Apocalypse Anon in Equestria CH3

>Anon put his hand on the door for a moment, breath in, breath out.
>With a light push the door gently swung open, he bent down to fit in the comparatively small door.
>It was just after the breakfast rush and quite empty.
>The counter was unmanned so Anon tapped the bell to summon Pinkie.
>Pinkie came trotting around the corner, a little slower than usually, but still full of cheer and joy.
>She also had an eye patch.
>Anon felt a physical pang of guilt roll up his spine and gut, causing him to cringe slightly.
>Her good eye widened in excitement and her mouth grinned a little more.
>Before Anon could say anything Pinkie launched into a long stream of words that Anon could just only barely keep up with.
>”I’mreallysorryyourbirthdaypartydidn’tturnoutthewayitwassuppossedto”
>Anon blinked blankly for a moment, still trying to decode what she had said.
>He knelt down before responding, brining himself to eye with the colorful pony.
“Aren’t I supposed to be the one apologizing?”
>She takes a deep breath and is about to launch into another flood of words when Anon raised both his hands in front of him.
>Pinkie read the gesture correctly and let out her breath before continuing a slower pace.
>”Anon… That wouldn’t have happened if I had spent a little more time asking around…”
>Anon looked down at the floor for a moment, thinking over his words.
“My… hm… My reaction couldn’t be predicted, I should have had a better handle on it. Really, I mean it’s been a yea-“
>There was a slight creak as the door opened; it was Mr. Cake carrying in a bag of flour.

>His expression seemed to grow a little icy, but not a single muscle moved on his face.
>”Pinkie. May I talk to you in the kitchen?”
>He briskly walked past Anon and Pinkie into the kitchen, not bothering with a response.
>Pinkie looked back at Anon, he gently waved his indicating that she should go into the kitchen with Mr. Cake.
>Anon sighed and stood back up, he already knew what was coming up next.
>He could hear it through the kitchen’s open door, no distinct words, but he knew the tone.
>It was the ‘why the hell is he here tone’.
>Anon stood around for a couple moments before he decided to take it upon himself to leave.
> He pulled the door open, crouched down, and left without making a sound.
>Once in the street he pulled his boonie hat down as low as he could and quietly walked home.
>Out of his peripherals he could see the ponies giving him a slightly wider birth than would be considered polite.
>It was a tightknit town with an excellent community, by he wasn’t currently in good standing.
>He pulled his coat a little tighter around himself, in doing so he could feel the metal hammer of his sig pressing into his side.
>Slowly he became angry; all the little things began to pile up in his mind.
>None of them about the ponies or the other humans, just his personal failings.
>All his regrets and stored feelings began to show themselves from the forgotten pages of the minds seemingly infinite rolodex.
>It wasn’t until he got to the last two days did he begin to lose his head.
>His inability to move on,
>his inability to even apologize,
>his inability to find regular work,
>and most of all, his inability to be relaxed and content.
>Without thinking he walked over to a sign on the side of the street.
>He looked up at it.
*Thank You for not Littering*

>Signs like this were everywhere.
>He was angry, so without thinking he kicked it, it wobbled, his anger impaired mind took the wobble as a challenge.
>So he kicked it again, harder.
>Once again harder still.
>He grabbed on to the sign and growled as he slowly but surely tore the sign out of the ground.
>He let out a strangled grunt as he tore it out of the ground; it wasn’t particularly well secured in the dirt.
>That didn’t stop several passing ponies from giving him a strange look and wide area of space.
>He stood for a moment, looking between the sign and the few ponies that stopped.
>He let out a little groan as he pushed the sign back into the ground and kicked the rest of the torn dirt into the hole.
>The ponies wouldn’t stop staring even after he put the sign back.
>He let out a sigh and looked up at the sky before continuing on his way.

>It wasn’t until he turned into the human quarter that he looked up.
>It was a section of Ponyville that Anon was very familiar with.
>It had a rather colloquial feel, clothes lines were hung between second story windows, the narrow street intermingled with the planter boxes and home gardens.
>It was nearly empty, the vast majority of the residences either in the town or working at HE.
 >He had been walking alone through town trying not to be a bother to anyone, lest he lose any more friends.
>As he passed the human quarter’s pub Daniel spotted him from the large window and came running out with his half full pint in his hand.
>”Hey! Bro! C’mon slow down!”
>Anon slowed his pace and turned around.
>Daniel slowed to a jog as he came within suitable speaking distance.
>”Where the hell have you been? When I came back to the porch you were just, like, gone.”
“I just went out for the night, slept over at a friend’s house.”
>He didn’t want to admit the truth, he didn’t want Daniel to worry about him, it wasn’t his responsibility.
>Nor was it the pony’s responsibility, but no matter how hard he tried he simply couldn’t stop it from spilling over and affecting others.
>Daniel raised an eyebrow at this, he didn’t buy the story for a moment, after all Anon was his bro, and any bro’s Anon had would be his bro’s as well.
>”Well, you want to stop in for a pint with me?”
>Anon reached into his pocket, he didn’t have enough.
>Daniel looked down at Anon’s hand, counting the bits in his head.
>”It’s alright dude, I’ll cover the tab.”
>Anon gave a small smile.
“Thanks, I could- it would be… Thanks.”
>Daniel gave Anon a hearty pat on the shoulder, forcefully pulling him into the pub.
>It was almost empty, but it was a weekday during normal working hours.
>Daniel seemed to pick up on the mood, not really saying much of anything, but never shutting up either.
>This sort of brainless drivel was exactly what he needed.

