Anon has a mare problem. A big mare problem. During the day, they treat him just fine. However, when night falls... that's where their inner desires rise to the surface and attempt to take Anon by force. A parody of Five Nights at Freddies
Anon has a mare problem. A big mare problem. During the day, they treat him just fine. However, when night falls... that's where their inner desires rise to the surface and attempt to take Anon by force.
Note: A parody many horror games, including Five Nights at Freddies and SCP Containment Breach.
Night has fallen in Equestria, as you take a seat in the master chair of your base of operations. You check the time that's dimly lit on your computer screen in front of you. 11:45pm.
Almost there.
Every night, it was the same routine. When the sun is out, your home has enough power to run your basic needs and get by. However, at night, your solar power doesn't work. This forces you to rely on a battery that is safely protected in your basement. You wouldn't need a battery if they didn't change.
With a shudder, you check the cameras of your security system. The coast is clear around your home. Nothing inside and nothing outside.
At night, the lovable ponies of Equestria... change. It was like flipping a light switch. First, they would be cute, lovable and sensitive. Then... they would become raving monsters, hell bent on getting in your pants. Every man's dream? Right?
You'll admit.. the first few nights weren't quite so bad. Then, as time dragged on, all you wanted to do was cuddle.
You check the clock and sip on your coffee, carefully jumping from camera feed to camera feed.
Was that so much to ask? Apparently to the little beasts... it was. So now here you are, guarding your home with technology that simply shouldn't even exist in this world. You watch the clock hit midnight and you hit the switch on your battery backup. The percentage gauge lights up on your control panel, dimly showing 100% charge remaining.
"Here we go." You mutter under your breath.
The hair on the back of your neck stands up straight and your ears perk up. The safest place in your home was right here. To your left and to your right, there were hallways, providing you an escape in either direction. You placed cameras everywhere so that there weren't any blind spots. Starting with the cameras inside, you start a rotation.
Kitchen – Clear.
Living Room – Clear.
Bedroom – Clear.
Bathroom – Clear.
Hey, you can't be too careful. You gotta cover all your bases. Even if it means video taping yourself taking a dump.
Next you check your remaining cameras.
Backyard – Clear.
Westside – Clear.
Eastside – Clear.
Front –
You leap back in your chair as a yellow demon with pink butterflies on her chair stares directly into your camera with a smile.
"I'm coming iin, Anon," she chants.
Okay, Anon. Keep it together. Normal protocol. Only the doors to the left and to the right of you can be locked.
Watching the camera carefully, Fluttershy places her hoof on the handle of the door and presses herself inside. Quickly, you snap to the Living Room and watch her enter.
Alright, Fluttershy is a slow mover, you should still be able to look around.
Living Room – Flutters.
Kitchen – Clear.
Bathroom – Clear.
Snapping to the Bedroom, you find a purple unicorn raising her flank to the camera.
"Like what you see Anon?" she giggles.
You snap to the living room again, but the channel flips back to Twilight.
"Watch me Anon..."
Mashing the button for the Living room, the screen goes black.
"Shit... Shit..." you mutter, frantically searching for your flashlight.
The screen blinks back to life and shows your bedroom, empty.
"Fuck. Fuck!" you whisper, pushing the buttons swiftly.
Living Room – Still Fluttershy.
Bathroom – Nothing
Kitchen – Still nothing.
Left Hallway – Empty. Which means.
"There you are Anon~" a feminine voice whispers beside you.
Your fist slams into the button controlling the door to your right and your anti-magic steel-reinforced door slams down. A chill runs down your spine as you hear her hoof slam against the door.
"Nonny~ Open the dooor. Please?" she begs.
Fuuuck that. You turn back to the hallway camera where Twilight sits patiently, as if waiting for the door to magically open. Sighing to yourself, you check the clock. 1 AM and 85% power left. Still in good shape. Just 5 hours left.
Right Hallway – Twilight.
Left Hallway – Empty.
Bathroom – Empty.
Bedroom – Fluttershy rifling through your underwear.
Shaking your head, you move back to the Living Room camera. The door to the outside stands wide open. That's weird, Fluttershy closed it earlier... Was it Twilight? Probably not. She usually used her magic to get in.That's when there is a rustle from the corner of the room.
Your eyes strain to see what's on the tiny monitor... Then you gasp, wheeling back in your chair. Your eyes are affixed firmly on a pink pony with curly hair, covered in latex and wearing night vision goggles.
Pinkie Pie.
Trembling, you check the right hallway again. Empty. Twilight must have moved on. Opening the right door, to conserve power, you decide to check inside one more time.
Bedroom – Flutters.
Kitchen – Twilight.
Living Room – Pinks.
Bathroom – Empty.
Checking outside, you quickly flip through the outside cameras. Looks like the usual gang is here... but normally you have a forth... You suppose you shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth.
The next few hours move slowly, but painfully as you check each camera for the movement of the ponies outside. Pinkie seemed to jump between rooms, no matter how far apart they were. Twilight stopped and talked to Fluttershy and you could hear their whispers about a plan.
It set you even more on edge, normally they weren't organized. Normally they would simply hop from room to room and attempt to catch you off guard.
No... tonight... they seemed to have a rhythm. There was something different.
You promptly shut the doors when you had to, but all in all, it was a good night so far. 4AM and 60% power left. You got this.
That's when all three met in the living room.
"Is it time?" Pinkie asked?
Twilight and Fluttershy nodded their heads. You inspected the camera to the Living Room as the three girls then began to give each other signs and nods. They had a code?! Shit.
Kitchen, Bedroom, Bathroom – Clear.
Living Room – The three.
Hallways – Clear.
Backyard –
Your gut drops as you watch a tall alicorn stepping out of the darkness and moving around your home. An... An alicorn? I-is your system even equipped to handle this? You've never been attacked by an alicorn before.
You flip back to the living room, where the girls sit patiently for their guest. Jumping to the front door camera, you remotely flicker the porch light. Purple and pink streaked hair and pink fur is illuminated in the dark of the night. Cadance. It had to be Cadance.
Yet for some reason, you aren't really surprised. Celestia is usually taking care of the sun and Luna takes care of the moon. She was the only... 'available' princess. Kinda. It also likely had something to do with helping them 'love' you. You shudder at the thought.
The alicorn steps inside your home and the three ponies bow to her deeply.
"Good Morning-"
"Where is he?" Cadance quickly interrupts Pinkie.
"In the back of the two hallways... every time we try to get back there, he slams the door on us," Twilight elaborates.
"Hmm... Can he close both at the same time?" Cadance asks.
"Mhm," Fluttershy answers. "We tried rushing them both last night and it didn't work."
"How does he make it work?" Cadance asks. She walks up to one of the cameras and stares directly into it.
"I'm not sure," Twilight answers. "It's something even I don't know about."
"Yes!" You exclaim, feeling proud of outsmarting the local egghead. The four turn to look at you and you promptly clamp your mouth.
"I see... Have you tried... waiting him out?" Cadance asks quietly.
You check the clock. 4:30AM and 50% battery. You got this.
"Go directly to the doors and just wait outside." The pink princess orders the girls.
"Wait, what?" You whisper.
"Ooh! I like this plan!" Pinkie exclaims. “Why hadn't we thought of it before?!”
Suddenly she pops out of view. SHIT.
"Hi Nonny~ Can I-"
Reflexively you slam the left door, and you quickly look to your right, where a yellow pegasus approaches you.
"Uhm... is being scared your-"
Immediately, you slam the right door shut as well. Taking a deep breath, you lean back in your chair. The ponies pound their hooves against the door.
"Let me in Nonny!" Pinkie cries.
"Uhm... Would you open this door so I can make forceful love to you? Please?" Fluttershy moans from the other side of the door.
"Let us in, Anon..." Twilight calls from Pinkie's side.
Cadance continues to stare at you through the computer monitor and a smile forms on her face. Her brow furrows in triumph.
"Don't stop watching me, Anon..." She whispers into the camera. The pounding from the other side of the steel doors intensifies. You watch Cadance carefully and check the time. 5AM. 40% left and dropping fast. What's going on?! It shouldn't be dropping that fast?!
A blue glow emits from Cadance's horn. The battery meter immediately drops to 20%. Your body goes numb as you begin to tremble. N-no. She figured it out. She broke your system! How?! This isn't fair. This isn't how this is supposed to work at all.
"You better not stop watching me, Anon~" Cadance whispers again. The knocks on the door suddenly cease. All is quiet in your security room as the violet eyes of the alicorn peer into your soul. If you keep both doors closed, you are going to run out of power. This was it. This was her end game. The cunning of an Alicorn.
You look at both doors with dread. At least one will have to be opened in order for you to not run out of power. Turning to the left one, you lean in closely to the door to perform your Pinkie test. Clearing your throat, you hum melodically.
"Shave and a hair cut..."
You listen closely. Just barely audible on the other side, you can make out a voice.
"Two bits."
WHELP. YOU AIN'T OPENING THAT. NOPE.
Cadance giggles into your screen. 10%. 5:30AM.
You aren't going to make it at this rate. There's only one solution. You're going to have to check the right hallway camera. Maybe if you do it quick, the Princess won't notice. You hover your hand over the buttons. It'll be quick.
The button clicks loudly.
Right Hallway – Clear
You open the door quickly to save power. Quickly, you press the button to return your feed to the living room.
Living Room – Clear.
Empty.
The room becomes much colder as the screen in front of you glows with a light blue light. The battery gauge in front of you quickly depletes to zero and instead of a red 'empty battery' light, a light blue heart appears. The doors shoot open beside you and you back up against the wall.
Everything in the room goes black as you scramble for the flashlight on your waist. The sound of slowly approaching footsteps moves through the right hallway. With a click, your flashlight roars to life. Flashing it out into the hallway, it quickly is tossed out of your hands with a cyan magic.
"Thanks for letting me into your humble home, Anon..." Cadance whispers, approaching you. Blue magic pushes you against the wall and illuminates the Princess's bright violet eyes. "But I warned you to keep your eye on me," She whispers malevolently.
A smile curls on the Alicorn of Love's face as she inches closer to you. Fluttershy, Twilight and Pinkie Pie closely follow behind her. This is it. This is how it all ends. Night after night of success... all leads up to this?
Shadow surrounds Cadance as she has you pressed against the wall. You close your eyes and wonder to yourself it it will be over soon. Cadance moves herself dangerously close to your face and you can feel her warm breath against your cheek. Her hair brushes against you as she pushes herself closer to your ear.
"It's time for me to show you... why I'm the Princess of Love, Anon..." Cadance whispers delicately.
With a hard swallow, you clear your throat. If you beg, will they stop? What could possibly stop the four mare's oncoming storm. That's when you hear the call of a rooster off from the distant Sweet Apple Acres. Your eyes shoot open.
Salvation.
The magical grip around you fades as the four ponies around you cringe in agony. Scrambling to your knees, you crawl control room and check the monitors. The blue heart blinks quickly as your cameras slowly fade back from darkness. The battery indicator quickly show signs of new life as a green lightning bolt blinks across it. Yes! YES! It's recharging! You did it! You survived the night!
Stepping back out into the hallway, the four home intruders lay on the ground, rubbing their heads with a hoof. Gentle light from the slowly rising sun peers into your home from the front windows.
"Uuugghhh," Twilight moans.
"Where am I?" Fluttershy asks the group as she clamors to her hooves.
"Awwww... Again? I hate not waking up in my own bed!" Pinkie exclaims in frustration.
Princess Cadance looks around the room and back to you. A blush covers her face as she scrambles to her hooves and looks around the room awkwardly.
"I... I better go back to my husband..." she hesitantly laughs. Cadance looks around at her unfamiliar surroundings as you point to the front door. You've been through this drill more than once. They don't remember a thing once the sun comes up.
"Please, your highness, don't let me keep you," you nod to the princess. She nods back to you.
"Thank you... Mister...?"
"Anonymous."
"Right... Thank you, Anonymous," Cadance says.
The pink princess walks to the front door of your home, but she stops and turns to you and your guests.
"Would you all... consider keeping this our little secret–"
"Don't you have a kingdom to run?" you interrupt, annoyance filling your voice.
"Right! Yes... right." Cadance nods, hastily heading out the door.
It probably wasn't smart to speak to a princess that way, but it's been a long night. You jut want to go to bed. The other three look from you, to the front door, then back to you.
"So... um." Twilight begins, You sigh and head to your bedroom.
"Just get out of my house."
Collapsing on your bed, you yawn deeply as you try to settle in for a good day's rest. You've had to sleep during the day in order to avoid the nightmares at night. Well, night mares. You smile to yourself at the unintended pun. It's little things like that which make every day a little easier to get through. If you don't smile at them, your world would be turned upside down thanks to the subconscious will of pastel colored horses.
