All Ends With Beginnings

You dreaded the day ahead of you.

It was your turn to welcome and make friends with that...THING Twilight brought home. You tried not to be a judgmental mare, though seeing him for the first time was appalling. His mane was a mess, his eyes were sunken in, he was covered in bruises and scrapes.

AND HIS OUTFIT!

He was dressed in what can only be described as rags And they were so filthy. He wore a ghastly hoodie that was stained a light red in some places, Celestia forbid you dwell on what that could possibly be given his wounds.

His denim pants were caked in mud and other dark splotches you, again, didn’t want to dwell on what that could possibly be. He gave you bide vibrations.

You could feel something was wrong with him, you just didn’t know what. You heard a knocking at the door.

Buck, that must be him. Thankfully you sent Sweetie Bell to play with her friends today, she wouldn’t have to meet the beast. You walked up to the door and took a deep breath. Come on Rarity, you are the Element of Generosity. If you can give a water beast your tail to fix his mustache, then you can greet this weird bald primate too.

Although at least the serpent did have a dazzling mustache. You opened the door, and stared in shocking horror at what you saw.

”Hey there Rarity. I was told I’d be spending the day with you today?” What ever they did to him at Sweet Apple Acres, it couldn’t have been good. His clothes were caked in mud and, was that? You sniffed the his clothes.

Oh good heavens it is. That stuff only belongs in gardens not clothes. Did he not clean himself? His hair and skin seem fine today, but his clothing?

“A-ah. Yes, darling, that’s r-right. May I ask what in the heavens happened to you?”

”Oh! My clothes? Yea, they got pretty dirty on Apple Jack’s farm. Really funny stories on how all this happened.”

“Well, I’m not going to be doing anything with you until we get you cleaned up! No offense ‘a-nanny-mouse’, but I can’t let myse-, uhm, I can’t let YOU go out and look like that!”

”It’s Anonymous, and uh, what do you suppose I do with them? I cleaned them, best I could anyway. They are my only pair of clothes I had here.”

“How awful! Nope! This won’t do, you are coming in and we are going to set you up with something better immediately!”

”Are you sure abou-WOAH!”

You didn’t even let him finish, you grabbed him and dragged him inside.

”Uh, Rarity, what are you about to do?”

“I’m about to take those horrid rags off and clean you up!”

Anon pulled himself from your reach.

”AH! Nononononono, that’s fine, really, you don’t have to strip me!”

“A-naughty-moose, really, yo-”

”Anonymous, Rarity.”

“My apologies, Anonymous, you really shouldn’t be so embarrassed, especially with what you have on now. I’ve measured NUMEROUS stallions. You’ll be happy to know that they are all happy with my work.!”

”Rarity, my kind are very...uh, particular about keeping ourselves covered in a certain way. I’m also a very private person on top of that.”

You dead panned. Never mind him being an ape, NO ONE should be in this wardrobe. And he was making this all very difficult.

With a deep breath, you negotiated with him.

“Alright...Anonymous, how’s about we start over a little bit. I can see that you are in a very unfortunate situation regarding your hygiene and wardrobe. I propose that today, I clean and mend your clothing, as well as make you some new articles as well, and take you on a spa day!”

”I...uhm. I guess that’s okay? I don’t want to get naked in front of you though.”

“Understood. Now please, let me take some basic measurements, because those clothes you have on fit you horribly, and take a shower. Down the hall over there and to the right.”

”I took a shower alrea-”

You glared him a glare of a thousand glares.

”Alright alright, fine, I’ll do it.”

You took your measurements, and his clothing after he undressed behind the shower curtain and got to work. With how dirty he looked you expected a long shower from him, not that you’d need anything longer. You were damn good at your job and could at least get these clothes cleaned to a workable level, mended, and start on your first pair of his clothes before he got out.

After you were done with today, he’ll have a different ensemble for every day of the week! Before long, Anonymous was finally out of the shower with a towel wrapped around his waist.

”Uhh, Rarity, you done with my clothes yet?”

“Hm? Oh of course, they are right over there.”

You waived your free hoof over to the couch, never taking your eyes off your work. Every stitch had it’s place. He walks over and inspects his hoodie.

”Wow! You did a really good job, all the holes are gone and it looks as clean as the day I got it.”

