Anon looks to the small chariot with two pegasi strapped to it. It seems that the time for his return is already in motion. He looks over his shoulder and finds Blueblood, Celestia, and Luna behind him, doing various things. Celestia is busy talking to Blueblood, while Luna is loading the chariot. Anon walks over to the edge of the chariot landing zone and looks down the mountain Canterlot sits upon. He wonders if Celestia or Luna would notice if he jumped right now. He shakes his head. Those are just his emotions talking. He can’t stop the swelled feeling of fear and concern filling his very being.
His mind is in overdrive. He is trying to think about how everything will play out today. There’s just so much that can go wrong in so little time. He wishes it would all just go away, that he’ll be able to return to his somewhat normal life in the home he built. He rubs the back of his neck in thought, his mind going back to the long discussion the two sisters had with him.
Everything is planned. That’s all he can think of. The entire process was talked about and broken down. He still can’t believe some of the things Celestia has in store for the Elements. Not only that, but there’s also a few things she kept from him as well. She assured him it would be necessary and that the elements would learn a lesson they would never forget. He trusts her. It’s all he can do in a time like this.
He doesn’t disagree with the ideas that she did share with him. They seem like fair punishments, all things considered. Luna even came up with a few when Celestia could not and Anon did not find himself objecting to the ideas either. The entire thing works well when he thinks about it. Yet, practice is always different from the real thing.
Like the old human saying goes, “No battle plan survives first contact with the enemy.” He turns around and walks over to Celestia and Blueblood. Blueblood seems rather confused as Celestia whispers something to him.
He gives a hesitant nod. “I understand,” he says as Anon approaches.
“I’ll be counting on you, Blue.” Celestia gives him a smile.
“Is it time to go?” Anon asks.
Celestia looks up to him and gives a nod. Anon walks over to Blueblood and pats him on the head a few times, unsure if it’s to comfort Blueblood or himself.
“See ya, Blue.”
Blueblood gives him a nod just before he walks back into the castle. Anon, Celestia and Luna get into the chariot. It’s going to be a long flight back to Ponyville, but Anon has the feeling it’ll feel shorter than it will actually be.
The chariot lands in front of Anon’s home. So here he is, back in Ponyville. Well, at least he will get to rest for a few minutes in his own personal castle. Anon gets out of the chariot and notices something off about his home. Why is his door open?
“What the hell?” he whispers as he goes to investigate.
Celestia and Luna step out of the chariot behind Anon. They take notice of his open door as well and follow after him. Anon can hear the sound of something tossing around his stuff. He feels a spike of anger as he walks into the living room. However, what he finds leaves his mind drawing a blank.
“Bonbon?” he asks stunned.
There, tearing the place apart, is none other than Bonbon. When she turns around to face him, he notices her brighten up considerably.
“Anon!”
She jumps toward him and tackles him to the ground. Her hooves are wrapped around his neck as she starts to cry.
“W-What the hell is going on?!” Anon yells as he tries to pry this hysterical mare off himself.
Celestia and Luna come galloping into his home after hearing the disturbance. Celestia quickly uses her magic to pull the mare off Anon. She isn't too sure what is going on, but she is going to find out. The mare in her magic seems to freak out some as she waves her hooves around in shock. Once she realizes that she is being held by magic does she calm down a bit.
She looks around and finally notices Celestia. She shrinks a bit at the hardened gaze she is receiving from the princess. Anon gets up and dusts himself off. He walks over in front of Bonbon. She turns her gaze towards him again.
“Alright, two questions. Why are you in my house, tearing it apart, and why are you crying?” Anon spoke neutrally.
The mare tries to reach out to him, but Celestia keeps her still.
“Anon, I’ve been worried sick! You didn't show up to work for the past few days. When I asked everypony around town if they’d seen you, they just ignored me!”
That makes a lot of sense, actually. Bonbon is a bit of a worry wart when it comes to ponies, or people, in this case, that she cares for.
“Alright, that explains the crying part. Nevertheless, I would like to know why you’re tearing my stuff apart?”
“I thought maybe you were ponynapped! So I came in here to look around a bit to try and find any clues. Lyra is in your bedroom searching right now.”
Anon stiffens up some as those words register in his mind. She’s not serious, is she?
“Y-You let her into my room?”
Bonbon nods. “Of course, she insisted.”
Celestia watches as Anon closes his eyes, takes a slow breath in through his nose and then release it out of his mouth. He opens his eyes and looks to Celestia, a single finger held up to signal that she should wait. He walks out of the room and toward the stairs that lead to his bedroom. He wishes that whatever his mind is picturing is wrong, but he has a feeling that he won’t be that lucky on this day.
“Anon!” Celestia hears another mare's voice, followed by a long pause. “This isn't what it looks like.”
Celestia feels herself become concerned as she hears the sounds of a struggle. However, she holds the mare in her magic while she waits. Luna isn't too sure what is happening, but it doesn't sound as if anyone is being harmed. Soon enough, a completely red-faced Anon and a damp-looking mint green mare come walking out of the back room.
“What happened?” Luna asks, a certain smell permeating off the mare. She then finds herself remembering the time Anon and she entered the dream of this pony, a blush now growing on her muzzle.
Bonbon looks to Lyra shocked. “Really, Lyra?! I thought we had a talk about this!”
Lyra looks away from Bonbon with a massive blush. Celestia takes a whiff of the air and the scent. She reels back some as her face becomes red. She clears her throat some trying to ignore the smell of stress relief.
