//------------------------------// // Chapter 227 - Anon, Broken then Reborn // Story: Dadonequus Discord (Book 2) // by CrazedLaughter //------------------------------// You and Rarity stood in front of Fluttershy’s door as the rain still continued to pour, with thankfully no real wind to make it anything more than a simple heavy pouring of rain. Rarity prepares to knock with her hoof until she looks down upon you and frowns, bringing a handkerchief to your forehead and cheeks, one of many that came before, to try to dry you up. “Really, trying to get you riled up like that in the pouring rain. I certainly hope your Aunt has some towels ready for you.” “Don’t worry, I’m sure she does.” You tell her, beaming a grin at her. While internally, still thinking about that stupid spirit. Why did it just leave like that? You know you told it to leave, but it seemed like it was taunting you, like it wanted you to make some kind of mistake. “Oh, I never had any doubt. I suppose I was more worried about getting you dried up so quickly. Speaking of, I should probably knock on the door then...” Rarity began to knock, and politely waited for the door to open. “Anon? Oh, you’re finally here! I hope the rain wasn’t too  terrible for you. I’m actually excited what kind of spell you used to stay dry and…” The door opened, as a cheery Fluttershy came to greet you. But when she saw Rarity, her cheeriness suddenly became confusion. “Rarity? O-oh, hello, I wasn’t expecting you. I thought you’d be at the castle. Oh, did Anon bring you here to bring you out of the rain? Here…” Fluttershy stepped aside to let you both in. “Why don’t you both come in?” “Oh, I’d love to, but I actually really must be going to the castle. I’m only here to drop Anon off and ask if you can get him some towels, he’s a tad wet.” Rarity explained, looking down at you as she gives you a gentle pet. “Poor thing has had a rough evening.” “Rough? M-my Anon? Oh, towels! Here, let me go get some! Anon, why don’t you snuggle up on the sofa. Don’t worry about it getting wet or dirty, I can get it cleaned up after tonight.” Fluttershy said as she rushed off to get some towels for you. Dammit, you didn’t want Fluttershy to worry at all about this. In fact, you wanted a chance to speak to Discord about this, see if he even knows about this tree spirit. You decide to step inside and sit on the rug instead, not wanting to ruin Fluttershy’s sofa.  “I don’t want to get your nice sofa dirty, Aunt Fluttershy. I can sit on the rug.” Though she didn’t seem to hear you as she vanished into her room. Rarity giggled at that, finding it precious. “Ever the gentlecolt. Even when offered warm hospitality, he’d rather not be a nuisance, as if he ever was one. Anon, darling, I really would recommend the sofa. I can certainly guess you could use one of your spells to clean up after yourself. A single spell used shouldn’t be too much, I think.” “Oh, right, I guess I can do that. Um, okay then.” You walk over to the sofa and look at it for a second, then like a cat, you hop up onto it, spin once, and let yourself curl up next to the warm pillows beside you. “...It is pretty warm up here.” “Of course it is, and I should know, I have had some of my more dramatic moments on sofas.” Rarity said with a sort of fondness in her tone. Then, as she saw Fluttershy hover down her stairs with towels on her back, she looked at her and said. “Ah, and here comes Fluttershy to save the day. Now that you have things handled, and as much as I would like to converse, I really must be going. You will be alright, won’t you?” Fluttershy already began to slowly and carefully wrap you up in towels until only your head was popping out, just staring at her as you felt a little embarrassed, but also rather cozy. “Of course I will, why wouldn’t I be? U-unless you mean whatever you meant about my Anon having a rough evening. It was only rain, wasn’t it?” “Sadly not.” Rarity said as she took a moment to step in, despite saying she had to go. “Some rapscallion was cowardly hiding near Anon, insulting him every which way. The poor dear was made livid in the rain. I don’t even think he noticed how soaked he was getting. Really, it’s disgusting, they should at least try that in somepony’s face. Though, I think we both know how that would turn out.” Rarity said with a scowl. “That’s so