Video Memory (Finished)

So that's it?
>You stand up quickly and begin slowly walking towards twilight
You're just going to say i have a problem and completely abandon me to fend for myself?
>Twilight sighs
>"No anon, its not just one thing. Its your whole mindset!"
>Twilight stands on the couch, now at eye level with you
>"You think everyone is against you! You don't try because you've convinced yourself that you're going to fail because the ponies around you don't like who or what you are."
That's exactly what you're doing right now. You're abandoning me because i'm not what you want me to be, who you want me to be, and how you want me to be! You aren't even giving me the chance to defend myself!
>Twilight looks away from you and sways her hooves, eventually responding
>"Fine anon, tell me why you are the way you are and why I should give you another chance."
>Progress!
"Have you ever been to earth? Can you imagine the things that happen there on a daily basis to people all across the globe?"
>She sighs
>"Anon, you've told me about your wars already, I get I-"
Do you twilight? Do you really think you understand what I'm saying before I even finish? Do you really think I told you everything horrible about my world? That I would be that cruel to you?
>Twilight shifts her gaze, obviously uncomfortable
I told you about MY life, how bad it was where I lived. I should have clarified that where I lived was a regular ponyville compared to other places in the world, other places that are more common than where i lived.
>Your legs are becoming spaghetti, sitting down you continue
Do you know what genocide is, twilight?
>No reply

Do you know what its like to live in world where people are killed by the thousands, daily, just so some powerful people can have more money, more power, more fame?
>She looks up at you
>"No, I can't say I do."
Thats because you are not me, you have lived in equestria for your ENTIRE life. You were raised to have your heart on your sleeve and to care about everyone you meet.
I was raised to find ways to take advantage of the people around me, to close myself off from others to keep myself safe. I can't just change that after being in your world for a couple lousy years!
>"But *why* can't you, anon? Why can't you put your mind to it and at least try?"
Twilight, I've been "trying" for the past two years. You just don't see it because you're used to seeing more from ponies raised to do so, not to see a human try to connect with another species.
>"That isn't true, anon. I know almost all there is to know about friendship, I can see friendship almost as if it was a physical object."
Thats why you can't see me trying! That attitude right there! "I know all there is to know, you're doing it wrong!" Friendship is SUBJECTIVE, everyone's experiences are going to be different, sometimes vastly different.
>Twilight looks insulted
>"I'm not an idiot Anon, I know that. What I'm saying is that I've seen thousands of examples of friendship, not a single one is even remotely similar to what you consider *trying*"
Oh yeah? How many of those examples have been other humans?
>She rolls her eyes
>"Humans and ponies are too similar for that to matter, we have all the same cognitive functions and abilities as humans, you're just trying to blame biology for something that is your fault!"
How many mentall ilnesses do you ponies suffer from?
>"I'm not going to go look through a book to list off mental ilnesses to you anon, i'm not wasting my time"
So giving me the benefit of the doubt is a waste of time?
>"Well no, I jus-"
You don't have to explain, I understand you're a busy mare. I have other reasons that are just as valid.

>"Well come on, I would love to hear them"
I don't really know how to say this without offending you, so i'll just spit it out: Ponies are Racists
>"Oh that just isn't even true, stop bei-"
Zecora
>"What about her?"
Diamond dogs
>"Where are you going with this?"
Griffons
>"You can stop now anon, get to the point."
Humans are just another species for you ponies to fear and avoid. Sure you TOLERATE us, when we're around, but i've heard the things said behind my back.
"What are you even talking about? Nobody here is a bigot."
How would you know? You talk to YOUR friends and exchange pleasantries with everyone else, you don't ask random ponies how they feel about me or any other "race"
>"Why would I? That would be extremely rude."
I'm not saying you do! I'm saying that I shouldn't have to scrape bananas off of my fucking windows, or paint over "MONKIES BELONG IN THE FOREST" when someone decides they have a bit of paint to spare

I shouldn't have to beg for work on a weekly basis just to surviv-
>Twilight puts a hoof up
>"Shut up Anon"
I thought you wanted me to explain myself?
>"I did, but all you're doing is lying to me, so this is pointless"
>You didn't expect this at all
I'm lying to you? How do you figure?
>"I know almost every pony in this town, not a single one would say or do those horrible things!"
Are you shitting me twilight? How have you deluded yourself into even thinking that?
>You instantly regret saying those words as they leave your mouth, but the momentum of your mind racing isn't allowing you time to filter what you say
>"Delusional? I'm delusional, anon? "
No Twilight, I was just-
>"Lets settle this right now, no more arguing pointlessly and hurting eachother. You want that right?"
Sure, how are we going to do that?
>Twilight stands and you feel a soft presence around your body
>Magic, gross
>You're lifted up and carried down the stairs of twilight's crystal abode, both of you in complete silence
>As you leave the castle twilight turns to you
>"Cover your ears"
Wh-
>"CITIZENS OF PONYVILLE, THERE WILL BE A TOWN MEETING IN 10 MINUTES, PLEASE ATTEND IF YOU ARE ABLE"
>After the ringing in your ears is slowly going away, it dawns on you what twilight is about to do
>There is no way this is going to end well for you

>Less than 4 minutes later the entire town is in front of the castle, standing in front of the old stage used for theatre nights
>As the croud begins to settle down, Twilight speaks
>"It has been brought to my attention by an anonymous citizen that some ponies have been being...less than hospitable to our human friend, Anonymous."
>The second she finishes her sentance you see it click in everyone's mind who the anonymous tipster is.
>(Is it the guy named anonymous?) (Nah that would be cliche, must be the cakes!)
>"I am here to see about the validity of these claims, so lets get to it"
>Is she really going to just ask them if they have been doing this stuff?
>"Have any of you, at any time, done something that could be seen as bigoted or hateful towards anonymous?"
>Crickets and a cough are the only reply she gets
>"There will be no repurcussions, no punishments. This is simply a matter of having the facts."
>A small pink filly with a tiara as her butt picture steps fowards
>"I haven't seen anything like that Miss Sparkle, I always see ponies being very kind and fair to the mon-I mean human!"
>A grey filly joins her
>"Thats right! Everyone is always super nice to him, why is he lying to you?"
>About as well as you saw this going

>"Thank you for that, girls. Anyone else have anything to add?"
>A mint-colored pony starts to speak up, but is shushed by the cream colored pony next to her
>"Very well then, thank you for your testimonials girls, everyone is dismissed."
>ponies begin scattering around in what appear to be random directions
>"You lied to me Anon"
>This catches you off guard
What in gods name are you talking about? Why would anyone admit to being a racist?!
>"Thats why I said there would be no punishment, anon. The only things I heard were the opposite of what you said!"
You're going to take the word of two fillies over mine? Two complete strangers who aren't even old enough to ride the train alone are more credible than me?
>"Why would they lie, anon?"
>You have no way to reply, you let out a series of grunts and slurred words before settling on silence
>"Good, I knew you would see it my way eventually, anon."
>You feel a bump and look up
>You're moving now, towards the south part of town
>Where your shitty little house sits, slowly rotting into mulch
Uhh, twilight?
>"Yes, anon?"
Where are we going?
>"To pack your things, of course."

>Your ears are ringing again
>Twilight is talking, but you can't make out what she's saying
>You're pretty sure you are saying "why" repeatedly, but you can't hear it
>When you get to your "house" you are dropped on the ground
>You turn to twilight, she points to the door and sits down outside
>The ringing hasn't stopped, it sounds like its getting louder
>You vaugely recall Twilight saying you needed to pack, are you going on a trip together?
>You throw together a travel pack of clothes and put two emergency packs in it
>Being safe is important to you, and twilight is important to you too
>Still ringing
>Twilight picks you up again, you like the feel of her magic on your skin
>You wonder where you're going
>Twilight walks you to the outskirts of town, you see a large congregation of ponies following the two of you
>Are they here to see you and Twilight off?
>Why can't anyone else hear this ringing?
>The train station is the other way, why is she taking you into the forest?
>Are we going to see zecora? That zebra's rhymes always made you laugh.
>You feel yourself hit the ground
>You turn to ask Twilight why she dropped you, but you only see a few purple specks of magic where she used to be
>Why did twilight drop you?
>Did she forget her saddlebags at home?
>Why won't this ringing stop?

>All these ponies are staring at you
>You probably look pretty stupid sitting in the dirt with a bag full of stuff on your head
>You get up and turn to face the crowd
>You start to speak, but you can't seem to focus
>The best course of action would be to walk towards the crowd
>You walk forward about three yards, when your face slams into a wall and you topple over
>That really hurt, where did that wall come from?
>You look up and see ponies laughing at something behind you
>The ringing is still pretty loud, but you can tell they're laughing
>How can you see them through the wall?
>What kind of wall is see through?
>You put your hand up and slowly move it forward, until it comes in contact with the invisible wall
>It flexes slightly, giving off a small purple glint
>Twilight must not want you to get lost while she is getting her saddlebags
>You turn away from the invisible wall and the ponies and take a few steps toward where twilight dropped you
>You sit down and open your bag, opening one of your emergency packs
>Your prize falls out of the pack after a short shake
>A plump, juicy apple
>Bashing your head on an invisible wall is an emergency, and besides, wherever you and Twilight are going is sure to have apples
>Maybe some music will stop the ringing

>You plop the bag down on the ground and begin the search for your trusty phone
>The darn thing never let you down
>Almost literally
>After all, the battery never died for whatever reason
>Must be the magic in the air
>You giggle at your stupid joke as you rifle through the bag, humming to yourself
>After a short but frantic search, you find the small black slab of a machine and unlock it
>No service obviously, but you have tons of music and tv shows from earth
>You plug in your earphones and crank the volume up to the max
>Ahh, the sweet sound of......
>Nothing?
>Did you break your ears or something? Waht gives?
>You regret not buying the lifetime warranty on them
>Sighing, you return the phone and earphones to the bag, opting instead to just sit back and relax while you wait
>What were you waiting for again?
>Oh yeah, Twilight forgot her bags
>Silly mare
>You feel tired
>A nap couldn't hurt, could it?
>Nah, twilight can wake you up.
>You take a quick glance at the crowd
>Most of the ponies have left or are in the process of leaving, but a few are lying on the grass, a couple are standing against the wall talking
>These ponies are adorable
>After some shuffling, you have managed to move your bag into "pillow mode"
>Before you drift off to sleep you could swear you hear someone talking to you

You are now Twilight
>A week has passed since you kicked anon out of town
>A twinge of guilt shoots through you momentarily
>But it was for his own good, he needs to sort himself out and using you as a crutch was not healthy for either of you
>Not to mention he lied to you just so he could maintain his old, hateful way of living!
>A couple days ago he used one of those emergency letter flames to send you a piece of paper covered in some kind of crushed berry or something
>You sent a reply telling him to stop being so childish
>You did not recieve a reply
>Thinking back on it those letters were anon's idea
>A small ember made from spike's flame used to send and recieve a set of letters in case of an emergency
>One use only, though they were small and you could easily store multiple kits in a saddlebag
>Probably more in that enormous "duffel bag" anon always used
"Twilight! Door!"
>Spike was still getting used to the new home, the acoustics in here were a lot different than your old library and his voice carried well even before you moved into what you can only assume is a gigantic megaphone
>You quickly trot down the staircase to greet your visitor
>"HITWILIGHTHAVEYOUSEENANONHEWASUPPOSEDTOCOMETOAPARTYYESTERDAYANDHEDIDN'TSHOWUP"
Pinkie please, you don't have to be so loud when I'm standing less than 2 feet away from you
>"SORRY"
>"I mean, sorry"
>"We were planning that party for weeks and the big galoot just ditches us, how lame is that?"
>Make that visitors, you look around to see if pinkie and dash were your only guests
>Upon closer inspection you find that fluttershy was also among visitors
>How had they not heard?
You guys should come inside, its kind of a long story.

>"YOU WHAT?"
I banished anon from ponyville, I thought that was pretty clead, dash.
>The pegasus was not amused at your witty banter, instead she seemed to be fairly upset with you
>"Why the hay did you do that?!"
>Why did she even care?
Why do you even care?
>Dash looks at you as if you just suggested she may not be the fastest pegasus in equestria
>"Uh, because we've been friends for like, ever. duh"
>What was that
Wait, what did you just say?
>"I said ME AND ANON HAVE BEEN FRIENDS FOREVER"
Define forever, dash.
>"Since like, two months after 'shy found him in wandering around a field, duh"
And you didn't feel like telling me would have been a good idea?
>"Why would I tell you every time I make a new friend? It isn't like you tell us every time you read a new book. Usually."
>pinkie speaks up
>"I've been friends with nonny since he said he liked to PARTAY"
>fluttershy interjects
>"which was about two days after I found him"
How about you fluttershy, have you been his friend since you found him?
>"Oh my yes, hes such a big cuddly monster, him and bear get along like a dream!"
>Further questions have been raised.

>Research is required
So what, you guys just don't come to town meetings or anything?
>"Nope!"
>Wow, they answered in unison.
>impressive
Why not?
>"sleeping mostly"
>"Taking care of the animals is busy work!"
>"I have a job, twilight"
Okay so dash was sleeping, fluttershy was doing....whatever it is she does, and pinkie.....has a job....that she takes seriously....aparently....
>They all nod
And none of you saw me take anon out of town with like, half of the ponies who live here following us?
>"I saw, but i was busy with tax forms!"
>pinkie aparently does taxes now
>both pegasi shake their heads
Then I guess I have to explain it all to you guys.
>You go recant the story as acurately as you can, making sure to skip over the personal parts that don't really matter
>Dash raises her hoof
You don't have to raise your hoof, just ask the question.
>"What did the two fillies who told you that anon was lying look like"
Well they had pink and grey coats, the pink one had a tiara cutie mark and the grey one had a very fancy silver spoon cutie mark.
>"So the two fillies who bully scootaloo, sweetie belle, and apple bloom constantly?"
Yes, that sounds about ri-Wait they do what

>"Yeah, they're real pieces of work. They only really target loners and people who don't have many friends so they've been leaving the CMC crew alone for the most part"
>That....that doesnt prove anything by itself, further research is needed.
Has anon ever mentioned any....unpleasant things being said or done to him by anyone in town?
>Fluttershy fields this question
>"You mean the grafitti on his house and the bananas on the windows?"
>You have no way of rationalizing what you have done now
>You need to go find anon
Girls I have something i need to admit...
>They all look at you intently
I may have taken anon into the everfree forest and......
>When you say it out loud it really sounds horrible
I MAY have put up a force-field to prevent him from coming back into town.
>"WHY WOULD YOU DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU"
>In unison, again.
>This is really out of character for fluttershy, being loud isn't usually one of her strong points
Its okay! Its okay! I can find him!
>"Oh yeah? How about you let us in on how you're going to magically find anon in a gigantic forest filled with monsters!"
With.....magic?


>More specifically, with spike's fire magic.
>After a niderate amount of searching, you find the vial that contains the depleted ember from anon's letter
>Whatever was on the note has hardened and is now flaking off
>It doesn't look like berry juice anymore
>You use your MAGIC to locate where the letter was sent from, a cave on the small mountain outside of town
>"HAAAAAAAAAAAY, we should get applejack and rarity too, they love anon!"
>You are starting to feel very out of the loop on this whole friendship circle thing they have going on
Why do none of you ever talk about anon when WE hang out?
>"Oh but we do, we've talked about anon loads of time. You usualy spaced out or ignored us like you usually do"
>you are vaugely aware of someone talking
What were you saying flutters?
>"Nothing twilight...."
Well then, dash, you go get AJ and rarity and meet back here in 30 minutes. Make sure they bring their sense of adventure.
>"Why don't you just magic them here?"
That isn't how it works, dash.
>"UGHHHHHH, fine. I'll get them...."

>47 minutes later
Alright everyone, are you ready for an adventure?
>cries of "Yea!" and "Meh" fill the room
Alright then, here.
We.
GO!
>you teleport everyone in the room to the location where anon sent his letter
>anticlimatic? More like magic.
>"Why is it so dark in heeeeeeeeeeeeeeere?"
>Rarity whining is one of your least favorite things, you use your magic to cast some light through the cave
>You look around and see
>Nothing
>Nada
>Zilch
>"Ya'll sure this is where anon is? I don't see him anywhere..."
Lets see if we can find the entrance of the cave, I don't think anon would be able to find his way around in this dark anyways
>As you move in the only direction you can, you start to smell refreshing outside air
>You can see the mouth of the cave, the view over ponyville is striking
>You can see almost everything from up here, the sheer drop a few yards outside of the cave's mouth prevents any trees blocking the view
>Scanning around inside the cave you see a large lump lying against the cave wall
Guys! I found him!

>Pinkie bounces over and starts prodding
>"Anon"
>More prodding
>"Anooooon, your favorite party pony is here to steal you awaaaaay"
>No response, he must really be wiped out from climbing up here
>"Oh i see, you're waiting for me to tickle you away!"
>Pinkie begins tickling Anon's sides
>Still no response
>"Anon......cmon....wake up"
>pinkie is now shaking anon with both hooves, still no visible effect
>"This isn't a funny joke anon! Jokes are supposed to be funny..."
>She is starting to sound audibly upset
>Pinkie climbs on top of anon and starts lightly bouncing
>"Nonny stoooooooop, this isn't a good joke!"
>You start to feel like there might really be something wrong with him
>You quietly trot over and use your magic to remove the very upset pinkie from anon
>Very carefully you lift up the sleeve of anon's sweater
>You know how much he loves that sweater, and if you tore it he would probably kill you
>Anon taught you a trick during one of your first study sessions
>Touch the neck or wrists and feel for the beat of his heart
>You always wondered why he had told you that, but now you were glad he did
>You touch a hoof to his wrists and almost almost instantly recoil
>Human's aren't cold blooded

>oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no
nononononononono
>You carefully move anon out of his slumped position
>Something flat and black falls out of his lap
>Laying him flat on the ground you get your first good look at his midsection
>Your friends are talking to you but you can't hear them
>is that ringing?
>A large gash across the chest is the first thing you see
>It looks deep
>You can just make out the form of three ribs in the wound
>Large chunks are missing from two on top and bottom, with the middle one being a little over half missing
>You can fix this, you have the most magic of any unicorn in equestria!
>You try to focus on the wound but it keeps moving
Stay still anon, i'm trying to help you...
>You finally manage to focus your magic on the broken rib
>Nothing is happening
>Anon keeps shifting, making it even harder to focus
Stop moving around so much anon!
>You slap his cheeck to try and bring him to his senses, but it doesn't help
>Something pulls on your mane and makes you fall backwards
>"-ILIGHT YAH NEED TA STOP"
Someone hold him still, I need him to stop struggling to heal this!
>"Twalight.....he isn't movin'...."

