Chapter Three: And Only Drowned A Little Bit
The farm of Sweet Apple Acres was quiet that evening. The family house standing in its heart was lit in a serene glow of a few oil lamps as the adult residents gathered in the kitchen, the room permeated with the smell of apple pies.
“I’m tellin' ya, we can't set uncle Strudel and Golden next to each other. Don’tcha remember the last reunion? The two wouldn't stop bickerin’ if the sun suddenly stopped movin’!”
On the dining table was their battle plan. A rough sketch, marked with cutie mark pins and red yarn, creating a complex interwoven web of family relations, wants and expectations.
To an outside viewer, the scene would look more like a group of criminals planning the heist of the century, but to the Apples, this was something of much greater importance and complexity, requiring infinitely more planning, and with the possibility of ending much worse than any robbery.
The seating for lunch at the family reunion.
“They’re still at it? I say, they wanna act like little colts? Let’em.” The earth pony matriarch laughed. “Maybe we can set Apple Bumpkin next to ‘em, that would show her! Think she can do better fritters than me? Hah!”
Granny Smith, in her years and knowledge, still had a few lessons for the young ponies around her.
Like never, ever, mess with old grannies.
Applejack could only sigh. Planning this reunion took a lot out of the farm-pony. Not to mention the coming Summer Sun Celebration! The catering for the festival would need the whole extended Apple family to be ready. Just the thought of organizing so many ponies made her head hurt. “How did that whole feud even start?” she asked absentmindedly.
The old earth pony scratched her chin. “Huh, I don't rightly remember. It started in the year fifty two, when Golden Delicious burrowed Strudels cart an’ then gave it back dinked. Or, was it Golden’s fence that Strudel promised to paint and never did? Hmm, Perhaps it was when aunt-”
Meanwhile, Applejack noticed Big Mac was staring blankly out of the window, dishes from supper left unwashed in his hooves. While it wasn't that abnormal for ponies to check out when Granny really got going, this wasn't that kind of blank stare.
“Bic Mac, something bothering ya?” Applejack asked. The stallion was still unmoving, gazing into the dark, but familiar garden.
“Somepony outside,” he said simply.
“- and that's why we should always knock before enterin’ a barn- wait, somepony outside? At this hour?”
Applejack raised an eyebrow. “What could they want? We ain't no inn.”
The farm pony got up and walked to the front doors. “Probably some of them fancy city folk who got lost on their way to the town for the celebration.”
The yard in front of the house was mostly pitch black, as the weather ponies had covered the sky in clouds in preparation for tomorrow's rain - the land would need it before the festival began and with it the several days of scheduled sunny weather.
Only a small circle of light found its way outside the door and windows, coloring the front yard in gentle gold.
Somepony was moving into the circle slowly, Applejack could even hear their labored breaths.
Something wasn't right with them, that she realized fast as she made out the silhouette of the stranger. Limping, holding one leg close to their chest. Grunting with each step.
“Howdy there, are ya alright? You seem-” she cut herself off as the pony entered the light.
A filly, no older than Apple Bloom. Eyes bloodshot, jacket on her back dirty. Her tiny body was absolutely covered in bandages, the three legs she used for walking wobbly. She was shaking, despite the spring day’s warmth lingering in the air.
Applejack thought herself a good reader of expressions. Somepony who could spot a lie.
That filly wore a mask, a brave face to put on when faced with fear, the tear streaked face of a scared child under it.
Despite her best attempts at hiding it, the filly was terrified. And yet, there was a spark of something else behind the grim horror.
Pleading, almost begging.
Hope.
No.
Daring to hope.
“Greetings,” the filly said. “I require prompt medical attention.”
And with that, the foal collapsed.
Nurse Red Heart listened, hoof tapping against the reception desk. “And she said nothing else?”
Applejack’s shoulders sagged. “Nah, not a word. She mumbled a lot, but none of it made a lick of sense.”
Ultimately, Applejack was glad that the ordeal was over now. The panic that had ensued after finding an unknown foal on their doorstep was fastly replaced by action, as they scrambled to get the wounded filly to the hospital before it was too late.
Both of the adult Apple family siblings went, Applejack holding the filly in place while Bic Mac pulled the cart with them at breakneck speeds. But now, several hours later, sitting in the mostly abandoned Ponyville general in the early morning, she largely felt hollow. The fate of that little green bag of fur and bones was out of her hooves.
“It's just that she seems to be a very unusual case,” Red Heart tried to put it delicately, but in her head, alarms were blaring since the unknown filly arrived.