strange. Anon, did you see who it was?” Fluttershy asked you as she adjusted the towels ever so slightly for your comfort. “Ummm, not really.” You lied, hesitant in your answer. “Like I said, an utter coward. And… Oh, silly me. I think I should be going, I have no idea if this rain is going to get worse or not. Besides…” Rarity giggled at you while you were wrapped up adorably in the towels. “I don’t think I’d want to ruin such a precious moment with such dreadful details. Besides, I don't want to keep Twilight waiting.” Fluttershy giggled at that. “Well, Rarity, I don’t think Twilight would mind if you were late or not. Especially with all that rain. That can slow anypony down.” “That is why we have umbrellas like these. To protect our bodies, our make up, and our manes. And the occasional colt in need.“ Rarity said with a wink towards you. “Anyway, darling, I mustn't dawdle much longer. Ta-ta!” Rarity said with a short wave as she closed the door with her magic, to make her way to Twilight’s castle. “Bye Rarity.” Fluttershy said with a wave, with you saying goodbye as well. However, as you waved towards Rarity, you looked back at Fluttershy who was suddenly standing in front of you, looking at you with a frown. “Anon…” Uhhhh…. What was this about? Your ears fold as you duck your head down into the towels a little, looking at Fluttershy with shimmering eyes. “Is there something wrong, Aunt Fluttershy?” “Anon… Who were you yelling at, really?” Fluttershy asked, her ears folding back, as she sat down, staring into your eyes for any untruths. Shit… She knew you were lying. “U-um… Aunt Fluttershy, it’s… Sorta complicated. I-” But she speaks again, cutting you off. She spoke in a more worried, yet slightly stern, tone. It seems, in her own soft little way, that she didn’t want to deal with any bullshit. “Anon, I’m your aunt. You can’t keep hiding things from me like this, both you and your father. You can’t lie, Anon, it’s wrong… How am I supposed to believe you about anything when you lie to me?” Ngh… Dammit. The way she said it, it cut to your very soul. “A-Aunt Fluttershy… If I told you, you wouldn’t believe me. I don’t even really believe it…” Fluttershy seemed confused by those words. “You don’t believe it? Anon, it had to have been something if Rarity caught you screaming in the rain. Just tell me, please. Whatever it is, as long as it’s the truth, I’ll believe you.” Oh… Good lord, where was fucking Discord when you needed him? He probably could use his magic to coax out whatever the hell that ‘spirit’ really was to prove it exists. How could you tell Fluttershy you saw the Spirit of the Tree of Harmony? How the hell would she believe that when it would be unbelievable to a regular pony fan? “.... Aunt Fluttershy, I…” But when you even showed hesitance, you began to see a tear form under her eyes. Goddammit! “...I was yelling at the Spirit of the Tree of Harmony.” Fluttershy looked down for a moment, as if she was trying to process your words. But then she looked back at you, and began to sniffle, trying to hold back her tears. “Anon…” No! Fuck that! You knew where this was going! You were not going to deal with the trope of not being believed because what you saw may be bullshit. You had to be assertive, you had to do fucking something! “Aunt Fluttershy, it's true! Why else would I be yelling in the rain?!” You hopped out from the towel and onto the floor, to try to illustrate the situation with your movements. “I just started hearing the voices of my friends, they were telling me I was a bad pony! Then it showed up disguised as Dad! But it wasn't him! The spirit said…. I…” Your ears folded. What you were about to say was the truth, but you wondered how Fluttershy was going to take it, if she even believed anything you were saying at all.  “It told me I was going to cause a huge incident. It told me I created problems for everypony, and that I put my friends in needless danger… And…” You began to tear up. “For some reason I’m scared…” Why did you feel scared? Repeating what the spirit had told you, it made it feel like you could cause some sort of catastrophe on an unintentional whim. But you were above that, above all that! So why? “I don’t…. I think it’s wrong… Aunt Fluttershy…” You look up at her with tear filled eyes, almost feeling you were lying to yourself at this point. "Do you think I’d really do that? I have everything under control, don’t I? I’m too smart for that. I promise not to cause any trouble like I caused with Chrysalis, or the Storm King. But… I helped Chrysalis, right? She’s not evil any more. I…” You said frantically, your words fragmented and unfocused. You looked down, thinking, could someone really manipulate you into ruining Equestria? “I’m not an idiot. It told me someone could find something through me to control Equestria. But I’d never let anypony touch my horn, and I won’t let anypony control me. I’m not a moron! I’m not! Aunt Fluttershy…” You gulped hard, and began to sob. It was wrong. Wrong. WRONG! You weren’t a fool! And no one will ever control you again. You had control of your own destiny! Why? Because you were smart enough to see through the surface level theatrics of any villain in your path. Fluttershy was shocked. She had never seen you break down so suddenly and so hard before. As far as she could tell, you were being genuine. But she also didn’t know what to say. The Spirit of the Tree of Harmony? That’s impossible, and even if you had seen it, even if it was really there, it had to be something else, as a being like that would have to be benevolent. She remembered you said it looked like Discord. Could it be a cruel trick played by him? She was hard pressed to believe Discord would do such a thing when in her own personal experience she had seen how angry he gets when you’re hurt, it simply didn’t sound like something he’d do. “Anon… Shhh, I’m here. I’m sorry I didn’t believe you. Shhh, here, come to me.” Fluttershy gently lifted you with her own wings and held you close to her chest, letting you sob as she began to gently pet you. “Whatever that was, that wasn’t the spirit, but a big meanie who was just playing a very very mean prank on you. Shhhh, whatever they said, it isn’t true. Anon…” She couldn’t really understand how you felt. She didn’t believe it was the spirit, just some jerk of a unicorn using some kind of illusion spell. She couldn’t think of who’d do such a thing, but she actually felt an anger bubble up inside of her over it. But that wasn’t the reality. Someone, or something, had penetrated your very being. Some otherworldly spirit who may have been foretelling a grim destiny rather than a hypothetical.  You said nothing more. You just hugged onto Fluttershy, just wanting to forget. You promised yourself that no one else would get hurt under your watch. That stupid spirit, it was stupid! Scootaloo wasn’t your fault. And how could you have known Cozy was trying to make friends with the Storm King? Silverstream, it shouldn’t have happened, but you never hesitated in rescuing her. That evil version of you, how could you have predicted Chrysalis would have done that? Yona… It was an accident.   It wasn’t your fault! IT WASN’T! Fluttershy could feel you shaking. She tried cradling you, nuzzling you, in an attempt to calm you down. She wished Discord had been there before you broke down, as he'd know how to cheer you up. But in truth, he was back at the house, preparing something for your room before he came back. She didn’t want him to see you so distraught. So she did the one last thing she knew she could do for you. She began to sing. A lullaby of sorts. She was singing and comforting you. In her mind, it was clear that this heartless pony had shook you to your very core, and had made her little gentlecolt genuinely doubtful of oneself, as well as highly upsetting him. She sung about how ‘great’ you were, about how you were loved by family and friends, that you were to dream happy dreams as the darkness was banished. The usual stuff. But in that tone? In her soft comforting whispers. Even if it gave you no insight, it made you feel calmer. You were still scared she didn’t believe you. But she believed something did happen, just like you did. God, you were stupid. You were manipulated. And for all you knew, that spirit was the manipulator. Was it even real? Could have it really just been guilt? Well, it didn’t seem to matter any more as Fluttershy cradled you and looked at you with a warming smile. “Anon, how about we go to bed early and you sleep here tonight. I can talk to your father tomorrow about what happened and we can get this all sorted out. How does that sound?” “Aunt Fluttershy…” Clearly she meant just having Discord trying to cheer you up and forget this happened. How miserable and pathetic you must have looked, defeated even. Today has just been a massive beat down to your very being. The only thing you were glad about was that Fluttershy somewhat took you at your word, that she didn’t think you were lying.  