//------------------------------// // Plans in motion // Story: How many lovers have you made today? // by Sarcastic Brony //------------------------------// Gradually opening his eyes, Anon peers over his shoulder to find no one there. Curious, he could’ve sworn that while he slept, he was being held. Yet not a single pony, scent or noise lingers. Sitting up, his thoughts stray to another inconsistency. For the first time, Anon didn’t have a dream. His dreams are either plagued by the nightmares of his actions or him lucid in his dream world. Yet all he can recall is settling on the bed and waking up. Perhaps he was emotionally exhausted after baring his soul in front of so many ponies? A possibility, but not one he can readily confirm. Either way, whatever rest he found has calmed his nerves, and that’s enough for him. Looking over to a clock, Anon takes note that he’s been asleep for two hours. A power nap if there ever was one. Feeling oddly satisfied with things, he gets himself out of bed and changes into something formal. For most of this event, he’ll be with Celestia and he’d at least like to look the part. Neither cares about the other’s appearance, but Anon doesn’t want to make her look bad through association. Taking a moment to inspect his wardrobe, he picks out a modest but stylish button-up shirt and dress trousers. Compared to his day-to-day wear, this is a step up, but in the eyes of Canterlot ponies, it’ll probably only barely fit in. As he finds his dress preference coming into question, he once again recognizes an odd sensation of being embraced. Maybe he’s being too accommodating for ponies that don’t even matter? With his thoughts settled, Anon accepts his choice of attire and quickly gets ready. It doesn’t take him long, and by the time he’s done, he heads on back to Celestia, as he’s confident that they’ll be done with their business talk. Leaving Celestia’s room, Anon makes his way to the dining hall. Such a bizarre feeling. Even as he walks down the passageways of the castle, glancing about every so often, he can’t shake this sense of being held by something. It’s relaxing but slightly unnerving because he’s never spontaneously felt this phenomenon before. He lets out a sigh. Ruminating about it won’t solve the problem. As it stands now, it’s not harmful and could just be because of all these new emotions he’s struggling to come to terms with about Celestia. For now, he’ll put it on the back burner. Anon’s eyes twitch as he notices movement. He peers over to find Blossom walking beside him. “I was wondering when you’d notice,” Blossom states. “Had something on my mind.” Anon returns his gaze ahead. “Obviously.” Nothing but silence as the two walk. “Wanna talk about it?” “Nothing to say,” Anon replies honestly. “I’m surprisingly content.” Anon looks down to Blossom as one thing becomes evident. “Why are you here? I’m sure you’re rather busy today.” She shrugs. “Do I need a reason to check on you?” “No, but you usually have one when you do.” “True.” Blossom looks up at Anon with a thoughtful gaze. “I won’t be able to watch over you today. I know you’ll have Celestia to protect you, and while unlikely, if you need help, just call my name and one of my knights will assist you.” Something about Blossom’s attitude puts Anon on edge, but as rapidly as those emotions welled up, they calmed as the embrace returned. “Is something else going on?” Anon asks. Blossom sets a hoof onto his leg to stop him from walking. “I can’t go into detail, but I want you to keep one thing in mind for me, alright?” Anon nods as he listens intently. “If you ever notice something unusual about me or someone you know, then trust your gut and ask them a question only they would know. Understand?” Anon would categorize this as something unusual, but the look Blossom is giving him is enough to assure him that whatever she’s talking about is important. “Understood.” Hearing Anon say that causes Blossom to relax as she gives him a fatigued grin. “Good.” Blossom walks over to a nearby window. “Do try to enjoy the festival today. It doesn’t happen often.” “We’ll see.” “See you later.” With that stated, Blossom jumps out the window and soars off. Anon watches her for a moment before making his way to the dining hall. There’s a lot on his mind now, but for Celestia’s sake, he’ll try to live in the moment and enjoy this day to the fullest. Celestia has spoken about many things. Much of the workload has already been divided