“You’re too kind darling, it wasn’t that big of a deal. Just a deep cleaning spell and some sewing.”

”Well, definitely something I can’t do in the time it took you.”

“I appreciate your words darling, but if I’m going to finish your new clothing I’m going to need some concentration.”

”Oh, sorry. I’ll just get dressed and do, uhm, what ever I guess.”

“Mm hmm, you do that.” You were keeping your eyes on the stitching.

You didn’t work on denim too often. Not unless you were making something for Apple Jack. It was a very firm material fresh, and one you didn’t have a lot of. Had to make it count. All of this not to mention Anonymous’ proportions. It was so...different.

Nothing too drastic, his joints bent and shoulders were broad much in the same way Spike’s were. But he was a far bigger creature, and his legs where thicker than his arms. Definitely a Primate.

Anon seemed to pull it off though, you couldn’t quite pin how but, after being with him for a minute or two, you just got used to the way he looked. More on the scrawny side, or maybe that was normal for humans, but looked okay none the less. Just a little plain. You carried on. More stitching. More cutting. More measuring. More...buck, you didn’t mean to do that. You bucked up on the seem near the ankle of one of the pairs of pants you were working on.

You let out a huff and stomped your hoof on the ground. You looked over at your work. You got a lot done, and this little mess up was an easy fix if anything. But you were exhausted. Time for a break. You closed your glasses and headed over to the back garden, stopping getting your self a glass of iced lemonade before continuing. Anonymous was sitting in the seat across from where you usually sat when you relaxed in your garden. You noticed a cigarette in his mouth.

“Anonymous! Are you smoking a cigarette?”

”Wha? Oh! Rarity, yea I am. I’m sorry, I should have asked first if smoking here was okay wit-”

“Could I have one as well?”

Anon was taken back a little bit from your question.

”Uh...you smoke?”

“Yes, I know, a pony like me who cares so much about her looks and health should stay as far away as she could from the habit. However work can get very overwhelming sometimes and a nice smoke calms the nerves. We all have our vices after all.”

”I suppose so. Here.”

Anon takes out a cigarette and hands it out.

You envelope it in your aura and sniff it.

“Eugh! Oh my! This is a horrible quality! Where in Equestria did you get this?”

”These are actually my smokes from back home. Camel isn’t the best brand but it’s not what I care about.”

“Oh no darling, I’m going to fetch you some high quality tobacco. Sit here one second.”

You go inside and fetch your box of Equestrian Spirits and head back out to Anon, who was still inhaling on his cigarette.

“Darling snuff that out, if we’re going to ruin our lungs we should at least do it with class.”

”Heh. Alright fine.”

He put out the cigarette on the ground and took a new one from your box. You pull out your opera long cigarette holder and put one of your own in, using your magic to light it.

Anon pulls out his own lighter to light his. Both of you inhale on the smoke and let out a content sigh.

“Well, what do you think?”

”Hm? Oh, I guess it’s better. I never smoked for the taste or whatever.”

“No one does darling. At least I hope not. But if you are going to relax it should be a good experience all around.”

”I can understand that. But smoking is never a good experience for me. I don’t use it to feel relaxed after a long days work, or even smoke them because I’m addicted. Although I’m sure I am. I smoke them to just forget about my problems.”

“Well, valid enough I suppose. Just like our vices, we all have our problems.” You glance over at Anon. He’s slouched in his seat and just staring at the cigarette in his hand, letting it burn.

“My mother for one disagrees. Love the mare to death, but she can be a real pain in the flank if you know what I mean?”

Anon looked over and sat up.

”Huh? Oh yea, I suppose so. I probably started smoking because of my mother.”

“That uh, sounds very awful.”

”I don’t blame her. I can’t blame her, she started the same reason I did.”

“To forget?”

”Yea.”

You took another deep breath from your cigarette holder and blew the smoke out your nose. The nicotine was starting to do its job and you began to feel like all the stress was being lifted from you.

You hummed a sweet hum and replaced the cigarette in your holder with a new one.

You looked over to Anon and used your magic to levitate him the box to offer him another one, which he accepts.

”I should probably elaborate.” He sighs.

“You don’t need to dear, I understand, some ponies, or humans in this case, just need something to take the edge off.”

”See that’s also the problem.”

