Disaster Anon: G1; D18; Boggy Brink Lake

Disaster Anon: G1; D18; Anon’s Shoob Dooping Adventure in Boggy Brink Lake

>It’s so cold.
>You just can’t accept it.
>All you wanted was to do good; to help ponies enjoy some god forsaken apples.
>How could it have escalated to this?
>You wish you could at least think of the good times you’ve had to bring yourself at comfort, but the only thing in your mind is that horrible, twisted grin on Paul Pumpkin, as he and Jade threw your body into the lake.
>You’ve held your breath as long as you can, but it’s over.
>Deprived of oxygen, you soon blackout; you’re last struggling jerks to break free of your ropes meaning nothing as the disgusting murk of lake begin filling your lungs.
>Death now gives you it’s cold embrace.
>...
>...
>...
>There’s that familiar feeling you had.
>That feeling of empty, otherworldliness that you had felt when you faced that cursed unicorn last month, and almost died of blood loss.
>Through the darkness, you hear a voice, but it’s not that of Anon Number One.
>It’s the lovely, almost angelic voice of a woman.
>“Open your eyes, my precious hero.”
>Slowly, your eyes open, expecting to see the sight of some angelic woman, or other godly figure, but in actuality, it’s the voice of an horse; a lovely horned pegasus, with a spectral mane that flows so elegantly behind her, it were as if it were magic in itself.
>You two float before you, in an oddly enchanting realm of stars and galaxies, while you stand on a small platform of reflective crystal.
>“I am Princess Celestia.”
Princess Celestia? /The/ Princess Celestia that Nightmare Night is based off of?! Wait, what am I saying? You are just a mental figment.
>She smiles at your naivety.
>“That’s not entirely true, Anonymous. I may be known as the Princess of the Day, but as the current holder of the moon, I also take the responsibility of traveling through dreams, to ensure the sleeping a peaceful rest.”
So you can just walk in and out of pony’s psyche, and alter their thoughts as you see fit?
>“Well...yes?”
That doesn’t sound right.
>“Don’t doubt my methods Anon. If you had not fallen unconscious during your entrapment, I could have never discovered you were in trouble, and I would have never alerted your friends.”
“Elaborate,” you say with a raised brow and crossed arms.
>“The darkened sky. By altering the sky, it allowed the ponies to believe something was wrong, and pursue you for help.”
That’s not really helping your character like you’re thinking.
>“Focus!”
>She stops for a second to regain her composure.
I honestly thought something was wrong with you, like that thing that Ember said involving Nightmare Moon’s return.
>“Nonsense, that will not happen until a much later date. Which reminds me; would you be willing to travel to Equestria for the Summer-”
>A white glove suddenly appears, pushing deep into the left side of Celestia’s face as the unforgettable, deep voice of Anon Number One appears.
>“Celestia, I told you not to interfere with Anon!”
>He pushes her away, as his piercingly white body comes into form; Princess Celestia fades away as she walks into the distance.
>The starry world around you then changes into the lovely field you had first met Anon in.
>“That horse is always trying to stick her flank in my business,” he says as he crosses his arms watching her leave.
So am I dead now, or what?
>“Open your ears for a moment.”
>You do as he says, and stop to hear your surroundings.
>There’s the very faint noise of Caribbean music, and you think you can hear the singing of mostly girls.
What is that?
>“The sound of luck.”
>His head cocks slightly as his face comes a little closer to yours.
>“So, how is your magic junk coming along?”
I predict I’ll be ready for testing in at least three days if I’m...not dead?
>“You’re not dead.”
If I make it back home.
>“Good, you need to be ready at all times.”
I was ambushed though!
>“YOU NEED TO BE READY AT ALL TIMES!” he says poking your chest.
>“Be ready for an ambush, have some kind of contingency plan, grow an immunity to poison like I DID. You have potential that not just Dream Valley, but the whole world needs. And for god’s sake, learn how to fight. You’re painfully weak, and your mind won’t always get you out of trouble.”
