Lyra took in a deep breath, the weaponized strings falling down to the floor with a whoom as the tension was released into nothing.
Her legs were shaking. Her back hurt, and the pain nearly made her collapse on the spot. The adrenaline rush that allowed her to unflinchingly stare down Nightmare Moon was now ending, letting the full weight of the situation fall on her.
And she'd just ruined the strings of her lyre.
Getting new strings from that one store in Canterlot, where they had the real good ones, was going to be a bugger…
The minty unicorn gathered herself. There were things more important and pressing than her back pain and untuned instrument - two of them were in the room with her, laying in the dust of the ruined castle
"Honey?" sounded the slurred speech of Bon Bon as she attempted to sit, using the crumbling stone wall for support. "Is that really you?"
Lyra winced with every step as she walked to her lover's side, her own pain pushed aside for the time being. Just getting a glance of Bon Bon, of the dark purple bruise on her chest, and the shivering green bundle held in the confectioners' hooves, was enough to push Lyra onward.
Just keep going. They need help.
Arriving at her wounded marefriend's side, Lyra had an epiphany - she knew nothing about first aid. Standing helplessly next to the two hurt ponies with no real idea of what to do, she started to panic. The shocked, confused look Bon Bon had on her face, together with a faint blush. The shuddering breaths Anon took.
This could mean only one thing, Lyra thought.
They're dying!
So Lyra did what every book and action play had taught her to do when dealing with wounded ponies.
"Don't go into the light, you hear me!? Don't die on me dammit!"
She screamed her lungs out at them.
A beige hoof shot upward and into Lyra's mouth. Bon Bon spoke with surprising ease, like if something was lifting the pressure and pain in her chest. "Lyra, I love you, but if you don't stop yelling, I'm going gag you. And not in the fun way."
Bon Bon stood back up. Lyra attempted to help her, but it wasn't needed. Maybe the power of love was giving her strength? The agent was sure that her ribs were broken after the impact. And Anon… wasn't she injured pretty badly? She looked alright to Bon Bon now, the filly gently snoring, cuddled up by her side - how Anon managed to fall asleep in the first place was beyond her, but she didn't see any injuries, other than a nasty bump on the filly's head looking like a second, extra stubby horn.
Lyra hugged Bon Bon suddenly, panic seeping into her voice as she started shaking with her partner. "Light!"
Bon Bon rolled her eyes. "I'm not going into the light, Lyra!"
Lyra shook her head. "No, you're glowing!"
Only then did the agent notice the tendrils of golden light enveloping her and the unconscious body of Anon. Lyra only watched in awe as the big, ugly bump on Anon's head shrunk, and Bon Bon's bruise faded away.
The sun orb, realized Bon Bon with a start.
The artifact was with them in the room, saturated with magic siphoned from Nightmare Moon. And now it was casting a healing spell ever so familiar to Sweetie Drops. The source of the magic may have been different, but the technique behind it? The secret touch that gave the spell its shape? It was too similar for it to be a coincidence.
The agent glanced at her healed bruise, then back at the orb. It just stayed there, unmoving, and yet, she felt like it was staring back from where it lay on the dusty floor.
"It's alive," whispered Lyra, almost religiously. The unicorn mare approached the artifact, hoof outstretched, almost touching it.
"DON'T!"
There was a feeling, like it was suddenly much hotter in the room. The orb had given a warning. A brief flash of light - the growling before the bite.
Bon Bon swallowed, droplets of sweat falling from her forehead.
"It's Spring's, we… we shouldn't touch it, not without her permission," she said, eyes still locked on the artifact. The orb was inactive now, its healing spell cast, but fire still faintly glowed beneath its crystalline surface.
Lyra nodded vigorously, not in the mood to discover what bite marks given from an orb would look like.
Sweetie Drop’s whole body shuddered, feeling sick in her stomach. The sun orb was doing it again, casting spells just by itself. And casting them just like…
No, that was absurd. She had to be wrong about this. There was no way in Tartarus that Celestia wouldn't notice this, and if she knew-
Anon turned in her hooves, mumbling something sleepily.
