> The Love of the Sun > by Kerberos > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Chapter 1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Your name is Anon, and you are the only human in Equestia. When you first arrived in this land, you were amazed at the sights of magic and flying ponies. You were also only around ten years old. The ponies looked really friendly and seemed to value love and tolerance. You were so young and naive. They treated you like a monster. A thing that should be feared and chased. A thing that parents told their foal in order to keep them in line. A thing. This was your new life, and you hated it. You started to resent them for treating you that way. What gave them the right to treat you that way? You were able to convince them that you were not a monster by doing a few good deeds. They still resented you, but at least they didn't chase you anymore. You were actually allowed into their capital city. You received a letter about a place to live and a job that paid well. Only to find out you would be featured in a circus. Your stubborn childish pride made you turn them away. You now live in an alleyway, living off the trash. It wasn't so bad, you learned where had the best food and where to get a new box after a storm. Still, you wished for a better life. Little did you know, you would eventually get your chance. Today was just another day where you were down in the dumps. Literally. You were dumpster diving, looking for anything to improve you current condition. You would kill for a decent amount of cloth or a knife to cut it. You were interrupted by a series of giggles. Even if ponies would no longer hunt you down, you were still scared of ponies. You pushed even farther in the dumpster. There was some cardboard sitting on the top. You thanked whatever deity that decided to smile on you that day. You took the cardboard and wrapped it around yourself, blending into the rest of the trash. The giggles got closer and closer. You were hoping that the pony would turn around or run right past the dumpster. Unfortunately, your luck ended with the cardboard. You could hear the sound of hooves scraping metal, and the sound of the lid opening and closing. That and the constant giggling. You can hear the creaking of the lid as it is raised once again. The filly, you guessed by the sound of the giggles, was trying to repress her giggles. When she succeeded, silence fell across the alleyway. You tried to quiet your breathing. You didn't want to scare the filly. It would just be a good excuse to throw you in the dungeon. You rather be free and live in dirt than be a prisoner and live in dirt. The sounds of hooves in the alley causes you to stiffen. You were a bit relieved at the sound of another filly instead of a grown pony. "Tiaaaaa! Tiaaaaa! Where art thou Tia!?" The voice gets closer to the dumpster. "Tia! Mother wishes thou to return to the castle! Supper will be served soon!" Oh fuck. This is just what you need: to be accused of kidnapping someone from the royal family. You can hear the hooves stop in front of the dumpster. This is it. The life or death moment. If she finds you, you can kiss your life goodbye. You sit in that filth for what felt like hours. The sound of the filly's hooves starts to fade away from the dumpster. You breath a sigh of relief and remove the cardboard camouflage. You turn around and your heart stopped. You forgot about the other filly. She was small and white with a pink mane. You could see a crown on her head, but more importantly, she is staring right at you. You're dead. You are so fucking dead. Here you are, in a dumpster, in a random alley, with someone from the royal line. All she needs to do now is scream and the royal guards throw you in the stockade. You start to slowly backpedal, getting as far away as you can without startling her. Her eyes are wide and unblinking. She is staring into your soul. Your hand starts to make its way towards the lid. If you're lucky you think you could get a head start and out run her. Just as you are about to touch the lid, she speaks up. "Who-What are you." You can feel your heart trying to beat its way out of your chest. You are paralyzed with fear. Your mind goes blank and your instincts take over. You push up the lid and jump out of the dumpster. All you have to do now is make it back to your alleyway and hide in your box You make a break for it. Behind you, you hear the lid fly open and a young voice telling you to wait. You know better. Ponies only lie and use you. They have always hated you, and you learned that the hard way. You find yourself in your alley. Home. The sound of rapid hooves made your blood run cold. She followed you. You ran and curled up in your box. You were on the verge of crying. You are just a kid. You didn't want to go to jail. You heard the hooves stop at the entrance to your alley. The hooves started to walk down the alley, taking their time. She was looking for you. You curl up tighter. You just wanted her to leave you alone. Her hooves can be seen out of your box. One of her hooves raised the top flap, exposing your hiding spot. You turn away, burying your face in your makeshift ball. "Hey, hey. Don't be scared." You don't respond. You are too scared to do anything but shiver in fear. She reaches out to touch you. You flinch away. There is only one way this is going to play out, and it means the end for you. "Come on. I'm not going to hurt you." She is lying, just like all the other ponies. She probably wants to parade you around as an exotic pet. "You kinda look like a monkey. Do you want a banana?" You are a little angry for being called a monkey, but your fear is far greater than your anger. "Here." You risk a look out of your safety ball to see what the filly was talking about. In her hoof she was holding out a fresh, yellow banana. You are a little peeved about the monkey stereotype. Still you take the banana like the hungry boy you are. She giggles at your display. "Come here. Come here." She taps her legs, trying to coo you out like a wild animal. "I'm not a dog." She stops tapping her legs, her jaw opens, and her eyes go wide. "Y-You can talk?" You feel like she is insulting your intelligence. "Yes I can talk. Now, leave me alone." You peel back the banana, savoring the aroma. You take your first bite of fresh food you have had in months. My god! This was the best thing you have ever tasted. There were no preservatives or chemicals, just the magic of the earth ponies. "Mmmmmmmm" You look back at the broken filly. With a huff, you turn your back to her. "W-What are you?" You really don't like this filly being around you. You may be only ten, but you didn't like colts or fillies along with the rest of the pony race. "Why do you care?" You could hear her gasp. "I care for all my subjects." You roll your eyes. Time to lay down the facts. You turn back to face the filly. "Alright, let's get things straight. First, I am not your subject. No pony even likes that I am here. Second, I don't care all that much for ponies either. And finally, I just want to be left alone." Her eyes start to water and her bottom lip starts to quiver. You really don't want to deal with this right now. "W-Why are you s-so mean." A few stray tears roll down her cheek. You may hate ponies, but this little filly reminded you of yourself when you were first shunned by pony kind. "Hey, c'mon. Stop crying." It doesn't look like you half ass attempt to get her to stop didn't work. You don't know if your heart can take it if you let her release the flood gates. "Ok ok, I'm sorry. Just please don't cry." You feel yourself start tearing up. You remember all the things the ponies did to you. All the things they said to you. 'Oh look there is the monster! Run!' 'This is an orphanage not a zoo! Beat it!' 'Hey, I bet if we beat up that thing, those fillies will totally want us.' They never thought once about how you might feel. You feel stray tears running down your face. The filly was able to recover enough from her pain to notice yours. She remembered what her mother would do when she felt bad. She got closer to you and pulled you into a hug. You wouldn't normally let a pony touch you, but right now you was hurting too much to care. You wrap own arms around her and cried. You two just sat there in the alley way, bawling your eyes out. It was a few minutes before either of you calmed down. You were both reduced to sniffles and red eyes. She let go of you and you wiped your nose. "T-Thank you." "You're welcome." An awkward silence made its way between the two of you "So what are you." You took a big breath. "I'm a human." She looked confused. "I have never heard of a human before." You shuffle uncomfortably. This is something you had to learn to cope with, even if it still hurt. "That because... I'm the only one." The filly doesn't quite understand the magnitude of being truly alone. She has always had friends, her parents, her sister... Her eyes widen as she starts to realize what you are going through. "You mean you don't have a mom or dad?" You shake your head. "And nopony wants to be friends with you?" You shake your head again. "T-That... That's awful!" You nod. She stomped her hoof in anger. "Well that stops today mister?..." She could tell you were a male by the sound of your voice, but that is all she knew about your biology. "Anon. Just call me... Anon" She gives a smile. Her mother always said a good start for a friendship, is with your name. She held out her hoof. "My name is Princess Solaris Celestia. But all my friends just call me Tia. So, call me Tia." You reach out your arm and meet her hoof with your fist. Before you could say anything else, a familiar voice booms from the entrance to the alleyway. "Tiaaaaaaaaa! We are not amu-" Standing in the alleyway was a blue filly with her own crown on her head. Her eyes went wide as she saw you hoofbumping Tia. The next thing you heard shook you to your very core. "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Help! A monster has foalnapped our sister!" There was that word. Monster. Everyone was always so quick to judge you for just being different. All the happy feelings that you were able to gain from Tia were gone with that word. You scramble out of your box and run down the alleyway. You never did get a chance to tell Tia goodbye. Fear was coursing through your body. You had to get away. Every inch of your being told you to run and hide. You hear shouting behind you. It sounds like Royal Guards. They are on your trail. You weave through the maze of alleys, trying to lose them. When you turn your last corner, you are met with a sight that made you give up all hope. You were standing right up against the castle wall. They had herded you towards their destination like a wild beast. The guards at the top had you in their cross-hairs while the others closed off you escape with sharp spears. Even if you were grown up, you doubted that would would be able to get out of this mess. "Give up creature! We have you surrounded!" You don't know where the shout came from. You didn't care. Your life is over. All it took was one screaming filly to cry out monster. You saw the unicorns try and hold you down by magic. Things were about to get a whole lot worse. "I-I can't hold it down!" "My magic is not working!" "It is an abomination! Kill it!" You look around and see some earth ponies moving towards you with spears at the ready. You fall to the ground and curl into a ball. It's over. They aren't going to take you to jail. They are just going to kill you instead. The guards get closer ready to strike. They raise their spears and... "STOP!" The guards look around confused. Tia comes running out of a pack of guards. A few guards try to catch her, but she is already throwing herself over you. She is using her body to protect you. "Princess! Get away from that thing!" She tightens her grip around you. "I won't let you hurt him. He is my friend!" The guards take a step back. They could not understand why she is defending you. "But princess, didn't that thing foalnap you?" She closes her eyes and shakes her head. She is still a little ashamed about what her sister started. "No. I found him. He is all alone and scared." She turns back to the guards. Her eyes are starting to tear up. "He said he was the only human in Equestia. He doesn't have a family or friends. Ponies just treat him like trash. And that is where I found him. In a dumpster. Looking for his next meal. Do you have any idea on how that makes me feel? Knowing ponies could be so heartless." A look of shame spreads over the guards. They all had families and friends. They never had to go and look for food. The spears were lowered and the ponies on the wall discard their crossbows. "I... I want to take him to the castle." The guards look at the filly with confused faces. "But princess, what about the king and queen?" She starts to pet your head. It feel good to be comforted. "I will talk with mom and dad. I just want him to have a home." She gives you another squeeze. She leans in a whispers in your ear. "It's ok Anon. They aren't going to hurt you anymore. You're safe now." Safe. You never thought you would never be in that position, but here was this princess vouching for you. Maybe things are starting to look up after all. You look up at the castle gate. It is huge, and surrounded by dozens of guards. They are still not sure if they should let you in, but at least they aren't shoving their weapons in your face. You make sure and stick close to Tia. She is probably the only thing keeping you alive. You pass through the gate and head to the doors of the castle. The castle is a bit intimidating. When you reach the door, it takes a orange hue and opens. You are greeted by a large and very open room. At the far end of the room, you see two regal alicorns sitting on their thrones. You lean over to Tia. "Are you sure about this?" You were too nervous to even sweat. They might throw you out for staining the floor. "Don't worry. I am sure they will let you stay here." You aren't so sure. You could blame it on your history with ponies... but you haven't been wrong yet. You are now at the foot of the thrones. The queen looks like a bigger version of Tia. Her mane reminds you of the sun flowing in the non-existent breeze. The king, on the other hand, is a few shades darker than the filly that ratted you out. His mane reminds you of the night sky. You swear that you can see stars twinkling. The queen jumps out of her seat and runs towards Tia. "Solaris! We were so worried!" She pushed past you and hugged the little filly. "Mom stop. You're embarrassing me." You take a few steps back. You want them to have their moment. The queen set down Tia and gave her a stern glare. "Where have you been young filly." Tia doesn't seem phased by the queen. You, however, are about to wet yourself. "I have been making friends with Anon." The king is now off his throne and is beside his wife. "Who is Anon?" The sound of his voice makes you want to curl back into your safety ball. Tia is now pointing right out you. "He is." The royals follow Tia's hoof right to you. You swear you peed a little. The king walks up to you. He is eyeing you with a critical eye. "What is this... thing?" At least he didn't call you a monster. Tia however gives a loud huff. "He isn't a thing Daddy. He is a human. The only human." The king is now walking around you. You can already tell that he doesn't like you. You don't know whether it is because you are a human... or a male. The queen's face brightens. "Oh! So you want him as an exotic pet." You are really getting tired of ponies thinking you are nothing but an animal. Tia seems a bit upset at it too. "What? No! He is my friend and I want to give him a place to stay." The queen looks your way. She doesn't believe you are intelligent. "Sweetie... how do you know that this..." Tia gives her mother a glare. "Human..." Tia smiles. "...is intelligent?" "Because he talked to me." The king gives a laugh. "Just because he can make a noise doesn't mean he is intelligent. Think of it this way. If a dog barks, does that make it smart?" Tia struggles at the answer. "Well no. But..." "Exactly, so why don't you run along and get ready for bed while we return this... human to its home." You would speak up, but you were still frozen with fear. You didn't know if you would be attacked if you said anything. As much as you hated not helping out Tia, and yourself at that, you stood their silent as a mute. "Wait! I can prove it." Her parents didn't listen. "Guards. Escort the human to the gate." A series of 'yes sirs' were sounded before you were being pushed towards the door. "Anon! Say something! Please!" You just couldn't You were too afraid of the unknown. The last thing you heard before the door shut was Tia screaming your name. "Anon!" Once the door shut a guard grabbed you by the collar and threw you out the gate. They wasted no time shutting the gate behind you. You look back and give a sad sigh. That might have been your only chance to actually have a home. And you blew it. All you had to do was speak up. Well, at least you can still go back to your box. You lower your head and trudge back to your alleyway. No one stopped you on the way. In your alley, you see nothing has changed. The trash still stunk. You box was starting to droop. You're going to have to get another one soon. There is a banana peel sitting in the middle of your box. You pick up the peel, thinking of everything you just gave up. You were weak. You were stupid. You could have had everything. But you chose nothing. You throw the peel down the alley. You were angry at yourself for being so scared. Climbing into your box, you curl up and try to fall asleep. > Chapter 2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Celestia POV You just watched your new friend get hauled out by the guards. You called after him. You wanted... no. You needed him to say something. You needed to prove he was more than just the animal ponies make him out to be. Now, he is gone. You run to your room and slam the door. You bury your face into your pillows. "It's not fair! He needs a home!" You cry into your pillow. "He needs a family! He needs friends!" During your cries, you never heard your door open. Your mother walks in and sits down beside you. Her hoof stokes your mane, helping you calm down. "Shhhhh. It's okay honey." Your tears stop flowing. You have cried too much today. "Now tell me what's wrong." You give a few more sniffs before recalling your story. You tell her how you were playing hide and seek with Luna. You tell her how you found him in your hiding space. You tell her that he ran and you followed him to an alleyway. Most importantly, you tell her how he is all-alone in the world and all you wanted to do was help. Your mother listens to all of it. She too feels sorry for him. "That is... sad." She doesn't know how to respond. This situation is like nothing else she's had to deal with in the past. The fact he is a new species is startling to her, but not as much as the fact he is all alone in the world. "What do I do now?" You look up to your mother. Your eyes are bloodshot from all the crying you have done today. She gives you a warm smile and pulls you into a hug. "I think you should not try to sneak out of the castle at lunch time." You give her a confused look. She lets you go and walks to the door. In the doorway she turns back to you. "I also don't think you should take Luna out the east entrance and look for him." She gives you a wink and walks out the door. It takes a moment before you understand what she was telling you. You lay down on your bed and pull up the covers. Tomorrow is going to be great. Today is a new day. It feels like the sun is shining a little bit brighter just for you. You made sure you got up extra early to make yourself look nice. You also made sure Luna was up. She always was a bit of a night owl. Once you and Luna were all set, you waited for it to get closer to lunch time. When lunch was only minuets away, you and Luna hid in the bushes next to the east gate. You are now waiting for the bell to signal the change of the guards. "Tia, why does thou bring us to the east gate? And why during the hour of lunch?" You roll your eyes and look at the sun. It should be any minute now. "Tia, answer us." You would have told her to make her be quiet, but the ringing of the bell causes you to tense up. "Get ready. The guards should be leaving." This only confuses your sister. "Why are we waiti-" She doesn't finish her sentence when you drag her out of the bush and through the gate. The guards never see either of you when they change positions. You and Luna are now out in the streets of the city. "C'mon Lulu. This way." You pull your sister down the street looking for the right alleyway. A tug almost makes you fall down. Looking back at Luna, you can tell she if frustrated about being kept in the dark. "We will not take another step until thou tells us what we are doing out here." Remembering how she screamed when she first saw Anon. It would probably be best if you didn't tell her the whole truth. "We are going to visit a friend." Luna's scowl turns into a smile. "Who are we going to visit? Is it Daisy? Or is it Ruby? Or is it-" You shove a hoof in her mouth. She's not amused with you constantly interrupting her. "First off it is a he, not a she. Second, you will see when we get there." Luna gives a huff but follows you anyway. You never realized how many alleys were in this city. After a few minutes of looking around, you found the alleyway. Taking a step into the alley, Luna pulls on your tail. "Tia! What are thou thinking! This is where the monster foalnapped thou!" You give a groan. You don't like it when ponies call him an animal or monster... even if you did at first too. "Just trust me on this. Please? Also, can you cut out the old Equestian. It is getting hard to understand." Luna gives another huff. She isn't so sure about following you. "I promise everything will be alright." Luna looks down the alleyway then back at you. "Fine. But thou... you better be sure about this." With a smile, you walk into the alley. Luna sticks close to your side. She doesn't liking the looks of this alley. You don't care. All you want to do is comfort a lost soul and show him that he isn't as alone as he thought. When you reach his box, you can see a foot sticking out. You were worried he might have run off, but here he is, sleeping in the cold and damp alleyway. It breaks your heart a little seeing this. "Tia, why is it sleeping in a box?" You tense at the word "it", but you see an opportunity to show your sister how you feel. "Not it, he. And this is where he lives. He doesn't have a family or friends. Nopony wants to be around him." Your sister starts to tear up. You were a little surprised to see this sudden