>It had been just over a week since his ‘birthday party’.
>Since then the first snow had started to fall.
>It was morning; Anon was leaning against the railing of his front porch waiting for the mail.
>It was one of his favorite things to do; he stood there with his morning coffee and waited.
>Same as with every day, 9:10 AM, Derpy would fly down from somewhere out of his view and deliver the mail.
>She would wave happily, as would Anon.
>There were no hidden undertones, no real meaning, just a reminder that he was a welcome part of their community.
>There was the slight noise of beating wings as she came down from above, there she was, a bright yellow and orange beanie and scarf providing protection from the elements.
>Anon pulled his hand out of his coat pocket and waved as he took a sip of his coffee.
>She didn’t even look over as she carelessly shoved his mail into the box, intentionally smashing it up as much as she could without risking her job.
>After that she took off as fast as she could.
>This had been going on for the whole week; he poured out his coffee on the snow, it seemed to have lost its taste.
>he hadn’t finished a single cup this whole week.
>He pushed his way through the shallow snow to his mailbox and retrieved his bent and crinkled mail.
>Anon closed and locked the door behind himself, tossing the mail down on the table.
>One letter shifted out of the pile and showed a yellow striped envelope.
>Anon already knew who it was.
>Twilight used a color coded mailing system, yellow stripes meant that the message was time sensitive and should be read asap.

>Anon didn’t bother taking his coat off as he grabbed the letter and tore it open.
*Anonymous,
Please come as soon as possible, bring or obtain all the supplies you could possibly need for any assignment. Spare no expense, I am allowing both you and Daniel access to the royal accounts.
-Twilight Sparkle*
>Anon pocketed the letter and prompt marched about the house gathering all the things he might need.
>Going out on assignment was commonplace enough so he knew where everything was.
>He already knew what Daniel was going to pack, and Anon planned his pack accordingly.
>He stuck with the hydration pack; it was small and light, with just enough to store the necessities.
>There was a knock at the door; Anon unlocked it already knowing that it was Daniel.
>He let himself in as Anon continued to roam about the small home collecting his supplies.
>Daniel sat down and rested his rifle on the side of the couch as Anon set up his webbing; he knew that Anon liked to set up his pack on his own.
>That was fine with Daniel, after all Anon would be the one carrying it.
“You ready?”
>Daniel looked up, Anon was kitted out and holding his rifle case in his left hand.
>”Yeah bro. We gonna stop by the factory store?”
>Anon opened the door as Daniel got up.
“I do seem to have a want of bullets”
>Anon closed and locked the door, Daniel pulled his flap hat down tight over his head.
>They walked through the snow in the opposite direction of Twilight’s castle, up the side of the valley to where the HE factory was.
>It was a quiet affair, the snow and morning drowsiness sapping their desire to talk.
>Daniel was first to the door, holding it open for Anon.
>”Daniel, Anon, didn’t think I’d see either of you this soon. New assignment?”
>It was Tim, relations between Tim and Anon were not going so well, not hostile, but defiantly tense and uncomfortable.
>But Anon and Daniel were probably some of his biggest customers and one of the few reasons Human Enterprises was in the black.

>”Yeah dude, like hella short notice too. Got the letter today, probably going to be leaving today.”
>Tim raised a thick eyebrow at this.
>”Why didn’t she just magic it over?”
>Anon slowed his pace as he walked through the aisle, that was a good point.
“I guess the information is sensitive then. I mean, she didn’t tell us where we were going.”
>Tim nodded slightly before responding.
>”Right, mums the word.”
>Daniels was less eloquent.
>”huh.”
>Anon pulled a ditty bag off the shelf and began filling in with boxes of 5.56x45.
>Locally produced, using powder and primer meant for a ramset gun, bullets were hand cast and given a copper sulfate bath.
>The casings however was an entirely different matter, it took months to make the right sized molds for the casings.
>But now that production had stabilized they were fairly common.
>Anon just started tossing boxes of rounds into the ditty bag, he wasn’t paying for it.
>He grabbed a couple boxes of .45 and 9mm before making his way to the counter, Daniel, upon seeing Anon’s brilliant plan of getting more ammo than he could comfortably carry followed in suite.
>Tim looked down at the heavy bags of metal, and looked back up at the two in front of him.
>He sighed and ducked under the desk, already knowing what they were going to ask for.
>The milk crate full of capped steel pipes came up. Each one had a metal pull ring and retainer pin coming out of one end.
>Next Tim threw up a couple pairs of snow cleats.
>Finally Tim himself came back up with a pencil and note pad, he quickly wrote down all the prices and ran up the tab in his head.
“Oh, you should know that this is all being put on the royal account.”
>Tim stopped for a second before going back to his calculation.
>He wrote down the order on a rather large piece of receipt paper and waved them out.
>”I got all the numbers already; I’ll just send this out with tomorrows mail.”

>”Hurry up and wait bro, it’s what we did on earth, now we’re doing it here.”
>Anon understood his sentiment, once they got to the castle they were asked to wait by some guard standing post inside the front door.
>So here they were standing in the front of the castle having a smoke.
>Anon set down his rifle case before speaking.
“… Do you think… All of us paired off right?”
>”What?”
“All the humans, they all have families or significant others, hell I even got a letter from Helen the other day. Guess what?”
>”C’mon bro, just tell me.”
“She’s been going six months steady with some stallion in Canterlot! Here I am, standing in the snow! About to be sent to forgotten corner of the map! And all just so I can pay rent!”
>”Just take it easy man.”
>Anon folded his arms in front of his chest.
“I’m perfectly calm, calmer than you are.”
>Daniel took another drag and slowly began to chuckle, Anon smiled as well, but he wasn’t one to laugh at his own jokes.
>It was almost midday now; Ponies were taking to the streets, going about their business.
>Anon could easily spot Pinkie as she came up the street, she was bright pink after all.
>She was headed for some restaurant with Fluttershy and Rarity.
>Anon made eye contact and waved, Pinkie was about to respond in kind, he could see the white of her smile from this distance.
>Her hoof was stopped however, Rarity gently pulled it back down, Anon could barely hear what she said over the ambient noise of the street.
>”There’s no need to associate with that… that… ruffian, darling.”
>Pinkie looked genuinely confused as she was pulled into the restaurant, leaving Anon still there with his hand raised.
>There was no point; he just let it drop down to his side and slouched down a little trying to go unnoticed in the street.