Sweetie Drop’s eyes softened. Those questions could wait. First, she needed to get them somewhere safe.
Her broken ribs were healed. She touched the place of impact. No signs of the injury, no tender flesh or even a dull ache. The agent was no mage, but even she knew that very few ponies had enough power and expertise to accomplish such a feat. This fact did not lessen her worrying about the nature of the sun orb one bit.
Sweetie Drops attempted to take a step, only to nearly fall back down.
Right, healing magic.
While it was almost miraculous in its efficacy when used by a master, it still left the recipient feeling like they'd just ran a marathon in plate armor while somepony used their head as a percussion instrument.
Recover a little first, then get out of the accursed, monster filled forest, Bon Bon reasoned.
It didn't look like Nightmare would come back anytime soon, and the castle wards would protect them from any inhabitants of the Everfree. They were relatively safe here.
The collapsed outer wall of the ruined bedchamber gave her a full view of the Everfree and the rest of the ancient castle. Lyra came to her side, head tilted a little before shrugging. Her surprisingly clean, minty coat glistened in the moonlight.
And the sights here aren't halfway bad.
Lyra plumped down next to her, their tired bodies leaning against each other. Enjoying a moment of their shared closeness in a turbulent night, watching the starry, moonlit sky in all its glory. Some silent seconds passed, vanishing into the mist of what was. Leaving nothing but a vague memory behind.
Bon Bon smiled fondly at the world, and the world smiled back. Her worries were not forgotten, but, for at least for a moment, the joy of simply being overcame them. It will be alright, the world whispered as the stars shined above them. In the end, it will be alright.
Lyra turned Bon Bon to face her muzzle to muzzle, shaking hooves placed on the agent's shoulders. Eyes the color of honey, the reason for Lyra's nickname, stared into hers. Her mouth open, she leaned close.
"BON BON, WE NEARLY DIED!" Lyra shouted.
Sadly, the feeling of inner peace was not shared.
Lyra sniffled. Her eyes widened as the reality of what had happened truly settled in her mind.
"YOU PUNCHED NIGHTMARE BUCKING MOON!" Lyra continued shouting, the volume loud enough that several families of birds living in the Everfree began to file their complaints.
Bon Bon recoiled a little, sensitive ears pinned to her head and a sheepish smile on her lips.
"PUNCHED?" Bon Bon shouted back, sounding almost offended. "YOU WHIPPED HER!"
Lyra looked stunned for a second, eyes widening even more, threatening to escape her face and start a new prospective career as a wildly impractical salad bowls.
"CELESTIA, YOU'RE RIGHT! I WHIPPED HER! WE'RE SO DEAD!" Lyra half cried, half shouted. She held her beloved candy maker close. The smell of vanilla mixed with the earthly scent of forest - mostly from all the dirt and twigs stuck in Bon Bon’s coat - attacked her nostrils. "I WAS SO SCARED, BONNIE!"
"I KNOW, I'M SO SORRY!" Bon Bon did the same, embracing Lyra, one strong hoof gently stroking her marefriend's mane. "BUT YOU WERE SO BRAVE!"
Lyra raised her head, leaving a damp patch on Bon Bon's fur where her tears soaked it, sniffing in a wholly ineffective attempt at not crying. "REALLY?!" she shouted half-heartedly.
"YES!" screamed Bon Bon. "YOU HAD A WHOLE SPEECH, YOU WERE GREAT!"
"I WAS!?" said Lyra with a bit more bravado, a faint smile tugging at her lips.
Bon Bon nodded vigorously, her neck muscle straining - but nothing could stop her from delivering encouragement to her Lyra. "YOU EVEN TOLD NIGHTMARE OFF!"
"YOU'RE RIGHT, I DID!" Lyra shouted back at full volume, this time with her smile fully showing.
"AND YOU CLAIMED SPRING AS YOUR OWN!" continued Bon Bon, both of them now grinning like maniacs.
"OF COURSE!" said Lyra, proud and beaming.
"AND YOU CALLED ME YOUR FIANCÉE!"
What followed was a silence so complete that it came all the way back and became almost deafening. Both of them faltered, seeing the reaction of the other. Lyra nervously scratched the back of her head, her ears drooping, while Bon Bon simply froze, as if she had only now realized.