>You sit upright and try to catch your breath
>Your heart is pumping so loudly, you feel winded despite not having done anything to exert yourself
>You look around to see what kind of state your friends are in
>You see pinkie standing over anon, holding his hand in her hooves while she softly nuzzles it
>Fluttershy is lying in the area between his legs, with her wings covering his legs and her head on his left thigh, you can't see her face
>Dash has both hooves on the half of anon's chest that isn't wounded, pushing back and forth
>You've never seen Dash cry before
>Rarity is standing a few feet away, a blank look on her face, all legs shaking wildly
>AJ is staring at you, looking very concerned
>More ringing
>More woozyness
>Before you do anything else you have to take care of the most pressing matter at hand
>You stand on your legs, wobbly but slowly becoming more stable
>Slowly, you take the couple steps the fall put between you and anon
>You walk left, past Dash and raise your hoof to anon's face
>Carefully, you attempt to close his eyes
>You can't seem to get them to close on the first try
>You open your saddlebags, pull out a small green rag, and place it over his eyes
>Again you try to close his eyes, still with no success
>You want to try magic, but risking mutilating anon further is not something you want to do
>But you know you have to close them
>Or they'll keep staring into your soul

>Somepony pushes you aside
>AJ slowly, and very carefully removes the rag
>With more gentleness than you knew she had, she patiently and softly uses her hooves to close anon's eyes
Th-thank you AppleJack....I just couldn't.....leave them like.....that....
>"Ah know twi', this isn't mah first rodeo."
>Her voice snaps you back to reality, the ringing stops and you can hear everything
>Mostly crying
>Wailing
>Fluttershy softly singing a lullaby
>You aren't proud of your first thought, but it came naturally enough
>They're going to think this is my fault
>It IS your fault
>What in the name of Celestia were you thinking?
>Why did you think it was a good idea to send him here?
>How are you going to make this okay?
>Is there any possible way you can make things okay again?
>Giving alicorn magic to a being that feeds on magic is one thing, but killing one of your best friends because you wanted to play the stern teacher game is something else completely

[spoiler]Fluttershy's lullaby:
Golden slumbers kiss your eyes,
Smiles await you when you rise.
Sleep,
Pretty baby,
Do not cry,
And I will sing a lullaby.

Cares you know not,
Therefore sleep,
While over you a watch I'll keep.
Sleep,
Pretty darling,
Do not cry,
And I will sing a lullaby.[/spoiler]

>You don't want to lose your friends
>You CAN'T lose your friends
>You open your mouth to speak
>"WHY DOES EVERYTHING HAVE TO BE ABOUT YOU?"
>Rarity is no longer in shock, it seems
w-wha?
>"Everything we do, everywhere we go, everyone we meet, you think it ALL REVOLVES AROUND YOU"
>You're unsure how to reply, out of all of the things she could have said, that is not what you expected at all
>"Anon was his own person with his own life! He shows a romantic interest in you and you automatically assume you're all he has?"
>You feel a sting when she finishes, she is absolutely right
>"And when he finally works up the courage to tell you, YOU KICK HIM OUT OF TOWN FOR NOT HAVING FRIENDS?"
>You work up a meek reply
I h-held a town meeting.....nobody spoke up for anon....where were you and AJ?
>"Does it matter?! Do we have to be around our friends constantly, lest you exile them to certain death?"
>"What's going to happen if some of us leave town for a few days for personal business? Are you going to have pinkie put in the stocks? Remove Rainbow's wings? Kill fluttershy's animals? Execute AJ for crimes against friendship?"
>You try to make yourself as small as possible
>Backing away you accidentally bump into Dash, knocking her over
>She lands across anon's chest, eliciting a small yelp when she lands
>For a second it looks like she is going to try and get up, but quickly gives up and just remains sprawled against anon's wounded upper chest

>"Starting early are we? Going to use one of his ribs to make the cuts while she grieves over her friend?"
>Rarity walks towards anon
>"He just wanted to make you happy..."
>She lies down next to fluttershy, carefully scooting under her wing and resting her head on anon's other thigh
>Something about what just happened scares you
>Namely, Dash just giving up like that
>That wasn't something THE Rainbow Dash would do
>That scared you almost as much as rarity's outburst
>Fluttershy is still quietly humming her lullaby, rarity joins her as she closes her eyes
>AJ is still beside you, standing as a vanguard over you and the pile of ponies in front of you
>Pinkie must have moved when you weren't paying attention, she was lying around anon's head, her neck on top of his, with his head cradled in her belly like a pillow
>She was completely silent, staring absentmindedly out the mouth of the cave
>You want to say something
>You want to do anything to bring everyone together
>But nothing comes to you
>With your head down, you slowly meander your way over to anon's left arm and lie in the cradle it creates against the side of his chest
>With your head on his waist you look out of the mouth of the cave
>The stars are beautiful tonight

>You wake up to a loud buzzing to the left of your face
>Still half asleep, you cock your head up with your magic at the ready
>Filling the cave with light, you see your friends in the same positions as when you fell asleep, except applejack who as taken a spot similar to your own on anon's right arm
>You absentmindedly think about how strange it is that you are all sleeping on the body of your recently deceased human friend
>Then the buzzing starts up again
>You look around and see nothing, but in the peripherie of your vision you see a small light
>A small black slab slowly creeping across the floor of the cave towards you
>You carefully place your hoof on it to prevent it from moving any closer
>Upon contact with your soft hoof, the front of the slab lights up
>On it is the time, date, and a picture of anon and fluttershy lying on a beach, obviously taken by rainbow dash from high in the air
>Anon is wearing dash's giant sunglasses and a very brightly colored pair of "swimtrunks" decorated with pictures of blooming flowers
>Cautiously, you give the slab another prod, hoping to get another picture
>Instead, the image slides up and a large number of small boxes apear on the screen, some of which are moving to and fro
>Once again, very carefully, you boop the box that says "Music and Videos"
>A new screen opens, one with many options and another box.
>You boop the box and a song begins to play softly from the slab
[spoiler]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0Ew3cl1gyc[/spoiler]
>The slab is singing!
>You very carefully pull the slab closer to you, hoping to hear the pretty music more clearly

>The song ends and the picture changes, a new song begins to play
>This song is loud and you don't want to wake anyone else up, so you boop the tiny little arrow on the bottom of the slab
>You return to the screen with all the small boxes
>You look at the boxes and see a deep blue one with an "f" on it
>You boop it and the slab takes you away
>A little box pops up saying something about a failed data connection, you boop the annoying message to make it go away
>After a short load, hundreds of pictures flood the slab's surface
>Pictures of anon
>And anon's family
>There's one of anon holding a smaller human, the small human is laughing but anon doesn't look very happy
>anon wasn't very fond of foals
>You boop the small white arrow on the right side of the picture
>A new picture pops up
>Its anon and another human
>This human is shorter than anon, with longer hair, they look very similar, is this anon's mother?
>The picture shows anon smiling with cake on his face, the female is trying to wipe his face with some kind of cloth but she can't reach his face because he has his arms around her
>You boop the arrow to the right of the picture once again
>This one is anon and another human, she looks to be about half his height and has hair only slightly longer than anon's
>Their sides are to the camera, they are hugging and sharing a kiss
>She has a very pretty ring on her right hand
>You boop the small white arrow to the right of the screen

>The next photo has writing underneath it
>It is a picture of anon and 3 other humans wearing a silly black robe and a pointy square hat
>They're all holding up little pieces of paper bound in some kind of small book
>The text reads "Graduation day! Thanks for making the ceremony unforgetable guys, i love you Gram and pap, hope you're proud of me mom! Tagged in this picture: Anon, Jess, Marlo"
>You click the little white arrow on the bottom of the slab
>You spot a small clover icon neat the bottom of the pile, underneath the text "Imageboard browser" is visible
>You boop the icon, but a box asking for data pops up
>You boop the box away but it takes you back to the pile of boxes.
>A large box with the text "photos" is showing a slideshow of pictures, you boop it before the picture goes away
>There are a lot of things to choose from here
>You boop "albums" and the screen shifts to a screen where you can select what pictures you want to see
>The names are "Camera Roll" "Reactions" "Mobile Uploads" and "pony"

Which one does she choose anons? (First to get two replies) (Pony was chosen)

>You carefully boop the "pony folder"
>Pictures fill the screen
>8 of them are pictures of the same grassy field, but taken a few seconds after eachother
>The listed date on them are all july 18th 2012
>These must be from when he first arrived in equestria!
>One of them has a small, semi-translucent triangle with a circle around it
>You boop the picture to see if there is any way to get rid of the annoying shapes
>The shapes disapear, an the picture begins moving
>It is very shaky and you can hear the breeze from the valley, anon is breathing heavily and it doesn't sound like he knows where he is
(Video transcript)
What the fuck is going on?
Hellooooooooooooooo?
Is anyone out there?
Jess?!
Marlo!?
*Clothes rustling, the sound of coins clanging in a pocket*
Where are my keys?!
Where the fuck are my keys?!
*plants rustling*
Am i dead?
Is this heaven? hell?
WHERE THE FUCK AM I
*crying*
[spoiler]why the fuck was i driving......[/spoiler]
>The video ends here
>The slab sends you back to the pictures

>You use the arrows to sift through the pictures
>Most of the pictures after the video of the valley are taken by either rainbow dash or fluttershy, but there are a few exceptions
>Most of the pictures are of anon and other ponies
>This one is anon riding on Rainbow Dash's back, she is striking a regal pose, this picture has a light yellow tinge to it
>The next one is rarity taking anon's measurements, it looks like it was taken from the inside of a cabinet or some other hiding place, you can see a lock of curly pink hair in the top right of the picture
>The one after that has applejack in the foreground laughing, anon is being lifted out of an apple tree in the background my Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, there is a purple sheen to this photo
>You decide to look at one more picture before moving on
>The last picture is of you lying across Anon's lap, fast asleep with a book in front of you. Anon is stretching his arm out so he can get as much of you two in frame as possible.
>You boop the back arrow twice, it takes you back to the loud music
>You can't get it to stop before it reaches its crescendo
>Pinkie yawns and looks around, she uses her tail to swipe the hair out of anon's face before looking at you
>Rarity and Fluttershy awake startled, but slowly drift back to drowsiness after taking a look around
>Rainbow Dash looks towards you, her eyes go wide as she sees what is in your hand
>AJ flicks her tail to give a small sign that she is awake
>Dash is the first to speak up
>"Give that to me before you break it"
I'm being careful, i'm just curious!
>"Thats exactly why anon never showed it to you, now give it to me!"

What do you mean that's why he never showed it to me? What does me being curious have to do with anything?
>Dash sticks out her tongue and blows a rasperry
>"PLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLR, thats why, now give it to me!"
>Quicker than you thought was possible, she is on you, grasping at the slab
>"Let me have it, i'm the only one he taught to use it anyways!"
>In the scuffle you can see the boxes on the screen wildly fluctuate, changing pictures and moving between different areas
Dash stop! you're going to make me dro-
>The slab flies into the air
>Time freezes and the both of you watch it said through the air
>Before any of you can react, the slab lands in pinkies soft, fluffy tail
>Pinkie lazily looks over to the intruder now snugly resting in her tail
>She slowly moves it up, over anon's chest and against her neck.
>Dash goes to grab it, but stops just short of touching it
>You can hear anon humming

>He is humming the song from before, the one the slab sang to you
>Your heart skips a beat, everypony is staring towards anon's head
>But all you see is the slab, playing a new video
**Transcript**

(Anon humming)
>Twig snapping in the distance
>Anon continues humming, turns to look for where the noise came from)
Twilight, is that you?
If you're mad about me moving, i'm sorry about that, those ponies behind the wall kept pointing and talking
I mean, i couldn't really hear what they were saying but they were repeating it.
>more twigs snap, this time in the opposite direction as before
>whips around, nothing in frame
Cmon twi, this isn't funny! I thought we were going somewhere interesting, not wandering through the woods getting eaten by bugs!
Fine, i'll just go find my OWN destination. With hookers....and blackjack......actually, forget the destination....
>anon chuckling
Tough crowd....
>anon starts walking
Tunin' out of starlight, the innocent lifetime flickers and flashes, onto a canvas~
But no, nobody seems worth it~
And while the feeling's sophisticate-
>A tree branch being torn from its tree can be heard
What the he-
>A tree branch as thick as anon can be seen flying towards the camera

>Anon, walking backwards, trips over a root and narrowly avoids being smashed by the log
>The camera falls and lands against a tree, the legs of a manticore can easily be seen
oh shit
oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit
>anon scrambles for the camera
>The camera is lifted up and anon begins sprinting through a thicket of trees, loud roars emanating from the trees behind him
TWILIGHT PLEASE THIS ISN'T FUCKING FUNNY
>Anon continues the full sprint, you can hear him becoming winded
>As he is running through a clearing, loud snapping noises are heard and anon falls
>A surprised yelp is all anon has time for as he hits the soft dirt at the bottom of the small pit
>looking up, a rotted tree with an anon-shaped hole is all that covers the small pit from the surface
>roaring can be heard in the distance, it is becoming less and less clear until it eventually dissipates to nothing
What the HELL is wrong with this place?
>Anon climbs out of the hole, after brushing himself off the sound of tapping are heard
Are these recordings really that big? Wow. If you're watching this pinkie, i'm sorry but i have to delete some old party videos, we'll make more later.
>"Its okay anon"
>Pinkie replies, nopony says anything.

>The video ends there
>"Are there more of those?"
>Dash asks excitedly
You tell me, I'M not allowed to touch it...
>Dash groans and boops the slab
>The screen lights up again and she boops the arrow to the right of the picture, another video appears
>It almost feels normal, like you aren't all lying on the body of your best friend
>In all honesty, you should feel weird, or at least bad about it
>But you don't
>None of you do
>You don't want anon to be cold, you don't want him to be alone, and most of all
>None of you want to face the reality of what has happened
>As long as there are more videos, anon is alive
>As long as there is more of his voice and his laugh, he isn't lying cold on the smooth floor of a cave
>As long as there are more videos, you can still make memories with him

>Dash boops the screen
>You all settle in and watch intently

**Video Transcript**
>The screen opens white, then slowly adjusts to the bright sun
>Anon has the phone camera pointed at himself
Alright so I was just walking when I started hearing these little noises behind me every once in a while
>He looks really nice, but his facial expression seem exagerated, very wide smiles and a big grin
>It was cute, but it didn't look like "normal" anon
So I found this little clearing and sat down in the middle, and i even used the front camera on my phone so i could watch behind me as well! Pretty clever, right?
Anyways, i caught a glimpse of something small and fluffy looking when I was looking behind me, I didn't move so it didn't know I saw it and I got a good look.
Well they're about the size of rabbits, but they're some kind of monkey, which is so. totally. awesome!
>Dash giggles at his impression of her
Oh man, why didn't i think of this before!
>Anon props the camera against something on the ground and rifles through his bag, you can see something moving around in the treetops, but they're too fast to get a good look at.
TADA!
>Anon produces a small bag of sliced fruit, mostly apple and banana, but there are some berries visible in the mix
Lets see if they like these...
>Anon picks the camera up and records him placing the fruits on a small flat rock near the edge of the forest
>almost instantly a small swarm of the creatures run out of the forest, stoping just a few feet away from anon
Woah okay, that was fast.
>He does a small circular spin, showing him completely surrounded by the creatures
Don't be scared, i'm not going to hurt you guys.
Can you guys understand me? Flutters says most animals are sentient in this world so I am assuming you can tell I'm talking right?
>Anon seems to have an idea
Oh hold on, I have some paper here somewhere!
>As he looks down to search his pockets, the small creatures make their move, swarming anon

>You can hear fluttershy wimper and cover her eyes at this point
What the hell guys get offa me-ah haha stop that
>The camera is dropped, showing anon completely covered in the small creatures
Hey stop that, whats the big deal!
>The small creatures appear to be removing things from anon's skin/clothes and either eating them or throwing them on the ground
That tickles, get out of my shirt!
>after about 5 minutes of ticklish laughter and girly cries, the creatures decend from anon
>surprisingly, anon looks completely clean
>Twigs are removed from his hair and clothes, dirt and other debris have been removed from his skin, and his hair looks well groomed
>anon picks up the camera
Wow I look good, thanks little guys!
>The small creatures chitter and jump up and down, hugging eachother and dancing around
Alright guys, gotta keep these videos short so they don't take up all the memory, so I'll start again if I see anything cool
>The video suddenly cuts to a dark setting, nothing is visible
Agh goddamnit why doesn't it turn on automatically?
>A click is heard and a bright light covers anon's face
you guys are going to love this, look!
>Anon shifts the camera, showing his entire body, covered in the small creatures
>They're covering him like a blanket, arms intertwined with flowers and foliage filling in the gaps
How cool is this? I'll have to bring you guys out here after i get home so you can meet them!
>a couple of the creatures stir
Alright thats all I wanted to show you, night!