The injuries were, simply put, brutal. Not only the impaled foreleg, but the concussion, the burns, the signs of long term malnourishment.
Those terrible scars…
Red Heart shuddered.
When they brought her in, the filly was still somewhat conscious. The way she just… stared at them and didn't even flinch as they pulled the piece of wood from her leg. The utter dejection with which a small filly faced the pain.
This wasn’t normal behavior, far from it. Red Heart realized that the foal didn’t even ask for… well, anything. She did not call for her parents. Did not scream, cry, or whimper.
What kind of foal does not cry for their mother when they are hurt?
“Hmm,” Applejack hummed. “Her folks must be scared witless by now.”
“Hopefully, yes.”
A foal going missing was a big deal. Guards would be alerted, looking everywhere for the missing foal. Nearby towns would be notified and search parties would be sent.
None of that applied to their tiny green patient. There was no notice of a missing foal with her description. There were no records of her. They shared dental records with Canterlot central hospital for purposes of finding missing ponies. The doctors sent the fastest available pegasus, the captain of the weather team, to fetch them, but it came back blank! Empty!
For all legal purposes, that filly hadn’t existed until a few hours ago.
“Hopefully?” asked Applejack.
Their conversation was interrupted by a sudden noise from the staff room, as the doors burst open. A heap of bandages rolled into the hallway, together with a stallion clad in white. “Nurse! You won't believe this,” he said cheerfully, holding a roll of bandages with a sign of a snake eating its tail stamped on them. “It’s infinite! Infinite bandages!”
Red Heart could only sigh. “Apologies, duty calls. Again, thank you for saving that little filly's life.”
Applejack nodded. “It was nothing. Anypony would do that.”
The nurse smiled at the farm-pony, before turning to the best medical professional in Ponyville, currently doing snow angels in a mass of bandages. “Doctor! For the last time, stop playing with the patients' items! Those cabinets are for safekeeping!”
Her mind went back to the tiny green unicorn. The clear evidence of the struggle that filly had gone through. She couldn't imagine the kinds of thoughts that must have been going through the little one's head.
What must it be doing to her psychologically? What irreversible damage was done? One feared to think of the kinds of dark thoughts the filly must harbor…
Oh my gosh! Is that pie? Fuck yeah!
She laid in bed, inspecting a piece of pie. A real, oven baked, not-made-from-secret-ingredient-that-turnout-to-be-someones-neighbors pie.
In her head, two voices fought. The first warned her: It could be a trap, it could be poisoned. It could even be people! Well, it's butterscotch and cinnamon, so probably not, but still! Cinnamon trees could be sapient here! That's like eating someone's skin!
The other voice said: Unga bunga, SUGAR, unga bunga, SCREW DIABETES, unga bunga.
For some reason, the second voice reminded her of something pink.
She shrugged and took a bite.
Feeling herself relax, she sank into the hospital bed. The texture, the taste, the richness of the flavor and the sugary goodness.
This was, without question, worth it. Even if it is a poison, I'm not regretting it.
When she had approached the farmhouse, she didn't know what to expect. What would it be this time? A crazy cult? Bandits? Ghosts?
Her first thought for a random farm in the middle of nowhere was a clan of cannibals,, but considering they were sapient horses, that was pretty unlikely. Though not as unlikely as she thought at first.
Horses can eat meat, apparently.
Of course, they gave it to her as a dietary supplement. Salted fish is apparently great for a growing unicorn, something to do with horns, extra calcium and keratin.
That wasn't on the list of things she thought she would learn today.
Or ever.
But hey, how did that one saying go? Don't look a gift fish in the strange dietary properties when concerning equines? That probably isn't it but close enough.
When the door to that charming family house opened, instead of a serial killer wearing someone' skin as pajamas or a worshiper of eldritch truths with tentacles sprouting from their face, there was an orange mare with a stetson, hopefully not former sapient skin made, and a concerned expression.
The rest was a bit of a blur. Other than a rocky ride while someone held her firmly, there wasn't much worth remembering.
They arrived at a hospital, got that stupid stick out and now, she had pie!
And fish.
She was still confused about the fish.
No one had hurt her yet. No one was planning on hurting her for now. The locals were helping her, treating her wounds, and giving her food and the first real bed she had slept in since… since forever.
She made no illusions about how long this would last. The fate of jumpers who got careless was a swift vacation to the not alive land.
If they were lucky.
