"And where are you taking me this time? "I asked curiously.
"We are going on a new adventure and this time it will be more interesting. On the program, phosphorescent mushroom picking!"
"More interesting, picking phosphorescent mushrooms? "I was rather dubious.
"Absolutely, but I'd like us to discuss it in a quieter place if you don't mind. "
And he jumped into the vortex next to him.
Space seemed to stretch to endless places until the vortex vulgarly spat me out on the floor. At the same time, I realized that my body had grown, I was once again an adult mare.
I quickly analyzed my environment after the laborious end of our last adventure. It was the entrance to a cave nestled somewhere in the heights of a rather vertiginous mountain.
The outside of the cave was extremely surprising. The entrance to the cave was on a side so steep and craggy that one could not enter without good equipment.
Further down, a devastated land offered itself as far as the eye could see and was shaded by the mist that passed from time to time on certain parts of the territory, thus remaining invisible to my eyes. It all seemed just deserted and dead. A little as if evil had ravaged these lands.
In the cave, on the other hand, within the very depths of the cave itself, small green lights of disease dimly illuminated the tunnels. One could also see that it was not a single gallery but many winding tunnels that seemed to run through the mountain from one side to the other.
"Where are we? " I asked quickly.
"In a land devastated by the dark side, we all have in each of us."
"That is to say?"
"In my world."
I was silent, contemplating more deeply these lands which had nothing special apart from their grey sides.
"Above all, Anon, it is necessary that you protect yourself! "He stood up from I don't know where a sort of iron armor that evoked the physique of a pony.
I looked at him anxiously.
"Why a suit of armor for a harvest?"
"The mushrooms I'm looking for are deeper in the mountain."
"And?" I insisted. "What makes a suit of armor this big here?"
"The guests in the cave."
"Excuse me?"
"I'll explain more when we're lower down. In the meantime, put on this armor!"
I moaned silently as I donned my armor with some difficulty.
Once ready, I followed Lord Fear who was carrying a ridiculous little wicker basket on the end of his arm in the manner of Little Red Riding Hood which made me laugh despite myself.
He turned around and hung a thread emanating an orange light as the entrance was about to disappear from our sight.
"To be able to find the exit again." He added,
"Can't you just do magic? "
"No, this black stones you see here disrupt any magical flow. Now stop laughing like a filly and shut up, I don't want to meet anyone here."
Darkness soon invaded my vision, which had been carried by the light from outside the cave. From then on, only the faint lights of the green mushrooms illuminated our path. From time to time, Lord Fear would order me to stop when it seemed that there was the noise at the end.
The armor I wore, which seemed to fit my anatomy perfectly, didn't correspond to any significant difficulty in moving around. In reality, despite its appearance, it was not much heavier than a common waistcoat except that it covered my entire body.
As I was entering a new gallery, a magnificent staircase of what might be white marble stood on one end of the wall.
It was a spiral staircase, designed to access both the upper and lower floors of the mountain. I whispered:
"How can there be a staircase here?"
"This cave used to be an escape way for the magi who had built their military academies higher up."
"Magi?! "I exclaimed much louder than I thought.
"Shut up! As I said before, these galleries have occupants!"
"Who?" I now asked anxiously that I had drawn them to us.
"This floor here is guarded by former golem disposed of by the magi in question, but rest assured, the magi are dead."
"What happened to them?"
Lord Fear sighed, "The Order of the Silent, a powerful group of fanatical magicians, have decimated them. They sent a meteorite of pure corruption on their military academy that was sitting on the mountain. Soon after, everyone was dead."
I was thinking. "What is the difference between a normal meteorite and what they sent?"
"The difference? If the land has become arid and dangerous even for me, it's no coincidence. Nor is it by chance that the mountain that used to be called "Clear Peak" is no longer so-called. Everything in this place reeks of corruption!"
"How creepy it is, at least down there, there's nothing. Isn't it?"
"Alas," he said, tying the rope firmly to a piece of the staircase.
"What's down there?"
