An Alien Walks Amongst Us

by Hazardus_Havard

Chapter Sixteen – Forced Into The Unknown

‘I feel like crap,’ was the first thought Anon had, waking up.

His neck was stiff, his head felt like it was in a vice, and his back was killing him from sleeping on the ground. Confused about his current situation, he rubbed at his eyes, clearing his vision. He quickly confirmed he was lying on the ground.

‘Did Vinyl drug me again?’

As his vision cleared, he looked around his immediate vicinity, finding himself in what looked like a room made of cement and metal bars lined up at the far end.

‘Why am I in a cell?’ Standing up, he could tell it was quite spacious. ‘Am I seriously in a jail cell? What did I do? I don’t recall Ponyville having any jail cells, though I could be wrong. Where exactly am I?’

Looking around for any clues to his whereabouts, he spotted a window in the back wall high up, also lined with bars. He was upset there wasn’t even a proper cot for him to lie down on.

Sitting against the far wall, he faced himself toward the open bars, trying to figure out why he was there. It was hard to see much of anything with how dimly lit it all was, his only proper light source being the barred window above him. He held his jacket close too him, finding the place colder than he’d like.

The only thing he could recall last was talking to Lyra, then nothing but orange and yellow sparkles all around. It didn’t really tell him much at all. Perhaps they’re keeping him locked off from everyone for some reason. Maybe he somehow was carrying pony aids and they couldn’t risk him being near anyone.

Feeling his stomach kicking him, he held it, finding himself hungry. He hoped someone came to check up on him soon enough to get him some food.

Hearing a shuffling of hooves, Anon averted his attention to the open bars. Anon could barely make out the shadows of what appeared to be ponies standing there.

‘Thank goodness, I can ask them why I’m here and get some food as well.’

Standing up, Anon made his way to the bars. “Hey there,” he called out, standing in front of the bars now. “Can you tell me why I’m here? What did I do?”

The two ponies immediately turned to him with wide eyes. They were donned in what looked like metal armor that was very plain looking.

‘That’s odd. Usually, their armor was colored something to pop out. Having them wear dull armor is strange.’

“Rocky, go report it’s awake.”

“I don’t want to, you do that Roller.”

“Look could either of you tell me why I’m here? Also, can I get something to eat?”

The two look up at him once more, and then back to one another.

“See! I told you to have its food prepared, but nooo!”

“Just shut up! I’ll get it later okay? Now go report he’s up.”

“You do it! You’re the one that should’ve fed the darn alien.”

“But I wasn’t the one that forgot to provide it the stupid blankets. See? It’s obvious that it’s cold.”

Anon listened to them bicker back and forth for what felt to him like a good five minutes. He leaned his head on the metal bars, watching them argue about trivial things he didn’t care about.

“Fine!” the one named Roller spat out. “We’ll settle this like old times!”

Rocky glared at Roller. “Very well then…”

They stared at one another for a few seconds, making Anon wonder if they were really about to get into a fight. Immediately, the two of them shot out a hoof toward one another.

“Hah!” Rocky laughed triumphantly. “Paper wins over rock!”

“Two out of three!”

Anon had never felt more dumbfounded in his life, watching two ponies attempting to play a game of hoof, hoof, hoof.

“Ah-hah!” Rocky roared. “Scissor beats paper! Now go report it's awake.”

The pony called Roller grunted, exiting the room, leaving Anon alone with the other guard. He was starting to become doubtful that they were royal guards of any kind. They were also a lot louder. And dumber. Was it possible there were other guards that he didn’t know about running around?

“So,” Anon started once more, “why exactly am I here?”

The guard just stared at him, staying quiet. It was unnerving seeing Rocky staring up at him, eyes wide and unmoving. He almost looked constipated with how serious he was taking this unofficial staring contest Anon wasn’t a part of.

Anon sighed, walking back to where he was previously, leaning against the wall.

He wasn’t sure how much time had passed before the guard from before returned, with another guard with slightly more intricate yet still plain looking armor.

“Open the cell,” the pony ordered.

Rocky grabbed a key off its side, opening the cell door. Roller walked in with a bulky set of cuffs that were fitted for a pony, not for someone like Anon. Placing them on his arms, the two watched as it slowly slipped off his arms and onto the ground in a loud clank.

Anon and Roller stared at the cuffs, then the guard looked at his arms, then at the cuffs, right before walking backward out of the room. He whispered to the pony that appeared to be in charge. That pony looked quite miffed, harshly whispering back to the guard. Roller immediately left the room as Anon stared, blinking at the whole situation.

“So, can you tell me why I’m here?”

“Hold your questions until later alien.”

He scrunched up his brow, getting annoyed at the situation. ‘Can no one just tell me why I’m here?’

Roller returned with a thing of rope. Walking up to Anon, he proceeded to bind his hands up, which Anon found amusing to watch someone without magic do.

Once he was done, the pony moved right beside Anon. “Come, alien,” the pony in charge ordered as he slowly walked off.

Anon could only sigh as he followed the pony with Roller following close to him as well.

They led him through multiple sets of hallways, identical to the one he was previously in until he was led outside. It was day time which allowed him to finally see where he was. He wasn’t sure, but it closely resembled the Everfree Forest. Anon didn’t like that one bit.

Their group proceeded forward past a few buildings, with additional ponies walking around on guard. There wasn’t a lot of them around for the size of the place, almost appearing empty. Anon came to an abrupt halt, almost bumping into the pony in front of him from them slowing down in front of a building.

Going inside, they led him through a few more halls until finally he was placed inside of a room that looked like a medical room. There was a unicorn that quickly noted the group, letting out a surprised noise as he placed down his instruments.

“Fantastic, you have brought him here.”

“Just hurry and remove that thing from his head.”

“Wait, what thing from my－” He was interrupted as his body locked up, jaw shut tight and arms held against him, a yellowy haze surrounding his body.

“Yes, yes, of course. To examine such a thing, from such an alien mind, what a treat this will be!”

Anon was lifted into the air, brought forth to a table, and gently placed down on it. The others swiftly left as several straps went across his body, holding him tightly in place.

“When I had first heard about you, I thought nothing of it. Another anomaly amongst a world teeming with life.” A few odd items laid on a cart, several that made no sense on a glance. “The more I heard of you, the more I thought about just what I could be learning from you. I made a mistake, thinking you weren’t something to pay any attention to. A truly foreign being, not of our lands. Just what could be learned from you.”

“I’d prefer it if you didn’t lobotomize me,” Anon said, now seeing his jaw back in motion.

“Lobotomize? Lobotomize.” He repeated the words a few times, playing with something that looked like a cross between a magic wand and a can of coke. “What an odd word. I’ll have to ask you later on what that means.”

A surprised shout had Anon staring up at the ceiling, the table leaned back. He felt a tap on his forehead, what looked like that same instrument from before poking him repeatedly until it reached his nose.

“A peculiar thing, that nose of yours. So much cartilage inside of it. And those ears, just flat against your skull. How fascinating.”

“W-What are you going to do to me?”

“Hmm? Oh, nothing difficult, at least for the likes of me.” He tapped Anon’s forehead once more. “A foreign, magical intrusion into your brain matter, just sitting there, pulsing around. No one else would have seen it, not without bumping into its magical pulses. I know you’re not supposed to have any magic in you, or at least, nothing in your head. Yet here you are, with something there.”

A whirring sound came from the instrument, making Anon nervous. He tried to get off the table, finding his bindings keeping him tight against the table.

“All those reports on you, and I barely got a glimpse at them. Even my colleagues had more access to them and they’re several magical masteries lower than I! How I’ve been anxious to just get a chance to look at you. But here I am, stuck on the outskirts of this miserable place, heading off magical research from this forest.” The pony gave off a sound of disgust. “What a waste of my doctorate, of my talents!

“I’m going to force it out of you and examine the internals of it all. Then I can get a better close of you, as was promised.” The pony seemed to smile wide, lowering the instrument flat, an odd thrum sounding out. “This shouldn’t hurt one bit… as long as the pulse doesn’t have magical backlash as a defense mechanism. Let’s hope it doesn’t.”

At first, he couldn’t feel anything happening, the device simply moving up and down on his forehead. Some time passed, making Anon wonder if anything was even happening.

It started as a whining sound, slowly building up in intensity. Colors started to appear in his vision, little flecks of the rainbow smearing around; not an unfamiliar sight, but one that he wasn’t ready for. A sudden jerk spasmed in his head, slamming him into the table.

“Finally, I was wondering when the magic would pulse out once more.” Anon twitched around as something cold dripped down his nose. “A powerful magic, for sure, and one not even I am prepared to destroy. The trick to these kinds of nasty things is to wear it down and simply give it a path of escape, making it leave so it can perform its task. Not that it can once outside, mind you.”

Anon’s vision started to clear, yet his mind was working overtime. So many emotions started to run through him as if a cork had been released: Fear, anger, happiness, surprise, and so much more. It was hard to contain it all.

“What a disgusting bit of magic,” Cross Love said, holding a bowl with the collected drippings. “I don’t recognize this signature. Pink? How would pink be capable of sending out a signal? I was expecting a purple or blue, or even silver, but pink? I need to go over my notes in a bit, something doesn’t feel right.”

“Has the signal stopped pulsing?” a voice called out into the room.

“Yes, yes, you’ll find the magical intrusion is now gone,” Cross spoke out, holding the bowl up into the air. “Now if you’ll allow me what was promised?”

“Very well. Keep things from getting out of control or you know what will happen with you.”

