Manonymous Part 3: Anon VS Mane Six

>You're running
>Running as fast as you can
>Not fast enough
>He's getting away
>He's escaping! The coward! After what he did!
>You reach out a hand, hoping in vain that your hands extend into the darkness to grasp him
>He finally vanishes from sight, swallowed up by the shadows, leaving nothing behind except a mocking laugh
>Your heart sinks
>You collapse to your knees
>Hands reach out from behind to grasp you, dragging you back
>You give no resistance
>"Murderer"
>"Monster"
>"Because of you"
>"Your fault"
>"All your fault"
>"Rid the world of your filth"

>"WHY DON'T YOU JUST DIE"

>You can't answer them
>You're tumbling, falling into an eternal void
>And then, the falling stops
>And you're standing in a graveyard
>You showed up just like every month
>It's cold, and you draw your jacket around you to protect you from the autumn breeze
>You lay a bouquet of flowers down in front of the headstone
>Tears begin to fall freely down your face
>Just like every visit
>"Who were they?" A voice asks from behind you.
>Nobody else ever comes here
>You whirl around to see who it is
>A pony. Winged and horned, with a coat of midnight blue and a mane and tail that shimmered like the night sky itself.
>That's... That's right... You can't be here, not really...
>You were in Equestria last you remembered. Sleeping in a spare bed in Twilight Sparkle's house.
>This can't be real. It's impossible.
>This is a dream.
>You might never really be able to come here again.
"Who are you?"
>Might as well start with the basics
>"We are the Night Princess Luna. We rule together with our sister Celestia." Her tone is just as controlled as her sister's, although far more regal
"A man's mind is his last refuge. When all else is taken from him, all he owned in his life, his body, his loved ones, the mind remains. A sanctuary in the darkest of times. You better have a DAMN good reason for coming here. I do not take kindly to intruders", you growl.
>"We apologise for the apparent intrusion. Part of our duties as watcher of the night is to guard the dreams of our subjects--"
"I'm not one of your subjects."
>"But we felt your pain nontheless. We came to see if we could help in any way."
>You turn back to the grave. With the knowledge that this is a dream, everything starts to fade into white, until only you and the princess remain.
"You cannot help me, Princess. Nor do I want your help. Nor do I want you in my head. Leave now. Please", you whisper.
>She bows her head. "As you wish. Should you change your mind... We are but a call away in the world of dreams."
>With that, she vanishes, leaving nothing but a blue wisp behind.
>With no desire to do anything else, you turn around and walk away.