"Below you will hear loud music. Don't worry, it's not the music that is dangerous. Unless you hate rock. "he added jokingly before continuing:
"Then the stairs should lead to a vast cavern which will be illuminated by the mushrooms I'm looking for. Inside, there may be humans but they are not your friends. They have been corrupted by the creature in the cave."
"What does the creature look like?"
"I have no idea."
The discussion finally closed. I followed him down the winding staircase that led to much deeper underground. Music began to be heard as Lord Fear had said.
It was disconcerting music. The kind of music that was usually found in nightclubs. Lord Fear, who understood my astonishment despite having predicted it to me, added in a low voice without even stopping to look back:
"The music you hear comes from the kingdom of the Exiles. A sort of giant nightclub much further under our feet. They're not bad, but I seriously doubt we'll meet anywhere we go."
The staircase, however endless it may be, ends up leading to a vast cavern illuminated on all sides by mushrooms which this time were red.
The exact depth of the cave could not be distinguished but the ceiling was high enough for a giant to pass through here without any trouble.
Everything here reeked of moisture and mold much more than it had been higher up until now. For the time being the place seemed deserted.
"Let's not dawdle here," Lord Fear murmured.
The picking was quick, although the mushrooms had to be picked in a certain way so that they would not lose their magic from a dark metal picker where they had to be cut as close to the stem as possible.
However, as the last mushrooms were being picked, murmurs and noises came from all over the place.
Suddenly there were screams from all sides as I heard running towards us. A man, bare-chested, his face twisted with hatred, threw himself on Lord Fear who skewered him just in time. Others came vehemently.
I quickly ran for my life with Lord Fear, who opened the way to the stairs as quickly as he could.
But we were soon surrounded. Lord Fear, who was standing on guard, almost shouted:
"Anon, use your armor!"
"What?"
" This one has a ray gun that will blow these things to dust!"
Indeed, when I looked at my pip-buck's interface, the weapon tab was flashing while a cluster of red dots was moving all around us, newcomers were arriving every second.
I locked the five humans that were blocking the entrance but something inside me prevented me from doing so.
A yellowish light began to dawn on the other side of the cave, coming towards us like a sunrise.
"Anon, swarm. We don't have much time left!"
Simultaneously, about twenty humans threw themselves at Lord Fear. Some were even armed with homemade axes. Under pressure, I activated the SVAV mode which automatically killed the humans blocking our way and then shot Lord Fear just in time for them to follow me while the horde now jumped in front of our path to block our way.
I had killed humans, I kept telling myself. Their perforated heads turned into a purée of flesh and cries of agony were heard from the blows to the head.
I shot again several times, aiming only at the legs, I didn't want to kill anymore. Lord Fear cut off those who came too close to us.
After what could easily have been compared to eternity, we reached the stairs when a dull voice sounded:
"Don't go away now, I've just arrived!"
We turned around and saw that light that I had seen some time before at the bottom of the cave. But now it was only about ten meters away from us. What I saw made me want to vomit.
The foulest monster was staring at us with his pernicious gaze. He seemed to have a nyctalopia vision in front of his dilated pupils which evoked two gaping holes.
His body, on the other hand, was almost completely protected in a kind of sphere that shone, causing the supernatural glow, although partially damaged in some places.
Only his head and arms revealed the immaculate white of his skin, which gave him the appearance of a larva.
However, I couldn't take my eyes off his long, thin arms that occasionally came out through the interstices of his shell. These ended in long rows of claws which he used to move forward.
"I pass my turn for the invitation," Lord Fear replied curtly, and with a sharp kick he took me out of my fascination, which brought me back to our situation: to flee.
"You won't get away that easily," said the filth as she watched us begin the ascent. "You won't steal my treasure so easily!"
Suddenly, as humans started running up the stairs in the opposite direction, I had a bad feeling. But before I could warn Lord Fear, the cave creature propelled himself with all his arms up the stairs, which, under shock, slipped away under our feet and hooves, taking with it a small part of the ceiling.
