Title:           Generic Anon in Pone Prison #6
Author:          Zew
Pastebin link:   http://pastebin.com/j3C1k2na
First Edit:      Saturday 27th of August 2016 10:25:44 PM CDT
Last Edit:       Last edit on: Thursday 22nd of September 2016 09:41:00 PM CDT

 
*N.B., none of this has been checked for grammar so expect a lot of broken english, non-pluralized words and just straight up the wrong words*
 
>Be Ember Heart the British professor pone (several hours earlier)
>You’d just been kidnapped by a random creature you’d never seen before, hauled through the streets of Canterlot on a crazy chase and then dumped back at your university
>The creature responsible had named itself Anonymous
>For somepony who’d just kidnapped you, all the while being chased by the Special Forces, he was exceedingly pleasant
>So kind too, and strong! Running through the city carrying you the whole way. Plus he got your bag back from that thief, even if you’d been charged with the crime
>And he was so interesting! You ever so dearly wanted to study him
>But you had other far more substantial work on your plate, having been chosen to help research an honest to Celestia alien!
>Only a select few ponies had been told of its existence thus far
>Originally the call had come out from PRC’s warden, Honey Cakes, to have a look at an inmate’s peculiar abilities
>It was only after Princess Luna had met the creature that it was revealed to be alien, and apparently very dangerous
>Although Luna's dislike of anything alien was well documented so it can't be too bad
>You get off the bench Anonymous had left you on and pick up a brisk trot to your faculty
>Your previous thoughts about this peculiar individual had been blow from your mind after he'd pulled forth a Blood Rose
>One he’d then given to you!
>At first you thought it a mistake, or that he was just showing it off for some reason, but he’d insisted you have it. Who in their right mind did that?
>But he’d been so genuine in giving it to you
>Could you really consider something like this?
>Although the real question is why would anypony /ever/ just do that!?
>A Blood Rose was a very unique and magical flower used in Unicorn courtship
>It was traditionally presented as an alternative to a wedding ring. The Blood Rose was considered a far more intimate offering however
>This arose from its powerful magic
>It was a species that had been cultivated by unicorns since the founding of Equestria
>The flower was infused stem to petal with love magic
>When exposed to love, or even love’s kindling, the flower’s magic activates. It is then, not so romantically, but still ceremoniously, ingested by the willing parties, drawing forth their magic essence, fusing them permanently. An ultimate and final bond for the most intimate lovers
>Needless to say that made the presentation of such things an extremely special and rare occasion, something one would never, ever, joke about.
>Not a lot of ponies went ahead with such things in modern times. One, it was an archaic tradition and two, those roses could put you in debt for half your life
>Yet here today a random creature had sidled on over and literally asked you to join him forever
>What is your life?
>The sliding glass doors of your faculty steadily approach as you continue along your little trek
>It was a large building, reaching up five stories, constructed from the same flawless white marble Canterlot was so famous for. Some of the newer additions to the building were made of more modern materials such as glass and plastics, giving the entire building a monstrous hybrid style
>But such things were of little concern to you, not now, not today
>What are you going to do? Stranger or not what he’d done was almost sacred! Why must he sow such chaos in your mind?
>You reach the doors and they slide open
>The usual red unicorn receptionist was at her desk, mindlessly typing away
>Her eyes briefly flash upwards and she grunts an acknowledgment at your presence
>But as you turn to make your way to the lifts you over hear her squee with excitement
“Oh my GOSH!! Ember Heart! I never expected you to meet anypony! Who’s the special stallion? He must be loaded you lucky mare!”
>Her gaze was fixated on the top of the cylinder containing the rose, currently poking out of your bag
>”Nopony you’d know- HEY! Wait a sec, what did you mean by that!?” You ask, offended by her off guard comment
>The receptionist mare smiles at you
“Oh it’s just that I’ve never seen you with anypony before, and you never join in with faculty events, I’ve never seen you go out and all you do is work, plus you have naturally bad social skills. I’ve seen your small talk, it’s not pretty.” The mare answers cheerily, smile still upon her muzzle, not a hint of anger or resentment in her voice, just harsh and utter truth
>”Okay.” You reply quietly, rushing to the elevator to avoid looking at the mare
>From how she’d said it you knew she didn’t intend for it to hurt but her words cut you deep enough the bring forth a single tear
>One you wipe away as the elevator doors close
>Sure you aren’t the most social of ponies and your best friend was the phoenix you studied for your PhD… Or you liked to think it was
>You lived by yourself and the only time you ever went out was into the wilderness to watch strange animals. But cuts to funding at the university prevented you from traveling as you once had
>Now you’re thinking about it you’d never devoted any of your time to love
>In fact what would be considered the most romantic moment of your life occurred moments ago with some random
>He wasn’t even a pony
>Where were you going with this again?
>…
>...Stupid receptionist
 
<| °_° |>
 
>Your office was on the fifth floor beside the new janitor's closet
>Actually your office might have been the old janitor closet. Most of the professors had rooms about that size
>But you made do
>You set up the rose on your desk and lose yourself in its fractal petals
>For too long you watch it, suspended in whatever preservative gel filled the cylinder
>You check out the tiny clock ticking away on the wall
>Damn! If you don’t leave right now, you won’t make it to Perpetual Rainbows Correctional Centre in time
>Stupid Rose. Stupid Anonymous!
>Papers fly about as you hurriedly gather your stuff
>You rush out the door, a bustle of activity, blood rose stuffed once more in your bags
>Anonymous had claimed to be from PRC so once you finished with this alien you’ll be tracking him down and finding out what his game was
>There was one stop you had to make before leaving
>You find Dean, the universities Dean, who, after hearing you explanation of this morning’s events, promised to sort out your legal issues by pinning the whole thing on Anonymous
>He’d be fine with that right? He was already in prison
>No more being accused of stealing your own bags for you!
>With that nasty business sorted you blink away from Canterlot and pop back up into reality at the great wrought iron gates of the illustrious PRC
>At this point you were certainly going to be late
>Unforeseeable to you was the sad fact said lateness was to be perpetuated by the curse of the receptionist
>A red unicorn mare, almost identical in look to the one back up at your faculty, sat behind the welcoming desk, watching you with interest
“Hello Miss, will you be checking in as a visitor today? Or an inmate?”
>You scan the room in confusion. Was this a prank?
>”Um, A visitor of course.” You assert
“Can I get a name then please?”
>”Ember Heart.”
>The mare scribbles your name down in what you assume to be the visitors sign in book
>But as her quill lifts from the page your name glows red
>She eyes you over suspiciously
“Just give me a moment Miss Heart, I just need to grab a few guards to arrest you.”
>”WHAT!?”
“Uhhhh. I mean I need a glass of water.”
>Phew, you were panicking there a moment, lucky she meant water and not guards
>With that the mare ducks into the room behind her and re-emerges with two burly stallion guards
>The panic returns
>She lied to you!
>”W-What’s happening!?” you shout out as the two stallions gently guide towards a plain white brick room
>One of them speaks up
“According to our system you’re a wanted fugitive for the theft of one bag belonging to a Miss Ember Heart.”
>”But I /am/ Ember Heart!”
>He shakes his head forlornly
“Nothing worse than a self-stealing thief, you’ll be put away for a long time Miss. one, two days even.”
>You’re made to sit while the two stallions watch over you menacingly
>You were still wanted for the crime you didn’t commit!
>As it turns out you failed to factor in that it would take more than no time at all for Dean Dean to sort out your problems
>You’d only given him a few minutes before you teleported yourself directly to jail, so in some small way this may be your fault
>The guards continue staring, neither moving nor talking, no pony comes to join the three of you and nothing happens at all
>”Is.” You look around “Is this it? Does anything else happen now?”
>Prison was terrible!
>The guards exchange confused looks
”We ah… we… “
“Dude what do we do next?” One stallion attempts to whisper to his buddy, who looks around nervously
“I’m not sure. It’s been so long since I’ve done anything… guard related. We need help.”
>Both guards smile
“Of course! Let’s go get somepony to help. Then we can process this prisoner, give them a tour, their sentence, clothes and a room.”
>The guards nod happily with their plan
“Miss Ember Heart we’re going to need you to wait here until we get back with somepony more experienced.”
>Just like that they’re off, leaving you alone in the cold brick room
>That was strange. Looks like this is your fate now
>”Sheesh, what a day.” You grumble to yourself
>You look out the little window forlornly
>Just off in the distance is the tri-dome setup of your peers. You’d gotten so close!
>But you should wait for those guards to come back, hopefully you can explain your situation properly and be let out
>Minutes pass and nopony comes back
>Just as you start to lose hope you notice the two guards outside, happily chasing after a cluster of butterflies
>You can see how Anonymous had managed to break out
>Was the prison system always like this?
>Now adamant nopony was ever to return you simply walk from the room, past the receptionist, into the prison yard and to the tri-domes
>What a strange day this was… so surreal
 
<| °_° |>
 
>Despite the translucent walls of the dome your view of the alien was obscured by the chair they’d given him
>It wasn’t until you’d passed through the decontamination chamber that the alien truly came into view
>It wasn’t until then that your heart stopped
>Thankfully it started again the very next beat
>”ANONYMOUS!?”
