//------------------------------//
// 7 - Welcome to my Parlor 
// Story: Hidden Hands 
// by David Silver 
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Guilty waved at her home. "He should be inside." She trotted for the door and knocked. Though no sound came, she pretended she heard something. "He said come in." She threw open the door and waved into the darker interior. "Guests first, I reckon."

Bon Bon smiled at her new helpful friend. "Thank you. You've made my day a little easier. Now..." Her words trailed off as she trotted into the building, eyes sweeping over what she could find.

She saw some pictures hanging on the wall, but they were of Guilty Pleasure, always with someone, and never the same someone. The air had a soft scent. She decided it was a place a female lived, not a bachelor, which Time Turner was. That wasn't to say Time Turner wasn't neat, he typically was, as stallions went, but there was a difference.

Besides, she didn't see a single gizmo in sight, which was quite odd for Time Turner. "Are--" She turned back to find the door had be closed quietly, and Guilty stood between her and the exit.

"I just need you to take a little nap," assured Guilty. "As a favor." A muted glow peeked out from the threads of her hat.

Magic! Bon Bon coiled on herself, grabbing a rubber ball from her pocket in her mouth and whipping it towards the spell-casting mare. The ball sailed true and bopped Guilty on the noggin, knocking her hat clear. She had a horn, previously concealed by her large hat.

Even as she relished the tiny victory, things went dim. The sleep magic was overpowering her.

"Just relax... I won't harm a hair on your head, promise." Guilty stepped slowly towards the staggering female, silently impressed that she hadn't already fallen over. "I'm not a bad pony." She raised a hoof towards Bon Bon's wobbling cheek, steadying the increasingly groggy mare. "I like your mane."

"T-thank." Bon Bon was not thinking clearly. She jerked away, trying to free herself. The motion only sent her tumbling to the ground. She closed her eyes for just one moment. One moment was all she needed to regather herself.

Guilty pat the sleeping earth pony on the head as a green flash and fire swept over her. "I'll borrow it," she said with Bon Bon's voice. "Thank you for lending it to me." Then appearing entirely as Bon Bon, Guilty hefted the real Bon Bon, nudging her onto their back and trotting off to a closet that locked from the outside.

Depositing her 'guest', Guilty strode from the house with a knowing grin. She had a stallion to visit.





Mrs. Cake sighed as she deposited the tray's worth of candy into a waiting pouch. "I'd love to stay and celebrate our victory, Lyra, but I'm still behind on my own order. I'll be back later with payment, so tell Bon Bon I said 'hello'."

Lyra gave a sharp, if tired, salute. "Will do, ma'am."

Cup Cake waved away the formality. "We've cooked side-by-side; you can call me Cup Cake, or even just Cup if you're feeling up for it. Sisters in the battle for culinary arts." She bumped against Lyra with a smile and trotted for the door. "The war never ends!"

Lyra burst into laughter at the older mare's antics. "You're too much. Never change." She hopped up to her hooves and hurried to get in front of Cup Cake, opening the door for her swiftly. "I learned a lot, so, you know, thanks. I hope we get a chance to do it again when we aren't in a huge rush."

"That'd be nice." She leaned in a little. "I don't want to make Bon Bon too jealous though, so be sure to try a little at her side before we do that.

With a quizzical look, Lyra thrust a hoof out. "Wait, if you're Cup Cake, is Mister Cake something too?"

"Carrot Cake," easily replied Cup as she moved past the hoof, unable to stop her progress. "Take care."

Lyra closed the door gently and sat back. "Mission accomplished." Well, it wasn't her official super secret business, but at least the sweet business of candy-making was resolved. With a firm nod, she returned to the kitchen. Her mission wasn't quite done. "Time to clean." She grabbed a rag in her magic. "Bonnie'll be so proud of me."





Time Turner looked up as the bell jingled just above his door. "Hello and--" He slammed back into the shelf behind him, eyes wide with surprise. It was Bon Bon! She had found him! He was going to be grabbed and taken off to some secret lab and never be seen again and that was that! His heart thumped so loudly he couldn't hear anything else.

Guilty tilted her head slightly. She wasn't feeling a drop of love coming from Time Turner. He certainly did look surprised to see her, so she guessed he did know her, or what she was disguised as. "Time Turner, honey, so good to see you. You look so surprised to see me."

Time Turner blinked. He had scarcely heard what she said, but she wasn't rushing at him, nor did she look hostile. In fact, she was smiling like she was looking at her best friend. He stopped trying to press through the wall with his back and fell forward to all fours. "O-oh, um... hello, Ms. Bon Bon. How... can I help today?"

A sudden crash made them both jump. The shelf he had been grinding against for that hot moment had come loose from its fitting and slammed to the floor with its various gizmos sent flying every which way in a clutter of a mess.

She shook her head as she approached. "Look at that, you're going all to pieces at the sight of me. I don't bite, unless you ask nicely." She flashed a bright smile at Turner. "Now, what has you so worked up?"