Placing a pillow over your head, you try to calm yourself down. Every night it was different mares. Twilight and Fluttershy seemed to come out the most often, but it was never more than four. Yet... last night was the first alicorn. Sure, every night it was getting slightly more difficult to keep them away, but you never had a battery problem either. Now you really needed to watch yourself.
Plus, Twilight is a smart cookie. If she figured out how to manipulate the security system... You shudder at the thought. That unicorn was nothing but problems for you. You remember the first night you installed the cameras, she just searched the whole house and stared into them. She didn't even try to attack you.
With a sigh, you try your best to get some rest. It was probably that first night that reinforced the ponies' enjoyment for looking into the cameras. You hadn't ever screamed so loud before. They got some sort of... sick enjoyment from hearing you scream.
See, to any other guy, that probably would have meant something completely different.
You slap yourself in the face and roll over. Bad Anon! Those sorts of things aren't allowed either. Get a grip on yourself, man. You glance at your alarm clock. 7AM. You gotta get some sleep so you can stay up and watch the cameras. The last thing you need is to be drowsy when they are trying to catch you off guard. You close your eyes and try to drift to sleep.
It's 11AM and you still can't sleep. The unanswered questions in your mind are keeping you awake. Why Cadance? Why an Alicorn all the way from the Crystal Empire? Something isn't adding up. Are the ponies colluding with each other once the sun sets? Do they have some sort of telepathy? How did Cadance even get here? Sure, alicorns have a lot of magical power. Sure, they have the ability to teleport and they can fly long distances quickly. But, all the way over here?
Also... why you? Why not some other stallion? Was it because you were the only human in Equestria? Were you some sort of rare prize to them? Do they all have some sort of weird human fetish?
With a sigh, you roll over in your bed again. It's not like you are going to ever get a definitive answer. Maybe you could leap out of your booth and just ask. That would probably go great.
With a loud groan, you check the clock again. 11:10AM. You are never going to get to sleep at this rate. The pillows have become warm and the bedsheets are overheating you. Yet, if you take them off the room is too cold and there isn't any good support for your head. Moving to the edge of the bed, you decide that maybe closing the curtain and keeping the bright sunlight out will help you get to sleep. Heading to the window, you peer outside.
Just off in the distance, you can see Applejack bucking the trees over at Sweet Apple Acres. They are so nice during the day. Why can't they just be like that all the time? Then you wouldn't mind living here so much. You tried living in the woods, but living in those woods is almost more terrifying than having to 'survive' the night. With a sigh, you close the curtains tight, dramatically darkening the room.
There, that should make things better. Crawling back into bed, you flip the pillow so that the cooler side is facing up. It's not much cooler, but it's enough to make the pillow more comfortable. A contented sigh leaves your lips. Much better. Checking the clock, you watch as the seconds tick by. If you fall asleep right now, you can get 8 good hours of sleep before you prepare for the night. Closing your eyes, you wait for sleep to come. Maybe counting will help.
One. Two. Three.
What do they keep coming back for? That's what never quite made sense to you. You would think tat after the first few unsuccessful nights that the mares would have just... given up by now. Yet, they haven't. They are so determined in their quest to get into your pants that they will keep trying the same methods over and over again. Just waiting for you to make one false move. Waiting for you to catch yourself when your guard is down... For one little... Mistake...
Gently you open your eyes in the dark room of your home and look around. Wow! hat a great nap! The merciful sleep recharged your batteries, much like how the sun is recharging your home's. Sitting up with a smile, you stretch and reclaim your bearings. Hopping out of bed, you walk to the window of your bedroom, cracking your neck and thinking to yourself what you should make yourself for breakfast.
Dinner. Same difference.
It's the only peaceful meal you can have before sundown, so you do your best to make it nice. Nothing like some good brain food to keep you on your toes. Then it's time for the race. You place a hand on the curtains. Maybe today would be a good day for oatmeal.
Tearing open the curtains, you find no light streams through your windows, only the gently rising moon.
Your soul leaves your body for a second. No. It can't be. Ripping around, you check your clock. 11:30PM. You overslept! ShitShitSHIT!
Grabbing a set of clothes, you quickly run out to your kitchen to grab a few granola bars and a bottle of water. How could you oversleep? You never overslept before! Was last night really rough enough for you to have to get more rest? Scrambling through the drawers of your kitchen, you look out the windows, trying to see if you have any incoming attackers. Stuffing some granola bars in your underpants, you run to your refrigerator in only your socks.
Yet as you try to stop, your socks decide that this would be the perfect moment for an epic power slide; Directly into one of your cameras.
With a loud snap, the camera points directly at the wall and remains stationary.
"ShitshitSHIT!" Ripping open the fridge, you grab a bottle of water and slam it shut. Sliding your way down the call, you enter your fortress of solitude. Quickly, you check the cameras around your parameter using your computer.
Kitchen – Black. Shit. It must be dead now. Damn it.
Living Room – Clear.
Bedroom – Clear.
Bathroom – Clear. Now outside.
Backyard – Clear.
Westside – Clear.
Eastside – Clear.
Front – Clear.
You sit back in your chair and sigh to yourself. Safe.
For now.
You swiftly check the clock to see how much time you still have. 11:50PM. Quickly, you change your clothes and smash down a granola bar. There's no telling what you will have to face tonight. Every night it's gotten a little bit worse. Then last night... an alicorn.
Nervousness settles in as the pre–attack silence settles in. The calm before the storm always made the air around you feel colder. You have a feeling it's going to be a long night.Rubbing your eyes, you still can't seem to shake some of the lingering tiredness. That's what you get for oversleeping.
The minutes tick by as you try your best to get yourself prepared. As the clock strikes 11:59PM, you slap yourself on the face for an extra dose of adrenaline. Alright. Let's do this. You can do this. Bring it on. You're ready for anything. Flipping to the Living Room, you watch the front door as the clock slowly ticks to 12. Three. Two. One. The battery switches from 100% to 99%.
Game on.
The door to your home flies open as a flurry of rainbow light flies from the living room camera to just off screen. Raindow Dash! You no more than hit the button to the left hallway, when a loud thud echoes from the other side of your impenetrable shield.
"Dang it!" screams Rainbow Dash.
Checking the left hallway camera, you watch Rainbow rub her head and stretch her wings. You better keep a close eye on her. Who knows when she could charge next? But for now, she's going to need time to recharge her strength. Hopping from room to room, you inspect your playing field.
Bedroom – Still Clear.
Kitchen – What's the point in even checking?
Living Room – The front door is still left wide open from Rainbow Dash's grand entrance.
Right Hallway – Clear.
Left Hallway – Rainbow seems to be heading down the hall towards the bathroom.
Bathroom – You watch Rainbow enter inside.
Well that's enough of the bathroom cam! Better check outside.
Front door – Nothing.
Backyard – All clear.
Eastside – Empty.
Westside – Nopony.
Hmm, it seems like they are starting out easy. Reopening he left hallway door, you sit back in your chair again. It's so oddly comfortable tonight. It would be great if you could just sit back... relax... You feel your eyes droop.
Sitting back up quickly, you shake your head. Get it together, Anon. You are in the middle of a war zone. Don't lose your guard.
Suddenly, a loud crash emanates from the kitchen. A chill runs down your spine as you instinctively check the camera. Yet, all that is returned is blank, empty video. Hoofsteps can be heard from the audio feed.
"Oh, I do hope that he didn't hear that..." a womanly tone whispers.
Rarity. Her appearance is usually quite the... unusual occurrence, for the lack of a better word. Instantly you are set on edge. Rarity wasn't particularly hard to stop... or even predict for that matter, but this mare doesn't know how to take no for an answer. She doesn't teleport around the house like Pinkie or Twilight, but every failure only makes her more aggressive and determined.
You check your battery for your status. 89% and it's only 12:30AM. The next sound that fills the house is the sound of running water. Flipping to the bathroom, you watch as Rainbow has turned on the shower to full blast. Steam begins to rise from the bathing area and fill the room.
Wait, they've never done this before... If they keep that hot water running... The steam is going to fog up the camera!
Plus, it will make your water bill atrocious!
Yet, that's not the problem at hand. A shiver runs down your spine. Now they have two safe zones... Flipping to the kitchen, no sound comes from the audio feed. Quickly you jump to the Living Room feed.
"How do you like my camouflage dress, Darling?"
You check the camera feed carefully. Where is she hiding? The sound of the running water fills your ears. Wait. You look to your right door and Rarity steps closer to you with a malevolent smile.
"SHIT!"
Launching a strong kick at the white unicorn, you push her back into the hall. She flies backward, but catches herself with her magic.
"So you want to do this the HARD way?!" she exclaims.
You quickly close the door in front of the purple maned fashion diva and she begins to buck the door.
"LET! ME! IN!" she screams, accentuating every kick.
"Maybe once you've had the chance to get a better tan!" you mock her.
"Once I –WHAT?!" she yells. While you may be giggling now, it doesn't solve the problem. The running water is muting their steps around the house. You flip your camera feed to the bathroom as Rarity unleashes a flurry of prim and proper insults, having you know that she works very hard to keep her coat a pristine white. The camera feed is hazy, but you can still make out the blue and rainbow horse pacing. Waiting for the right moment to strike. You're going to have to keep checking the camera for some sort of warning of her attack. Until then...
Living Room – Clear
Kichen – No sounds.
Backyard – Clear
Westside – Clear
Eastside
Slowly the shadow of a pony looms on the horizon. She moves diligently and with a sense of confidence. As the figure draws nearer, you notice a large stetson on her head.
Applejack has joined the fray.
You check your battery with concern. 76% – 1:45AM. Your battery seems to be draining faster than usual. Was it something that Cadance did last night? If she doomed you... then you will have to seriously consider a back up plan.
Also, probably file a lawsuit against the Crystal Empire for property damage. Then you would have to worry about not only the night ponies, but your attorney screwing you too.
With a sigh, you shake your head. You will have to make due. Applejack seemed to feel that when she bucked on the doors, she gets closer and closer to knocking them down. While you don't doubt the structural integrity of the door, what she does manage to do is to significantly lower your battery level.
Flipping back to the hallway camera, you notice Rarity has left. Perfect. You nearly open the door, when you examine the feed a bit more closely. Since when did your potted plant get a stylish purple mane?
In fact, when did you get a potted plant?
She's there. She's just hidden. Great.
Flipping back to the bathroom, you notice Rainbow is doing more stretches and the feed has gotten blurrier. Your body feels weak and your blood runs cold. Rubbing your eyes, you try to shake off your tiredness. Damn it, Anon. Of all nights, it had to be tonight. It's nearly a perfect storm.
Flipping to your living room, you watch as the shadow approaches the door. Applejack steps into your home and slowly closes the door behind here.
"It's time to show why I'm the rodeo champion," she whispers, taking a long yellow rope out of her stetson.
Wait, what? It's just a rope. How is a rope going to help her? After fiddling with the rope in her hooves, she seems to have made a small loop. Well, alright then. If AJ is going to spend her time with rope tricks, let her.
You check the hallway and the potted plant is gone. Checking the feed, nothing seems to be out of place. Perfect. Raising the other door, you let out a sigh. You have to conserve as much power as possible. Checking the clock, it's 2:05 AM.
"Here we go!" you here the farm pony yell.
Flipping back to the Living Room, you watch as the pony releases a spinning lasso from her mouth and down a hallway. Wait... The lasso curves into your room, through the right door, and around your arm. You watch her pull tight on the rope, and it jerks your body towards the exit.
"Wait! WHAT?"
"Got him!" AJ yells.
You slam the right door down and the tautness of the rope forces you to the ground. However, on the feed, as Applejack pulls harder and harder, she makes no headway on pulling you out of your base of operations. With a sigh, you try to get to your feet, but your arm remains tethered to the floor.
Wait. She told everyone in the house.
Hitting the bathroom, you watch the shadow of a pony rise into the air through the mist. Oh SHIT! Pushing your feet against the door, you extend your arm as far as you can reach to try and hit the door button. You gasp for air, when your attempted slap only greets air. Come on, Anon! There's no time to waste!
The feed is filled with a streak of rainbow light. You reach out in panic. Almost there. Your fingers graze the edge of the button. The rainbow light fills the hallway. Just as you see a fleck of rainbow mane, you hit the button and the door comes slamming down. A loud thunk rings from the left door.
"OH COME ON!" the rainbow pony yells.
With a sigh, you sit on your floor and catch your breath. You have to cut this rope. Looking around the room, you find a pair of spare scissors that you had brought in from a few nights ago to open a snack container. Grabbing the jaws of life, you reclaim your freedom. Sitting back in your chair, you check the cameras.
