in it too--walked over
>"And please, just call me Shining. Twily wouldn't let me hear the end of it if I made you call me "Prince" or "Your Majesty"."
>You softly smiled as you pulled the coat on
>It was large and bulky, but it probably needed to be with the sort of weather you were going to be walking into
>"I want to thank you again for coming with us, Fluttershy," Cadence said, taking a seat opposite from you. "With your help saving the Crystal Empire will be a piece of cake."
>You nuzzled the inside of the jacket, looking at the ground
"Oh, I don't know if I'll be THAT much help, but I'll do the best that I can," you murmured. "I just hope I won't get in the way..."
>Shining Armor reached over, giving your shoulder a squeeze
>"You'll do great, sweetie," he said with a kind smile
>You tried to smile back, dryly swallowing
>Holy hayseeds, you hoped he was right...
>Three whole days passed on that train
>There wasn't much to do
>You had brought yourself a book, Princess Cadence had a mountain of paperwork that she slowly but surely worked through--taking off her armor after the first day on her husbands insistence--while the guard just talked and played cards
>As the train raced through the land, you could see more and more snow on the ground
>By the second day, a snow storm had started and hadn't stopped
>The winds were so strong that they shook the train back and forth, and the snow was so thick that it was almost impossible to see outside
>Every once in awhile though, you'd see something drifting by
>Animalistic faces with eyes colder than ice
>Sometimes you'd hear shrill cries out in the storm, some of which sounded like they were coming from just above or beside the trains
>When you started hearing that the guards started wearing their armor again, patrolling the cabins
>Nopony had been hurt, thankfully, but once or twice windows were found open, and sometimes the doorways to the other cabins were frozen and needed magic to warm up
>It was a little scary, but nowhere near as bad as when the conductor announced that you'd be at your destination in a few hours
>Station 221: the northern most train station in Equestria
>One of the crew had joked that it was the station at the end of the world
>Ponies had thought that Princess Celestia was crazy for having it built all the way up here when there was nothing but ice and monsters for hundreds of miles, but you supposed the princess just knew the Crystal Empire would return
>How did she know?
>You had no idea...
>The princesses were just smart you supposed...
>Not long after the conductor had left, the cabins were a flurry of activity
>Ponies were running around with supplies
>Some were stuffing themselves into their armor, others were checking and sharpening their weapons
>You did your best to help, getting packs together for everypony
>Within an hour, everything was ready to go
>You all stood at the ready as the train slowed, steel wheels screeching as braces were applied to them
>In the storm, you could just make out a concrete platform
>One of the crew poked their head inside of the cabin
>"We are now at Station 221," she said. "Mind your hooves. Don't stay out long if you can help it, and Celestia help you if you get separated from the group."
>There was a sharp squeak, and the door was opened with a metallic hiss
>The guard quickly piled out, followed by the royals and yourself, hidden deep within your jacket
>When you stepped outside, the cold hit you like a runaway wagon
>You could feel it from the bottom of your hooves to the top of your head
>It cut through you like a knife, ignoring your jacket, ignoring your resistance to the cold that all pegasi had, ignoring everything
>Almost immediately, you started shaking like a leaf, hugging your arms close to your body
>The train doors closed behind you, though you didn't hear it
>The wind was so loud that you wished you had ear plugs
>Shining Armor turned toward you, mouth open and closing, neck bulging as he yelled as loud as he could, but you didn't hear a word of it
>Thankfully, he pointed, then motioned for you to follow
>One of the guards tried putting up a shield to block the cold
>A golden bubble surrounded you all for a moment or two before the bubble seemed to pop under the wind
>The guard tried again, with another guard lending her magic
>When even that didn't work, Shining Armor added his magic
>The now multi-colored shield held, but you could see it wobbling as you all huddled close together
>"Alright everypony, stay close together," Princess Cadence yelled, her bat resting on her shoulder. "The Empire shouldn't be that far from here. Make sure to keep an eye out. I don't know if this Sombra knows we're here yet, but if he does--"
>The cry you had been hearing outside of the train came from somewhere in the storm
>That cry was followed by a dozen others
>They sounded slightly different however
>These cries were louder, longer, and full of pain
>You let out an "eep!"
>The raced into action
>They formed a circle, spears at the ready, with you and the royals being roughly shoved into the center
>"It sounded like they're all around us," one guard yelled
>"Somepony get a light!"
>"It won't do any good. The storm is too bad."
>"Get some pegasi to clear it up then!"
>"Hey, if you wanna go out in that storm be my guest. I ain't getting buckin' eaten by some freaky ice monster
>One of them looked back at Shining Armor
>"Orders captain?"
"Sir, I-"
>Shining grimaced, looking all around
>His horn glowed brightly, and the entire bubble became one uniform purple color
>It grew thick, and no longer wobbled under the winds
>"We're going forward," he said, just as something darted just out of your field of vision
>You looked toward where it had gone, seeing nothing, only for it to happen again
>"We'll hightail it to the Empire. With any luck we'll get there in one piece," the stallion continued as you slowly looked up
"O-Oh... Oh n-no..."
>"If you see anything blast it. Lethal force is not only allowed but encouraged!"
"Um, Shining? Anypony? I think we should--"
>"Don't stop. Remember; it's harder to hit a moving target!"
"I r-really think you should--"
>"If you do get separated, remember your weather training. It will keep you aliv--"
"EXCUSE ME!"
>You flinched as the whole ground turned toward you
>Closing your eyes, you slowly pointed a finger up into the air
>There was... something above the bubble, staring at all of you
>It wasn't a Wendigo
>The storm seemed to be trying it's best to avoid it
>It looked like a mass of smoke, blacker than anything you had ever seen
>In the center of it, were two glowing red eyes, smoldering with an intensity that made your stomach twist

CRYSTALLLLLLLLLLLLLSSSSS

>All twenty spear tips snapped toward the air
>"CONTACT!" somepony yelled
>The smoke slammed down onto the shield, causing it to bend
>It rose up, letting out a sound more terrifying than anything you had heard yet
>Not a scream, but a roar
>It slammed itself against the shield again and again
>Shining tensed with each strike, almost falling down onto one knee
>The shield began to crack
>Princess Cadence stood over her husband, horn crackling, but she was too late
>The cloud hit the shield one more time, and it shattered into a million pieces
>The guards screamed; magic was shot up into the cloud
>You were jostled and shoved as the wind and snow came, quickly blinding and deafening you
>Somewhere in the chaos, you fell onto your rump
>A guard flew through the air, terror on her face as you got onto your knees and crawled
>Oh gosh...
>Oh gosh...
>Oh sweet Celestia...
>When you eventually stopped, you saw that you were about twenty feet from the group
>The guards were stabbing at the cloud
>You could even see magic being shot at it through the snow and wind
>Nothing seemed to be working though, as the cloud would pick somepony up, lift them into the air, and drop them
>You forced yourself on shaking legs, eyes darting all around
>What should you do?
>Run back to the train?
>Stay here?
>Slowly, the cloud seemed to turn toward you
>Those red eyes glowed brighter, and you took a step back

CRYSTALLLLLLLLLLLS

>It began floating toward you at an almost lazy pace
>You stood there, frozen as those eyes grew closer and closer
>Your hooves refused to listen to you
>You couldn't move
>Couldn't run

AND WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF, LITTLE ONE?

>The eyes glowed a bit brighter
>There was a funny feeling in the back of your head, your body feeling weak
>Imagines flashed through your mind
>Imagines of horrible, terrible things
>You saw them even when you closed your eyes
>A whimper escaped you as you sunk to your knees

YOU SHALL MAKE A FINE SLAVE... SUBMIT TO MY WILL, WEAKLING

>This was what Anon had been talking about
>This was what this Sombra had done to his ponies
>The ponies that he was supposed to protect
>He tortured and tormented them just like this
>Unsurprisingly, you didn't like this very much
>In fact, it made you upset
>You had dealt with bullies all of your life
>You knew personally just how bad a bully could make somepony feel, and Sombra here seemed to be the biggest bully ever
>Even Discord hadn't been as bad as him
>As the thought came to mind, you started to feel upset, then angry, then very, very angry
>You forced your eyes open, struggling to one knee
>You might not be strong, or fast, or smart like some of your friends, but you weren't going to let this bully do what he wanted anymore
ARE YOU ATTEMPTING TO RESIST? THAT IS---

>You looked up into those glowing red eyes, filled with so much hatred
>The images disappeared as you stood your ground and, with a quiet, mental command, you bid that he stay still
>A ripple ran along the cloud as the red eyes seemed to widen
>You could feel Sombra trying to resist, thrashing against your command in ways you hadn't felt in any living creature
>You paid none of it any mind however, just staring up at him unblinking


THIS CAN'T!--HOW ARE YOU!--I WILL NOT!--

>The cloud slowly condensed, growing more solid and stallion-shaped until a large, armor-bound stallion stood in front of you
>His armor looked ancient, covered in some kind of soot
>He was muscular--even more so than Shining--with hair that went down past his shoulders
>His face was twisted, ugly, with a pair of mad eyes and fangs that glinted in the snow
>You took a step toward him, hands clenched into fist
>Again, you gave the mental command to not move
>Sombra's neck bulged, body tensing before he fell down onto one knee
>You leaned down toward him, frowning harder than you've ever frowned before
"I. Do. Not. Like. Bullies," you said
>It was then something flew into view, hitting the evil king
>Sombra's head jerked to the side, and he fell forward in a heap in the snow
>You jumped, looking to see Princess Cadence, breathing hard, her armor dinged up, and her mane a mess, holding her bat
>She looked down at the fallen king before pumping a fist into the air and pointing upward
>Just above the wind and snow, you could hear her scream:
>"HAH! THE PRINCESS OF BATS BUCKING STRIKES AGAIN!"

