- >Savage Anon stood in shock as he uncovered the victim of the strange group's identity
- >It was Twilight Sparkle!
- >He was very worried and shocked, and he needed to get her to town
- >He picked up his feet and carried her down the mountain
- >He knew one false move and they would fall, killing them both
- >So instead, he took his time switchbacking
- >Which wasted valuable time
- >Once he reached the flat Earth again, he broke into a run
- >He reached ponyville in about an hour
- >Once there, he shouted for help
- >Nurse Red-heart came quickly
- >Within minutes, she was in Ponyville general hospital
- >She was stabilized
- >The Nurse approached Anonymous
- "Thanks for getting her so quickly. She wouldn't have made it much longer."
- >Anonymous nods, he's too deep in thought about what happened in that cave
- >The Nurse asks him about it
- "Anonymous, what happened to Twilight?"
- >Anonymous looks at her
- "I mean, she seems mostly alright except for the blood loss and minor cuts, but she also seems... lifeless. Like she has no will to live."
- >Anonymous perked up, remembering something
- "Well," he began, "When I heard those strangers talking, they extracted some of her blood that was sorta... glowing? And they claimed it was "Vitae". They were about to kill Twilight after they got it so I stopped them."
- >Nurse Red heart thinks for a moment
- "...That sounds familiar. But it sounds like... ancient medicine. Outdated, from the times of the pony tribes. You should got to a library and look for it."
- >Anonymous nods
- >After a few minutes of waiting, he gets up and leaves, just to bump into Twilight's best friends and Spike.
- "Anon!" Pinkie said, jumping up and hugging him
- "Pinkie!" he said gruffly, his armor and weapons clattering from the force of the hug
- >Pinkie hugged for a few seconds then dropped down
- "We heard about Twilight, so we rushed over as soon as we could!" Rarity said, looking concerned
- "Don't worry," Anon said, "She's fine... At least her body is. I don't know how her mind is taking it."
- >The ponies look concerned
- >Spike looks most concerned of all.
- >Anon steps to the side and lets them rush into the room, and into the strict hooves of Nurse Redheart, stopping them from causing too much ruckus.
- >Anon stood behind them, and waited a few minutes
- >Then, he silently waved Spike to come over
- >Spike did, and Anon asked him a simple question
- "Spike, could you send a letter for me?"
- >Twilight was in good hands now, Anon needed to get to the bottom of this.
- >Anonymous gave out the details of the cave incident, Spike looked disgusted as he wrote, but he did
- >Anonymous asked him to send it
- >Spike breathed in and breathed fire upon it, sending it to Celestia
- >Anonymous then stood over Spike, towering over him
- >He pointed a finger down at the dragon
- "This is a secret, understand?"
- >Spike nodded
- >Anonymous left the hospital silently
- >He returned home
- >As he walked up the old path, he heard shouting
- "...Anon? Anon?"
- >It was pipsqueak
- >He turned the corner and saw Pipsqueak outside his door, pounding on it
- "Anon?! Are you home?"
- >What the fuck was he doing here? Anon told him to wait a few "days" not a few "hours"!
- >Anon began to walk up, and was about to yell out to him, when he saw some movement around the house
- >It was getting to sunset, so he didn't see what it was, but he had a pretty good idea
- "Pipsqueak! Run towards me! Run!"
- >Pipsqueak scrambled and ran down the path, with three powerful figures right behind him
- >The manticores!
- >Anon saw the biggest one, the Alpha, and the burn on his eye
- >He smiled at that, he would have to put out the other one if he was to get rid of that stupid animal for good
- >Anonymous realized he was armed with a mace, and said FUCK under his breath. This was the wrong weapon!
- >He would have to make due
- >As the manticores charged right behind Pipsqueak, Anonymous readied himself
- >He jumped forward, now next to the startled young colt and bashed the first manticore in the head with his mace, jarring it and making it stumble to the side
- >He raised his mace and struck at the Alpha, but it was a glancing blow and the manticore turned and swiped with a paw
- >the claws lightly scratched Anon's face
- >Anon bashed with his shield, knocking the manticore off it's balance as the third one jumped around him
- >He raised his mace, which gave an opening to the manticore
- >Then pipsqueak stabbed the manticore in the leg with a newly forged dagger!
