//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2: This Really Is An Isekai 
// Story: The Storm on Ponyville 
// by DatZigga 
//------------------------------//

Lucky for him, Anonymous woke up before the storm creatures did. Anon made sure to give himself a head start by dragging the storm creatures into the bathroom. He locked the door and placed the bed, couch, dining table, a couple of chairs, and the coffee table against the door. Anon’s limbs were still sore, but he had little choice but to get over it. He took this time to also notice his clothes have been torn in places during the scuffle. Anon hobbled to the bedroom, found a new shirt and a pair of pants and redressed. After all was done, he picked back up his bat and checked its condition. Other than a couple new scratches, nothing of note. 

“So much for rainbows and sunshine…” Anon muttered aloud, using his old shirt as a holster for the bat on his back. He looked out a window, finding that the sky was replaced with foreboding storm clouds. He didn’t mean his statement in a literal sense, but here he was. His eyes followed the sky into the direction of Ponyville and his heart sunk. Even more of those storm creatures were descending on the town from airships. He could hear the creams of ponies, running around like scared animals. Luckily, these creatures weren’t interested in looting and pillaging, just rounding up the horses and putting them in cages. Anon pulled himself back into the house. 

“Okay, okay. This is real shit.” Anon spoke to himself, pacing the floor of the house. “There’s an invading army. I didn’t even know this place had invading armies! No, no, focus. Inhale...exhale…okay. So, it damn near fucked me up to take out two of those things, so I can’t be expected to save the town, right? Those six ponies, the Elements of Harmony? Yeah, them! They’ll fix this!” Anon started heading to the bedroom to pack clothes and supplies, with full intent on leaving Ponyville to its fate. He opened a bag and began stuffing it, before progressively moving slower. He eventually stopped and looked down into the bag.

“Is this really who I am?” Anon asked himself. He sighed, sitting on the wooden floor of the destroyed home. “I turn everyone away and when shit hits the fan, I run?” Anon closed the bag and ruminated on his thoughts. He had been a “citizen” for a while now, but hardly did anything with it. He never went to a market, hell, he barely left his house. He didn’t have any real connections with anyone. Funnily enough, wasn’t much different from how he was back home. Always in his dorm, too scared of people to venture out and make something of himself. The more things changed, the more he realized he was still the same. Anon picked up the bag and stood up. He looked around the house one last time. Then, he walked to the bathroom and added his bag to the furniture keeping it closed.

“New world, new me.” Anon said quietly, having made his decision. 

He had done nothing since he got here, except give in to angst. Now, with real danger on the horizon, there was no longer the excuse of being an outsider. He had to get involved. It was all he ever wanted to do back home. 







Anon sneaked through the alleys of Ponyville, of which there were few. He silently cursed that fashion horse for saddling him with the whitest t-shirt unknown to man. Next time they met, he was going to suggest a darker color pallet. He peered around the corner and surveyed the scene. He had made it close to the town center, where the ponies were being gathered in large, oppressive cages. They were fitted with large metal collars and muzzles, which seemed to physically weigh them down. Anon felt for the poor ponies. He was so used to seeing their annoyingly bright smiles that seeing them so miserable was actually heart-wrenching. 

All the more reason to do something. Anon told himself. He started climbing up one of the buildings, a feat that wasn’t too difficult, save for the potential noise. He managed to get an advantage point that overlooked the entirety of the center of town and all the storm creatures within. For their part, the storm creatures seemed to be enjoying themselves. They did benign things, such as play cards, sleep, or help themselves to that bakery nearby. All things considered, these were the most non threatening invaders he’d ever seen. It almost makes him for the two soldiers he beat the shit out of and locked in a room behind furniture. Almost. A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.

Anon kept low on the rooftop, so as not to be spotted by the random wandering eye or anyone, pony or otherwise. Anon charted our paths of alleyways and blind spots to navigate through to avoid detection. Anon was reminded of his time playing those stealth sections in video games. He gulped. He sucked at stealth sections. Furthermore, what was he even stealthing towards? Anon had no real plan as to how to liberate a captured town from an occupying enemy force. At best, he could probably cause a disturbance that could buy the ponies time to free themselves and escape, but if the behavior of the storm creatures were anything, they seemed to have every pony under lock and key by now. Which, Anon had to admit, was really impressive. 

Anon observed his surroundings for the umptenth time, looking for something, anything, that he could do. That’s when he caught the lilac coat of Starlight Glimmer, the apprentice of one of the Princesses. She was captured in one of those cages, just like everyone else, along with a blue mare and three kids, it seemed. He saw no signs of the Element Bearers nor Spike, so with her being his only point of reference, Anon decided to seek her help. Luckily, they were in a cage right next to an alleyway, hidden from the storm creatures' sight. Anon noted the quickest way there, which was by hopping from building to building. The soldiers wouldn’t see him scurrying from place to place and the roofs were constructed of hay, so they should soften his footsteps. 

