Manehatten, Equestria: Dawn: Early Fall of 003 AH

From outside the seemingly endless streets of the bustling city of Manehatten, the train whistles loudly, as it speedily moves towards its destination, while a loud screeching noise sounds from the wheels and the tracks.

Multiple citizens' eyes wander towards the incoming train; some stopping their carriages to look, while others peeking out of the windows of the abundant skyscrapers. The carriages, with the help of magic, move on their own as a result of the driver pulling a lever directly in front of the horizontal bar that rests on a pipe in-between their knees.

On the right halves of the streets, the carriages move at a steady and slow pace while the ponies, minotaurs, griffons, and the occasional fox walk opposite of the directions the carriages move; a rule of the land to reduce the chances of carriage-related accidents.

Amongst the multiple creatures, several guards of different species, wearing dark blue armor with red and white stripes, walk through the streets in order to keep law and order amongst the different creatures.

As the train in the station finally lets out its final screech, it comes to a complete halt and hisses while the steam above and below the front car breezes through the air; vanishing in the matter of seconds via magic.

Minotaurs, griffons, and ponies then start to wander out of the passenger quarters while the staff of loaders gather around the box cars and begin opening the doors.

"Hey! This one's jammed shut!" a pegasus stallion with a bright yellow coat, a bright pink mane, and a cutie mark of a pair of turtle doves flying together with the one on the left floating slightly above the one on the right, complains. A series of groans and extra complaints shortly follow his statement, while one of the minotaurs walks up to him and smirks.

"Don't worry, pal! I'll help ya!" the minotaur says with a smile before gripping onto the handlebar of the door and, with a little resistance, slides it open while the crates that are blocking it slightly crack, but nonetheless, they move out of the way in one piece.

The stallion smiles and bows his head respectfully. "Thank you, Iron Tusk!"

The minotaur pats the pegasus on the back before replying, "Any time, Butterscotch!" Then he turns around and heads back to the box car that he was assigned to, while Butterscotch steps into the one he was assigned to, and begins to slowly lift the crates.

*"Ah-CHOO!"* a young filly's sneeze fills the box car; causing Butterscotch to drop the crate in his forehooves and scream in a high-pitched tone before jerking his head towards the source of the noise; the other side of the nearly empty box car.

Slowly he walks up towards the source of the noise and peeks over the crates. What he finds next, however, causes his eyes to widen in disbelief.

Anon and Nonnie are still fast asleep; covered in Anon's cloak, and wrapped in a warm hug with Nonnie's scalp gently tucked between Anon's chin and chest. Anon's mask's eyes were closed, and Nonnie's eyes were slowly starting to open.

Butterscotch just stands there speechlessly while Nonnie sits up, stretches her forehooves out, and turns towards Anon. "Time to get up, big brother! It's morning!"

Anon yawns with his eyes still closed, while his mouth, to Butterscotch's horror, shifts into a frown. "C'mon, sis! Just fifteen more minutes?"

Nonnie shakes her head left and right before deadpanning at him. "No, big brother! You have to get up now! Who knows where we are?" She then turns towards the door to the box car, but fixes on Butterscotch once he comes into her view. Butterscotch is staring wide-eyed at her with his eyes the size of pinpricks, as he doesn't know what to say, nor does he know what to expect.

"U-um... I... I..." Butterscotch stutters. Nonnie closes her eyes and yawns once more before looking up to him and smiling innocently.

"Good morning, mister! May you please tell us where we're at?"

The stallion's eyes return to their normal size and a warm smile forms on his own lips. "Oh! Um... w-well... y-you're in M-M-Mane-" Before he could finish his sentence, Anon stirs around and slowly sits up, revealing his now half-lidded pure white eyes. (His left eye is no longer glowing blue, and his mouth is in a neutral shape once more.) This causes Butterscotch's pupils to shrink again while he backs into the wall and points at Anon's face. "SWEET CELESTIA! DID YOUR MASK JUST OPEN IT'S EYES?!"

Anon tilts his head in confusion before nonchalantly replying, "Um... who's wearing a mask?"

Nonnie giggles before turning towards Anon. "Anon, I think he means your face."

Anon sighs before closing his eyes and pinching the bridge between them, which makes Butterscotch's heart rate jump up, and causes him to breathe heavily. "Y-your... f-f-face?!"

Shrugging his shoulders, Anon replies, "Yeah? Why, is that a problem?"

Before anyone could answer, the minotaur from earlier steps in and raises an eyebrow at Butterscotch. "Butter! What's taking you so long? You ain't normally one to stall for too... long... what're you staring at?" He turns his head towards the pair of children and stares at the two of them for a long moment with a blank expression.

"Ah, crud. Kids, are you both alright?" Iron Tusk asks in a worried manner.

Anon smiles and nods his head, with his eyes closing and arching upwards. "Yes, sir! We're just trying to figure out where-" Before he can even finish his sentence, however, Iron Tusk's eyes go wide as he backs away a few steps.