>The video ends
>Dash boops the screen again
>The slab wakes up, and a new picture is displayed
>Before the next video starts, you raise your head and look to your friends
>Rarity and fluttershy are still in the same positions as before, both covered by fluttershy's wings
>Pinkie has also not moved an inch, her tail slowly tracing lines across anon's cheek
>Aj is across from you, cradled in between anon's other arm and his body
>Dash was lying across anon's chest, but has scooted over to you, eventually leaning into your side
>Whether that was to give rarity and fluttershy a good view of the slab or to avoid the large wound on anon's chest you do not know
>Haven't you see anon close this jacket before?
>How did he do it?
>You scan the front of the jacket, looking for a way to hide the large chest wound
>Part of the jacket had already covered it, most likely when Dash fell, but covering it seems like the best course of action
>There are two lines of small metallic teeth where the material would meet in the middle
>Progress!
>You glance down to the bottom of the jacket, eventually locating a small mechanism
>Your magic grabs the small mechanism and gently pulls it up, joining the teeth together
>you make it a little under half way up when Dash's hind leg stops you
Dash, could you move for a minute?
>She groans, but complies, lazily rising into the air
>You quickly finish moving the mechanism up
>As soon as you finish dash carefully lands, and after inspecting your work looks over at you
>"Thanks twilight"
>Progress

>The silence around you is uncomfortable
>You're not sure you can take much more without breaking down or trying to talk to your friends
>Something none of you are ready to even consider
>As if on cue, Dash boops the screen and starts the next video

**Video Transcript**
>The video starts in what appears to be a large barren field, no trees or other large foliage can be seen
well well well, whats all this then
>Anon is doing one of his funny voices, it elicits a giggle from pinkie and dash
Seriously though I don't know what this is supposed to be, any ideas?
>From a cursory glance it looks a lot like the area rarity searches for gems, except the ground in the video is filled with cracks that range from a few inches, to a few yards thick
>The camera is tilted to show anon's feet
The grass just kinda....ends here
>Instead of a normal progression from living grass to dying grass that would normally indicate a barren area, this grass completely stops a few inches away from the barren
>the camera shifts again, giving a view of either side of anon, showing the phenomenon goes on in either direction for as far as can be seen
You guys don't have radiation or anything do you?
>There are a few seconds of silence, anon's breathing can clearly be heard
Whatever, guess I have to cross this eventually
>Anon begins walking forward
>As soon as the first footfall on stone can be heard, the camera stops moving
>More footsteps can be heard, but the camera does not move
Wow, what IS this stuff?!
>The camera is quickly pointed down at anon's feet, giving a view of a pretty average looking rock
Watch this guys
>Anon stamps his feet, sending ripples through the stone

>As the ripples expand, the camera is moved to follow
They don't even feel any different from other rocks, this is so cool!
>Anon gives a small laugh and stamps his feet a few more times, creating hundreds of ripples that cascade across the visible landscape
I wonder what these are all about...
>The camera whips up and is now pointed at a large crevasse a short distance away from anon
>just wide enough that he could slip and fall in, but not enough that he would be able to fall very far
>as he nears the crevasse he repositions the camera, obviously trying to get a better view of what may be in side
Too dark......hold on a sec....
>You can hear various yelps of shock and surprise around the room as anon flips on the small light
>The crevasse is deeper than you had guessed it would be, the light doesn't reach the bottom
>But that isn't what is on your mind
>The giant gems that appear to be covered in smaller, moving gems are
>Jutting out from either side of the wall are thousands of large, spiked gems
>A rainbow of color is bounced around the entire length of the crevasse
>Every inch of the visible walls are now illuminated, shifting ever so slightly as anon moves the camera, the source of the light, to get a better view
>The camera zooms in, getting a much better view of a small deposit of gems that appear to have been cut and placed in a small divot in a much larger gem spike
>The cut gems are large and flawless, shimmering in the light
Wo-
>"-ow"
>Rarity and anon speak in unison

>On the left side of the frame you can see a small line of movement
>It reminds you of ants lining up to suck up the nectar bubbles fluttershy places outside her cottage
>Anon appears to have seen them as well
Oh wow, did you guys make these?
>The camera slowly turns, gaining focus on a gem to the right of the cut gems
>The only words you could use to describe this gem are "Large" and "Green"
>The lines of movement cover the gem, each spec a small glint of light in a different color
Let me see if I can get a little closer, hold on
>The camera falls a few inches and dangles from anon's wrist, secured by a thick black loop that appears to be made out of some kind of cloth
>You can see anon move a few feet to the left of where he was looking into the crevasse, he sits down on the edge and slowly drops himself down
>A footfall is heard on one of the gems
Is this going to hold my weight or am I going to get impaled when I finish climbing down?
>Anon jumping up and down can be heard
Guess it can hold me then, alright back to the weird light things
>Anon slowly and carefully makes his way back to the small lines of color
Oh wow! What are you little guys made of?
>The camera is grabbed and repositioned, the zoom reset
Hold on guys let me get the camera closer, they're too bright for you to see them from this far away I think
>As the camera gets closer the line takes shape
>The lines aren't made of light at all, they are composed of small ant-like creatures
>Made completely out of gems

So what are you guys working on?
>The quiet clinking of tiny gem feet walking on gems is the only reply they give
Interesting, anything I can do to help?
>No voices are heard, anon appears to be talking to himself
My soul? I mean I'm not sure but if you say you NEED it....
>You can hear your friends shuffling, seeing anon like this must be very uncomfortable
>the camera turns around to face anon, a big smile on his face
Just kidding, they're about as fond of talking as gummy
Man twilight is going to be so jelous when she sees these, I'm pretty sure I've never seen any of these animals in her books
>He was right, none of the animals, save for the manticore, were familiar to her
>The camera turns back around to face the gem creatures
So what do you guys do? Carve these little gems all day?
>Anon removes one of the small purple gems from the divot, holding it up in front of the camera
Do you mind if I take one or two? I know this dragon who goes wild for cut gems like this...
>still no reply, the gem creatures are most likely incapable of complex thought, let alone talking
Thanks, hes going to love these.
>rustling is heard, then a zip and some clinking, then another zip and the noise stops
>the camera is still pointed at the ant creatures
>They appear to be shearing off sections of the crystal with their jaws and moving the small sheared pieces into a small hole in the crevasse wall

>Anon reaches out and touches the green gem
>In an instant the small creatures stop
>A low buzzing is heard
>Anon recoils quickly, unsure of what he did
>The creatures begin to violently shear off large chunks of the gem
>A whirlwind of activity overtakes the gem
>Most of the action is taking place on the center of the gem, with the tip and base being ignored
>Slowly a shape begins to take form
>Anon drops the camera, it dangles from his wrist
Nononono I'm sorry don't ruin it!
>Anon is moving  his arms back and forth, trying to signal them to stop
>But to no avail, the sounds of shearing can still be heard
Come on, my hands aren't THAT dirty!
>An indignant tone can be heard in his voice
>the camera is facing the cravasse wall now,  nothing can be seen
Fine, be that way, i'll just take the end of the gem for spike then.
>Anon grabs the camera and sits down, he swings his leg in the blackness below

>He starts wistling a song you are not familiar with while he waits for the creatures to finish their work
Wait, what are you making?
>Anon drops the camera again
Oh, you were making something for me!
>You can hear a happy tone in his voice, it makes you feel warm inside
Oh wow, it looks just like her cutie mark!
>Anon grabs whatever it is the gem creatures made and holds it to his eye
Wow this is really cool!
>Anon picks up the camera and points it at his face, he is holding the gem up in front of his right eye
>It looks exactly like the center star of your cutie mark
>the striking green of the gem matches his eye color perfectly
Thanks little dudes, sorr-
>The camera pans to the stub of a gem, the creatures nowhere to be found
Guess they were in a hurry...
>Anon goes back to studying the gem
I wonder if rarity would make this into a necklace for me
>"Of course, Dear"

>You make a mental note to try and find that gem
Alright well thanks for the gift, weird bug thingies
>Anon carefully makes his way to where he climbed into the crevasse
>Anon dusts himself off, thousands of tiny gem fragments fall from him
>A small rainbow forms in front of him, before the fragments are carried away by the wind
Heh, dash would be proud, i wond-
>Anon is interrupted by the sound of claws scraping against rock
I swear to christ if that's another giant monster I am going to lose my shit.
>anon turns around
>standing a few yards away, is a pony-like creature
>But unlike ponies, this creature has what appears to be a thick black carapace, legs bending outward and inward at strange angles with what appear to be holes near the base
>Further up, its back appears to have another protective shield, dark purple, as well as thin translucent wings sprouting from the top of the torso
>Compound eyes took the majority of the space on its head, with the rest being occupied with a small, smooth horn, gnarles ears, and a mouth full of very sharp fangs
>The creature was smiling and slowly walking towards anon
>The creature is slightly obscured in the frame by tracking errors
>Anon sets the camera down on his bag and starts closing the gap
Twilight, what took you so long?!

>The short distance between them quickly closes, anon sweeps the creature into his arms
I've been out here for like three days, what took you so long?!
>The creature blankly stares
You got lost? How did you get lost, you're friggin magic!
>Whatever anon is hearing, it isn't actually being said
Alright I guess, so do you have any idea how to get back to ponyville? I'm almost out of that emergency food and I don't know what is edible out here...
>Anon is still hugging the creature, softly tracing his hand up and down it's back
Oh, alright then. Did you bring a compass or a map? We should get going so we can get back before Friday, I promised pinkie I would go to a thing and you know how she gets.
>He sets the creature down, it still has not made a sound aside from its claws hitting the rippling rock
I guess its been a long walk, I could go for a nap
>The creature smiles
>Anon walks over and grabs the camera
Since hopefully twilight & I are going to be home in a few hours, this is probably going to be the last one of these I record.
>He leans into the camera and speaks in a hushed tone
Love you guys, see you when i see you
>The video ends here

>"Was that one of them changeling thingamabobs, twalot?"
>The tone in AJ's voice was merely curiosity, no concern to be heard
>Then you remember why she has no reason to be concerned
It definitely was, but why did anon think it was me? It hadn't even taken my shape!
>Dash speaks up
>"Maybe changelings don't actually transform, what if they just do something to your head?"
>Certainly a good guess, you couldn't find a flaw in it right now, but you would have to study this later
Maybe...Are there any other videos?
>Dash moves over and boops the screen
>The next few pictures are taken of anon, from various distances and obviously by the changeling
>Boop
>The first is taken from some trees, anon is laughing and trying to grab the camera from where it is being held
>Boop
>The next is taken at night, anon is sleeping by a fire facing away from the camera
>Boop
>In the next picture, anon is lying on the ground, unconcious. The changeling has a claw on anon's chest.
>There is nothing in the picture indicating how he became unconcious
>Boop
>This picture is taken from high in the air, anon is climbing a fairly steep rock wall while the changeling flies beside him
>Boop
>A picture of the mouth of the cave, it is getting dark and anon is sitting against a cave wall sorting his bag
>boop
>The next file is a video

**Video Transcript**
Gee thanks, you've been hogging it for the past 2 days
>The changeling just sits at the edge of the cave looking at anon
Hey you got the screen all dir-
>He suddenly stops
>The camera starts to shake ever so slightly
Hey, twilight can you uh....move to the left a little bit?
>The changeling stands up and moves a couple feet to the left, then plops back down
Why? Oh uh, because I wanted to get a shot of ponyville!
>He slowly moves to the mouth of the cave, ponyville can be seen clearly from this vantage point, though it is obviously quite the distance away
>The camera is pointed at the changeling once again
Your mane looks really pretty in the sunset, twi, I love hanging out with you.
>The changeling closes its eyes and makes a small moan of satisfaction
Hey we've been friends for like two years now, why don't you tell me more about your family?
>The changeling's face goes blank
What? I thought you were on good terms with your parents, twi.
>No visible change
Well I guess it has been a while since I've asked you about them, sorry things are rough. I'll always be here for you if you need to talk though.
>The changling lets out a slightly louder moun
What was that, twi?
>The changlings face instantly clears
Yeah the air out here really is nice, but I have one more question before we set up camp.
>Anon walks closer to the changeling
What is my name?

>Almost instantly, the changling is on anon
What the fuck, get offa me!
>The camera is dangling from anon's wrist, moving to fast to make anything out clearly
>A symphony of mashing limbs and anon's yells are all you can clearly hear
GET OFFA ME YOU FUCKING BUG
>A loud crack and a thud
>The camera is rightened, the changling is lying on the ground, not moving.
What. the. FUCK! is wrong with this place?!
>Catching his breath, anon slowly exits the mouth of the cave
two....days.....that thing was with me for two days....I slept in front of it...
>The tone of his voice changes
>Fear
>Not "I'm being chased by a manticore" fear
>"I may not make it home alive" fear
>he stands for a minute at the mouth of the cave, looking out over the landscape
>It is getting dark now, the sun has almost completely set
>lights in ponyville are visible, a bright circle stands out most profoundly in the center of the town square
>The sound of claws on rock is heard
>Anon turns around
Wh-
>The camera flies from anon's hands and lands face down in the dirt
>A wet sound is heard, with a loud snap clearly ringing out in the cave

>You can hear fluttershy and rarity shift uncomfortably
>dash has her head in anon's chest, not watching the video
>pinkie is nuzzling anon's shoulder, trying not to listen to the audio
>Anon is screaming very loudly, obviously in tremendous pain
WHY DOES EVERYTHING IN THIS PLACE FUCKING HATE ME?
>An extremely loud crunch is heard, followed by the sound of something falling through thick folliage
>The audio becomes extremely quiet, grass being crushed underfoot can be heard
>The camera is lifted from the dirt and wiped clean
>Or at least attempted to be, the camera is lift with a very dark red smudge
>You can see the bottom of anon's shirt, he is holding the camera at waist level
ooh god, i need to....gah, stop this bleeding...
>Camera dangles as anon slowly moves to where his bag is placed
>He collapses a few feet away from them
>He cries out in pain, but continues moving
>Eventually he reaches the bag, quickly pulling the emergency pack
>He removes a small vial with a rolled up piece of parchment inside
>He hastily scrawls something out on it, then pins it against his chest to grab another vial from his bag
>When he pulls the paper away, it is covered in blood
Sh-shit....
>Anon tries to wipe away the blood, but only ends up smearing it
>Anon's already rapid breathing speeds up
no no no no no, she won't know whats wrong if she can't read it!
>He sets the paper on the ground and searches through the bag again
>In his haste, the vial with the ember falls onto the parchment, shattering and releasing the flame
>The letter dissapears in a brilliant emerald flame

>Anon doesn't move
>Just stares at the black scorch marks that mark where the letter used to be
>choked back sobs are all you can hear when suddenly, a bright green flash illuminates the cave
>A letter, neatly wrapped and sealed falls in the center of the scorched floor
>Anon carefully grabs it
>He places the camera on the bag, facing him
>The chest wound is visible, fresh blood still leaking out
>Holding the letter as if it contained his only salvation, he carefully pulls the ribbon
>His breathing slows as he reads the letter
>Eventually the letter falls, revealing fresh tears in his eyes
>You stare into them as he looks into the camera, a broken soul stares back
>Wiping his eyes, he grabs the camera and crawls to the mouth of the cave
>Bracing himself against a wall, he turns the camera to face the view outside
>It is dark outside now, the only illumination visible for miles inside ponyville
>It is clear that anon is not going to adress the wound on his chest, he knows nothing he can do will change the outcome of tonight
>He starts some soft music and zooms in on the town
>You can very clearly make out the scene before you, a party in town square

>You look at your friends, it is aparent that all of them are having the same thought
>"While we were throwing a party, anon was in a cold cave, dying"
>Nobody says it, but you repeat it in your own head
>The camera is extremely shaky
>The zoom compounded with his already impaired state has made it almost impossible for him to hold the camera steady enough to record
>He groans and leans back, resting the phone on his leg
>The shaking stops for the most part, but you the picture becomes blurry for a moment roughly every second
>His heartbeat
>He zooms in on a small group of ponies
>Fluttershy, Dash, Rarity, AJ, and Pinkie
>You were very busy that night, arriving at the tail end of the party
>Everyone is laughing at something pinky said
>The group moves along, visiting the attractions set up by pony vendors
>Bobbing for apples is first
>AJ and Dash race to see who can get the most apples, they both end up with four and shake hooves
>rarity uses her magic to levate an apple to her mouth, Dash yells something at her and everyone laughs
>Fluttershy gently picks an apple out of the water, taking a large bite accidentally when rainbow jumps on her back
>Pinkie pie is up, she submerges her head for a few seconds
>Before coming up with a pear
>The pony maintaining the station looks extremely confused, everyone, including anon, just laughs

>The small outburst causes anon to cough, loudly hacking up what you can only assume is blood
>When he has calmed down, he searches the croud for his friends, quickly finding them at an eating contest
>The weapon of choice was apple pies
>Dash says something to AJ, but AJ just shakes her head and goes back to eating
>Dash continues eating as well
>Fluttershy is sharing her pie with two fillies, they look happy
>Rarity is using her magic to levatate a pie over to her when pinkie explodes out of it, covering them both in pie shrapnel
>Anon laughs again, this time more conservatively
>"Not funny"
>Rarity says to nobody in particular
>Anon watches the contest for what seems like forever, then continues following ponies
>The group wanders around for a while when Dash says something to the group
>They all stop and reply
>After a second, the ponies split up and start wandering around the grounds, it looks like they're looking for someone
>After searching the whole grounds and not finding what they are looking for, the group meets up and starts talking again
>Dash flies in the direction anon's house is
>The rest of the ponies plop down and wait for her to return
>When she finally does, pinkie jumps up and down high enough to say one word to dash at the apex of each jump, about 12 feet
>Dash grabs pinkie and descends with her, frowning and shaking her head when they talk to her
>Looking a lot less chipper than at the start of the party, the ponies continue along the booths
>The moments of blurriness have slowed down, nearly two seconds between each one

>The party carries on, eventually ponies start leaving the grounds for home
>The group of friends share a hug and part ways, looking slightly dissapointed
>Anon zooms out and starts looking around the campgrounds, looking for someone
Where....
>His voice is strained and raspy, it almost doesn't sound like him
>Eventually he finds what he is looking for
>You're slowly flying from your castle to the party, spike on your back complaining about how late the two of you are going to be
>"Oh calm down spike, there's always going to be another party, its fine if we're late to one every now and again"
>You remember this
>The bursts of blurriness now come almost three seconds apart
>Anon's breath comes in the form of shallow gasps
>You take spike to the various booths, he rushes to finish each one before the ponies operating them close up shop and go home
>He looks very upset when he finishes the last activity, throwing a ball at a target to dunk a pony in water
>He jumps on your back and you smile at him, making sure he knows how sorry you are and that he deserves a treat for being so patient with you
>Spike is bouncing on your back as you find your way to a stall selling small gemstones
>You let spike fill a bag with gemstones before you pay the pony and leave
>The bag was expensive, and spike is probably not going to eat them in a healthy timeframe, but you were happy to do it for him
>After all, when someone is patient, they deserve a reward
>Almost four seconds apart now
>Inhale
>Exhale