>Without a shirt! Oh Goodness! So that’s what he looks like under those clothes… Big
>Failing to suppress your blush you prepare for embarrassment as Anonymous turns to find the source of the shout
>But you’re saved by Chicken Scratch, standing upon an observation deck, who wrenches Anonymous’ attention back with an exasperated outburst
“FOR THE LOVE OF CELESTIA WHAT IS IT NOW?”
>Ignoring the strange feelings brought about by the sight of a half nude Anonymous and taking Chickens outburst as an opportunity to force the blush from your face with pure will power (and a little magic) you skirt out from behind Anonymous to address him officially
>Well… Semi-officially
>“Anonymous? /YOU/ are the creature I’m researching?!”
>The infuriating beast only grins at you. Chicken Scratch had more to say than he did, her previous outburst already forgotten
“Do you know this creature Ember Heart?” She questions
>You were going to answer but Chicken just goes on to address Anonymous
“I thought you said you’d had no contact with her Anonymous.”
>What? How could he say that!?
>“What do you mean? Of course I’ve met him, up at-
”The reception desk, we met there, just before I came here.” He interrupts, finally speaking
>You turn to him, confused, but at the sight of his eyes desperately pleading with you, you decide to play along
>This is why you don’t break out of prison; it just becomes a web of lies
>“Uh, yeah we met up at the reception desk.”
>Chicken continue to pick at Anonymous’ lies
“So then why didn’t you just tell me that when I asked before?”
>Before? So Anonymous had been talking about you with your colleges?
>What was he up to? Trying to find out about you? Or was he just thinking about you?
>The blood rose pressed all too heavily into your side, hidden away in your bag
>Stupid creature. He could have told you he was the alien you were studying!
>Why was he so instant on messing with your mind?
>No matter, just stay cool, calm and collected, and if need be add a little magic
>This just means you don’t have to track him down later for questioning, he’s presented himself on a platter for you
>Wait a sec? Why was everything so quiet?
>You realise you’d stopped listening to the exchange between Chicken and Anonymous, both of whom were no longer speaking
>Having missed half the conversation you awkwardly move up to the observation deck with the your fellow professors
>“So, uh, what did I miss while signing in?”
“Not much, we’ve had a /lot/ of interruptions. But so far we’ve discovered his body has an adverse reaction to newborn foals, and he appears to be able to wield enchantments, but we need more trials to be sure. Right now I hope to finally begin magical testing.” Answers Chicken
>This was going to be a day to remember
>“Well, let’s begin then.”
 
<| °_° |>
 
>So this was it, here you stood on the observation deck, looking down upon the mysterious beast who’d offered himself to you out of the blue
>The mysterious creature, who also happened to have, according to Warden Honey Cakes, wild and chaotic effects on even the most simple of magic
>It certainly interested you
>True to her word Chicken finally begins the testing
>As one of the few ponies who knew how the magical field detector actually worked you were naturally delegated the task of operating the monstrously complex piece of equipment
>And thus far you weren’t sure if you actually did know how it worked
>The very first step for any magical research is to always obtain a baseline reading of your subjects magical output
>The readings from Anonymous were… odd
>Actually no they weren’t odd, they were non-existent
>Which meant either the machine was broken or you didn’t know how it worked
>Come on, even non-living things like rocks had some kind of magic associated with them
>After conferring with Chicken Scratch you take the recordings again but to no avail
>He truly had no magic by the look of it. That just couldn’t be possible; if it were, then magic shouldn’t be capable of effecting him, like /at all/, yet it still did
>Things only got stranger once the actual tests began
>Professor Light had cast a simple fitness spell in an attempt to induce the peculiar effect
>The results of which certainly were peculiar, but it wasn’t what you were looking for
>At the point of magical contact it had vanished
>Almost immediately it reappeared as a complete spell, violating most rules of magical interaction and energy transfer, while failing to reproduce the effects described by Honey Cakes
>Of the confusion wrought by Anonymous out of it shone one thing, his stupid, oblivious, uncaring grinning, stupidly, stupid handsome looking stupid face
>What can’t you stop looking at him! Control yourself!
>He acted as if everything happening around him was normal
>And you weren’t sure with those tiny eyes of his, but by the look of it he was trying to sneak looks back at you. Why bother sneaking? He was allowed to look at you
>More spells were attempted to no avail, the same peculiar result was obtained each time
>But as strange at it all was, with Anonymous right in front of you it was hard to engage your mind fully
>What in tartarus were you to do? You barely knew the guy, but there was something so… magnetic about him. Plus if you married him that guaranteed some very lucrative research papers and a massive boost to your career
>Hellooooo slightly bigger office!
>Your thoughts about him, and a possibly cushier life, were cut short after the use of a mood booster spell finally induces the weird effect Warden Honey Cakes had mentioned, the reason most of you had come down here
>Witlick, the caster, had just attempted to end the spell when his horn turned red
>He cries out as his horn flares out of control, sadly none of you were allowed to stop it, after all, magic going wrong was why you were here
>Your head darts to check on Anonymous as Witlick is swamped by researchers
>Initially he looked just fine, replying eagerly to each of Chicken’s questions as the magic continued unabated  
>But as quickly as he’d shattered your tiny closed off world this morning, he slips into unconsciousness
>”Oh dear.”
“Ember, go check over him.” Chicken instructs hurriedly
>You move over to Anonymous but as you approach his chair his eyes flutter open
>Just one problem, they were rainbow and glowing
“Are you alright Anonymous?!” Yells out Chicken
>Anonymous looks blindly around the room before locking onto her
“I’m just fine swirly ghost.” He replies drearily
>The rainbow from his eyes erupts outwards, rapidly spreading across his entire body
>This can’t be good
>Gently you poke his now rainbow leg
>”Do you need help Mr. Anonymous?”
>His mighty paw extends down and sticks itself under your belly
>Suddenly you’re flying upwards in his grasp to be pulled against his bare chest
>”Meep.”
>His hands caress lovingly and firmly along your back, gently massaging your spine and tense muscles
>Oh goodness! Oh my!
>His fingers spread out and run themselves through your coat, lightly pulling at your skin so soothingly
>But looking up at Anonymous he was clearly out of it
“This is so warm.” He happily says, squeezing you tight
>To your surprise you find yourself struggling, not to escape, but, to get your hooves around his chest to return the embrace
>The sensation was… intense. What was wrong with you?
>Perhaps you shouldn’t have been so eager, as Anonymous’ large paw moves down your back to cup one of your buttocks, the firm appendage groping you softly
>”OH! Mr. Anonymous, what are you ~ah!”
>He squeezes your flank and moves his other hand down to fully hold your behind, massaging your rump with delicate vigour
>”Please can you ~hah~ stop?” you plead, knowing he couldn’t understand
>Your legs begin to feel weak, tingles of pleasure from Anonymous’ paws taking command of your body, your tail rising ever so slightly as he pushes and wiggles your buttocks  
>Chicken’s eyes blazed into you, watching over the entire scene. Thankfully it was only her eye’s, everypony else was still rushing around Dr. Witlick
>One hand moves back up along your spine and runs itself through your mane, at the same time pushing your head into his sweaty, rainbow, chest
>The smell was sour and musky, not particularly pleasant, yet you found yourself deeply breathing it in
>What was wrong with you? It didn’t even smell good! It was like a pair of naughty ponies
>Then why was it so intoxicating? Why can’t you stop?
“But this fire feels amazing!” Anonymous calls out    
>”Oh dear ~ah.”
>You were going to be trapped here forever!
“Put an end to this now!” Chicken yells out to the researchers around Witlick
>A cry of pain from behind you tells you his horn had been struck and the spell forcefully stopped
>The glow from anonymous’ eyes fade, but his skin remains rainbow
>His overly frisky hands finally stop. He looks down at you, utterly mortified
>”Oh my goodness.”
>His arms fly outwards, releasing you
>You stay laying against him, a little too flustered and embarrassed to move just yet
“I am so sorry Ember Heart, I swear I didn-
>”Do not apologise Mr. Anonymous, you were under the effects of a mind altering spell, your actions were not your own.”
>You said it, not so much for his sake, but your own. It was all just a magical mishap, nothing more. Right?
>Nothing for you to focus on, or obsess over, or… OH for Celestia’s sake! You were better than this! Was that it? One /accidental/ snuggle and you were putty in those lewd hands of his? No you were better than that, you lived outside the superficial  
“I’m still sorry.” Anonymous quietly says to you
>”It’ll be fine. But are you alright? I think we may have had a complication…”
>With Witlick’s horn tended to you can feel a great many new pairs of eyes looking at you situated atop of your research subject
>A different kind of flustered embarrassment takes you over, giving you the necessary incentive to leap from Anonymous and re-join your co-workers, but not before casting yet another sneaky composure spell on yourself
>You’d prefer to remain prim and proper in a work environment, plus if Anonymous managed to come out of that shameless, calm, and collected, then so could you
”Uh, yeah, I feel alright, something weird was happening before. I saw a bunch of colours and lost consciousness for a second maybe.” He answers
>“I saw, but, ah…”
>You point out his fancy new rainbow skin. How would he react?
