Lost in Search for You

by RunicTreetops

The Villain You Wished I Was

Twilight awakens to the sound of someone slamming on her door. With a surprised yelp, she leaps out of bed.

"Wah! Wh-what is it?!"

"Twilight, you need to get out here right now!"

"Starlight?" Twilight glances at her clock. It's five in the morning. "What's going on at this hour?"

"Anon is gone!"

Twilight feels her heart sink into her chest. She blinks, taking just a moment to process what's happening. Then, she rushes to the door to see a panicked Starlight on the other side, nervously trotting in place.

"What do you mean he's gone? Are you sure he didn't just go for another one of his walks or something?"

"I would have, if it wasn't for the fact that this was stuck to his door!"

Starlight hands Twilight a small piece of paper. The handwriting is neat, but concise.

Went to talk to Celestia. Don't follow me.

"...Oh no."

"That's what I said!"

"When did the most recent train leave for Canterlot?!"

"About an hour ago!"

"Argh, dang it! Fine, let's go! We'll just have to take the soonest one possible!"

The two begin to sprint down the hall towards the front door of the castle. On the way there, they pass by a sleepy, yet curious Spike.

"What are you two doing so-"

"Spike, I have a job for you!" Twilight yells towards Spike, but does not stop running. "Tell our friends that they need to get to Canterlot as soon as possible! This could be a major emergency!"

"Wh-what? Why?"

Twilight doesn't respond, as she is already out the door.

"Please don't do anything rash, Anon...!"

---

The sun has just finished rising over the horizon. Princess Celestia sighs to herself as she finishes casting the spell, breathing in the crisp morning air from the Canterlot Castle balcony afterwards. With a contented smile on her face, she turns around and heads out of her room and down the hall. She has already gotten dressed and had breakfast, meaning the next thing on her agenda is day court. She slowly trudges to the throne room, not exactly excited by the prospect of handling what will most likely be the petty issues of the rich and powerful.

The two guards blocking the throne room step aside to allow their princess to enter. Once the doors are closed behind her, she lets out a gentle yawn. The room is long, the walls adorned with many stained glass windows depicting Equestria's countless victories against its enemies. She quickly glances at one of the more recent additions, this one depicting Twilight and all of her friends protecting a town from a rampaging bugbear. Specifically, her eyes are drawn to the corner of the window, where a crude depiction of Anon the human can be seen assisting Twilight. She certainly didn't tell the artist to include that when she commissioned him, no matter how accurate it may be.

Celestia climbs the steps leading to her throne in the dead silent room. Barely a shuffle is made as she turns around to sit on the throne. Immediately, she locks eyes with Anon, who somehow stands in the center of the dead silent room.

The two simply glare at each other, neither making a peep for what feels like hours, but couldn't have been more than a minute. Finally, Anon breaks the silence.

"Princess."

After a tense moment, Celestia responds.

"I do believe my subjects are meant to bow when they face me."

"And I do believe that I'm not your subject."

"Hmph. Then what right have you to be in this room at all? I know for a fact my guards didn't let you in."

"You're not the only one who can keep secrets, princess." Anon lifts a finger, the tip of which begins to glow slightly like a unicorn's horn might when casting a spell. "It took a long time to perfect my version of teleportation, but I'd say it works just fine now."

If Anon's display caught Celestia off guard, she doesn't show it.

"You're still trespassing, you know. And you're doing so in one of the most heavily secured places in the country. I can easily have you charged with treason for this. I could banish you to the sun if I so chose."

"You probably could. But I wouldn't make it easy on you."

"Is that a threat?"

"I'm sure you'd like that, wouldn't you? You've always been desperate for me to become a villain."

"I've done no such thing."

"Please, you aren't fooling anyone. And besides-"

"Let me guess. You know the truth. You know all about what happened to humanity, and now you're here to demand their release. Is that right?"

Anon closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.

"...No."

For the first time in their conversation, Celestia looks surprised.

"You... aren't?"

"No. I just... I just want to see them. That's all."

"Tsk. And why should I believe you?"

"Why should you not?"

Celestia stands from her throne, her anger finally making itself known.

"Because you are a liability. You're unstable. You were born with a resistance to magic, and the world that was perfectly crafted to contain your ilk for YOUR OWN BENEFIT rejected you. Now, you're a tragedy waiting to happen."

"It hasn't happened yet. What makes you think it will now?"

"It is better to be safe than sorry. All those years ago, I learned what it feels like to be helpless in the face of adversity. Then, many years later..." Celestia glances at a different window, this one depicting the defeat of Nightmare Moon. "I learned what it feels like for that adversity to be your fault." Once again locking eyes with Anon, Celestia begins to step down from her throne. She heads in Anon's direction, each step echoing through the chamber like the sound of a beating heart. "And I will not feel that again."

