The air in the dining room is heavy. Anon looks at Celestia, who greets his stare with a smile. He then glances at Luna, who avoids his gaze altogether. This is fine by him, as he'd rather not look at her right now, either. Without saying a word, he struts up to the table and takes a seat. Seeing the lineup of food in front of him, he immediately starts making himself a plate. Such behavior is, of course, incredibly rude, especially when dining with the nation's two leaders. However, neither of them bring it up. It seems that Anon has no intention to either, as he makes no effort to speak before he starts digging in. After a few more awkward moments, Celestia clears her throat.
"So. Anon."
Anon grabs a napkin and wipes his face before speaking, indicating that he at least has some manners.
"Yes?"
"How have you been? I imagine this week must have been a bit of an adjustment for you?"
"You could say that."
"How are you feeling?" Celestia speaks with a low, albeit optimistic tone. It's clear that she is well-practiced in the art of conversing, but her warm demeanor falls flat to Anon. He's been tricked by fake smiles before in his old world, and he's not about to be tricked again.
"Well, the lady I served and loved with all of my heart isn't with me right now, so I suppose I'm not feeling the greatest."
"Anon, you are no longer burdened by her rule. You can do whatever you want now!"
Anon freezes for a moment before locking eyes with Celestia. His expression is dark and cold.
"And just what, exactly, do you think I want?"
"Well, surely there are things you haven't been able to do since you arrived in Equestria. You can travel wherever you want, make friends with-"
"Let me stop you right there." Anon holds up a hand. There is a quiet fury in his eyes, which Celestia does not fail to notice. "I already got to do plenty of traveling. I don't need to see those sights again, especially not with this stupid sun constantly beating down on me." Anon turns slightly in his chair to emphasize his discomfort with the rays of sunlight pouring through a nearby window onto his person. "And before you say a single thing about making friends, why don't you think about my reputation, hm? I'm a household name, Celestia. Parents tell stories about me to convince their kids to stay in at night. I don't need to be friends with ponies like that."
Anon goes right back to eating after he says his piece, though Celestia doesn't end the conversation.
"With enough time and effort, I'm sure they'll see the real you."
Anon nearly spits out his food at her words. He covers his mouth with a napkin again and tries to recover for a moment before letting out a deep, cruel-sounding cackle.
"The real me?! Just who do you think I am?!"
"I'm sorry?"
"I'll tell you who I am, Celestia." Anon takes another bite of his food before pointing his fork directly at Celestia, who hasn't eaten a bite since he entered. "I'm 'The Moon's Enforcer.' I'm Nightmare Moon's right-hand man. I'm a menace to your country. I'm the trash you find on the side of the street." Anon turns back to his plate and mindlessly stabs into his food yet again. "And I hate you."
"...Be that as it may, you cannot continue like that."
"Hah! And why not?"
"We granted you a pardon, Anon. Don't think we can't take it away if we suspect you're trying to undermine our efforts to rebuild."
To Celestia's dismay, Anon's mouth contorts into a wicked, cocky grin as an arrogant chuckle escapes him.
"Actually, you can't."
Celestia's warm smile, an expression that she is extremely used to wearing, finally fades. She tilts her head back ever-so-slightly and narrows her eyes at Anon. When she speaks, her voice is stern and commanding.
"Is that a threat?"
"It's an observation. Go ahead, sunbutt. Try to act mean. You don't hold a candle to Nightmare Moon." Anon, clearly having fun getting a rise out of Celestia, takes another bite of his food before continuing. "Unlike her, you can't just take what you want. You have an obligation to 'uphold justice' and 'preserve the peace.' You need your subjects to trust you. To like you."
"What's your point?"
"You pardoned me with the excuse that I only did what I did because I was 'coerced' by Nightmare Moon. Of course, literally everyone knows that's a load of crap, but I was pardoned all the same. Meanwhile, she..." Anon doesn't look away from Celestia, but he does point his fork towards Luna. "...Was pardoned for the same reason. Because she was 'influenced' by Nightmare Moon."
"I still fail to see what you mean."
Anon clicks his tongue in annoyance.
"If you retract my pardon, you're admitting that I'm legally responsible for my own actions regardless of the circumstances surrounding them. Unless you plan to make exceptions to your own rules only a week after taking the throne, you'd have to say the same for Luna."
"That isn't even remotely true."
"Isn't it? The stares I receive from every single pony I walk by tell me all I need to know about their feelings regarding my pardon." Anon finally turns to face Luna. His cocky smile disappears entirely, replaced by a look filled with nothing but emptiness. "I wonder what kind of stares you've been getting."
Luna keeps her head down. She hasn't looked up from her food since Anon arrived. She took a few nervous bites here and there, but she has long since abandoned her meal. Her eyes are tired, and it's clear that this entire scenario has left her extremely uncomfortable.
"That's enough, Anon!" Celestia firmly slams a hoof onto the table, but Anon doesn't look away from Luna. "I have been trying to give you the benefit of the doubt, but now you are officially testing my patience."
"Why invite me here in the first place? I have a feeling there was more to it than just lunch." Once again, Anon speaks to Celestia without taking his eyes off of Luna.
"...Fine. I'm only going to ask this once." Celestia leans forward, her voice as serious as it's ever been. "Where do your loyalties lie?"
Anon responds without skipping a beat.
"With Nightmare Moon."
"Nightmare Moon is gone."
Anon leans forward as well, but not towards Celestia.
"Is she?"
Finally, Luna looks up from her food. She locks eyes with Anon, fear evident on her face.
"I am NOT Nightmare Moon!"
"..." Finally, Anon backs off. He leans back in his seat, closes his eyes, and sighs. Doing so causes the tension in the room to lessen just a bit, and Celestia slowly leans back into her seat as well. "...What am I to you?"
"W-what?" Luna's voice is quiet and uncertain.
"How much of my lady was you?"
"I... I don't know."
"Do you remember it? Any of it?"
Luna looks up at Anon once again. Her expression carries a sorrow that Anon has previously only seen on the faces of his victims.
"I remember all of it."
"Then answer my question. What am I to you?"
Luna opens her mouth to speak, but she quickly clams up. A few weak stutters leave her before she finally finds her words.
"I-I want you to be free."
"Hm?"
"I want you to be free from the shackles I... I-I mean Nightmare Moon, put on you. I don't want any of her legacy to taint your future."
"...That doesn't answer my question, though."
Luna once again tries to speak, but she is interrupted by Celestia.
"Stop. That's enough." Although she doesn't raise her voice, the forcefulness behind her demand is almost enough to make Anon shudder. "I think it's time for you to leave. We have other business to attend to."
"Hm. I'm not sure I-"
Anon is interrupted by the door to the dining room slowly opening. Standing in the doorway is the small outline of a unicorn mare, who lowers her head a bit as she sheepishly enters the room. Anon turns in his chair to get a good look at the new arrival, and he finds himself rising from his seat as he sees who it is. The purple unicorn sees him rise, and she narrows her eyes at him when she does so. Unlike most of the other ponies he has met this week, she doesn't recoil in his presence. Anon narrows his eyes right back at her as he does his best to contain his rising frustration at the mare's arrival. Throughout his entire life, he has never met anyone who makes his blood boil as much as the mare standing before him right now. It takes everything in his power to keep himself calm and collected while she confidently makes her way closer to the table.
This mare is Twilight Sparkle, the unicorn responsible for taking away everything Anon loved.