"WHAT THE- HOW DID YOUR MASK DO THAT?!"

Anon's eyes open, his smile turns neutral again, and he deadpans at the minotaur. "Okay, that is starting to get old." He then points at his face and says, "This isn't a mask, okay? This is my face!"

The minotaur just stares blankly at him, causing Anon to groan and plant his face into his right palm. "Look, we just want to know where we're at so we can figure out where to go next, okay?"

Butterscotch nods his head and replied, "U-um... y-you're both in Manehatten right now."

Nonnie's eyes go wide, as she turns towards Anon and asks, "Manehatten?! How did we get here from Vanhoover in one night?!"

Anon shrugs his shoulders before replying, "Eh, I don't know, but frankly, I don't care. At least we're practically on the opposite side of Equestria, so they can't get us, now!"

Iron Tusk tilts his head at that comment. "So who can't get you, exactly?"

Anon covers his mouth and looks up at the two nervously. "Um... the guards?"

Their eyes widen once more, and their jaws drop. "Wait a minute... the two of you aren't thieves, are you?!"

Anon shakes his head, but Nonnie quickly elbows him in the left arm, causing him to turn towards her in confusion and slight pain, as he rubs his arm. Then Nonnie turns towards Butterscotch and replies, "W-well... we did steal a few tomatoes to help us get away, but... I promise, that's not why they were chasing us!"

The two adults close their mouths but continue to stare at the children uneasily. "So you're both criminals for another reason, then?"

Anon sighs and deadpans at them again. "No! We didn't do anything wrong at all! We-"

Iron Tusk decides to cut in. "If you didn't do anything wrong, then why were you running away from the guards? Surely they would've listened to your case, or released you if they had no evidence against you!"

Anon looks at Nonnie, who looks at him worriedly. Then, after lowering his head and sighing, he looks up at the adults and replies, "I'm sorry... but that one is classified. Why do you need to know, though? Are you a guard?"

Iron Tusk and Butterscotch are about to reply, but before they could even open their mouths to speak, a few distant voices from outside catch their attention, and cause them to turn around. Then, curiously, the two of them step out of the box car, while Anon looks at Nonnie.

"Come on. Let's get out of here before they try asking us any more questions!" he whispers to her.

She nods her head and replies, "Okay... but where should we go, now?"

Anon scratches his chin in thought before his stomach starts to grumble. Shortly following, her stomach growls as well.

"Right now, we're going to need something to eat. What would you like, sis?"

Nonnie scratches her chin in thought before replying, "Do you have enough for some Neighponese food?"

That causes Anon to sigh. "Neighponese food is just way too expensive, though! I think we should just grab a quick bite from the marketplace, first!"

Nonnie opens her mouth to speak, but is interrupted by a loud whistle coming from outside. Nervously, the two of them stop talking and turn towards the open box car's door, where they notice, for the first time, that a large crowd of citizens are riled up and staring right at them.

That's when they hear a deep masculine voice call out, "Freeze! You are under arrest for freight hopping! We know you are in there! Come out with your hooves up!"

Anon and Nonnie gulp before looking at each other nervously. Then Nonnie whispers to him, "What do we do, big brother? We can't just turn ourselves in! They might take us back to Vanhoover! And... and you know what that means!"

Anon nods his head and replies, "Don't worry, sis... I've got an idea."

"And just what is your idea, exactly?" she asks him with a hint of worry in her voice.

Anon raises his right pointing finger up in a matter-of-fact way while he closes his eyes. "Simple! What do I have that could be used as an advantage over ponies and minotaurs?"

Nonnie thinks for a moment before pointing at his feet. He smiles and gently brushes her mane. "Good! So, when I point up at the sky, I want you to hop on my back, and don't let go! Alright?"

After a moment of thinking, Nonnie smiles at him. "Alright, big brother... I trust you!"

"Thanks... and tell you what! After we get out of this mess, I'll snag you some Neighponese food if we run into any along the way. Okay?"

She giggles and nods her head. "Okay!"

The man calls out again, "I know you can hear me! Surrender and step out of the box car, or be dragged out of there by force! You have thirty seconds!"

Anon groans before raising his hands up. "Alright, already! Sheesh! We're coming out!" Then he looks back at Nonnie and winks at her, while she nods her head and raises her hooves up in the air like Anon. After that, they step out towards the light, where the guards are all lined up to block their exit, and the citizens are curiously watching the events unfold.

As soon as the two children step out of the train, everything and everyone goes silent. The citizens are no longer talking amongst each other, the sounds of the hooves clopping through the streets abruptly halt with a slide across the dust on the roads, the wagons no longer move, and even the birds and the few other animals go silent, as they all stare at Anon with mixed emotions. Most are confused about what he is, while others are worried that he might be a monster. A few of the closest citizens, however, are angry because their schedules have been delayed by a pair of children.