“Alright, so you were worried by the thought I was taken by someone. I really appreciate that, Bonbon.” Anon says ignoring what he just witnessed in the place he rests his head at night. “I’m sorry I didn't leave you a note, but I was kinda in a hurry.”
Celestia gently lowers the mare she is holding to the ground. She now understands that this is the mare that hired Anon. She then looks over to the mint green one, her eyes narrowing some. This was the mare in heat. She holds back her own reaction. Anon already made it clear that he saw no reason to punish Lyra. In fact, he absolutely refused to even humor the idea of punishing her. Celestia has a feeling it is mostly as a form of thanks to his employer.
Bonbon cautiously walks up to Anon.
“I really was worried. Everypony acted as if you just disappeared.” She frowns a bit at that thought. “Many of them probably wished that were true.”
Anon lets out a sigh. Bonbon, while angry at him when they first met, kinda became a big sister type to him, always worrying about him and defending him. He can't fault her for just worrying about his well-being. He gently rests his hand onto her mane as he strokes her some.
“Yeah, I know. I’m back now.” Anon looks around the room. “Actually, how about we get comfortable?”
“That would be wonderful.” Bonbon says casting a disapproving glance towards Lyra.
Lyra chuckles nervously. “Um, y-yeah.”
Anon waves everyone in the room to follow him. He walks over and falls onto his couch, sitting directly in the center. Lyra tries to rush over to one seat, but Anon snaps his fingers loudly at her, catching not only her, but everyone else's attention. She looks at him as he points to another couch that sits directly across from him. She lets out a sigh as she walks over and takes a seat. Bonbon shakes her head some, but sits next to Lyra.
Celestia takes her seat to the right of Anon while Luna sits at the left. They both get comfortable against Anon. Anon leans back some and spreads his arms across the back end of the couch. Enough so that he can idly pet each princess absentmindedly. Lyra on the other hoof is practically screaming on the inside about how lucky the Princesses are to have Anon petting them.
“How’s the store been holding up?” Anon asks as he tries to relax a bit.
Bonbon looks away from Lyra and smiles at Anon. “Those new candies you’ve made are starting to get really popular. When are you going to tell me the secret to making them?”
Anon feels a grin cross his lips as he looks over at Celestia. A grin she can't help but mirror.
“You know I can’t do that, Bonbon,” he says.
She lets out a huff. “Fine, keep your secrets. So where have you been?” She looks at both princesses. “Business, I assume?”
Anon rocks his head back and forth. “Something like that.”
“Are you going to leave again?” she asks.
Anon felt his mind rolling back to yesterday. He probably won't be staying here after this. He wouldn’t be surprised if he got lynched if he dared to stay.
“I’ll probably head out again. Don’t worry, I won't be gone for long,” he assures her.
“Alright,” Bonbon says skeptically. She looks to each princess as she feels her nerves start to kick in. “I-um... I think Lyra and I need to head on home.” She feels a frown overcome her as she looks over to Lyra. “We need to have a discussion about boundaries again.”
Anon gives her a nod, no change in his neutral demeanor. Bonbon doesn't waste time in getting off the couch and walking toward the front door. Lyra looks to Bonbon, then over to Anon. She blushes heavily as she chuckles nervously. She gets off the couch and pauses. She leans over and nuzzles his knee in a flash just before she takes a step back.
“See you later, Anon,” she says quickly before she follows after Bonbon.
Both Celestia and Luna feel their eyes narrow while they track that mare. Once she is out of their sights, Anon lets out a long sigh as his head falls into his hands.
“I can’t believe this. This is the third time I will need to change those sheets,” he says to himself.
“Third time?” Celestia asks.
“As far as I know,” he says rubbing his face some.
Celestia decides to not linger on this issue. Anon seems rather stressed as is. Perhaps they will talk of this problem after this day is over. She doesn’t want to overload him with so much. Anons hands drop from his face. He rises from his seat and turns around to face the princesses.
“So, you two want some tea?” he asks. He then looks at Celestia. “It’s been awhile since we did that.”
Celestia feels a smile overcome her. “That would be lovely.”
Anon waves for them to follow as he walks into his kitchen. A certain nostalgic feeling takes over him. He walks to the cupboard and pulls out the tea kettle. He fills it with water then places it onto his stove just before the fire flickers to life. He could swear that it’s been years since Celestia and him shared a nice cup of tea together. He looks over his shoulder, a small smile present. Luna is here too, which makes it all the better.
Celestia feels her heart warm as she notices the smile Anon is giving them. She must say that she likes how familiar this entire scenario feels. However, her sister is here and that makes her heart warm even more. Luna looks around at the kitchen she sits in. She will admit this is the first time she’s ever entered into Anon’s home. She always wanted to come here, but she held back as to not push him too much.
She is definitely glad that she can share in a moment that her sister and Anon have shared many times before. Anon sets the table with everything as the water comes to a boil. Anon makes each princess a cup of tea. He hesitates some with Luna’s.
“Just a lemon wedge in yours, right?” he asks Luna.
She smiles brightly at him for having remembered a conversation that probably took place months ago.
“You are correct.”
He gives a nod as he cuts a small slice of lemon and places it on the saucer. The teapot starts to whistle, signaling that the water is ready. Anon walks over and picks up the pot and heads back to the table. These small actions are actually calming him more than he was expecting. He feels as if he is back in his old life, his only worries being when Celestia would show up and his late night talks with Luna. As he stands near the table, readying to fill each cup, he can’t help but feel peaceful about everything right now.