>He gives himself an inspection
>”Groovy man.” He comments with a chuckle
>That was… unexpected. Not even a little annoyance? Shock? Worry?
>What a resilient creature
>Or just uncaring. Even after seeing the results of the magical mishap and the alteration of the very spell itself into something new he barely batted an eyelid
>Everypony else had been so disconcerted it’d been decided to bring in Princess Twilight to look over what was happening
>With confusion abound, and Anonymous’ skin bright and shiny, a temporary break was called
>Pouncing upon the opportunity to get Anonymous alone for a bit of questioning you request Chicken Scratch to allow you to watch over him for the duration of the break
>And so you find yourself standing beside the giant, patiently waiting for him to strip off the sticky electrodes along his body
“And what exactly are you doing Ember Heart?”
>“I volunteered as the pony to monitor you. Which means for the next few minutes I’ll be sticking to you like glue.”
”Ha, clever pony. So now I’ve nowhere to escape when you start interrogating me.”
>“Something like that.”
>But it was obviously not something he was willing to do, as he nigh on sprints to the exit without you
>“Hey! You’re not getting away that easily! Stop running.”
>He stops at the dome door and looks you over with utter confusion
”I’m not running… I was just walking, and whatever you’re going to ask shouldn’t be overheard by the other researcher, so I was moving outside.”
>He was thinking clearer than you were right now
>“I-I knew that! And your legs are too long! Even if you’re not running you have to slow down!”
”A lot of ponies just trot to keep up with me.” He says with an infuriatingly smug grin
>Grr, was he always so annoying?
“Yes, well, I’m quite sick of /running/, especially from the POLICE! Now slow down.”
>Your outburst gains the attention of your peers so you quickly hurry outside with Anonymous after an awkward wait for the door to open
>Anonymous, as a resident of the prison, leads you over to some local designated socialising area or “hangout spot”
>It was a cluster of large bean bags
>You silently watch him as he strolls across the lawn to the cluster. His skin had gained an undeniable translucency in the bright sun light
>That shouldn’t be a problem…
>He flops down onto a bag and releases a great sigh as he stretches out and sinks into the squishy bag
>You leap up and join him
>He was so relaxed and calm
>How and why? Did he not care about his wild effects on magic? Did he think nothing about what he did to you this morning? Surly he must be feeling a little apprehensive about the rose, your choice, the outcome?
>It would alter his life as much as your own.  
“Err… Should I be worried about this?” he ask, gesturing to his see through body
>“Only if we start seeing your bones.”
>He looks at you oddly
”That’s reassuring.”
>He seemed happy enough about it
>You stretch yourself across his lap, extending out your forelegs along his legs, adamant to be as relaxed as he was (without the use of magic)
>He had such thick and ropey muscles, it made his body a lot harder than most creatures you knew of
>Not that you snuggle with every creature you study, but he was particularly comfortable
>Hmm, wait no, what?
>Oh my! Oh no! What have you done!?
>Without even realising it you’d auto-piloted yourself onto Anonymous
>There were literally DOZENS of other bean bags around you! Why would your subconscious mind have betrayed you like this!?
>All relaxation vanishes from your body, leaving you near paralysed
>Why hadn’t he said anythi-
”Why exactly are you on my lap anyway?”
>Eep
>Wordlessly you blink from him to an alternate seat
>That! Never! Happened!
>“W-what are you talking about?”
>Please, please, please, please, please!
”Nothing I guess.”
>Thank Celestia! It never happened
>Anonymous sags down further in his bean bag, rolling onto his side to see you better
”So then, got anything to ask me?”
>You had a few questions lined up
>“I think I’ll start with; why didn’t you tell me who you were up at Canterlot!?”
”I did tell you who I was.”
>Infuriating beast!
>“I mean; why didn’t you tell me you were the creature I was going to be researching?”
”Do you want the truth?”
>Would you expect anything else?
>He remains silent until you give him a nod, so apparently anything else was expected
”Honestly I just wanted to see how you’d react.”
>“H-how I’d react? But why?”
>Kind of a strange reason for not saying who you were
”As a judge of character? Yeah! That’s it. You lied for me, I know I can trust you now, you’re a good pony.”
>That sounds… normal-ish and he thinks you’re a good pony
>But you have an issue. You did lie for him and he did break out of prison. Now you were tangled up in that crime as well!
>“About that. I /lied/ for you Mr. Anonymous. That makes me an accomplice to your crime!”
>You still had that thievery case against you and that had almost landed you in prison
>Now if Anonymous was found out you could be taken down too
>The realisation comes with a chill
>“Wait a second… I’m an accomplice to your crime! I could go to jail! Oh my goodness, no, no, no!”
>You’d already experience a few minutes of jail trying to get in here. It was unbearable!
>Anonymous picks up on your obvious worry and, in an act almost as bold as presenting a blood rose, reaches out and rests his paw down on your shoulder
>He strokes up and down, melting the concerns from your body, a mild pleasure radiating from the region of lewd action
>Goodness, he wasn’t even under the effects of magic!
”Calm down there Miss Ember Heart, it’ll be fine, I can cover for you. Just take deep breaths.”
>Astoundingly you comply and inhale, long and slow
>Bewilderingly you could actually feel yourself calming down; no magic required
>As an added bonus your earlier panic helped mask the intense and overwhelming embarrassment at the audacious actions of this creature
>Thank Luna nopony was around to see this
>“Goodness what a day.”
>Even after calming yourself his hand remained upon your shoulder, his fingers lewdly entwining themselves through your coat
”So got anything else to ask?”
>“Yeah, why were you in Canterlot at all? You’re a prisoner!”
>His paw finally leaves your shoulder, helping alleviate your growing blush, as he raises it to his chin, stroking it in thought
”I suppose it was a pretty uneventful morning down here so I chose to explore up there.”
>“Eh-ah W-what? Explore! You had an entire Unicorn special ops squad on you! It was chaos in the streets.”
”Chaos? Everyone was just a little spooked that’s all.”
>WHAT! Literal chaos it was! Is this guy serious?
>That impudent grin tells you that yes, yes he was
>Next question then
>“Why did you take me with you when you ran away?”
”Duh, those guards were after you as much as they were me. I took you with me out of kindness."
>Daw, he just wanted to save you. What a sweetie
"How’d that all go back at your university by the way?"
>“I guess you did rescue me from the guard, and I believe the university will be trying to pin the whole event on you.”
>You’re hoping Dean Dean had actually gotten around to doing that, it would be more than humiliating to get arrested again when you try to leave
>You most certainly weren’t to tell him, nor anypony else, that you’d been briefly imprisoned on the way here
>”So yeah, I got away free, also you may be wanted for attempted bag thievery.”
”Okay, thanks for that.”
>For whatever reason you begin to laugh. Anypony else would have flipped out at being told that, more than likely they’d start to weep
>Yet Anonymous cared not, it was the exact reaction you expected and it was absurdly hilarious
>He looks at you annoyed but you don’t care, it was just funny!
”Anything else?”
>You clam up and attempt Anonymous’ calming technique of deep breathing
>With each breath the urge to giggle fades. Gosh, who knew how useful these non-magical body control techniques were?
>You need to try them out more often
>Alright let’s get to it, you’re back in the zone and you needed to question, you needed to question hard. This was your future you were dealing with here
>“Yeah I need to know a few things. It’ll help me decide, and I know you’re.”
>He stops to watch you, mildly perplexion (perplection?) crossing his alien features
”Fine, keep asking.”
>This guy was in prison, and a black suit! You have to know what he did, you could never consider marrying an evil beast, and nine times out of ten, black suits were pure evil
>“Why are you in prison?”
>He answers without skipping a beat
”I was starving to death and stole some apples.”
>Ah, poor guy!
“But then I also assaulted a guard on my way to prison, in fact he was the one who started chasing me today.”
>Assaulted! That can’t be good
>“Why did you assault him?”
”According to the Warden he was being overly aggressive, and he was upsetting the other guards, which was upsetting me.”
>He had a valid reason but still, it worries you a little. Good ponies don’t hurt others
>“Good enough. Only a couple more questions to go Mr. Anonymous.”
>Let’s see what answer he’s got for this one
>“Why are you being so kind to me?”
>The reply was instantaneous, just as before
”I always was a sucker for cuties.”
>C-Cute? He thinks you’re cute?
>Your cheeks begin burning
>“I am not cute Mr. Anonymous!”
>He leans closer to you, over exaggerating the act of looking you up and down
”Really, you look it to me.”
>“No! Why do you think I’m cute!?”
>You were semi-beautiful if anything, not cute!
”Because you are.”
>Infuriating! Can’t he ever give a straight answer!
>And you are not cute!
>But you can’t stop blushing
>“Tell me why, it’ll help with our research.”
>Or your own possible future research. Ponies always loved the odd pointless fact or two, it usually increased your chance of getting published
”You’re soft, cuddly and show Neoteny.”