Outside all looks clear.
Bedroom – Your bedspread has apparently changed to a vivid purple color.
Living Room – Applejack curses at her rope.
Left Hallway – Rainbow rubs her head again.
That's all three. You can't get into this situation with the rope again. Flipping back to the Living room feed, you get an idea. Applejack paces back and forth muttering under her breath. This is only going to work once... She grabs her hat and throws it to the ground.
You swiftly open the door and grab the trailing end of the rope. Pulling hard, you do your best to take it for yourself. The rope begins to exit out of the camera feed and Applejack fails to notice until it's already off screen. Once the last bit is inside, you shut the door tight.
"DANGNABBIT! GIMME BACK MAH ROPE!" Applejack yells to you.
With a smile, you flip the feed back to the left hallway and find Rainbow has vanished. You nearly open the door when you remind yourself to take a closer look. No random purple. No blue eyes. It seems to be your ordinary hallway. Only then do you reopen your door.
Checking back to the bathroom, you confirm Rainbow has re–entered her 'Flier's Cove". Moving to the Kitchen, you hear soft footsteps echo on the tile floor. There's Rarity.
A loud clang to your right deafens your senses. There's Applejack.
Checking your battery, you watch as it nears 45% CLANG! 40%
"SHIT! FINE! FINE!" you scream, tossing the rope out into the left hallway. "It's on the other side!" The clanging stops.
Checking your cameras, you watch as Applejack circles to the other hallway and you flip the doors. The clock chimes three and you rub your eyes. Halfway. You can do this, Anon. Just be delicate with your power. Time for a good sweep.
Left Hallway – Applejack grabbing her rope.
Bathroom – You can see the shadow of a pony pacing in the fogged lens.
Right Hallway – Looks clear.
Bedroom – Seems to be empty.
Living Room. – Another random purple potted plant.
Come on, Rarity. If you are going to do camouflage, at least do it right. On second thought, never mind. It's like she is completely invisible to you. With a smile, you quickly check the outside cameras.
Backyard – Empty.
Sides of the house – Empty.
Front – Empty.
Keeping your screen on the front door, you quickly flicker your light. No shadows of ponies off in the distance. Perfect. No visitors yet. This might actually end up being an easier night. As you sit back in pride, you feel another wave of tiredness attack you.
Trying to shake the sleep from your eyes, you flip through the monitors again, you check the hallway to find Applejack left her station. Letting the door open, you check the other hallway, just to be sure. Both hallways look clear. Jumping to the living room, you find Applejack approaching the potted plant. Voices come to life from the audio feed.
"Really, Rare?" Applejack asks the potted plant. "That was your big plan?"
"Applejack! Shush! You'll blow my cover."
"Anon doesn't like plants, Rarity."
"Well NOW you tell me..." Rarity sighs. Rarity turns herself a different direction and becomes clearly visible to the camera. "I don't suppose your silly rope trick did any better though, did it?"
"Well, no... but I did catch him off guard!" Applejack retorts.
"Well, I got into his private room." Rarity proudly comments.
"Everypony gets lucky sometimes," replies the orange earth mare.
"Will you two stop bickering?!" You hear the squeaky voice of Rainbow Dash call to the two mares. "I can't psyche myself out with you two arguing!"
You check the clock. 3:30AM and 37% battery left. No, girls. Please keep fighting. It just makes things easier for you. Checking the hallway cameras, you notice Rainbow Dash stomping out towards the girls. Flipping back to the Living Room, you watch as Rainbow joins their heated argument.
"Well you are even worse!" Rarity comments.
"Yeah! How many bumps on the head will it take for you to realize that your 'fly really fast' plan isn't going to work?" Applejack asks mockingly.
"Hey! Flying really fast has got me to really awesome places in life. It got me there quickly too." Rainbow defends herself.
Opening another granola bar, you watch the argument with your guard down. You would have to pay to see this anywhere else. They don't put anything this good on cable. The ponies begin to argue and bicker with each other incoherently as you enjoy the break from their constant barrage of attacks. You might as well check the cameras, just to be safe.
Front Yard – Empty.
Westside of the house – Nothin.
Eastside – Zilch.
Backyard – Nothing.
All that sits in the back yard is the bright moon up in the sky. You sigh to yourself and you prepare to head back to the living room camera, when you pause. Something changed about the back yard camera, but you couldn't put your finger on what. Watching the feed closer, you notice one of the bright lights in the sky disappear from view.
"What?" you ask yourself unconsciously.
Then another light burns out. And another, and another. Then, the only light that remains left hanging in the sky is the bright moon that shines down at you. A chill runs down your spine. Why are the stars going out?
You flip to each of the other outside facing cameras and look around. No stars. Returning to the back yard, you watch the moon closely. Will it go out too? Leaning into the screen, you watch carefully for any changes.
That's when you see it.
A single dark speck in the center of the moon. It slowly grows larger and larger. You are at a loss for words as you watch the moon slowly fade into darkness. Except, the speck doesn't seem to grow into a circle. It seems like it has two... wings.
The dot become more and more defined as it grows in size. It seems to have four hooves, two wings. And a horn. You gasp and lean back in your chair. This is bad. Not another alicorn... You barely survived the last one.
Leaning into the screen, you watch as the alicorn speeds to the ground. When she reaches your back yard, she slowly descends, revealing her starry blue mane and light blue fur. Princess Luna.
"WHO DARES TO NOT REST ON THE NIGHTS WE SO CAREFULLY PREPARE?!" the alicorn yells in a voice that shakes the very trees around your home.
Time seems to stop, as the girls in the living room fall silent. The princess walks to the front of your home with a maliciousness in her steps. Her brow is furrowed and she seems focused, as if she were on some sort of mission. Flipping to the living room, the girls look to each other in mild shock. The door to your home opens and the Princess of the Night walks inside.
"Where is the one named Anonymous, who refuses to sleep during my precious nights," Luna asks the three Elements of Harmony.
The girls simultaneously point to your back room and your blood runs cold.
"He will pay for his transgressions. We create these nights for the citizens of Equestria to sleep peacefully, not for them to spend their time with unfruitful, unproductive tasks," Luna says to the three.
She walks slowly towards the left hallway and you immediately close the door. Screeew that.
"You won't be able to get there like that," the rainbow pony says to the princess.
"And why not?" Luna asks in irritation.
"He will just close his door on you," Rarity responds. "They have some sort of magic barrier on it and we can't kick it down either." Luna looks down the hallways, carefully considering her options.
"So, he challenges us to a duel?" Luna asks rhetorically.
"If there is anything we can do to help ya, Princess–" Applejack begins to volunteer, until she is cut off by Rainbow.
"AJ. Third–person. I don't think she means 'us'," Rainbow whispers.
"Oh. Right,"Applejack replies. The three mares look at Luna who surveys the scene carefully.
"Well, um, Your Highness... I suppose we will be going now. To rest on your beautiful night," Rarity says shakily, backing up. The other girls, taking the unicorn's cue follow her out.
"What is this peculiar device?" Luna asks the girls. Applejack turns to the Princess, as she points to one of your cameras.
"That doohickey?" Applejack replies. "We aren't sure, but we figure it lets him watch us from his weird TV from his safe room." Luna studies the camera closely as the three girls make their way out.
"Then, you are watching us right now?" Luna asks you through the camera. You keep your mouth shut, your muscles tense and ready for anything. "Your doors may be protected, but is your spying machine?" she asks with a smile.
What?
Luna's horn glows with magic as she leans in closer to the camera. She take another step closer, and closer. Until her horn protrudes from the monitor in front of you. Leaping out of your chair, you lean against the wall as you watch the alicorn emerge from your screen. This has got to be cheating. This isn't fair.
As Luna's head emerges from the screen, you pick up your wooden chair and attempt to bring it down on the Princess, but a magical barrier forces the chair to shatter into several pieces. Shit.
You push yourself back against the wall as Luna pushes one hoof out of the monitor. Attempting to juke her out, you lean left, but dart to the right doorway to make a getaway. The doors slam shut before you can even take another step. Her magic slams you up against a wall again as Luna's tail emerges from the screen and leaves you alone with her.
"It appears we have won your little game, Anonymous," She says fiercely, pushing you against the wall. "However, do you find it humorous to stay up every evening that we so delicately craft?" A lump forms in the middle of your throat.
"No, not really–"
She lifts you away, then pushes you back against the wall.
"You will pay for refusing to sleep during our precious nights!" Luna yells. You close your eyes and look away. What is she going to do? Luna laughs to herself quietly. "It appears that you have dark circles under your eyes, Anon. Are you tired?" She asks with a malevolent smile.
Your eyes shoot open and you turn to look her in the eyes, shaking your head. No... she can't.
"How about we let you have some rest, Anonymous?" Luna asks. You try to fight against the strain of the magical binding around you, but she is simply too strong.
"I played your silly little game, Anon. Now let me show you mine," She growls. Your eyes feel heavier and heaver. Stay awake, Anon! If you don't... who knows what she will do? She has the power... To control...
You rise from your bed quickly. Looking to your alarm clock, you find the clock clock set to 8am. The sun is shining on the beautiful green hills of Equestria. That's weird. Wasn't... Luna...
Go to your kitchen.
You guess not. All of a sudden, you feel the strong compulsion to head to the kitchen. With a wide stretch, you change your clothes and make your way to get yourself some delicious oatmeal. When you enter, you find a note on your table.
"Anon! Great news! I found a spell that might be able to send you back to Earth! Stop by as soon as you get this. Sincerely, Twilight."
No way. Did they... did they actually figure it out? Did they discover a way to get you back to Earth? You hold the note in your hands as if it were a rather large paycheck and reread it several times. A smile curls on your face.
There is no time to waste!
Sprinting out your door, you head into Ponyville to get to Twilight as soon as you possibly can. As you pass Sugarcube Corner and Applejack's cart, they begin to gallop along beside you.
"What's the big rush, Anon?" Applejack asks, as Rainbow and Fluttershy catch up to you.
"Twilight figured out a way for me to go home!" you exclaim. "I can't believe it. She actually figured it out."
Rarity spots your group heading towards Golden Oaks Library and races out of her shop to join you. The six of you stop once you reach Twilight's door. You knock over–enthusiastically and count the seconds it takes for the egghead to answer the door. Twilight opens the door and peers outside.
"Anon! Come on–" You push past the purple unicorn and step into her home.
"What is it? What's the spell? Get me out of here. Please, Twilight. Do it. Do it now," you command Celestia's prized pupil.
"Slow down! I have it right over here, just give me a minute," Twilight says soothingly. You attempt to hold your excitement the best you can as you wait for the unicorn to return with her spell.
"A–are you really going to leave, Anon?" Fluttershy asks, walking up to you.
"I think so," you answer the shy pegasus.
"Like, for forever?" Rainbow adds.
"Yep, isn't it great?" you reply. The five mares look to each other with a frown.
"Ah... Ah guess," Applejack replies.
"I think what we are trying to say, Darling, is that... we are really going to miss one of our closest friends," Rarity attempts to clarify.
"Oh girls, don't you see?" You say, approaching the five mares. "This isn't the place I belong. You ponies have a marvelous way of life that... I just don't seem to fit into, no matter how hard I try. Earth is where I belong. It's my home. During the days I've spent my life in Equestria in a way I will never forget."
The girls grow a faint glimmer of a smile and you gently ruffly Fluttershy's hair.
"Plus, what you guys did to me every night made me hate you all until the end of time."
"Wait, wha–"
"Found it!" Twilight yells, interrupting Applejack, levitating a book to a nearby stand. The book is dark red with what looks like teeth surrounding the edges. Twilight flips through the pages with her magic. As you approach, you find many different symbols adorned on the pages.
"Here we go!" Twilight says, stopping on page with several interconnected circles being held inside of an octagon. "All you have to do is hold your finger in the center of the symbol, and it should teleport you home."
You look at the book curiously.
"That's it?" you ask.
Twilight nods.
Do it.
Something about this doesn't seem right. You approach the book and you can feel your heartbeat quicken. A feeling deep in your chest is telling you that something is wrong. Taking a deep breath, you hesitate.
Do it.
Raising your hand to the book, you place your finger in the center of the intersecting circles. A bolt of electricity shoots through your arm.
Pulling your finger away, you watch as blood drips from your finger onto the page.
"Shit!" you yell reflexively, putting your bleeding finger into your mouth.
The book faintly glows with a dark red magic. What the hell is this? Taking a few steps away, you watch as the book levitates into midair. Turning around, you find the ponies have vanished and the door to library has disappeared with them. Looking back to the book, you watch as it pulsates in midair and fills the room with a red glow. The windows to the outside fade to black as you watch the book helplessly.
