Home Is Where the Heart Was
Anon rises to his feet as his train comes to a complete stop. There are many ponies trying to get off with him, but they all make an effort to keep their distance as best they can in that confined space.
He breathes a sigh of relief as he steps outside, taking in the fresh evening air of Ponyville. Of course, his peace is immediately disrupted by the dozens of ponies getting off and on the train, each giving him a hard look as they pass. He doesn't really care, though. He's used to it.
Anon slowly makes his way down the winding dirt roads of town. A few pegasi fly overhead on their way to who-knows-where. Much like in Canterlot, ponies are celebrating left and right, though due to the much smaller nature of the town, it isn't nearly as noisy. In fact, Anon would guess that a larger portion of Ponyville's population is busy with work than Canterlot's. Some ponies are clearly shopping or going about their daily business. Others are tearing down the numerous stone walls and watchtowers that Nightmare Moon had constructed. Given its proximity to the Castle of the Two Sisters, Ponyville was a strategic defensive location, she told him. Anon scoffs at the sight of her hard work being torn down. These ponies can't appreciate anything she did, it seems. Even if it was for their own benefit.
Anon's pace comes to a gradual stop. He stands in place, simply observing the town around him. Apart from the ponies all avoiding him, he has to admit that it reminds him a lot of the town he grew up in. Even with all the deconstruction going on, it feels quiet. Peaceful. It makes him feel...
He shakes his head. He can't dwell on the life he left behind. He was reviled there too, after all. People like him can't afford to look back.
Still...
Anon sighs. He needs somewhere to go, and if Canterlot was anything to go by, he's going to be hard-pressed to find somewhere to stay in Ponyville. He did quite a few jobs here, and if there is any town he is likely to be kicked out of, it's this one. But then, where will he go? Without Nightmare Moon to house him, where could he possibly stay?
After contemplating for a few moments, he nods to himself and starts walking down a familiar road. This road leads to the Everfree Forest and the Castle of the Two Sisters, which, as far as he knows, should now be abandoned. It's where his room is. It's where his lady was. It's possibly the only place nearby he won't get kicked out of.
It's the closest thing he has to a home.
"I'm back, your majesty."
"Hm? You're early."
Anon enters the dining room of the Castle of the Two Sisters. The only pony present is Nightmare Moon, who quietly dines on some of the finest food Equestria has to offer. Anon has been working for her for several months. In that time, she has slowly grown to trust him more and more, to the point where he and he alone is allowed to enter the dining room during her dinner. Earlier today, he finished his most recent task with flying colors.
"I was afraid I wouldn't. Those Apples are a rowdy bunch."
"Trust me, I am aware. If it weren't for the fact that they produce a substantial amount of the nation's food, I would have had them dealt with ages ago." Without looking up from her food, Nightmare Moon uses her telekinesis to pull out a chair next to her. "Sit."
Anon obeys, happily taking the seat. To his surprise, she slides a second plate of food towards him.
"Th-thank you, lady Moon."
"Hm." She doesn't acknowledge his thanks beyond a simple grunt. "I take it you were successful, then?"
"I was. I personally saw to it that they're planting the correct types of apples."
"Nightingale Apples. A product of my own creation, able to be grown even in perpetual night. Peh, imagine having such an ego that you would refuse to grow such a thing even when living in my eternal night. They'd sooner let Equestria starve."
"They said that they don't trust food you had a hoof in creating."
She chuckles at that.
"Then let them starve!"
The pair continues to dine in relative silence for a few minutes until Anon eventually speaks up again.
"Um... my lady?"
"Speak."
"Why are you letting me dine with you? I thought you preferred to eat alone."
"...I do. However, you're the closest thing to good company I've had since taking the throne." For some reason, Anon notices an almost imperceptible twitch in her eye when she speaks.
"I... th-thank you, lady Moon."
Anon has always considered himself immune to flattery. All it has ever been is a lie, a ploy to get him to do what others want. However, he knows Nightmare Moon. She may be evil, but she isn't a liar. As a result, he feels his cheeks begin to grow hot.
