Anonymous in Nu-Questria 2

You and Sunny walked back up to the upper deck to get some quiet.

You began your tale, recounting it to the best of your memory as she listened and took careful notes under the light of the bow’s lanterns.

You had went by train to Canterlot with Lyra for the wedding. It was the same train taken by the mane six, but a different car. Lyra was one of the bridesmaids for Cadence and Shining armor’s wedding, and you can still remember how excited she was...

After you arrived, you spent the first day helping out with Applejack and Pinkie Pie’s various tasks, and chatting with the rest of the mane six. Meanwhile, Lyra went on to meet with Cadence and the rest of the bridesmaids.

You didn’t know about changelings then. Not until it was too late.

You were supposed to meet up with Lyra once evening rolled around. The mane six went on their way to get some drinks and relax, and you waited for Lyra near the main square.

She kept you waiting, but eventually she showed up. Except it wasn’t really her. The changeling Lyra copy wasn’t wearing her bridesmaid’s outfit. It made some weird excuse.

You got lured you back to the castle room where you should have been spending a nice night with your pony wife, but instead the changeling dropped the disguise and knocked you out.

You woke up in the crystalline caves below the city, chained to a pillar made of glittering amethyst. You watched helplessly as Lyra and the other bridesmaids were hypnotized by Chrysalis to stand guard at the exit. Her laugh, God... it was awful.

Luckily, after what seemed like hours... Twilight pulled through. She had somehow found the real Cadence in the caves and rescued her. They passed you on the way up, and Twilight unlocked your shackles.

As you were confronted by a possessed Lyra and the other two bridesmaids, you knew you had to do something. Twilight and Cadence distracted the other mares, and you grabbed and held Lyra tightly in your arms. She struggled and kicked at you, bruising you all over, but you held on. Eventually... she snapped out of it.

By the time you made it to the city streets, the changelings were already pounding away at the protective shield around the city. You watched as the spell cracked and shattered into nothing, and the swarm descended upon the city.

You could have stood and fought, but you didn’t want her to get hurt. You couldn’t risk it. You grabbed Lyra and hid in an empty home. You listened to the carnage unfolding, knowing Twilight and her friends would come through in the end. They had the Elements after all, right?

It was only after the fact that you learned what really drove out the changelings and saved the day. You were told by Twilight that Shining and Cadence’s love overcame Chrysalis’ magic draining effect. Shining cast his most powerful protective shield spell yet to blast the changeling swarm out of Canterlot in one fell swoop.

You and Lyra crept out of the home to see the group of friends victorious, and soon thereafter, the true wedding was held.

You sigh deeply, letting the memory slip past your lips one final time before it becomes slapped into a textbook somewhere.

You are leaned with your back against the high gunwale of the ship. The sounds of crickets and frogs resonate from the wild landscape surrounding the ship. The ever-present hum of the engines mixes with buzz of the electric lamps around the inner rim of the bow.

“And then, at the reception, Twilight sang a pretty great song the bride and groom.” You say.

Sunny smiles warmly as she finishes writing down a note. She takes the pencil out of her mouth for a second.

“Hm. Did it have a name?” She asks.

“Oh... it was called, ‘Love is in Bloom.’ I believe...” You say.

Sunny jots that down quickly. She grins as she and puts the pencil in the fold of her notebook.

“Wow,” She says softly. “You know... somehow I knew I’d appreciate your story a lot more than that silly game in there...” She nods her head back to the stern and smiles casually.

“Well, I guess the real thing didn’t make for an interesting game...” You say.

Sunny closes her notebook and sits up tall.

“Hey, uh, weird question.” She says. “Who would you say your favorite friend was back then... out of the ‘mane six,’ as you call them?”

You shrug. “I mean, it’s hard to decide...”

You know it’s definitely not Twilight, at least.

“I liked hanging out with Rainbow Dash a lot... we got along really well most of the time. Pinkie pie was also really cool, but she was best in small doses. Applejack was nice to share a cider with every once and a while... Rarity was cool, but I didn’t really, uh, ‘vibe’ with her very well. You know?”

“What about Fluttershy?” Sunny says with an innocent smile.

“Uh...” You say.

Flutershy... what a kind and innocent little pony she was at first. Later on in your life, there were quite a few... tumultuous events that strained your friendship with her..

