Anonymous in Nu-Questria

In the morning, you woke up to the sound of the forest again.

Thankfully, the hike back to your tomb was a short one. You all quickly arrived at a large clearing.

The earth below had shifted over the years, and what was once a level area had been tilted by the rise of a large hill. There are bits and pieces of broken architecture strewn around, mostly stone blocks, pillars and slabs. All of it made from some kind of bluish-gray stone.

The ponies quietly led you through the structure’s overgrown, weathered remains. As you weaved between the piles of rubble, you scanned for anything you might recognize. You noticed it seemed similar to the castle architecture you had seen before, but nothing that stirs a memory.

The morning breeze starts to pick up into a gentle wind as you near the far corner of the clearing. Here, the smooth gradient of the hill suddenly drops down sharply into a deep ravine. You notice that a section of the structure ended up precariously close to the edge of it. The ponies seem to be leading you towards it.

Sunny stops walking in front of a stone archway that leads into the crumbling structure.

“Here.” she says dully, pointing a hoof inside.

You crane your neck and look inside. The walls are mostly intact, except for the giant hole on the one that faces the ravine. Sunlight is pouring into the space through the gaps.

You step into the room cautiously. Your shoes hit the cold, forgotten stone with resonant taps. You have to lean on your left foot due to the tilt. The room seems pretty big. Better than ending up in a broom closet, you suppose. It had a vaulted ceiling at one point, but it’s long since crumbled away. Rows of stone sarcophagi line the walls. You see streaks of rust where metal sconces once stood.

You make your way further inside. A set of tall, arched windows dominates the far wall. Of the stained glass murals they held, only small shards remain. You also see a large stone slab built into the wall. It’s definitely big enough for you to lay down on. You look to your right and see the slab hangs over the edge of the ravine a bit with nothing but thin air beyond.

You lean down and touch the slab where you had slept for years upon years. Your fingers come away with a layer of fine crystalline dust on them. It glints with specks of green in the sunlight.

“Yep. Seems about right.” You say.

You look around the room slowly, taking in the details. There’s carved murals of various pony figures in the walls, all worn with time. Patches of moss and vegetation seep in through every crack. You don’t notice any hidden doors or compartments. No inscriptions or ancient scrolls. No puzzles to solve. It’s just a tomb.

You turn back to the archway. The ponies are still standing at the entrance. They had been watching you the entire time.

“Well, little ponies,” You say as you walk towards them. “This place was supposed to be a secret. You see, they never told me where they were going to put my casket. That was on purpose... nopony was ever supposed to know.”

You stop in front of them. “But you all just had to go looking, huh?”

You look at each one individually. They look back with concern, frustration and hopelessness.

“You have successfully fucked up my life. Congrats. Now it’s time for you all leave this place. Forget you ever saw me. Forget these ruins exist.” You say. “Alright?”

They all continue to look at you.

“Well? Go on now.” You say and wave a hand dismissively, “Shoo. Shoo.”

Hitch and Izzy frown and start to reluctantly turn away from you. Sunny stands defiantly, her brow burning with determination. The other ponies stop moving as she stands.

“We are not leaving you here, Anon!” Sunny says.

“Oh?” You say, leaning against the archway. You raise your eyebrows.

The white pegasus, who’s name you learned was Zipp, raises her head and steps forward proudly. Her pink and cyan mohawk points directly up at the sky.

“She’s right,” Zipp says, you sense a bit of uncertainty in her face.

“Look, I didn’t want to tell you this, but Pipp and I... we’re royalty. We have connections. We can get you whatever you want. Food, gold, gems, you name it. All we ask-”

“Pass.” You say with a bored expression.

Zipp shoots you an incredulous look. “What? So your plan is... what exactly? Surviving out here all by your own?”

“Why yes,” you say, nodding your head. “That is exactly what I’m going to do.”

She turns her head and scrunches her face in frustration. Pipp puts a hoof on her sister’s shoulder sympathetically.

Hitch, who had been glaring at you for a while, suddenly throws back his head and laughs. “Hah. Hah. You hear that everypony? He’s a regular mountainmare.” He nods in your direction.

He continues proudly, “Of course, I’ve never met an outdoors-type that wears a three piece suit to the woods. Or one that brings absolutely no supplies when they go trotting around in a dangerous frontier.”

