“Wait, wait, nah, come on. We can work something out, right? That’s pretty extreme, yeah?”
Anon looked around the room expectantly, meeting the eyes of the many council members that circled him. They sat on their pedestals, looking down at Anon, who stood anxiously on the center platform. Their faces were solemn, devoid of any emotion. Anon smiled at them uneasily, trying to sway their decision. Unfortunately, the decision of the fairy council was not one of easy persuasion. The chairman leaned forward, his wings fluttering slightly as he did so. He peered down over his spectacles at the fairy before him, his face shifting from neutral to dissatisfied.
“Anonymous, you know the crime you have committed, and you know the penalty for it. There are to be no negotiations, only justice where it is due.” The chairman sat back in his seat, pushing his glasses further up the bridge of his nose.
“Look, look, alright, I agree. I screwed up.” Anon dropped down on his knees and clasped his hands together, making a show. “But you can’t just go and take my magic away, man, I need that stuff to do my job!”
The council members looked to one another, wrinkled faces still frozen in complete indifference. Anon looked between each of their faces, looking for at least one sympathetic gaze. There were none. With a defeated sigh, he reached into his back pocket and grabbed the one thing he prized most: his wand. He stepped forward and held out the twig to the chairman, staring at the ground. The chairman snatched it up and held it off to the side, an assistant fairy floating over to him and taking it back to storage. Anon stood there, staring at the ground for a few moments in silence.
“You have been stripped of your magic, because you failed to use it for its intended purpose. You had a responsibility, and you shirked it. You have lost your privilege because of it. Do you understand this?” The chairman leaned forward, peering over his spectacles once more.
“Yeah, yeah, don’t patronize me. I get it, alright? I bucked up.” Anon looked up at the chairman once more. “And I don’t know how many times I gotta say it, I. Am. SORRY. But what am I gonna do without my magic, huh? Without my fairy godfather title? What am I gonna do with all my free time, prance around with the forest animals like all the rest of the lowlifes here in the Everfree?”
The chairman shook his head. “You misunderstand the situation, Anonymous. You have not been stripped of your title, only your magic.” He sat forward, lifting up a sheet of paper to read it easier. “This is your partial pardon. You will remain a fairy godfather, and retain all of the title’s rights, but you will not have access to any magic. And until you have proven you can use it to grant the wishes of little fillies and foals, and nothing more, you will never have it again.” He held out the paper to Anon. “This will sign itself once, up here, when a wish has been made. It will sign itself a second time, down here, when the wish has been fulfilled. Bring it back signed twice, and you will find redemption.”
Anon looked at the council member dumbfounded. “Wait, wait, hold the phone. You expect me to go out there and fulfill a wish, without my magic? So what, you want me to do it the nitty-gritty old fashioned way? I’m sorry, have you buckin’ lost it?” Anon crossed his arms in defiance.
“Anonymous, we do not wish to see you suffer, only to learn from your mistakes. This is in all of our best interests."
Anon stared at the paper for a few moments before reaching out to it. As he went to grab hold of the parchment, the chairman pulled it back.
“We are giving you a second chance, Anon. Do not squander it.” He held the paper back out. Anon snatched it and spun on his heel, heading for the door without another word.
Anon stepped out of the council chambers, leaving the hollow log. Fairies fluttered around him, tending to the various plants and animals of the forest. He rolled his eyes and took to the air, heading westward towards the forest edge. He smiled as he darted through the trees, nearing the town of Ponyville. He needed to find a kid.
Ponyville was a very small settlement, hardly even a town at all. Aside from the apple farm that gave it meaning, the town hall, a bakery, a library, and several houses, it wasn’t much to look at. Anon didn’t visit the place very often, preferring to hang around places like Manehatten, where the company was livelier. Most of the fairies avoided Ponyville, actually, it being a little too close to their home in the forest than they’d like. Still, Anon needed a kid with a wish to fulfill, and he knew there were at least a few fillies and colts hanging around Ponyville. He would have his pardon signed before the sun rose.
The lights of the town came into view, shimmering through the leaves of the foliage. Anon burst through the tree line, glad he still possessed his natural abilities as a fairy. He landed on a patch of dirt and surveyed the area. Several houses sat before him, all of them as black as the night around them: all but one. Anon took off flying again.
Anon landed on one of the building’s windowsills, finding the window already open. He peeked inside. The house was still, and completely silent; the glow he had seen from outside came from a single lit candle sitting on a corner table near the window. The hallway was devoid of life. Anon turned to leave when he heard something that made him pause. It was the familiar sound of off-tune humming to ones-self, the kind Anon was used to hearing. He grinned and fluttered into the house, moving towards the source.
Anon stopped outside the heavy wooden door, which was slightly ajar. A tiny stream of light leaked out from the crack. Anon peeked around the side.
“... mmmhmm hmm, mmhm hmmm... add a little blue, add a little pink... mmhmm hmm hm hmmmm, something-something, um... think...”
The fairy watched as the little filly scribbled away at her drawing, her crayons leaving their mark on the paper. She laid out on the floor on her stomach, her hind hooves swaying back and forth gently. Every few moments she would glance up at the candle sitting next to her before looking back down at her drawing. Anon smiled and entered the room, hovering a few inches above her head, peering over her puff of pink and blue hair. He tilted his head to the side.
“That’s a beautiful drawing. What’s it... supposed to be?”