That's when you realize that pulsating isn't the right word. The right word would be beating. It's shakes move like a heartbeat and grow faster with each passing minute.
The paint from the walls begin to peel and decay, turning the colorful wall into a brown mess. The wooden floors below you dry, crack and splinter into a pale lifeless hue. The books on the shelves shake and fall to the ground, shattering into dust on impact. The living book beats faster and faster as you feel the world around around you spinning. A part of you feels as if you were going to vomit, and you collapse to your knees. The world stops. A cold chill fills the air as dust coats the floors and a single doorway sits off in the distance.
Go to it.
"I don't want to."
You must.
Rising to your feet, you walk carefully to the door through darkness. A chill runs through the air, raising goosebumps on your necks. When you reach the door, you firmly grasp the door handle. Pulling it open, you step inside of a tile room, with a bathtub sitting in the corner and a large mirror covering the opposite wall.
Stepping inside, you hear the door close behind you. You check your back and the door is gone. Moving into the center of the room, you inspect yourself in the mirror. Nothing... seems to be out of the ordinary. Turning your attention to the bathtub, you make your way over to see what's inside. Peering over the side, you find a bubbling black liquid sitting in the tub. A long metal chain lies on the outside of the tub and runs inside.
Grabbing the chain, you pull as hard as you can and after some resistance, it comes free. The dark liquid slowly exits the tub and leaves it empty, revealing a now unclogged drain. You look from the chain to the tub.
"I really hope that wasn't some sort of puzzle," you mutter under your breath.
You turn and look at the mirror and your reflection gazes back at you. Except, in the reflection, the tub's level of black tar is beginning to rise. You approach the mirror and watch the tub carefully, as well as continually looking back at your empty washing basin. The black liquid falls onto the floor of the reflection and begins to jet out along the floors and walls like thick black veins.
You can hear the book's heartbeat renew on the other side of the glass. Soon, the floor of the reflection is entirely covered in black pulsating veins, but your reflection pays them no mind, and the darkness doesn't spill into your side of the mirror. You take a few steps backward away from the mirror, but your reflection only takes one. He smiles at you.
Your blood runs cold. He raises his hand and waves at you. His entire room has become black, while you stand on dirty, unwashed , brown and red tiles. The mirror Anon points down to his feet. You look down and find your shoes beginning to be covered with thick black veins. In a panic, you reach down and try to rip your shoes off, but the veins only spread to your arm, sending a scalding hot pain through your senses that refuses to go away.
The black veins crawl over your skin as you collapse to the ground screaming in agony. The mirror you steps out of his room and into yours, walking slowly across the floor. He kneels down before you as you grasp his legs, screaming at the top of your lungs. You look up to the mirror Anon and beg for help, but he simply smiles. His pupils transform into thin vertical slits.
"What's wrong?" he asks in a low distorted voice. "Can't handle the Nightmare?"
Screaming, you sit up in bed in a cold sweat and with your breath out of control. Your eyes scan the room, and you find only sunlight streaming through your windows. Ripping the covers off, you check your arms and legs. They seem to be fine. No black veins.
You stop to catch your breath. Checking the alarm clock, it reads 8AM. Your throat runs try when you notice a note beside it. Reaching over carefully, you pluck the note from it's resting place and unfurl it. In deep blue ink, spiraled in well practiced cursive lines the note:
"That's it!" you scream, throwing the letter across the room.
Anger seeps into your bones as you toss the covers off your body. You sit up on the edge of the bed, placing your face in your hands. That was the last straw. You need answers. No more of this night to night survival shit. You are going to see someone about this. Today.
Rising from your bed, you shed your sweat dampened clothes and take measured breaths. First, it was just normal ponies. Then it was Cadance. Now Luna attacked you. This whole thing is getting horribly out of hand.
However... she seemed to be different. She was more concerned with your sleep pattern than getting in your pants. There weren't any of the tell tale signs that anything other than she laid you in bed and wrote the note. So... you think she wasn't after anything else. However that dream was more jarring than anything else you've had to endure up until this point.
There has to be a way to get some answers. Why have the ponies been acting this way? Why at night? Why only for the last few months?
Ugh.
You might as well get ready for your day. The first day out in the sunlight in a long time. Just as you hit the doorway to your room, you freeze. Looking down at your unclothed body, your first concern is if you have any unwelcome guests. Or, an unwelcome Princess. You can't walk out like that.
Heading back to your closet, you grab a robe that Rarity made you as a welcome gift to Ponyville. It was white and had three light blue diamonds stitched into the fabric on the back. At the time, you thought it was a sign of a creator branding their creation, however after everything that has been happening at night you aren't as sure. At least now you are more covered up.
You approach the door and listen intently to any sort of sounds on the other side of the door. Only silence greets your ears. Hopefully, the coast is clear. Slowly, you open the door to your bedroom and peek into the hallway. The sunlight from outside lights a majority of your home, but the blind corners of the living room still set you on edge.
Poking your head out further, you cast a glance left and right down your hallway. Everything appears to be clear, but the doorway to your security room stands open. A shiver runs down your spine. That would be the best way to check if the house is clear.
This fear has got to stop.
You don't even feel safe in your own home anymore. The doorway creaks open wider as your tip-toe into your own hallway. Slowly, you walk to your security room. Leaning your head in, you find the monitors all glowing and the remains of your chair lying in a heap.
Dammit. You liked that chair.
Moving inside, you check the battery. Still recharging. Good. You flip through each of your cameras for good measure.
No noise in the kitchen. That might be the best you can do.
Hallways - Clear
Living Room - Empty
Bathroom - Nothing
Outside - Just the clear day.
Bedroom - Just as you left it.
Well that's a relief. Heading into the opposite hallway, you head to the bathroom casually. As you step inside, your eyes instantly trace from the mirror of the bathroom, to the tub/shower combination.
A sinking feeling fills your stomach as flashback from the dream invade your mind's eye. Maybe you don't need a shower today. Turning back to the hallway, you take a step towards the living room.
Damn it, Anon. Get a hold of yourself. You can't let them win.
Turning back to your bathroom, you close and lock the door with a sigh. Shedding your robe, you turn on the shower to that magical spot. The spot where it isn't too hot or too cold. Pulling the shower curtain aside as the water warms up, you move to the mirror. Placing your hands on the sink, you stare down your reflection at close range.
"Are you going to come to life and attack me?" you ask your reflection.
Staring at yourself, you shake your head. Get a hold of yourself, Anon. Relax.
"Of course not. Cause you are a goddamn mirror," you say to yourself. "That's all you are."
Stepping back, you rub your eyes with your fingers. If there is one thing you can admit, it's that you feel refreshed after getting a good amount of sleep. Moving the shower curtain aside, you step inside your shower. Instantly a barrage of cold water assaults your feet. Leaping out of the line of fire, you rapidly turn the water to a much hotter setting.
You growl under your breath. This is because of Rainbow's bullshit last night. You'll be sure to send her your bill for this one.
The water becomes more tolerable as you pour some shampoo into your hand. Well, since you are actually going to be awake for today, there is only one thing to do. You are going to demand to speak to Celestia. Stepping under the water, you massage the shampoo into your hair.
Getting on the train to Canterlot shouldn't be hard... it's going to be getting an audience with her. How in the world would you do that? You stare at the drain of your tub and feel goosebumps rise on the back of your neck. Is that... black-
Stop, Anon. Just a dream.
Shaking your head, you close your eyes and place your face under the faucet, letting the cleansing waters run down your face. The only person you know who can get Celestia's attention like that is Twilight, but how would you make that work? You never see any of the ponies during the day, since you try to stay awake during the nights. Yet, if you try to keep it up... Luna has different plans for you. With a groan, you take a bar of soap to the rest of your body, cleansing the smell of sweat and body odor away.
You will have to try and talk to Twilight and see if you can get her to see reason. She's a smart mare. She should be able to put two and two together. Then again, this isn't the first time you've tried to explain this to her either. For some reason, randomly waking up in somepony else's house, with no memory of going there, didn't strike her as odd.
These ponies are weird.
However, maybe being attacked by two Princesses, two nights in a row, might finally get her to see reason. Rinsing the suds off your body, you take a deep breath to recollect yourself. Everything gets fixed today.
If not, then to hell with this shit. It'll be time to move into the woods.
Turning off the flow of what little hot water you have left, you step out of the shower and grab your RariRobe™. Grabbing a nearby towel, you pat dry your hair while approaching the fogged bathroom mirror. Removing the towel from your head, you wipe away the condensation. Then, you gently pull the towel away.
The clear mirror reflects your features. Goosebumps form on the back of your neck as the dream floods back into your head.
You know what, you don't need the mirror to brush your teeth.
Prepping your toothbrush, you step out to your living room while brushing your teeth. Out of instinct, you cast a glance at your front door. Closed tightly.
If Equestria had better locks for their doors, then you would have had one... but considering most could be easily bucked open, there wasn't much of a point. Spitting the toothpaste foam into the sink, you prep a pot of coffee for the journey ahead of you.
Twilight should be at the library. The trick wouldn't be getting her attention, it's assuring her that you needed to speak to Princess Celestia immediately. However, how would you approach the situation? You could act like you were dying...
Nah, she would just call an ambulance. What if you said there was some sort of evil on the loose? That's not totally a lie.
Then again, she would probably just try to use the Elements of Harmony against whatever it is. Damn those things... always ruining the best laid plans. So then... what do you do? You can't really... threaten her. That would just be wrong.
Placing the coffee on the stove, you return your toothbrush and head back to your room to get dressed. Throwing on a casual pair of jeans and a t-shirt, you return to your kitchen table and carefully consider your options. After a few unfruitful moments, nothing comes to you. You groan in frustration and rest your head on the table.
"Why can't this just be easy?" you ask yourself out loud. You rise from your seat and pace the room. "Hey Twi! Can you take me to the ruler of the country right away? I need to speak to her immediately," you mutter in a mocking tone.
This is so stupid.
Just then, you hear three carefully calculated knocks from your front door. Your head turns in confusion to the source of the noise. You... have a visitor. There is no way this could go well. Quickly, you move to hide behind your couch.
But, wait, it's during the day. They aren't in their needy mode. So what do you have to lose?
You look to the door, where the three calculated knocks sound again. Well. Shoot. Here goes nothing.
With a sigh, move to the front door. Placing your hand on the knob, you turn and pull the door open carefully. Who could it be?
As the door opens, a young purple unicorn stands in front of you wearing a stern expression and standing beside her is a tall white alicorn with a long flowing mane. Your gut drops upon recognition of the taller guest.
"Uhh," you say in shock.
"Anon, I wrote the Princess a letter mentioning the events from two nights ago and she felt we all needed to speak immediately," Twilight announces in an overly official tone.
"I hope you don't mind the intrusion, Anonymous," Princess Celestia says in earnest, attempting to make the situation seem more casual.
You look between the two ponies standing in front of you in shock. Well, okay. This will work. It definitely involves a lot less shouting and threats.
"No, uh. Not at all. P-please come in," you reply, opening the door wider. "I was just making coffee, would the two of you like some?" The two mares make their way inside your home, looking around at your home decor.
"That would be wonderful," the Princess answers.
"None for me, thanks. I had some as a filly and... well, coffee and I don't react well," Twilight answers.
"Fair enough," you say while closing the door behind them. "Sorry for the mess, I didn't quite expect guests."
"It's no trouble at all," Celestia answers.
"This is nothing compared to the library on a bad day," Twilight replies in a tone that felt almost too honest.
"Right. Right," you answer, heading to the kitchen and grabbing two mugs. "So, what would you like to know?"
"Twilight told me the most peculiar thing," the Princess begins. "That she woke up in your home with no memory of what happened prior,"
"Yeah, she did," you reply, pouring coffee for the two of you.
"However, I wanted to see your side of the story, Anonymous. Normally I would have attributed her comment as a sign of a new budding... friendship for Twilight." Twilight's face reddens and she looks away from the table, her pupils shrank to the size of pins and ears flattened. "But, I wanted to hear your side of the story, Anon. I have some concerns about other recent events and how you may be connected to a bigger picture," the Princess explains.
This couldn't have gone better if you planned it. Don't mess it up.
"Well, I'm not sure how I can explain it in... appropriate terms, your Majesty," you reply, placing the fresh mug of coffee in front of her.
"Then use whatever terms you feel are appropriate, Anonymous," Celestia answers with a smile.
Taking a sip of your coffee, you stare down into the black liquid and ponder how to chose your words. "Well, you see... at night for the last few months... Mares around town have been kinda... sorta..." you begin. Raising your gaze to the Princess, you notice who eyes you carefully. "They... won't take no for an answer," you answer in as delicate terms as possible.