“Bah, I’m simply interested in looking into his inner-workings, perhaps even what his magical potential could be in certain scenarios. Nothing too invasive, I assure you.”

It was like he was truly seeing the world for the first time, previously stumbling around in the dark without any notice or regard to anything before. How difficult it was for him to calm down from such a state of emotional euphoria, though in fairness, being tied down did help with one’s situation. And having let his emotions settle down, one emotion prevailed over them all: pure, unadulterated anger. Anon felt like he was capable of channeling that anger into a very… focused kind of activity, as he had never been more certain of himself and of his actions, and just what he was about to do should the opportunity present itself.

“I just need to move him over to the other table where all my other tools are and I’ll be ready to fully inspect his bits and bobs.” Cross Love started to unstrap Anon, working his way from the legs up. “How I’ve wanted to truly work on something so different. Why the research papers I can write on this alone will sustain me for many years to come!”

“Doctor Cross Love, should you not have him bound with a spell or perhaps drug him in some regard?”

“Bah, the previous spell works well enough with conking out any subject it’s worked inside.”

A microphone seemed to squeal out, something rummaging in the area before a new voice hastily appeared. “Doctor, I must inform you that the spell you just used has a habit of intermixing with any spell manifestation that exits out of a subject, thus removing the added spell matrix that puts the subject at rest.”

Having removed the last binding, Cross Love looked at Anon who stared back. “Oh. Oh, dear. I had forgotten that tidbit, not having used such a spell in so long.” The sight of Anon staring back unnerved the doctor. “I, ehr, do hope we can come to a happy medium, or an agreement of sorts that can satisfy－”

A fist was sent straight into the pony’s eye, the unexpected attack forcing him back and away from the table. It gave Anon enough time to sit up and get on his feet, pushing the table back to give him some room. The doctor still hadn’t recovered from the attack, allowing Anon time to drive an underhanded fist straight into the jaw of the doctor. His head shot up, Cross Love’s mental functions immediately shutting down with his body crumpling to the ground.

Anon hadn’t hesitated attacking Cross Love, knowing to do so would allow the magic-user time to shoot out a spell. He ignored the microphone squealing out noisily, orders of trying to subdue him spoken away from it, taking stock of what was going on.

He was in a facility, having been kidnapped (or foalnapped using Equestrian lexicon) for some unknown but clearly heinous reason, and was nearly experimented on by some two-bit character. Whatever had been done to him gave him some odd clarity that he wasn’t aware he needed. And in his mind-addled state, so many things had gone through it, demanding some kind of reaction from him: His time with Lyra and Bon Bon along with all their crazy shenanigans. Twilight’s odd little freakout and him being move. And how could he not remember Vinyl's little drug party; how unfortunate for him, as he now remembered. Every. Single. Thing. Boy did he feel like a horses ass, pun fully intended.

He managed to set aside those thoughts for future retrospecting, only one task taking his sole focus: escaping the facility full of crazy ponies.

The room didn’t seem to hold much in regards to his escape, though it was very spacious for him as it was made for a pony to roam around in. The two tables lacked much in the way of opportunistic weaponry, and he wasn’t inclined with taking up the tools the doctor had. He’d fight, but he wasn’t the kind of person to maim or perform lasting harm.

The sole outlier was some rolls of tape. He quickly bounded up his fists, making sure to keep it nice and tight so he could strike effectively and with as little damage to his hands. College for him, as he loved to recollect at times, gave him many opportunities to learn and widen his horizons. His boxing club was a fun activity to keep him in shape, albeit his skills always lacked compared to all the other members. He was no more a mascot to their club than a real fighter.

Still, it gave him basic rundowns on how to fight and what to aim for when it came to sudden bouts. And right then, right there, it would support him enough to take down some ponies and make his way back.

He decided to keep things as they were, even pushing the table further to him. He had plenty of room to move around, only needing to keep aware of his distance to the tables and stands, but for the ponies, it would be difficult to maneuver in. Anon ignored the voices on the mic demanding him to give up, pumping himself up for the inevitable fight to get out of there.

The door slammed open, showing his first opponent being a pegasus. The pony wasn’t even properly armored, only wearing a single cloak, flapping in the air with each beating of the wings. It was already in the air, though it took its time, trying to look intimidating, puffing its chest out as it slowly hovered in his direction.

“You have the privilege of being taken in by I, Rio! Give up now, alien, or face the wrath that is－”

Anon wouldn’t let the chance go, fists held up, head tucked in as he dashed forward. The pony wasn’t ready for the attack, getting an over-headed fist straight into its puffed-up chest, knocking it down from the air. He slammed his foot right into its cape, holding it down as he slammed the flat of his knuckles into its jawline several times, each hit rebounding to the ground before the pony finally relented, going unconscious.

The next two ponies came directly after the pegasus was knocked out, two burly looking Earth ponies standing side-by-side. These ones were more sensible, wearing what appeared to be some faux-leather armor along with dull metal helms. He could only see their faces and legs being exposed, wearing armor that he could now see wasn’t metal but really dulled leather made to look like metal. He assumed the leather was fake, refusing the idea the ponies would make anything of skins.

They looked at the pegasus, lowering their heads down and snorting out, rearing back to charge him. A mistake they’d soon find as Anon wasn’t confined to the limited movements they were, easily side dodging their attempts. A fist went into the side of a guard, its body shoved into the other as the two toppled down.

Instead of trying to take advantage Anon moved to their fronts once more. He knew that their back attacks would be quite devastating to him, and he also knew the Earth ponies were simply sturdier of the three archetypes, meaning more side attacks wouldn’t do much but perhaps wound them while leaving him open to counter-attacks. He wasn’t a well-trained fighter and was rusty on his skills, so he had to play it somewhat safe. Attacking their heads, mainly their jawlines would be how he’d take them down.

Shaking its head, one of the guards got back up and without thought, simply charged Anon. Clearly, no thought was put into the attack, thinking it would simply mow him down. A fist straight into its unprotected throat put a stop to it, the pony choking as Anon drove another fist into its jaw several times. The pony, just like the other two before it, went down.

A wince came from him, misplacing an attack with his fist. His knuckles throbbed, likely having fractured or broken them with the attack. Still, he held his fists up, awaiting the fourth pony.

It looked at him, then at his compatriot before snorting like before. It charged at him, yet at the last moment it slid, the momentum strangely allowing him up onto his hind legs, throwing a front left leg at Anon’s chest.

It truly was unexpected for Anon to see that, yet Anon felt this was a major mistake on the pony. Anon was already standing upright, ready for oncoming attacks, and now it opened its whole undercarriage open. A dodge to its right side and Anon slammed his good fist right into the stomach. All air was knocked out, the pony teetering to the ground. Anon wouldn’t allow such a thing to pass, jumping forward and wrapping his arms around the pony. Lifting him up high he slammed the body straight into the ground, a gargling scream coming from the pony.

The pony wasn’t knocked out, but it was out of the fight, the guard moaning in pain, unable to get up. Turning to the door he could hear the frantic clopping of hooves, a unicorn now standing in front of the door out of breath. Anon had no idea how to fight a unicorn properly, the only thing he could come up with was to get as close as he could to punch in their glass jaws. Intimidation was a powerful tool at his disposal, and one he hoped to capitalize on.

Slowly dropping his arms to his sides, Anon straightened his back, turning to the unicorn and slowly walked towards her.

The unicorn narrowed her eyes, still trying to control her breath. “Surrender thine self to us or face thy wrath, foreign adversary!”

Making a show of it, Anon shoved his foot underneath the pegasus in his path, picking him up with his foot and tossing the body aside. To the unicorn, it was seen quite differently, him monstrously kicking her fellow guardspony across the room. She only started to notice all the other guards were strewn about the room defeated while the human appeared in perfect condition, advancing on her position.

“S-Stay thy hoof or… or thou shall… shall…”

Keeping his composure, Anon walked right up to the now shivering unicorn, looking down on her with unblinking eyes. Inhaling deeply, he held it for a few seconds, building the tension of the situation before bellowing out at her, screaming deep from his lungs.

The unicorn screamed back, her wits at an end before her horn flashed, teleporting away from the scene. Just down the hall, a group of ponies was staring back, all looking at Anon like he was a demon sent from Tartarus.

Anon knew he was likely beat right there, not even he could come up with the strength or skill to take down the small group he saw. But he wasn’t about to give up, letting out another scream as he charged the horrified ponies who could only scream back in fear.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X~ ~X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

The shaking of the sleeping cot jostled Lyra about as she read through the documents she had copied. She wasn’t sure how many times she had gone over it, but it helped keep her mind preoccupied with something. The six of them had been traveling for some time now, nearly closing in on Mercanville. The other five had been resting up, though Lyra attempted to keep them up and be more informed on the two rebel groups. After the first hour, they all unanimously decided to ignore her and got some rest.

Lyra had already gotten some sleep herself so she felt there was no need to rest up. Brushing her mane back, she looked back at her papers. The information only gave her a general idea where they’d have Anon, along with two different routes to take on where he might be. It was obvious they’d have to look around Mercanville for any info to help make a decision before they headed out into the forest.

The train shuddered about, a muffled whistle to accompany it. Quickly after, a knock could be heard at the door. It opened, revealing one of the crew members in their uniform, garbed of stitching mimicking bones and a stylish face mask appearing like a skull.

“We will be departing passengers in no more than ten minutes so be ready,” he said with a gentle voice.

“Ah, thanks,” Lyra said, trying to ignore the clothing. Tipping his little red hat, the pony left soon after. “I swear they’ll come up with the weirdest ideas for train rides.”

