The day has finally arrived as Pinkie and Maud approach the train station. On their way, they passed various colorful storefronts and Pinkie mentioned how they should go shopping the next time Maud comes to visit. Maud doesn’t say much, instead giving a nod here and there in reply. While Pinkie is sad to see Maud go, she is also happy that they’ve spent so much time having fun together. Still, there was so much more she wanted to show her sister before she left.
After their visit to the crystal cavern, Pinkie bought Maud a necklace from the souvenir shop that actually used crystals from the cave. She could see her sister's eyes sparkle when she gave her the gift as a going away present. Maud tended to dress rather plainly and Pinkie wanted her to have something that really stood out. There was no doubt in Pinkie’s mind that the necklace did indeed add a certain je ne sais quoi which highlights the natural beauty her sister usually seems too disinterested to show.
“That necklace really looks nice on you,” Pinkie compliments.
“Thank you.”
“Did you enjoy yourself?”
“I did.”
“What’d you think of Anon?” Pinkie presses, suddenly changing tack. “Did you like him?”
Maud can tell that Pinkie is trying her best to keep this casual. It wouldn’t be the first time they’ve had an emotional parting and it certainly won’t be the last. Pinkie can get a bit emotional at times but Maud knows it comes from a good place in her heart.
“He’s nice. It’s good to know someone is watching over my little sister.”
Pinkie can feel her eyes starting to water. “Don’t say stuff like that, Maud, or I’ll start crying again.”
“Sorry. I just worry about you.”
“I know.” Pinkie clears her eyes. “Still, you’re going off to a new school and all that. I’m the one who should be worried!”
“I’ll be fine.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right...”
The two of them finally make it to the station, the train already waiting at the platform. Pinkie hoped they’d have a bit more time to talk to one another, as these days it’s rare for them to spend much time together, but Maud has always had a knack for planning trips. She’s not surprised to find the train has already arrived.
“My ride's here,” Maud says, turning to face her sister. “Take care, Pinkie.”
Pinkie can feel tears building up in her eyes, so she moves in close and gives her sister a hug to stifle them. Maud returns the hug easily as she feels Pinkie tremble a bit in her hooves.
“We’ll see each other again soon, right?”
Maud pats her sister on the back a bit before pulling away and giving her a small smile. “Of course.”
That’s all she says before she turns to board her train. Pinkie didn’t want to cry on this day, but she can already feel the dam breaking, tears rolling down her cheeks as the train starts to take off from the station. Pinkie notices her sister at a window seat and gives her a wave, one Maud returns as the train continues to pick up pace. It doesn’t take long for the train to leave Pinkie’s sight, but she’s still waving even as it hits the horizon.
After a few minutes she releases a forlorn sigh. She glances over at her own saddlebag that is packed and ready for her to return to Ponyville. If she’s going to regret one thing, it’s not getting to say goodbye to Anon properly. Sure they spoke during the party, but she would have spoken with him privately had he not appeared so busy.
A quiet voice snaps her out of her stupor. “Pinkie?”
To her surprise, Pinkie turns around to find Fluttershy. She quickly flips her somber mood and tries to act a bit more cheerful as she cleans her face a bit.
“Hey, Fluttershy!” Pinkie walks up to Fluttershy with a smile. “You heading back today?”
She nods. “I have all my things packed. You?”
“Yup! All ready to head home. I bet Gummy is worried sick about me.”
“I know how you feel. I’m sure all the animals will be happy to see me back.”
Pinkie nods. “I’m sure they will. Angel has been doing a great job watching them. I think you’ll be surprised by how much has changed.”
Fluttershy cocks her head at that. “Really?”
“Yeah! That trainer Celestia sent over was so sweet, but super firm. I was there just to make sure everything was alright, but she was quick to get all those animals into shape. ”
Fluttershy sighs in relief. “It’s good to hear that. I was worried that something would happen.”
“Don’t be! I'm sure you’ll love the change.”
Fluttershy smiles at that. “So how have things been in Ponyville? We didn’t have much time to talk at Anon’s party.”
Pinkie feels her smile slip a bit. “Well, I’ll be honest, Fluttershy... I don’t really know. I’ve kinda been keeping my distance for the most part.”