Fortunately, the tack had protected me well enough from our fall that I was able to recover quickly enough. All around me, debris from stairs and ceilings oozed from all sides mixed with a mist of dust that gave me a few seconds of respite.
Lord Fear was lying a few meters away, his foot stuck by one of the steps of the stairs. I heard the creature barking orders to his followers:
"Find them! I want them alive and I want them now!"
I briefly aimed at the block that was imprisoning Lord Fear's foot and pulverized it with my rifle, to hell with discretion, we had to move quickly before being submerged.
"Let's go this way," suggested Lord Fear who had his foot deformed by the block and was limping.
I quickly picked him up on my back and despite his weight, he was galloping at full speed in the direction he had indicated to me. The dust mist was beginning to lift.
"Wait," he said. "The staircase hasn't completely fallen. Pull-on it to block the way."
I executed myself silently and pulled on a precariously balanced boulder which dragged with it the rest of the stairs we had passed through. The whole thing collapsed on the pack of humans who were looking for our presence in the rubble.
The screams and noises of shattering bones made me nauseous while in the distance we could barely make out a lugubrious cry.
"Now let us hurry to put as much distance between us and them as possible."
I nodded my head, wishing to forget all the lives I had shattered to pieces and galloped further into the darkness as our assailants were already skirting around the obstacle from the sides.
Fortunately, I didn't have to kill any more while I was galloping. There were no people in that part of the cave.
After a while, the distinct sound of the flowing water overwhelmed me with the hope of escaping our attackers.
"Anon," said Lord Fear weakly.
"There was no time."
"You have to watch out for Dark-Fishermen!"
"To what?"
"Huge slender creatures very vaguely resembling cats fishing in places like these."
"And what should I do?"
"They are sensitive to light, but don't let it surprise you. They are very agile despite their size and blend in quite well in the dark."
"Great," I murmured.
A little later.
"I never thought the river could be so far away! "My strength had wavered a long time ago, I was content to trot around with Lord Fear on my back.
There we were, a stream the size of a river was passing slowly, almost unhealthily, from one end of my field of vision to the other. This part of the cave had a ceiling much higher than the rest and strangely too quiet despite the water.
"The water must lead somewhere," suggested Lord Fear. "We need a landing stage!"
"We could follow the river for a while, maybe there's enough to make one?"
The dented armor was content to nod distractedly when a noise as light as the wind's breath hit me hard, sending me rolling about twenty meters away.
Only the armor that I was wearing had saved my life but this one was not anymore sure to support more blows. As for Lord Fear, he only seemed to have a few more scratches.
He said, "Watch out! "he shouted as I got up.
This time I saw a huge leg with many claws rushing towards me, which gave me time to lie down on the ground.
I immediately directed my light on the spot where the paw came from to discover a new monstrosity of nature.
A huge beast, easily the stature of a house, was standing on its hind legs on the other side of the stream while two yellow eyes stared at me through the creature's thick navy blue fur.
When the light came on the creature's face, it screamed and blindly tried to send its sharp claws at me but I easily avoided it.
Lord Fear came down from my back, on which he was still standing, and with several strokes of his blade, he cut off the animal's silver claws and then grabbed me by the collar and threw me onto one of the claws which were floating on the water. Afterward, he joined me.
I wondered how such a claw could float. The dark lord explained briefly:
"His claws are made of Veloxydra. A very light and quite strong way."
Then, mute, we continued the crossing where I remained on guard despite everything, lighting everything that could be lit.
Soon the daylight replaced the light from my lamp where I could see the same desert landscape as on the other side of the mountain through the outlet of the stream.
What else I saw, on the other hand, disconcerted me. The stream continued its crossing on nothing but a gigantic aqueduct made of orange-colored stone, with strange and mysterious patterns. It extended over a great distance through the grey desert before disappearing into the distance. Unfortunately, we were too high to go down.
Suddenly, screams rang out from all sides, cutting off any thought of a way down from here. A horde of humans was running after us on the sides of the aqueduct, barely big enough to accommodate one man at a time.
"There they were again," sighed Lord Fear, more bored than scared.