Anon took a deep breath, readying himself for some parkour. He then began running before his brain could tell him how stupid this whole situation was. He made his first leap, easily enough and soon was moving from building to building, like a ninja. It actually felt liberating in an odd way. Not everyday you can play hero in another world. Fuck, I really am in an isekai! Anon cursed himself for the revelation, electing to shut up for the time being.

Not long since he began parkouring, he arrived at his intended destination. He could see the ponies more closely now. They looked more bored than anything, at least Starlight and the kids did. The blue mare was pathetically tugging at the bars, as if a pony like her could just bend metal. Well, for all Anon knew, they could. Whatever, the point was it was a worthless endeavor clearly, yet she kept at it. Meanwhile, the three kids- one white, one orange, and one yellow- were all playing a game with their hooves that was reminiscent of slaps, that game where you rest your hands on someone else’s hands and pull them away before they are slapped. Anon watched the kid’s as he edged closer down the building and through the alleyway. 

The yellow one had just hit the orange one hard enough for orange to give a muffled “Ouch!” and glare, before the white one caught sight of Anon. Unfortunately, in the little white pony’s perspective, a pair of beady eyes were staring at her from the dark, brandishing a bat. She let out a muffled scream, hiding behind Starlight. This was enough to catch Starlight’s attention and a stray guard. The stray guard walked over to the cage, striking at it with his spear. He was close enough that if he looked closely into the alley, he could’ve seen Anon. So, Anon, after a panicked search and quick thinking, hopped into an open dumpster. The storm creature barked incoherently at the ponies in the cage, then resumed his patrol somewhere else. Starlight then looked backed into the alleyway to see what spooked the filly. Anon popped his head out, his face scrunched.

“Ooooh, shit!” Anon let out a hushed gag. “It’s fuckin’ rancid in there. Y’all horses throw shit out or somethin’?” Starlight’s eyes widen as she reaches out the cage and muffles quietly to Anon with a clear sense of urgency. “Alright, alright. Hold your literal horses.” Anon approached the cage, reaching through the bars towards Starlight’s muzzle. Luckily, the muzzle required no lock and key, and with a little elbow grease, Anon was able to pull it off.

“Anonymous!” Starlight exclaimed, albeit in a still hushed town. She reached her forelegs through the bar to pull Anon into a hug. Anon, immediately made uncomfortable by the gesture for a myriad of reasons, the bars between being chief among them, he lightly pushed her off. “I can’t believe they hadn’t gotten to you yet!”

“Oh, they attempted.” Anon admitted, thinking back to the encounter not so long ago. “But I managed. Before I ask the necessary questions, let’s remove these muzzles.” Starlight nodded, gesturing to the other ponies to approach Anon. Trixie attempted to go next, until she was cut off by the three fillies. One by one, Anon removed their muzzles. The white one was hesitant at first, having been scared, but Anon assured her with a pat on the head. That seemed to have been all she needed to clear any previous misconceptions. Lastly, the blue pony’s muzzle was removed promptly, leading her to give an exasperated sigh.

“Finally!” She said, an octave louder than anyone would’ve liked. “That cursed muzzle was crushing poor Trixie’s nose!” She rubbed her snout for emphasis. 

“You’re all welcome, by the way.” Anon reminded them. “Now, can anyone explain why the town I assumed nothing bad ever happened went to shit in a morning?”

“We’re just as lost as you are, I’m afraid.” Starlight replied glumly. “They just showed up and started taking ponies hostage. Twilight and her friends went off to Canterlot for the Friendship Festival,” Anon rolled his eyes at the name. “Meanwhile, Trixie and I were tasked with watching their sisters and the castle.”

“More like ‘stuck watching their sisters and the castle.’ I wanted nothing to do with it.” Trixie interjected, sticking her nose up at the kids. Starlight shot her a glare.

“Are you really going to complain about this again, Trixie?” Starlight was talking to the back of Trixie’s head at this point. “You practically begged to spend some time together and I did warn you I was babysitting but you insisted you could handle it.” The two ponies bickered amongst themselves. Meanwhile, the fillies bombarded Anon with questions.

“Who are you, stranger?” The yellow one asked.

“What are you?” The orange one followed.

“Could you pat my head again?” The white one pleaded. Anon could only clutch the bridge of his nose. He was beginning to regret leaving the house already.

“For the love of all that’s holy, would y’all just shut up!” Anon harshly whispered, promptly reminding everypony of their predicament. After a few quick glances, they saw they were still unsuspected. “I don’t care for the horseshit right now. I just want things to go back to the nice and quiet I’ve grown accustomed. I could’ve just left and I really wanted to, so don’t test my patience.” The ponies sat in silence, before Trixie leaned toward Starlight. 

“Who does this creature think he is, yelling at the Great and Powerful Trixie?” Trixie whispered, though in a way that was meant to be clearly heard. 

