So that’s why Soarin flipped out on you. He thought… What are the odds? ”You can’t be serious. He’s a- a monster!”
“It can’t be a coincidence, it just can’t.” Your brother… You hadn’t seen him in years. “I have to talk to him.”
She trots after you as you make your way back to the castle. ”Even if he was your brother, he’s not anymore. He’s long gone now.”
“I can talk to him. He listens to me. Maybe I can-“
”He’s not the same!” Time stands still, Vinyl blocking your path. ”Your brother walked into Ponyville just like you. He became accustomed to our ways, even living with us. And then… The town watched him change overnight. He became a drunk, he scarred a colt for the rest of his life, he slaughtered a dozen Diamond Dogs in anger. That doesn’t compare to what he is now.”
“I’m his little brother. If I-“
”He’s gone Anon. Whoever your brother was, died two and a half years. Only the monster remains.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.” You shove her aside and push on.
”I can’t let you do that Anon.” Your next step doesn’t connect with the ground. In fact, your entire body doesn’t connect. ”I won’t let you get yourself killed.” You notice the aura around you and Vinyl’s glowing horn. Those fuckers can do magic?!
“Let me go!” She pulls you back to camp. With all your frantic flailing the only thing you managed to do was tire yourself out. “I. Said…. Let go…”
”You’ve had quite the day. You should rest.” With that, she drops you in the snow, wrapping a wool blanket around you. ”Rest easy.”
The soft blackness of your subconscious is a welcome sight. ”Sure is gloomy in here.”
“I know rig-“ Who the fuck is in your head? ”You slay me Anon. I thought you’d remember.” The blackness twists about, solidifying in a single mass, a deep green glow seeping outwards. ”Out of all the humans on earth they just happened to pick you. Ironic really.” The dark goo melds into a humanoid form, the figure taking a step towards you. ”It’s been a while little bro.”
“Anonymous?” The smile on his face is terrifying, but… everything else is just how you remembered. “It’s great to see you!”
You run over and embrace him, “What have I said about hugging?”
“Sorry bro, I forgot.”
You pull away from him, that grin still on his face. ”Liking Equestria so far?” You remember what he’s done to the land, chaos spreading like a wild fire.
“Anon, you have to stop this. This isn’t you. We can go back home, back to the way things used to be.” His smile disappears, replaced with an annoyed scowl.
”And just why would I want that? Back to fifty hour weeks at a dead-end job, always worried about how I’m going to make it through the week? No Anon. That cesspool- that shithole of a planet is no place for me.” He closes his eyes briefly and smiles, “Equestria is my home now.”
“This isn’t normal and you know it. Think about all the things you left behind.”
”Poverty, disease, crime, parasites. I’m glad to be rid of them.”
“And what about your family ? Mom and Dad loved you. They couldn’t take it when you died.”
”Is that what they said happened? Fools, the lot of them. I’m glad to be rid of them.”
“They passed shortly after you left. Don’t you care?”
”Less for me to worry about.” You can’t believe what you’re hearing. This was the man you idolized as a child. Vinyl was right. This isn’t your brother.
”You’ve met Vinyl Scratch? You lucky bastard.”
“How can you just move along like that? And how did you-“ He can read your mind… He’s in your mind. That means he can…
”First of all, I’m just good like that. Second, what did you expect? There is nothing I can’t do anymore. I’m better than Discord could ever be.”
“That’s a serious god complex you have there.”
His laughter chills you to the bone. ”God complex? No, Discord had a god complex. Me?” He trails his finger to the bottom of your chin, grabbing you forcefully. ”I am a god.”
“You’re crazy.” Have to wake up. You can’t let him find out where you are.
”Don’t think you can resist me. If I wanted I could tear your mind asunder with a single thought. You interest me…”
“Get it over with then. Do it faggot.”
”Don’t tempt me,” he releases you. “Besides, I need you alive.”
“I’ll never join you.” There’s that fucking laugh again.
”You need not join me, only to resist.”
“I don’t understand.”