Okay, I get it.
>“No you don’t. There’s a man that I’ve been watching lately. He’s a painfully dimwitted Anon, but he can kill dragons with his bare hands, and willingly lives in a forest full of things that try to kill him every day. If he had your mind, or if you had his strength, imagine the good that could be done.”
Where is this Anon? Maybe we could team up or something?
>“Different dimension. Now if-damn it, you’re waking up. Uh-Be careful, and maybe take a self-defense class. I don’t want to see your sorry face for a while.”
>The whole world soon fades to white, as your mouth fills with the retch inducing taste of lake water, your ears fill with the loud sound of that Caribbean music you were hearing, and your eyes open to the a group of over a dozen 4 to 5 foot tall seahorses with pony faces and glowing green eyes that pierce the murky water. They sing to the music, “IN THE SAL-TY, LAAAKE OF BAAAW-GGY!” before the whole thing stops abruptly.
>You assume you snapped back into consciousness as whatever they were doing ended.
>You are now dray as a bone, to the point of your skin feeling as if the moisture was sucked out of it; inside of what you think is a bubble. You’re still tied to the chair in a banana suit, but it’s now resting on the ground of the bottom on the lake.
“What’s going on,” you confusingly say to yourself.
>These strange creatures all turn to you, and as if they practiced, announce simultaneously, “WE’RE THE LAKEPONIES!”
What?
>A small, silver female with black hair comes near the bubble and speaks.
>“I knew we weren’t too late. We haven’t had one of you surface dwellers visit in years; especially one as funny looking as yourself.”
>A larger green male with a light red mane smacks the silver one’s cheek with his tail.
>“CORAL! Don’t hurt its feelings! What if it tries to leave?”
>“What? I’m just saying! Besides, you know they never leave.”
Pause! Who are “they”, and what do you mean “never leave”.
>The green one tells you, “Oh, uh, could you look to your left for a second.
>It’s difficult to turn in this banana suit, but you turn it enough to see a moss covered figure that’s floating far outside the bubble.
>It takes a moment before you realized it’s the corpse of a horse in cement shoes, and the sight makes the slightest bit of vomit gargle at the back of your throat.
>Coral then tells you, “Don’t worry about it surface dweller. Our lakepony magic will keep you alive, as long as we don’t forget to re-structure your bubble every hour on the dot.”
Have you lakeponies ever forgotten?
>Silence.
“O-ho gawd!” you yell fighting off the urge to cry.
>A light blue girl tells you reassuringly, “If it makes you feel better, winter’s starting soon, so you might just freeze to death.”
THAT DOESN’T HELP!
>An especially tall lakepony of seven feet; female with lavender scales, and a long flowing mane of turquoise, shoves the light blue mare aside.
>“What my friend Shanty Shores is /trying/ to say, is that we’re going to do everything in our power to make your time here comfortable. I wish we could just push your bubble to the surface, but the concrete would just weigh you through it. If only our magic was stronger.”
>You take a deep breath, to try and calm down.
At least you all are trying. Besides, I’d have already been dead if it wasn’t for this bubble. What’s your name?
>“Marytime, but you can call me Mary. I’ll be watching over your bubble, Mr.…”
Anonymous, but everyone just calls me Anon.
>“Anon it is. Before you even begin to worry about your time here being boring, don’t. You’ll have plenty of fun down here, wiiith-”
>United they all scream, “SINGIIING” as a small gray male lakepony begins beating on a corroded waste can with a pair of bones, producing a drum like noise.
>They then begin to dance, swerving and circling your bubble, as they sing,
>“LIGHTEEEN UP, AAAND ENJOY YOUR STAAAY
>YOUR ONE OF US! FOR THE NEXT FEW DAAAYS!
>PLEASE UNDERSTAND, THAT WE HAVE NO WAAAY
>TO SEND YOU, BACK, HOME! [bum, bum-bum]”
>They continue singing and dancing festively as you sink further into your depression.
>This might just be a worse fate then drowning.