That’s until he realizes that his vision is turning purple. He looks to Celestia unsure as to what is happening, a small amount of dread building inside of him.
“Celesti-”
In a flash, Anon is no longer standing there. The pot he was holding falls to the ground with a crash. The two princesses just look to where Anon was standing moments before. Time stops for both of them. Luna is the first to react as she jumps out of her seat, shouting in her Canterlot voice.
“Anon?!”
Celestia is the next to respond. Her body seems to react on instinct as she processes everything she saw. Anon was teleported in a purple aura. There is only one pony strong enough, other than herself and her sister, that can teleport a creature as unique as Anon to another place. She looks to her sister.
“Come, Luna!”
Celestia doesn't wait as she lights her horn up. If she acts fast enough, she can create a link with the teleportation spell and teleport herself and Luna close to where Anon was taken. In a flash, she and her sister land in the middle of town square. Celestia looks around frantically for wherever Anon could be. They don’t need to look far. Only a few yards ahead of them, Celestia spots something that makes her heart race and her blood boil.
Anon is being held tightly in a purple field of telekinesis. His heart rate is peaking and his emotions are unstable. She can feel him screaming on the inside, but the outward appearance of him is devoid of all emotion. The Elements are surrounding him, all of them wearing their jewelry. At this moment, Celestia feels something snap inside of her. A feeling that pales in comparison to when the leader of the griffon kingdom took her last slice of cake.
Basically, she’s livid.
Anon is being forced to face the Elements as they all look at him. How did this happen?! Why is he here?! Why can’t he move?! He notices the glare Twilight is giving him, along with Rainbow Dash and Applejack. However, Rarity, Pinkie, and Fluttershy look hesitant.
“Come on, girls!” Twilight shouts at them. “We need to use the Elements on him again!”
“Twilight, I don’t think this is right,” Pinkie says, looking far less pink than usual, her mane completely straight.
“The Princess told us that she wanted all of the Elements in town square when Anon came back, to fix something dire. What else could she have meant?” Twilight asks.
Pinkie looks away from her. She knows that Anon isn't a bad human. He lived with her for a long time. She likes to believe they got to know each other rather well. She can’t, no, she won’t believe the Princess meant for something like this to happen! Those two are friends. Actual friends, unlike her.
“Twilight, Anon doesn’t look so good. M-Maybe you shouldn’t hold him so tight?” Fluttershy whispers.
“Get ready, girls. We need to use the Elements,” she says, either having not heard Fluttershy or was simply ignoring her.
“Twilight Sparkle!” A roar pierces the air loud enough to destroy all the clouds that were hanging in the sky.
What happens next couldn’t be processed by most living creatures. In a split second, the telekinesis holding Anon evaporates. Before his feet even touch the ground, he feels himself pressing against something. Luna is holding him by her side as he tries to get his mind straight after whatever brought on that intense feeling of vertigo. Once his eyes come back to focus, he looks up to see Celestia standing where he was being held. What just happened?
Luna must say that she is impressed. It seems that her sister has not lost the art of flash teleportation. Even to her eyes, it was nearly impossible to follow. How her sister deconstructed Twilight's spell on a sub-magical level, then she flash teleported Anon where she stood while also taking the place he stood. Her sister was always well-versed in the art of anti-magic and teleportation spells.
Anon slowly feels his mind come to grips as he looks over Celestia. Something is very different about her right now. She’s on fire. Literally. Her mane and tail are blazing infernos, as if they were made from the sun itself! He’s never seen this side of her before. Pink mane, sure, that was a bit of a surprise. This, though, for the first time ever, he actually feels an inkling of fear towards her.
“Do not worry,” Luna whispers to him. “She is protecting you.”
Luna’s voice is enough to calm his emotions. She’s right, Celestia pulled him out of that situation. He doesn’t need to fear her. However, he can feel that she isn’t in a good state of mind right now. He needs to do something before things get too far out of hand.
Celestia finds her eyes locking with her student's. She is about to lose it, but something rests on her withers. She whips her head around to see what pony was crazy enough to challenge her. All of her heat dies out as she sees Anon standing there. The flames of her mane and tail instantly transform back into their usual pastel color.
Anon is safe, that’s the thought that takes over her mind. She can see that he is rather shaken up, though. She can feel it’s not towards her. His hand trembles on her withers as she notices that he is looking at the Elements again. She can feel that heat rising inside of her, but she contains herself. Celestia looks around and notices that her little display gathered a large crowd. She was hoping to have a nice cup of tea before this moment would happen, but things wanted in life are rarely given.
She looks back to the Elements. They're all frozen in place. Who wouldn’t be? They just seen a side of their Princess that nopony has seen since the reign of Discord. Celestia brings her gaze back to the Elements.
“You will apologize to Anon this instant,” Celestia says in a steady but authoritative tone.
“A-apologize?” Twilight asks, still shaking in fear. She’s never seen her teacher look as angry as she is at this moment.
Celestia narrows her eyes. “Now.”
The Elements quickly give a collective, half-assed sorry. Celestia would call them on it, but their punishments will be enough to drive this lesson home. She looks behind her and notices a stage of some sort. Were they planning an announcement after hurting Anon? She feels sickened by those thoughts, but feels that perhaps this is for the best. This is meant to be public and official. So a stage would do nicely.
“Follow me,” Celestia says, giving no room for questions.
Celestia wraps her wing around Anon as she walks towards the stage. Luna mirroring her on his opposite side. Anon must say that this ended up being a rather interesting turn of events.
“Well, I guess it had to happen sooner or later.” Anon tries to joke.