"Alas. "I murmured. "But they can't reach us."
"In any case, this thing must have sent its entire contingent. There are many of them."
And while we were procrastinating, a huge noise was heard behind us. As I turned around, I immediately recognized the shining sphere that protected the monster in the cave, rushing straight at us, floating on the watercourse.
Several hands came out of it and grabbed hold of it while I emptied the rest of my balls on my hands, which ended up as mush; unfortunately, new ones appeared at once. Lord Fear pulled me to the front of the claw as the rubbish was being hauled up to our jetty.
"You didn't miss me too much? Now give me back my treasure, you thief! " He spat.
"But there is no lack of mushrooms in your den. "Answered, imperturbable, my fellow swordsman.
"Only I have the right to use his mushrooms!"
"What is so special about them? "I asked.
"You'll ask your friend here."
And without warning, the beast sent rows of claws directly towards us while keeping sure to move.
Some humans jumped right into the water, grabbing the claw, trying to slow it down before finally drowning.
I was taking advantage of Lord Fear's clawed hands to think of a way to help him when a jolt made me realize the obvious. With no legs and a body made up of only his shiny shell, only the support of his hands allowed him to keep his balance.
In front of my established plan, I shouted to Lord Fear:
"Jump left!"
What he did, he trusted me quite a bit. I was jumping with him on the left side at the same time. The claw we were standing on left his straight line and hit the edge, sending some of the men chasing us into the void.
Then I asked Lord Fear to put his sword on the creature's left hand this time while the pier was now facing the other side of the aqueduct.
The thing had no time to deflect Lord Fear's attack and found itself without support on the side where the boat came to meet the shore.
She rolled headfirst down the aqueduct while a most strange thing happened.
The humans who were in her pay threw themselves with her from the top of the aqueduct.
After a few minutes, I slumped on the floor of the boat with Lord Fear. But I couldn't forget the noise that all these people made when they met the ground just now.
Later, when we were out of the water. I asked curiously:
"What's so special about these mushrooms?"
"A great power," Lord Fear replied evasively.
I persisted in the power they held.
"I am sorry, Anon, but if I told you, I would be to cancel your reunion with you and your brother."
Under this condition, I gave in despite the curiosity that overwhelmed me. Lord Fear snapped his fingers and a vortex appeared on the side. Then he began to count the number of mushrooms we had picked and I stared at him:
"In this vortex, you will enter your homeworld with your original body in front of your brother's house. You will have ten minutes after which the vortex will take you back to your bed. Do you have any questions?"
I didn't bother to answer and entered directly into the vortex, too happy to find my life again for ten minutes, far from all these strange things that were happening.
I fell face-first on the paved street but for some reason, it didn't hurt.
I immediately noticed that my physique had changed. I was no longer an adult mare with a smooth voice but myself. I was wearing the same clothes as the day Lord Hatred came into my life and I was a man.
I had never been so happy to have my badly combed young adult body back. I was touching everywhere with my hands this body that had been taken away from me and that I had learned to appreciate through lack.
It was dark in the surrounding area, it was probably already dark. Similar houses on either side of the road seemed to be staring at me from their windows. Only sinister greyish street lamps lit up the street. It took me a few seconds to come to my senses and start looking for which house my brother's house might be.
Fortunately, luck was smiling on me. I found my brother's name and surname on a letterbox in the third house, but there were other names on it. A girl named Rebecca seemed to live in the same house as my brother.
I crossed the portico and went through the garden to a window at my height so that I could see without being seen as the one who had abandoned me.
What I saw immediately froze in place. Inside, a man, more bearded than before, sitting on the sofa, was holding a tiny baby on his legs at the foot of a Christmas tree. A blond and rather thin woman was standing beside him, giving a bottle to a second child she was holding in her arms.
So he had made his life here? The day he left the house, he had never come back because of his full-time job. From time to time, he would occasionally make a phone call, but it was quite rare.
When I saw what I thought was his family, I understood. He had been lying to everyone from the beginning. If he had never come home, it was because he didn't want to. He hadn't talked about the family he had founded either, I was sure of that.