---

>Post Nightmare Night is supposed to be a happy time for me.
>With winter coming up in four days, ponies are going to be visiting the store for scarves, hats, and sweaters because I’m one of the only notable knitters in side of Dream Valley.
>Being able to relax with Anon, or even anypony I could call a friend after long days of knitting would’ve been like heaven for me, which only makes my heart die even more to know that I couldn’t even see his death.
>I can’t pity myself nearly as much as Firefly though.
>When we came into town, the way that she broke down and flew away in the middle of explaining what happened to the ponies...I’m getting depressed.
>I need to stay positive. I’ve got to try and comfort Firefly, so she’ll actually leave her apartment.
>Nopony’s seen her face all day, and if I were as guilt ridden as her, I know I’d like the embrace of somepony else to help.
>As the balloon I rented comes floating to door 121 of her apartment, I yell out for Firefly, remembering this time not to leave the balloon to try and knock.
Firefly?! Are you there? It’s me, Spearmint. I know we don’t talk much, but I thought that you might want somepony to share your feelings with.
>It takes a bit, but she does respond, slowly opening the door, just barely enough for her head to peer out. She looks pale, her mane is very disheveled, and she has very subtle bags under her eyes from a lack of sleep.
>“Why do you care about /my/ problems?” she says rudely.
Firefly, you have to stop beating yourself up about Anon. You tried your best to save him.
>“But I didn’t! I’m a failure, and the town HATES me because of it.”
You’re being ridiculous. Nobody blames you for what happened.
>“You saw their faces. You heard them yell at me, and announce that everything is lost without Anon. Face it, I screwed up big-time. Why do you even care? You were just as angry at me as everypony else.”
It was a moment of emotion; I didn’t know what I was saying, and I’m sorry for that. I need to get you out of the house though.
>“Why?”
To get your life back together, and...Yesterday, I visited the lake, to pay my respect to Anon, and…
>“What?”
Well, there was a hole. A giant, perfect whole at least ten feet in diameter. Last time a hole like that appeared was when things started getting really bad with Lily and the tulpa. Anon said it’s a sign of danger...a-and I was having these weird dreams about the lake, and there was-
>“If something bad’s really happening, I’m sure the guard ponies can take care of it. They were the ones that got Paul after all.”
>The door begins to slowly close.
No wait! I-
>I unintentionally step off of the balloon and begin falling through the sky, screaming wildly for help.
FIREFLYYYYYYY! FIREFLY PLEASE!
>There’s at least a five second delay before Firefly finally leaves her home, and swoops down to save me.
>Her hooves wrap around my stomach, and she takes me back through the air, before placing me back on the balloon, flying back into her home and slamming the door shut.
Dag nabbit.

---

>Maybe if I knew stronger magic I could’ve done more to help Anon.
>Blinding ponies is useful, but it’s not like I can shoot lightning, or ice beams like Frostbite.
>That was pretty cool when she did that.
>I’m going to do my best to become a stronger unicorn though. It’s what Anon would’ve wanted.
>It’s been three whole days since the Nightmare Night disaster.
>I’m surprised they didn’t hold the memorial service yesterday, but apparently, Mayor Moondust (a yellow earth mare with a curly, graying pink mane and a pink shield cutie mark), had it postponed to allow the news to travel far and wide through Dreamland.
>Didn’t stop anypony from heading to the lake though...and later speculate the giant hole in the ground.
>After a day’s worth of waiting, it is finally the official time of the service, and I was sure to arrive a good two hours early, to ensure I’d have a clear spot at the front.
>I had assumed Anon’s death wouldn’t mean much to anypony but us Dream Valley residents, but I was quickly shown how wrong I was, as I saw a plethora of new faces, dressed in black amongst the hundreds that arrived, gathered around Boggy Brink to pay their respects.
>I had even seen several centaurs from Centaurus, and Centaurians are known to hate us.
>Mayor Woosie slowly walks to a podium set in the front of the lake.
>Her typically bouncy hair is much less pronounced as she hides it under a large black hat.
>“Hello everypony, ever centaur, every gryphon, every ox, bull, cow, and anything else that has come to visit. We gather here today, to honor one of the noblest humans to have ever graced Dreamland, Anonymous. A man who selflessly-”
>A small boy’s voice comes from the lake interrupting.
>“Excuse me?” says the voice.
>If you weren’t so depressed, you’d give whoever spoke a good clobbering for interrupting.
>Attention focuses on a small, gray, slimy looking creature that you think might be a seapony in the lake.
>He looks to Mayor Woosie, and asks curiously, “Did you just say, “Anonymous”?”
>My eyes widen in shock, and the crowd gives a combination of surprised gasps, and confused murmurs.
>I run in front of the podium, and yell to the fish,
What do you know about Anon?!
>“A lot actually, he’s been pretty talkative to me and the others, but we still haven’t gotten him to sing yet.”
>My head shakes slightly in disbelief.
What on Earth is going on?