- >Anonymous was all a mix with pride and confusion, but he quickly smashed down on the manticore's head, causing it to flee
- >The Alpha, realizing his backup had left, ran off after them
- >They had been repelled!
- >Anonymous looked down at Pipsqueak, who held the bloody dagger in his mouth
- "I.. I wanted to show you before you left. I guess you were already gone."
- >Anonymous smiled
- "Not long enough, I guess."
- >Anonymous looked at the blade and took it, balancing it
- "..Not bad."
- >Pipsqueak smiled
- >Anonymous tussled his hair
- >They walked up to the cottage, and locked the door in case the manticores came back
- >They didn't, but the two enjoyed each others company
- >Anonymous told Pipsqueak some of the tales of his ancestors
- >They soon fell asleep
- >During the night, Anonymous awoke to a sniffling sound
- >He looked down and saw Pipsqueak on the floor, shivering in the cold
- >Anonymous glared at the sleeping colt
- >He was supposed to be stronger than that
- >He sighed
- >Getting up, he picked up the young foal and brought him over to his bed
- >The colt warmed up quickly thanks to the Warrior's body heat
- >Anonymous just rolled his eyes, no more freebie's after this.
- >The next morning, Pipsqueak was awakened by Anonymous
- >Anonymous jogged in placed and got the colt to follow him
- >They made a quick mile jog
- >Once they got back, Anon was perfectly fine, but Pipsqueak was panting pretty hard
- >He would need that stamina, soon enough anyway
- >Anonymous grabbed the wooden swords
- >Well, why he waited for the Princess, he could get something constructive done
- >Anonymous gave Pipsqueak a sword
- >They sparred for hours, with Pipsqueak never landing a blow
- >The colt's body on the other hand was battered with bruises and small cuts
- >Anonymous congratulated Pipsqueak on his progress
- "What progress? I still haven't hit you yet!"
- >Anonymous smiled
- "Yes, but did you get as beat up as you did the first time?"
- "...No."
- "Then you've made Progress."
- >Anonymous laughed, though Pipsqueak didn't find that terribly funny
- >Pipsqueak left later that day, thanking Anon
- >As he was leaving, Anonymous saw Spike running up the path with a letter in hand
- >How convenient
- >Spike handed off the letter to Anonymous the Warrior of the Ancestor Clan
- >Anonymous read it quickly
- >He sighed
- "Pipsqueak!"
- >The colt stopped, turned around
- "I'm going away for real this time. Run some miles, ok?"
- >Pipsqueak nodded
- >Anonymous thanked Spike and stepped inside
- >He looked through his gear
- >He wished he could just take all of it
- >Instead he settled for his sword, dagger, and leather armor and shield
- >As he stepped outside the door, he thought about the letter's message
- "Come to Canterlot Castle at once"
- >Simple enough.
- >And with that, he ran.
- ---------------------------
- >Anonymous picked up his feet as he ran through P0nyville
- >His gear clattered and smacked him
- >Too bad, ignore the pain and get there as quick as possible
- >Anon gets to the train-station right as the next train to Canterlot pulls in
- >Perfect
- >Anon jumps aboard the train
- >He sits, panting
- >A ticket-guy walks up
- "Where is your ticket, sir?"
- >Anon pulls out the letter and shows him the royal symbol
- >The man nods
- "Understood, sorry for bothering you."
- >Anon smiled
- >Having the god-queen of the land as your employer had some great benefits
- "ALL ABOARD!"
- >Anon waits patiently as the train surges to a start slowly
- "Wait! Wait!"