up between Luna and Cadance. The only pony left is Twilight, and while Celestia worries about her recovery, she has confidence in her student’s ability to carry out this task. She floats over a list for Twilight, which she takes in her magic and looks it over. “We have many events that are time sensitive. To keep things running smoothly, I require someone who has a keen sense of order. I believe no one to be more ideal for the job than you, Twilight.” As Twilight looks over the list, she can’t help her heart as it races. There are several important activities here and all within hours of each other. To manage something this complex requires the coordination of various teams to accomplish. However, her teacher didn’t leave all the work to Twilight. She can tell that there are a few redundancies to compensate for timing errors. It’s been so long since Twilight has managed an event, let alone one of this caliber, and while she’s undoubtedly nervous, she’s also excited. “Are you certain? It’s been a while since I’ve done something like this.” “I’m sure,” Celestia answers with a smile. Hearing her teacher’s reassurance only lifts Twilight’s spirits. “I’ll try my best.” “That’s all I can ask for.” Celestia shifts her attention to her sister. “Anything wrong with what I provided?” Luna has been looking over the paperwork her sister has hoofed to her. It’s a detailed breakdown of her solar guards patrolling path and time. It’s rather impressive, no doubt in part by Shining Armor. A perfect blend of having guards patrolling the event and the rest of the city. It requires flawless timing and map knowledge. Moments like these are rare, but Luna appreciates the military-like strategy Shining is using. “I dare say that Shining Armor has outdone himself.” Luna compliments. “I have full confidence that the solar guard will have control, should anything arise.” “I’m sure Shining Armor will be happy to hear such praise,” Celestia says. “How about your Knights? Are they prepared?” Luna smirks. “That is without question, Sister.” Luna stands from her seat. “Though to be certain, I suppose I will pay each captain a visit to confirm everything is running smoothly.” Luna walks over to the dining hall door but stops to look at her sister. “I’ll meet you and Anon during the festival, but if that doesn’t work, we’ll see each other at the last event.” “Understood.” Celestia watches her sister exit the dining room before turning to Cadance. “Questions?” “None I can think of. It’s a shame we cannot enjoy the festival as much as our subjects.” Celestia sighs. “True, but someone must do the heavy lifting.” Before the mood sours, the doors to the dining hall open once more. Looking over, Celestia believes her sister has forgotten something but finds Anon standing there. Not only that, but when compared to his earlier state, he seems calmer and well-rested. Celestia rises from her seat and meets him halfway with a slight skip in her gait. “You look better.” She speaks with a broad smile. “I feel better.” Anon doesn’t think in this moment and instead leans forward and brings Celestia into an embrace. Though admittedly, he’s already calm, but holding Celestia like this brings a warmth to him, which is missing from the strange sensation he’s been experiencing. Something about Celestia’s body heat and fur is almost enough to make him drowsy, but he shakes off this overwhelming comfort and instead focuses on the day ahead of them. “Is everything ready?” Celestia can’t help the sigh of content that leaves her as she revels in this moment for some time before moving away. “Yes. If you have nothing to do, then we shall set off immediately.” Celestia looks over to Cadance and Twilight. “Though if you two have any last-minute things to take care of, I suggest you do so now. Once everything is in motion, there will be very few breaks.” “I’d like to visit Shining before leaving,” Cadance remarks. Twilight looks down to Spike, who’s been passed out this entire time. She gently bumps him and he snaps away. “Huh? Are we done?” He asks, looking at Twilight. “Yeah, let’s get going.” Twilight looks to her teacher. “I’ll be accompanying you there.” “Very well.” Celestia turns back to Anon, rests a wing on his back and urges him forward. “Come along. We’ll wait out front for the carriage.” With nothing left to say, Anon follows Celestia. He does not know what to expect from today, but he’s happy that Celestia appears to be in a good mood. Pinkie, Fluttershy, Applejack