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Pens and Friends

^{Anon's Camp}

"A pen? A fucking chicken pen?" Faust repeats, looking at Anon's work with... well, it's not pride.

"Well, its not like I had many options. Plus, look at her! She looks right at home!" Anon argues, wincing even as he mentions it, gesturing forward towards...

Scootaloo, skull mask and all, is sat on her haunches in the middle of a roughly built chicken pen. Ferns turned to twine and sturdy-ish sticks jutting out of the ground create an impromptu foot-tall fence that would only really defend against ponies shins who don't pay attention. But, it was what he had. And it seemed to be working.

Surrounded by quietly clucking fowl that peck at the ground around Scootaloo, ogling her curiously, she looks... depressed, with the way her head hangs. She blinks slowly, sad eyes barely visible past the skull on her face, emotionless and deadpan. Her once sizable wings have been heavily trimmed, the flight feathers cut, grounding her once more. The chickens, Anon just grabbed up afterwards. Pretty sure at this point they're the ones from the Apple farms, considering they're so... domesticated.

Now that she's not trying to fly off with him, Anon can finally relax. The loss of his fish and the spear sucked for sure, but Anon wasn't going to turn look a gift horse in the mouth. Or gift chicken in this case? Or whatever that saying was. They got chickens, and that made it worth it.

Chicken for dinner didn't sound bad, and landing on a pile of them was a life-saver. Still, though, he can't just chop them all up for dinner. Eggs were an important resource too, and there was plenty of grass and bugs around to sustain them. That, and these things basically fed themselves on the bugs that lived around here. Natural pesticide.

"Why does that one have a snake for a tail?" Faust questions, settling atop one of the pen posts, pointing to one of the chickens that was near double the size of the others, quietly pecking at the ground. Still a bit shorter than Bird-Scootaloo, It's tail idly watches one of the other nearby chickens, forked tongue flicking the air from it's curved beak.

"The one with the tail... I don't remember catching that one. Huh."
Anon thought it was the Rooster at first, but... oh well. Seemed passive enough. He wiggles a finger at it, and the snake-end of the tail flicks it's tongue at him.

"Pretty docile, aren't they? No clue about that one, but I think the others are the Apple Farms animals gotten free. I thought if I was making a pen to hold Scootaloo, I could double up and put the chickens in, too. Keep her... company or something." Anon explains, glancing over.

Scootaloo sighs quietly, flopping onto her side on the grass. A curious chicken tilts it's head, clucking softly at her. Yeah, she's not going anywhere. No better prison than a mental one. Well, he's not trying to keep her like a prisoner, but -- ah, fuck it. This looked bad any way he might try to spin it.

Faust gives him one hell of a look.
"You re-crippled the cripple, Anon. That alone is one thing. But then you went and put her in a chicken coop." Faust points out.
"With chickens."

"Yeah."

"That's fucked up."

"...Yeah."
Anon mumbles, scratching the back of his head.

Faust rubs her face with her hooves, shaking her head, exhaling loudly.
"...Horrid slights against the newly re-handicapped aside, I think this might actually be the right thing to do."

"What do you mean? Like... putting her in here?" Anon asks, checking his handiwork on the posts, giving one of them a wiggle.

"Not that, idiot." Faust snips, Anon shying back.
"After seeing her and Twilight, I've more than confirmed that Magic is still around, just in... weird, twisted ways. Basically, Magic has been condensed into a select few, rather than the whole populations. Bringing Scootaloo here -- not shoving her in with the chickens -- is a good plan moving forward. She's the only Pegasus we've seen that can fly, so i'm willing to bet she's one of them. A Remnant." Faust explains. "If we can, we should find and either bring them here, or keep tabs on them. Your approach seems to be... working, as odd as it is, so keep at it."

"Could fly." Anon corrects, deflating as Faust glares at him. She did have a point though -- there were several pegasi in that little foals pack that was hot on his heels, yet none of them took off from the ground. They jumped and flapped their wings, sure, but they didn't get anywhere.

"Anyway. I believe she's one of the magic Remnants, so keep her around, and keep looking for more. Twilight may be one as well, but... well, better to keep an eye on her, I suppose, though we'll see if she follows your invitation. Cheerilee and Rarity too, but they shouldn't be going anywhere. I just hope Twilight doesn't come sniffing around for a quick meal, now that you've told her about your camp." Faust continues, shaking her head.

"How many more do you think we need?" Anon asks, leaning against the pen fences.

"As many as you can get. The more I have to work with, the less likely I am to detonate the planet by accident when I try to fix it." Faust explains, uncomfortably bluntly.

"The planet?" Anon asks, confused. "So how does this fixing-things even work?"