>The camera's zoom is reset
>You can see all of ponyville and the fields beyond.
>You can just barely make out the lights in the house on the hill at sweet apple acres
>Anon is trying to speak
>But nothing comes out
>Just a painful sounding groan, almost too quiet to hear
>The sounds of breathing become more shallow
>Anon's hands find the camera and slowly lift it
>With his face in frame, anon puts on a small smile and opens his mouth to speak
My little pony........my little pony
I used to wonder *cough* what friendship could be......
Until you all shared its magic with me.....
>Unable to continue, he places the camera back on his leg, facing the stars
>The sounds of breathing stop
>The blurriness hasn't come
>The stars are beautiful tonight

>The video continues for a little over an hour
>stars fly across the sky and shimmer as wind makes the trees below come alive with motion
>Nobody wants to stop the video
>So nobody does
>The six of you lie still, content in this last moment of escapism before the dawn comes and shatters the stillness
>Your begins to wander
>What were you going to say to them when you finally had to come face to face with what you did?
>The time seems to arrive when the dim light of the sunrise peeks over the treetops
Girls.......
>None of them respond
Girls...... come on, we need to-
>A hoof fills your mouth, stopping you
>Dash jush shushes you and goes back to nuzzling anon's chest, listening to the sound of crickets from the video
>The least you can do is let them have a little more time in their own little worlds, even if your own had deflated like so many old party baloons
>You stand up slowly, your muscles sore from lack of movement
>Stretching, you search around the cave with a cursory glance
>A few yards into the cave you see anon's bag
>You remember the gem
>Walking towards the bag, you become very concious of the silence in the cave, your hoof-falls are echoing throughout the caves
>They form a rhythmic clopping that puts you at ease
>The bag is within your reach, you reach out and pull it closer
>Using your magic, you levitate the tiny mechanism down that separates the teeth
>The bag is filled with anon's clothes, all of which had been worn recently and had anon's unique scent lingering on them
>Eventually, you find something wrapped in a small cloth
>Unfolding the cloth reveals the gem anon had been given by the small creatures
>You look at the gem closely, it resembles your cutemark almost perfectly
>You're so busy admiring the craftsmanship that you almost don't notice the eye staring at you from the center of the gem
>Startled, you drop the gem and back away

>You stare at the gem lying in the bag
>Trying to process what you just saw, you don't notice Dash walking up behind you
>She lightly shoves you aside, closes the bag, and flies back to the group
Hey, I was looking at that!
>"What, did you kill him so you could take his stuff?"
>That stung more than you thought words could
>You turn around and take in the scene
>Rarity is trying to levitate anon as gently as possible, but she struggles to lift him more than a few inches off of the ground
>She carefully puts him back on the floor of the cave when it is clear she will not be able to carry his weight
>Dash flies to anon's head and puts two hooves under his shoulders
>She begins beating her wings, but only manages to lift his upper half a few feet off the ground
>Again, anon is carefully placed back on the ground
>Pinkie uses her tail to gently sweep the hair out of anon's face
>They see you watching them
>"Yah think you could.....ya know.....carry 'im?"
>AJ appears to be the only one willing to ask
>You slowly walk over to the group and focus on anon
>As softly as you can, you wrap your magic around him and begin to levitate
>Normally magic is easy to use on living things for transportation, magic flows along the contours of living beings
>A small pocket of air always exists between any living creature and a unicorn's magic, ensuring that the magic does not accidentally crush or mutilate anything the unicorn may be carrying
>This is not the case with inanimate objects and...
>You don't really want to describe him that way
>The word just doesn't feel like it wants to be associated with the human
>Corpse

>It feels like a dirty word
>Body?
>Better, but it's still hard to say, even to yourself
>The climb down was not enjoyable
>Complete silence, not a single word from any of your friends
>Fluttershy was riding on Dash's back
>She didn't want to get up when you decided to begin the walk home
>Rarity and Pinkie were walking a few feet ahead of you, side by side anon's lifeless form
>AJ was the only one you felt was walking with you
>She wasn't much for conversation either, opting instead to lazily stare ahead as she walked
>As you exited the forest, you find yourself standing on the edge of a large valley
Girls wait
>You think a rest would do all of you some good
Lets take a break and eat, none of us has eaten since we left the castle yesterday
>Nobody objects as you lay anon on a patch of grass and open your saddlebags
>They all follow your example, each taking a place near anon before digging in their packs for food
>Dash coaxes fluttershy to take a bite out of her apple by singing a song from their time in flight school
>Rarity and AJ slowly eat their food as well, Dandelion salad and apples, respectively
>Pinkie takes two cupcakes out of her bag, she holds one out to anon
>After a few seconds, she seems to snap back and slowly retracts her hoof
>She places the cupcake in her bag and goes about eating her own

>You take the hayburger out of your bag and start munching away
>What was the deal with that gem?
>Did you really see an eye?
>Or were you just groggy and tired, too overcome by grief and fear to think entirely straight?
>It could be either one, but you should still study the gem more
>After all, magic was a pretty mysterious thing
>Soon your mind is wandering to all the possibilities it held
>Before you go to wild you catch yourself
>Magic has never been able to reverse death, not even alicorn magic
>You finish the hayburger and use a small cloth to wipe your hooves and face
>Looking around, it appears that everyone else is finished with their meals as well
>Learning from your mistakes, you don't say anything as you levitate anon
>Everypony takes up your step and you begin moving towards town
>You reach the edge of town quickly
>suddenly a thought enters your head
>"We're about to walk through town square with anon's body, flanked by the former elements of harmony looking deafeated and out of it"
>You try to find a reason to care, you really do
>But none comes
>These ponies are the reason anon is dead, not you
>They're the ones who betrayed your trust and lied to your face when you asked for honesty
>Your friends should be mad at THEM, not at you!
>Shouldn't they?

>Your pathetic funeral procession enters town from the southern border
>A few ponies see you and stare, a mother scoots her foal behind her to block the its view of the march
>Nobody follows you this time
>As you enter the marketplace, your presence is met mostly with curiosity
>Some ponies aproach you, but when they realize what you are carrying, they stop
>None of them speak to you, they either just go about their business, trying to ignore what is happening behind them, or stare
>Eventually you reach the front of the crystal castle
>Rarity opens the door
>All of you procede to enter the castle before rarity slams the door behind you
>You expect another outburst from her, but she just continues walking
>As do you
>The six of you enter the main throne room, with six large thrones in a circle, each bearing the cutie mark of the owner of the trone.
>You make your way to the center of the room and lay anon on the center of the floor
>Using your magic, you raise the section of the floor
>Usually, this would act as a table for documents, food, or anything else you desired to place on it
>But now its purpose is to give anon's body a respectful place to lie
>"What are we supposed to do now?"
>Dash's voice breaks your reverie
I don't know....I guess we plan a funeral and put him to rest...
>Fluttershy speaks up
>"We can't put him in the ground, what if he wakes up?! He'll be so scared and alone..."
>He was scared and alone when he died, waking up to the same wouldn't be a shock
I don't think theres any way he'll be waking up Fluttershy, besides he would have wanted to be-
>Rarity interrupts you
>"How do YOU know what he would have wanted?"
>She has a point, you really have no idea how anon felt about this kind of thing.
>Funerals and death were topics you tended to steer away from if possible.

>You stop to consider your next move
>Asking if he had talked about this to any of them might be helpful
Did anon ever talk to any of you about this?
>AJ raises her hoof
>"We were lyin' in the orchard during lunch one day and we started talkin' about how life and death worked in equestria"
>Ponies age differently from other species, often living thousands of years
>It was always thought to just be magic, but with the recent studies of friendship, it seems like ponies with more friends live a lot longer
>The mechanics aren't exactly well researched or known, but funerals in equestria were not common, often dozens of years pass without a single death
>"Ah explained it as best ah' could, but i'm pretty sure ah' just confused him"
>AJ continues, waving her hoof in the air
>"When ah asked him about how it worked in his world, he explained that death is really common, and there were many different ways for humans to dispose of bodies"
Did he mention anything about what method he preferred?
>"I wouldn't say he preferrs any, but he said he always thought something called a "Funeral Pyre" would be a 'Badass way tah go'"
>Funeral pyre?
>Must have something to do with fire
>Cremation was a thing in equestria, but it was mostly used for pets and other small animals
Did he mention how it was done? What was needed?
>"Well mostly he just described what he saw in movies and stuff, but he was pretty sure it took 'at least a half of a fuck-tonne' of wood"
>Lots and lots of wood, we could do that
>We could totally do that

Roughly two days later
>The funeral pyre was complete
>A long day of tree cutting and another of placing the wood in a suitable way
>And about 6 hours of trying to think of where you were supposed to put your friend in the pile so he would burn most efficiently
>Aside from AJ and Fluttershy, the girls weren't talking to you
>Fluttershy surprised you by showing up to the castle the day after you returned
>She mostly just wanted to see anon, but she chatted with you while she was there
>"It isn't that we completely blame you, its just that...."
>She pauses, looking for the nicest way to say it
>"We just don't understand why you had to be such a massive bitch to anon in the first place, twilight...."
>Anon had lived with fluttershy for almost the entire first year of his time in equestria, his vulgarities rubbed of on fluttershy quite thouroghly
>Much to your dismay
>The way she put it made it seem like a petty school-yard drama, but you knew there were deeper implications to what she said
I know, and i can't really explain it either...
>You exhale deeply
When he came here and told me how he felt I just felt like.....well like he was using me...
>Fluttershy looks confused, she shuffles herself to make her current spot more comfortable
>She was lying on the table with anon
>"Oh why would you think that, twi?"
>You weren't sure how to answer this
>But it comes to you eventually
Nobody had ever said anything like that to me before. Ever.
>With a stronger resolve, you continue
The only people who had ever shown me compassion and love like that were my family and you guys, anon had been friendly but he was never like that.

>"Thats probably because he's an entirely different species with a completely different way of doing things"
>Well when you put it that way it makes you sound stupid
Yeah but how was i suppo-
>"Because you've been telling everyone you're studying him to find out what hes like, faggot"
>She looks angry, something you haven't seen often
>The casual vulgarity was not helping ease the tension
>But she has a point, you have quite literally no recourse
>This was all your fault
This is all my fault...
>"Thank you for admitting that"
>She stands up and walks over to you
>"But it isn't ALL your fault"
>Your moment of clarity is dashed with confusion once again
>"None of us want to blame you for this, we still love you and care about you..."
>She's going somewhere with this
>"And we know that our friendship is important, maybe the most important one in all of equestria"
>She is circling you now, with a soft but firm tone to her voice
>"We're going to need that friendship for the future. For our sakes, and the sakes of everyone in equestria!"
>You smile and move towards Fluttershy to embrace her in a hug, a gesture she reciprocates
>"After all, its going to take a lot of magic to bring anon back, isn't it?"

>Did she just say what you think she said?
>She couldn't honestly think...
Fluttershy, you can't honestly think we can do tha-
>She shoves her hoof in your mouth
>"We're going to try because thats what friends do, twiligt!"
>You can't think of what to say
>What she's suggesting is insane
>Its insane and stupid and pointless
>Nothing you do is going to change that anon died because of YOU
>Nothing is going to bring anon back the anon you care about
>The anon that cared about you
>The anon that loved you
>But Fluttershy has a point, friends wouldn't stop until they exhausted every possible path
You're right, you're right....
>She smiles wide and grabs anon's hand with her hoof
>"You hear that nonny? We're going to bring you back!"
>The way she interacts with him as if he was still alive unsettles you ever so slightly
Well where do YOU think we should start?
>"With the power of motherfucking friendship, cunt!"

The day of the funeral
>All of you had decided that the funeral pyre should still go ahead as planned
>Even if you had found a way to resurrect anon's body, the damage to his body would have made his life suffering
>A large crowd has gathered behind the castle to view the ceremony
>The weather crew had been instructed to have the wind blow to the north, sparing ponyville from a dusting of ash and smoke
>Eulogies were prepared and ponies were signed up to speak, all that left to do was...
>Actually start the fire
>Nobody wanted to do it
>Ponies stood around for almost 45 minutes while arguments about who would light the fire raged on
>Like the fire should be
>Suddenly a loud crack overhead shuts everyone up
>Derpy is bouncing on a thundercloud above the pyre, sending streaks of thunder through the sky
Oh well i can't see THIS ending badly at all...
>A final clap of thunder rings out, and a fire sparks at the peak of the pyre
Thanks derpy!
>"Huuuuuuuh? For what?"
>She is leaning over the cloud looking down at you
For uh....lighting our campfire!
>"Oh, can i stay and roast marshmallows with you guys?"
It isn't that kind of campfire derpy, maybe next time though!
>She frowns
>"Okay then, have fun"
>She climbs into the cloud and quickly scoots away
>You're almost positive nobody here was going to be having a good time

>Pinkie had taken care of most of the arrangements
>This may not be a party, but she had made it clear that she wanted to do this
>For anon
>The decorations were spectacular, nothing was overlooked
>Rarity had made most of them, as well as the cloth "coffin" that had been placed around anon to "Spare the ponies the dreadfullness of seeing him like this"
>But you knew she was lying
>She thought he was too cold
>Fluttershy had her animals provide the music for the affair, mostly chirping birds at first, but eventually a large choir of animals had shown up and began singing a lovely melody
>AJ had, of course, provided the wood and oversaw the contstruction of the pyre
>It was massive, bound with thick rope to prevent any mishaps with loose logs and branches
>Dash made sure there wasn't a cloud in the sky, as well as maintaining a focused breeze that kept the pyre well-fed and the fire strong
>You could tell she didn't want to be feeding the fire that consumed the body of her friend, but she kept her commitment
>Before long the fire had made its way down the logs, burning down to the very base, where large rocks had been placed to prevent the fire from spreading
>Nobody could smell a thing, dash was doing a valiant job
>The time came for ponies to speak on anon's behalf, the first one on the list was pinkie
>Her name was somehow on the form before you finished it
Dear friends of Anonymous, today we are gathered here to usher our friend out of this world and into the next.
>This was the first time you had said his name in its entirety in months, he always hated being called by his full name
Our first speaker is Pinkie Pie, please show her the same courtesy you have shown me and remain quiet as she speaks
>Pinkie walks up the stairs to the stage
>As you turn to give her the pedestal, you notice something unnerving
>Her normally fluffy and pronounced mane was replaced with darker, straighter one

Are you okay pinkie? Can you still do this?
>"Of course twilight, i've been up all night preparing for this!"
>After clearing her throat, pinkie begins:
When anon first arrived in equestria, fluttershy was the only pony he ever talked to or spent time with.
When I heard he liked partying I made it my mission to introduce him to the world in the best possible way, with constant parties!
>her mane looks like it's bubbling when she finishes that line
It took forever for me to get him to actually come to a party and when he did it took even longer for me to get him to talk to ponies!
I mean whats the point of a party if you don't make friends, right? Anyways, after I got to know anon I saw a lot more in him.
He was the gentlest, most cuddly guy I ever met, he loved making other people happy and always put other's needs before his own.
When he started helping me set up the parties I always wanted to do but never had the help to make happen, I was so happy I almost exploded!
>You're pretty sure hair isn't supposed to bubble like that
We spent days hanging out and planning parties and nights watching silly movies on his "sellfone", life was like one big party!
>You can hear a break in her voice at the end, followed by a couple quiet sniffles
>You're about to step up and see if shes okay when she continues
I usually don't talk this much outside of singing and when I'm really excited but I needed ponies to hear about anon the way I saw him, so they could see what an amazing person he was.
And most of all, I wanted people to hear in my own voice, how much i really loved anon.
>As her speech ends her mane explodes
>Her main is larger and more pronounced than you have ever seen it before, it almost towers above her as she stands on the stage, holding back tears
>As she walks off the stage you see her stop and hold a hoof out to the burning fire a ways behind the stage
>You can just barely make out what she says over the cracking of the flame
>"You make me smile..."

>Ponies lightly stamp their hooves
>You can hear a few sniffles from the croud before you take the stage to anounce the next speaker
Thank you for those beautiful words Pinkie...
>You don't really know how to continue from here
>"Hey thanks for speaking up, but we have like 3 of these to get through so shove off"
Our next speaker is futtershy-
>"And rarity!"
>Fluttershy quickly hops above the croud and repeats herself
>"Rarity will be joining me"
>Rarity was due to speak after Fluttershy, but a quick scratch from your quill amends the list and makes everything all neat and tidy again
>As they both climb the stage you take a glance at the pair, getting your first good look at the two of them since yesterday's preparations
>They were both wearing what appear to be matching outfits
>A small, dark cloth covering the front of their torso as well as part of their thighs
>The first thing that strikes you as odd is the bagginess of the clothes
>Rarity wasn't fond of wearing anything not in her size, but she didn't seem bothered at all by the large amount of cloth swinging freely below her
>Something about those clothes strikes you as familiar
>You've only seen that type of clothing on one pony
>Rather, one person
>They were wearing a pair of anon's old T-shirts

>As you finish piecing together that mystery, you hear fluttershy start
He-hello? Can everypony hear me alright?
>She adjusts her position to give rarity enough room to stand beside her
Okay, I guess I'll just start then...
Two years ago I was doing my rounds before settling down for the night, everything was all normal until I got to the valley...
That was the first time I saw anon, I thought he was some kind of small bear, one with a lot less fur.
When he saw me and started talking, I was really quite surprised, I had never seen an animal like him before, and here he was speaking our language!
I took him back to my cottage and tried to talk to him, figure out where he came from, but he just kept losing focus and staring at me blankly with the blankest look I had ever seen on anyone.
I was pretty worried, so I asked him to stay still and be a good boy while I went to look for someone to help me learn more about him
The first pony I saw was rarity, she was carrying a bunch of cloth and other fashion supplies, but when I explained what was going on, she dropped everything and came home with me...
>Rarity interjects here
When dear Fluttershy here told me she had found a strange creature wandering around in one of her fields I was worried, I thought she had let something dangerous into her home!
But when we got back to the cottage, anon wasn't where he was sitting when fluttershy left. Fluttershy was worried about his safety, while I on the other hand was worried he might be trying to hurt her.
That didn't really last long though, we heard the loudest snoring we had ever heard coming from behind fluttershy's bed
Aparently anon had gotten tired and just lied down on the ground to take a nap! He looked much smaller than she described lying there on the ground, and his clothing was so interesting!
I wanted to wake him up and start asking him all about who he was and where he came from, but fluttershy.....convinced me to let him sleep...