- >Somebody was screaming outside
- >Anon looked out the window, it was a small group of young colts
- >About 6 of them
- >They looked like punks, all of them
- >Anon just murmured to himself as the conductor stopped the train and let them on
- >They all sat around the cabin, being loud and obnoxious
- >Anon kept an eye on them, they didn't "feel" quite right
- >The others in the cabin were a couple of families and two scholarly p0nies
- >Anon just sat back, hoping the train would keep on uninterrupted
- >As time went on, he noticed some of the colts throwing odd glances back at him, and whispering
- >Anon raised an eyebrow, and when one looked back at him he gave him a glare
- >If looks could kill, that glare would have obliterated the colt's body into a billion pieces
- >The colt shuddered and whispered to his friends
- >Soon, the train approached a tunnel
- >Anon felt a bit odd, he tensed up
- >The colts seemed to tense up too, like they were about to pounce
- >Anon's hand drifted down to his sword as they entered the tunnel
- >All was dark, but the sounds of movements
- >Anon went for his sword
- >Suddenly, he felt a point touch his neck
- "Drop it"
- >As the light flooded back into the cabin, he saw one of the colt's had placed a knife to his throat
- >Anon let his hands up, showing he had nothing in them
- >The colt didn't even try to take his sword, but nodded to his leader
- >The colts were all over the cabin, weapons drawn and pointed at the stronger looking stallions
- "Listen up!" The leader shouted "This is a stick-up!"
- >The p0nies around the train looks confused and scared, a young foal cries
- "Everyone! Get out your bits, your gold, everything!"
- >one of the colts brings out a big bag
- >He goes over to a family
- >they hastily drop their bits inside
- >He moves on to the next one
- >The colts seem to be watching the bag moving around
- >Anon notices the colt that was holding him up wasn't watching him
- >Anon smiled
- "Fucking Amateur."
- >The colt turns to Anon as he spoke, but his fist was faster
- >Anon felt the satisfying crack of his teeth and horse-jaw breaking
- >He fell over with a howl
- >Everyone turned to look at Anon, who was already standing up
- >He drew his sword
- >It sang to the heavens
- >Anon stared hot death at these punks
- "Drop your weapons, all of you."
- >The leader laughs, and the others join in once they see how confident he is
- "Really? There's six of us, and only one of you."
- >Anon looked to the right, at the downed colt
- >He pointed to him
- "You mean five."
- "Whatever. You're just some lanky primate, sit down and give us your weapons and maybe we will spare you."
- >Anon laughed
- "Fine, have it your way."
- >Anon started to march towards the leader
- >He told his goons to attack
- >The ponies stopped watching the other occupants and advanced
- >Anon saw a stallion in the back stand up
- >He pointed at him
- "Don't be a hero!"
- >The stallion sat down
- >One of the colts that was coming up to Anon was looking back at him
- "Yeah! You heard the man!" he laughed, mocking the brave stallion
- "Don't be a he-"
- >His voice was cut short as Anon's sword slashed him across the shoulder, bringing him down easily.
- >The others snapped to attention, they had finally learned their lesson
- >Don't get distracted
- >Anon smiled
- "Two down."
- >Two of the colts charged down the narrows aisle, one with a knife and the other with a cudgel of some kind
- >Anon jumped to the side into the seats
- >Only one of them could attack him like this
- >The cudgel smashed out, cracking a seat
- >Anon sliced him across the hoof, making him drop his weapon and collapse in pain
- >He kicked him in the face, and then did a overhand slash at the other one
- >the other colt raised his knife pathetically in an attempt to block but it was much too little too late
- >Anon's sword cracked the knife in half and the blade sliced off part of the colt's face, before the sword embedded into his shoulder
- >He screamed in agony as Anon pulled his sword free and knocked him to the ground as well
- >The leader stood behind a big and beefy colt
- >this colt had an actual sword in his mouth
- >Anon smiled, pointing his sword forward and assuming a battle stance
- >the colt disappointed him by running down the aisle swinging wildly
- "You are no warrior!"
- >Anon waited until the last second
- >Then, he struck out with his shield
- >the force of the blow knocked the sword from the colt's mouth
- >But he wasn't knocked out, he growled and tried to bite Anon
- >Anon clobbered him with his fist, the colt fell down
- >Anon stepped over him, and advanced towards the leader
- >The leader was sweating profusely
- >He threw the bag of coins at Anon, who raised his shield
- >The coins flew everywhere, clattering about and making a mess and noise
- >The leader advanced towards the door
- >He opened the door outside
- >...Right as the train pulled onto a cliff
- >The leader looked down at the sheer drop, with Canterlot castle quick approaching
- >he shook his head
- "Your choice."
- >The leader looked up at Anon with fright, who was standing right behind him
- "Go to jail or die. Make the choice."