"Keep it up, and there may be more in store for you."
"H-huh?"
"Don't let it get to your head, though. I expect results. Fail to deliver, and I will see to it that you are properly... disciplined, shall we say?"
"Y-yes, my lady!"
She gives him what seems to be a genuine smile that causes his heart to skip a beat.
"I look forward to it."
Without another word, she elegantly rises from her seat and exits the dining room, leaving Anon alone once more. After a few moments, he can't stop a smile from growing on his face.
"Yes!"
And there it is. The Castle of the Two Sisters, nestled quietly in the middle of the Everfree Forest. Surrounding the castle, there are numerous other structures. Most are for defensive purposes, much like the ones in Ponyville, though what Nightmare Moon even needed defending from is beyond Anon. Maybe she was just paranoid?
Anon passes through the large iron gate, allowing himself to indulge in nostalgia for just a moment. He is reminded of the feeling of returning from a successful mission, and the satisfaction he would receive in telling his lady the good news. However, these joyful thoughts are interrupted as he approaches the castle proper.
Where once there stood a grand structure fit for a queen, there is now the sad remains of an abandoned building. It's only been about a week since Nightmare Moon was defeated, but looking at the state of her castle, you might think she's been gone for years. A few walls are caving in. The ceiling has collapsed in a couple of places. Graffiti covers almost every inch of the walls outside, the vitriol-filled messages directed towards both Nightmare Moon and Anon himself. Ironically, this is the closest he's come to seeing the genuine thoughts of the genuine public since her defeat. That doesn't make the sad sight of what was once hers any less upsetting, however.
Anon forces the grand wooden doors open. Sure enough, the entrance hall is no better than the outside. Moonlight pours through multiple spots where the ceiling has caved in. Any iconography related to her rule, from portraits to insignias to moon-shaped windows, has been utterly trashed. Her throne is missing entirely, having either been torn to pieces or outright stolen. It seems that as soon as she was gone, Equestria made its feelings known.
Of course, this wasn't just her home. This was his home. This was where he returned after a job well done. This was where he ate, where he slept. This was where he wanted to be.
This was where everything he ever wanted was.
Anon wanders through the many winding halls. Once upon a time, this castle was filled with booby traps and other such things, but those were disabled years ago. They only made traversal more difficult for everyone.
He runs his fingers over some of the stone walls as he walks. He has a lot of memories of this castle. Most involve Nightmare Moon, of course, but they're memories all the same. Much more fond memories than those he has of his old world, at the very least.
Eventually, he makes it to a familiar hallway. On the way here, he noted that most of the deeper, more secluded halls were defaced much less than the entrance hall. The same cannot be said here. The familiar form of Nightmare Moon's bedroom door is gone, having been torn off its hinges and left in pieces on the floor. A quick glance into the dark bedroom reveals that the room is in shambles. Curtains are torn, cabinets are knocked over, and anything relating to a moon has been completely destroyed. Anon chooses not to linger.
With a shake of his head, he makes his way to the other door. This door is, at the very least, still on its hinges. He quietly opens it, causing it to creak in the process. Unfortunately, his room is hardly better than Nightmare Moon's. The whole place has been ransacked. Everything he ever owned (most of which was bestowed upon him by his lady) is either gone or scattered across the floor. His closet door hangs open, revealing all of his garments to be missing. He's not sure what a pony could possibly use special-made human clothing for, but he figures that the value of the items wasn't really the point. Oddly enough, seeing his own room like this hurts less than seeing Nightmare Moon's in the state it was in.
He sighs to himself as he begins to sort through the mess for anything that might still be of use. There is hardly anything left to acknowledge. The vandals, it seems, were very thorough. He glances around the room, finally taking note of the abundant graffiti. Obscenities and insults line the walls and floor. It doesn't really bother him, though. He's been called worse.
He sits on the foot of his bed, only for the bed frame to collapse under his weight. He's left on the floor, stuck on top of a miserable pile of what was once his bed. Apparently, the vandals were very thorough.
