An Alien Walks Amongst Us

by Hazardus_Havard


Chapter Twenty-Two - Meet The Relatives

“Relax, we’re nearly there.” Lyra patted Bon Bon’s side, trying to calm her nerves. “Why don’t we go over some fun activities that we can do while we’re in Van Hoover?”

“S-Sorry. It’s hard to focus. The closer we get the more nervous I feel.”

“Your parents can’t be that oppressive, can they?” Anon asked.

“No, mom and dad are great people. Dad’s pretty chill about life in general, and my mom is always there for me, though she can get a bit… thorny at times.”

“She’s more than a bit unbearable if you ask me.”

Bon Bon glared at Lyra. “Don’t you start.”

“I don’t see the problem. Is it because I’m an alien? Or that Lyra is with you now?”

“You’d be nothing more than an oddity to them.”

“Gee, thanks.”

Bon Bon shrugged, “They deal with so many things every week so having me bring home an interstellar visitor wouldn’t surprise them. And no, they wouldn’t get worked up over Lyra, though mom will cause a scene with her.”

“She might get physical. I’ll make sure to keep an eye out should she try to maul me.”

“Lyra, stop it.”

“Why are you so on edge then if you think things will be fine? Is there something else going on in town that I don’t know about?”

For a few moments, Bon Bon tried to speak, only coming out in sputters and uneven pauses. Rubbing her face with her hooves, she dug into her bag, pulling out two small paper sheets the size of a mint.

“I’m not allowed to say due to certain restrictions I’m under, but if I bind you two then I am free to say what I want.

Anon held a piece of the paper, seeing an odd plastic-looking sheet on the top that was peelable.

“I don’t understand what this is, and the word ‘bind’ has so many implications I’m not comfortable with.”

“It’s a standalone magical binding contract that ensures you won’t say anything about the topic being mind-projected from its originator, that being me. It’s connected to my signature so it’ll work for at least ten minutes after ingestion.”

“Uh-huh. Will this even work on me, what with my null power?”

“Oh. I hadn’t thought of that.”

Anon peeled the sticker back, “So if I’m understanding this, you, for some inexplicable reason, have some kind of magical contract that prevents you from speaking out secrets. And this little thing helps circumvent that?”

“Kind of,” Lyra spoke out, peeling hers back. “These are secondaries to the primary, where taking these allows the primary and secondaries to speak to one another. Saying anything after taking this will alert the primary. The primary saying anything outside of her group will alert the controller. Though on examination, I can see these are an older version that still uses the ‘pony’ tag inside its runes. Major flaw when you’re dealing with other species. Seriously, did you get this thing three hundred years ago or something? Heh, and here I thought only nobles used these things."

Bon Bon scrunched up her nose, looking aside. Anon saw this, frowning.

‘Ah, crap. I’m about to be dealt with a twist concerning her right now.’ Anon looked at his paper. ‘I triggered this event early didn’t I? Should have gone to some other town.’

“Funnily enough, Princess Celestia has me under a few of these. Got a nice collection from embarrassing secrets like- Oh, and it activated. Thank goodness mine buzzes me before I say anything so the princess isn’t alerted all the time. I bet Twilight has a few dozen herself.” She placed the sticker on her tongue, swirling it around before looking disgusted. “Bleh! Limes? Why limes?! Ugh.” Lyra smacked her tongue around, clearing the taste. “Okay, I’m ready to hear this awesome thing. Anon, hurry up and eat yours.”

Placing the sticker on his tongue, Anon tasted something akin to a key lime pie. A tingling sensation could be felt as if he had stuck his tongue to a battery and held it there.

“That was slightly unpleasant. Okay, so what have you been hiding from us?”

Bon Bon chuckled nervously, rubbing her shoulder. “Lyra already knows this, but my parents are kind of big deals at Van Hoover. They own a merchant company that buys and sells things to a lot of the businesses in the area from outside our lands. My dad is also the mayor of the town, so he’s got a lot of responsibilities concerning Van Hoover.”

“Ownership of a major company and having power over a town is a dangerous thing to behold. Your father isn’t abusing things is he?”

“No, no! He’s fantastic! Dad is the kind of guy to lend a helping hoof when you need one. There have even been times he’s taken a hit to his company if it would affect Van Hoover.”

Lyra nodded her head, “That guy is cool. He’d never use his powers if it meant hurting someone in the process.”

“Then, your mom-”

“Is all about showboating the town in Equestria.” A sigh escaped Bon Bon. “It can get tiring at times. She loves to shove in everyone’s faces how well Van Hoover is doing compared to everyone else. Weekly banquets, a monthly food stipend that is freely given from taxes, and free transportation are just a few things she has managed to make work under her budgets. My parents love showcasing how prosperous everyone is. Everyone practically treats them like royalty.”