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

>Be Twilight Sparkle
>Student of Princess Celestia herself
>All was not well
>You had been hearing strange things, but weren't getting any answers
>Cadence had also requested Fluttershy join her on a "secret mission" as she put it
>Why in Equestria Cadence would want Fluttershy to go on a secret mission, or why nopony would tell you anything about it, was worrying
>Did you maybe fail one of Celestia's tests?
>You sure as hay hoped not...
>Your worry only grew when you got a letter from the princess
>She wanted you to come to Canterlot as soon as possible
>Her letter was vague, but she had written that it was the utmost of importance
>You didn't even take a train
>Not long after you had received the letter, a royal chariot had landed right in front of the library
>You knew the guards flying the chariot too
>Slip Stream and Captain Aerial Ace; easily the fastest flyers in the guard
>Both could have been Wonderbolts if they had wanted
>With them at the helm, you'd get to Canterlot in an hour or so, showing you just how urgent things were
>The ride to the city wasn't very enjoyable
>The whole way you worked yourself up
>What was going on?
>What had you done?
>Was Chrysalis back, or had Discord gone bad again?
>If not, was there a whole new world-ending villain that was ready to destroy everything you loved?
>You were Celestia's loyal student, and you loved the princess like a mother, but you were getting a little tired of saving the world
>Yes, you and your friends were the Elements of Harmony, and yes, you did have a responsibility to Equestria and beyond because of that, but maybe once the princesses could send the guard?
>They were trained to fight monsters and the like
>The only one with any real fighting experience was Rainbow, and she was just a white belt in Karate
>At the very least it wouldn't hurt to get a LITTLE training
>Not that you really wanted any
>As dyke-y as it sounded, you were more of a lover than a fighter
>Just learning the magic of friendship was more than enough for you
>What next, the princess asking you to be a foreign dignitary?
>Or, Celestia forbid, opening up some kind of school for friendship?
>How silly would that be?
>No, you just wanted to study and read your books and be with your friends
>You didn't need much more than that
>Slip and Aerial pushed hard to Canterlot, meaning that within an hour and a half you were landing in front of the castle
>A pair of guards were waiting for you, along with the princess's assistant Raven
>You were led through the castle, into the princess's personal study
>When you laid eyes on Princess Celestia, she looked tired, her usually lively mane floating limply around her neck
>She was looking at a map of Equestria
>Around the map were dozens of little notes, red strings leading to different parts of the country, and little pewter models
>Near the ends of the desks were books
>Dozens and dozens of them, on all manner of subjects
>As you walked into her study, her gaze lifted toward you
>She smiled
>"My faithful student. It's wonderful to see you," she said
>You walked over, giving her a nuzzle
"Princess, what's going on?"
>She sighed
>"Something is going on. Please go and grab yourself a chair, my student. I need to bring you up to date on what could be a grave situation..."
[Note: Thanks to the Anon who pointed out I missed this part. It takes a village, or thread I guess, to preserve it's history]

BANG!
>The shock of the impact ran up your shoulder
>You grunted, grip tightening on the sledgehammer in your hands as you brought it back and swung it even harder
BANG!
>You didn't know what the structure that held all of Our Town's cutiemarks was made out of
>Maybe some kind of crystal, maybe it was just totally magical
>Whatever it was, it started cracking as you rained blows on it
>First little spider web cracks that were just on the surface, then great big deep cracks
BANG!
>With each blow, the cutiemarks trapped in the structure seemed to glow brighter
>Almost like they knew they were going to be free
"Come on you fucker," you grumbled, gritting your teeth as you hit it again. "Just a little more..."
>You took a step back, bringing the sledgehammer back as far as you could
>Tensing, you swung it as hard as you could
>It connected against the structure cleanly, and like hitting a homerun, you didn't even feel the blow
>One of the cracks that had been steadily building suddenly shot up the length of the structure, making a deep, heavy cracking sound
>You looked up at it for a moment, watching thousands of little cracks web out from it
>Eyes widening, you dropped the sledgehammer and backpedaled
"Shit!"
>With a burst of light, the structure crumbled into a million pieces, sending up dust and bits of itself, forcing you to cover your face with your hands
>You coughed and sputtered, trying to fan away the cloud with a hand
"Probably should have been expecting that, huh?" you mumbled to yourself
>The dust eventually did settle
>You lowered your arms and looked over
>The structure was completely gone, though the cutiemarks that it held still floated in the air
>Each of them were pulsing with light
>You stared at them
>With a frown, you placed your hands on your hips
"The fuck you doing?" you asked. "You're free. Go back to your owners. Fly, or disappear, or whatever you do. I'm not taking you all back to--"
>One of the cutiemarks took off, leaving a trail of light in it's wake
>A second or two later, another flew out of the cave
>This triggered a mass exodus, all the cutiemarks flying off, until the cave was completely empty
>You sighed
"Alrighty then..."
>Walking over, you kicked the debris off the sledgehammer
>You'd return this back to the shed you found it at back in town
>After that...
>You honestly didn't know
>Resting the sledgehammer on your shoulder, you made your way out of the cave at a slow but steady pace
>What were you going to do now?
>Did you still need to keep running around trying to change things?
>If so, what else even needed changing?
>Would you need to keep fighting against the plans of whoever was running the show just to keep Twilight from getting those fucking ugly ass wings?
>Did you win, and if you didn't, could you?
>The book pressed against your chest was icy cold, which could have been a really good or really bad thing
>You hoped it was good, since it felt like someone was watching you at that moment
>It was no doubt that red-haired thing that tried to "erase" you
>A shiver ran up your spine, and the sun outside seemed to glow just a bit dimmer at the thought
>Hopefully whatever Discord did to you would keep working...
>The walk back to the town was quiet and peaceful; there were even some birds chirping in the background
>As you entered the town proper, you could see ponies milling around
>Some looked lost, other's looked relieved; all of them looked utterly confused
>To a ugly ass abomination, they seemed to have gotten their color back, meaning their cutiemarks were where they belonged
>Good
>Trixie's wagon was also nowhere in sight
>She must have gotten out of dodge before Starlight could change her mind
>That, or she wanted to leave before the townsponies tried to stop her
>You had no idea how it was going to turn out with those two, but, oddly enough, you trusted Trixie with this
>She'd figure something out; if not, she could blow Poochie up with fireworks
>You mostly ignored the ponies milling around, walking over to the random shed you had broken into and putting the sledgehammer back where it had been
>When you turned around though, there was a mare standing in front of you
>You recognized her
>She was that one mare that Big Mac had married before you had finally snapped
>Sugar Belle you think her name was
>"She just... left us," the unicorn said, shoulders slumping. "Lady Starlight left like we were... we were nothing..."
"Yeah, she's a pretty horrible horse," you said with a nod. "I'm surprised you guys didn't figure that out after having a single conversation with her."
>You tried to walk around her, but she just stepped in front of you
>"I really was willing to give this place, give HER, everything," she said. "I believed in what she said."
>Frowning, you got into the mare's face
>She tried to step back, but you followed her
"There's nothing wrong with your cutiemark."
>"But--"
"No fucking buts, and if you don't like your cutiemark what does that matter? You don't need to do just that for the rest of your life. It's just a guide, not chains."
>You stood up straight
"And you don't need no cult leader to tell you what to do. You're an adult; you should know that no one knows what they're talking about, and anyone that says otherwise is a goddamn liar."
>Sugar Belle said nothing, looking lost
>She made no more to stop you this time as you walked by her
>You made it a few steps before stopping and letting out a sigh
>Turning around, you marched back and spun her around
>"What--"
"There's a little town called Ponyville," you said, interrupting her. "Go there and find work at a place called Sweet Apple Acres. The owner's name is Granny Smith, but her granddaughter Applejack is the one that actually runs the place."
>"How does that--"
"Shut. Up. Go there, ask for a job. Applejack can be a real hard ass sometimes, but she's not a bad boss. There's a big red stallion named Big Mac there too. Be nice to him, tell him he's pretty, ask him on a date and buy some flowers."
>Sugar Belle's nose scrunched up in frustration
>"What the BUCK does this have to do with anything?!" she demanded
"You want direction in your life? There's some direction. So sayth the big magical stallion," you said, waving your hands all around her head. "Go, or stay here. I'm not your dad."
>"You SUCK!"
"And don't you forget it, hornhead."
>This time you walked away with a pep in your step
>Mac better invite you to his wedding for that shit...
>Nopony else bothered you as you made your way out of town, with nothing but a small pack with a change of clothes, food, and some water on your back
>Your made your way down the road, in no hurry and with absolutely no plan
>Maybe you'd try to take a train to the Dragonlands?
>You couldn't destroy this book, but maybe it was like the One Ring?
>If not, it wasn't like a pony was going to be rooting around in molten rock
>Worst case scenario, a dragon would find it, but you doubt they'd go out of their way to give a pony anything
>Hell, maybe you could figure out a way to keep the lot of them out of Equestria
>Maybe make sure that that Ember chick gets the shit beaten out of her turning the Dragonlord games or whatever the hell those were called
>Before you did anything though, you really wanted to get a nice hot shower and something to eat
>And that was the last thought you had before there was a sharp pain in the back of your head
>You weren't able to make a sound as you hit the ground in a heap
>"Got him! I told you me'd get him," a voice said as darkness filled your vision
>"Good," another voice said, higher pitched. "Grab him. We need to get going before somepony comes along
>Right before darkness took you, a pair of hands grabbed you and lifted you up
>No, not hands...
>Paws...
>...
>FUCK...