---

>This is absolutely unbelievable!
>The entire town was in an uproar during the service, with cheering, and screaming, and hugging, and crying all over the place.
>Even I couldn’t help but weep tears of joy, but at the same time I felt a little silly.
>I remember the seaponies saving Megan and Mrs. Applejack when I was a little filly using a bubble just like that. I should’ve anticipated something like this happening, and we could’ve tried out that magic seashell to...no wait, did the Apple Family take the shell when they left for Equestria?
>Oh well, that’s not important now. What’s important is that we get Firefly out of her home, so we can talk about a solution.
>Thankfully, Sun Sparkle was more than willing to loan the balloon for free after hearing it was for a good cause.
>Minty asks me with a clear concern in her voice, “Ember, do you /really/ think Firefly will come out this time?”
Not to worry Minty, Firefly never gives up hope when there’s a chance to fix something.
>We float up to door 121 of Albedo Apartments, where Firefly should hopefully be.
>She certainly wasn’t at the service. That’s for sure.
>I take a deep breath, ready to calmly ask Firefly out, before Brightly does it for me, yelling, “Yo, Firefly! Anon’s not dead yet! Get out here so we can work on a plan to get him out of the lake.”
>There’s a long silence, before the door finally opens, just enough for Firefly to look at us.
>Goodness, she doesn’t look too good.
>“What did you say?” Firefly weakly asks.
>Brightly elaborates.
>“Apparently there are lake ponies that live deep at the bottom on Lake Boggy. They used their crazy magic to put Anon in an air bubble. It could pop any minute though if they don’t keep an eye on it, so we have to think of a way to get him out.”
Apparently, their bubbles have no lift, so he can’t be pulled out. He’s also still stuck in the concrete, and if the bubble pops, he’ll be crushed by the water pressure. I’m sure however, that if we put our heads together, we can-
>The door begins to slowly close.
>“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Don’t close the door on us!” says Brightly.
>“You guys only made this worse for me. There’s no way we can get him out of the river. Now I have to try and sleep knowing that he’s alive and suffering. I’ll see you girls later.”
>The door closes on us.
>Brightly stomps a hoof on the basket.
>“Dang it!”
Well, I guess we should just go.
>A fierce snort comes from Brightly’s nostrils and her horn begins emanating orange magic.
Brightly, calm down.
>Out of nowhere, she leaps out of the balloon, and I scream in shock, trying to reach for her.
GWEHYUAH!
>I assumed she was just going to fall through, but to my surprise, her hooves sink deep into the clouds, allowing her to stand.
>“Holy cow,” says Minty. “How is she doing that?”
>Brightly takes a few cautious steps with the consistency of walking in mud, before her hoofing becomes more solid, and she kicks in Firefly’s door, walking into the building.
>An obscured conversation then begins from inside, with occasional bits of yelling, and frustrated noises, before Brightly walks back out, pulling Firefly by her tail.
Um, good work Brightly?
>“Dnn menmn mmh.”
>She pulls Firefly into the basket, as she just stares off into space, limp and bordering on motionless.
>After a painfully awkward trip back to the surface, we head to the nearest home, Brightly’s Sunflower Shop. >Brightly then places Firefly on her back with her magic, and we walk to her kitchen. Firefly is placed on the ground where she sprawls out on her back behind Brightly, and we gather around the table to sit down, and try and think of ideas.
>It’s a painfully difficult process.
>Minty tells us, “Anon once told me that there’s a special boat called the submachine, which can go underwater. Maybe we could try and build one, and carry Anon out in it.”
We don’t have the schematics.
>“We can get the schematics from Megan, if Firefly just flies to her farm,” adds Minty.
>Brightly questions, “Why not just bring Megan? In fact, we should just get a bunch of humans, and have THEM think of something.”
But then it’d seem like we were replacing Anon. Maybe if we gave them a chisel, the seaponies could...no, then they’d have to get into the air bubble and would reverse drown. And then there’s the whole getting him to surface thing…
>I give a frustrated yell as my head arcs back to the ceiling.
>Firefly only gets further depressed at our lack of inspiration, causing her cheek to plop onto the table.
Firefly, do you have any suggestions.
>There’s a long pause before she responds with a weak, “No.”
>Minty tells us, “How about we take Frostbite to the bottom of the lake, so she can freeze the bubble, and carry it out?”
Either the pressure would get to her, or she’d run out of breath.
>Firefly sighs depressed at our failing brainstorm, and turns to her side to face away from us.
>Now, Brightly’s been pretty grumpy with Firefly ever since they had their conversation earlier in her home, but this act of distancing herself finally gets to Brightly enough for her to snap at Firefly.
>“Oh COME ON! We get it! You’re sad because you couldn’t save Anon, but now you have a chance to fix that! You need to pick yourself up and focus on trying to help Anon, or else when he does die, it really WILL be your fault!”
>Firefly finally breaks that depressed state, sitting upward to snap back at Brightly.
>“I’m trying, but unless you’re too thick to notice, THINGS SEEM PRETTY HOPELESS RIGHT NOW! There’s nothing we can do with that lake in the way!”
>You can see her nostrils flaring, and a look of anger and frustration you had never seen in her before, as her eyes begin welling with tears.
Firefly, you need to calm-
>“We’re not smart like Anon! We’re just a bunch of dumb ponies! What possible idea could we come up with that isn’t STUPID?! Oh, here’s an idea! We could dig a tunnel and drain the lake like a bathtub! Or even better! How about we boil the water so it all evaporates into a cloud?! Ooh, ooh! I know!
>Motioning the actions with her hooves, she tells us, “We should take Boggy Brink Lake, and push it somewhere else!”
>As Firefly begins breathing in heavy, audible huffs, the table goes completely silent.
>Brights is so mad that she’s fighting the urge to punch Firefly in the snout, and Minty’s trying to hold back the urge to cry, but myself on the other hand; I’m actually a little glad at Firefly’s little tantrum, because she might have said something smarter than she thought.
This may sound silly girls, but I think Firefly might be onto something.