>Neoteny? You hadn’t heard of that before
>“What?”
”Neoteny, you’re species displays Neoteny.”
>”And what is that exactly?”
”It’s kind of like when something keeps its juvenile features into adulthood.”
>Okay… hey wait! Did he just call you a child?
>“How do I look like a foal!?”
”Uh, let’s think. Small body with a big head, large eyes, round and soft body features, they’re all characteristics you see in babies, human babies at least, although they’re definitely in foals too. Human’s evolved to instinctively find these kind of traits appealing to help us protect and nurture our off spring. Makes you a real cutie.”
>Woah, this guy goes from refusing to really say anything, to giving full blown scientific explanations, and you loved it!
>Let’s see what answer he’s got for this one
>“Why are you being so kind to me?”
>The reply was instantaneous, just as before
”I always was a sucker for cuties.”
>C-Cute? He thinks you’re cute?
>Your cheeks begin burning
>“I am not cute Mr. Anonymous!”
>He leans closer to you, over exaggerating the act of looking you up and down
”Really, you look it to me.”
>“No! Why do you think I’m cute!?”
>You were semi-beautiful if anything, not cute!
”Because you are.”
>Infuriating! Can’t he ever give a straight answer!
>And you are not cute!
>But you can’t stop blushing
>“Tell me why, it’ll help with our research.”
>Or your own possible future research. Ponies always loved the odd pointless fact or two, it usually increased your chance of getting published
”You’re soft, cuddly and show Neoteny.”
>Neoteny? You hadn’t heard of that before
>“What?”
”Neoteny, you’re species displays Neoteny.”
>”And what is that exactly?”
”It’s kind of like when something keeps its juvenile features into adulthood.”
>Okay… hey wait! Did he just call you a child?
>“How do I look like a foal!?”
”Uh, let’s think. Small body with a big head, large eyes, round and soft body features, they’re all characteristics you see in babies, human babies at least, although they’re definitely in foals too. Human’s evolved to instinctively find these kind of traits appealing to help us protect and nurture our off spring. Makes you a real cutie.”
>Woah, this guy goes from refusing to really say anything, to giving full blown scientific explanations, and you loved it!
>He was actually serious
>Oh dear. If he thinks you’re cute he must feel so exasperated right now! Especially after you teleported off him mid-snuggle
>Wait what are you thinking? What snuggle? Such a thing never happened!
>Although…
>You quickly look around at the large empty field that surrounds you. Nopony was around, just the research domes, it was nice and private
>In which case, having /obviously/ never, ever, done anything intimate with Anonymous before, this presented the perfect opportunity to test out your… physical compatibility
>Of the few things you knew about relationships that was apparently an important one, plus it would most undoubtedly count as extended research on Human social behaviour
>Right?
>So you really should test it out before you even consider the act of magically binding with him
>It’s not like you were just trying to get those oddly calming and rhythmic paws back onto your body, because you know… they never had been before
>After all, behaviour induced from magical backfire or that which simply didn’t happen, just don’t count!
>However, thinking such things and actually going through with them were two entirely different things
>You attempt to suggest your idea to him, but he insisted upon looking you directly in the eyes, sucking all willpower from your body
>There was no way you could say anything with him watching you like that!
>So before you can muster up the will to actually speak you hang your head in shame, your mane drooping over your face, avoiding that unnerving stare of his
>You can do this! For your future, for science!
>“You know Mr. Anonymous. I-if you’re feeling aggressive you can cuddle me if you’d like. You know, if that would help you.”
>Nailed it!
>He smiles and reaches out his paw, which had become decidedly less translucent
>But your own elation begins to fade as rather than lifting you up and pulling you in close against him, as you’d expected, his paw just ruffles gently at your mane
>The bugger actually went out of his way to /avoid/ touching your horn, even when you begin swaying your head around just to try and get an accidental brush from those dexterous digits of his
”You really are precious. Thanks for the offer, but I’ll be fine.”
>Your earlier shame comes flooding back at his polite rejection
>At the very least you now know he can restrain himself
>“Oh, okay… I still have one last question.”
”Then we’ll head back to the lab?”
>That would be for the best, you were getting too worked up out here, and not your usual stressed out, anxiety attack, kind of worked up
>“Ah-huh.” You say while nodding
”Go ahead.”
>This was it. Last question. Most important question. Life changing question!
>You withdraw the Blood Rose
>“/Why/ did you give me this?”
>This better help resolve the turmoil of your mind
>Once again he answers you immediately, giving the situation the agency it deserved
”The same reasons I gave you earlier this morning. You can put up with me, but now I suppose I could also say I gave it to you because you were kind enough to help me, you lied for me so I can trust you, and I suppose I just wanted to brighten your day.”
>“Brighten my day?” You croak out as a whisper
>Was he trying to say he was willing to give up his entire life, just to make you happy?
>For the longest time you don’t speak, just processing what he’d said
>“Mr. Anonymous?” You finally ask, getting back his attention
”Yes?”
>“Would you rub my shoulders again? It is most calming.”
>Moments ago you would have died of humiliation requesting for something so salacious
>But suddenly asking Anonymous for such a thing just didn’t seem as big a deal, comparatively it was essentially insignificant
>Who knows, maybe you’ll even stop actively repressing your earlier memory of unintentionally snuggling up to him
>And so, exactly as intended, his paw descends to wreak pleasurable havoc along your body, filling you with a warm glow and providing your cheeks a red tint
>With Anonymous’ strangely calming paw rubbing you down your mind drifts into a trance, lost in thought
>What to do with this guy?
>You were most certainly physically compatible. Of the zero ponies you’d been bothered to start relationships with he clearly had the most experience and could just destroy your composure from the lewdness of his actions
>Marrying him also guaranteed career elevation, money, a lifetime's worth of studies, even adventure!
>It was everything you wanted
>For so long now you’d been feeling disillusioned with your own life
>With cuts to your faculty's funding you could no longer go out on field research; the mysteries, creatures, and magic of Equis all closed off to you
>You were forced to stay in your office at the university, living the most mundane of lives, going over old studies and peer-reviewing papers
>You got no pleasure from such things, you belong in the field, out here… with Anonymous
>It was as if the universe had served him up on a platter for you
>Here was your opportunity to get back out there, to research a truly unique animal with no restrictions. You’d be back in the field, there’d be excitement and adventure
>Heck the very first time you’d met Anonymous he gave you all those things
>But such reasons were so shallow! Were you considering accepting his offer just for your own personal gain?
>Did you just want him to further your own goals?
>You were better than that right?
>Right?
>Of course you were! You had to be.
>He made you feel happy inside, he could calm you down and he was nicer and sweeter than anypony you’d met
>None of this changed the fact he was still infuriating! With that stupid grin and immature behaviour, he never seemed to take anything seriously
>But he’d said it himself, you could put up with him, he wasn’t /that/ annoying, more or less just ignorant
>So then what were you going to do?
>You’re wrenched from your thoughts as the pleasurable stimuli of his paw disappears
>You open the eyes you hadn’t known were closed to see Anonymous smiling down at you, looking nowhere near as annoying as you recall
”OK, we’ve got to get back.”
>That would be for the best. His skin was even looking normal again
>“Thank you Mr. Anonymous, you’ve been a great help, maybe I’ll figure things out sooner than I thought.”
>The two of you dawdle your way back to the tri-domes just as a fellow professor pokes their head out to call you back
 
 
>The study resumes
>After a few repeat tests it was confirmed that Anonymous could indeed wield enchantments like any other creature
>Things didn’t truly start to heat up until Anonymous suggested simple telekinesis as a method of getting reproducible magical mishaps, after all it had be the spell The Warden had used on him initially
>None of you had thought of it before. The magic was so simple and innate one hardly even considered it to be a spell
>A random unicorn was draw to cast the spell
>A pale green glow surrounds Anonymous and he slowly levitates into the air
>From the moment he was covered in the telekinetic filed his features become agonised, his face contorting in pain
>You could make out his muscles twitching and spasming, his body was fighting against the spell with all its might
>The sight distresses you to no end
>But in a flash of red Anonymous vanishes.
>OH CELSTIA YOU KILLED HIM! HE’S BEEN VAPORISED!
>The mare who’d cast the spell stumbles to the ground, her horn still surrounded by a red glow
>Okay, bit of an overreaction on your part, maybe he wasn’t dead. If the spell was still active he must be somewhere, which means he wasn’t vaporised, he’d just been teleported
>But to where?
>You all exchange confused looks in stunned silence, excluding the grunting mare on the floor
>As the head of the study the first pony to speak up is Chicken Scratch
“What do we do now?” She asks everypony, clearly having just mentally run through all the possible solutions she could think of and coming up with nothing
>The silence was deafening
>What could you do? He was simply gone, he could be /literally/ anywhere
>The mare on the ground cries out again and her horn flares up once more before fading back down
>Her anguish snaps most of you out of the trance brought about by the oddity of the situation and many ponies move over to help her back up
“Somepony break the spell.” Chicken orders “The odds are stacked against us but it may bring Anonymous back.”
