//------------------------------// // Mental Strain // Story: The Daily Life Of Anonymous // by Zarah //------------------------------// Anon and Azrael sat in the main living room. It seemed to have a homely design, similar to a large cabin. Although the sharp contrast to the purple tinted crystals seem to nullify the intended effect. In the living room, the duo sat at the large elongated glass coffee table, a large white sofa with purple trimmings at each end. Upon the table were seven coasters, each one had the cutie mark of Twilight and her friends. Anon leaned back into the sofa, the back cushion giving way to his human weight. To his right was Azrael, she had seemed to calm herself slightly. At that moment, the door to the living room slowly swung open, revealing the small dragon holding a tray of beverages, as well as a few biscuits. "Sorry. That took longer than expected, I forgot where the biscuits were." The purple dragon apologised, making his way quickly to the coffee table. "I remembered that you prefer coffee to tea. Miss Azrael, I'm afraid I don't know your preference, so I just went with chamomile." The dragon explained while giving out their respective drinks. "Thanks little man." Anon commented. "It's fine, thank you." Azrael added. Just as quickly as he arrived, the little dragon left. Closing the door behind him. Anon immediately picked up his beverage and took a long sip, releasing a content sigh. "I'm gonna have to nick some of this later. Shits good." Anon commented, laying back into the sofa. As he looked over to Azrael, he both saw and heard the demon struggling to pick up the tea filled cup. "You good?" Anon asked with a hint of amusement. "How do... Ugh, ponies pick up stuff with their hooves? It's fucking impossible." Azrael replied with frustration dripping from her voice. "Just grow hands or something." Anon suggested, matter of fact. Azrael stopped her attempts and looked to Anon. "It looks weird, though. I don't want to give Twilight or Celestia another reason to banish me." The demon replied, her frustration replaced with worry. "Fuck 'em. You focus on being comfortable, I will deal with the royals. " Anon said with confidence. Azrael gave him a soft smile before the end of her forehooves began to melt slightly as three individual digits began to protrude in a claw like fashion. Once her fur had covered the new limbs, she proceeded to pick up and sip the tea. "Ooh, that's actually quite nice." The demon hummed. After five minutes of idle chatter. The door clicked, gaining the duo's attention as it slowly opened, revealing a metal cart, with machines, lab equipment and a few files. As well as some miscellaneous items which threatened to fall off the cart with how much equipment sat upon it. The trolley squeaked and wobbled as it entered the room, the handle encompassed in a purple aura, making its way further into the room with the purple alicorn walking in behind it. Spotting this, Azrael retracted her new digits. "Right then, Anon, since we already did the initial tests, this one will be a lot less invasive. Mainly focused on how your magic is developing and a couple of other things." Twilight said, while looking at Anon, she could not help giving Azrael a few glances as she finished pushing the cart up to the coffee table. Twilight spent a few minutes setting everything up. The two machines were set onto the glass table delicately. One looked like a smaller version of a printer, it had a paper tongue and a needle pressing against the exposed paper. The other looked similar to a microscope, but more bulky and with an attached rack that held warped glass circles. During her setup, the due simply sat in silence as the Alicorn got to work. Once finished, the machines let out a small beep with a green light, signalling they were ready. "Right. Before we start. Apple jack told me that you dislocated your shoulder but got it set. If that's the case, then I can fix it quickly by speeding up the healing process." Twilight offered with a friendly smile. "That would be appreciated." Anon replied simply. Soon after, Twilight's purple aura encompassed Anon's shoulder as his natural healing process was altered. The human felt a strange sensation down his arm, similar to pins and needles. The healing only lasted for a few seconds, once done, the human's discomfort and soreness went away. Easily slipping his arm out of the sling, the human stretched his arm as it cracked and popped. Removing the sling dangling from his neck, the human shoved it into his pocket, pushing past his trusty pocket knife. "Ok. I'm going to ask you a few question to begin with. Some of these question I might already know, but to see if