Crumbled by this terrible truth, I collapsed in the garden. He had wiped us out of his life. Even I, his little brother, felt betrayed.
An icy cold invaded my being, he had succeeded. He had a life that I could only envy. A beautiful house, a united family and without a doubt a good job.
I was alone, homeless, I had lost my job and I hadn't been able to build anything with anyone. I am a mess. I was crying like the poor, futile thing I was.
"Anon?"
The tall bearded man was standing on the porch, staring at me worried, I didn't know.
He accompanied me inside where he asked me to sit on the couch while he went to fetch me a cup of tea, briefly explaining to his companion that I happened to be his brother.
She stared at me worriedly and kept my nephews away from me, whom she pampered insistently. My brother came back from the kitchen:
"Anon, are you all right?"
"I came to see you," I whispered, taking the cup he handed me.
"How did you know I lived here?"
" I looked in the phone book, " I lied.
"What's going on?"
"Why didn't you try to reach me when they kicked me out?"
"I tried Anon, I swear, but I finally found you. You had already left for France."
"Then it's my fault," I said, slowly stirring the concoction in the cup.
"What have you become?"
"Nothing, I have become nothing."
"Financial problems? If that's why you came, I'm ready to give you money."
"No, I was there to say goodbye."
"Are you leaving?"
"In precisely five minutes," I replied laconically, looking at the clock hanging over the fireplace.
"It's precise, in any case. I'm sorry Anon if I haven't given you any news since I left but I was afraid you wouldn't understand and that you would repeat it to our parents."
"It doesn't matter now even though I would have liked to have known I was an uncle earlier. I should leave, I don't want to bother you any longer."
"No, you're not disturbing us. We still have so much to discuss."
"In that case, you have four minutes left."
"What happens in four minutes?"
"My time will be up."
"And?"
"That's all you need to know."
"Someone is waiting for you? A family perhaps?"
"I no longer have a family," I replied coldly.
"Not even anyone?"
"No."
After a brief, embarrassing silence of several seconds, I asked :
"Are these both your childrens?"
"Yes, but it hasn't been easy." whispered the woman.
"Why?" I asked.
"When Stella and I had the idea of having children. We found out that I was sterile after a while."
"I imagine it must have been difficult."
"At first, a little," Stella confessed to me. "But we have come to understand that it is the love we have for our children that makes us their parents."
"So you used a donor?"
"Well, at first I wanted to ask you to keep it in the family," my brother started awkwardly. "But you were so far away that we are using a sperm donor agency."
"Sorry I wasn't there. What are the names of these two angels?"I asked curiously.
"Theodore and Lissandra."
"They're pretty names."
"Thank you."
"Can I take them in my arms?"
Stella immediately gave me a frightened look as she hugged her two little ones.
"Calm down Stella, everything is fine. I'm sorry Anon but we'd rather not be sorry."
Disappointed, I at least wanted to know: "Why?"
"I'm really sorry," whispered the woman. "But I don't want anything bad to happen to them! "She started sobbing.
"Anon," my brother scolded. "Stella was being beaten by her ex-husband."
"I'm sorry, I didn't know. "I said shamefully.
"It doesn't matter, I'm sorry too. I know you have to leave soon and would have liked to see them up close. I am so sorry! "She cried harder.
"No, don't be. It's all right, I understand."
"Really? "she sniffed.
"Yes," I smiled at her. "By the way, how long is he staying?"
"Why?" Asked my brother crossing his arms.
"It's important."
"I'm sorry, Anon. But I don't understand, what exactly is your hurry in this case?"
"I was given a limited time limit, I just respect it, that's all!"
"You are strange. Are you on drugs?"
"No, I haven't."
" Then why are you so strange?"
"Why? You erased me from your life the day you left home. I found myself all alone without anyone to confide in and when I see that you have fulfilled all our parents' expectations and are hiding, it drives me crazy! I would have liked to be normal too but I didn't have that chance."