Princess Celestia nods while Twilight looks between the two of you for some sort of signal to what you two are talking about. "So, after midnight, they became forceful," Celestia asks bluntly.
"Yeah. That's a good way to put it," you elaborate. The purple mare sits up and interjects.
"So... wait a minute. Are you saying that when I go to sleep, I some how come over here and try to-"
"Yes," you interrupt her. "Almost every night."
Twilight leans back in outrage. "That's not possible. Nopony can do that... even with sleepwalking. That's not scientifically possible," she answers.
"Neither are the Elements of Harmony," you answer quickly.
"Friendship is more powerful than science," she retorts.
You shake your head. Just another thing that doesn't make sense on top of the massive pile of things that doesn't make sense in this world.
"Science or not, what he is saying makes perfect sense to me, Twilight," Celestia responds calmly, levitating the cup of coffee to her lips and taking a sip.
"About the Elements?" Twilight asks in shock. "But Princess-"
"No, about what Anonymous has been experiencing," the Priness interrupts. Celestia sets her drink down and refocuses on you.
"How?" Twilight asks curiously. The Princess's face curls into a smile.
"It's not really something I can simply explain. I must show you."
"Really?" you reply, leaning forward slightly. "Then show me." Finally, some answers. Princess Celestia studies the features of your face carefully.
"First, I have a few more questions of my own..." the white alicorn elaborates.
Ugh. You've waited this long, but even five more minutes feels like utter torture.
"Alright,” you answer.
"What did you use to fend off your attackers?" the Princess asks.
"Oh. Uh. That's easy. I'll show you," you reply. Rising from the table, you head into the living room and the two mares rise from their seats to follow you. Pointing to an area in the center of the room, you turn to Twilight. "Twilight, could you stand here for a second?" you ask.
"Yeah, sure," she answers, walking to position herself in the center of your living room.
"Thanks. Now, see this device, Princess?" you explain, walking up to the camera that's placed on the wall of your living room.
"Yes," she answers.
"This is called-"
"A camera," she completes your sentence. You turn to her curiously.
"Yeah, how did-"
"Where do you view the camera feeds?" she asks.
You stare at the Princess carefully. How does she know? This only raises more questions. Equestria can't have this kind of technical knowledge yet... can it?
"Uh. Back here..."
You turn your back to her and head down one of your hallways to the monitor room while the Princess follows you. Stepping into your room, you press the Living Room button, which shows a bored Twilight.
"I see," Celestia observes. "But why back here?"
"Oh. That's the other part. I also did this," you turn to look at the Princess, who stands in the hallway, looking in at you. You press the door button to her hallway and the metal door closes tightly. A muffled "Oh!" is heard from the other side of the door. Raising the door, Celestia's gaze traces it as it returns into the ceiling.
"Very clever," Celestia compliments.
"Thank you,"
"You built all of this yourself?" she asks.
"Yeah. All myself with some knowledge I brought with me from Earth."
"I see... Then I believe I will require your help in a mission Twilight and I are embarking on."
"I thought you were going to show me why I've been getting attacked?" you ask.
"That is part of the mission, should you choose to join us." Celestia mentions.
Well shit. Looks like you don't really have a choice. It's either some weird mission or never knowing why all of this is happening.
"Well, what's the mission?" you ask, returning to the hallway.
"Does that mean you will be joining us?" she asks.
"Yeah, yeah. Sure. Whatever," you sigh.
"This mission is not something you may take lightly, Anonymous," Celestia warns. "You may never discuss of this trip with anypony else. Do you understand?"
You stare the Princess down. What is she talking about? Could this really be that bad? Then again, do you really have a choice? You can't even look at yourself in the mirror.
"Yeah. I'll do it."
"Very well then. I will brief you and Twilight on the way there," Celestia concludes. The two of you re-enter the living room with Twilight and you turn to the Princess.
"Where are we going then?"
"Our destination is deep in the Everfree Forest," the Princess calmly answers.
A shiver runs down your spine. Between having to live under constant attack every night or in the forest, you would still choose the forest, but that doesn't make it a safe place by any means. At least it's day time.
"The Everfree... why?" you ask.
"I will show you when we arrive," Celestia answers.
You turn to Twilight. She follows the Princess out the door without a second thought. Something about this doesn't seem right. Those two seem to be acting kinda funny. If you stay, you won't get your answers. However... if you go with them...
This is your last chance, Anon.
You take a look behind you at the bathroom. Another shiver runs down your spine.
"God damn it."
Grabbing one of your flashlights from the living room closet, you follow the girls out the door. At least it could be used as a blunt weapon in case of an emergency. The two mares head towards the tree line of the forest behind your home and you jog to catch up with them.
"So... that it? No hints, no backstory... no nothing? Nothing to explain what we are heading to right now?"
"Hmm..." Celestia answers, thinking to herself. "How should I begin to explain our destination?"
The two mares remain silent as the three of you enter the dim forest. Light fades through the leaves in the trees and lights a portion of the way, but navigation would still be difficult without a map. Which none of you have. You hope Celestia knows what she is doing.
"Since Equestria was founded, we have discovered items, belongings and artifacts of great and mysterious power," Celestia begins to explain. "The first of these mysterious items were named 'The Elements of Harmony'” Twilight's head turns to look at her teacher and listen more attentively. "These artifacts were nearly useless on their own, but as we began to experiment with them and place them in the same room, their powers would erupt and cause great spikes in energy. We lost the whole east wing of our first castle to the Element's powers."
"Jeez."
"My goodness," Twilight remarks.
"We needed a way to contain these magical artifacts that were discovered as we explored the lands. However, we needed the place they were stored to be secret. Hidden away from somepony who could attempt to use their powers for their own selfish purposes. Plus, after the Elements had caused such destruction in untrained hands, we needed a way to contain these artifacts until they could be properly studied. We needed a containment facility," the Princess continues.
"But the Elements aren't harmful," Twilight interjected. "They've saved Equestria plenty of times."
"Yes, we only began to use them after we discovered their proper uses. However, not all the artifacts we have discovered were good. Some are very dangerous and could cause massive destruction, chaos, or change the hearts and minds of ponies. Sometimes... the ponies are the artifacts," Celestia explains sullenly.
The three of you walk through the darkened forest in silence. A containment facility for ponies and magical artifacts? Like a prison? Or... some sort of gun cabinet? The darkness around you blankets the path underneath your feet. Celestia leads you with a sense of purpose, as if she's walked this path a million times. You hope she actually has.
"So... are you saying some sort of... weird, magical spoon, or something caused all of these attacks to happen to me?" you ask in an attempt to distract you from the hostile surroundings and actually answer some of your questions.
"An artifact, yes," Celestia confirms.
"Then why has this been happening for months?" you ask.
"We've been in the process of moving our artifacts from the Crystal Empire Facility to The Everfree's Facility... and one of the artifacts slipped our grasp. The artifact that was missing was noticed two days ago and Cadance sought to find the artifact personally, given she was overseeing this top secret operation."
"Then... she attacked me two days ago. She somehow knew how everything in my house worked..."
"The containment facilities use a monitoring system very similar to yours in order to keep the artifacts under constant surveillance. Until this moment, only the Princesses were allowed to come and go from the facilities at a moment's notice. All of the staff that work in the facility live on premises."
"That kinda makes sense... I guess. What about Luna then? She attacked me last night too," you ask.
"That is the issue we have ran into..." Celestia explains. "After Cadance was possessed by the artifact two days ago, she enlisted the help of Princess Luna to reclaim the artifact and return it to the facility. As I'm sure you have worked out, the artifact works within a range and only activates in the evening."
"Yeah."
"Then... was Luna affected too?" Twilight asks.
"Not exactly," Celestia continues. "The two princesses reclaimed the artifact and returned it to the facility... but, there was a problem after Cadance left."
"You're kidding me. It reactivated? Or something?" you ask.
"No. The 'Saddle' artifact was returned and stored properly before it could affect Luna. She was wearing a nullifying artifact that made her resistant to the Saddle's power. There was a containment breach of a different artifact," Celestia explains.
"A breach?" you ask.
"What got out?" Twilight asks.
"That's the problem. Luna was affected by an artifact that brought out a part of the essence of Nightmare Moon that was locked away inside her. It didn't react well with her new reformed self and made her act irrationally. Some of the on site personnel still haven't woken up yet."
"Wait a minute. Was Nightmare Moon caused by an artifact?" Twilight asks.
"Yes," Celestia answers. "We were unable to discover a proper way to lock away the power..."
"So you sent her to the moon," Twilight answers.
The Princess simply sighs and her pace slows. "That's correct," Celestia continues. "That was our first attempt at combining the effects of other artifacts."
"You were able to contain it, right?" you ask. "The current breach."
"Also correct. That's what we aim to do here at the facility," Celestia answers, stopping suddenly.
Her horn lights up with golden magic and the ground under your feet begins to shift. The ground in front of the three of you pulls apart, revealing a long staircase down into the earth.
"Secure, contain, and protect. At least, until we understand," Celestia concludes. Celestia begins to descend the staircase and you turn to Twilight.
"This is insane..." you whisper to her.
"I know... How could have the Princesses kept this a secret for so long..." Twilight answers you.
A mission is a mission. You have to press on. Shaking your head, you follow the Sun Princess and Twilight follows behind. The three of you descend the cold metal staircase in the middle of the Everfree Forest. The walls are dimly lit with electric bulbs and at the bottom of the staircase sits a metal door, where Celestia stands, waiting for the two of you patiently.
Reaching the bottom, Celestia presses a button on a nearby device. The device emits a high pitched noice.
"*ERRK* Security clearance please, *ERRK*"
"Security code, Supernova." Celestia states loudly.
Silence fills the room. A camera whirrs on the wall and scans the three of you.
"*ERRK* Are you aware you are not alone? *ERRK*"
"Yes, I have brought two guests," Celestia answers.
Silence is the only other presence in dimly lit underground hallway. The ground above you slowly shakes as you watch the entrance to the staircase slowly recess back into the earth. Once the rumbling has settled, your gaze alternates between Twilight and Celestia. Your muscles stand tense. What sort of artifacts could be in this facility, and if it was recently breached, how do you know it will be safe?
This is madness.
This place could be an elaborate death trap.
"Have ponies died here?" you ask the Princess.
Celestia's gaze remains forward and does not answer. A loud click emanates from the door and it slides into the ceiling.
"*ERRK* Please enter the holding chamber. *ERRK*"
Celestia moves forward into the doorway, followed by you and Twilight. The three of you enter a bright room with a mirror posted on one of the walls. The door behind you closes tight.
"What is that status of Princess Luna?" Celestia asks.
A speaker from the ceiling of the room comes to life, as four cameras on each wall of the room inspect the three of you carefully.
"The Princess's internal artifact has been re-contained. The artifact that has affected her is still loose within the facility and must be contained," a feminine voice says over the intercom.
"And Cadance has returned to her facility?" Celestia asks.
"That is correct," the intercom mare confirms.
"Perfect," the Princess says with a smile. "Have we isolated the artifact to a single wing?"
"Yes, but it will react with any pony who attempts to reclaim it," the intercom explains.
Celestia turns to you with a smile. Why is she-
Oh. Right. Human.
"So, I'm here to be live bait for your artifact," you ask.
"Well, another way of saying it is, that this is your mission," Celestia corrects you.
"Right. Right," you answer with a sigh.
No sense fighting the Sun Princess. At least she is trying to help you. In her own weird way.
"Plus, since you did so well at fending off the other ponies, this should be no problem for you," Celestia continues.
"Except I had doors to close if I were in danger. What do I have to protect me this time?"
"That is where Twilight and I come in," Princess Celestia answers, while Twilight turns to her.
"W-what?" her student asks.
"*ERRK* Please proceed to the briefing room. *ERRK*"
The door opposite of the one that you entered from opens widely and the Princess moves to the newly opened doorway. You and Twilight exchange nervous glances and follow her into a bright white hallway. The walls seem to radiate light and are only contrasted by the flat steel doorways, each marked with a small illuminated screen with letters and numbers.
"I don't like the sound of this," you whisper to Twilight.
"Me either... what does this thing do?" she whispers back.
You glance at the doorways that you cross along the way.
SCP-086 Containment Zone. SCP-087 Transport Area. SCP-088 Containment Zone.
"Hell if I know... but Luna really did some messed up shit last night... I dunno if I could take another dream like that," you reply.
"Dream? What dream?" Twilight asks.
The Princess turns right into an open doorway ahead of you.
"I'll explain later. I have a feeling we are about to figure out what we are going after," you answer.