---

>You’re not sure how much longer you can stand it.
>You can’t fully tell how long it’s been, because lakeponies don’t sleep, and the bottom of the lake doesn’t change much no matter what the time is, but from word of Marytime, it’s been about seven days.
>Depending on factors such as age, weight, and energy exerted, the human body can last for weeks, potentially even months without food or water, but still, it’s getting increasingly hard just to move.
>On the first day here, a few hours after awakening you were able to break the chair you were in with a good fall, and a bunch of weight focusing to crack the back legs.
>You can now walk, but with your legs are still trapped in the concrete that wraps around the front legs of the chair, so you can’t properly bend, and you’re being weighed down by at least twenty pounds on each leg.
>On a positive note however, three days into staying down here, your arm seems to have undergone a near complete recovery. It’s a little sore when you move it too much, but it’s operational, and that’s what matters.
>Free to move about, it’s given you the chance to actually explore across the bottom of the lake, with Marytime pushing it along with wherever you’ve gone, and more importantly, you don’t have to use the restroom in one spot.
>From exploring the expansive lake bottom, you can rightfully say it’s horrible down here.
>You’ve seen around a half dozen corpses trapped down here, there’s trash everywhere and nothing substantial seems to grow aside from sea weed and moss. It’s a polluted, dreary, mess of a home for these creatures, and they probably don’t even realize because there are no alternatives available.
>You never told the lakeponies your thoughts on this, but Marytime seems to be picking up on your distaste.
>During a walk across whatever direction you haven’t gone through, Marytime asks you, “Anon?”
Yes Marytime?
>“I’m sure you’re still not used to living down here, but...is it good down here?”
Well, that’s not really for me to judge, since I’m not use to these kinds of surroundings.
>“You’re dodging the question. Is this a good lake? I like living down here, and I love my friends, but is the lake good, because you don’t seem to be very happy.
>You sigh, not wanting to tell her the truth, but not wanting to lie either.
If you really want me to be honest, your lake could use a good cleaning more than anything. This place seems very unhealthy to live in, and I haven’t seen anything other than you lakeponies roaming around here. I doubt it was always just lakeponies around here.
>“You’ve...definitely been more blunt about it then some of the others.”
Marytime, if I could do something, I would. But with my situation and all, that’s not really an option.
>“Be optimistic. Your friends have known about you being down here for days. They’ll surely think of something.”
Please don’t get my hopes up. Even I can think of something they could do, and they think I’m a genius.