"Since we were children, you've been crying all the time. You chose this solitude when you left the country. You made your choices, I made mine. It's not my fault that you are where you are today. Now get out of my house and stop making everything about you. You are just a selfish Anon!"
I got up and without another word left the house while my brother slammed the door firmly behind me.
As time passed a vortex appeared and sucked me in without me being able to do anything.
Sometime later the door opened again:
"Anon, I'm sorry, I was angry and... Anon? Where is Anon? The street is deserted!"
I landed on my bed while my brother's harsh words were still ringing in my head. In the end, seeing him was more of a hardship than a blessing. He had a tidy life while I had sold my soul to the devil.
As I brooded over what had just happened, I immediately noticed that the Flower Cloud sleeping bag was empty on the floor. She must have gone to the toilet. I huddled in my blankets, too tired to think and decided to use the rest of my time to sleep.
In the morning, the cries of several guards came to my eardrums as well as to Flower Cloud who muttered an incomprehensible sentence before jumping out of bed and opening the door to the corridor, looking visibly displeased. Curious to see what was going on, I followed her without waiting.
"You, there! What's going on? "She almost shouted at the guard who was bawling in the corridors to warn the princesses urgently.
"We are following the emergency procedure ma'am. A rather important relic that was under lock and key was stolen from Canterlot's archives!"
Flower Cloud bleached a little but continued :
"When did you find out?"
"This night. I'm not allowed to tell you any more, sorry ma'am. However, the princesses asked that we wake everyone up before the speech."
"A speech? "I asked.
"Yes, Princess Anon. An investigation will be opened, you will know more when you speak. »
"What?" Flower Cloud exclaimed. "Would the princesses be putting their guests under suspicion?!"
"I'm sorry, ma'am."
"My dear little ponies, if I have gathered you all in this room, it is because an object of quite high magical power was stolen last night. I, therefore, ask everyone here to stay in the castle until an investigation is carried out. It is also likely that you will be brought in for questioning. "Princess Celestia finished before waving at me.
"Hello, I'm sorry about this iciest reception but I was forced to do so. The thief, whoever he is, must be found as soon as possible. But don't worry, Luna will take care of everything. Excuse me, I have to go! "Said Celestia as she walked towards a group of guards in dark armor who were waiting for her, showing gestures of impatience.
"Good luck sister. "Luna almost shouted, waving at the white mare who was already far away.
Aunt Luna sighed a good sigh before addressing us.
"As you have understood, I am going to take care of this matter, as my sister is busy. "She leaned towards me with a sincere smile on her face. "Don't worry Anon, everything will be fine, I promise you."
Then she spoke briefly with my parents who were not in a talkative mood as they were as tense as I was. Finally, she signaled us to follow her to the gardens where the ritual was to take place.
Carrot Top and Blueblood who had never been purged told me that it didn't hurt and that it would help me to live better with my past, as Aunt Luna had done before. I still had my doubts about it.
Later, when we arrived in the gardens, I discovered the presence of Twilight and her friends waiting patiently in the sumptuous garden, except for the sky blue mare who was stamping her feet with impatience at the sight of her most annoying attitude...
All greeted me in a friendly manner as I noticed that each one was wearing collars with their markings on their flanks.
Flower Cloud, looked a little back at the scene, no doubt intimidated in front of the Princess of Friendship whom she hated as much as she feared.
Blueblood hugged me tightly one last time against him, repeating more for him than for me, that it would do me the greatest good.
"We assure you that she has nothing to fear," Applejack said, wishing him comfort with all his heart.
"I know, but I'm so afraid for my little wonder," said Blueblood, taking me out of his embrace as he stepped back a few steps before the ritual began.
Aunt Luna came to see and chat quickly with six mares before she was sure everything was ready and finally agreed to start.
The mares immediately rose into the sky under the effect of white light with a vague divine aspect before their collars began to shine intensely.
Suddenly, a small rainbow linked each one of them until a powerful multicolored glow from the ground rose high into the sky before falling straight back to me.
I saw my whole stupid life flash by when the ray came and hit me in the face. I closed my eyes, waiting for the pain.