The two of you turn into the open doorway and find yourselves in another bright white room, with what looks to be some sort of machine held against a wall and a table with four chairs. Princess Celestia sits patiently at the table while another pony seems to be just sitting down.
"Please take a seat and we will begin the orientation," the Princess tells you, as a gray stallion in a white lab coat and short brown mane places a few folders on the table where Celestia sits.
"Orientation?" Twilight asks.
"Uh. Alright," you say, approaching the table.
"Would the two of you like something to drink?" the stranger asks.
"Uhm. No, thanks," Twilight asks.
"Is it poison?" you ask.
The lab coated pony sighs and opens his first folder. "This is the room of SCP-294. Object Class: Elucid-"
"What the hell does Elucid mean?" you interrupt the stallion. The stallion sighs and shakes his head.
"There are many different types of objects here at the facility," Celestia explains. "Some of which are harder to contain or understand than others. We measure them on a scale of Safe, Euclid, and Keter."
"Okay," you say. "Sooo-"
"So, is that object over there..." Twilight asks curiously.
"That is 294. I'll spare the details, but it can produce any liquid that you request of it, if you request it," the scientist replies. "So let me ask again. Would either of you two like something to drink?"
Twilight rises from her seat and walks up to the device slowly. It looks like an ordinary vending machine with a keyboard on the front. This is ridiculous. It probably just makes coffee and tea. These ponies are ridiculous. How is this an artifact?
"Well, I've only read about it... but there is this fancy drink they make over in Saddle Arabia I've always wanted to try..." Twilight says to the scientist.
"What is it called?" The scientist asks, pulling out a pen.
"I believe it's a... Oh, I don't know how to pronounce it... but I can spell it." Twilight confirms.
"Alright. I'll watch you input it into the machine," he confirms. "Punch the name of the drink in using the keyboard and see if it recognizes it." Twilight's gaze returns to the machine as she places her order and the scientist scribbles down the name of the drink. When she presses enter, the display on the machine goes blank and is replaced with 'Finding...'.
A silent moment passes as the four of you watch the machine. A small bell rings and the display changes to 'Dispensing...'. The machine's delivery compartment closes with a piece of glass, and a small white paper cup dispenses into view. A dark orange liquid then flows into the cup.
With another ding, the display changes to "Please retrieve your beverage." and the glass door slides open. Twilight turns her head to look at the three of you and the scientist nods his head. Her horn glows and she retrieves the drink.
Bringing the cup to her nose, she gives it a gentle whiff. "It smells like oranges," she observes.
You chuckle in satisfaction. "Of course it only makes juice. Somehow you guys made a juicer and you guys aren't sure how you did it. So instead of using it, you have it locked away in some basement," you criticize. "Great job guys."
"Alright, wise guy," the scientist scoffs. "Go request a beverage then. Anything at all."
"Fine. You want a challenge? You got it."
Rising from your seat triumphantly, you cross Twilight who takes a sip of her drink. Her face scrunches tightly at the bitterness of the drink and places it on the table away from her.
"This is one straight from my home," you state, punching in the name of the liquid.
"What's it called?" he asks curiously.
"Mountain Dew,"
"Water from a mountain?" he asks. "Why would you want that?" You turn from the machine to the scientist.
"It's a special type of soda from Earth," you answer matter-of-factly.
"Soda?" Celestia asks curiously.
"Yeah, but it won't matter. There is no way you guys could remake something that only I have ever tasted. There's-"
A bell rings from the device and the scientist smiles widely. You turn to the device in shock, and the display shows 'Dispensing...' The door slides shut again, and a paper cup drops into view. There's no way.
You kneel down to get a better view. A yellow-green liquid slowly flows into the cup and fills it almost half an inch from the top. With another ding, the door flies open. A silent moment passes as you stare at the paper cup.
"Well, go on," the scientist urges you. "I was hoping you would order something from your world."
You reach out and grab the cup. Retrieving it, you look inside to see the familiar sight of a bubbly carbonated soda. You haven't had this soda in, what feels like, a lifetime. There is no way. You bring the glass to your lips, but the sugary lemon-lime taste of Mountain Dew fills your taste buds.
You turn to the stallion slowly. "How did it do that?" you ask quietly.
The stallion returns to his documentation. "The machine can return any desired liquid found in this universe. While it can be used for any known Equestrian beverage, it can also be used for super heated or super cooled liquids, elements that can appear in a liquid state, or any known liquid. This includes, but is not limited to liquid from other planets, liquids that have not yet been formally discovered, and bodily fluids," he reads aloud.
"Bodily fluids?" you ask.
"Yes. Like blood," the stallion clarifies.
You turn to the vending machine, which patiently asks what your next order is. Slowly, you take a step back.
"That's not right..."
"Now then, now that you understand the importance of what is contained in this facility, can we continue?" the Princess asks you.
"Alright... I guess," you answer, reclaiming your seat at the table.
Maybe this scientist guy knows his stuff. The stuff in this place could actually be really dangerous... If they store things that make ponies turn aggressive or make new Nightmare Moons... then you need to take this more seriously. It could just mean your life.
"Now then," the scientist begins. "As I was trying to explain earlier, the artifact you are going to reclaim is not currently classified yet. We are still learning about it's basic qualities."
"So, nopony even really knows what it does?" asks Twilight.
"Not yet. We were performing research on the artifact when it had a violent reaction to Princess Luna, causing the breach and ..." the scientist reviews the rest of the paperwork. "I'm afraid the rest is on a need to know basis."
"Need to know basis?!" you shout at the coated stallion. "We have to get this thing, and you are telling me the details about it is a need to know basis?! I'd think-"
"Calm down, Anonymous," the Princess sternly interrupts. You lean back in your chair. "If there was additional information that we had about the event that was necessary to know, I'm sure it would be shared," Celestia claims. "However, I believe it is more important that we brief you about the object."
"That's correct," the scientist confirms. You shuffle in your seat and sigh.
"Alright. Tell me about this thing then."
The stallion changes to a new file and opens it widely, passing you a picture. The picture looks like an old book, with a blood red cover and pink pages. The spine of the book appears worn, as if it had been read countless times.
"This artifact was recovered from the basement of an abandoned home in year..." the stallion pauses again. "Redacted. The books owner was curled in the corner of the basement, rocking back and forth. The mare's hair was disheveled and she appeared to have stayed in the corner for quite sometime. After medical personnel arrived on scene, she perished later that day due to malnutrition and failing internal organs," the scientist reads.
"How can you just say that?" Twilight asks. The scientist's eyes rise from the papers. "How can you just talk about somepony's life as if it was nothing?" the young mare asks.
"I'm sure the staff attempted everything in their power, Twilight," Celestia calmly assures her student. She shifts in her seat uncomfortably as you try to find other details that could assist you. The scientist returns his eyes to the paper and clears his throat.
"When the reclamation team arrived to return the book to the facility, task force member A, further to referred as subject A, attempted to reclaim the tome. Upon touching the book with her hoof, she immediately froze in place and became unresponsive. All attempts of communication with the subject received no response. Task force member B, further referred to as subject B, became irritated at their team member's lack of action and levitated the book with her unicorn magic. Once her aura enveloped the book, Subject A fell to the floor, unconscious and subject B became unresponsive to all forms of communication. After approximately 5 minutes, Subject B began screaming intensely and began to quickly walk backwards, visibly trembling. Other members of the reclamation task force asked for authorization for use of Experimental Artifact 49, Containment Ooze, and was approved. Task force members C and D covered the tome in Artifact 49 and Subject B fell to the floor, unconscious. The artifact is to remain in Artifact 49 at all times when not under observation or during research." The scientist looks up from his paperwork and shifts to a new one.
"What happened to the subjects?" you ask.
"The subjects awoke in ... some time, and reported having the most vivid and terrifying experience of their lives. Subjects were reported to be jumpy and did not want to discuss what happened in their experience under the influence of the artifact. However, both claim their experiences were wildly different, as if tailor-made to their worst fears."
The room becomes silent and a shiver runs down your spine. "So, I'm guessing that' it's Twilight and my job to go dump ooze on this book and put it back in it's room?" you ask.
"That's correct," Princess Celestia confirms.
"Why do you need me? Why can't any of the other workers perform the task? Hasn't anyone else tried?" you ask. The room goes silent
"My sister tried, Anonymous," the Princess curtly reminds you. You lean back in your chair, worried you offended the Princess. "The difference from this time and when the tome was claimed, is that the book is lying open. When it was claimed, it was closed," the Princess clarifies.
"Why should that make a difference?" Twilight asks.
"Now it seems, the artifact is reacting with whoever is closest with it," the stallion explains. "So, our hope is that Anonymous is immune, considering he is not of this world."
"Then what if I do react?" you ask.
"Then you will have to live out your worst possible fear," the scientist says flatly.
A shiver runs up your spine. Your worst possible fear? Nothing has been more terrifying than the last few days? What could possibly be worse?
"What if I can't overcome what my fear is?" you ask. The scientist looks from you, then to Celestia, then back to you.
"Then you will have been the first," he replies. "Either way, the Princess and her student will be instructed to retrieve you. The book has never affected more than one host before and it did not when Princess Luna was affected... so we have no reason to believe that they should be harmed."
"So in the end... this is all some big experiment," you confirm.
"To a sense, yes," he replies. With a great huff, you lean back in your chair and attempt to brainstorm an alternative.
"Why do I even have to help you?" you ask. "You contained the thing that was ruining my life...Why should I help?"
"Anon!" Twilight exclaims, shocked at your question. Celestia raises a calm hoof to her student.
"If a sense of gratitude and thanks does not drive you to assist us, perhaps a job opportunity would," she asks. "If you complete this task, we could consider hiring you for artifact retrieval."
Your head perks up. A job? You barely made any money doing odds and ends work around Ponyville... you barely had enough to feed yourself. Where there is a job, there is money. Where there is money, there is food.
Sold.
"Alright, so I just gotta go in, dump this ooze stuff on the book.... then..." you clarify, hoping the stallion would explain the rest.
"Return it to it's room," the scientist answers.
"Which is..." you ask again.
"The open door directly beside the book. All you have to do is place it on the pedestal and close the door on the way out," he answers.
You look across the table at the three ponies eyeing you intently.
"So, when do we get started?" you ask.
"Let me gather your supplies, and we can begin immediately," the scientist says, rising to his hooves.
"So, I don't get protective armor... or any sort of weapon. Just... purple goop."
"It's neutralizing ooze, thank you very much," the scientist reiterates. "It will be your only defense if you can fight the effects of the book." You look down at the bucket of thick purple liquid and sigh to yourself.
"I don't even get a weapon though? I mean-"
"Listen," the scientist interrupts you.
He looks around the empty holding chamber directly connected to the containment area. A thick, locked iron door stands between you and the hallway that contains the book of fears. The scientist looks directly into your eyes with concern.
"I've watched stallions, stronger ones than you, take their own life from what they see in that book. When it was closed. Ponies that have gotten in contact with it when it was open... still haven't woken up. It's all confidential... but we don't know how to save anypony from this thing. You're our only hope." A chill runs down your spine as you glance at the closed door. "You have to do your best," he reiterates. "The Princess and Twilight are here to recover you if it gets bad."
Taking a deep breath, you try to shake off the oncoming sense of numbness. You can do this. Piece of cake. Book that makes ponies kill themselves? Walk in the park. You chuckle to yourself involuntarily.
This is the dumbest thing you've ever done.
"Hey... if you're the last person I ever talk to... can you tell me your name?" you ask the stallion. He goes silent.
"We aren't supposed to share our names at the facility," he answers. With a sigh, you shake your head.
"Alright. I get it," you tell him.
Stretching your arms, you head towards the iron door and place your hand on the opening button. It's now or never. No point in delaying the inevitable.
"It's Arty. Arty Fact," he calls to you. Turning to him, you give him a smile.
"Thanks Arty," you tell him. "See you on the other side." Pressing the button, the door opens in front of you and step inside. The door closes firmly behind you once you enter the hallway. "Hopefully not THE other side."
You take measured steps on the metal floor as you immediately see the open book in the middle of the hallway. The hallway is well lit and several closed doors line the hallway, each labeled for some unclassified SCP object. Your hands tremble as you move closer to the book. The breath escapes your mouth shakily. Nothing yet...
How close did Arty say you had to be for the effects to begin? The bucket full of purple gel stays resolute in your hands. Maybe if you get close enough, you can toss the purple shit all over it and not have to feel the effects. Yeah, that's a great plan.
You take step after step closer to the book. After you get half way there, the thought occurs to you... what if you miss? Then you wouldn't have anything to save you. You will have to make sure you are close enough. Just a bit closer.