Celestia looks down to him in worry. “They didn’t hurt you, did they?”
He shakes his head. “No, you got there before anything could happen.”
Luna nuzzles Anon gently. “I would be wearing their coats if you came to harm.” Luna states in a deadly serious tone.
“Creepy,” Anon says, smiling at Luna, “but flattering.”
The three of them, along with the Elements, walk onto the stage. Celestia pauses briefly as she points a hoof to the front of the stage.
“Elements, stand here,” she commands them.
They do as they’re told, their backs now facing the rapidly growing audience that is collecting before the stage. Celestia, Luna and Anon walk toward the small curtain that was set up as well, the three of them stopping only a few feet short of touching it. Celestia removes her wing from Anon. She takes another breath to steady her emotions.
Anon can see how stressed she is right now, so he does something that he’s never done before. He reaches out and runs the palm of his hand over her cheek, a human version of a nuzzle. At least, that’s how he sees it. He just hopes she appreciates the effort.
“It’ll be fine.” He tries to calm her the same way she would for him.
Celestia feels her heart skip a beat as she feels Anon’s hand travel along her jawline and over her cheek. She’s not too sure what to think as she tries to reel in her emotions. She wants to stay focused, but what Anon just did was something she never thought he would do. Her mind was filled with retribution before, but now she feels more levelheaded. She gives him a thankful nod just before she looks to her sister.
“Luna, send out a message to the others.”
Luna is grinning like an idiot at the display between these two. She gives her sister a nod and she lights her horn up briefly to send the special guests a message. Anon just ignores this. He knows that Celestia made some prior arrangements to make this punishment really hit at the hearts of these ponies. He knows of only one of the guests. The others, Celestia refused to tell him who they were. It doesn’t matter. He will find out soon enough.
As soon as Luna is finished sending her message, she gives her sister a nod. Celestia returns the nod before she faces Anon again. She leans in and gives him a quick nuzzle before she pulls back.
“It’ll all be over soon. Maybe we can have that cup of tea later?” she offers with a smile.
He gives her a nod. “Of course.”
Celestia gives him one last nuzzle before she turns away from him, her stone cold princess mask now upon her face. Celestia takes small, calculated steps toward the Elements, each step filling them with dread. They aren’t entirely sure what is going on, but they can tell that they’ve bucked up royally. Celestia stops a few feet away from the Elements. She looks down to Twilight, her mask holding firm.
“Tell me what you were thinking,” she asks in a steady tone.
The weight of her tone causes the Elements to gulp in unison as they look to Twilight.
“I-I... Y-You told us t-”
“What did I tell you?” Celestia takes another step closer to her.
“E-Elements, town square, Anon.” Twilight feels her voice dying out.
Celestia moves her vision towards Applejack. The mare is shaking on her hooves.
“What did she tell you?” Celestia asks.
“Twilight told us that you sent a message. Something about using the Elements on Anon.”
Celestia can feel that heat rising. She whips her head toward Rainbow. The mare trying to stay straight-faced, but still shaking slightly in place.
“What did you tell her?”
Celestia’s tone has been steady this entire time. If anything, the lack of fluctuation is making this entire ordeal worse.
“Just as you said. Bring the Elements into the town square when Anon came back. That you had something dire that needs to be fixed.”
Celestia looks back to Twilight.
“Now, tell me, what were you thinking?”
“I-I thought you meant we should use the Elements against Anon. I thought he did something bad!” she tries to defend.
Celestia lets out a snort. Leave it to Twilight to take her words out of context.
“The problem that needs to be fixed is not Anon,” Celestia states.
“What else could it be?” Twilight asks.
“You.” She looks to each element. “All of you.”
“Us?” Twilight reels back as if she were struck. “What have we done?!”
“We’ll get to that,” Celestia says before she looks out to the crowd.
She takes in the large gathering before her. She can see the confused looks she is gaining. This doesn’t surprise her. However, she has a job to do right now. A great wrong that needs to be made right.
“Attention, my little ponies.” She had their attention this entire time, yet it was polite to ask for it anyways. “What you ponies are about to witness today is a trial of sorts. The Elements of Harmony are charged with many cases of abuse toward the human known as Anon. We will be conducting a small investigation on a case by case basis.”
The silence is real. Not a single soul is breathing at this moment, so Celestia takes advantage of it and continues.
“I play no favorites to anypony. If you commit a crime and you are found guilty, you will be punished.” She looks to the Elements again. “You are all guilty of causing harm to Anon.” She can see them about to protest, but a stern glare shuts them up. “I will give you a moment to plead your case, to give everypony your side of the story. However, I will be checking your memories. As well as using lie detection magic. I will not allow myself to be lied to, so do not even try.”
Luna and Anon just sit back and watch as Celestia takes a few breaths to steady herself. Anon must say that he hopes this can all be over soon. He just wants to go home and relax with his two friends. Maybe three, depending on how the other answers after this is all said and done. Celestia picks out her first target. She might as well start with the smallest of charges.
“Pinkie.” Pinkie looks up to Celestia, still sad and straight maned. “Anon has actually fought tooth and nail to assure you were not to be punished.” Pinkie looks over to Anon. She brightens up a single shade of pink as her mane slightly curls. “From his own mouth, he has spoken of your kindness. For that, I will not punish you. Nevertheless, I would like to know why you struck him with a rock a few days ago?”