“Is there something wrong?”
“I don’t know... I still feel kinda weird about everything that happened, you know?”
Fluttershy nods understandingly. “Yeah, I have that feeling too. Have you talked to any of our friends?”
“I’ve talked to AJ some, but Rarity is pretty much locked in her house. As for Rainbow... We don’t know where she is.”
“Oh my... I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. It’ll take time before things get back to normal.”
Pinkie shakes away the mood. This isn’t a time to be a mopey dopey over all this stuff! They should be celebrating the positives!
“What did you think about Anon’s party?”
Though puzzled by the sudden change of topic, Fluttershy accepts Pinkie’s wish to speak of something more lighthearted. “It was very nice. I met so many friendly ponies.”
Pinkie then finds herself wondering something. “Fluttershy... Did Anon invite you to the party?”
Fluttershy nods. “Yes, actually. It’s a bit of an odd story.”
Pinkie wants to hear about this; she knows full well that Anon can be rather firm with who he lets into his life, but knowing that he’s trying to open up to ponies is always wonderful to hear.
“We have time. The train just left so we have a few hours before the next one comes.”
Wow, Fluttershy arrived sooner than she’d thought. It’s a good thing that Pinkie is here to chat with. For a moment, it feels as if things are back to normal.
“Well, alright. So, I was talking to Blueblood in the garden when Anon showed up...”
Gilda is walking down the streets of Canterlot. Well, wandering would be more accurate. She’d been thinking about a lot of things ever since she spoke with Anon: what happened to her in Ponyville, Rainbow Dash, and everything else in between. She even finds her thoughts returning to the fair when she was embraced by him. She can feel herself blush a bit. It’s still embarrassing for her to remember, but was admittedly rather pleasant. He’s very nice in an odd way, something Gilda isn’t used to.
Ponies avoid her for the most part. Even as she walks down this street, all of the ponies give her a wide berth. There’s a reason why many griffins avoid Equestria: despite all their talk of friendship, many ponies aren’t willing to befriend anyone outside of their own species. At one time, Gilda thought things were different with Rainbow, but that certainly wasn’t the same after all the time that passed. It still pained her to remember that day in Ponyville.
She admits to having been a jerk, but she felt threatened in a way: they were supposed to hang out alone that day, and yet, time after time, one of those rotten ponies would show up to try and steal her away... At least that’s what Gilda believed at the time. So she lashed out; she didn’t care about the party and all the gifts. She just cared about Rainbow and how their friendship wasn't what it used to be.
There was a time when Rainbow protected Gilda, but all it took was one day for Gilda to become the bad guy. All their years together, gone and long forgotten. Hearing Anon tell that story was beyond infuriating. Why didn’t he just talk to someone about it? Get help? Was he too proud? Too stupid? ...Too afraid? She clicks her beak in frustration... She knows why. Griffins do it all the time.
He’s loyal to a fault. Willing to suffer in silence for the sake of others. It pisses her off! If she were there, then she wou-
Gilda stops in the center of the street. What was that thought just now? Would she protect him? Another click. This is all pointless to think about. The story he told her―or the punishment rather―is what interested her the most. She can’t even begin to describe how sweet it was for her to hear about Rainbow’s comeuppance. Ever since she was a filly she talked about joining the Wonderbolts; to have that taken from her was music to Gilda’s ears.
“You look like you’re lost in your own little world,” a familiar voice calls out.
Gilda jerks slightly, turning to discover it was that orange pony from before. What was her name again? Spit something?
“Oh, uh... Hey... you?” Gilda walks off without another word.
“Come on now, no need to give me the brush-off,” Spitfire says as she catches up to Gilda. “Name’s Spitfire, by the way. We talked a few days ago on the roof, and at the party.”
Oh yeah, that was her name. Well, that was one mystery solved.
“I didn’t hurt your friend, in case you’re only here to ask that,” Gilda remarks.
“I know that, seeing as you haven’t been turned into a pile of dust. I’m glad you took my advice; were you satisfied with what you’ve learned?”
“I guess.”