- >The leader seemed to think for a second and backed away
- "Good boy." Anon said in a mocking tone
- >Anon grabbed the leader by his mane and pulled him off the ground with one arm
- >The leader pissed himself with fear
- >Anon realized he could literally fling this fucker out onto the mountain
- >But Anon decided against it
- >He had a better idea
- >Carrying the colt inside, he showed him off to the families, who were cheering in triumph
- "Now now Mr.Colt, you are going to apologize to all of these families for the money you stole, under stand?"
- >The colt nodded furiously
- >Anon carried the colt around the room, and he apologized to each family, all of which gave him dirty looks and the kids threw things at him
- >Anon walked to the back of the cabin with him, sitting him in a seat
- "Do you like having teeth or genitals? Then sit still. The Equestrian Royal Guard will deal with you when we pull into station."
- >The leader sat there, defeated as the train began to pull to a stop
- >The Royal Guard roughs up the criminals a bit as they pull them out of the train and towards the dungeons
- >Anon hands over the leader to them, with a large stallion approaching
- >He was white with blue hair, and he had some sort of shield on his chest
- "Hello Anon!" He said
- >Anonymous blinked
- "Who are you?"
- "I am Shining Armor, Twilight's sister."
- >Oh, Twilight mentioned him
- >Anonymous suddenly remembered something
- "Your sister! Twilight! She-"
- "Is hurt, I know." Shining armor replied
- >Anon stayed quiet
- "The Princess has ordered me to escort you to the castle. But seeing your handiwork here I can see you don't really need one!"
- >Anonymous smiled at the compliment but remained a bit humble
- "Yes, well, it's my duty to take out the trash I suppose."
- >Shining Armor said nothing, but smiled as they walked towards the castle
- >They approached the doors and were let inside
- >Celestia was on her throne, talking to some noble or whatever
- >As per usual
- >Anonymous couldn't help but laugh, he found the idea that one of the most powerful beings in this world subjecting herself to the petty problems of nobles to be hilarious
- >But he guessed it was a bit more complex than that and he shouldn't judge
- >Celestia saw him coming and shooed away the noble, greeting Anonymous with a smile
- "Anonymous, glad to see you so soon! We have much to discuss."
- >Anonymous nodded, but scoffed internally. There was always much to discuss when you dealt with royalty.
- >Celestia saw him coming and shooed away the noble, greeting Anonymous with a smile
- "Anonymous, glad to see you so soon! We have much to discuss."
- >Anonymous nodded, but scoffed internally. There was always much to discuss when you dealt with royalty.
- >Celestia led Anon away, and back into the more private chambers
- >He passed at least two parties of guards
- >He absently began a conversation
- "Lots of security around here, recently?"
- >Celestia stopped and looked back at him
- "We'll talk about it soon."
- >Oh, it was also important
- >Anonymous stayed silent as he walked the hallowed halls of Canterlot Castle
- >This place always impressed him
- >Didn't beat his cottage though. Not by a long-shot.
- >Finally, they pulled into Celestia's private chambers
- >There was a big roaring fireplace and pillows with suns embroidered on them
- >It was also strewn with papers
- >Celestia shouldn't be this disorganized
- >Celestia turned to Anonymous and sighed before putting on her usual comforting smile
- "Anonymous, take a seat please? And take off that armor. You must get comfortable. Would you like some tea?"
- "No thank you. Water would be preferred."
- >Celestia nodded and left the room
- >Anonymous looked around at the comfy room and unstrapped his weapons, allowing them to fall to the floor
- >He also took off his shield, his arm seeming to spring up once the heavy weight was off it
- >Anonymous then unstrapped his boots, leggings and chest armor.
- >He wasn't wearing much underneath, just a kind of loincloth
- >He shook his head, the ponies were used to nudity all the time so they wouldn't be bothered by this.
- >He sat down with crossed legs, thinking and resting
- >Celestia came in with a tray of tea and some water in a perfect golden jug, she seemed to look at him for a second before placing the tray down on the ground, and then sitting down next to him
- >Anonymous reached out and took the water, drinking from the jug
- "That's quite Savage of you, Anon. But refreshing. You're really *supposed* to drink from the crystal glass."
- >Celestia pointed a hoof at the small glass cup besides the jar
- "Why?"
- "Just some stupid thing civilized people do."