rush of emotion. You thought it would take a bit more coaxing to get her to see as more than a monster. "Why the sudden change in heart." She sniffs some more and wipes her nose. "Because no pony deserves to be all alone. Not even the monsters." You give your sister a hug. She was able to hold back her tears and comforts herself in your hug. After you two let go of each other, you look back at Anon. "What do we do now." You don't want to wake him, but you can't sit her all day. You then get an idea. "Wait here. I'll be back. Don't let him go anywhere. You make for the fruit stands, leaving your sister to guard Anon. Anonymous POV You start to wake up from you lonely sleep, but you don't want to get up. You're still tired from yesterday. Giving up a potential home will probably haunt you till you die. Like that is going to be long now. Living off trash isn't the healthiest thing to do. You roll over to get in a more comfortable position. "Umm, human? Are you awake?" A rush of adrenalin goes through your body. Looking up, your eyes are greeted with the sight of the screaming filly. You sit yourself up and push further back in the box. You're trapped in the closest thing you could call home. "Can you talk?" You don't know if you can tell her. But you don't have much of a choice. It was either that, or have her call the guards again. You give her a slow nod and her eyes light up. "Oo, oo, say something." She is visibly bouncing up and down. Why is this filly now so interested in you? Isn't she supposed to catch you and claim to have slain the 'monster'? "Ummmm... hi?" She gives the most girlish squeal you have ever heard. "You can talk! This is most wonderful!" You really don't know how the fact you could talk make a filly giddy with joy. You don't get the chance to ask when you hear another voice. "Lulu, why are you jumping up and down?" That's Tia's voice. She hasn't forgot about you. You peak out of your box to see Tia holding a bag. She walks over to your box and sets it down. You look at it, then back to her. You're not sure what to say or do. She gives a giggle at your confusion. "It's for you silly." You pull the bag closer and look inside. It is a full bundle of bananas. Your stomach rumble is implied when you drool over the sack. No one has ever been nice enough to offer you food. Then, this filly comes along and drops a whole sack right on your... doorstep? boxstep? Who cares? It's free food. "Thank you Tia." You reach in and take out three bananas. You were always taught to share, and it has stuck with you. You hand one to each of the fillies. They both give their thanks before lifting the banana's with their magic. All of you sit in the alley, eating your bananas in silence. You can tell the awkward silence is killing Lulu. "So... What's your name?" "I'm Anon. What's yours?" She gives a smile. "My name's Luna." "I just call her Lulu." Luna's cheeks grow red. "Tia! I told you not to say that in front of anypony." Tia puts on a smug grin. "He isn't a pony." Luna gets a bit more flustered at the technicality. She gives a huff and takes another bite of her banana. You smile at the display of sibling love. "So Anon." You turn back to Tia. "Why didn't you say anything back at the castle?" Your smile falls into a frown. "I guess I was just... scared of the king and queen." She gives you a quizzical look. Of course she wouldn't understand that her parents are the scariest thing in all of Equestia. "Why were you scared?" You try to think of a way to word it so you don't sound like a wimp. "Well, they are rulers of the country to start off with. And the fact that they are super powerful alicorns that could probably blow me up just by looking at me." Tia cocks her head to the side. She looks over to Luna, who was mirroring her sister. They both look back at you and start laughing. "What? What did I say?" They are rolling around on the ground, holding their sides. You are now really confused. As soon as the laughter starts to die down, Tia answers you question. "You..." She stops to give another laugh. "You really think they would do something like that?" Now that you think about it, it does seem a bit silly. "Well, no... But they could." Luna chimes in with her opinion. "Anon, they wouldn't hurt a fly. Dad can look scary, but he is just a big old teddy bear." You aren't too sure about that. He looked too scary to be anything close to a teddy bear. "Then why was he circling me back at the castle?" Tia gives you a deadpan face. "Anon, what are you?" "Human." "How many humans are there?" "Just me." "Don't you think he was just curious about you?" "...Maybe." She gives a giggle. "Well, you can ask him when we get back to the castle." You eyes go wide. You're mind presents you with two emotions. One would have you giving her a hug and thanking her for letting you come back. The other one, however, would have you backing up in your box and letting doubt take over. You foolishly start scooting backwards, only to be stopped by Tia. "It will be different this time. I promise." She gives you a warm smile. That smile starts to wash away all your doubt and insecurities. "Ok... I'll go." "I change my mind. I don't want to go." "Don't be such a fraidy cat. We just have to wait for the guards to change." You, Tia, and Luna were sitting in an alley right next to the east gate to the castle. You were waiting for the guards to change so they could sneak you into the castle. "What if we get caught?" "We won't." "I don't know. What if they think I am trying to chase you? I don't think I can do this." Tia groans and jabs a hoof in your chest. "Look. I am not going to let you spend one more night in that box. I don't care if I have to drag you in. You. Are. Going." You twiddle your thumbs. "Well, when you put it like that.." "Guys. Shush. I won't be able to hear the bell if you two keep arguing like an old married couple." You cross your arms in annoyance. Tia mirrors your actions, but with a slight blush. The next few moments is spent in silence till you hear a bell. "Ok guys get ready." All of you tense up to make a break for the castle. "Wait for it... Wait for it... Wait fo- now!" You charge straight for the gate, making sure to stay a bit behind because you have no idea where to go after you get past the gate. They lead you into a bush by the gate. Only a second goes by before a guard comes around the corner. That was close. Tia and Luna are both huffing and puffing. You didn't think the run was that bad. "Okay, you're in the walls. Now how do we get you in the actual castle?" All of you look around from inside your bush. Luna spots a cart that was catering some food. It had a large cloth covering the bottom section. "No." "Yes." "This isn't going to work. This is something that you would see in a cartoon." "What is a cartoon?" "That's not the point. The point is it won't work." Tia whacks you on the back of the head. "You're acting like a foal. Look, this is the only way I can see you getting in." You let out a sigh. You are tired of arguing. "Let's get this over with." You wait for the caterers to leave the cart, and then you make a dash for it. Luna and Tia are right on your tail. You reach the cart and hide in the undercarriage. Luna peaks her head under. "Are you ready?" "I guess." Her head disappears and you feel the cart start to move. The cart moves for a couple of moments before it stops again. "Ummmmm Tia? I think we forgot something." "What is it now Lul- oh..." You are getting worried that you have been caught. "What is it?" You make sure your voice is barely a whisper. They both answer in unison. "Stairs." You give yourself a mandatory face palm. "What are we going to do now?" There is a couple moments of silence before Tia speaks up. "I have an idea. Follow my lead." You are really not liking her ideas, but you don't have much of a choice. "Excuse me, sir?" You start freaking out. There is no way she would just throw you under the bus. Would she? "Yes princess?" You tense up at the sound of the stallion. It sounds like a guard. "Would you help us get this cart into the castle? We want to help out the caterers." You are holding your breath waiting for an answer. "It would be my pleasure you highness." You can see the cart take a purple hue before you feel the sense of being lifted up. You maintain your balance as you are propelled forward. "Ugh, what is in this thing?" You feel your heart rate speed up. All he has to do is pull up the cover and you are exposed. "Oh, just some pots and pans. They didn't want us to mess with any food." This filly is a genius. You feel yourself being lowered back on the ground. "Is there anything else you need me to do?" "No, that is all. Thank you." "You are very welcome." Tia seems to be nice to everyone she is around. She's a good friend. Luna sticks her head back under. "Ok, we are inside. We are going to cart you to the stairwell. You are going to hide in Tia's room. Okay?" You give a nod. She smiles then lowers the cloth. The wheels start to squeak and you feel the cart moving forward. You can hear the chatting of ponies all around you. There must be some get together. It doesn't take long for you to reach the stairs. "Ok Anon. You can come out now." You crawl out from under the cart to see a circular staircase. The two fillies are already starting to climb up. You follow after them, walking up at least five stories before they lead you down a hallway. You are surprised that you haven't run into any guards. Maybe they were patrolling elsewhere. Tia and Luna lead you to a door with a giant sun painted on the front. You look over to Tia and point at the door. "I'm guessing this is your room." She smiles and nods her head. You look behind you to see a similar door but with a crescent moon. You turn towards Luna. "And this is yours?" She gives a nod. "Ok, not that's settled, let's get you in my room." She pushes the door open to reveal the brightest room you have ever seen. Everything is white and pink, matching Tia's colors. She has about a gazillion stuffed animals laying in a pile over by her window. Her bed looks like a typical royal bed with a box frame and curtains tied to each bed post. It is everything you thought a girl's, or in this case filly's, room would look like. You walk in and Tia shuts the door behind you. "So... what do you think?" You are tempted to tell her how you really feel, but you don't want to bite the hand that is feeding you. "It looks... great." You give the best fake smile you can. She giggles at your false enthusiasm. "You don't have to lie to me. I know this room is super girly." You let yourself chuckle a bit. She walks over and jumps on the bed, waving you to come sit by her. You do as your told and jump onto the bed. It is the most comfortable thing your butt has sat on in a long time. "So... what now? She looks at the clock on the wall. "Well, I have to get ready for dinner. Don't worry. I will bring you back something." Tia hops off the bed and heads for the door. She turns around before heading out. "Just make sure you don't leave this room." You give her a thumbs up. She responds with a confused face. You end up face palming again. They wouldn't get hand gestures. "It means 'okay'." Her face turns into a smile and she walks out the door. You look around her room, looking for something to do. There are a few books on the wall. Might as well see what she likes to read. Celestia POV You just left Anon in your room so you could eat with your family. You wish he could have come with you. Your dad would probably just throw him out again if you did. You make your way down the stairs to the dinning room. When you open the doors, a dinning room fit for at least a hundred ponies greets you. You trot over to your spot. The table was always to high for you. You found your stack of cushions and sat up at the table. Mom and Dad were talking about some royal business. Aka, boring grown up talk. Lulu is sitting across from you on the table. "So, is he all settled?" "Yeah, he is waiting for us to get back." She gives you a nod and you wait for dinner to be served. Just like every night, the food is over the top and super fancy. You rather just have a simple sandwich and some cake. Lots and lots of cake. You eat your hay casserole and imported grass. You never liked the taste of grass, but you wouldn't get desert if you didn't eat it. Your mom and dad seem to still be talking about something to do with the griffons. Griffons were always a bit mean. You really didn't like to deal with them. Luna is playing with her grass, making it into funny shapes. She lifted a bit up and made a green mustache. You giggle at her display. If only you hadn't eaten all your grass. The doors to the kitchen open. Here comes the desert. Looking back over to Lulu, she is stuffing her face full of grass. You both know that if you don't finish the grass, the servants are told to not give you any sweets. A big slice of cake is placed on your plate. You are about to dive in when you remember about Anon. You forgot to save him any food! Luckily, you still haven't touched your cake. So, you cut it in half and slip part of it into your napkin. You hope this will be enough. You eat the rest of your cake and try to excuse yourself. In your haste, you catch your mother's attention. "Where are you going in such a hurry?" You turn around and try to hide the napkin behind your back. "I... um... I'm just going to my room." You start to back up. Your mother gives you a smile. "You never were one to go to your room after dinner." You try to think up of some good excuses. Luna has already sneaked away. She was always good at that. "I am just... tired. Yup tired. I had a big day." You start to sweat a bit. Your mother gets up out of her seat. "Well, let me tuck you in. It has been a while since I got to read a bedtime story to you." Oh crap. You try and tell her that is not necessary. She only responds with 'Nonsense, it would be my pleasure.' You try and stall her again and again, but she keeps pressing forward. You are now nearing your door. This is your last chance to warn Anon. "Okay mother! You can tuck me in!" Your mother looks at you with a confused and slightly annoyed face. "Solaris, why are you yelling?" You make a fake cough. "I just wanted to clear my throat." She gives a 'hmm' and goes to open your door. You can only hope Anon heard you. Anonymous POV You are trying to entertain yourself with the story "Lord of the Wings." It seems really thought out and in depth. It also seems very boring. This is something an adult would read, but you take what you can get. You are to the part where all the ponies are sitting around, trying to figure out what to do with the One Wing, when you hear Tia's voice. "Okay mother! You can tuck me in!" You start to freak out. Her mother is on her way here. You need a place to hide. You look left and right, trying to find a space. You try the closet, but it is full of more plushies. Why does this filly need so many plushies? You try to crawl under the bed. The bed sits too low, your head won't fit. There isn't any place left to hide. The door opens. Turning to the doorway, you can see a sad Tia, and smug looking queen. "Well, well, well. Look what we have here." She shuts the door behind her and Tia runs up to you, pulling you into a protective hug. "Don't take him away! He needs a home!" You close your eyes and absorb yourself in the hug, preparing for the queen to throw you out. "Now why would I do that?" You and Tia look back at the queen with confused expressions. "Anon, was it?" You give a nod. "Would you like to stay here at the castle?" You are shocked beyond belief. You never thought you would get two opportunities to live with the royal family. Tia gives you a shake. "Go on. Say yes." You clear your throat. "I-I would l-love to. T-Thank you your highness." You give a bow at the end. "Of course you will be required to get a job. I think there are some openings in the kitchen staff." You give your thanks and gladly accept the job. They were giving you a place to sleep after all. "Good. It seems my work here is done. A room will be prepared for you tomorrow." You feel so happy you could cry. Tia isn't even trying to hold back her tears of joy. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!..." She keeps hugging you tighter and tighter. She has effectively cut off your air supply. The queen giggles at this display of affection "Careful honey. He needs to breathe too." Tia loosens her grasp but doesn't let you go and you take advantage of your renewed ability to breath. The queen walks to the door. Before she leaves, she turns her head toward you. "I will see you both tomorrow for breakfast. And try and to keep the cake off the bed." You look at Tia to see what she meant by cake. Tia lets you go and presents a napkin. "Umm, Tia? That's a napkin." She rolls her eyes and opens it up. Sitting in the frost covered napkin sit a slice of cake. "I told you I would bring you something." You take the napkin in your hand and take a bit out of the cake. It is delicious! Ten times better than a banana. You continue to devour the treat while Tia gets ready for bed. Licking your fingers, you savor the sweet, sweet taste of frosting. You start to feel a little tired yourself. Looking around, you don't see another place to sleep. You find a comfortable spot on the floor and try to fall asleep. "Anon, what are you doing." You look up to Tia. "I'm just getting ready to sleep." She crosses her legs in a huff. "Not down there you're not. Get your flank up here. You are not about to sleep on the floor." Your blood rushes to your cheeks. The look on her face tells you that you don't have a choice. You crawl up on the bed and slide under the covers. Tia pulls you in close with a hug. "Goodnight Anon." "Goodnight Tia." > Chapter 3 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Six years. It has been six years since you were rescued off the street by Tia and Luna. They gave you a room the next morning. It was nowhere close to Tia's or Luna's room; it was on the other side of the castle. You don't know if they did that on purpose or not. Either way, you were glad to have a bed and to actually be fed three times a day. You also took up a job in the kitchen. You used to just scrub dishes and take out the trash. When the cooks asked what you ate, you had to explain how you ate meat along with fruits and vegetables. They were happy to give you the job to cook meat whenever the griffons came to visit. You mostly ate beans and eggs. Oh and you were happy that the queen broke the news to the king. You didn't want to deal with that. He didn't treat you bad or anything, but he had a commanding presence around him. Then there was Tia and Luna. If you had to describe them in one word, it would be beautiful. You could tell the difference from when they first found you. For one, they were able to look you in the eye. Next was their perfect figure. You knew enough about equine beauty to say that they could have been supermodels. Their manes were longer now, but for some reason, they never looked like their parents. They were a solid color and they didn't wave in the invisible breeze. All three of you have had some fun times in the castle, whenever you could get away. There were only a few times that you had trouble with those two. The scariest time was when Tia hit her first estrus. You thought she was sick, but it was something else entirely. The queen thought it would be funny to have you check up on her. Tia almost tackled you to the floor, begging for you to 'help her'. You made your way back to your room and locked the door. This was one of the few times that you were happy for your magic resistance. After that week was over she apologized to you and you made sure to mark that week for next year. Anyways, you are now serving lunch. You bring out a platter full of bread and another full of flowers. The royals always liked to make their own sandwiches. You had to give them credit, they weren't the typical lazy nobles that you thought they would be. You lay down the trays and head back to the kitchen. Tia gives you a wave before you leave the room. You have grown a slight crush on her. However, you doubted that you could realistically date her. The nobles would throw the biggest hissyfit this side of the Everfree. You couldn't do that to her. So, you resigned to being her closest male friend. You enter the kitchen and wait for the next load of food. It was better than taking out the trash or those jobs you used to do. An earth pony by the name of Scrumptious walked up to you. She was in charge of all the deserts, and she was good at her job. The kitchen staff was a little less than cooperative when you first started, but over time they grew used to you; by now you had even made some friends. "Hey there Anon. Got a letter for you." A letter. You don't get letters. "Thanks. Who's it from?" You flip the letter over, but there is only your name. "I don't know. I just found it on one of the trays I brought back." So it is probably from Tia; however, she wasn't one to send notes. If she wanted to tell you something, she would walk right into the kitchen and tell you. But she is usually the only one that wants to talk to you, besides Luna of course. Scrumptious walks back to her station and you open the letter. 