“What was that about?” Vinyl asked with a yawn.

“We’re arriving in Mercanville in less than ten minutes,” Lyra answered, putting her papers away.

“Oh thank Solaire!” Cloudchaser cheered, flapping her wings a few times before sitting once more. “My wings are so sore! I need to get out and properly stretch them in the sky.”

“Just make sure all of our stuff is packed and ready to go so we can immediately head out and go info searching.”

“Info searching?” Flitter questioned. “I thought we had everything ready?”

“Flitter, we only have a general idea where Anon went,” Lyra told her. “We should check around to see who came through here so we know which group to go after. I think we’ll have to stay in groups of three while we ask around. This place is full of weird stuff, so it’d be safer that way.”

“Where should we meet up and how long will this take?” Octavia asked, grabbing her case from the overhead compartment.

Looking through her pack, Lyra grabbed her timepiece. It was already closing in on five. “We’ll all meet back here at the train in approximately two hours’ time to discuss what we found. Depending on the info we’ll decide on what we’ll do next, such as leave or stay in the town.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to stay the night?” Flitter asked.

“It might better to get a head start out in the forest and camp out there, though once more it depends on what info we can dig up if that’s a good idea or not. The sooner we start going out, the sooner we can find Anon.”

Everyone nodded their heads in agreement.

“Just make sure not to stir up any trouble,” Bon Bon said.

Lyra spoke up, “And also remember this isn’t a tourist stop! We’re here to collect info and then come back here, got it!”

The train started to brake, rocking side to side as it slowed down at its stop. Grabbing their packs, the group made their way to the exit, departing off the train.

“Thank you for riding Monsieur Bones’ Fantastic Trip!” a crew member greeted them off. “May you consider us for future rides, ‘cause our train will forever run!”

Not taking too much consideration into what was said, the six of them looked around the place, amazed at what they were seeing. The streets were filled with stands selling different kinds of merchandise and oddities, foods they’ve never seen, full of smells that were both eerily strange and enticingly foreign.

“Wow, this place looks active,” Flitter said, looking at all the beings walking around the place.

“Lyra, I thought this place was just for travelers and such,” Cloudchaser said. “What’s with all this?”

“This is a hub spot for a lot of merchants to make some good bits,” Lyra answered. “So even though it’s a place for travelers, many beings take up shop to purchase what’s found in the forest and sell things that come from their homelands. There’s quite a bit imported in and out of this place as a result.”

Stands filled with different kinds of beings, from yaks to griffons to dogs, even the rare dragon could be seen in the area trying to make a bit.

“This place is so cool,” Cloudchaser said with a smile. “After we get Anon we have to check this place out.”

A murmur of agreement came from the rest of the group as they continued staring at the town.

“Just remember to stick by one another and keep an eye on your pack from any snatchers. We need to go around a lot of places asking about the rebels who came here and some of the beings here would love nothing more than to take advantage of newcomers.”

“Hold up a moment,” Octavia said, looking at Lyra, “you didn’t tell us who’s being paired up.”

“Ah, I nearly forgot that. Flitter, you’re going to come with me and Octavia. Bon Bon is with Cloudchaser and Vinyl.”

“W-Why are you splitting us up?” Flitter asked. “I mean, we can totally handle things on our own,” she said, grabbing Cloudchaser by her side in a one-sided hug.

“No, Lyra’s right to have you two split up,” Octavia spoke up. “Having our groups stay diversified will help in the long run. I know plenty of times when we could have used the help of a pegasus.”

“I’m agreeing with them Flitter,” Cloudchaser said, slipping out of her sister's hug and floating toward Bon Bon.

Flitter looked at her sister with a frown. “Are you sure about this, Cloudy?”

“Sure I’m sure, we’ll be back together soon enough alright?”

Flitter flattened her ears against her head, letting out a small whine before slowly making her way to Lyra and Octavia.

Lyra checked her timepiece once more. “Everypony, be back here by seven o’clock to discuss what we found. Try not to dilly-dally too much here.”

“W-Where should we start looking?” Flitter asked nervously, looking at the crowd.

“We should start in the central area where the more common trading is held and move out from there.”

Making their way down the busy streets, the ponies looked at all the fascinating things on display, doing their best to sidestep any pedestrians minding their own. The further down they went, the busier the street got. There were all kinds of things that kept trying to pull them away and distract their group, and once or twice a being would get a bit too close to their packs, reminding them to stay close together.

“We’re here,” Lyra announced, stopping them in their tracks.

“This place is stark raving mad,” Vinyl said, gawking at the scenery. “Why haven’t I been here for a concert?”

There were many large stands and areas set up to sell their wares, places to eat, and places of other oddities that were difficult to describe to them. There were even a few khajiits for them to see, which surprised Lyra seeing. It was very loud, from all the yelling and strange sounds being made, it was almost defining to them. Flitter scooted closer to Bon Bon, warily looking at the passers-by. The others were more open in looking around.

“I’ve always wanted to go here!” Vinyl said. “There are so many things you can only get here, and many other things that you can find dirt cheap!”

Lyra narrowed her eyes at the group, seeing them wanting to explore. “Hey hey hey! Don’t forget why we’re here.”

The group returned their focus to Lyra, their smiles vanishing. Vinyl clucked her tongue at her. “Yeah I know, you don’t need to be so strict about it.”

“If you all don’t realize it by now, this is the market place where all the major trades go on. Looking around here is a good start for us. As much as it bugs me to say, you may have to purchase a few things here or even pay off some of these beings to open up with the info, but do make sure you’re not wasting your time, you’ve got less than two hours so make the best out of what you have.”

Vinyl, who appeared to be the one taking charge of her group, waved Lyra off, “We can handle things on our end here.”

“Just don’t get lost or wind up in trouble, okay?”

She merely gave her a cocky grin before once more waving at Lyra and leaving her there with Octavia and Flitter. Looking back at the two, they simply stared at her.

“All right then. We should check in the opposite direction they just went,” Lyra said as she started her way slowly.

“R-Right!” Flitter yelped, squeezing between the two of them. “L-L-Let’s go!”

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X~ ~X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Slowly waking up, Anon found himself once more inside the cell. A blanket was draped over him, along with his left hand being bandaged up, the wraps from his hands now gone. He winced, feeling a black eye forming, wondering why his hand wasn’t in pain.

“It’s because they put a spell on it,” Anon heard called out. Looking at the bars, he could see the two guards from before, both sitting in front of the cell, playing some kind of card game. “Your hand, I mean. Saw you looking at it. They healed you up before bringing you back here.”

“Did a terrible job of it,” Anon said, rubbing the side of his black eye.

“That one was due to Cross Love,” Rocky said, “something about him deciding to leave it there for the one you gave him. Though you’ll find him unwilling to be angry with you, fascinated with how you fought.”

“Thought I knocked him out.”

“You did, momentarily,” Rocky said. “Got any eights?”

“Go fish”

“Dang it.”

“Now see,” Roller continued, “Cross Love isn’t a fighter, but he’s not naive. Setting up an integument spell mitigated most of the damage and allowed him, his words mind you, a front-row seat to a Colosseum blowout of the century.”

Anon couldn’t help but blush, coughing into his hand. “I’ll have to remember to hit harder next time.”

“Please, do.”

“He is so annoying.”

“Like, the worst.”

“Regardless, that was one major fight you had. Managed to knock out a small chunk of us even. Wish we were there, sounded fun.”

“Cross Love healed you all up but was demanded to allow us to place you back in the cell for the foreseeable future, at least until he heals the ponies you messed up.”

“If he did come around I’d likely give him another shiner to match the one I already gave him.”

The two chuckled hearing that.

“Oh! Before we forget, we got you some food!”

That did not sound welcoming in the least. A bowl of something was set in the cell, being pushed by a long stick before being quickly retracted. Anon only had to stare at the contents before feeling annoyance.

“Please tell me you’re not serious.”

“What? Is it not up to your expectations?”

“Why, I can’t believe the alien is so picky about its food!”

“True to that brother! Why, not every fine dish needs to use the greatest ingredients out there.”

“That’s not it,” Anon said, looking down at what was supposed to be his meal.

It was a bowl, full of nothing but hay that was mashed up in grains that he had to assume was oats. It also had crushed up daffodils and… spinach? The concoction was still bubbling from how hot it was.

“Oh? And what’s wrong with your meal?”

“…It looks poisonous to me.”

“POISON!” Rocky screamed out, jumping from his position, cards flying from his hooves. He whipped his head towards Roller, before pointing a hoof at him. “You… you were trying to kill the alien! I knew it!”

“WHAAAAA?” Roller jumped back from the accusation, his cards flying off in a similar fashion. “I did no such thing, I did not! I swear I didn’t! I followed that recipe precisely as it was instructed, yes I did!”

“DECEPTION! Just admit it. First, you conveniently forgot to feed it to try and starve him, and now that that didn’t work, you’re trying to poison him!”

“LIIIIIEEESS! I did no such thing! Why would I want to kill it?!”

Rocky gave Roller a narrowed look, “Because you’d be jealous it would have all my attention!” Roller does not deny this one bit.

“Hold on there,” Anon tried to interject. “I said it looked poisonous, stop jumping to conclusions.” He picked up a piece of the slick hay out of the bowl, showing it to them. “I don’t know what you know of me, but I can’t eat hay or flowers like you ponies can.”

The two turned their heads at Anon, glaring hotly at him. “So,” Rocky started, “your wily ways come to light! It was YOU that tried to break our everlasting friendship, trying to make us fight with one another.”

