Spoonlicker Anon Pt. 21

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Summary: Anonymous is a child that no one can understand, not even Flutters. However, Twilight has been steadily making steps to develop a new system of language based on gestures and mannerisms. The creature she once discredited and then feared has become something of a special interest now that she understands a little more on what, or rather who, Anonymous is.

Last Update: Twilight finally gets Celestia to tell her about the past and the first meeting with the minotaurs. Celestia goes into her and Luna’s audience with the griffons King Featherfall Bloodclaw and advisor Egghead the Bald, the dragons Rip Van Winkle and Rumpelstiltskin, and finally the minotaur Beat PunchBeef and his band. Twilight enjoys listening to the tale like a filly before bedtime, and finds solace in comparing young Celestia to herself. However, that solace is short lived as a painful revelation is made abundantly clear.

Posted in Thread 1037
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>In the office of Mayor Mare the gleam of finely polished wood burns away the fanciful landscapes of history from the walls in favor of the modern day. The darker tone of rich oak chosen for its soothing nature fills the room in what was intended to be a peaceful grey. Faded furniture so neatly organized in hospitality tries to make use of the effect against the sagging purple pony it encases, but, that peace is exchanged for bleakness through the hollow eyes of loss.
>Even Princess Celestia, the proud and humble ruler of Equestria, dims with the temporary retreat to the realm of yesterday brought to an unceremonious end.
>Concern dominates her face completely and her neck cranes to close the distance. Soft round eyes pressured by a peaked brow search the slack lines of defeat that have entrenched themselves within you for clues.
>Every fiber of her being directs itself at you to the point you nearly worry about your own health.

>Yet even in such a state there is a distinct light emanating from her; the warmth of the summer sun amidst her care. An imaginary hoof pretending to be your own reaches out for her, though your anchored body cannot find the will to follow. The hoof falls short then fades to nothing.
>She is cut from a different cloth than you; forged in a world ruled by individuals and their passion. A world of emotions and gut feelings now replaced by logic and understanding.
>You are highly skilled in this new world; your ascension to princess perhaps serving as a physical marker of this new era. You can study, learn and adapt with the best of them, which leaves only one question floating amongst the flood.
“Why didn’t you ever tell me?”
>Celestia’s hold of her regal posture wavers from your strained voice weak with grief. In a flash she mends the slip though curiosity dwells deep in her eyes.
>”I’m sorry?”


 “Why didn’t you tell me before? About the griffons and the dragons and the minotraus? I could have used it as an example.”
>The humble words pour forth in desperation, but not a drop of relevance is lost as she receives the stream with grace.
>Finding her answers hidden within the pool, her neck pulls up and raises her body to full form.
>”Because, Twilight, I wanted to give you the chance to have the same experience we had.”
“But you’re my teacher. You’re supposed to share what you know so we can do even better in the future.”
>”What is the better teacher; a lesson lived or a lesson learned?”
>You gnash your teeth knowing the answer.
>Considering everything that was at stake she speaks of efficiency?
“I almost undid Anon!”

>She goes quiet at the outburst and closes her eyes leaving you alone with the words hanging in the air.
>Your heart peaks again at the implication you have just blurted out, but the cold silence fails to take hold of your senses. Instead, the heat of a raging fire flushes through your body overwhelming the pit and consuming it in purpose.
>Celestia reawakens unchanged.
>”And you will never forget that lesson no matter how many years pass. Although the potential that something might happen to Anonymous was there you are a very smart pony. I was not lying when I said I have absolute faith in you.”
“To Tartarus with the lesson, why would you even take that risk? Anonymous shouldn’t be put in danger for a teaching aid!”
>”We were always nearby should you need us, and although it may not seem like it now what you have learned in these past few days will forever shape the future for yourself and the entire world for the better.”
“You voted to leave Anonymous to me, and then left without any advice! When I sent you a request for help on the first day you sent me back a doodle! I never heard from you until I followed Anonymous into town!”


>”As I said, I wanted to give you the purest experience possible and only interfere if it was necessary. Instead I used my time and talents to keep the rest of the world busy.”
>Your muscles quiver with each calm rebuttal from your target fueling the flames.
 “That doesn’t mean you should just abandon me and hope everything works out. All I needed was something, ANYTHING, to go on. Was that so much to ask?”
>”Compared to what you had to gain? Yes. In fact you are actually very lucky in that the cost was so low.”
“Low? LOW? How dare you call it low?!”

