It’s been a while since you’d boarded the train to the Crystal Empire and you’ve just been staring out the window of your carriage as you take in the sights. You’d seen most of them before already from your flight across the nation when you’d first gotten here but there’s just an immersive feeling about seeing it up close.
Thankfully, you can share this trip with your coworkers and newly found good friends as the letter you’d received said that you could bring friends along.
To your front is the techno-mare Vinyl Scratch and beside her is Chrysalis as Sunshine Muffins.
Vinyl, as usual, is experimenting on her tunes with her headphones as she mixes some sick beats together. Without a care in the world, she keeps doing her own thing as she’s immersed herself within her own dimension of existence. You decide to leave her be to have fun for now as she refused your suggestion earlier to get some rest.
Chrysalis, on the other hand, is simply taking in all the breathtaking sights as you are. You realize that she’s probably never been on a train before and moreover even see this much of Equestria in such a short time. You’re glad she’s having a good time already.
Clearly, beside you is a drowsy Octavia. Despite being an Earth pony, she doesn’t exactly have much stamina so she rests when she can. She’s been giving adorable breaths and snores since right after the train departed from Ponyville and now a bump from the train shakes your carriage a bit and leaves Octavia leaning on you. You don’t mind as her touch is comfortingly warm but a certain pony in front of you is glaring daggers at you.
Chrysalis gives a disapproving pouty stare at the spectacle of you and Octavia. Vinyl notices Chrysalis’ jealousy and she gives it a little laugh as she pats her on the back. Vinyl really doesn’t mind people being around her mare but it’s pretty nice knowing that Chrysalis doesn’t like mares being around you.
You give it a little laugh as well and decide to push her buttons even further by running your hand through Octavia’s mane. She shifts a little and gives out an evident blush as she coos from the comfort of your hand.
Chrysalis is fuming now and she subtly gets even more furious when Octavia unconsciously lays her head down on your lap using your thighs as pillows.
Before she can burst from rage, an announcement calls from the train, “Last stop at the Crystal Empire! Everypony off! This is the last stop!”
The loud notice immediately wakes up Octavia, who now has a fairly frizzled mane, as she perks up bamboozled and slowly pieces together the events that unfolded during her sleep from what she sees.
She blinks a little in confusion until it all registers in her mind, “O-Oh! Was I sleeping on you, Anonymous? A thousand pardons, please forgive me. I didn’t know what I was doing. I should’ve-“ Octavia rambles with a hard blush until you shush her with a finger.
“Hey, it’s alright. You’re tired and you fell asleep. Just lean on me the next time you need something soft to rest on. I don’t really mind.”
She gives a little smile of relief at you as she covers her face, though some “pony” in front of you still isn’t taking your kindness too fondly as she gives you a little pout.
“That goes for you too.” you quip back at Chrysalis as all her jealous rage turns into flustered embarrassment.
You all laugh at her little display for quite a bit until you decide it’s time to move on, “Alright, we better move. We’ve got places to be.”
The duo’s laughter simmers down as does Chrysalis’ embarrassment when they all nod in agreement.
Making your way out, you throw a brush at Vinyl. She catches it with her magic and gives you a confused look until she once more looks at Octavia’s frizzy mane.
In just a bit, the four of you are outside the train and are standing at the station platform with your luggage in tow. You take in a deep breath as your mind is filled with nostalgia of the events of yesterday.
*The previous day*
You’d just finished reading the letter sent by Princess Cadance and Shining Armor as you let all that information process inside your mind.
“It said I can bring friends along. I don’t wanna go alone so any of you care to come with?”
“I-I wanna go!” Chrysalis instantly responds without hesitation. She’s got sparkles in her eyes and she’s smiling widely from sheer excitement.
“Sure, but what about the diner?” Vinyl asks in place of her and Octavia as Chrysalis’ bright mood dims down from realizing that she’ll have to share the trip with them and not just you.
“Other me can take care of it. All is well.”
“He’s right.” Other you says in confirmation as he pops his head out of the kitchen door and immediately hides back in.
“Well alright then, when do we leave?” Octavia comes in with another question.
“Does tomorrow sound fine?” you ask so you can make a proper schedule beforehand.
“Me and Octavia don’t have much to pack anyway so I guess tomorrow is okay. Right, Tavi?”