“I can bearly stand it when I’m here with Bonnie.”

“Really Anon it’s-” Bon Bon turned and glared at Lyra, who squeaked back a smile.

“So why are we doing all this?”

Bon Bon went back to fidgeting. “I’m kind of… technically the heir to their company.”

“Yes, everyone sees her as a kind of princess in that town,” Lyra said with a nod.

The candy mare groaned, “I’m not interested in leading their company. I keep pushing them to have my younger sister do it but they keep insisting I should be the one to do it. So I may have found a way to get out of being able to inherit it.”

Lyra gasped, tapping her hooves on her seat. “I get to finally hear how you did it! So what was it? Did you secretly disown yourself somehow? Is it juicy blackmail against your parents?!”

Bon Bon’s ears drooped down. “I… went into service with Prince Blueblood as part of his spy network.”

Silence filled the room. Anon wasn’t sure what that exactly meant, but from Lyra’s slack-jawed response, it must have been something big.

“WHAT?! Prince Blueblood?! That jerky noble that uses all his bits on parties and photo shoots?”

“That’s an image he’s presenting to the public. Though he can still be a bit snobby, I’ll admit.”

“I need some explanation about what all this means,” Anon said, “on top of how this gets you out of your role as an heir.”

Lyra was the one to answer, “Anyone under the employment from royalty is allowed exemptions from family, clan, or inheritance laws should they wish or it is needed. It’s a very old law that I don’t think anyone remembers or even uses.”

“Thank goodness I have a friend that just so happens to have books on old laws like that?” Bon Bon smiled at Lyra.

“But why Prince Blueblood?”

“It was completely by chance that happened. I had helped with an incident over in Baltimare when I was still in my first year of college.”

“You’re not talking about that cloudy sea serpent incident are you?”

“The very same. I managed to keep its attention while they bottled it back up. The agency, S.M.I.L.E., talked to me afterward and we made a deal. I stick with the agency as a full agent and they, in turn, keep my parents from forcing me from inheriting our family business. Work wasn’t bad either. I got to use my cover as a candy maker and went around spying on different groups or solving problems behind the scenes. I kind of liked it.”

A long-winded sigh escaped her. “After Anon got foalnapped I gathered all the intel that we could and left to retrieve him. Going outside of their control as I did, that revoked my status to now being a free agent. I’m still a part of the agency, but I’ve lost a lot of privileges on top of being able to use those royalty laws.”

“To wrap things up,” Anon started, “you are an agent that works for royalty, while also being from a background that comes from an influential family that is treated like royalty.”

“Yes. And you have no idea how good it feels to get that off my chest.”

“Why are you telling us this?” Anon didn’t like how this all sounded. This made her importance skyrocket. “You could have just not told us and things likely wouldn’t have happened or mattered.”

“My mom would have said something. I don’t know how, but she has ties in just about everywhere, including S.M.I.L.E., and likely knows already about my downgraded status. She’s been against this from the whole start and would have gloated about finally coming back into the family. Also, bringing you two into the fold allows me a few perks like not having to hide so many secrets.”

Lyra hummed, “So all this time, whenever you went out to make candy or those long trips to collect ingredients…”

“That was me getting updates and being sent out on missions. Though I still made candy and treats to sell, just collected from places I went to typically.”

“Revelations now out in the open, is this going to affect our time in Van Hoover?” Anon asked.

“No, it shouldn’t. S.M.I.L.E. is still dealing with the rebel’s mess they left behind along with a few outlying monsters in certain towns. Van Hoover hasn’t been affected by any of that so we should be good to go.”

“Oh! Winter Wrap-Up is tomorrow.” Lyra clapped her hooves, already moving on to another topic. “I like doing that here, it’s so over the top. We might be able to find a part for you to play in.”

“What exactly is Winter Wrap-Up?” he asked. “I only have a bit of information on it.”

“Oh, right. You don’t need those in your world,” Lyra said. “It’s where we put our winter away for another year. It takes all the ponies to get everything ready for it, and I thought maybe you’d like to try it out with us.”

Anon was confused, “Shouldn’t winter last for at least another two months for you all? We’ve only had it for one.”

“Princess Celestia needs the snow to go away earlier than usual, for some reason,” Bon Bon said. “I think I heard something about opened passages from a few acquaintances. This also means we’ll have some more rainy days during the summer to balance things out, so be ready for that.”

“Must be nice to turn the weather off whenever you like,” Anon said. “I have no problem helping with things but I’m not sure what I could help with.”

“Not to worry!” Lyra said, pumping a hoof in the air. “We’ll find something you can help with. And if anything, you can join us in whatever we do.”