Rising from his position, he concludes that there is little reason to stay in this room. It may have once been his, but without even a bed to use, it's little more than storage now. He starts to make his way out, but something else catches his eye. Placed carefully behind the door, tucked away in a dusty corner, is a small plush animal. Curious, Anon picks the animal up. It's a finely made, hoof-stitched bunny rabbit. He isn't quite sure why it's here. It isn't covered in dust like the rest of the corner, meaning it was left there recently. He certainly didn't leave it, so perhaps it belonged to someone who broke in?
...Now that he thinks about it, it looks a bit familiar. He seems to recall a job he once had hunting down a vigilante in the Everfree Forest. Nightmare Moon had traps laid throughout the forest for the sake of capturing animals. Many of their parts are useful in all sorts of goods, after all. And without Celestia to prevent such hunting, she would be insane not to capitalize on it. However, somepony had been disabling traps and freeing animals for months undetected. He was sent searching for the culprit, and he eventually caught her in the act. It was a yellow pegasus mare with a pink mane. He never really got her name, though. She didn't put up much of a fight once he caught her. He brought her before Nightmare Moon, who imprisoned her. He had expected her to be executed, so imagine his surprise when she showed up months later as one of the mares that killed his lady.
This plushie looks just like that bunny she had with her. He... "took care" of that bunny after she was captured.
Suddenly filled with frustration, he throws it out of a nearby broken window and exits the room, slamming the door behind him in the process. Making his way back down the hall, he once again stops in front of Nightmare Moon's room. Taking a deep breath, he enters.
Sure enough, it's just as bad as his room. Glancing around, the graffiti is much worse in here than it was in there. However, her large, dark-blue bed still seems to be in one piece, even if the sheets have been messed with. Anon glances back at the doorway that lacks a door. He takes a deep breath and reaches down for a tipped-over cabinet before effortlessly lifting it up. After his fight at the Pie family farm, he looked into his newfound "strength." According to Nightmare Moon, everything in Equestria is inherently magical. It's a constant... thing that exists, sort of like energy. Because his body negates magic, he can move things without the "obstruction" of that inherent magic, be it a simple pebble or an alicorn queen. For all intents and purposes, he isn't "stronger" than he was before, he just sort of... breaks the laws of physics in this world, he supposes.
It certainly turned out to be useful on his missions, at least.
Carefully, he places a few ruined pieces of furniture in the doorway, essentially barricading himself inside. He tends to sleep with one eye open, and not having a door makes him uneasy. After a quiet moment, Anon lays himself down on the side of the bed Nightmare Moon didn't sleep on and makes himself comfortable. It wouldn't be the first time he's slept here, but it would be the first time he's done so alone.
With one final sigh and a million thoughts swimming through his mind, Anon closes his eyes and attempts to drift off to sleep, doing everything in his power to memorize the faint smell of his lady that still lingers on her pillow.
Stats
Page generated in 0.017 seconds
Total duration
856 users online
530,328 hits today, 1,872,792 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
I wonder what his dreams will be like, and if Luna would dare enter them.
Is it... okay to hate the Ponies of this Universe and root for Anon to restore everything to how it was before? Ffffffffff------......
Still no sympathy
Great chapter
11734246
Considering he has every right to be upset that every trace of the girl he loved is being erased and fluttershy no matter how well meaning was messing with the traps and she had no right to. I get the feeling nightmare moon might have been harsh but she did try to look after her subjects even they didn't appreciate it. She made sure they didn't starve which something a good leader does. They never wanted to give her a chance it sounds like. And with Luna running away from the past with Celestia help he gets to live miserable ever after.
Gonna regret that when next week's random monster invasion occurs.
OK, so the ponies here are just as capable of being assholes as humans. Vetinari was right again:
And while we're on the subject:
derpicdn.net/img/view/2022/4/30/2856095.jpg
Lucky weasel.
So he killed Angel Bunny. . . AWESOME!
11734268
Those quotes are amazing. Oh, man... hearing all this in my head with Peter Capaldi's voice and it's chilling, and I love it!
* * *
"Anon, a monster is attacking Ponyville; please help us!"