>”Well that was fucking depressing.”
>Anon looked over at Daniel, a small scowl on his face.
>”Ah, don’t worry bro, they can’t hold a grudge forever.”
“I gave her a black eye.”
>The conversation was cut short, the castle doors opened.
>A guard stuck his head out.
>”The princess will see you now.”
>Daniel sprung to his feet, taking a last drag before tossing the cigarette butt on the ground.
>Anon followed in suit, and grabbed his rifle case before heading in.
>The snow cleats gave a metallic clang as they walked across the foyer, eventually reaching the library where Twilight spent the majority of her time.
>Anon remembered her birthday party, the whole goddamn town came out for it, he had never seen so many books.
>The guard stopped and stood post by the library door while Daniel and Anon let themselves in.
>They made their way through the stacks, as they approached the center the voices or Twilight and another pony became audible.
>”You sure these guys are up to the task?”
>”Yes, these humans have been through… Celestia knows”
>”You know I usually work alone right? Can they be trusted?”
>”Once again, yes, I haven’t had any problems with them.”
>”What about the mail pony, can she be trusted?”
>Daniel and Anon entered the center area; the circular table had books and maps strewn across it.
>Twilight sat on one side while a familiar golden mare with a compass rose cutie mark uneasily trotted back and forth.

>Anon couldn’t help but notice that in addition to her trademark shirt and pith helmet that she was wearing a human hydration pack and human modular saddlebags.
>”So, you must be the Humans.”
>Daniel threw a little pose complete with jazz hands, Anon simply put his left hand forward for a hoof/hand shake.
>Daring Do stared at it for a moment; it was pretty common considering Anon was missing two fingers.
>She put her hoof out, she was still on guard, that much was obvious to Anon.
“Good to meet you, I’m Anon. He’s Daniel.”
>Daniel released his pose and pulled up one of the libraries step ladders to sit on, giving a small gesture as he responded.
>”Sup.”
>Daring nodded and turned back to Anon.
>”Daring Do, what happened to your hand?”
“12 gauge.”
>”Oh? Where did the rest go?”
>Anon raised an eyebrow at this, it was rare for a pony to even know the most basic things about human weapons.
>Anon sighed and unzipped his coat and lifted his shirt, showing off the ten circular scars scattered across his gut.
>He lifted his shirt a little higher to show the scars of where a feral had bit him.
“So, do you think we’re up to the task?”
>”Scars just mean you messed up, but if Twilights right about you.”
>Anon nodded, Daniel raised his hand before asking his question.
>”So, where are we going aaaannnd what are we doing?”
>Daring pulled a map of the table with her wing, there was a section circled in red ink.
>She pointed to the circle with her other wing.

>”Here, west of the crystal empire, there’s a temple that belonged to the followers of Sombra-“
>Daniel raised his hand again, as he did so Anon squatted down and unlocked the latches on his rifle case.
>”I thought Sombra was dead or banished or… something?”
>This time Twilight spoke up, she sat up a little straighter and her ears perk up, always happy to impart knowledge on the ignorant.
>”Well, after the crystal empire vanished about a 1000 years ago some of the ponies outside of the ‘vanishing zone’ who were supporters of Sombra’s reign made a temple and devoted their time to trying to bring Sombra back.”
>Daniel raised his hand again, Anon was function checking his rifle, he still had the Derpy keychain strung up through the front sight.
>He had since taken the paint off so it just looked like an unidentifiable Pegasus.
>”Wasn’t Sombra banished a couple years ago?”
>Twilight smiled, obviously enjoying this small history lecture.
>”Yes, but the followers are rumored to still remain.”
>Daring put the map down before finishing Twilight’s lecture.
>”I have heard that the followers are working to raise another evil, one that’s supposed to help them gain power.”
>Anon finished his function check and began affixing a rather small suppressor to the end of his rifle; it was a caravaneer made affair with brilliant craftsmanship.
“Well whatever it is, we work as a unit and victory is assured. Probably.”
>Daring rolled her eyes, obviously still at odds with the idea of working in a group.
>Anon remained quite as Daniel hopped off his seat.
>”Oh c’mon, you can trust us.”

>The train ride to the crystal empire was quiet and tense, Daring really didn’t like going to Twilight for help.
>However she seemed wise enough to know when even she needed a hand, especially after that ring fortress incident.
>They only had a couple hours until they reached their destination, Anon finally asked the question he had been mulling over himself.
“Why didn’t Twilight and the friendship brigade take over this one?”
>There was a short silence as Daring looked over, she was dressed in her usual disguise, not keen on attracting attention.
>An impossible task with two humans in tow.
>”I didn’t want too large of a group, larger groups are slower, and I… we cannot afford to waste any time.”
>Anon nodded before reclining back.
>Daniel’s head seemed to shoot up, a sudden question on his mind.
>”Aren’t pegasi like, hella fast, why didn’t you just take Dash?”
>Daring let out a small grin.
>”Truth be told, Dash can get really annoying. We could be out for months and I’m not sure I can handle her for that long.”
>Anon let out a chuckle, it was true.
>Daniel let out a huge cheeky grin; he often got into pissing contests with her.
>The mood was considerably warmer, for putting on such a tough exterior Daring was a pretty nice person.
>Granted they were on the same side, but still, she was good company.
>A thought crossed Anon’s mind. Maybe, just maybe. No. Stop. Focus on the job; he could deal with his sordid love life after.
>Daniel produced a pack of cards from his pack and put it down on the floor between himself and Anon.
>He turned around to look Daring in the eye with a friendly expression.
>”You know how to play rat slap?”

