You desperately scramble back from the animal, hopefully before it charges you out of fear. In your fear and haste, you smack against an enormous window. Out of room to crawl, you stand, towering over the diminutive unicorn.
“Where the fuck am I!” You scream more to yourself than the animal. You look around in sheer terror, taking in the bright marble and bookcases around you.

The animal is so thoroughly confused by your presence it can barely speak. Usually, you would not hold this against a tiny horse, but you were pretty sure it was speaking earlier.
“Answer me!” You shout, this time directly at the tiny horse that much to your surprise, had a horn sticking out of its unnaturally large head.

”You're in... I don't know how to answer you," The mini Unicorn admits. It cocks its head. ”What did you say you were?”

“Human fucking being,” You growl.

”Fascinating! I've never seen a human fucking being!" The Unicorn shouts in a feminine, excited voice.

You're not sure if its the adrenaline running through your veins, or how terrified you are right now. But you can't help but laugh nervously at that.
“Just...” You say slowly, beginning to calm down and lowering your hands. You'd chuckle to yourself, but as you calm down the fact that you had absolutely no idea what the hell was going on became more and more clear. “Just a human being. What are you?”

The animal trots forwards slightly but stays a good few feet away from you.
”I'm a unicorn. Where did you come from?” She asks, confirming what you had already guessed.

You shake your head.
“Uh-uh. No. You first. Where am I?” You ask.

”You're safe," She replies very unhelpfully.

“That's not comforting, horse. Where the hell am I?” You ask firmly.
”Horse? I mean, if you're being general I'm a pony, but as I said I'm...”
“Answer the god damn question before I take that telescope of yours and smack it against...” You shout, reaching towards the nearby gorgeous brass telescope. Sure, you were part of the way through a panic attack, doesn't mean you can't appreciate a nice bit of brilliantly hand-crafted scientific equipment. You weren't an animal.

”No! Don't!” She shouts, raising her front right hoof towards the telescope you had just placed your hand on. "Don't scuff it!"
It seemed she had much the same priorities as you. Rather than caring about you possibly taking this and smacking her over the head with it in a blind rage, she just didn't want you damaging it.

”You're in the city of Canterlot. My student accommodations. Equestria,” She explains. That was still mostly gibberish to you.

“Okay. Fine. Right,” you say haltingly as you let go off the telescope, slumping against the giant window behind you, beginning to hyperventilate.

”Are you okay?” She asks, genuinely concerned.

“Huh? Oh, no. I'm totally having a panic attack right now. I think I might collapse in a moment,” You explain honestly.

The tiny unicorn rushes about, calling for spikes for some reason, which honestly does very little to settle you down.

Breathe. Remember to breathe. Relax.

You fall to the floor, still conscious, but your vision is narrowing into a hallway of darkness. You feel about a thousand degrees, your heart is beating like a drum. And you think you taste blood in your mouth.

As tempting as falling into the comforting blanket of unconsciousness would be, a familiar scent barely keeps you cognizant. Camomile tea. Your need for a hot drink wins against the veil of darkness, and you shakingly take the teacup you can barely see into your hands and sip. The comforting warmth and energy of a cup of tea do much to alleviate your immediate symptoms.

Of course, you are still internally screaming, but a content sigh and returning vision are good enough for now. As your vision returns to you, you notice you have been joined by another animal. Whereas the first was a small horse with a horn on its head, this one was an even smaller reptile. Similar colours, but maybe that was just your probable brain damage.

“Hey. A biped lizard. That's cool,” You say nonchalantly, still pretty sure you're hallucinating and in the throws of the mother of all panic attacks.

Then it talks.
”Lizard?” It... He, more specifically, asks. He seems offended or at least annoyed by the comparison.

The unicorn turns towards it and shoots it some kind of look you cannot work out.
”Spike here is a dragon,” She explains, slowly, as if she was talking to a child.

“A dragon? That's fantastic,” You respond, honestly just too exhausted to be sarcastic at this point.

”You are taking this pretty well, all things considered,” The unicorn says, probably lying and just trying to assure you. You shake your head with a wry smile playing on your lips.

“Oh, my heart is threatening to conk out it's beating so fast. I've just accepted I am suffering from an extremely bad mental breakdown. Thank you for the tea...” You explain, raising the cup and nodding silently as you wonder exactly what drugs you might have taken. It takes the unicorn a few moments to notice you're asking for a name.

”I'm Twilight Sparkle,” She replies, poking herself in the chest fluff with one of her front hooves.

“Of course you are. That makes sense. Clearly, my mental breakdown has a child's imagination,” You say cheerfully, even as your panic shakes grow more and more intense. She takes a bit of offence to that. Whether it's your insinuation that her 'reality' is a figment of your childlike imagination or because you're insulting her name, you don't know.

“Sorry. Bad day for me. I'm Anonymous,” You apologise, placing the empty cup of honestly pretty delicious tea down on the marble floor and pointing to yourself. She tries the name out a few times, rolling her tongue around as she tries to repeat it. It's a strange look for her. Sitting up slightly, still collapsed against the window of this place, you grab the cup of tea back up and reach out to her with it.
“Thanks for the tea.”

”That's all right. Thanks for not... Attacking me,” She says awkwardly, her ears folding back against her head. It's a cute sight, you can't but smile at it.

