A blinding flash lights up the Canterlot library for a few moments before Twilight emerges with Rainbow Dash dropping limply to the floor beside her. Twilight holds back a yelp of pain as her horn burns. The only sound that echoes out into the empty library is Twilight’s pained whimpers as beads of sweat roll down her brow. Casting a teleportation spell so soon after that shield has put a large strain on her. An immediate wave of nausea hits as she gallops to a nearby restroom and spews her guts into the toilet.
Her breaths become broken as panic sets in as the weight of the situation becomes clear. The corners of her vision blacken but she fights off the urge to faint as her fear of Rainbow waking up before her is enough to keep her alert. Tears flow down her cheek as she grits her teeth in anger. Why did this happen?! Is this her fault for not checking up on her friends? For being so self-absorbed by learning about forgiveness that she never once considered how the punishments were affecting the others?
A faint part of her whispers back that she shouldn’t take responsibility for what the girls do. It’s a brief moment, but it’s enough for Twilight to calm herself and think sensibly. She can’t help the pitiful chuckle that leaves her. That idea was something she’d expect Anon to say. It’s soothing in a way and true. The girls are their own mares. Taking the blame will resolve nothing and before her is a challenge the likes she’s never encountered before.
Rainbow tried to kill Anon. Twilight has to fight back the urge to vomit anew as her blood runs cold. She doesn’t have much time. She has to solve this as civilly as possible. Because at the end of it all, she wants to stand side by side with her friends as better ponies. What redemption can be had if Rainbow is sent to the moon or worse!
The only solution is obvious. Twilight must intervene or else Rainbow Dash won’t stand a chance. Forcing herself back onto her hooves, she peers into the mirror in the bathroom and takes in her appearance for a moment. She looks like a wreck, but her job isn’t over yet. She exits the bathroom and finds Rainbow is still unconscious. Good, she wouldn’t want her awake for what’s about to happen. It’s drastic but it may be the only way to save Rainbow.
She did the only thing that made sense and held him. At that moment, Nightmare was tired of being the monster that whorse declared her to be, so she shielded Anon from the brunt of his negative emotions. Even as she felt all his fears, pain, and desires. She held him tight and paid for the kindness that he showed her. After some time, she can’t recollect what transpired. All she recalls is him still being in her embrace, even as his thoughts stray.
...
Thoughts? Surely that’s a mistake. There’s no way she’s hearing his thoughts. The reasonable cause is him mumbling in his sleep. She doesn’t check but allows herself to savor a particular swell in her chest. It’s refreshing and for the first time, she feels at peace.
“It’s over now,” she mutters to him.
“Nightmare?” A voice whispers back.
“Hmm?”
“I can hear you in my head.”
Her eyes snap open as she glances to her hooves to discover that Anon isn’t there anymore. Not only that, but the happiness she feels hasn’t left and rather permeates her entire being. Her eyes swiftly dart around as she leaps to her hooves, trying to grasp her bearings. It only takes her a moment to recognize that this dark void isn’t the prison she’s become accustomed to. This is Anon’s dream world.
Nightmare’s heart races as questions fill her mind. Why is she here? Why didn’t she wake up in her world? Why can she hear Anon?
“Are you alright?” His voice echoes from the void.
“Why do you ask?” she demands with hostility.
“Well, it’s odd, but I think I can hear your thoughts. It’s different, not like you’re talking to me but I can understand you regardless.”
Nightmare grits her teeth as she casts a spell to shield her psyche. She doesn’t want to believe it, but there’s only one answer that makes sense. Her consciousness has fused with Anon’s.
“What is going on?”
“Shut up... I’m thinking.”
Taking a moment, she reaches out into the void and effortlessly connects with the hall of dream doors. Luna’s control does not affect her anymore. This makes little sense. The Elements imprisoned Nightmare inside Luna’s mind. Why is she now stuck within Anon? She summons the door to her world and shoves it open with a hoof.
The results disturb her. It’s just an empty frame. So, as far as she can tell, this is her world now. She takes a long breath in to soothe her thoughts before putting together everything she knows.
“I don’t have the faintest clue how but our minds are now intertwined.”
“So... Luna and I can hear you?”
“That connection no longer exists, only you will hear me now.”
