Anon the Time Bomb

Requested by Cool Guy; What if anon finds out that he is age regressing?

 

>It’s a long wait while Twilight looks over her printouts.

>The machines near you hum with excitement, as brilliant arcs of electricity zipping between the clear bulbs.

>You’ve been waiting for more than half an hour since the purple unicorn finished her examination, and you’re beginning to get worried.

>Finally, you call out to her.

“Twilight?  What’s wrong with me?”

>She sighs.

>The sound is heavy and low, laden with the weight of a poor prognosis.

>Squirming in your seat, you grip the sides as best you can and wait.

>“Anonymous…”

>You lean forward, eyes wide.

>“I don’t know.”

“H-how can you not know?  Twilight, this is serious!”

>Flinging your arms up in the air, you wave them for emphasis.

>The sleeves extend well over you hands by this point, the five fingers creating a strange geometric design in the fabric.

“I’ve gotten smaller since you started the check-up, I need answers on how to stop this.”

>Another sigh.

>That’s getting really old, really fast.

>“I know you do, but you’re just so different from ever other species here.”

“Ugh!”

>As you squeal in frustration, your voice cracks.

>Great.

>Twilight gives you an apologetic smile as she walks up to you.

>“I think I’m on the right track though.  It seems that your body is reacting to the latent magic residing in the air, and it’s having an adverse effect on you.”

“And, how is this a good thing?”

>“Well, you landed here in Ponyville, a town founded by earth ponies.  It doesn’t have the same density of magic like Canterlot does, so the effect has been mostly minor up until now.”

 

 

 

>Hopping off your chair, you scowl down at her.

>She is significantly closer to your height than you remember.

“But it’s not a little thing any more, it’s accelerating.  I’m getting smaller by the day, even hour to hour!  If this doesn’t stop soon, I’m just going to poof!”

>Twilight averts her eyes and shakes her head.

>“I, I won’t let that happen, Anonymous.  You’re my friend…”

“Then find a way to put a stop to this.  Otherwise”

>“Poof, I get it.”

“Good.”

>Your pants are sagging now.

>With a heavy sigh you move towards the stairs, sparing a glance back at your friend.

“You’re my only hope, Twi, I’m counting on you.”

>She doesn’t say a word as she turns back to her work.

>Taking some comfort in the fact that she’s finally acknowledging your concerns, you make your way home through the dimly lit streets of Ponyville.

>You go through your nightly routine and wiggle yourself under the sheets.

>As always, sleep is a long time coming, and fitful at best.

>Several times you wake from nightmares you can barely remember.

>A heartbeat.

>A burning heat.

>And an unearthly wail.

>Somehow, exhaustion overtakes you time and time again, but the process only serves to repeat itself.

>The morning finds you trapped beneath your sheets, the copious amounts of sweat collecting throughout the night, making the fabric cling to your body like a second skin.

>You peel it off and leap off the bed.

>It doesn’t take any longer to reach the floor than it did yesterday.

>Thank goodness for small favors.

>Maybe things are slowing back down again, granting you a little more time.

>With a light heart, you take a step forward.

>It’s the second step where trouble begins.

 

 

 

>Your toes clack against your heel, nails scraping away at the tender flesh.

>It hurts, but not enough to distract you from the larger problem.

>As you put your foot down, your legs begin to wobble and shake.

>Knees begin to buckle under an unfamiliar weight as the trembling worsens.

>With a cry, you collapse onto the ground, cracking your head against the floor.

>Now everything hurts, from your head to your toes.

>And your bones.

>Not broken feeling, but they ache in sharp bursts.

>You haven’t felt this deep kind of pain since

“No…”

>Pain momentarily forgotten, you scramble on all fours over to your mirror.

>You try to stand, but your legs won’t cooperate.

>With a hand on either side of the dresser, you steady your quivering legs and half lift, half pull yourself to your feet.

>The mirror reveals the impossible.

“No.”

>Pores, clogged with filth and bile loom out across your cheeks, casting monolithic shadows across the unblemished portions of your face.

“No!”

>Above your upper lip reside the beginnings of a half-hearted mustache.

>Less impressive than the fuzz off a peach, it is several shades lighter than your own hair.

>You look ridiculous.

“AGH!”

>Your legs find the strength to stand on their own as you clutch the mirror between your hands.

>What you see only serves to fan your fury.

>Long, gangly, awkward limbs quiver under the weight of the mirror.

>Try as you might to toss it, it’s all you can do to keep holding it in place.

>With another scream, you drop the mirror, shattering it into a dozen decent sized chunks.

 

 

 

>Your body quivers again as you collapse onto your backside, pulling your too long knees up to your chest and shake in frustration.

>Despite what your body says, you remember this, you’ve been here before.

>You’re not getting smaller.

>You’re getting younger.

“Twilight has to hear about this.  She’ll know what to do.”

>Your younger body takes some getting used to, especially in regards to movement.