“So um... If this isn't my imagination...” You begin to ask.

”Which it isn't. I'm very much real.”

“Sure, let's say I agree with you there. Um... Since this is a world with dragons and unicorns that talk and shit, could you take me to the nearest wizard or planeswalker?” You ask, shrugging and just making stuff up.

”Planeswalker? Huh?" She looks quizzically at you, trying to work out what you meant. You shake your head as your grip tightens on the tiny teacup within your hands. Oh, you do not want to break her china, but...

“Just... Someone who can... I don't know man. Is there any way I can end this mental delusion? Or do I have to learn the true meaning of Christmas, or face my gravestone or something?” You ask, just throwing out whatever possible explanations you can think of for why you are talking to a small unicorn and her even smaller dragon.

”Again. I am real. Spike is real,” She stresses.

You wave a free hand, still a bit annoyed she hadn't taken the cup from you yet, though she didn't have hands or opposable thumbs to be fair.
“Whatever. Can you please answer the...”

”Are you asking if I know someone who...” She begins.

“Answer the fucking question! Fuck me! How...” You snap, having tried to stay calm in what was an exceedingly stressful and unnerving situation for you. And immediately, you realise that this unicorn had done nothing wrong to you, had only helped you and served you tea. You curse at yourself for snapping and take a deep breath. “I'm very sorry. I'm quite stressed right now.”

She flinches but nods softly.
”Okay. I can do magic. I assume this is because you want to go...”

You nod, barely keeping yourself together as a blood vessel on your temple nearly bursts.

”Right. Well... I can't do that. I don't entirely know anyone who can," She admits, trying her best to look apologetic.

You breathe carefully, trying to stay both calm and conscious. You were not mad at her, that was categorically unfair. It was just the whole situation pressing down on your skull.
“Okay. Is there anyone who might?” You ask, managing to get your fear, anger and stress under control.

Twilight, thankfully, nods.
”Princess Celestia. She's not... entirely in a great place right now. We've just had a funeral for her old butler,” She explains.

Oh great. Even in a stress-induced delusion, you have to deal with this shit.
“Right. Well, we won't be more than a few minutes will we?” You ask pointedly.

”I... suppose. I mean, it would be fascinating to talk to you about...” She says, her expression brightening at the thought of barraging you with questions.

“I'm sure it would be, little unicorn. But I would quite like to find out if I can get home. Sorry,” You apologise with a tired smile. You wouldn't probably mind answering her questions, but the thought of staying in your mental breakdown didn't exactly appeal to you.

”I understand. Spike, should we send a letter ahead?” She asks. turning to the dragon that is both tiny and wingless, making you wonder why it's called a dragon.

He shrugs. The blood vessel on your temple tenses, and you nearly snap.
Deep breathe. Relax.

“I don't mean to be rude, I am honestly sorry for constantly being curt, but you have to understand my situation. I am incredibly scared, and I'd like to go home,” You explain, putting on your best posh voice.

Twilight sends you a weird look. Not one as if she had been insulted, or even one sympathetic to your plight as you nearly drop the teacup in your bone-white hands.

No. It's one of recognition. For only the briefest moments, before she seems to shake her head clear.

”Are you able to walk?” She asks as she pokes you with her hoof, and you shoot her a wry look before trying to stand. Shakingly, you get to your feet.

“Oh thank god. I was worried I wouldn't get up," You exclaim, still mostly leaning on the glass behind you. You ignore the brief glance she shoots to your now head height crotch. “Please. Lead the way.”

Nodding, she begins to walk away, and you glance down at your shaking feet, stumbling as you move forward. You grip and support yourself against every piece of furniture between you and the stairs, then haltingly make your way down them, gripping the bannister for dear life. But every step you take strengthens you, and you manage to cross the ground floor mostly without aid, stopping just before the door.

“Is it safe for me to be out there?” You finally think to ask as you turn to the little unicorn.

”Maybe you're right. We'll throw this over you.” She replies. Her horn glowed, and to your shock a blanket on one of the coaches was covered in a halo of light, picked up and held in mid-air. You flinch from the strange touch of what you guess is telekinesis as the blanket covers you. For a moment you are struck, but nod and throw the blanket over your head and tightly grip it against yourself. ”Come on, let's go.”

The castle that the mini-unicorn dragged you to was...
Absolutely majestic. And terrifying to behold. It wasn't just that. There were hundreds of these little horses. Unicorns, those without horns. Even a few with wings. Yet no people. You were a stranger in a strange land.

Still wrapped within your blanket like a kid trick or treating as a ghost you and your unicorn guide move through the castle. She seems to enjoy pointing things out, while your mind could not be further away.

”And this is the painting of Farseer. Explorer of the distant lands beyond...” She explains, pointing to one particular large painting of yet another pony.

Great. Please, give me a history tour of my mental breakdown. That's super useful. Couldn't remember Dy/Dx for my exams, but you can make up a fake history for this place? Fuck you brain.

Your unwanted tour-guide stops. For a second you fear someone is going to question the brown blanket walking beside her, but instead she's stopping as someone lifts up a painting onto the walls of the hallway.
”That's Brightsmile...” Twilight explains, her voice halting, full of mourning. ”Until a week ago, Celestia's head of household.”