- >Anonymous laughed and drank deeply, before setting the jar back down gently
- >Celestia sipped from a cup of tea daintily, as was expected of the Princess
- >Anonymous waited until she took a few sips, and she then spoke
- "So, the reason why there were so many guards outside was because the Canterlot Royal library was broken into last night. They stole some books on some ancient and dark magic, and with the information you sent about what happened to Twilight, I think I've figured out the identity of those attackers."
- >Anonymous listened in
- >Celestia placed a piece of parchment on the tray, showing an interesting symbol that looked like a dragon head with black thorns around it
- "They are an order called "The Dark Dragon". They worship black dragons, the evil kinds. They want to *create* a new black dragon overlord to rule the world with."
- >Anonymous nodded, studying the symbol for a few minutes
- >He noticed the Princess was silent
- >Anonymous looked over at her
- >She was just staring off into space
- >Anonymous tried to see what she was looking at, but she was just looking above the tray at the wall
- "Pri-Princess?"
- >Celestia snapped out of it, looking at Anon for a second before turning back to the wall
- "Oh, oh I'm sorry Anon. I just... just got lost in thought for a second."
- >Anonymous raised an eyebrow
- "About what?"
- >Celestia looked at him
- "About you, actually."
- >Anonymous blinked
- "I was just thinking about you, Anonymous. About how you just appeared here one day. How you're..."
- >Anonymous made a motion for her to continue
- "...How you're alone."
- >Anonymous was silent
- >Celestia turned to him, her face sporting a frown
- "You're the only one of your kind, Anon. You're totally alone."
- >Anonymous nodded slowly, not sure why she was just saying a fact.
- "...Like me."
- >Anonymous blinked
- "And I'm not talking about my race, I know their are more. Luna and Cadance. But I hardly ever see Cadance, and Luna I only see during the dawn and dusk. I'm either too tired to really talk, or she is."
- >Anonymous sat back, allowing the Princess to vent
- "And it goes beyond that! I can hardly even have friends! I am cursed with my immortality, I see all my friends die." She said, then spoke again softer
- "...All my lovers die..."
- >Anonymous saw a tear drop to the cushions below her, a look of great sadness on her face
- >She slowly turned her head towards him, a polite sob being heard from her as she looked at him
- >She leaned forward
- >Anonymous felt a bit confused, his body was on autopilot
- >He leaned forward
- >She moved her head closer to his
- >His mouth opened slightly
- >Celestia's lip quivered
- >Within a time that felt like forever, Celestia finally touched Anon's lips to hers, her hoofs coming forward and draping over his shoulders
- >The kiss was very light at first but she moved up, her mouth pressing against his. He could feel her tongue enter his mouth, her body heat was coming off
- >Everything felt so warm
- >Everything felt wrong
- >Anonymous was frozen, he didn't want to move
- >But he felt himself reach his hands around and wrap around the Princess, holding her body close to his
- >His tongue joined hers in the dance
- >Anonymous and her joined their kiss for over a minute, before she finally pulled away, panting
- "Wha-"
- >Before he could even speak, she kissed him again, her body seeming to melt into his arms and her mouth pressing against his lips
- >Anonymous felt a great warmth within him
- >...How long has it been?
- >Finally she broke the kiss again, her glorious white body in his lap and arms, her flowing hair all around him and her
- "...Anon."
- "Celestia."
- >Anonymous had his instincts, he knew what was happening
- >What *would* happen
- >I didn't sit well with him though
- "...Celestia you aren't a-"
- "A human, I know. I know that, alright? You don't need to explain it to me. Just..."
- >Anonymous was quiet as Celestia searched for the words
- "I am a Princess. You are a warrior. Just let it happen."
- >Anonymous was a bit put off by her forwardness, but he seemed to accept it
- >After sitting there for a second stupidly, he realized she probably wanted him to act
- >Anonymous moved and scooped up the Princess, holding her in his arms, her glorious mane cascading down
- >She looked up at him with a lovely blush and a sly smile
- >He returned the smile, and spoke
- "...To your tower, Princess?"
- "Yes, please."
- >Anonymous looked up and saw a door that was ajar
- >It led to Celestia's royal bedroom
- >He smiled, and carried her inside, and shut the door with his foot.
- ----------------
- The End of Part 8