"I'm sorry!" Lyra fell to her hind legs, begging in front of Bon Bon, who looked more shell-shocked by the situation than a soldier guarding an ammo depot at the battle of Shellingrad. "I knew you said you wanted to wait, but I was so caught up in the moment and I thought you and Spring were hurt–"
"Lyra…" Bon Bon said softly, but the stream of Lyra’s frightened words only gained speed, becoming somehow even more frantic. Syllables and whole sentences fell over each other.
"–and I saw you ran into the forest so I went after you and I think I angered a chimera along the way and also kinda caused a mudslide and maybe cut somepony’s mustache with the strings by accident but I just wanted to follow you–"
"Ly-ly," Bon Bon attempted to stop the flow of words, putting a little more force behind her own speech.
"–and I saw Nightmare throw you against the wall and I just got so angry and–"
Their lips locked together. Lyra went still in surprise before returning the kiss in earnest. Never did she tire of the taste - so sweet, but with a powerful undertone she could never really place. It made her feel so alive, so powerful. The love burning inside of her.
Ever so slowly, and with a feat of willpower worthy of a legend, Bon Bon tore herself away from Lyra, the two of them staring into each other's eyes.
"Yes," said Bon Bon simply.
Lyra's mind went blank - from the sudden show of affection, from all her doubts and pain being swept away in a tidal wave of emotion.
"Oh," she managed to say, eliciting such a wondrously cute chuckle from Bon Bon. She could listen to it until the end of time. To her, it was a more beautiful sound than any song she ever could play.
Clang
But they didn't have until the end of time.
The two startled mares jumped up, whipping their heads around to see Anon, pushing something over the edge and into the moat - the stolen chest plate, Bon Bon realized. The filly grimaced as the stolen armor made impact with stones, branches, and a family of frogs living in the moat.
Anon's legs wobbled, the foal nearly falling on her face, only saved by Bon Bon’s quick reflexes preventing her from going splat on the floor. "My bad. I didn't want to ruin the moment."
The filly gave them a sheepish smile as the armor was thrown out of the moat by a very angry papa frog, landing on the forest floor with another loud clang. "Sorry."
Lyra rushed to her aid with a disbelieving look. "You've been awake this whole time?"
The filly shrugged, scrambling to gain a modicum of stability on her limbs and free herself from Bon Bon's grasp. "Well, it's hard not to wake up, with all the yelling you've been doing."
"Quite right, my little pony."
Bon Bon froze, gaze slowly turning towards the alabaster alicorn entering the ruined bedchamber, a large, gleeful grin plastered on her muzzle.
It didn't take much brain power to deduce the reason for said gleeful grin - Celestia did always have a weakness for weddings, wedding cakes especially.
"Sister, have you found them?"
From the newly made hallway, created by hurling an armored alicorn at a high speed, galloped a familiar figure.
Lyra did not hesitate. Her discarded strings levitated back into position around her, ready for the incoming enemy. Bon Bon did not stay behind, sweeping Anon up despite the filly's meager protest, and standing between her and the second alicorn entering the room.
Anon wasn't in the best state of mind - lightheaded, feeling like she was going to forcibly evacuate her digestive system into a different dimension, and with most of her senses simultaneously not working and working too much.
But even then, Anon could see the difference between the Nightmare Moon she had faced in battle and the mare standing in front of her now.
She was smaller, for starters. Her coat was a lighter shade of blue. She retained the fangs and slitted eyes, but her wings appeared feathery compared to the bat wings she used to have. The only overtly bat-like feature Anon saw, not counting the fangs, were two tufts of fur, each at the end of the former Nightmare's ears.
But those were all surface-level differences. The main difference was both more obvious and subtle at the same time.
Luna's shoulders were slumped, her wings limply hanging down. The pair of draconic eyes searching the ruins looked hollow and devoid of light. And while that was an improvement over the mad glee of someone enjoying the fear of others, it wasn't that much better.
"We mustn't halt in our search!"
Only then did the younger alicorn notice them, seeing the two mares ready for mortal combat against her.