“See brother? He’s trying to tear us apart! Ooh, I bet it’s got some nefarious scheme rolling around in its head, trying to use you for its evil deeds!”

Rocky looked shocked hearing that. “What a horrible thing to do! The alien is indeed evil!”

Anon held it in, doing his best not to blow up. “Look, I simply have different kinds of foods I can digest unlike you ponies. I am, after all, a different species from you all.”

“So?” Roller said. “Minotaurs are different and they can eat plenty of what we can eat as well.”

“I’m also not from this world? Remember? As in an alien?”

The two looked at one another, then back at Anon. “So?” they said in unison.

“You really shouldn’t be so picky,” Rocky told him.

“I can’t eat hay or daffodils! My palate would just make me throw up this, this, whatever it is, this mixture of spinach and oats!”

“…It’s actually grass and oats,” Roller corrected.

Anon groaned, sitting his back against the cold wall.

The doors could be heard slamming open, “Why am I hearing screaming coming from here?”

The two stood still, staring at the pony that walked up to them. It was the same one that escorted Anon from before. He looked at Anon, then at the bubbling mess of what the two before called food, then back at Anon. “What is this?”

“…I really don’t know,” Anon answered. “It’s what they call food apparently.”

The pony immediately turned to the other two, not looking happy. “The alien can’t eat this! Did you not read up on the info that was given about handling the human at all?”

Roller looked at the ground, looking ashamed. “W-We may have lost them.”

Rocky nodded, “Y-Yeah, so we improvised and served him something from our own mother’s cookbook!”

“Though, the alien doesn’t seem to like it.”

“How awful, how could he not like our mothers cooking?”

“I bet he doesn’t like our mother at all!”

“What a terrible thing he is!”

The one in charge stomped a hoof on the ground, forcing them to direct their attention back to him. “You are to give the alien proper food, not whatever in Tartarus this is! Now, go get a new set of handling documents, read them over once more, AND FIX THIS!”

The two hurried out of the room, leaving behind their mess of cards. Turning to Anon, the pony huffed out. “As it is, I have a different reason for being here. Be grateful that our leader has decided to speak directly to you. Should you do anything I’ll make sure you have what’s coming to you.” He quickly left soon after.

Not but a few moments passed before a new pony walked up to the cell. Examining the unicorn, Anon saw he had a light blue coat on it, a mane that was dark blue with baby blue stripped through it, and wore armor that looked like proper metal, ornately made yet dulled from the years. A cape helped add to its image, giving the look of a leader.

“Are you the one in charge around here?” Anon asked as he sat up.

“Yes,” he replied crisply. “For the time being that is, until our true leader comes back.”

“Okay then. Now I don’t know what your reasons are, but could you please tell me why I’m here? I don’t recall doing anything wrong that would warrant me to be placed in a cell.”

“Oh, it’s nothing that you’ve done. It’s what you are.”

It took Anon a split second hearing that, and the other portion of that second for him to feel anger.

“I’m here because I’m not a pony?” he asked heatedly.

The pony across from Anon doesn’t react, unperturbed at his anger. “Now there’s no reason to jump to conclusions, I never said it was because of your species. No, if it was, we could have just as easily taken a minotaur or any other species. No, you’re here because of your value.”

“So I was taken here because I’m an alien? What value would that hold for anyone, in a world full of races?”

“It should be quite obvious by now, but let me spell it out for you. We took you as a bargaining tool to be used against the princess. It really is quite that simple.”

Anon couldn’t help but sputter out incoherently, trying to form a response. “Bargaining tool. You took me… as a bargaining tool. Look, pal, I’m starting to doubt your intelligence. I’m just a human that got stuck on this planet, nothing special.”

The pony chuckled, “From the documents we procured, you’re certainly something special. Heading an environmental organization, being someone that everyone paid attention to. Several of your people's inventions came from you as well, such as the pens and seat-belts. Even if we dismiss the knowledge you hold or how big you’re becoming with other nations, your very presence here in this world is a very big thing. You are the very first of your kind, of any being, that comes from another world outside our own. You’re a representative of your species as a whole to us. It’s a very special thing that many nations are keeping an eye out on.”

“I don’t understand. Your world is covered in species that can walk and talk like me. What makes me so special?”

He tilted his head at Anon, humming to himself. “Princess Celestia didn’t tell you about the species laws, did she?”

“No, she hadn’t.”

“There’s a lot to be said about those laws, but I’ll give you a simple summary on it. It was made over seven hundred years ago when there was a lot of heavy tension between multiple beings. Many of them had simply disappeared or their borders seemingly walling up in odd fashions, and tensions led to a few fights here and there on top of racial issues constantly coming up.

“Princess Celestia and the leaders of the griffons and minotaurs gathered together to write out a very extensive set of laws for inter-species relations to help calm their people. Other nations soon added their own signatures to it, adding more strength to its cause.”

“And this has something to do with me because…?”

The pony leaned forward, giving a large grin. “Those laws apply to all species, sapient, sentient, dumb, and even including your own. Due to your circumstance and what you are, along with being under the princess’s hoof, she has to provide for you in multiple ways due to you being, as one would say, an endangered species.”

“Sorry to burst your bubble, but I’m not endangered in any form. There is a massive amount of my kind on my planet.”

“On your planet, sure. Here? Who is to say any more of your kind will ever come? You are the one and only human to be on our planet. The minotaurs and griffons have already made inquiries about you, wondering why there isn’t proper protection or how lacking they had been toward your well being for so long. Even the yaks are starting to take notice of this. Celestia’s replies on her little Elements having been there to look over things are starting to look weaker by the day.”

“So you think kidnapping me you can put pressure on the princess.”

The pony raised an eyebrow at Anon. “I had no idea that you were part goat, and a young one at that for your species.” Anon couldn’t help but roll his eyes. The pony ignored this, continuing off, “Regardless of these new facts, taking you will help put the princess in a bind, showing how weak she is to others. She’s always had a soft heart compared to her sister, and your circumstance can hopefully remove her for the true ruler of our lands, the one of the night.”

‘Did I seriously get kidnapped by a fanatical group of idiotic ponies vying for a princess that was already in rule?’

“I’m certain in time you’ll come to accept what is going on. So long as you cooperate with us, everything will turn out fine for you.”

Anon wasn’t sure what to say or do with how strange everything was turning out to be. Just as he was figuring out what he should say to him, the entire building shuddered, which the two noticed. Dust fell from the ceiling as odd flashes of light filtered into the room from the single barred window on the back wall. Seeing as the pony was preoccupied looking at the door, Anon made his way to the window, wondering what was happening.

Anon, getting on his tippy-toes to look out the window, pulled himself up, trying to see what was going on. And then he was shoved down to the ground by the pony from before, having somehow gotten in without his notice.

A bright flash of green light zipped by where Anon was about to pull himself up to, hitting on of the metal bars. It started to smoke where it got hit, turning red with heat, melting slowly down the wall.

“Stay down!” the pony ordered, shoving Anon’s body further into the ground.

The pony went back outside the cell, bending down as he stared at the entrance to the hall. He appeared to be ready for anything that could come in. The room continued to shake about, with more colors flashing. A few more beams did come in, but nothing like the previous green light. Yelling could be heard outside the walls, though it was muffled. Anon did as he was told, lying down on the ground, not wanting to get hit by a stray beam of magic.

“What in the blazes is happening?!” Anon asked.

“Isn’t it obvious? We’re being attacked! So stay down if you don’t want your head blasted!”

‘Did someone come for me?’

His hopes high, he looked at the pony guarding the door to his cell, thinking about his options.

‘I could try and run up to him and knock him out before he could react. I’m fairly confident in my strength over most ponies. Though… he seems to have good reaction time, from how he got me down from being blasted.’

Anon thought about his escape some more, realizing it would be difficult to slip past all the ponies, no matter how few there appeared to be. He wasn’t even sure if he was in the Everfree Forest, though he was very convinced he was with what little information he currently had.

‘No, right now wouldn’t be a good time to try and run, even with all the chaos happening to help me through it.’

The rumbling continued on for a good time, kicking up dirt in the air and the flashes of light sparking around. It eventually started to die down, and then silence. It stayed like that, with him on the ground and the pony standing guard, neither of them moving, the only sound heard is the two of them breathing.

After what felt like some time, he could hear a door slowly creaking open, and then the clicking of hooves. The pony looked ready to attack before relaxing, seeing the previously grumpy pony walking in. “So,” their temporary leader asked, “was it the Beasts of Dourness or the day ponies this time?”

‘Day ponies? Beasts of Dourness?’ Anon was very confused hearing those terms.

“Unfortunately it was the day ponies this time around. Their attacks are starting to wear down our ponies. It’s strange, Colibri. They only attacked whenever we went out for supplies, but why now?”

“I had word that they’ve found an interesting individual in the area, matching most of the descriptions on the alien, Liberum.” The now named Liberum snorted, looking at Anon. “All we can do now is hold out and wait for the commander to come back with additional troops.”

“What’s going on here?” Anon asked. “What are these day ponies? And what are these Dourness beasts?”

“Be quiet, alien,” Liberum said with a glare.

Colibri held up a hoof, silencing Liberum. He turned to Anon, staring at him before speaking up, “There is another group that opposes what we seek, wanting Celestia in rule over Luna. Don’t think though that they’ll help you in any way; they’ll gladly take you for their own purposes. And unlike us, I doubt they’ll be as kind as we are being. Now Liberum,” Colibri said, forcing the other pony to stand up straighter, “since everything here seems fine, I’ll leave things in your hooves. Though I must admit, I am surprised to find you here.”