”Be the hero Equestria needs. Fight me.”
What is he talking about? How can anyone resist him now? You have 30 people- ponies, at the most. “We’ll lose… You have an army, I have nothing.”
”Then raise one, pick up the sword and cut me down like the monster I am.” There’s nowhere in Equestria you can build an army. He owns Equestria. ”Equestria is merely a kingdom. Find their enemies and unite them. Fight fire with fire.”
“Why are you telling me this? Do you want to die?”
”I want a challenge. Build me an army worth of destroying, and you’ll get your chance.” He steps into shadow, disappearing from view.
“And what if they won’t listen to me?”
”They need a hero. So be that hero.” His voice fades into all but a whisper. ”I’ll stay in touch.”
You awaken with new found determination. You find your footing and walk around the camp, night having fallen. The grunts huddle around within their makeshift huts, consisting of little more than some branches and a blanket. You walk past the tired soldiers and towards a large tent set up at the camp’s edge. A light shines within, casting out silhouettes of its inhabitants. You pull the fabric aside, a warmth flowing around you, and enter. All eyes turn to you, still clad in your blanket. “What’d I miss?”
Soarin ignores you, turning back to the map sprawled out atop the table. ”I still think going west is our best option. Appleloosa’s a good town to hide out in, until we can find a better place.”
Vinyl joins you, “We’re figuring out our next step,” she whispers.
”His general’s got roots in Appleloosa,” Iron Will argues, “They’ll turn us in before we can bat an eye.”
“You didn’t happen to-“
”Your secret’s safe with me.” That’s a relief. Soarin would go batshit if he knew you were related.
”Hey, I’m doing all the thinking here, how about you try to come up with something?” Things don’t seem to be going well.
”We take the fight to them, guerilla warfare. He’ll never see it coming.”
”And what do you expect to accomplish?”
The two are going to keep arguing until they’re skull and bones, you need to step in. “He’ll be taking a stand, not running with his tail between his legs.”
Soarin sneers at you, “Well the big hero decides to speak up. I didn’t know you were a master tactician.”
“I don’t claim to be, but Iron Will has the right idea. We fight.”
”Thank you Anon.”
“But not like you think suggested.”
He leans back, almost intruiged, ”So you have a plan?”
You rub the back of your neck nervously. “Not exactly…”
Soarin merely scoffs, the dick. ”I knew he was wasting our time.”
”Shut up and let him talk,” Vinyl speaks up.
“We can’t attack him head-on; in fact we can’t attack at all with what we’ve got.”
”Then what do we do?”
You step up to the table, ‘Find their enemies and unite them.’ His voice echoes in your head. You look over the map, running your hand across the dry parchment. “Have any other maps?” Vinyl places a few more scrolls on the table.
”What do you think you’re doing?” Soarin asks.
“Taking a hint.” You find the Shoh Mountains where you just fled and mark your way to your current location. “Alright we’re here, just across the Omen River. The only Equestrian town in miles is a three month haul at best.” It’s too far. Besides, you aren’t planning on staying. “I say we go east along the mountain range. That should put us out of harm’s way and give us a chance to rearm.”
”That would put us in Griffin territory.”
“I’m quite aware.”
Cue Soarin anger. ”This bucking idiot is gonna get us killed.”
Iron Will snarls at the stallion forcing cooperation. You can tell he’s also a little distressed at your plan. ”The griffon’s have never been on good terms with Equestrians.”
”They’ll lock us up the second we step into their land.”
You don’t know much of Equestrian History, but you need to convince them, “They have more important things to worry about than a group of refugees, like Anonymous.”
”Like they care about him, he made it abundantly clear that he only wants Equestria.”
Soarin’s dumb, but you didn’t think he was that dumb. “You ever gave a dog a treat before? They’ll devour it, leaving nothing behind.”
”You going to make a point?” That smartass…
“They develop a taste for it, a yearning for it. They need more, and if they see the chance…”
”They’ll take it,” Iron Will finishes.