"Why should I? You ponies were utterly stupid to build Ponyville where it was, bordering the Everfree Forest! Even Nightmare Moon knew said forest was dangerous; so she had walls and defenses built to protect you ungrateful assholes and what did you do?! You tore them all down! Well... now you can take care of your own damn problems!"
Reading all these comments really shows just how powerful Protagonist-Centered Morality can be.
Anon was a villain who was shown to ruin ponies' lives without hesitation and narrates about how he didn't care about anyone. He wouldn't feel out of place amongst MLP's typical gallery of villains who wish to harm others to achieve a personal goal. However, because the story is told from his perspective, there is a good portion of the audience that is increasingly angry on his behalf and actively want Equestria to suffer as bitter revenge.
It's honestly so interesting.
11734283
I think it was because this guy is also an anon. More often than not, Anon was human with bad personality and questionable morale, but readers are supposed to root for his triumphed for many uncountable reasons. Be it just pony's stupidity, comedy, or outright malice.
Many HiEs are brainwashed to root for the green 4chan man no matter what.
Looks at how many likes these troll/psycho-looking comment got. So many people agreed to these ideas. It will be completely reverse if a pony did that to a human.
11734272
11734246
11734268
11734283
Add in a few other factors:
1. Luna/NMM has been a fan favorite since Episode 1, with a fair number still preferring her "dark side"
2. The Season 5 finale shows that while Celestia couldn't even handle Flim and Flam without the Mane Six (seriously, that should have been a simple matter of economic policy), NMM apparently handled every disaster up to that point in her timeline
3. The G4 wrap-up and G5 lore is compatible with the older fan theories that Celestia was trying to keep Luna out of power and popularity, shoving a less-than-capable Twilight into Luna's rightful place
4. [Insert self-insert Anon tropes here]
There's still a fair number of us around who can at least argue for fun that Luna/NMM would have done a better job of running Equestria, and this story's lore seems to support that so far. There's plenty of reasons to root for Anon and NMM, and to empathize with his feelings of loss and betrayal. They might not be ethically good or popular reasons, but they're reasons.
11734298
It amuses me that we at least partly agree on why people take Anon's side
but disagree on how to respond to the story and comments.
I’ve personally always been one to find it interesting when dark characters live in a post world where they/the one they followed lost and everyone else lives happily. But to see the after effects on a scale like this from Enforcer Anon? I can’t help but sympathize with him. I would say that’s good character writing/development on Runic’s part, but that’s just me. At least I’m not being negative about it, like a certain someone being rationed into the ground lol. (That may be mean, but I’ll be the only one to say it out loud.)
11734283
I wouldn't say it's just that, there are some convoluting factors.
One thing that's very important to consider is that Anon is a human. The only human, and one who came from a hard life at that. He's the relatable underdog who found the love of his life and managed to succeed in a harsh situation.
Morality aside, that's the type of character that people love rooting for. You see someone like that in a story and you want them to succeed. You see a character like that in a setting that's designed to make them fail, and you want them to push back and find their good ending.
The real kicker? The heroes of the story have not only given him no reason to change his outlook on life, they've reinforced his beliefs to the point that they're probably burned in forever.
The great tragedy of it all is that Equestria could have been Anon's big chance at changing his life, but it ended up just being Earth with a different paint-job. He's never had a reason to change, and now he never will.
If there was any chance at Anon softening up and learning to see the good in life, it lived and died with Nightmare Moon.
It's tragic and unfair, and lots of people (like me) want to see tragedy like that flipped on its back and stomped in the gut.
11734325
Exactly!
11734317
Yea.. Saying whatever I want to random online strangers without holding back snarkiness and such is the kind of person I am.
The fact that you stayed with G4 till the end told of your bottomless tolerant of idiotcracy.
11734345
Actually, Season 5 was the last full one I watched. I skimmed the first half of Season 6, then mostly found the summaries (and watched relevant clips and occasional episodes) from there to keep up with WTF was going on in new stories.
11734354
Same same. The existance of the
writer's omnipotent mouthpiececutie map is what made me abandon the ship.They didn't even try to be subtle about it.