You take a decent look of the picture. It's fairly small, and obviously a rush job. It's a painting of a unicorn with dark grey fur, green piercing eyes and a soft smile on its face.
“The dead guy, right?” You ask, not particularly interested, but aware you needed to at least be polite.

Twilight simply nods.

“If you want to pay your respects I can...” You offer.

Twilight shakes her head.
”I didn't know the stallion that well. Only saw him a few times. No. An alien getting back home is more important than a dead stallion," She insists, swallowing something and glaring straight ahead.

“I hope this princess of yours agrees," You grumble.

”I'm sure she will. She's probably never meet anything like you. And would be only too happy to help a creature in need," Twilight says earnestly.

“Creature. Gee, thanks,” You reply with a sardonic smile. The two of you walk on, past the paintings of dead horses, and down a long corridor of marble and stained glass.

You reach out for the sun. Feeling it past the apex of its journey, the warmth and the heat of it under your divine control, unlike... So much of your life.

You are Celestia. Princess of the Sun, sole ruler of Equestria.
”Your Majesty," Raven speaks up. The replacement for Anon. Or 'Brightsmile', as the rest of them now remembered him as. At least Cadance remembered him. The two had barely interacted apart from that disaster with the pub a decade ago, but she had been thoroughly confused when ponies referred to him not only as a stallion but by a completely different name.

You hadn't been the one to find his corpse, lying on that bench on his favourite balcony. You wouldn't have recognised the Unicorn his body became. But you recognised the eyes. Those eyes had been staring at you for a thousand years on dozens of faces. And always just one. All proof of the man Anon had been, gone. Replaced by Brightsmile, the Stallion everyone else remembered.
“Yes, Raven?" You finally reply.

”There are no more scheduled meetings for today if you wish too...” She trails off, not wanting to assume anything of you. They were all so afraid of you, try as you might to calm them. You were a goddess to them, and not a one could break past that image, no matter how long, how well or how intimately they knew you.

You're about to answer when quite suddenly there is a knocking upon the great doors of the court. Typically, one of the household would announce the presence of someone approaching the door if it was someone with either an inflated ego like that Silvertouch fellow or unknown to her.

So it must be someone you were familiar with. You'd like it to be Cadance again, so the two of you could reminisce on Anon. But She knew him little. He was your friend. Your...
Well. Like he had said. Time had ran out for anything more than that. Who knew that fifty years was not enough time.

“Come in!” You say, trying to keep your voice light and kind. The one everyone always deman... Expected of you.

The doors are opened by a purple haze, and Unicorn and Ghost walk in. The ghost was brown and tall, far too tall to be a pony. Perhaps a Minotaur ghost. The unicorn was Twilight Sparkle. At this point, you knew her pretty well. Well, you ought to by now.

”Your Majesty.” Twilight says, bowing her head and prostrating herself before you. Internally, you sigh. She had been your personal protege for years, yet still the formality. Still she saw you as the Goddess Celestia.

”Should I bow? Should I take this blanket off?” asked a low male voice in a low whisper from behind what you should have known was a blanket. The voice makes you pause. Stills your heart.

”You should probably do both, yes.” Twilight whispered back pointedly to the man behind the blanket. And you knew it to be a man, the only one.

Anon removed his blanket, the cloth pooling at his feet, and he bowed. Down on one knee, his head lowered. Your breath is caught in your throat. You'd thought it would be years till you found out where he was again. If not a lifetime. You had never met Anon so quickly after his return.

You wanted to tell him... So much.
But you knew better than that. He didn't know you. And in all honesty, you didn't know him anymore. You knew the Anon that had served you for fifty years. Farseer, the Explorer of the northern seas. Nergüi; the Triarch of the Minotaurs., the wanderer of the badlands, Gaerian the mad. The Beast in the tall grass.
Dozens of names, and more you might never know.
But they were not his. They were Anon's, but not the one before you. You didn't know this man. And he... Didn't know you.

“What... What are you, little one?” You ask, your heart breaking a little as you do so. It hurt you. To talk to him in this way. But you were watched, and you could not break the mask. Nopony ever broke that mask. That mask had kept you safe.

”Your Majesty. I am an alien from another world. Apparently,” He shot a dark look to the floor with that last word, glaring into the marble as if it had personally offended him. ”I am Anonymous, your Grace.”

Twilight twitched at him using the wrong form of address. You couldn't care less. You smile softly, holding back the tears from your eyes.

He might not be the man who had served you for fifty years... And he never will be again, for Brightsmile was dead.
But he is Anonymous. You can see in his face. The dark hair. The lithe build. The piercing green eyes.

“I am Princess Celestia of Equestria, Princess of the sun and regent of the moon. I... What might I do for you, Anonymous?”

The wind picks at your hair, as you lean against the balcony. The low evening sun ahead of you, its orange rays bouncing off the pristine white marble around you. You were in no mood to admire the décor. No mood to do much of anything but listen to the howling wind. Maybe you'd try screaming against the storm, but that was as fruitless as anything else.

” I'm sorry.” Says a regal, pained voice. The princess of the Sun, at last, breaking the silence after what she had told you.

“You didn't even try," You whisper.

”I know these...” She began to say, to plead. To tell you precisely what you didn't want to hear.