>Damn she was fast.
>They played five games, Daring won each one.
>Upon victory she would let out some witty and snide one liner, it was quite endearing really.
>What made it worse was that since she had no magic she had to use her wings to manipulate the cards.
>”I don’t think I can take this anymore bro. I mean, like, look at her.”
>Daring had one of the most smug expressions Anon had ever seen, Anon shrugged, going back to the ‘don’t complain’ mentality.
>”Hella smug… hella smug.”
>Daring’s grin only got wider; Daniel started shuffling the deck again before returning the deck to his pack.
>As he did so the train began to decelerate. Daniel, Anon, and Daring all went for their gear and headed for the door.
>As they walked, or hovered in Daring’s case, she spoke.
>”You know Daniel; you should really teach me some more human games. I really like finding things I’m good at.”
>She seemed significantly more comfortable around them now, but Anon still sensed some reservation in her.
>Daniel however had returned to his normal self completely, Anon mentally prepared himself for the non-stop conversation.
>”Oh-ho , so you think you’re the best at all human games? News flash lady! I have yet to find someone who can best me at Texas hold em”
>”Bring it! A challenge might be a nice change of pace.”
>Daniel shot out a snide response, this was going to go on all day, Anon let out a smile.
>The doors opened and the trio immediately got started on their long trek to the crystal mountains.

>Anon was the first one up, he slowly eased himself out from his small tarpaulin shelter.
>This would be the their second day walking, Daniel would probably be the last one awake, after all, he had a tradition to keep.
>He took a look about himself before pulling his hood up and his beanie down a little tighter to protect against the ever-present cold.
>As quietly as he could he pulled the tarp off the stick frame and packed it away.
>He pulled out the small folding stove and tossed a solid fuel tablet on it, methodically he took out a pack of hardtack and his metal cup.
>Anon watched as Daring awoke and made her way out of a similarly simple shelter, she flew by Anon handing him her cup as well.
>She kept flying as she made her way to Daniel’s shelter, Anon watched as he put cups of snow on the stove.
>”Hey! Get up you div! Or does somehuman need me to wake them up every morning. “
>There was the sound or treated canvas being rubbed, making a ‘zip’ noise as Daniel got up.
>”I dunno, I could get used to waking up to your face every morning.”
>That line cut through Anon, he couldn’t put a finger on why though, after all, he had been doing fine without a significant other.
>He tried to shake it out of his head, tapping his head with the edge of his rifles suppressor, this didn’t stop the banter between Daniel and Daring from seeping into his mind though.
>”Save it for the honey moon.”
>”So there is going to be a honey moon?”
>The water began to boil, so Anon pulled his gloves a little tighter and took the cups off the cooker and put the hard tack in each one to soften.
>Daniel Placed his own cup on the still burning cooker before turning his head to Anon.
>”Something the matter bro? You’ve been hella quiet these last couple a’ days.”

>Anon slowly gnawed away at his slightly softened hardtack, staring at Daniels cup of snow.
>His response was unintentionally curt sounding.
“Fine, just thinking.”
>Daniel seemed a little put off by this, simply shrugging.
>Anon’s response killed any conversation between Daniel and Daring, the light gold mare focusing in on her food.
>Anon felt guilty, he didn’t mean for it to come out so coldly, a part of him enjoyed listening to the other two chat.
>Once Daniel’s water boiled, they set off, forcing Daniel to eat while high stepping through the snow.
>The mountains were close, it was a possibility that they could be at the temple by tomorrow if Daring was right about the location.
>About three hours had passed since they set off; it was then that Daring struck up a conversation.
>This was her first time doing so since they started this assignment.
>”Hey, Daniel, were those books about you humans right?”
>Of course it was directed to Daniel, Anon couldn’t stop himself from frowning a little, with every passing day he was less and less involved.
>Neither of them could see his scowl as Anon was walking point, as he had volunteer the other days as well.
>”They were hella spotty on the details, and they said I had red hair! Red!”
>”Ha, you know how many details I have to change in my books?”
>Daniel said something in response, Anon ignored it, focusing on the terrain in front of him, searching out for possible threats.
>Sombra may be gone, but the descendants of his followers weren’t.
>Ignoring Daniel and Daring’s conversation was one thing, blocking out his thoughts was another.
>His mind began to wander, and not in a pleasant direction.

>What the hell was he doing out here?
>Isn’t this what he wanted to avoid by coming to Equestria?
>Anon mentally shrugged as he pulled his boot out of the snow and took another step forward, the dull crunch of the metal studs doing little to ease his mind…
>Or the ever present quips between Daring and Daniel.
>It was a job right? He still had to eat.
>Well what about signing on for some other work?
>Human Enterprises was already over staffed as it was, what about the ponies?
>Anon had done some farm labor as a kid, but AJ wouldn’t hire him after the whole party incident.
>Neither would Rarity, not like he had any experience in that field beyond patching his own clothes.
>The cakes defiantly wouldn’t hire him.
 >Hell, no one in the whole goddamn town would hire him.
>Anon mentally screamed at this, a small strangled noise escaped his own shut lips.
>He tried his best to keep his face stoic, remember Anon, no fuckin’ complaining.
>He hit the side of his temple with the palm of his hand to shake out the thoughts.
>Not that Daring of Daniel noticed, too caught up in their trade of light hearted barbs.
>Movement.
>Two o’clock.
>Anon raised his hand and brought his rifle to his shoulder, tracking the subtle movement.