”It’s only a matter of time before he turns on them as well.”
“They’re not stupid,” you explain, eyeing Soarin, “and that’s more than I can say for the pegasi in the room.”
”Oh you mother…!” Iron Will holds him down with a single hand. This is the type of shit the brings a smile to your face.
“Getting in is the easy part, getting their help will be tricky.”
Now Vinyl’s caught off guard, “Help? Did you hit your head when we weren’t looking?”
“You just have to trust me on this.”
”Trust is a two way street,” Iron Will says still holding onto the irritated Soarin.
“I know you don’t have any reason to trust me, but I’ve already put my trust in you. I only wish the favor be returned.” Vinyl and Iron Will nod to each other before finally turning to Soarin. The fuming stallion has regained some of his composure, but his underlying fury remains prevalent.
”Fine, you win.” He brushes past you forcefully, “But if things turn south, it’s your head on the chopping block.” With that he exits out into the cold grounds.
”I better inform the rest of the others. They’ll take some convincing.”
“I understand.”
”It’s good you’re still with us,” he says before taking his leave. You roll up the scrolls and put them away, only you and Vinyl left.
”So Anon,” she begins, “What brought this on?”
“Don’t know that you mean by that.”
”Give me a break. You were ready to storm off just earlier today, and now you’re taking charge. What happened?”
You finish packing up the scrolls, folding up your blanket. “You were right. My brother wouldn’t do something like this.”
She places a hoof on your shoulder. ”I’m sorry you have to go through this.” Her sympathy does warm you a little.
“Thanks.” You know this is nothing compared to what they’ve gone through. “I’m sorry that you had to go through this as well.”
Her smile is reassuring, “Don’t worry about it. We can get through this together.”
“Never doubted it.” The two of you take a step out of the tent and look over the camp. “I’m going to need to find a place to sleep?”
”Didn’t like sleeping in the snow?” she jokes. She gives you a slap on the butt, pulling you with her. ”I’ve got some extra room for you to bunk in. Don’t you worry.” You don’t need to.
The next day starts a long arduous journey. You bury the wounded, saying a few final prayers for their departed souls. War never took pity on its participants, and this is merely another fine example. With your two forces joined the group becomes a whopping seventy p0nies. Time to march on Anonymous and kick his ass through sheer numbers. You roll your eyes at your own humor. Have you fallen so far that it’s come to that? Whatever, you’ve been here for like three days now. You can’t expect things to work out instantly. You encounter a few scouting parties along the way, mostly just husks and a few actual p0nies. Speaking of fallen, it doesn’t seem limited to what your bro is able to conjure up. You really need to learn how he does that.
You single out a few husks and manage to keep them at bay, Iron Will taking out the leading Knight. You lacerate the husk-p0nies face, only managing to piss it off. It lunges at you, an axe splitting it in two. ”You’ve never been in a fight before have you?”
“Never to the death,” you say picking yourself up.
He snatches you pocket knife out of your hands, “Well this is part of the problem. All you’ll manage to do is annoy an enemy with this.” He prominently displays his axe, “You need something with a bit more firepower.”
You steal the knife back and tuck it in your pants. “Whenever I gain super strength I’ll let you know.”
Iron Will props the axe on his shoulder, undoing his belt. “Whoa now, let’s keep this PG.”
He rolls his eyes, shoving a sword in your hands, “Picked it up from our guest. It’s too small for me, but I think you could get used to it.” You run your hand over the blade, accidently nicking your finger. ”Had it for a whole five seconds and you already hurt yourself. Some hero you are,” he jokes.
“Fuck you man,” you retort laughing a little. You thank him for the gift, wrapping the sheath around your belt.
”You do know which end to hold?’
“Douche bag…”
You borrow some spoils from the minotaur that night. He may be a joking ass, but he’s also has the best meat. No homo. Some of your new compatriots were willing to share some their wares. You’ve got a sword, skillet, blanket, and some weird cheese. All you’ll ever need. Vinyl plops down next to you, sending a blast of snow on your face. At least it missed the skillet; you’d have to kill her if it ruined your precious venison. “You’re making it very hard for me to like you.”
