Anonymous in Nu-Questria 2

Soon the ship is raising up quickly above the mall. With the mooring cables detached and the ballonets deflating, there’s nothing stopping you and the ponies from being lifted up to the sky.

The ponies whoop and holler with delight as they stand on the main deck. There are many cries of “I can’t believe that just happened!” and even more shouts of “That was insane!”

You joined them, letting laughter escape your lips as you let the relief wash over you.

Somehow you made it. Despite everything, you’re all still alive.

As the ship ascends, the evening sun dips into the mountains in the western sky. The clouds are burning with a brilliant display of oranges, pinks and purples. It is a safe haven to you and the ponies. A return to normalcy. There’s an electric feeling of victory in the air, and it’s hard not to give in.

Sunny strides out of the bridge sans wings and horn. Her head is held high and she wears the rainbow streak in her mane proudly.

The ponies stomp their hooves and let out a few more whoops before Sunny raises her hoof to shush them.

“Alright everypony,” She says. “Settle down.”

“That was so amazing! Hitch was like, so clutch!” Pipp gushes.

“Ah, it was nothing.” Hitch says with a wave of his hoof. “I’m just glad I came across that rock alligator thing. She was really nice, actually.”

“Cragadile...” You mutter.

“It was quite impressive, Hitch.” Sunny says.

“Well, not as impressive as you stopping that... thing from shooting! I don’t know how to thank you, Sunny.” Hitch says.

Sunny smiles. She looks around at each of her friends.

“You don’t need to thank me, Hitch. We all helped each other get out of there. We got through it because we believe in each other.” She says.

“Everyone helped out in their own way.” She says. Her eyes land on you. “And I’m very proud of all of you.”

The ponies murmur and smile warmly at each other, you turn your gaze to the side.

“Now. I’m sure you’re all wondering what the next part of the plan is.” Sunny says. “And to be honest, I’m not sure. Those hostile creatures definitely took us by surprise.”

She starts pacing as she speaks in her commanding tone.

“It was smart of them to ambush us when we split up into pairs. They must have been watching us since we first arrived. That would explain why Anon saw those eyes yesterday.”

“Yeah, and you didn’t believe me...” You say glumly.

“You’re right, Anon.” Sunny says. “We didn’t. And I think that you deserve an apology for that.”

The other ponies turn to look at you. You cross your arms.

“I’m... sorry Anon.” Hitch says first.

“Sorry.” Pipp says. “I’m sorry too, Anon.” Zipp says.

“We’re all sorry we didn’t listen to you.” Sunny says.

You honestly feel like they mean it. You nod and bit a smile. At least they can admit when they’re wrong.

“Sorry I, uh... called you a monkey, too.” Izzy says, folding her ears back.

“Apology accepted.” You say in a sober tone. “Now let’s get out of here and never look back. Right, Sunny?”

Sunny seems surprised.

“Well...” She says.

“Why? You saw how Sunny stopped their weapons!” Hitch says.

Sunny nods. “Right. We now know that our magic can stop them, but... I don’t want to rely on it. It’s best to avoid them for now.”

“So...?” You say.

Sunny breathes harshly out of her nose. “But we’re still going west.”

“W-what?” You say. You uncross your arms and look at her in sheer disbelief.

“Are you sure, Sunny? What if they follow us? What if there’s more-” Zipp says.

“Zipp! Anon! Calm down! Let me explain.” Sunny says.

She waves a hoof around at the dusky sky around them.

“Look. We’re thousands of feet in the air. We don’t have to go back to the ground to take a look. We just scan it from overhead.” She says.

You look around at the evening-painted sky.

“Oh I get it! Like we’re just a little bird flying by!” Izzy says. She does little flapping motions with her hooves.

“Exactly, Izzy.” Sunny says. She turns to Zipp. “We should have enough magical reserves to make it there. Right, Zipp?”

Zipp nods. “I mean... if we take it slow there should be no problem. But Sunny-”

“Great!” Sunny says. “No problem! Are we all agreed?”