>The next thing you are aware of is the sun in your eyes.
>"Good morning!" comes the chipper tones of Twilight Sparkle.
"Bleargh", comes your own eloquent response.
>"Not an early riser I see", she titters. "Come on, we don't have time to wait around! I've already written up a very busy schedule for today, so get moving!"
"Blarg."
>Within a half an hour, you've taken care of the most basic needs except for a shave: you're not even sure if ponies will have razors, what with the whole entire face of hair thing they got going on
>Twilight wasn't kidding when she said it was going to be busy, especially since you needed to re-buy pretty much everything you left behind on Earth
>Clothes for the most part, but also drawing and training supplies
>That means an art shop, a clothes shop (Rarity promised you her services), a cobbler, an iron worker, oh and Twilight's running low on certain foods so you need to go grocery shopping too
>And after shopping, Twilight wants to quiz you on Earth culture as well as teach you more about Equestria and study your body to see what physiological differences there are between humans and ponies
>You won't even have time to put in any training today from the looks of things. Hell, you might barely have time to sketch something.
>Sure enough, your shopping takes up the entire 5 hours of the morning and 2 more hours after lunch
>Rarity won't stop asking questions about the fashions of Earth despite your knowledge of fashion being precisely squat
>Pinkie Pie still kept doing that thoughtful face with the shadowboxing, even while serving you the second most delicious pancakes of your entire life
>Applejack kept telling you to come buck some apples for her soon
>And Twilight insisted on humming and hawwing over every single healthy food option you came across
>It seems mares aren't the different from women in that regard
>Fortunately, you managed to repay her some of the days boredom by examining all the art shop wares in great detail and haggling with the iron workers for half an hour
>By the time the two of you returned to the library, you were both tired of shopping
>Spike met you at the door, saying "Heya Twilight, Anon. Bring me back anything from Sugarcube Corner?"
>This little dragon is apparently Twilight's assistant. Cooking, cleaning and stuffing his face with sweets and gems are his special talents apparently
>Twilight pulls a gem-encrusted cupcake out of one of the many bags and tosses it to him.
>He downs the whole thing in two bites
>Little dragon, big stomach
>Twilight doesn't waste any time getting down to business
>She wants to run some tests for magic in you first
>You don't really see the point, after all, magic doesn't exist back home, but you don't know a fucking thing about science, so...
>Twilight hooks up a strange brace to your arm after you remove your weights again.
>Always feels bad putting them back on after a day of freedom
>As you sit and look around the room hoping for some kind of mental stimulation, Twilight looks over her machine with lots of different coloured squiggly lines on it
>"Hmmm... Alright, I see. Well, Anon, looks like you have some magic in your system after all."
"How's that possible?"
>"Assuming what you've told me is true, then you must have absorbed your own magic from the world around you. It's not exactly in shortage you know."
>You nod. "So what kind of magic is it?"
>"It appears to be Earth Pony magic."
"Which does?"
>"It increases physical capabilities and grants a special connection to the earth itself."
"Hmmm. That explains the power boost I got when I was fighting Shining. So every human that comes to this world would gain Earth pony magic?"
>"It's too early to draw that conclusion. I'll need to take more readings. For all we know, your body might be capable of substituting for other types of magic: Unicorn, Pegasus, Elemental..."
"Oh hey, speaking of Elements," you say, remembering a question from earlier. "Can you tell me more about these Elements of Harmony you mentioned before?"
>Twilight gives you a rundown of Nightmare Moon, howthe 6 found and used the elements destroy the hatred in her heart and to return her to being Princess Luna.
"Oh, that Princess. I already met her. Y'know, she visited me last night in a dream."
>"Really? She... Usually only enters into peoples dreams when they suffer nightmares. Did you sleep okay?" Twilight looks concerned now.
>Shit, shouldn't have brought up the mental intruder.
"I was fine. Apparently, she just encountered the dreams of a being unlike anything she'd seen before and got curious, that's all."
>"Oh. Well, you should consider yourself honored, Anon. I mean, it's not every day you get to meet a Princess!"
"I have met one Princess for every day I've been in this world so far."
>"Okay, fair point."
"So if the six of you together were able to bring down this monster that Princess Celestia couldn't touch, does that mean you're all really strong together?"
>"Well, no stronger than any other group of ponies would be. It was only because of the Elements that we were able to win.
>Hmmm.
>That... Does not sit right with you.
>Not at all.
>"Alright Anon, could you take off your shirt now please?"
"Shouldn't you buy me dinner first?"
>"Oh, I'm sorry, were you getting hungry?" -Whoosh.-
"No, it was just a--nevermind. If it's for science..."
>You strip off your jacket and your shirt. When Twilight glances up, her mouth drops open.
>"Oh... my gosh."
"The scars, right? Everyone's surprised when they see them at first." You examine your chest, running your hands along a particularly ropey scar.
>A lifes worth of fighting will do that to you. Got a whole lot of them on your back, too. People had a tendency to gawk whenever you went swimming.
>Never knew what they were thinking. Didn't care. After all, scars are for warriors.
>Besides, they look badass. And they don't affect your training or fighting either.
>Twilight's blushing now. "Uhh, yes, your scars... They're, uh... Impressive." She averts her gaze and gives a small, professional cough.
>"Anyway, I'm going to start taking some notes now on your bone and structure. Please hold still."
>Her note taking goes on for what feels like hours, with nothing to do but stand still, occasionally putting out a limb for her to get a better look.
>When you finally put your shirt back on, she looks disappointed. This mare must really love science.
>The rest of the evening is taken up by studying: Twilight bombarding you with questions and giving answers to questions you never asked.
>She's like a walking, talking, adorable encyclopaedia
>When you finally get a reprieve, it's 10pm.
>You use the shower, and go to bed, feeling restless.
>You never got the chance for any decent exercise today, especially since you won't have more weights than the ones you wear for another few days.
>But you have a plan for tomorrow to change that.


>Day 3 in Equestria
>You have something you want to see from these... Elements of Harmony
>And you need exercise
>Two birds one stone plan is in effect
>First you tell Twilight to gather the rest of her friends for you, assuring her it's of the utmost importance
>And then you wait until they're all gathered outside. They look a little nonplussed at having been dragged out of their morning routines
>Rainbow looks like she was just woken up from the way she's yawning and rubbing sleep out of her eyes. "Hey, so what's the big deal here A-Anoooooooon?" she says with a yawn.
>Applejack shares the sentiment. "Ah ain't got time to dally around here, we got serious applebuckin' to do at the farm!"
>"A-and I still need to make sure my animal friends get all their exercise for the morning..." Fluttershy mutters.
>"Your new clothes aren't going to sew themselves!" Rarity tosses her hair back for emphasis.
>"I have no idea what's going on!" Pinkie Pie bounces.
>"Girls, girls! Please! I'm sure Anon has a very good reason for gathering us here today", Twilight speaks up to calm them.
"A very good reason indeed. I just have a simple question to as you girls."
>Rainbow grunts. "A question!? Couldn't you have just asked Twilight for the answer?"
>You chuckle humourlessly.
"No. I needed all 6 of you here to get my answer. Now then, let me ask you..."

