//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: Reminiscing and Recollections // Story: The Storm on Ponyville // by DatZigga //------------------------------// After a couple more minutes running deep into the Everfree Forest, Anonymous finally slowed down. As he did, he could feel the legs beneath him turn to jelly. He took a few more steps, breathing heavily as the adrenaline faded from his system. He fell to his knees, the fillies he was carrying jumping out of his arms before he fell face first into the grass and mud. Starlight and Trixie followed right behind him, though not nearly as exhausted. “Did the creature have to bring us into the most dangerous Forest in Equestria?” Trixie said, shivering in fear. Starlight, while wearing a look of concern, kept her cool.  “Well, in fairness, it has been a little more safer these past years.” Starlight assured, keeping her eyes on the fillies. They were, after all, prone to wandering about. Fortunately, the three of them crowded Anon, with Scootaloo poking him with a stick.  “Is he dead?” Apple Bloom asked no one in particular. To this, Anon muttered something likely unsuitable for a child’s ear into the dirt. After a minute longer, he rose, using his shirt to wipe his face. “You are horses. All you know is running, so don’t judge me if I get a little tired.” Anon stood up slowly. He dusted himself of debris and made sure he still had his handy bat. He sighed in relief when he felt the wood against his fingers.  “You looked more than a little tired.” Scootaloo replied, earning herself a classic Anon glare.  “Whatever.” Anon relented, observing the forest around him. Trixie trotted up to him from behind. “I hope you have a reason for bringing us into this cursed place.” Trixie gave the meanest screwface she could. Anon merely found it adorable. “I did actually.” Anon retorted, before flicking her snout with his finger to assert dominance. “And I’m a human being, not a creature. Call me that again and I’ll teach you what a spur is.” Anon turned away from her, returning to his surveyance. Trixie could only sit, hooves to her muzzle. “The audacity!” Trixie exclaimed, her features turning red with anger. She turned to Starlight. “Starlight, he hit me! You saw that, didn’t you?”  “Well, it was more of a flick than a hit.” Starlight could see that was not what Trixie wanted to hear. “Okay, okay. Anonymous can be a bit abrasive, but right now, he is an ally. So, could you maybe not be so harsh towards him?” “Harsh? Trixie has done nothing wrong.” Anon looked over his shoulder. “Neither have I, since I saved your asses, you ass.” Trixie trotted back towards the human, refusing to relent. Starlight slapped a hoof to her face, realizing the potential problem on her hooves. The three fillies just sat and watched, amused by two adults fighting. “Trixie demands an apology for your rude behavior!” Trixie pokes at Anon with her horn. Anon tried his best to ignore it. This only succeeded in her poking him harder. “Will you quit it?” Anon said through gritted teeth.  “Not until you apologize!” She kept poking, causing Anon to groan. Of all the ponies I could’ve been stuck with… He thought to himself. He reached down and grabbed Trixie by her horn, which caught her off guard.  “H-Hey! Let Trixie go!” Trixie tried to back away from his grip, but Anon held tight. She tried thrashing, but she was pretty weak all things considered. “I recognize this part of the Forest.” Anon pointed in a direction. “My old campsite should be in that direction. We can rest there.” Anon began walking, forcing Trixie to follow in step. She whined incessantly, even calling to Starlight for help. Starlight could only sigh and shake her head.  “Anon ain’t very nice, is he?” Apple Bloom asked Starlight, as they all watched the two walk ahead. Starlight shrugged. “Well, uh, I think he just expresses himself differently. Let’s just...give him a chance, okay.” Starlight was unsure of this herself. Very little is known about Anon, but what is known aren’t exactly good. Still, Anon did save them from imprisonment. Maybe there’s more to him than his attitude. “Come on, girls.” Starlight and the fillies followed after Anon and Trixie, who were still bickering ahead. The campsite was more or less intact, thankfully. It was a primitive site, with a shelter made of sticks and foliage. A campfire, long since used, was erected a few feet away from the shelter. It was placed on the other side of thick bushes and against a cliff face, providing him natural defense. Anon pushed past these bushes, Trixie still in tow. She’s calmed down significantly, but still occasionally lets out a cry and whine.  “You know, Trixie.” Starlight started. “You could’ve just used magic to stop him.” To this, Trixie stopped her complaining and grimaced at her lack of judgement. With a zap from her horn, Anon recoiled, yanking his arm away. “Ow!” Anon exclaimed, shaking his hand. Trixie laughed as Starlight once again gave herself a facehoof. Anon thought about retaliating, but decided another time, when she least expected it. For now, he had to get a fire going. Despite it being evening, in the Everfree a breeze ran freely among the flora, giving everyone in the party chills. The two mares went to look for firewood, while Anon set up his old campfire once again. The fillies surrounded him. “So, you used to live in the Everfree?” Scootaloo asked, currently on Anon’s back. She had jumped up when Anon crouched down to arrange the stones. “Did you have to fight monsters? Survive with nothing but your wits?” “Yes, actually.” Anon answered nonchalantly, paying her no mind.  “That’s so awesome!” Scootaloo exclaimed. This caused Anon to flash a smile before suppressing it once again. He was surprised by how good it felt to be regarded as “awesome”. “What monster’s did you fight? Did you fight a cockatrice?” “Oh! Did you fight a timberwolf?” Sweetie Belle chimed in. She propped herself on his left leg. “How about a chimera? My sister had a showdown with one!” Apple Bloom interjected, propping herself on his right. Now surrounded, he supposed he had no choice but to indulge them.  “Maybe fighting is not the right word.” Anon admitted, thinking back on his encounters. “It was more like a series of confrontations, all varying in levels of violence.”  “Do you have any stories?” Scootaloo asked, her hoof dangling off Anon’s neck. He looked out of the corner of his eyes. It still perplexed him how these ponies coats were discolored. Looking closer at it, he also noticed how soft it looked. This made him more aware of just how close these ponies were, with their warmth and softness radiating on all sides of him. He felt a coziness, a coziness that he found himself enjoying. With that, he reached behind him and pulled Scootaloo off his shoulders and sat her down in front of him. Then, he fell backwards on his ass, forcing the other two to step back in surprise.  “I can think of one…” Anon placed a hand to his chin, looking up at the cliff face. It was the first week I arrived in the Everfree Forest. I was still attempting to reach other humans, before I truly realized that I was in an alien world, let alone a mystical forest. In that time, I built me a basic bitch camp and- “What’s a be-itch?” Scootaloo asked, tilting her head. Anon winced. “Nothing you should repeat. Anyways…” I built my basic camp. I drank from a nearby stream and luckily I found some bushes with berries. I’d half expected to have eaten something that would make me blow chunks out of both ends, but those berries were some of the most bomb ass berries I ever tasted. Not knowing how long I’d be stuck, I figured my best bet was to gather as much as I could and build a stockpile. So, out exploring I went. I carried what I could in my shirt and every thing was going peachy keen. That was, until I felt watched. Soon, it became less a feeling and more of a certainty. I saw green eyes watching me from the bushes. I figured it was just my mind playing tricks on me. Heh. That’s a reference y’all won’t get. Anyway, I was checking over my shoulders like, “Who the hell is watchin’ me?”. But, they would always disappear after a while. Only to reappear later. The further I walked, the more eyes I saw. Not gonna lie, I may have pissed a little. I went to turn around and head to camp. That’s when they jumped me. There had to be a dozen of those wolves. But, what got me buggin’ was they weren’t wolves. They were made of lumber, like trees. They was growlin’, but how can wood growl? It didn’t make no damn sense. I thought I was mad trippin’, so I just tried to walk away calmly. Soon as I did, one leaped and bit my leg. When that pain shot through me, I knew it was real. I dropped the berries on the spot and used my free leg to curbstomp it. To my surprise, the wolf shattered to pieces. Then, more wolves attacked. I just kept kicking them as they came, and one by one, they all broke apart. When I broke the last one, I thought it was over.  Boy, was I wrong. One of the sticks moved as I went to pick up the berries I dropped. Next thing I know, the wolves were reforming themselves. So I said, “Fuck this” and got my ass the fuck up outta there.  “Fuck?” Trixie parroted. Anon winced again, not even realizing the mares had come back.  “You don’t repeat that shit either.” “But you say it, why not Trixie?” Trixie crossed her hooves.  “Do as I say, not as I do.” Anon cleared his throat. “Now, where was I?” “Cowering in fear from Timberwolves?” Starlight answered, grinning.  “Yeah, that sounds about- Hey!” Anon crossed his arms as well. “It was a tactical retreat, thank you very much. Now…” I ran as fast as I could to the camp, a pack of those “Timberwolves” on my ass. I picked up a stick and tried breaking them some more but they kept coming. I had long since abandoned the berries at this point. Damn shame. Anyway, I made it back to my camp and I noticed that none of the wolves were behind me. So, I wiped my brow and considered that encounter a victory. That’s when I felt the ground shake. Out of the trees, comes this big ass wolf, towering over me. Cut to me getting my ass tossed around like a ragdoll. It was like it was toying with me, instead of just eating me whole. That would be that bastard’s biggest mistake. You see, it tossed me into this very fireplace. Right next to a stick lit on fire. I sustained a little burn, but I picked that fucker up and chucked it right into the beast’s mouth. I stood there and watched as the thing choked on smoke, slowly burning alive. It was the most horrific yet coolest thing I’ve ever seen or done in my life. Needless to say, I had used that carcass as a bonfire to signal for help. “So that explains the smoke that was coming up during Trixie’s-Ow!” Trixie was interrupted by a berry hitting her in the chest. Anon tossed another into the air and caught it in his mouth.  “Oh, don’t be dramatic. It was a berry.” Anon said, seeing that Trixie was pouting, threatening to cry. “Anyway, I was finishing up my story, if you hadn’t rudely interrupted.” During the story, the group had helped themselves to a roaring campfire and the berries that kicked off his tale.  “You aren’t being kind yourself, Anon.” Starlight scowled at Anon. Trixie gave Anon a raspberry, before being clocked upside the head by Starlight. “And you shouldn’t be antagonizing him, Trixie.” The fillies giggled amongst themselves as Anon and Trixie both huffed in unison.  “Anyway.” Anon recaptured his audience. “That was the day I knew I was far from home. I just didn’t know how far. As for future encounters, I swear they grew to hate me something fierce. Maybe I killed their leader or something. Either way, I was constantly hounded and harassed, with fire being my only weapon. It’s funny. The day man discovered fire, was said to be the day we evolved to be the men we are today. Who knew it would still hold true in a whole other universe. Oh well. The End.” The fillies gave Anon a round of applause. This gesture truly gave Anon a reason to smile and this one he didn’t wipe as quickly. Trixie, meanwhile, gave an audible yawn. “A decent enough tale, Trixie supposes.” Anon raised an eyebrow.  “Oh yeah. You did something better?” Anon smirked. There was no way someone as whiny and full of it as this mare had any rank to pull.  “Trixie will have you know that I once stared down an Ursa Major.” Trixie said with full confidence, tilting her head to the sky with a victorious smile.  “Trixie, you know darn tootin’ that wasn’t a Ursa Major, but Anon Ursa Minor.” Apple Bloom corrected. Anon laughed at the fact that Trixie was fact checked by a child. Trixie grew red in the face. “W-Well, Trixie did save Equestria from a changeling invasion! So, ha!” Trixie countered, particularly at Apple Bloom.  “You weren’t the only one, Trixie.” Starlight Glimmer rolled her eyes at her friend, before failing to hold back a smile.  “An invasion, huh?” Anon noticed the choice of word. “So, this whole invading thing’s happened before?” “A few times admittedly.” Starlight rubbed the back of her neck, feeling embarrassed on Equestria’s behalf. “Although, Twilight and her friends had always been there to stop it. However, that time it was us.” She pointed at her and Trixie, who grinned widely while bowing. Such grace. “And a couple others.” “So, best guess is that they’re fixing things as we speak?”  “I sure hope so.” Starlight sighed. Silence grew amongst the group, as they remembered their predicament. That was, until Anonymous stood up. “Well, just because everything turns out okay in the end doesn’t mean we can just sit on our asses.” Anon paced around the fire. “At the very least we can kick those Storm goons out of our town.” Starlight looked hot at Anon. “Our town?” She said, with a hopeful smile. “Your town.” Anon corrected, catching himself. “If things are really going to magically fix itself, it couldn't hurt to at least try, right?”  “This is why Trixie asked before if there was a plan.” Trixie looked over her shoulders, in case a creature would somehow sneak up on her. “I’m working on it, chill.” Anon ran through everything he knew about the town thus far. Right now, all the ponies are caged, with a lock that is breakable with his bat. He also has two magical unicorns, so that could speed up the process. But, with all those soldiers, how is he going to fend them off and proceed to break out an entire population. “What we need is a diversion. Something to distract the soldiers while we break everyone free.” Scootaloo’s hoof shot up into the air. “Oh oh, I know! I know!” Scootaloo vigorously waved her hoof back and forth. “Pick me! Pick me!” Anon rolled his eyes and shook his head.  “This isn’t school, orange. You can speak freely.” With that, Scootaloo stood up on the log, puffing her chest.  “Why don’t we use the Timberwolves!” She exclaimed, clearly loving her idea.  “Nope, bad plan.” Anon critiqued with the wave of his hand.  “Aw, come on. I haven’t even explained it.” She hopped down and paced around like Anon did. “You said that the wolves hated you, right?” “Yeah, I did,” “So, they would chase after you, right?” “Indeed they would.” “All the way back to Ponyville, righ-“ “Nigga, get to the point.” “I’m saying that the Timberwolves can distract the soldiers! Timberwolves hate everything, so once they enter town, they’d cause mass hysteria. And the soldiers wouldn’t know how to handle them. It’s a perfect plan.” “It is absolutely not cause I’m the bait in this little plan.” Anon looked to the other ponies. “Besides, even if that plan could work, where would everyone go after being free. I doubt your town can take on an armed force.” “Well, the castle is more than large enough to hold the entirety of Ponyville.” Starlight suggested. “We could evacuate everyone there.”  “So, let me get this straight,” Anon throws up his hands for emphasis. “I provoke the wrath of some Timberwolves, lead them into the town, get them to cause havoc with the storm creatures, while you all free the ponies and hide in the castle?” “That sounds about right.” Starlight shrugged.  “And what exactly happens to A) the Timberwolves in the town, B) the storm creatures in the town, and C) me, who is still in the town?” Everyone took a moment to ponder these good questions. All except Trixie. “Well, it is in Trixie’s experience that its best to work spontaneously.” She answers proudly. “The show must go on, after all.” “Listen, y’all.” Anon said, gripping the bridge of his nose. “I ain’t about to get my ass chased by some goddamned Timberwolves!”