Hero Anon

by Bastinator

Chapter 9: Battle Drums

The town called Ponyville lies before you just beyond the small bridge. “So this is Ponyville?”

”It’s been a while,” she speaks absentmindedly with a hint of nostalgia.

“I see the others have arrived,” you gesture towards the fields of tents that surround the town. “How long have we been gone?”

“Time must not flow the same in Tartarus. We could’ve been gone for months.”

“Regardless, we’re here now. Where would the others be?”

The two of you walk over into the town, “Town Hall is where I presume they’d be, but I could be wrong.” The ponies in town stare at you. You return with a sly grin and a wink. It feels so good to be alive. You reach your destination in almost no time at all and briskly knock on the door.

Vinyl answers the door, jumping into your arms, “It’s great to see you again.”

“Please, not in front of the others.”

Twilight gives you a look, forcing your discussion to pop back into your head. Rainbow Dash… she has her head turned away. Twilight was right after all, “You’re just in time too. We’ve received word that the last of the minotaurs are just outside the city limits.”

Iron Will points to you, “I knew you could do it. This time tomorrow we’ll be marching on Canterlot.”

“Perfect, I can’t wait to see the look on that bastard’s face when we knock down his door.”

”So, what’s the game plan?” Soarin adds in.

“We throw everything we got at him, no holding back.”

”I had assumed as much,” her retorts, “but what’s our plan of attack.” You hadn’t exactly thought about ‘how’ you were going to assault the castle. You look over the map of Canterlot. Hmmm…

“The best chance we have of winning is to take out their leader, Anonymous, but we’ll need a distraction to get there. We’ll use Ahuitzotl’s forces as our front line tanks. They don’t pack much of a punch, but they don’t stay down either. Behind them we can stack up on minotaurs and changelings.”

”Their shape shifting will help to take on some of their bigger foes,” Twilight clarifies.

Iron Will joins in, “Our armor is thick and we’ll cut through whoever we can.”

“That’s good to hear.” You point to the walls, “To prevent a slaughter I want the griffons to assault the troops on the walls and provide air support above. What’s their opposition here?”

”Spitfire should be in charge of the air brigade now.” Dash explains. “We’ll face a hardy regiment of pegasi. They’ve been trained well so we need to focus.”

“Alright what about magic users? The last thing we need is a lava font breaking our ranks.”

”That’s my territory,” Twilight starts. “The majority of them have basic telekinesis and Trixie has never been a problem.”

“Then who is?”

”Nightmare Moon. She threatened Equestria once before, and we barely managed to contain her then.”

”You never had us either,” Chrysalis boasts as she enters along with the other leaders.

”We’ll see how she fares against the might of a minotaur,” Kamos booms.

”Or the speed of the griffons,” follows Stormguard.

“Nice to see you all could make it.”

”This land is far too plain for my tastes. How do you stand it?” Ahutizotl adds annoyingly.

“They manage. Now that we have the diversion planned we need to talk about our infiltration team.” You task both the changelings and diamond dogs to penetrate their defenses and break them from within. Dogs burrow and changelings… well change. This gives them an edge that you could use. “Let’s just say that we can get into the city. What kind of guards does Anonymous keep around.”

Pinkie Pie answers you, “He doesn’t like to keep guards around. I was the only one he needed to keep him safe.”

“And now that you’re gone won’t he get new guards?”

”Don’t be silly, he wants you to reach him obviously. He won’t put in anyone he knows you can’t handle.”

“I’m not sure how I feel about that.”

”Be lucky he has given you this chance,” Soarin replies. “He gave us all a chance.” You look down at the map and can’t help but feel a tinge of fear.

“That’s exactly what I’m afraid of…” You mutter.

”What?”

“Nothing,” you reply pointing back to the map, “Let’s go over the plan one more time.” You assign everyone a role in the battle based off their strengths. Even if things go as planned their hopes lie entirely on you. You need to finish off your brother. It’s him or you. And you don’t plan on dying.

”We should see to our people. They’ll want to know how to proceed. Till the march,” Stormguard bows and leaves, the others following suit.

”I’m going to go perform for the others, boost morale and such,” Vinyl says with a peck on the cheek.

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

She jokes, “You’re no fun. See you tonight.”

“Yeah, see you.”

You step outside, the sun beginning its descent from the world. A hoof nudges your shoulder, “Come on. Let me give you the tour,” Dash says dragging you along. She takes you throughout the town, the local residents still wary of you, “That there is Carousel Boutique, and just down the road yonder is Sugarcube Corner. It has sweets that would give you a heart attack.”