You don’t think Sunny is ready for that story yet.

“She was... a very kind and very shy pony.” You say.

“Hm.” Sunny smirks. “Okay. So what I’m getting is that Rainbow Dash was your favorite?”

“Yeah, sure. Why not.” You say. You shrug indifferently.

Sunny grins and reaches into her bag for a moment. You watch her as she pulls out a few round graphic pins from her bag.

She holds them out to you in her hoof, turning them over so that they face upward.

You see various buttons that have Rainbow Dash’s cutie mark printed on them in different styles. The inked tagboard is all weathered from age, but you can still distinctly see the clouds and banded lighting bolts.

Sunny smiles at you genuinely for a moment. “Well, go ahead. Take one.”

“Uh... No thanks, Sunny.” You say.

Sunny tilts her head. “Alright, I have other ones...” She says, reaching back to pull out even more pins from her bag.

She spreads them out on the deck near her notebook to show you.

Along with the buttons that resemble the cutie marks of the old ponies, there are some with positive messages about being inclusive. One of the buttons reads “Everycreature Belongs!” Another boldly proclaims “Friends Before Forms!”

You shake your head. “No, really Sunny.” You say. “Pins... are not my thing.”

Sunny freezes her hoof and looks up at you.

“Oh.” She says. “Alright.”

She hesitantly starts packing up the buttons.

You cross your arms and look away from her.

You stare into the darkness beyond the ship, the partly cloudy night makes the ship an island of light in the wilderness.

Sunny picks up the last button, but stops to admire it before she puts it away.

You glance at her. She has a wistful look on her face.

“I’d never heard that term before: everycreature.” Sunny says. “You said there were only ponies in Canterlot back then, but from what it sounds like, that eventually changed...”

“Yeah.” You say. “So why are you looking at that button like that?”

“It just... I dunno.” Sunny says. She tilts her head away and smiles with a bit of a blush. “I really like it. Knowing that all these different creatures were able to come together and become friends...” She says. She strokes the button with a hoof before she puts it back in her bag and closes the flap.

You sigh and shift your sitting position a bit. You don’t really like the way this conversation is headed.

“Yeah... it was something.” You say.

Sunny picks up on your lack of enthusiasm and quirks an eyebrow questioningly.

“I mean, you’re an example of that, right? You were there too.” Sunny says.

“Well, not really.” You say plainly.

“It’s not the same thing when you only have one human or one dragon in a mostly pony society. It’s not like what happened when Equestria opened its borders and encouraged all kinds settle there.”

Sunny narrows her eyes a bit. “How so?” She asks.

Damn. Are you really going to drop a redpill on her right now? Tell her your little pet theory on why Equestria might have fallen?

You rub the back of your head and stall by exhaling in a long breath. Slowly, you look at Sunny.

“Let’s just say that things started to change a lot. Ponyville became something different. By all accounts I should have been glad not to be the only weird looking biped walking around, but...”

“But what?” Sunny asks.

“You know what? Just forget it.” You say. You flap your hand dismissively.

You move to stand up, but Sunny puts her hoof on your arm.

“Hey, Anon.” She says. You stop.

“You don’t need to try and spare my feelings, alright? I want to hear what you have to say.”

You have an unsure look on your face. Sunny is looking at you with a serious expression.

It’s not like you really believe it to be true, but you felt like you should tell her. It’s not a possibility she would ever consider. Plus, if you do tell her she might stop trying to thirst after your dick so much. Eh, why not.

You take a short breath through your nose and clear your throat.

“Back on Earth, there once was a great and mighty empire called Rome, right? It existed two thousand years before I was even born. And everyone knows that it’s a powerful nation that conquered most of the known world at the time. But even though it was incredibly influential, it eventually fell. It wasn’t the first one either, many empires rose and fell throughout Earth’s history.”

Sunny removes her hoof from your arm and listens intently.

“People didn’t really know how the great empires fell, but people had some... ideas.” You say, feeling a bit unsure as to why you’re explaining this.

“They believed that a nation is only as strong as its cultural cohesion. You know, everyone speaking the same language and operating under the same value systems.”

Sunny skews her mouth to the side, but she keeps listening. You continue.

