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- "You... Want me to what?"
- >Celestia stared down at him from her throne.
- >Even kneeling as he was, he was still almost her superior in height.
- >"I am assigning you a new mission, as I've said. I want you to go to Ponyville to learn about friendship"
- >Anon stared at her incredulously
- >He was very near to speaking out of turn, his shock clear on his serious face.
- >Celestia was still a mystery to him.
- >She sat up straighter, rustling her wings and peering down at him, eyes narrowed
- >He clenched his jaw, before getting the ability to respond, his shock pushed down.
- "I'm sorry princess but I don't think-"
- >Celestia cut him off
- >"Anon you are a very dear friend to me, and it would be a shame if you were to lose yourself in your duties. I must insist."
- >Anon's jaw clenched tighter
- "But... Princess, I don't want a break. I like working for you"
- >Celestia sighed
- >Anon was an invaluable asset, able to fight off an entire legion on his own merits.
- >He was undefeated in combat, and unknowingly trained under the harsher levels of gravity of his world.
- >His race was that of warriors, so very unlike the average- or even above average- pony.
- >Even so, Celestia had noticed, the constant vigilance and stress had affected his mind.
- >It was becoming a problem, and she had to fix it.
- >"I do not like ordering you, Anon, but this time I must. I order you to go to Ponyville, meet my student Twilight Sparkle, and learn everything she has to teach you about the magic of friendship."
- >Anon still looked resistant to the idea
- >Celestia huffed.
- >"And I will ask Twilight to accept you as her personal guard while you are there."
- >His face relaxed slightly. Familiar territory for him, Celestia assumed, would help settle his nerves.
- >Anon dipped his head down in a bow before rising to his feet.
- "As you wish, Princess."
- >Celestia beamed at him.
- >"Good, I've had the castle's servants pack your things when I sent for you. Leave as soon as you are able. Enjoy your break, Anon!"
- >Anon scowled
- >"And do try to smile more"
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- >His arrival was met with little fanfare, and for that he was thankful.
- >Celestia knew him better than anyone else, after all.
- >Yet it seemed that every which way he looked he was being stared at.
- >The ponies shuffling by him spared him a cursory, confused glance
- >His stony countenance turned their gaze away as he stalked forward with an almost robotic gait.
- >The big blue and purple eyesore, or rather castle, was where he was told to go by the Princess.
- >Celestia had already sent forewarning of his arrival to Twilight, she had said.
- >Anon shifted his pack, rolling his shoulders and stretching his neck as he strolled through Ponyville
- >He stopped, spying a large, painted clay flower pot
- >It looked off, like some of the flowers had been replaced by tufts of soft pink.
- >His face scrunched up in confusion
- >Were they flowers?
- >Anon thought it unlikely.
- >He strode forward and poked the offending tufts.
- >They felt soft to his fingers.
- >And did they just giggle?
- >Anon jumped as a pony, bright pink with obnoxiously large, curly pink hair, exploded up from the pot
- >He reacted without thinking, burying his fist in the pony's face before she had a chance to speak
- >Anon watched as her head, which felt far too squishy to be real, followed along with his fist
- >Her neck, instead of detaching from her body, started to stretch like taffy
- >Anon started to sweat
- >Dear lord, did Celestia send him here as a test?
- >To fight this Lovecraftian monster?
- >Mumbled words tried to desperately squeak from behind his knuckles.
- >Anon pulled back, noting with some confusion that her face was still in the shape of his fist
- >She laughed
- >Laughed!
- >"Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie!"
- >Anon shuffled awkwardly
- "I'm uh... I'm Anon."
- >Pinkie giggled
- >"You must be here to see Twilight, she said something about one of Princess Celestia's guards coming to town"
- >Anon nodded
- "Yeah that's me. How'd you know...?"
- >She made a face
- >"Easy silly, you've got a grumpy look on your face! All of Princess Celestia's guards have that look"
- >He rubbed the back of his head.
- >What was there to say?
- >None of his training could've prepared him for this.
- >Anon straightened.
- >He was a royal guard, damn it!
- >He wouldn't start breaking code and acting like a fool now.
- >Anon spared Pinkie one last nod before continuing his stride to the Princess' castle.
- >Straight backed and chest out, he finally relaxed.