Anon was genuinely curious as to how winter was wrapped up in this world. Do they just shovel the snow away or are there some odd procedures for it?

A jerk in the train could be felt, an announcement declaring from behind the door they were nearing the station.

“Fantastic! We can head off this train finally.”

Anon stood up, stretching his back. “I need to walk around a bit myself.” He flared his null power towered his tongue, feeling the binding dissipating. “Feels cramped in here.”

Bon Bon went cross-eyed for a few seconds before shaking her head. “And that answers if your null powers would affect a binding contract. I’ll have to inform the higher-ups on that one. And yeah, sorry we couldn’t get a larger train to Van Hoover,” Bon Bon said, now preoccupied with checking her pack. “It’s not exactly built with anything larger than a griffon in mind.”

“I’ll talk to some figures back at Ponyville about this, make some compartments human friendly,” Lyra said, holding up her itinerary. “We need to check out that sandwich shop over by the piers. They have a lot of minotaur imported meat and yak cheese. Hmm. Cheese. So good.”

“I’ll start heading out then before you make me too hungry, stretch my legs a bit. Meet you two outside.”

Walking outside the cabin he was in, he started down the hall with his luggage in hand. A door could be heard slammed open, Lyra’s head popped out looking worried. “Anon! Get back in here!”

He turned around, confused. “What’s wrong—”

Then… it happened. He wasn’t prepared for the train to lurch around, nearly making him fall. He had to hold on to the sidewall to keep his balance. His suitcase dropped out of his hand, with Anon staring straight ahead in a stupor at the sight in front of him.

Ponies. Ponies everywhere. From the rooms on either side of him to the train cart in the back, they all started coming out in droves. And they all let out a massive roar, a call of their arrival.

“SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!”

It was a mass of squealing ponies, tumbling like crazy, rolling around and over one another, heading in his direction. It was as if he was witnessing a sea of ponies, and it was barreling straight at him.

Still in shock, he had no chance as he was swept up with the smiling ponies, squealing with glee as they tumbled toward the front of the train. His screams couldn’t be heard over the ponies. They sped down the halls, taking him along for the ride, gathering more and more of them; it almost appeared like there was an endless stream of them.

It eventually wound up with them all rushing out of the train’s front entrance in one massive pile. The pony’s let out squeaks and squeals, with barely a word being said. All Anon could do was lay there in shock at what just took place.

‘Did that seriously just happen?’

Trying to get out of the mound of ponies, he spotted one of them that looked suspiciously like Applejack, who turned to him with a cherubic smile. “Apples!”

“Hey there bud,” he heard. Turning around to the voice, Anon could see a minotaur covered in some sort of garb that hid his body and head. He laughed at the sight of Anon. “You need some help?”

“If you could,” he said, giving him a hand.

Grabbing it, he pulled with all his might, getting Anon out with a few tugs. He chuckled, looking at the ponies, then back to him. “You don’t seem like you were expecting that.”

“Why would I?” he answered, straightening out his clothing.

“Most beings around here know not to get on the pony trains because of this, and when they do, they know to stay out of the way until the pony stream passes by. This is the first time I’ve been to these lands and I know this.”

“Just another thing I need to learn about, great.”

Anon looked at the minotaur, noting that he had been hinted at for quite a while about them. Bolder left hints left and right during his parlor training, and the recent reports Lyra had from their clans only showcased how much narrative progress there would be if he interacted with them. Going by that, this individual had to be important in some manner.

“You wouldn’t happen to have some affiliations with the clans, would you?”

The minotaur seemed shocked to hear that before narrowing his eyes. “Now why would you ask such a question?”

He waved an arm at the minotaurs’ body. “Your clothing is quite rich in colors, and the craftsmanship is superb. If this is your first time here, I doubt you bought any of that here in town. And from a friend of mine back in Ponyville had mentioned about your wares, clothing is not something your people are particularly good at. It must have cost quite a bit to get one from your lands to make something for your travels.”

The minotaur continued to stare at Anon before a grin spread on his face. “Ha! I told Hera I should have gone as a traveler.” He grabbed his cloak, staring at it. “I bet others saw right through this as well. Yeah, I come from some of the clans back home. I’m out on an expedition to see what’s going on in Equestria. Most of the clans have sequestered themselves for quite a long time, and with the passages back open, they want to try and see the state of lands and work out where to go from there.”

‘And there’s the mentioning of passages once again. I don’t know which is worst, the idea of going to the minotaur lands or these passages.’

The minotaur lands consisted of mostly deserts and mountains past the Bad Lands and the Forbidden Jungle. And the passages consisted of unknown lands that were sequestered off until recently, obviously hinted at Momus’ doing, and was full of unknown beings cut off for some reason long ago.