>She looks slightly embarrased as fluttershy once again takes the microphone
What we're trying to say is that while everypony in town has seen anon up and about enough to know of him and what he looks like, only a few of us have seen him like that.
He wasn't just a big scary alien to us, he was a sweet cuddle monster that gave the warmest hugs and the softest pats and rubs.
He lived with me for over a year, and during that time we got to know eachother so well that we started finishing eachothers sentences, he even started picking up on what the animals were saying
But he was always talking about how much he wanted to get his own place, how much he wishes he could make up for the burden he had placed on me.
No matter what I said to make him feel better he would always just say "shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhut up and let me do this, 'shy"
It sounds mean when I just say it, but he always said it with such a sweet tone...
When he left with his things, I cried nearly the whole day. Even when he came back to help me feed the animals, I kept crying.
He even let me come with him to see his new home, but I was still crying. It wasn't that far from my cottage, but I still felt like I was losing him!
When I say this stuff out loud I feel like I was acting like a baby, but even if I was anon didn't care, he just wiped the tears away and told me to smile for him.
>She wipes away a tear
But now that hes gone, I just keep crying like when he left me that day...but this time he isn't comming back to help me feed my animals, or cheer me up, or fix my leaky roof.
Sometimes, right before I fall asleep, I still hear his voice saying "Cmon shy, lets show some teeth".
When I dream its just me and him, sitting on the bridge by my cottage keeping each other company.
I'm not sure if I'll ever get to feel him again, but I still hear him, I still see him...
Every time I close my eyes he's still there...
>she lowers herself from the microphone and rarity follows her off stage

>Everypony in the crowd is completely silent
>It's really starting to unnerve you
Thank you for speaking Fluttershy and Rarity, that was beautiful
>You stand in place for a few moments
>The pyre has caught your eyes, small multi-colored flames are shooting out of gaps about 5 feet off of the ground
>You're not positive, but that must be where anon is
>The flames are becoming longer, more pointed and shapely
>Pressure must be building in the small chamber that was constructed to house the body
>You feel a slight shift in the breeze lazily surrounding you
>Looking up you see two pegasi take the Dash's previous position
>You see her move to the side of the funeral pyre, the smoke rising from which had become a dark shade of green
>Probably something pinkie and rarity cooked up for what dash was about to do
>Moving faster than you thought even she could move, dash begins circling the smoke plume, creating  a tight pillar of smoke
>As the smoke rises, the smoke slows down and begins to settle among the few clouds in the area lying outside the ceremony
>Without slowing down, Dash begins her circling once again, but this time shifting the smoke's position
>The area around her work-space becomes filled with smoke, visibility from the ground becomes almost zero
>You, and everyone around you, waits for dash to emerge
>Suddenly, a deafening boom
>The smoke clears as a circle of emerald green epands from around the blue pegasi
>As the ring expands, a large green question mark can be seen expanding along with the ring
>Dash turns around and hovers, viewing her handiwork
>In this rare moment of stillness, you see how she managed to pull off a sonic anon-boom
>Her multichromatic mane and tail have been tied back and secured with a tough-looking blue fabric
>All except for the green

>She lands on the stage, attempting to control her labored breathing before speaking
>Her breathing steadies, and she begins to speak
The first few weeks I knew anon, I hated him.
>That was a different way to start, you guess
Heck, the first couple months of knowing him I could barely stand him! He was loud, obnoxious, and honestly, I thought he might be trying to eat my friends.
Every time I brought it up to 'Shy would just tell me "He's a giant teddy bear, just relax with him!" or "You two are so alike, just calm down and have a friendly little chat."
I'm not really all that proud to admit it, but I never intended to try with him, after all he was a giant monkey leeching off of my friend's kindness.
>She kicks her front right hoof out and drags it back a few times, her head lowered
Then that freak storm hit, three days of every kind of weather imaginable. The darn weather team that year was filled with a bunch of fillies and colts, I tell ya...
There used to be a rumor going around that I was afraid of lightning and thunder, but I want to take time out for a second here to clarify something:
ALL PEGASI ARE AFRAID OF THUNDER AND LIGHTING
>That indignant tone brought a smile to your face, sounded like the old dash
Thunder is just the SOUND that lightning makes, and LIGHTING is scary as heck to any species, but pegasi get the short end of the stick here.
We spend almost our entire lives in the air, in the clouds, and generally around places you don't want to be when lightning happens.
Because of that tiny little detail, we're taught from the time we're foals to the time we leave home for good to fear lightning
And just let me clarify, controlled lighting isn't what scares us, it's out of control lightning
Anyways, I'm getting off topic here.

So there we were, anon fluttershy and I, crammed in a tiny little cabin with one tiny bed and an even smaller couch
Fluttershy insisted we all sleep together, in a pile like rabbits or something...
I of course, opted out and took the couch. Smart move, looking back on it.
I tried to sleep for what seems like hours, but I was too uncomfortable, I hadn't flown for hours and my wings were getting restless
Eventually, anon came out of 'Shy's room and saw me lying on the floor, trying to stretch my wings without breaking anything on the walls
He just kinda stood there staring for a few seconds, then he took a sip of his drink and asked me "What in the hell are you even trying to do here?"
First I explained about my wings, then told him it was none of his business anyway and he should butt out
And then, without skipping a beat he just says "Speaking of butts, get yours off the floor"
I didn't really know how to reply so I just said something the along the lines of "N-no you"
>She buries her face in her hooves and laughs at herself
So stupid.....
Anyways, before I could say anything else, he lifted me up and plopped me down on the couch
By this point I was too confused to do anything, by the time he had sat down and pulled me over his lap all I could spit out was "Wh-what do you think you're doing, monkey?"
He just laughed and said he was "Taking care of business"
Then he took what I know now was his phone and started playing the most idiotic song I have ever heard
Without skipping a beat, he grabbed one of my wings and started rubbing it
At first I was going to try and buck him in the head and run away, but his hands...
Well I can't really describe it, but they felt way better than teeth and lips on my wings
He started getting really into it too, must have been practicing with 'shy
Aparently she didn't tell him about that our wings were sensitive in a different way because he was really surprised when I started moaning

>Dash laughs nervously before continuing
By the time I was finished explaining it to him, I was practically begging him to finish preening my wings
The greedy doofus wanted a trade, he would finish what he started and I would spend the day with him next time we were both free
We were both free every day, so that was basically his way of saying "as soon as possible"
Long story short, anon "finished" me and I passed out right there on his lap
Fastforward a few weeks and we were on the easy track to best friends!
He loved watching my tricks and was even able to keep pace with me on the ground, making racing much more interesting
Not to mention he loved playing with manes and wings absentmindedly while sitting with somepony...
It may seem obvious, but I started liking anon a lot more than I thought I ever could
To the point where I wanted to be.....with him....
But he must not have felt the same way, he always just laughed off my advances and jokingly reciprocated them occasionally.
I was okay with it though, after all, we had all the time in the world to figure this out
>Dash's air of bravado slightly dissapates, she doesn't want to continue
But..........
>She faulters
But one day, not to long ago, we were hanging by the pond, when he asked me about twilight
>Your ears twitch at the mention of your name
I just told him to ask her about her in person, they've been friends for years after all
But then he started going further
He asked me what kind of things she liked, what she wanted in a friend.....a partner....
When I asked him why, he just flat out said it.
"I think I'm going to ask her out today!"

>She takes a deep breath before continuing
I didn't know what to say
I felt so betrayed and hurt, led on and lied to....
So I got mad
I told him he wouldn't be good enough for her anyways, that I only hung out with him out of pity anyways
I yelled about how fluttershy makes fun of him behind his back, how much pinkie hates bein around him
>This is news to you and your friends, looks of shock and confusion cover their faces
I even told him rarity made dumb clothes for him on purpose so the other ponies would make fun of him
He stood up and asked me to stop, "Please Dash, I'm sorry"
>Tears fall down her face
"Sorry for what?! Sorry for being so pathetic and wasting my time, or sorry you're hearing stuff you don't wanna hear?!"
"I don't know, both! Just please stop yelling like this dash..."
"You know what, I bet twilight would LOVE to be friends with you! You're both awkward and you could trade virginities!"
He started walking away from me with his head down...
>She's no longer facing the crowd
Then I told him.....
>She chokes up, not wanting to continue
>She clears her throat and soldiers on
Then I told him......
That I woul rather see him die than be with twilight...
The last words I spoke to him were that I wanted him to die because he didn't want to be with me...
>Her legs crumple under her
I'm supposed to be the element of Loyalty....

>Dash lies on the stage crying for a few moments before you decide to do something
>You fly up the the stage and nudge her gingerly
Dash, its okay....none of this is your fault.
>Dash looks up, tears still streaming out of her eyes
>"I KNOW none of this is my fault"
>She whispers, barely loud enough for you to hear
>Her voice was dripping in malice
>She stands up, flicks her thinned tail at your head, and flies up to her post above the crowd
>The other pegasi embrace dash before flying off
>During the time it took you to go up to the stage and for dash to fly return to her post, the DJ pony had set up her equipment
>You had helped her make her equipment compatible with anon's "sellphone"
>He had a lot of music on it, dash and the DJ had spent hours putting together a list of songs
>The music begins playing, the DJ nods her head to the beat
>After a few glances around, she stops
>Aparently she had never played a funeral before
>She looks incredibly embarrased, covering her eyes with her purple shades once again
>Dash resumes her artificial breeze, the small amount of lingering smoke that the other pegasi couldn't keep back is swept away
>The smell of rain replaces it

>The rest of the funeral goes smoothly
>Ponies wander around chatting
>Sporting events, life, the weather
>But very few even mention anon, aparently they had only shown up for the free food
>You're not the only one who noticed this, dash is glaring angrily from her position in the sky
>You're sure she would do something, but with the pyre still smoking she was too busy keeping the affair pleasant for everyone who had actually came for anon
>You decide to cut her a break
>Carefully, you sneak around the table and start charging your horn
>Winding up your back legs, you prepare to jump out and hit them with a spell that will make them pay their respects
>You jump out and release the spell, changing their coat colors to different shades of green, and covering their cutie marks with a question mark
>The looks of horror on their faces is oh so satisfying
What dedication! Thanks for showing your respects to our friend, Anonymous!
>You look up and see dash laughing, it brings a smile to your face
>She notices you looking at her and stops, but a large grin stays plastered on her face
>Her face goes blank for a few seconds, then lights up
>She waves over the two pegasi from before and flies down to you
>"Hey twilight"
If you're going to keep being passive agressive to me, at least leave me alone when I do something for you.
>She shies away from your gaze
>"No it isn that, its just that...Well how long does that spell you just casted on those ponies last?"
>You realize what she wants, you start charging the spell, careful to prevent it from pooling around your horn
It depends on how long I charge it, about an hour for each second it charges
>She puts a hoof to her chin
>You try to move things along
Its an easy spell though, I could charge it in my sleep.
>She puts her hoof on the ground
>"Could you maybe...do me a little favor?"
What might that be, Dash?
>"Iwaswonderingifyoucouldchangemycolo-"
>Before she finishes, you release the spell

>It hits her smack dab in the face
>Before she can react, a green circle passes over her body, from her nose to her tail
>As it passes her mane, the bandages fly off and her newly minted mane flowing down over her similarly colored coat
>She turns in circles, trying to get a better look at herself as she continues changing colors
>"OMIGOSHOMIGOSHOMIGOSH"
>You smile, you haven't seen her like this in a while
>When it reaches her cutie mark, something strange happens
>It begins expanding in different directions, looking as if it was being pulled
>After a few seconds, it pops and a new cutie mark takes its place
>A mint colored cloud with a tri-colored question mark shooting down out of it
>It actually looks quite similar to her old cutie mark, just much more....anonified....
>Her tail begins changing color, the bandages keeping most of it secured to her hind legs flying off like rubber bands snapping
>The transformation ends and dash struts around for a few moments before stopping
>She looks you deep in the eyes and slowly walks towards you
>Before you can react, she embraces you in a tight hug
>She begins talking quietly into your ear, on the verge of tears
>"Thank you twilight...thank you so much..."
>She releases you and backs a few steps away
>"Some element of harmony I am, huh?"
>You think on what you should say for a few seconds, before it comes to you
Being loyal doesn't mean you aren't allowed to have emotions, Dash.
>She wipes her eyes
>"What do you mean?"
Fluttershy isn't always the nicest person, pinkie cries, rarity can be self centered and selfish, AJ can bend the truth, and I mess up my magic ALL THE TIME.
That doesn't make you a bad element, it makes you a pony....

>She wipes her face with her hoof
>"Th-thanks Twilight...I really needed that..."
Don't ever thank me for something like this Dash, seeing my friends in pain is worse than going through it myself
>She lowers her head
>"I guess thats the reason you're the leader here, huh?"
>You don't like being called the leader, everyone should be equal in a friendship
>Complicating friendship is a recipe for disaster
>"Well, I have to get back to my post. Can't let anon stink the joint up you know..."
>A little innapropriate, but at least she's getting better
>You look around for your other friends
>Applejack is sitting with her family, enjoying a large meal with her closest relatives
>Budding in would be rude, you decide to look for the others
>After a short search, eventually you find fluttershy, rarity, and pinkie talking to a local furnisher
>You walk over to check in on them
>Fluttershy is talking
>"-uch is this 'commision' going to cost?"
>The furnisher thinks for a moment then responds
>"Based on the size and complexity, I would say around 500 bits"
>Rarity scoffs
>"For that price, it better be anatomically correct, too!"
>The furnisher smiles and replies
>"Why wouldn't it be?"

>You're pretty sure the furnisher was knocked unconcious by the bags of bits being thrown at her face
>You giggle and walk to the buffet to get your brunch on
>After you prepare your own meal, you grab another dish for Dash
>You fly up to the newly minted pony and hand her the food
You looked a little lonely up here all by yourself
>She smiles
>"Not really, been daydreaming a lot so I've been pretty pre-occupied"
>She smiles sheepishly
Oh yeah? Daydreaming about what?
>"Mostly about anon, but I've been thinking about the awesome one-liner I'm going to drop when we bring him back"
>It breaks your heart to hear her say that
You know dash, I'm not even sure where to begin with this...It could take a long time even IF we find a way to do it.
>She takes a bite of her hayburger
>"Yeah, I know, but its better to be safe than sorry, right?"
>You give a weak smile
Yeah, I guess...
>She quickly changes the subject
>"Hey, since we're here in private, I have something to talk to you about."
>She sounds pretty eager
Oh yeah, what is it?
>"Its just a hypothetical, hear me out to the end, please"
>This is starting to make you feel like what you're about to talk about is going to be unpleasant
Go ahead I guess, I'm listening
>dash inhales deeply
>"WHENIMEANIFWEGETANONBACKCANWEPLEASEATLEASTSHAREHIM"

>Wow
Wow....I.....just.....wow....
>You're not sure how to respond to this
>Dash looks like she might explode into tears if she doesn't get an answer soon
Dash I-
>"I'm sorry! I just.....can't stop thinking about him! Its just like shy said during her speech, I can't do anything without thinking about him and I-"
Yes.
>She stops talking
Yea I mean, it isn't like its too uncommon for stallions to take more than one mare...
>It really wasn't, mares outnumbered stallions nearly four to one and it didn't look like anything was going to change that anytime soon
And it can't much more different than being close friends like we are now, we'll just live together and spend a lot more time being around eachother
>Dash must be in shock, her mouth is just hanging open with hay fries falling out
Dash...?
>You nudge her
Dash are you oka-
>Without warning, dash hugs you with as much strength as she can muster
>You barely manage to catch your dishes before they spill onto the guests below
>"thank youthank youthank youthank you! And to think this morning I was planning to beat the shit out of you when you went to sleep tonight!"
Wait wha-
>"But that doesn't matter anymore, everything is going to be AWESOME!"
>Dash is suffocating you now
D-d-dash i cant breath
>You barely manage to choke it out
>"Oh, sorry!"
>She releases you and flies back a few feet
>You use your magic to hand her food back to her
Lets finish eating, we have a lot planning to do when we get home...
>Dash just nods and starts chowing down on her food
>You just keep flying level, unsure of what exactly you just got yourself into

>Its the day after the funeral, and you're sitting in your study staring at a gem
>You're almost into hour seven of testing
>Seven hours of throwing every type of magic you know at this gem
>Things that gems should be immune to, growth magic for example
>But also things they shouldn't be immune to, like gem locating spells
>When you casted it, not only did the gem not glow, it looked as if it was sucking in the light around it
>This had piqued your interest, after all, it was a gem....
>Right?
>That was a new idea at a time where you were desperately out of them
>If this thing wasn't a normal gem, what could it be?
>There were two things you could do in this situation
>You could perform the large battery of tests on this gem, a unique specimine that could hold the key to bringing back your lost friend
>Or you could find the barren in anon's video and get more of them
>While you consider the risks involved in such an undertaking
>The everfree was a dangerous place, so dangerous in fact, that anon had died within a week of being in it
>This doesn't sound like much, but anon was easily three times as large as most ponies, and was quite an imposing presence
>Not to mention nothing like him had ever been seen in that forest before, chances are most of the predators were avoiding him out of fear
>But you.....you were a pony
>A pony would be like a free meal to a lot of creatures in the everfree, even with magic
>But you can't just let your fear keep you from doing this
>You owed this to your friends
>To anon
>The decision is made
>You're going to find the barren
>You sit up straight and try to look brave as you begin writing a letter to Celestia to request a few tools and some supplies
>You look over to your ink before dipping your quill when something catches your eye
>The "Gem" has changed
>The word "NO" is clearly visible just under the surface

