The post that started it all:
https://archive.moe/mlp/thread/24023624/#24024221
 
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>You are Twilight.
>Well, to be exact and to differentiate yourself from the other Twilights, you’re M-002.
>or was it N-002? 2-002?
>Doesn’t matter.
>You’re currently too busy graduating to be worrying about your Twi Decimal Classification.
>In fact, you’re absolutely overjoyed.
>You don’t even care about how you’re sweating in your scratchy, uncomfortable gown.
>Or the scorching sun.
>Or the hard plastic lawn chair trying its damnedest to ruin your posture.
>None of it matters, you’ll soon be free.
>You can’t even begin to articulate how glad you are to be rid of this hellhole.
>A brick-and-mortar dispensary of mediocrity.
>The staff members were okay.
>Buildings were new-ish.
>The student body, on the other hand...
>It’s been a wildly mixed bag of trendy jerkoffs ranging from “unbearable” to “idiot shitfucker”
>You must admit, most were harmless.
>Just a bunch of normies who wanted to chase trivial pursuits in peace.
>At least they didn’t *actively* try to sabotage your academic endeavors.
>Unlike that green-faced idiot who—
>—deep breaths.
>Happy thoughts.
>You will seize this day and cherish it.
>Freedom awaits you.
>it’s only about two hours of speeches and accolades away from becoming yours
>two hours
>you briefly consider the feasibility of suicide by a lawn chair
 
 
- - - - - -
 
 
>you are Anon
>there’s no need to differentiate yourself from the other anons because you’re not a raging autist
>besides, you haven’t met the other anons in quite some time
>but that’s irrelevant
>you’re currently too busy despairing to be worrying about graduating
>two hours of speeches and accolades
>two. hours.
>you briefly consider the feasibility of death by boredom, because this is looking more and more like it could happen
>you had your trusty Nokia 3310 taken away from you by one of the teachers
>”to keep you from being a disturbance,” he had said
>no Snake, no Tetris
>you are definitely going to perish here
>shouldn’t this count as a cruel and unusual punishment?
>could you sue the school for cruel and unusual punishment?
>”NNGH!”
>you’re snapped out of your self-pity by a dissatisfied grunt
>high-pitched
>probably someone two rows in front of you
>maybe—
>oh
>Twilight.
 
>she looks just about uncomfortable as you are, fidgeting in that flimsy lawn chair
>the same awkward Twilight you’ve known for so long
>but she looks... different, somehow
>well, yeah, she’s wearing the cap and gown so there’s that
>it’s been a while since you’ve spoken to her, let alone seen her
>almost a year, perhaps
>her glasses aren’t taped up anymore
>she ditched the old chucks for a newer pair
>even her characteristic bun is held up more neatly
>you can see hints of subtle eye-makeup even from this angle
>as though hearing your thoughts out loud, she turns and looks at you
>she’s modestly gussied up
>and it’s working too well
>your heart skips several beats in just a second
>yep, definitely going to die today
 
 
- - - - - -
 
 
>you are Twilight
>you’re currently staring at the green-faced idiot who—
>your face turns into lava
>you break eye contact and turn back
>he looks... different, somehow
>it’s been a while since you’ve spoken to him, let alone seen him  
>a year and eighty-six days, actually
>he’s cleaned up quite well, at least for the occasion
>brand new chucks, just like yours
>you blush at that
>you always had been a sucker for those
>bracelet you had given him for his birthday
>it contained an RFID chip that let you track his movements, but you sort of “forgot” to mention that part
>you two had been close friends since you met him at a Magic tournament  
>you even held some... special feelings for him on occasion
>but after what he had done, after that colossal fuck-up
>you just couldn’t
>it drove nails into your heart, but it was for the best
>whether from out of guilt or apathy, he respected your wishes
>not even a whimper
>he “took it like a man,” you suppose
 
>you two stopped sitting next to each other in classes
>no more lunches together
>no more dimension-hopping together — that hurt a lot
>you used to hold hands through portals because he was deathly afraid of losing you
>how ironic that he did end up losing you, in a sense
>through this brief reflection, you feel hot tears blurring your vision
>oh no you don’t
>not here, not now
>it was only just, what you did
>there’s nothing more to be said or done
>your next stride will be forward
>away from this place, away from him
>preserve the momentum forward  
>justifications aside, you let a pang of guilt choke you
“it didn’t have to be like this, my dearest friend.”
>a single drop of tear slips past unnoticed
 