I want to know what's going on in Luna's mind. Could Nightmares Moon is still fighting inside of her to be with her loyal knight? Whisperings how he was the only one who truly appreciate her. The good intimate moments (PG description of course) they share...
Please tell me there'll be a scene like this.
How bad would anon take it if, their was another human in equestria who actually helped defeat nightmare moon and thus was loved by all the ponies around him. Double points if he didn’t hate this anon or nightmare moon only thought of them as stupid children.
Wonder what his relationship with RD was? Wasnt she a guard in this one? Guess we'll find out next chapter given that we've gone through the other 5 already. Wonder if hes gonna plant and grow some Nightingale Apples? Also isnt the Tree of Harmony really close by? Wonder if he will find it if he explores? Kinda curious on what would happen if he gets near it.
And that is why, kids, you can never have too many executions. What Shy was doing was, at the very least trespassing on government property. To be fair, I'm aware that the element would've provably found a different bearer, but the point still stands. If Fluttershy was killed, Nightmare Moon wouldn't be. For a time, at least.
Yeah, that's the Apples, all right. Makes you wonder what differentiates Celestia and NM. If the former was sent to the moon/banished/kia, only to return after a thousand years of her sister' rule, what welcome would she find?
It's all a matter of conditioning and image building, after all. NM would've probably mellowed out after a while, and given her competence, I'd argue she would've been, at the very least, on par with Celestia in terms of ruling. Add to that a better outfitted and better trained military, a thousand years of demonization, and she might just come out on top in the popularity contest.
I wonder why Caterlot Castle wasn't trashed by thestral/NM supportes upon her return? Probably because they knew their Lady had use for it and wouldn't be too pleased with defacing such an important structure. Or they had self-respect and a modicum of civility.
Or she didn't have supporters, which is hard to believe, to be honest.
Keep up the good work Runictreetops.
I do like how the protagonist is characterized in this, they are not comically evil like other fictions I've read but merely... apathetic to those he harms, directly or indirectly. They do not seem sadistic either, violent and cruel but they don't seem to go out of their way to cause suffering on other, Angel might be an indication I'm wrong though.
Notably their attitude towards losing is interesting, they aren't ranting and raving about how Celestia and the Elements of Harmony killed Nightmare Moon or pointlessly lashing out at them. They meander around being melancholy until interacted with and even then they are vaguely amicable until things deteriorate.
When you read the part about Angel and see line "took care"
This is a really intriguing premise for a story, and I cant wait to see where it goes.
i wonder if there are any NM loyalist, maybe thestrals who could see Anon as a leader to rally around.
I'm somewhat confused about Anon, is he having a serious case of Stockholm Syndrome or was he so traumatised by some event back in the human world that he reached out to NMM because she treated him a little differently? Like he has a purpose to fill and she gave him purpose especially when he mentioned his treatment from Ponyvillians is no different from his world. He's nothing to them and they did nothing to him. However, even if NMM is your textbook tyrannical despot, she probably gave him something beyond his wildest dreams, she gave him Celestia's room- a room fit for royalty, she gave him jobs to do and she allowed him to dine with her, these are probably more than what he'd ever get back home. He doesn't look to be sadistic, he was just following orders and is very much apathetic to the ponies rather than malicious. But without more information, this is as far as my theory goes.
Good job! Keep it up!
11734844
I think Anon was in the mafia on Earth. Maybe as a soldier. NMM was the only pony who spoke his language and he fell in love with her because it was in a system he knew all too well.
Also I think the only pony who has a chance at reaching Anon and turning his life around at this point is Luna. And she might not be able to considering how that dinner went.
11734483
I mean, if Angel tried his usual Big Bunny Jerk routine on him of all people...yeah, I could see that ending on something like Anon having rabbit for dinner that day.
That said, “taking care” is still just ambiguous enough to possibly be less sinister than it sounds.
11734927
Not sure it would work in this story, but Angel deciding to be an asshole Anon's pet/friend/ally instead would be amusing.
11734246
Honestly, I wouldn't blame you.
11734325
Couldn't have said it better myself.