You turn around to face the object of your current wrath.
“Damn you! Do you think that's any comfort for me!” You shout, tears forming at the edges of your eyes. You weren't really angry at her. The majestic looking horse who's mane flowed like the northern lights, whose eyes reflected the pain you hoped was within. Sympathy, sorrow and regret marked her face.

But you didn't want to be consoled. You wanted to be angry. If you were angry, you couldn't think too much on your situation. If you were angry, you weren't still. If you stopped... you might not move again. But anger is not a fire that can burn forever, and as you wipe your eyes you plead with her.
“Are you absolutely sure?”

She swallows something within her throat. Her words, while usually as soft as velvet, were as harsh and brittle as... As yours.

”I am. None have succeeded in what you need. None. In a thousand years. Even I could not break apart reality in such a way...” She explains.

“Or perhaps you are my imagination telling me that," You rant.
Yes, that's it!
Grip on tight to the hallucination theory. That merely meant you were hopefully safe in a mental facility. That meant that you were still visitable. Still visible. Still... There.

”I wish that were the case Anon. But this place. This time. It's real," She says, trying to console you while telling you precisely what you didn't want to hear. You turn away from the princess of the sun, towards the dying light that was apparently hers as well. You are silent for a good few minutes, staring across the great valley.

... I'm sorry” you whisper to the wind, too low to be heard. Your intended recipients were too far away from them to hear you anyway.

”Anonymous..." Celestia pleads, placing what you assume is her attempt at a comforting hand upon your shoulder, but is a reminder of what world you are apparently in.

“Leave me. I... Need some time alone," You plead quietly, staring across the valley.

”Of course. I understand. Please, I shall only be a call away if you need me.” You turn to the majestic creature and smile a weak smile. It is shattered, false. Broken. You can only hope it does enough to assuage any guilt. It... She did not deserve that at least. You knew that.

As she left you alone, the light seemed to leave with her, and the heavens seem to come alive with a second sort of light. A second, and a thousand at once. A chill moves through your bones as the sun descends. To your left, you can see it for the first time.

And it is not the moon you knew. In place of the sea of tranquillity, or the Mare Tranquillitatis... In its place seemed to be a hundred lunar seas. In the shape of a unicorn's head. Like a bad pun. Mare of the moon.

This is not home.

“And what of you? Are you as trapped here as I am? As fake as...” You ask the moon, more to speak to something that could not talk back. Your conversational partner, as you are not surprised to discover, is silent.

You sigh. Turning to your right arm... You're afraid to do this, but you have to.
You pinch yourself. And you feel it. That was...

If you were safely in a mental hospital suffering from an extreme nervous breakdown, you shouldn't have been able to feel that. Surely your real arms would've been trapped in white cloth. No. That was a real pinch. That was you. That was real.

You step back from the balcony, nearly hitting the bench behind you. Low, above the low roar of the wind, you could hear a call to the edge. And that wasn't... You weren't... You shake your head clear. There was little you might do here. There was nothing you needed of this balcony, or over its edge. You knew where you were needed. What you needed to do.

Your journey alone through the castle draws a number of stares and whispers. But none of what you assumed were the castle staff were stopping you, or really getting in your way. Not at least, until you returned to the court. A golden armoured pony of... Some type, you didn't know which, stopped you. Realising it stoped you with its wing, it was probably a Pegasus then.

”Day court is over... Minotaur?” Her stoicism nearly broke on that last word, but she, definitely she, made sure to continue as if it hadn't. ”Please, unless you have an appointment leave the area and return to your embassy.”

“I have no embassy. Your Princess is probably expecting me," You explain. The guard looks you up and down, but the door opens a crack. Turning away from you, the guard peers through the crack in the door, nods, then stands aside as the doors open. Without invitation you make your way across the great hall. Your steps echoing across the emptiness.

The Princess of the Sun was sat upon her golden throne, her head in her hooves before she turned up to at last face you as you made it halfway down the hall. The look she gives you nearly makes you pause. Nearly stills your heart. Regret. Sorrow. It disappears as soon as she saw you noticed it, but you cannot tear that image from your mind. Sighing, you look away for the briefest moments as you cross the divide.

“Should I keep bowing?” You ask, hoping your tone and question will lighten the mood, but it sounds hollow even as the words leave your mouth. You finally risk turning your head back, and her regal mask has returned to her.

”You don't need to. You are not a subject of mine," She explains, smiling a smile that, had you not already seen the sorrow beneath the surface, looked genuine and heartfelt.

“Thank you. But I am hardly a subject of any nation now," You point out.

”Are you alright, Anonymous?” She asks.

You seriously consider the question for a few seconds before answering honestly.
“As alright as I might be, under the circumstances. I could not truly ask for more.”

”You are allowed to be more than alright," She points out hopefully.

“Thanks. But allow me just that for now," You quietly plead.

She nods her heads and moves off her throne, trotting down the steps to move closer to you.
”I... We can set you up with accommodations. Somewhere to sleep, somewhere to eat. At least until you are back on your feet,” She offers.

Back on your feet? Why would an equine use the word...
You shake your head clear, forcing yourself to focus.

“Thank you. I notice many of your subjects are naked, but I would quite like to be able to wash my clothes. Or perhaps, if at all possible, get some new ones?” You ask. why you thought of clothes first, you don't know, but it is important to you.

Her expression turns strange for a moment before once again settling upon her regal calm.
”I can see what I can do. But it will take a few days to create clothes that might fit you. Perhaps we can use some Minotaur parts?” She offers.