The horses were using heaps of magic on everything. The doctor was using levitation and healing spells on her leg, the medicine was magic, hell, the way the horses were able to grab things with their hooves was magic!
Beings like that would find out about her powers sooner or later. About what she was, who she was... The only thing keeping her alive was the transformation forced upon her when entering other worlds. But even that would turn out to be a poor cover.
And if that wasn't enough, she was stuck in the body of a child.
That was concerning. It limited her physical abilities, made her vulnerable mentally. Right now? They probably thought her to be some homeless kid, but after they find the truth?
A memory wormed its way into her mind.
Deep in the guts of the war machine, the sound of battle reached them faintly. The smell of iron and blood was thick, clinging to them, enveloping everything like a cloak. A man stood chained to a pillar, a portal opened in front of him. The chained man was empty. Gone. His mind was destroyed, his personality shattered. All that was left was a tool. A door left open for the monsters to use. To kill, to destroy and enslave even beyond their realm.
His hand shook, the grip on his sword shaky. “I'm sorry,” came the whisper to his former friend. To the shell left behind. “I'm so sorry.”
A single swing of his weapon was all it took. The doors were shut and his friend's soul soared free.
Something was in her eye, making it hard to see.
A noise got her attention, the doors were gently pushed open and a white blob pushing something entered the small hospital room.
“Hello little one… Oh my.”
The original purpose of her visit was momentarily forgotten the second Red Heart saw the crying filly. “Shhh it's going to be okay,” the nurse said, hooves outstretched to embrace the sobbing foal.
“Do. Not. Touch. Me.”
The answer was ice. It spoke of steel and iron. Of rage so cold it burned. Of cities left in rubble and graves filled with the undeserving.
It was a voice filled with barely held anguish.
The nurse staggered back, fighting an urge to run, to turn around and bolt. The foal regained her composure fast. The tears stopped and a sheepish expression appeared on her muzzle.
“Sorry, I just… don't like being touched, if that's okay with you,” she said, mustering a false smile.
Red Heart couldn't move, beads of sweat forming on her brow. “T-that’s o-okay,” the mare stammered.
The filly face-hooved. Way to blow your cover Einstein. Out of all the things to stay with you after leaving a world behind, it must have been The Voice…
This was still recoverable. Play into it, make yourself look traumatized and small. If their minds work anything like humans, their instinct and fantasy should fill the blanks for you.
“Ehm,” Red Heart cleared her throat. She had to keep it together! A filly that needed her help! ”I have a few questions for you. We would be very happy if you could answer them for us.”
“Okay,” came the weak answer.
“You don't need to say anything if it makes you uncomfortable.” Red Heart said softly. “First, can I have your name?”
… Nah. Not falling for that again.
The truth was, she didn't have an answer. There were many things she lost on her journey, things she never had time to mourn. The loss of her name was one of them.
Nobody of nowhere. A shadow passing through their worlds, a visitor who leaves without a trace. That was all she wanted to be. What she was forced to be. She was like a very inefficient burglar. Barging in and leaving empty-handed because someone woke up. In Texas. And the guy who woke up watched too much Rambo and now was ready to kick her sorry ass.
An unwanted host at best. A threat to be eradicated most of the time.
Useful ability to exploit at worst.
Should she lie? What was the naming convention so far? Names relating to the sky seemed common, but her sample size was pretty small. As in three people. Green Star? That’s a horrible name. Sun Raiser? Night Strife? That might work.
But it wasn't her. Who was she? An unknown with no name.
“Anon,” the filly said, testing the word on her tongue. “Call me Anon.”
The nurse looked at her, puzzlement clear on her face. Cute in a way. All the inhabitants of this world were cute in the small, fuzzy animal kind of way. Right now, the mare reminded Anon of her dog whenever she only pretended to throw the stick. Confusion morphing into betrayal kind of look. “That's… that's not a name, dear.”
“Nope, but it's as close to one as I have.”
She scrunched her muzzle. Again, that was just cute. “Would you… want a name?”
The filly shrugged. It was not like it would matter. Her true name was gone. Nothing short of a god could replace that. “No, not really.”
That answer appeared unsatisfactory to the white mare, which was the intention. Keep it vague, let them make up the story for you.
“We will talk about this later, would that be okay, sweetie?”
The nurse paced nervously, trying to breach the subject gentl. She had a feeling this would not be an easy conversation. “Do you know where your parents are?”
Anon's ears drooped, the movement entirely involuntarily on her part. The whole conversation only served as a reminder. Opening old wounds.