“I’d give him about three hours before he comes crawling back to camp.” He says, giving you shit-eating grin.

With that, Hitch says “Come on, everypony.” He turns and starts walking away.

One by one, the rest of the ponies slowly turn to follow him. They start to funnel out of the ruins in a single-file line. It’s a relief to your eyes, but you need to make sure they don’t watch where you go.

You decide to escort them out.

Sunny is the last in line, marching right in front of you. As you near the treeline of the forest again, she suddenly stops.

She raises her head and says to the other ponies, “You all go ahead. I’ll catch up.” The others glance back, but they just nod and keep walking.

You stand there watching her, your arms folded. Sunny turns and then sits down on the grass. Her body slumps as she lets out a long sigh.

“Can I just ask one thing?” She says, looking up at you.

“No.” You say. “Leave.”

“I can’t.” She says, “I really, really need to know this.”

You glower at her menacingly. “I don’t care to hear your pep-talk, Sunny.”

She shakes her head slowly side to side. “No no no no. It’s not about you, okay?” She scratches the turf with her hoof. “I’m fine with parting ways.”

You quirk an eyebrow. She continues.

“Listen, all of my life, I have always looked up to Twilight Sparkle and her friends. She was... like a mother to me. I never got the chance to get to know my own mom. So I idolized her.”

She looks up at you. The wind picks up and blows her mane gently.

“But a while ago I realized that the Twilight I know is just fiction. Stories passed down from one pony to the next. I want to know what she was like as a real flesh and blood pony. With faults and flaws just like everypony else. I just... can’t wrap my head around it. I can’t believe that the Princess of Friendship, the one who brought harmony to all of Equestria, would ever give up on anyone. No matter who they are.”

“You’d be surprised.” You say with a sneer.

“Well, that’s exactly it.” Sunny explains. “I was surprised when I learned she agreed to seal you away.”

She puts on a determined expression. “So tell me why I’m wrong.”

“What?” You say. “I’m not going to debate you. Leave.”

“Who said anything about a debate? I’ll just sit here and listen, that’s all. You can feel happy crushing my dreams, and I can learn something. It’s a win-win!” she smiles.

You growl under your breath and slowly shake your head at her.

“Or I can just sit here until you tell me!” Sunny says.

“No!” You shout.

“You know I won’t give up, Anon!” Sunny shouts back.

You stop. Well, there it is.

“I know we’ll run into each other again. And when we do, you’re going to tell me all about Ancient Equestria and its people.” She stomps her hoof. “Mark. My. Words.”

You clench your fists and fume with anger. God damn this stubborn orange cunt. She really isn’t budging. How many times have you dealt with this shit? A mare that won’t get out of your life no matter what you do.

You take a deep breath to calm yourself. You try to think.

“So... if I tell you how we stopped being friends, you’ll go away?” You say.

Sunny’s determined expression softens. She nods once confidently.

“And you’ll never, ever try to find me again?” You say.

“Yes.” She says.

You ponder it for a moment, putting a finger on your chin.

“Hm...” You say, “Do you promise? Will you really leave me alone?”

Sunny sits up as straight as she can and places a hoof over her heart.

“I, Sunny Starscout, hereby agree to the terms proposed by Anonymous. In exchange for information, I will stay out of his life. On behalf of all ponykind, I will hold up my part, hoof to heart!”

She smiles softly and looks up at you with anticipation.

You rub your temples as you sigh.

“Well...” you say, “Where do I begin?”

You had taken a seat on a section of a collapsed pillar as you racked your brain. Sunny was getting a little impatient as she sat in the grass, waiting for you to speak.

The wind tossed the tall, verdant grass in long, rolling waves. Fluffy white clouds scrolled lazily across the bright blue sky. You savored the quiet, still landscape around you. There was only one thing standing between you and peace.

“It... it started with the wings.” You say.

“The wings?” Sunny says, tilting her head.

You shake your head slightly. “No... not the wings exactly. I-It’s what they represented.”

Sunny leans forward a bit, straining to understand.

“You know she was unicorn first, right?” You ask.

She nods, “Yes!”

“Did you know she lived in a library that was built into a tree? It was called The Golden Oak Library.”

“Woah...” Sunny says as she leans forward, her eyes going wide. “So that’s what it was called.”