 
- - - - - -
 
 
>you are anon
>you just watched Twilight break eye contact, crimson-faced
>you’re not quite sure how you feel about that
>she’s probably still mad as hell
>and who could blame her?
>you’ve held some... special feelings for her on occasion
>but after what you had done, after that colossal fuck-up
>she had to let you go
>it drove nails into your heart, but it was for the best
>out of guilt and sympathy, you respected her wishes
>you just couldn’t bear to watch her crumpled like that anymore
>full of sadness and anger
>you two stopped sitting next to each other in lunches
>no m—
 
>”ANONYMOUS”
>you groan as Trixie addresses you in her characteristically grandiose tone
>”THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE DEMANDS TO KNO—“
“TRIXIE PLEASE yes how... great it is to be interrupted by you”
>your sarcasm flies right past the blue autist’s head
>she continues smugly
>”OF COURSE, WHY WOULDN’T YOU BE? I AM GREAT AND POWERFUL AFTER ALL”
>she’s a good friend of yours
>and Twilight’s
>but sometimes you reeeally wish she’d stop it with that third person gimmick
“yes, you are indeed. now if you’ll excuse me—“
>“WHAT IS ANON DOING LOOKING ALL STARRY-EYED?”
>now, THAT stops your tongue
>how hard were you sulking if an autist noticed you doing it?
>upon reflection, it doesn’t surprise you much
>you WERE sulking pretty damn hard for a moment there
>what does surprise you is what comes out of your mouth in response
 
“i’m lamenting the future I could’ve had with someone”
 
>well, it’s half-true
>you’ve spent sleepless nights wondering how things would’ve turned out with her
>years, or maybe a lifetime of happiness together
>relationship or not you would’ve been one of her best of best friends
>dating would’ve just been an icing on the Twicake
>she was your dearest friend, precious and irreplaceable
>until you fucked it all up
 
 
- - - - - -
 
 
>you are Twilight, two years ago
>Anon is watching you typing away on the keyboard
>”so uh, this is just like a usenet?”
>he’s a smart guy, but sometimes you’re worried about how behind he is in technology
“it’s so much more than just a mailing list, anon. it’s a digital ocean of KNOWLEDGE.”
>just a few more table tags, and—
“voila.”
>you hit ctrl+s and upload the html file you and anon had been working on
>well, it was mostly you
>anon helped
>that wicked looking wall of fire gif? his idea
>rotating skulls? matrix text background? all his
>that man had a keen eye for wicked sick designs
>as soon as it’s done uploading, you refresh the website
 
-~:[ Welcome to the homepage of Twi and Anon! ]:~-
/!\ this page is under HEAVY construction!!! /!\
 
>the radical looking matrix texts scroll in the background
>absolutely beautiful.
>anon whistles quietly
>”you. i don’t know what i’d do without your mad HTML skills”
>you allow yourself a smug little smile
“well, you’d be failing your Web Design class, for one”
>”h-hey! not fair”
>you stick your tongue out playfully
“what, not even a comment about how you’re carrying *my* ass in math? you make this too easy”
>you aren’t really exaggerating
>this guy could do circles around anyone when it came to math, even the teachers
>on the other hand, you were more of an ‘applied math’ person
>anon helped you with your homework a great deal
>he was going to be a math whiz, and you were kind of jealous of that prospect
>and a little turned on
>you imagine him plotting your gaussian curves while naked
>’s-solve me like one of your functions’
>you nibble on your lower lip involuntarily
>anon breaks you out of your lewd trance with a poke
>”Earth to Twi, ‘mirin your own work like that is a wee bit creepy”
>he flashes that unbearably charming grin at you
>you blush furiously
“y-you idiot!”
 
 
- - - - - -
 
 
>you are anon, one year ago
>Twilight is furious with you
>”my perfect GPA, gone. just like that! you’ve ruined me!”
>you hang your head in shame
>you were a mediocre programmer
>you only took the class because you needed the class credit as much as she did
>you swore and assured her that you knew what you were doing
>that you were “getting better at this shit like you wouldn’t believe”
>so she took you in, took you for your word
>and you fucked it all up
 