>Anon could hear Darings wings slow down as she brought herself to a low hover, there was a small rustle as Daniel brought his rifle off its sling.
>The movement stopped, Anon kept his rifle on the last location.
>Silence, the white snow covered taiga was frozen.
>The three of them stood ready for a couple minutes, their breath crystalizing in front of them.
>Daniel slowly walked his way up to Anon, his steel cleated boots giving a distinct crunch.
>Each one set Anon’s teeth on edge.
>”C’mon bro, maybe it was nothing.”
>Anon ignored his words, he believed Daniel to be too laxed in his conversation with Daring.
“Come out! We have no intention of hurting you!”
>A whistle and a dart flew out from high in the trees.
>It struck Anon right in the collar, stopped by the thick layers of the wool coat.
>Daniel swore, Anon raised his weapon to the general direction of the shooter.
>He fired a long loud burst of automatic fire; the rounds whipped and tore through the leaves and branches.
>A thin white smoke hung in the air due to the sub zero temperature.
>Anon could just see a skinny red Pegasus clad in a white cloak take off out of the tree, he was clutching a blow dart as he flew off.
>Anon tried to track his movement, letting off a few more rounds, none found their mark.
>”Stop shooting bro! Maybe we can track him back to the temple or somthin’.”
>Anon lowered his rifle and turned to Daniel, he was pissed.
“Or something! That asshole shot me with a dart! Who knows what could have happened-“
>Daring pulled the dart from his collar, ran it over her tongue, and spat it out.
>”It’s just a sleeper dart, no need to get so worked up.”
>”Seriously bro, you a strung hella tight.”
>Anon let out grumble before turning around walking in the direction the red Pegasus went, he dropped the mag out for a fresh one as he did so.

>They walked for another four or so hours until they reached what could only be the entrance to the temple.
>Daniel and Daring were significantly quieter, out of safety or discomfort a=Anon couldn’t tell.
>It was a welcome relief either way.
>Anon took a moment to size up the entrance, why was it that all these ruins or temples always had giant pillars and statues everywhere?
>Daring tapped Anon on the shoulder, he came back down to where Daniel had drawn a crude overhead mockup of the temple entrance.
>Daring pointed out the location of a cluster of statues.
>”Anon, you move here while Daniel covers, I’ll take the skies. Once there make your way to the entrance.”
>Anon held a stoic face, of course he was the one on fucking point.
>Don’t complain Anon, never complain.
>Anon swallowed physically and mentally, giving a nod as he did so.
>Daniel, gave Anon a pat on the shoulder.
>”Don’t worry bro I got ya covered.”
>Daring gave them both a nod and took off into the skies, Anon watched as Daniel tracked her movement a small but sincere smile on his face.
>Anon could see it in his eyes, well there goes another prospect for him.
>Daniel gave Anon a punch on the shoulder.
>”Better do what the lady says right?”
“Yes… Lets…”
>Daniel scrambled up a snow embankment and lay prone keeping his rifle trained on the entrance.
>Anon pulled his beanie down a little tighter before setting out at a relatively fast jog for the closest statue.
>He stayed hunched over as he ran, the snow getting deeper as he entered the clearing, causing him to almost hop step.
>Finally he made it to the statue, a huge towing imitation of Sombra in his full armor.
>Anon positioned himself behind one of the hind legs and trained his rifle on the temple entrance.
>It seemed clear, so he brought his rifle down and began his jog across the clearing to the small dark rectangular entrance.

>Anon kept going, he was maybe thirty meters out when he say a green eye framed by snow white fur.
>It was a little sliver of color against the grey stone; Anon kept pushing forwards bracing his rifle against his hip as he did so.
>Before he could bring his rifle on target an arrow shot out from the eye’s pillar.
>Anon swore and dropped to the ground, his impact softened by the snow.
>He quickly brought himself back to a crouching position as Daniel fired from his raised position.
>From this distance Daniels suppressed rifle sounded like someone clapping right next to him.
>The rounds impacted across the entrance, Daniel was shooting blind, looking only to force the unseen assailants back into cover.
>Anon stayed low as he sprinted for the entrance, staying in the open was suicide.
>Daniel stopped shooting, presumably to reload; another couple of arrows came out of the pillar/entrance array.
>One was off to the left be a few inches, the other one embedded itself in Anon’s left arm.
>He didn’t break pace; out of the corner of his eye he could the gold tan blur of Daring Do come down to the far end of the pillars.
>Anon finally made it to the pillars and slammed his back against the nearest one, he looked back at the clearing to see Daniel making a break for one of the statues.
>Anon rounded the edge of the pillar only to have his rifle bucked out of his hands.
>It was the same red Pegasus.
>Anon felt a wave of anger surge up in him, as he saw the Pegasus fly up to strike again.
>He shot out his good arm grabbing the Pegasus by the leg and threw him down, levering his body weight into it.
>The Pegasus hit the ground hard, Anon quickly brought his foot up and stomped down hard on his foes head.
>The pony wasn’t dead, but he was defiantly out of the fight, Anon’s snow cleats putting a strange pattern on the ponies head.
>Anon gathered up his rifle and braced it in his armpit as his other arm had a foot long stick of wood in it.