~_~_~_~_~_~_~

>Slowly, you started to come to
>Everything hurt
>Your head, arms, body, soul; all of it felt like you had just gotten one hell of a beating
>You winced, looking around
>There was no sunlight, no sky
>The only light you could see was a pair of lanterns swinging on rusty iron rings
>You were crammed into a cage with an uncomfortable metal floor, which was so small that you could touch your knees against your nose
>On reflex, you grabbed at your chest
>The book was still there...
>Good...
>"Look. Thing awake," a voice said.
>You looked over to see a diamond dog walking beside your cage
>It was a hunched, ugly mutt, with yellow, bloodshot eyes and even yellower broken teeth
>It's coat was matted and falling out, and the vest that it was wearing looked like it had seen better days
>It was holding a spear in a massive paw
"Oh... fuck off," you groaned, looking away from the creature
>The ponies here might have been a fucking train wreck, but these fuckers were something else
>You honestly couldn't even tell if it was a male or female
>And the smell...
>Oh lord above the smell...
>Two more diamond dogs were in front of the cage, pushing it along on what must have been an old wagon
>Both looked similar if not worse than the one walking beside you
>"You no scream. Most stallions we take scream when they wake up," the one with the spear said
"Were you the one that hit me?" you asked
>The dog nodded, sending slobber everywhere
>"You big, so me hit you extra hard," it said, proudly
"Oh, well that's nice," you said, nodding with a smile. "Hey, why don't you do me a favor and come here for a second."
>Amazingly, the dog did as you asked, getting a few steps closer
>"What you wan--"
>The space between the bars of the cage was small, but not so small that you couldn't get your arm through
>You reached out, grabbing the dog by it's collar
>It didn't have time to so much as yelp as you yanked it toward the cage, smashing its face against the bar
>The cage shook as the dog hit the ground
>The wagon stopped, and dogs started to bark all around you
>It looked like there were more than three
>Way more
>A group of them surrounded the cage, spears at the ready
>They jabbed their sharp tips at you, growling
>"Well, well, well; it looks like we have a live one, huh? Come on mister, don't you know it's better for a colt to be seen and not heard?"
>There was the same high pitched voice as before
>A child's voice
>...
>No fucking way...
>Two of the diamond dogs stepped out of the way, allowing a filly to step into the circle
>Cozy Glow
>Fucking Cozy Glow, wearing a little miners hat
"Oh, fuck right off with this bullshit," you said, clenching your aching head. "You're a bandit, you little shit?"
>"A bandit? Oh no, mister, I'm not a bandit," the filly said with a smile, making her way over to you, but keeping just out of arm's length. "I would never be anything so MEAN. I'm just here to take you to a nice little cave where some creatures would like to bid for your company is all."
>It took a few moments for you to process her words
"A slaver. Your eight year old self is a slaver?" you asked, incredulous
>"I'm TEN, thank you very much," she said with a huff.
>Her eyes narrowed slightly as she looked you over
>"Do I know you from anywhere? You seem to recognize me."
>You just ignored her completely
>A ten year old slaver?
>You knew this filly was shit, but Mary Mother of God
>Where the FUCK were her parents?
>Or social services?
>How does a little horse even get into the business of buying and selling people?!
>Was she a slaver when she was a horse?
>You hoped not
>Cozy's eyes continued to narrow as you tried to desperately rationalize the bomb that had just been dropped right in your lap, before she shrugged
>"Well, I guess it doesn't matter. All I need to do is get you to the bidding in mostly one piece. You look pretty nasty, but somepony is bound to buy you."
>She reached out to one of the diamond dogs
>The dog, gulping, handed her a spear
>A nasty, toothy smile came to her face as she tapped the end of the spear against one of the bars of the cage
>"Remember mister, I said MOSTLY in one piece. The buyer won't care too much if you're missing a few teeth. Or fingers. Or an ear. So, why don't you be a good colt and just be nice and polite for the rest of the walk?"
>You just shook your head
"A ten year old slaver. I've seen a lot of weird shit, but this really is something else," you said, leaning against the back of the cage
>Cozy nodded to herself, handing the spear back to the dog as the one you had smashed against the cage was helped to her paws
>"Listen up, you dirty mutts. Keep away from this weird stallion. We're already behind schedule, and I don't want to be stopping every five minute because you're too dumb to see common sense. YOU GOT THAT?!"
>The dogs jumped back, nodding
>Cozy once again smiled
>"Very good. Now please, lets get moving, okay? Double time if you'd please."
>With that, the wagon was once again moving, though this time the dogs were jogging
>It made for a bumpy ride, though you didn't complain, more annoyed than scared
>You had figured that taking out Tirek and Starlight would have been enough, or at least have thought Cozy wouldn't have been that much of a threat
>She wasn't some super powerful monster, didn't have any power
>She was just a little pegasus
>Even if she were a bad egg, unless she had some help she wouldn't be that big of an issue
>Looks like you were fucking wrong...
>Hours passed, then hours more
>You slept as best as you could
>Sometimes, one of the dogs would give you food or water, or you'd be let out of the cage to walk around and use the bathroom
>You had no idea how long you were down in those tunnels
>It could have been a day or three
>Could have been a week
>The only thing you knew was that it was boring
>Shit sucked
>You were about to start trying to talk with the dogs all around you when you saw something in the distance
>A light
>The group made their way toward it, turning a corner and entering a massive cave
>It was so high that you couldn't see the roof, even with the lights dotted around everywhere
>The walls were colorful, gems of all kinds jutting out from them
>The ground had been cleared, some old slightly worn carpets laid out on the floor, where a group of all sizes and shapes stood
>They were all races: gryphons, minotaurs, ponies, saddle arabians, you even saw a hippogriff or two
>Some were dressed like sheiks, others looked like pimps, canes and all, while others were dressed in expensive looking suits
>They were chattering amongst themselves, though that stopped as you were wheeled in
>Cozy quickly ran past your group, up onto a platform that had been set up right in front of the crowd
>"I apologize for making you all wait," she said with a curtsy. "The catch was a bit difficult, and we had to go our of our way to get it. I guessed we used the wrong lure."
>The crowd politely laughed at this as you were wheeled to the edge of the wagon
>The diamond dogs opened the door to your cage, spears at the ready
>You were so crammed in there that two of them had to yank you out, and even then it took them some doing
>You stumbled a bit as the blood rushed back to your extremities, but you eventually were able to stand on your two feet without needing any help
>As you did so, the crowd began to murmur
>"What in the name of the Mighty Sun is that?"
>"That's a big'un."
>"Must be some sort of hairless minotaur. Or a really ugly dog."
>"I like that cute lil' mouth of his. I bet he knows how to use it."
>A spear was jabbed at your back, and you were forced to walk up onto the podium right next to Cozy
>Without any restraints, you noticed
>You had understood it while in the caves, but here?
>Not even some rope?
>Not a very good idea
>The pegasus smiled
>"As you can see, we have a pretty big specimen here to--"
"Wait," you interrupted, looking around. "If this is one of those slave auction things, shouldn't there be more than one male up here?"
>Cozy frowned, making a gesture
>A diamond dog stepped into the platform, swinging it's spear
>It hit your back with a crack
>It stung
>A bit
"I mean, how can you have an auction if you just have one thing to sell?" you continued, ignoring the blow as you looked around, scratching your chin. "Seems like a pretty shitty operation if you ask me."
>Cozy made another gesture, and you were hit again, then hit once more
>On the third blow, the spear broke
>You looked over at the dog, who took a few steps back, ears pinned against its skull
>You then looked at Cozy, who's eyes were as wide as saucers
>Before the filly could do anything, you reached over and grabbed her by her overalls, lifting her up
>"Hey, let go of me!" she shouted, kicking and flapping her wings
"Also, why the fuck are you having this thing underground?" you continued, placing the filly right against your chest. "You couldn't afford a warehouse? Even renting a small house would be better than this. Where's the exits if the police found out about this place? Where's a drinks, the food? Where's the waiters carrying around little appetizers? I always thought stuff like this, with rich and powerful people, was supposed to be fancy and elegant. You didn't even think to keep me caged or anything! A rinky dink operation if I've ever seen one."
>She froze as your other hand was gently placed against her throat
>This also caused all the diamond dogs, as well as the crowd, to freeze
>You grinned, half leading, half carrying Cozy off the platform
>The crowd backed up a bit, obviously not expecting this
"Why the fuck do you ladies even need to buy a stallion slave? I'm assuming you're all rich. Wouldn't it be better to just find a bunch of slutty colts with big asses and a fat pair of nuts to fool around with? Is this a fetish thing? Or do you just want a slave because a boytoy would fuck a zigger whenever you left the mansion?"
>The crowd looked down, ashamed
>Jesus...
>And here you were freaked out that sex slaves were a thing in horseland...
>Shit was embarrassing...
>You lifted Cozy up so you she could look you in the eye
"You are really shit at this, young lady. You could go back to elementary school and stop being such a shithead."
>The fury almost overwhelmed the fear in her eyes
>She clenched a fist
>You tapped a finger against her throat, and she went ramrod stiff again
"Or, at the very least, don't kidnap a creature that you don't know. If I wasn't in such a good mood, I might have eaten you."
>You dropped the filly, who immediately scrambled away from you
>"Get him you stupid dogs!" she shouted, eyes wild and her voice shrill. "GET HIM!"
>The dogs didn't move a muscle
>There might have been a lot of them, but you were pretty sure you could take a bunch of starved mutts half your size, spears or no
>Someone pushed through the crowd
>It was a minotaur; large, but still smaller than you
>She had a nasty scar across her eye, and a knife strapped to her belt
>She walked right up to you, eyes narrowed
>"What are you, creature?" she demanded
"A demon," you replied. "A eater of cows and a smasher of labyrinths."
>She stiffened, a hand going to her knife
>"You are no demon. You are just a male; a large, fierce male but a male nonetheless."
>The crowd seemed to take heart at her words
>Some stepped forward, hands on weapons
>"You are right in saying that this could have been done better," the tauress continued. "But we are still here for a male. If you're the only one being sold I suppose the best thing to do is see who can show you a bull's proper place in the world. Your price can be negotiated afterward."
>More of the crowd began to move toward you
>You frowned, taking a couple steps back, only to have a few spears pointed at you
>Well...
>Shit
>You probably should have kept Cozy hostage for more than ten seconds...
>Without anything else to do, you put your dukes up
>You were going down, there was no doubt about it, but at the very least you'd go down punching someone
>The tauress pulled her knife out with a smile, leisurely making her way toward you
>"Give me a good fight creature. I will not return home with a weak mate."
"A good fight? I'll turn you into hamburger, you--"
>You heard hoofsteps, dozens of them
>Not ten seconds later, ponies in golden armor began to pour into the cave
>"THIS IS THE GUARD! GET ON THE GROUND! YOU'RE ALL UNDER ARREST!" one of the ponies yelled
>The crowd froze, right until one of the unicorns hit a gryphon with a spell, knocking her right to the ground
>They all ran in different directions, some charging the guard, some running to the other end of the cave, some trying to make their way to the tunnel, or some secret exit no doubt hidden somewhere
>It was chaos, with screaming people running all around and spells of all sorts flying
>Cozy, the little shit, immediately turned up the cute child act, running to one of the guards with tears in her eyes
>The guard wasn't having it though, hitting her with a spell that made her fall face first to the floor
>Based police violence horse
>You just stood there, hands on your hips until, finally, you couldn't take it anymore, throwing your hands up in disgust
"Fucking stupidest thing I've ever been apart of," you grumbled, making your way to the exit
>No one stopped you, though you did have to shove a few bodies out of the way
>Making your way out of the cave, you saw a group of guards standing next to a bunch of cages
>They were all speaking to, surprisingly, Maud Pie
>Pinkie's big sister; wearing a hard hat and her dark grey smock
>Huh...
>You walked over toward them
>"--We wouldn't even have found out about this operation without your help, miss," one of the guards said. "If we're lucky, whoever runs this knows something about the string of abductions that's been happening for the past few months.
>"Thanks to you, Manehattan is going to be just a little safer," another said.
>"I hear the mayor is going to be giving you some sort of award after this sting is over," a third said, placing a hand on the earth pony's chest. "You deserve it, kid."
>"I appreciate your kind words, but it was nothing," Maud said in her usual monotone voice. "I was just collecting some samples in this network and overheard some conversation. Anypony could have come to the guard."
>One of the guards was about to say more, but then she saw you walking over
>All of the guards turned, as well as Maud
>"Oh sweetie, are you okay?" one asked, stepping forward. "Come on, I got a blanket and some hot cocoa. Celestia only knows what they put you through. Your mare's must be worried si--"
"Maud, what are you doing here?" you asked, looking the mare over
>"I'm aiding in taking down a slave trafficking ring," she replied, looking up at you. "I suppose you're one of the stallions they coltnapped, though you don't appear to be distraught. Are you simply numb to the horrors they inflicted on you, or are you attempting to store those emotions away? That's not good for you, you know."
"I'm fine," you said with a wave of your hand. "Are we near Manehattan?"
>"Just on the outskirts," one of the guards said. "Are you sure you're fine? We have a psychiatrist that would probably really want to--
"It really wasn't too bad. These slavers were really piss poor at their jobs," you said with a sigh. "All I wanna do is get back to the surface. Please."
>Maud nodded
>"I would be happy to lead you out of here," she said. "If one of the guards would escort us. Also, if it would be alright, I have a question."
"Alright."
>"How did you know my name? I think I would have remembered a stallion of--"
>She looked you from top to bottom
>Though her expression was still emotionless, you saw her lick her lips
>"--Such a stature as yourself."
"I'm one of Pinkie's friends," you replied. "She told me all about you, said if I met you I'd know who you were right away. She also said that you told one heck of a joke."
>"That makes sense. Pinkie is a talker and has a great many friends. She would also be correct. I can tell a very good joke."
>Maud took a step toward you
>"I actually have a comedy show in a few days. It would mean a lot to me if you and your mares would come."
>She took another step, puffing her chest out
>"Unless, of course, you are single and ready to mingle, then I wouldn't be against dinner with the two of us after."
"..."
>"..."
"..."
>"You have lovely eyes. They're the same color as emeralds. They are a striking gem."
>"Wait a cotton-picking second," one of the guards said, moving toward you with narrowed eyes. "Aren't you that stallion on the wanted papers? That big colt that attacked the princess?"
>You looked over at the guards, who were now staring back in suspicion
>You blinked
>Oh
>You figured you were gonna get off scot-free
>Woulda made sense in this dumbass place
>Still, maybe it wouldn't be bad to turn yourself in?
>You needed a shower and a decent bed
"...Yes. Yes I am," you said, extending your hands. "Arrest me please."
>"Oh, a bad colt," Maud said as the guards circled you. "My one weakness."
"Shut up, Maud."
>"I will not."