>You don’t walk so much as continually fall forward and catch yourself with your feet.

>It’s a very difficult method of transportation, but you manage well enough.

>The other problem is clothes.

>You’ve lost around a foot of height since this process began, and most of your muscles have atrophied to a near pre-pubescent state.

>Your shirts hang down around your thighs and your pants come up to your chest.

“This is awful.”

>With a length of rope, you tie off your pants and let your shirt hang out.

>It’s incredibly uncomfortable, but it will have to do until you arrive at Twilight’s.

>Fallwalking through town, you stumble into the town square.

>You’re not an unfamiliar sight around town at this point, though you are attracting a fair amount of attention as ponies whisper.

>It isn’t hard to figure out that your change in altitude is the main point of discussion.

>“Hey sugar cube!”

“AppleJACK!”

>The entire square stops as your voice cracks with all the subtly of a bull whip.

>Ponies gawk and you can feel your face begin to flush with embarrassment.

>You turn to flee, only to stumble again over your own feet.\

>The pair of too large shoes fly off, each headed in opposite directions while you choke on dirt.

 

 

 

>Somewhere, a ripple of laughter forms.

>It spreads like wildfire, gobbling up the easily amused foals, then the fillies and colts, and finally the full grown ponies as well.

>You’d like to brush it off as nothing, join in the laughter.

>But inside, you’re raging with so much hate and frustration, at your situation and at them.

>You rub an enormous sleeve against your eyes to stave off the oncoming onslaught of tears, when a firm pair of hooves lifts you back on your feet.

>“C’mon, let’s sit a spell.”

>Applejack gives you a warm smile and cocks her head to the side.

>Away from the crowd.

>You give an appreciative nod, rubbing at your face and eyes again as you place a hand on the mare’s back for an additional point of contact.

>“Ah’ll be back in two shakes, Applebloom, think you can handle it til then?”

>“Ah sure can, sis!”

>“Atta girl.”

>With a steadying hand on the earth pony, walking is far easier, she even takes the time to let you get your shoes.

>The orange pony does give a few grunts of protest as you bend down to pick them up but she doesn’t complain.

>Soon you find yourself seated on a bench, away from prying eyes.

>Speaking of eyes, she’s fixed you with hers, green as the inside of a fresh tree limb and wide as the sky.

>“You’re lookin a little out of sorts today.”

>With a friendly chuckle, she taps your cheek.

>“Specially up here.  Mind tellin me what’s goin on?”

>The sound of her laugh brings fresh color to your face, though the sensation is different this time.

>Your heart is still pounding a mile a minute in your chest and your palms are slick with sweat.

 

 

 

>But now you think you’d like to stay here forever.

>The slight rustling sound of her hair against her coat snaps you back to attention, stammering as you go.

“It, it’s something wrong with me.”

>“Ah can see that.  It contagious?”

“I don’t think so.  I’d have to ask Twilight.”

>Oh jeez, what if you are contagious?

>Applejack could be stewing in this reverse agification bug at this very moment.

>You scramble to your feet, only to stumble back to the ground, your shoes rolling out of your grip.

>“Woah there, partner!”

>Applejack gives a small giggle and positions herself in front of you again.

>“Near as Ah can tell, you need to go see Twilight, and Ah’m just the pony to get you there.”

“But, I might get you sick.”

>“Shucks, that ain’t a problem.  If it helps you out then Ah’m happy to.  Besides”

>Stomping her hoof once, Applejack lifts her head high and flashes you her best grin.

“Ah’m a lot tougher than Ah look.  It’d take more than a bug ta bring me down.”

>Every corner of your brain is telling you that this is a bad idea, that this isn’t just some simple bug, it’s magic and you have no idea if ponies can catch it from you.

>But the wild pounding of your heart drowns out the voice of reason.

>Your tongue swells up in your mouth, preventing you from talking, so you just give her a small nod.

>Taking a moment to collect your shoes, you and Applejack make your way towards the library.

>The thrum of magic is evident a good fifty paces from the tree-turned library.

>Leaves quiver, glowing with a faint purple power as Spike sweeps up the walkway.

>Glancing up, he smiles as he see you and Applejack approaching, waving in excitement.

 

 

 

>“Oh good, you’re here!”

>With a chuckle, the baby dragon hustles over to the two of you.

>His grin falters a little as he looks you over, cocking an eyebrow.

>“Woah dude, you look like a hot mess.  Twilight was right, this is serious.”

“Yeah, great, can we go in and see her?”

>“You could, but she’s been up all night doing research so she’s a little on edge.”

“Well, I can’t not SEE”

>Spike gives you an inquisitive look, wondering what the heck just popped out of your mouth.

>With a nudge from Applejack, you find the will to carry on through the shame.

“see, her.  It’s gotten worse.  A lot worse.”

>The dragon gives you another look over and nods, stepping out of your way.

>”Just be careful, Twilight can get a little, anxious when she’s stuck on something

>A quick nod to Spike and the two of you move into the library.