>”And if it doesn’t?”
“If it doesn’t, it doesn’t. We’ve no idea where he is or how to get him back, have you ever heard of a reverse teleportation spell Ember Heart?”
>You stay silent
“I thought so. I have to ensure the safety of those under my charge. Somepony break that spell, now!”
>As if to accentuate her point the hapless unicorn mare cries out, the red glow of her horn blazing up again
>A small baton is magically levelled at the mare’s horn, ready to forcibly extinguish the spell
>It begins to descend, but panic races through your mind as you catch something in the corner of your eye
>”WAIT!” You scream out, your own telekinesis forcefully tearing the bat from its wielders grasp
“What do you think you are doing Ember!?”
>What you were doing was saving Anonymous
>In your peripheries you’d noticed the magical field detector
>When the mare’s horn had flared up the machinery picked up on the magical output before it dissipated from reality
>Her horn was still active, casting a teleport spell again and again
>If it were to be stopped now, as she was casting, he would be trapped in the realm between space
>You’d rather not have that happen. It was a lot harder getting somepony back from a plane of non-existence than it was to track them down in the real world
>You quickly explain your actions to everypony while the mare’s horn’s glow fades back down
>Chicken congratulates you on your swift thinking, before moving to striking the now safe and dull glowing horn
>The odds of Anonymous coming back were stacked against you to the extreme
>But once the horn is struck he pops back where he once, the only sign he’d been gone at all was his new, scruffier look, and what could be a few flakes of snow in his hair
>You dive from the observation deck and rush to him, with Chicken following closely
>“MR. ANONYMOUS ARE YOU OKAY?”
>He turns and grins wildly at you
”That was that fastest holiday around the world I’ve ever had!”
>He looks around excitedly
“Who’s up for round two!?”
>Oh for the love of…
>“Can you take anything seriously!? You could have been really hurt!”
”Only when I have to Ember.”
>“Well you have to now! You were in real danger.”
>His grin only widens
>GAH! If you were a worse pony he'd be getting a smacked bottom!
>The unicorn who was struck stumbles down from the observation deck
“I have to leave. I need to see Nurse Soft Cotton.” She says in a hurry
>A nod from Chicken and she’s gone
“Are you willing to try that again Anonymous? It was quite dangerous, but thus far the two instances of telekinesis being used on you have given positive results. Well, not positive as in good, but ah you know what I mean!”
”Anything for science right?” He answers
“You really are the best subject I’ve ever had.” Chicken say with a smile that soon fades
“So, who wants to try next?”
>None of your colleges step forth. After seeing what'll happen why would they? Not to mention to stop it you need to get hurt
>Well if nopony was going to do it, you must!
>“I’ll do it then, if everpony is too scared.”
>Your volunteering robs Anonymous of his previous grin
”Are you sure you want to do this Ember, I couldn’t live with myself if you or anyone else got hurt.”
>It was flattering and brazen enough to embarrass you fiercely
>But…
>You give it your best effort to reproduce his foolhardy smile
>“Anything for science right?”
”Clever pony.”
>Damn right you’re a clever pony
>You mentally prepare your telekinesis, a natural glorious ruby glow coating your horn
>A small part of you dearly hoped nothing would happen once you encompassed Anonymous within your spell
>That you, out of every other unicorn in Equestria, could cast your magics upon him to no ill effect
>That in some way you were special, that only you had permission to touch him with your mind, nopony else
>But you were a pragmatist
>So once you envelope Anonymous in the vibrant red of your telekinesis it comes as no surprise that, as he lifts from the floor, the radiance of your magic drains to a dull, angry red
>Not only that you’d lost all feeling in your horn, it was free to do as it pleased, and the sensation and thought of what it could do wasn’t a pleasant one
>Actually you were finding it hard to feel much of anything, as if all your strength was being sapped from your body, leaving you in a state of complete exhaustion
>You make an attempt to look up to see how Anonymous was but the act sends waves of dizziness through your body, sending you crashing to the ground
>You’re vaguely aware of several ponies trying their best to help you, but each was succumbing to your mysterious fatigue as they neared you
>Everything fades to darkness as your eyelids refuse to remain open
>The last thing you can make out amongst the growing pile of fallen ponies around you is Anonymous slowly floating towards you with the baton
>Blackness claims you
 
<| º_º |>
 
>Awareness of your surroundings returns slowly
>The first sensation to reach your mind is one of a strange blissful comfort, it felt like you were a filly again being cradled by your mother
>But that’s absurd, you were a full grown mare
>Groggily your eyes struggle back open to reveal Anonymous, his intense gaze locked onto yours
>Ugh, what was going on again?
>“Mr. Anonymous?” you question, a yawn forcing its way from your muzzle
>“I’m so tired, what happened?”
”I’m hoping we can find out.” He answers
>Gosh, where even are you anymore? How long were you out?
>“Am I still in PRC?”
>Actually you could figure that one out yourself
>Looking around you confirm your location, in doing so you come to understand your mysterious comfort
>Anon had you held ever so tenderly in his arms, embracing your entire body
>You look back to him but suddenly find yourself too embarrassed to match his intensive and caring gaze
>Why was he cuddling up to you like this? Was it his cute aggression thing?
>Before you know it, or can protest otherwise, you’re let go from his grasp and slowly put back on the ground
>He looked so upset. So you place a comforting hoof on his leg
>“You don’t need to put me down, it’s fine if you needed to work out your aggression Mr. Anonymous.”
”Aggression? Ember I was concerned! Seeing you on the floor like that had me terrified.”
>“Oh…”
> You were finding it increasingly difficult to keep yourself standing, and your groggy mind was having a hard time deciphering things, but it made one thing clear to you
>His affection for you was real. His first response in a high stress situation was to rush to your aid
>He even admitted to being afraid! When his own life was in danger he only ever grinned, but seeing you in such a situation /terrified/ him
>That’s a little honouring, he must be head over hoof in love with you
>“Thank you Mr. Anonymous.”
>The rest of the ponies quickly come round, they’re fine, just really tired like you
>Nopony afflicted was able to do much more than levitate small objects, so each of them get sent away by Chicken for a nap, hot cocoa and a pudding cup
>Chicken tried to make you leave too, but you would be sticking this one out
>You still got hot cocoa and pudding, so you find yourself a cushion to rest your haunches then dig in
>Anonymous, having dropped all pretence of a formal study, moves over and sits beside you
>His great hulking form, rather than alarm you, radiated the feeling of safety
>A paw absently finds itself scratching at your back as you shove your muzzle into the little cup of sweet pudding
>Should you offer any to him?
>... Nah
“So then what happened this time?” He asks, looking to Chicken who trots over
“We kind of know already; it didn’t take long to figure out. Everypony’s been magically drained, whatever was happening to Ember due to your effect was somehow spread via physical contact.”
>She shakes her head
“You’ve accidentally taken out half my staff Anonymous, this really isn’t going as I thought it would.”
>She could say that again
>He almost looks guilty before attempting the foulest worded apology you’d ever heard
”Shit. I’m sorry about that, and here I thought I was supposed to be the one in harm’s way.”
“Don’t worry Anonymous, they should be better when they wake up.” Chicken replies
>You finish up your pudding and cover up a burp with a sickly cough, or vice versa
>“Well I feel fine, I’ll be using magic like normal in no time.”
>His paw ruffles through your mane, making Chicken blush
”You’re a tough little bugger aren’t you, I’m sure you will be.”
>“I’m better already, hehe.”
>Your legs wobble as you try to stand
>All better…
>He looks you over sceptically but drops the subject, instead directing his attention to the magical field detector
”So your spell turned to some kind of energy draining thing then?”
>You have a look at the equipment’s graphical display
>By the look of it, it wasn’t a spell at all, just a magical black hole
“Actually this time when the spell made contact with you, your body simply started to draw in all the available magic around, the spell never changed because it never came back.”
>Anonymous looks over the screen, attempting to decipher the display
”It looks the same as always to me.”
>That could be because you’d switched the views to remove the background readings
>You change it back to show all the ambient magic in the room
>The graph becomes wildly spiked, up until the point that is, anonymous was covered in your telekinesis
>At that moment all the activity began to seep away
>After he’d broken the spells grasp the magic levels rise again
”Looks like you were right.”
>“But of course. What I am confused about though is what you’ve done with all that energy.”
”It takes a lot of power to stay looking this good.” He says cockily
>He flexes his muscles, his shirtless body fully displaying his bulging figure
>You look away, obscuring your blush with your mane’s fringe
>Annoying beast! You couldn’t even look at him
>But the study must go on, even with half the staff incapacitated
>Fate would ordained that the magical testing be cut short, as the next and, as it turned out, final rendition of telekinesis cast upon Anonymous knocked him out cold, leaving him snoozing like a baby
>You didn’t know it yet but your study wouldn’t resume until after lunch
>Watching that sleeping human you did know one thing
>You knew it from the warmth you felt whenever he was near you
>Stupid human! You were falling for him!
>How could you have let such a thing happen?