‘No need to be rude, on the off chance I have to go there. This guy is a key character for a future conflict.”

“Name’s Anon,” he said, sticking out his arm. “Human from another world.”

The minotaur let out a hum, “Kamos,” he said, shaking the limb. “I just figured you were some new species looking around. So you’re that alien everyone’s been talking about. It’s nice to meet you,” he said.

Kamos noticed something behind Anon which made him grimace. Turning around, Anon could see two other minotaurs in similar garbs down the street looking peeved based on their body language.

“What a bother. While I’d love to know more about these rumors surrounding you, I need to get going. It’s nice to meet you; I hope great things come for you in the future!”

He then bolted down the street toward the other minotaurs, leaving Anon standing there by himself beside a pile of squeaking ponies.

Some of the ponies working for the train finally came out, holding large poles while trying to pry away at the ponies in the pile, getting them loose and back up on their hooves. Looking at the train, he could see some of the ponies coming out looking exhausted, along with some griffons that looked disheveled.

Lyra and Bon Bon walked up to him with his suitcase, looking like they ran through a marathon.

“Thanks,” he said, grabbing his case.

“I’m sorry,” Lyra said,” I should’ve remembered to warn you about that.”

“It’s hard to hold back on the stream,” Bon Bon said, still trying to catch her breath as she looked at the pony pile behind Anon.

“The stream?” he questioned.

“That’s what everypony calls what just happened,” Bon Bon answered. “No one knows why it happens, but trains just make us do… that, when we gather in large numbers.”

“…I see.”

‘It’s as if this world doesn’t know if it wants to be slapstick cartoon or some weird story-based serial.’

“We should start heading to my parent’s house before it gets dark; they’re probably waiting on us to arrive any moment now.”

“I hope your dad set up some awesome food to eat!” Lyra said. “I’m really hungry and I don’t feel like going out to eat, though it is an option away from your mom. Hmm…”

Along the way to Bon Bon’s parent’s place, the three of them took in the tall buildings that made up the scenery of Van Hoover. Many of the shops had beings advertising outside of them, trying to get passerby’s to come in, while some beings had stands selling their wares. While most were ponies, he could see a few griffons and minotaurs, selling and purchasing things like fish.

The entire place was made of bricks, giving it an antiquated look. The snow-covered the entire city, with the streets lined up with light posts to help brighten the paths. Van Hoover had a charming appeal to it, almost like one of those Christmas specials he’d seen on television. Lyra and Bon Bon certainly seemed to enjoy the walk, talking to a vendor they passed or any odd person they recognized.

Every time they stopped for any reason, others around them gawked at Anon, whispering things around. Anon could hear some of them bringing up those rumors he heard from back in Ponyville. He ignored their whispers, moving on as if he’d never heard them. He did hear some about something happening in the Crystal Kingdom, hinting at the rebels.

This was accompanied by plenty of individuals walking up to Bon Bon, talking to her, or asking for some kind of photo with her or even an autograph. He saw her looking flustered, simply going with the flow as they slowly made their way to her house.

It took some time, but he eventually made it to a large mansion, possibly the largest public home he’d seen of any pony yet, barring the princesses. Walking up the stairs, Anon rang the doorbell with the other two standing on either side of him patiently. A minute went by before the door opened with a unicorn in a maids outfit standing there. She was staring at his legs before slowly looking up his body to his face.

Her eyes widened. “I-I-Is there something I-I can h-help you w, with?” she squeaked out.

“How have you been, Rosie?!” Bon Bon said, walking up to the maid and hugging her.

The now named Rosie seemed to give the hug back but still confused about the situation. “I, I’m doing fine, Miss Sweetie,” she said before letting go and taking the three in.

“These two will be staying with me for the duration of my time home, Rosie,” Bon Bon said.

“I see… Oh, right! Let me just—” She levitated the baggage from the three of them and took them inside. “I’ll deliver your personal effects to your rooms. Oh,” she turned to Bon Bon, “we only have one guest room, Miss Sweetie.”

“That’s fine, Rosie. Lyra will be in my room and Anon will have the guest room.”

“Very well,” she said, making her way up the stairs. “Then this will be much like those sleepovers the two of you used to have when you were younger and sleeping together.”

“Yeah, something like that,” Bon Bon said with a smirk as Lyra held back a chuckle. “How are my parents doing, Rosie?”

“Your father is doing well as can be, though the early Winter Wrap-Up is giving him some trouble. As for your mother, well… she’s still doing her best to stay awake. She’s trying out a new method concocted which has her taking daily potions instead of her usual remedies.”

Hearing that had Anon worried there was some sort of family drama he wasn’t aware of, so he prepared himself for the worst to come.