>Be Twilight Sparkle
>Be extremely concerned
>The princess had told you about the creature that had attacked her and her guard
>She said he was dangerous, and that he needed to be stopped at all costs
>He was running all over Equestria, causing mischief
>And not the sort of things Discord got up to either
>You were told if he wasn't stopped Equestria could be completely destroyed
>She had told you all this, but she hadn't really gone into specifics
>You had tried asking questions
>What was he, why did he want to destroy Equestria, was that even his goal?
>The princess either didn't seem to know or wouldn't tell you, which, honestly, was a little frustrating
>She told you what he looked like and where he was
>The guard near Manehatten had seen him, and you and your friends were to collect him
>Just your friends
>No elements
>No guards
>Just six tickets and your bare hands against a creature that threw trained guards around like they were toys
>You loved the princess like a mother, and you trusted her, but this was too much
>So, you had requested some things to apprehend the creature
>This very well could have been some sort of test, but you had to draw the line at your friends' safety
>A few guardsponies, maybe a magi from Celestia's school, and if you could have the elements that would be amazing
>Princess Celestia had looked at you like you had grown a second head at the requests
>She had began to lecture you, which bordered on a chewing out
>Had you still lived in Canterlot, in your little tower, not interested in anything but your books, that might have crushed you on the inside, but not now
>For the first time in your life, you had stood up to your teacher
>If she didn't give you the tools to keep you and your friends safe, you weren't even going to bother telling them
>You all might have been the Elements of Harmony, but without the elements you were just normal ponies, not at all equipped to deal with monsters
>Your teacher looked... shaken after you had spoken your mind
>There was something different in her eyes as she looked at you, which was baffling
>You just asked for some reasonable things; it's not like you had requested full access to the army or something
>When you did eventually leave the throne room, all of your demands had been met
>Twenty guards, a mare known for her offensive magic from the school, and the elements
>When Princess Luna had learned what you had done the alicorn had seemed very pleased with you
>She had met the creature at some little village all the way on the other side of Equestria, capturing him briefly before he managed to get away
>With the younger sister, you had gotten far more information
>The creature was named Anon
>He was large and very strong; for a colt
>The princess also said that he had somehow known that Tirek was in that little town, and had knocked him unconscious, allowing the princess and her guard to escort that old monster back to Tartarus
>She and most of the army had been looking for him for weeks, she had said
>You asked if this Anon wanted to destroy Equestria
>Luna hadn't known, just saying that he needed to be brought in and questioned
>If he knew about Tirek what else did he know?
>Knowledge was power after all
>That seemed a lot more reasonable to your purple bookish self
>Monster or not, you really didn't want to hurt a colt
>If you could just bring him in without a fight that would be so much better
>Also, if you had the chance, you'd like to speak to him
>The princess said he wasn't like any creature she had ever seen, which meant that maybe he was from some long forgotten culture, like in the Daring Do books
>Better yet, he might have been form across the sea, where nopony had ever come back from to tell and tales!
>Luna insisted that she join you and your retinue, bring along twenty of her batpony guard
>Them, along with the ones Princess Celestia had lent you along with your friends, really put you at ease
>So, you had gone back down to Ponyville and debriefed your friends
>Thankfully, Fluttershy had just come back from her secret mission in the north
>Which, when this was all over, you really, REALLY needed to talk to her about
>It took a day for you all to get things in order, you with the library, Fluttershy finding somepony to watch her animals, Rarity putting the finishing touches on some orders, Applejack letting Big Mac know where she was going, things like that
>After that, you were put on your own private train bound for Manehatten
>Rarity, of course, was beyond excited
>"Manehatten! The city of lights! The jewel of Equestria! If one can make it there they can make it anywhere!"
>The unicorn was wearing a fashionable cap and sweater, almost skipping around your train cart
>"You know, I've been toying with the idea of coming here for months myself! It see the culture, the class, the--"
>Applejack, who settled across her seat with her hat over her face spoke up
>"Big ol' colt asses. Hear they got some fat ones up there."
>Rarity froze mid-rant while the rest of you started to laugh
>Even Princess Luna cracked a smile
>Rarity turned toward the farmer
>"Thank you very much for... your input, Applejack dear."
>"Yer welcome," Applejack said, flicking the tip of her hat. "Now will ya sit down and be quiet for a bit? I wanna get some shuteye 'fore we need ta fight this monster."
>"He's not a monster," Fluttershy mumbled
>You all looked over at her
>"What was that, Fluttershy?" Rarity asked
>Though Flutters wilted a bit under your collective gaze, she spoke up
>"I said, he isn't a monster. He's actually very nice."
"He is?" you asked. "How do you know that?"
>Fluttershy looked down into her lap as you all leaned toward her
>"He... came to my cottage a few weeks ago. He told me about going up north to help Princess Cadence."
>You looked over at Princess Luna, who was staring at the pegasus, deep in thought
>She eventually caught you looking at her, and she shook her head
>"That must remain secret for a while more, young Twilight, at least until my niece and her husband settle things on their end, though I was not told that this Anon had a hand in my sister's schemes..."
>She sat back in her seat
>"There's much I'd like to speak to him about. The last report that I received is that he was taken into custody two days ago. If we are lucky, he will still be in prison, though I doubt it. He is a elusive creature, despite his size and strangeness."
>"Don't worry Princess, even if he's running around the city we'll catch him in a jiffy," Rainbow said. "All we'll need to do is go to their market. I don't care what he is, if he's a colt he'll love his shopping."
>"Yeah, and if he tries anything I'll pull out the party cannon," Pinkie said, pumping a fist into the air
>You frowned
"We're not going to hurt a stallion if we can help it, Pinkie."
>"It's not hurting, silly. Sometimes you just need to show a stallion who's boss is all."
>You all didn't get to Manehatten until late afternoon
>Rarity wanted to go sight-seeing; maybe watch a play and go to some fancy dinner
>Thankfully, Applejack had her rope, and happily informed the unicorn that she wasn't afraid to use it
>If this Anon wasn't some super-villain mastermind hellbent on destroying the world, maybe you'd take a little time to walk around the city
>Right now though, you all had a job to do
>As soon as your train had stopped at the station, you and the guard--now fully armored and armed--hightailed it toward the city's main guard station
>The streets were crowded, but most made way for a group of heavily armed ponies
>It was a quick walk to the station thankfully
>When you got close to it, you also saw that it looked fully intact and not destroyed, which was nice
>A few of the guard made their way into the station while the rest of you got ready
>You and the girls put on the elements, and Luna and the magi placed spells of protection on everypony
>"Just in case", you were told
>That made you a teensy bit more nervous than you had been, but you did your best to ignore it and, taking the lead with the girls, you walked up the station steps
>Opening the door, you were greeted with a bustle of activity
>Guards were running to and fro, moving criminals around; there was a lot of talking, yelling, and paperwork being signed
>Many were so busy they didn't even pay your group any mind as you walked in
>The two guards you had sent in were speaking with an overweight mare wearing a blue cap
>One of them motioned you over
>"The creature is still contained," she said, saluting Princess Luna. "The lieutenant here said she'd take us to him right away."
>"That I will," the lieutenant said, adjusting her cap. "Though I don't think you'll need all this for the colt. He's been as sweet as punch since we've brought him in for questioning."
>"Very well," Luna said with a nod. "Twilight, you may come with me. Everypony else, you may go outside. We'll bring him out. Lieutenant, if you'd be so kind..."