>In one mysterious and crazy romantic gesture he’d captured your attention and managed to keep it
>He had you near mesmerised, all you could think about was him
>How kind he was, so generous, so strong, so /lewd/! Those back scratches!
>You may be coming to a decision about that rose way sooner than you thought
>You’ll have to question him again later, just to be sure
>But it was such a serious commitment, could you actually go through with such a thing?
>Only time would tell
 
>Be later
>Still be Ember Heart, post lunch, continuing the study at the gym, as per Anonymous’ request
>It was understandable, one would expect that to maintain such a… solid, physique as his, one would have to frequent the gym quite often
>You really didn’t mind, he stayed shirtless and the sour smell his body made while exercising was particularly… /alluring/, like a hot and sweat snuggle party
>He’d started with yoga and moved onto weights
>And it was as he spoke to his minotaur friend that he adds every weight plate in the room to his squat bar (Not for pony use)
>A full 245 pounds, the weight of several ponies. He lifts it effortlessly
>And like that your mind is blown by this human again
>Then the remains were burn to ash when he admits to being capable of lifting 330lb
>An amount the gym didn’t even supply
>As such you did the only noble thing, and when the opportunity arose, volunteered yourself as some additional weight for Anon’s squat
>Your decision had nothing to do with getting closer to that sleek body of his and in no way did you take the opportunity to brush up against his back and nuzzle into that short puff of a mane he had
>You're sure nopony noticed you
>Looking at his sweaty body up close reminds you that you need to take some alchemical samples from him later
>That was of some importance, especially knowing he didn’t have any magic associated with him, who knows what effects he could have
>Perhaps unsurprisingly he was capable of lifting up the amount he claimed, his legs straining with effort, muscles bulging out like cables of steel, sweat pouring from his body
>So musky… you felt intoxicated, and so strong! Such a wicked human
>He could restrain you with the slightest effort couldn’t he? You’d be powerless to stop him
>He’d hold you down against your will, force his urges upon your body with those big rough hands, and do the unthinkable
>You shudder with quiet pleasure, launching your eyes open in surprise
>Such vile and lewd thoughts! Why did they, and he, make you feel so bizarre?
>Not once had you imagined such things before meeting Anon, now your mind was just so… Lecherous!
>You’re a bad pony aren’t you?
>Thankfully nopony had noticed your brief moment of ‘agitation’; Anon had claimed the spotlight with his might
>The bar is lowered and you drop down with everypony else
>You’d cast a composure spell by the time your hooves touch the ground. You must stay in control
>Luna wouldn’t like hearing about his unforeseen strength, she already thought of him as a big enough threat
>No doubt that would soon be made worse
>For over the lunch break it had been discussed that at these gym sessions the prisoners held a very tenuous fighting group, kept alive on a technicality in the prison’s club system
>Princess Luna had wanted your small group to assess his potential threat so she’d asked for detailed observation of any fights he was involved in
>They certainly must be gruesome battles
>Nurse Soft Cotton had spoken about how she had to deal with a life threatening wound he sustain to his arm just yesterday
>You’d sneakily checked it out after hearing that, only to find a thin pale scar; it was barely noticeable, would have been painful though
>She must have been exaggerating about the severity, but still…
>With Anon cavorting around with his minotaur friend over his achievement Dr. Witlick goes to ask about the fighting
>He doesn’t seem fazed by the question, but his friend’s eyes light up like beacons at the inquiry
>You’d rather avoid such things, but it looks like you’ll have to watch Anon fight
>How would you feel after seeing him hurt somepony?
>Oh gosh what if /he/ got hurt!?
>Fighting was not your favourite thing
 
<| º_º |>
 
>Despite the researchers wishes to view anonymous in battle they had no control over the fight order
>So you were made to watch the brutish sport until his round was called. You were trying your best not to though, averting your eyes from the match as much was seemly without disrespecting the fighters
>As a pony from Marechester you always show proper respect and manners
>The waiting did provide you an opportunity to sit beside Anon
>Soft Cotton was to his other side. She was sitting awfully close too
>But what of it? Two friends could sit together, and those two certainly acted like friends
>You overhear a meaty smack as somepony in the ring gets struck, causing you to flinch and cringe back
>Another thud and you have the same reaction
>As your body involuntarily recoils it rolls back into something hard
>Your head flashes around to see what you hit, but stops mid-way having caught sight of Anon, his arm extended behind you
>You’d jumped back into his awaiting paw, which tentatively starts running along your back
>Oh dear...
>And like that the outside world vanishes to you
>The sensual feeling provided an unlikely source of distraction, washing away your worries
>His flexible digits dance their way from your withers to loin and back up again
>”Ahh~”
> You couldn’t stop the moan from escaping but thankfully it’s swallowed up by the noise of the room
>The randy paw drifts over to rub your side, fingertips just brushing the edge of your stomach, the semi-contact raising goosebumps over your skin
>Oh my-Ah! Ah~
>It was unbearable! You were on the brink of a belly rub and he was denying you!
>Addressing the situation you lean into his hand as it caresses you, rousing soft tingles of pleasure and desire from your body, drawing as much satisfaction from the limited contact as possible
>Maybe he was magic after all? Because each finger was able to seek out and reveal to you the most delicate parts of your body; Parts that up until now, you didn’t even know about
>The way he could so easily manipulate your body, it was like he knew it better than you did
>The whole thing made you feel like a school filly learning Health and Cuddle Ed. for the first time again
>All awareness of the fighting had left you during his tender strokes
>Until a particularly gruesome sound brings you back to the pains of reality
>Much to your disappointment Anon was grinning at the display, so you fix him with your most dissatisfied of glares
>To his other side you overhear Nurse Soft Cotton telling him off. It was nice knowing there was another reasonable pony around
>Avoiding the dissatisfaction directed at him he starts up a conversation with his minotaur friend which is cut short when one of the combatant gets laid low with a brutal blow
>For the first time Anonymous winces
>Nurse Soft Cotton shoots into the ring fast as lightning, several bandages emerging from the folds of her wings
”Ouch, that looked like it hurt. Soft Cotton are you-
>“She’s already gone.” You interrupt
>Strangely enough the fighter, another minotaur, was actually trying to avoid Soft Cotton’s care, saying something about being as tough as a human
”Have you met Soft Cotton before?” Anon abruptly asks
>“Not personally, but I see her at the university often, she and Dr. Witlick go to classes to stay up to date with modern medicine. She’s a very dedicated pony.”
>Anon’s vague gaze hid whatever he was thinking
>Another fight had begun
>It was between a unicorn and a griffon
>You honestly don’t think it’s wise to have Anonymous this close to active spell usage
>The small unicorn darts around and under the griffon, striking him repeatedly as he slides away
>Your eyes slam shut and hooves rush up to cover them; ears flying back flat at the sound of the pained screech
>You did not like this! Lucky Anon had you covered
>His hand returns to your back, firmly groping, pushing and rubbing in all the right spots
>Thank the heavens everypony was too distracted with the fighting to see the naughty things he was doing to you
>You feel yourself relaxing but you weren’t going to be opening your eyes, not while those two were still fighting
”Remember Ember, they actually want to do this, it’s fun to them, as crazy as that may sound.”
>What? No. What pony likes this? How could they find it fun? It was something you couldn’t comprehend
>Yet they voluntarily got into the ring to beat each other senseless
>Not just once either, they’d do it again and again!
>Which means they’re either all insane, or… They really enjoy it…
>So they’re all insane then?
>One of your eyes slowly peep open to glance at him before snapping shut, spying the unicorn being struck by the griffon’s hind paw in your peripheries
>So what if they liked it? That still doesn’t mean you have to
”If you really don’t like it, we can always try this.”
>Try what?
>From nowhere you feel yourself soaring through the air, still in your chair
>Woah! What was he doing!?
>The sensation was obscenely disorientating with your eyes closed
>Your chair thumps back to the ground and twists around
>Sheesh what was that?
”There, now you can just talk to me and you don’t have to see a thing.” Anon states matter-of-factly
>Hesitantly you open your eyes, afraid of what you may find
>But all you see is Anonymous smile down at you; the ring now facing your back
>You’re unable to stop yourself from smiling back at him; a soft blush surfacing on your cheeks
>“Talk to you? About what Mr. Anonymous?”
”Uh... You’re a unicorn right? You guys are all about magic, let’s talk about that.”
>So he’s interested in magic?
>Good thing that’s one of your favourite subjects!
>“Well, yes I suppose as a unicorn I have a preference for magic based topics, what about it though?”
>He taps a finger against his chin in thought
“Let’s see, magic, magic… are you any good at it?”
>Indeed you were! You push your chest out, for once feeling proud of yourself, but the action, and the previous stimulation from Anon, causes your little chest fluff to puff out
>Pushing your shoulders forward, and retreating back, you successfully hide it away, but not before he’d caught sight
>Ugh! You were so embarrassed! [And why’d you have to be so small? Some mares had tuffs that could smother a pony]
>You’d really let your inhibitions go today but this was getting ridiculous; you were in public for heaven’s sake!