“Thank you. Umm...”
What do you say? That if you stop, you don't know what you might do to yourself? That you need to keep busy, keep looking forward, or else you'd look start looking back?

”Go on Anonymous," She prods. Her voice shatters your carefully constructed request before it even leaves your lips.

“I need something to do with my time. Is there anything I can do?” You ask bluntly, but smiling despite your dark mood. You swear you see a ghost of a smile play upon those strange horsey lips.

”I... shall see Anonymous. I suppose even if you are a stallion, you're alone and need to care for yourself," She points out. The... low growl in her tone slightly unnerves you, as does the subject matter. But, you know better than to look a gift horse in the mouth.

It's strange...
Is she licking her lips?

You take a step back as Celestia collects herself.
”Sorry. I have a lot on my mind," She says as if that actually explains anything.

“That's understandable," You lie.

”I shall have Raven take you to your new room. We shall talk tomorrow, Anonymous.”

“I hope so. I doubt...” You begin to say.
Keep that to yourself Anon.
“Thank you. Even if you can't send me back, at least you didn't throw me out there. I doubt I'd survive for long.”

”It's the least I could do. Goodbye Anonymous," She says with a soft nod.

“Goodbye, Princess," You respond, nodding back to her. Your shoes squeak on the marble floor as you turn, and begin the long walk out of the court.

”What makes you think you are qualified for the position of head of household? We usually prefer to promote from within Mr...” The interviewer tails off, apparently wanting you to tell her your name despite it being on the CV and the fact she had called you in herself. Whatever, mares and their power plays.

“Anonymous. Yeah, I figured. Well, honestly, I thought I needed a change of scenery. I've been here for a few years y'know. Only so much you can make off cards in Las Pegasus and Manehatten before the wrong sort of people... Ponies, start looking your way," You admit honestly. No point making up why you were here. It was either this or cermant shoes, and you only wore custom-fit stuff nowadays.

”Do you have any experience in the field of maintaining a household?" She asks. You chuckle to yourself before answering.

“Not one bit. What I do have is a looming presence, the ability to sound posh on command, a rocking bod' and a winning smile," You reply with a nonchalant shrug. And you shoot Mistylake that same smile. That smile that had gotten you out of trouble from Underground Manehatten card games to high rollers in Las Pegasus.

Usually because it showed off your canines enough to scare whoever was looking. But some of them liked to be scared. You were pretty sure Mistylake here was one such mare.

”Those... Are not necessarily qualifications, Mr Anonymous,” She absolutely correctly points out.

“Oh? Do you believe it would be so bad to serve me? You would be under me, right? If I was head of household?” You ask, rubbing her leg with your foot. Your foot you had just taken a shoe off, leaving the lewd sock beneath.

”That... That would be correct Mr...” She mumbles.

“Please. Call me Anon," You offer.

”Anon,” She moans lowly.

“I know it must be unusual for a stallion such as myself to be in charge. But I think you... And the Princess of course," You explain.

”Of... Course," She gasps.

“Would find it a most pleasurable experience. Wouldn't you agree?” You offer.

”I...I...”

You remove your foot from its now much higher position up her leg.

“Something to consider. My contact information is all in my letter. You know how to get in contact with me," You explain. And a wink to finish it off...

Good.
Damn, you're going to have to burn this sock.

You're awake long before the knocking started. Still, you are naked in bed, you ought to...
“Let me put some clothes on!” You shout.

The door opens anyway, and you scramble to cover yourself with the duvet.

“Damnit. What?” You bark out. You turn to the door and curse yourself for shouting at, again, the ruler of the nation. The same ruler that has given you this room.

”Sorry Anonymous. Did I disturb you?” She asks, trying to sound as innocent as possible. You definitely see that barely hidden grin this time.

“Princess... Us humans are not naked around others. Not unless we're mentally ill or they are...” You explain carefully, stumbling on the words at the end there.

"Intimate?” She offers.

You rub your face with your hands.
“Yes.”

”I do apologise. I just wish to check up on you before my day got too busy," She explains. You look to the window of your room. The dawn rays of the sun stream into the room.

“I didn't sleep. I just dreamt," You mumble.

She shoots you a quizzical look, and you try and wave it off. She seems to do a horsey little shrug.
"Well. If you are awake and wish to do something productive with your day, my favourite student wishes to collect information on your species," Celestia offers.

You sigh and rub your tired eyes.
“That'd be... Interesting. Maybe I can get some information in return. I am... So fucking lost here," You sigh.

Her smile breaks slightly upon hearing that, but the regal mask returns.
”I shall inform her of your acceptance. Do you need breakfast?” She asks.

You shake your head. You can't eat. Not right now.
“No. Thank you,” You reply.

She nods her head.
”I shan't keep you. Twilight will be here in about an hour. If you could be ready for her by then.”

You wave her off.
“I can wash and dress myself. I just hope she doesn't mind day old clothes," You mumble to yourself.

Celestia coughs. You raise an eyebrow at her, but she simply nods and smiles.
”Good day Anonymous. I hope we shall talk later," She says as she makes to leave your newly gotten room.

“Sure," You reply, lazily waving your right hand to her, using the other to keep the duvet covering your bare chest.