Octavia gives an enthusiastic and approving nod as she asks a question towards Chrysalis this time, “What about you, Sunshine?”
“Any time is fine by me.” she answers.
“Alright then, we gotta be early so let’s meet up here an hour before the store opens.” you say with finality and determination.
That time has passed and now and you snap back to your reality. You look and see that Vinyl is brushing Octavia’s mane as she is blushing in ecstacy.
You feel a hoof pat your thigh and you look over to see Chrysalis staring up at you, “Anon, I’m hungry.”
You look at your watch and it’s about 8 AM already. “I suppose we can grab a quick snack, but I told you we should’ve packed some of my exquisite cooking instead of buying food from the Crystal Empire.”
“Oh, c’mon Anon. I doubt we’ll be back here anytime soon so let’s make the most that we can out of the food here. Beside, we already know your cooking is the bomb!” Vinyl reasons with much enthusiasm.
“Flattery won’t get you anywhere… but fair enough.” you answer delighted with the compliment Vinyl gave.
“Oooh, I performed here before and I know this great little food stand near the station. They might still be selling, let’s go check it out. It’s on me this time, I’ll order my favorite if you don’t mind.” Octavia suggests with a glint of nostalgia in her eyes.
You can tell she’d like to taste the food from that stand again so you oblige not minding that she’ll order what she likes best, “Sounds like a plan, but I’m paying for all of us. I’m the only one who’s worked long enough to get by.”
“No no no, I insist Anon. You’ve done much for us, this is the least I can do for you.”
“Well alright then, lead the way.” you give up as to not keep the argument from continuing any longer than it should, mostly because Chrysalis appears to be starving already from the “rumbly tummy” sounds she’s making.
It doesn’t take long for the four of you to find the little food stand as it’s within the range of sight from the station express entrance. It looks like it’s a cart of desserts. Makes sense, you guess, considering the Crystal Empire is a pretty classy place. Octavia immediately runs for the stand after seeing it as the three of you try to catch up with her.
Squealing in delight from anticipation her favorite, Octavia orders with a bright smile, “Four slices of Mango Graham Pie, please!”
“Sure thing lady. Say, aren’t you that famous Cello performer? Octavia, was it?” the beige male unicorn manning the stand excitedly asks.
“Why yes, indeed I am.”
“Really!? That’s amazing. My filly’s been doing music too ever since she got her cutie mark recently. She was actually inspired by you and she’s been wondering when you’ll come back again to perform.”
“Oh, well. Not a lot of opportunity arising here nowadays.” Octavia glumly answers with a little joy from the little filly’s fondness of her.
“Tell you what, your order’s free. On the house. I can’t thank you enough for making such inspirational music.” the stallion praises Octavia as he magically hands her her order.
“W-Why thank you.” is all Octavia can say from the sheer and unforeseen flattery she received.
She quickly hands out the other three slices of pie to the rest of you.
“Are these your friends?” the stallion eagerly asks with a smile, thankfully he doesn’t look too shocked about you. Word must’ve gotten out this far already.
You decide to slide into the conversation, “We sure are. This is Vinyl Scratch and Sunshine Muffins. I’m-“
“Anonymous, right?”
You’re taken aback by his remark. You didn’t know you were that well known already. “How’d you know?” you ask curiously.
“You hear a lot of things as a street vendor.”
“Fair enough, you got a name buddy?”
“Puff. Puff Pastry.”
“Well alright then, Puff. Let’s see how good your pastry is.”
The four of you take a bite. It’s pretty good. Their eyes are lighting up now from the heavenly taste of the pie. Chrysalis instantly gobbles down the rest of it.
“Hey, this tastes really great!” Vinyl compliments.
Octavia is just immersing herself in the taste of the Mango Graham Pie that she doesn’t get to eat often as she savors every bite.
“It’s… pretty good.” you speak your mind. Not really in a mocking way, but you call a lot of things pretty good unless they’re really really good. Though you have to admit that the pie really does taste great, better than regular pies but still not better than Pinkie’s pies.
“Pretty good!? Anon, this is marvelous.” Vinyl retorts in disbelief.
“Yeah, but that’s because you haven’t tried these yet.” an unknown voice calls out fairly loudly.