“Sounds delicious.”

”That’s Twilight’s house, I always thought of her as an egg head, but living in a library didn’t help. Too bad I like to read too.” She points to Sweet Apple Acres on the horizon, explaining how Applejack and her family worked there. ”Fluttershy lives over by the Everfree forest. It’s probably where she and Wuten are right now.” She takes you all around town, stopping at one last building. ”And this… was your brother’s house.” You turn the handle and open the rotten door. “He really liked this house.” You break a bottle from under your foot accidently. The label read Applejack Daniels.

“Turns out he picked up drinking in Equestria.”

”Not one of my better influences on him.” You walk through the dead corridors, finding his bedroom. “It felt just like yesterday…”

“Don’t want to think about it.”

”Fine fine.” You open the dresser and sift through the leftover clothing.

“You don’t think he would mind…”

”He never really cared for clothing, and he most certainly doesn’t now.” You strip off your armor, making Dash leave the room first of course, and pull out a pair of fresh clothes. Until now you hadn’t noticed how long you’d gone without a fresh pair to slip into.

“Water still run in this place?”

”Probably, but hurry it up will you; I want to get something to drink.”

“Hold your horses I’ll only be a second.” You giggle at your little pun and step into the bathroom. You shower off quickly, using some shampoo that your brother had left behind. Stepping out you feel squeaky clean, giving your teeth a quick brush and shave with the use of an actual mirror. You slip on the pair of jeans and t-shirt, leaving your armor off for now and going downstairs.

”Wow,” is all she can say at the cleaned up you.

“So how about that drink?”

~~~

She takes you by the hand through the darkened streets of Ponyville, the full moon out. ”I loved this place back in the day, though not all the memories had happy endings.”

“The Broken Record?”

”If Vinyl did one thing right it was making this club. Come on, drinks are on me.”

You step inside to the intoxicating beat and smell of brew. You sit down at the bar beside Dash, “What can I get for you two?”

”Two waters,” she replies receiving a wary look from the bartender. He complies regardless, Dash sipping from her cup.

“Water? I thought you wanted to drink.”

”I’ll take a walk on the tame side for you. Besides, I don’t need a hangover for tomorrow.”

“Well,” you say raising your glass, “Here’s to friends.”

She taps glasses with yours, “May they last forever.”

You notice Vinyl up on stage jamming out her set and you cheer her on. When you notice Dash doesn’t quite have the same enthusiasm you feel as if you soured the mood. But then an idea floats across your mind. It’s a fleeting thought, so you act on it while you can. You stand up and open your hand toward Dash. “May I have this dance?”

She blushes and takes your hand, Vinyl concentrating on the music. You twirl her into the crowd and lose yourself trying to have a good time. This change of motion seems to get Dash’s mood heightened and soon she’s smiling and jigging right beside you. Near the end of the song she slows down, coming to a halt amidst the flailing ponies.

“Hey what’s wrong?”

”N-nothing. I just- I need some fresh air.” She bolts out of the room before you can stop her. The ponies applaud as Vinyl reaches her crescendo. You take the time to take chase after her.

You find her sitting on a bench outside the club, her eyes damp and cheeks red. You sit down beside her and put your arm around her neck, “I’m sorry Anon. This was supposed to be a fun night but…” She holds onto you tightly, “You’re too much like him. I can’t let this happen again.”

‘Who knows how long she has left?’ Her words ring truer now then they did before and you look down on Dash in a new light.

“Dash look at me.” She complies, a tear escaping, “I’m not my brother.”

”I know,” she tries to turn her head away, but you follow.

“He’s in the past, don’t let it tear you down. Right now, if you could do anything, what would it be?”

”Anything?” she asks wiping away a tear from her eye.

“Anything.” Just for her.

She scoots up closer and closes her eyes, a warmth touching your lips. She holds it there before moving away, a smile on your face. “I thought so.”

~~~

The beat of hooves against the earth bellow across the plains of Equestria. This is the day they’ve been waiting for, the day to reclaim their land. The castle is just up ahead, and down the mountains surrounding it lays the army that broke this land. You look back to Dash and nod, a blush creeping across her face before she rockets herself back into formation.

There are no words that can be said to motivate these men. They don’t need such trivial garbage. They don’t fight for words; they fight for their home and he who resides by it. ”It’s time Anon,” Iron Will says as Wuten crouches next to you, forming a makeshift stairscase with his noodles.