- >The pink one, he hoped, didn't live here.
- >Anon banged three times on the large, golden doors.
- >Eyesore indeed.
- >He waited at attention.
- >Though the wait was short lived as the door was soon enveloped in a soft, blue glow.
- >It was wrenched open, exposing what Anon assumed to be Princess Twilight's student.
- >Anon tilted his head slightly to meet her eye.
- "Royal Guard Anon reporting for duty under Princess Twilight Sparkle."
- >Starlight looked up at him, an odd look on her face.
- >"The Princess said you would be here on vacation."
- >Anon nearly twitched, settling instead for a deepening of his perpetual scowl.
- "Yes... I was informed by Princess Celestia that I was also to stand guard for Princess Twilight Sparkle."
- >Starlight smiled at him, leaving the door open as she walked further into the halls of the castle.
- >Anon accepted the silent invitation, closing the door behind him as he followed her.
- >Already the castle made him falter in its overly grand nature.
- >High, vaulted ceilings and numerous twists and turns at Starlight's direction lead Anon through a veritable palace.
- >Yet, Starlight seemed to know exactly where to go.
- >She stopped in front of a grand door, a starburst cutie mark insignia plastered directly on the front.
- "This is Twilight's personal study, she's been waiting for you since Princess Celestia sent her that letter."
- >Anon nodded.
- "Thank you."
- >Starlight smiled at him before turning the corner and disappearing from sight.
- >Anon knocked on the door.
- >He waited for a moment before being given leave to enter.
- "Royal Guard Anon reporting for duty, ma'am."
- >Twilight looked up in surprise from the book she had her muzzle stuck in.
- >Twilight let the book drop to the desk's surface and stood up to lead him out of her study.
- >"Hello. Right, the Princess sent you, didn't she?"
- >Anon nodded his head.
- >"It's good to have you, Anon."
- >She trotted a few doors down and flicked her head towards it.
- >"Before anything else, this is where you'll be staying."
- >Twilight pushed open a door, only a few away from her study, to a modest room.
- >A small bed and desk were crammed inside the small room, another doorway lead into what he assumed was a bathroom.
- "Thank you, Princess Twilight Sparkle."
- >Twilight blushed at her full name, rubbing the back of her neck with a hoof.
- "Just Twilight, please. We're supposed to be friends, right?"
- >Anon tilted his head in acknowledgement
- "If you say we are, Princess Twilight."
- >She looked up at his stalwart frame and stony countenance, and decided it was better to leave the matter to rest.
- >For now, she amended to herself.
- >Anon stepped into the room .
- >He dropped his pack on the bed and turned back towards the Princess.
- >"Right. Well, I'd assume you'd wanna explore Ponyville for a while?"
- "If that is what you instruct, Princess."
- >Twilight shuffled awkwardly for a moment.
- >"Yeah. Go ahead and have some fun in Ponyville. Come back when you're ready, I guess."
- >Anon snapped her a crip salute. He grabbed his bit bag and attached it to his belt
- "Yes, ma'am. I'll report back to you at nightfall."
- >"...Right."
- >Twilight lead the way out of the room, directing the Royal Guard through the labyrinth-like castle.
- >They stopped at the large, golden doors.
- >Twilight stopped and turned towards him.
- >Her face was a mask of seriousness.
- "Princess Celestia told me the purpose of this trip."
- >Twilight stared up at him, a determined gleam entering her eye.
- "If you need someone to talk to, my door is always open. I can introduce you to the others later. Though, you might just run into them."
- "Thank you, Princess Twilight."
- >Twilight fixed him with an annoyed look before walking back in the castle.
- >Anon shut the door behind her.
- >He turned back towards Ponyville.
- >What to do, what to do.
- >Anon stood on the castle's steps just outside the doors, which overlooked the valley Ponyville was nestled into.
- >The town was small, tiny even, compared to the metropolis that was Canterlot.
- >The tallest building here looked to be a grain mill, a tall spire rising out of the ground and gently turning wind blades standing above the rest of the modest, thatch-roofed homes like a monolithic shrine.
- >Anon rested his hands on his hips and took in a deep breath.
- >Canterlot bespoke of wealth and opportunity, streets gleamed like freshly polished marble and towers taller than a hundred ponies dominated the sky like stationary zephyrs.