“She’ll be quite happy to have the season change so early,” Bon Bon said, following the maid.

The halls were massive in size; Anon would figure it’d be fit for a pony, but it was roomy enough for several people to walk side-by-side without any complications. The place had extravagant décor, livening things up. He took some time to examine the different photos on the wall, finding some amusement at the younger images of Bon Bon.

“You certainly had an interesting array of pets when you were younger,” Anon said, looking at a picture of her and some animals.

Lyra immediately busted out laughing, falling to the ground and kicking her hooves in the air. Bon Bon walked up and looked at the picture, blushing in embarrassment.

“Ehr, yes, some of those are pets.”

“I’m surprised you were allowed to have a bear as a pet, those are pretty dangerous don’t you think?”

Anon didn’t think Lyra’s laughter could get any louder as tears streamed down her face.

“Anon, that’s… not a pet…” Bon Bon sounded very flustered.

“What do you—” He paused as his eyes widened, seeing a massive bear coming up at the four down the hall. “Coincidentally Bon Bon, your bear is behind you.”

Turning around, Bon Bon gave a large smile and ran up to the bear. The bear opened up its arms and grabbed the mare in a large hug, letting out a rumble of content. After letting go, Bon Bon turned around and walked alongside the bear. It glared at Lyra as she stood up, wiping some of her tears away.

Bon Bon cleared her throat, looking at Anon. “Anon, I’d like you to meet my mom, Halas Curskie. Mom, this is Anon.”

“Rar ra raah,” the bear, who also appeared to be Bon Bon’s mom, growled at Anon, giving him a paw.

Accepting the handshake while looking stupefied, he was shaken pretty hard, nearly thrown to the ground. “Mom! Remember, control your strength!”

“Rer, ra ra gurder rara.”

“I know he looks big but he’s not strong enough to take on a bear!” Bon Bon paused, looking behind Halas and squealed, running around the bear and jumping into a pony. “Daddy!”

“Hello, Sweetie!” her dad said, giving her a large hug. “It’s been so long since you’ve last visited. And is this your alien friend you’ve written about?” he asked, walking up to him.

“Yes, daddy. Anon, this is my dad.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Anon. You can call me Eddie.”

“Uh, right… yes.” He was still somewhat unnerved by being shaken by a bear, who was apparently Bon Bon’s mom.

“Mr. Eddie,” Rosie the maid said, “I was just getting them to their rooms a—”

Eddie held up a hoof, cutting the maid off. “Say no more, Rosie. Proceed with what you’re doing and then bring them down so we all can have a meal together; it’s already supper time and I am quite famished.”

“Rah, reda r ager ra ra.”

“Hahahaha, why yes, we will make sure of that, honey. Rosie, do please to make sure my little Sweetie Drops don’t scamper off somewhere after I leave.”

“Yes, Mr. Eddie,” Rosie said, making Bon Bon scrunch her face up with a grunt.

Eddie and Halas continued talking to one another as they walked away from the group and down the stairs.

Anon turned to Bon Bon. “See, your mom being a bear, that is something you should have mentioned ahead of time.”

“S-Sorry,” she said, flattening her ears against her head. “It sort of passed my head; I’m just so used to it.”

“How can you be used to your mother being a bear of all things? Wait, a better question: Are you part bear?”

Lyra snickered,” N, N, Nooo, she… she was cursed with that!” She started giggling, attempting to hold back her laughter.

“We can walk and talk to the guest room, Miss Sweetie,” Rosie said as she proceeded down the hall.

The three of them followed as Lyra continued snickering, something Bon Bon rolled her eyes at.

“So, Bon Bon, is Sweetie some sort of nickname for you here?” Anon asked, trying to find something to talk about.

“No, that’s my name.”

Anon stumbled hearing that. “Hold the phone, that’s your name?!”

She looked at him in confusion. “Um… yes?”

“That’s, just… it’s a pretty big thing to not know, Bon Bon. First your part bear and now you have a different name?”

“I’m not part bear.”

“Lighten up,” Lyra said. “Some ponies have multiple names. Like how Sweetie Drops here is called Bon Bon, or for another instance, Derpy. Her real name is Ditzy Doo.”

“…This is one of those weird pony things, isn’t it?” he asked, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

“Yes, yes it is,” Lyra answered with a nod of her head.

“And something that, apparently, Lyra forgot to teach you about,” Bon Bon said. “Once again.”

Lyra had the decency to look embarrassed. “Hey, hey! Teaching the first-ever alien without any knowledge of how is hard! I’m surprised I did such a good job!”

“Is there anything else I should be told about so we can get any more surprises out of the way?”