"..."

"Well? Don't you have a retort? I'm sure you have plenty you want to say to me."

"..."

"Come on! Don't you want your precious home back?!"

Celestia is dangerously close to Anon now, her horn beginning to glow a bright yellow. That magic, though typically gentle and controlled, appears thick and intimidating. Despite this, Anon does not move, nor does his expression ever change.

"Do it."

"What?"

"Do it. Get rid of me."

"You will not-"

Anon grabs Celestia by the horn, forcing her to crane her neck. He points the still-glowing horn directly at his own face.

"Do it."

The expression on Celestia's face is indescribable. There is a sudden flash of light. At the exact same time, the doors to the throne room fly open, revealing Twilight and Starlight. They look on in horror just as a massive burst of magic overtakes Anon, completely clouding their view of him.

"NO!"

...

...

...

The light fades. The dust that had been kicked up as a result of Celestia's magic dissipates. The newly arrived mares gasp at what they see. Celestia sits on the ground, her head facing the floor and tears rolling down her cheeks. She sniffles a single time and begins to sob.

And there, gently embracing her, is a completely unharmed Anon.

His quiet voice breaks the relative silence.

"I'm sorry."

Celestia does not return his hug, but she makes no effort to pull away. Twilight watches on, her jaw agape. She's never seen her mentor like this, not to mention the fact that Anon is somehow fine.

"What's going on?" Starlight whispers in Twilight's ear, and it takes the alicorn a moment to respond.

"I have no idea."

After a long, quiet moment, Celestia finally looks up at Anon.

"You..."

"She didn't want you to hurt humans, did she?"

"I... I..."

"It's fine if you hate me. I don't care. But... I know what you're going through."

"...Sniff. You don't. Anon, you can't possibly imagine what it feels like. Every time I look at you, all I can picture is the human that attacked Luna and I. Was he the one that killed my mother? I... I don't know. But he may as well have been. They ALL attacked us that day. Any of them could have been her killer, and ALL of them are to blame. What..." She dares to look him in the eyes once more, despite the fact that her own are still full of tears. "What does that make you?!"

"..." Anon, despite the accusations being thrown towards him, hugs the princess even tighter. "I had nothing to do with any of that. Deep down, you know that. And I know there's nothing I can do to fix the pain you're feeling."

"Then why...?"

"I miss my mom too, you know. And I'll never get to meet the old stallion that stuck my ancestors in that dimension." Anon finally pulls away, gently holding Celestia's face to ensure that she can see the melancholy in his own eyes. "But you're right here. And you're still holding my parents hostage."

"..."

Without another word, Celestia begins to cry harder. She keels over, a sudden wave of guilt washing over her. Anon lets go of her and takes a step back, doing his best to wipe the tears forming in his own eyes. He is surprised by the sound of a pony approaching him from behind, meeting her just as she wraps her hooves around him. Twilight has embraced him, doing her best to hold back tears of her own. Starlight is failing to do so behind her.

"Nonny! Wh-why didn't you tell us?"

"I'm sorry, Twilight. I knew you'd try to stop me otherwise."

"This... you..."

"It's okay. I know what I'm doing."

Anon removes Twilight from his waist and faces a seemingly random corner of the room, his expression soft, yet still serious.

"I meant it when I said I don't bite, by the way. You can come out now."

To everyone's surprise, the corner seems to shimmer for a moment. Then, all at once, the visage of Princess Luna appears out of thin air.

"How did you see me?"

"Complete guess, to be honest." Anon gets several strange looks. "What? I'm not a miracle worker."

Luna awkwardly walks towards the group, her head hanging down.

"I... I must apologize for the other day. I-I just... I don't know."

"Celestia responded to my appearance with anger. You did with fear. You can't really control that." Luna looks away, a conflicted look in her eyes. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to dredge up such pain in the two of you."

"I'll get over it. Eventually."

Anon tries to give her a comforting smile, though he's unsure if she even sees it. Meanwhile, Celestia finally rises from the ground behind him, clearing her throat as she does so.

"...Right. Well then."

"So? Can I see them?"

Celestia looks at Anon, a mixture of anger and sorrow in her eyes. She glances at Twilight, then at Starlight, then at her sister. She opens her mouth to speak, but she is interrupted by the door to the throne room opening once again.

The room suddenly feels much more noisy as Spike, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash all come barreling into it, completely uninformed about what exactly is taking place inside. When they see the sight that they do, they all stop in place.

"Uhh... what did we miss?"