You glanced at Anon with a curious look. Neither of you had really been making eye contact, but now your interest has been peaked. Anon re-positioned him self so that his body was facing towards you.

”Do you mind if I tell you some stuff? I know you’re just trying to relax but it feels very...liberating to let my problems off my chest.”

“Well, Twilight did intend this day for us to bond, so I don’t see any problem in that. Go ahead, what do you have to say.”

Anon sat back again and turned his body away slightly.

”My parents, weren’t bad parents, and I loved them with all my heart, but I definitely had my issues.”

He took another drag from his cigarette.

”My dad, was always busy with work, and whenever he got home, he’d just want to relax. He never hit me, or beat me, or did any of that, he was just always distant. He had to work at least two jobs to keep us in our home.”

“Hm! Well, what was bad about him? From your tone I’m assuming he did something wrong?”

”Well, he didn’t really. It’s what he didn’t do. It was probably just as hard on him. Now that I meditate back on all of this, I’m realizing now he probably just thought he needed to make it through this little rough patch in life and then he could finally enjoy his family.”

“Well, did that rough patch come to an end?”

”For him...a quick one too. Stroke, in the shower.”

“Oh...oh darling I’m so sorry to hear!”

”It’s fine, I was really young, and again he was very distant and tired all the time. The memories I do have were good. It really fucked up my mom though.”

“Oh I could only imagine! Losing a husband so quickly and with a foal of her own must’ve been devastating.”

”Well, she turned to smoking and drinking a lot. She had to take up a lot of working just to feed the two of us and we had to move into a shabby apartment. She would dote on me quite a lot in those days. She was emotionally unstable, having multiple break downs a week.”

You placed both your hooves on Anon’s arm

”Yea, she was probably scared to loose the only other family member she had left. I found all the attention to get very annoying though.”

Anon buried his face into his hands.

”When I grew up I contacted her less and less, though I still called every week to see how she was doing. She loved those calls.”

Goodness, you could see what Twilight was saying. He definitely hasn’t had a happy upbringing.

”Eventually, she got sick. I couldn’t bring myself to visit her on some days...then one day...she...”

Tears were forming in the eyes of both of you now. This was all dreadful to hear.

“You don’t have to finish darling, I think I get it.”

Anon pulled you in close for a tight hug. Be strong Rarity, you’ve let some tears drop, but bawling isn’t something a lady would do in this situ-

”I wasn’t even there, she went without anyone besides the nurses by her side.”

You wrapped your forelegs around Anonymous as tight as you could. Trying to console.

“I-it’s fine darling, y-you, you don’t need to continue.”

The two of you held the embrace for what felt like hours before Anon released the hug. Anon sighed.

”That’s something I don’t think I ever got over...thank you...I’m sorry you had to hear all that.”

“Anon, don’t be silly. I’d give up everyday to listen to your problems if it helped get these horrible feelings off your chest!”

”You couldn’t possibly mean that do you?”

“Absurd! I couldn’t make a statement more true if I were Applejack!”

”Thanks Rarity. Sorry I made today a little awkward.”

“Absolutely not! I must be honest Anon, I was slightly dreading having you come over, but hearing about your problems helped break any preconceived notions I may have had of you. I couldn’t have possibly known the help you needed with out you asking.” You wiped more of the mascara running down your cheek away with a hoof.

“In fact, I should probably get started again on those pants of yours. They will be just the things you need to feel comfortable.”

”You never really had to do that Rarity. I don’t even know how I’ll pay you.”

“Don’t think about it. I’ll be doing it for free.”

”What? Rarity you don’t-”

“Ah! I won’t be hearing it. I AM the Element of Generosity after all.” You gave him smug smile. He wouldn’t be arguing out of this.

”I...hm. Thank you, that means a lot to me.”

“Of course darling! Although, if you helped me with some of this, we could still make it to the spa.”

”Of course tell me what I need to do for you and I’ll get it done. Hopefully with less animals chasing me.”

You snickered at that. “Of course not, my cat Opal isn’t even here this week.”

”Well, sounds good.”

And with that, the rest of the day flew by. Especially at the Spa. By the time you two left, Anon looked more rejuvenated than ever, that bags under his eyes even seemed to be nothing more than a few dark circles.