'Anonymous, Meet me in the library after lunch has been finished.' Still no name. The letter is pretty vague. What could Tia want? You finish cleaning up the table. Lunch has ended and you are getting ready to visit the library. Tia is being awfully secretive about this. You wonder what is in store for you. You run your hand through you hair. It is time to go to the library. It isn't a long walk, unless you don't know where you are going. This place was a maze when you first started. Now, you can walk around blindfolded. You reach the door to the library. You check your breath and mess with your hair. You push the doors open and walk inside. You don't see anypony so you shut the door and look around more. There are dozens of shelves blocking your view. You take the time to look down every row. You don't want to miss her. The library is, oddly enough, empty. There is usually a librarian here. And there is normally more light from the candles. The curtains are all shut and there are only enough candles to be able to walk through the bookshelves. Why would Tia shoo everyone away and have the lights turned... way... down... low... Oh god! Is it finally going to happen? Her estrus was a few months back so it is not the hormones talking. You feel yourself start to sweat. The only thing you two have done together since this morning was that wave at lunch. You see a large amount of light coming from a few rows down. You hurry you pace. It wasn't polite to keep a mare waiting. When you rounded the corner, you didn't see Tia; instead, you saw her dad. "Please, sit down Anonymous. There is something I want to discuss with you." Your blood runs cold. This is the first time you have ever talked with the king one on one. As nervous as you are, you take the seat across from him. "So Anonymous, you have been with us for a long time. And I feel it is time that we talk about your future." What future? All you thought you were going to do is cook and serve till you dropped. "M-My future?" He leaned back in his chair. "Yes, your future. Now I understand that you do in fact, eat meat. Am I correct?" You nod your head. "So that would make your kind used to fighting, correct?" Again you nod your head. "Enough with the nodding and answer me." He was getting irritated, and you didn't want to make him mad. "Yes sir." "Good." He leans forward. "As you know, my wife and I can't always be there to protect Luna and Solaris. So, I would like you to join up with the guard." You are shocked at what he is asking you. You are also a bit confused. Why you out of all the other ponies? "Um sir... why me?" He gives a sigh. "My daughters are quite taken with you. You all have grown up together, and I know how you used to sneak off and do whatever it is that you did. I could ask any other pony, but I want one that I can trust. So, I am not asking you as the king, but as a father. Will you watch over my daughters?" You have never seen this side of him before. He could easily just throw you into the guard and be done with it. Instead, he is actually asking you. You can't say no to that. You give a smile. "Ok, I'll do it." He smiles. "Thank you Anonymous. You start next week." With that he stood up and left. You can't help but wonder. What did he mean by watch over? You step out of the library. As uncomfortable as you felt at the time, you were actually a bit excited to begin your guard training. You have always wondered what it would be like to be in the guard. To wear that armor, and hold some authority. Maybe Tia would notice yo- Stop it! You know better than that. She is going to settle down with some nice stallion, have a few kids, and live their lives happily ever after. The best thing for you to do is just support her. Puberty sucks ass. You continue to walk back to the kitchen. It is time for you to have your own lunch. You make yourself a meat sandwich. No one was in the kitchen so why not? It wasn't anything fancy. Just some cooked ground beef in between two slices of bread. It reminded you of a hayburger. You get ready to take a bite, when Tia walks through the door. "I have been looking for you everywhere. Where did you go after lunch?" Regrettably, you set down your "meatburger". "I was just in the library. Talking to your dad." You can see her tense up. She knows that the king hardly did anything that involved you, and he was a bit of a hard ass. Still a good dad and ruler, just needed some of the edge taken off. "What did he say? Your not getting kicked out are you!? I will not have you on the street again!" You don't want to be on the street either. "It was nothing like that. He just wants me to join the royal guard." You feel like she is mirroring you when she cocks her head to the side. "Why does he want you join the guard?" You shrug your shoulders. "I don't know. I am as confused as you are. I thought I would just keep working in the kitchen. But then he shows up and asks for me to join." Tia gives a smirk. "I would like to see you in that armor. Mares like a stallion in uniform." She likes to get you flustered. And flustered you get. "I... uh... well..." You clear your throat. “I don't think I have to worry about that. I don't think any mare wants any of this.” You give a gesture to yourself. Tia looks like she is ready to hit you. "Not with that attitude they won't. Where is that self confidence?" You shrug your shoulders. "What self confidence?" This time she does hit you. "Ow! What was that for?" She gives a huff. "You know darn well why." You shake your head and grab your food. It tastes a bit cold, but you get over it. "Anon, can I ask you something?" She sounds a bit timid. Where did that come from? You swallow down your first, and probably, only bite. "Sure. What's up?" "Would you date a pony if she liked you?" Your heart rate spikes up. You don't like where she is heading with this. "Well... I mean. If she likes me, why not?" Tia claps her hooves together and runs out the door. That was... strange, even for her. You give a sigh and finish your food. It is the middle of the afternoon and you are on break. Normally you would hang with Tia or Luna, but they both have disappeared. They were probably hanging around their friends. You were going back over your favorite book, Lord of the Wings. It has grown on you since the first night. Then came a knock at the door. You put a bookmark in the book. "Come in." You see Scrumptious walk in. "Hey Anon. We are going to need your help tonight after dinner." You sigh. "What do you need me to do." "The princesses are having a slumber party, and we need to bake some snacks for them." Oh, so that was where they went off to. "Yeah. I'll be there." She gives a smile and shuts the door. Time to get back to your book. You have just finished cleaning up the table from supper. For some reason, Tia would not look you in the eye. It hurt a little bit, but maybe she was embarrassed when she ran out of the kitchen. Either way, you had some work to do. Scrumptious had you making the popcorn and fizzy drinks. You tried to get them to call it pop or soda... it didn't catch on. You just got done making the drinks and popcorn. You knew the fillies would wolf this down like a pack of timberwolves, so you made plenty extra. Setting down your load of snacks, you wait for Scrumptious. She made the cakes and pies. After a fair amount of waiting, she walks in with a tray on her back. "Come on Anon. Heh, that rhymed. Anyways, we got to deliver these to the party." You look at her confused. "We don't deliver... we just make the stuff." She shakes her head. "Not today. The servers were let off today. Right now it is just you and me." You pick up your tray and start walking to the bedroom. "Then why did you say we?" She smiles. "Well, I figured you would be more inclined to help if there were more people. Am I wrong?" "Ok, you got me there." You continue walking till you start to hear the giggling of teenage fillies. Your hands get clammy and you get all sweaty. You don't know what to expect when you open that door. You can only hope your teenage mind is ready. Celestia POV You have invited all your friends over for a slumber party. It has been a while since your last one, and you were hoping for a fun night with the fillies. You were just so happy when Anon said he would date a pony if she liked him, you just had to tell your friends the news. One thing led to another and you decided to throw the party. Right now, all the girls were sitting around, doing their manes, talking about some good books, and a bit of gossip. Luna, is going through your mane right now. "This was a good idea, Tia. It is nice to be around friends." You sigh, it is always relaxing to get your mane brushed. "I thought so too Lulu." Once Luna is done with your mane, all the girls get into a circle on the floor. "So Tia, tell us about this Anon." A unicorn named Jade spoke up. You blush a bit. You guess they want the details. "Well, he works here in the castle..." A series of "ooo's and mhm's" comes from the group. "Any secret midnight rendezvous?" The girls giggle and lean close for an answer. "N-No... not yet." Your blush increases at the giggles. "What does he do?" "He works in the kitchen." "It is always nice to have a stallion that knows his way around the kitchen." "I know I would." All the ponies seem to agree that they want a stallion who could cook. "Anything else we should know?" All the fillies quiet down and focus on you. "Well... he is a-" The door to your room opens to a green earth pony and Anon. "Here ya go girls. Wouldn't want you to go hungry now." She set the tray on your table. Anon followed suit. He looked a little nervous. Perhaps it was all the fillies eyeing him with, oddly enough, bedroom eyes. Wait. Why are they all looking at him like that? You even see Luna take a few shy looks. Anon sets down his tray and leaves with the other pony. Once the door shuts all your friends turn back to you. "What was that? And where can I get one?" "Mmmm he is so exotic." "Just think of what he could do with those hands." "You haven't been holding out on us, have you Tia?" You feel like your face could start a fire. "Go on Tia. Don't leave them hanging." You silently curse Luna for egging you on. Well, here it goes. "T-That was Anonymous..." They stopped and looked at you with surprised expressions. There were a few moments of silence before one of your friends spoke up. "Well, I can see what you like about him. Every mare wants to have a few wild nights. And he looks as wild as you can get." You don't know how, but your blush increases. "Well, why haven't you two..." Jade makes a few motions with her hooves. "I-I don't know how h-he would take it." "Tia, you would be the one taking it." You turn your head away in embarrassment. Luna can see your troubles and steps in. "Alright, enough about him. How about a game?" A game, a game would be good. The girls seem to agree, if not a bit more excited. What are they thinking? "I think a game of Truth or Dare would be fun." The rest of the fillies agree to this as well. "Alright, I will start. Tia, truth or dare?" You could pick truth, but you don't want to seem like a wuss. "I pick dare." Sexy part* You should have picked truth. You can't believe that you agreed to this. You are now standing right in front of Anon's door. By now, he should be asleep. For your dare, you had to wait till it was pretty late at night. You could have been dared to change your coat another color, or licked somepony's hoof. But noooooo, they couldn't let you off easy. You had to do something much more degrading. You had to steal Anon's pants. Not just any pants. The pants that he was wearing. The group of giggling fillies already put a spell on the wall to make it like a one way mirror. So they could tell if you did it or not. You push open the door with you magic, making sure the hinges don't squeak. You use your horn to light up the room so you can see. Anon used to be a heavy sleeper.  You hope that hasn't changed. You take one last look at the group of giggling fillies before closing the door. The only sound in the room is Anon breathing. You tip your hoof up to his bed. He is sleeping on his side... this is going to be hard. Especially how they said you couldn't use magic. You grab the blanket in your mouth and slowly pull it downwards. You stop as he shifts a little bit. Sweat is covering your face. When he stops, you wait a few seconds before starting again. You get the blanket all the way to his feet. Looking back at him, he is wearing a shirt and long pants. This isn't going to be easy. You go back up to his waist and untie the draw sting. His pants loosen and you shut your eyes as you take the waistband in you mouth. As you pull down, you can see another set of pants. How many pants does he wear? You carefully maneuver his pants to his ankles, then look back at the wall. You point at his pants then his other pair, not knowing which one to take. The door opens and Luna sticks her head through the doorway. She points to the smaller pair still covering his body. She closes the door and you pray to the sun that he doesn't wake up. You take a deep sigh. It is very doubtful that he is wearing anything else under that pair. You bite back down on the pants that are around his ankles and shimmy them off. Dear lord do his feet stink! Setting down his pants, you look back up at him. His smaller pair didn't have any strings holding it up. Instead, it was made out of some stretchy material. You can feel your heart going faster as you inch towards his waistline. The anticipations is killing you. The band was too tight to just bite down, and your hooves wouldn't be able to help you. There was only one way to get a grasp on his pants. Your heart is beating its way out of your chest as you face is only an inch away. You stick your tongue out and wiggle it in between Anon and the pants. His skin is smooth and a bit salty. You can't believe you are actually licking him. Your knees start to feel weak, but you have to keep going. Your tongue brings the band into your mouth. The heat your cheeks are giving off could warm all of Equestria. Biting down, you slowly pull it downward. You only get a few inches before the band on the other side stops. You open your eyes and let go of the clothing. The other end is stuck under his hip, and he is facing towards the door. You gulp and make your way to the stuck band. Sweating like a mare in heat, you repeat the process with your tongue. He is still smooth and salty. Bringing his pants into your mouth you pull down. Then, something hits your cheek. You almost yelp and let go of his pants. Squeezing your eyes shut, you keep going on. Whatever is on your face is pretty thick and warm. It feels really good rubbing on your cheek. The more you rubbed, however, the harder it got. The smell was intoxicating. The pheromones smelled sweet, like a stallion would smell during your estrus. You focus your efforts on moving the pants down. Once it gets past his hips, it gets a lot easier. The elastic doesn't want to cooperate. You let go and bring your head up to breathe. Risking a peak, you open your eyes to see what was on your cheek. You gasp and take a few steps back.        Right there in the open, was Anon's manhood. You can't do this. This is too much for you right now. It didn't look anything like a stallion's. Not that you have seen one... other than in those magazines... or your "toys"... Either way, it looks like a thick and long mushroom. You wonder if it tastes like one too. Under that sat his ball sack. It is much smaller than a stallions package, but they seem to hang a bit farther down. What you wouldn't give for him to drag that across- Shaking the appealing pictures in your head you get back to his pants. The way they are angled, you could do what you have been doing... or... You could pull down from the space in between his legs, under his member. You bite your bottom lip and lean towards his manhood. Before you grab his pants, you sneak a taste. You feel so dirty for doing this, but you can't help it. It tastes a bit saltier than the rest of his body. It also starts to react from your little taste test. His member starts to raise upwards, filling with blood. You're worried that you may wake him up. Taking his pants in your mouth, you slowly drag them down and over his feet. You can tell you are getting aroused and you don't want your friends to see that. Wait? Your friends? You let out a faint whimper. You forgot that they were watching the whole thing: the pants, his member, your taste. Is it possible for you to get more embarrassed? As you turn to exit, you wonder if you should put his pants back on. You figured with these ones in your mouth... Your mouth waters at the thought of actually having his pants in your mouth. ... it is too late to try and fix it. You scurry to the door and sneak out. Standing proudly, you put the pants in your hoof and hold it out to Jade. "There... I did it." All the fillies are blushing bright red. They probably didn't expect that extra lick, or the fact that his member wasn't hidden. "Well Tia, that sure was certainly... something." It seemed they were trying to forget your display... until a filly spoke up. "Oh for the mother of! How did he taste? What did it feel like? I need details" You are passed the point of being any more embarrassed. "He tasted a little salty, but his skin was sooooo smooth. And his penis was moving all by itself." Your description isn't helping their situation... or yours. "I... I think we should go back and let Luna finish her dare." You give a blink. "Luna didn't get picked yet. What does she have to do?" The fillies scooted away from Luna. She looked really shy and tried to hide under her mane. "We, chose the next pony while you were in there. I picked dare and they said to..." She trailed off the last part. "To do what?" "To stick his shorts up my..." A series of hoof waves and innuendos later, you got the gesture. No wonder why wanted the smaller pair. > Chapter 4 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Anon POV You woke up that next morning feeling confused... and violated. First, there was the fact that the covers on your bed were pulled all the way down. Next, and most important, was the fact that your pants were on the floor and your underwear was missing. Finally, your dick was somewhat moist, like someone decided to taste it. You highly doubted the last one. No one was interested in you. It was probably just some pre from a wet dream you can't remember. The royals just finished their breakfast so you were gathering the leftovers from the table. For some reason, Tia just couldn’t look you in the eye. And when Luna got up to leave, she acted like someone shoved a cork up her ass. No really, her front legs walked normal, but her back legs took overly wide steps It was hard not to stare. The other fillies seem to just giggle to themselves. 'Must have been a prank,' You thought to yourself. After you finished cleaning up the table, you walk to Tia's room to ask about your missing clothes. When you reach her room, you here a bunch of giggling and the sound of fillies talking. You don't know if you should really go in. You chicken out and walk out to the garden to lay out and relax. Some smoke comes from across the hedges and you go check it out. Once you get to the other side, you see Luna standing in front of a fire. “Luna... what are you doing?” She jumps around to see you with your arms crossed and an eyebrow raised. "I-I-I was just... just... just clearing some trash. Yup, just some trash from the sleep over. Nothing to see here." You know she is hiding something, but you really don't want to know if it has to do with their slumber party. “Never mind, I don't need to know. I guess I’ll see you later?” She nods her head and turns back to the fire. You turn around and walk back to the castle. Little did you know, she was burning your underwear. It has been a week since you were the victim of underwear stealing. You were now getting ready for your guard training. You found it odd that you weren't going to live in a barracks, but that maybe because you are not a pony. Those rooms are small. You also were surprised that boot would only be a week long. Remembering what little you knew about Earth, you knew that it would take a lot more than a week. Then again, this place isn't near as violent as Earth. You sit down on your bed, feeling a bit sad. Earth. You haven't thought about that place in a long time. Thinking back on what you were missing, you found yourself missing your parents and your friends. Your eyes start to well up. You didn't ask to be ripped out of your home. You didn't ask for the months of torture you had to endure when ponies first saw you. You feel a wing drape across your back. Luna was sitting right next to you, offering you a shoulder to lean on. And you took it. You pulled her in close and cried your eyes out. She cooed while rubbing your back, telling you that everything will be alright. It has been a while since you bottled those feelings up. Now they were spilling out like an overfilled rain cloud. You were just happy to have someone to lean on. You didn't cry for long. Leaning up from Luna, you wiped your eyes. “I'm sorry. I don't know what came-” She stopped you by placing a hoof over your mouth. "It is ok Anon. We all have our days." She offers you a small smile. You respond by pulling her into a hug and whisper in her ear, “Thank you.” Once you break the hug, Luna speaks up. "I was going to invite you to have a little get-together before your training starts, but if you are not in the mood..." You wipe your eyes again before responding. “That... would be great, actually.” You pull yourself off the bed and follow Luna. She takes you out of the castle and into the city. You have only been in the city a few times since you were rescued off the street. It still hasn't changed much. If you wanted to, you could still roam the alleyways like you used to. “Hey Luna, where's Tia?” "She will meet us at the bar." Did she just say bar? “Luna, I don't know if I feel comfortable drinking. What is the legal age here anyways?” She stops and turns around to face you. "Don't worry Anonymous. The age limit is eighteen, but the bartender is a good friend. Plus, he won't give us anything harder than cider." She resumed her path and you followed. You were a little relieved that you wouldn't get in trouble. Being a servant at the castle has made you a little too cautious when dealing with rules. However, Tia and Luna were always trying to push your comfort zone. You and Luna stop in front of a small, but homey building. "This is the place." Without wasting another second, she pushed open the door and you followed. The bar wasn't all that impressive. There were some stools along the counter and a few tables scattered around. Nothing Fancy. Luna guides you to an empty booth and has you sit down. You still don't see Tia anywhere in here. You would have asked Luna, but she disappeared. A thumb twiddling minute went by, before you heard a door open. Across the room stood Tia in an amazing dress. The dress reminded you of the orange sunsets you have grown accustomed to. Her hair was combed back and tied into a ponytail. She walked up to the booth. She smelled like strawberries... and a hint of banana. "How do I look?" Tia rubbed her front legs together. Her eyes wouldn't meet your own, and you could see a visible blush on her cheek. You were able to pull yourself from her sight to answer her question. “You look beautiful.” She perked up at the word 'beautiful'. Little did you know, you just made her world. You get up out of your seat and help her into the booth. "Thank you." You sat across from her and admired her beauty. It didn't look like she was wearing any makeup. Her natural beauty was more than enough. “So, not that it is bad, but why are you wearing a dress?” She played with the fabric. "I thought it would be nice to dress up for once. You do it everyday." You chuckled at the memory of Tia and Luna trying to get you to not wear clothes. They would chase down the halls threatening to cut up everything that you wear. “Well, I do it because my skin is sensitive. But I do like the dress.” She blushes and gives another thank you. Luna came back with a tray of drinks. As she promised, they were all glasses of cider. You made a move to get up, but she motioned you inward instead. The booth was circular, so you ended up sitting in the middle. Luna set a glass in front of each of you. "A toast to Anonymous. May he not die during training." You and Tia both looked at Luna with dumbfound expressions. "What? I thought it was a good toast." You shake your head and raise your glass. “To not dying!” The three of you clink your glasses and down your drinks. You couldn't taste the alcohol behind the apple flavor, but you knew it was there. Luna ordered another round. You were happy that the bar was just going to bill the castle. When the waiter came back with full mugs, Luna chugged hers and told them to keep on coming. You are smart enough to limit yourself to three mugs. This is going to be a fun night. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- You kept to your self-promise by drinking only two and a half mugs of cider. Tia also limited her intake. Luna on the other hand… Well, she was a pretty funny drunk. You and Tia manage to drag Luna home. She was a bit wobbly so she would trade off who she was leaning on. You managed to get her back into her room. It looked like like you would expect. Everything was dark purple or blue. A few plushies here and there. Her bookshelf housed more board games than actual books. You picked her up and laid her on the bed. Tia pulled up the covers and tucked her in. You could hear Luna mumble something then drift off to sleep. You left the room with Tia and closed the door. “Well she seemed more... lively.” Tia giggled. "I can't believe she tried to hit on that poor stallion. He was scared out of his mind." You chuckle at the thought of that stallion almost pissing himself trying to get Luna away without being thrown into the dungeon. The ring on his horn said he was married. “Well I better get to bed. Long day tomorrow and all.” You start walking towards your room, when Tia trots up right beside you. "Do you mind if I walk with you?" “No, it's just, your room is right across from Luna's. I didn't figure you would want to walk all the way back.” "Oh I'll be fine. Besides, we don't get that much time to talk to each other.” “Okay. What do you want to talk about?” Tia looked like she was going to say something, but she furrowed her brow like she was trying to think of something. A few moments of silence was broken by her giggling. "I have no idea." “Well, we are almost to my room. Think fast.” "Well... there is one thing." You turned your last corner. You're on the final stretch. “Alright, what?” "Luna said you were feeling a little down today. Do you want to talk about it?" You stop in front of your door. Should you tell her about your mini breakdown? You have always been able to talk to her and vice versa. She seems genuinely concerned about you. You open the door and wave her inside. Once she enters the room you shut the door. “We can sit on the bed.” Tia walks over and sits on the bed. You follow shortly. Sitting on the bed, you look at the floor. Tia is a little worried and puts a hoof on your knee. "You don't have to do this if you don't want to." You close your eyes and mentally prepare yourself. “I guess I was just feeling a little homesick. But, it was more about my first few months here. I just feel so out of place... like I don't belong.” She drapes a wing over your back. "I'm not even going to begin to try and act like I understand what you went through. I don't think anypony can. But... I would like you to know that I am here for you." She grabbed you and pulled you into a hug. She squeezed a little tight, but it was comforting. You started to feel a little top heavy and you fall back on your bed, with Tia on top. Your face starts to heat up as Tia is just inches away. Then she moves closer. You lay there in shock as her lips touches yours. Tia is kissing you! The fucking princess is kissing you! The fucking princess of fucking Equestia is fucking kissing you! So... you kiss back. You tighten your hold around her and get lost in the moment. She breaks the kiss because she needed to take a breath. You both were panting. She then starts to pull away. "I-I'm sorry. I don't know what-" You put a finger on her lips. “It's okay. I just wasn't expecting that.” You say quietly You pull her back down on the bed. “Don't make me sleep alone tonight.” I said, barely above a whisper She curled up next to you and laid on your chest. "I won't.” ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- You had pleasant dreams that night, curled up next to your crush. You didn't even need a blanket; She kept you warm all night. The alarm in your room woke you up. You were starting to regret even drinking that little bit, but you needed to get up for training. Tia also was woken up by the alarm. "Mmmmmm don't go." She tried to hold you down. “Sorry, but I got to get ready.” You struggle to escape her hold. She has quite the grip. It takes a bit, but she reluctantly lets you go. You walk into the bathroom and do the three S's Shit. Shower. Shave. After your morning ritual, you don your armor and sword. It feels weird that they have already given you armor and a weapon. That seems like something they would do during boot. Either way, you make your way out to the training grounds . There are some other recruits just milling around. You opt to sit back and observe. Ponies still didn't get along with you too well. It was a few minutes till someone came along to start your training. "Alright you ponies, line up!" You line up with the rest of the recruits. "Today begins your training! You will become stronger. You will become faster. You will become more disciplined. And you will follow my lead." Dang... this maybe harder than you thought. "Now, let's learn how to diffuse a situation without any violence." Fucking hell. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Okay, so today was full of utter bullshit. First, was that passive aggressive way to settle an argument. You were just waiting for them to gather in a circle, hold hooves, and sing Kum Ba Yah. Then there was the stoic face training. Really. They had you stand there and watch probably the stupidest comedy routine in the history of comedy. If this is how all the guard is trained... you probably could have beat the shit out of them back when they cornered you. For lunch, you were honestly expecting milk and cookies. The only thing you got out of today's training was a good exercise routine and the knowledge that if any pony was in trouble, they were screwed. On top of all that, you still had six more days of it. You walk into your room and shed your armor. The bed was made and there was no sign of Tia ever being in here. It looked so inviting, you couldn't help but flop face down on top of it. You needed to unwind from the ridiculously stupid day of training. There was a knock at your door. You sigh and push up from your comfy mattress. When you open the door, Tia stands in the doorway. "We need to talk." That is never a good sign. You move out of the way and let her walk in. She takes her place on the edge of your bed. You should really get some chairs in here. You sit next to her, feeling a bit on anxiety. "About last night. I don't know what came over me. It might have been the cider, but I think it was more than that." This caught you by surprise. "I guess what I am trying to say is... I like you Anon. Like like you." You couldn't believe what you were hearing. In all your wildest dreams, you never thought she would ever say that. When your mind was trying to cope with what she just said, Tia looked let down. "I understand if you don't feel the same way." She moves to get up. You shake yourself back into reality in time to keep her from leaving. “Wait. I uh... I have kinda always had a crush on you, but I figured you would rather date a... well a pony.” Tia looks back at you with a emotion between anger and joy. She looks you straight in the eye. Then slaps you. Okay, so more anger than joy. You face stings from her hoof making contact with your cheek. "God damn you Anon! If we are going to be a couple, we are going to get rid of that lack of self confidence. I don't ever want to hear you say you can't do anything because you are not a pony!" Wait... couple? "Does this mean...?" Much to your relief, her anger is replaced by bashfulness. "Well... I mean... If you want to." She is so cute when she gets like this. You cup her chin in your hand and turn her towards you. “I would love to.” It seems kinda corny, but she nuzzles your hand. So you guess it wasn't that corny. She pulled her face out of your hand. "So what do we do now?" You shrug your shoulders. “I don't know. I have never been in a relationship.” "Well, neither have I." You both sit there for a good minute trying to think of what to do next. “Do we... tell someone?” "We could tell... Luna! Let's tell Luna." She is hopping with excitement. She grabs you by the hem of your shirt and pulls you out the door. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- You and Tia race to Luna's room like a couple of kids. Both of you were giggling as you were nearing Luna's room. Once you and Tia were just outside the door, you stopped to take a breather. “I guess I really needed to get in shape.” "You're not the only one." You and Tia took enough time to catch your breath before knocking on Luna's door. A groan comes from inside the room. The door opens to reveal Luna with a serious case of bed mane. "What is it? I was... busy." One of your eyebrows raises, but Tia is too giddy to care. "Lulu, we wanted to tell you something!" "What is so important that you had to interrupt my uh... private time?” You sniff the air. Was she? No, she couldn't be... but maybe. You tear away from the smell of lust and sweet to look back at Tia. She was bouncing up and down. She seemed to be more excited to tell her sister than you were. So you let her give the good news. "Well I just wanted to say... Anon and I are officially a couple!" Luna suddenly gets over her mood and squeals with Tia. That really hurt your ears. "I am so happy for you two! But I am honestly disappointed that it didn't happen sooner." “Sooner?” Luna gives you a 'are you kidding me' face. "Seriously? The way you too have been ogling each other, I would have figured that you both would have found out. Especially after the unde-" Tia shoves a hoof in her sisters mouth. "Never again." “What are you two talking about?” Tia removes her hoof and Luna rubs her jaw. "Oh nothing." Tia was very nervous all of a sudden. “Okay then... So what now?” "Don't know. Don't care. Just go cuddle or something. I am just going to get back to... Bye.” Luna almost slammed the door shut. You look over to Tia. "Cuddling sounds nice." “It does, doesn't it?” Tia walks over to her room and opens the door. You walk in behind her and jump up on the bed. Her bed is much softer than yours. You lay down and let her curl up with you. "I could stay like this forever." “Yeah... so could I.” ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The week went by with a mix of emotions. You almost attempted to gauge your eyes out because of the "training". There was a couple of days where they showed you how to handle a weapon, but they said you would never need to. You actually took a sword you liked back with you and asked for an old ponnequin to practice on. Of course, you technically weren't supposed to have a weapon unless you were on duty. You never were put on the wall or on a patrol afterwards. Since you were never put in service, you needed another job. So, you resumed the role in the kitchen. The King might have had a hand in that. He did want you to protect his daughters. And if you were on patrol, how could you protect them? Plus, you were always close by if you were in the kitchen. Speaking of daughters, you have had a lot of fun with Tia. You two went out on some secret dates. They were fun and all, but you liked to hold her and read a book together better. Towards the end of the week you two were already making out. Tia would have slowed down if she hadn't known you for six years. But she has known you for that long. You were currently with Tia, on her bed, reading "Maria: The Manticore, the Magician, and the Closet" "Hey Anon?" You mentally mark your place. Yeah? "I’ve been thinking." “Thinking about what? "Well, there is the Autumn Ball coming up, and I need a date." “You know I can't be that date.” She turns towards you. "Anon!" “Hold on. Hold on. Let me finish.” She settles down a bit... not much though. “It’s not that I don't want to be your date. It is about the other ponies. The nobles would have a field day if I went with you.” She didn't like it, but you were right. She turned back around, leaned into your chest, crossed her legs, and pouted. “Hey now. No pouting. I promise that I will save you one dance after the ball.” You say as you run your hand through her mane. She always likes that. "Fine, but I expect a slow dance." You kiss her on her forehead. “Anything for you.” ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- You are in the kitchen, cooking up a storm. The ball is tonight and there is high demand for food. You are helping Scrumptious make… Huh, it is kind of weird now that you think about it. The only pony you really work with in the kitchen is Scrumptious. It’s kind of weird to be honest. "Anon! Stop daydreaming and help me with this cake.” You shake your head to clear it. Right. You and Scrumptious were starting on the giant cake, because every ball needs a giant cake.The base was huge! No wonder she asked for your help. You grab a couple of oven pads and help pull out the round monstrosity. “Do you think they are going to eat it all?” "Pff, they never eat it all. Hell, sometimes they never even touch it. That's when the kitchen staff gets together and eats it. “I don't remember any of that.” "Well... this is the first ball in a while. I think they are trying to hook up Celestia and Luna. And, youmayhavenotbeeninvited." You cringe at the thought of Tia's parents trying to hook her up with someone else, but that isn't the part you payed attention to. She said the last part almost too fast for you, but you caught it. You put on a fake hurt expression. “And after all this time I thought you were my friend. Oh woe is me~” She giggles a little, seeing she is in the clear. "Well it wasn't my choice. But I will make sure to save you some cake afterwards." You both set down the cake on the counter top. You begin to tap the cake out of the pan. “That's alright. I have other plans.” "Like a date with the princess?" You almost drop the pan onto the floor. “H-How do you know about that!?” You said in a shocked voice She lets out a small laugh. "Anon, you of all people should know how fast news travels in the castle. All it takes is one maid then it is everywhere. But don't worry, we don't give nobles anything to talk about." You are a bit relieved when you hear that servants don't tell nobles shit. But you can never be too sure. “Alright, let's get this cake done.”You say in a determined voice ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Celestia POV The sun is setting and the ball will be starting soon. You just finished putting on your dress and are now waiting for Luna. “Lulu, you have been in there for hours! It doesn't take that long to get ready!” "Maybe for you! You're not trying to impress anypony!" She may be yelling, but it comes out muffled by the door. You really didn't put all that much effort in your appearance. To be honest, you were even debating on wearing an old dress. But, like all things, the nobles would eat you up and spit you out. You are wearing a new dress that resembles the sun. It has a fiery red and a bright orange and white. Luna finally opens her door revealing your sister. By the way she was looking, she would have to beat off stallions with a stick. “Luna, you look beautiful.” Luna smiles. "Thank you Tia. I am hoping to meet somepony tonight." “Do I know this pony?” You and Luna start to walk to the ball. "Even I don't know. But I will know when I see him." “Well, let's hope you find Mr. Right.” Both of you reach the doors to the ball. Of course you HAVE to make a grand entrance. "Now presenting, the Royal Princesses of Equestia: Princess Celestia and Princess Luna!" The door opens to reveal you and your sister. You both walk down the stair with such grace. Once you hit the floor, you are directed to the thrones sitting at the end of the room. You really wish Anon was here to escort you, but he is busy serving drinks at the bar. As was tradition, mom and dad had the first dance. You didn't have that much of a taste for classical music. But, it was traditional. You wait till all the attention was on mom and dad before sneaking to the bar. Anon was making a few drinks to get ready for the actual party. Ponies could make pretty good drinks, but it would take a lot of concentration and a good enough unicorn to keep up with orders. Anon, with his hands, could do all of that and he would be quick. The music picked up and some of the nobles started to dance along side your parents, while some of the lonely ponies started to venture to the bar. You hurried up and took a seat at the end. Anon almost dropped a glass when he turned around. "Don't scare me like that!" You giggle as he hold a hand to slow his heart. “Sorry, but I didn't want anypony to see me sneak away.” "Yet you head to the bar?" He takes a couple of orders and begins mixing drinks. “Ok, I didn't want to hide. I just wanted to get off that throne.” He slides the drinks to the owners. Then he slides you some cider. You stare at it then back to him. "On the house." “Well of course it is; it's an open bar.” Oh wait... he is flirting with you. Touche. You don't get more than a sip in before somepony tapped you on the shoulder. You turn around to see Luna looking awfully nervous. “What is it Luna?” "I know you are already dating Anon but could you please dance with this stallion's friend. I really want to dance with him but he say's he doesn't want to leave his friend behind." You look behind Luna to see two stallions. They are both around your age. You turn back to ask Anon. "Go for it. Just remember out dance." You have the best coltfriend ever. “Ok Luna. For you.” She squeals and tells the stallions. You finish off your glass and walk towards Luna. You weren't thrilled about dancing with somepony else, but you would do anything for your sister. The music slowed down and a lot of couples were taking their place on the dance floor. Of all the times for the slow songs to start… A brown stallion with a golden mane asks for your hoof. Must be the friend. You offer him your hoof and he kisses it. You hold back your disgust. It is for Luna after all. During the dance he was trying to flirt with you, and he was bad at it. His lines were so cheesy, you though all his friend would do was whine. Ok that was bad, but so were his pickup lines. The slow song finally ended and you scurried back to the bar. You didn't see Luna on the dance floor. She must be off somewhere in the crowd. You take back your seat, unfortunately your dance partner followed. "Hey baby. Almost lost you back there." You suck it up and smile at him... for Luna. “Oh I'm sorry. I just needed a drink.” "I'll get that for you. Hey! Monkey! Two ciders!" You feel your anger rise at the word monkey. Anon doesn't seem too pleased with the word either. When Anon returns the drinks he gently places yours down and slams down the stallions. The stallion jumps a bit then mutters something about 'the help'. Anon returns to the other side of the bar and you look around for Luna. You can't seem to find her anywhere, and she normally stands out in a crowd. Where could they be? You turn around and grab your drink. So does the stallion. "To a glorious night." “Yeah!” You say, forcing a small smile You aren't feeling too enthusiastic right now. You take a large drink of your cider. The stallion doesn't take a big of a drink as you. Must be a noble thi- Why is everything getting fuzzy? The room starts to blur then you black out. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Anon POV You were getting some ingredients from the bottom of the bar when you hear a noise. *thud* You stand up to see Tia laying on the floor, out like a light. The stallion that was sitting next to her was now trying to lift her off the floor. He was telling them that he would make sure she got to her room. Ah Hell No! You jump over the counter and stop him before he can go anywhere. “And just where do you think you’re going?” "Go away monkey. Can't you see I am trying to help our beloved princess back to her chambers? She has had too much to drink." You knew he was lying in the first place, but you couldn't fight him without being hauled away by the guards. In a noble versus servant battle, the servant always loses. You had to beat him at his own game. “And do you know where her room is?” He starts to back off a little, but he continues to try and press his advantage. "Of course I do. Now step aside so I may get her to a proper place." Proper place to rape her? Not going to happen on your watch. “So, where is her room? I know just about everywhere in the castle. So, if you can tell me where it is, I will let you go on your way.” You are going all in for this one. A large group of nobles have been gathering during your mental battle. "I don't have to explain anything to you freak. Now let me take her to her room." He gets into a fighting stance. You take a defensive stance. If this comes to exchanging blows, you lose. Just when he is about to pounce on you, a voice breaks the tension. "What is going on- Solaris!" The king came running out of the crowd towards his fallen daughter. He looks up at you two, anger clear in his eyes. "What happened?!" You open your mouth to explain, but the asshole beat you to it. "Thank goodness you are here! I think that... thing drugged your daughter! I was on my way to lay her down when it stopped me!" That lying piece of shit! You were going to defend yourself when the King spoke up. "I for one know for a fact that Anonymous would never do a thing like that! I want you to leave this festival at once! And if I catch you here again, you will go straight to the dungeon!" The stallion's face is priceless; It’s a mix of shock and anger. He would never expect the king of all people to stick up for you. "Fine! I didn't even want to be here anyway!" He storms out like any noble, with a stick up his ass. "Anon, please take her to her room." You give a bow to the king, aka. your new bro, and pick up Tia. You heft her onto your shoulder. It’s a good thing you have started to exercise. The king disperses the crowd so you can take her back. As you walk to the stairs, you look back to see the queen with a look of horror on her face. You’re glad you aren't that asshole. By the time you get to Tia's room, you hear a shout. It is coming from Luna's room. You fear the worst. You open Tia's door and rush her to the bed. Her head accidentally hits a post. You're going to pay for that later, but right now, you need to check on Luna. You run to her door and try to open it. It's locked. From behind the door, you can hear muffled screams and a stallion's voice. "You know, me and my friend made a bet to see who could get a princess laid first. Looks like I'm gonna win." What is wrong with these ponies? This is the first time you have seen something like this go down anywhere. You back up and raise your foot. You give the door a few kicks before resorting to your shoulder. It takes three good hits, but you bust open that door. Inside is Luna, all tied up, with a magic inhibiting ring on her horn. The stallion was taking a position behind her, but was now looking at you. His eyes filled with fear. And rightly so. You rush across the room and uppercut the stallion in the jaw. It sends him sprawling backwards. He was a noble, so he wasn't used to fighting. You weren't scared of any consequences. The king trusts you, and you weren't about to let him down. With the stallion laying on the ground, you walk up and kick him in the ribs. There are a couple of snaps when your foot makes contact. You are overflowing with anger. The things you wanted to do to this pony. You wanted to break his horn off. You wanted to make him bite on a cement block and curbstomp his ass. You wanted to send him back to his friends and have them not able to recognize the remains. But, you couldn't get away with that. Not even with the king on your side. You let out your anger on the wall. You kick and scream, trying to let out your anger. The noise attracts some attention. Some guards came running down the hall into the doorway.As soon as they see inside Luna's room they freeze. You pick up the broken stallion by the horn and toss him to the guards. “Dungeon.” That's all you had to say before they hauled out the pony. You return to Luna and undo the rope and the ring. She immediately flies into your arms and cries into your chest. You wrap your arms around her. She is visibly shaking from the experience. You could only imagine the horrors that stallion was putting into her head. You pet her back and tell her that no one is going to hurt her. Her cries don't let up for a good ten minutes. She starts to get weak from all her crying. So, you pick her up and walk to Tia's room. As soon as you set her down on Tia's bed, Luna curls up with her sister. If it wasn't for the circumstances, you would have seen this as cute. You walk out of the room and close the door. You lean back against the door and slide down. Once you hit the ground your body starts to shake like Luna's. Only monsters would do something like this. Your anger is slowly replaced by sadness. It is hard to cope with two of your closest friends being nearly raped. Maybe this is why he had you train in the guard. You never thought that you would have to protect them from something like this. It was almost too much for you. There isn't a pony around that could handle this. But that is why you have to do it. Because you can. > Chapter 5 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The next morning, you woke up leaning against the door. It wasn't the most comfortable position, but no one would have gotten in or out without you knowing. You got to your legs and pop your back. That's better. After rubbing the sleep out of your eyes, you check on the girls. When you open the door, you see Luna and Tia still in a tight embrace. Not wanting to disturb them, you close the door. You walk back to your room, taking your time. It’s going to be a while before Luna will recover from this. At least Tia was just knocked out. Luna was tied up against her will. She was already a bit isolated. Now, you doubted if she would ever leave her room. You can only hope that she will recover. 5 Years Later. You wake up in you bed... alone. Tia must have went to comfort Luna. She’s been having nightmares ever since that night. They’ve become less frequent, but in no way were they any less frightening for her. Tia was a bit scared after that night as well. She was going to let you go all the way with her, but after that night… You can't blame her or Luna. The stallion you caught was sentenced to death. Except, there was no pony that would stand up to do the job. That is when they turned to you. You said no time and time again. Eventually, you said yes when the queen came to you in tears. You can still see the horrified faces of the crowd and pony when you brought the ax blade down. You didn't leave your room that week. Tia was kind enough to bring you food, but you always told her to leave. That face still haunts you every night. Most of the time you are trying to busy you mind by training. The guard came to you a few weeks after and asked how you trained. You gladly showed them how it was in your world. The guard can now properly defend themselves from an attacker. It was still going to be a long time till they were a force to be reckoned with, but it was a start. The king and queen were grateful for your actions that day and for you taking initiative in helping the guard. They gave you an official job as Tia and Luna's personal guard. You were going to question on how you were going to be able to watch Tia and Luna, but Luna stuck by her sister's side any time that she could, other than to sleep. Your pay was increased and you were given an official set of armor and weapon of your choice.It was obvious that you would stay with your sword, you were more comfortable with it. You are now getting ready for the day ahead. But today isn't just any day. Today is Tia's birthday. And you are going to make today be every bit as special as you can, plus cheer up Luna. You already bought a gift for Tia. It was a golden necklace, well it was closer to a yoke, with a purple gem in the middle. You spent almost all of you money you have earned over the years. Well, more like a deal you worked out with her mom and dad in addition to the few scraps of bits you do have. Details. You walk into the kitchen and start to make some pancakes. One stack will be strawberry banana, while the other will be blueberry. You can't just let Luna sit there while her sister gets a glorious meal. You finish the stacks and add a few slices of toast, a couple of muffins, a glass of milk, and a glass of chocolate milk. Loading all that on a tray you make your way towards Luna's room. You open the door and look inside. Tia and Luna are curled up together on the bed. It was like all those years ago. You make it to the stairs before you hear a scream. It came from Tia's room. You run back as fast as you can and shove the door open. On the bed, Luna is hyperventilating while Tia tries to calm her down. "Shh. It's ok Lulu. It was just a dream." Luna couldn't form any words. She was still in shock from the nightmare... and what caused it. "It probably wasn't." Tia is startled by your presence. She was too engrossed with calming Luna down to hear you enter the room. "What do you mean? What happened last night?" You look over to Luna. Her breathing has slowed down, but you don't want to set her off again. “I'll tell you later.” You walk over to Luna and offer her a hand. “Let's get you cleaned up.” She responds with a weak nod and crawls off the bed, using your arm as support. Her knees wobble, but you manage to keep her on her hooves. You walk her to the bathroom and start to run the water. After a few moments, you wave Luna over. “Is this warm enough?” "Yes. Thank you Anon." Tia and Luna happily munch on their surprise breakfast. For the first time in what felt like years, you smile. You were afraid that you make the breakfast too early and it would be cold by the time they woke up. It was very lucky that an annoying ray of light hit Tia's eyes. “Well, when you two are done, meet me by the gate. I have a special day planned.” With that, you close the door to Luna's room and head to your own. When you walk by the bathroom, you pause. You have just placed Luna in the bath. She didn't want you to leave, but you told her that you would be right outside the door.Once you shut the door, you give a sigh. Tia has made her way over to you. "Okay. Explanation. Now." You rub your temples. This isn't going to be fun. “Alright, what do you remember about last night?” She sits down, trying to recall the events of the ball. "Well, I remember Luna asking me to dance with this stallion's friend. Then, he ordered me a drink. Then... nothing." Sounds about right. “Well that 'friend' drugged you and tried to 'take you to your room'. But I don't think he was just going to stop with just setting you on your bed.” A brief look of confusion was replaced by shock. "W-What kind of pony would do that!?" You shake you head. You really don't know. Up until now you thought everything was all rainbows and happiness. "Well, what happened?" “I stopped him from taking you anywhere. Your dad kicked him out and let me take you back.” You had her complete attention. Her eyes were unblinking and full of hurt. "What does this have to do with Luna?" “Do you remember the stallion Luna danced with?” She nodded. “Apparently they somehow ended up in Luna's room. When I got you to your room, I heard some muffled screams.” Tia's expression slowly changes into one of horror. “By the time I kicked the door in, she was tied up with a magic inhibitor on her horn. He was standing behind her, ready to take her for himself. So, I ran across the room and flattened him. I untied her and let her take out all her emotions. That is when I carried her to your bed and laid her down.” Tia was silently crying. You offer her a hug, which she accepts without hesitation. She cries into your neck while you hold her. You are all just kids. You're not supposed to deal with this kind of stuff yet. Let alone in the 'perfect' land of Equestia. "Can I see her?" You didn't notice when she stopped crying. Nodding your head, you open up the door and let her inside. It wasn't a memory you were fond of remembering, but it stuck with you nevertheless. You continue towards your room to get ready for the night on the town. Her parents gave you a token that was used to show shops that they could bill the castle. It wasn't anything special. It was just a bit with a castle imprinted on one side and a picture of a horse on the other. They told you to not overuse the privilege... but it would come down to saying no to Tia. Well, looks like this is the first and last time you see this coin. You hurry to your room and take a shower. You make sure to make it quick so you can meet the girls at the gate. Once you are dressed, you grab the coin and head out. As you near the front gate, you can hear Luna and Tia talking. "I’m not sure I’m ready. You two should go on ahead. I don't want to be a burden." "Please? I want you to get out of that dusty old castle. I promise nothing will happen." Deciding to make your presence known, you walk into their line of vision. “So, you two ready to go?” Tia nods her head and waits for her sister to answer. An encouraging bump later, and she nods her head. “Alright, lets go have some fun.” You lead the girls out the gate and into town. Luna stuck to Tia like glue. Her trust for strangers was still healing. More and more times she had regressed to speaking old Equestrian like when she was younger. As you walk down the street, you point out the different shops around. Tia and Luna pick a fancy looking dress shop. You walk inside and watch Tia browse through part of the store. Luna stays by your side, even when you encourage her to go look. It took Tia three dresses before Luna's curiosity got the better of her. She still didn't stray too far, but her moving on her own outside the castle was a great improvement. Luna picked out some nice dresses. Most of them were cool colors while Tia's were warm. It didn't take long before they were both giggling at the ridiculous outfits that they tried on. You’ve never had a sense of fashion, but these outfits were ridiculous. The laughter you heard was music to your ears... until they wanted you to try on something. You tried to protest that these were made for ponies... and mares at that. That only encouraged them more. Against your better judgement, you tried on a few dresses. You all had a good laugh, but you bought none of the dresses. The shopkeeper wasn't to happy about that. There were a few other dress shops that they went into. Again, no dresses were bought. You stopped for lunch at a little bakery. Ponies never could get enough sweets, and your friends weren't an exception. Tia wanted to take the five pound cake challenge. The challenge was to eat a five pound cake in less than an hour. For Tia, it was child's play. You swear that she was filling a hollow leg or something because there was no way she should have been able to eat as much as she did. You and Luna worked on one half and Tia inhaled the other. The owner, the waitress, Luna, and yourself stared at her with a shocked expressions. All three of you got your picture taken and they pinned it up on a board. They made an extra copy and handed one to Tia as a birthday present. You stopped by a photo shop and got it framed. The day went by with more store browsing, goofy antics, and a walk in the park. The sun was starting to set and you remembered that the royals wanted to spend some time with their daughters. With a bunch of complaining, you managed to get them to come back to the castle.It was surprising when Luna also wished to be in town versus her room. Today was a great day. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The royal family did whatever they wanted to do. It felt strange not being invited, but it was probably some family thing.Tia was now 22 years old while Luna turned 20 a few months back. You lay in bed, hoping she will come by for a visit. She never did get your present. It was siting in a box by your bed. You will probably have to give it to her tomorrow. That is, until you heard the door open. You turn over and see Tia trying to silently close the door. Those hinges always were squeaky. Tia froze up for a second, before closing the door the rest of the way. "I'm sorry. I didn't know if you would be up." “Oh it's only…” You try and squint through the curtains. “...night time.” You were never good at telling the time after dark. It got her to giggle though. You sit up on your bed and light a candle. Tia is standing across the room, the light of the candle dancing across her features. “You look beautiful.” She blushes slightly. "No matter how many times you say that, it always make me feel special." You wave her to the spot next to you. It's funny, this bed has held so many memories: your first bed in Equestia, the place where you and Tia confessed to one another, where Tia stole your underwear… You got that little information from a tipsy Tia. She sits down next to you and you reach for your gift. “I hope I'm not too late.” You reveal the gift. Her eyes sparkle at the sight. It may have been a trick with the candle, but your heart fluttered a little. "You didn't have to get me anything Anon. You have already given me a wonderful day." She nuzzles your neck. “Well I guess I can return it then…” You act like you are going to put it down before Tia stops you with a hoof. "I didn't mean I didn't want it." You both have a little laugh. It is always fun when you two play around. You hand her the gift and she opens it with magic. Once the top is opened, she levitates out the necklace. She gasps and covers her mouth. Her eyes start to water as she stares at the jewelry. You lean in a give her a kiss on the cheek. “Happy birthday, my princess.” She lowers the necklace back into the box and places it on the floor. Then, she lightly bops your head. "That’s for being so corny." Before you can do anything else, she presses her lips against yours. She took you by surprise, but you quickly return the kiss. Her hooves wrap around your neck and your hands wrap around her lower back. She pulls out of the kiss. "And that is for the lovely gift. I love you, Anonymous." “I love you too, Celestia.” She pulls you back into another kiss. Except, this one had a hint of lust in it. Her kisses became deeper and more animalistic. She then slipped her tongue past your lips and explored your mouth. You responded by keeping one hand on her lower back while the other ran up her body, through her silky mane, and cradled the back of her head. She moaned into your mouth when she felt your hand move. Her tongue focused on your canines, sensing a bit of danger. It was really turning you on. Not wanting to be outmatched, your tongue joined the fray. The battle was very one sided. Tia's tongue was wider and stronger than your's. Needing a bit of oxygen you broke the kiss. You both sat there panting. “That was *huff* wow.” "Yeah *huff* I know." After a few moments of panting, Tia spoke up. "Anon, may I ask you something?" Her voice carried a sense of nervousness. “Yeah?” She took a deep breath then looked at you. "Will you make me your mare?" *Clop* It takes you a few seconds, but it dawns on you. Is she asking what you think she is? “Do you mean…?” You trail off, not sure on what to say. She nods her head. "I want you to be my first... and only." Your heart doubles it's pace. Obviously, you are a virgin. You couldn't even fathom how to please a mare. But it was even more impossible to say no to Tia. You answer her with a kiss, and another, and another. You kiss her on her lips, her neck, her cheek... anywhere you thought would be sensual. You let you hands glide around her smooth coat and silky mane. She coos at your actions, so you must be doing something right. Deciding to take a risk, one hand runs over her cutie mark. Her breathing gets heavier and she leans her face into your neck. She peppers it with kisses of her own before nibbling on your ear. At first you thought it would hurt, but you were happily mistaken. Eventually, you start to push her down on the bed. Her hooves are still wrapped around your neck and you dig your fingers into her flank. You continued to cradle her head as you massaged the sun. Somehow, she maneuvered her back leg in front of your arm and pushed it down. She pushed it until your hand came in contact with something wet. Looking down, you can see that she wants to go a bit faster. Taking a shot in the dark, you move your hand around her vulva. She arches her head back with a large gasp. You instinctively pull away. “I'm sorry! I didn't mean to-” She silences your concern with a hoof. "It's okay. I was just a little shocked." You bring your hand back and cup her marehood. She seemed to like the pressure, because she started to kiss your neck again. You start to move your hand in a circular motion. The immediate response is a moan. As you increase your speed, you feel her marehood move. You would have stopped if you didn't see the look on her face. She’s in a state of pure bliss. Her head was laying on the pillow and her eyes were rolling in the back of her head. You continue this for a little bit, but you couldn't help but feel like you weren't going anywhere. Taking another risk you slip a finger inside. You must have broken a dam because her walls clamp down on your finger and she screams. "I'm Cumming!" You hand was drenched with her vaginal juices. You were breathing heavily, but not near as heavy as she was. Thinking it would be sexy, you bring your wet hand to your mouth. Tia was able to bring herself to look at you with bedroom eyes. You stick a finger in you mouth and your eyes go wide. It tastes awful. You try your best to hide your disgust, but Tia sees right through it and giggles. "Here, let me." She grabs you hand in her hoof and brings it down to her lips. Her tongue wraps around your finger and pulls it in her mouth. She sucks on your finger like a lollipop. It’s the hottest thing you’ve ever seen. You can feel her tongue swirl around your finger, making sure every inch is covered in saliva. She pulls you hand out of her mouth. Your mouth almost falls off its hinges. Tia's blush brightens at your gawking. "What? Estrus can be... hard to go through without picking up a few tricks." You have no response. She turns her head and grabs the pillow in her mouth. Then she whacks you with it. "Stop staring and get your clothes off." You shake yourself out of your shock and move off of her. Once you are able to sit up, you strip your shirt and pants. You're now in your underwear and pitching a tent fit for a king. You put your thumb in between you and the waistband. Tia is biting her lip in anticipation. Why she is so excited to see it? It wouldn't be the first time. After a deep breath, you pull the underwear down. Your member springs up once the waistband passes your head. Tia's eyes go wide. It was a lot bigger compared to the last time she saw it. Granted, it wasn't hard like it is now. She gulps then pushes you back on the bed. She leans against your stomach, squishing your member against her belly. Tia lowers her head next to your ear. "Now I get to return the favor." You could swear that she has done this before. She always seemed to know what to do. Little did you know, she was thinking the same thing. Tia scoots down your body till she was face to face with your manhood. She reaches out with a curious hoof and grasps the shaft. The feeling is something else entirely. This is one of those times where you don't question how ponies are able to grab things. Her hoof moves up and down your shaft. She makes sure to pay extra attention to the bottom side. You can't hold back the moan and her movements get faster. All she’s doing is moving up and down, but that is enough for you. Your balls start to tighten and a pressure starts to build up. “Tia... I'm going to-” You finish with your penis erupting in front of her face. Strands of cum fly through the air and land on Tia's muzzle. You lay your head back on the pillow trying to slow your heart down. "Mmmm. Have you been eating fruit?" You raise your head to see Tia sucking on a hoof. It doesn't take a genius to figure out what was on it. "Well, you *huff* ponies have gotten me to eat a bit healthier." She wipes the rest off her face and swallows it. You never thought you were that appetizing. A hoof brushes back against your member. Your eyes go wide when you realize that you are still hard. Normally you go flaccid but it wasn't ready to give up yet. Tia moves her rump towards you and sticks it up in the air. "I'm ready Anonymous. Please... be gentle." You move yourself into position, lining up your member with her winking slit. “I wouldn't be anything but.” You say reassuringly. Your push your member into her marehood, parting her folds. She stiffens as your head is fully inside. "K-Keep going." You grab her flanks