"O-oh, well, you see..." He turned towards the mess and crouched down, grabbing the shelf in his teeth. He set it on its mount carefully. He moved it left and right, unsatisfied with its centering.

Guilty saw her chance. She moved in beside Turner and leaned in, getting a grip on the shelf right beside him. "Right here," she said as she nudged the shelf center.

"T-thanks." Turner righted himself to a full stand. "Good to see you... really... Sorry for being jumpy. Lunar moths have me on edge." He was worried about them, but that was not the source of his current tension. "What brings you all the way out here?"

"Maybe I just wanted to visit a fine stallion?" she teased with a smile. She kicked up a clock and bounced it up onto the shelf easily. "That isn't a crime, I hope?"

Turner started to look confused. "N-no... I suppose... not? Um... Miss Bon? Have... I mean..." He sat and clopped his forehooves nervously. "I mean... You... Aren't you with Lyra?"

The false Bon Bon tensed. She had assumed the form of a known lesbian?! Maybe there was a way to salvage the effort... "Just because I have a preference doesn't mean a handsome enough stallion, and one so clever can't turn my head..." She picked up a collection of springs and gears that she had no idea what the purpose of was. "Like this. I couldn't even imagine what it does, but I imagine you do."

"Yes, certainly." He leaned forward to grab it in his mouth, but he never reached it.

She got right in the way, and their lips met. She felt the littlest something. It wasn't love, not the good stuff. She had just got some involuntary lust, a natural reaction. Even as he recoiled in shock, she knew she had hit a dead end. He was not interested in Bon Bon. "I'm sorry. I just wanted... to try. I guess it was silly afterall." She set the gizmo down on the counter. "It wasn't the same as with Lyra."

He sagged with relief, clearly glad that the 'experiment' was over. "I'm sorry I couldn't give you what you wanted, Bon Bon. Um... You and Lyra are... alright, I hope? No fights?"

Guilty waved the thought away as she stood and turned for the door, leaving quite a mess still on the ground. "Oh, she's fine. It was just a silly thought that came into my head, you know, out here, so far away from our friends. Just a little experiment." She leaned towards Turner. "Let's never speak of this again; our little secret." She put a hoof on his chest, then her own.

"Our little secret," replied Turner numbly. The stressful time had triggered him. He could feel the human inside him wanting to be let out and he squirmed. "Well... you have a good day then, Bon Bon." She hadn't come to grab him! She didn't even seem to know there was anything off about him! Had he gotten it-- He really needed some privacy.

Fortunately, Guilty was trotting for the door and soon left the store with a parting jingle of the door's bell.

He fell to his haunches, only to jump up just as quickly. He had sat down right on the edge of a bolt. He kicked it away, watching it bounce off the floorboard and scuttle away with the force. He wanted to clean up, but he also had to get away. He rushed for the door and slammed the lock in place. With a frantic scrambling, he made it into the back just as he rose onto bare feet.

He fell back against a wall, panting. Even as he reached for his lab coat, he sighed. "At least cleaning will be easier." Fingers were good for that.





Bon Bon woke up in a dark place. She blinked once just to be sure she had opened her eyes, then began reaching around, tapping her hooves on walls and what she quickly determined was a door. It had a knob, but appeared locked.

Picking a lock in pitch darkness? Not ideal, but...

Then she noticed it had no keyhole at all, increasing the difficulty of what she had in mind considerably. "Mother of Celestia..."

"Mom?" came a muffled little voice. "Are you in there?"

Bon Bon perked up. "Spring, is that you?"

"Sure is!" Two hoofs tapped on the door. "I knew something was up!"

"I'm glad you did. Can you open the door?" She nosed the handle, jiggling it a bit.

"Moment..." Bon Bon could hear Spring Rain stand up, her hooves coming against the door much higher up. The knob jiggled. "It's locked!"

Bon Bon applied a hoof to her unseen face. "Great... Can you find a key?"

A strange rattling noise was the reply. "Rain?" The rattling was coming from around the doorknob. What was that filly doing? "Rain, are you alright?" If she caused a filly to be hurt, she would feel terrible. It was her job to protect innocents, not get them in trouble.

The rattling grew more intense a moment before it stopped. "Rain?"

The knob turned and the door swung outwards. Spring fell over backwards as the door came towards her. She smacked into the ground but rolled with the force and came back up to her hooves with a huge grin. "And to think my 'real' mom said 'There's no good reason to learn to pick a lock.' Ha, shows her!"

Bon Bon took an awkward step. With light, she could see the closet she had been stuffed in was cluttered with cleaning supplies and hanging clothes, but they were no match for her. Soon she was liberated. "How did you pick up that particular skill?"

"I told you I could help with that box." Spring rolled her eyes. "But you didn't believe me. Now, tell me you approve of my amazing skills."

Bon Bon heard a little tension in the request. Spring Rain really did want that, to be approved by a mother figure. Bon Bon gently smiled. "I am very grateful you came along when you did. I'm sorry for doubting you before."

"You're the best mom I have!" She pounced on Bon Bon, hugging her tightly.