Finally, she leaves. You stretch and walk out of bed, scratching your ass as you make your way to the en-suite.

Two weeks later found yourself out of the capital for the first time since you had arrived.
”Do you have to escort me to Ponyville?” Twilight honest to god whines, pouting like a child. It's pretty cute.

“Do you want to go on your own?” You ask sarcastically, aware of the fact that...

”I don't especially want to go," She replies, as you knew she would.

“Well, there we go. We're both here against our wills," You point out, shrugging sarcastically. Here, currently, was a basket of a hot air balloon. A couple hundred feet into the air. That was a first for you.

God this place was pretty.

You leaned further over the edge of the basket, only to be pulled back by Spike.

“What?” You almost shout.

”Are you trying to get yourself killed?” The little dragon asks.

You simply shrug at that.
“Hey man. I don't get to see this sort of thing very often. I'll take my chances," You reply sardonically. But still, just to be safe, you take his advice and lean back. Only the occasional roar of the flame breaks the silence, until...

”So. How have you been?” Twilight asks earnestly, searching your face. You consider the question for a second.

“I.. Could be worse. I'm actually getting some sleep occasionally, which is good," You explain.

”And your... Job?” She asks, staring intensely into your eyes, watching for something. What, you didn't know, but she certainly knew what she was looking for. You laugh at her tone.

“Yeah, Affirmative action at its finest right there. I don't know. Don't like the uniform...” You reply, flapping your white and gold uniform. A single-breasted waistcoat over a smart shirt, with black trousers beneath. “And people...”

”Ponies," She immediately corrects, smiling as she does so.

”People seem to have, I'm not really sure how else to put it, but a very high expectation of what I can do. As if they thought better of me for some reason. Yet when I ask, none of them could say why," You explain.

Twilight shrugs her shoulders... Withers?

“So I know why I'm here...” You begin to say.

"Cosmically?” Twilight asks sarcastically. The little twat laughs to herself as you roll your eyes.

“No. I mean, I know why I am in this hot air balloon. Why are you here?” You ask.

”Cosmically?” She asks, grinning to herself again.

“Don't start," You warn as you point at her, unable to keep the smile off your face. She coughs and sighs before answering.

”Celestia told me I have to plan the whole blasted sun celebration. Make sure everything is in order. Oh, and 'Have fun'," She replies, spitting out those last two words like they were an ancient curse.

“God forbid," You say drolly.

”She completely ignored me when I told her about Nightmare Moon!" She shouts, perhaps the first time you've ever heard her even slightly annoyed at Princess Sunbutt.

For some reason, your head hurts. You rub your temple for a seconds before replying.
“Perhaps she's just as sick of your shit as Spike," You offer as an explanation. Twilight glares at you.

”Don't drag me into this man," Spike asks. You shoot an apologetic smile at the Dragon.

"...So why are you here?” Twilight asks after getting over your insult, seemingly very confused by your presence.

You just smile in response.
“Security apparently. Really, she just thought I need to get out of the castle for a day. I see why you like her so much, she's a good boss,” You explain.

”She's not just 'a boss'. She's the divine ruler of Equestria. She's the reason the sun rises and sets...” Twilight begins to list off. You roll your eyes and lean out of the balloon a little.

“If we're going to have another one of those talks, I will jump out. You can explain it to her why I'm dead," You warn.

”Feel free. We're almost there. You'll probably just get a few broken bones," Twilight replies with a shrug.

You glance down, and sure enough, the ground and even the houses and individual ponies have come into view. You narrow your eyes at Twilight as you step back from the edge.

“You win this one," You grumble. You wait in a fake huff as the balloon begins its final descent.

”So what do you actually plan to do with your day?” She asks after what you hope for the sake of your eyebrows will be the last fire the burner will spit out.

“Fuck all. I might just sleep in a park or something. I... Well, you know," You answer immediately and honestly.

”You sure you don't want to help me and Spike sort out everything?" She asks, probably just hoping you'll share her pain.

You just shake your head.
“You're not getting out of your 'goddess given duty' that easily, Twilight. Hey, where are you staying tonight anyway?” You ask.

”The Library. Why?” She asks in return.

“Yeah, I'm going to take some sleeping pills and wake up when the Celestia arrives and I actually have to work."

Twilight glances worriedly towards the pill bottle you suddenly have in your hands.
”Should you be taking those...” She asks wearily.

“Horse Tranquillizers here aren't as good as they are back home. But they get the job done," You reply with a shrug.

”I meant self-medicating," She reiterates.

“I need to fucking sleep," You groan, more earnestly and a lot more tiredly than you intended to. You rub your temple again, soothing the ringing in your head. “I can't. Every time I close my eyes... I definitely dream. But I'm just as tired when I get out of that dream as when I fall into it.”

She pauses before she speaks again.
”You look... better than last week at least.”

“Thank the pills. Nice, dreamless sleep,” You explain.

”Are you all right?” She questions, once again staring into your eyes, searching for the answer within the,

Of course, you're not all right. But there's no way you're telling her that of course.
“I'm fine. Just... Tired," You lie. All of a sudden you stumble as the Balloon comes to a sudden stop, nearly falling back off the sides anyway. Only Spike grabbing you stops that. Not because he was able to stop your fall, but because it reminds you to hold onto the edge enough to stay standing.

