//------------------------------// // Chapter 2- Twilight, The Pretty Pony Princess of Ponyville // Story: Race Relations // by DatZigga //------------------------------// Eyes. Those, big fuckin’ eyes. Anon had started walking from the front of his house down the path towards the crystal castle. Since they were at the very edge, it was a rather quiet and empty walk. For all of 30 seconds. It was inevitable that these little horses would walk out of their home, see Anon carrying a dragon on his shoulders, shrouded in a mysterious cloak, and simply backpedal right back inside. The more Anon walked, the more ponies saw him. He could feel the stares all around him, from their dinner plate sized eyes.  Anon knew that from this day forward, his life would not be the same. Few ponies screamed, few ponies ran, most ponies were silent. Anon was reminded of learning of the Civil Rights Era in grade school. He imagined this was similar to what black people felt when entering white spaces. They were out of place and the people around them reminded them as such, whether explicitly or not. Anon sought solace in the words of one of the revolutionaries of that decade, “Be peaceful, be courteous, obey the law, respect everyone; but if someone puts hands on you, send him to the cemetery.” Granted, all these ponies left a wide berth for him to pass through. Also, they had hooves, not hands. Also also, chances are they wouldn’t want to just outright fight him, right? All the while, Spike was merely enjoying the ride. Anon didn’t know if Spike saw the reactions of the other ponies and didn’t want to bring attention to it or is just naive and inattentive. It really could be either/or. Soon enough, Anon reached the steps of the castle. It occurred to Anon that this might actually be the authority figure of this settlement, like a lord or something. If Anon talked too crazy, he might end up on the chopping block or lynched. That was a funny idea. A bunch of colorful ponies in a colorful world, lynching a human. Anon was a morbid man, this much was known. He looked back, just in case, at the crowd of ponies behind him. They all kinda stood in a crowd, murmuring amongst each other. Amazingly, some of the denizens seemed to lose interest and began walking away. A good sign, probably.  Anon cleared the steps of the castle and arrived at the door. He raised a hand to knock and...didn’t knock. It was like Anon’s arm had merely fallen asleep on him or stopped receiving signals from the brain. “Uh, Anon?” Spike asked, looking concerned. “You gonna open the door?” “Yeah, yeah. Give me a sec, damn.” Anon raised his hand with more purpose and gave the door an authoritative knock. Anytime now... Just a simple knock... Spike leaned forward and knocked on the door, awakening Anon from his brief slumber. The two were left waiting by the door. “Wait, shouldn’t guards be posted out front?” Anon said, taking in his surroundings for the first time since he climbed the stairs. “Also, why are we knocking? This is a big ass castle, not a two story house!” Spike seemingly ignored Anon’s query as he kept knocking on the door. “Twilight! I have someone who’d like to meet with you!” Spike yelled through the door, much to Anon’s displeasure, in more ways than one. “Oh no, scaleball. I would NOT like to meet with them” Anon corrected, removing his hands from his ear to point at him. “You coaxed me here with the promise of access to my music playlist. Were I a man of little culture, I’d have done the smart thing and stayed my ass at home.” As Anon finished, he heard the faint clip-clopping of hooves. They grew louder as they reached the door until the door finally swung open.  “Spike, there you are!” Said a lilac pony with a purple and teal mane and tail. Anon could also see barely on her side was what could only be described as an ass tattoo of a purple and white star with two blue glimmering streams. “I’ve been looking all over for you. Because you ran off, I had to do all of your chores, which was completely...not...cool...” The complaints came to halt as the pony looked up to see the towering figure above her. She had only come up to the figures waists, forcing her to crane her neck upwards to look at him. She stared up at the hooded Anon, his eyes being the only thing visible to her. Spike popped over the edge of Anon’s head.  “Sorry, Starlight.” Spike said abashedly, scratching his head. “I was visiting a friend and, well, here he is!” As Spike spoke, Anon had attempted to crane his to the left, not looking in Starlight’s direction. Being so close to them was uncomfortable, and those eyes of hers borrowed into him. Spike nudged Anon. “Well? Aren’t you going to say something?” Anon realized that he conveniently forgot every language lesson he learned, unable to think of the right combinations of horse words to convey a greeting. After much deliberation, Anon fell back on an old favorite for when a passerby felt compelled to say hi to him. “Uh, Sup?” Anon said, unsure of himself as he spoke. He accompanied the greeting with a nod of acknowledgement, a force of habit that this pony was likely not gonna get. Spike facepalmed as Starlight cocked her head to the side with an expression of bemusement and intrigue.  “Spike, where did you find this, uh, minotaur?” Starlight guessed, squinting to look under the hood. Anon unconsciously pulled the brim lower.  “He’s not a minotaur, Starlight.” Spike grabbed hold of Anon’s hood suddenly and pulled it back, catching Anon off guard. “He’s a human, see?” Anon gasped and grabbed Spike with one hand, while using the other to pull the hood back up.  “Spike, you do not have my permission to pull my hood.” Anon said, pointing a finger at the little dragon as he held him by the tail. “Don’t forget, you were the one that dragged me and I can easily-“ “Wait, a human?” Starlight asked, her eyes widening a little. “Like, from the other side of the mirror?”  “Well, not exact-“ Spike was immediately shut up by Anon clamping his hand on Spike’s muzzle.  “Wait, wait, wait. You know what a human is?” Anon asked impatiently, his heartbeat beginning to beat a little faster at the prospect of going home. “And you have a mirror that leads to other humans?”  “Well, yeah.” Starlight said, a tad reluctant. “It’s still in the library but I think Twilight could-“ Adding to the list of interruptions, Anon rudely pushes past Starlight, absentmindedly dropping Spike right by her in the process. Anon began walking through the castle, looking around for signs. He realized that while he learned to speak the language, he never did learn the writing. So, he began opening any door he came across, peeking briefly, and then moving on to the next. The galloping of hooves echo behind him.  “Wait!” Starlight calls out, Spike riding on her back. “What do you think you’re doing?!”  “We can end this little engagement real easy by just sending me back home through this mirror of yours.” Anon said, continuing his mission of opening doors. “Fuck a phone repair, I’m getting me a new one for my troubles. And a big fucking meal.” Anon began mumbling to himself, speaking of all the things he’ll do when he gets home. Maybe he’ll drop out of college and just live a hedonistic lifestyle, succumbing to the American dream as it were. Or maybe he’ll hunker down in his studies and get him a cushy job that’ll set him straight for the rest of his life. Anything to avoid the boredom and struggling he’s grown accustomed to. Anon finally found a door leading into a large library. It didn’t take long to spot the giant mirror in the far back of the room. It was an ornate mirror, flanked by complex machinery on both sides. All this did not register to Anon, as he blindly walked towards the mirror with purpose. He even missed the purple mare that was reading a book in her chair before he barged in. She had the peculiar features of a unicorn horn and pegasus wings, all that went unnoticed by Anon’s tunnel vision.  “Uh, hello?” The mare spoke, her words falling on Anon’s deaf ears as he passed. Starlight trotted next to her, Spike pinching his nose in frustration. “Well, at least he’s inside...” Spike consoled himself. “Hey, Twilight. I see you’ve also met Spike’s friend.” Starlight quipped. Twilight gently set the book down and came off her chair. The three watched as Anon walked around the machine, analyzing it for an on/off switch.  “Mind if I ask why he’s so interested in the mirror?” Twilight asks.  “I may have suggested that other humans lived on the other side.”  “Wait, that’s a human?” Twilight quickly turned to face the other two, who nodded in unison.  “But, Twilight,” Spike interjected. “He’s nothing like the humans at Canterlot High. His features are far different and he doesn’t behave like they do. He might be something completely different.”  Through all this, Anon still wasn’t listening, his mind too clouded by a flurry of thoughts and emotions. Who would believe that Anon had been transported to another world? What would his mom do if she saw her child covered in scars? Was he still enrolled at school? How long has he been away? Did Bethesda release another version of Skyrim? Thoughts such as these reverberated in Anon’s mind as he pressed his hands against the glass, pushing hard against it. He figured he was supposed to slip through but he wouldn’t budge. He looked up at the pylons, both glowing purple. Anon guessed that meant it was on, so why was he not going through? Anon couldn’t even see this other world, just his own reflection. The reflection of someone slowly coming back to reality, only not his reality. In the reflection, he also saw a different horse from the one he went slowly trot behind him. Anon sighed and slowly turned, keeping one hand on the mirror.  “Hello there!” The purple pony started. She fixed her footing to appear more regal and confident. “My name is Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship. What’s your name?” She gave Anon a big, warm smile. Anon would’ve remarked that it was quite adorable, if his mood wasn’t significantly soured. For an uncomfortably long moment, Anon just glared at her. Twilight’s smile fell a little. “What’s up with your mirror?” Anon asked bluntly. “It’s some gateway to humanity right? I need to go back. Now, preferably.” Twilight’s stance fell as she relaxed, realizing that this visitor will not appreciate it.  “The mirror is active.” Twilight remarked, curious of the reason herself. She walked up to it and stuck a hoof beyond it, turning her hand into fingers. Anon attempted the same, but his hand wouldn’t pass through the glass. For him, it was just a mirror. Anon looked closely at her hand and noticed it’s discoloration, matching the fur of the pony.  “This...isn’t what I thought it was.” Anon said softly, withdrawing his hand. He looked at it, flexed his fingers, and pocketed them in his jeans. Twilight withdrew her hoof as Starlight went to turn off the machine.  “I’m sorry.” Twilight apologizes, bowing her head. “Nopony meant to lead you on about a portal home. It’s clear you’re not from around here.” Anon scoffed. “What tipped you off, Purple?” Anon deadpanned. “I don’t even know how I got here. I found myself in that Forest outside your a few months ago. I would still be there if it wasn’t for that-” Anon pointed at Spike, who now stood next to Twilight, “-little nuisance right there. Blame him for my sudden appearance.” Twilight frowned, throwing a protective hoof over Spike. “I’m sure Spike meant well by bringing you to me. Even if he did decide not to tell me...” Twilight casted a glance at Spike, who turned and whistled a little tune while avoiding her gaze. She sighed and her smile returned. “But now that you’re here, you can properly introduce yourself.” She leaned a little forward, head tilted, goading Anon to play along with her pony games. Anon rolled his eyes under his hood. “The name’s Anonymous.” Anon answered reluctantly, arms crossed. “That’s all you're getting.” Twilight nods. “It’s a, uh, good start. We can always discuss more later. I wouldn’t want to overwhelm you...” Twilight began approaching Anon, who took a few steps back. Twilight then circled around Anon, as if appraising him. “But, I am curious as to your origins. I’ve never seen a human that looks quite like you.” She even lifted a hoof to move the cloak to see the skin underneath, only for her efforts to be slapped away by Anon’s hand. Twilight grimaced, realizing she may have overstepped her boundaries. “Not that there's anything wrong with how you look! I didn’t mean to offend.”  Anon looked down at this pony as her ears folded against her head. He had to give these ponies credit where credit was due, they wore their hearts on their sleeves. He could read her emotions vividly. Her big eyes looked down at the ground, like she was caught stealing out her parent’s cookie jar. Her body took an even more diminutive position. It was enough to pull Anon away from his own angst.  Damn, these ponies are adorable. Anon thought, relenting only the slightest bit. It’s like their fresh out of a kids show. Got to give them credit, they aren’t nearly as scared of me as I thought they were. Hell, they know what humans are. Maybe...I’m just the one that’s scared?  Damn it. “It’s fine.” Anon said, after a while. He reached out to pet the dejected horse. When his hand made contact with her mane, he was shocked to find how soft it felt. Almost as shocked as Twilight was to suddenly feel his hands in her hair. Anon gave her a few pats and a couple strokes. Now that I think about it, that might’ve been kinda demeaning. I mean, she said she was a Princess, right? Anon quickly withdrew his hand and smoothly rubbed it over his own head. “Heh, sorry. Force of habit. Not used to sharing the role of sapient species.” Anon coughed into his hand, hoping that sufficed as an apology. Twilight recovered from her shock with a smile.  “It’s alright.” Twilight said, now beaming. “It actually felt...kinda nice.” Anon could swear he saw what looked to be a blush on her face as she turned away. Shit was gettin’ real awkward.  “Well,” Anon said, a little louder than he meant to. “Glad to know there’s no way home. Now, I’ll just be heading to my, uh, place of residence and giving myself a much deserved break.” Anon spun on his heels and began walking toward the door of the library. “Wait, Anon!” Spike said, hurrying to his side. “What about that “smartphone” of yours?” Anon stopped, allowing Spike to run face first into the back of his leg. Spike fell on his butt, rubbing his head, as Anon crouched down in front of the dazed dragon. “Yeah, like that’s why you dragged, or shall I say ‘rode’, me here in the first place.” Anon attempted to conceal his smile from the dragon under the shadow of the hood. As much as he hated to admit it, a weight feels lifted off since he’s pulled the trigger and walked into town proper. This little shit handed him the gun to do it. “Just do me a favor and knock on my door the next time you visit.” Spike pouted. “But you-“ Spike was met with a boop on his snout as Anon stood back up and walked out of the library.  “Deuces, Spike.” Anon said over his shoulder, throwing up two fingers as he turned the corner and disappeared. Spike, not knowing what the term nor gesture meant, was left to assume it was a way of saying goodbye. Twilight and Starlight walked up next to Spike.  “That Anon’s certainly a character.” Starlight remarked. “He can be a bit prickly.” Spike admitted, picking himself off the floor. He held his snout with a claw, in confusion of the sensation Anon had given him. Twilight wrapped a wing around Spike, pulling him into a side hug. “So, you’ve been making friends behind my back, haven’t you, Spike?” Twilight asked coyly.  “I-I was going to tell you! Honest! I just, well, didn’t know how to. And you saw how not...friendly he can be.” “I’m just teasing, Spike.” Twilight nuzzled the little dragon, who began to relax. “I’m actually very proud of you. Not many ponies would willingly befriend someone so different from themselves.” “Yeah, well,” Spike started looking back out the doorway that Anon had left. “It turned out, we actually have some things in common.”