All of you look towards the source and see another cart full of desserts a few meters away manned by a little light green filly with a black mane who is showcasing her products.
“You’re a wee bit too young to be working aren’t you, little filly?” Octavia chuckles a bit.
“I sure am, but it’s never too early to start, I need me some bits! How about you try these?” she enthusiastically offers.
“Sorry, but these pies already fit the bill.” Vinyl replies as Puff Pastry gleams with humble pride.
“Hold on now, let the filly finish.” you interject, seeing that Chrysalis is still hungry.
“Why here, have a free taste.” the little filly offers a fairly large treat. It looks like fruits like strawberries and blueberries topped with a lot of whipped cream and wrapped around a waffle.
You motion for Chrysalis to come accept it. She’s surprised by your gesture then meekly accepts it right away, “What is it?”
“It’s called a ‘parfait’” the little filly explains as she hands it to Chrysalis.
Eager for more food, she takes a modest bite.
With her eyes lighting up, she begs, “Anon! Anon! Anon!” as she tackles you down to the ground and lays both of her front hooves on your shoulders.
“Yeah?” you calmly ask. It’s no wonder that she’s very fond of sweets, she’s never really had some until she met you.
“We have to buy some more! P… P-Please?”
It’s piqued the interest of Vinyl and Octavia now. “Is it really that good?” Octavia asks with genuine curiosity.
You hand her the parfait from Chrysalis and she takes her turn to bite into it and so does Vinyl.
Their pupils turn into little hearts as they storm to the little filly’s food stand and starts gushing about the sweet treat.
“How much for one?! This is the best dessert I’ve ever tasted!!! Did you make these?! What’s in it?!” a flurry of questions are asked by both mares as the little filly blushes in flattery.
You simply brush them aside as you order from the little filly, “5 orders of parfait, please.”
“5? How kind of you, Anon. Getting one for Puff Pastry too.” Vinyl commends you.
“Actually, I was getting 2 for Sunshine here since she’s so hungry. But that’s not a bad idea. 7 orders of parfait please.” you explain as Chrysalis gives you a light blush from embarrassment.
“Seven?! Don’t tell me you’re getting three for her now.” Octavia questions.
Chrysalis is blushing wildly now as she gives you a light shove on the thigh with her hoof in a failed attempt to hide her embarrassment by subtly blaming you.
“Of course not, we have to regulate our sugar intake. This one’s for this little filly right here. She’s done a pretty good job.”
“A pretty good job? Anon, don’t tell me…” Octavia speaks as she goes behind the food stand to take a better look at the little filly. Once she’s there, she sees that she has a cutie mark… a cutie mark of three question marks. “Anon…” she trails off.
“Yup, I come in many shapes and sizes...” you explain.
“Even a little filly.” and so the mare continues.
They all simply just deadpan at you. You wave it off as you introduce your other self, “Everyone, I’d like you to meet Anonpone.”
“Hey there, just think of me as a whole new pone on my own. You’ll be seeing a lot more of me soon.” Anonpone introduces herself with a beaming smile.
They all look pretty skeptically at her from your little skit of showing off your culinary skill, but she gives them huge puppy eyes which makes her look utterly adorable.
“Awwwww.” the rest of your group day in unison as they huddle around Anonpone while treating her like the adorable little filly she is.
“Aren’t you just the sweetest thing?” Vinyl rhetorically asks as they continue their onslaught of touching. She truly is undeniably adorable to nearly anyone so head pats, cupping her cheeks, nuzzling, all actions of affection are laid on her.
“Aaargh, bad idea. Bad idea!” she futilely calls out as the flurry of affection doesn’t stop.
Octavia momentarily breaks her immersion with the little filly to speak with you, “Next time, Anon, just give us your snacks. No need for a grand little skit.”
“Note taken, but let’s get back to business. I’m talking about you.” you digress as you point back to Puff Pastry who seems to have averted his attention from the rest of you.
“Me?” he asks pointing to himself.
“That’s right, let’s go.”
“Yo, what are you talking about Anon?” Vinyl interjects as the small huddle disperses leaving the little filly gasping for air.
“I’m saying we got a lot of time on our hands until noon so we might as well do whatever, and I think that stallion’s little filly would be delighted to see you Octavia. We’ve got a plan but I suppose that can wait until later.”