“I can tell you that your room is right here, Mr. Anon,” Rosie said, poking her head out of a room.

Opening the door, something shot straight at Bon Bon, landing on her face with a plop. “Sweetie!”

“Bella Belle!”

The little thing dropped to the ground, showing an incredibly small pony the size of a head. She smiled back up at Bon Bon. “It’s been so long since you’ve been home! And wow, what’s with the tall… whatever you are!”

“Bella, this is Anon, our alien friend.”

“Hi,” he said with a wave. “So what’s with the adorable little pony?”

“Thanks!” she said with a jump.

“That’s my sister and the true heir of this company.”

A gentle laugh tickled out of Bella. “Silly, you’re clearly the one that should lead. What would anypony say of someone they had to look down on leading their company?”

“Bella,” Rosie started, “I’ve been looking for you all day. Why have you been hiding here in the guest room?”

“I like to study in here instead of the actual study room, remember? I don’t know why mom and dad don’t build in a window for that place, it’s so stuffy in there.”

Looking inside, Anon could see it was quite spacious with a massive bed, just his size. A desk off to the side had a lantern on, papers and books were strewn about. Books were neatly stacked up to the chair, like stairs to get up to, with more books stacked on top of the chair for more height.

‘So cute.’

“I will have to clean this all up before you can come in, Mr. Anon. I’ll be depositing all of this in the study room.”

“Aawww.”

“Is there anything I should be aware of that you need while you’re staying here?” she asked, placing his luggage on the bed.

“Nothing off the top of my head I can think of.”

“Should you need anything just ring that bell and one of the live-in maids will assist you,” Rosie said, walking past him and toward the other two. “Now if we could, Miss Sweetie, your parents are waiting on us for the evening meal and it would be nice if you all could go directly there with me.”

“Why do I get the feeling that Bon Bon doesn’t like to listen to her parents,” Anon said as Rosie led the four of them.

“She has difficulty with following directions, that’s all,” Rosie said, turning her head and looking at Sweetie Drops with a grin. “It’s gotten her in trouble more times than I can count.”

Lyra chuckled, “Hey, remember when we went out to that part over at Clemens?”

“Yes, I remember that very well,” Bon Bon answered, gritting her teeth.

Lyra let out a laugh, looking at Anon. “Bon Bon here kicked the crap out of five stallions trying to hit on her while attempting some other lewd things. A few of us at the party tried to help but Bonnie here managed to deal with them very quickly. It was hilarious seeing it go down!”

“When we came here, I was hoping to leave a better impression on my life…”

“Don’t worry, Bon Bon” Anon said patting her head, “you’re still the most normal pony I know.”

“Is that supposed to be a compliment?” she asked, eyebrow raised.

“Coming from me, it should.”

She smirked at that. After Rosie deposited their baggage’s in their room, she escorted them to a dining room with a rather modest-looking table where both Halas and Eddie sat at.

“It’s great to see you all here together,” Eddie said from his seat. “Please, seat yourselves.”

Anon took a seat at the farthest end of the table, with Lyra and Bon Bon sitting on either side of him. The little pony sat beside Bon Bon in a very high chair, clearly built for her size.

“I hope you’re fine with the meal we’ve prepared, Anonymous,” Eddie said, pointing at the many soups and loaves of bread around him. He then clapped his hooves together loudly. “May we commence our bountiful meal with one another in a friendly manner.”

“A friendly feast to be shared with friends,” the rest of the ponies said together, with Halas growling something alongside them. They all let out their claps together before digging into their food at the table.

Sipping on the soup, Anon couldn’t help but feel impressed on how flavorful it was with the spices and how creamy it came out.

“So Anonymous, how are you enjoying your stay in our world?” Eddie said, brushing away some crumbs from his lips.

“It’s been something, that’s for sure. Dealing with everyone’s antics is an adventure in itself.”

“I bet. I’ve heard quite a few rumors going around, not just what happened in Mercanville but also in Ponyville where you stay with Sweetie and Lyra. I do hope you’re keeping my daughter out of trouble out there,” he said with a smirk. “Lyra here always seems to get into the oddest situations.”

“I do seem to be dragged into quite a few,” Bon Bon admitted, “though not all of them are because of Lyra.”

“Rar rah rehr ra, rada ra ger rara,” Halas said, right before going back to daintily eating her fish.

“No, that doesn’t mean I’m done with the agency,” Bon Bon said with a roll of her eyes.

“But you can’t use it to not lead the company now!” Bella said, nibbling on a piece of bread. “Thank goodness, I thought they’d have to have me lead it.”

“You still are, I’m not suited for that kind of work like you are Bella. Hay, my special talent is making candy.”

