"Hey, Anon?"
"Yes?"
"Do you remember much about my mom?"
"..."
Sunny, Misty, Zipp, and Anon sit in a few comfortable chairs in the Crystal Brighthouse. It has been almost a month since Anon arrived in Maretime Bay. In that time, their "training" has gone very well. While Sunny still doesn't have complete control over her alicorn magic, she has made great strides in using it effectively. She can fly with much more grace, control when she casts her spells a bit easier, and... well, to be honest, Anon couldn't help much with her earth pony magic, but she feels more confident in it regardless.
Meanwhile, Anon's other lessons haven't been lost on Sunny's friends. Zipp has been taught the value of loyalty, and she has been making a conscious effort to replicate Rainbow Dash's actions in the Journal of Friendship. Izzy and Pipp didn't really need much teaching, as Izzy already understood the value of laughter and Pipp was already plenty generous in her day-to-day life. Anon did try to teach them how to know when to utilize those talents, but he's pretty sure the message fell on deaf ears. Oh well. It's hard to be too generous, and Izzy seems to know when to reel herself in when the situation calls for it. Meanwhile, Anon's discussions with Hitch were a bit more philosophical, with frequent lighthearted debates about the definition of "honesty" and the morality of certain scenarios. In the end, they BOTH felt like they got something out of those lessons.
However, in spite of all of this, Anon has not taught Misty any lessons whatsoever. This is not for lack of trying, however, as whenever Anon expressed his desire to speak to Misty, she would hide from him. It's only at times like now, when she is a part of a larger group, that she is willing to be in Anon's vicinity for an extended period of time.
Sunny looks at Anon with wide, hopeful eyes. He looks back at her, a pained, hesitant expression on his face.
"Why do you ask?"
"Well... all I've ever heard about my mom came from my dad. A few of the older ponies in town knew her, but they don't really have much to tell me. I was just wondering how well you knew her."
"Ah. You, er... you said she spoke of me before?"
"Yes! She was the one that told my dad about 'the hermit living in the Everfree Forest.' She said that she met you before she moved to Maretime Bay, but... she didn't tell him much more than that."
"Hmm." Anon leans back in his seat and folds his arms across his chest. Zipp studies him carefully, her investigative side immediately finding his sudden change in demeanor suspicious. After a few seconds of silence, he speaks up again. "Yes, I knew her." He lets out a long, gentle sigh. "I knew her very well, in fact."
"What was she like?"
Anon chuckles.
"What was she like, indeed? Well, for starters, you'll never meet a more curious mare."
"Curious?"
"Oh, she was an explorer, all right. She wanted to learn all that she could about the world around her. She was just... filled with questions. There was never a quiet moment with her around, that's for sure."
"Wow. She, uh, never really told my dad much about her life before she moved to Maretime Bay. Apparently she was a seamstress after she came here."
"A seamstress?" Zipp notices Anon take a quick glance at his old, torn-up outfit. "Yeah, I can see it. She was really good at making clothes."
"I know I was the one who asked, but... I just assumed you met her in passing once or twice. You, uh, you seem really familiar with her."
"Heh." Anon hesitates before answering once again. "Well, the Everfree Forest is a dangerous place, but she had... reasons to stay there. So, for a time, she lived with me."
Sunny, Zipp, and Misty all look shocked. Zipp speaks up before Sunny can.
"She lived with you? In that tiny little cabin?"
"Well, it was decorated quite differently back then. There was more than enough space to give her her own bed and the sort."
Sunny speaks yet again, her voice excited and her eyes bright with curiosity. Anon has seen those eyes before, but he does his best to ignore it.
"How long did she stay with you?"
"...A few years."
"YEARS?!"
"Yup. She was... she was in danger. I kept her safe."
"In danger from what?"
"..."
"...In danger from what?" Sunny's voice is a bit quieter this time, now sounding extremely concerned.
"I'd... rather not talk about it."
"Oh. ...Okay."
Zipp slams a hoof down onto the nearby coffee table, her expression serious and determined.
"No. That's not going to cut it."
"H-huh?"
"Look, Anon. I can respect everything you've been doing for us. I'm thankful for it, in fact. But I've been keeping an eye on you, and I know that you've been keeping some secrets. Some BIG secrets."
"W-well, I-"
"Why is it that you're so interested in Misty? Why are you so obsessed with having us use the Elements of Harmony to defeat Opaline?"
