Chapter I, the Awakening
Everything is so dark. There is nothing but the cold, and the darkness. Endless oppressive cold, and eternal darkness. This was Thingpone's life, if it could even be called that, for many years. No movement, no speaking, not even a thought running through her head. Suddenly, something came into being: a spark. Light to fight back the darkness, warmth to stave away the cold. With that spark, came a pulse. For the first time in years, Thingpone moved. Cells shifted and spun, whirling around in a frenzy of newfound life. The first thought that went through her head wasn't 'Where am I?', or even 'What happened?'. The first thought that went through her head was something even more simple, something even more primal: 'Where is Anon?'. The ice receded, the cold went away, and Thingpone moved. The dark was still there, but Thingpone had enough of the darkness. She reached out, feeling the icy, metallic walls of her prison. Soon, she thought, the ice will go away. Soon, she'll be free.
The prison shattered, brownish red matter flowing out of the cracks and into the light. The matter grouped together; forming bone, fur, and skin. Eventually the matter coalesced into a familiar form. A small, brownish-red pony with glowing golden eyes. She shook her coat to remove the thin layer of frost, then looked around. Thick concrete walls surrounded her, with only a thin crack in the ceiling, a small light bulb, and a cast iron vault door distinguishable from the rest. The remains of the prison lay behind her. The thought echoed through her head once again, more fervent this time: 'Where is Anonymous?!'. She knew that Anon would never leave her here like this, something had to have happened to him. She had to escape! She backed up, then charged towards the vault door. She slammed into it at breakneck speed. Bones shattered under the impact, but that wouldn't stop her. Broken bones could be fixed. The hole in her heart could not. She backed up and charged again, the vault door groaning and shifting under the immense force. One more time, and she'd be free! Anon might even be just outside, waiting for her! She nearly jumped in joy at the thought, and steeled herself to face down the door once more. She leapt forward, her hooves blazing as she galloped towards freedom. She slammed her broadside into the door, breaking nearly all the bones in her side. The door creaked and groaned, leaving a gap a few centimeters wide. That was all she needed. Thingpone's form dissipated, the brown matter flowing through the gap and out to the other side.
She coalesced back into her pony form, the freshly made bones unbroken. Now, all she had to do was find Anonymous. She sat in a small room with concrete walls. In front of her sat a small door frame and a set of stairs, to her side sat a small desk, and behind her sat the vault door. On this side she could see the logo emblazoned on the front: Stable-tec. Whoever this 'Stable-tec' was, they were going to pay for locking her up. She'd make sure of that. She started towards the staircase, but something caught her eye on the desk. She trotted over, a small piece of paper lay pinned to the table. Hold on a second. She sniffed the air, catching the scent of something. The scent drew her closer and closer to the page. Her eyes lit up in excitement. That was Anon's smell! He was here! She found his trail! He must have tried to come rescue her before he was taken away by the evil Stable-tec! Oh, just you wait! She'll make Stable-tec pay, if it's the last thing she does! Well, cuddling up with Anon would be preferable, but she'll work with what she can get.
An epiphany crossed Thingpone's mind. Why would Anon's scent be on a piece of paper? He must have left a note on it! Silly human with their handwriting and language and all that, it was positively adorable. Shame that she could never teach Anon's cells to intrinsically communicate with each other, not for lack of trying of course. Sad part about that is that she never had the time to pick up Anon's silly handwritten language. Oh well, she'd just have to find somepony who could! With that, she bundled up the page and tucked it deep inside her. So deep that nothing short utter annihilation would get it out. She wouldn't want it any other way. This was her lifeline to finding Anon, and she'd rather go back into that cold prison then lose this. Thingpone trotted up the stairs, leaving the vault behind.