“The R&R brothers didn’t follow proper protocol, again. They went out to gather proper food for the alien while I stayed behind near the kitchen, lest they do something stupid.”

“I see. It’s—” He stopped, just remembering Anon was there, listening. “We shall discuss things later on in private. Continue as you were.”

Colibri left the room soon after. Once the door closed, Liberum huffed out, looking at Anon, right before ensuring the door was closed shut. He then stood guard, waiting for his previous charges. It only took a few more minutes for the door to open once more, with the two ponies from before panting hard, carrying several items with them.

“S-Sorry we couldn’t be here sooner,” Rocky panted out.

“Yeah, s-same here,” Roller continued. “We were helping with what was happening so it took some time getting back.”

“As long as you have fixed your mistake, I couldn’t care less. Just give him his food. And you had better not make these mistakes again or you will regret it, the both of you.”

“Yes, definitely!”

“Of course!”

“Good,” Liberum said, walking past them. “Go back to your duties,” he grunted out, leaving the room.

“…He didn’t seem to be in a very good mood,” Roller said with a sigh.

“Is he ever?”

“He needs a hobby, something to wind down with after a hard day's work of yelling at us and ordering everyone.”

“I tried to get him to play some Skip-Bo with us but he confiscated the cards. Thank goodness I always keep backups on those things.”

“You two know how to play Skip-Bo?” Anon asked, surprised to hear that.

“Oh? So the alien knows of this game?” Rocky asked.

“Does he? It seems quite odd to hear that,” Roller added.

“I find it strange how much I recognize from my own world in yours,” Anon said. “God I haven’t played Skip-Bo in forever.”

“Hmm, maybe we should get the alien in on a game or two?” Rocky said, placing the items in the cell down.

“It could help with the dullness of guarding him,” Roller agreed. “Oh, I’ll… try and get you something to lay down on later. Sorry ‘bout that, should have thought of it when I got your blanket.”

Anon was just happy to get his long-overdue plate of food. A frown could be felt on his face, spotting a very familiar dish of eggs and bread, with a simple cup of water.

‘Of course,’ he thought, placing the eggs on the bread for an impromptu sandwich. ‘They could have at least given me a fork.’

Eating his food, Anon watched the two ponies discussing their games of Skip-Bo they’ve had in the past, along with some other things that have happened. The info seemed like it could be important should he ever try to make a break out of there, though most of it was focused on the recent attack. Thinking on that, Anon swallowed his bite and drank it down with water.

“So who exactly are these day ponies?” Anon asked.

“You don’t know who they are?!” Roller asked in astonishment.

“Of course the alien wouldn’t, Roller.”

“Could you two fill me on who they are exactly? And maybe tell me where I really am?”

“You don’t know where you are?!” Rocky asked in amazement.

“Why should the alien, Rocky?”

Anon couldn’t help but groan at their accompanied idiocy.

“Well,” Roller started, “the day ponies are just ponies like us but they think they’re better than us so they always want to pick a fight!”

“Stupid jerks, they even try to foalnap some of our own! Can you believe that?! Who would do such a thing, taking others for their own use?!”

Anon gave them the best deadpan stares that he could manage. Neither of them noticed it.

“They keep taking our own to learn of our plans,” Roller continued, “which makes us need to change our patterns when they do manage to dig their brains for info, which totally sucks!”

“I hear they dig around for blackmail material even,” Rocky mentioned.

“How horrible!”

Anon decided right then and there he didn’t want anything to do with these day ponies over the night ones, that was for sure.

“They’re almost as annoying as the Beasts of Dourness, those stupid things just don’t know when to give up.”

“Why do you have to deal with them anyway?” Anon asked, taking another bite of his sandwich. “And why are they called that?”

They blinked at Anon before Rocky answered, “They’re called that because this forest is called The Forest of Dourness. It’s an appropriate enough of a name, at least I thought so.”

"They’re, like, similar to other creatures but have oddities that make them stranger than normal So a rabbit in this forest could have really large feet to slap you with. Not fun, let me tell you.”

“And we’re not sure why they keep coming! This entire forest is covered in strange creatures.”

“Some of the ponies believe they’re attracted to something here but we have no idea what it is, if that’s even true,” Roller added. “And there have even been some sightings of some pink beasts that almost seem to be leading them here, though most of us think that’s just silly.”

“So you night ponies have to deal with all of that?” Anon finished off his sandwich, drinking it the rest down with his water. “I don’t know about you two, but this doesn’t feel like it’s worth the effort of whatever you’re getting out of this. Staying out here in a terrible forest, dealing with attacks left and right.”

“First off, we’re not called night ponies, only the day ponies call us that,” Rocky said with a frown.

“Hay, we don’t even know what the day ponies are even called, but we needed some way to identify them with so we just call them that now.”

“And what are you fellas called?” Anon asked.

“We don’t really have a name,” Rocky answered, “Colibri and the commander don’t want to give us a name saying that would only give us a face or something like that. That’s silly; we already have faces of our own!”

“I agree, which is why we’ve been trying to get them to change things and give ourselves a name! And it’s an awesome name!”

Before Anon could react, the two of them move side to side in front of him, standing in some odd poses.

“Luna Bom-ba-stic!”

“We Fan-ta-stic!”

“OOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH!!!” they screamed in unison, waving a hoof in the air while doing so.

‘Oh good god, could they be any dorkier? Why are they guards for these ponies?’

“Because they were looking for volunteers and we were totally down with what they wanted!” Rocky answered.

…Anon hadn’t meant for that last part to be said out loud.

“And what exactly does your group want?”

“Well, they want Luna to be the ruler of the lands and to bring about an eternal night!” Roller said enthusiastically.

“And that means eternal partying!” Rocky added. “Seriously, eternal night would be so awesome. All the music, the food—”

“And don’t forget the mares!”

The two nodded, their nostrils flaring and air exhaling through them.

“That’s what made you two join up for this? Those are the reasons you’re working for these ponies?”

The two nodded their heads up and down quickly with large smiles.

“Totally!” Rocky said. “And hay, if you’re nice and cooperate with us… I’m certain we can also get some mares for you as well.”

And their nostrils flared out once more with another gush of air coming out of them.

“So you two just believe it’s going to be nothing but parties after Luna takes rule?” They nodded their heads eagerly once more. “…You two are idiots.”

“Hey there, what gives you the right calling us that?”

“Yeah, yeah! Partying is awesome and everypony would love that.”

Anon shook his head, “You seem to be under the assumption nothing would go wrong removing the sun; you can’t have an eternal night without ruining everyone’s lives.”

“Bah!” Rocky said, throwing a hoof in the air. “So some beings will be upset with the noise that comes from the parties, so what?”

“No, I mean things like food. How would anyone eat here?”

They look confused at Anon. “By… purchasing it at the market?” Rocky answered.

“Where does the market get their food from?”

“…The farms?” Roller said, not sure of his answer.

“And how is the food grown?”

“Ah! It comes from magic,” Rocky answered.

“Or at least that’s what mama taught us,” Roller added in.

“Mama knows best.”

“Oh, and also the sun I think she said.”

“Magic and the sun. Yes.”

“How are plants going to grow if there’s no sun?” Anon asked.

The two owlishly stared at Anon for a few seconds. “Ooooooh,” they said in unison.

“There’d be a lot of starving ponies if you were to do that. And without cultivation methods, there’d be no food or drinks, meaning no parties anyways.” The two of them looked like Anon had just kicked their puppy. “You didn’t think there’d be parties every day did you? Though, without sun, there wouldn’t be days anyways.”

“T-The unicorns could solve that though with their magic!”

“Yeah, yeah!”

“I highly doubt the unicorns want to be making food for the rest of their lives, being forced into constantly working forever. It’d also put a lot of other ponies out of a job, and force rationing of materials and foods. That’s not including how unsafe having no sun would be. From what Lyra told me, a lot of the more frightening creatures are more reactive to the night time life, and I don’t think anyone want’s to live in fear of things roaming around for pony meat.”

The two of them didn’t look very well off at the moment like they hadn’t thought things through. Anon, on the other hand, didn’t really care, thinking it was all stupid and couldn’t wait to get out of there.

“Maybe you two should think about this a bit more. Here,” he said, giving them the plate and cup. “Thanks for the meal, though I do hope you know I need to eat more than once a day,” he said jokingly.

Neither of them commented on what Anon said, deep in thought about their work. Roller grabbed the plate and cup before walking out the door. Rocky sighed to himself as he closed the cell door, standing guard.

Taking a corner in the back of the room, Anon laid down on his blanket. Staring up that the ceiling, Anon wondered just how he was getting out of there.

‘If the attacks are a constant thing, I think I can escape when it happens at some point. I’ll just need some more info and the perfect opportunity to leave.’

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X~ ~X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

It had almost been two hours since the six ponies had come to Mercanville and began their search on the rebels. Not many of the beings in the marketplace were of much help to Lyra’s group. Lyra was getting frustrated having to go through all this trouble and wound up with nothing to show for it. She had talked to the few bars around, the countless stalls, and even the few informants that sent documents to her in the past. Not a single spec of dirt concerning the rebels could be found.

Right then, Lyra was pointed in the direction by several beings to a strange place that could hold the info she was looking for. The three of them stood outside a fairly small tent located near the entrance to the forest.

“So this is the place?” Octavia asked. “It’s really out of place with all of the stands back closer in town.”

“The diamond dog said it was the best place for any info that anyone was afraid to speak about,” Flitter said, hovering in the air. “She said if anypony could help, it’d be this being. She’s supposed to be very informed about a lot of things.”