“It’s been an honor fighting with you.”

”No, the honor is all mine, hero.” You board the mass of spaghetti, the other ponies already on board. Wuten bellows and propels himself upward, taking to the skies beside the griffons.

“Make sure to keep our ground forces safe from any cheap shots they might throw at us.”

”Aye aye Anon,” Stormguard replies. “You heard the man, watch your 6’s and make sure not one of those bastards lays a hoof on our boys down there.”

“Good now I’ve already explained everything to the others so let’s- *boom*

”Incoming!” Wuten dodges out of the way as a boulder comes hurtling from the ground below.

“Stormguard take evasive action!”

”Like you have to say that.” Another stone comes spiraling upwards, clipping two griffons and wounding several more.

You stare down at the siege equipment facing you, anger washing over you. “Shazam!” The equipment explodes in a fiery blaze as a bolt of lightning rains from the sky. A cannon sounds off as the metallic orb comes dead for you. “Brace for impact!”

A thud rings out as the cannon ball is flung right back towards the attacker who’s less than happy to see it return. A shadow covers you and you look up to see who it was who saved you, the winged beast roaring a jet of flame down below. “Fucking dragons?!”

The purple beast looks down below, giving you a wink. ”Is that…?” Dash starts.
“Couldn’t be-“ Fluttershy continues.

”Spike?” Twilight mutters as the creature smiles back down at her.

”Couldn’t let you have all the fun,” he responds. “Boy’s, let’s rock this joint.” A heavy barrage of dragons swoops down from the sky and speeds on towards Canterlot.

“The hell just happened?”

Twilight sniffles, “He really is my favorite assistant.”

“We’re going to have a long chat after this is over.”

”Worth it.”

Your forces clash with those below as they work up the mountain side. Several armored manticores and a hydra lead the charge and shred through the weaker forces. As they’re pushed to a standstill the minotaurs kick in full force and drive deeper into their ranks. Amongst them all you can spot your ponies finishing off those left behind. “Here they come!”

You look back up to see a swarm of pegasi charging towards you, each equipped for battle. “Well, I guess it’s time to head on in. Don’t keep me waiting.” Your forces intersect, Wuten dodging through the thick mass. Wait for it… wait for it…

”GO!”

You jump off of Wuten and onto one of the oncoming pegasi, gripping his wings painfully. “Mine now!” You yell ripping his wings around to fly on towards the castle.

”Don’t let him get away!” one of them yells from behind you.

He yelps as you force him to go faster. You look back around to see four of them on your tail, a heavily armored one leading the pack. ”No you don’t Spitfire!” you hear Soarin holler before he slams into her, the two falling out of sight. You don’t have time to relax as the others are still closing in. You throw some attack orbs behind you, but they’re too slow to hit. Dammit you need something to distract them. What do fighter jets have to lose oncoming missles… dammit dammit-

“Dispense flares!” you scream at your captive and drive your legs into his stomach. A slippery fart escapes his butt followed by the pungent scent of shit. You look back to see them frozen in place, covered in his brown excrement. “I can’t believe that worked.”

”Neither can I.” a voice calls from below. Spitfire flashes up, cutting off one of your hijacked pegasus’s wing and causing you to spiral out of control.

“Oh you mother FUCKER!” Your head grows dizzy as you crash overtop the castle walls and slide to the edge.

You groan and stand up, your armor absorbing most of the damage. “Still alive and kicking huh? Not for long.” Spitfire perches atop a small pillar and smiles down at you, as a familiar cold hits you. ”What’s the matt- uh….” She shivers as a thin layer of frost seals her atop the pillar.

“Took you long enough.”

Breeze comes out from behind Popsicle Spitfire, “Must I save you all of the time?”

“No just most of it.” You look to the battle raging below, “They need your help more than me.”