>”do you have ANY idea how hard it is to get into Canterlot Institute of Technology WITHOUT the automatic acceptance guarantee? thanks to you, now I have to compete with literal thousands of other applicants with below-perfect GPA! and without a project to show for it!”
>all it took was a few misspelled variables and sloppy programming on your part
>you got too lazy, got distracted by games
>wasted time on MUD instead of checking your code
>the project — all you had to do was replicate a cash register
>thanks to you, you both failed the project
>”I can’t believe this. I can’t fucking believe this!”
>you’ve never heard Twilight curse out loud in public until now
>she’s angry at you, at herself for trusting you
>she knows she can’t turn back time, and it just crushes her
>she paces several laps in front of you
>”I-I trusted you, Anon! how could you do this to me? to us? nevermind my future, what about YOURS??”
>that last bit breaks your heart into pieces
>even with her predicament, she can’t help but worry about you
>about your future
>because she’s your goddamn friend
>a friend who cares deeply about you
>how could you have fucked up so badly?
>she begins breathing heavily
>panic attack?
>you want to hold her, comfort her
>tell her you’re sorry
>instead you watch as she collapses on the floor and begins bawling
>she doesn’t even seem to acknowledge that her classmates are staring at her
>it’s not the pretty kind of bawling you see in your animes
>this is a woman-in-distress bawling
>she’s just had her future robbed from her
>by you
>you dun goofed, Anon
>you feel absolutely horrible
 
 
- - - - - -
 
 
>you are anon, in the present
>Trixie hasn’t stopped staring at you
>that creep
>the speech has been going on for a while now
>honors this, honors that
>a few students get to say their 10-minute piece
>you’ve lost track of time
>none of this matters to you right now
>you can only think of Twilight
>watching her break eye contact with you like that left you with a myriad of odd feelings
>is she alright?
>ceremony’s not boring her too much, hopefully?
>does she... want to talk?
>you know that what you’ve done is potentially irredeemable  
>Twilight Sparkle, your friend
>you’ve essentially betrayed her
>would she ever look at you the same way?
>would she ever consider you her friend again?
>Trixie whispers at you
>”IF IT’S MISS SPARKLE YOU’RE CONCERNED ABOUT, YOU OUGHT TO TALK TO HER AFTER THE CEREMONIES”
>you can’t deny the autistic wisdom in her words
“yeah, you’re right”
>Twi’s clearly in need of receptive peers
>someone she can just vent at
>someone to hold her and ask her how she’s doing
>someone who happens to be Anonymous
>who’ll then tell her how sorry he is
>let her pour it all out
>he’d let her beat him up if it made her feel better
>let her cry on his broad shoulder, even
>Twilight, your dearest friend
>maybe even give her a loving hug afterward
>all the while stroking her deep lavender h—
>”AND BY ‘TALK TO HER’ TRIXIE MEANS NOTHING CREEPY, ANONYMOUS”
>you wish she’d stop interrupting your totally non-sexual platonic fantasies
“why, i would never, Trixie.”
 
 
- - - - - -
 
 
>you are Twilight
>you’re almost hoping for a divine intervention, rainbow power, anything
>you’re not sure how much more of this ceremony you can stand
>there’s got to be an end to the number of students with various “honors”
>and what is up with all the shout-outs being read straight out of the yearbook?
>as if forcing all seniors to buy the thing wasn’t torturous enough, they were reading passages from it
>someone in the yearbook committee had a parent who had the school by the balls, you assume
>Diamond something? her and something-Spoon
>eat the rich
>you *could* cause a ruckus to put an early end to this sham
>after all, you never leave home without a complement of non-lethal grenades
>flashbangs, sonic boooms, tear gas, hallucinogens
>thanks, Twilight Science Fair surplus outlet
>upon reflection, you think better of it
>it’s so close to being over
>you’d rather not get in trouble now
>especially not if the opposition might be one of the richest families in existence
>so, stewing in the heat it is
 
>just when you thought things couldn’t get any worse, a loud static-like explosion echoes through the skies
>clouds gather out of nowhere and conveniently block the sun
>well, at least it won’t be so hot anymore
>it all seems too familiar
>you recall collecting a bunch of newspaper scraps on a similar event that happened at the school
>the Portal Event
>you had mountains of VHS containing every news broadcast about the incident you could scrounge up
>low-res grainy footages in glorious 240p
>something in you wants to disbelieve
>this can’t *actually* be real
>the collective, confused murmur of the crowd is quickly replaced with panicked screams as lightning arcs to the ground
>grass begins to burn in patches
>wind begins to howl menacingly and dangerously fast
>something begins to swirl in the clouds
>it spins faster, faster
>until it takes the shape of a smooth, rainbow-colored cone
>oh, it’s definitely happening
>you’ve seen this before
“I’ve seen this before”
 