Lyra nodded, walking forward, “I’ll go talk to this being while you two stay out here.”

“What should we be doing while you’re talking to this person?” Flitter asked, landing and scratching the ground with her hoof.

Lyra sighed,” I don’t know, check out some of the stands close by I suppose. I doubt they’ll just open up when they weren’t before, but maybe they’ll say something by accident or someone around will know of them. We just need to know which group took him and what path they took. There are like, a dozen paths that lead to several bases, outposts, and who knows what.”

“Right!” Flitter said with a salute before flying off to the closest one. “Some super sneaky sleuthing, coming right up!”

Flitter walked away, trying to appear like she was sneaking away. Octavia held her head up high, unwilling to look as silly as she followed after Flitter. Turning around, Lyra walked up to the tent flap and pushed it back before going inside, hoping to find something useful.

Once inside, the first thing that stood out to Lyra was the massive amount of lit candles all over the ground. A strong smell of incense was burning, something that smelled of vanilla and a fruit of some kind. There was tapestry hanging around the tent, colored purple and red with nothing too intricate on them. The thing that stuck out was the table that sat in the middle of the tent, along with a crystal ball on it and a set of chairs. One of the chairs had a very bright, pink pony, garbed in some kind of clothing that covered its face, which was also coincidentally colored pink.

The being looked at Lyra, rubbing her hooves, “I see I have a visitor! Please, come in and take a seat! I shall help to the best of my abilities.”

Lyra wasn’t expecting to meet with a fortune teller. Though looks could be deceiving, it may just be a front for all she knew. Walking forward, Lyra sat down, staring at the pony.

“Yes, every being that comes to Mademoiselle Tshilaba seeks something they yearn to find, to know more about.” She leaned over, tilting her head down while continuing to stare at Lyra. “Just what is it do you seek that which I may help you with? Hmm?”

“I’m looking for a friend,” Lyra told her. “You may have heard of him? The alien that was living in Ponyville? He was abducted by one of the rebel groups and I just want to know if you can tell me anything about which group took him and anything else that would help.”

“Hmm…” The pony rubbed her chin in thought. “My cards won’t be effective in this, and I don’t think taking you to my sweat hut will help either. I suppose going with the good ol’ crystal ball will give you the insight that you are looking for.”

Lyra rubbed her forehead in frustration, not wanting to deal with mysticism. It was a very fickle kind of magic that majority of its users couldn’t perform with even a ten percent efficiency rating. As she was about to get up and leave, realizing it was, in fact, nothing more than a fortune teller, the ball started to glow. Tshilaba waved her hooves around the ball which grew foggy with clouds forming inside of it.

Curious about what was going on, Lyra bent over, looking inside of it. Her eyes widened, seeing images of Anon in it. Many other images came, showing herself and Bon Bon as well. They were of different scenes that were difficult to interpret. In some, they were happy, and others crying. Anger, sadness, confusion, and other unreadable things that confused Lyra.

“W-What is this?”

“Thiiis… this is all the potential outcomes of your life that you are seeing. They are only glimpses, mind you, but if you have the proper training much as I do, you can put together these glimpses and tell a story.”

“A story? About what?”

“The story of life and all that is possible,” she replied, waving a hoof over the crystal ball. “Anything can be done with a hint of magic.”

“How is that even possible? Most magic outside of unicorns isn’t as intricate as what I’m seeing.”

“There is much that you don’t know about magic, Miss Heartstrings.”

Lyra looked up in shock. “How do you know my name?”

The pink pony merely smiled as she returned her gaze at the ball. Lyra did the same, seeing images flash by quickly in it.

“What an odd story I am seeing. Your life seems to be in constant motion, along with two others in your life. It’s an interesting tale I am seeing, one that has many divergences in what may or may not happen. And you are currently in one right now!

“Hmm… Yes. What happens in the following days will determine much of what happens to you and these two close companions of yours. I would strongly advise you to think carefully about any action that you partake when it comes to these two.”

The ball started to grow darker and darker as the images dispersed into nothing. The cloudy quality it once held was now completely gone, replaced with a simple, shiny ball of glass. Lyra blinked at the ball, unsure about what to say.

“…That’s it? What about the rebels? Or where Anon is or if he’s okay or, or…”

Tshilaba hummed, “I am sorry to say, but this is all I can provide for you. Unless you can get me the one that will be the major factor for your lives, this being that you call Anon, I cannot help you further with your reading.”

Lyra felt very aggravated, grinding her teeth in anger. Getting up to leave in a huff, she nearly made her way out of the tent when Tshilaba called back at her, “One moment Miss Heartstrings! Now, while I know this wasn’t of much help to you sadly, I do have something that you need to be told.”

“And that is?”

“The first, the ball told me of your… desires, and the desires of these beings as well. Think long and hard on this journey toward your Anon for any incorrect calls can lead to a terrible ending for you.” The pink pony paused for a moment, allowing these words to sink into Lyra. “And the second, the split in your group holds the information you seek. Do listen to them, won’t you?”

Unsure about what Tshilaba told her, Lyra slowly made her way out of the tent. She was unhappy that this didn’t lead her anywhere. Frustrated, she went looking for Flitter and Octavia so they could go back to the train stop. She soon found them looking at a stand, examining the wares being sold. She frowned at this.

“Okay, seriously?” she sharply said, startling them. “We’re not here to go shopping, we’re looking for info!”

“Flitter and I had already done just that,” Octavia said, walking up to her. “We’ve already been to all of these stands and didn’t think going too far from you was a good idea. We were just looking at some things to pass the time until you returned.”

“A-And besides, you did say a few trinkets would be fine to purchase,” Flitter commented, now wearing some odd goggles. “Being able to see in the dark is also, well, important…?”

“And they also reveal multiple kinds of trails, from slimes to goo’s, with the other setting!” the stand owner declared.

“Sold!” Flitter slammed some bits on the table, looking happier that a pig in mud.

A large frown appeared on Lyra’s face. “None of them had anything to say?”

“No, asking didn’t produce any results in our search. Though we did find out that due to the close proximity of the forest to these stands here, all of these stands close up shop quit early. It’s possible the group snuck out of here when that had occurred.”

A long-winded sigh escaped Lyra’s lips with their inability to find anything. “Let’s just get to the train. We’ve got—” She checked her timepiece from her bag, “—about sixteen minutes until we meet the others back at the train. FLITTER!”

The mare squeaked from being startled, nearly dropping whatever she was holding. Placing it carefully back down, she walked over to the other two with her ears flattened on her head.

“There’s no reason to be yelling Lyra,” Octavia said with a frown.

Lyra ignored her as she walked off toward the meetup spot with the two in tow. Arriving at the train stop, the train was clearly gone, and the crowds from before were sparse with the night starting to come in. The other three were also not there.

“Looks like we’ll have to wait on them,” Flitter said, taking a seat on a bench.

The minty pony was not happy with the lateness of their group. Sitting on a separate bench, she went through the documents once more to help keep her mind on something. Almost a half-hour goes by before the three of them see their missing companions. They looked very disheveled and dirty for some odd reason.

“What took you three so long to get here?” Lyra asked, very upset. “You’re late!”

“We were held up by some unexpected events,” Bon Bon answered, trying to get her mane back into its previous proper place.

“Did you guys find any info?” Octavia asked. “We came up pretty empty on anything ourselves.”

Vinyl smirked, “We sure did! We know exactly what group took him!”

Lyra was shocked hearing this. “H-How in the hay did you find the info?!”

Vinyl nodded her head, “Weeell, we got our info from a local minotaur that just so happened to know about the two rebels groups that reside in the forest.”

“How’d you get the info from the minotaur?” Flitter asked, hovering beside Cloudchaser.

“We found out after we beat the crap out of his gang.”

“…You what?” Octavia asked incredulously.

“Some rather unruly ponies and minotaurs thought it was wise to try something with us,” Bon Bon told them. “They left us a few unkind words, with these two by me having some equally rude words to give back. Long story short, it wound up in a tussle—”

“That we totally do-mi-na-ted!” Cloudchaser interrupted, throwing a few hooves into the air. “Guess they didn’t know that I am just that awesome in a fight! Though I do wish you were there Flitter, we coulda had a good ol’ tag team match down!”

Flitter giggled, watching her sister throwing punches in the air.

“Continuing on,” Vinyl said with a smile, “the gang leader saw how we completely trounced his posse of lunkheads and said our awesome awesomeitude of awesomeness was so impressive, he said he’d make sure not to mess with us again and he’d help us whenever possible. He was a pretty cool dude in the end.”

“Yeah, okay, sure,” Lyra said impatiently, “so what did he tell you?”

Vinyl looked perturbed at Lyra’s attitude, yet continued. “His gang constantly watches out for whoever and whatever comes in and out of this town. He sells info to whoever is looking apparently.”

“Huh,” Octavia let out. “I wonder why no one told us about him when we were asking for info.”

“None of the businesses want to step in on the gangs work so they turn a blind eye,” Bon Bon answered. “Most of the beings that are usually informed knew of you three asking around and left to tell the gang and, well… we kinda beat them up.

“I also managed to get some information from one of their… side members,” Bon Bon said, revealing a manila envelope. “It helps reveal some of the hidden bases around the area and even some monster locations so we can keep an eye out for them.”

“That is fantastic news,” Octavia said, looking through the papers. “…Why are there boxes of black hiding some of the information?”

Bon Bon scrunched up her nose, looking away. “I dunno, probably didn’t want to share some info I guess.”

“Vinyl, what about the rebels?” Lyra asked.