Fuck you were tired.
“Fuck! Warn me next time!” You shout, turning on the little unicorn.

Twilight laughs that fucking smug laugh of hers.
God dammit, I can't stay mad at you, you fucking glorious unicorn.
You start to join in on her laughter, slapping her on the back just as soon as you can be sure she won't pick the balloon up with her magic just o fuck with you again. Once you can be sure, and you do that, you realise that you have finally arrived.

You jump over the edge of the balloon and help lift Spike out as Twilight hops out. Your appearance, and Twilight's and the balloon's arrival, has drawn a small crowd. You lean down to whisper to the lavender unicorn.

“Where's the library?” You ask quietly.

She looks around, then points to a tree. You raise an eyebrow, silently asking her if she was actually being serious. In return, she just rolls her eyes and points at it again. With a chuckle, you exaggeratedly roll your own eyes, sigh, and walk away.

“Nothing to see here people, just go about your business," You explain as you raise your hands. That, shockingly enough, does nothing to stop the crowd from gathering. But they do at least part as you make your way to the great oak tree Twilight pointed out.

The crowd watches you walk towards it in terrified fascination, having absolutely no clue what you were. And you weren't exactly going to bother telling them either. Their stares do start to grow pretty fucking uncomfortable, but hey, you had gotten at least a tad used to this kind of thing in the last two weeks.

You enter the library, a little confused you didn't need a key, closing the door behind you. It was an interesting looking place. A hollowed-out tree, serving as a library. Bookcases carved into the wood, sconces hanging from branches that looked like a pretty obvious fire hazard. A quick look through the window confirmed that no one was going to come storming in to stare at the weird alien guy, you open the pill bottle and place one in your mouth, forcing yourself to swallow.

It's not exactly nice tasting, nor a pleasant thing to try and swallow, but it is a necessary one. Over the last two weeks, you had been having problems... Not so much sleeping as actually getting any rest. You slept alright. You definitely dreamt. You dreamed of what you guess was your possible future here in Equestria. Applying for jobs, commanding a ship through waters, leading some hedonistic cult. They were weird, weird fucking dreams.

Your vision began to narrow and darken as the drugs began to take effect. Sighing contentedly at the promise of a few hours dreamless sleep, you climb up the stairs inside the library, holding tightly to the bannister and railing as you ascend.

You aren't sure if there's more than one bedroom, and honestly, as you started to be barely able to stand, you can't quite care. So you fall into the first room on your right on the first floor, which thankfully turned out to be a bathroom. Managing to fumble around with the door lock enough to make it click and, perhaps, lock it, you step into the too-small bath, then decide against giving yourself cramp and just lie on the refreshing cold tiles.

Soon enough, you close your eyes, and let the darkness take you.

You awaken to a blown-in door, and a pissed off Twilight. Rubbing your head, and pulling it up from the tiles with your cheeks sticking slightly to it, you manage to just about sit up. Well, lean up, but you tried.

“Sup."

”Don't 'sup' me. Do you know how many ponies complained they couldn't use the upstairs toilet before I worked out where you were?” Twilight shouts.

“You had people around?” You ask, rubbing your eyes.

"I didn't want them. They just showed up. And immediately complained...” She whined.

“About the upstairs bathroom. Yeah, you said," You interrupt, clearly not exactly running on all cylinders. This time you successfully pull yourself up, gripping the basin to drag yourself to your feet.
“Sorry I missed your welcoming committee.”

"It was a full party," She explains, glaring at you.

“Oh wow. Well, then I am actually sorry I missed it. I could do with a drink," You say, rubbing your chin and smiling at her, hoping to distract her from her anger.

”You do not look like you need a drink," She points out bitterly.

You lean down and glance into the 'perfect height for a tiny horse' mirror. To be fair to Twilight, you do look like shit. Your hair is a tangled stuck up mess, your right cheek was bright red from where it had been pushed against the tiles and your uniform was creased to shit.
“Oh shit, you're right. I've got to sort out my hair and... Well, I should mostly be standing in the shadows behind Celestia. When is the celebration going to start?” You rattle off, turning to the unicorn.

”Four hours," She bluntly replies.

You chuckle to yourself and step away from the mirror.
“Oh thank god. Thought I had something to worry about."

You turn to the pissed off unicorn.
“Can you leave? I really need a piss," You ask, raising an eyebrow, hoping she got the point.

”Unbelievable. How does Celestia put up with you?" She asks, utterly exacerbated.

“Probably pity," You reply, wincing a second later. That answer... May have been a bit too honest. The two of you stand there in silence for a few moments, thinking on what you said.
“I.. I'm gonna...” You mumble, pointing to the basin.

”Yeah sure. I'll be downstairs," Twilight replies awkwardly.

“Sure," You reply with a nod, before placing facepalming. You run your hand down your face, annoyed at your incredible ability to bring down the mood wherever you went.

"Twilight! I'm sorry!" You shout as she leaves the bathroom. She turns back to you, looking into your eyes pitifully. Unconsciously your fist clenches. You curse at yourself. She had every right to pity you.

"Don't... I'm sorry too," She whispers in return, just loud enough for you to hear. You sigh, and force a smile and a wave before you close whatever was left of the splintered door. Turning around and gripping the basin, you lean down and stare into the mirror, looking into your eyes and the dark bags beneath them.

