Chapter 42
"I don't know, princess. You sure you wanna go there? Cause once you make that move, you can't unmake it."
The sun horse lets out a defiant whinny, and uses her snout to nudge a pawn two spaces ahead. She smirks knowingly, probably to unnerve you into making a mistake. You smirk right back. You know the chessboard like the back of your hand.
"Well, I hate to do this to royalty... actually, that's a lie. I take immense satisfaction from this."
Satisfaction is putting it lightly. There are some similarities between this world and your own. The rules of chess, for example, appear to be identical. And today you have a very special opponent: the Princess Tia herself. She has dropped by Sweetheart's cottage for a visit. Probably to check up on you, now that you think about it. You pick her queen off the board. Tia blinks curiously, as if mentally digesting the move.
"Whatcha gonna do now? I bet there's not anybody else who's beaten you at this. Who'd dare? Me, that's who. Anony of the mous, the legendary queen slayer."
Not being understood by anyone does have its advantages... you can babble any baloney you want. Tia picks up one of her bishops with her teeth and drops it near in front of your king, trapping it. Checkmate. The sun princess - being the ever so humble soul that she is - jumps up to perform what is unmistakably a smug victory dance. You stick your tongue out, but the truth is that you don't mind losing.
"Bah, whatever, I can never stay mad at you people. The truth is, Princess, that as much as I miss home, I don't think I could ever give up what I've found here."
Tia looks up, detecting the sincere content of your words through their tone. You stare deep into her deep violet orbs.
"You know who you remind me of, Princess? A doe. Ever seen one? No, of course you haven't. But they're these big, caring, beautiful creatures... but of course they aren't people, like you. With brains, I mean. And thoughts and aspirations and whatnot. But they have these big eyes full of heart. Never seen eyes like that on a man or a woman. Maybe I should have, but I didn't. Never thought anybody could be special like that. Now I see those eyes everywhere I turn, on everybody here. Everyone's special in Equestria. Makes me wonder what I'd see if I went back home. But I don't want to. I was never one for taking chances. I couldn't go back to not seeing these eyes."
To your surprise, Tia nuzzles you under the jaw. She knew.
"Hello, Sombra." Celestia said politely as she watched the hyooman fearlessly saunter towards her throne. Her face was totally without expression. Anon looked amused.
"Sombra? Is that some kind of pony swear?"
"It is the name of who I'm talking to." Her snout lowered a little, aiming towards the Alicorn Amulet proudly displayed on Anon's chest. "The memories are still yours, no doubt, but the voice and will of Sombra possess you."
"Let me guess - this is the part where you urge me to muster whatever inner strength I have left to surrender the Amulet to you? Come-come now, Princess, you're being transparent. I'm not a magical being, therefore this thing has no effect on me. I cannot cast spells or take over the world. It's just a glorified translator, that's all. But for you, oh, it must be jackpot. You're already an alicorn. With this, you'd have the might of two. No wonder you want it off my neck."
Celestia's eyes narrowed. "It is for your own good."
"There it is!" Anon exclaimed victoriously, jabbing a finger at her. "You're an excellent manipulator, Princess, and I admire you. You must be, otherwise you would not have stayed in power for so long. The Sun religion, the Shadow Party, your 'benevolent oversight' of every leader in the realm. You have made yourself indispensable. Your policy on having the weather controlled employs half the pegasi! But you didn't fool me! I'm like you, I see these ponies for what they really are - cattle, waiting to be herded! Waiting for someone to crack the whip!"
"Enough." Celestia said coldly. Anon took an involuntary step back, and cursed under his breath. He had not intended to show weakness. "I will wear the Amulet. Please hand it over."
Anon meant to laugh out loud, but to his surprise, his body was magically puppeteered towards the Princess as if he was held by invisible strings. "What is this? What have you done, you overgrown ass?!"
"I warned you. What you wear is no child's play. Since you do not have it in you to resist its power, I will pay the price that is needed to stop it from consuming your soul. I will wear the Amulet."