You waived good bye to him with a wide smile on your face and made it back to the boutique in time to greet Sweetie Bell who had just come back from doing Celestia knows what for her cutie mark. Anon really wasn’t such a bad guy after all. You’d have to remember to tell that to Rainbow Dash. As you were getting ready for the end of the night, you set yourself up some ink, quill, and paper.

By candle light, you began writing, a lonely tear escaped your eye.

“Dearest mother...”

~~

You paced your way around the library, waiting for the next letter from Luna to arrive. You had been discussing with her for the past few days about Anon and his nightmares.

They weren’t as bad as the first few nights he arrived here in Equestria, but they definitely were NOT getting better either. Princess Luna wrote to you saying that she has found a way to wake Anon up in the dream realm without waking him up in the waking realm, but whenever she approaches Anon, he seems to be tossing and turning as if in a struggle. Neither of you know what’s going on. You two don’t why Anon is in the dream realm, or how he could be having nightmares with out a bubble.

Except, maybe one of you did. Princess Luna had a hypothesis, though she said she needed to do a little bit of rereading on the subject to figure this out. And now you were waiting for a letter back from her. She said she’d send another one within the night.

You’ve been walking in circles for almost an hour now. Your hair is frizzy, your eyes were heavy, you could smell your body odor, having taken little time through out the few days to even wash properly, maybe just brush your teeth and mane, but that was about it.

You were on the cusp though, you could feel it. Certainly the princess’ hypothesis would point you in the right direction, if not be entirely correct.

You could hear the pitter patter of tiny feet running down the stairs from your room.

”Twilight!” Spike called to you.

”A letter came from Princess Luna!”

“Perfect, let me see.” You enveloped the parchment in your aura and brought it up to you.

You broke the seal and began to read.

Hm.

A little strange. You have a vague understanding of what she is talking about here, though you don’t fully understand what they had to do with Anon and his nightmares.

The note reads:

”Dear Twilight Sparkle, We have read up on what we believe to be at the heart of this issue, and while it appears to not make any sense, there is nothing wrong with exploring the possibility. You see, a pony’s dream is within their own consciousness, when asleep, their consciousness must go somewhere. That somewhere as you know is the dream realm, a metaphysical dimension for the conscious mind. Imagine the physical world as a piece of film, and the conscious world as a source of light passing through it, and you may understand the general idea. Our minds only act as a vessel for our conscious selves. This consciousness still has an origin however, and stays with our conscious. In most creatures this is within the heart. The heart is the source of our consciousness when projected into the physical world while a pony is awake. We bring this up because in our talks and studies of Anonymous, we can’t seem to find HIS source. Only his consciousness. This maybe a quirk of the dream realm, but I implore you that whenever the time is opportune, use your magic to check and see if Anon’s source of consciousness is in his heart. If we know where his source is, we can use it to help him. I’m sure the spell to do this is in the second volume of ‘Intermediate spell casting.’ I wish you luck. ~Princess Luna.”

Literally what? Yea you know about the relationship about the heart and mind and its connection to consciousness and it’s source but why exactly is she bringing this up?

It should only matter if he were UNCONSCIOUS, at least, the only time you read about this being the case was when patients are being treated in hospital.

Do dreams come from this source too? Strange, but intriguing! It was at this moment you were pulled from your philosophical pondering.

The front door opened and you could hear a sigh escape someone’s lips.

“Ah! Anonymous, you’re home! How was your day with rarity?”

”Evening Twi, it went fine. She sewed me some new clothes, and even paid for a spa day for both of us. I freaked out the owners at first, but they seemed to calm down after Rarity vouched for me. Heh, she must go there quite a bit.”

“Hee hee, yea, the spa is a second home for that mare. Were you able to open up some more?”

”Yea, it felt great to get all of this stuff off my chest. You and your friends never had to do any of this, but I’m very thankful you all do.”

He threw his new outfits onto the couch and sat down across from you. ”It’s been helping me socialize a lot more.”

You smiled. Of course it was working, what couldn’t the magic of friendship solve?

“I’m glad to hear all of that. Does this mean you still feel as sad as you used too?”

Anon sighed and leaned back, staring off somewhere nonspecific. ”Honestly Twi, I don’t think those feelings will ever go away. They’ve been easier to deal with though, I’ll give you that much, but there is still...something getting in the way. I think I know what it is, but I don’t know if I can come to terms with it.”