Try as you might, you were never great a liar. You certainly couldn't hide secrets from Celestia herself, and it seemed you couldn't hide from Twilight either. The same old questions run through your mind, as they have for the two weeks since you had arrived. Why were you here? Why? How long? Was there any way back?

Why you?

But you wouldn't get any answers out of a mirror, or even from the person you can see within it. You'd likely never get any answers to those questions at all.

With a deep, long sigh, you begin the arduous process of preparing yourself to be seen in public.

You stand behind the Princess of the Sun as she frets about every last final detail. This was apparently the Celestia few got to see. Not that you knew, it was the Celestia you saw more often than not. The sheer amount of work and stress required for everything she did to appear stress-free and effortless was surely maddening.

Your job was just to stand there and to look pretty. And as sort of a minor footnote to the whole thing.
Y'know, as minor a footnote "Ahh, an alien!" could possibly be.

Strangely, she isn't fretting about herself. Not her appearance, though she is looking as majestic as usual. Not the banners, decorations or anything like that. Nor a practise speech, or even the very act of raising the sun and bringing in the longest day.

No. It's about the stars.

”Please, I need to see the moon for this to work," She explains to one of the mares flying about trying to sort out the venue. You glance up to the skylight. Moonbeams were streaming into the room behind the stage. Heck, you could see at least the bottom half of the moon from where you were standing.

Even see those shooting stars moving ever closer to it.

Turning back to her, you spot Celestia kneeling down in her strange horsey way and glancing up towards the moon. Her guards are as stoic and nonplussed as ever, but you are no guard.

“Celestia? Are you all right?” You ask, genuine worry and confusion clear in your voice.
You crouch down beside her and place a hand on her back. The guards flinch, and she does under the skin of your hand, but you cannot break her concentration on the moon. On her anxiety about a celestial object that she apparently controlled. “Your majesty? Are you...”

You turn your own gaze towards the moon, only to watch as four stars seem to collide with it. A cool stellar illusion of hers no doubt...

Well, you think that until the hundred craters that made up 'the mare in the moon' disappear.
“What the fuck?” You whisper in confusion.

”Everypony. There is no need to be frightened. What happens next is within my plan," Celestia commands gently as she stands up, your hand falling off her back as she did so.

What happens next? That's the exact kind of sentence that scares people.

The oil lanterns that lit the backstage were suddenly snuffed out, placing the room in near-total darkness except for the beams of light coming from the moon. Celestia turns to you.

You gulp. You can see the terror in her eyes. The fear. You reach up and pat her back, for lack of anything else you can really do. She closes her eyes, takes a deep breath, and smiles at you. Before suddenly steeling herself and standing back up, her face cast into shadow.

You hear a noise behind you and move to stand in between it and Celestia, turning to face it. But you start to glow golden as Celestia gently moves you beside her instead.

The shadows lengthen, shift and swirl in eldritch patterns of form and void. Shadow and... Well, more shadow. The guards around you and Celestia step forwards towards that gathering darkness before it explodes out. They are thrown across the room and knocked out instantly. Even you are thrown to the floor, but yet Celestia still stands. Her mane and tail flowing in a non-existent wind.

The Shadows retract once more and begin to take shape. It takes, and perhaps you shouldn't have been surprised by this given where you were, the shape of a horse.

The beast stands as tall as Celestia. Its mane and tail a blue haze of the starry dark void above. Fangs form, then blue steel armour, then its horn. Finally, its eyes appear. Full of loathing. Full of hatred. Aimed squarely at Celestia.

Celestia, to your surprise, moves towards the thing. You reach out to stop her pointlessly, and the creature can only narrow its eyes even more as Celestia begins to speak.
”I...” Celestia hesitates, unsure of what exactly to say.

The creature snarls and speaks. It's tone feminine, but still wroth.
”Letting you and him speak was my mistake last time," She snarls. The creature's horn glows, and her mouth widens into a foul smile as Celestia screams. Fire consumes her even as you shout out. But the moment passes, and she disappears before your very eyes.

You snap into action, up and running towards the creature. A blue grip of energy encircles and tightens around you, and you are unable to even blink as you are pulled into the air.

"What a fool you are to even think you could...” The foul creature of Shadow begins to say. But quite suddenly, she pauses as she looks upon your face. And for a moment, you see humanity and pain behind her cruel shadowed eyes. "Anonymous? How...”

What the fuck? How the fuck did this thing know you? How the hell did she know your name?

She nearly stops. Nearly pauses. But she shakes her head clear and the loathing returns, perhaps even greater this time.
”No matter. You shall tell me how you are here," She growls, her brow furrowing as she bares her teeth and her horn starts to glow.

You open your mouth or at least try to, but you are hit by a shadow, and start to scream as it feels like you are being ripped apart piece by piece. Mercifully, you fall into unconsciousness.

Author's Note

Sorry this one genuinely isn't as good as the first part, but readers of the green know the next part is a cracking one, this is just some set up for what is going on.

So, if it isn't obvious, Anon has been around for a long, long, long while. Every time he dies, his corpse, entire life story and past is replaced by something else. In the case of the previous Anon, a Unicorn named Brightsmile. This has happened throughout history, and only Celestia, Candance and... Well, the mare that popped up at the end right there remember who he was.

Expect the next update soon, cya later.