“Some theorized that Rome fell because it was weakened by letting in too many people from the nations they conquered who had different beliefs, different ways of doing things, different customs. The culture that made Rome strong eroded over time to become something else. That, along with other factors, might have tipped the scales in their military conflicts. They suffered a terrible series of losses against their enemies, and eventually the entire nation fell.”

You scratch your head. “Now I’m not saying that’s what happened to Equestria, but...”

“Wait, wait, wait.” Sunny says, holding up a hoof. “You’re saying that making friends with creatures from different parts of the world - letting them move to Equestria - helped cause it to collapse?”

You sigh. You raise your hands submissively. “Look, all I know is that I went to sleep and there were creatures everywhere. Now I wake up, and all the creatures are all gone, and your pony races are living in segregated cities.”

Sunny shakes her head and puts her hoof back on the floor.

“That’s ridiculous. Anon, we were separated before, but when we showed everyone how amazing friendship could be, they’ve changed. Our cities have only gotten better because of that. They are cooperating with each other instead of being afraid. It’s done nothing but good!” Sunny says.

She’s getting a bit frustrated it seems.

“Well yeah, sure. For now.” You say. “But what will happen when you bring in the griffons? You know that they eat meat, right? It’s not even a choice for them. They’re carnivores. They have to do it to survive. Are you going to tell me that all those ponies back in your town are going to be fine with watching them eat live rabbits every day?”

You shrug at her with a disbelieving look. Sunny furrows her brow and glances around, thinking.

“Well,” She says, “If they don’t have a choice, and as long as they don’t eat ponies, I don’t see what the big deal is.”

“Yeah.” You say. “You don’t see what the big deal is, but all those other ponies probably will. They won’t like it. They will want to move away.”

“But... but that’s speciesism!” Sunny says, she lifts a hoof and leans forward. “Like what you said to Izzy. You shouldn’t discriminate against other creatures for things they can’t even control!”

“That’s not really the point.” You say. “I don’t really care. I got used to being a weird alien to every pony in this world. I adapted and changed. I became an ‘honorary’ pony. When the creatures starting coming, they were supposed to integrate and adapt too, but that wasn’t always the case. They kept their heritage with them, both their families and their cultural values. That creates conflict, Sunny. In one form or another.”

You glance over the side of the ship and gesture towards the dark mall looming in the distance.

“Just look around you, Sunny.” You say. “Once this place had tens of thousands living here. Where do you think they all went? Do think everyone just left amicably when magic went away? Whatever happened, it wasn’t pretty, and I’m certainly sure it wasn’t prevented by the power of friendship between all creatures.”

Sunny scoffs at that last remark. She blinks a few times and leans back as if she is recoiling from the idea. Her mouth twists into a scowl.

“You have... some nerve, Anon.” She says, stomping a hoof. “The only reason you’re here is because of friendship. Ponies coming together to accomplish what they couldn’t alone. From what it sounds like, you’re saying we should have just let you die in that forest alone because you’re dangerous to us.”

“No, that’s now that I’m saying. But you know what?” You say, rising up slowly to your feet. “Maybe you should have, Sunny.”

You lean down towards her. “I’m not exactly the best person. Why else would then want to send me away, huh? I didn’t fit in back then, remember?” You say with sardonic intonation.

Sunny’s eyes narrow as she stares back at you, bold and unmoving.

“And I don’t fit in here now, either.” You say.

You stand up straight and cross your arms.

Sunny grimaces. She clenches her eyes shut for a moment and folds back her ears. For a moment you think she might try to kick you or something.

Instead, she just says, “That’s... not true, Anon.”

You look at her coldly. She opens her eyes and her tense expression softens. She leans up and meets your gaze.

“You do belong here. I can feel it in you. You want to be around ponies.” She says. “You even fell in love with one.”

The word twists in your gut as she says it.

“What would have happened to Lyra if you weren’t there to help her? She might have gotten hurt... or worse.” She says.

“No, she would have been fine.” You say in a low, patronizing tone. “And don’t talk about her, please.”

Sunny glances away for a moment.

“You know,” She says. “I really don’t think you believe ponies and humans are that different deep down.”

She looks at you with a scrutinizing stare. “You want to believe in harmony. I know you do.”