The book sits on the floor peacefully and undisturbed. As you cross the doors, you can hear a quiet whispering emanating from them, just quiet enough for you to not understand what they are saying.
Your muscles tense as you move closer to the book. Maybe you should try throwing it now. It's only thirty feet away. No. You could miss.
You move closer to the book. The lights around you begin to flicker and dim as you approach. This is all in your head, Anon. It can't hurt you.
Moving closer, you wonder if you should try now. It's only twenty feet away. You ready the purple goop, but freeze. There is still the chance to miss. Do you trust your aim well enough?
One of the pages of the book flips on it's own. You can't miss.
Taking five more shaky steps, the room around you grows colder. Your breath condenses in the air, showing a visible cloud of air in front of you. Almost there.
The book flips two pages on it's own. You ready the bucket and look at the book to take aim. Yet, three of the words on the book scream out on the page of the book.
"Anonymous sits quietly..."
Was... Was that your name? The bucket slowly lowers as you take another step closer. The text was too small... maybe you were just seeing things. But you swear you saw it... the book has your name in it. You ready your bucket again.
"Anonymous sits quietly in his saferoom, reading off his glowing screens..."
You blink and the text is too small again. There isn't an opportunity to miss. You have to do this right. Ten steps, and you should be right by it. You shut your eyes. One step. Two... three.
Holding your breath, you measure out your steps, On ten, you dump the bucket right at your feet. Eight... Nine... Ten.
Dumping the bucket right in front of you, you hear an audible splat on the ground. Then silence.
Was that it? Did you beat it?
You open your eyes to find yourself sitting in the saferoom of your home, the glowing screens showing you 100% charge. Your heart stops for a moment and your mind goes blank. Just another night at home. Let's do this.
11:59pm
Quickly you check the buttons of your side doors. They work perfectly. That's a good start. Quickly flipping through your camera feeds, you check your home for intruders.
Kitchen – Still dark. That's right. That camera got broken.
Living Room – Nothing.
Bedroom – Empty.
Bathroom – Nopony.
Now outside.
Backyard – Clear.
Westside – Clear.
Eastside – Clear.
Front – A grey blur flashes on screen and slams directly into your door.
You check your clock. 12:01
So it begins.
The door opens, revealing a cross-eyed, blonde maned mare with bubbles on her flank. Derpy? Really? Well. She's not that intimidating. She typically just just trips and falls all over herself as she tries to go through your home to find you.
"Anoon?" she calls out into your home as she steps inside, looking around. "Where are yoou?"
"Derpy! Go home!" you yell to the ditzy horse.
"Did you put yourself in time out again?" she asks, heading down the hallway.
"It's not timeout! I mean- UGH! GO HOME!" you exclaim, flipping to your hallway camera.
"Maybe after you show me a little hospitality..." she flirtatiously calls out to you. Her flank sways back and forth as she makes her way down the hallway. In her attempt to act sexy, she slams herself directly into a table and a vase falls to the ground, shattering into millions of tiny pieces.
"Ugh. God... damn it," you sigh to yourself. You close the door to Derpy's hallway to resist yourself the temptation to remove her personally. Better check around again to be sure.
Right hallway – Derpy tries desperately to clean up the broken bits of vase.
Left hallway – Empty.
Bathroom – Nothing.
Living room – Clear.
Kitchen – Black as night.
You prepare to move to the next camera, but then you hear a light clink. What was that? You lean closer to the speaker and listen intently for the noise again. Only silence radiates from the speaker. Maybe the noise was just the wind... or something in the house settling. Unless.
You move the camera feed to the west side of your house. Something seems off about the scene, but you can't place your finger on it. Carefully, you examine the surroundings. Trees, the stars, the moon... but it looks like something is hidden in the tree line. Is that... a cart?
It would be too big to be a cart. Is it a mobile home? It might be too small for that... Wait, someone might have snuck in. Quickly, you flip back to the living room. A small ball rolls into the living room from the kitchen.
"Oh, shit."
The ball begins to fire vast quantities of smoke into your house and blocks out the vision of the camera. You can hear Derpy coughing from the other side of the closed door. Quickly you inspect the time you have left on your battery. 70% at 1:05 AM.
This is bad, really bad. You can't close the other door, you might run out of power later. Flipping to the left hallway, you watch as the smoke creeps down the hallway. There's only one pony that has tricks like this at her disposal. If so... how are you going to get around this one? You check the right hallway. It's completely shrouded in smoke and the audio picks up Derpy's coughing. That's your escape. It could be your only shot.
But if you want to survive this night, you are going to have to take a few chances. This is a terrible plan.
"Watch in awe, as the Witty and Cunning Trixie finally breaks through Anon's defenses and claims him as her own!" Trixie's voice rings through the hall as she lunges out of the smoke.
Slamming on the right door button, it raises to the ceiling. Taking a deep break, you push past the bubble horse and push through the hall. Five steps in and a sharp pain shoots up your foot. You yelp in pain and fall to the ground, where hundreds of tiny pokes assault your body.
"Shit!" you exclaim, pain wracking you body.
Gasping for breath, you get a strong dose of the smokescreen, which catches you even more off guard. Your eyes watering, you try to think on your feet. Just a few feet away is your bedroom. That's the best option. Using your arm, you cast away the pieces of broken vase in your path and army crawl towards your bedroom.
"What?!" Trixie exclaims. "He isn't here?!"
"Huh?" Derpy says, stepping into your security room, "but he was just here."
Once you get inside your room, you slowly close the door and brace yourself against it. You look down at your feet, a few pieces of broken vase shoved inside and blood dripping to the floor. Something's wrong... you were wearing shoes.
You know you were. This isn't right.
Reaching down, you pull out the exposed pieces and toss them across the room. Looking across the room, you see the shoes you swear you were just wearing. Rising to your feet, you feel the sting of your exposed wound on the hardwood floor. Heading across the room, you slip back into your shoes and move to your bedroom window.
Raising the window open wide, you look back towards the bedroom door. It won't take long for them to find you. You have to get the hell outta here. That's the only way to survive this one. Leaping out the window, you charge with all your might towards the forest. Don't look back. Just don't look back.
It doesn't matter if they are following you. Just keep pushing. Get to the forest. Your hairs stand on end as you feel something behind you.
You close your eyes and focus on harder, wider strides. Just get to the forest, then you can lose them.
"Going somewhere, Anonymous?" A feminine voice whispers into your ear. The voice causes you to trip and you fall through the night air onto the grass. You turn on your back to view your pursuer. Before you stands a tall white alicorn, wearing a wide smile and pupils the size of pinpricks. You crawl backward on your hands. "Do you think that by running away that you can avoid me for the night?" she asks calmly, walking towards you.
Clamoring to your feet, you sprint towards the forest. Not Celestia. Anyone but her. Don't look back. Just keep going. The hairs on the back of your neck raise as you look back. She's gone.
The wind escapes your lungs as you look around. Where is she? Stopping in your tracks, you look back to your home. Trixie and Derpy just leaped from your window and head towards you in hot pursuit. You look to the forest with dread in your bones. That's what she wants you to do. You can fight the two ponies in an open plane or attempt to hide from an immortal in the dark forest.
Well, the answer is clear to you. Time to take on Trix and Derpy.
You look back to the forest. But how? Trixie will just use her magic and hold you down. Maybe you can fool them. Heading into the forest, you hear them call to you to come back.
Finding the first tree with a low limb, you begin to climb. If there is one thing your tall frame and long limbs has helped you with in this little world, it's climbing their smaller trees. Once you reach the top, you hold your breath and cling to a limb for dear life. If you fell from this height, you could probably break an arm or a leg. At this point, there isn't much you can do but wait.
Once you hear the rustling of grass, you hold your breath. The two ponies move into the forest and call your name.
"Anon, where are you?" Derpy calls.
"Anonymous! The Great and Powerful Trixie does not have time for these silly games!" Trixie exclaims. "Now come out this instant!" The two walk directly under your tree and they stop and look around.
"I don't see him." Derpy says to Trixie.
"He must be around here somewhere," The unicorn replies.
"Do you think he ran in deeper?" The grey pegasus asks.
"I'm not sure... but he will have to come out sometime. We could wait in the field until he tries to come back out," Trixie speculates.
"B-but maybe he's lost..." Derpy says. "Maybe we should try to find him." Trixie casts Derpy a dirty look.
"What makes you think he's lost?" Trixie asks, unable to conceal the doubt in her tone. Derpy scratches the ground with a hoof.
"W-well. I know I'd get lost in a dark forest late at night."
Trixie huffs. "That is preposterous. How could you get lost this far into the forest? Let's go back." she answers. The unicorn turns away from the grey pony and begins to walk back the way she came. Then she stops.
"Um. Trixie? Are we going back?" Derpy asks.
"Of course! The Great and Powerful Trixie is simply ensuring that she is taking the most direct way out of the forest," Trixie says shakily. "And it's this way. Now let's go," she concludes, heading in a different direction.
The two horses move deeper into the woods and you let out a sigh. Safe. Carefully moving down each branch, your feet sting as you jump to the ground. The adrenaline must be wearing off. Just head back home. If you are lucky, the lack of using cameras and the doors has bought you some time.
Power limping, you head back into the open field towards your house. The pale moonlight reflects down onto the grassy plain. You still can't help but constantly check your surroundings. Where is the Princess? Were you just imagining her?
Wasn't there... something you needed to remember. A sharp pain pierces your head as you approach your humble home. It must not be important. The bedroom window is closed tightly and so is the kitchen. Which means the only way in is the front door. Your eyes move to each camera as you head to the entrance of your home. As you do, you can't help but feel the cameras follow you. A shiver runs down your spine as you approach the door.
The front door sits slightly ajar as you gently push it open, attempting not to make a noise. Taking a few steps in, you scan the room. The smoke has fully cleared out and everything seems to still be in it's proper place. Stepping inside, you close the door behind you.
"Welcome home, Anonymous," a feminine voice whispers.
Fighting the urge to freeze, you sprint directly to your security room, only just seeing the alicorn sitting patiently in the corner of the living room. Blood courses through your veins. You barely survived Cadance on technicality. Luna was able to do anything she wanted. Leaping into your room, you franticly slam the doors behind you. Checking the monitor, you look carefully over the battery stats.
30%, 5:45am. You nailed it. There's no way she's getting into these doors. If she tries to do the same thing her sister did, you can just book it out one of the doors. You won't fall for the same trick twice.
"Alright, Sunbutt. Let's see what you got," you whisper under your breath.
Moving to the living room, you watch as the Princess walks slowly to the center of the room and stares directly at the camera with a smile. She remains eerily still as you watch the screen. What is she doing? You look up at your clock screen to check the time.
5:49am. There isn't much time left. Has she given up? Her stare feels as if it pierces your soul like a ray of light through the dark. All while she wears that creepy smile, as if she knows something. What's she doing? Is this part of her plan? What is she waiting for? You triple check the clock.
5:53am. Have you actually beaten another Princess? You look carefully on the camera feed as she sits quietly in the middle of your living room. Looking to your battery monitor, you check your energy percentage. 16% You will easily make 6am. Looking back to the camera feed, Celestia is unmoving, staring with her shrunken pupils and wide smile.
The hair stands on the back of your neck. Was there something you were forgetting? Slowly you turn behind you. Nothing's there. Looking back to the screen, she continues to smile devilishly. Staring up at the clock, you watch it strike 5:58am. Just a few more minutes and it's all over. Then the sunrise will make all of it go away.
You look back down to the screen feeling proud of your triumph. Let her smile. Just wait. In a few minutes, Celestia will... Celestia will...
You take a few steps back once the truth hits you. Of course she knew. She knew the whole time. Time didn't matter. None of that mattered. The battery was just buying you time. The night won't end unless she lets it.
You begin to shake as her chilling gaze stares you down. Her smile was one of known triumph. Celestia has been playing with you this whole time. Backing into the corner of the room, you huddle into a ball. Your eyes watch the battery percentage as it slowly ticks down.
12%
11%
Your breath holds fast in your throat as you watch the timer to your fate count down. You could never win. She could choose to never bring the day and make the mares leave. Celestia owns you.
You bury your face into your knees. Think. There has to be something. Something else you've forgotten. Something else that can help you out of this situation. Something about Celestia.
Wasn't there... some secret she was keeping? A sharp pain jabs your brain, but you ignore it. A secret... about facilities and artifacts? A high pitched screech pierces your ears as the battery percentage ticks down lower and the image on the screen begins to melt into a horrific image. Clamping your hands to your ears, you realize it.
It was all clear as day. This was an artifact. This is all in your head.