“But Anon, you haven’t even asked him if it’s alright.” Chrysalis asks with concern. It looks like the manners you’ve been teaching her are starting to take into effect.
“N-No, no it’s alright. I’d like that actually. I was gonna ask that earlier myself but you all seemed pretty busy so I decided against. I’m sure my little filly would love that though… I’m sure she would.” Puff Pastry immediately answers.
They all look a bit uneasy but then all agree in unison with your spontaneous idea. Octavia in particular decided that she’s actually curious to meet the little filly.
And so your newfound quest continues.
Your gang of 4 have been walking to Puff Pastry’s house with a parfait in tow for each of you, with an exception of two for Chrysalis. Anonpone decided to come along with nothing better to do, though she’s kept her guard up for unexpected cuddle assaults.
You’ve been walking for a little while now and you notice a huge statue of Spike situated by the Crystal Empire castle. You remember that you’ll have to visit that place later to meet Cadence and Shining Armor, but that’s later and not now. Though you have to admit you’re pretty impressed by that Spike statue, it must have quite the tale behind it. Speaking of behind, there’s someone, or rather many ones, behind you.
A particular crowd has been stalking your group and growing ever larger as you walk further and further.
You test a little hypothesis of yours as you stop your tracks. So did they. It appears they’re here for you.
Your group stops as well and looks behind them as they’ve noticed you’ve stopped walking. They give you a curious little look after seeing the large group behind you.
“Go on without me… I’ll find you.”
Anonpone puts a hoof on Octavia’s withers and gives a despairing nod. Without choice, they nod as well and go on.
You wait until they’re in the distance until you turn to the crowd and whisper to yourself, “It’s showtime.”
Oh boy was that encounter pretty exhausting. They were the usual crowd asking multiple questions until you decided to silence them with a magic show when Trixie randomly came into mind. They were all baffled by your new tricks and you’re pretty thankful for the last one. You did the “pull a rabbit out of the hat” trick but instead you pulled out Spike. He seemed confused too and then hasty when he realized he was suddenly in the Crystal Empire. He ran as fast as he could with the crowd chasing him and leaving you alone. Quite the Hail Mary Spike was. You’ll be sure to automatically return him to Ponyville in a few minutes.
You make your way to the house of Puff Pastry which you detected with a quick little scan. It’s a pretty regular house with a garden, small playground, the works.
You give the wooden door a light tap. In just a bit, the door swings open revealing Puff Pastry. “Oh, hi there Anonymous. I hope they didn’t inconvenience you too much.”
“Not at all, just glad to be here.”
He gestures for you to come inside and so you do. You immediately hear the sounds of an instrument playing, it’s Octavia you figure.
With a few steps in, you come into what you can only guess is the living room. Clearly Vinyl and Chrysalis are making themselves comfy as they lay lazily on a couch satisfying themselves with pastries and tea.
You can only guess that Anonpone and Octavia are with Puff Pastry’s little filly.
Vinyl gives you a little enthusiastic wave with her hoof as you enter the room as Chrysalis simply offers you a croissant.
“No thank you.” you politely decline.
Puff Pastry comes back from closing the door as he strides beside you, “Oh, please make yourself at home.” he offers with a gesture towards his fairly large couch.
“That’s quite alright, though I’d sure like to know where your foal is.”
He doesn’t question your request and quickly answers you, “Just go upstairs and take the door to the right.”
“Thanks.” is all you say as you make your way upstairs right after he gives you a nod of affirmation. He takes a seat by the couch and simply speaks once more with the rest of your gang. They’re talking about music, you figure he’s a musician. You’re a bit worried about Chrysalis’ position but you’re sure she’ll be fine.
Each step you take upstairs makes the sound of the instrument grow ever louder. You take a step in the room as the door creaks. The music stops at your presence as you see a little filly pegasus with a rundown Cello, Anonpone, and Octavia just stare at you. It looks like the little filly was playing her instrument for Octavia.
“Ah! A monster!” the little filly screams as she cowers behind Octavia.
Octavia and Anonpone simply give it a little chuckle and luckily you decide against actually turning into an abomination that levels with the monsters of the “Resident Evil” series for your enjoyment. It’ll probably scar them for life and even you don’t know how long they’d be mad at you for it.