>You do a double take, but the word has gone from the gem
>The only thing visible in the gem is the light swirling of what appears to be a green mist
>That had started when you tried a spell that was supposed to inhibit invisibility hexes and charms
>At first you had been elated, an early break was such a good way to start
>But after hours of further testing, you still had nothing
>Just a pretty gem that most likely was enabling your short foray into necromancy
>You sigh and resume your letter, making sure to make clear how urgent this matter was
>You finish the letter, as you seal it with your royal seal you call for spike
Spiiiiiiiiiiiiiiike, letter!
>A few moments of silence before you recieve your reply
IF I COME UP THERE ARE YOU GOING TO MURDER ME TOO, OR DID YOU GET IT OUT OF YOUR SYSTEM WITH ANON?
>You had gotten used to spike's little...comments....
>He was obviously very upset
>You had told him you were trying to fix it, but he was a little more than skeptical
>It really hurt to see spike like this, and even more to know that you were the cause of it
>Spike enters the room and holds out his claw
>"Letter"
Spike I think we need to-
>"LETTER"
>Spike may have a reason to be upset, but that doesn't give him the right to treat you like a child
Spike, if you don't let me finish talking i swear to celestia i will tell rarity about that doll you made out of her ha-
>"Okay okay i'll listen!"
>Much better
>But also, worse
>Mostly because you had been bluffing

Alright, I need this letter sent to celestia immediatly
>spike scoffs
>"Because I can totally control how fast this teleportation thing works"
>You were running out of sighs
How about I give you a moustache as payment for your work?
>That got his attention
>"Really? Are you going to let me keep it this time?"
I let you keep the last one, you just burned it off trying to impress ponies around town with your fire breathing
>"That was a one time thing twilight, never happening again"
>You smile
Alright then, how about this letter?
>You hover the letter over to spike
>He inhales deeply and releases his fire
>A lot more than usual, most likely a show of bravado he so desperately wants everyone to know he has
>The letter fizzles away and he looks over to you, grinning
>"Now tell me THAT isn't going to get to princess Celestia in no time"
>Your smile is continues growing
Okay spike, ready for me to make you a man?
>The implications of that little comment made spike blush
>"Y-yea twilight, do it fast so I can show rarity!"
>You start charging the spell, making sure to line spike up perfectly with your horn
>Before you release the spell, you feel a heat on your tail
>You jump up and spin around, accidentally releasing the spell during the spin
>It hits the gem, knocking it off the table and making a loud clang as it hits the ground
>You extinguish your tail and the fire, eager to re-set the gem in its enclosure
>As you approach the gem you notice something strange about it, something you didn't really quite expect
>The gem had a full beard sprouting from where the spell landed

>That was going on the cover of "New and unexpected information" magazine
>The growth spell was only supposed to work on organic creatures
>You now had a whole new battery of spells you wanted to try on the gem, but none of them were safe enough to use on it
>Well, there was one you could use on it...
>"Twilight, do I have to set you on fire or are you going to give me that moustache willingly?"
>You groan and turn around, shooting the growth spell right onto spikes upper lip
>He strikes a pose and twirls his moustache
>"Why thank you, my dear, but I fear I must adjourn to maladies abode"
>He turns and starts walking away
>"Good day to you, oh purple equine with whom I reside"
>Returning to the crystal, you charge up your horn
>You're going to try a memory spell on it
>You release and await the results
>After a few seconds, you hear a slow buzzing noise and suddenly.....
>Nothing
>The gem buzzes for a few seconds, then ceases
Oh come on you stupid thing, just give me one thing!
>You reach for the gem when your vision goes black
>Shortly after that, your eyes are filled with light, warping around objects that aren't there, coming to rest at the peripherie of your vision
>This continues until the scene is complete
>The setting is familiar, the cave you found anon in
>Bittersweet memories, overshadowed by confusion
>You weren't looking through your own eyes, or even through someone elses
>You were gazing at yourself and five other ponies lying on a still human
>Along the top and bottom of your vision you see small teeth
>Zipper teeth

>You can just barely make out a few muffled words before the memory you stands up
>She aproaches the bag, nervously eying it as she approaches
>The bag opens and you are raised into the air
>The shock of this sudden movement startles you, causing you to blink
>When you open your eyes, you're back in your study, with the gem sitting in front of you in its housing
>Still wearing that ridiculous beard
>You use a hair removal spell and the beard quickly falls to the floor
>Your work temporarily done, you decide to go for a quick walk around the castle
>As you leave your study, you see a small scroll carefully sat in one of the lighting divots placed in the wall
>You quickly tear the letter open and start reading
Dear Twilight;
I hope you are doing well. I understand how you feel about this situation, and I must say, I commend you on staying strong for your friends
But I must, with a heavy heart, decline to provide you with the tools and equipment you have requested.
The supplies you have requested are simply too rare and valuable, and the bodily harm you might suffer is to much for me to condone this expedition
I understand that you miss your pet very much, and I understand how much you want him back, but it simply is not worth it.
If you ever need somebody to talk to or just want to spend time together, my schedule is always open for you, my dearest student
Best regards
Princess Celestia
>Well that letter was unhelpful and quite honestly, pretty offensive
>You had explained it to her multiple times that anon was not a pet
>HE had even explained it to her
>She just smiled and lifted him onto her soft pillowy throne and started absentmindedly petting him while she continued talking to twilight
>It was incredibly cute, but also very distracting
>Especially when she started removing his clothes
>"He must be so warm in these, why ever do you dress him up like this?"
>These memories bring warmth, something you hadn't felt since the day you left to find anon

>With the letter, the only recourse you had to actually make this expedition happen was to recruit your friends, possibly others
>Eager to get started, you decide to just use your magic to get around, speed was a huge factor in this endeavor
>But you couldn't just show up and expect them to want to risk their lives to make your work easier
>Sure, they wanted anon back, but were they even going to believe you?
>You couldn't just expect them to jump on your trump card anyways, that's just bad planning
>You had to get somepony on your side, somepony who could start the healing
>Fluttershy was an obvious choice, "I 'll do whatever I can to get anon back.....just about anything really..."
>Her exact words echoed through your mind
>Anon was rubbing off on her like well.....anon rubbing off on her....
>The other choice was rainbow dash, your future marefriend if this all worked out
>Actually, why not both?
>Two is almost always better than one anyways, no harm could come from trying to get them both on your side
>With that thought, you teleport away, to see rainbow dash
>In an instant you find yourself at the door of a rather beutiful looking cloud home
>You've been to dash's place before, but she had made some changes since you had last been here
>Mainly just maintinence, something dash was none to fond of
>The most noticable change was to her rainbow falls
>The path they follow was thickened and, no surprise, shaped into a question mark
>She had also replaced the liquid rainbow with what you can only assume is some kind of emerald mixture
>Either dash is mentally ill or she REALLY loves anon
>Possibly both
>Either way, its a win for you
>How could she turn you down when you have the best chance to bring anon back right in your hoofs

>You knock on the door a few times and wait
>No response, you knock harder
>This is getting ridiculous
>You begin pounding on her door
>5 minutes later you decide to just fly in the window
>Her house is actually in better shape than you expected, everything where it should be, decorations hanging straight
>Flowers in vases on various surfaces
>It's really starting to freak you out, especially when you see a large stack of books on her nightstand, all with place markers in them
>The only room you have left to search is her upstairs bathroom, but when you get there, it is firmly locked
>You hear sad music playing on the other side, you remember it from the funeral
>You're getting more worried, dash isn't acting like herself at all
>When you hear a loud bang on the other side of the door, all bets are off
>You use your magic to teleport beyond the door, slightly annoyed that you didn't just do that in the first place
>You were not prepared for what you are seeing in front of you
>Dash is sitting in front of her mirror, gingerly brushing and styling her mane
>She's humming along with the song, a very gentle tune
>You are one hundred percent sure she has gone completely insane
Dash? Are you.....okay?
>Startled, hops into the air and flips around
>"OH HEY TWILIGHT WHATS UP HAHA HOW ARE YOU WHY ARE YOU IN MY HOUSE HOW DID YOU GET IN"
>The entire time she's talking you can see her shoving various grooming tools into the cupboard under the sink
I was worried, your house looks a lot different than normal and I heard a crash when I came upstairs!
>"Yeah, Probably because I cleaned my house and moved a few clouds around"
>Well when she puts it like that you look like an idiot
What about....the crash?
>She facehoofs
>"Probably has something to do with the fact that styling my mane and tail is more difficult than doing a sonic rainboom, I don't know how rarity does it!"
Could be the fact that she's a unicorn, that and she's been doing it since she was able to walk

>"Yeah that might be it, I guess"
>She smiles and grabs her brush again
>She continues combing her mane, applying some kind of spray that deepens the colors
So why are you.....styling your mane, Rainbow Dash?
>Words you never thought you would utter
>These past few weeks have been full of firsts
>Some bad, some good, all memorable
>"So I look good for anon, duh"
>Guess you were right about one thing today
Thats great, i have a proposotion for you in regard to that. I need to get some samples of those crystals that we saw in the video diary and was wondering if you would-
>She cuts you off
>"Sure!"
>If only convincing everypony else to throw themselves to wolves was this easy
You know where we're going, right? How dangerous it is?
>"Of course I know, I watched the video too."
>She seemed eager t have a way to help
Well that was fast, good thing too because we need to leave with everypony else before sun-rise tomorrow
>"What are you waiting for then, lets get going!"
>She throws the brush into the sink, putting a small dent into the cloud
Alright, where do you think we should go, dash?
>"Rarities, duh! Fluttershy is over visiting so we can get her as well!"
Well then, lets be on our way!
>You charge the teleportation spell and release, you find yourself inside carousel boutique
>Loud moans can be heard coming from rarities room
>You and dash look at eachother, then back at the room
>You've never heard rarity sound like this, she must be really hurt
>You both sprint to the door and throw it open, loudly announcing your presence to everyone inside
>Looking around the room you see rarity and fluttershy on the bed, doing unspeakable things to a large, anon shaped doll

>"Oh doesn't he just look lovely in this one darling?!"
>Fluttershy's head pops off of anon's thigh, looking at whatever rarity had placed on the doll
>"Oh my yes, that looks so adorable. I don't think anon's going to want to wear that when he gets back though..."
>They are obviously ignoring you and dash, quietly giggling to eachother between their back and forth
>Fluttershy continues
>"OOOOOooooooooooOOOOOOoooOOohhh this fabric is so soft and breathable!"
>She can't keep her face straight, openly laughing now
>Rarity isn't faring much better
>"Oh my celestia YES, YES fluttershy that fabric IS just LOVELY!"
>Both of them collapse into eachother's hoofs almost in tears
>Dash speaks up
>"Hardy har har, so funny, you totally got us, congratulations!"
>The laughing continues
So wait, I don't know whats going on here, were you guys joking or did we just walk in on you having sex with a stuffed anon doll and/or eachother or was that a joke?
>Dash starts laughing as well, you are the only adult mare in the room, aparently
>Rarity struggles to speak through gasps
>"Too *Giggle* think that you thought you had *Laughter* thought you caught us being lewd with a stuffed toy!  Why the very idea is laughable!"
>Fluttershy stands and adds to it
>"Hehe yeah, you're about 20 minutes late if you wanted to see that!"

>Rarity stops laughing, her face going as red as a cherry
>Fluttershy continues her laughing, dash doubles over with laughter, green hair splayed all over the ground
>Your composure breaks, you join the laughter
>Between gasps for air you ask
How did you even manage it? A come to life spell?!
>You laugh at your own joke
>Rarity gets even more red
>"Y-yes......"
>Your laughter turns into a coughing fit
W-what?! How did you.......how is that even possible?! I can't even cast a come to life spell that lasts any more than a few minutes!
>Incredulously, you add
It DID last longer than a few minutes, right?
>Rarity claps her hoofs together and rubs them thoughfully
>"Well yes but I.....didn't exactly do it on purpose, darling...."
What do you mean, exactly?
>Eager to explain herself, she begins
>"Well the seamstress in town had finished our....order and we decided to pick it up together, after all we both put in over 250 bits."
>You remember them talking to the seamstress and throwing bits at her, but that was less than two days ago
>That mare works fast
Yeah i heard some of that.....mostly about it being anatomically correct...
>"Oh my twilight, I was joking! I honestly didn't expect it to have a......well.....a 'package' when we went to pick it up..."
>"When we got back to the boutique, we covered it in clothing as soon as we could! We didn't want it just to do....THAT....with it!"

>Fluttershy speaks up
>"Well neither of us really complained.... she probably could have removed it if we had as-"
>Rarity shushes her
>"Oh fluttershy has such an active imagination, we didn't even see it until we got home!"
Wait, I thought you didn't put clothes on it until you got home...
>"Yes well I......uh....we......ah horseapples. Fluttershy, why must you be so crass when it comes to matters such as this?"
>Fluttershy giggles
>"Not my fault you have that weird hand thing, rarity"
>Rarity tries to reach over to fluttershy, trying to get her to be quiet
>"I must insist you STOP TELLING EVERYBODY MY PERSONAL PREFER-"
>Her hoof catches on a piece of admittedly...loose clothing...and she begins to tumble in fluttershy's direction
>"EEK"
>You hear a wet slap as she lands square on the doll's groin area
Rarity....? Are you......okay?
>You hear muffled speech and rarity struggling to re-gain a hoof-hold on the soft bed
>You hear an audible pop, then yelling
>"FLUTTERSHY I AM GOING TO MAKE YOU INTO A DRESS WHEN I CATCH YOU"
>Fluttershy laughs, a few feet off the ground
>"I don't see why this is such a big deal rarity, I'm sure nopony cares about your cute little fetishes!"
>Dash is on the floor in stitches, kicking her hooves and gasping for air
>"Oh we care all right, just wait until AJ hears about thWOAH WHAT THE HAY"
>Rarity is levitating dash, with a wide bolt of fabric floating towards the green pegasus
>"Oh I'm sorry darling, I believe I misheard you, you DID say that you were too busy primping your mane and tail to hear what has been said here, right?"
>"No i said i'm sure AJ would love to-"
>The bolt of fabric stuffs dash's mouth
>"Wrong answer, darling!"

EVERYPONY STOP!
>The room goes silent, all three ponies look at you
Can we PLEASE get back to the matter at hand before killing eachother? Rarity, how. did. you. cast. that. spell?!
>Rarity drops dash on the floor with a thud
>She straightens her mane and clears her throat
>"Well as I was saying before fluttershy decided to ruin it with her vulgarity, we had just covered it in anon's old clothes"
>You give her a confused look
>"Well we wanted it to be as authentic as possible, darling! It wasn't like we were trying to pretend it was actually him or anything..."
>More throat clearing
>"After we had finished with that small detail, we got to work on using it!"
>She lights up, fluttershy can be heard sighing contently from rarity's bed
>"We used some magic to heat him up and put him on the bed, then we got put on some music and got to business!"
>You wince, she didn't seem to have any trouble talking about her exploits herself
>"I simply must say, that soulstrings really knows how to make a great cuddle monster!"
>Unexpected
>Better keep going with this
Cuddle.....monster?
>"Of course! Some of the best memories I have of anon are of cuddling with him, relaxing with him after a long day of work!"
>She smiles widely
>"I've been so busy lately that I fell asleep almost the instant my head hit his chest!"
>"I even remember the dream, it was so vivid!"
>That sounded interesting
Mind sharing, rarity?
>"Not at all! Well it began with me on anon, the actual anon, not the pillow anon. He was smiling at me and I was telling him about my day like I used to, when all of the sudden he grabbed my horn!"