Anon deadpans at them, which causes a stir amongst the crowd, considering they all think he's wearing a mask. "Why are you all staring at me? Is there something on my face?"

The guards who are lined up in front of the citizens are wearing dark blue armor with red trimmings on the corners of their helmets and pauldrons. They hold their spears up at the children, causing Nonnie to hug her brother's arm and look up at him. "Anon... I'm scared!"

Anon nods his head and looks at her. "Don't worry, sis. Everything will be..." He pauses mid-sentence and looks up. Then he squints his eyes and leans forward a little. Finally, after letting out a loud gasp, he points at a cloud behind the guards and yells, "SWEET CELESTIA! IS THAT A BABY PEGASUS FALLING?!"

As if by a stroke of luck, the entire crowd, along with the guards, turns their heads towards where he points while Anon quickly lifts Nonnie up off the ground. She wraps her forearms over his neck while he grips onto her lower hooves, with her leaning on his back. Then, as soon as the guards turn their heads back towards the children, the one in charge of the squad looks to his left, and finds both of them already running through the crowd.

The guards quickly snap out of their confusion and rush after the children while the crowd begins to panic and step out of the guards' way. One certain figure in the crowd, however, begins to follow the guards from a safe distance... Butterscotch.

Anon manages to make it to the busy marketplace, where several ponies, griffins, and minotaurs stop to look at the commotion. Closing in behind the two are the guards from before. Each time they would fire a stunning spell towards them, however, Nonnie would quickly use her magic to pull an obstacle in the way, like the fabric of the market stalls, and even the stalls themselves, should they be unoccupied... which, considering the circumstances, continues to become more frequent.

Finally, when the two make it out of the marketplace, Anon quickly digs into his right pouch and pulls out a small bag of marbles. Then he opens the bag and begins pouring the contents behind his back before dropping the bag and speeding up a little more.

The guards up front notice the attempt right away and step around the marbles, while the others behind them, having been too far back to notice, slide across the stone floor and fall over while any other behind them trip and fall over them.

Noticing that the guards up front are still chasing them, Anon quickly dashes into an alleyway while the guards follow them. Then he grabs a tarp from one of the nearby houses' front areas (having been used to keep their nearby crates of tomatoes and fruits safe from any rain) and lifts it up for Nonnie to see. With a nod she closes her eyes and focuses her magic onto the tarp. Then, once it gets engulfed in her light blue magic aura, Anon makes a quick turn to the left and releases the tarp while it floats forward. Finally, he steps towards the corner and watches as the guards make it to that alley... and runs right past them, towards the tarp that's covered in the shadows.

Without sparing any time, he looks at Nonnie and whispers, "Hang on tight, and don't look down!"

Nonnie nods her head but remains silent while her grip on Anon's neck and shoulders tightens. Then Anon runs back towards the spot from the alley where they entered, and rushes towards the crates where he pulled the tarp from.

Looking up at the five stories he would have to climb, he takes a deep breath, looks at the crates once more, and leaps onto them. Then he leaps from the crates to the bottom of the second story window and places his feet on the top of the first. Looking to his left, he reaches his left hand forward and leaps from the windowsill to the sign post of the building; a quill over a sofa. Then he quickly pulls himself onto the post and carefully balances his feet onto the top of it, while gripping onto the sign itself with his right hand. Afterwards, he puts his feet on the sign to give himself a couple extra feet of leverage and leaps onto the bottom of the third story windowsill. Then he slowly slides his hands to the left until he makes it to the corner of the window and grips onto the corners. Slowly he climbs up until his feet are at the bottom of the windowsill and places his hands on the top of the window.

He looks over his left shoulder and asks, "How are you making it, Nonnie?"

Nonnie gulps before nodding her head. "I'm fine, Anon... but please hurry!"

With a nod, Anon looks up and notices that the window above the two of them is open. He smiles and whispers, "Alright, Nonnie. We're going up again, but this one's open, so be ready if anyone gets startled and starts screaming. Okay?"

Nonnie nods her head and replies, "Okay." before tightening her grip once more.

Taking another deep breath, Anon angles his body down for another leap. This time, however, he manages to go slightly higher than usual. He spreads his arms out and catches onto the sides of the interior of the window and plants his feet on the windowsill. Then he carefully grips onto the top of the window and leaps into the air, where he catches the bottom of the fifth and final window. He then climbs up the side of it and turns his head over his left shoulder once again.

"Alright, Nonnie. I need you to climb on top of my shoulders, and wait for me on the rooftop. Okay?"

She nods her head in response before opening her eyes. Ignoring the height that they were in, she slowly climbs up until her lower hooves rest on his shoulders. Then she grips onto the top of the flat rooftop and quickly pulls herself on top of it. She then notices a tarp hanging loosely over the door that leads to the stairway and turns to Anon. "Hey, Anon! There's a tarp up here! Do you want me to get it for you?"

