Anon's Corruption: Part 7 - Laughter 1

>A flash of light threatens to blind you, so you close your eyes.
>Even so, the light dazzles you as the chaos magic takes hold and throws you from your current location.
>You feel the world around you bend and stretch as you are displaced.
>You are Pinkie Pie.
>And you don’t like this game anymore.
>Anon was making you play a game of tag with Fluttershy, but she was playing rough.
>Then he seemed to stare blankly at the wall, then told us to stop.
>We were thankful that we could.
>We were exhausted by the end of the game.
>Anon needs to get more exercise if he’s going to put us in his body!
>You try to open your eyes as the light recedes from your vision.
>But you’re not in Canterlot castle anymore.
>You’re at Sugarcube Corner.
>You look down at yourself.
>You still have hands. You’re in Anon’s body still.
>But this time you have clothes.
>You thank Celestia for small miracles. [spoiler]Praise the sun[/spoiler]
>You’re sitting at one of the tables in the corner next to the doorway.
>Your croissant waits patiently on your plate in front of you, with a glass of orange juice keeping it company.
>Similarly, you are accompanied by a bright yellow pony with pink hair, sitting across the table from you.
>She seems quite excited about something.
>Looking out the window, you see it is morning. As if your detective skills weren’t good enough to deduce that from the breakfast you’re apparently eating.
>You look back to the bakery interior to see Fluttershy is smiling broadly at you, and has moved her seat next to yours.
>Well that’s ok! Fluttershy is one of your best friends!
>Looking further into the shop you see... Yourself!
>A bubbly pink p0ny is serving the morning customers rapidly, her entire attention focused on filling the orders given to her as quickly as possible.
>Oh gosh, now you’re all excited!
>You should totally go talk to her when you get a chance!
>This might be the only time you can do cool clone stuff!
>Oh, wait. You’re Anon at the moment.
>Maybe you won’t be able to pull any pranks.
>In any case you don’t actually feel like it.
>It’s odd, but you feel sad for some reason.
>Like you’ve just lost something important...
>”So how are you liking it here?” Fluttershy asks.
>You’re snapped out of your pondering by her question.
>She’s still smiling that warm smile at you.
“It’s all so colourful and bright! I never thought I’d be eating in a gingerbread house.”
>What? That’s not what you wanted to say.
>But you couldn’t control your mouth then.
>Fluttershy somehow grins even wider than before.

>”Oh I’m so glad. You’re going to fit right in here, I’m sure. And Twilight is working on that spell to get you back. She’s the most powerful unicorn in the world, you know. She’s the element of magic.”
>Her smile fades slightly as she explains that you should be able to go back.
>”You know, you could stay here...” She mumbles in a whisper.
>You barely caught it. These human ears are really bad!
>You turn your head to look out the window again, but you’re not really looking out at the sight of the town square.
>Your thoughts are suddenly filled with visions of a place completely alien to you.
>A world of grey, filled with buildings that tower over you even higher than the metropolis of Canterlot or even Manehattan.
>A world where the sky is perpetually grey. It’s cold, dirty and smelly.
>In one of these many, many structures is a place whose worth is betrayed by its looks.
>Towering eight stories above the city, it still doesn’t compare to the monoliths that surround it.
>On the seventh floor is something that feels special.
>It’s just a feeling of rightness. It belongs to you.
>Your thoughts turn to the inside of this section of the building.
>It looks like crap. Absolute crap.
>The wallpaper is peeling off the walls. Mould hides in the corners, stubborn and content to stay.
>The kitchen is stacked high with dirty dishes and cutlery.
>Pizza boxes almost line the floor, but a path to the bedroom has been cleared.
>Inside the bedroom lies a sense of relief and contentment.
>You know it now. This is your bedroom.
>It’s tiny. Barely enough space to fit a bed and a desk.
>But that’s because one of the walls is taken up by a large shelf.
>On that shelf so many precious memories are kept.
>Photos of a family, smiling together, which brings sadness when you think of the father.
>All your books, well read and dog eared because of it.
>Your figurine collection. You searched high and low to find some of these.
>The awful wallpaper on the walls has been covered up with posters from ceiling to floor.