~_~_~_~_~_~

>Be Anon
>It had been a few days since the Manehatten guard had taken you in
>Jail hadn't been all that bad
>They didn't have a orange jumpsuit that would fit you, but they did get your clothes washed
>You also got three square meals a day
>The food wasn't bad either, and nobody gave you any guff when you said you were allergic to flowers, grass, and hay
>Since you were a stallion, you also got a room to yourself, which was pretty nice
>It had been a bit iffy at first though, since the guard had wanted to confiscate Starswirl's book
>It had taken arguing, threatening, and eventually telling the mares that the book had a death curse on it for them to leave you alone, and even then you had to make sure it was close to you at all times
>Then there was the waiting
>Having nothing to do but look at a concrete ceiling wasn't the best, and it wasn't like you could waste the day jerking off with these guards checking on you every ten minutes
>You mostly tried to sleep, hoping that whoever was coming to get you would hurry the hell up
>Maybe they could just transfer you to Canterlot somehow, or maybe one of the princesses would come themselves to pick you up
>Hell, maybe both would come
>It'd be a hell of a lot harder to keep ahold of the book then, but you'd cross that bridge when you came to it
>Right now you were just waiting for lunch
>One of the guards said today was grilled cheese day
>She said if you showed her a bit of leg she'd give you double rations, and you were really considering taking her up on the offer
>A metallic click echoed down the hallway, which was followed by a door opening
>"He's all the way at the end, your highness. Probably sleeping I bet."
>There we are...
>You heard hoofsteps, and you sat up, swinging your legs to the side of the tiny bed that you had been given
>The hoofsteps grew closer, until you saw Princess Luna coming into view, wearing her suit of armor and clenching that spear of hers
>A moment later, someone else walked into view
>Twilight Sparkle; all three foot six of her dorky self
>When she saw you her eyes lit up
>When you saw her, it felt like your heart stopped
>There she was
>Twilight
>The real Twilight
>Your Twilight
>Not whatever the fuck she had turned into
>You found yourself standing up
>A touch of worry came to Twilight's face as you rushed over, grabbing the iron bars of your cell
>It was hard to talk, no matter what you did the words just wouldn't come, but eventually you were able to croak out
"Turn around please. Let me see your back."
>Twilight blinked, looking over at the princess
"Please," you repeated, hands shaking
>Giving you a strange look, Twilight slowly turned around, showing you her back
>No wings
>Not a feather in sight
>She was a unicorn
>A UNICORN
>You tried to hold everything in, but you just couldn't manage it
>Closing your eyes, you sunk to the floor, pressing your forehead against the bars as you started to cry like a little girl
>"I... um... hello to you too?"

~_~_~_~_~

>Be Twilight
>The creature known as Anon didn't put up a fight as you and the princess led him out of the cage
>After his good, long cry--kinda understandable, what with the colt being in prison and all--he was smiling as he walked, his head held high as you led him out into the lobby
>The princess wasn't taking any chances, colt or not, and had cuffed both his arms and legs before letting him out of his cell, but he hadn't seemed to mind, even though the cuffs seemed two sizes too small for him
>He really was one big colt
>Giant even; nearly twice your size by the look of him
>You weren't a coward, but you were pretty happy that he wasn't aggressive
>It took a few minutes to get the proper paperwork signed to get him transferred to you, but when you did--and after the princess triple checked his restraints--you were allowed to take him outside
>While he followed you, Luna was holding some files, her brow furrowed as she read
>"How in Harmony's name did you manage to get yourself coltnapped?" she asked
>"I was walking down a road and got clubbed," he replied casually. "It was some little pain in the butt filly and a group of Diamond Dogs. They were running some sort of slave operation."
>Luna's brow only furrowed more as she continued to read
>"I would not believe a word you said if not for this report. A filly truly managed to capture you?"
>"Yep. Her name is Cozy. You should really have her locked up and throw away the key."
>Being a gentlemare, you opened the front door for him
>He laughed, ruffling your mane as he walked outside
>"You were taught well, Twilight, but perhaps manners can take the sideline when dealing with a prisoner?" Luna suggested as she walked by you
>You sheepishly smiled
"Oops. Yeah, I'm sorry about that," you said, hurrying out the door
>Thankfully, Anon didn't make a break for it outside, slowly making his way down the steps
>The guard and your friends waited for you on the sidewalk
>The guard and the magi looked at the creature suspiciously
>To your surprise, when she saw him Fluttershy smiled, walking over to meet him at the bottom of the steps
>"Hey, Flutters," he said, leaning down toward the pegasus. "Did everything go well up north?"
>"It did," she said with a nod. "Very well."
>"Good. I hope they build a statue for you. You deserve it."
>"O-Oh... I don't know about that..."
>She looked down at his chains, eyes widening
>"Oh my, did they really need to put those nasty things on you?"
>"They probably do, since I might be the most wanted creature in Equestria right now," he replied. "Lucky me huh?"
>Seeing that the creature wasn't going to attack anypony, the rest of your friends made their way over
>Anon looked at them all, still smiling
>"Ladies."
>Applejack whistled, looking him up and down
>"Land sakes, what do they feed a fella like you?" she asked
>"Not enough, Applejack," he said. "You haven't almost assaulted any more stallions lately, have you Rainbow?"
>Rainbow grimaced while Rarity gasped, wheeling around to look at her
>"Rainbow Dash, this fine stallion better not be insinuating what I think he's insinuating!"
>"I didn't touch him!" Rainbow said, throwing her hands up. "I was going to, sure, but I thought he was just some big monster!"
>"I am very large," Anon said, looking over at Pinkie. "What about you, Ponk. Have you had any big parties since I last saw you?"
>"Yepper pepper!" Pinkie said with a hop. "I just threw a big party for a nice colt that had just gotten his cutiemark! I'm not gonna brag, but we almost tore down the roof! Then there was--"
>While Pinkie was being, well, Pinkie, Applejack was staring at the creature, arms crossed
>"How the hay do you know our names, stranger?" she asked. "'ave we met before?"
>"Yes, I was actually wondering the same thing myself," Rarity said, looking up at him. "Thought, I'm positive that I'd remember somepony of your... stature, sir."
>Anon said nothing for a good long while, just staring at you and your friends
>He started to tear up, but was quick to wipe his eyes
>"Hey, before we go to wherever you're taking me you mind if we stop and get something to eat? I haven't eaten since breakfast and I'm starving."
>In the end, Rarity did get her wish
>You all walked around the city for a bit after you got the stallion something to eat
>As you did, Anon joked and talked to you all
>He seemed really comfortable around you for some reason, like you were long lost friends
>He also seemed to know things that he shouldn't, asking Applejack about how school was going for Applebloom and asking Pinkie how the cake twins were
>He also asked about Moondancer
>How the hay did he know about Moondancer?
>Or your names?
>Anon was also holding something against his chest
>You could see the outline of it through his shirt
>The guard back at the station said it was a book, and that he had refused to part with it
>It was a little strange, but strangeness you could handle, for now anyway
>Eventually, it was getting late, and you all needed to get back onto the train for Canterlot
>Applejack did need to use the rope on Rarity, who loudly swore to anypony that would listen that she'd be back someday
>You all piled into the train
>Again, surprising everypony, it was Fluttershy who sat in the same booth as Anon, happily chatting away with him
>You all surrounded him, with the guard watching carefully
>You were seated in the booth right in front of him looking over the bath of it to stare at him
"Anon?"
>"Hmm?" he replied, eyes closed.
"What was that whole thing about you changing the subject when we asked how you knew us?"
>"Yeah! Come on colt!" Rainbow pipped up, slinging an arm over your shoulder. "We're the Elements of Harmony, for crying out loud. What, have you been stalking us or something, because that'd be AWESOME. I always thought I'd have groupies when I got into the Wonderbolts but--"
>"Rainbow," Rarity said, a hand covering her face. "For the love of all that is holy please be quiet..."
>Even as she was saying this, the unicorn was leaning toward the stallion
>All of you, even Princess Luna, who was seated a few rows back
"I'd really appreciate it if you told us, Anon," you said
>Anon cracked open an eye, looking at all of you
>You could see the gearing turning in his head as he considered your request until, with a sigh, he leaned forward
>"Aw, what the hell. I already kind of told the princess back there already. I don't see the harm in telling all of you. You see, I haven't actually been in Equestria very long; not this Equestria at least. A couple days ago I was..."