Use it, make it work.
Anon was no actor, trying to lie would only open her story to further investigation. Stall, let them fill in the blanks by themselves. Their fantasy would create a more convincing story than any lie she could come up with on the fly.
The later the truth came out, the more time she had to heal. To prepare and aim the next jump properly.
“I don't know,” Anon answered.
The nurse's gaze somehow softened. “We’re not going to hurt you, sweetie. If… If they hurt you, we won’t send you back to them.”
Silence reigned, the green filly hiding her face by looking down at the clean sheets of the hospital bed.
Please take the bait, come on. Look at me. A cute lost kiddo. Nothing strange here. Just a standard case of family abuse and abandonment! In no way connected to the strange alien artifacts I carried in my pockets!
...
Ah shit. Well, here’s hoping they won't search through them too closely, otherwise this charade is going up in flames!
Literally, some of the stuff she carried could be turned into explosives if handled improperly.
The mare sighed “Okay I won’t force you to talk, but don’t hesitate to speak to any of the staff if you need something, can you promise me that?”
“... Kay.”
The nurse gave her first truly sincere smile of her visit, barely stopping herself from ruffling Anon’s mane.
The signs pointed to a case of gross neglect. Touching her without consent would not endear the filly to them very much.
She cleaned the remnants of Anon’s dinner from her tray. At least her appetite was healthy.
“I have a request,” she heard the filly pipe out, her tiny hooves nervously scuffing at the bedding. “Could you… could you bring me my notebook, please? It would mean a lot.”
“Of course sweetie.”
Anon laid back to the comfort of the bed. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad after all. Maybe it would be alright for once.
Meanwhile, in the secret basement of an inconspicuous sweet shop, a dark figure activated a transmission array. The intricate spellwork springing to life, lighting the room with its arcane runes.
The figure spoke, features hidden by the shadows: “Agent BB reporting, the locator found a target.”
There was a hint of hidden excitement in her voice. After spending the entire night triangulating the source of the strange signal, they finally had the source. “We have a hit, I repeat, we-”
“Hey Bon Bon!”
The doors to the cellar opened, a cheery unicorn mare peeping inside.
“Eek!” Bon Bon screamed, scurrying to hide the array behind her back. “Lyra! How many times I have to tell you! Knock!”
How did she even get inside? I swear I locked it this time…
“Geez, no need to yell, Bonnie. Dinner’s ready.”
“... thanks.”
“Thanks what?”
“Thanks Honey Bunny, you are the best,” she said, gesturing wildly at the door and pushing Lyra out. ”Now scamper!”
“Okay.” Lyra gave her a quick peck on the lips. “Don't make me wait, Sweet Cheeks.”
She felt her ears veritably burn; the array was still open, wasn’t it? She would never hear the end of this from the Boss…
Where I was - oh!
“We have the location of the anomaly.”
“Ponyville General Hospital.”
Stats
Page generated in 0.022 seconds
Total duration
594 users online
656,407 hits today, 1,491,341 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2025
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2025 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
The cover is just cute
great chapter
Well I enjoyed it. It has grabbed my interest.
Some text speak slipped in here.
The Nurse staggered backward. "My god, It's a Brony!"
Well, honestly? It's reasonably well written. The character is fairly level headed, which is rare. You put some over all thought into this. And th character isn't full of cringe.
I'm not at all surprised that it got featured. It deserves it.
Monk
11344736
Okay this made me wheeze
11344943
Nah, just an extremely obscure reference.
Are you sure this pony was not Pinkie in disguise?
An update? Fuckin' sweeeeet.
Equestria's secret service is overated in fanfics. In the cannon, they cannot deal with parasprite or ursa minor. Trixie's uprising pretty much go smoothly without resistant. Starlight's endeavour go unimpeded dor long time.
Something that interests me about this story is that the Apple family is going to be involved with Anon here. And given Applejack's Cutie Mark they can't insist or try to make Anon want to stay without outright refuting Applejack's own mark.
I kinda hope they try to help said anomaly. Like, you know, ponies.
11345608
With Trixie's thing it could be that their plan involved a longer turn-around time than Twilight managed, andd Glimmer's whole deal was hidden away.
11346056
What dose Applejack's cutiemark have to do with this?
I find it interesting how many of the recent anonfilly stories follow similar tropes, such as anon having anxiety, touch aversions, being magically gifted, hospitals, Applejack being one of the most prominent mane 6 characters, etc, and yet they all feel so distinct from one another, both the character and overall stories. I'm really liking this one so far, so keep it up!