and push yourself farther in. She eventually relaxes and gives a blissful moan. You’ve pushed all the way inside by now. Giving her time to adjust to the invader, you wait until she is ready. "Thank you for being patient with me. You can move now." Taking that she was okay, you slowly start to pull out. Her walls were trying to keep you in as you exit. Once you were almost all the way out, you push back in at a faster pace. Tia is reduced to moans and other animal noises due to the shear amount of pleasure. You keep up your rhythm, slowly getting faster each few thrusts. Her moist walls let you slide in and out easily at the faster pace. "Harder." It was just louder than a whisper, but you heard her. You increase your pace and force. If it wasn't for your previous ejaculation, you would have been done long ago. She starts to whimper as her walls start to convulse. The rapid movement of her walls skyrockets you to your peak. “Tia, I'm close.” "So am I. Do it inside." You close your eyes and grit your teeth as you slam her as fast as you can. Her eyes go wild and her walls clamp down on you. "Ahhhhhhh!" A warm fluid flows over your member. That was the tipping point. Making sure you were buried deep inside, you release. Your member throbs deep in Tia as you both ride out your orgasms. When you feel your member stop, you slowly pull out of her. You feel the cold air of the room taking place of Tia's warm marehood. Fully out of her, you flop down on the bed. Tia is able to crawl over and lay on top of you. She lays her head on your chest and you run your hand through her mane. "Did you enjoy it?" You wrap an arm around her body. “Like you even need to ask.” She gives a light giggle. "I suppose not. But I feel awfully tired." “Mhm.” She lifts her head up and kisses you on the forehead. "I love you." You respond with your own kiss. “I love you too. Happy birthday.” She turns toward the candle and blows it out. *End Clop* You start to wake up. Tia is still on your chest, giving off and adorable little snore. You run your hands through her mane. Something about it just put your mind at ease. She starts to wake up at your touch. She tries to bury her face into your chest, careful of her horn. "Mmmmh. I hate mornings." You give a laugh. It’s hard to believe the princess of the sun doesn't like mornings. Then again, neither do you. You roll on your side and opt to spoon with Tia. She doesn't object to the idea. You and Tia start to drift off again when your door swings wide open. "Morning Tia! Mo-" Cracking your eyes open, you can see a blushing Luna standing in the doorway. If you weren't so tired, you would have scrambled covered yourself. Tia turns around and covers you with a wing. "Mine." This doesn't help Luna's blush. "I'msorryIdidn'tmeantodisturbyouIwillbeonmywaybye!" She runs out and shuts the door. Breakfast is going to be interesting today. You pull yourself from under Tia's wing and sit up on the bed. Poking her in her belly, you try and get Tia up. “C'mon. You don't want to be late for breakfast.” She groans and swats your hand away. "Need more sleep." A smile spreads across your face. You crawl back over to her on the bed. You lean your head down to her belly and give it a long blow. Tia springs up, trying not to laugh. You let out a chuckle. "That wasn't funny." “I beg to differ.” You crawl off the bed and start to get dressed. Tia is now awake so she trots into your bathroom to fix herself up. By the time you were dressed, she walks out of your bathroom with her mane fixed and your gift around her neck. “Ready to go?” She nods and leads you to the dining hall. When you enter the door with Tia, you see that the family has already started to eat. Ever since your promotion, you got to eat with the royals at the table. It was better than serving the food and waiting for them to finish before your meal could begin. You take your spot at the table and grab a muffin. Breakfast may be the most important meal of the day, but you were never that hungry in the morning. Tia was having her fill of Prench Toast. The pony puns are going to kill you one day you swear. Looking over at Luna, she is playing with her food. The king and queen happily much on their waffles without a care in the world. Well this is awkward. You and the king finish your meals around the same time. Big mistake. "Anonymous, come walk with me." Oh shit, he knows you are nailing his daughter! Okay, okay, just act cool. He has never done anything bad to you. You wipe your face and push in your chair. You follow him out the door. Celestia POV Your dad just asked Anon to take a walk. That was nice of him. It was nice to see them bond. As soon as the door shuts, you mother leans toward you. "So, how was your birthday?" “Oh it was really fun. We went around and tried on dresses. We even got Anon to try on a few. Right Luna?” Luna stares off into space till you get her attention. "Wai- what?" You shake your head in amusement. “Remember when you got Anon to wear those frilly dresses?” Luna takes a thoughtful look, before she starts to giggle. "Oh yes I remember. I thought he looked really good in the one with the feathers." You giggle as well. "Oh, I absolutely adore that one. So let's see, dresses... Oh yeah, then we went to eat at this nice restaurant. We took the five pound cake challenge." "You mean you ate half of it and left the other half for me and Anon." You feel a little embarrassed now that you think about it. Your mom being there doesn't help any either. Trying to recover, you wave your hoof dismissively. Details. “ Anyway, we finished and had our picture taken. Anon went and got it framed before we got back here and had our get together." Your mother nodded to the story. "What happened after you left? I don't remember anypony giving you that necklace." Now you have to be careful. You still haven't told her or dad that you are dating him. “Well, I felt bad leaving Anon out so I went to see if he was still awake.” You hear the door close. Looking back where Luna was sitting, there is only an empty seat. Thanks for the help sister. "And?" How did your mother get this close so fast? She’s practically in your face. “H-He was still up so he gave me his gift.” "Then?" “T-Then I thanked him and went to bed.” You aren't a good liar, but you hope that she will fall for it. She leans back into her chair. "Well that was nice of him. I know you two are close." “Yes, we are good friends.” Your mom looks out the window to check the time. "It would appear that court will start any minute now. I will see you after so we may begin our lessons." You smile as she stands up and heads for the door. Looks like you pulled it off. "Oh and Celestia." Your mother stands in the doorway. "Try using a soundproof spell next time." She ends with a wink and walks out the door. Your mouth hangs wide open. She knows? When? For how long? Does dad- Oh lord! Poor Anonymous. The garden. Of all the places he could have taken you, he takes you to the perfect place to hid a body. You are now Anonymous and you are having a silent freak out. The walk is quiet. He doesn't start a conversation and you are too scared to. Eventually, you both reach a bench. He takes a seat on one side and you the other. You look straight ahead, not sure on what to say. Your brain starts to play out different scenarios. One is where he simply has his guards arrest you. Another has you begging for mercy at his feet. Your favorite by far is the one where you look him in the eye and yell out "I'm doing you daughter! HAHAHAHA!" like a madman. "I always liked this garden." You look at him with an eyebrow raised. He continues to look at the garden, ignoring your gaze. "Its been a good place to sit down and think. Where you can ask the important questions." Are you about to have a heart to heart with the king? "I like to think I did everything I could for my daughters. Be there when they need me. Help them learn about the world. Then you come along." You stay silent. This could easily go either way. "Solaris pulls you into the castle like a stray dog. You were a tiny little thing. I don't know what she saw in you, hauling you around the castle." You tense up a bit, until you hear him chuckle. "Oh the trouble she got you in. And don't act like I didn't know when you 'snuck' out of the castle. None of you were all that sneaky." Huh, you thought you were at least a little sneaky. "Then came that terrible night. Both of them were so close to being violated in ways I couldn't even fathom." He hung his head in shame. You have never seen this side of him. There was the one time in the library, but this is a whole lot more. "I wasn't there to save them. To stop either one of those stallions, but you were. You were going to fight tooth and nail to protect them." You couldn't blame him for that. He couldn't have possibly been there any faster than he did. "I am not as naive as I look Anonymous. I know about your dates. I know that she sleeps in your room more than she does in her's. And more importantly, I know about last night." Your blood is replaced by ice water. There is nowhere for you to run and hide. He would surely catch you. But you were ready to try. "So I want to ask you one thing." Your hand grip the armrest, ready to push you off. He turns his head and looks you straight in the eye. "Do you love her?" You stop all your preparation. All time seemed to stop around you. There was only one answer to his question, and you could answer it with the utmost honesty. “Yes. I love her as much as humanly possible.” You have a little staring contest before he looks away. "Alright then." He moves off the bench. "Take care of them Anonymous. And don't break her heart." He takes his leave. Once he is a good distance away, you let out the breath you didn't know you were holding. You catch your breath and ponder what he meant. Take care of them... watch over them… Why is he being so cryptic? What does this have to do with them? You wish you had the answers, but you lean back on the bench and ponder his words. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It took a while, but you thought long and hard about his words. And you came up with nothing. He was being as cryptic as possible. You stand up and walk inside. It would be a good idea to find either Luna or Tia cause... well, it's your job. You start by going to their rooms. Knocking on Tia's door, you don't get an answer. So, you turn around and knock on Luna's door. You hear a very loud groan. She likes her private time. When she opens the door, you are bombarded with a very familiar sent. It smells like when you and Tia… Oh god! "What is it Anonymous?" It’s hard to think of a proper response when your mind goes into full panic mode. “I uh... it's just uh... I will be walking around if you need me.” You turn on your heels and walk right away. Then you remember that time you and Tia first told Luna you were dating. Oh god! Now the images won't leave your mind. Quick! Think of something else! Uhhhh, that nerdy kid that sometimes comes in. Yeah that's better. What is that kids name anyway? Starmix? Or was it Lightswirl? You’ve been seeing him talk to the king and queen a lot more lately. But, you put it in the back of your mind and go to find Tia. You can't seem to find Tia anywhere. So, you decide to wait a bit in the library then go out to look for her. While looking for a book, you hear the voice of Tia and her mother. Against your better judgement, you get closer and eavesdrop. "...to keep the sun moving, I have to constantly pull it?" Huh, she must be teaching Tia how to move the sun. You are so smart Anon. Shaking your head, you go back to their conversation. "Not exactly, there is a spell that I use to keep it moving during the day. It only wears off after a certain amount of time." So that's how they keep moving it. "When can I try the spell?" "Not until you are ready. I would guess in about a month or so, depending on Luna." "What does this have to do with Luna?" You were curious about this as well. "When you set the sun that day, who would raise the moon?" “Good point. What about dad?" Oh yeah... dur. "Me and him both want you two to be able to raise it together." That's nice. "Which reminds me, you and Luna should start coming in during court and take on some more responsibilities." Tia outwardly groans. You inwardly groan because where Tia and Luna go, you go. "Oh don't be such a foal. Come on, let's get back to our lessons." You decide to find a different part of the library and read a book. It would help you take your mind off your soon to be duties. > Chapter 6 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- It’s one month later. Why one month? Because this is what your days have been like: Wake up, shower, eat, court, read in the library, eat, cuddle with Tia, and fall asleep. Not that cuddling was bad, that was the highlight of your day. However, standing in the throne room, trying to look intimidating for hours on end was awfully boring. But that will all end tomorrow. Tomorrow is the day Tia and Luna get to raise the sun and the moon. Unfortunately for you, that means you need to be up before the sun. Tia is not going to let you sleep in while she has to get up. You are now in bed, trying to get some sleep. Too bad your internal clock isn't going to let you. You slide off the bed, careful not to wake Tia. Slipping into the hallway, you walk to the garden. When the king said this was a good spot to think, he was right. Once you enter the garden, you see the king and queen on the bench. You are about to find another place when you hear the queen. "Why do we have to do it Noctis? Can't we wait a little longer?" "You know we can't do that Aurora. We have already been summoned." Summoned for what? Leave it to the king to be cryptic even when he isn't talking to you. "I said you were never good at sneaking around Anonymous." Busted. You sigh and walk out in the open. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to eavesdrop. It's just I couldn't sleep, then I heard you talking about being summoned-” The king raised his leg, making you stop. "There is something we should discuss about tomorrow. Come sit with us." The queen scoots towards her husband and pats the empty space. You walk over and sit next to her. She takes a long breath and then looks over at you. "Let's start at the beginning. When an alicorn is summoned, that means..." Celestia POV The alarm in Anon's room is going off. Mornings were never your thing, despite what your cutie mark said. You yawn and shut of the alarm with your magic. Then, you try and cuddle with your coltfriend. Except, he wasn't there. Odd, he hated mornings as much as you did. You can find him later. Right now you need to get ready to raise the sun. You trudge your way to the bathroom and take a quick shower. No time for breakfast, you took took too much time in the shower. You half trot, half run to the the tallest tower. You probably should have flown, but you don't want to mess up your mane. When you get to the top of the tower, Anon, your father, and your mother are there. What is he doing here? You didn't mind him being here in the slightest, but you thought this was going to be just you and your parents. He also looks a bit... well... sad. "Are you ready Solaris?" Your mothers voice rouses you from your thoughts. “I am ready.” You take a position beside your mother. Right before you can channel your magic, she pulls you into a tight hug. "Never forget, I will always love you." This is really sappy, even for mom. Either way, you hug her back. That's when you hear a sniff. Is she crying? You pull out of the hug to see tears coming down her face. “Why are you crying?” She wipes her face clear. She is acting like you were never going to see her again. "I-I'm just so p-proud of you." You’re still not convinced. "Come on dear. The ponies need their sun." You both retake your positions. Your dad lowers the moon so you may bring up the sun. You channel your magic like your mother taught you and a light starts to shine around you. You ignore it and continue to focus. Gritting your teeth, you can feel the sun start to move. The amount of light surrounding you is blinding. You can her your mothers voice echo through your mind. "Don't forget the spell to keep it moving!" You focus even harder on the new spell. Your magic starts to flow out of your horn. You are blinded by a flash of light. Rubbing your eyes, you try and get your vision back. When your vision returns, you feel something flick your face. Your eyes widen as your mane is flowing in the non-existent breeze. Excited you look around to show your parents and Anon. However, there is one alicorn missing. “Mom?” Anon POV You just witnessed Tia raise the sun... and the loss of her mother. "Mom?" Tia looks around for her mother. The tears start to build up in her eyes. "M-Mom?" The look on her face is heartbreaking. You look down to your feet. There is no way you could look her in the eye. You knew this was going to happen, but there was nothing you could do to stop it. She is in Elysium now. You can hear her father walk over and pull her into a hug. Tia holds him close and sobs into his neck. The king also seems to be tearing up. You feel out of place, standing to the side. This is a family matter. But, it would be disrespectful to leave. So, you stand there, with your head lowered in respect. Tia's wails turn into sniffles and the king isn't doing so well either. His cries were silent, but not any less meaningful. But he wasn't crying for his wife. He was crying for Tia and Luna. "W-Why?" That is the question of the day. "Anonymous will tell you tonight, after the moon is raised." It doesn't take her long to connect the dots. She pushes out of the hug, but latches onto his shoulders. "No! I can't lose you too! I won't!" She tightens her grasp. "I'm sorry." He gives her a kiss on the forehead and walked into the tower. Tia stands there in disbelief. You wanted to hold her and tell her everything will be alright. “T-Tia…” Your voice cracks a little. She turns towards you, a cross between anger and hurt in her eyes. "You!" You take a step back. You have seen her angry before, but it was never at you. "You knew this would happen! Didn't you!?" Hanging your head in shame, you nod. "And you didn't say anything!?" There are no words that can express how you are feeling. The best you can come up with is being lower than dirt itself. "I can't believe you would let me do something like that!" “Tia…” "I put my trust in you and this is how you repay me!?" “Tia please…” "No wonder those ponies hated you!" “Please don't do this…” Your eyes start to water. "You really are nothing more than a monster!" Time seems to freeze at that moment. She just called you a monster. Out of all the ponies in your life, she was the only one that defended you from that title. Now, she has called you the name you fear the most. Sadness boils into anger. You clench your hands, trying to not say anything you will regret. "I should have let you rot in that alley!" That did it. You have been pushed past the tipping point. “At least I didn't kill my own mother!” She rears back. Tears are finding their way back to her eyes. Then it hits you. You can't believe you just said that. Of all the things you could have said, you had to bring up what she just went through. “Wait. I didn't mean-” "Get out." Her voice is low and emotionless. “I'm sorry. I don't mean-” "I said GET OUT!" She picks you up by your armor and throws you against the wall. You may not be affected my magic, but your clothes and armor could be. You pick yourself up and look at Tia. She tried to hurt you. Just like all the others. Ponies never change. A look of regret spreads across her face. You move to the door. "Wait Anonymous. I di-" You cut her off my slamming the door and running down the staircase. Once you hit the bottom, you run to your room. You find a sack in your room and start to fill it with clothes. You start to have flashbacks to when you first arrived in Equestia. The way they treated you . The way they lied to you. You didn't want to go through that again. You don't know if you can handle going through that again. After packing up the rest of your clothes, you turn around to see... Princess Solaris Celestia in the doorway. "Anon, where are you going?" “Away.” You step into the bathroom and grab some toiletries. There isn't much to take, but you might be able to sell them for a few bits. "Anonymous, please stop. I'm sorry." “We're all sorry about something.” You push past her and try to leave the room, but the door closes before you can. Turning around you can see a broken alicorn on the edge of tears. "Please, I don't want to lose somepony else." She sniffs once and opens her forelegs for a hug. "I love you." She looks so frail. Anyone would have to be mad if they would try to hurt her. "I thought I did." But you were past that point. The glow from her horn stops and she weeps into her forelegs. You turn around and walk out the door. There is nothing left for you here. You try and walk out to the castle without anyone important seeing you. The exit is in your sight. All you have to do is- "Anon?" You were so close. Turning around, Luna trots up to you. "Where are you going?" “I don't know. Just out of here.” Not wanting to give her a chance to stop you, you turn around and head for the door. The same door that takes a blue color and shuts in front of you. You can't just leave. That would be easy. And when has life ever been easy on you? "I’m not letting you leave until you talk to me. What's wrong?" It would be just like a pony to try and keep you trapped like an animal. Still, there was no way getting past Luna without talking. Sighing in defeat, you lean against a wall, then slide down. “We had a fight.” Luna sits down in front of you. "Who?" “Me and Solaris.” "And that makes it okay for you to leave?" Anger was rising in her voice. Your own anger isn't too far behind. “You wouldn't understand. You weren't there.” "Then tell me." What can you say? 