”I’m letting you mooch off of me.”
“Shutting up.”
She giggles, chewing on her own dinner.
“I’m curious.”
”Bicurious?” You furrow your brow at her teasing. “Tricurious?!”
“I have a sword.”
She laughs in response. ”Fire away with your question then.”
“I just wanted to know what you did before this.”
”Oh, those were the days. Good times, good times…” She pulls herself out of her fantasy. ”I was a DJ. Well, the DJ to be precise.” Not cocky at all you see. ”I owned a few clubs across Equestria, my favorite was in Ponyville though, The Broken Record. Great town Ponyville. Great crowd.”
“I would’ve liked to see that.”
”Didn’t everyone? I couldn’t be in every club at once, so I moved around a lot. I had just finished my tour in Canterlot and was on my way back when all this started.” Her expression darkens as does her voice. ”That’s the first time saw Anonymous. He was getting off as I got on, the mane 6 with him. He seemed so different then.”
“What happened?”
”Who knows? The only people who lived are those we face now. Celestia would die before she betrayed us… and so she did.” No one was safe from your brother. If there’s one thing you remember about him, it’s that whatever he did, he did it efficiently. No room for error, or witnesses it would seem.
“But enough about my drag history. What did you do before this whole hero business?”
“Writer, upcoming. It’s not something I ever really excelled at.”
”Did you get anything published?”
“No. I was working on a story before I came here. It was about a guy, average joe, cast into the unknown. Kinda like me really.”
”Spooky,” she kids, “What was gonna happen?”
“He’d live happily ever after.”
”Seems a bit generic.”
“Sometimes generic is enough.” You take a bite of your dinner. Wonder if some of the guys have something to season this with? You don’t get time to enjoy your meal before Iron Will comes over and swipes it off of you. He plops the juicy cut into his mouth, practically swallowing it whole. “Medium-Rare? Damn tasty.”
“At least someone’s enjoying it.” No need to get mad, he did give it you after all. Clever bastard.
He pats his belly and belches. “Almost forgot,” he says pulling you up by the collar. “You’re in for a long night.”
I’ll miss you black cherry. “Be gentle.”
”The hay you talking ‘bout? I’m teaching you how to fight like steer and not a newborn calf.” That’s a relief.
Vinyl joins you for shits and giggles. Iron Will pulls out his axe, wielding it menacingly. ”You gonna draw or just stand there?” You shakily unsheathe your sword, the fire’s glow reflecting off the blade. ”Now, come at me.” You hesitate, you don’t want to hurt him. ”Don’t think you’ll actually hit me yet. I’ve seen you fight.”
”I believe in you Anon,” Vinyl cheers.
“At least someone has faith in me.” You bring your sword up, Iron Will facepalming.
”I’ve seen calves with better stances than that.” You ignore him and lunge forward.
IT HIT! YES! IT… hit a tree. Iron Will bonks you on the head with his axe, a couple yards to your right. ”Try to keep up.” You slash right, Iron Will taking a step back.
Right, left, stab, uppercut. Otherwise known as miss, miss, miss, miss. Wherever you attack, he is always leagues away. You put your hands on your knees exhausted, taking deep breathes of air. He pushes up on your chest with the axe handle, “Chest up, hands on your head.”
”Keep it up,” she hollers again, much to the dismay of her sleeping friends. You recover a little, getting back into your shitty stance. ”Again.”
This goes on for several more hours. Vinyl took an early leave to sleep. You try to join her, but a certain minotaur who shall remain nameless wouldn’t let you. ”You try to sleep, I’ll cut you deep.” You didn’t need any more motivation than that.
It’s funny how the threat of death invokes such cooperation. You pin your sword into the ground and collapse, your body exhausted beyond measure. ”I think that’ll be it for this morning.” Morning?! God dammit Iron Will. He picks you up and sets you against a tree. ”I found the problem you’re having,” he says confidently, “It’s that you’re missing.” Brain, check if you have any unrustled jimmies left. ‘Fresh out, sorry.’