If this happened several weeks ago, Anon would’ve panicked but, after taking a moment to let it sink in, he’s not that bothered by having Nightmare in his head. Considering what she did after Rainbow tried to kill him, as well as all the other times she’s helped, how could he not trust her?
“Didn’t that wench teach you anything about shielding your thoughts?” Nightmare sighs.
“Uh... A little, but not to a degree where it would stop you. Not that I’m worried about it.”
“I...” While Anon can’t tell what she’s thinking anymore, he gets the sense that she’s embarrassed. The fact he can sense her emotions is not as distracting as he believed it’d be. “I need some time to think. I’ll shield your thoughts until this is figured out.”
“Thank you.”
This new stuff with Nightmare brings a lot of issues to the table, but he has other things he needs to focus on right now. The fact of the matter is, this has proven a great distraction over what almost happened. Anon can taste that fear of dying creep up into his throat, but once again Nightmare’s embrace takes hold of him and brings him comfort.
“Let’s table this discussion for later,” Anon says to himself. “Right now, I have to find Celestia and tell her what happened with Rainbow Dash.”
“What will you say about us?”
“Eventually, I’ll tell her everything. Before then, I have to speak with Luna about this. It’s her secret and I don’t want to do anything without her knowing first.”
There’s a noticeable silence that hangs in the air.
“Why are you ok with this? Don’t you fear what I may do now that I’m within your mind? That I will take control or make you suffer?”
Anon can’t deny that what she’s saying makes sense, but there’s one thing she’s not mentioning.
“You’ve had plenty of opportunities to take control and use me as a puppet, probably far more than I will ever know. Yet, to me, you’re just the mare who’s helped me when no one else could.” Anon is only met with silence. “I have no issue with you pretending to be a monster, because I’ve had my reasons to do the same. Until the day you hurt me, I’m fine with you being in my head.”
There’s an audible scoff, but he can sense that she’s relieved to hear that.
“You should probably shield your emotions too.” He remarks. There’s a moment of alarm that disappears in an instance. Anon can’t help but chuckle to himself. “Good morning, Nightmare.”
“...Good morning,” she answers grudgingly.
Celestia bites her lip as she stands in thought in the isolation field her sister made. Luna has given her a breakdown of everything that’s transpired, as well as what she ran into earlier at the festival. If it’s not one thing, then it’s something else.
“Worry not, Sister. While unnerving, my knights are already on the move,” Luna states with some pride. “We’ll begin by sweeping the towns and cities that reside between us and the Badlands for changeling activity. The fact is, I’m unaware of how long their planning phase is. It may be months or years before they decide to attack but I wanted you to be aware of what’s been going on.”
Celestia lets out a sigh. “Thank you, Luna. Please have your captain speak with Shining Armor about this. I would like our patrols to also monitor anything suspicious.”
“That will certainly help,” Luna admits. “I’m sure Anon is wondering where you’re at. I’ll take care of things from here.”
Celestia nods. “I will show myself out then.”
Luna drops the isolation field and Celestia teleports away. Taking a deep breath in, Luna lets out a sigh of relief. While she doesn’t want this to break out into a war, she can’t deny that there’s a certain excitement welling up inside over the thought of a battle. Though before that, she’ll have to ensure all her subjects are safe. After that, a smile creeps onto her lips, she’ll ensure those creatures meet their end.
Anon is lost on what to say to Celestia when he sees her. His knees shake as he thinks back to that moment where it almost ended. Just before the urge to vomit rises, he notices Nightmare’s embrace calm him. He’s unsure if she’s actively doing this or it’s just another oddity from having her inhabit his mind. Anon shakes his head to clear his thoughts.
He wants nothing more than to become distracted by the whole Nightmare situation, but right now he needs to stay focused. He’s questioning his sanity over trying to convince Tia to let Twilight handle Rainbow. Anon grits his teeth. Why did Twilight save him? Was it out of fear? Instinct? Forgiveness? He doesn’t know, but this complicates things. He lets out a long and tired sigh.
He needs to stop wandering off and get back on track. Anon looks to the private booth’s door. Shining showed him here a few minutes ago and left due to an urgent summon. So Anon waited outside for Celestia to show up. So here he is, left to his never-ending thoughts.
“What am I going to say to her?” He whispers to himself. “Should I just come right out and say it or show her my memory?”