You snuggled into her, closing your eyes. For now, you’d have to take the loss, and be the pathetic little colt you were being for the rest of the night. But this aura of guilt about you, you had to prove this notion of narcissism was false. It’d be easy, right? Just avoid anything evil, and DO NOT get anyone else into danger. If one more friend ended up being in harm’s way, you know for sure the princesses wouldn’t let it slide. No, one more mistake like that and they'd never let you live it down. Even Twilight wouldn't... Chrysalis… It couldn’t be her, right? No, she's not like that anymore. Right? No! Hell, you could prove to yourself she wasn't You can prove that. You yawn, and with your face buried into Fluttershy’s chest, you ask her a daring question. “Aunt Fluttershy… Would you like to see Chrysalis tomorrow?” “Hmm? Anon?” Fluttershy was, at first, quite astonished you’d ask such a thing. But the truth was, ever since talking to her back when she was imprisoned, she had actually wanted a chance to speak to her proper. To get to know her, and see what you saw in her. Just like her friends saw what she saw in Discord. So, with very little hesitance, she answered with a smile. “Yes, Anon, I’d like that.” Wut? “S-seriously?” “Did you think I was going to say no?” Fluttershy giggled as she raised you up a bit to give you a kiss on the forehead. “You worked so hard to reform her. And you’d like to consider her family, right? Well, I can tell you I’ve been in your horseshoes before with your father. So if you’d really like me to see her with you, then of course I’m going to say yes.” Holy fuck… She didn’t even sound the least bit skittish over it. At first you were going to question her more on it. But you just hugged onto her a little tighter, nuzzling. You actually felt pretty excited over it. It felt... Nice Fluttershy just held you, never moving from her spot. Her lullaby had helped soothe you and get your mind sorted. Seriously, fuck that spirit or whatever it was. You’ll show it why you’re goddamned Anon, and you can do anything! Without realizing it, you had finally fallen asleep in the caress of Fluttershy's care. You kind of wished Luna would show up within your realm of dreams. Either of her own volition or through a nightmare you were having. But you just cruised within a deep slumber. In your sleep, you felt you could suddenly smell a delicious meal being made nearby. You followed it, stepping towards a black void to whatever that tasty treat could be. However, upon approaching what seemed to be pancakes and juice, it suddenly exploded! “HOLY GAH!” You jumped awake from your sleep and fell on the floor, right onto your face. It seems Fluttershy had placed you on the sofa to rest at one point. That noise, that booming noise. What was that? The sun was barely up, so what the hell! “Oh my.” You hear Fluttershy as she hovers towards the front door from the kitchen “I wonder who that can be so early in the day. It sounds like it could be Yona. But why would she be here, I wonder?” She didn’t even seem to notice that you fell from the couch. You pop your head out from the blankets that had fallen with you, and look over towards her. Did she say Yona? “Professor Fluttershy? It Yona! Is Anon home? Or is he home home? Yona need to go over project with Anon before school.” Yona said through the door. Fuck! It was her! The project! THE PROJECT?! OH SHIT! You just froze in horror as Fluttershy opened the door to let her in. Oh god no, you REAAALLLYYY didn’t need her to hear about it, maybe you can get Yona outside somewhere and- “Oh, that’s right. You and my little Anon had a project you were doing together, I completely forgot! Why don’t you come in and join us for breakfast? But shhh, don’t be too loud, Anon is… Oh, Anon.” Fluttershy giggled at you. “I don’t normally see you awake so soon. Oh, I bet you’re excited for later today, right?” Your pupils just shrunk in horror. She invited her for breakfast… Goddammit… “A-absolutely…”