>Anon slowly made his way through the pillars, suddenly the sounds of fighting stopped.
>Anon heard Daniel call out from the beginning of the pillars.
>”You guys good?”
>”A couple bruises but I’m fine.”
“All clear here!”
>Anon took a moment to reflect on the fact that come the time, both Daring and Daniel cold be serious.
>With his reflection finished Anon pulled out a bandanna, bit down on it and pulled out the arrow.
>The pain was almost as if he had a thousand tiny threads being lifted out of his arm.
>Fortunantly the arrow was straight wood with a fire hardened point.
>With that done he began to tie the bandanna around the wound, as he did so he could hear the clinking footsteps of Daniels cleats as well as the rhythmic ‘thock’ of Daring’s hooves.
>”You alright bro?”
>Anon looked up at Daniel, as he approached.
“Yeah, I’m good… golden… ready to rock.”
>Anon looked over as Daring came out of the pillar array, she had a few bruises and cuts, but nothing major.
>”Alright, let’s get on in there, Tuesday is temple day.”
>Daniel let out a grin, Anon simply picked up his rifle, tested out his arm, and once again took point without being asked.

>The temple was huge, at first Anon believed it to be built in to the mountain.
>Now he was pretty sure that it was the mountain.
>The whole place was practically abandoned.
>In the last three hours they had only seen one other pony, and she light up her horn and teleported out as soon as they saw each other.
>Often times they would come to a great big open area with greatly impressive architecture.
>Anon assumed that when the Followers of Sombra first started they had more ponies, much more.
>Anon stopped at another intersection to chalk mark the direction which they came in.
>Daniel slowly put a hand on Anon’s shoulder and direct his gaze down a dimly light hallway.
>Daring was already a few steps ahead of Anon and Daniel.
>As they followed a sound began to rise, a low sound slowly wrapping around them and enveloping them.
>It was the low thrum of magic, along with the hiss and ping of simple steam powered machinery.
>Both Anon and Daniel slowly and quietly changed their stance, no concerned about making noise.
>Daring took to a low hover as Daniel and Anon brought themselves low and walked heel to toe, distributing their weight.
>The hallway quickly opened up into a large oval chamber with a deep pit in the middle of it, tubes and wires for magical or steam equipment ran everywhere.
>There was one unicorn and two earth ponies, all of them had some sort of mechanical cutie mark.
>Daring quickly ducked down behind a large steam boiler as Daniel crouch ran to join her.
>Anon scowled slightly as he took position behind some large metal box covered in dials, even now, those two were inseparable.
>It hurt more than it annoyed him, he didn’t have anyone to share this with, and now he was even losing his only real friend.
>Focus Anon, get your head in the game.
>He smacked his temple again and slowly poked his rifle around the corner a looked over with one eye.

>As Anon brought his rifle on target there was a sudden screeching, both mechanical and organic.
>The sound pierced his ears, causing him to flinch and curl in pain.
>There was a crumbling noise accompanied by the hiss of escaping steam as something began to emerge from the pit.
>Anon tried desperately to stop himself from retching as the creature slowly boiled over the edge of the pit.
>It was a futile effort; the creature was grotesque beyond reason.
>Multiple mismatched mouths set on the end of long formless protrusions, gripped the edge of the pit and the surrounding equipment as it pulled its self out from the abyss.
>The central mass was covered in rolling eyes of all imaginable colors sizes and shapes, they seemed to slide and creep across the liquid skin of the creature.
>thousands of individual eyes began to converge at the creatures center, staring down at the unicorn in front of it.
>Anon dropped his rifle with a clatter as he finally expelled his stomachs contents.
>The noise went unheard as the unicorn stood on his back legs, not noticing the other two earth ponies backing away.
>”Help us mighty one, help us bring about the third coming o-“
>He didn’t get any further as one of the many mouthed limbs came down and slammed into him, the creature’s skin was transparent, allowing the present company to see the unicorn.
>The unicorn’s horn light up as he kicked and bucked against the needle points of the creatures teeth.
>Anon quickly gathered up his rifle, brought it on target at the creatures center mass.
>He fired, dumping the whole magazine, Daniel joined in as well.
>Combined they had sixty rounds on target, there was a brief silence as they watched the bullet slow to a stop in the creatures transparent skin.
>It’s only reaction was to finally bite down on the unicorn, turning the unfortunate pony into pulp.

>Daring, Daniel, Anon, and the two earth ponies froze as they watched the discolored mush and the bullets simply dissipate into the creature.
>Anon was well acquainted with fear, but this was different, complete and utter panic over took the room.
>The earth ponies made a break for the door, only to be stopped by the creature’s semi-solid limbs.
>Anon himself burrowed further into his cover and began swapping magazines, he didn’t bother to save the empty one.
>Out of the corner of his eye he could see Daring dragging Daniel out of cover as he let off a few wild shots in the hopes that they might have some effect.
>Anon, desiring nothing more than to not be alone, broke into a sprint for the exit.
>It was difficult to run with a full pack, but he would have been able to manage better if the magically powered lights didn’t slowly begin to dim.
>Sparing a quick glance over his shoulder, he could see the creature growing new limbs to grab on to the light source.
>As it did so its central mass became brighter, literally sapping out the magic and light from the sources around it.
>Anon kept sprinting through the forest of cables and tubes following the dim light in front of him.
>He could see the outline of both Daniel and Daring as they turned left at the end of the hall.
>Anon gripped his rifle harder, causing his knuckles to go white with pressure, as the adrenaline and terror pushed him faster down the hall.
>There was the whirring of gears and a strangely wolf like growl as the creature shot one of its limbs down the hall in pursuit.