Starlight awkwardly shuffles over to the group and whispers an explanation of the events of the past couple of days. After finishing, they all look up at Celestia, each reacting to the news in a different way, yet all equally interested in hearing her response.

"Twilight, you and your friends sure do have a habit of showing up at the most inopportune times."

"Hmhm. It's a part of what makes us so reliable."

Celestia thinks for a moment, a look of deep contemplation on her face.

"Um, if it makes any difference, princess..." Fluttershy takes a courteous bow. "We would be most appreciative if you would let Anon see how his parents are doing. He's been wanting to see them for a very long time."

After yet another quiet moment, Celestia finally sighs, facing Anon as she does so.

"Very well. I suppose that since your family is here to control you in the worst case scenario... I can let you touch the octahedron."

"Really?!"

To everyone's shock, Celestia lets out a tired chuckle.

"I'm just as surprised as you are that I'm saying this. Now, come. All of you."

"Where are we going?"

"The vault."

---

The Canterlot Castle vault is surprisingly simple. With a pair of guards on the outside, the vault itself consists of steel walls that branch out into about a half-dozen individual steel rooms.

"Each of these rooms contains a different powerful item," Celestia explains, "but they aren't here to protect them from thieves. They're here because they endanger the world outside these walls."

Celestia enters a very long combination on a fairly rudimentary padlock, opening the door on the far end of the vault. The door slowly slides open with a metallic creak, revealing the room inside. Sure enough, the room is completely barren save for a single glass case in the center of the room. And within that case, a glowing blue octahedron floats in midair.

Celestia delicately lifts the glass and looks at Anon with trepidation.

"This will only be a one-time thing. You being a human aside, it's just a security concern. So... make it count."

Anon nods, and everyone holds their breaths as he reaches for the octahedron. Magic seems to gently crackle in the area surrounding it like small bolts of electricity. The glowing aura surrounding it seems to pulsate, giving the object a life-life presence. Anon outstretches a single finger towards the octahedron, ready to finally, finally see his parents again.

But as he does so, cracks begin to form in the air around him. He freezes, recognizing this sensation. He isn't alone either, as Starlight gasps at the sight.

"Anon! Get away from the-"

She is cut off by a sudden magical explosion. Everyone in the vault is thrown against the back wall. When the light dies down, the octahedron appears to be completely unharmed. However, blue, string-like bursts of magic begin to flow out of it. First one, then two, then five, then twenty. The next thing they know, thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions of magical strings are shooting out of the octahedron and through the walls of the vault. Everyone present is paralyzed in shock at the display before them.

And when the magic finally dies down, the sounds of distant screams can be heard outside.

Comments

[NaviNautical]

Oh. No…

[Slamp5000XL-3-0]

Mierda, y yo pensando que iba a ver un final feliz..

[joElecTeen]

"You're still trespassing, you know. And you're doing so in one of the most heavily secured places in the country. I can easily have you charged with treason for this. I could banish you to the sun if I so chose."

choose

Without another word, Celestia begins to cry harder. She keels over, a sudden wave of guilt washing over her. Anon lets go of her and takes a step back, doing his best to wipe the tears forming in his own eyes. He is surprised by the sound of a pony approaching him from behind, meeting her just as she wraps her hooves around him. Twilight has embraced him, doing her best to hold back tears of her own. Starlight is failing to do so behind her.

kneels

[HallowedPrince]

Every time you post a chapter, all I feel is EMOTIONAL DAMAGE!

That being said, oh no. Oh no no no no…

[Hye]

So, I, um, immediately thought of...

That.

[PirateLord93]

And now Celestia will be like "I knew you would cause a disaster!" and will want him dead.

[giz]

11678003
Yes, but it does not remove their responsibility in this whole matter, they did not try a real solution

[Mrnom]

11677888
Don't know why your getting dislikes your just pointing out grammar errors don't think the author minds that much

[Mrnom]

11678009
The pocket world was a solution equestrian magic was making them go berserk there is no cure for that it's not a sickness it's magic. Only way I'd make up a way around it is just saying the magic levels in the air are down to they were before the unification or the humans that just got release develop a higher magic tolerance.

[giz]

11678017
After the banishment they were able to look for a cure, but they decided to forget everything and keep the human lands.
all the current drama is the result of royal neglect
Or a childish revenge.

because of a conflict that was started by them

[Eldorado]

Copyrighted song lyrics aren't allowed on Fimfiction.

[RunicTreetops]

11678113
They have been removed.

[KjDubya]

Damn...guess who's baaack.

[Mrnom]

11678026
I....I put it's not a sickness it's magic once the unification happen the magic levels in the air increase making humans violent. It's like you ignored what I put down and ignored what's in the story it's why I give my.thoughts on how the human's would not be violent when they were release.