'Oh yeah, I blamed your sister for killing your mother for calling me a monster,' you thought mentally. Wait... does she know? “Luna, do you know what will happen when you raise the moon?” Her head lowers, looking at the ground. "Yes." She gets up and moves beside you. "I was trying to get better with my dream walking spell. I was getting better at it so I decided to test it out on father himself. When I entered his mind, I saw him when he was younger, when he first raised the moon. It didn't take long to figure out that I wasn't in a dream... but a memory. So, I waited for him to raise the moon. When he did, I saw something awful happen. The mare standing next to him disappeared into darkness. I was so scared that I asked him about it that day. After more prodding, he gave in. I was devastated. That is why you haven't seen me very much since we started to take on more duties." Looking back, Luna did seem more distant during court. "She came into my room this morning and said goodbye. But she said it was for a good reason, and I believed her." You nod with her tale. “Tia didn't know. I doubted she would have gone through with it if she did, no matter the reason.” Luna nods in agreement. You both love Tia to death, but she would never hurt another living thing... on purpose. "So, what did you two fight about?" Luna was always known for her bluntness, but that’s what you need right now. “She was devastated when she lost your mother. Your dad tried to comfort her, but I think that only made it worse. I was the only one standing there. So, she took it out on me. But we both said things we regret.” "And you thought it would be okay to just leave her now?" Thinking back, it wasn't the best answer. “Well no, but-” You are interrupted by a whack on your head. Rubbing the sore spot, Luna is staring at you with a stern gaze. "That's right it isn't. I know how you feel about her, and I know how she feels about you. So, pull your head out of your flank because she needs you now more than ever. I won't let you throw everything you have away just because of some stupid fight. Now you will walk back to your room, put your stuff away, and comfort my sister. Or so help me I will buck you so hard that you won't be able to eat solid food for a month. Is that understood?" You give a nod. When she sets out to do something, she gets it done. Even if it literally means knocking some sense into you. You pull Luna into a hug. “Thank you.” She pushes out of the hug. "Don't get soft on me. Go find my sister." You smirk and run off to find Tia. Stopping by your room first, you open up the door and drop your bag. Tia is sitting on your bed... with your sword pointed at her gut. “TIA!” Her eyes open up and she looks at you. You dash across the room and slap the blade out of her magic. There isn't a wasted second between the blade hitting the ground and you pulling Tia into a protective hug. You hold her tight, not letting her try to wiggle out of it. One hand on her back and the other puller her head next to yours. “Shhhh” She just stays where she is and cries in your hug. This has to be the absolute most frightening thing to come across. At least ten times worse than when you rescued Luna. You pet her mane, trying to calm her down. No words were exchanged. They didn't need to be. You just held her till she stopped crying. Once she quiets down, you lay her down on the bed. She’s cried herself to sleep. The sight of her broken form hurts you more than anything those ponies ever called you. You tuck her under the covers and pet her mane. Leaning down you give her a kiss on the cheek. “I'm sorry.” You curl up with her and hold her close. She doesn't need anymore pain. You just want her to be able to smile again. The morning turns into the afternoon. You spent all day holding your love close to you. Leaning against the headboard, you pull her up so she can listen to your heartbeat. When she was overloaded with work, she always said that your heartbeat calmed her nerves. She looks so peaceful sleeping here. You brush a loose hair back into her flowing mane. If only you could stay like this forever. But, Tia starts to wake up. She starts to lift her head, only to be stopped by your hand. "Anon?" You pull her back to your chest. “Shh” You say in a soothing voice She gives in and lets her head rest back on your chest. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't hav-" “I am too. Just... don't ever scare me like that again.” Her face tries to go deeper into your chest. There is a knock at the door. You don't dare move to answer it. Instead, the door opens with Luna carrying a tray of sandwiches. "I thought you would like some lunch." “That would be nice.” Luna walks over and lays the tray on your nightstand. You let Tia sit up on the bed. Each of you grabs a sandwich. Yours is obviously different from theirs because of the lack of flowers and addition of meat. "Thank you Luna." "It was nothing Tia, now eat up." Tia doesn't have to be told twice before taking a bit of her sandwich. You each eat your food in silence. After you finish your sandwich, you break the silence. “So how are you doing, Tia?” She scoots next to you, leaning against your side. "Better now. Thank you. A-And about the stuff I said-" You sush her with a finger. “Water under the bridge. Let's just not bring it up.” After you had your food, you, Luna, and Tia take a walk in the garden. All of you sit on a little incline that overlooks a small pond. There was nothing else to do. Court was already called off for a week. There was no paperwork to fill out. No people to meet. This week is just for Tia and Luna to recover from their loss and begin to take up their duties. You watch the light reflect off the water as the sun moves closer to the horizon. "I think I might have put too much into the spell." You and Luna look over to Tia, then to the sun. “Maybe, but you'll get the hang of it.” You put your arm around her. "I'm going to miss them." "Me too." “Me three, but look at it this way:” They turn their heads toward you. “You’ll still have me to kick around.” Tia pushes you away and gives a stern face. "That's not funny." You start to smile. “No, but this is.” Pouncing on Tia, you start to hit her ticklish spots. Her legs and wings spaz out with her uncontrollable laughter. "Hahahaha. Stop! haha it!" You don't let up on your assault. "Hahah Luna! H-Help" Increasing your attack, you feel a pull on your shirt. The little tug turns into a full on pull as you are thrown onto your back. In seconds you are covered with blue feathers and hooves. Then, comes the counter attack. With no defense, the two princesses give you a tickle attack to last a lifetime. Tears start to come out of your eyes you are laughing so much. A minute passes before they stop. Even when they do stop, you still give out a few lingering laughs. "You know Luna, he's right. We still can kick his flank." The sun stopped a little lower than usual, but it is no big deal. There was no mass panic or public crisis, just a a that was a little lower in the sky. You are standing on top of the tower that Tia was on to raise the sun. Now, she had to lower it so Luna could raise it. The king is standing next to Luna, waiting for Tia. "It's time." Tia walks over to her father to give him one last hug. "I'm going to miss you." "We will see each other again." They squeezed each other one more time before pulling apart. Tia walked back beside you and you laid a comforting hand on her back. She looks up at you. You give her a nod to begin. Closing her eyes, she turns back to the sun near the horizon. Her horn lights up and she grits her teeth. The sun starts to descend, not gracefully, but it's going down. Once the sun disappears from the sky, the king mirrors your action. He puts a hoof across Luna's back, trying to comfort her. "Just concentrate. Don't try to force it." Luna nods her head and concentrates her magic. Unlike Tia, the area around you gets darker instead of brighter. Then, the air around you gets colder. You end up huddling close to your girlfriend for warmth. The darkness starts to block out all sources of light until it is pitch black. If you held a hand in front of your face, you wouldn't even know it's there. The darkness goes as fast as it came. You are greeted by the light of the moon, and an empty spot where the king was. Tears build up in Tia's eyes, but she was also smiling. She knows that one day, she would see them again. Luna looks like she is about to pass out. She is the younger sister, no amount of time will change that. Tia was quick to support her sister. They walked back into the castle to get some sleep. Looking up at the sky, you see a new constellation. It looks like two alicorns in an embrace. Maybe they won't be as gone as you thought. At the end of the week, Tia and Luna announced their parents passing. Many ponies were shocked and scared. There were many nobles that tried to take advantage of the situation, but you put a stop to that. Not many ponies would mess with an anti magic being that could take on multiple opponents at one time. The princesses were able to calm the masses and assume the duties of rulers. A funeral was arranged for the former rulers. Instead of graves, Tia and Luna opted for a memorial. The memorial was a tall slab of stone with a sculpture of each alicorn on top. They replaced the bench that the king used and planted it there. The ceremony was just wrapping up. "...and so. We give our respect to the former rulers of Equestia: King Noctis and Queen Aurora. May they guide us to Elysium." "May they guide us to Elysium" Since that was the last prayer, all the ponies start to file out of their seats. The only people left are you, Tia, and Luna. Tia lays down a bundle of sunflowers for her mother. Luna lays down a bundle of nightshade for her father. They aren't the most beautiful flowers out there, but they hold significance to what was passed on. After giving their own silent prayer, they walked back to the castle. Now only you remained at the site. You remember some things back on earth about prayers. Taking your hand you tap your forehead, then stomach. Then, you tap your left shoulder, then your right. You know you just made a cross, but you really didn't understand what it meant other than a sign of respect. “I'll make sure to watch over them.” You turn around and head to the castle, but before you walk in, you see something in the sky. Is that a... pink cloud? > Chapter 7 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- It had been little over a month since the funeral was held. Tia and Luna were, thankfully, able to pick up right where their parents left off. It was a bit of a struggle at first, but they caught on and were fair rulers. When they first took the position as rules of Equestria, they were both offered the titles of queen, but they both wanted to keep their current titles to honor their parent's sacrifice. You, on the other hand, were promoted you to guard captain. Normally, the guards would just answer to the rulers, but Tia and Luna declared that they were far too busy with their new responsibilities to handle the guard and the rest of the kingdom. So,naturally, they turned towards you, and you gladly accepted. Most of the time, you found yourself out on the training grounds, whipping the new recruits into shape. "Come on you lazy asses! One more lap!" The young ponies were wheezing as they attempted another lap. You didn't like to think you were cruel, but it was fun watching ponies shape up to be protectors. The work you were making them go through was definitely showing though. The last generation of the guard looked like pansies next to this group. With all the muscles they have gained, they would have no problem picking up a mare at a tavern. It didn't take long for the ponies finish their last lap and the flop on the ground. "Up and at'em. Lunch time." As relieving as it was for the trainees to get a break, they were only able to trudge to the mess hall. No one ever said you went easy. While the trainees moved to the mess hall, you headed to the throne room. It was time for you to check in on Tia and Luna. The two princesses just finished up a job in the Crystal Empire. It involved something about a king enslaving his subjects, Celestia never gave you the details. You offered to go yourself, but they said it was a matter of magic. You knew then and there that that was bullshit, but there wasn't anything you could do. Not having any magical ability sucks. You entered the throne room from the back side. That way, you couldn't interrupt anything that was going on. Tia and Luna were sitting on their thrones, discussing more changes to the kingdom. "All I am saying is that it might be nice to have a day court and a night court." Luna was always pushing for more responsibilities. "Why would you want to stay awake all night? Plus, what guards would you have?" As always, Tia wanted to do things together rather than apart. She was a bit attached to Luna since they took the roles of princesses. It could have been that incident at the dance all those years ago. While Luna grew over her fear, Celestia never quite let go of her sister, especially after their parents passed. Luna was her life raft, even though it hurt you, you could never replace Luna if something happened to her. Pushing those thoughts aside, you creeped up behind them. "We could always train more." "Now why would you give me more work?" They both jumped at your voice. Turning in their thrones, they both sighed when you were what they saw. "I didn't hear you come in Anon." You walked up to Tia. "Well I didn't want to interrupt you two till SOMEONE thought it would be nice for me to train new guards." You looked over at Luna with a teasing face. "Well you seem to train them so well so fast that you wouldn't mind a few dozen more." She stuck out her tongue, and you responded in kind. "Oh stop it you two. What would somepony think if they walked in on us right now? "That you are no fun and you should lighten up?" You gave her a boop on the nose to emphasize your point. "And that they shouldn't be here because court is paused right now." Now you kiss that nose. She scrunched up her face in the cutest manner possible. It was always fun to mess with Tia. "W-well yes. Anyway, when are we going to have lunch? I am starving." "I don't think we will get anything for a couple hours. Ever since you started training more guards the cooks have been, mostly, at the mess hall versus our kitchen." Tia's stomach gave a disapproving growl. "Looks like somepony is hungry." Luna giggled as she pointed at your marefriend's stomach. Tia frowned as her stomach made its argument. With a smile, you offered your hand to Tia. "Come on. I'll make you something." She took your hand and you lead her to the kitchen. Luna followed behind you and Tia. When you got close to the kitchen, you heard some racket. There wasn't supposed to be anyone in there. Cautiously, you pushed open the door to reveal some strange floating creature. It looked like it had different kinds of animal parts sewed on its body: a deer antler, a goat antler, its face looks somewhat like a pony, the body is long and snakelike, one arm resembles a griffon while the other is a lion's paw, a bat wing, a pegasus wing, a lizard leg, and lastly a goat leg. It looked hideous, and it was digging through the pantry. You pulled out your sword and pointed it at the creature. "Stop! Who-What are you and how did you get in here?" The thing stopped and turned around with a smirk. It stood up tall and cleared its throat. "Excuse me for that. I was just looking for a quick snack before I popped in. My name is Discord, Lord of Chaos. And I don't believe you will be needing that." He snapped his finger and your sword turned into a pool noodle. You dropped the noodle, startled that your weapon could be whisked away. "What do you want?" Tia's voice rang out what all of you were thinking. Discord's eyes went wide before he gave off a goofy grin. "Well look what we have here. It's sunbutt and moonbutt. Oh I am so honored." He gave a mock bow. All of you continued to stand your ground, not knowing what tricks he had up his sleeve. "I won't ask again." Tia took a more aggressive stance. Discord snapped his fingers again and a leash appeared in your hand... attached to Tia's necklace. In a flash, he appeared next to you, loudly whispering into your ear. "You might want this one on a leash. She has a lot more bite than bark." Luna took an aggressive step forward making Discord retreat back to the pantry. You took that time to disconnect the leash from Tia. "Where did you come from?" Discord floated around lazily. You just didn't get it. Here you were with the two most powerful creatures on the planet, and he didn't have a care in the world. It was nerve racking. "Oh I have always been here, just waiting for my chance to come out and play. The old rulers never let me have any fun. That reminds me, did you get my present?" All of you raise an eyebrow. "What present?" His smirk all of a sudden seemed a bit darker. "Oh it was yeeeeeeeeeeears ago. There was a ball being held here and I couldn't attend. So, I had a couple of stallions attend it for me. Of course they weren't any fun so I may have made them loosen up a bit." The last ball that was held was the one that Tia and Luna… You felt a burning rage start to build up inside you. Luna and Tia, on the other hand, look horrified. "Y-You sent them here?!" His cheery grin made your blood boil. "Oh so you did get it! What did they do? Spike the punch? Start a conga line? Oh, how about-" "Attempted rape!" The grin was wiped from his face and is replaced by one of shock. He let out a nervous chuckle. "T-that's not funny." "No. It isn't." A few moments went by, the princesses were reliving their nightmares, you were stewing in anger, and Discord was trying to cope with the new information. He floated down to the ground with a frown. "I never meant to actually hurt anyone. I just wanted to have some fun." Your anger started to boil down and the princesses were staring to cope a little better. That all changed when Discord jumped back into the air, chuckling. "Oh well, these things tend to happen." You couldn't fucking believe it. This thing just laughed off rape as if it was nothing to worry about. Taking up a fighting stance, you moved in front of the princesses. "You're a monster!" Discord scowled at you. "Just like a human to be a hypocrite. It is the pot calling the kettle black." Just like a human? You're the only one in all of Equestria. "What do you know about humans!?" Tia stepped forward, lowering her horn. Discord materialized a book and chair out of thin air. Putting on a pair of glasses and licking his thumb, he shuffled through the book. "Humans, humans, humans... Ah, here they are." He cleared his throat. "Humans are ape like creatures that inhabit the planet Earth, awful name if you ask me. Any-who, they have no magic in their world and they have no control over their weather. It is a very chaotic place, full of war and violence. I don't know how you can stand to be around him Celly dear. But don't worry. Uncle Discord will take care of everything." Discord closed the book and snapped his fingers. The last thing you saw was a bright light. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Celestia POV This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening. The tormentor of your sister's dreams just teleported your coltfriend away like a piece of trash. He shouldn't have been able to do that. "What did you do!" You lowered your horn and built up some magic. Discord just chuckled at your display of power. "What do you mean? I just sent him to a place where he won't be such a bother." "Impossible! He is immune to magic!" It was good to see that Luna came out of her shock to help you. "Your harmony magic may be. But let me ask you this... Since when does chaos follow the rules?" You were getting angrier every second you were there with him. Luna wasn't doing much better than you. "Where did you send him!" You and your sister took a step forward. Discord patted you on the head. "Oh don't worry. You'll see." With that he snapped his fingers again and everything went white. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ You felt your head throb with pain. Wherever Discord sent you, you went head first. Getting on your hooves, you opened your eyes and looked at the surroundings. Trees. Trees for as far as you could see. He must have teleported you to some forest. You looked up to see your sister laying on a branch. She was knocked out cold. Still struggling with being dazed, you flew up and helped her out of the tree and back on the ground. Once you got her on the ground, you made sure she was alright. Only a few scratches, she would be fine. Confident that she was safe, you looked around to make sure you didn't miss anything else. There was nothing but trees and Anon was nowhere in sight. Discord must have lied to you when he told you that you would see Anon. Then, you heard a twig snap. You jumped around and lowered your horn towards the noise. Anonymous may have been the captain of the guard, but you were far from defenseless. "Who's there!?" The sound of footsteps were getting closer and closer. Wait? Footsteps? Your heart surged with new found hope. "Anonymous!?" A couple of grunts confirmed your hope. Anon limped from behind a tree. He was covered in scratches and was holding his arm in pain. You rushed over to him before he could fall down. Catching him in your hooves, you pulled him over to Luna. "What happened?" He took a few forced breaths before answering you. "Landed on... timberwolf." You nudged his hand away from his arm. Once his hand was moved, you could see a large gash. You gasped before pulling his hand back to apply pressure to the wound. If he wasn't immune to your magic, you would have fixed him right up. But since that wasn't the case, you told him to keep his hand there while you went to search for anything that might help. If only you had taken earthpony first aid. You looked around the immediate area for a whole minute before you realize that you didn't know what you were looking for. Living in the castle disconnected you from the real world all too much. When you made it back to where you left your sister and lover, you saw Luna already up and helping Anon. "This is going to hurt, but I think I can cauterize your wound." "At this point I don't care. Do it." Luna levitated a branch for Anon to bite down on. He took it in his mouth and closed his eyes. "Sister, hold him down." You snapped out of your daze and hurried over to Anon. You placed yourself over him, pinning him the ground. "On three. One." Luna charged up her horn full magic and lets out a stream of lighting. As soon as it hit his arm, he tried to get away. You held down his body while Luna held down his arm and burnt the wound. It broke your heart that you had to do this to him, but it was for his own good. His teeth were starting to embed themselves in the wood when Luna stopped. "There, that should stop the bleeding." Looking at the wound, she did, in fact, stop the bleeding. With a confused face, you looked at your sister. "Where did you learn how to do that?" Once you were sure that he wouldn't move, you gave Anon some room. He actually blacked out due to the immense pain. "I read it in a book." She did read a lot of books. Mostly adventure, but you guessed that it counted in the mess you were all in. "So what do we do now? We can't teleport without leaving Anon behind. He is also too heavy for us to fly out of here." You wrapped up Anon's arm while talking to Luna. "And, I don't want