”A deal’s a deal. Good luck.” She whistles and speeds off with the other two leaving only a trail of ice behind.

~~~

You work your way around the bulwark and head down the stairwell. Just like Pinkie said there weren’t many guards and they were busy running off to battle. Finding the gate that leads to the entranceway you nestle beside the wall. Ten husks, thirteen orcs, five pegasi and one burer. This could’ve been a problem. Of course, that was when you didn’t have magic. You waltz over to them nonchalantly, not even bothering to draw your sword. “Sup fuckfaces. Who wants to- whoa…”

The ground beneath you rumbles violently before the earth beneath the garrison collapses. Frenzied cries for help echo within along with cries of pain before things fall silent. You didn’t even get a chance to show off your skills, next time maybe. You peer into the deep hole, two minotaurs standing at the bottom alongside a pack of dogs. “A little warning would be nice next time.”

”What’s the fun in that?” Kamos jokes before slapping his son on the back.

Another minotaur climbs out of the hole, the flail in his hand meaning only one thing, “Long time no see.”

“You ready to rock?”

He twirls his flail, “When am I not?” You charge the doors and burst through, impaling a unicorn guard immediately. He takes the two husks on the right and you cripple the knight trying to attack you. You grab his axe and using your augmented strength, cleave his arm off and send him crashing through a nearby wall.

“You doing well over there?”

”Doing my best,” he answers as he crushes another husk with his flail. You twiddle your thumbs as the knight comes stumbling out gripping his head.

“Get over here!” You send your sword into his chest and pull him back with a flick of your wrist. It would’ve been cooler with a rope, but you’re improvising here. You tear out your sword and put your hand to his head. “Too slow.”

Blood comes seeping out of his helmet before he falls onto his back, shriveling away with a dull cry. “Alright you’re taking too long,” you flick your wrist at the combating husks and send them into a heap against the wall.

”You’ve certainly gotten better since our match.”

“Want to try round two?” you joke blowing on your fist.

”I like living, thank you.” You nod and look down the gloomy corridors.

“You head that way and I’ll head this way, we can pick up more ground if we do that.”

”Roger that.” You sprint down the hallway, adrenaline pumping through your veins. A knight here, a xenomorph there, neither of which can threaten you anymore. You break open the next door to find two burers at the ready along with a blue unicorn in a cape.

“Halt! How dare you break into Lord Anonymous’s castle. The Great and Powerful Trixie shall take care of you.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me?”

You roll your eyes and walk towards her, “Trixie said halt!” You point your fingers at her two guards.

“And Anon says fuck off.” You fling them into the air and snap your fingers, detonating them like a juicy firework, ruining the great and powerf- You laugh to yourself, unable to complete that thought.

“My cape! How dare yo- yo- you…”

She flinches as you’re inches away from her face. “What has four legs and pisses itself?”

She shivers, “Wh- what?” You flick her horn, the unicorn passing out.

“Wait for it…” Water beings to trickle around her, “You, that’s who.” You step through the next pair of doors. “Great and Powerful my ass.”

~~~

You come across a demoed wall and check it out, relaxing once you see the noodles surrounding it. Things are advancing faster than you’d planned. You spot dusty hoofprints heading off away from the site and follow them. You hear voices coming from down the hall as you approach. It sounds like Twilight. She’s in trouble. You break down the door, your friends pinned down by a nightmarish pony. ”Please Luna… you’re better than this.”

“Luna is dead Twilight Sparkle. Only Nightmare Moon remains.”

“She won’t in a minute,” you reply charging her. You punch straight through her, her form escaping in a starry mist. She materializes a few yards away and fires a bolt towards your person, though you simply deflect it with your hand.

”You are strong, stronger than expected.”

“Don’t hurt my friends.” You stay in stance and look to the others. “Are you strong enough to fight?”

”Yeah,” Twilight says helping the others to their feet.

“Good, I have an attack that I think can defeat her.” Pinkie, Dash, Fluttershy and Vinyl breathe a sigh of relief. “But it needs time to charge up. You’ll have to distract her.”

”That’s not so bad-“

“For five minutes.”

Fluttershy just looks at you, “You’ve got to be bucking kidding?” You laugh at her sudden assertiveness.

“Yep,” you put two fingers to your head and point to Nightmare Moon, “Special Beam Cannon!” She sidesteps your attack, creating a hole beside the throne behind her. “Oh, they never dodged in the series…”

”Well I do.” You charge again, friends at your back. She blocks your swipe and sprays a mist towards the others forcing them back, “Just you and me.” Her horn glows and creates a dozen blue orbs before throwing them at you. You smack the first four into the floor, the fifth hitting you in the chest. The rest fizzle upon your shield, but the damage has been done.

The chestplate begins to fizzle away as well as your shield forcing you to strip them both off leaving you defenseless. You look at the phoenix insignia as it melts into nothing. “It looks better that way,” she laughs cruelly.

“This…” Anger rising. “This was a gift!” You drop your sword, a green orb sparking in your hands.

You pelt the orb at her, Nightmare Moon deflecting it into the ground, “You missed.”