“One of our businesses involve candy making,” Eddie said, smearing butter on some bread. “As does import candy. Which by the way, I do have to thank Lyra for that tip regarding the sapphire dogs. Trying to sell me tainted fish would have hurt my business, and I’d never know about it without knowing of their involvements with the medical wards.”

“Rah ra, rada ger rar rara rada ra,” Halas said with a huff.

“Why yes, I can agree with that!” Eddie said, making Lyra narrow her eyes at Halas.

“Please, I’m better behaved than you take me for!”

The bear snorted, “Re erh ra ram rarg ra!”

“As if you’re any better! Trying to end that deal with that gypsy and look where that ended you.”

“Lyra, behave,” Bon Bon said.

“Rad-der rada redr rada!”

“Mom, you too.”

The two continued arguing, leaving Anon confused about what was going on. Eddie took it all in stride, sipping on his soup. Bella Belle was trying to spread butter on a role, tongue sticking out as she paid excruciating detail to her task. Bon Bon herself ignored what was currently happening, also enjoying her meal.

“Is this common?” he asked Bon Bon.

“Yes, it is,” she answered while breaking off some bread and spreading butter on it.

“Shouldn’t we stop it?”

Bon Bon merely shrugged, “It’s better to let it run its course.”

It was an awkward meal, sitting there and trying to eat as the two fought, throwing their words at one another.

‘Better than them throwing food, I suppose.’

Things decided to take a turn for the worst, or more accurately, being more annoying.

“Rah! Ra ger rara rerger rar rarder ra!”

“Hah! Jokes on you! Bon Bon’s in love with me!”

That forced a silence that permeated the room. Bon Bon stared at Lyra, her eyes as wide as dinner plates. Halas had her mouth wide open, astonished to hear that.

Bella Belle looked at everyone, astonished to hear that. “I knew it!”

Eddie coughed a few times, “…Well then. I, myself, am quite happy to hear that Bon Bon has somepony she can be with, and am not too surprised at this happening. I always thought something was up with you two, quite amazed it took so long for this to finally happen in fact.”

“RAH-RA! RADA RADRA RARA, GER GRADUR RAAA RANA!”

“Halas, honey, you should remember your early years before we even met! Why, for a long time, I personally thought I was going to be stuck with two mares!”

Halas sputtered as Eddie chuckled. The bear calmed down before pointing at Lyra, “Reder-rader-ra-ra-ra-ra-raerdersr-raaa!” she growled out.

Lyra blinked a few times before she pointed at Anon, her face turning slightly red, “W-Well, at some point… he could help w—”

“LYRA!” Bon Bon squeaked out, her face a fiery red. “SHUT UP! THAT’S TOO EMBARRASSING TO TALK ABOUT WITH MY FAMILY!”

“Now hold up Lyra, I thought you said you were the one with Sweetie—” Eddie paused, turning from Lyra to Anon with a smirk. “Oh, you sly stallion! To think those rumors about you were true after all!”

Anon rubbed his face with the palm of his hand. “Eddie, there’s n—”

“I do hope you treat them both well, especially my daughter,” Eddie said as Lyra and Halas started to argue once more.

Anon could only place his face into the palms of his hands, letting out a groan.

“Hey, leave Anon out of this!” Lyra spouted.

“Rader rada rada ger ra na-rana, radierraner ragaera!”

The others at the table gasped in shock at whatever Halas had just said, looking at him for a reaction. Anon simply sat there, unsure what to do about the turn of events.

“Halas!” Eddie said, upset with her. “Don’t be rude to a guest like that! You should apologize for your behavior!”

“Hehr, rader, ra ger rada.”

“So stop making a jerk of yourself and treat him nicer!” Lyra said with anger.

“Anon, why aren’t you defending yourself?” Bon Bon asked, looking humiliated from her mom’s actions and looking at him with concern.

“If you could clarify for me what exactly is happening, I might be able to do that… I think?”

Bon Bon looked at him with a furrowed brow, confused. “My mom just called you a bluthering-balueth!”

The others looked at him, wondering what his reaction would be. “Okay, first off I’m an alien, remember? I have no idea what a bluthering-baleuth is or even how offensive that is. Sounds silly if I’m being honest. Second, I can’t understand your mom at all, Bon Bon.”

She gave him a deadpanned look, “Anon, I know my mom has an accent, but—”

“No, I mean I can’t understand her words at all or anything she’s saying.” They gave him questioning stares. “She sounds like… well, a bear to me. A very cartoony bear, but a bear nonetheless.”

“Rader-rada reder rara?”

“Anon, can you perhaps tell us exactly what she sounds like?” Eddie asked.

“It’s just a bunch of rada-rada junk that I can’t understand.”

“This is quite odd,” Eddie said, looking at Anon. “Why would you hear that when we can hear her quite clearly?”