 
- - - - - -
 
 
>you are anon
>you’ve never seen this before
“I’ve never seen this before”
>you stand about stupefied, jaw unhinged
>”TRIXIE HAS, AND THINGS DIDN’T END SO WELL LAST TIME. WE SHOULD CONSIDER FLEEING”
>you agree with Trixie’s assessment
>wisdom in autism, anon  
>you pick up your jaw from the ground figuratively, and begin running towards the school buildings
>lightning arcs everywhere like it’s hellbent on burning every last patch of grass on the field
>Trixie trips and falls next to you
>you desperately try to help her up
“come on, Trix! we’ve got to get to th—“
>lightning strikes nearby
>you are both thrown into the air like ragdolls
>the air smells like burnt steam
>the landing hurts like hell and leaves you breathless
>a massive rainbow-colored translucent unicorn head appears over the rainbow cone
“what in nine hells is THAT?”
>suddenly, the funnel stops spinning
>strips of rainbow-colored ribbons begin flying towards the crowd from the unicorn’s horn
>it doesn’t look too harmful—
>it impales one of the students in the chest and to the ground
>she lets out a gurgled scream  
>broken stage props and neatly sliced branches fill the air
>oh god
>holy fuck
>you need to get the hell out of where
>”ANONYMOUSE, LOOK OUT”
>Trixie points at a several strips of rainbow hurtling in your direction
>something feels broken and you can’t get up
>you’re so boned
“TRIXIE! I can’t get up, you need to save yourself”
>”B-BUT”
“NOW!”
>you push her away
>she begins sprinting towards the closest building, next to Twilight
>at least your friends will be safe
>you squeeze your eyes shut
>this is it
“I’m so sorry, Twilight”
 
 
- - - - - -
 
 
>you are Twilight
>you’re surrounded by extradimensional shitstorm of death and destruction
>also, you’re about to watch your friends meet their doom
“ANON—“
>he pushes Trixie towards you
>you notice him wincing
>his ribs are probably broken
>he closes his eyes and mouths something inaudible
>the rainbow-colored ribbons are getting closer by the second
>you recall the similar carnage documented by newspapers and tabloids
>broken limbs and punctured torsos
>grieving family members of the victims
>you’re about to lose your best friend again
>this time, probably irrevocably  
>tears and rage tints your view in equal portions
>you grit your teeth
“not. this. time.”
 
>you begin running towards him
>you pick up a length of pipe along the way, probably from a shredded chainlink fence
>the paint on the pipe chips away explosively as you load it up with horrendous levels of otherworldly energy  
>you’re glad that you never leave home without your powered gauntlets, as per someone’s advice
>”neighajoules of rainbow power,” she had said
>thanks, T-17
>time slows to a crawl as you face ribbons of incredibly lethal rainbow beams
>breathe in through the nose
>breathe out through the mouth
>your heart beats maniacally
>this is not a great idea
>at all
>this “parry stuff mid-flight” stereotype?
>only works in one of anon’s favorite animes
>but there’s nothing else you can do
>you have to try
>you’d rather lose a few limbs than lose Anon
>save your friend
>or die trying
 
>with a deft swing, you make a cut at one of the beams
 
 
- - - - - -
 
 
>you are anon
>not even a second ago, you thought you were about to die for sure
>but instead of death, you hear lightweight footsteps
>there’s a hair-raising crackle followed by a hiss
>it sounds like an extremely loud white noise
>and then another
>your eyes open
“T-Twilight?”
 
>your heroine stands guard above you, looking severely cut up
>she’s wearing some sort of metal gloves and holding a white-hot length of metal pipe
>it’s crackling with some sort of rainbow-colored energy
>not entirely unlike the radiant ribbon-like beam she is swinging at currently—
>shit
>you cover your eyes  
>the beam explodes mid-flight like fireworks
>she flinches as the sparks cut her up in several places
>tufts of her lavender hair scatters in the wind
>”I-I was right. rainbow power with the higher potential negates the lower one”
>unbelievably, she smiles
>”just like... your animes, right? heh heh.”
>you cannot believe your eyes
>she takes swing at another beam that flies towards you
>you flinch as it explodes with similar effect
>it leaves even more scars on your friend
 
>you feel absolutely helpless
>Twilight was always the more courageous one
>all of that dimension-hopping business
>galactic monster hunts
>you couldn’t even operate a firearm made on Earth
>you’d whimper as she brazenly discharged her weapon
>and here you were again, absolutely useless in a fight against entities you couldn’t comprehend
>Twilight is literally dying to save you
>you’re about to lose your best friend again
>to a bunch of stupid rainbow beams and a gigantic unicorn head
>tears and rage tints your view in equal portions
>your grit your teeth, and get up
“never. again.”