You canter over to the couch and sit down next to them.

“Gosh, want to talk about it?”

Anon paused for a second, pondering the question, then shook his head. ”Maybe tomorrow. I’m honestly done with opening my heart up today, plus I don’t know how exactly I feel about saying anything about...that.”

You place a hoof on Anon’s arm.

”I understand. I’m happy we are all making a difference though, we’ve all gotten to know you pretty well after the past few weeks and want to see you through it.”

”I’ll still never understand it...but I couldn’t be more grateful.” Anon arched his back and stretched his arms. With a yawn he picked up his clothing and headed for the basement.

”Sorry to cut this chat so short Twilight, but helping Rarity finish my clothes was almost as exhausting as the farm work with Apple Jack, and that spa day was so relaxing. I’m turning in early.”

“Oh, that’s fine Anon, you get some rest. I enjoyed the conversation.”

”Good night Twi.”

“Good night!” You smiled in his direction as he shut his door.

He was doing so much better, but at the same time you could tell there was still so much to do. You could see the worry in his eyes when he was talking about his troubles.

Your mind drifted back to Luna’s letter. Finding the source of Anon’s consciousness hm? You needed to find that spell. You remember learning it, and used it once or twice helping some of the nurse ponies when they didn’t know it. But that was so long ago. Luna mentioned where you could find the instructions to cast it. “Spike!”

You called out to Spike upstairs, he peaked down from where the steps meet the ceiling.

“I need your help finding a spell. I don’t know entirely what Princess Luna plans to do with this information, but we need to look for something inside Anon’s heart.”

”WHAT?!”

You face hoof’d. Maybe you shouldn’t have phrased it like that…

~~

”You’re kidding?” Anon stared up at you, waiting for a response.

“I am not. My sister really did make her own little fortress out of nothing but cake in her bedroom one day. The palace chefs were not too pleased at this. I for one was rather impressed at the structural integrity. Seeing as it was made out of...well cake.”

Anon chuckled to himself hearing that. Tonight was the fifth night you woke Anon up in the dream realm and you have gotten quite attached to him. Underneath his depressing exterior you could find a relatable and interesting companion to talk too.

What ever was troubling either of you, the other would have the best way of dealing with it, or at least express understanding. Both of you felt the same about a lot, and had a lot of problems. It’d even make you blush sometimes.

”Celestia didn’t make a pool filled with tea next did she?” Anon had a sly smile growing on his face.

“Oh she nearly did. However the guards managed to convince her to stop once rumor spread that if she tried such a thing half of the staff would strike over all of the clean up work.”

Anon grabbed a hold of his sides as if they were at risk of flying off as he laughed at your story.

It got a chuckle out of you as well. The things Celestia would do sometimes just to mess with ponies. You’d think her worse than Discord. After laughing for what seemed like a solid ten minutes, Anon looked up and smiled at you.

”You know Luna...you’re the first real friend I’ve had. At least one that feels this genuine.”

“Is that so?”

”Yes, it is. I mean, I’ve had ‘acquaintances’, or people I’d talk to, but they weren’t friends. I couldn’t rely on them and I didn’t know them that well. You seem to understand me how ever, and when ever I need a shoulder to cry on or an ear to talk to, you seem to be there. Not to be mean to the Elements but, they’re not like you.”

You blushed. Truth be told, other than Celestia you couldn’t remember the last true friend you had. You knew you had some, though those were thousands of years ago...and they are long gone now.

“Thank you Anonymous that...really means a lot. I also can’t seem to remember a pony other than my sister I could call a true friend.”

Anon pulled you in for a hug which you were very eager to return.

”Well, I’m happy you feel the same way too Luna. It’s great we can do that for each other.” Anonymous was moving to break the hug, but you wrapped your hooves around him tighter.

He ain’t getting away from this. It was too good of a hug to end now. You may end up staying like this until it was ready for the sun to come up in fact.

Anon chuckled and surrendered to your effort to continue the hug, and he placed a hand on top of your head. Yes, Anon would receive your hugs of friendship. And he was going to enjoy them as much as you did. May the maker have mercy on any creature that would threaten such bond.

~~~~