“I’d prefer the former.” Nightmare answers. “In case you forgot, the memory of our connection will be seen.”
“You’re right... Dammit.” Anon chews on the inside of his cheek. “I don’t even want to think about how I’m supposed to tell Luna about this, let alone you being in my mind now.”
Nightmare chuckles. “I can’t wait to see that wench’s face.”
Anon doesn’t have time to respond to that as a brilliant flash of light brings Celestia a few feet away. She’s just as surprised as Anon, as she wasn’t expecting him to wait outside for her.
“Oh! I didn’t think you’d wait for me. You know the show has started, right?”
This moment is surreal for Anon. It wasn’t until he laid eyes on Celestia that the weight of what could’ve happened hit him the most. Where his mind was filled with what he should say to Celestia, have now been replaced with the last moment they shared. It wasn’t where his life ended, but he can’t help but wonder what last moment they will have. What last words will he say and what she will regret after.
Celestia’s heart falls heavy as Anon’s eyes waver before he embraces her with a strength she’s never felt from him before. She becomes overwhelmed with panic as his entire attitude screams at her that something is wrong. Even now, he buries his face into her neck as he trembles in place.
“I wasn’t gone for that long, was I?” she asks worriedly.
He can’t break down right now. He has to tell her with what little strength he has.
“T-Tia... Cast a privacy bubble.” She does so without hesitation and after a moment, Anon looks up into her eyes and she can tell that he’s terrified. “Rainbow Dash tried to kill me.”
After Anon said that, Celestia could only hear a ringing in her ears. She didn’t hear that right. Rainbow Dash tried to kill him? No... That’s not possible. Though as she continues to look into his eyes, she knows he’s telling the truth. For Anon, he notices that the body temperature of Celestia is steadily rising as she slowly tries to process what he just said.
Holding her tight, he never looks away as he tells her what happened.
“I made my way to the front of the stadium. Twilight was there directing ponies through and I got lost in thought. Before I realized it, Twilight was in front of me, cast a shield, and Rainbow Dash crashed into it. Before I passed out, Twilight took Rainbow and teleported away.”
For Anon it’s sudden, but Celestia’s body goes slack as he is now holding her up. As quickly as it happened, she catches her balance and stands up.
“S-Sorry.” She says breathlessly. “I am still taking in what you said.”
Resting a hand on Celestia’s cheek, Anon moves her to focus on him. He has to remain strong for her right now or else Twilight won’t be given a chance.
“Tia, I’m alive.” That alone brings Celestia’s hazy gaze back to Anon. “Twilight saved me. I have no clue what you’re thinking right now but let’s try to remain calm.” Her body temperature was close to scalding, but his words take effect as the heat began to drop. It takes a minute but, mostly, Tia is thinking rationally again. “Listen, what I’m about to say may sound crazy but you should have Twilight handle this.”
Celestia looks baffled by Anon’s suggestion. “Anon, you were almost killed.”
“I was.” He nods.
“How can you expect me to stay my hoof after hearing something like that?”
Anon looks to Celestia’s fur, as he can’t bear to look her in the eyes right now. Celestia notices Anon’s body trembling harder than before.
“I want nothing more than you to make that pony pay,” he admits. “To lock her up and throw away the key or let Luna tear her limb from limb.” Anon takes a few breaths to calm himself. “But, Twilight saved me. I at least owe her the chance to save her friend.”
Celestia can tell that Anon was forcing himself to say these things. She doesn’t know what to do. A large part of her wants to ensure that pony can no longer harm Anon but the other side of her is trying to rationalize the best solution for everyone. Knowing she almost lost him, it’s almost too much for her to take. Anon regrets looking back up and into her eyes. Tears are rolling down her cheek as she tries to find the right words to say.
Anon knows all too well why she’s hurting so much right now. She wants to act out in his defense but she also can’t deny that Twilight is the only pony that can save her friend from a terrible fate. She’s stuck between a rock and a hard place.
“That isn’t what’s hurting her.” Nightmare whispers.
“What do you mean?” Anon asks.
Anon is only met with total silence. Returning his attention to Celestia, a thought hits him like a ton of bricks. She’s afraid of him dying. She never would’ve guessed that someone would try to end his life, and now the limited time he has with her has become real. Anon doesn’t know what to say, so he instead reaches up and pulls her into a kiss. It’s enough to break her out of her thoughts, but not enough to ease her soul.