Anon looks up and smiles. "Yes, please! I don't think I can leap up that high, anyways!"

With a nod, she rushes towards the tarp and, with her magic, lifts it from the bungee cords that they were attached to and grips the tarp with her hooves. Then she rushes towards the corner of the building where Anon is hanging below and levitates the tarp over the corner. Anon then quickly grips onto the tarp and climbs it up the rest of the way.

Breathing heavily, both Anon and Nonnie sit down on the roof while trying to catch their breaths; Anon from the amount of running and climbing that he did, and Nonnie for the amount of magic that she used keeping the guards' shots from reaching them.

"Well... I... think... we lost 'em, sis." Anon says between his panting.

Nonnie nods her head and replies, "I... hope so... big brother."

The two of them continue to sit there to regain their energy. Eventually they get lost in thought... too lost to even notice the griffon flying towards them from behind their backs. Before they have time to react, the griffon lifts Anon and Nonnie, then leaps into the air while they scream and struggle to break free from his grasp... which ends in failure.

When he lands on the ground level, four of the Manehatten guards rush up to them and restrain the two of them by placing a black ring over Nonnie's horn and latching a pair of black cuffs over Anon's wristbands and Nonnie's forehooves.

"NO! PLEASE DON'T TAKE US AWAY!" Nonnie pleas, while Anon growls at the guards and flails his shoulders in feeble attempts to break free from the guards' grasps.

"Sorry, children. Rules are rules, and you've both broken them by-"

"WAIT!" a vaguely familiar male voice calls out from the crowd. When the guards turn towards the source of the voice, they see Butterscotch break free from the crowd with sweat falling from his forehead. "There's been a mistake, officers! They weren't in there when I arrived!"

The guards look at each other confusedly before turning back to the pegasus. "Explain why your minotaur friend told us the opposite, then."

Butterscotch closed his eyes and smiled sheepishly. "I... may have overreacted a bit, and thought that they were intruders." He then points at the two children who are giving him confused looks. "They merely followed me so that they could ask if I needed a helping hoof with the cargo! The thing is that Iron Tusk didn't notice them, and mistook them for freight hoppers!"

The guards stood there for a moment... then they all burst into laughter, while Anon and Nonnie looked up at them worriedly.

With an amused smile, the leader of the group of guards looked at Butterscotch and said, "Oh, typical Butterscotch! Scared by the slightest thing!" Then he turns towards the guards restraining the children and says to them, "Release the children, then!" He looks down at Anon and Nonnie who, at this point, have hopeful smiles on their faces. "There seems to have been a slight misunderstanding. Please do forgive us for this incident."

Anon and Nonnie look from the guard to Butterscotch, then back to the guard with a smile on their faces. Then, in unison, they nod their heads while Anon replies, "It's alright, officer. Sorry for running like that... we were just scared, is all."

Before the guard could even reply, however, another voice calls out from the crowd... a deep, gruff, and authoritative voice that even makes the crowd disperse from the owner of the voice out of nervousness and curiosity. "There they are! Don't let them get away!"

The guards turn towards the source of the voice and raises confused eyebrows, while Anon and Nonnie's eyes widen out of fear. There, standing at the entrance of the city's gates, is the same unicorn guard from Vanhoover that Anon hit in the face with a tomato. His piercing red eyes were focused on Anon, and his mouth was open, with his teeth shut, and his entire face shaped into a disgusted scowl.

He pointed his right hoof at Anon and said, "Don't let those monsters get away! They must be destroyed, or all of Equestria will be, instead!"

The crowd gasps at his words, while the guards of Manehatten, despite still having the children under the bindings, line up to guard the children from the Vanhoover guard. With a glare, the captain of the Manehatten guards steps in front of the line and lifts his right hoof up at the other guard. "Under who's authority do you have the right to even say such a thing?!"

The Vanhoover guard spits on the ground and retorts, "Under my own! I am Commander Fire Beam, and those monsters belong to me!"

Butterscotch, at this point, glares at the foreign guard but says nothing. The leader of the Manehatten guards, however, replies, "Well I am Commander Law Bringer! And by decree of the Equestrian Laws and Rights, only the soldiers wearing the certain town's Coat of Arms can make such decisions in their own towns, and no others! No exceptions!"

Fire glares at Law and then lowers his right hoof. "Did you even consider looking at that... that thing's arms?!"

Law looks at Anon and notices him gripping his arm guards with a worried expression on his face. Then Law turns back towards Fire and asks, "What should I expect to see, exactly? And why are you addressing them as monsters?! They're just children!"

Fire groans before nodding his head towards Anon. "Why don't you check his arms for yourself? You'll find that he isn't just some ordinary child, and neither is that filly with him! Did any of you check her back, also?!"

The guards, at this point, are all staring at the children, who now are beginning to try to escape once more. Law sighs deeply before walking up to Anon. "Do you happen to know what he's talking about?"