---

>Okay Firefly. Time to stop being a sad sack and be the hero you’re supposed to be.
>Just keep telling yourself, “This’ll work. This’ll totally work.”
>All I have to focus on, is going fast for the end, and motivating the others.
>It’s 4:00, and we’ve gathered 100s of the most able bodied Dreamlandians we could get at Boggy Brink once again, so that we can try to save Anon.
>First however, it’s time to rally everypony together.
>Flying high above the entire audience, I announce in a megaphone,
Attention everypony! Attention!
>The rabble of the participants begins to quiet down, as they focus their attention to me.
I need to apologize in advance, for a lot of things really, but right now, I should just apologize for how bad I am at public speaking.
>I awkwardly laugh a little to defuse the pressure I’m feeling.
O-kay, so uh, we’re all here, once again, and we’re going to try and free Anon, and everypony’s going to be happy, and things will be good again. Now, I know we’ve only had three days’ worth of practice time, but I think we’ve got it down by now, and if everypony does their part, things should go without a hitch. Let’s hope for the best, we literally only have one try. Just like we practiced. All runners, row together at the north west corner. Hit it!
>Thankfully, this colossal mess of a crowd is already for the most part divided, and the runners from the right dash off to their sector of the lake. There are around 240 based on the census we took this morning, comprised of mostly earth ponies, a few centaurs, some oxen, and a bull. There were a lot of cows that also wanted to help, but sadly, they’re not fast enough for this, so they remain in the distance, cheering with the many others who couldn’t directly help.
All magic users make a wide circle outside of the lake. Hop to it!
>The magic users, though fewest in number at around 110 unicorns, and 20 of those weird mystic deer from Gemini Woods, split apart to circle the lake, confident in their ability.
>Being such a large lake, there’s more than enough room for each of them to stand side by side, but they make sure to leave a large, but not too large opening where the runners are, so that they can enter the ring without any trouble.
>All that’s left are the 190 flyers, which will be led by my Momma.
This is it! I don’t want any of you fine flyers slacking off!
>Mom gets in a crouching position, stretching out her wings in preparation, which accordingly makes the others follow.
On the count of “go”, take off, and don’t stop, no matter what. Three...t-two...one…GO!
>I take into the air away from the flyers, as Mom darts forward, soon followed by the many pegasi, gryphons, and the dozens of colorful birds that Ms. Wingsong owns.
>As fast as their bodies can take them, they begin circling the lake with the cheers of everypony backing them up.
>One rotation, two, three and so on, they continue flying, picking up on the momentum until small streaks of wind begin forming.
That’s it! Keep it up!
>I return to the ground, looking closely at the surface as droplets of water begin to slowly rise.
Magic users, GIVE EM’ A PUSH!
>As a powerful unit, the unicorns and deer’s horns begin to glow beautifully, calmly focusing their magic on lifting the water with the pagasi. Like running a marathon, they’ll have to keep track of their breathing, and avoid overexertion, but it seems to pay off, as their wide spectrums of colors envelop the upper layer of the waters, before eventually combining into a pure white aura that takes the water in a large an evenly flowing stream, upward with the pegasi’s wings helping the momentum.”