When he pulls away, he can tell that she’s still at odds with what to do.
“This isn’t the first time she’s almost killed me.” Anon tries to joke, but it does little to help. A long sigh leaves him. “Listen... Let’s head into the booth and try to enjoy the show. That will give Twilight enough time to convince you why you shouldn’t vaporize Rainbow Dash. Sound good?”
Celestia looks into Anon’s eyes and can tell how hard he’s trying to make this work, despite the shake in his body. She wraps him in her wings and, without a word, teleports them both back to her room and on her bed.
“I couldn’t care less about the festival,” she says, while holding him. “I just want to be here with you.”
Anon couldn’t agree more as he hugs Celestia back.
“Tia...No matter what happens. I want you to always know that I love you.”
Celestia bites her lip as she holds him tight... She doesn’t know what to say and the fear of his mortality has never been so close to home.
10808853
I feel that part of the problem is somewhat of an artifact of how this story came to be initially, and the way it developed. IIRC (and I might be wrong, it's been a while since I read the first book) at the beginning the story was being written in a more comedic form where Twilight's nonconsensual experimentation on Anon was played for laughs as sort of more "oh you, Twilight" characterization common on less serious works... then the author decided to change the tone of the work to a more serious one, where the event was so severe as to give Anon PTSD, and that's the way the story has progressed so far. I feel that's what might rub people the wrong way (I know it has for me, but I just accepted as a flaw of this story and moved past it), and the only way to fix it would be for the author to go back and rewrite most or all of book 1, and I can see why they wouldn't want to.
Just my 2 cents since this is something that's passed through my mind too, and I seem to remember the author acknowledging some of these issues in the past.
How many stories are going to be in this series?
woooo excite, RD better hope Twi is a great lawyer
10816021
The beginning of "How many friends" was lighthearted with a more comical tone between Anon and Celestia, before the story was extended to a more serious subject. There was never a moment where he was ever friendly with Twilight or the other elements, with the exception of Pinkie. Not really sure where you got that from.
The only think I could guess is his reference to his enemies list, where he brushed over the fact that Twilight experimented on him.
10816026
If all goes according to plan. This will be the final book. Though I can't say for sure.
10816034
That's more or less what I was trying to say, though arguably I worded it poorly. Like I said, it's been a while since I read the first book.
Also I never said or imply he acted friendly with Twilight, only that it wasn't treated as a serious thing until the storie's shift in tone.
New chapter yayyy!
So twilight's going to do "something drastic" that "may be the only way to save rainbow"? And she's glad rainbow's asleep for it?
Stars abobe, Twi's going to clip/fully remove/otherwise cripple rainbow's wings, isn't she... that'd be the only way to make rainbow a negligible threat, as far as I know...
I am dying to hear Rainbow's excuse for this.
10816121
Or strip rainbow of her magic/cutie mark or something a long those lines. This Twilight isnt well of the head. I can see her doing such things. Might even mindscrub rainbow or brainwash her, or erase memories.
Poor Anon.
this story only gets better the longer you read it, the suspense the intrigue and you trying to put the pices together to guess what will happen next keep doing what your doing, this story is totally worth the wait.
I am DYING to hear what Dashie has to say for herself
Ruh roh. This does me a heckin' concern. Someone commented wing clipping, but I feel like this is more of the "rehabilitation" route. i.e. doing some form of mental magic, or remembering that reformation spell she was gonna use on discord, or some sort of shock collar enchanted if she tried to have angry-thoughts, or something. Maybe even some projection of what punishments she feels she herself deserved on Dash.
Time will tell, hopefully Tia can relax a bit with the very-much-alive Anon for a bit while Nightmare chills I'm his brain space for now. Seems peaceful once you completely block out the near death parts!
“I couldn’t care less about the festival,” she says, while holding him. “I just want to be here with you.”
If only most people saw things that way with loved ones....too many care only for material items and their paltry value. I always valued my family over anything else and my own life, but I didn't find out until a few years ago just how valuable time with them really is. Time is something you'll never get back, but memories made lasts forever.