Anon remains silent but flinches and closes his eyes when he sees Law reaching towards his arms. Then, when he pulls the arm pads up, his eyes widen and he steps back when he recognizes the glowing red symbols on Anon's forearms.

激怒 -Wrath

The guards then lift Nonnie's cloak up and backs away, as another set of symbols glow from across the back of her shoulders. These, however, glow light blue.

ジャッジメント -Judgement

The guards at this point have stepped away from the children with their jaws dropped. Then Law turn towards Fire and asks, "W-wait... so these children are..."

Fire nods his head and replies, "Yes! Those two children are the vessels of the God of Judgement, and the God of Wrath!" He points at Anon and adds, "And that one is even the reincarnation of the God of Wrath, himself! Volcanon!"

The crowd and the guards gasp at that statement and step even further away from the children... except for one, though.

Butterscotch, with his glare still focused on Fire Beam, walks up towards the children and shouts, "YEAH? SO WHAT IF THEY ARE?!"

Yet again, the crowd gasps. Law turns towards Butterscotch with an incredulous look on his face. "Butterscotch! Do you have any idea what that means?!"

Butterscotch nods his head and turns his head towards Law. "Yeah! It means they have a lot of power in their systems! Just like the Spirit of Chaos, Discord! Am I right?"

Everyone remains silent while Butterscotch turns towards Anon and Nonnie. "Sure, you all might find them different from the rest of us! Sure, you might find them to be gods, or vessels to hold that kind of power! Sure, you might even find them to be monsters! Just like how the world thought of Discord before three years ago!" He then turns towards Fire and glares once again. "But if I recall, isn't Discord one of our people, now? Isn't he on our side, despite being the Spirit of Chaos? If even he was able to be reformed, then what makes you think that these two children can't be? Could you answer that for us, Mr. Fire Beam?!"

The crowd stares in awe at the timid pegasus, but turn towards Fire with glares of their own. Sure enough, he did raise a valid point. The guards of Manehatten regain their composure and form a line to keep Fire from even seeing the children.

Then Fire Beam sighs and lowers his head. After a moment of silence, however, he grins menacingly before looking up at the crowd. "I can assure you... you will all thank me for this one day!" In the blink of an eye, his eyes turn pure white, and a huge gust of wind sends the entire crowd and the guards back, while Anon and Nonnie remain standing... though the two of them no longer have anyone in front of them to protect them, and the citizens and guards are lying on the ground trying to get up.

Fire's eyes change from glowing pure white to a pure red hue, while he lifts his head up. As he does, his horn begins to glow blood red. Then he shouts, "I'LL SEND YOU BOTH TO TARTARUS!"

Anon turns towards Nonnie and, with a stern look on his face, shouts, "NONNIE! BEHIND ME, NOW!"

Nonnie nods her head and rushes behind Anon while he lowers his knees halfway, balls both of his fists up, and crosses his arms over his face with his right arm in front, shaped like an "X".

Fire then releases a pure red beam of energy towards Anon and Nonnie that leaves a scorched trail below it and around it; igniting the houses beside the beam on fire, and sending the stones of the road in the air. Then, before it could reach Anon, he opens his hands up, causing the glowing symbols on his arms and on Nonnie's back to glow even brighter.

When the beam hits Anon and Nonnie, the citizens flinch and are forced to close their eyes at the immense bright light. Throughout the sound of the surrounding destruction, they could hear Fire's laughter.

"COME ON, VOLCANON! I THOUGHT YOU WOULD BE MORE OF A CHALLENGE THAN THIS!"

Finally, when the light dims down, the citizens open their eyes and stare at the huge dust cloud in front of them. Then, when the dust clears up, they gasp and stare at the feint blue and red glows inside the smoke.

There, standing at the center of the dust cloud, is Anon and Nonnie. Anon still has his arms crossed in front of him, and Nonnie is still standing behind him. One thing is off, though... one thing that causes Fire's eyes to widen in fear, and his jaw to drop in shock... Anon's eyes are glowing red, and Nonnie's eyes are glowing pure white. Another thing that shocks him is the fact that his blast managed to melt their bindings off.

With a smile, Anon slightly lowers his arms just enough for him to see Fire's face. "That's a nice spell you did there!"

Nonnie then leaps onto Anon's back and wraps her forehooves over his neck and her lower hooves over his waist. Then she speaks up. "But you can have it back, now!"

At that statement, she places her chin on top of Anon's scalp and closes her eyes, while Anon uncrosses his arms and stretches them out behind his back in an arched position. The second he uncrosses his arms, Nonnie opens her eyes. When they open, Anon's eyes turn white again while her eyes and horn turn as red as his eyes were.

Just a split second later, the red beam that Fire blasted towards them shoots out of Nonnie's horn and is now heading towards a panicking Fire Blast.

Fire quickly raises his forehooves up and casts a red protection bubble over his body when the beam reaches him. He continues to stare in shock, but this time, he's also screaming out of fear. "N-NO! THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING! YOU WILL PERISH, VOLCANON! YOU AND YOUR WRETCHED SISTER!"