>In the dim hall Anon could barely make out the chalk marks he had made earlier, but he managed.
>He could feel the tendons in his ankle stress as he made the right angle turn at full sprint.
>Once again, he could see the lights still on in front of him, along with the familiar silhouettes of his friends.
>It gave him a slight hope against the encroaching panic.
>Anon leapt up the steps to another open area as Daniel and Daring turned the corner.
>He was falling behind.
>Anon tried to redouble his efforts but his body didn’t have the physical capacity.
>The lights dimmed around him as he struggled to call out.
“Don’t leave me here!”
>The light completely left him as the sounds of running hooves and clanking cleats pattered into oblivion.
“…don’t leave me here…”
>Anon turned around to see the creatures mass oozing into the room.
>If he was going to die, he was going to die with light and with his boots on.
>The creature seemed to sense the change of pace, as it slowed its advance spawning two new limbs tipped with the split heads of an alien mouth.
>Anon shakily reached into the modular loops of his thigh pouches and drew out a flare, he kept five for emergency light and fire lighting.
>He had to take a deep breath to steady his hands as the creature slowly closed in, the two ‘heads’ taking positions on either side of him.
>He popped the cap off the flare and struck the tip against the ground, causing a bright red light to fill the room.
>Anon held the flare in front of him, as he grabbed his rifle with his right hand, he could hear the dust cover clatter against the receiver as his hand shook.
>The creature produced a new limb, much smaller and brought it towards the flare, Anon panic fired, lacing a thin line of fire across the limb.
>The rounds impacted and the gelatinous skin of the creature rippled and shook, taking the bullets in stride.

>Anon stopped seeing that his efforts were futile.
>The creature made a jump for the flare, presumably to drain it of its light.
>As the gelatin closed around the flare the creature convulsed and shook, seeming to shrink back down the hall slightly.
>Anon saw his opportunity and stabbed the flare further into the creature, the creature jumped back with a noise that sounded like un-oiled gears.
>The creature broke contact shrinking back a few feet.
>There was a uneasy pause, Anon took a few deep breathes, readying his body for another sprint.
>Suddenly he threw the flare into the creature and ran.
>The creature recoiled, it’s limbs shrinking back into it’s self.
>Anon’s night vision was lost by the flare, causing him to bump into the edge of the hall entrance.
>He stumbled but did not fall.
>As he sprinted down the hall the creature let out an all too familiar noise.
>A low warbling howl.
>Anon had to stop himself from breaking down, but the ferals howl wiped any and all thought from his head.
>Enough so that he didn’t notice the chalk arrow pointing the way out.
>He sprinted and sprinted, room after hall after room soared past him.
>He slowed down out of necessity, no amount of fear or panic can overcome physical limits.
>Anon put his hands on his knees and collapsed back, he didn’t know how long he had ran for.
>He laid there for a few shuddering breaths.
>Another low warbling howl.
>Without his consent Anon’s legs pushed him upright and further into the temple.
>Eventually he collapsed out of sheer exhaustion, Anon laid face down as his body began to shut down for repair and recharge.
>Weather he wanted to or not he passed out in some unnamed hallway, probably miles from the surface.

>Anon came too still in panic, he quickly rolled himself back over and drew his sig.
>he stayed in this position for a couple moments before he realized he couldn’t see anything.
>Cautiously Anon drew out another flare, careful not to make too much noise.
>He pried the cap off and struck the starter, it hissed and crackled to life.
>It was an empty hall; Anon could at least tell which direction he came from, his cleats marking the soft stone.
>Anon brought himself upright, sitting with his back against the hallway walls.
>He fell back on old habits quickly, taking out a bit of his hard tack, and sawing off a section with his knife.
>His mouth was too dry to eat, he pulled the hose on his hydration pack towards his mouth, as he drank he checked his supplies.
>He had maybe a liter of water, enough hard tack to last another few days, and he was down to his last three magazines.
>Anon reached into his ditty bag and pulled out a box of 5.56, his hand brushed against one of the pipe bombs as he did so.
>Anon dropped the mag out of his rifle and began to refill it, slowly slotting the rounds back in as he thought about how he was going to get out.
>He had three thirty minute flares left, not counting the one burning right now.
>Last night had forced him deeper than he would have liked, but then again, the whole thing was fucked up beyond redemption.
>Maybe he should just stay here; after all returning to Ponyville wasn’t terribly appealing.
>The red light glinted off the Derpy keychain on the end of his rifle.
>Why? It took him five years to get here, only to discover that he wasn’t wanted.
>Hell, Tim was wanted.
>Daniel too.
>Even Helen had someone, and a community to back her.
>Anon tapped the keychain, watching it swing back and forth on the front sight of his rifle.

>Remember Anon, don’t complain.
“Right.”
>Hearing his own voice, even mumbled, gave him the illusion of hope.
>He pushed the magazine back into his rifle, grabbed the flare and began walking back.
>It was easy to follow his cleat marks, it wasn’t easy to walk though.
>His legs were still sore and barely functional after yesterday’s exertion.
>It was hard to find a reason for him to keep going, it all seemed so futile.
>He had to stop often; eating little chunks of hardtack, letting his saliva break apart the brick like sustenance.
>Every few hours he would hear a shout or a mechanical clanking coming from somewhere in the hollow mountain.
>Anon assumed a few of Sombra’s followers were still in hiding.
>After the fifth hour Anon pulled his pack off and fished around for a pill bottle, the darkness did not help.
>Lighting another flare would be a waste, better to let his eyes adjust.
>He was tired, his legs felt like leaden weights with cement shoes on the end.
>He opened the pill bottle and took some of the amphetamines, chewing the sand like tablets before swallowing.
>As he put the pill bottle back his arm bumped against the ditty bag, causing the pipe bombs to clank against each other.
>Anon sighed and moved the pipe bombs to an empty pouch for quick access.
>Without the constant chatter of Daring and Daniel Anon’s thoughts began to wander again.
>He didn’t want to think, he hit his temple again, a rather difficult task in the near total darkness.
>He wanted to conserve his flares; fortunately there were still some magical lights on, providing enough ambient light for him to see.