any of us to get spit up from each other." Luna stood up and looked at the sun. "Well, either way, we need to get going before it is night time. I will give us as much light as possible, but that still won't be very much." You and Luna laid Anon on your back and walked off into the forest, not knowing where you were going. "I hope we find shelter soon." You spent hours walking through the forest. It didn't take long for you to figure out it was the Everfree. The moving clouds and unmonitored plant growth gave it away. You and your sister eventually picked a spot to sleep for the night. It was lucky that there was a cave near your spot. Setting Anonymous against the cave wall, you waited for Luna to come back with some firewood. While you waited, your thoughts drifted back to Discord. Who was he? What did he want? Why did his magic work on Anon but yours didn't? The questions circled around in your mind. You wish you had the answers, but you had no idea. Luna walked back into the cave with a large bundle of firewood. "Is he still out?" Nodding your head, you petted his hair. Luna arranged some of the branches before starting a fire with her magic. The light filled the cave as the flames grew. You tried to keep your attention on Anon. While you sister stopped the bleeding, he didn't look all that much better. "What are we going to do now?" Luna poked the fire a bit, trying to think of an answer. She was being so strong for all three of you. You would have never been able to figure out how to stop the bleeding without her. You would have never been able to find this cave without her. Tartarus, you would have never been able to even make a fire pit like she did. You and Anon would have probably been dead if it wasn't for her. She was no longer the little sister that needed your protection. It was you that needed her. After poking the fire enough, she threw the stick into the flames. "We need to stop Discord." You laid Anon down near the fire and you took a seat by your sister. "Yes but how? We don't even know where we are. We don't know what he is doing. How are we to defeat someone we know nothing about?" Luna continued to stare into the fire. "I don't know." Your face fell, thinking all was lost. "All we can do now is hope that we make it back home in one piece. You get some sleep. I'll take the first watch." You looked at your sister with a confused face. "First watch?" Your sister face hoofed. "Where we keep the fire alive and watch for danger while the others sleep?" "How many adventure books do you read?" Luna gave a huff and you giggled a small bit. Even in a hopeless situation, Luna could still get you to laugh, even if it was only a little bit. You got up and move Anonymous closer to the fire. Once he is laying in a comfortable spot, you cuddle up next to him. Sleep soon took you as Luna watched over the cave. You were having a really good dream when Luna woke you up. You and Anon were married and had a few children: one colt and one filly. They were both alicorns like yourself. All of you were sitting around the fireplace, reading a story, when the dream ended. You then had to trade off so Luna could get some sleep. It was hard to stay awake in order to keep the fire alive, but you persevered. Even though you kept the fire decently sized, Luna was shivering. Pitying your sister, you lifted her up in your magic and placed her by Anonymous. You weren't worried about her trying to steal him away from you like an overly jealous mare would. She just needed the extra warmth. Looking out of the cave, you could see the moon getting closer to the horizon. It was about time for Luna to lower it so you can raise the sun. Except, she fell asleep an hour ago. You couldn't wake her up after she just fell asleep. Feeling a bit generous, you decided to lower the moon for her. You reached out with your magic like you did with the sun and tried to take a hold of the moon. You were always the better magic user out of the two. Soon, you could feel the moon. It felt colder than the sun you were used to. Did Luna feel this way every time she moves the moon? You put more magic into your horn and lowered the moon. Next, you changed your focus to the sun. The warmth replaced the cold feeling in your chest. "Much better." You brought up the sun to signal the start of the day. After casting the moving spell, you cut off your magic. You threw a few more sticks in the fire and waited for Luna to get up. However, she isn't the one to get up. A couple of pained grunts came from Anon. "Tia... When did you turn blue?" You giggled at your coltfriend. "Over here silly." He looks over to you, then back at Luna. "I-I swear I didn't do anything." You gave another giggle. "I know. I put her there. She was cold and needed to warm up." He gave a sigh of relief and tried to get up. You, however, rushed over to hold him down. "Don't even think about it mister. Just lay down and stay off that arm." He grumbled a bit but gave into your hoof. You and Anon sat mostly in silence, thinking over the events of yesterday. It was just so much to take in at once that it needed to be processed. Only after a couple of hours,Luna finally woke up. She was almost as red faced as Anon was when she realized where she laid. Again, you had to explain her shivering. It still didn't get rid of her blushing. After she composed herself, Luna agreed to help Anonymous walk while you cleaned up your campsite. Back on the trail, you walked in the same direction as before. At least you thought you are walking in the same direction. The Everfree always liked to trick ponies. You swore you hear some old pony telling you to stay on the path. Shaking your head to clear it, you heard Luna instead. "Tia, I think we are lost." You slumped your shoulders in defeat. "You're probably right." As you sat down, Luna helped Anon over to you. "Hey, it's okay. You can try and teleport back without me. You two need to look after your kingdom. Who knows what the madthing is doing." He pulled you into a one arm hug. You melted into the hug, considering his proposal. Luna had different ideas as she stomped her hoof on the ground. "I will not leave you to fend for yourself in this forest, let alone injured the way you are. Not ever for a second" "We are not going to leave him Lulu. I wouldn't even think of doing that. We would would come back after we saw what was happening." Luna didn't look too convinced "And how would we know where to come back too, Tia? I for one have no clue where we are, so there would be no coming back." Once again, she was right. You needed to know where a place was before you could teleport. You and Luna knew where the castle was, even if not from the spot you were in, but you didn't know where you were. You gave Anon another squeeze, trying to think of another way. "Alright, alright. Then how do we get out of here?" Luna sighed as she walked over and put a hoof on Anon's good shoulder. "I'm going to be honest here. We might not all make it out if we don't find any food or water. Or if we don't properly fix that wound." She gestured to Anon's arm. The thought of losing him was unbearable. After everything you both have been through, you would never have thought he would die of a simple infection. No. You wouldn't allow that to happen. Pulling his arm over your back, you helped him stand up. "We should keep moving." ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ You were happy that you didn't run into any beasts while walking. But that didn't mean you were any closer to home... even if you knew where you were. Anon's arm, also, wasn't getting any better. The wound looked like it could have been infected, but you really hoped that wasn't the case. He had been struggling to walk for the last few hours now. In fact, Luna had to take his other side in order to keep him standing up. It felt like you had been walking around for days, but in reality, you had only been in the forest for one. You were about to take a break when you heard the sound of running water. Looking over at Luna, she also had a hopeful smile on her face. Anon could barely keep his head up, so you and Luna wasted no time tracking down the noise. When you broke the treeline, you were greeted by a shallow river. Eager to get a drink, You and Luna helped Anon down to the bank to get some water in him. Levitating some water to his mouth, he drank it like it is going out of style. Knowing a little about health, you pulled it away. "Drink slowly or you will feel worse." He shallowly nodded his head and sipped on the floating ball of water. Luna, however, had her head dunked in the river. She almost made you laugh when she came back up with cheeks that reminded you of a squirrel with too many nuts in its mouth. With one big gulp, she swallowed down all that water. "Like I said to Anonymous, drink slowly or you will feel sick." It was hard to keep your face straight when you said that. Lowering your head to take a drink, you saw a purple line tangled up in some weeds. Squinting your eyes, you could see that the purple line is some sort of serpent. You use your magic to untangle the trapped creature. Once out of the weeds, the serpent shot down the river, out of your sight. "That was nice of you." Luna took a seat next to you. "A little kindness goes a long way." Soon, you felt a sickening feeling started to bubble up. Of course, it was just your subconscious thinking about Anon's condition. You looked back over to see Anonymous laying down near the bank, trying to get a few more sips. The feeling surged inside you, almost making you lose the water you just drank. Thankfully, Luna noticed and moved you away from the bank. Once out of earshot, you asked Luna the big question. "How is he doing?" Luna let out a sigh. Again, the feeling surged. "If we don't get him to a hospital soon... I fear the worst." That pushed you over the edge. You emptied out your stomach right where you stood. Some ponies might have said it was romantic to be that emotionally tied to one's special somepony. They would be wrong, it was the worst feeling in the world. Your sister ended up holding back you mane while rubbing your back. "Shhh, it will be alright. Just let it out." After dry heaving for a minute straight, you felt a little better. But that still didn't solve Anon's condition. In fact, you didn't think Anon will last too much longer in the conditions you all were in. You composed yourself the best you could before heading back to the bank. Anon was still lying near the water, almost asleep. Making sure Anon didn't see, you helped yourself to some more water. He had enough problems as it was. He didn't need to worry about you too. Once you had your fill, you and Luna helped Anon across the river. It only came up to his knees so it was easy to get him across. After crossing the river, you walked for a few minutes before you came to a gorge. You and Luna sat Anon at the the trunk of a tree before taking a closer look at the obstacle. Looking left and right, you looked for some kind of crossing, but there was none in sight. Across the gorge sat a large clearing, so there was nothing to swing across with. In addition, none of you were in any shape to fly Anon across. "It's a dead end sister." Panic soon started to set in. You went all this way for nothing. With a desperate face, you turned back to your sister. "We can't turn back now. Anon, can't make another trip." You and Luna both looked back at Anon. He was still sitting at the base of a tree, trying to stay awake. Ever worried about his health, you walked over and took a place beside him. "How are you doing?" His breathing was labored, but he managed to respond. "I'm... alright. Just... a little... tired." You petted his head. "Don't worry. We'll be there soon." Tears swelled up in your eyes. It was a damn dirty lie, but you couldn't say otherwise. He, then, closed his eyes and leaned against the tree. You were scared for a moment, but his rising chest calmed your nerves. He was just resting, that's all. "Tia, what is that?" Looking over at Luna, she was pointing down into the gorge. Giving Anon a kiss on his forehead, you walked up to the ledge and followed her hoof. At the end of the gorge, you could see a faint light. "I... don't know." Luna took off and glided down to the bottom. You took a look back to check on Anon. He was still resting on the tree. It's okay. You’ll be right back. Nothing will happen to him. You justified yourself before following your sister. When you reached the bottom, you followed the light to a cave in the gorge. Walking around the corner, you saw Luna standing in front of something you thought was just a fairy tale. "Luna... Is that what I think it is?" She didn't even look back at you when she nodded. Sitting in front of you was the legendary Tree of Harmony. "But, Mom said it was just a fairy tale." "Apparently she was wrong." you say, staring at the magical tree. It looked like any other tree... with the exceptions of it being made out of crystals, glowed blue and didn't have any leaves. Okay, so it looked like a dead, blue, crystal like tree. You walked up next to Luna and pointed to the gems on the branches. "Those are... the Elements of Harmony." On each major branch of the tree, sat a gem. Each one held legendary power, but all together, the could defeat any evil. Well, that is what your mom said. The more you reminisced about your mom's tales, the more you thought about how to use them. "Harmony... harmony... Luna, what magic did Discord say he had?" Luna had to think for a moment before lighting up. "Chaotic!" This was a stroke of luck. With a rare smile, you walked up to the tree. "And what is the opposite of Chaos?" Luna walked up beside you with a similar smile. "Harmony." With newfound energy, you and your sister flew up to the tree. The closer you got to it, the warmer you felt. It was as if you were always meant to come here, as if this was what you were destined to find. "This is the only weapon we have against Discord,” you said eyeing the gems toward the top of the tree. "Look sister. Our cutie marks." Luna said, pointing to the middle of the tree. On the trunk of the tree there was an engraving of a sun and moon. The same marks that were on your flanks. "Do you think it is a sign?" you said, dumbfounded that you and your sister’s cutie marks were part of this ancient magical artifact. "I don't know sister. Why don't you take those elements while I take these." Luna flew up and took laughter, honesty, and loyalty. You took generosity and kindness. Once kindness left the tree, the trunk opened up to reveal the element of magic. "You take this one Tia." Luna motioned to the floating element. The magic element was the most powerful one of them all. It alone channeled all the other elements, increasing their power. Your mind races with insecurities as you looked upon the element. "I'm not sure, Luna. I don't think I'm in any state t-" You were interrupted by Luna's hoof on your shoulder. "I believe in you." Your insecurities melted away with Luna's smile. You reached out and took hold of the element. Once you held it with the others, you glided back to the ground. "Okay, we have a way to stop Discord. Now we just need to grab Anon and head home." Looking back at the tree, you worried about the state of the tree without the elements. "Do you think the tree will be alright?" "I am sure the tree itself will be able to use it's magic while we borrow these." You and Luna flew back up to where you left Anon. Once you landed, you looked around for Anon. Except, he wasn't there. Panic took over as you searched around. "Anonymous!? Anonymous!? Where are you!?" Your sister joined in as well. When you were ready to start blasting down the forest, you found a piece of cloth and a scroll. The cloth came from Anon's shirt, you were sure of it. "Luna! I found something!" While waiting for your sister, you looked at the scroll. Breaking the seal, you read the letter inside. Dear pony princess        Taking over your lands had become quite boring so I took a stroll in my favorite forest and you would not believe what I found. That little scamp, Anonymous. I knew you two were close by so I thought I would take him back with me. Wouldn't want him to  go bananas and try to attack something. No need to say thank you, but if you do want him back, strange, I know, meet me in front of your old castle. Just follow the map. Taataa for now. -Discord The writing soon disappeared and a map took its place. At that time, Luna came out of a bush. "What happened? What did you find?" Levitating the cloth, Luna's face fell. "Discord happened." You held out the map and Luna took it in her hooves. She took some time to read it before looking up. "We are in luck, sister. The castle is not too far." Luna immediately took off, followed by you, towards the castle. Once you broke the canopy, you almost fell back down. The sky was pink. The land was in a checkerboard pattern. Buildings floated in the air. Even the animals were acting crazy. Discord was truly a monster. Your sister, however did not stop to take in the sights. She was more concerned than ever, but with a fire in her eye. That fire, is what kept you going. With a large push of your wings, you hurried to catch up to your sister. It didn't take long before you both landed in front of Discord's throne. It was a large eiry thone, almost polar opposite of what you would expect a chaotic throne to look like. Beside the throne, you could see a form laying down in some kind of bubble. That had to of been your coltfriend. "Oh goody! You're here! I was wondering what took you so long." You stomped your hoof on the ground hard enough to crack it. "Playtime is over Discord. Release Anon." Instead of being intimidated, Discord just laughed. "Hahaha, hohohoh. Did my ears deceive me, or did you just make a threat? Awww, you are so cute when you are angry." You could practically hear Luna grinding her teeth. A short standoff ensued, both you and Luna glaring at Discord. Eventually he broke the silence. "Fine, since I can see you are in a mood, I'll offer you a deal." Anon's bubble lifted off the ground and landed in between you and Discord. "I'll let you take Mr. Hyperactive and you give me, oh let's say, those pretty gems there." You looked back to Luna, considering the deal. Luna wouldn't have any of it though. "We will not give up the Elements of Harmony, Discord!" It twisted you up inside, but Luna made the right call. You loved Anonymous with all your heart, but you knew if you traded them, Anonymous wouldn’t be healed and Discord would still rule over everything. Taking a deep breath, and shredding a single tear, you stepped closer to your sister. "You cannot trick us so easily, Discord." Discord just laughed. "Trick you? I was giving you a chance to run away and let your true love bloom. Well, only your love. I don't think moony over has anyone special like you and Anonymous do. In fact I think she is a little jealous." As Discord finished, he brought up a bag of black seeds and started munching down. You, however lifted an eyebrow. Jealous? Why would Luna be jealous? Unknown to you, Luna shrank down and took a step back. "Enough games, Discord. It's time to end this." A snort came from the chaos god. "If you think those little things are going to hurt me, then you are even more loony than I am. But just to show I am not all that uptight, here. Take your best shot." Discord took up a pose that reminded you of an opera singer. That was your chance. You and Luna poured your magic into the elements. Soon, they started to spin faster and faster. Once you were sure you were ready, you and Luna linked horns creating a rainbow of pure harmony magic. The rainbow swirled in the air before arching down towards Discord. True to his word, he hadn't moved an inch, till the rainbow connected. He tried to open his eyes and scream, but it was too late. The magic sealed him in stone. Not a moment after did you feel the chaos magic slip away, being absorbed into the statue. At first, you thought he was actually trying to break out. After a few more seconds, you realized that the harmony magic was just getting rid of the extra chaos magic. The land turned back to grass. The buildings and animals all appeared in their rightful places. The pink clouds and sky turned white and blue once more. Everything was back to normal. Except for Anon. His bubble popped and he fell to the ground. As soon as the bubble popped you raced over to him, leaving the elements in your wake. You pulled him into your chest and held him. He was still breathing, but his injury didn't look any better. Throwing him on your back, you raced back to your home, leaving your sister looking towards her hooves, elements spread on the ground. Once you passed the outer wall, many ponies were trying to cope with what just happened. However, you ignored them all. Anon needed your help and he needed it now. Practically busting down the castle gates, you ran to the hospital. You were slightly relieved to see the earth pony doctor when you opened the doors. "Doctor, I need you help. Now!" The doctor jumped at your voice, but she went to work on Anon, applying ointments and calling for her nurses. The room started to get a little crowded and a nurse had you wait in the hallway. It was agonizing, sitting there, not being able to do anything. Luna eventually made her way to where you sat. She explained how she calmed the citizens but found out that most of the town was in ruins. Her voice was drowned out in your head though. All you could focus on was what would happen to Anonymous. Hours pass by before the door opened again. The doctor walked out and removed her mask, revealing a relieved face. "His infection was pretty bad, and without magic, we weren't sure if he could keep his arm. However, we managed to stop the infection from spreading. His blood loss was also very grim. Luckily, we had a few bags still here so he will be out for a few more days. Other than that, he should be good within two weeks." Your heart surged with happiness as the doctor explained the situation. After her speech, she let you inside Anon's room. Anon laid on a bed that was actually made his size. A bag of his blood hung from a hook in the wall with a tube running to his wrist. While you would normally be sad when Anon would end up in the hospital, you were relieved that he was getting the help he needed. You pulled up a cushion and sad by Anon's bed, leaning your head to his chest. His heartbeat soon lulled you to sleep. Back in the doorway, Luna stood with tears brimming in her eyes. While she would never say it out loud, she was jealous of you and Anon. She always wanted somepony to lean on, but love had always eluded her. Luna took one last look at both your sleeping forms and walked back to the throne room. While you slept, she had a country to run.