You look at Hitch. He’s thinking about it with his hoof to his chin, but he doesn’t say anything.

“No, Sunny.” You say. “That’s still a bad idea. What if they have a way to fly themselves?”

Sunny shakes her head. “No, I don’t think so. They don’t have magic they can use to fly, and they can’t power a ship like this.”

Sunny taps her hoof against the deck twice.

“Yeah, I guess.” You say. You feel a bit of anger rising up. “But let’s say they have more guns. What if they try to shoot us down, huh?”

Sunny shakes her head. “Anon, can those guns really reach us way up here?”

“Well, no. They’d need something bigger, but...” You say.

“Sounds like you’re worried about nothing, then.” Sunny says.

She tilts her head. “But I’m not going to do this unless we all agree. So let’s put it to a vote!”

She stomps a hoof and quirks an eyebrow at you. “Sound fair?”

The other ponies look at you. Maybe the other ponies will see reason? At least there’s a chance...

“Fine.” You say sternly.

“Okay.” Sunny says. “All in favor of returning back home?”

You raise your hand. Zipp meekly raises her hoof. “It’s... probably the safest bet.” She says.

You glance at Hitch, who seems to be contemplating for a moment.

Izzy and Pipp look at him.

“Don’t you believe in us, Hitch?” Pipp says.

“We can do it, Sheriff!” Izzy says, hugging Pipp from behind.

You narrow your eyes. His ears are standing up and folding back repeatedly.

“Alright. Fine. We’ll stick to the skies, and the skies only!” Hitch says. He jabs his hoof out to Sunny. “No landing unless Anon and I check it out first, is that clear?”

“Crystal.” Sunny says with a smirk.

Hitch gives an affirmative nod and puts his hoof down.

Pipp and Izzy cheer, suddenly tackling him into a hug. Sunny giggles. Zipp seems a bit nervous. You feel the anxiety creeping in too, but what can you do?

You are, after all, still on this ride.

“So we can just monitor with the cameras from the surveillance booth, right?” Zipp says.

“Yes. No landing unless it’s absolutely safe! If not, we can just turn around and head straight back home.” Sunny says with a grin.

You let out a long sigh and cast your gaze to the floor.

“It’ll be fine, Anon!” Pipp says. “You’re always such a stick in the mud!”

“Hey, he’s just being careful, and after what happened, I don’t blame him.” Hitch says as he stands up from the mares hugging on him.

“Well, with all that’s aside...” Sunny says. You glance up at her with a pained look.

She hops excitedly and spreads her hooves apart.

“I think it’s time to celebrate! Who’s with me?” Sunny says.

“Whoo! Yeah!” Izzy and Pipp cheer. Zipp and Hitch smile a bit and seem to relax.

“To the cargo hold!” Sunny commands triumphantly and points her hoof.

“Arr! Time to assess the booty!” Izzy shouts with a growl.

The ponies laugh as they rush off towards the doors to the lower decks.

And so it went. As the evening light dimmed outside the porthole windows, the ponies dug through their pile of precious cargo and carefully unpacked things from their plastic prisons.

You know they left a good chunk of it behind in the expeditious escape, but there’s still quite a lot of stuff to go through. Not that you cared. You stayed on the sidelines and watched with a grim look.

Pipp shows off her collection of pony dresses she found. Izzy looks through a pile of collected appliances and gadgets, explaining what each one is without really caring if it’s correct or not. Zipp, Hitch and Sunny seem to enjoy the spectacle.

Sunny then asks Hitch and Zipp what they found, and they revealed their prizes. A small, magically-powered griddle, a few cases of bottled water, and a collection of small crates that contained glass bottles of various shapes and sizes.

You recognize it before the others do.

“Oh, what is that?” Sunny inquires.

“Oh, well, I know you told us not to eat the food, but... this stuff doesn’t expire.” She says. She pulls out a dust-covered wine bottle from the crate to show it to everyone.

“Wine?!” Izzy says excitedly.