"Simply put, I'll draw on their magic to create a larger magic-pool, to allow for a greater spell. The more we have or know of, the more I can draw from, and the more I can revert." Faust explains, like it was elementary

"And it's going to take a lot of them, I'd guess?" Anon guesses, shrugging.

"I've been checking on some of the neighboring nations, while you were working on your... 'Scootaloo containment'. While my impact on the world is minimal, currently, my capacity to view it hasn't been as greatly hindered -- getting a general view on things is easy enough. But, things are... not great elsewhere, either." She admits, fluttering back towards the cave. "There's... a lot to fix."

Anon hops off the fence, jogging after her.
"Wait. How bad is bad? And... where?"

"Well... we're basically on an island, for one. Equestria was always a water-surrounded continent, but any land connections to it's neighbors has been carved out, and we're entirely surrounded by water now. Probably at half the total landmass too, with several locations just turning into coves and beaches, as you saw with the Everfree. The humidity has increased across the board, and most forests are jungles now." Faust explains, fluttering through the opening to his cave abode. Her face scrunches as she gets inside.
"You really need to do something about that fish smell."

"So the whole world is one tropical hellhole now?" Anon prompts as he enters after her, sniffing the air. Smelt fine to him.

"Equestria, primarily. Some of the other nations are just outright missing, or are going through their own problems."

"Like...?"

"Well... let's just say, don't go to the Crystal Empire if you like your meat staying on your bones." Faust warns grimly.
"Some kind of infection is running rampant in their populace. Thankfully, it's limited to their colder biome. It hasn't shifted, unlike most of Equestria."

"Oh. Delightful. Gotcha, will stay put." Anon raises his hands, intent on finding something to distract himself from that wondrous line of thought. How long does it take for a chicken to lay an egg?

"Actually, at some point we might have to check there for Remnants. Don't worry, I'll figure something out. Probably." Faust muses, tapping her chin.

Anon groans.

^{Some time later}

"Anon."

Anon snores, having opted for a late-afternoon nap following that little burst of excitement. Evening sky splashes orange light through the thick canopy around his little cave-site camp. When he tucked in for bed, more than half the chickens were nestled into their little makeshift 'coop', which was a glorified lean-to style tent of fronds and sticks so the chickens could have some cover. Including Scootaloo, who was jammed underneath it, with several chickens sleeping atop her.

"Anon." Faust urges, poking his shoulder.

Anon snorts, rolling over and waving a hand away.
"Nuh."

"Don't fucking 'Nuh' me, idiot. Get up. You've got a visitor." Faust hisses, practically shoving him off his little leaf-strewn makeshift cot.

"Who?" Anon questions, more sliding than standing out of his rough little collection of leaves and whatever comfortable things he found on the ground.

Faust hovers near the edge of the cave, pointing towards the chicken 'coop'. Most of the Chickens were huddled together, sleeping under the little slanted coverage he'd built for them. But Scootaloo wasn't under there anymore.

Scootaloo sits at the edge of the fence, staring down at... Sweetie Belle, who stares back from the other side.

"Huh." Anon comments helpfully, scratching his cheek.
"Did, uh... any more of them follow?" He asks cautiously, peeking from the edge of their cave.

"Just her." Faust shakes her head, fluttering to land on his shoulder.
"I smelt her before I saw her. She brought your fish."

"She did?" Anon asks, surprised. Dinner had been locally-sourced berries and an egg, since he thought those fish were lost in the escape. How did she find them?
"...You think she's remembering?"

"I'd love to be surprised, but with your current track record... This alteration upon reality has been severe and chaotic; there's no telling the origins of each afflicted pony or what they've got through. And yet, some bonds transcend even the worst situations." Faust motions towards the pair, who continue to share gazes.

"They must be seriously close friends in that case, then." Anon comments, to which Faust hums softly.

"Perhaps that prevails even beyond this chaotic event." Faust nods slowly, thinking.
"...This is an odd development. Truthfully, I don't think their bond would have survived, since they didn't seem particularly close before... you reminded them, Anon. I think your meddling is causing these things. These changes."

Anon slowly steps outside of the cage to greet their... visitor. It's a bright, moonlit night thankfully, so visibility isn't too much of an issue as long as he doesn't go romping into the depths of the jungle.

"Hey, Sweetie. Surprised you found the place." Anon says calmly, approaching slowly. She might have been friendly, but she was still a part of the ratpack. She might take some serious offense to Scootaloo being taken like this.

But Sweetie slowly looks to Anon, head tilting as she stares up at him. She doesn't say much, but she emanates this odd curiosity.

"Hang on, think I've got something that belongs to you." He says, darting back inside the cave -- when he comes out, Anon is holding out the bone-knife he'd apparently plucked from her when he also got plucked -- by Scootaloo, numerous feet into the sky. Normally, he'd lean against handing sharpened objects to children, but these were odd circumstances. Some of Scootaloo's flight-feather fluff still clings to the blade.