Celestia stepped forth, placing herself between the two mares and the young foal, sitting unimpressed behind them, and her newly returned sister.
"Please," Celestia said towards Lyra. "There is no need for violence."
Luna sighed, ears flopping. "No, it's understandable for you to be wary of my presence, considering our last… confrontation."
"I kicked your sorry flank," muttered Lyra, just loud enough for Anon to hear.
Luna's ear twitched a little, a strained look on her face. "But I wish to right the wrongs of the past, starting now. Right, sister?"
Lyra's mouth opened agape. The color vanished from her face, probably deciding to take a vacation somewhere safer with a lower chance of execution for attacking a royal. "Wait, sister?!"
Celestia smiled, hearing these words again after so long. "Yes, this night has lasted for far too long."
The sisters stood side by side - as they always should have - with horns aimed at the starry sky.
The stars moved, the Moon dipped below the horizon. First there was the soft orange and reds of a new dawn. Another day, and another chance.
And in the sunlit sky - a few dots flying towards the palace. The pegasus-drawn chariots of the Royal Guard arriving at the scene.
Celestia draped one of her wings over the smaller alicorn, turning towards the awe-struck trio in the room with a sly smile.
"You need a lift?"
Ponyville.
What a silly place.
The trip back to town was… difficult. Not for the reasons traveling through a cursed, monster-filled forest normally is.
Sitting in one of the flying chariots, the passengers wallowed in the kind of silence typical for a group of people being suddenly stuck in a cramped space with nothing to do. Only now there was an added layer of awkwardness, considering they had been karate-chopping and throwing each other into the air not even an hour ago.
The chariot’s landed in the empty street by the library tree. Five mares poured out from the leading chariot, and the sixth - a rainbow-maned pegasus who had decided that racing the chariots was much better than sitting in them - rolled her eyes as she helped ponies back onto their hooves.
From the pile Pinkie Pie sprung up, scattering the rest of the Element Bearers. "Yay! We made it! You all know what that means?"
Twilight managed to get up, bags under her tired eyes, mane disheveled and filled with leaves. "A bath and some sleep?"
The pink mare started bouncing around her, streamers and confetti appearing from nowhere. Twilight watched in confusion as ponies rushed into the streets, ready to celebrate again - hailing them as heroes.
"No, a party!" the pink mare laughed, diving into the crowd.
Ponyville.
What a silly place.
Twilight was about to say something when somepony, or better somedragon ran up to her from the herd of celebrating denizens.
"Twilight!" Spike said, as he pulled the surprised unicorn into the biggest hug he could manage. "You did it. Your plan worked! You saved Equestria!"
The studious unicorn scooped the dragon up with her magic, placing him on her back with a delighted giggle. "Oh my gosh, I did! And I even made friends!"
The dragon raised a scaly brow at that. "Friends?"
Twilight nodded and pointed at the five mares she had traversed the treacherous Everfree with.
"There is Rainbow Dash," she pointed at the speedster pegasus, currently showing off her tricks to a small orange filly. "Who proved her loyalty when she fought off the shades back in the pavilion.”
"Pinkie Pie, who cheered us up when we were getting worried about everypony in Ponyville." The party mare resurfaced from the crowd, wearing a snorkel. She waved at Spike before diving back into the crowd, leaving the drake befuddled.
"Fluttershy, who tamed a manticore with her compassion." Twilight continued speaking, ignoring Spike's confusion at Pinkie Pie's antics. The yellow pegasus was momentarily busy with slowly backing off from the crowd, hoping nopony would notice she was gone.
"Applejack, who reassured me when I was in doubt." The farmer scoffed at Rainbow's tricks, prompting a quick hoof-wrestling competition.
"And Rarity, who calmed a sorrowful river serpent with a meaningful gift." The young drake glanced at the last one mentioned, hiding his blushing face behind his tail.
"That's… a lot of friends you have, all of a sudden," he finally said.
Twilight clapped her hooves together happily. "I know. It's so exciting and terrifying!"
She wilted suddenly, ears drooping, Spike patted her on the shoulder in a show of solidarity. "But it won't last," Twilight sighed. "Just when I learn how wonderful it is to have friends, I have to leave them."