“Sure, whatever.” You say. You turn out towards the mall. You don’t want to look in her stupid eyes any longer.

You motion out to the darkened mall.

”So what do you think happened then, huh?” You ask.

Sunny scrunches her mouth up and looks out across the open field.

“Well... what if someone very evil and powerful came along? Someone like Chrysalis, but only stronger?” She says.

“Maybe they’re the reason things started to fall apart, and maybe they caused the different creatures to fear and dislike each other?”

“Alright,“ You say. “So you think Twilight failed to stop this evil person, and they killed her and took over Equestria?”

“Well...” Sunny says. “Nopony is invincible. I know Twilight would have done everything she could to stop them, but sometimes... things just don’t work out.”

Her ears tilt down a bit as she considers it.

“Then what? How did all the ponies get separated?” You ask.

“Anon, ponies can get scared when terrible things happen. It can cause them to make rash decisions that do more harm than good. Without somepony like Twilight to help them keep believing, they might have grown distrustful. First they just stopped trusting creatures, but it wouldn’t have ended there. Eventually they would start fearing other ponies.”

She inhales slowly deeply and then exhales in a resolved breath.

“That’s why we have to change it. We have to do what Twilight isn’t here to do now.”

You glance at her. She turns her head to you.

“We’re the ones that need to show all creatures in this world what it means to be friends.” She says.

You feel a small twinge inside. This time it isn’t nostalgia or the pang of regret. Her words resonate across the generations, echoing the speeches of princesses of old.

You want to dismiss her, or call her naive, but you don’t. You just shake your head and avoid her gaze.

“And,” Sunny adds as she promptly picks up her notebook and packs it away. “I think the first creature I’m going to teach the meaning of friendship to... is you.”

Sunny smiles a bit, then begins to walk off towards the center of the main deck.

Is she really trying to pull that played out old card on you again? You’ve had enough “friendship lessons.”

“You know, Sunny. I’m a decade older than I look. That makes me like, what, twenty years your elder?” You say.

You turn toward her. Sunny pauses and looks back at you out of the corner of her eye.

She giggles. “Well, for someone that old, you certainly have a young soul.” She says. Her confident grin widens and she continues walking.

You sneer and watch her walk to the door to the cabins and slip back inside quietly.

You stand out on the deck for a moment.

A young soul? Really? That seems like a poor excuse made up by a mare that’s suddenly into older guys. Gross.

You walk back in the door a moment later. You go down the hall to the steps leading to the galley and lounge below. The sounds of the video game are still on full blast.

You won’t get any sleep with them playing like this. You decide to walk down the stairs just to check.

From the bottom landing of the steps, you see Hitch and Zipp engaged in a heated battle against a throng of changelings. Izzy is watching with adoration as their characters fight, and Pipp is sitting on a couch, distracting herself by trying on new accessories and taking photos.

Sunny isn’t here. She must have went back to her quarters.

“No, no, no! That’s not fair!” Hitch complains. The griffon he was playing as gets knocked to the floor as several changelings hit him with multiple horn blasts in quick succession.

“Hah!” Zipp says. “You have to block, dude!” She’s intently focusing on the hologram, her hooves clacking the buttons with incredible precision.

You decide to watch for a while, taking a seat on one of the couches. Eventually, Hitch runs out of lives and starts stealing them from Zipp to keep playing. They don’t make it to the end of the stage and fail it.

Hitch then calmly puts down the controller and decides that he doesn’t want to try again.

It’s still an anachronistic schlocky piece of garbage, so you don’t volunteer.

Not at first, at least. Once the ponies swap out a few more times, you eventually decide to give it a go. It was something to do, at least. Why not?

You and the ponies wind up staying past the usual bedtime on the ship as you try to power through to the last boss.

It turns out that Chrysalis actually has three different forms she morphs into with each of her health bars. You must have missed that part when it happened in real life for sure. Also, she’s the most awful bitch ever and you hate this fucking game.

Chrysalis destroys both your avatars with her unavoidable horn laser move for the twentieth time, and it’s at that point that Zipp finally decides to call it a night.

She goes to the engine room to power down the reactor and open the ventilation valves.

You, Hitch, Pipp and Izzy all head to your respective cabins and turn in for the night.