---

>The water seems to be flowing unusually.
>You can’t really feel it, being in a bubble and all, but the lakeponies seem to notice it, and they are complaining accordingly.
>Coral tells you in concern, “Something’s going on Anon, and I don’t like it!”
Calm down. It’s probably just bad weather.
>Anemoni, the indigo male with the cerulean pompadour tells the others, “I’m going to check it out! Everylakepony else stay low.”
>He bravely takes off for the surface, and then gives off a loud and seemingly terrified scream, that causes the others to shriek in concern.
>Twenty seconds later, and he still hasn’t come back down.
Well, this is interesting.

---

That’s it! We’re doing it!
>We may not have the wing power of professionals, but we sure as hay have the numbers to compensate!
>A small tornado has now formed, and the water of the lake is beginning to flow upward at a faster rate, all combining into an ever expanding orb of filthy water that the magic users keep from falling apart.
>Speaking of falling apart, one of the biggest problems when we first tried this was that the pegasi would become extremely unstable once the tornado would form. They’d get swept away by the own winds that they were generating, and we’d continue to fall apart because of that. Thank goodness Brightly thought of a solution.
Runners! TAKE OFF!
>There’s a loud roar of excitement from the crowd, and the runners as they take off, being led by the golden athletes of the Butterscotch family.
>The ground rumbles as their thousands of hooves circle the tornado, and while they aren’t quite as fast as the flyers, their superior size create enough force to form a cyclone of their own to help the flyers keep together. The best part is, since they remain on the ground, they’re not going to break apart.
>As everypony works together, we create a perfect unit. With the forceful lift of the flyers, the maintenance of the magic users, and the stability of the runners, we drain the lake further and further until it’s only a third of the way filled.
>They’re doing amazingly, but you can see the water in the magic orb beginning to shake and lose form slightly. The flyers are also beginning to lose some of their momentum.
“Please, don’t give up!” I yell in the megaphone. “We’re almost there!”