Pinkie looks to Celestia, confused. S-she didn't hit him with a rock. Did she? She looks over to Anon as he just looks to her, a certain curiosity behind his mask. Pinkie is really good at sensing things. Her Pinkie Sense tells her that the Princess is telling the truth. She doesn’t honestly remember that.
“I-I don’t know.” Pinkie hangs her head in shame before she looks up to Anon again. “I’m so sorry if I did, Anon. I don’t remember doing it, but I guess I did.” She starts to get water eyed. She doesn't want to hurt a friend, even if Anon never accepted her as a friend.
“Celestia,” Anon speaks up. “Back off.”
Celestia does her magic to assure that the mare isn't lying to her. Surprisingly enough, at no point was Pinkie lying to her. Even a small scan showed a large gap in her memory at that point in time. She actually doesn’t remember doing any of that. Celestia feels herself worry. Perhaps she will set up a doctor's appointment for Pinkie. Loss of memories is not common. Better to be safe than sorry. Celestia looks over to Anon and gives him a nod. She then sidesteps in front of Fluttershy.
“Anon also told me how much he would dislike you being punished. While I agree that punishing you does seem rather harsh, I think you will understand why I am about to do what I plan next.” She looks out to the crowd. “Fluttershy, here has a power. Something innate. It allows her to control the emotions of anything she is looking at. It happens at random and is very powerful. It is known as The Stare.”
All the ponies in town start to whisper. They’ve never heard about this before. Celestia looks down to Fluttershy before continuing.
“What you have inside of you is dangerous. Just like magic, you need to be taught how to control it. For that reason alone, you will be coming back to Canterlot with me to be studied and trained. I cannot allow you to harm another creature because you cannot control this power.”
Fluttershy looks on the edge of bursting into tears, but Celestia keeps going.
“We will make sure your animals are well taken care of. Not only that, but we will be sending a trainer to condition them. This entire situation happened because one of your pets bit Anon. We cannot allow animals to bite other creatures. If all else fails, we have alternate means of calming them. It also helps keep the breeding population to a minimum.”
Now that got Fluttershy crying. She just falls to the ground with her hooves covering her eyes as she cries. She doesn’t want to leave her animals. Celestia shows no remorse, seeing as Fluttershy’s friends are going to be getting worse. She walks to her next target, Applejack. The mare looks to her with that fear still present. Celestia actually feels herself smile a bit at this one.
“My sister will conduct a few of these punishments.” Celestia looks over her shoulder to Luna. “Luna.”
Luna feels a savage grin cross her lips as she looks over to Anon.
“I won’t take long,” she says with glee.
Anon shakes his head. He can’t believe Luna talked him into this. Luna walks in front of Applejack as Celestia takes her place by Anon. Luna looks down to the mare that is now shrunk to the floor of the stage. She looks out to the crowd.
“Did you know that this mare assaulted Anon?” The murmurs pick up some. “Filthy rumors about him stealing apples.” She lets out a snort. “A lie, my little ponies. Anon is innocent. The truth of the matter is that the Element of Honesty kicked Anon for being honest. Isn't that hilarious?” At no point in Luna’s tone did she think it was funny. She looks back to Applejack. “Plead your case and make it quick.”
Applejack looks from Luna to Anon. She then looks down to her hooves.
“W-What you said is the honest truth.”
Luna feels that grin come back. There’s no need to waste magic scanning her memories.
“Humans and ponies have more in common than you may think.” Applejack looks up to Luna. “Anon told me an old saying that humans like to use from time to time. I actually like it. It reminds me of the old times.” Luna feels that grin on her face come back as she looks at the trembling mare. “An eye for an eye.”
Applejack doesn't get time to react as Luna spins around and bucks her in the barrel, the blow being enough to knock her ten feet backwards, off the stage and flying toward the crowd. Applejack crashes onto the ground, struggling to breathe. She didn’t break anything, but she wouldn't be getting up either. Luna turns around with a satisfied smile.
“Perhaps I put a little too much into that,” she says with her smile still present.
The entire crowd and the elements are stunned by this open act of violence. Never have they seen punishments of this caliber before. They’re all so stuck in thought that they don’t even move to help Applejack as she tries to catch her breath.
“Jesus Christ, Luna. Did you really have to kick her that hard?” Anon speaks out.
Luna looks over to Anon, a slight frown on his face, but also an underlying smile.
“No, but it was enjoyable.” Luna giggles some as she looks to her next target.
She walks in front of Rarity. The mare is now openly weeping. Luna rolls her eyes. Ponies are so soft these days. She remembers a time when ponies would take their lashings without batting an eye. She lets out a sigh as she looks to the crowd.
“Subjects!” Luna shouts to get the crowd's attention. “This mare before you sent Anon to the mountains in the north to harvest gems. A mountain that is full of diamond dogs. A place she has stepped hoof in. A place that nearly lead to the death of Anon.” Luna looks to the mare below her. “Justify yourself.”
Rarity looks to Anon with tears falling.
“A-Anon, plea-”
Luna takes a step in front of her. She is now glaring down Rarity with her wings outstretched.
“Do not speak to Anon,” Luna warns. “Now defend yourself. Why did you send him to die?”
Rarity’s mind is now in overdrive as she tries to think of any way out of this.
“I-I just wanted to make him clothes! I didn't remember about those dogs until it was too late!”
Luna feels her teeth grind together.
“You dare lie to me?” She presses her face against Rarity’s “You knew full well that those dogs were there!”
Rarity is frozen in place.
“I-I swea-”
Luna’s horn lights up. The lie detector spell going off for a second time.
“Tell me the truth.”
Rarity doesn’t make a single move.