He has a little hoot, holding onto his sides, “Joking aside, I do know what your problem is. You’re keeping your eyes closed everytime you attack. I didn’t see it at first, but as time went on it became noticeable.”
“No I… didn’t…”
”If you had them open you would’ve seen me making faces at you for the last three hours.”
“You… asshole…”
”Look kid, no one starts out on top. I had to work my way up the line like everyone else.”
“Really? I thought you… came out of your momma with a six pack- and bulging biceps.”
”You’ll get there in time. It just takes practice.”
“Practice does make perfect after… all.”
”That’s why I’ll be your practice partner for the coming months. Looking forward to it.” You slide back down the tree trunk, barely able to move.
“Can’t wait.”
He picks you up and wraps you up beside Vinyl. ”Today’s a big haul so you’re going to need your strength.” It’s too bad this douche took all of yours. Fuck it, anger just makes you not want to sleep. Sleepy time…
You awake to an ache in your arms. And legs. And torso. And… fuck it your body hurts like hell. You can barely hear the sound of a girl giggling, Vinyl being the obvious perpetrator. She looms over you, trying to contain herself. ”M-morning,” she manages to say between breathes.
“I hate Iron Will so much right now.”
”What did you say boy?” Oh fuck he’s here again.
“Nothing sir, just saying how much fun I had with you.”
”Ahuh. Well pack your junk, we’re moving out in five.”
“Please say that means five hours.”
”Minutes,” Vinyl says before releasing her pent up laughter. Of course it’s minutes.
Vinyl does some magic shit to make you feel better. Of course it lasted a whole ten seconds before you fell back into the snow. Thankfully someone knew how to make some painkillers and that was enough to put you back into the game. You still needed to take ten minute breaks on Iron Will’s back so you didn’t pass out, but you could walk. Wonder how long it’ll take for that to go as well.
Even though you argue with the results, you appreciate what the big guy’s trying to do. He’s taking time out of his own schedule to help you after all. Maybe things won’t turn out so bad.
The week drags on and so do Iron Will’s sessions. He told you about his time doing assertiveness seminars across Equestria. After things turned south, he made use of his reputation to stir up the populace against your brother. But for every mare and stallion he invoked, another set of soldiers were added to Anonymous’s army. His power was unreal, and it was only a matter of time before things fell apart.
Iron Will was the right-hand of the resistance, Cadence was the leader. And you remember how easily he dispatched of her. One crack and the resistance was no more. But now they had you, for what that’s worth.
You spot the misty peaks of the Talon mountains ahead. Another few miles and you’ll be outside of Equestria. This is the farthest most of these p0nies have been from home. Put them on another planet, and then they can complain. ”You sure this is what you want? You can still-“
”The hero made up his mind, and that’s how things are going to go.”
Soarin flies on eye level with Iron Will, “Don’t make me say I told you so.”
”Don’t you have a perimeter to patrol?” He flies back up begrudgingly. You hope he gets snagged by a griffin.
Back in Canterlot. You stretch out on your throne, tearing a chicken leg out of the air. “If only Scootaloo had tasted so good.”
Twilight enters the throne room, kneeling before you, “My lord.”
“Yes what is it?”
”We have lost track of the refugees sir. I have organized several task forces to-“
“No bother. I know where they are.”
”Then let us crush them now, sir.”
“In time my dear, but for now I think we should rest. Dismissed.”
”Yes my lord,” she takes her leave, Rainbow Dash entering.
”You called for me Anonymous?”
“Oh my dearest Rainbow Dash.” You leap from your throne and float down to her. “It has been too long.”
”Too long indeed my lord.” You give her a peck on the lips before pulling away.
“I have an important task for you my dear.”
”Whatever you need. Your wish is my command.”
You smile, trailing your finger up and down her neck. “I think I found a use for your feathery friend…”