"Not necessarily."
Princess Celestia gave her student a wink before turning to Spike. "Take a note, please."
The ever so regal Princess of the Sun cleared her throat.
"I, Princess Celestia, hereby decree that the unicorn Twilight Sparkle shall take on a new mission for Equestria."
She paused for effect, noticing Twilight staring at her with big eyes filled with anticipation. Celestia held a laugh and continued.
"She must continue to study the magic of friendship and report to me her findings from her new home in Ponyville."
Twilight stood still for a few seconds before the realization sunk in and she jumped up and hugged the Princess. Celestia craned her neck to more easily embrace her overexcited student.
"Oh, thank you, Princess Celestia! I’ll study harder than ever before!"
Twilight yawned, eliciting a giggle from the Princess. "Maybe tomorrow, my faithful student. But for today you should rest."
Twilight let go of the Princess, a sheepish smile on her face as she noticed the crowd watching.
"Ehm, yes Princess!" she said, thoroughly embarrassed, Celestia simply smiling at her.
Spike meanwhile climbed on Twilight to reach up and get a hug of his own from the alicorn, who gladly gave it, not paying any attention to the surrounding ponies.
Twilight yawned again, then glanced at the murmuring crowd around them nervously. Celestia simply waved her wing, returning to her sister, who had watched the whole interaction with clear amusement - happy to see her sister's antics hadn't changed much despite the years.
Twilight gave a wave to the Princess and said a quick goodbye to her new friends. The tired mare opened the doors to the library - she had to use much more magic than normal for this mundane task. But, again, she was tired, and only thing that kept her standing was the image of a warm bath and a comfortable bed. Using a little more magic wasn't really a big concern for her right now.
"Ah, home sweet home…"
She immediately heard the sound from every librarian's worst nightmare: the sound of wood shattering, and precious books crashing on the floor. Spines bending and pages getting torn.
Twilight froze standing in the entrance. Spike, attempting to appear innocent, stared at the ceiling - this being about the only part of the library that had remained relatively clean - and started whistling.
"Spike," Twilight said after a minute of shocked silence, the exhausted unicorn blinking owlishly at the pile of literature forming and the destroyed stairwell. "Why is there a hole in the library wall?" She shot a look at the overturned bookshelf, formerly blocking the doors, spilling its content all over the room after being pushed over. Twilight's eyes narrowed a little in concentration. "And why is the encyclopedia of Saddle Arabian flora missing?"
Spike gulped, the mare in front of him looking at the giant mess with a vacant stare.
"Ehm… it's a long story?"
Twilight, to Spike's great surprise, sighed. Even a bookworm like herself had a limit. Her limit was two days without sleep, having to march through monster filled wilderness for hours, together with already being tired and sore from her P.E. lessons.
"You’re going to explain this to me. And we're going to clean the library." She yawned yet again. "Tomorrow." She said groggily. "Any other nasty surprises I should know about?" Twilight asked.
The young drake shrugged, relieved and thanking his guardian star - sleep deprivation. "Can't think of anything."
"Good." Twilight deadpanned. "I'm now going to sleep for twenty hours. Have a nice time at the party."
"I will!"
Spike hesitated at the doors, turning back from the sounds of the party going on in the streets of the silly town of Ponyville. Was he forgetting something? The young drake stopped in his tracks as he connected the dots.
"OOWWWW!" screamed Twilight Sparkle, probably the most magically gifted unicorn of her time, as she landed squarely on the forgotten encyclopedia in her bed. Its many very prickly samples letting themself be known, and more importantly, felt.
"SPIKE!!!" yelled the unicorn, suddenly enveloped in flames.
Spike didn't hesitate after that.
He just started running.
Anon sighed.
The jumper watched the ponies around her laugh, she watched Spike's reunion with Twilight and she watched the alicorn sisters, the two never departing from each other's presence for long. Luna’s was making her first tentative steps toward the still-terrified citizens under Celestia's watchful eye. Reconciliation and forgiveness - Luna had a long path ahead of herself, but she would have her sister with her.