Luna moves her head away with a snort. “Very well. I’ll just take what I need.”
Luna's horn lights up and Rarity falls unconsciously to the floor. Luna now stands in a black world of nothingness, she continues her magic and scans for the memories she needs. It’s not hard for her to find as she allows them to flood into her mind. How Rarity wanted to make him clothes. His refusal would deny her the chance of a lifetime, to make clothing for a creature from a different world. She did not care for him or his well-being. He signified a once-in-a-lifetime business opportunity.
When he stubbornly denied her, she put him into a situation where he wouldn't have a choice in what he wore. She knows exactly why she sent him there. However, what happened to him wasn't what she expected. She was only hoping his clothes would be destroyed beyond all recognition, not the bloodied mess she found Anon to be in the very next day. Luna pulls out of Rarity’s mind while Rarity groggily tries to get to her hooves.
“Disgusting.” Luna shakes her head. “You care more about your work than anyone else. Willing to put Anon in danger so he would be forced to wear your clothing.”
Rarity’s mind is now clear from the haze of Luna’s magic. She looks up to Luna in fear, her hooves shaking uncontrollably.
“What are you going to do to me?” she asks.
Luna smiles. “I’m going to hit you where it hurts.” She then turns around. “You may come out.”
Anon feels his brow raise as he looks over and finds a rather fancy looking pony entering from behind the curtains. He has a rather stern expression on his face as he takes his place by Luna. He looks down to Rarity and shakes his head.
“Is what the Princess is saying true?” the pony asks. “Did you truly send another sapient creature to harm's way, just so you could gain something from it?”
Rarity’s eyes are completely wide as she looks at the pony in shock.
“F-Fancy Pants..I-..It’s not what it sounds like.”
Fancy shakes his head in shame.
“To hear that you care more for your own status than another creature's well-being.” Fancy lets out a sad sigh. “I’m sorry, Rarity, but I find it in my best interests to no longer associate with you or your products. This is goodbye.”
He turns away and walks back toward the curtain. Rarity slaps her hooves to her eyes as she starts the waterworks. Luna, for the most part, feels great about this. Sure, it isn’t as thrilling as the blood she drew on the battlefield, but it has a certain charm to it. Not only that, but the Pants family have been long time friends of hers. Even after her banishment, she found a good back and forth with the nine-generations grandson of her former friend, Party Pants.
She doesn’t say anything more as she walks back to Anon.
“You have the rest, sister,” she says with glee.
Celestia gives her a nod as she walks straight up to Rainbow Dash, the mare looking rather peeved right now. Celestia feels a brow raise.
“Do you have something you wish to say before we continue?” She asks.
Rainbow grinds her teeth.
“Buck yeah, I do! Who do you think you are hurting my friends like this?!”
Celestia looks at her like the idiot she is. She even feels a smile grow on her lips at the arrogance of this pony.
“Who am I?” Celestia takes another step toward her. “I am Princess Celestia, co-ruler of Equestria.” Rainbow seems to realize her mistake, but she still keeps her scowl on. Celestia looks to the crowd. “Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, Rainbow Dash here, with malice in her heart, used a lightning charged cloud to strike lightning at Anon on multiple occasions. To which, she would then fly away and never speak to him at any given chance.”
Celestia looks to Rainbow. “How do you plead?”
“So what if I did that?! You can’t punish me for pulling pranks!” Rainbow retorts.
“True, but answer me this. What happens when a pony is struck by lighting?” Celestia asks.
Rainbow is thrown off balance by this odd question.
“A pony's magic will redirect it. Everypony knows that,” she answers.
Celestia nods. “Correct. Now, what happens if lightning would strike another non-pony creature, say, Anon?”
Rainbow looks even more confused now, her anger seemingly gone.
“The same thing,” she answers.
Celestia shakes her head.
“That’s where you’re wrong, my little pony.” She raises her head to speak to everyone. “Lightning can actually kill humans on contact!”
The entire crowd gasps in unison. It sounds so foreign to hear of lightning actually killing anypony. Rainbow looks bewildered by this sudden information.
“W-What?! No! No, he’s lying!” she shouts.
Celestia strikes her hoof onto the ground sharply, causing a crunching sound to be heard as the floorboard she hit splits in half.
“Silence, l” she commands. “Spitfire, please come out here.”
Anon will admit that Fancy Pants was a bit of a surprise, but this one is something they talked about. He even got to chat with Spitfire some more yesterday during their talk, so that was fun. Spitfire walks out in her officer's uniform. She stands beside Celestia. Celestia meets her gaze as they give a nod to each other. Celestia takes a few steps back to give the mare her room.
Spitfire can't even believe what she heard during their meeting yesterday. The Princess didn't even need to ask her to dish out this punishment when it was all said and done. She felt obligated. Ignorance of this caliber was actually not very surprising to her when it came to most ponies at least.
“Rainbow Dash, you have pleaded guilty to having almost taken the life of another sapient creature.”
“B-But I didn’t know!” Rainbow pleads, her attitude having left when Spitfire walked out.
Spitfire shakes her head. “Rainbow Dash, Anon is not unique.”
“W-What do you mean?” Rainbow asks.
“If you stayed in flight school, you would’ve learned that there are other creatures out there that can be killed with lightning.” Spitfire speaks calmly. “It’s one of the main weapons used for controlling creatures that come from the Everfree. A lightning strike can permanently dismantle a timberwolf. A strike can kill a manticore, a cockatrice,” she locks eyes with Rainbow, “a griffin.”