---

>You’re seeing it, but you’re not even close to believing it.
>As more of your friends began disappearing at the surface, it became increasingly clear that there was some unnatural force at work, but only now, after what you’re thinking is around six or seven minutes, are you completely sure.
>The river is being vacuumed so that you can be pulled out.
This is unbelievable.
>Marytime looks at you with her big green eyes of concern, and asks in a very saddened tone, “Are they going to take you away now, Anon?”
Looks like it.
>Shanty Shores hugs at the bubble and tells you, “I don’t want you to go Anon!”
>The remaining dozen still with you chime in agreement.
>“Please don’t go”, “Can’t you stay a little longer?”, “We could still keep the bubble up”, they say.
>Shanty hugs the bubble a little tighter with her tiny blue flippers.
>“Please! I still never got the chance to hear you sing!”
>You roll your eyes with a smile.
Well, I would sing, but seeing as my life’s hanging in the balance of the ponies right now, I’m not exactly in the mood.
>You laugh a little and tell her,
I’m actually really nervous, and kind of terrified.
>With a more serious look, Mary tells you, “If you do leave, please, promise to visit the lake.”
I promise.
>“And sing to us!” yells Shanty.
>You nod a little, still smiling.
I promise.
>The force of the lake begins pulling at their bodies, forcing them upwards.
Goodbye everyone.
>They wave, and give their goodbyes, before being sucked away with the draining water.
>As the lake dips below your head, you see the amazingly surreal sight you have ever witnessed in your life, as the entire river has formed an orb of water that’s being encircled by hundreds of pegasi, and a bunch of colorful birds. You can even see a gryphon or two, which is surprising considering you only saw a few gryphons in a fan letter from Keytera.
>You also see a bunch or corpses and garbage, but it'd be best to just ignore that.
>You then hear the sweet sound of Firefly, as she yells for you through a megaphone.
>“Anon! Anon, are you down there! If you can hear me, please respond!”
>You turn your head to your left where you hear her, and as you see her worried face for the first time in what feels like ages, you scream as loud as you can,
I’M HERE FIREFLY!
>She gives a loud squee, and in a flashy blur of lightning, makes it from the border of the lake to the bottom of where you’re at, pops the bubble causing the remaining lake water to soak your knees, and hugs you as tightly as possible, to the point of almost cracking your spine as she begins kissing your cheeks all over like a jackhammer.
>“Thank Celestia of Equestria you’re okay!”
>Smooch smooch smooch.
>“I’m not a bad partner!” she says laughing joyfully as she continues adding pressure to your extremely weakened body.
Of course you’re not, Firefly. You’re an amazing partner, and you should never doubt yourself.
>“But I couldn’t stop Paul, the guards had to get him for me.”
>You wrap your hands around her, and begin rubbing at her back.
It doesn’t matter that you didn’t succeed in what you wanted Firefly. What matters is that when I needed you most, you were there for me.
>Her hug gets even tighter, as she happily says, “Thank you Anon.”
>It hurts a little, but you kind of like it.
>You then feel a large drop of water slash the top of your head, and you soon take notice of a few streams of water beginning to release themselves from the orb.
We should probably get out of here.
>“Just a little bit more.”
>The streams begin to get larger, and more begin to form.
Firefly!
>She lets out a comforted sigh.
>“Okay, I’m good.”
>Firefly’s wings begin to beat as fast as possible, lifting you easily out of the water, and she begins flying off.
>Man. You couldn’t see it from down there, but there is a ton of ponies running around the lake right now.
>The orb then collapses a few inches short of escaping.
>You two aren’t crushed, but you two are hit with a massive wave of disgusting lake water, that almost drags you two back under.
>Thankfully, your concrete shoes anchor you two to the ground, allowing Firefly to pull you up, and slowly drag you out.
>Ironically, the item made to help you sink is exactly what saved you from sinking.
>The many flying animals break their cyclone, practically crashing exhaustively to the ground, and the hundreds of running ponies begin to slow down to a halt, and collapse across the ground. There are also a bunch of unicorns, and a few deer behind the running ponies, that as well collapse from exhaustion.
>A crowd of even more creatures in the background begin to cheer triumphantly at your return, and through panting and huffing, they begin to join in as well.
>It’s a good feel, but the freezing sensation of the lake water really--oh, someone lifted it out with magic. Cool.
>Those with enough stamina in them, begin to swarm you joyfully in conjunction with the crowd that begins pushing their way in as well; random earth ponies, a bright red bull, Firefly senior who practically tackles you with enthusiasm along with the many other pegasi, and a couple of unicorns fill your entire vision as others begin desperately trying to push through everyone else to show their appreciation.
>Their words quickly turn into an incomprehensible mess of joy, and happiness, as you feel pushing from practically every side possible.
Okay, thank you...yes I-could you ponies please…Could I just get a little space, I’m claustro...GUYS I’M STARVING TO DEATH AND I NEED TO GET FREED FROM THIS CONCRETE!
>They begin to quiet down a little, as the animals your friends and loyalist slowly back away to give you some space to breath.
Thank you.
>You then hear Minty from the background, accompanied by the angry murmurs of a bunch of residence getting pushed aside.
>“Get outta my way. Anon needs me. I gotta get through,” she says rudely shoving her way forward.
>You eventually see her, as Minty climbs over the bull’s back, hopping into your view.
>“Come on home Anon, I’ll make you a delicious dinner of vegetable stew to help you adjust.”
>She screams to the air, “VLADDENHORN! YODENHORN! GET THE TAXI READY!”
>Some guy with a very confusing accent responds in the distance, “No problem yelling lady.”
>With her nose in the air, Minty takes off as you follow behind because f%&k it, why not, and the hundreds of ponies begin to part like the red sea to let you all pass.
>You awkwardly announce to everyone as they watch you off,
I guess I’m going home now. Bye.

~WINTER~

>Winter was postponed for two days after the realization of your situation, but with you safe and sound, it snowed a good six inches before you had even awoken from your 8 to 12 sleep.
>Minty was spooning the heck out of you last night, but it /was/ pretty cold, and with what she’s been through, you were willing to let it slide, just this once at least.
>You’re actually feeling decent enough to unpack your coat, and take a walk through the snow covered town, maybe take in the environment, make a snowman, get some coffee from Morning Glory's coffee shop while you update your Disaster Log about what happened to you.
>You know however, that those kinds of privileges are not as easily obtainable as you’d hope.
>Oh well.
>Back to the basement.