>Still be Princess Luna
>It had been a very long night
>You and your sister had talked long into the night; long enough that you eventually had to lower your moon
>While you liked to get your sleep, as an alicorn such a thing really wasn't needed, so you were no worse for wear as your sister's sun rose into the sky
>Your conversation had been... enlightening
>The creature seemed positive that something was trying to control the whole of Equestria
>While this wouldn't have been all that worrying--those that had tried before were a bit a dozen in Tartarus--you had no face to what might have been your foe, if there even was one
>You did not care for the idea of somepony trying to turn you into a slobbering buffoon, and your sister had liked it even less
>She still did not trust this creature, this Anonymous, no doubt largely due to the fact that he had assaulted her
>Still, even she had to admit that he had done a great service in dealing with Tirek and Sombra
>That, at the very least, was worth a pardon you felt
>Celestia insisted that he be brought in, and you saw no reason to deny her request
>You had your reservations yourself
>He could have just been an extraordinarily good liar
>He needed to be properly questioned, and perhaps a full physical as well
>If he were some otherworldly being and not just some freakishly huge minotaur that shaved himself a few scans would bring that to life
>When you returned to the cabin where you had left him and the girls they were all still sleeping
>The booths were made to be pulled out into beds
>Some of the girls had the forethought to bring pajamas, others were just in their underwear
>Applejack was snoring so loudly that you made a mental note to tell her to go to the doctor's to get that fixed
>Anonymous, thankfully, hadn't run off in the middle of the night
>He was fast asleep, his legs hanging off the bed and two blankets covering his body
>You woke them up, ordering some of the train staff to prepare everypony some breakfast
>Canterlot was still an hour or so away, and you saw no reason why everypony should walk through the city on an empty stomach
>You watched as the girls and Anonymous ate
>They seemed to have warmed up to the stallion rather quickly, laughing and talking with him as if he were just another friend
>Anon seemed happy as he sat amongst them
>You saw it in his eyes, the way he moved
>Even his voice sounded just a bit different
>It was lighter, richer
>When it laughed the windows in the cabin seemed to shake
>You watched them from the background, enjoying a quick meal yourself
>When that was finished, you got them clothed, reasonably groomed, and ready to step off the train, and not a moment too soon, because as soon as Pinkie had brushed her mane and tail into a somewhat orderly state Canterlot came into view
>The Jewel of Equestria
>The Seat of the Sisters
>The Tenth Wonder of the World, some called it
>You were not much of a fan of the grandiose, but even you felt small whenever you gazed upon it from afar
>Looking toward Anonymous, you saw that he didn't have the same looks of wonder that most in the cabin had
>The smile that he had worn all morning lessened some, and sadness came to his eyes
>He must have expected that as soon as he stepped off the train he'd be immediately dragged into a dungeon
>Or worse
>The train soon came into the station
>Another set of chains, both for his arms and legs, were placed onto the stallion
>Some of the girls protested loudly at this
>Anon said nothing, just staring at his odd hooves as he was led outside
>It was here you expected him to try something
>To run, or to try pulling something out of his hat, or throw a fit like a normal stallion would in his situation
>But no
>He was as gentle as a lamb as you led him toward the castle
>There was a squad waiting for you all at the gate, ushering you in quickly as to not cause a scene
>Your sister had closed the castle to the public today, meaning the hallways were empty
>It was a quick walk to the throne room
>Celestia was already there, seated with a sword hanging on her hip
>Twilight and her friends bowed
>One of the guards, seeing Anon not making any move to do the same, frowned
>"On your knees, colt!" she barked, smacking the back of his leg with her spear
>There was a loud crack, and you watched as the spearhead fell to the ground
>Anon frowned, looking over at the quickly paling guard
>"Didn't your father ever tell you that hitting colts is wrong?" he asked.
>Your sister stood
>"That's quite enough. Please leave us."
>Bowing, the guards left
>Pinkie tried to rise to leave, only for a very irritated Rarity to grab her by the collar and force her back onto a knee
>You almost snorted at the sight as you let go of Anonymous's chains
>The stallion, not taking his eyes off your sister, slowly began to shuffle his way toward her
>Celestia stepped off her throne, hand on the hilt of her sword as she walked toward him
>The two closed the distance quickly, both standing in the center of the room staring at each other
>"Your highness," Anon said, bowing his head ever so slightly
>Celestia narrowed her eyes
>"Girls? Could you be dears and look away for a moment?"
>Though confused, Twilight and her friends did as she asked
>With none but you now looking at her, your sister struck
>Quick as a snake, she cocked back a fist and punched the colt in the stomach
>The blow seemed to take Anon by surprise, a pained grunt escaping him as he took a few steps back
>His chains clanked together and he then leaned forward, holding his stomach as he slowly sank onto one knee
>"PRINCESS!" you heard Twilight screech. "WHAT THE HAY?!"
>Anon, wheezing, raised a hand
>"No... I kind of... deserved it..." he said
>He then looked up at your sister
>"Still a... colt... beater... though..."
>You snorted
>"You've been a rather large pain in my flank for these past few weeks, young stallion," Celestia said, hands on her hips
>Slowly, Anon pulled himself back to his feet
>"I'm sure your sister over there already told you everything I've said," he said, jabbing a thumb in your direction
>"She did," your sister said with a nod, her expression softening. "And despite the broken nose and teeth, I'd like to thank you for Tirek. Had he been in the outside world for long--"
>"I know exactly what he would have done, which is why I did what I did, your highness," Anon interrupted. "I just hope everything I did will be enough."
>Celestia just stared at him
>"You truly believe that something is behind the scenes pulling on our strings?"
>"I met whatever it was. If it weren't for Discord it would have destroyed me."
>Celestia nodded, stepping away from him
>"Luna, could you bring the book over here?"
>Oh...
>This wasn't how you were expecting things to progress...
>You thought, at worst, if your sister was still sore about the headbutt, he'd spend a few hours in the dungeon
>Still, you didn't see the harm in it
>At least not yet
"Of course, sister," you said, making your way over
>You felt the eyes of Twilight and her friends on you as you reached into your wing and pulled Starswirl's journal out
>Anon's expression immediately soured when he saw it
>"Thank you, sister," Celestia said, giving you a smile before turning her attention toward the book itself
>Her expression grew neutral, brow furrowing
>You could see she was thinking very hard on something
>"I'm sure you were aware that I have plans for Twilight, correct?" she said, just loud enough for the three of you to hear
>"Yeah, which is why you got your teeth knocked out," Anon replied with a nod, also keeping his voice low
>"Twilight could do much good if she were... more."
>"She could do a lot as she is."
>Celestia moved the book behind her back
>"I have been looking for somepony like her for longer than I could remember. All but her have failed my trials and tests."
>"I would argue that it's pretty fucked up to give people trials and tests if you're not a teacher and they're not in school."
>"You can learn in far more places than a school, Anonymous."
>"If you wanna nitpick I WILL headbutt you again."
>Celestia chuckled, looking over at Twilight
>There was a mother's warmth in her eyes, twinged with sadness
>"You put a rather large wrench in my schemes, young colt," she said. "Was it really that terrible in this other Equestria that you speak of?"
>Anon leaned down toward her
>"Twilight Sparkle is not a toy," he said, very quietly. "She's not a dolly that you can dress up. You can't just make her something else because you're bored, or you don't want to be a princess anymore, or because fate told you it had to be like this. She's a person; fucking treat her like one. If you think she deserves or needs to be like you, ask her if that'd be something she would be interested in, or don't play with peoples' lives."
>He looked over at you
>"I've seen your track record. How many of your students are in Tartarus because of all of your trials and tests?"
>Celestia twitched as if he had slapped her
>"What about your sister?" he continued. "Or Sombra. I bet you had a hand in whatever happened to him. Or--"
>"Enough," Celestia growled
>Anon listened, standing back up to his full height
>"You don't need to trust me princess, but believe me when I say I'd never hurt the mares behind us. They're my friends; I want them to be happy and healthy and without a care in the world. I promise you, if you just give Twilight that book and insist she embrace her destiny those mares will not be the mares they once were."
>A silence crept through the throne room
>You could tell Celestia was taking his words to heart
>She looked over at you
>"Luna? A bit for your thoughts?"
>You shrugged
"Truly? I know not what to make of this stallion, sister. For all we know his words could be the ravings of one that has completely lost his mind. He could also somehow wish to bring harm to Equestria, and is making himself out to be a savior so as to lower our guard."
>You examined the stallion carefully
"He also could be telling the truth, which would be the most disconcerting thing of all. Either way, I feel as if he should stay in the castle for awhile."
>Celestia, scratching her chin, tucked Starswirl's journal underneath her arm
>"I agree. Despite your rather... poor first impression, the things you've done for the kingdom at least deserve some consideration on our part. You will stay here, under guard and thoroughly examined. My sister and I will need to speak with you mo--"
>Your sister yelped, suddenly dropping the journal
>"HOT!" she yelled, leaping to the side as she pawed at her armpit
>Both you and Anonymous jumped at the suddenness of it
>Hot...?
>You didn't think she could get hot
>She could walk on her very sun and not feel an ounce of discomfort!
>Your eyes were drawn to the journal
>When your sister let it go, it seemed to fall far slower than it should have
>It hit the ground with a loud thud, too loud for a small book
>It bounced, flopping end over and, in the process somehow opening to the center of the book
>The pages didn't move, nor did the book as soon as it was open
>The two pages it was open to were blank, which should have been impossible
>You had been there with Starswirl
>The stallion wrote in that journal from the first page to the last; there shouldn't have been a single blank page
>"What in harmony's name is going on?" your sister demanded
>Anonymous, now pale, replied
>"Something didn't like your answer."
>Something flickered across the bright white pages
>What looked like spots of black ink
>These spots grew, forming into words:

HUMANS DO NOT BELONG IN EQUESTRIA!

>The stallion's eyes widened
>"Fuck, it really didn't like your answer. WEGOTTAFUCKINGGO!"
>An earsplitting shriek erupted from the book
>Anon, as quick as a snake, reached over and lifted your sister, slinging her onto his back
>He then reached over, grabbing you by your belt, picking you up like you were a plastic grocery bag
>Without anytime for you or your sister to protest, he turned around and began to run as quickly as his chains would allow
>"FUCKING RUN! GET OUTTA HERE!" he screamed to Twilight and his friends. "STOP LOOKING AT ME AND RUN! RUN!"
>The shrieking grew and grew and then, all of the sudden, stopped
>The light in the room seemed to flicker for an instant, and then there was an explosion
>Then, even before you could feel a heat hotter than any sun, a voice thundered in your mind

YOU WILL PAY TODAY, HUMAN!