Rainbow reels back in shock. “W-What?!”
“Griffons are just like Anon. They are susceptible to lightning. In fact, they are far more sensitive to it. A simple hoof zapper can stun a griffin.”
Pinkie feels her mind going back to when she used that hoof zapper on Gilda. She feels her heart ache slightly at that. She didn’t know about that. Then again, she'd never seen or heard about a griffin until that day. Education wasn’t needed on the rock farm. Move a rock here, then move it there. Rainbow, on the other hoof, remembers those pranks she would pull with Gilda. How the griffin would shy away from anything that involved a lightning cloud.
“I am here to tell you that you no longer qualify to join the Wonderbolts. Not only that, but you’ve been taking lightning clouds for personal use. Your boss at the weather factory will be informed about this.”
Rainbow is stock still as Spitfire gives her declaration. Spitfire does not pity her. In fact, she might as well pile on.
“To be honest, you never had the right stuff to be a Wonderbolt. You may be the fastest flyer in Equestria, but we aren’t a one pony show. You never had team spirit and that reason is why you were going to fail and continue to fail. Just as you ignored the words of a creature that only wished to talk to you. You have ignored all other ponies for your own gain. You wanted to be a Wonderbolt, without actually understanding what it means to be a Wonderbolt.”
Rainbow Dash doesn't start crying, she doesn’t get angry either. She just stands there, not saying a single word. Spitfire just shakes her head sadly as she turns around and walks back to Celestia.
“Last one’s yours,” she says.
Celestia gives her a nod as she walks over to the Elements. Before Spitfire could walk through the curtain, she feels something stop her. She looks up to see Anon there.
“Hey, if you aren’t busy later, you want to join the princesses and I for some tea at my place? You know, after this entire thing is done?”
Spitfire actually feels a smile appear on her muzzle. She really did enjoy the chat they had yesterday, even if it was kept mostly professional.
“Sure. I’ll be backstage with Fancy. Find me when this is over.”
He gives her a nod as she walks backstage. At least this day won’t be as bitter as it could’ve been. Celestia is now standing before her student. She looks over the massacre on the stage. Pinkie is looking at her friends as if they are strangers, Fluttershy and Rarity are still crying, Applejack is no longer moving, but still breathing, and Rainbow Dash is totally devoid of all emotion. She must say that she does not take much joy out of this, at least not as much as her sister. This is justice, and punishing the Elements will be something that resonates with the world.
She looks to the last pony. Her faithful and naive student. The mare can only look her in the eyes as she trembles in place. Celestia looks to the crowd.
“Twilight restrained Anon in her basement. She took samples without his consent, even as he pleaded with her to stop. What she did can only be considered as the most heinous of crimes.” Celestia looks to her student. “Explain your actions.”
Twilight doesn't understand what is happening. She didn't do anything wrong, did she? Sure, Anon told her to let him go, but he was just playing. She knew that he wanted to help her solve the many questions that gnawed at the back of her brain. The things she is still learning will be of great importance to the Princess as well! So why is she mad? It’s not like she hurt Anon.
“I-I did it for you, Princess. I thought we could learn more about Anon with raw data. Talking didn’t give me much, so I needed something solid,” Twilight says honestly.
Celestia actually doesn't feel angry at this moment. In fact, she feels sad.
“Twilight, what you did to Anon was horrible. You held him against his will, even as he asked you to set him free.” Celestia lowers her head to the ground. “I’m sorry for having failed you, Twilight. Perhaps I filled your head with the idea of being the best at everything.” She looks up at Twilight. “No pony can be the best at everything. Your special talent is magic. You are not a doctor, scientist, or a vet. You had no right to do what you did to Anon.”
Twilight feels her eyes start to glisten some. “P-Princes-”
Celestia rises as she looks over to the curtain. “Shining Armor, can you please come out here?” she calls out.
Twilight feels herself brighten up at the mention of her brother. Anon feels his brow raise even further. Who the hell is Shining Armor? A white stallion clad in armor comes walking out. His face is stone dead as he walks up to Celestia. She looks down to him.
“Have you been briefed on the situation?” she asks.
He nods. “Yes, Princess.”
“Then you have the floor.” Celestia says, taking a step back.
Twilight's eyes are wide as she smiles brightly at her brother.
“Shin-”
“Silence, Twilight,” Shining says in an authoritative tone.
Shining turns his back to his sister as he looks to the creature known as Anon. He walks up to him, stopping only a foot or two away. Anon looks down at this white stallion as the stallion looks up at him. Shining Armor bows low to the ground.
“I’m so sorry,” he says, his voice wavering.
Anon is shocked at what this stallion is doing. The stallion before him has his head touching the ground in the lowest bow he has ever seen. A small patch of wetness growing under the pony. Is he crying?
“I failed you,” Shining continues. “I swore to the Princess, no, to Equestria itself that I would protect any creature that calls this place home. To assure that no harm would come to any peaceful creature here.” Shining raises from his bow, tears rolling over his cheeks. “I am Shining Armor, Captain of the royal guard. I have failed in my one duty to protect. I know that my apology doesn’t mean much, but know that I truly am sorry for having failed you in your time of need.” Shining goes back to bowing.
Twilight doesn’t know what to do. Right before her is her brother. The strong stallion that dreamed of joining the guard, his one goal to protect the ponies of Equestria. Now here he is, crying at the feet of Anon. Why? How did he fail? Anon feels something weird inside of him. Is this the feeling of pity? He kneels down some and rests his hand on the withers of this pony.