Though you do play the act in your regular form anyway, “Rawr.” you lightly say without a scream almost as if you’re apathetically reading from a script.
It’s super effective as she seems to grab some of her bed sheets for extra cover behind Octavia. This makes you chuckle a bit in turn as you stride closer to her, “Don’t worry, I’m not a monster.”
Though she flinches in every step you take, she manages to loosen up a bit and stutteringly ask, “Th-Then what a-are you?”
“I’m… a figment of your imagination.” you slyly lie as Octavia and Anonpone give you a questioning glare. You return it with a wink as they hesitantly go on board with your impromptu plan.
“What do you mean?” she curiously asks.
“This is all but a dream, little one.” you rhapsodize with great emphasis.
“S-So Octavia isn’t really here?”
“Yes, she is!” you shout enthusiastically.
She still seems to think it’s a dream and for some reason is pretty happy nevertheless that Octavia is there even if she thinks it’s not really her. She must like Octavia a lot, so much that even a dream does wonders to her mood.
“Yay!” she shouts leveling with your enthusiasm as she gives Octavia’s flank a warm hug.
Octavia can only blush at the sight as it makes her heart flutter. She gives you a thankful nod of approval.
The cheesy sight also makes Anonpone’s heart skip a beat but in the context of you fooling the little foal she can only manage to say, “Bruh…”
You humorously say, “Bruh…” in return as you both chuckle. You simmer down and kneel to level with the little foal.
“What’s your name?” you ask curiously.
She breaks from her immersion to answer you, “It’s Note Crescendo. My daddy keeps calling me eigth Note cuz he says I’m still small but I’m a big mare!” she pridefully mentions as you all smile at her attempt to display her independence by standing as tall as she can.
“Pretty cool name, kid.”
She beams at your complete as you continue, “Here, I got something for you.”
You clasp your hand and take it closer to the little filly. She puts her hoof on it to lightly pry it open as it reveals that your hand is empty.
“But there’s nothing here.” she evidently says shooting curious looks.
“I know, kid. I know…” you say as you lightly ruffle her mane. Though as you pull back your hand, a fairly large and adorable “Celestia” plushie appears within your grasp. It’s about the size of a teenage filly and it really is a tug on the heartstrings. You’ll be sure to eventually get one for Celestia herself and maybe even Luna. You sure can’t wait for that day to come.
Her eyes light up into a joyful blaze as she notices the doll come into existence. It looks like she’s really convinced now that she’s in a dream.
She lets go of Octavia and latches onto the large plushie as she lands on her bed. She starts nuzzling it into oblivion, “It’s soooooo cute!” she screams in bliss.
With a light smile on your faces, you simply await her next move which happens to be a lengthy yawn. She must’ve had quite a day.
She looks pretty drowsy already as you give a little suggestion to your musical friend, “Hey Octavia, why don’t you play her a lullaby?”
“I don’t need a lullaby, *yawn* I’m a grown mare…”
Octavia simply gives her a smile and nods to you in confirmation. She picks up the Cello she brought and quickly starts playing her tune.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQ9RPTEkQW4
Note Crescendo starts to drift off into slumber as Octavia finishes her piece. It looks like Anonpone has done the same.
Octavia comes closer to her as she decides to ruffle her mane and give her one last nuzzle. After packing her Cello, she stops for a second in thought and drops it to the ground.
“Need me to carry that?” you offer.
“No, just leave it.” she answers as she stares at the little filly’s rundown Cello.
“When I was a little filly, someone did the same for me… I think it’s only right that I do the same.” she continues as her eyes slightly glisten.
“How noble.” you simply comment to give her some space.
You retract Anonpone as she disappears, but she’ll be back eventually at a random time.
Octavia subtly notices what you’d done as she stands awaiting you by the door. “I think it’s time we go.” she whispers.
You give her a nod as you both leave the room and take one last peak inside.
Octavia gives her one last sentiment, “Sweet dreams, little filly.”
“Anon, what do?” Chrysalis curiously asks as she nudges your hand with her muzzle.
“Crystal Empire castle.” you bluntly answer. It’s been a little while since you’d left Puff Pastry’s house. He was very grateful and wouldn’t stop thanking you and your friends as you were leaving his house. He even offered you more pastry and despite your efforts to decline, he wouldn’t take no for an answer. You gave him a nod and a thanks as the lot of you finally made your way out of his house.