and the Crusaders exit the train alongside a flood of ponies ready to attend the festival. They gather away from the crowd and make sure everyone is present. Once they’re certain everything is accounted for, they step out to a secluded area so they can talk without the roar of the other ponies around. “Sure looks like a huge turnout this year.” Applejack looks around at all the ponies as they chat on their way to the colosseum. “We better hurry and get in line like the rest of these ponies or else who knows how long it’ll take to get in.” “I wouldn’t worry about that.” Pinkie gives a confident grin. “If we head over to the castle, then I’m sure Anon and the princess will give us a ride.” “Oh, that is a lovely idea,” Fluttershy agrees. Applejack, on the other hoof, is hesitant. The last time she saw Anon was back in Ponyville and meeting him now of all times feels off. To stop by with Pinkie and get some special treatment to enter the festival. It doesn’t sit right with her. Applejack notices a hoof rest on her withers. She looks up to see Pinkie giving her a bright and wide smile. “No need to worry, AJ. Just follow my lead!” Pinkie leaves no room for questions as she marches off towards the castle and her friends follow behind her. Though as she takes the lead, her smile slips some. She wants what’s best for everyone, and doing so will require a lot of strength. She’s not too sure how she’ll convince Anon to hear her friends out, but all she can hope for is that their friendship is strong enough to weather the storm. Anon pauses as Celestia, Twilight and Spike enter the carriage. He can’t explain why, but he finds his gaze drift down the street and into the crowd of ponies. “Is something wrong?” Celestia asks. Looking for something out of the ordinary, he doesn't find anything to cause him to pause. “Must’ve been nothing-” “Hello there!” Pinkie shouts. Anon jumps as Pinkie stands beside him. His heart rapidly races but instantly calms as she embraces him. “Dammit, Pinkie. You know I hate that.” He responds with a begrudging smile as he hugs her back. “It’s been a while.” “It hasn’t been that long. I assume you’re here for the festival?” “Yup!” Anon drops Pinkie as she lands on her hooves. “I was wondering if it’d be too much trouble to have you take us to the festival?” “You’re asking the wrong person.” Anon nods his head to Celestia. “She’s in charge.” Celestia chuckles. “You know it’s no trouble. In fact, I’m sure it will thrill a certain pony here to have you.” Pinkie looks into the carriage and is surprised to see Twilight and Spike there! Not only that, but Anon appears to be calm. Before she can even ask anything, what jumps out is the primary feather hanging from Anon’s neck. Her eyes widen as it dawns on her that that’s the Princess’s feather! What is going on here?! “It’s good to see you again,” Fluttershy says, grabbing Anon’s attention. He’s about to respond, but his sights instantly lock to Applejack. It’s apparent to everyone that his entire body tensed up, but he appears to calm down as he notices the Crusaders there. Looking between them and AJ for a moment, he closes his eyes and takes a breath before turning his attention to Fluttershy. “Good to see you too. We’re in a bit of a hurry, so if you want a ride, get in.” Anon steps aside and waves for them to enter. “Oh! Of course! We can chat on the way there.” Fluttershy agrees as she looks at the Crusaders. “Come along, Girls.” They're hesitant to enter but do as they’re told as they hop in and instantly let out a squeal of joy as they see Spike. The three of them immediately start asking him what he’s been up to and many other things. Fluttershy notices Pinkie’s slack-jawed expression as she looks at something on Anon’s chest. Fluttershy too finds herself surprised by Celestia’s primary feather, but is quick to grab Pinkie and force her inside. Now it’s just Anon and AJ as she looks at him, the feather on his chest and saying nothing steps inside. Anon gives himself a moment to comprehend what’s going on, but once more that embrace holds him from behind. He hates this, but he’ll deal with it for the time being. Getting in and closing the door, he sits beside the Princess. “Everyone ready?” Celestia asks. “Yup!” They confirm. “Driver! To the Colosseum!” As the carriage sets off, Anon ignores the apparent gaze on the primary feather and instead looks out the window. He can’t shake that today will not go as smoothly as he hopes.