“That’s ridiculous,” Anon speaks as the stallion looks up to him confused. “You can’t protect everyone. That’s a fact. You also can’t blame yourself when someone gets hurt. All you can do is try and make sure that no one else gets hurt. I don’t blame you for what happened to me. How could I?”
Shining Armor looks to see the sincere expression this human is giving him. He actually believes what he is saying. In a way, that makes Shining actually feel better. However, that still doesn't help ease his mind for what is to happen next. Shining looks at Anon, giving him a nod. With a long sigh, he gets up and turns to his sister.
“I-I can’t believe you would do something like this, Twilight,” he says with disgust. “I know you’ve always been a little different than most ponies, but this? This stands against everything I’ve worked for. I swore to protect everyone.”
Twilight doesn’t understand what she did wrong! She just took Anon into her basement and took some samples. What was so wrong with that?
“I’m sorry I have to do this, Twilight.”
Shining Armor walks up to his sister and uses his magic to quickly lock a magic dampening ring to her horn. Twilight's eyes shoot open in shock as she feels her magic die out. Now she is in full panic mode. Not having magic was akin to a pegasi not having wings. Celestia can sense Twilight is about to lose it soon. She can also feel that Shining Armor isn't faring much better.
“I’ll take it from here, Captain,” Celestia speaks out to him.
He looks up to her and gives a nod. He turns around without looking at his sister. He loves her, but he can’t stand the sight of her right now. He walks up to Anon one more time as he gives one last low bow. With that done, he makes his way behind the curtain. Anon must say that his life in Ponyville is pretty much over. Even though he knew some of this stuff was coming and well deserved, he also knows that this won’t end well for him if he is to stay here.
Celestia walks up to her student as the mare tries to remove the ring from her horn with her hooves. It wouldn’t work.
“Twilight,” Celestia speaks gently to her student. Twilight looks up to Celestia in slight fear. “Do you understand what is happening?”
Twilight shakes her head. “No. Why are you punishing me?”
Celestia lets out a sigh. “Twilight, what you did to Anon was against the law. You cannot detain or restrain another sapient creature without their consent. You even went so far as to take samples from him as well. You’re lucky I’m not throwing you into the sun for crimes against pony kind.”
Twilight shrinks at each word Celestia speaks. How could what she did be so bad? She was doing it for pony kind.
“It’s not entirely your fault, either,” Celestia continues. “I left you here in Ponyville, hoping you would learn the magic of friendship.” She looks away from her. “As it turns out, it did the exact opposite. All you managed to do was become more antisocial.”
Now Twilight is completely confused. “But, Princess. I hav-”
“How many friends have you made today?” Celestia asks her student. She then looks to the other Elements and the crowd. “How many friends have any of you made today? Yesterday? This month? The past year?”
Pinkie slowly tries to raise her hoof, but one look from Anon tells her that she probably shouldn’t. Celestia looks down to her student.
“All you found was a group of ponies that are just as antisocial as yourself. You’ve grown closer to each other, but pushed everyone else away. How many friends, other than the Elements, do you have?”
Twilight is speechless now. H-How many friends does she have? As she tries to search her mind for any answer to give, she finds that her teacher is right. She doesn’t have any friends other than the girls. How can a pony studying the magic of friendship lack so many friends?
Celestia lets out a sigh. “Twilight, your punishment is to wear that ring on your horn for two months. You need to understand the feelings you made Anon go through. The feeling of being helpless, to have no control.” Celestia can see the tears gathering in the corner of her students eyes. She isn’t done yet. “You will also be returning to Canterlot effective immediately. Your studies on friendship are now void.”
Oh shit, Celestia did not tell Anon about that. He just thought it was the ring thing!
“It seems that I sent you out into the world too early. I trained you in the art of magic, but not in the art of being a pony.”
Twilight is now broken down as she cries her giant eyes out. Celestia, however, leans in and nuzzles her gently.
“This is not goodbye, Twilight. You may visit Ponyville at any time you wish. After your training, you may stay in the library once more.”
However soothing those words may have been, they’re still just a simple bandage on a large wound. Celestia looks up to the crowd. Everypony in the crowd is stunned by what they just saw. Celestia finds this the right time to end this.
“Remember what you’ve just witnessed. I play no favorites to anypony. If you wrong another, you will suffer the consequences.” Celestia leans down some to address Twilight. “I’ll give you time to pack and say goodbye. Spike will be coming as well.”
Celestia turns away from her student before she could get a response. She has a feeling she wouldn’t get one anyway. She walks over to Anon and can see a slight anger in his eyes.
“What the hell was that?!” He whispers angrily.
Celestia smiles down at him. “Let’s have this talk over that cup of tea.”
Anon lets out a sigh. “Yeah, sure. Let me get Spitfire.”
Celestia gives him a nod as he enters backstage. She will admit that most of what she said was actually in the moment. She does feel that it is for the best. Twilight needs to be taught how to control her emotions better and how to act around ponies. It doesn’t take Anon long to walk back out with not only Spitfire, but Shining Armor. Celestia looks at Anon with a raised brow as he gives a shrug.
“Guy looks like he could use the company. I would’ve invited that other pony, but he was already gone,” he says honestly.
Celestia feels a smile creep onto her muzzle. Seems her friend Anon is starting to open up as well. She looks over to Shining Armor and can see a deep pain behind his neutral guard face. Anon seems to be right; he could use the company after everything that he had to do today.
“Very well. Shall we?” She uses her wing to pull Anon over to her side.
“After you,” Anon answers.