Closing your eyes tight, you see yourself, lying on the floor of the facility's hallway. The pages turn franticly as you slowly try to clamor to your feet. You open your eyes.
The security room of your home is far away as you find yourself back in the facility, with a spilled bucket of purple goop on the floor. Looking around the hallway, you don't find any other ponies around you. That must have been the effects of the book. You must have fought it off. Reaching down, you pick up the bucket and try to mop up whatever purple goop you can.
Getting as much as you can into the bucket, you notice that it's thickness turns from gel-like to water-like when you touch it. Well great, that can't be good.
You look down at your runny bucket of purple water. It's better than nothing you suppose. All you gotta do is put the book back in it's room and call it good. Mission accomplished. Then go the hell home. You deserve some sleep after that.
Tilting the bucket of purple gak on the book, it splatters on it's pages, but nothing else remarkable happens. Setting the empty container down, you smile as you think to yourself about your new job. It's probably not that crazy around here.
Watching a bunch of random magical spoons and vending machines for a living. How bad could that be? Reaching down you grab the book by the purple pages. You chuckle to yourself in triumph. Piece of cake. You slam the book shut.
A hot searing pain shoots throughout your body as the room spins around you. Your stomach churns and you feel the acid in your stomach force itself up your throat. The blood in your veins boil as you hold onto the book for dear life. The hallway transforms around you into a crossroads and the lights burn out. You scream as the pain overwhelms you and a high pitched scream fills your ears. Then nothing.
Silence.
You open your eyes and gradually stand up, holding the book. Looking down at it, you curse under your breath. Of course it wouldn't be easy. Of course. Turning around you find Twilight standing at the end of a hallway.
"Oh, hey Twilight," you say aloud. "I got the book. I just gotta get it in it's room." She remains motionless as you stare at her. "So, uh. I'm almost done. Do you know how I can get this thing back? I think I've been whammied by this again," you call to her.
Twilight remains silent and unmoving as you stare down the hallway. Why isn't she responding? The two of you were friends. Hell, close friends for that manner. Before everything started happening. You take a step forward, not even thinking about the unconscious blink. Suddenly, Twilight halves the distance between the two of you.
You leap backward and gasp.
"Woah. Twilight. What the hell?! How did you do that?" She remains silent and unmoving, staring at you with her eyes wide. And is... is that a smile? A chill runs down your spine as you take a few steps back. You rub your eyes, to see if it's all some sort of dream. Opening your eyes, Twilight stands directly in front of you.
You quickly leap back. She only moves when you aren't looking. Suddenly, your eyes feel heavier than ever before.
"Twilight, this is one fucked up staring contest," you say to her, trying to lighten the situation.
You continue walking backward, focusing on Twilight. Her eyes are pupil less and her hair is disheveled, all while wearing an unnaturally wide smile that extends from ear to ear. This isn't Twilight.
This has to be the book, fighting back at you.
Goosebumps raise on your skin as you blindly walk backwards, staying focused on Twilight's hollow eyes. Your eyes begin to water as Twilight trails off in the distance. Alright. You should have a little wiggle room now.
Quickly, you look to the left wall of the hallway, then back to Twilight. She made some headway, but not very much. No open doors on the left either. Then, you check to the right, then back to Twilight. No open doors. Every step is measured and calculated as you try to back away from the aggressive unicorn.
Then something cold presses against your back. You yelp and close your eyes for a fraction of a second. Shooting your eyes back open, you focus back on Twilight who is slowly catching up.
Okay. Three. Two. One.
You spin in place to see what's behind you. When you return, Twilight halved the distance. Your muscles tighten, but at least now you know.
A metal door, similar to the one in your home and a button. Hopefully it will open the door. Twilight's focused gaze upsets your stomach as you take a few steps back. Backing up to the button, you press it. A whoosh sound comes from where the door is.
Sounds like it opened.
Strafing towards the door, you step into the next room. The door raises up, and once Twilight is out of sight, a massive boom comes from the door. There's no time. Turning tail to the door, you sprint down the hallway while holding the book tightly to your chest.
Open door... Open door... The open door has to be around here somewhere. You glance over your shoulder for any sight of Twilight. She could follow you and you would never know. Your pace increases. Another door marks the end of the hallway. You mash at the button, hearing the whoosh.
Turning around, you find Twilight halfway down the hallway you're preparing to leave.
"Fuck," you whisper under your breath. Stepping through the doorway, your eyes focused on Twilight as the door closes again. Once Twilight is out of sight, you turn to sprint again. The loud boom of her colliding with the door only increases your pace. Sweat drips down your brow as you frantically search through the hallway in front of you.
When you reach the end, you find two doors at the end. You quickly turn to look behind you. No Twilight. You catch your breath and turn to the door on the right. Might as well try one. It's not like you know where you are going anyway.
Hitting the button, you watch the door slide up. Twilight stares back at you with her hollow eyes. Your heart stops for a minute as you focus on her.
“Nope,” you say aloud. Leaning over, you press the button again. The door closes, separating the two of you. Let's try the other door.
Moving to the other side, you press the button and move to the other side. As you enter, you find a brightly lit hallway with one open door, directly in the center and a larger braced metal door on the other side. This is it.
You jog to the open door and look inside the room. Only to find Twilight standing between you and the podium in the middle of the room for the book. Alright, Anon. Let's do this.
You focus directly on Twilight and walk into the room with long strides. Don't blink. Circling around the unicorn to the back of the room, you hold the book tightly. The book begins to heat up in your hands as you move towards the containment podium. Staying focused on Twilight, you raise the book to the podium.
The book becomes white hot and you grit your teeth trying to resist the urge to yell in pain. You set the book on the podium and it slowly rises into the air and is enveloped by a large purple sphere. Yet, the hollow Twilight remains in the room. Almost done.
Side-stepping around the purple horse, you head backwards towards the door. This is it. All you have to do is walk out and close the door. You take one careful backward step after another. Your eyes water and feel heavy, but you can't take your eyes off of the unicorn. Just a few more steps...
You hold your breath, trying to muster the power to keep your eyes open. Her smile burns itself into your memory as her exposed gritted teeth have their targets sighted on you. Almost there. It should be right around...
Your back presses up against a flat wall. The breath escapes your lungs as fear fills your soul. Where's the door? You raise your arms out trying to feel for the exit, but no hole meets your grasp. The muscles in your eyes strain themselves to stay open.
Taking a step to the right, you feel out further. Nothing.
Then another. Nothing.
Your blood runs cold as you can feel tears flowing down your cheeks. Another step. Nothing.
You begin to hyperventilate. Is this it? Is this how it all ends? With one more step, you reach out desperately.
Air.
You sprint into the opening and franticly slam on the button, locking you away from the unicorn and the tome of fear. Closing your eyes, you fall to your knees.
"Anon, you did it!" the voice of the familiar bookish unicorn calls out to you.
Your eyes shoot open and you focus your gaze on her. Quickly you crawl backward from the unicorn who trots towards you.
"How do I know you're real?!" you yell at her. Twilight stops in her tracks and stares at you as the Princess and Arty follow in behind her.
"Anon, it's all over. You can relax! You fell unconscious, then woke up, dumped the stuff on the book-" Twilight begins to explain.
"Which it looks like lost it's powers when you touched it," Artie interrupts. "Then when you touched the book, you fell into a seizure, but when we were about to come in to help, you stood up and took the book into the room."
"You were in there a long time," Twilight continued. "Then you leaped out and here we are."
"I can't believe you did it!" Arty exclaimed. "Nopony's ever overcame that book before. What happened?"
You look at each pony one by one, unblinking. Is this... is this it? Is this real? Only one way to find out. You blink.
When you open your eyes, everything is the same. You let out a deep breath, then collapse on the ground.
"That was the most terrifying, horrible, stupidest thing I've ever done," you state flatly.
"What did you see?" The Princess asked.
Rising to your feet you finally relax. "Well, it was like one big nightmare... It was like what was going on every night for the last few weeks, but even worse."
You point to Celestia. "And you were there..." Your finger moves to Twilight. "You tried to kill me..." Your finger points to Arty as he looks at you expectantly. "You weren't there at all."
He has a slight look of disappointment, but nods.
"Right. Well, great job anyway," The scientist mentions before turning and leaving. "Maybe I'll see you around here tomorrow."
"Speaking of which," Celestia says her focus returning to you. "I believe we discussed a job opportunity here? Especially in light of recent events."
"Yeah, yeah. Is it going to be as bad as this?" you ask. "Or is it going to be more vending machines? Cause I would love to find one that makes chips. Or a fancy microwave that makes food just right."
"That would be cool," Twilight says hesitantly with a smile. She turns to Celestia and attempts to quietly whisper, "What's a microwave?"
"You may find out soon, Twilight. Anon, I will be honest and say that while what happened today is uncommon, it is not out of the ordinary. This position is dangerous and it may even take your life, but where there is high risk, there is high reward. There is no greater service you could do for Equestria," Celestia explains.
You look from Celestia, back to Twilight.
"Do I still get to live at home?" you ask.
"Of course. Forty hours a week, with possible overtime in certain occasions," she explains.
You think carefully over your options. On one hand, there is working in a top-secret facility, filled with magical toys and dangerous creatures. On the other hand, there is living in a house less than ten miles away from said facility, with no idea what's going on in it. At least with one option, you get money.
"Well, it's not like I'd be doing anything else with my time. Sure, I'll do it."
Princess Celestia smiles to herself and nods.
"A wise choice. I believe will you start tomorrow at the crack of dawn, under Arty's supervision," the Princess concludes.
"Cool. Well, I think I'm going to head home then. I haven't necessarily had the most restful sleep lately. Plus, I want to make a good impression for my first day on the job," you add.
"Very well then, Anonymous. If you speak with the other workers here, they can help you leave. I would escort you out, but I have some matters to attend to here with Twilight," she explains.
"Awesome. Thanks for everything, Princess," You give a quick, awkward bow, then leave the unicorn and alicorn alone.
Was bowing the right thing to do? Ugh. It's still weird to interact with royalty in a way that doesn't have your life on the line. Oh well. At least the worst of that is over. Hell, even some good came of it. You got a new job. Who knows what sort of new adventures are waiting for you? Until then, you think that it's time for a well-deserved nap. Your attention grabs onto a few scientists walking through the halls. Well, you suppose it's coworkers now.
"Hey! You, the one in the lab coat. No, the other- Never mind. Can one of you help me outta here?"
Twilight and Celestia move diligently through the bright hallways of the facility, passing door after door. The young unicorn couldn't help but hold her tongue for this long, out of respect for her mentor. Yet, now that Anon was gone, they began to boil to the surface. Was she just moral support for Anon? If she wanted to show this place to Anon, then she could have without her. Anon didn't even need her on the mission.
So, why?
"Uhm, Princess."
"Yes, Twilight?" Celestia replies.
"I'm sorry, but I have a question..." Twilight continues. "Why was I here? I mean, I'm grateful that you exposed me to a top secret facility and everything... and I think it's really nice and cool, but I guess I just don't understand why."
Princess Celestia nods and smiles.
"You see Twilight, I explained earlier that these artifacts are created from extraordinary ponies that try to do extraordinary things," Celestia begins. Her student nods in reply. "There has been one that has been in containment for a long time, it seems to be relatively harmless... but I believe it can be something magnificent if somepony put their mind to it," Celestia continues.
"I see. So, do you want me to-"
"Now, only I have the clearance to remove an artifact from this facility, do you understand?"
Twilight follows her mentor through the halls as they stop in front of a closed door. This must be a major secret, even from the facility.
"I think so..." she answers warily.
"So, I will be taking this artifact back to Canterlot," Celestia explains.
"Okay," Twilight says. "So what is the artifact?"
Celestia smiles and opens the door. Sitting on a table in the middle of the room is a small red book.
"This artifact doesn't have a name yet. On the final page of this book is an unfinished, untested spell by Starswirl the Bearded," Celestia says, stepping inside.
Twilight follows behind, her interest peaked.
"You want me to try finishing a spell written by Starswirl the Bearded?" she asks in disbelief.
Celestia remains silent as she claims the book from the room and turns to her student.
"If you cannot complete it, then there shouldn't be any harm done, but if you can... then I believe it may change everything," Celestia says. "Would you like to try?"
Twilight does everything she can not to do a back flip on the spot.
"Of course!" she exclaims. "I'd love to!"
If she had wings, they would be at full mast. The Princess smiles and nods.
"Then I will send it to you in the mail," Celestia says.
"The mail?" Twilight asks. "Why not through Spike? Like normal?" Celestia moves closer, with a smile.
"This task is for you and for you alone. Hmm... how should I put it. Think of it as... an ungraded, pop quiz," Celestia says warmly.