“Yep. Might be worth a fortune if we sell it.” She says proudly.

“No way! Let’s drink it!” Izzy says, hopping once with glee.

Sunny laughs. “Take it easy, Izzy. Let’s save the good stuff for historical purposes.” She says. “Let’s go with something else! Oh! I know!”

Sunny pounces on the crate and takes out several bottles with her teeth, placing them on the side. She finds the one she wants and raises it up in her hoof. It’s a clear bottle half-filled with amber liquid.

“Margaritas all around!” She says, beaming at the tequila in her hoof.

“Yea-heah! Now you’re talking!” Izzy says. She then begins doing a dance while chanting “marga-marga-ritas.”

“Hey, good idea, Sunny! Plus I can grill us up some hayburgers with this!” Hitch says, tapping the aluminum metal casing of the griddle.

“Sounds like a party to me.” Zipp says coyly.

“Oh yeah! Let’s get it started everypony!” Pipp says with extra cheer.

Izzy prances over towards you during her margarita dance. She whips her head up to you and asks with excitement sparkling in her eyes, “Are you in Anon? Will you party with us?”

Fuck it. You might as well have one last party before you die.

“Sure.” You say.

You turn to Hitch. “Just make something for us non-grass-eaters, alright?” You say.

Hitch tilts his ears up and looks your way.

“Oh course! Carrot dogs too!” He says with a smile.

And so the party commenced.

The ship climbed several thousand feet into the air before it leveled out automatically. Suspended in the sky, far away from the dangers of the jungle below, the ponies brought forth their contributions, working together as if guided by some unspoken instinct for parties that all ponies seemed to share.

Pipp and Izzy put up streamers and balloons they had salvaged from a party supply store. Sunny brought ice from the freezer, fresh fruit and a cordless blender. Hitch hauled up the griddle and collected the ingredients for the hayburgers and carrot dogs.

You had nothing to bring to the party. Nothing but your own self. You helped at least with getting the sound equipment hooked up. Izzy had found some speakers and a stereo somewhere in the mall.

With a bit of cunning, you eventually figured out how to put the stereo into auxiliary mode. Pipp then pulled up her custom party playlist on her phone.

A poppy, dancy song belts out from the speakers, and the ponies instantly start to groove and shake their rumps to it. It was a bit too contemporary for your liking, but you appreciated the effort.

Pipp and Izzy took to the dance floor. Sunny hummed along. Hell, even Hitch moved his flank as he worked the griddle.

You sat back and took in the scene. It helped to relax you.

The ponies dancing in the light of the deck lanterns, the calm breezes fluttering at the canopy of the balloon, and the stars peeking out in the night sky: all of it seemed so magical and spontaneous that you almost forgot about the terrifying events that happened a mere hours ago.

As the first song ended, Sunny finished up blending the drinks and began passing them out. Izzy practically drank hers in one gulp. The others found this amusing.

Sunny held out a drink to you with a smile. You took it with a respectful nod.

Strawberry mango margaritas. A fruity girl drink if there ever was one, but hell, you’ll drink it.

You sipped and listened to the music. You denied Izzy’s requests to dance. You told her that you weren’t drunk enough yet.

A few songs later and Hitch finished up grilling a stack of hayburgers. He made some grilled carrot dogs for you as well, which you gladly accepted despite how typically unappealing you had found them in the past.

You were too hungry to care. Plus, you didn’t want to drink on an empty stomach.

You drank and ate along with the other ponies, all just sitting on the deck. Izzy and Pipp had a quick spat over who got the massage chair, but eventually they agreed to split up the time between them.

With your glass half full, you felt that familiar, warm buzz of alcohol seeping into your mind. You started to talk more and you felt a smile on your face.

“So, about those creatures, what was their deal, even?” Izzy says, slurring a bit as she drains her second margarita and eats her third hayburger. She’s in the massage chair now and it’s rolling out her lower back.