Thingpone stepped out of the darkness... into more darkness. Well, less dark darkness. Far above her a full moon stood vigil among a starless night sky. The world was different from what she once knew, but then again, Equestria was always changing so quickly that she was sure that this phase wouldn't last long. I mean, whose idea was it to kill all the plants, rust all the buildings, and throw a whole weather factory's worth of snow on top of everything? The cold really wasn't helping either. They better have gotten fired for this 'brilliant idea' of theirs.
A shiver went down Thingpone's spine. She hated the cold. Hated it more then anything else in the universe! Even fire was better then this blasted cold! As much as the thought scared her, she'd rather face her end then be trapped in nothingness forever! Another shiver rattled Thingpone's bones. That's exactly what would happen if she stayed out here. Who knows what would happen to Anon by the time all the snow thawed! That evil Stable-Tec might torture him, or worse! She didn't want to think about what could be worse then torturing him. Thingpone slapped a hoof into the ground. Celestia curse you Stable-Tec! Why'd you have to take my Anonymous away from me?!
She pounded her hoof into the ground. Who do they think they are, locking her up like some kind of animal?! She split her hoof into more hooves, and those into even more hooves, and then pounded those into the ground! She was going to find this Stable-Tec, whoever they were, and end them if it was the last thing she ever did! The cells in her hooves were crying out in pain, but she didn't care. All she wanted to do was snuggle her Anonymous, was that so much to ask?! She had slammed the snow so much that she was beginning to see dirt underneath. Then, she noticed the tears falling. Thingpone didn't know when she started crying, but all she knew was that she couldn't stop. She slammed her hoof down one more time, her rage having run it's course. All that was left was a feeling of wrongness. She felt hollow, incomplete. She was missing something important, and she'd never be the same without it back. Anon had saved her from turning into a monster, and without him, who was she?
Thingpone closed her eyes and fell to the ground. Thingpone didn't know what she would do, or who she would turn into without Anon's sweet voice guiding her. Without him, she could easily turn back into the monster she was and never even know it! She would gladly gobble up ponies just because she was hungry! No matter what, she didn't want that to happen. She didn't want to be a monster anymore. She had to remember what bits of Anon she could, she hold onto them like they were warm sunlight on a frigid night.
There were three key points Anon had taught her. The first was something Anon had taught her back before the war was even a thought in the royal sister's mind. They were out hunting in the forest. They were both predators by nature, so it was only right. Anon had brought his bow and his knife out, and he had shot a rabbit for both of them. He told her that killing wasn't right, but it was the way of things. He needed it to survive. He didn't relish it, but it had to be done.
The second he had taught her the day that he had asked her to be his marefriend. They were watching the clouds go by in the Everfree when Anon had made her the happiest being in the universe. He had brought some flowers and gave them to her, confessing his love. He didn't want anything from her, he just wanted them to be happy. That happiness was one of the best feelings she had ever felt, and she wanted to make everyone feel that way as much as she could!
The third was the day she met Anon. They were trapped in some kind of base together, and she had consumed all of the other humans. Somehow, she felt different about him. Something stopped her from just consuming him like all the others. They spoke for the first time that day, and for the first time, she felt like she was more then just a predator. More then just a mindless killing machine. He had even given her a name: Amber. Then something happened, neither of them know what. They saw a bright flash, and then they woke up next to each other right on the edge of the Everfree forest. That was the day when they woke up in paradise.
The memories swirled around in her mind. These were her pillars, her foundation. These were the anchors to make sure that when she found Anon, he'd still love her for who she is. These were how she'd stop herself from turning into a monster again.
It was then and there, in a small divot of snow in the middle of a frozen wasteland, that Thingpone fell asleep once more. When she opened her eyes, she wasn't Thingpone anymore. Thingpone was a creature driven by instinct and habits; a senseless, uncaring apex predator. She wouldn't turn into that again, no matter what happened to her. She'd hold on to the lessons that Anon had taught her as if they were her very lifeblood. The brownish red mare stood up, a determined look in her eyes. She was Thingpone no longer. Her name was Amber, and she had her beloved to find.