From the corner of her eye, she saw that they had served cake at the party, but she couldn't bring herself to go and get it.
She wasn't in the mood for cake.
Bon Bon and Lyra were there too, asking her if she was alright - she lied. What she was doing in the Everfree - got kidnapped by a shade, so also a lie. If she needed anything - no (big lie). Was she wounded? - nope, Celestia already checked on her, same with the medics from the guard. Nothing was wrong with her. Physically, at least.
So she stayed with them at the party, trailing just behind them. Watching and thinking.
The pair was engaged in a conversation with a gray pegasi mare with a unicorn filly by her side. The conversation started as the many before it: whether they were alright, how terrified they must have been during the long night. Such things. But soon the conversation turned to other topics. Something about school, and horn practice? Anon didn't really listen, letting the words wash over her without letting them take space in her head. That place was already full enough.
"That's her, Daddy!"
Anon had seen her in… his memories. His big sister. Muddled and broken, but she was still there. All memories of earth, of the old life before jumping, had been taken from her. Names, faces - lost to the wind, together with what she used to be. Not, not lost.
Stolen.
She looked at Bon Bon and Lyra, giggling and laughing, their eyes sparkling with joy as they revealed their engagement to the gray pegasus, who just squealed at the news.
They were happy.
And Anon didn't, couldn't, belong here.
"Excuse me. You’re Spring Break, I presume?"
The jumper turned, lowering her head and moving her legs - but there was no attack or ambush coming.
Speaking to her was a brown middle aged stallion wearing a tie, and with bags of money for a cutie mark.
Money as a mark? That seems a tad unfair.
Anon shrugged, trying to appear casual, an escape route already planned in her head - the thatch roofs should be only able to support her lightweight frame. "Depends on why you're asking."
Filthy Rich smirked. "Ah, a bold one, I see. I'm here to give my thanks."
Anon stared at the stallion for a few seconds, as if the very idea of somebody thanking her were too far-fetched to be real.
Deadly monsters and talking equines? Eh, why not. But a sincere gratitude? Impossible!
"Without your help, who knows what could happen to my most precious little Diamond." He explained, nudging the foal from where she was hiding behind his front leg. Anon noticed a cast around Diamond's fetlock.
"Daaad!" Diamond whined.
Filthy Rich ruffled the pink filly's mane as she pouted and rolled her eyes.
"So I just wanted to thank you and make sure that you were alright, young lady." the wealthy stallion said with a cheeky grin. "Really, I had to. Dia here was so worried about you! She was inconsolable!"
Diamond Tiara buried her muzzle into her father's side, as if she was trying to push him away from Anon.
"Daaad! Stop! This is embarrassing..."
Filthy Rich tilted his head. "Really? And here I thought her name was Spring Break. You have my apologies."
Anon held a laugh while Diamond groaned, eyes turning so far into the back of her skull she could see her own brain.
Filthy Rich smile faltered a little, his voice turned more somber and quiet.
"I cannot ever repay you for what you have done. If anything, and I mean anything, troubles you, the Rich household will always have its doors open. Understood?"
Anon looked the stallion in the eyes, both brimming with sincerity. "Yes… thank you," the jumper answered hesitantly.
He nodded, only once. There was understanding in the gesture. A debt was made, and debts have to be paid. Sooner or later. "Well, I'm needed elsewhere. Come Diamond, let's not leave your mother waiting."
They left, just as Bon Bon and Lyra were finishing their conversation. Not noticing that Anon wasn't there anymore.
The house that wanted to be a home was silent.
In this house, a bedroom waited for its little green inhabitant. Toys lay in the corner, gathering dust. The book stood unread.
Pop
The air shimmered, and where there before there was just air, now there was a small, green filly.
Anon moved fast, retrieving the few things she had left in there. There wasn't much. Most of her possessions were already on her - the True Spork, the orb, and the infinite bandage.
Most important was the jacket.
Worn and torn, held together only by a few threads, but the quality of the material still shone through. That it had survived for so long was itself proof of its hardiness.
The journal was last, tossed into one of the many pockets of the hiker's jacket. Anon gave the room one last look.