>Before you can stumble through an awkward explanation about it not being what he thinks, he looks away to the fight behind you, completely unphased by the situation
>You could try explaining yourself now, but you doubt he’d care either way
>So you forget about it, and wait patiently for him to look back, which he does after you overhear another thump
>“Am I any good at magic? Well I certainly don’t work at Canterlot Royal University because of my connections!” You boast
>Truth be told though you weren’t magnificent at magic, just better than most, and your mother may or may not have been the old dean
>For whatever reason your prideful boasts cause him to chuckle quietly under his breath
”I’ll take it you’re good then. Good at what exactly though? I know magic comes in a lot of forms here, but are there any particular categories of unicorn magic”
>“If by categories you mean classes then yes. Unicorn magic comes down to 3 major classes.”
>“There is Illusionary magic, considered one of the hardest to master and favoured by Princess Luna, Destructive or Combative, that’s self-explanatory and such spells are very highly regulated, and finally Arcane, raw and pure magic”
>Anon leans forward, an oh so sweet smile upon his flat muzzle
”And you’re a master at all of them I bet.”
>You blush fiercely and bunch up on your seat, letting your mane fall over your face and making yourself as small as possible trying to avoid the awkward embarrassment brought about by Anon’s over the top flattery
>You manage to fumble something from your mouth
>“N-no! I’m good at parts of each, but I’m no Master Mr. Anonymous.”
>“Only the princesses could be considered masters. In actuality I’m only a little better than most.” You reveal to him dejectedly
>If you were thinking of marrying this human you weren’t going to lie to him about who you were
>He crosses his arms, an almost angry look on his features
”That’s just nonsense. If I’ve learnt anything during my time here it’s that you ponies are capable of phenomenal things, and if I’ve learnt anything about you, it’s that you’re a very special pony.”
>His endearing smile returns
“So trust me when I say, if you aren’t a master now, someday you will be, you’ve just got to work at it.”
>You can only stare in admiration at the amazing creature before you
>He was beyond caring and supportive, accepting your insecurities and showing them to be for naught
>You feel with him around you could do anything!
>Your gaze lowers to alleviate the embarrassment he so often caused in you
>“…Thank you Mr. Anonymous.” You finally answer, eyes still locked on the floor
>He reaches out and caresses your cheek with the back of his paw
>It runs down your face and under your chin, gently lifting your gaze back to his own
>Feeling overwhelmed your eyes begin to moisten, sending them twinkling in the light
”You ponies get embarrassed far too easily, and please call me Anon.”
>It was his fault you were embarrassed all the time anyway!
>But… he wants you to call him Anon? By his nickname?
>You couldn’t deal with that kind of informality yet, it hurt your cultural heritage!
“Alright… Mr. Anon.”
>He sighs
”Good enough. But it looks like I’m up. Are you going to watch me?”
>Oh poop. This was the moment you were dreading, as per royal request it was your job to watch his fight
>His eagerness to had you worried
>“Yes. You’re the whole reason we’re here, I have to watch”
>He gets up and makes for the ring
>…
>“Do you actually like fighting Mr. Anon? Like hurting others?”
>He frowns at you unexpectedly, as if what you’d said had caught him off guard
”What? Of course I don’t bloody like hurting others, it pains me to see people, or ponies in distress. But like I said, everyone in the ring is there for fun, the intention isn’t to hurt.”
>You give him your best angry upset glower
>It wasn’t the answer you wanted. You were glad he didn’t like hurting ponies but his instance on fight was now bordering on tedious
>“Yet I’ve heard about what happened to your arm yesterday.”
”Who told you that? I thought it was a secret.”
>It was? Maybe Soft Cotton wasn’t meant to tell you
>You decide to cover for her; you didn’t want to sink their friendship because of her loose lips
>“Nopony told me, everypony around me was just talking about it.”
”In that case allow me correct myself. It is not /my/ intent to hurt.”
>“But it’s fine if you get hurt?” She asks
>That charming grin’s turned maddening again
”Mmm… Yep!”
>He hurries off before you can protest further
>Maddening!!
>Anonymous’ battles were horrifying!
>He was telling the truth when he said it wasn’t his intent to hurt, holding back his attacks
>His fellow combatants did not have the same reservations, leaving Anon taking a beating you’d not wish upon Tirek himself!
>You’d watch mortified as the fighter known as Volt Prancer sticks him with an electrified hoof
>A terrified scream flows from your muzzle, lost in the storm of cheers
>To your disgust even Dr. Witlick had joined with the crowd
>Did nopony care for Anon’s well-being!?
>He certainly didn’t himself, as he enthusiastically dives back into the fray, defeating his opponent by lightly forcing her to the ground
>Like he said, it was not his intent to hurt
>Your nightmare hadn’t ended just yet, Anon was to be fighting nearly everypony at the gym
>That news wasn’t welcome
>But it was when he willingly accepted two opponents at once that your heart was in your throat
>How could he find it fun? He should be in the nurse’s room as is!
>To your honest surprise he takes them on /and/ wins, leaving both enemies unharmed yet again
>Things soon become so surreal you swear you’d entered a dream
>It was around about the same time he, still grinning despite the walloping he’d received, brings a Minotaur [Quartz Fury], diamond dog [Ebony], and pony [Tik Tak] into the ring all at once
>He was mad!
>The moment the bell rang he was pounced upon by the Minotaur, its large fists flailing into the prisoner of your desires
>”Gah! No!”
>Your calls get lost to the general din of the room just as your scream had
>Swift as wind the diamond dog rushes between his legs, sending him falling
>As he struggles around on the floor Tik Tac dives into his Minotaur pals open paws, who then flings the stallion at Anon’s prone form
>A rush of adrenaline enters your bloodstream at the sight, Anon’s doom seemed certain
>Just before impact he rolls out of the way, flooding you with relief
>A relief quickly lost as the small pony leaps back to him as he rolls along, intending to continue the attack
>But neither Tik Tac nor yourself expected his impact with Anon to send him flying away once again, Anon’s sheer size preventing the assault
>Thankfully Tik Tak is grabbed from the air by Quartz Fury and safely tossed to the Ebony
>Anon ends his rolling at Fury’s hooves before stumbling to his feet
>In doing so the top of his head solidly connects with Quartz’s lower jaw
>The Minotaur stumbles a few paces then falls to the ground, knocked out cold
>The room falls silent and Anon looks around, oblivious to what he’d done, until he spots his fallen opponent
>He leans down to Quartz as the Minotaur regains consciousness and throws a clumsy punch his way
>The punch misses miserably and Anon immediately calls an end to the fighting, forcing the guy to see Nurse Soft Cotton
>Anonymous had been nothing but courteous and remorseful over the incident; that hadn’t stopped Quartz heckling him from the sidelines once freed from Cotton’s care, yelling about how unfair it was and that there was no way to beat Anon, that he must be a cheat
>That was something this event did not need, the jeers further whipping the inmates into a frenzy
>The calls of the crowd are overcome by the sudden howls from Ebony
“We can beat Anon guys! There is a way!”
>This cannot be good. You’d watched that poor human get beaten senseless already, he didn’t deserve any more of that
>The only time he’d actually hurt somepony was by complete accident
“Bum-rush the stage!” Yells out Tic Tack, still in Ebony’s arms
>You’d not heard such a phrase before but instinctively you knew something dreadful was about to happen
>At the rally call the frenzied gym members rush into the ring as Anon backs up
>He turns around and makes for a getaway but is pinned to the ground by a trio of Minotaur
>Every other member in the gym dives atop the pile in turn, all the while giggling and laughing, as if they hadn’t just broken every bone in Anon’s body
>You could only make out his head under the mass of bodies
>The only reason you hadn’t levitated them all off of him was because you’d risk catching Anon himself in your magic and having it misfire
”He’s pinned! He’s pinned, somepony count him out!” Volt Prancer yells from the depths of the group
>No! Anon could be dying for all you knew! You couldn’t lose him, he was yours! Your future!
>Anon’s Minotaur friend, Platinum, bounces down and quickly counts him out, declaring everypony, but Anon, the winner
>They’d won, but at what cost? Paralysing one of their fellow inmates?
>Yet beyond all expectation Anon’s head suddenly rolls over to reveal that stupid grin still upon his face
>It would seem what you’d thought to be death spasms was just him laughing, the great weight restricting his actions
>Why was he laughing?! How was he not hurt!?
”Hooray, you win.” He congratulates them all “Now can someone please call /all/ the doctors, because you’re crushing ME!”
>Okay maybe he’s hurt
>Thankfully you spot Nurse Soft Cotton already anxiously pacing around the pile, waiting for them to disband so she could get to him
>Eventually they all disperse and leave Anon dishevelled on the floor, the nurse already checking him for injuries
>He struggles to get up but gets poked in the side by Soft Cotton during her inspection, the action causing him to jump in shock, falling back down
>The two say something you can’t quite hear, but Anon suddenly springs from the ground and stretches out, good as new
>Did he have a reset button on his side you were never told about?
>How could he possibly have endured all that and come out of it like nothing had happened?
>His paws go to his stomach as great booming laughter flows from him
”HAHAH. You guys did it! You beat me!”