“I’m sorry, are you talking in the third person?” Anon questioned, before shaking his head clear. “No, no, cans to open another day. How do I get you horses out?”

“These cages seem to be magically resistant, so I can’t teleport ourselves.” Starlight pondered aloud. 

“Convenient.” Anon deadpanned.

“The bars won’t bend. Trixie tried.” Trixie had her forelegs crossed dismissively still.

“Good to know.” Anon was beginning to feel hopeless. He walked around, looking at the lock with a massive keyhole. “Hm. I could try picking the lock? I mean, the key hole is so big, I could probably find the tumblers easy.” Anon crouched down and looked inside the keyhole. It was futile, as the hole was too dark for him to really see anything useful. “You guys got any hairpins?”

“Ohohoh!” The white filly raised her hand, as if she were in school with the answer to a question. She then picked her mane, pulling out two hairpins. “Rarity always said to keep hairpins, in case of a fashion emergency.” She reaches her hoof out of the bars to give them to Anon. Anon just stared.

“How are you even holding-“ Anon interrupted his thought, took a breath, and took the pins from her. He got to work lockpicking. 

“Oh, I forgot! My name is Sweetie Bell.” The white pony almost shouts, prompting a hush from Starlight. Her eyes were on the lookout for any storm creature soldiers. 

“And mah name is Applebloom.” The yellow pony added. 

“And I’m Scootaloo.” Followed the orange pony.

“Yeah, yeah. Cute names. Can you let me focus for a second?” Anon replied, far more interested in the lock and getting it open than making friends with children. 

“What’s your name?” Applebloom asked, blatantly ignoring Anon’s request.

“God-It’s Anonymous.” He quickly answered, returning his attention to-

“Is that really your name?” Scootaloo follows up. Anon groaned.

“No, but you’re not getting my real name.” Anon tried again to-

“Why won’t you tell us your real name?” Sweetie Bell adds to the line of questioning. Anon was this close to cussing the little fillies out for pushing his buttons, before a flurry of activity sounded off in the distance. Anon peeked over his shoulder to look. 

It seemed that the two soldiers that attacked Anon had made it out of their slumber and made it back to the rest. The still looked visibly bruised and a little shaken from their encounter, as the frantically recounted their story to the rest of the storm creatures. After that, the storm creatures went on full alert, scouting across the town for this new threat. 

“Shit!” Anon tried to pick the lock harder, if that were possible. Anon had realized as soon as he even started that he didn’t know a thing about lockpicking, only about as far as there were tumblers you had to push. He tried recalling the stories of his cousins back home stealing bikes and flipping them for a profit, hoping that maybe they explained it more in-depth. Starlight began tapping Anon’s shoulder.

“Anon! They’re coming this way!” Starlight pointed to a group of 3 storm creatures, weapons drawn, walking down their street. They systematically investigated every nook and cranny, only moving when they had thoroughly searched. Clock was ticking. 

“Could you open the door a little faster!?” Trixie ordered, clearly panicked and frustrated.

“Bitch! The fuck do you think I’m doing?” Anon yelled, before covering his mouth. A storm creature looked in their direction and started yelling to the other soldiers. Anonymous was compromised.

 Anon uselessly yanked at the lock, hoping that by some miracle, it would just open on its own. The storm creatures began running down the street. Anon kept yanking, as the ponies began pushing against the door in an attempt to help. The storm creatures grew in number as more poured in from the alleys. Anon started to kick the lock. That’s when it came to him. Anon withdrew his bat and raised it up above his head. He then struck the lock downwards. Nothing. The soldiers were getting closer now. The fillies started to scream. Anon raised the bat over his head again. With a yell, he struck the lock again. The lock broke with a metallic snap. He swung the gate open and instinctively grabbed the three fillies, two under his arms and one on his back.

“TIME TO BOUNCE!” Anon yelled, making a break in the opposite direction of the incoming soldiers. Starlight and Trixie ran after him. By this point, all the soldiers in the town were on their tail. Anon hopped over discarded carts, baskets, and other debris that served as obstacles, keeping a tight hold on the fillies. Sweetie Bell, who rode on Anon’s back, tightly wrapped her forelegs around Anon’s neck. This slightly choked him, but that was hardly on Anon’s mind. The only thing he was thinking was where to run to.

Suddenly, storm creatures appeared around the corners in front of Anon and the ponies, blocking their escape. Anon quickly looked to his left, saw an opening, and sprinted towards it. Soon, that opening was blocked. Anon looked around again, until he spotted the familiar Everfree Forest in the distance. It was not being blocked, so he ran there without hesitation. Soon, Anon and the ponies disappeared into the foliage, leaving behind the storm creatures at the Forest’s edge. One storm creature raised their arm, signaling the others to stop. He then pulled out a map, checking it. He finds the Forest on his map, marked with a skull and bones. He turns to his compatriots and sign to them that they could not go in. Then, just like that, the storm creatures all turned and headed back to the still thoroughly captured Ponyville.