>You give a firm knock on the door, but receive no response.

>After a minute or two, AJ shrugs and pushes down on the handle.

>The door seems to squeal a little more than usual as it swings open, casting daylight into the darkened library.

>The scampering of hooves on wood and carpet draw your attention towards the stairs, then back to the desk.

>“Hey, Twi?”

>Applejack’s voice takes on a measure of concern as she steps into the library.

>“Where you at, sugar cube?  I can spit further than I can see in here.”

>Another rustling of hooffalls and the orange mare sighs.

>“Daggumit Twilight!  Anonymous needs your help.”

>“Anonymous?  He’s here?”

>Her voice comes from everywhere at once.

>It’s strained, frantic even, further accentuated by the slamming and crashing that begins.

>“This place is a mess, I can’t let him see me like this”

 

 

 

“Twilight?”

>The banging continues without pause.

>You take a breath and say with a firmer tone.

“Twilight.”

>Still nothing.

>You can barely hear her mumbles over the rustle of papers, and the books being flung about onto shelves.

“TWILIGHT!”

>Everything stops at once.

>Beside you, Applejack chuckles and shakes her head.

>“Looks like you got her attention, sugar cube.”

>Twilight sighs, and from across the room, there is an audible click as the lights hum to life.

>The purple unicorn is a mess, her mane frazzled and eyes wide and wild.

>With a silly grin, she trots up to you and then circles around, letting her gaze trail over you from top to bottom.

>The whole while, she makes little grunts of ‘ah ha’, ‘hmm’ and ‘interesting’.

>At last, Twilight sits down across from you and gives a wide smile, cocking her head to the side.

>“It’s exactly as I thought.  You’re not getting smaller, Anon, you’re sliding backwards through time.”

>“Dagum, you sure were a mess back in the day, weren’t you?”

>Applejack’s casual comment bites deep, deeper than it should.

>You can literally feel your hormones ramp up the rage as you fester and broil under her gaze.

>Putting aside your hate, you turn back to Twilight and shake your head.

“No way, this isn’t me.  I mean, it’s similar, but I looked different when I went through puberty.”

>Putting a hoof to her chin, Twilight mumbles a few things to herself before looking you over again.

>“If that’s true, it might be due to the magic.  Ponies don’t enjoy a diet rich in meats, so perhaps it’s working off of what you’ve been eating since you arrived in Equestria.”

 

 

 

>You want to argue that magic can’t change the past, much less who you were a handful of years ago, but you’ve seen unicorns do some crazy things over your time here.

>Not to mention all manner of impossible creatures.

“All right, so since you know what’s wrong, we can stop it, right?  Even if I’m not shrinking, I’m still moving towards that zero point where I just ‘poof’.  So what’s the answer?”

>With a shamed scowl, Twilight averts her eyes.

“No.”

>Heaving a heavy sigh, the purple unicorn turns again and, gritting her teeth, gives you a shrug.

>“I really don’t know, Anonymous.  This is time magic, magic no pony is supposed to have access to.  I’ve contacted Princess Celestia, and her scholars are scouring the libraries, but”

>Her voice trails off as she looks down at her hooves.

>“The less time you spend around places with high magic concentration, the better, at least until we find a cure.”

>“So, places like the library?”

>Twilight sighs and gives the apple-bucking pony a smile.

>“Yes, spending time in the library would be bad.”

>“So, shouldn’t we get Anonymous out of here, right now?”

>Confusion spreads across the scholar’s face for a moment, before her eyes widen in fear.

>“Oh!  Oh yes!  You shouldn’t even be in here!  Go, go!”

>Placing her head firmly against your chest, Twilight pushes you out the door, jabbing you several times with her horn in the process.

>Your heels clip the raised woodwork beneath the door, sending you sprawling out on your hind parts.

>“Sorry!”

>Twilight squeaks, slamming the door as Applejack trots out beside you.

 

 

 

>She gives you a small smile as she helps you to your feet.

>“Sounds like you really stepped in it, Anon.”

“Yeah, seems like it.”

>Sighing, you look towards the square, noting the number of unicorns trotting around town.

>Your life is a time bomb, and every one of them is another second ticked off each time you pass them.

“I guess I’ll go home and hole up until Twilight figures out what to do.”

>“Ah can’t let you do that, it ain’t right to be locked up all by yer lonesome.  Yer gonna need friends to help you get through this.  Of the non-magic variety.”

>Giving you a wink, she tosses her head to the side and grins.

>“Why don’t you stay down at the farm for a spell?  We’re pretty far removed from town, and don’t have much to do with magic.”

>That’s not a bad idea.

>No unicorns, no magic, heck, your problem might even start to reverse itself.

“That sounds like a plan I could get behind.  Thanks AJ, you’re a real pal.”

>“S-sure Anon, what’re friends for?”

>With a small, uncertain laugh, the orange pony turns back towards the square and you fall-walk after her.

 

 

End Part One