The filly widened her eyes and gasped quietly as she tried to look at the source of the noise, soon discovering that her head wasn’t capable of turning 90 degrees upward. She rolled onto her back, her hooves tucked in close to her underside as her wide, curious eyes gazing up at the fairy.
“Don’t be scared, I’m a friend. Your new fairy friend. In fact, I’m your fairy godfather. Nice to meet you.”
Anon held out his hand. The little filly stared back at it. After a few moments of hesitation, she reached one of her hooves forward and poked it, the force causing Anon to shift backwards slightly. He smiled and landed on the ground next to her, bowing.
“Anonymous, at your service. And who might you be, dear?”
The filly rolled back on her stomach and stared back for a few moments before stuttering an answer. “B-Bonbon.”
“Well, Bonbon, it’s your lucky day. But before we get to that, what is this beautiful drawing you have here?”
Bonbon turned her attention back to her drawing, a smile spreading across her face and all previous signs of hesitation vanished. “Oh, this is me as a princess. I want to be a princess one day.” She glanced back up at the candle and back down at her drawing. “Momma says I have to keep looking at the candle so I remember it’s there and I don’t knock it over. But what do you want to be when you grow up, Mr. An- Anomo- Animu- A- A- An-”
“I know, it’s a hard name. Just call me Anon.”
Bonbon scrunched up her face. “That’s a weird name. I’ll call you Nonny.”
“Well, whatever works.” Anon stepped closer to the drawing, admiring the... craftsmanship. “So, I’m your fairy godfather now. Do you know what that means?”
“You’re going to be my bestest friend? Because I already have a bestest friend named Lyra, and I don’t think she’s going to like me having another one.” Bonbon’s eyes lit up with an idea as she grabbed a black crayon in her mouth and went back to the paper.
“Well, yes, there’s that. But you know what else I can do?”
Bonbon mumbled through her crayon as she scribbled. “What?”
“I can grant WISHES!”
Bonbon continued to scribble away at her paper, obviously ignoring the fairy. “Mhm.”
“... does that not make you excited?”
“Mhm.”
“... alright, but before you go off making a wish, since you’re obviously so super excited to do it, let me tell you how this works. I don’t have any magic right now, but if you make a REALLY EASY WISH, I can do that for you, and then I’ll get my magic back, and you can have whatever you want. Does that sound good?”
Bonbon dropped the black crayon and started reaching for the green one. “Huh?”
“You know, wishes.”
“You can grant wishes?!” Bonbon’s face lit up. “Oh! Oh! I want to be a princess!”
Anon froze in terror for a moment before quickly diving into his pocket and retrieving his pardon, unfolding it in an instant. The initial signature line was still blank. He sighed a breath of relief and looked Bonbon firmly in the eyes.
“Ok, we got lucky. You must have worded it wrong. But LISTEN TO ME. Wish for something EASY first, are you sure you don’t want, like, a sandwich or something?”
“I can get all the sandwiches I want when I’m a princess! Make me a princess, make me a princess!” Bonbon stood up on all fours and bounced around her room excitedly. “I wish I was a princess!”
Anon paled as the document started to glow, an invisible quill etching its ink across the surface of the parchment. In poorly scrawled kindergarten lettering, the name Bonbon was spelled before him. He groaned and folded it back up, stuffing it in his pocket angrily.
“So am I going to be a princess now, Nonny?” Bonbon crouched down on her front hooves, coming eye level with the fairy who sat on the ground. He looked up at her with a face completely devoid of emotion.
“Not now, Bonbon, not now. Probably not for a long, long, loooooong time. But I’ll tell you what. If you go to bed now, we’ll start working tomorrow.”
Bonbon smiled wide and returned to her drawing. “I just need to finish this first.” She grabbed the green crayon and made a little circle. Contented, she put it down and picked up the black crayon again. “Now I just need to sign our names, and it will be perfect.” Bonbon scribbled out their names and nodded contently, soon after mounting it on her bedroom wall with a few taks. She took a few steps back and looked it over. She turned to face Anon, apparently meeting her standards. “What do you think, Nonny?”
[https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B3Tez7VVwDjiOGIzNzJKeldIWjA/edit?ups=drive\_web]
Anon glanced up from his spot on the floor and sighed. “It’s beautiful, sweetheart. Now get in bed so you’re early to rise tomorrow.”
Bonbon nodded curtly and blew out the candle, hopping into her bed and pulling the covers up around her. Anon flew over and landed on the bedpost next to her.
“Nonny, why do you sound like you’re from Manehatten?”
“Because I’m from Manehatten. Now go to sleep.”
“Will I be a pretty princess, Nonny?”
“You’re already pretty. Now seriously, go to sleep.”
“Goodnight, Nonny.”
“Goodnight.”
“I love you.”
“Yeah, I love you too.”
“Can I have a goodnight kiss?”
“Where are your parents? Go ask them.”
“They’re already asleep. They don’t know I’m up.”
“Alright, alright, fine.” Anon flew down from his spot on the post and hovered down to Bonbon’s level, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. “Now go to bed. I mean it this time.”
Bonbon nodded and closed her eyes, snuggling up beneath her covers. Anon sighed again. He made strangely motions in the air, pretending to choke the life out of the little filly in anger. Throwing his hands up in the air, he flew out of the room.
He was going to have to come back later. A lot later.
Well, he’d thought of worse reasons to spend time in Manehatten.