>No, really Anon, why go back to Ponyville?
>The only ponies who talk to you anymore are Twilight and Pinkie, and he didn’t really know them that well.
>Anon slung his rifle and broke off another section of hardtack, the amphetamines were appetite suppressants but he knew he had to eat.
>Well… Maybe he should get out there.
>What could you mean Anon?
>Anon began to count the times he actually went out to social events or parties, he could count it on one hand.
>Huh.
>Anon stopped his thoughts for a second, he was at an intersection, he spent a few moments not moving.
>Listening for sounds of the creature, there were none so he produced a lighter from his pocket and spun the wheel.
>Finally, some chalk.
>He set off in the direction of the arrow.
>Well he had been trying, honest, he had been giving it his best.
>Maybe… just maybe this wasn’t a problem that would be solved with effort alone.
>Hell, maybe he was going about it the wron-
>The lights dimmed around him again, that same low warbling howl, it sent sparks up his spine.
>He couldn’t tell how far it was thanks to the temples acoustics.
>Anon panicked and took off again, but this time he stopped himself at the next intersection.
>He wasted no time with the lighter, instead tearing out another flare and lighting it with a crack and hiss.
>Great, the chalk was slightly smudged, but still legible.
>There was growing mechanical grinding noise, Anon took off again, slightly more level headed.

>Anon ran until the flare went out and he had to stop, lest he slam face first into a wall.
>He stood taking in deep breaths for a couple minutes, keeping a keen ear out for the creature.
>By the time he caught his breath his vision had adjusted for the lower light level.
>His legs ached even more, but Anon decided to ignore it, stopping for a break might not be the wisest idea.
>He had to be getting close; he had been walking almost the whole day either following the chalk or his cleat marks.
>Breath in, breath out.
>Double check the chalk, and keep going.
>Anon took a single step forward when the lights cut out again, and there was the whirring of machines.
>This time it was close, very close.
>Acting purely on instinct Anon spun and fired.
>Oh, right, the bullets were useless against magical ethereal horrors.
>Anon took off again, drawing out his second to last flare.
>A couple more corners and Anon could see the dim light of a setting sun.
>He chucked the flare over his shoulder as he pressed forwards into the light.
>Behind him he could hear the sizzle of the flare burning its way into the creature, and the screech of gears as it reacted.
>This time however the creature did not retreat back into the maze of halls, rather it shot out a few new limbs.
>Anon ran through the exit coming out into the setting sun, his eyes burned from the new light.
>A couple seconds of blindness is all it took to cause him to run full force into one of the pillars.
>In a comical action his head bounced off the solid stone, causing him to stumble back.

>The low warbling howl surrounded Anon.
>He flinched a little; looking around the entrance was packed tight with the semisolid mass of the creature, its eyes slowly shifting to the front to observe anon.
>Its mouth capped limbs twisting and contorting to surround him.
>Another howl, Anon yelled back, not knowing what else to do.
>He had a lot of problems to work through, starting with this monstrosity.
>Anon pulled out his last flare, popped the cap off, and stuck it against the ground.
>Guns were worthless in this situation, but something with a little more punch might suffice.
>Something he had been scared to use in the temple.
>Anon didn’t bother with pulling out one, instead Anon pulled out as many of the steel pipes as he could.
>Two of the creature’s limbs shot out, with a sort of high pitched yip Anon swung the flare about.
>Using its heat and bright color to dissuade the creature.
>He made his move, ditching the flare and pulling all the rings off the pipe bombs.
>The creature, upon seeing that the flare was gone lashed back out.
>Anon tossed the bundle of explosives.
>The creature’s limb opened its maw and came down right on top of him.

>Anon’s vision became a wash of colors and distorted shapes, the creature’s transparent skin having much different properties on the inside.
>He could feel the shockwave as the plastic filler detonated.
>Anon fell back, still wrapped up in the creatures mouth, however the creature had lost cohesion.
>Allowing the limb to separate, leaving Anon wrapped in the warm sticky wet embrace of the disembodied mouth.
>It was an odd sensation lying in the snow watching chunks of creature pass over him.
>After a few minutes Anon slowly reached for his knife and began cutting himself out, it was a slow process.
>Finally he extracted himself enough so that he was sitting upright, looking over to where the creature was.
“Fuck you and your magic! How much high explosive is it going to take to kill you?!”
>Anon yell out in anger as he watched chunks of semi-solid goop roll back together and slowly regrow it’s eyes.
>There was the sound of masonry cracking and crumbling, both the creature and Anon looked wildly about.
>Anon looked up the mountain, there was a shudder, and it began to collapse inside it’s self.
>The ground shook and rumbled as massive chunks of masonry started rolling inside the hollowed areas.
>the pillar array swung about, sending loose sections flying.
>Anon curled up into the fetal position covering his neck and closing his eyes.
>slowly the world stopped moving, and Anon was able to look back up.
>The only sign of the creature was a massive wet splatter surrounding a rather large chunk of rock.
>Anon waited, watching to see if the creature was going to reassemble it’s self.
>It wasn’t.

>It took the three of them three days of walking to get out there, Anon alone took four.
>He had to stop often to clean out his wound’s dressing.
>His pace was slow; two days of constant sprinting really did a number on his legs.
>It did however give him lots of time to think.
>Anon didn’t know what, but something had to change.
>First thing once he got back, he was going to quit his job.
>No more ‘assignments’.
>He just kind of assumed that he would be taken care of once he got to Equestria.
>In retrospect it was an incredibly foolish idea, maybe he had read a few too many fan-fics back on earth.
>If he wanted something he would have to work for it.
>He passed through the Crystal Empire without so much as a second glance, he was eager to go back to Ponyville and sleep in a bed.
>Anon quietly paid for the train ticket and waited at the station.
>Human’s weren’t given second glances now; most of them had been traveling or publicized enough that they just weren’t novel enough.
>The train pulled into the station, Anon boarded with no incident, and off he went.