Sweetie's gaze slowly falls onto it, staring at it for a long moment.

Eventually, after what feels like a long time, a soft glow encases the knife as she pulls it back to her side. Sweetie seems comforted by it's return, rubbing against Anon's hand like a cat. She sits in her haunches, apparently none too intent on returning back to what's left of Ponyville at this time of night.

"...Guess you've got another now." Faust comments, leaning off him to watch, returned from her vexed state.
"I don't believe she's a Remnant, but... well, enjoy another mouth to feed."

"I feel like I need to make more beds. Like, multiple more beds." Anon nods, patting Sweetie on the head.

"If you keep collecting them like this? Probably. You went fishing, and ended up with two of them in your camp, and that's not even mentioning what's going on with Twilight. So unless you plan to also keep them with livestock..." Faust scoffs, side-eyeing Anon from his shoulder

Point taken. Anon shuffles the fish inside to try and process before heading back to bed, at the least. He'd sleep in a little bit to make up for it -- and to make Sweetie a bed before he fully passes out.

Once he's finished with those, though, it takes him a while to fall asleep. There's this weird scuttling, or skittering sound coming deeper from the cave. He checked it thoroughly once before he moved in, so he's got no clue what's digging or crawling it's way around.

Actually, there's a lot more cave to this cave than he first thought, tucked behind his makeshift barricade at the back of his room. It might actually lead to caverns or something, maybe some fungi to pick. For now, he throws a few extra sticks at the back part of his current living area. Mostly for peace of mind.

There's more webs than he remembered there being.

He'd figure it out later. Sleep now.

The following morning, a few things have become clear.

Sweetie intends to stay, the way she's started staking out the outside corner of the clearing, close to the chicken coop by some of the trees. She probably wants to try and build something, with how she keeps cutting ferns and finding branches with her knife, dragging them back over to form a little pile. She's a surprisingly handy little thing, and weirdly good with that knife since she lacks her...

Anon blinks. She's just casually using her horn, floating the knife and some ferns around herself as she stacks them. Is she a Remnant? Now that he thinks about it, she used magic earlier too -- though she's nothing like Scootaloo's level of magic. Maybe a Remnant Jr situation or something, considering she's part of the trio.

Scootaloo continues to remain inside the chickens fence, watching Sweetie. It seems like she's almost accepted her situation, making no attempts at freedom and just following Sweetie from the fence-line, watching her work. Maybe Sweetie was the reason for that? Either way, it looks like Scootaloo has taken over responsibility for the chickens as their rooster of sorts. The eggs were stacked neatly on a small pile of leaves for him in the morning, and Anon caught her flipping rocks for the birds to peck at the bugs underneath.

He tried to thank her, but she just ignored him. Fair enough, honestly.

If that was the case... he should try to find Applebloom at some point. The only one missing from their little group. Though an excursion to whatever was going on at the farms sounded a little daunting, if what happened to Ponyville was any consideration.

"Any idea what happened to the Apples?" Anon comments aloud, while rustling out what's left of the fish from last night to continue working it. Scales, guts, the head... he had a few ideas for what to do with them, and was planning on a few things. Cook some now and divvy it out for breakfast was the first. Maybe try to smoke or turn some of them into jerky... he had a loose memory of the process. Might take some experimenting.

"You asking me?" Faust loudly comments back, sprawled out across Anon's bed. She barely took up any of it, but her small size meant his meager bedding was a field of leafy comfort.

"You're the only other verbal creature around, so far." Anon retorts, glancing over his shoulder.

"... I'd tell you to leave the Apples alone, actually." Faust eventually sighs, rolling onto her stomach.
"Everything is wrong, but they're wrong in a... weird way."

"What do you mean?" Anon pauses, turning back to look.
"I thought you wanted me to find as many Remnants as I can?"

"I do, but... It's pretty bad, and I haven't even been able to scry that much about their situation." Faust relents. "If you do go looking around there... I won't be able to go with you."

That surprises Anon, entirely stopping mid-fish-poking to turn around.
"Wait -- you won't go near the place. Seriously?"

Faust shakes her head.
"Not won't, can't. There's something strange about the area, that wards off magic. With my current state, I doubt I'd last very long there, and anything with innate magic would be unable to use it."

"...So I don't have to go there, right?" Anon asks for clarity.

"I suppose not. As home to one of the Elements, it may host a Remnant... but if I'm incapable of supporting you, you could very well meet your end here. This isn't a situation of shin-biting fillies and colts, this is... something like Twilight. Twisted. Wrong." Faust continues to explain. She's somber, her usually joking tone weighed down by harsh reality.
"And likely just as dangerous. How close were you with AppleJack?"