- >Ponyville was the opposite. Dull dirt roads lined with knee-high flowers and shouting vendors cobbled the way through the wide thoroughfares.
- >Yet, Anon noticed, there was a certain small-town charm to Ponyville that was lost in the refined elegance of Canterlot's citizens.
- >Anon started the short trek into town, content with his view of the place.
- >Standing around wouldn't help him "relax" as Celestia had commanded.
- >The ponies from earlier, and Anon noticed that they were indeed the same ones from earlier, shied away from him.
- >His jaw set, brows furrowed, back straight, and chin high left little opportunity for ponies to approach him, he assumed.
- >Though they looked friendly enough, despite the stares.
- >Anon kept his walk within town limits, and far, far away from the Everfree Forest.
- >There was a lingering darkness that shrouded the place, a mist that seemed to leak out of the very trees themselves like crawling, white vines.
- >Thick, gnarled trunks of black, lifeless trees sucked in all the light that touched them and seemed to pour out a deep aura.
- >Even he, as non-magical as he was, could detect the deeply-rooted and untamed magic in the soil that lingered heavily in the Everfree.
- >Anon's walk took him around Ponyville, through each of the streets and even the circumference of the town itself.
- >He familiarized himself with everything in the town, for if he was to guard, he would need to know his environment.
- >Anon glanced up at the sky.
- >An hour or so until dusk.
- >He began the journey to his knew quarters.
- >His quick retreat back to the castle was stopped by his stomach grumbling at him.
- >Anon looked around, before a bakery caught his eye.
- >He pushed open the door to the little bakery, a soft chime sounding through the building on his entry.
- >The sweet smell of baked goods and flour curled around in his nose, drawing him deeper towards them.
- >His rigid stature melted a little, the intoxicating aroma relaxing him.
- >"Hello, dear, what can I get you-"
- >Anon heard her before he saw her.
- >A plump, blue furred mare from behind her counter stopped at the sight of him.
- >Tall, taller than even Celestia, wider, more muscular.
- >A giant among even the tallest of ponies.
- >The mare, who Anon assumed was a baker, stared up at him in shock.
- >She shook it off, but her eyes were still wide.
- >"What can I get for you?"
- >Anon pointed to a chocolate cupcake with blue frosting.
- "Two, please."
- >The mare nodded, pulling out a pair of them and dropping them into a nondescript pink box.
- >Anon reached into his bit pouch, pulling out four in total at her prompting.
- >They exchanged the items in their grasp, Anon sparing her a sharp nod.
- >"Mrs. Cake have you seen-"
- >Anon glanced away from the now named Mrs. Cake, to the pink one he had run into earlier
- >Great
- >"-Anon! Good to see you again!"
- >She giggled at the sight of the stalwart warrior
- >Anon inclined his head towards her, a blank expression on his face
- >Of all the places to eat, and he had to run into the one that employed Pinkie Pie
- "Hello."
- >Pinkie Pie hopped around the counter to stand in front of him, her pink eyes looking up at him
- >"Mrs. Cake this is Anon! He's a super-duper Canterlot Guard. Nonny, that's Mrs. Cake, the best baker in all of Ponyville!"
- >Mrs Cake blushed at the praise, smiling at the warrior in her shop.
- >Anon took a step back from the pink pony invading his personal space.
- "I must excuse myself. Twilight is expecting me back within the hour."
- >Pinkie grinned widely at him.
- "'Kay, have fun 'Nonny!"
- >Anon twitched at the nickname before beating a hasty retreat out of the store.
- >He strode quickly back to the castle, intent on getting away from the annoying pink one.
- >The brisk walk back helped to alleviate the worst of his distaste, as did the cupcakes, that seemed to linger around the pink pony.
- >Anon pulled the first one free and held it up to his face.
- >It was rich and grainy, like dark wood, topped with a baby-blue icing curled gently around the confectionary, sloping up into a mountain-esque shape.
- >The first bite was sweeter, the second even more so, with a thick after taste that made it only a little hard to swallow.
- >The cupcake wasn't very big, not for him, and it was gone quickly in his hunger.
- >It helped a little.
- >Twilight's castle was quickly dominating his vision.
- >Sky-blue crystal formed the base, curling up like a massive tree, supporting soft purple towers tipped in gold.
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