Sunny tries to interrupt, but her voice is quiet and shaky.
"Zipp, you don't have to-"
"And what are you so desperate to hide from Sunny?!"
The room falls completely silent. At this point, Zipp is leaning completely on the coffee table. Anon stares back at her. She expected him to be surprised, worried, or maybe confused. Instead, he just looks... sad.
"...You're right."
"Hm?"
"I do have some skeletons in my closet. ...Forgive me."
Sunny glances at her friends. Zipp hasn't let down her guard, but Misty has clammed up completely. Misty watches Anon carefully, but is purposefully sitting as still as possible. Sunny speaks up again, her voice still very quiet.
"I... I don't want to force you to talk. If you aren't comfortable telling us something, you don't have to."
Zipp looks at Sunny, her expression still serious.
"Sunny, this isn't something we can just brush off. He's hiding something from you! About your MOM! You might not like talking about it, but I KNOW you want to learn more about her!"
"I-I can do that myself!"
"How?! Who's going to tell you about her apart from Anon, who just admitted that he's hiding stuff from you?!"
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Sunny closes her eyes and yells at the top of her lungs, catching everyone else off guard. She's silent for a moment as she catches her breath. Tears begin streaming down her cheeks, and she does her best to stifle a sniffle. "Of course I want to know about my mom! Out of everyone, don't I deserve to know the truth about her?! But... but I..."
Sunny breaks down completely, tucking her head into her knees and looking away from the group. Anon, Zipp, and Misty all fall silent. The only sound that fills the room is Sunny's sobs. Zipp briefly glances at Anon, then back at Sunny. She opens her mouth to speak, but no words leave her mouth.
"...Her name was Joy." As Anon finally speaks, Sunny does not look up, but her sobs gradually grow quieter. "Joy Starscout."
"...I knew that already."
"Her name is special, you know." Sunny finally looks up at Anon, her eyes puffy and pink. Tears still fall from her cheeks as Anon continues. "The name 'Joy' comes from the elation her parents felt when she was born. As far as they knew, she was a biological miracle. She shouldn't have existed, and yet... there she was."
"What... what are you talking about?"
"As for the name 'Starscout?' Well, she had big horseshoes to fill. Her mother was responsible for raising the sun. Her aunt could control the moon. Those are... lofty expectations, to say the least. Her parents wanted to give her a name to remind her that she didn't need to follow in their hoofsteps. Sure, her mom could move the sun. But why stop at the sun when you can set your sights to the stars beyond? To carve out your own path, and see the world not for what it is, but for what it could be? To pave the way to a world none of us could possibly dream of? Thus... Starscout."
Sunny's sobs finally stop, though her eyes still show signs of her breakdown. She stares at Anon in silence, doing her best to process what she just heard.
"...Her mom could move the sun?"
Anon nods.
"But... that would mean that mom's mom... my grandmother... was Princess Celestia."
Tears begin to fill Anon's eyes as he looks back at Sunny, doing his best to give her a shaky smile.
"And that would mean that you're..."
Anon brings a hand to his face and tries to wipe away his tears with the back of his hand before finally responding.
"I'm sorry for not telling you sooner."
Perhaps due to her conflicting emotions or perhaps due to something else entirely, Sunny's wings and horn suddenly appear out of thin air. However, she doesn't react. Instead, she simply stares at Anon for a few long, quiet moments before suddenly throwing herself towards him. She buries her face into his chest and begins to sob again. Anon wraps his arms around her and pulls her in for a tight hug as he starts to sob right along with her.
No words are spoken. What is there to be said?
After about a minute, they finally break away from each other. However, rather than returning to her seat, Sunny sits down next to Anon. Misty sheepishly hands both of them tissues, and they clean off their faces before Sunny finally starts to speak again.
"So you're my grandpa?"
"I am."
"And you knew this whole time?"
"I... I didn't know how you'd react. I'm sorry."
"N-no, don't be. I'm just... happy I found out at all." Her eyes get a bit misty once again, but she refrains from crying as she turns to look at Zipp and Misty. "I have a family again!"
A few tears are starting to flow from Misty's eyes now as well. Even Zipp wasn't able to hold herself together completely, but she is doing her best to act calm and collected regardless. In fact, she speaks up, and she even does an okay job at hiding a voice crack when she does so.
"So are you going to answer our questions now?"
Anon lightly chuckles.
"I'll try."