Did you know that a daily posting schedule is the best way to stop your fans from being starved for content?
Bob Bon...what are you and Celly planning?
11346579
She got it when she chose to go home to the family farm.
11347070
This takes place like right before the start of episode 1 of the show. Applejack was thinking about having to cater for the Summer Sun Celebration AND deal with the family reunion that consisted with it
11346992
My friend, I don't know if I will wake up tomorrow, I have no idea about my upload schedule. Currently I both write the slowest I ever did, (I type like an old lady who spent the last fifty years living in a cave and thinks a smartphone is a kind of musical instrument right now.) But I also have the most time for writing I had since being in elementary school. So it's kinda hard to know.
11345608
Yeah they are but let's be real, the fannon uses all kinds of interpretations of the cannon to simply better fit the story they are going for. In most fics, Celestia is seen as wise and powerful, but in the show, she basically gets a kicked with the old worf effect all the time. I don't think these things matter too much if they make for a better story.
11346960
That was kind of intentional on my part. I tried to fit in as many of the classic Anon is a filly tropes and twist them just a little. Like here, Anon defeats the threat that wounded him, but still tries to find other ponies. She finds Applejack, instead of the other way around etc. The main reason I didn't like this chapter that much is because I just didn't come up with a good twist for the hospital other than she acctually likes it and instead of trying to prove her humanity, she tries to hide it.
I really like how you are avoiding a lot of the worn out tropes since anon has been doing this for 3 years.
Also, the editing is great. Only like 1 or 2 things I noticed. I can't wait for the next chapter!
11347484
Don't be such a pessimist. I believe in you. Just remember the three P's of productivity!
sleeP deprivation
hallucinoPens
Prugs
11347567
I meant it literally, Im still curently recovering from an improptu boxing match against a speeding BMW.
The car got totaled, I nearly lost my arm, so lets call it a draw.
11347573
Oh dang, you could'a done the trope where anon is a SI that got hit by a car and then wakes up as a pony.
11347573
Hope you are doing alright, fam.
Don't stress out overmuch over the comments asking for updates.
Real Life always comes before hobbies.
Focus on actually having things go well, the last thing anyone wants is you suffering just to deliver a chapter.
People can, and will, wait as long as needed. So please take your time.
Not gonna lie, this had me laughing pretty hard.
Did she give her name to some fey-like entity and then it took it away?
I was just thinking about deconstructions of the genra. What if you had the anon get so injured during the first timberwolf fight that they were in a medically induced coma for months. And the chapter two is a rug pull about the mane six tracking down the portal anon came through and starting a multiversal adventure or maybe first contact with no participation from anon for the rest of the story.
11349124
The author confirmed this in the comments a while back.
Super intrigued by this story I look forward to where it goes!
Well, that was fast.
Should be ingredient-that-turn-out-to-be, with a dash between "turn" and "out".
I feel that there's a lot that I'm missing. Like at least a whole story. I was hoping that something more substantial in regards to what is going on would've been revealed by now other then just vague came from somewhere bad type vibes.
Is this story a continuation/sequel? Because if so what's the story so I can read it? Otherwise I'm getting the feeling I'm gonna be feeling a little lost as I read this story. I plan on reading this story regardless because it's pretty good so far.
Later edit: I just read the next chapter and I don't feel lost anymore. Still can't exactly say that I'm not confused about before this story takes place, but I think that's more how the past is being revealed as the narrative progresses. I love stories with that kind of narrative though it's done a tad awkwardly here.
And that was when ALONDRO appeared! "You called?"
Anon lost all bladder and bowel control as the WORST MONSTER OF THE ENTIRE MULTIVERSE WAS STANDING RIGHT THERE!!
"NO!" Anon screamed in abject terror. "I DO NOT WANT TO GAZE UPON YOUR TWISTED FAN ART AGAIN, YOU FREAK! The things that you did to Renamon... that you did WITH Renamon...!!! THE SCARS WILL NEVER HEAL IN MY MIND!!!"
Alondro shrugged, "At least it's not Sonichu."
Anon paused, "That's true..."
”Well, it's butterscotch and cinnamon”
A butterscotch and cinnamon pie you say? Hrmmmmmmm… welp no connection to Undertale 100% case closed we can all go home to our loving books and games.
11527676
Well, there are the timelines, so there’s a tiny chance that there is, but it’s less than the first 100 decimals starting with 0