“I was getting there,” Vinyl answered with a roll of her eyes. “Anyways, they especially keep an eye on these rebels to keep tabs on them, not wanting them to try anything on their turf. Their gang saw somepony being taken into the forest about the size of a minotaur near the break of dawn. They said they went down The Dark Way, which means the night rebels took him.”

“Show me on the map,” Lyra told her, wanting to make sure about this.

Looking at it, Vinyl pointed to where they said the trail was located. The true name was Shrouded Leaves Trail. Comparing it to her map showed it did, in fact, lead toward the night rebels.

“Alright then,” Lyra said aloud, “we should probably go right now then into the trail.”

“C-Can’t we wait until tomorrow morning?” Flitter asked, hugging her sister close. “It’s really starting to get dark.”

Lyra shook her head, “If we wait until tomorrow morning that would give them an extra day to do whatever it is they’re doing to Anon. We should be getting a head start down the trail. There’s no reason not to go down that trail right now.”

They all looked at one another before turning back at Lyra with a nod. Lyra was simply happy none of them were going to argue with her. Making sure they had everything they needed, the six of them started toward the stands near the entrance of the forest. Arriving there, she noticed not a single stand from earlier was in place, only leaving imprints on where they used to be.

“I know they said they would be gone but I didn’t think they’d take everything with them!” Flitter said.

“Somepony left here?” Cloudchaser asked.

“Yeah, we were here earlier and the beings here said they would pack up when it starts to get dark enough, not wanting to be too near the forest with their wares and themselves.”

“That… doesn’t fill me with confidence about what we’re getting ourselves into,” Cloudchaser said. “But I’m certain we’ll do alright so long as we stick together!”

“Look, stop stalling and let’s go already!” Lyra said, walking forward.

“Sheesh Lyra,” Vinyl said as they followed after her. “What’s got you all riled up?”

“We should be focusing all our thoughts on Anon, not on these stands or anything else! So let’s get a move on and cover as much ground as we possibly can!” None of them said anything to Lyra, the group starting to look irritated.

Walking into the Forest of Dourness, it reminded Lyra a lot of the Everfree Forest. From what she remembered on the packets she received on the forest, it held much of what the Everfree did, with the animals having odd mutations in them on top of the strange sightings of unknowns. Dourness hadn’t been deeply explored until recently so it held many mysteries.

The further they walked in, the bigger the trees seemed to get. It was getting darker and darker, with the light of the moon the only thing helping their sight. The sounds of the forest denizens grew louder as the six of them ventured further down the path. Lyra was getting annoyed about the others talking to one another, breaking her concentration on walking the path.

“Could you five quiet down? I at least am trying to focus on the trail and where we’re going.”

“Lyra, seriously, take a chill pill,” Vinyl told her. “We’ve barely been out here for an hour and you’re already getting on everypony’s nerves.”

“I would chill if you all would just shut up so I can concentrate!”

“We’re not even that loud!” Cloudchaser said.

“T-The talking also helps us forget we’re walking in a spooky forest…” Flitter said, readjusting her goggles that she was now wearing.

“What do you even need to concentrate on?” Vinyl asked.

“Where we’re going and our current objective!”

“Lyra, the path we’re on is pretty straightforward,” Vinyl said, pointing at the worn down ground they were walking on. “You don’t need to be making us all stressed out here, you’re funking up our groove girl.”

“I have been doing no such thing!”

“You’ve been irritating since we’ve boarded the train!” Cloudchaser angrily said. “You nitpick on everything we’ve done and constantly reminding us over and over and OVER again on how we need to find Anon! We KNOW that already Lyra!”

“I just want us to be serious about this! Anon is in trouble and we need to stay focused on—” Something quickly slapped across Lyra’s face, forcing her to stop.

Blinking, she wondered what just happened. Looking at her group, she noticed Octavia now had a strange looking cello out, vibrating lightning sparks and had a bow notched inside a string. Lyra went to talk once more, but then Octavia let the bow shoot forward, hitting directly in Lyra’s side. She jumped at that, feeling a painful sting where she was hit.

Octavia notched another bow, this one pulled back even further. “Lyra… shut up.”

“W-What?! Octavia, what the—” Octavia motioned her bow at Lyra, forcing her mouth shut with a click.

“That’s better,” Octavia said. “Now, we’re going to say our bit, then I want you to reply in a rational and calm manner. Do you understand me?” Lyra nodded her head. “Good. Now, I understand why you’re acting like this. You’re freaking out about the whole situation. But you are currently acting way out of line. You need to understand you are stressing us all out. Do you really think yelling at us and ordering us about like you’ve been doing is the best course of action?”

Lyra looked at the others as they stared back, the group clearly upset.

“Lyra,” Vinyl said, walking forward. “You need to calm down. Like, a lot. We don’t need you to kill our mood. We all know that it’s important we find Anon and that it’s the reason we’re even here right now, but you’re literally sucking out the good mojo we have going on. We’re jovial beings at nature, Lyra, and you’re forgetting that.”

Looking at them once more, she saw them nodding in agreement to what Vinyl said. Thinking on it, Lyra had to agree she may have been getting a little overboard.

“I, uh…” She let out a sigh, “I’m sorry. I… I guess I was acting pretty stupid.”

Cloudchaser flew over to her, grabbing her in a side hug. “Yeah, you definitely were. But it’s cool so long as you’re not acting all nutso on us anymore.”

“Right.”

Everypony gave Lyra a smile, which she forcefully returned. Octavia immediately collapsed her instrument and packed it up, collecting her bows before they all continued on the trail.

“So Lyra,” Vinyl said, “now that you’re not going to try and chew us out for something silly, what’s next?”

Levitating the map out of her saddlebag, Lyra flashed her horn up with light so she could properly see. “From what I’m seeing, up ahead is a marker on the map called Sapient Rock. After we get to that, it’s just another hour until we get to the end of the trail where most beings set up camp. That’s the safe point for most everypony before venturing out into the forest.” Closing her map, she placed it back into the saddlebag. “So it’s obvious we’ll set up camp there and head out in the morning.”

“Thank goodness,” Flitter said with a groan. “I’m really tired from all this moving around.”

“I think we can all do with some rest as soon as possible so we’ll be fresh in the morning,” Bon Bon said.

A murmur of agreement came from the group as they all continued further down the path, now with better moods. They eventually made their way to a gathering of rocks that stood out by the trail.

“So this is the Sapient Rock marker?” Vinyl asked. “It’s not very impressive; I was hoping for something more than a bunch of rocks and boulders.”

Lyra nodded in agreement. “True, but at least we know we’re very close to the campsite.”

“YOO-HOOO~”

The six of them jumped in the air from hearing the very loud and high pitched voice, coming out of nowhere.

“W-Who said that?!” Flitter yelped out.

“Well isn’t that just rude of you six ignoring me like that? Are you just gonna leave little ol’ me without a proper talk? I mean, it gets sooooo boring out here by my lonesome!”

The six of them slowly turned their heads to the gathering of rocks, ears flattened against their heads. None of them noticed anything moving at all.

“Is… Is that a rock speaking?” Cloudchaser asked.

“I don’t know,” Bon Bon replied.

“Where are my manners!” it spoke out, making them all jump once more from the suddenness of it. “Everyone seems to call me Sapient, but you can all just call me Sappy, ‘cause I’m sooo sappy for the wilderness! Hehehehehe,” it chuckled, a small rumbling coming from one of the bigger rocks.

They all turned their sights to the one that moved. “H-How are you speaking?” Octavia asked.

“Why, by doing so of course. How else would one speak?”

Octavia opened and closed her mouth multiple times, unable to respond.

“Um… Sappy, was it?” Lyra asked.

“Yes, that is I! And who might you be my small equine?”

“L-Lyra.”

“And what a lyrically wonderful name that is, Lyra! How are you doing this fine evening?”

“Just fine Sappy…” She looked back at the others as they continued to stare in wonder at the rock. “…Not to sound rude, but we really do have to be going.”

“Oh dearie me! But I would love some company out in this lovely forest. Won’t you come and sit down beside me? I promise the other rocks won’t mind you too much.” The group now looked at the other rocks, starting to get weirded out.

“We would all love nothing more than to chat but we do have a lot of ground to cover, it’s to help a friend in need out in this forest.”

A loud gasp could be heard, obviously coming from Sappy. “My WORD! Your friend is out here, in this forest, all alone?! I do enjoy it quite a bit, yes I do, but there are things out here I would hope others best stay away from! It’s quite pleasant to see someone like you lot being such a good friend to venture out into this forest. Now you best be on your way, I won’t take up any more of your time Miss Lyra! Go, go! I won’t hold you up any longer!”

“Ah… alright then?” Lyra said, returning to her friends.

The six of them immediately quickened their pace down the road, trying to get as far away from the rock as possible. After what felt like a very, very, very, VERY far distance from it, they slowed down, looking at one another. “Okay, what was up with that?” Vinyl asked.

“I have no idea,” Lyra answered. “My reports told of strange things happening in this forest, so I just have to assume that was one of them.”

“Who thought we’d meet a talking rock of all things out here,” Cloudchaser said, looking over her shoulder where they came from. “What’s next? Talking trees?”

“Actually, Twilight sort of made one of those back in Ponyville,” Lyra started with a roll of her eyes.

Flitter giggled, following her sister as the others continued down the trail. The previous absurdity of what happened seemed to have livened them up for the moment.

“If things like that are what’s in this forest, I’m all for exploring more of this!” Vinyl said with a cheer.

“I think I’d much prefer a nice place to rest at the moment,” Flitter said with a yawn.