Concentrating heavily, Anon was able to hold his hand back from grabbing the chain around his neck. "No! No, no magic can force someone to give over the Amulet! You shouldn't be able to do this! You can't do this!"
Celestia gave him a sad smile. "I'm not doing this. You are fighting Sombra, not me. It's my powerful, immortal body he craves." She bared her neck towards the red gem eyes of the Amulet. They glinted with a hidden passion. Anon's arm shook heavily as he struggled not to let himself hand the necklace over.
"Celestia!" Anon growled. "Stop this! You cannot wear the Amulet, it's too much of a risk! Equestria depends on you!"
"My, my, is that chivalry I hear?"
Anon couldn't help himself. He pulled the chain from around his neck and held the Amulet up high, close to Celestia's face. Sweat poured down his forehead as he struggled - with all his might - to not hand it over.
"I will wear the Amulet." Celestia repeated calmly. "I will corrupt myself. The only person who can stop me is you. Reject Sombra and his power, and he will have no hold over either of us."
The chain shook in Anon's bruised hand, the links digging into his tight fist.
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Well, that escalated quickly
1,000 words, but still glad to see the story isn't dead like so many others. Honestly, I'd rather the author just take up another story in between chapters if they aren't feeling up to it. Its a good story and I hope its as fun to write as it is to read.
nice to see this back again
I feel I am missing context. How did we get from a friendly game of chess to Sombra.
Is this really happening or just a dream?
That was quite a skip!
Now where is plan B, because there's very little guarantee this will work. Luna!!!!
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The scene in italics takes place before Anon gains the ability to communicate.
I am half expecting one of the ponies to fall in love with anon, and for him do the same.
Good story
Wow. Been a while.
To be fair, asking Anon to give up the one thing that lets him meaningfully communicate with the other residents of his new homeworld is kind of a tall order.
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ok, but where's the chronologically previous scene? Like, last we saw him as far as I can tell does not seem to lead in to this? Did I miss a scene with him when scanning the last few chapters?
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Last chapter, Redheart, Anon, AJ, Crimson, and Lighthouse got off the train in Canterlot. Red and the bats went to the bat place. Here, we see Anon having made his way to the palace.
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There's a bit of connective tissue missing, then - what was the disposition of the guards in respect to him, and where is AJ? She isn't even mentioned, so… did she have other business in Canterlot? Is she just standing there?
We haven't really seen current Anon in any detail since chapter 39.
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I appreciate your comment and will make it clearer in the next chapter. :)
EDIT: I wanted this one to focus purely on Celestia and Anon meeting for maximum impact, but I get why it confused some.
Ah, it's FINALLY back, and he doesn't disappoint!
This chapter was a great mix, a touch of the earlier chapters with that delightful flashback thts reminds you of the captivating charm that made this story so popular in the first place, and a compelling situation that shows sun pony at her best, sacrificing herself for others. Love it!
And Sombra being the spirit of the amulet? Very interesting, I like that; can't wait to see where this goes!
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Y'know the episode It's About Time, where Future Twilight appears in a ripped bodysuit with a frayed mane and an eyepatch, to give a cryptic, frantic message that leaves both Twilight and the viewer wondering how the situation came to be? And then throughout the episode, we get the answer? This is similar - we know that Anon started with AJ presumably escorting him, and we know that he strolls in alone, appearing even more under Sombra's control than before. And, presumably, a future chapter will reveal (either through flashback or through a character explaining their side of the story) what happened during that skip.
This is a technique most common in heist movies and murder mysteries, but it can function well in other genres.
AWWW. That was pretty sweet.
Which only made the next part even sadder.
It's been too long, I don't remember anything about this story. Anyone mind providing a summary to try and jog my memory?
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Just start over. It's what everyone else does when it's been forever since an update.
Ah, the old holding yourself hostage trick.
Always a laugh to see (when it works out).
I fucking called it. So I guess it's back to square one for him NOT being able to talk to literally anything in this world, since he's just lost the ONLY thing allowing him to do so.