To his horror, he then notices a small crack in his barrier starting to form... and the ray doesn't appear to be getting any weaker, either. Then the crack starts getting bigger, while he continues to scream and panic. Finally, his panic becomes agony as the barrier around him shatters like glass, and the red beam of light completely covers his body.

Staring at his hooves, the last thing he sees is every fiber of his hooves turning into dust.

When the beam dies down, Anon and Nonnie's symbols return to their regular glow, and Nonnie hops off of Anon's back and stares at him while he falls to the ground with his hands and knees on the ground. Then she quickly wraps her forehooves around him in a hug while he looks up at the destruction in front of them. While doing so, he also wraps his right arm around Nonnie to return the hug. Then she looks towards the destruction and gasps at the sight before them.

In a straight line, the road is nothing but a dirt trail, and the fronts of the houses around them are scorched and burnt off, with the side walls arched inwardly in a perfect circular shape. The trail of destruction ends at a pile of black ashes where Fire Beam once stood.

Anon and Nonnie then look at each other nervously before turning towards the crowd.

Nothing but silence fills the air at this point. The crowd is staring at the two children before them with their eyes wide open, and their jaws dropped. Not even the guards appear to be willing to go near the children, now.

In unison the children stand up and turn towards the entrance to leave... but before they could even take a step forward, a sound catches them off guard... the sound of a pair of hooves clapping together repeatedly. Following that, a few more hooves, with the addition of minotaur hands, and griffon claws. Then, before they know it, a loud round of applause fills the air.

Confusedly, Anon and Nonnie turn back towards the crowd and notice that the shocked and frightened expressions of the citizens are now nothing but smiles.

Law Bringer rushes up to the children and kneels to their level with an amazed look on his face. "Children! H-how in Equestria did you both learn to do that?!"

Instead of reply, however, Nonnie turns away from him and begins to cry while Anon gently pats her on the shoulder and raises an eyebrow at the guard captain. "W-wait... you aren't mad at us?! We just took somepony's life, though!"

Law nods his head and replies, "Yes, but you both saved many more lives, in the process!" Then he points at the trail of dirt. "If the two of you weren't standing there, then that blast would've killed us behind you!" His smile grows and he gently pats the two children on the shoulders. "If anything, you both are heroes on my watch!"

Nonnie's eyes open up while she and Anon stare at each other with amazed expressions on their faces. "H-heroes?!" she asks.

Law nods his head and stands back up. "Indeed! I bet your parents must be proud!"

Anon and Nonnie's amazed expressions drop instantly, and they look down sadly. "Um..."

Law then raises an eyebrow and looks up at the ashes once more, oblivious to Anon and Nonnie's reactions. "Now that I think about it... why was a Vanhoover guard over here in the first place?"

Anon clears his throat, which catches Law's attention. Then he replies, "T-that's just it. We... we don't have any parents."

That causes Law's ears to fall back, and he begins to look frown. "Ah... I think I see what's going on here, then." He turns back towards the distant train and asks, "You both did run away from Vanhoover... didn't you?"

Anon closes his eyes and nods his head. "Y-yes, sir... but the reason why is because, like the guard up there, they all wanted to kill us! And... and we didn't know why, at first... but now I think it's because of these marks on my arms, and the ones on Nonnie's back." He then looks at Nonnie and the two of them nod at each other. Then they lower their heads and raise their arms up. "And... w-we didn't know that you would take us to your jail. W-we thought you would take us back to Vanhoover to have us executed. S-so... we... we'll take any punishment you have for us... a-as long as we're safe from the other guards."

Law opens his eyes widely at that statement. Then he looks at the crowd uneasily, and notices several of the couples in the crowd are looking heartbroken at the children, while the guards are rubbing the backs of their heads uneasily; avoiding eye contact with the children and their commander. Then he looks at the children and puts on as stern of a face as he can and levitates a pair of bindings over their arms. When he clamps them on, though, they don't struggle this time. Then he stands up and says, "Well... rules are rules, and we must all stick to them, no exceptions."

The crowd begins to talk amongst themselves with angry expressions on their faces while Law continues to speak.

"Freight hopping! Fifty bits! Vandalism! One hundred bits! Theft! One hundred and twenty five bits! Running from the law! One hundred and seventy five bits! Lying to authority! Two hundred bits! And finally..." The crowd begins to yell at him for his judgement. Anon and Nonnie, however, are still looking down with saddened expressions on their faces. "...Bravery! Having faced a threat that would've ended one hundred lives or more, and selflessly turning yourselves in, afterwards... one bit!"

Anon and Nonnie look confusedly at each other before turning towards Law. "Um... b-but... we don't really... h-have any bits, though."

Butterscotch steps out of the crowd with a bit in his hand and says, "I'll pay their fine!"