~_~_~_~_~

>Be Anon
>It was pretty hard to run when there were chains around your legs
>This was made even harder when you were carrying two very heavy princesses
>Whoever told you that they'd be light because they were part pegasus were fucking liars
>These bitches were beefy
>Still, you were managing pretty good if you did say so yourself, especially since YOU WERE ABOUT TO FUCKING DIE!
>You could feel the hair on the back of your neck being singed as you ran out of the throne room
>Twilight and the other girls had, thank god, listened to you and were currently fleeing
>All of them looked freaked out, especially Rainbow, who must have seen whoever or whatever came out of that stupid book
>As you skidded into the hallway, something flew right behind you, smashing into the stonewall hard enough to shatter the glass window eight feet above
>It let out a scream and began breaking other windows
>"ITS AN ALICORN!" Luna shouted
>"A BIG ONE!" Celestia added
>Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Luna's horn glow
>You didn't see, but you did hear Celestia's
>Both mares sent a beam of magic to whatever was chasing you
>Then another
>Then another
>And another
>"WE'RE NOT DOING ANYTHING TO HER!" Celestia yelled, alarmed. "WHAT IN HARMONY'S NAME IS SHE DOING TO MY NICE HALLWAY?!"
>"RUN FASTER, ANONYMOUS!" Luna yelled, giving your ass a hard smack. "RUN!"
>She hit the chains around your legs with a spell, making them disappear
>Now free, you put the pedal to the metal, running as fast as you were able
>Something black whizzed over your head, so dark that it seemed to drink in the light
>It hit an arch
>There was no bang, no shaking, no explosion
>It just touched the stone and a huge section was just gone
>This made you run just that bit faster
>Rainbow, who had been flying close to that arch, let out a yelp, nearly crashing into the ceiling
>Your heart leapt to your throat
>It was going to hurt them!
>There was a fork in the hallway
>All of the girls went to the right
>Without a second though, you went to the left, tossing Luna into the hallway right before you passed it
>Another beam of black flew by you, so close that it nearly touched Celestia's horn
>The alicorn didn't seem to appreciate this very much, sending a wave of flame down toward whatever was chasing you
>It was hot enough that you could feel the skin on your back blister through your shirt, but from Celestia's cry it didn't slow this alicorn down one bit
>With another turn, you were outside
>There was a gardener working on some rose bushes
>He was barely able to look up before he disappeared in a flash of golden light
>Hopefully Celestia didn't just teleport the poor stallion to the moon or something
>Speaking of Celestia, you really needed to get rid of her
>Even with the adrenaline pumping, you weren't going to get much further if you had to keep carrying her fat fanny
>Thankfully, an opportunity presented itself to ditch her
>As death beams flew all around you, you ran past a water fountain
>Without pausing, you flung the mare into it
>There was a yell, followed by a splash and some cursing
>Despite the situation, you found yourself smiling

YOU WILL NOT RUIN THIS PERFECT WORLD WITH YOUR CORRUPTION, WHELP. PREPARE FOR A FINAL END!

>You dodged, ducked, dipped, dived, and darted all through the gardens
>Sometimes it felt like fingertips were brushing against the back of your neck
>Twice something slammed into your back with enough force to send you through the air, though somehow you were able to land on a foot to keep running
>You were dizzy, your lungs were burning and your body was beginning to ache
>There was no way to get away from your attacker
>If they were actually an alicorn they could fly, and anywhere you tried to hide would disintegrate
>It felt like a game of cat and mouse, where this alicorn could easily destroy you anytime it wanted, but wanted to play with you a bit
>You didn't care much for that
>Honestly, you didn't care for any of this, but being toyed with was something you especially didn't like
>So, when it felt like your lungs were about to burst, you stopped and spun around
>There was the alicorn
>Pure white with blood red hair
>Her body seemed to shimmer and distort, as if its form didn't have a proper outline
>Every inch of the alicorn seemed to radiate power and authority, as if the very molecules in the air should bow to her
>And then there were her eyes, or the lack of them
>They were like two holes of whiteness that hurt to look at
>In them was everything
>And nothing
>You shook yourself like a dog, trying to fling away the fear
>This was probably going to be it...
>If you were going out may as well go out like a man
>Snarling, you yanked your arms apart as hard as you could
>The chains still clamped around your arms snapped
"COME ON THEN!" you screamed, putting your dukes up
>The alicorn stopped
>Her hooves weren't touching the ground, you noticed, and her wings weren't open either

I WILL SUFFER YOUR PRESENCE NO LONGER, HUMAN

>She lifted her arms
>Behind her, you could see the sun moving back and forth like it was shaking

BEGONE

"Are we fucking talking or are we fighting?!" you demanded
>Then, slamming a fist against your chest, you charged her, letting out a scream
>With each step you took, time seemed to slow
>You thought about Twilight and her friends
>All the things you had done together
>You thought about Equestria, all of it's places and the kind ponies that had taken you in
>A ball of that darkness began to form just above the alicorn's horn as her eyes narrowed
>It looked like the game was over
>Discord was a good guy, but he seemed scared of this alicorn
>She was probably a lot stronger than him
>You had a feeling whatever he put on you wouldn't protect you this time
>Rip
>Ten feet away, you couldn't help but wonder about your life before
>Was there really a world of just humans like you?
>How was your family doing?
>Would you get to meet them again?
>You'd always kinda thought that the afterlife was bullshit, but now?
>Now you kinda hoped there was something after you went ahead and closed your eyes that final time
>Or died via angry goddess
>Hopefully the alicorn didn't totally erase your soul, so you could see...
>"GET HER GIRLS!"
>The alicorn whipped her head around while you, ever the smooth customer, slipped on some mud and faceplanted into the ground right onto your nose
>It didn't feel good, and you weren't happy with yourself, fucking up at the final hour like that
>Tears now in your eyes, vision all messed up, you wrenched your head upward
>Twilight and her friends were floating into the air, the elements around their necks glowing brightly

THIS WILL DO YOU NO GOOD, CHILD.

>The alicorn shook her head

THE ELEMENTS AROUND YOUR NECK ARE OF MY BEING. THEY WILL NOT--

>She took a step back as the elements grew brighter and brighter

NO! YOU WILL STOP! YOU ARE OF MY VERY BEING! I WILL NOT BE STOPPED! IT IS BY MY WILL THAT ALL THINGS ARE DONE! HARMONY IS AS I SEE FIT!

>She took another step back, spreading her two sets of massive wings
>Oh no you don't...
>Leaping to your feet, you darted forward, grabbing the alicorn
>It hurt to touch her, like you were trying to grab an open flame
>Even so, you wrapped your arms around her as hard as you could, ignoring the burning, the pain, the smell of your skin cooking, and your quickly darkening vision, intertwining your fingers and squeezing your hands together
>The alicorn whipped it's head back to look at you
>You just grinned
"Come on. Lets die together. Cunt."
>Just as the alicorn let out a scream, the friendship beam hit you both full on
>Fuck...
>Your last words could have been cooler...