from your perspective is important as well. So, since last time. Do you think your magic has grown? Like it's strength, versatility or just general output." Twilight started, a stack of paper in front of her and a quill in her magical grasp. Anon scratched his chin before speaking. "Yeah, before I was barely able to create threads. Now I am able to haul hay bales and sling rocks. That sort of thing, I can also create objects I am able to visualize, but they are a pain in the arse to do and take a lot out of me." Anon explained, sitting further forward on the sofa. Twilight wrote down as she mumbled to herself. "Ok, and any notable events using said magic?" She commented, finishing off the last line. Anon looked up at the crystal ceiling in thought. Only thing I can really think of is killing a couple of those timber dog, wolf things." Anon replied as he shrugged. "What?" Twilight demanded, her voice dripping with shock Not fazed by Twilights sudden change, Anon spoke. "Killed a couple of the wood wolves, then burned em." The human said matter-of-factly. Azrael had just been looking at the machines, trying to comprehend what they did. Until a loud snap came from Twilight's direction. Looking over, the quill she had been writing with was cleanly snapped in two. "Why in all of Equestria would you, A: fight a timber wolf and B: Burn it. Do you not know how dangerous they can be!? Twilight demanded loudly. "I needed firewood, and I can handle myself." Anon stated, his tone hinted at annoyance and confusion. "You live next to a bucking forest!" Twilight exclaimed loudly yet again. Her forehooves were now on the coffee table as she stood up. "The warped trees smell better when burnt, and the wolves actually smelt pretty good too. Anon replied, giving his opinion. Twilight took a deep breath as she sat back down. "Look. Timber wolves are made up of negatives emotions and energy. When they have sustained enough damage, their essence or soul as some people call it, leave the body, leaving it to crumble as it goes back into the forest to find enough material to rebuild itself. Even with no soul, the sticks and branches that held them together still hold small pieces of their soul until it seeps back into the ground. If you burn it, the soul becomes airborne and infects any nearby creature. Causing them to lose stability of its negative emotions. That's why we can't just burn the forest back." Twilight explained, her temper calming as she recalled the forest's history. Anon rubbed his temples. "That might explain a few things." He stated. "I'm going to the bathroom, I need to splash myself with water." Anon stated, standing up for the sofa and making his way to the door. "Do you know where it is?" Twilight quickly asked. "Pretty sure, If I get lost, I'll just call for the little guy." Anon replied. "Or just summon another demon, who knows." He said sarcastically as he left the room. The human began to wander in the rough direction of the toilets. Taking a left here and a right there, his directional confidence began to waver. Until he came across an open door. Looking inside, he saw what looked like an office or a study, with the small dragon sliding some books back into their proper place. "Hey little man, know where the bathroom is from here?" Anon asked, his voice seeming slightly exhausted. Spike just finished slotting in the last book before turning around. "Hmm, oh yeah, sure. Continue down until a T-junction. Turn left, then it's the third door on the left." Spike explained, hopping down from the stool he was standing on, clutching an unopened scroll as he made his way to the door. "Oh, by the way. I think the book on the table is yours. Your name is on the front. Anyway, I promised Starlight I would help build a kite with her. See you later." The small dragon informed, jogging out of the room. Anon was able to say 'thanks' before he left. With this new information about a book, the human was too intrigued to ignore it. Standing by the desk, there laid a black book with Anon wrote on the front in white. Shrugging, Anon picked it up and read the first page. His curious expression turned to one of confusion. The first page seemed to just be a generalization of what Anon is as a species. He turned the page to see his personality explored. Again and again he flipped the page. Confusion and outright disbelief plastered his face. And then he turned the page again, his heart sank as his blood boiled. Event that lead to Anon's arrival: Magic from a unicorn by the name of Astral Lexicon. Status: Alive but critical Anon's body put together the pieces before his brain, but it caught up. Astral Lexicon stral Lexico tral Lexic ral Lexi al Lex "ALEX!"