"If I hadn't been friendly when I first arrived here... If I had rampaged instead, aimed to hurt and kill you and those around you... Could you stop me?" you say quietly.

>A silence comes as they process what you've just said.
>"Anon, that's not funny..." Twilight starts.
"I'm not joking."
>Applejack and Rainbow Dash seem to be getting on their guard, although the rest of the girls seem in disbelief.
>You crack your knuckles and shift your neck.
"In fact... Could you stop me if I went all out against you right now?"
>"A-Anon--!"
"That's all the warning you get. Here I come."
>A few steps and you're in front of Twilight. You raise your heel up over your head, ready to bring it down on her head while she just gapes at you.
>Just as you are about to swing down, a flicker of movement from the corner of your eye makes you jump back instead. Applejack had just thrown a full-power buck at you.
>You roll back out of the way and stand, tall and relaxed
>Applejack is glaring at you. "Mister, I ain't quite sure what's gotten into you, but if you don't knock it off right this instant--!"
"You'll do what? Come on then. SHOW ME."
>You charge in towards AJ, sweeping her legs out from under her and sending her crashing to the ground
>Before you can do anything else, a blue blur narrowly misses your head as you sway to the side to dodge
>"Alright, bud! You want trouble, you've GOT trouble!" Rainbow Dash aims at making another dive at you.
>You crouch down reach behind you, remembering what was there and hoping she did what you thought she'd do
>Sure enough, Fluttershy is quaking in the exact spot you grabbed at, and you toss her straight into the path of the incoming missile
>The two pegasi crash and tumble to the ground. Two down.
>Now the unicorns are charging their horns, and Applejack picked herself up off the ground. Pinkie Pie appears to have pulled a cannon out of nowhere.
>The four are surrounding you now, trying to box you in. Suits you fine.
>It's 4-on-1 after all.
>And they are completely outnumbered.
>A small noise behind you and Applejack charges in
>Another full-power buck is thrown at where you stood a second ago
>Unfortunately, a buck is a movement that takes a second to recover from and completely exposes the stomach
>A single hook there, and AJ loses all of her breath, and from the sounds of her heaving, she'll lose her breakfast soon
>Now it's 3-on-1
>Next is Pinkie Pie: her cannon has a predictably-timed fuse, and makes it easy to dodge
>It also fires confetti: an odd weapon, but suitable for the party-themed pony
>A roll away, and she's reloading: you could try and take her out now, but Rarity and Twilight don't have any intention of letting you
>Twilight is firing different types of magical projectiles at you while Rarity is manipulating nearby grass
>She appears to be weaving a rope of some kind: how nice of them, to try and take you alive with 3 of their friends out of commission
>A quick glance at Pinkie reveals the fuse is lit again: what a quick reload time on that thing
>Rarity is almost done with her rope: no time to waste
>Stepping in as quick as you can, you grapple Rarity. She squirms a bit in your grip, shouting "Let me DOWN you great--!"
>That's all she manages to get before you toss her into the path of the party cannon: the burst is enough to leave her senseless
>"Oopsies... Sorry Rar--!" Pinkie manages to get out before a knock to the back of her skull knocks her out.

"And then there was one."

>You look over at Twilight from beside Pinkie's snoozing body. She would be intimidating with her horn all charged up and ready to go if not for the look of fear on her face.
>You take small steps, slowly walking over to her. Her horn doesn't lose its glow, but neither does she back down. At least she's got some spine when it counts.
>You stop standing right in front of her. And begin to speak.
"I'm disappointed. I'm bored. And if I were seriously trying to hurt you all there would have been nothing you could do to stop me."
>The fear starts to fade, replaced with confusion.
"What good is friendship without the strength to protect it? What good is your harmony if you cannot unite to strike down one foe? Evil exists Twilight. And in a world where evil exists, there is no crime greater to a warrior than failure to protect the things you love from that same evil. You and everyone else here couldn't protect yourselves from me. And you mean to tell me..."
>You take a deep breath.
"That the six of you here, so easily defeated by one man, are entrusted with protecting the entire realm of Equestria?"
"Don't. Fuck. With. Me."
>Twilight is silent. Her horn no longer glows. She finally seems to understand what you wanted to convey to her. And she looks hurt by your words.
"Strength is necessary to live free from evil. Peace must always be fought for and earned. And evil must be destroyed wherever it may lurk. If you don't have the strength to do those things... You might as well go and hide under a rock for all the good you'll do."
>You turn around and start to walk away.
"You, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie Pie... You have a great responsibility upon your shoulders. And you must all become stronger to uphold that responsibility. Remember that."

>Today was a dull day. Maybe tomorrow will be more interesting.