You sigh wistfully. “Ah, I remember it well. Those early days... she was a nice pony then...”

You shift a little in your seat as you stare off across the treetops to the sun-covered clouds in the sky.

“When I first showed up, I was terrified. I had never seen a place like this. Never been around ponies. I didn’t know what to do. I felt like... I could never belong in a place like this. But Twilight, she didn’t hesitate. She gathered up her friends and went to work. By the end of the day, she had convinced the whole town to let me stay.” You explain.

“I felt... welcomed. I had a place there, in that little town. Slowly the ponies warmed up to me, and I made friends.” You smile, thinking back to the laughter and joy, all their smiling faces.

“It was a simple life. A good life.” you say.

“Of course,” you shrug, “I couldn’t really help them do much. I can’t use magic, I can’t fly and I can’t tame animals with just a stare. I was content to sit on the sidelines as they went on their adventures, watching them solve friendship problems together.”

You sigh deeply. You can’t help but slouch.

“And then one day it happened.” You say. “Twilight solved a friendship problem so difficult and complex, she got transported to another realm. She ascended.”

You point up to the sky slowly. Sunny glances up for a moment.

“I don’t know what happened up there. But when she came back down, it was like a star falling from the sky. She landed in the middle of Ponyville, glowing as bright as the sun. And then... well...”

You throw up your hands and splay your fingers.

“Viola. She stretched out her wings. In all their glory. In all their splendor.”

Sunny is enthralled by the story and hangs on your words. You slowly lower your hands.

“But for me it was like I got bucked in the ribs.” You say.

Sunny gasps silently. You roll your tongue in your mouth and swallow.

“It meant that she was going to live forever. She’s a fucking... demigod. She was chosen to rule an entire continent. How much more high and mighty can you get? Pretty soon after she’d be going up to the castle high in the sky. Leaving all us regular ass people down in our fucking...”

You clench your fist.

“...pony dirt town.”

You look away.

“But... that wasn’t the worst part. Nah, no no no.” You shake your head to enunciate your meaning.

“It was when every one of her friends, every one of her family members, everyone in the entire world, kept on going like there was nothing wrong.”

Sunny frowns.

“I was the odd one out.” You say. “I was the one that couldn’t be happy for her. They all just kept on going pretending like they didn’t realize that Twilight would cry at each and every one of their funerals. She would get so old that she would start to forget what they looked like. What their names were. Who they were.”

You sniff and wipe nose. Sunny lowers her head and stares at the ground.

“I couldn’t live with it. I couldn’t. Every day after that she slowly became less and less of a friend. More of a ruler. More of a deity. A symbol. Something beyond our understanding.”

“Anon...” Sunny says. She slowly raises her eyes. They’re rimmed with tears.

“Why don’t you just say it...?” she says.

“What, that she was the princess of friendship that abandoned her friends? That she chose power over being with them?” You say angrily, leaning forward towards her.

You feel a lump in your throat as she looks at you. The wind silently tussles her mane.

“You were in love with her.” Sunny says. A tear runs down her cheek.

You breathe out hotly and sneer. The fucking nerve of this girl.

“You wanted her... all to yourself, didn’t you?” Sunny says. “You couldn’t stand seeing her... grow up.”

“Bullshit-” you start to say.

“But if you really loved her... had true love for her...” Sunny says, pointing a hoof. “You would have understood that she was meant to be a princess. You would have stayed with her to the end.”

She scrunches up her face in disgust and quickly wipes the tears from her eyes.

“You’re selfish. Don’t you dare ever call her your friend again!”

She then spins on her hooves, she stomps away from you and heads back towards the treeline, sobbing quietly.

You grit your teeth and stand up. “What the fuck do you know?!” you shout at her, “You’re just another starry-eyed mare with big dreams that hasn’t had a proper taste of reality yet.”

She turns and glares at you, but keeps walking away.

“Oh, I’ve seen a lot of your type! You think you can change the world. Well, let me tell you, this place sure ain’t fucking perfect, and ponies like you get shredded up!”

You point at her aggressively, but she doesn’t see. Sunny looks away as she turns into the forest path and disappears.

You seethe with anger for a moment. You drop your hand. The forest is quiet again.

“Fuck...” you say as you sit back down.