>You woke with a start
>It was dark
>You were warm and pretty comfortable
>On one side, you could hear soft breathing, and on the other you could hear snoring
>It had been around a month since a super alicorn had popped out of a book and tried to murder you
>You survived, obviously, thanks to Twilight and the girls
>When that friendship beam hit the two of you it was not a lot of fun
>Even now you were pulling dandelion and posies out of your teeth, and whenever you sneezed you swore that there was glitter in your snot
>At least you didn't get turned into stone, which was nice
>While it had been uncomfortable for you, it had been a way worse for the red-haired alicorn
>She had vomited out a black mass the size of a large toddler
>It was freaky looking; bald, with a massive head and glasses and a stupid fucking smug look on its face
>Some sort of eldritch parasite or some such thing, Celestia said
>It had tried talking to you all, saying something about PC culture in a nasally, irritating voice--whatever that was--only for the girls to hit it with another blast with the elements, and another for good measure, where the thing had then turned to ash
>The alicorn that you had been holding had disappeared a few seconds after the thing did
>Just vanished out of your arms
>If you didn't have second degree burns all over your back, a broken nose, and a strained ankle, you might have given a shit
>Instead, you just kind of fell back onto the dirt
>You had been told later that Celestia had gotten a kick out of it, saying something about karma and nasty stallions
>A lot of things had happened since then
>You now lived in Ponyville where you belonged--as a full citizen no less-- and were looking for a house
>You had also recently gotten a job working at the local spa
>It had been your last job in horse-Equestria, so you figured why change things?
>Also, you were now a Sir
>Princess Cadence, as a thank you for sending Fluttershy her way, had went and made you a fully anointed knight of the Crystal Empire
>The first male that had ever gotten such an honor, which you thought was pretty neat
>You even had a coat of arms
>She had offered you some land too, but you had declined
>FUCK trying to live up in a frozen wasteland
>There was a sleepy grumble from beside you, followed by a hand brushing against your side
>You frowned, looking over at Lyra
>Out of all the things she could have asked for when she had you by the balls all those months ago, she wanted to sleep in a bed with you
>Not asking about you, or humans
>She had wanted to sleep with you
>She had wanted it to be forever, you talked her down to much less
>As much as you didn't like it, a promise was a promise, even if it had been made under duress, so a month of sleeping with this crazy human-loving horse it was
>Bonbon, not one to be left out, had joined in almost immediately, making it that much harder to stay as far away from their anthro selves as possible
>A hand brushed against the side of your face
>It took some effort not to bite it
>This time
>You slowly sat up, untangling yourself from the girls and crawling toward the edge of the bed
>It was hard not to wake them up
>You could have thrown Lyra out a window and she'd still be out like a light, but Bonbon could get up if you started breathing a little louder than you had before
>Things weren't helped by Anon Jr.
>Your dick was rock hard
>Really, really hard
>After the third day of this, you had realized that the mares must have been producing some sort of pheromones
>They must not have been all that strong, since you don't remember waking up with a raging hard-on every morning when you were in Trixie's wagon, but with how close the girls were to you, and there being two of them, was more than enough
>You made them wash their sheets and themselves before bedtime, and that helped, but not for long, and god help you if you laid on your side
>If you did that you'd find yourself face deep into one of the mare's tufts, or between their tits
>A week ago you had woken up like that and your boxers would never be the same
>It was like you had gotten nickelodeon slime all over them
>It also didn't help that both girls were nearly naked whenever they went to bed
>At most they wore panties and thongs, lowcut shirts, or no tops at all
>You were also no longer horribly depressed, meaning that your sex drive had started back up
>You might have hated anthros, but almost a year of not touching your dick and the pheromones were really starting to do a number on you
>The mind was strong, the body was not
>It didn't care that horses were superior in every way; it just saw two curvy women ripe for the picking
>Bonbon especially
>Just like most earth ponies, she was stouter, but much more curvy
>It had been her big, sweaty tits that your face had been buried between the week before
>While Lyra was nowhere near as stacked, she did have a nice set of legs, and a large tush for a unicorn...
>You shook your head
>Goddammit, you were going to need to find a real horse to fuck soon, or that'd be it for you...
>It still wasn't too late to kill yourself for a third time
>You could tell that it was really early
>The sun wouldn't be up for a few hours
>You made your way into the bathroom, shaving, shitting, and showering as you did everyday
>Running downstairs and helping yourself to a muffin, you were out the door
>First stop was to the backyard to the shed
>Grabbing a set of gardening shears, you began to make your way down the street into town
>The streets were barren
>Not even the birds were awake yet to start singing
>The air had a nice crispness to it
>Everything was still and silent
>Other than the Apples and the Cakes, everypony else was still asleep
>As soon as the sun came up this tranquility would be shattered
>The ponies would begin their day and get into all sorts of trouble
>Monsters, magic, some weird thing that would be solved by a song-and-dance and some friendship
>Just how you liked it
>You made your way from one side of the town to another, through the market and into Whitetail Woods
>It was pretty dark here, and just a bit spooky
>The one time that she had caught you doing this, Applejack had chewed you out walking into the woods alone
>Timberwolves made these woods their hunting grounds right up until the morning
>You had heard their strange, guttural howls, even seen a few, but most kept their distance, especially after you managed to cut one's head clean off with these very shears a while ago
>The walk through Whitetail was quick, and you found yourself walking by Fluttershy's cottage
>When you got back you'd have to make sure to visit the mare before you walked back into town for work
>She liked having breakfast with you while the sun rose
>Her bunny was an asshole, but it was something else watching her wake a house full of little critters
>Into the Everfree you walked
>Here you were a bit careful
>Hydras were rare, but they were still around, and your shears wouldn't do much against one
>This was the longest part of your trip, almost thirty minutes of walking until you came upon a small cave
>It didn't seem like anything out of the ordinary
>In fact, if one didn't know where to look, they might have missed it completely
>This was your destination
>Stepping into the cave, you felt the air immediately change
>It was warmer, drier, with a charge in the air
>You could also hear a gentle humming
>As you walked deeper into the cave, it opened up into a cavern
>There was light as well; a pale blue light that actually kept things well lit
>And there it was near the back of the cave
>THE tree
>Made completely of crystal, it was beautiful; even more beautiful than the tree back in horseland Equestria
>It seemed... bigger than that tree, fuller and more vibrant
>Other than the vines of course
>Thick, black, and covered in thorns, they were wrapped around the tree's roots
>It had been so much worse when you had first come here
>They had completely covered the tree, and most of the cavern as well
>It had taken weeks, and two shears, but you had slowly but surely cut back and ripped out the parasitic plants
>Near the tree, seated on a rock, was a white alicorn with a blood-red mane
>She had her hands in her lap, patently waiting
>You ignored her, walking over to the tree to begin cutting
>"You're early this morning," she said.
"I wouldn't call this morning," you replied. "It's still night."
>"Have some trouble sleeping?"
"Nah, I never could sleep for long, even if I want to."
>You grunted as you cut through one of the vines
>The suckers had a thick bark, meaning you really had to put some elbow grease into it
>If you cut it wrong, it could even snap the blade, so slow and steady won this race
>The vine jerked as you cut into it before shriveling
>You grabbed onto it, keeping mind of the thorns, and yanked
>Eventually, it pulled free of the tree
>You'd take this and as much of the vines as you could carry to Fluttershy for fertilizer and animal feed
>Her critters seemed to love the stuff
>You looked over at the mare
"You know, you always could help," you said, gesturing toward the vines. "Get off your ass and all that."
>Faust, alpha and omega, mother of creation, the writer of the very first things, just smiled at you
>"But you're doing so well. I would never take that away from you, dear."
>You grunted in reply, turning back to your work
>Lazy bitch...
>There was no more talk between you
>You just cut the vines, yanked, and dragged them to the edge of the cave, one by one, in no particular hurry
>Hours passed, and you started to work up a bit of a sweat
>Faust just watched you work
>When you had first come here, you had been a little... sore about the whole trying to erase you from existence thing
>So, instead of a shear, you had brought a sledgehammer, ready to shatter the tree into a million pieces
>If the tree was part of her, you figured destroying it might, at the very least, fuck her up
>You had brought that sledgehammer here every single day for a week, not able to smash it once you looked at it
>It was frustrating
>You know what was really frustrating though?
>These fucking vines
>Getting in the way of the tree you were thinking about breaking
>If you couldn't get it, they most certainly weren't
>It was when you brought the shears that the alicorn had turned up on that rock
>She talked, no matter how hard you tried to ignore her
>It was about little things
>How you were doing, what was going on in Ponyville, what Twilight and her friends were getting up to
>As if she didn't know
>Also, you pointedly noted that through all of her jabbering you never ONCE heard an apology
>If this mare was a princess, she'd easily be the worst one
>Eventually, you got tired of cutting the vines
>There weren't many left; the tree would be completely clear soon
>You'd probably need to come back every once in awhile though
>Who knew if those vines had seedlings and grew?
>Dragging the vine to the edge of the cave, you walked over to Faust
>Setting your shears down, you motioned her to scooch over
>She did so without a word, allowing you to sit down and use the bottom of your shirt to mop up your face
"You know, I heard Twilight and Celestia were talking. The alicorn wants to retire someday, but not for a good long while. I guess her sister wants to rule for a few years."
>"It will do Luna good," Faust said with a nod. "In taking care of others, our best selves always tend to shine."
>You nodded
"Celestia was also talking about making Twi an arch-magi eventually, once she had a few more lessons."
>"She will do well I think."
"It's Twilight. She'll do great."
>You leaned forward, elbows on your knees as you looked at the tree
"I should have the girls bring the elements back to the tree."
>Faust perked her ears up
>You shrugged
"Maybe not yet. Lord knows the second they do it some bad guy is going to appear, but someday. In a thousand years from now, when they're needed again, some plucky ponies can stumble in here and save the world like out of the storybooks."
>Faust leaned forward as well
>"That would be a fitting end once the girls wish to settle down," she said quietly. "Soldiers putting down their swords, placing them where the next generation can find them to protect those that cannot protect themselves."
>She looked over at you
>"Speaking of, when are you going to settle down, young stallion."
>You groaned
"Oh, fuck off woman."
>"Lyra and Bonbon would be happy to have you as a partner, and Fluttershy is enamored with you."
"You keep talking I'm bringing the sledgehammer back tomorrow"
>"If you don't want them, which is daft since all three are lovely mares, there's so many to choose from."
"Why don't you fuck off back to Anthrotown?"
>Faust snorted
>"A stallion's place is in the home taking care of his foals, Anonymous. I think it'd do you a lot of good."
"Kids? I can't have kids with these ponies."
>The alicorn just smiled
>You stared at her, eyes slowly narrowing
"...I bet you just changed that, you pain in the ass."
>"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"I'm sure, what about me getting as hard as a rock every morning?"
>"You're sleeping with two fetching mares, Anonymous. Something like that is perfectly natural."
"It'd be perfectly natural if they were horses, not fuckwit abominations."
>"Oh, you're just being silly. Your pony interest isn't all that healthy you know."
"YOU'RE not healthy for me," you grunted
>"It's a good thing that I'll be leaving you very soon."
>That made you pause
"Really? You're leaving?"
>"After you fully clear the Tree of Harmony," Faust said with a smile. "I'll still be around, pulling a few strings here and there, but once the last vine is off that tree it'll be the last time you see me."
"Awesome. I'm sick of you."
>The mare laughed
>"I'll miss our conversations, as one-sided as they are."
>She stood up, walking over and placing a hand on the tree
>It seemed to glow brighter at her touch
>"I've been tainted by that parasite that infected me for so long. I would like to rest. The world can mostly take care of itself. You won't need to worry about me meddling with your friends anymore. Their daughters and grand daughters maybe, but not them. You all can write your own story for now."
>You released the breath you didn't realize you had been holding
"Good," you said quietly, standing up as well
>"Is there anything you'd like as a parting gift?" Faust asked. "I owe you and your friends a great deal."
"Make sure all of us life long, happy lives," you said, picking up your shears. "None of that terminal illness or losing our minds shit. I want us breaking records in the age department."
>"I'll see what I can do," she said as you turned to leave. "Oh, Anonymous?"
>You stopped, looking over your shoulder at her
"What?"
>"You know, you weren't always green."
"...What do you mean?"
>Your skin tone. It wasn't always green."
"If it wasn't green what was it?"
>"A pinkish, cream color."
>You nose scrunched up
>That sounded pretty gay...
>Next she'd tell you that some humans were black...
>What a silly idea...
>You took a deep breath
"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow."
>Faust made her way back over to her rock, taking a seat
>"I will see you tomorrow, and think on what I said," she told you. "Equestria could have human hybrids running all throughout it in a few centuries if you just do your duty."
"There's only one human in Equestria, and there's only gonna be one if I can help it, full or hybrid or whatever the fuck else."
>"We'll see..."
"Yeah, we'll see. Why don't you shut your mouth and help me win the horse lotto or something? Pain in the ass..."
>You picked up the vines on the way out of the cave, slinging them onto your shoulder
>Outside, the blackness of the night now had a pink hue to it
>It'd be morning soon
>Fluttershy was probably already awake getting breakfast ready
>After work, one of the girls would probably drag you somewhere to do lord knows what
>You're pretty sure Pinkie needed help setting up for a party, and since you were the tallest person she knew, she loved having you help set up the streamers
>If you could manage to excuse yourself from that before the sun went down, it'd be off to the treebary for some reading and talking with Twilight
>It'd just another day in Ponyville
>Happy, simple, honest Ponyville
>Smiling, you began to whistle a tune to yourself as you walked
>It looked like it'd be another lovely day
>One of many