“I dunno, but they had like, no chill. No chill at all.” Pipp says, wobbling a bit with her wings stretched out for balance. She hasn’t even finished one but she already seems tipsy.

“Wasn’t it obvious, Izzy? They were a gang! Bad pirates! They wanted to steal and kill because there isn’t anyone around to stop them.” You say, taking another gulp from your cup.

“That would explain those weird patches they had.” Zipp says. She is laying on her side, propped up on one hoof. “What were they again? Some kind of goat?”

“It looked like a skull with sharp teeth and horns. Kind of like a... goat with sharp teeth?” Sunny says. She eats a bit bite of her hayburger and chews.

Hitch sits down after having finished grilling. “Yeah. I noticed that too. Maybe it’s someone important?” He says.

“I thought it looked like a dragon skull!” Izzy says.

“I’m not sure. It looks like their leader was that tiger cat. They all seemed to be different kinds of creatures.” Sunny says.

“Well, their little gang needs to update their dress code.” Pipp says. “Tench coats are so not in right now.”

“Any insights, Anon?” Sunny asks.

“Beats me.” You say. “I didn’t get close enough to look at it. I’m guessing you didn’t get any answers out of them, either.”

Sunny flattens her mouth and shakes her head.

“Figures.” You say. You lean up and gulp the rest of your beverage. “I guess I should be glad it didn’t turn out bloody...”

“It’s really strange how they all seemed to know what ponies were, but none of us have ever heard of them or seen them.” Zipp says.

“Yeah, what was up with that?” Pipp says. “They called me a ‘stupid overgrown bird’ how awful is that?”

“I guess they get visitors from time to time.” You say. “Maybe that’s why they were there in the first place, to trap ponies.”

“No, that’s not it I don’t think... they said we weren’t supposed to be there, remember?” Sunny says.

“Right, whatever.” You say.

“It means that there was some agreement made, perhaps long ago, that ponies would stay away from this part of Equestria. But why?” Sunny says.

“Ugh... I wish the older ponies weren’t so secretive. Even our own mom won’t tell us anything until one of us becomes queen.” Pipp says, rolling her eyes in frustration.

“Yeah...” Zipp says.

“Well, just another mystery we’ll probably never solve.” You say. “Excuse me.” You get up slowly and walk over to the blender to refill your cup.

The ponies talk about it a bit more. You finish pouring your drink. By the time you return, Izzy has switched places with Pipp on the massage chair.

Izzy starts grooving to the music as everyone else finishes up their food. Izzy then suddenly spins on her back leg and waves a hoof.

“Hey everyone! Why are you all sitting around? Let’s party! Woo!” She shouts and then begins dancing as the next song picks up.

“Heheh, hey that’s right. We’re being boring, sorry Iz.” Zipp says as she gradually stands up.

“Yeah, she’s right!” Sunny says. “Tonight is a cause for celebration! Let’s dance!”

Sunny starts shaking her flank with a cute little grin.

Zipp joins her, and Hitch grins and stands up to dance too.

Pipp looks a bit peeved that she didn’t get her time in the massage chair, but she eventually hops up as well.

The ponies start to dance. Izzy turns up the music. You scarf down the rest of your carrot dog and after downing some more liquid courage, you join them too.

How long has it been since you danced with a pony? You wondered as you tried your best to loosen up.

You tried to feel out the rhythm of the song with your hips. You nodded your head to the beat. You think you start to get it, and your movements loosen up.

However, dancing on two legs is still a novelty to the ponies, so they laughed at you as you started to move.

You didn’t care. Eventually, your presence was accepted on the dance floor. They started to get into it themselves.

Izzy moved quite well to the song, spinning and shifting on her hooves. Pipp fluttered a few feet off the ground and eventually began singing along as the chorus hit. Zipp danced in a carefully choreographed manner. Hitch, despite being a stallion chad, turned out to dance like an absolute dork. Completely oblivious to this fact, he he smiled proudly.

You and the ponies, the crew on the ship running on dreams and friendship, all partied hard as the night drew on.