In a messed up way, I think I get where RD's head was at the time. Out of ignorance, she played what seemed to her to be a few harmless pranks on a creature that wasn't lightning resistant and had her entire life's goal ripped away from her as a result. Letting that fester long enough probably led her to a very dark place. Specifically, "He took my life's goal from me, so I'll take his life away from him. I've got nothing to lose anymore, right?"
Good chapter
Anon and Celestia are so wholesome together, its wonderful.
I can't say I'm very happy about Nightmare making Anon's mind her new realm, it just feels violating. Besides, havine close emotional intimacy with him like that is Celestia's place. And I don't know what Twilight is trying to do with Rainbow Dash, but unless its to check her for mental tampering she shoukd just turn her over. Have her examined and sentanced. She needs either serious therapy, or the death penalty.
So I'm fairly certain we just got a hint to the future when she mentioned his mortality. I'd say currently there is a 10% chance of him gaining a form of immortality with nightmare. Any thoughts?
Would be a twist if RD wasn't right in the head after a bit of the ol' changeling magic. Can't really think of a line of reasoning that would lead her to attacking Anon like that.
10816021
Misremembering, the first book is where everyone's (besides RD and Luna) characterizations were at their darkest and twilight was acting pretty unforgivable
10816021
Yes, except for the part where the Author was badgered with requests to expand that one-shot into a story. ;)
Well... starting from that setting, it could've been either played out for laughs... or it could've been taken seriously. And if you strip the comedy from the original, the events that transpired are actually pretty horrifying, if you give them five minutes to sink in. Similarly, if you give a five minutes' thought to how Anon is, it becomes fairly clear that he's not "fine" either.
And, I think, the story just writes itself from that point...
10816881
How about "He put a spell on the Princesses, destroyed their frontline defense force (and, incidentally, her friends), crushed her dream and took everything away from her"? I think that's pretty solid, if you decide to go full hermit, hole up somewhere and just dwell on your thoughts for several months straight.
I mean, there are only two ways to think about it: either what RD did was horrible, and she's a horrible pony that ought to be locked away in Tartarus - or... it wasn't, she's not a horrible monster, and the whole thing was blown out of proportion... or manipulated by a malicious actor. If she managed to convince herself of the latter, all it would take would be for her loyalty to kick in and demand she save Equestria from this monster that destroyed her life.
While Twilight was all about rationalisations, RD was never like that - so I doubt she has the right frame of mind to notice when she's spiralling into a well full of them. Rationalisations are lies we tell ourselves to feel better... but you need to be careful, lest you believe your own lies...
I wonder what Rarity is doing with her time. I mean, she seemed to have a handle on exactly how horrible she was from the get-go - otherwise she wouldn't have tried to lie to Luna like she did. But there's always the chance that she's teaching herself to hate him regardless.
No, I don't think we've seen the worst of the fallout from Book 1 yet. Rainbow I saw coming from a mile away - though her arrival was still a bit of a surprise, I very much expected it to happen at some point. Well, either that, or the news that she's offed herself in some private location. Rarity, however, is a bit of a mystery...
And it would be a most inopportune time for anything big to attack now, wouldn't it? With the Element Bearers soundly out of commission as they are...
No, I don't think we've seen the worst yet.
10817695
With how fast Rainbow is, I'm surprised you saw her from a mile away and it took her this long to actually get here.
10816308
And if there isn't a strong enough argument, Dash too will be dying!
10817740
Well, I'm sure her thoughts were going a mile a second for a while there, so there's that.
... and I think the joke's burned out in a hurry, so let's let it rest.
10817682
Very true, I’m just being hopeful mostly. She is and was at a point that most of the more twisted types of people take advantage of others such as cults, pimps, and terrorists. one thing that could have come up is that a changing has been changing forms and taunting her in her depression/psychosis and that’s why she thinks she’s in the right. It was exceptionally short sighted of Luna to let her go without a parole officer or an escort to ensure she stays away because of her known violent actions against others. I would love to think it’s Programmen or an imposter, instead of the worst of all it just being her.
Cash Money
I’m calling it now: Twilight is going to save Rainbow’s life by having her wings cut off. She’s a danger so long as she has them and this will call for a punishment eay more severe than even what Twilight got with the magic nullifier. Celestia and Luna would not be satisfied with anything less permanent.
11238163
I didn’t want to say it in case I jinxed it and it happens, but I was thinking it.
A very powerful Chapter.