>Alien concepts are depicted by them, but you feel you know that some of them are for movies, while others are for humour.
>This is Anon’s apartment.
>It cost him way more than it’s worth, but dammit it’s his.
>He works hard to simply keep it; so hard that he hasn’t got the time or energy to clean it.
>He goes to work every day to come back and collapse on the bed.
>When he’s not sleeping he’s actually finding some recreation on the internet.
>That’s what the box on the desk next to his bed is for.
>This is what Anon lost.
>This is home.
>Your attention is brought back to Sugarcube Corner, where Fluttershy is still hiding under her mane at the mere idea of you wanting to stay here, something that you’ve expressed is not your goal.
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”
>You reach out your hand and pet her mane. You love it when Anon does it to you!
>You scratch behind her ear, and her tail starts swaying from side to side.
>You especially love when Anon does that to you. It makes you feel all tingly inside!
>You stop eventually, and Fluttershy looks almost heartbroken.
>You move to pet her again, not wishing to disappoint her, when she just sticks her tongue out at you.
>She giggles, and you laugh too.
>It’s good to laugh when you feel like this.
>The day passes with you going and seeing the rest of the mane six at their respective employments.
>Twilight says that she’s trying her hardest, but the magic that brought you to Equestria isn’t well understood.
>This really gets you down. It’s perhaps the worst thing you’ve ever felt.
>Not even when you thought your friends abandoned you did you feel this sad.
>This is as if you’ll never get to see your friends. Or anyp0ny at all!
>Fluttershy notices your expression, as you look down to the floor, tears threatening to fall from your eyes.
>She nudges her head against your hand, initiating the start of your hands stroking through her silky soft mane.
>It feels comforting to know there’s someone... somep0ny with you.
>You’re not alone after all.
>You give her a good stroke and kneel down to give her a hug.
>Even if she doesn’t need it, you do right now.
>She awkwardly stands on her hind legs and wraps her forearms around you.
>”Awww...” Twilight adds.
>You can feel a blush rush to your face. It always was interesting to see human reactions as a p0ny. Their faces are easy to read.
>You quickly and awkwardly break off the hug.
>Fluttershy looks slightly confused, but satisfied nonetheless.
>”Oh... Don’t mind me! I’ll be wanting to study Anon’s proclivity towards equine-sapient relations at some point. Please, continue.”
>You don’t understand a word of what she just said.
>And to be honest she kinda killed the mood.
>You say your goodbyes and leave the library, since that was the last stop on your tour of P0nyville.
>You get back to Fluttershy’s cottage, which is your temporary home.
>Everything looks different from up here. The seats and table are so small.
>The only place you can sit is Fluttershy’s couch.
>She sits next to you, blushes and looks away.
>Does she want to say something?
>It takes about a minute of awkward silence before she musters the courage to say something.
>”S-so Anon...”
“Yes, Fluttershy?”
>”D-d-do you like it here?”
>Her pastamancy is strong. You can feel the spaghetti and marinara sauce well up from unseen pockets from beyond the veil.
>You answer honestly.
“Everyp0ny here is so friendly. Initially I could see their stares, looking at me as if I was some kind of mutant beast. But now that I’ve had a couple days to get to know them, they’re fantastic people; no, fantastic p0nies. I think I’ve ended up in the best place in Equestria that I could have.”
>Your response lights up her face like a Christmas tree.
>”I’m so happy to hear you say that! Everyp0ny likes you too, I know it!”
>”I definitely do...” She mumbles again.
>You, or rather Anon, seems not to pick up on this. Or at least if he did, he doesn’t respond.
>He just looks expectantly, as Fluttershy hides behind her mane again.
>After a few more seconds of awkward silence, Fluttershy pipes up.
>”A-anon?”
“Yes, Fluttershy?”
>”W-would you...”
>Oh god is she asking you out on a date?
>”Would you come to Sugarcube Corner with me tonight? The girls asked for you to be there.”
>Well, you’ve got nothing better to do. And meeting up with the girls should relieve some of your melancholy.
>Oh wait, you remember this day! Fluttershy asked you to arrange a surprise party for Anon, filled with all kinds of human games so that he can feel more at home!
>This is going to be so much fun!