The rest of their trip they talked to one another about the most mundane of things or looking at what they passed by, wondering if there was a hidden Sappy in their midst. It didn’t take them very long to reach the end of the trail. The place they were now standing in was fairly flat, along with having a few places for campfires and convenient sitting logs.

“Score!” Vinyl squealed out, running over to a log and placing her rather large pack beside it. “Now all we need is some wood and to get a fire going!”

“Don’t worry ‘bout that, Flitter and I will get that in a jiff!” Cloudchaser said before grabbing her sister and flying off.

“It doesn’t look like rain so at least we’ll be dry,” Octavia said, unstrapping her pack. “No need for a tent thankfully. I suppose I’ll be readjusting my strings for the moment.”

“While you’re doing that,” Vinyl said with a grunt, placing her odd box on the ground out of her pack, “I’ll be messing around with this and configure it with some of that new jivin’ music Anon set me up with!”

“Oh please, Vinyl. No music right now! I just want to relax…”

Vinyl frowned at the request, “Eeeehhh… Fine, I guess. I suppose I need to save some of my juicy lightning for the time being anyway. I’ll just plug in my heads… as soon as I find them.”

Lyra was standing at her own log, taking off her pack, feeling relief at the weight being taken off her. She looked over at Bon Bon, noticing zipping all over their campsite. “Putting down your traps, Bon Bon?” Lyra asked, setting her sleeping bag down.

“Just some things to warn us if we get any visitors trying to be sneaky on us,” she answered. Lyra couldn’t help but inwardly flinch, knowing what she was putting up. Her warning traps tended to be somewhat painful, as the intruder was the one screaming and waking them up in warning.

Flitter and Cloudchaser had returned just as Bon Bon finished setting up her traps, with Cloudchaser dropping her load of wood into the pit and Flitter dropping some more to the side. “There,” Cloudchaser said, “plenty of wood for a good fire!”

Hearing that, Lyra lit up her horn, throwing a beam of magic into the wood in the firepit. It immediately erupted into flames, forcing the two sisters back.

“Alright! Now all that’s needed is to get ready for the night,” Cloudchaser said, grabbing her pack to and finding a place to lay down for the night. Flitter had, of course, followed her sister, setting it right beside her.

“We’re probably going to need to set up some kind of watch system while we’re out in these woods to watch for any creatures or even the rebels,” Lyra mentioned to the group. “I think setting it up for two watches should be good, so I’ll take the first watch.”

“I’ll help you with tonight,” Octavia said, still messing with her cello. “I don’t need a lot of sleep anyway so I don’t mind.”

“Flitter and Vinyl will take tomorrow then, with Bon Bon and Cloudchaser the next, and we’ll just rotate it like that.” Everyone agreed with Lyra before going back to their packs.

“So,” Flitter said, smoothing out her sleeping bag, “when we get Anon back, what then?”

“I think it’s obvious that we immediately bring him back to Mercanville and make sure he’s medically checked over,” Octavia replied, still tinkering with her cello. “It’s better safe than sorry even if he looks healthy when we get him.”

“I just can’t wait ‘till he’s back,” Vinyl said, still looking for her heads. “I’ve got so many tunes I want to listen to with him!”

“And I’ve still got some things I wanted to say to him before he was taken,” Lyra said to herself, looking at the ground.

Vinyl, having heard this, furrowed her brow. Having found hear headphones, she placed them down and shook her mane before getting up. “I need to go use the bush for a moment. Bon Bon, could you come with me? I don’t want to be left alone in the dark.” Bon Bon blinked at her for a few moments before scrunching her nose up. Getting up, she followed Vinyl out into the trees.

After making sure she was ready for her watch, Lyra immediately started rummaging through her pack, noticing a good opportunity just presented itself. Finding her toiletries, she got up and started walking toward the bushes herself.

“Lyra, where you going?” Octavia asked from her place by the campfire.

“I, ehr, kinda need to use the bush too,” Lyra said with a blush. “I’ll be right back!”

“Just watch out for Bon Bon’s traps, I know you have difficulty sometimes watching out for those,” she said as Lyra exited from sight.

Double and triple-checking her way for any traps, she followed in the general direction the other two went. It didn’t take long for her to find the other two; a smirk appeared on her face as she bent down on the ground and opened her pack.

Inside was, of course, her toiletry, but she also had something special inside: her trusty sound cracker. It even had the dragon roar still inside it. She, of course, turned it into the scream of a tiger, not wanting to force the forest into a frenzy of action.

Lyra giggled quietly to herself, twisting at something on it. ‘I better turn down the volume,’ she thought as she inched closer to them. ‘This should be a pretty fun way to end the night. Hay, they wanted me to relax, so they’re getting some of the ol’ cracker action!’

Sneaking closer in the bushes, she finally spotted the familiar curls of Bon Bon poking over some leaves. As she got ready, she hesitated, noticing it sounded like they were… arguing? She got a little closer, wondering what had happened in the short time they were away from the group to be fighting.

“I don’t know, Bon Bon. You still haven’t told Lyra about any of this.”

“I know! I just… you know I have difficulty with these kinds of things.”

Lyra could see Vinyl shaking her head at Bon Bon. “Of all the things… I just don’t know why you decided to get so close to Anon.”

“I know, right? It’s strange, but… I feel like he could help me with this. I don’t mean to sound selfish, but I just wanted to have everything turn out where I can be happy too. Is it really so wrong of me to have feelings for him?”

“Did you really have to wait this long though? An entire month, Bon Bon. You got lucky Lyra didn’t confess anything out to Anon yet or—”

“I know! I… I know. I didn’t want to take this long, but I just wanted to make sure my feelings could be genuine and not just something I was forcing myself into.”

Vinyl paused, “And are they?”

“…Yes.”

Vinyl stared at Bon Bon for a few moments in thought. “Just remember, you need to say something, and soon, or else this might turn out bad for everypony involved.”

“Now that you’re done lecturing me, can we go back?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m certain Octavia’s wondering what to do without my awesome presence around.”

“Aren’t we all?” Bon Bon sarcastically replied with a roll of her eyes.

The two of them chuckled as they walked away, back to the camp. A minute later, Lyra sat up, still shocked at what she had just heard.

“Bon Bon... likes Anon too?”

Her mind was completely blank, trying to find something to make sense of what she had just heard but came up with nothing. Looking down at her sound cracker, she placed it back inside her pack and returning to the camp with a small frown, a confused mind, and a painful tug on her heart.

~End Chapter Sixteen~

Comments

[Adjier]

Yay! More story!

Good. Anon has some fighting experience. Nice to see it. Such a rare thing in stories like this.

Best talk to Bonnie quick Lyra. Wouldn't want a misunderstanding taking place. I'm loving that Bonnie has genuine feels for our guy. That will make things easier. Less likely to break, anyway.

[3DTV]

Lyra you soggy cracker no she doesn't

[TheTownCrier]

[thegoodcritic]

Even in Equestria, the ride never ends.

[Viper Pit]

This chapter in a nutshell

[Icy Creation]

khajiits

Excuse me?

And good chapter as always.

[Drazhan]

10149741
I salute thee fellow Hunter.

[Viper Pit]

10149960
If only I could get that Damn gem

[Drazhan]

10149963
You'll get it when you don't need it anymore. That's how the RNG works. That or you'll get like five of them. I got one guard up deco and I've never seen another. Plenty of mighty bow ones though.

Kinda wanna play the bagel goose theme loudly in a parking lot and see how many people dive for cover out of sheer instinct.

[Viper Pit]

10149972
Or the pickle theme

[Drazhan]

10149977
Beware the Lurkin Gherkin.

[TallFreak]

Cool seeing Anon defend himself, and now Lyra feels jealous of Bon Bon. Also wow, way to go Anon to destroy those to idiots ideas for what will happen with no sun

[toshibafox]

“Bon Bon... likes Anon too?”

No Lyra , she likes you. Don't worry I won't hold this against you. There have been points where I've messed the obvious.

[Valhuir]

10150237
Or is Lyra jealous of Anon? Or can she decide WHO she's jealous of?

[Greenjack]

10149385
From what I can tell Bonbon was saying that she does in fact have feelings for Anon now too, but was hesitant to act on them because she didn't know if she was only attracted to him because he was a way to get to Lyra, or if her feelings were genuine.

It seems like the plan was to try to get him to like the both of them back so everyone would be with the person/people they want.

[3DTV]

10151499
I like my version better

[Pony addiction]

I imagine Sappy being voiced by a very energetic, middle aged, obese white woman

[RoshiRat]

10228158
I went with the old willow, from the Last Unicorn. :P

[Netloids Ultimatum]

10228158

In the most cliché way possible, I imaged Sappy being voiced by Danny DeVito

[giganticcats]

“What should we be doing while you’re talking to this person?” Flitter asked, landing and scratching the ground with her hoof.

It would make more sense if it was pony not person coming from flitter

[chibilink]

Then I can get a better close of you, as was promised.

Twilight’s odd little freakout and him being move.

“It might better to get a head start out in the forest and camp out there

It was very loud, from all the yelling and strange sounds being made, it was almost defining to them.

A bright flash of green light zipped by where Anon was about to pull himself up to, hitting on of the metal bars.

Warning: Incoming Drama. Warning. Warning.

[AyanamiRei]

This certainly leads to some interesting things.

Hopefully Lyra will remember the words of the Fortune Teller.

[Glitched Grim]

When Anon starting fighting, I already started hearing the doom music settle in.

[Fluttercry12]

Awesome ch i though anon would get away but that would be too easy