Gilda doesn’t like how casual this conversation is. This pony is starting to weird her out. Then again, at least she isn’t talking to that bat pony protecting Anon. Gilda still gets a shiver down her spine whenever she thinks about her.
“Wanna get a drink? I’m sure there’s a lot of stuff we can talk about.”
Gilda will admit she could use a drink to get her mind off of everything that’s been happening, but one problem does come to mind.
“Got no bits.”
“Drinks are on me if you’re willing to spare a few minutes for a small chat.”
Well, if Gilda likes one thing, it’s free drinks. “Sure, I guess I can waste some time.”
As she closes the store for the day, Lyra moves in a sluggish, almost machine-like manner. She makes sure that everything is clean and orderly before walking into the back kitchen. All of the cooks have long since left for home; the entire place is spotless. Lyra feels a twinge in her heart as her mind drifts to Anon. They’re trained this well because of what he taught them. It’s amazing how much more smoothly things run since they hired these ponies to help.
She remembers a time when the three of them struggled to keep up with the constant demand for their candy. There were times when the three of them went without sleep to ensure that they could keep the quota. Yet despite all of the trouble, those are the moments Lyra misses the most. The three of them moved as one and rarely said anything, even as they handed one another ingredients or utensils. That’s when she felt the closest to Anon and Bonbon.
Now, now things are different. Products are easily and swiftly made at the outstanding quality Anon strives for. No customer has to wait long before a fresh batch is ready for them. The pace has picked up so much that Lyra even noticed new ponies stop by to see what they offered. It’s what they’ve always talked about; it’s what they’ve worked so hard for and yet Anon is not here to see the fruits of their labor.
All because of her.
Lyra walks over to the second set of doors leading to their normal kitchen. Once she enters she finds Bonbon at the table poring over paperwork. After the friction with Anon, everything in their relationship fell into disarray. Bonbon spent a lot of time crying back here, rarely going to the kitchen or storefront unless she had to. Even now she looked tired, crunching numbers and taking note of what supplies they have.
“Everything is okay,” Lyra says to Bonbon.
She doesn’t respond, curtly nodding her head. Lyra worries that they’re beginning to grow distant. It hasn’t even been two days and yet their world is crumbling around them. She wishes she could do something to take everything back but even now she can feel a yearning to see Anon, to be close to him, to be held by him... She grits her teeth. She doesn’t know why but she just can’t stop thinking about him.
“I... I’m going to bed,” is all Lyra says as she exits the room.
Bonbon is left by herself as she places a hoof to her temple and sets her paperwork down. Her eyes start to water, but she rubs them a bit to stop herself from crying. Things are going great and yet she’s never felt as lonely as she does now. Anon was her best friend, her only friend... Now he’s gone. Even as things happened in the kitchen, she started to notice things weren’t the same: his reprimanding of Butterhooves; the sounds of his unique footfalls as he paced about the store, helping wherever he could; his questions about how well they were doing.
She never noticed how she got used to these small things. Now that he’s gone, her life seems almost unbearably empty without them. She agonizes over Anon; she can’t stop thinking about him. Maybe in many ways she does love him, but not like Lyra... She sees him as family. She’s never had a family, and to have someone as close to her as Anon leave is excruciating. Still, she understands why he left, and distressingly, she has yet to find a solution for their problem.
Talking to Lyra won’t work and Bonbon doesn’t want to be thrust into another predicament like they had at the party. She doesn’t want to lose Anon or Lyra and yet both are rapidly drifting further and further away. Bonbon doesn’t even notice that more tears are streaming down her cheeks until they start to fall onto the page below her. She clears them as she pushes her work aside and steels herself. She can’t keep spending her days shutting herself away in despair because of this.
This is just another challenge for her to overcome! She doesn’t know what to do, but she’s sure that there’s somepony out there with a solution. She’ll work hard with Lyra to make things right, and then she’ll speak to Anon. Her mind flashes back to when Anon and her were at the park. She remembers the pained look on his face as he spoke to her. He’s hurting just as much as she is and for now he’s put the ball in her court.
“Don’t worry, Anon... I’ll figure something out.”
With her thoughts and plans assured, Bonbon, returns her focus to her papers. It’ll take time but she swears that she’ll see Anon again, and soon.