Law shakes his head and replies, "Sorry, but you won't be able to, Butterscotch... and please don't let me start with you for lying and covering evidence."

Butterscotch goes pale and shrinks down at the commander's gaze. Then Law turns towards Anon and Nonnie and warmly smiles at them. "Tell you what, though." He pulls a bit from his pockets and flips it in the air and catches it with his magic. "I'll pay you a bit if you can promise me you won't go breaking any more laws... deal?"

Anon and Nonnie smile at each other and look back up at Law. Then they both nod their heads and reply, "D-deal! Thank you, Mr. Law Bringer!"

Law chuckles and flips the bit in the air with his magic and catches it with his right hoof. "Then in that case... you're both off the hook!"

Anon and Nonnie smile at each other and bump fists/hooves. Then they turn back towards Law and lose their smiles when he looks at them sternly. "Though I hate to do this, but... with their soldier missing, Vanhoover is bound to send more up here to investigate. If they happen to catch a glimpse of the two of you, then there's bound to be trouble. As such, I believe it would be safest if the two of you were to leave the city... and perhaps never return."

Anon and Nonnie then look worriedly at each other. "B-but... where will we go, though?! If they find us out there in the wilds, they'll just kill us even quicker!"

Law sighs and turns towards the crowd. Before anyone could say anything in response, however, Butterscotch steps up. "I know a place where they can go!"

Law turns towards Butterscotch with a raised eyebrow. "Oh? And where would that be, exactly?"

Butterscotch smiles and turns to Anon and Nonnie. "I have a wife and a sister who live in Ponyville! It's close to Canterlot, where Princess Celestia and Princess Luna live! If there's any place that would accept these two, it's there! And my sister lives alone, so there's bound to be enough room for these two to live there! She's also one of the kindest mares in the world, if not the kindest mare in the world! There's no way she would say no to adopting these children!"

Anon and Nonnie look at Law with hopeful smiles on their faces. Law looks up at the sky and scratches his chin in thought. "That does sound like a good idea... but it's halfway across Equestria... and while a train could get there in mere hours, they will have to stop several times in major locations... and since they were last seen in a train, the risks of Vanhoover guards being in the train stations will be too high."

Butterscotch chuckles and points at his own chest. "Not to worry! I have a carriage, so I can just drive them there!"

Law raises an eyebrow at him. "Yes, but a carriage ride could take months! Are you sure you'll be able to handle it?"

Butterscotch looks at Anon and Nonnie, who nod their heads approvingly. Then he turns back towards Law and nods his head. "Sure! And when they get bored, I'll take 'em to an amusement park, or perhaps an arcade. Whichever is available at the times, so they won't have to sit around for about a month doing nothing. And, of course, I'll keep a close eye on them so that nothing bad happens!"

Law rubs his chin again and then looks at Anon and Nonnie. "Do you both agree to this?"

They both nod their heads in unison. Then Law looks up at Butterscotch and shrugs his shoulders. "If that's the case, then so be it. You three have a safe journey." And with that, the crowd behind them cheered while Butterscotch smiled and nodded his head.

When the crowd's cheering was quieter, Anon and Nonnie looked at Butterscotch. "So... you'll take us somewhere safe?"

Butterscotch nodded his head and replied, "Of course I will! And please, just call me 'Butterscotch'. There's no need for formalities!" Then he rubs his chin in thought. "Though I may not be a unicorn expert... magic has a tendency to make one hungry and thirsty. Would you both like a bite to eat before we head out?"

Anon and Nonnie gasp and turn towards each other with sly grins on their faces. Then they turn towards Butterscotch and shout out their answer. "NEIGHPONESE, PLEASE!"

Butterscotch has his eyes closed and his mouth shaped into an open frown as he sits at a round table with empty dishes piled over his head. On his left, Nonnie is digging into a bowl of rice with a pair of chopsticks shoveling the contents into her mouth. On his right, Anon is holding a bowl of noodles over his chin, and doing the same as Nonnie, though he always ends his bites with an extra slurp to get all the noodles in his mouth.

"Um... children? D-do you think that maybe you've eaten a little too much?"

Anon pulls his mouth away from the empty bowl and adds it to the stack of ten bowls next to him. Then he belches loudly before turning towards Butterscotch and grins mischievously. "Not really! In fact, I'm still hungry!"

That statement causes the yellow-coated mare and stallion with thinner eyes and black manes to gasp. Then they turn towards each other and speak in their native tongue.

"Suu~īto seresutia o! Karera wa, doragon yori mo ōku o taberu! (Sweet Celestia! They eat more than a dragon!)" the mare says to the stallion.

The stallion nods his head and replies, "Demo, doragon wa attō sa remasu! Korera no chīsana kodomo-tachi wa akuma yori mo ōku no o taberu! (Even the dragons would be overwhelmed! These little children eat more than a demon!)"