“Fantastic method of doing so I may add.” He says with a wink
>The group clustered around begins to laugh once more
>What the Tartarus was wrong with these ponies? With HIM!?
>Maintaining his jovial spirit he practically leaps over to Dr. Witlick, who’d been waiting eagerly to speak with him
>Several other researcher gather around him and begin their own search for injuries
>You had to join them, you needed to know if he truly was fine. It would be miraculous
>But by the time you’d arrived they’d almost finished
”And what the heck are you guys doing?” He asks, watching the ponies milling around his feet
>“Checking for damage.”
>He looks about for you among the group
”No need Ember, I’m perfectly fine.”
“He’s telling the truth.” Says one of your colleagues
“All that and not a single scratch.” Fawns Witlick “You truly are remarkable Anonymous.”
>His words mirrored your exact thoughts
>But another thought was stuck in your mind, drawing you from the conversation
>Before, during the shock of the whole gym assault on Anon, you may not have been thinking straight, but you’d claimed him to be yours, that he was your future
>You may have come to a decision about him without even realising it, even if he was a violence lover
>But how could you truly be sure?
>You pull yourself back to reality and resume listening
”-itly true. But the gym’s closing soon, so is there anything you really need for your research?”
>Well, you needed your samples and to get Anon on his own
>Dr. Witlick of course needed something too
“Yes, I’ve been given a request by Soft Cotton to acquire some DNA samples. Is that okay with you?”
>Your research group had actually requested the blood sample taken from him upon his first medical at the prison, but mid transit it… met its end
”Most certainly.”
“Alright. Ember you can assist. This will require the use of a needle, but Soft Cotton assures me you’re fine with that. Not many are, so we’ll perform this away from the group.”
>You trot to the corner with Witlick
>This worked for you
“Have a seat Anonymous.” Witlick instructs
>You teleport in one of the syringe filled cases the researchers had brought along with a few sample vials for yourself
>Witlick makes an attempt at withdrawing Anon’s blood with the syringe held in his telekinesis, before thinking better of it and switching to using his mouth
>Anon’s crimson blood fills the syringe, something about the whole thing was odd, but you couldn’t quite put your hoof on it
>You commence sorting out your vials
>You’ll be getting the standard alchemy samples. Spittle, hair, sweat, all that stuff
>Blood and urine were a no go. One was forbidden to work with and the other was just gross!
”So what are you doing Ember?” Anon asks, interrupting your thoughts
>Oh that’s right! You probably need to tell him what you want
>“I was hoping you’d be kind enough to provide me with some bodily samples, hair, spit, skin and the like, to determine their alchemical properties. It’s standard procedure when studying magical or mythical animals.”
”Wouldn’t be the first time.” He murmurs
>“What do you mean by that?” You ask
”Nothing really, just talking to myself.”
>It’s the only response you get and a clear attempt to deflect your suspicion
>You narrow your eyes at him
>It was obvious he wasn’t going to tell you anything, but if that big galumph had provided anypony else with enough material for a potion you swear to Celestia!
>Not knowing what properties you were working with could be a /very/ bad thing for any alchemist
>You’d learnt that the hard way, after accidentally discovering the explosive properties of phoenix egg shell
>“Okay Mr. Anon.” You finally respond
>Witlick finishes up with him and puts away his equipment
“Do you need a lollipop Anonymous?” He asks “You were a very brave patient.”
”I’ll be fine Doc, I’m just glad to help.”
>You just realised what was so strange about this
>His blood had been taken and he was neither screaming nor unconscious
>After seeing what he’d just been through should that really come as a surprise?
“Alrighty then.” Witlick turns to you, “Will you be requiring any assistance?”
>Your head shakes
>“No, it’s very simple, I should be able to handle it so long as he behaves himself.”
”Heh, no guarantees there.” Anon interjects
>You snort. Certainly there were not
“Yes very funny Mr Anon. Dr. Witlick you may re-join the ‘celebration’.”
>He does so, leaving just you and Anonymous. Perfect
>Something was still bugging you
>A Blood Rose needed magic to work, any kind of magic, from /both/ parties
>From all you’d seen Anon had no magic
>So what would happen to the rose? Did Anonymous know he needed magic for it? Or did he just not know he didn’t have magic until now?
>You’d be finding out sooner rather than later
”I guess we should get this over with, although I’m not sure why you’d want to start in the first place, honestly what do you expect to find?”
>Hmm… Could be anything really…
>“Honestly? Honestly I don’t know. Everything has some kind of alchemical property, from a rock to a Minotaur’s horn. These properties are intrinsically linked to the subject’s innate magic.”
>He nods in vague understanding
”Makes sense… I think.”
>“Good. Now you Mr. Anon? From what we’ve seen you don’t have any magic, like at all. That being the case I’ve no idea what to anticipate. I suppose that means I would expect to find either nothing at all, or anything, probably the former.”
”Nothing or anything, really narrowing your options there. So then what if it’s the latter?”
>“If that’s the case? Well I wouldn’t be able to tell you without knowing what the properties you’ve got actually are, and that’s the exact reason I’m doing this. Could you imagine if you had harmful alchemy? If somepony bad, or anypony for that matter, got their hooves on that it could be a very real problem.”
”Duly noted. Let’s get down to business then.”
>You commence collecting, pulling out several hairs from over his body and safely storing them away
>Giving him a vial and tissue he’s instructed to spit and blow respectively into each
>Next you provide him with cotton buds for ear wax
>All rather boring it was, nothing you’d write about
>It would seem equally mind numbing to Anon, who attempts small talk, as if he wasn’t obsessing over whether or not you’d accept him as your stallion
>Silly human
”So, do anything interesting after I left this morning?”
>“Gosh no. I was far too distracted. Can I get some fingernails?”
>He /bites/ off three and gives them over; you think that would’ve hurt
”Distracted? Ah yes, your big decision. Decided yet?” He asks, leaning down closer to you
>HA! So he was obsessing over it!
>Well you had decided! You’d decided that… that… Oh goodness
>With the moment now upon you, you find yourself overcome with indecision
>This wasn’t something you could just ignore, it had to be addressed now!
>“I’ve been trying. I know you’re anxious so imagine how I feel. It’s a big choice! I mean sure, I’ve been in a rut for the longest time now, then /this/ happened.”
>You ‘poof’ out the Blood Rose and shake it about
>“Needless to say I think it’s exactly the kind of thing I was looking for, but to be so impulsive? Mr. Anon how could you do this to me?” You whine
>You take a timid step closer to him, building your confidence
>You can and you will decide! And he was going to help you
>“I mean; did you even know you weren’t magic when you gave this to me? Mr. Anon I need to know, for one as generous and sweet hearted as yourself; why did you give me this? Truly, honestly, why? I want to decide but I /need/ to know.”
>Anon, please help…
”Fine! If it’ll calm you down.”
>You’re sure it would
“Aside from what I’ve already said about you being adorable, and such a genuine and kind pony…”
>He pauses and thinks a moment
>You were already feeling overwhelmed
”I suppose it was because I could see you were upset, and it was eating away at me, I had to do something, /anything/ to make you happy again, or I wouldn’t have slept soundly tonight…”
>He looks despondently to the ground and sighs
“You’re all too stupidly adorable.”
>He stops again, tears had begun to build up on the edges of your eyes, threatening to roll down your cheeks
>You’d thought it before and you were right. He was yours. He’d given himself to you
>Anon continues
”So I offered you my flower. I thought it might elevate your mood after what I put you through. I just wanted to give you something nice, something special and unique so that it might brighten your day. Something like-
>“Something like you?”
>You didn’t mean to cut in, but he’d provided you the perfect opening
>Oh gosh, what are you doing? What are you doing? What are you doing?!
>You wanted him, but at the back of your mind dark thoughts lurked. What if you were doing this just to use him to get a better life for yourself?
>You think he says something but your panicked and flustered mind was having a hard enough time keeping your own thoughts straight
>Looking upon his face with your huge glistening eyes brings a clarity to your mind
>“I cannot believe I’m going to do this! It’s the most impulsive, rash thing I’ve ever done! I’ve been feeling wrong inside a long time now. Yet when you’re around I feel special again! But I think I’m doing this for selfish reasons...”
>“Argh! What I’m trying to say is I’ve made my decision. Honestly I’m still not sure why you did it. But…”
>You pause and take a deep breath, steadying yourself
>“I accept your offer Mr. An-… /Anon/.” You self-correct
>You were past the point of formality here, if he wanted to be called Anon, that’s what you’d call him
>“I will take your flower, we can bind our magical essence, and then we shall be wed, just as you wanted!”
>As you finish a great wave of relief washes through you. It was done, the burden had been lifted, and it was time to begin a new chapter of your life
>What’s more the Blood Rose had activated itself! The fractal petals flowing with the smoky pink liquid of love’s essence
>The next step is seeing what happens after he eats one of those petals at your wedding
>He didn’t look as excited as you’d think he’d be, if anything he was looking a little sick
>“Are you alright Anon? You look a bit faint.”
>He whispers something that you can barely make out
”Fucking flower.”
>Huh?