She had enough power for a jump. The weave spread out in front of her. The jumper only needed to focus her will into a fine point and start pushing until the fabric of reality gave.
"What are you doing?"
Anon nearly jumped right then and there, yelping in surprise as Celestia spoke from behind her.
Celestia looked outwardly calm, but there was the slightest hint of worry in her voice - a tiny quiver betraying her emotion.
Anon took in a deep breath, letting go of the grand tapestry for a moment. "Shouldn't you be with your sister?"
The alicorn ignored the question, sitting down in front of Anon, big purple eyes boring into Anon's soul. The jumper started pawing at the floor nervously under her gaze.
"You don't need to do this, y’know." Anon whispered, head hanging low, not able to look at Celestia anymore. "My plan failed. I didn't stop Nightmare Moon. I didn't protect the Element Bearers."
Anon struggled to breathe. A few tears made their way down her cheeks. "I did nothing."
Celestia raised a brow. "Oh really? Is saving the life of a foal nothing? Is risking your well-being for others nothing? If that’s so, there are a lot of medals I gave over the years for nothing," she chuckled. "Taking them all back now is going to make so many ponies cross with me…"
The Princess looked outside, at the blue sky, at the town filled with celebrating ponies. One of her wings extended over the jumper - not touching her, simply letting it hover above the green filly.
Celestia waited, letting the silence fill the room. The jumper still avoided eye contact.
"I’ve got to go," whimpered Anon. "I have to."
Celestia sighed. She walked over to the toys, picking one up in her golden magic. A plushie in the rough shape of a pony, made from coarse cloth. The immortal alicorn gave the toy an approving look, before putting it back down, now clean of the dust.
"I cannot stop you, but I'll advise you," Celestia said. "Wait a few more days. Rest. You deserve it, even if you’ve convinced yourself otherwise."
Anon shook her head, the world hazy. "I can’t. If I stop going now, I don't think… I have to go."
Celestia gave a sad nod, her eyes soft, offering support. Offering help. But Anon couldn't take it. The price would be too high.
"Your caretakers? What am I to say to them?" the alicorn asked. "They're probably already looking for you."
Anon opened her mouth, then closed it again, on the verge of… she didn't know anymore. Screaming. Crying. Jumping without another word.
"Tell them," she said. "Tell them that you took me to Canterlot. That some other family adopted Spring Break. Tell them… tell them that they did a good job."
Celestia stood there, motionless, a statue in the room, but her words struck like lighting all the same.
"Don't you at least want to say goodbye?"
The green filly's face was hidden by her shaggy black mane, away from Celestia's view, but she could see the muscles tensing on her neck - Anon was gritting her teeth, veins pulsing under the fur.
"No."
Anon let her experience lead her - opening a portal was a question of muscle memory at this point. Reality would just have to fight one more bar brawl against her, and it would lose as usual.
"I have to go now."
Celestia opened her mouth, wanting to speak, but she stopped herself before gathering enough courage to command her vocal cords to work. The vision of the past haunting her, of a dear friend gone to madness. Of his creations, the mirrors. Thousands of attempts leading nowhere.
She knew how this story could end. She had seen it once before.
Or at least, she thought she knew.
Anon focused on her power, closing her senses to the outside world. Letting it swell into a weapon to swing at reality with.
And reality dodged.
Anon trembled in place, clenching her jaw. The weave was refused to bend to her whims. The jumper put more effort into it, shaped her will into a needle, stabbed at the weakest spot she could sense.
Nothing.
Again!
Celestia watched, confused, as the filly started to shake. Phasing in and out of existence.
"Are you alright?"
She wasn’t.
With a thud, the exhausted jumper fell to the floor. Staring in horror at her hoof.
She had all the power she needed, and she still couldn't jump. It meant only one thing, something she had only heard in stories from the other jumper she had met. Something so terrifying, so horrible that it scared her more than any monster she had faced before in her life.
"I’m stuck," Anon whispered. Celestia let out a sigh of relief that Anon did not notice as reality, for once, caught up to her. "I’m stuck," she repeated. Truly lost once again.
In one of the hiker’s jacket pockets, an orb shined a faint golden light.