At the foot of the doorstep, the thrilled scream of a little filly realizing she wasn’t dreaming was heard from upstairs of the residence. You and Puff Pastry exchanged a final smile as you began your next quest.
And here you are now, at the foot of the Crystal Empire castle.
Two gigantic crystal doors block your path to the inside. “Should we knock?” Vinyl asks.
“Too much time.” you reply as you snap your fingers which lands the four of you in a large living room within the castle.
“This is where we’re supposed to be, we’re leaving a little after dinner anyway so just drop your stuff off here. No need for rooms.”
They all do so as they drop their baggage by a considerably big comfy couch.
“What time is it, Anon?” Octavia asks as she lays down softly next to their luggage.
“10:30 AM, we should be having lunch soon. Why don’t you all stay and rest here for now? I’ll go meet our hosts.”
“Sounds good.” Vinyl answers you laying down next to Octavia.
You give them a nod as you stroll out of the room. Suddenly a royal guard spots you. “Halt! Stand your ground!”
You swiftly put your hands up to your head in response as he trots closer to you. Behind your head, you pull out a rose and hold it up to his face. He flinches in surprise and deems you even more suspicious now. You simply lean forward to land your body on him like a reverse trust fall only to burst into confetti and disappear.
Now, a mirror stands in front of him. Confusedly, he inspects it and realizes that he can see you behind his reflection. He turns around swiftly and finds no one behind him. He turns back to see just you in the mirror now.
“I’ve pulled you and only you into this mirror world. Now then, I’ll be off.” you give him a salute and take your leave as he tries to claw his way out of the mirror.
You don’t usually get this much fun, so things are looking up for your activities today, and of course he’ll be released from the mirror in a few minutes.
With a little walk, you hear chatter in the main room of the castle. Peeking inside, you see a baby carriage. Must be Flurry Heart sputtering words by herself.
“Hey there, little fella.” you coo as you grow ever closer.
Upon seeing you, she starts giggling in excitement as she starts reaching out for you. Thankfully, she remembers you.
You hoist her up and land her by your right shoulder. She starts adorably nuzzling your neck. You find that to be very endearing as you lift her up as high as you can with both hands and start running around the room. She seems to enjoy it as she makes happiness noises.
After a little while, you stand by a luxurious couch with one foot raised higher than the other in a heroic kneel kind of way.
“We are but Gods among men, little Flurry. Together, we will rule the world!” you jokingly quip. She seems to reciprocate with you as she giggles in laughter.
“Oh my.” a feminine voice calls out.
You turn to see that Cadence is there, well, was there to see your little spectacle.
“How long have you been there?”
“Long enough. Umm, might you be Anonymous? Twilight told me how you looked like but it’s all still too daunting in the flesh so I’m not sure.” she questions with a hint of worry.
“Indeed I am. My apologies for barging in, I should’ve spoke with you first but I came across this little bundle of joy.” you apologize as you hand her Flurry Heart who’s still reaching out for you.
Cadence takes notice of this. “No worries, she does seem to take a liking to you. Twilight told me about your little babysitting session and I knew I just had to see you. She told me how you.”
“You mean back in Chapter 2? Yeah, that was a fun time.”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“...Anyhoo, I extend my gratitude to you.” she thanks with a little bow.
“Lift your head, that’s quite alright.”
She gives you a beaming smile in return as she notices Flurry still attempting her best to reach out to you, “It looks like she’s really grown quite attached to you already. Actually… here.” Cadence returns Flurry Heart to you with her magic as the little Flurry tightly grasps your whole arm.
“Thanks, I guess.” you say as you lightly ruffle Flurry Heart’s mane.
“I brought some friends over, I hope you don’t mind.”
“We don’t, we offered it in the first place after all. Speaking of we, would you like to meet my husband?”
“Shining Armor?” you inquire.
“How’d you know?”
“Twilight always talks too much without even realizing it.”
She gives your joke a little giggle, “Well, I know that for a fact.”
You give a little laugh as well as you decide to make some progress, “Off we go I suppose?”
She nods at your question.
“Well then, lead the way.”