“That one.” You reach out to her and pull her closer using your rage induced telekinesis. She attempts to escape, but there’s no escaping your tractor beam. You whip your fist back. “FALCON PUNCH!”

~~~

You take a few deep breathes before settling back down, the villain before you collapsed at your feet. “I- hit a girl.” Hope she wasn’t pregnant.

”Anon you did it!” Rainbow Dash hollers as she makes her way towards you. The ponies congratulate you, but it falls on deaf ears. Anonymous isn’t here. This is the throne room…

“Let’s wake her up. She can tell us where Anonymous-“ The floor beneath you gives way and you fall, your hand clasping onto the edge, the other tight on Nightmare Moon’s hoof.

”Anon!” Rainbow Dash rushes over to your side, your fingers digging through the stone. With all your strength you throw Nightmare Moon out of the hole, a chilling roar coming from below. He has a fucking rancor pit? Why don’t you have a rancor pit?

Your friends grab onto your hand and pull you up, relieved you grabbed on that fast. “That bastard… He set a trap.”

Rainbow Dash looks up, her eyes narrowing, “I don’t think Anonymous did this.”

You look over your friends, all of them facing the throne. “Where’s Vinyl?”

”Right over there,” Dash points. You turn with the others, Vinyl’s hoof coming off the throne handle.

“Vinyl?”

She looks right back, her expression one of contempt, “Tsk tsk tsk. What did I tell you Anon? Something about dragging you down?”

“No Vinyl. No. We’d go down together, but you… you lied to me.”

She scratches her head, “Pretty sure I told you how things were going to pan out. You didn’t see the truth in my words.”

”You traitorous hag!” Dash yells at her, only held back by your signal.

”Harsh words coming from the whore. Couldn’t get enough of Anonymous so you had to take him too?”

“Wha- Why? I don’t understand.”

She moves off the throne, “I knew you wouldn’t, you’re a tad slow in the head for my tastes, but orders are orders.”

”You kept tabs on him this entire time?” Twilight asks.

“I made sure he didn’t do anything stupid. Anonymous doesn’t have time for those of simple mind.”

”Oh this mare is toast!” Fluttershy says beating her hooves together.

”I’m not afraid of you. Anonymous offered me immunity for my little task. A small price to pay to stay amongst the living.”

“How long? Was it all a ruse? Was there anything…”

”Don’t flatter yourself Anon. You were a mark, nothing more. As for time, remember that little story I told you a while back, about Octavia? Who do you think told them about our whereabouts?”

“You’re evil…”

”I’m alive, and that’s more than I could say for the others who defied my lord.” You stand up.

“There’s no excuse for what you’ve done…”

“Oh is the big man going to finally grow a pair? About time.”

“My only regret is not having a worse death to give to you…”

The other ponies back off knowingly, “Come now Anon. You can’t and won’t kill me.” She bats her eyes, “I’m your Vinyl.” You pull her over forcefully and grab her by the throat, “You can’t- He promised...” You squeeze tighter around her neck and hold her over the pit.

“My brother’s a liar. So I’ll give you one chance. Tell me where he is, and I’ll spare you.” You loosen her neck, her eyes filled with fear.

”He’s in the tower! The tower he killed Discord in, please don’t kill me!” You nod.

“You know Dash, there’s one more characteristic that me and my brother have in common.” You look to Vinyl, “We’re both good liars.”

~~~

Her screams are silenced by a sickening crunch, the pit sealing itself. Dash comes over to counsel you, “I’m sorry. I really am.”

“We lost the spark the second you came along. It was only a matter of time before we fell apart. Ha, fell.”

“That’s a dark sense of humor you have there.”

“You should see me live. I’m a hit.” You look out the window, the tower looming in the distance.

”We can show you the way, hopefully this time we don’t get attacked by a giant marshmallow.” You shrug off Vinyl’s death and follow them out the corridor.

“Wait, this marshmallow wouldn’t happen to be wearing a sailor suit now would he?”

”Yeah, he actually was.”

“Discord?”

”Discord.” At least it wasn’t a giant sloar.

~~~

Elsewhere in the castle… Another husk falls dead at your feet, that makes twenty-five now. You stow your flail on your belt and take a much needed breather. “Where in Tartarus is that throne room?”

Comments

[Aslatiel]

This chapter has officially given me mindfuck times two. I never expected vinyl to die and especially to anon. and anon lied. my assumptions come up to that good anon will turn bad. I guess I will just have to read and see.