>"At first I was shocked! I told him to stop and tried to get up, but it just felt so good, much better than he usually doe- I mean better than any stallion!"
>"After a few minutes, I felt the... pressure build up before I...well before that pent up magic left my horn and hit him in the chest."
>"It was mostly streamers and confetti like normal, but of course, they were different shades of green. "
>You giggle, for such a prim and proper pony she sure did have a weird way of releasing pent up magic
>Yours mostly consisted of quils and some strange oily ink, you had always assumed it depended on your hobbies
>"But then something strange happened, I blinked and anon had changed into the pillonon"
>"I thought I was still dreaming, after all he was smiling at me and running his hands through my mane, like nothing had happened"
>"I just lied down on him, letting him pet me as usual"
>"I started telling him about my day as per usual, he just continued holding me and stroking my mane"
>"Then I heard fluttershy over there gasp, when I looked back I saw her standing up, looking terrified!"
>"I smiled at her and turned back around, after all it wouldn't be time we were both sharing anon like that, in a dream or otherwise"
>"But then...she started poking at his...thingy"
>Her face goes red again
>"After that it gets a little...risque, if you will."
>"We don't need to go through that, do we?"
No, I would thank you not to do that, actually.
>"Oh good! I don't think we would have time anyways-"
>She begins walking towards the bed
>You can see her tail twitching to the side slightly, but it is quickly caught and pulled back down
>"Honestly i'm not completely convinced it was a dream, I must have finished at least five or six ti-"
OKAY I GET IT MOVING ON
>Rarity laughs at your awkwardness
>"Calm down twilight, I was just poking fun!"
>She lowers her head and says the next part under her breat
>"I'm going to have to get you to teach me that spell some day"

What was that, rarity?
>"N-NOTHING TWILIGHT"
>Was halfway up the bed when you spoke, she was now all the way on the floor
>Fluttershy and Dash laugh
>You can't help but notice dash's slightly askew tail
>She must be upset that rarity and fluttershy got to experience something like that, but not her
>Maybe you should take Raity and Flutters while leaving Dash behind to work out her "issues"
>You decide against it in the end
>After all, you weren't leaving for a few days at best, she would have plenty of time to clear her head
>But you only had a few hours to get your friends convinced to risk their lives for what amounted to research material harvesting
>Normally you would have anon do this
>A pang of....something hits you
>You can't quite place a name on it, but it isn't a happy emotion
>As quick as it came, it was gone
>What a strange feeling, you make a mental note to try and remember if this happens again
>Back on track, you decide to cut to the chase
Well before all of.....whatever THIS was....happened
>You wave your hoofs around to emphasize that you don't really care to understand what "this" is all about
Dash and I were here to ask you guys if you would mind helping us with a little project
>"What kind of project?"
>Fluttershy looks down at you
We need to find where anon got that gem, its the only lead i have right now and i-
>"YES"
>Both rarity and fluttershy beam at you as they answer

>You begin to re-consider your previous thought
>It seems like your friend's disdain for you was either less than you imagined, or the prospect of having anon back was too much to pass up
>Fluttershy gets up and excitedly flaps her wings
>She begins speaking in a sing-songy voice
>"We're getting anon back~! We're getting anon back~!"
>She excitedly claps her hooves together and tilts her head to either side as she continues
Now fluttershy, I didn't say this was a sure thing, it's just the best shot we have and we need to take it.
>She ignores you, humming her tune
>Rarity walks over to you, flipping her hair away from her face
>"Oh we know darling, we're just excited to get started, we've been waiting forever for you to come and ask us for help!"
Forever? Its been a day since we had the funeral, I thought this was a pretty quick turnaround.
>Dash scoffs
>"I'm sure you're fine taking your time, but I wouldn't want to be dead this long. I have things to do, ponies to impress!"
>Anon hadn't been a very busy person, instead opting to dedicate his time to helping twilight with her research
>And aparently, the rest of his time was spent with the friends you didn't know, or think, he had
>That weird feeling returns, but fades as quickly as it came
>Strange

>You look out the window on the far side of the room
>It was getting pretty late, the sun would be fading below the horizon within the hour
>You still had two ponies to "convice", though you would most likely barely spit out your question before they agreed to go
>Applejack would still be working, so interrupting her wasn't a great idea
>Pinkie it is then
>She should be at sugar cube corner, but if she wasn't there was no way for you to be sure of where she was
>She was a free spirit, always floating from one place to another while still somehow remaining in ponyville
>Deep in thought, you neglect to notice your friends climbing on top of the weird "pillonon"
>An exasperated sigh snaps you to the situation
>Fluttershy was lying across anon's legs. holding it's right leg in her hooves as she snuggles it
>Darity was splayed across his chest, hooves lightly curling to lie underneath the head
>Dash, looking frustrated, was hovering above the bed, trying to scope out a position she could take that wouldn't out her in contact with the other two ponies
>Strange, in the cave all six of you had managed to fit on anon, you wonder what could have changed, after all the doll was the same size as anon was
>Something falls from your face, confused, you look down to see a couple small droplets of a clear liquid on the floor
>You bring a hoof to your face
>You rub your hoof on your eye, when you pull back your fur is darkened with tears

>Confused, you bring your other hoof upwards and check the other eye
>More tears
>You didn't feel sad, in fact you felt rather excited
>So why in the heck were you crying like you just heard about the death of a loved one?
>You feel like you're missing something, something obvious and clear
>Dash interrupts
>"Listen rarity, if i wanted to be pressed up against your butt, I would have gotten you drunk first, move up"
>Vulgarity was more becomming of dash, her voice was feminine enough to let ponies know her gender, but rough enough to let her speak like a stallion would in a bar
>Rarity lets out a high pitched whine
>"But daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaashieeeeeeeeeeee"
>Her whining voice was creating tiny vibrations and air currents that cut across your skin like a thousand tiny knives
>Dash, not surprisingly, agrees that the sound she is making is unpleasant, lightly bucking rarity's backside until she has moved enough to afford dash space on the stomache of the doll
Dash we still need to-
>"shhhhhh egghead, I'm trying to relax here"
>She curls herself up into a ball and wraps her briliant green tail around her like a blanket
>You can't see her face, but you hear a few quiet sniffles and can tell she is softly rubbing her cheek against the doll
>There was no way you were going to get her to come with you when she was like this, and there was no way you would make her anyways
Fine you bunch of lazy mares, i'll be back later to let you know what you need to bring and where we're meeting
>Without waiting for a reply you know wouldn't be coming anyway, you teleport away

>After the admittedly disorienting teleportation ends, you find yourself in front of Sugarcube Corner
>The premier pastry shop in town, thanks to the pastry prowess of one pinkamena diane pie
>Better known as Pinkie pie
>Anon liked to mess up her name on purpose, calling her "Panko" or "Ponka"
>You had learned this during one of your chats with anon after you sent him to pick up a cake for spike's birthday party
>He had said a pony named "Panko pe" had paid special attention to the cake
>Thinking back you really should have seen that they were close, but you were so absorbed in your research into friendship that actual shows of friendship fell by the wayside
>You stop yourself
>Thinking about the past wasn't going to help you change the future, you shake your head and return to the task at hand
>You knock softly on the door
Pinkie? You home?
>Before you knock a third time, the door flies open, revealing a very happy pinkie
>Her smile spread from ear to ear, displaying her surprisingly white teeth to anyone who so much as glanced in her general direction
Hey pinkie, you busy? I needed to talk to you about something important.
>She starts bouncing, rising a few inches in the air each time
"Welli'mnotTHATbusybutiamplanningapartyforanonwhenhegetsbackbuticantalk!"
>You had been around pinkie enough to know to listen closely when she was this excited
>She was already planning a party?
>Well at least she isn't baking the cake or anythi-
*DING*

>"OOOOOOHTHATSTHECAKECOMEINI'LLBEBACKINASECOND"
>A pink cloud of....pinkie remains for a few seconds where she was standing
>You walk through the dust as it begins to dissipate, the smell of icing nearly choking you
>You take this chance to look around the room
>Party supplies everywhere
>Not the normal party supplies either, rhese were really top notch
>Fireworks, giant streamers, life-sized balloons, and more types of candy and treats than you could ever name
>As you expected, almost all of it was green
>You could also see a small container of fish, the only meat anon had been able to eat since he had arrived in equestria
>Well aside from that cockatriel that had broken into his home
>He had said it tasted like chicken
>You didn't really believe him, he said that about everything
>Once when you had caught him preening you, correctly using his mouth for the first time since dash had taught him to preen, he said your wing tasted liek chicken
>He said the fish tasted like chicken
>surprisingly, when you had tricked him into a hayburger he had smacked his lips together in a satisfactory manor and said
>"MMMMMmmmm, tastes like I might die....."
>You didn't know he was joking at first, you held him down with your magic and tried to....remove....the food from his belly
>Between laughing fits he had told you he was kidding, and no never try to hide hay in his food again

>"OOOOhh! Perfect!"
>Pinkie exclaims as she pulls the cake out of the oven, excitedly whistling as she sat it on the counter
>She pulls a small container of plastic wrapping from under the counter and carefully positions it over the cake
>She drops it, landing perfectly on the cake pan
>Before you can remind her that plastic melts, notice something odd
>The small amount of steam rising from the cake had completely frozen under the wrap
>You had heard of time magic being used in creative ways, but plastic wrapping for baked goods that stopped time was not what you expected
>Pinkie continues humming as she uses her hind legs to close the oven door
>"Sooooooooo twilight, what did you want to ask?"
>You open your mouth to speak when she interrupts you
>"OOh! Are we going on a MAGICAL and DANGEROUS journey into the everfree forest to find where anon got that magic gem because you think his soul may be trapped in it and you can use it to"
>She inhales deeply
>"bring him back to life using the magic of friendship so we all stop hating you and so you can get some hot monkey di-"
Pinkie!
>She stops
>"Oh, so do you want a cake or something?"
>You let out an impatient sigh
No pinkie, you were mostly right actually
>"We you ARENT looking for the gems so we stop hating you?"

>You slam your hoof into your face
What exactly are you implying, pinkie?
>"Noooooooooooooooothing"
>As she speaks she walks over to you and places a hoof on your withers
>"Other than that you want anon to take you both back to his place and-"
What?!
>"Or maybe you would watch him and dashie while you-"
PINKIE
>"OR MAYBE WE COULD ALL MOVE INTO THE CASTLE AND BE LOV-"
>You use your magic to zip her mouth shut before she can finish
Pinkie do you want to help us or not?
>She nods enthusiastically
And are you going to NEVER speak of this to anyone ever again?
>She looks away thoughtfully, then slowly nods
>You unzip her mouth
Good, be at rarity's in an hour, make sure fluttershy, dash, and rarity aren't still sleeping on that ridiculous doll by the time i-
>"OH MY GOSH ITS ALREADY DONE WHERES MY COAT?!"
>She runs to the door and grabs a mass of pink that looks suspiciously similar to her own fur
>She throws it on and sprints out the door, leaving you in the middle of a party trapped in time

>After you had left Sugarcube corner the sun was obscured by the trees of the forest, meaning applejack was free to chat
>You had teleported to her home, catching her just as she was about to go inside
>She noticed you and turned around, waiting just outside
>You trotted over quickly
>Before you could open your mouth she shushed you
>"I'll help, sugarcube"
>Before you could respond, she was already inside, the clinking of pots and pans could be heard
>With this new development, you realized you had about half an hour before you were supposed to be at rarity's giving you enough time to stop by the castle and fill spike in
>That had taken a total of 5 minutes, it would have actually taken less time if spike hadn't kept getting smart with you the whole time
>With 25 minutes left to waste, you decided to sit in the park and think about nothing in particular
>You had been busy with this for a grand total of 2 minutes before a mare sat down next to you
>Her coat was a soft green, it reminded you of mint
>Similarly, her mane and tail were a slightly different shade of green with a white highlight
>Her cutie mark was a golden lyre, you vaugely recall her name was something along the lines of Heartstrings something or other
>Stealing a glance at her, you see her looking blankly off into the distance, a faint smile on her face
>"Not everyone blames you, you know"

>You turn to face her
>You obviously knew not EVERYONE blamed you...
>A few ponies had walked up to you and thanked you for "Doing Equestria a favor by killing the filthy monkey"
>But it hadn't felt good, mostly you just asked them to go away so you could go back to studying the gem
>Having someone sincerely tell you that not everyone hated you was a nice change of pace
>Before you can respond, she continues
>"Well, a lot of ponies do. Like, a lot of a lot. But not everypony who matters..."
>She kicks her hind legs, both of them are dangling down the bench's side
>The way she sits reminds you of anon
Thanks miss heartstrings, thats very kind of you to say
>"You can just call me lyra, everyone else does."
>You smile
Oh, okay lyra.
>You follow up with something before it starts bugging you
Did.....did you know anon?
>She lights up and replies
>"Oh totally, when I first saw him I thought 'Wow, whats with the cool looking monkey dude wandering around town?'"
>"A couple days after that, i saw him again at the market and decided to talk to him, but when i tried to talking to him, he ignored me."
>"I thought he might be deaf, or maybe he didn't speak our language, so I prodded him in the side with my tail to get his attention"
>"He pulled some black dangly thing out of his ears and said 'Hi tiny pony', which made me laugh."
>"We started talking and stuff, he was really interesting to talk to. Eventually I started hanging out with him and his other friends, but my job limited how much free time I had"
>"We hadn't had a real conversation for like, a month before you.....before he.....Well before he was gone..."

>You feel bad for the mare, she had a very meloncholly tone to her voice that you couldn't miss
>"But that really isn't that important, what is important is that you need to know you didn't do this alone"
>She glances at moon, it's pretty high in the sky by now
>"Thats all i wanted to say, i have to get home before my roommate worries...Bye twilight"
>As she gets up and starts walking away, you speak up
Wait, stop!
>She stops walking turns her head to face you
Thank you...
>She just smiles and nods, resuming her previous walk
>You just stare down at the bench and lose yourself in thought
>You had been sitting on the bench for about 40 minutes before you realized you needed to be somewhere
>You jump up and frantically teleport, apearing about 6 feet up in the air outside the boutique
>Good thing you have wings, that would have been a nasty fall
>Gently flapping your wings, you magically open the door and step inside
>The lights are off and you don't hear any movement inside
>You quietly make your way to rarity's room, using your magic to spread soft light around you
>You open the door and see a large object on rarity's bed
>As you approach, you can make out the sleeping forms of your friends, all spread on the pillonon like they had in the cave
>A spot on the right arm was vacant
>You don't want to wake them, so you quietly glide over and take your place on the pillow
>You can tell them your plans tomorrow
>Right now the only thing you needed to do was be with your friends

>18 hours and thirdy minutes of bickering later, you were in the everfree
>You had decided to try and follow the same path anon did
>This had turned out to be a less-than-great idea
>It was easy enough to follow in the footsteps of the first one
>You had vividly remembered where you had left anon, a small clearing right beside te entrance of the everfree
>Starting from there, you were able to find the large tree-branch that the manticore had attacked anon with, and eventually the rotten log he had fallen through
>You can still see the signs of a struggle along one side, where anon had struggled to climb
Well where do we go from here?
>Dash sighs
>"I dunno, check the video?"
>You roll your eyes and carefully levitate the 'cellphone' from your saddlebags
>You hold it in front of dash
>"What? What do you want me to-oooooooooooooohhh"
>She had said you weren't supposed to touch it, and magic didn't seem to be able to activate it
>So your only alternative was to hold it out for her
>She squints her eyes and pulls up the picture
>Faster than you expected, you hear the video starting
>She presses her hoof to the screen again, dragging a small white line to the end of the phone
>Right before the video ends, you notice something you hadn't notices before
>Anon had started walking West, past a large boulder with a distinct square shape
>Dash closes the video and you place the cellphone in your saddlebag
>You begin walking in the same direction anon had, hoping desperately that your plan would work

>A short while later, while walking to your next destination, your friends begin chatting
>Pinkie pie is currently describing the party she is going throw for anon when he gets back
>"Oh its going to be the bestest party ever! We're going to have dancing and games and SO MUCH CAKE!"
>You smile and turn to her
That sounds great Pinkie, but maybe we should wait a while to throw him a party...
>her eyes go wide
>"Yeah, you're probably right. I'm sure being brought back from the dead is going to be EX-HAUST-ING!"
>She begins bouncing as she walks
>While this goes on, Rarity and AJ are discussing their various business endeavors
>"I've been getting so many dress orders the past few days that I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to keep up!"
>AJ nods and replies
>"Apple buckin's been harder than usual lately, the cart we been usin' to haul the apples back to the barn lost a wheel the other day and we haven't been able to get it fixed without anon's help"
>As she finishes her sentence, her head lowers noticably
>Rarity's follows
>You can't let their morale get low, you have to do something
Girls, we're going to get him back, you don't have to worry about that.
>You stop and turn around to face them
But you need to be strong for him, for all of us. If we can't work together and finish this search, its going to take a lot longer to get him back.
>They raise their faces to meet yours, solemn faces turning to ones of determination
>You may not be the most easy to get along with, but you were a heck of a motivational speaker
>As you turn back around, triumphant in calming your friends
>You come into a clearing, small bits of plastic can be seen along the ground

>This must be the clearing in the second video, it has to be
>You turn to fluttershy
Fluttershy, can you tell if those small creatures are still around? We need to ask them what direction anon went in.
>She slowly walks over to you, head down
>"I mean....I guess I could....did you bring any snacks?"
Yes I think I did, one second, please.
>You turn and shuffle through your saddlebags
>After a moment you find it, a small bag of berries, brought for this exact purpose
>You use your mouth to give it to shy, your lips meet lightly as you exchange the bag
>She turns away and places the bag on the ground, knocking it over and spreading berries on the same small flat rock that anon used
>She steps back to join you
>At first, nothing happens
>But then, you see movement
>The small creatures approach you more readily than they had anon, they must be used to ponies
>"Hey there little things, would you mind if we asked a few questions?"
>The creatures continue walking forward slowly, making small squeking sounds as they do so
>"Oh my no, we just need to ask about our friend who came through here before"
>The squeking continues, more fast paced and exitable
>"Yes! He looked a lot like you guys, but bigger and no hair on his body. He liked to wear clothes too!"
>Jumping up and down, the creature turns around and waves something forward
>Two creatures walk forward, a folded piece of cloth being held above their heads

>"What's that little babies? It it.....one of his shirts?"
>Her voice breaks at the end of her sentence
>The creatures reply
>"No its fine, i'm sure he wouldn't have minded at all that you borrowed a shirt...he has so many...."
>She looks at the ground
>"Do you think you could tell us what direction he went in, maybe?"
>A couple of the creatures approach fluttershy and climb her legs, she notices, but doesnt seem to mind
>Excitable squeeks fill the air, then silence
>She lowers herself and lies on the ground, the lead creature walks forward and hugs her snout
What did it say, 'shy? Do they know which way he went?
>She turns to face you, quiet tears streaming down her face
>She tries to speak, but can't
>The creatures begin stroking her mane and coat, calming her down enough for her to gasp out small fragments
>"They said they saw him go into...."
>Between words and choked back sobs, she forced the words out
>"They stopped following him when he went into...."
>She doesn't seem to want to finish the sentence
>You approach her and nuzzle her slightly
Its okay fluttershy, nothing can hurt him now, we can only help him...
>She looks up at you and nods, tears falling into the grass below
>"They said they saw him go into..."
>She wipes her nose with her hoof
>"I can't really pronounce it, but they explained it to me a little bit"
>The creatures clinging to her look at you
>"The laws of life don't apply there...things happen there..."
>Excelent
>You were moving in the right direction...figuratively....
>But you still needed the literal directions

Fluttershy, do you think you can get the directions?
>She covers her head with her hoofs and places her head on the ground
>"Whats the point? They say that place is a land of death, not one of life...how can we get anon back by going to such an awful place?"
>She resumes weeping, no longer meeting your gaze
>You look around, your friends are standing, as if paralyzed, staring as their friend suffers on the ground
>None of them know what to do
>You don't know what do to
>Use your magic to reach into your saddlebags and pull out a large bundle of cloth
>Carefully, you unwrap it and lift it in betwen you and fluttershy
>The brilliant green gem shimmers in the sunlight
>You aren't sure what you're going to do, why you felt the need to do this
>But it just felt right
>You didn't know what to say to her to bring her back from the brink
>Your magic flows around the gem, a visible air pocket between it and the gem
>A tinge of green invades your magic, spreading slowly until your purple magic is interlaced with spinning green waves
>A rush of memories that aren't yours flood back to you
>Memories of Fluttershy crying
>Suddenly they stop, replaced with memories of smiles
>You know exactly what to say, but the words still won't come to you
>The memories become even more vivid
>Without realizing it you speak up, your voice not entirely your own
C'mon shy, lets show some teeth