Another mare wearing a white chef's coat rushes up to the two and bows her head while they look worriedly at her. "Watashitachiha, shokuryō ga fusoku shite kita! (We've run out of food!)"

The two gasp before turning towards the table where the children continue eating the last of their plates. Then, when they see the two stand up while Butterscotch remained seated, their eyes widen. "Karera wa mada ōku o shitaidesu ka? (They still want more?)"

"Um... excuse me?" Nonnie asks, catching all three of their attention.

"Yes, little one?" the stallion asks with a clear fake smile on his face.

"I was wondering..."

"Yes?"

"...Is there any more food anywhere?"

The three Neighponese ponies just stare at her while she continues to smile innocently at them. Her smile causes sweat to start pouring from their foreheads, until they sigh in defeat. "Just one second, please."

With their backs turned towards Nonnie, they begin speaking in their native tongue to each other.

"Watashitachi wa nani o subeki? (What should we do?)"

"Watashitachi wa chōdo nō to iu koto ga dekinai! Sore wa warui kokyaku sābisu ni narimasu! (We can't just say no! That would be bad customer service!)"

"Watashitachiha chiiki o chūshin ni, tōsha no ta no tenpo o tazuneta baai wa dō narimasu ka? Watashi wa, karera ga watashitachi o tasukete yorokondarou to kakushin shite iru! (What if we asked our other stores around the area? I'm sure they would be willing to help us!)"

The three of them sigh. "Shikashi, kanojo wa shikashi, yaku 30-funkan matanakereba naranai! Sore ga warui nodeshou ka? (But she would have to wait for about thirty minutes, though! Will that be bad?)"

Nonnie giggles and replies to them, "Ī nda yo! Watashi wa, anata ga sore de daijōbuda kagiri wa matsu koto ga dekimasu! (It's okay! I can wait, as long as you're okay with it!)"

The Neighponese ponies freeze before slowly turning towards the filly. "Y-you understand Neighponese?!"

Nonnie nods her head and smiles. "Yes, ma'am." Then her smile turns into a frown. "And I'm sorry if my brother and I are eating too much. It's just that we haven't eaten such good food in a long time... and the last decent meal we had was just a couple tomatoes in one day."

The Neighponese ponies look saddened at the filly before turning towards each other. Then, with a determined nod, they turn back to Nonnie and smile while replying, "Wareware wa sugu ni anata no tame no yori ōku no shokuryō junbi shite shinakereba naranai! (We shall have more food ready for you soon!)"

With a deadpanned look, Anon lies in the back of the carriage with his arms (which have the armbands over the symbols again) behind his head and his legs crossed while Nonnie sits in the front passenger seat with a warm smile on her face. "Those ponies were nice!" she says before turning to Butterscotch, who still has his sweaty, closed-eyed, open-mouthed frown on his face.

"Three businesses were lost today... by the appetites of a pair of children... h-how in Celestia's mane did that happen?" he idly mumbles to himself.

Anon, however, groans. "I still think they were hiding more food in the back."

Nonnie, however, rolls her eyes and smiles. "But at least they did so much to help feed us, didn't they?"

Anon grumbles. "Easy for you to say! I think they started using some kind of chemicals to reduce my hunger... which only made me want more! And now I'm hungry again! Hey, Mr. Butterscotch? Do you think we can stop by another Neighponese Restaurant soon?"

Butterscotch, however, bumps his forehead on the steering bars of his carriage and groans. "Why did I sign up for this, again?"

Nonnie giggles before looking up at the sky, while the sun lingers over the eastern half of the sky ready to continue its rising cycle.

Vanhoover, Equestria: Midnight: Spring of 990 PN

Cold Heart's glare intensifies as he drops his hoof and turns to leave. "Mark my words, woman... one of these days, you won't be able to handle this business... and when that day comes, I'll be the first to know!" And like that, he steps out of the orphanage and slams the door.

With a grunt, he turns right and begins walking back to the town hall... but before he could even make three steps, he feels a slippery object below his right hoof. Looking down, he reaches towards the foreign object and lifts it up.

"What's this?" he asks himself before turning the small wooden object around... where he sees four letters engraved in it. "VOLC"

Raising an eyebrow, he looks both ways before slipping the small piece of wood inside the inner left pocket of his jacket and continuing his walk back towards the town hall.

Author's Notes:

Well, here's Chapter 2! Hope you all enjoyed it!

By the way, for the blast scene, I'd recommend picturing it like an anime, and playing this song while imagining the scenes below it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Es9Fk6v5n-0

0:00-0:32 = The smoke clears. Anon and Nonnie send the ray right back.
00:33-00:43 = The beam hits Fire's shield. Fire tries to keep the shield up, but begins to panic.
00:44-00:54 = The shield cracks. The shield breaks.
00:55-01:05 = Fire stares at his hooves before turning into dust.

---

As always, thanks for the likes and the faves! And remember that with each additional like and fave, I get moved one step closer to getting another chapter done!