>The personified sun sitting tall and haughty that has been effortlessly absorbing your heated words finally cracks. Your usually warm ‘mentor’ locks onto you with a frigid scowl dropping the very temperature of the room.
>This is something you have never seen from her before, but no matter what you refuse to back down.
>Fire and ice ready to square off from opposing corners. One WILL extinguish the other.

>”How many did you have to put on the line to realize the true weight of one life over another; of a pony versus a non-pony? How many did you stand to lose if you made a bad decision or a sacrifice had to be made? There is one Anonymous; ONE. Not a band or tribe or war party, only one; and they remain living. Many have paid a higher price, including Luna and myself, and it is a debt we desperately try to repay by providing happy, peaceful lives for as many as we can across the entire world.”
>A chill seeps in passed your defenses causing your heart to skip, and she is on you again before the next beat.
>”We will not be around forever. In time the fate of an entire nation will hang in the balance with you and Cadence alone to make the call, and not just once. You are an alicorn now, years will come to pass like hours and each new generation will look to you in times of trouble. When compared to such a scale what is the cost of one life?”


>An icy blast smashes against your very innocence, but you try to hold strong.
“You’re wrong. You should never jeopardize a life to make a point no matter how important you make it sound. This isn’t a sacrifice, it’s…sick!”
>”You need to realize the true value of your own life. I have bet the future on you, Twilight Sparkle, and have even put all of Equestria on the line knowing you would be able to defeat Nightmare Moon.”
“And what if I failed? What if Nightmare Moon won?”
>”Then I would fight her with every unicorn, pesgaus and earth pony at my side. If we won I would start over with a new pupil, and if we lost Equestria would be truly doomed. The other nations fear magic’s control of the sun and moon, and I made an agreement long ago that the days and nights will stay normal in order to appease them. They also made their own pact with each other, and if the sun failed to rise everyone would bring their armies to ‘fix’ the issue.”
>The wildfire within you flares reaching its highest intensity.

“That is the stupidest plan I have ever heard! You didn’t mention anything to me then either! I told you I thought something was wrong, and you said it was just my imagination. You don’t have to be so secretive all the time. Meet me in the middle. Compromise. It’s what you teach!”
>”What is the price of 1000 more years of peace? Of the countless lives that will benefit from rulers who have long since come to understand the sacrifices that must be made? Rulers who treasures every day and every life as something new and beautiful, but know that they are fleeting? You are worth all of that.”
“Bull! My friends alone are—“
>”The ones who taught you empathy. They helped you grow in ways that castle life never could. When the day comes that you are lost and looking for a reason why you should not simply give up it is them that you will see.”


>The once intense fire within fades to near nothing against the blizzard; the flash of wildfire merely the show of the last bits of fuel. Only the tiniest of embers survives, tightly binding itself together for every fragment of warmth.
>Those were your friends she was talking about; the ones who loved you despite, nay because of, your quirks, and you loved them for theirs.
>They were the ponies ponies who were always there for you, the ponies you could not imagine being without.
>And you were supposed to be worth more than them?

>You made those friends through mutual effort and respect. They were yours, and yet she talks as if they were merely another stepping stone on a path she divined for you.
>How much of your life has she orchestrated? How long has your teacher actually be a puppet master?
>F-friendship is magic…right?
“So you planned everything then?”
>Celestia’s cold eyes mellow in face of the waning flame though remain resolute.

>”No, it would be impossible for me to go that far. I only pushed you in faith that you would avoid the same mistakes of a previous student. You’re friends are very important for being your friends regardless of any of my intentions, and it could have been anypony. The fact that you made so many who also became the Elements of Harmony is a happy coincidence.”
>She has an answer for everything. No matter how wrong her methods feel she has logic and just the right words to make it all seem reasonable.
>Is that the path you were on? Was she tempering your cloth to be the same as hers?
>Your eyes retreat entirely from the fight and search the room for any sort of reinforcement, but you two are alone.


>Meeting her gaze once more they eke out a plea for mercy.
>The opposing set flicker to life and swiftly abandon the cold. Celestia’s own face turns mournful, adopting the voice of a consoling mother.
>”Do you see now, Twilight?”
“Stop.”
>Her expression sinks further, and she does as you ask. You take the time to try and restrain the convulsions in your chest causing soft huffs and hics.
“I-I don’t want to hear anymore.”
>”Twilight, I’m sorry but you must—“
“I’m not going to be like you!”
>You close your eyes and swing around, rushing out the door. Held back tears pool before dripping out the side to be flung backwards from the wind.
>You run out the building and into the street relying on memory alone. There is only one place you can feel safe, one place where you can try to hold together what little you have left.
>You run home.