>Fluttershy stops crying and looks into your eyes
>"Twilight....?"
>You can't respond
>"Twilight.....why are your......"
>You blink
>She stops crying and bolts up, staring at your eyes
>"Why are your eyes green, twilight?"
>She isn't crying anymore
>She's smiling
>Your magic becomes solid purple again, the green evaporating into the air with no trace
>You blink again
>Fluttershy closes the distance between you and embraces you in a hug
>You wrap the gem in it's cloth and gently place it back into your bags while the yellow pegasus embraces you
So, are you ready to get those directions?
>She gives a sniffle and turns around to speak to the creatures
>As she does so, your mind wanders to dark places
>What was that?
>What had holding the gem in your magic done to you?
>You had held it in your magic before, and nothing like that had ever happened
>It had to have been triggered by fluttershy's crying
>If anon's concience....or soul....or...whatever...was in that gem
>He would not have let fluttershy cry like that
>He would have gotten her attention
>Gave a smile
>Look into her eyes
>And say....exactly what you said

>You're snapped back to reality by AJ's hoof on your back
>"Twalight? You okay there girl?"
>You shake your head
Yeah I just......Yeah I'm fine girls
>Before you can get a chance to forget you add
So where are we headed?
>Fluttershy raises her hoof and points to a path between some trees
>Dash interrupts
>"So what are we waiting for, Lets go already!"
>You look around to thank the creatures before you leave, but you can find no sign of them
>You turn back to your friends, who are currently making their way out of the clearing
>You rush to catch up
>By the time you reach them you can hear light humming
>They're all humming a song you don't know
>It sound familiar, but you can't seem to follow the tune
>You open your mouth to ask what the song is
>You stop before you can speak
>And begin humming along with the tune, completly unaware of what it is you're humming

>After a few hours of walking, you see the trees abruptly stop
>The tell-tale sign of the barren shocks the group to reality
>Pinkie speaks up
>"Ohhh! we're here we're here we're here!"
>She bounces up and down onto the rock, sending ripples all around her
>Eager to get to work, you join her on the rock
>Your hoof feels strange on the rock, but no more so than standing on something like a hard matress or soft farmland
>You quickly make your way to a fissure, the clopping of your friends hoofs following you
>"Twilight, dear....do you think we could maybe...take a few of these gems home with us for....other things?"
>That doesn't sound like a good idea, especially if these gems are what you think they are
We'll see rarity, we need to find out what these are first.
>She nods and quiets down
>On the other side of you, you can see pinkie bounding around
>She zips over to the edge of a crevasse and exclaims
>"OoOOooOohhhh look at the little ants!"
>Before you can stop her, she jumps down
>She sniffs them before carefully placing a hoof on a pink gem
>The gem ants do what you expected to, except this time the outcome is a pink baloon, not unlike her element of harmony
>She lets out a loud "ah" and grabs the gem
>She tosses it up, landing about 10 feet away from you, and rushes off to the nerest pink mass
>She lightly places her hoof upon it
>Nothing happens
>The Gem carvers don't react

>She pokes it again
>"Awe, I only get one? Unfair, nobody told me!"
>She dejectedly returns to the group as you study the small balloon shaped gem
>Something overtakes you as you approach the gem
>Something not unlike happiness overtakes you, but it doesn't manifest as you expected
>You begin choking back soft laughter, as you get closer the the gem it gets harder and harder to do so.
>By the time you reach the gem, you're audibly laughing out loud
>As are your friends, closing in around the gem in a tight circle
>Pinkie picks up the gem, seemingly unaffected
>"Wow! This thing makes people happy?! I need to get more so i can put them all around town and~"
Pinkie, let me see that for just one second
>You shove a hoof in your mouth to stop your laughter and grab the gem with your magic
>You cast the invisibility anullment spell on the crystal, hoping for a reaction
>You get it, but not the one you had hoped
>Instead of a swirling mass of pink within the gem, something else manifasted
>Something that either completely confirmed your hypothosis, or destroyed it
>In place of what you thought was a "soul", was a rather clear arrow
>Pointing directly at pinkie

>You moved the gem around in the air, rotating it on its side
>No matter what direction you moved it, the arrow remained firmly pointed at pinkie
>It didn't seem as if it was moving to keep pace with your movements either
>It looked as if you were moving around a tiny window into another place, nothing you do capable of changing what you see inside
>You carefully place the gem into your saddlebags, next to the green gem that currently resides there
>Your friends watch as you move towards the edge of the crevasse
>You pull a cloth out of your bag and place it flat on the rock, turning to the crevasse you see a divot filled with brilliantly colored gems
>As gently as you can manage, you lift five of them up to the cloth, placing them evenly across its surface
>You cast the anullment spell on each gem, careful not to look at them before each one is done
>Three of the gems have spinning mist in them, not unline anon
>The other two showed arrows
>You place those two back in the divot, storing the misty gems in your empty saddlebag shortly afterwards
>You look at the divot again, there are easily 75 gems inside
>You shift the gems on the top around, grabbing as many as you can from the bottom
>After placing them on the cloth and anulling their illusory magic, all ten share the misty swirl
>These gems must be thousands of years old, there isn't even a mention of this kind of magic in any of your books
>You place a small magical anchor in a small crevasse, ensuring you could teleport back if you needed more samples
>As you pack your bags and return to your friends you can't shake the uneasy feeling that this entire trip was too easy
>You hadn't even been so much as bitten by a bug

>Its been three weeks now
>Three entire weeks and you still had no idea how you were going to tell your friends there was no way to do this
>You had tried everything from focusing a 'come to life' spell through the samples to using your 'Transmogrifying' spell on them
>Everything in between had been just testing to test, but it still had to be done
THREE WEEKS!
>You yell in frustration, frightening spike
>Spike had taken to sleeping in your study after you had begun spending almost all of your time in it
>You had visited your friends a few times to let them know how the study was going, but you had never mentioned how bad the research was going
>Not to say you were giving them false hope, things were going quite well since you got back
>The studies on the other gems had actually went really well, you hadn't even been able to destroy a single sample
>After acidentally blasting one with a disintigration spell, you were pleasantly surprised to see not even so much as a scorch mark on the gem's surface
>You had even tried other spells, just to see what you needed to avoid on the green gem
>Not a single one managed to so much as chip the surface
>The only spells that seemed to do anything were spells that affected living beings
>Namely, memory spells
>You had tried a few memory spells on the gems, mostly the ones that would display the memories held inside
>You had remembered what it was like living the memory of the green gem, you didn't want to accidentally do that again
>Eventually, you managed to at least find what gem correlated to what creature
>Most were of small animals, with a few wild cards thrown in
>One pony, not surprising considering how long this place had gone undocumented
>What did surprise you however, were the four griffon gems
>Their memories were distorted, unviewable most of the time
>The pony and griffon gems were set aside, if you found a way to bring anon back, you would try to use it on these too

>The other magic that seemed to have an affect was Telekinesis
>You had tried carrying it in your magic for 6 hours while you walked around town, just to see if you could replicate the green tinge that had overtaken your magic in the clearing
>All but one of the attempts you made were failures
>The only success you had was interesting
>You had been walking to the outskirts of town when you saw Dash cloud busting
>When she looked down and saw you, her concentration broke and she flew into a cloud
>He entire front half was stuck in the cloud, while her other half tried to wiggle free
>The tinge returned for a few seconds
>The only affect it had was to make you laugh as you pulled her out of the cloud
>It was confusing
>But it was a result
>And you really needed results.
>You sighed at the memory
>You were about to begin your second battery of combination spells, when you heard a rapid knock at your door
>You got up carefully, not wanting to disturb any of your materials and potentially wake up spike
>By the time you reach the door the knocking had become insessant
>"I'm coming, hold your horses!"
>You reach the door and exasperatedly throw it open
>Your friends stand outside, looking inquisitively at you before speaking
>Rarity speaks up
>"Twilight, darling, how ever have you been? The research coming along well?"
>She's smiling, they all are
>You don't have the heart to tell them you haven't found a way to bring their friend back
Well i dont really-
>Dash interrupts
>"Yeah yeah we could tell you didn't have anything before we even got here."
>How could they have known that?
How?
>"Because the instant you found something, you would have told us. That hasn't happened yet, so we're here to help!"

>You can't really argue with her logic, you were planning on doing exactly that when you were sure you had something
>You smile and step to the side, giving them room to walk past you
>Ten minutes later you are all seated on your 'thrones', ready to brainstorm
>You all stare at the folding chair sitting in between AJs throne and your own
>Anon had put it there last time you had decided to eat in the throne room, the thrones were too small for him and the way he sat hurt his knees
>You had compromised by magicing him up a large chair of his own specification to sit on
>He always liked to sit next to you during meals
>It had confused you, after all you couldn't see eachother while talking unless you sat across from eachother
>Dash's voice snaps you back to reality
>"Alright then, we're all here and we all know what we need to do, so lets get to it!"
>She seems rather chipper for someone talking about how to bring back their dead love
>You let the thought slip from your mind as the discussion begins
>Rarity starts
>"What if we use a come to life spell on it-"
Already tried that, nothing happened. My theory is that we need a body, and since anon's body isn't even remotely understood as well as a ponies, we can't just throw magic at it until we get a human body, we just don't have enough magic
>"I was getting to that, darling"
>You feel bad for interrupting, you allow her to continue
>"What if we......."
She winces
>"What if we use the doll?"
>You hadn't thought of that, but you already saw issue with it
That could work, but he wouldn't be able to move. Even if the magic we used gave him the ability to move, he wouldn't be able to speak, see, hear, or smell.
>You continue
Not to mention that if we don't keep the magic flow constant, he could become unable to move and unable to die, if we were unable to find him, he would stay like that forever

>After that little discussion, the ideas slowed down a lot
>It turned more into a discussion about anon himself, what he would want at first
>Then to just sharing memories
>You had prepared some food for everyone, it didn't seem like you were going to be going to sleep any time soon
>Applejack is sharing the story of when anon got stuck in a tree after Fluttershy and Dash tried to fly him around
>You had seen a picture of this on anon's cellphone, taken by rarity, from what you can tell
>Everybody laughs at the memory
>Pinkie starts sharing her memories as fast as they come to her
>The first party she threw for anon
>The first party she threw for anon when she found out he wasn't an evil monster
>The first time she scared him half to death by jumping out of a cake he had made
>As he pulled it out of the oven
>You giggled
Anon mentioned that, pretty sure he has an acute fear of cooking by now because of that!
>Nobody mentions the slip as pinkie continues
>The first time she slept over at his house
>The first time she slept over at his house with his knowledge
>The first time he made her act like a dog by rubbing her ears
>That time he got swarmed by pinkies during the run in with the mirror pool
>The first time she-
>The mirror pool
The mirror pool
>"The mirror pool"

>Within seconds everyone was scrambling to help gather supplies
>The gems were thrown into bags, your notes were carefully packed
>Spike had woken up, worried at the activity going on around him
>When you explained he had just scoffed and went back to sleep
>He mumbled to himself "It doesn't matter anyways....there isn't anything you can do from stoping him from aging..."
>A valid point, but if you were right, that was a small price to pay
>After all, if this worked you could just repeat the "treatment" and have him back within the hour
>You smiled to yourself, content that you had every angle on this
>You pick up your notes on gem memory, intending to put it on the shelves
>But a thought enters your mind
>From what you had gleaned, the actual memories stored within the gem stopped when anon died
>If you weren't completely wrong after all of those tests, each time you brought him back he wouldnt...
>He wouldn't remember anything from his previous life
>To him it would be like waking up for the first time every time
>Eventually he would wake up to a bunch of old mares, confused and scared
>As your friends died, one by one, anon would be scared, sad, and confused
>You couldn't do that to him, you wouldn't...
>But...
>If this works on anon....
>Why couldn't it work on ponies?

>Great, here you were on what could be a fruitless journey and you were already trying to plan on how to make your friends imortal
>Something you had been studying since you were made a princess
>Sure, ponies lived for a long time compared to humans
>But alicorns lived even longer
>No alicorn had ever died
>No alicorn had ever aged
>And your friends still didn't know
>How could you tell them now?
>"OH hey guys, sorry I killed anon, but I was just oh so busy trying to find a way to make you guys live forever!"
>You doubt they would be mad, but the topic of....why...you did that to anon could get rather...
>Unpleasant...
>Losing yourself in thought, you delve deeper
>Even if you did make ALL of your friends immortal, how could you keep that from all of equestria and still live with yourself?
>You couldn't obviously
>But that wasn't a concern now, you still didn't even know if this would even work
>You shake your head, snapping back to the chaos around you
>Except it isn't chaos
>Your friends are standing around you with a concerned look on their faces
>you don't remember lying down on the floor

>Fluttershy rushes forward
>"Twilight, are you alright?! Do you need to go to the hospital?!"
>Hospital?
What are you talking about? I thought we were going to the mirror pool!
>Your friends look at eachother, then back at you
>Fluttershy continues
>"But you fell over and started shaking! Your eyes were all white and shaky, we were all so scared for you!"
>You don't remember that happening
>But this wasn't a concern for now, you had a duty
No girls, i'm fine. We need to leave soon, the faster we get there, the faster i can get set up and maybe, just maybe, we can go to sleep with the real anon tonight...
>You feel.....sad....
>That emotion from before, the one you couldn't name then, you remembered now
>Guilt
>Hate
>Rage
>All directed at yourself
>They were all strong at the time, but for some reason you couldn't name them
>And now that you can, you can't feel them
>Dash breaks your train of thought
>"Alright, lets get moving!"

>The walk to the mirror pool was filled with excitement and cautious optimism
>Nopony was speaking, but they were all contentedly humming
>Different songs, but still humming
>By the time you got to the pool all of them were rushing to help you set up
>It only took a few minutes, but once it was set up you had to make sure nothing could go wrong
>Pinkie has been talking circles since you got there
>"ut what if he comes out a girl?! The rhyme says doubly MARED, sillys! Wouldn't that be wild?!"
>You were letting her have fun, you weren't intending to use the rhyme to do this
>The rhyme was just a simple way to activate the magic in the pool for earth ponies and pegasi, a unicorn could just shoot a small spark of magic into the pool and voila, ready to go
>You tighten the last screw and clap your hoof's together to get your friends attention
Alright girls, I need you to stand behind me for this.
>Normal magic wasn't going to be powerful enough for this, even if it was an alicorn's magic
>No, you were going to have to focus the magic of friendship through and into the pool, hopefully carrying anon through back into this world
>Your friends take their positions behind you
>Your study of friendship had allowed you to find ways to channel this magic
>A way to use it in case you needed a type of magic with more kick to it
>This would be your first time actually using it
>Without a seconds delay, you focus on the gem, a rainbow of light connecting your eyes to its surface
>It passes through the gem and hits the reflection mirror, bouncing directly into the pool

>The magic connects violently, casting the reflective water into the air
>It spreads across the surface, rainbow ripples forcing the water to lap against the edges of the water
>The rainbow light exiting the crystal stops, replaced by solid green
>You approach the edge of the pool and look down into it
>Snapshots of memories flood the pool, cycling rapidly
>The speed increases, the water now thrashing around the edges, creating a brilliant white foam
>The center of the pool begins rising slowly, water cascading down around something with no sign of slowing down
>It slowly moves to the edge of the pool, the memories becoming more and more recent
>Your smiling face, Rainbow Dash careening into anon, Fluttershy asleep across his chest
>The mirror water blocks any view from the inside of the bulge, which is now extending 4 feet from the water
>As the mass of water reaches the edge of the water, a the green stream of light coming from the crystal ends
>The mass of water starts to shrink, forcing water around your hoofs
>Everything freezes
>Looking around, you see your friends have not, they blink, confused
>A loud crack, then silence
>The water falls instantly
>Standing before you is one extremely confused human

>The explosion of movement behind you blows your hair forward
>You look back to see Rarity and AJ slowly walking forward, but nopony else
>You turn back to anon
>Rainbow Dash is flying at head level with anon, peppering his face with kisses while simultaneously saying  "I'm sorry" repeatedly
>Pinkie pie is wrapped around his neck, nuzzling his neck with a smile somehow wider than her head
>Fluttershy is clamped down around anon's waist, tears of joy streaming down her face
>Time seems to stop only for you as AJ and rarity approach
>Between dash's kissing and fluttershy's death grip on him, he manages to crouch down and give the two ponies ears a rub
>He opens his mouth as if to speak, but you can't hear him
>Did something go wrong?
>Did you break anon?
>But then you realize you can't hear your friends either
>None of them are looking at you, but anon is
>He looks concerned, but you don't know why
>He keeps talking but you can't hear him
>Just the loudest ringing

>The world fades around him as your vision falters
>He is somehow now standing on a wall, the same wall you seem to be leaning against
>The cave starts shaking, but nopony else seems to notice
>You can't help but think
>In the past two months you have managed to kill your friend, get a marefriend, and discover immortality
>Comforting thoughts as you begin to drift into the darkness
>But the shaking stops
>You can see anon crouching over you
>You notice he's naked, you giggle to yourself at the situation
>You came to bring him back, but you hadn't thought to bring clothes
>And now here he was, crouching over you, worried about you, even after he knows you killed him
>What kind of person does that? Who can just go from, in their view, dying alone in a cave, to being worried about the pony that sentenced them to that death in the first place
>Anon it seems
>That is your last thought before emotions render you completely unable to think
>You know their names and feel them, the blissfull numbness leaving you
>You think you may be saying you're sorry over and over again, but you can't really tell with the ringing in your ears

>One last emotion enters your mind
>Love
>Un-ceasing and un-dismissable love
>For the weird human who was stupid enough to forgive you for giving him the gift of a slow death
>"Twilight? Twilight are you okay?"
>His voice is the first thing you hear after the ringing stops
>You regain control of your body
>Upon this realization, you thrust yourself up and lock your lips on anon
>He lets out a startled 'unf', but doesn't resist
>He slowly wraps his arms around your neck, somehow, impossibly bringing you closer
>After what seems to be an eternity, you both need to breath
>You break the kiss and look into eachothers eyes
>You feel the tears flowing from your eyes
I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!
>He raises his hand, extending a finger to shush you
>But instead, he continues raising it and places it softly on the tip of your snout
>"Boop"