Anon huffs, leaning against his little makeshift table -- a raised hink of flat cave wall. Problem is... Applejack was a friend. Sure, they had their ups and downs, but if Twilight was going through something... she probably was too. Rarity was too, undoubtedly, but locked away in her boutique, she was probably fine for now, and he needed to give the ankle-biters time to calm down. The others too, if he could figure out where they were. But they all seemed to be tied to the Remnants, to some degree.

But he definitely wasn't as close to her as he was Twilight. Still, worth the effort.

"...Anon. You've figured it out, right?" Faust suddenly asks.

"Huh?"

"Scootaloo. Why she's a Remnant, but Sweetie isn't." Faust further presses.

Anon purses his lips, shaking his head.
"No clue. Enlighten me?"

Faust floats behind him, nudging him to look at the two foals in his camp.

Sweetie, who looked normal, and dressed like a tribal.

Scootaloo, who looked like a Griffon, bigger than Sweetie, and wearing a skull for a mask.

"...Somethijg about how Rarity might still be around, but Dash isn't?" Anon guesses, crossing his arms.

Faust silently nods.

"Wait -- seriously?!" Anon flinched, face twisting.

"I think a Remnant forms around one who hosts immense, or unique magic... or manifests in those around them. Scootaloo and Sweetie aren't exactly talkative, but --"

"Scootaloo was close to Rainbow, so if Rainbow is gone... Scootaloo is her host of her brand of magic." Anon cuts in, guessing.
"...Dash is gone?"

"I haven't been able to find her anywhere, and Scootaloo flies awfully similar to her. Or, flew." Faust adds, squinting at him.
"I think I even saw traces of rainbows leaving her wings. So, some Remnants might host in those around those with notable magic, as well." Faust continues grimly.
"Which means, with every Remnant we seek, you may not find what you're looking for." Faust says, erring more to a warning than anything.

"Do you know how Rainbow... passed?" Anon presses, frowning.

"No. Like I said, I haven't seen any sign of the Element of Loyalty. And I've been looking." Faust shakes her head.

"...Honestly..." Anon pauses his lips, squinting at Scootaloo. "I don't think that Dash is gone, if I'm going to be honest " Anon retorts, shaking his head as he turns back to the awaiting fish.

"...Anon." Faust sighs.

"Believe what you want, Faust, but Rainbow's a tough cookie. I'm sure they're out there. All of them. All the Ponyville residents, the Elements, the Princesses -- hell, I bet even Zecora is fine, even with the Everfree gone." Anon continues.

Faust tries to cut in.
"Anon. You need to --"

"I'm sure she's either going stupid-fast in the clouds far away at Cloudsdale, or a fish in the ocean or something. Just... drop it, Faust."
But Anon doesn't seem intent on listening anymore. He's borderline defiant as he speaks, putting his foot down.
"The Apples are probably going through something there, too. But that doesn't mean I'm going to just ignore it. If I have to go without you.... I will. I'll find whose the Remnant of Honesty or however this Remnant shit works, be it Applejack or Big Mac or Granny Smith or Applebloom, and bring them back or make sure they're alright where they are. You just tell me how many you need, and I'll keep getting them." Anon states firmly, as he slowly works out one of the fish' guts.

Faust contemplates his words silently, before fluttering into the air to hover around his head, watching him work for a long, quiet moment. So that's what was driving him. He felt like he owed them all something... and if he agreed that Dash was gone, it meant he couldn't repay her.

Anon piles the fish guts together to the side, slowly working away the scales. He doesn't have the most experience, but he's putting in his all.

Suppose that's just what he's doing at all times, really.

Faust sighs, landing on his shoulder.
"I'm not refusing to go because I don't want to help."

"I know."

"If... if I'm compromised, there's no pony else who could revert what is happening. What... has happened."

"I know, Faust. I don't blame you. Just... these little colorful splashes of small horse did a lot for me when I first wound up here. Wouldn't feel right if I didn't do the same." Anon says, continuing to work, resolute in his words. He could live out a simple life in the jungle, sure... but seeing what they were going through, how they could still recognize him.

He had to try. Was he scared? Sure. Doesn't matter, though. He was more scared of letting them down. Even for the Ponies that might not have made it during this entire, terrible shift, setting things back the way they were could save them.

"...Alright. Don't leave until you're ready. I'll keep an eye on the cave and the fillies for you while you're gone, at the least." Faust eventually relents, lifting off his shoulder to flap over towards the cave door.

"Sure. Thanks." Anon nods, without glancing up from his task.

Faust pauses in the cave entryway, watching him. The strange, all too familiar alien biped, trapped on a world not meant for it. She swallows the guilt, before flapping outside, leaving Anon to his thoughts.

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