Bon Bon had a sudden realization, “Anon has an ability that allows him to nullify magic completely, so it doesn’t work on him,” she said. “It’s kind of like those curses that some of the people have out in town. Though, how come the hearing isn’t working?” she asked Anon. “I thought you had control over your power.”

“The trainers said the full capabilities of my ability weren’t fully understood, but they mentioned things may present itself in the future.”

“So maybe sound can’t affect you either,” Lyra said, rubbing her chin. “That’s so OP. Never to have sirens calling affecting you, to have no magical words influencing you.”

“So Halas’s curse is tied to her speaking somehow, yet we can still hear her. How peculiar.”

“Oh!” Bella waved a hoof in the air. “Perhaps her curse is tied to animals as well? Maybe she speaks bear in the background but the curse isn’t strong enough to prevent her from speaking Equestrian?”

“That curse is taking all it has keeping her in that form,” Eddie said, humming to himself.

‘I can already see where this is going,’ Anon thought, taking a bite of his delicious bread. ‘This is supposed to show off my skill in a real-life scenario. I knew I’d have to use it eventually, but for something like this feels so weird.’

“Halas, I want to try my powers on you. If I’m correct, I might be able to nullify them, at least for a time.”

“Redr radr ra da rara?!” Halas said, waving her large bear arms in the air while looking at Anon.

“I think Anon should rethink his offer. Why should he help you after what you said?!” Lyra spoke loudly with an angered expression.

“Rader ra ger, ra-ha-haaaar!”

“Apologizing only because you want something isn’t a good apology to give in the first place!”

“Anon,” Bon Bon said, getting his attention, “I know my mom hasn’t been a good host, but… she’s been like this for a very long time. It would mean a lot to my parents and me if you tried helping her.”






Scooting his chair back, he stood up and slowly walked over to the large form of Halas. She stared at him with hope in her eyes. Lyra murmured something about not deserving this; Anon ignored her, getting himself ready for the first true usage of the skill.

“Well, here goes nothing,” he said, placing his right hand on her shoulder.

Finding his inner trigger, he turned on his nullification, feeling it course through his body. A few seconds go by in silence as the table watches the bear. With no warning, she immediately shrunk in size, now in the air where his hand was. He caught a glimpse of what she looked like, closely resembling Bon Bon but with different hair color and slightly darker fur. Halas fell right after changing, unable to stay in the air and falling right back into her seat. She turned back into a bear after a few seconds of being away from his hand, pushing her on to the ground.

Eddie gasped, seeing what had happened and astonished it worked in the first place. Halas sat back up, amazed at what had happened. Getting her back in her seat, he aimed his hand for around her waist this time so she didn’t appear in the air like last time.

Once again, she changed back into a pony, blinking at everyone around the table. Halas stared down at her front legs, turning her hooves over and looking at them. Eddie got up from his chair, walking around the table to his wife. “Halas… honey?”

“E… Eddie?”

Eddie wrapped his hooves around Halas, giving her a large hug, which Halas returned. Anon had to move his hand to her back to keep out of the way.

“Oh Halas, I never thought I’d see you like that again!”

“It feels so great to be a pony once more. You have no idea how heavy it feels, being a bear.”

“Uuuum…” The two departed from one another before looking at Anon, with his hand still on her back. “It’s not exactly permanent, as you saw the first time. So long as I’m touching her, she’s fine, but once I let go she’s going to turn back into a bear.”

“So… it’s not permanent,” Halas said, looking sad.

“But isn’t it great that you’re getting this opportunity to be back to your old self?” Eddie said, trying to cheer her up.

“Yes, I suppose that’s true.” Halas turned to Bon Bon and stared at her daughter for a few moments. “Sweetie… he’s a keeper.” Lyra and Bon Bon groaned hearing that.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

The rest of the dinner involved Anon sitting beside Halas with his hand on her back so she could continue being a pony. She was extremely cheerful during the meal, even laughing at how wrong a certain gypsy pony was, whom Anon assumed was who cursed her in the first place.

The meal was awkward for Anon, as, at the end of it, Halas and Eddie started kissing, right before full-on making out. He could do nothing but sit there with his hand on her back. Halas had, of course, changed her mind about Anon and thought he was a perfect match for Bon Bon. She, of course, wanted to have him around more often. He could easily guess why she’d want that.

Once the dinner was done, Anon was able to remove his arm to the ire of Halas and followed Bon Bon and Lyra outside to her backyard. Lyra, wanting to let off some steam, started to build a large snowbear with her magic, right before tackling it to the ground in a fury. Anon and Bon Bon sat on the bench, watching her antics.

“Anon, I do appreciate what you did for my mom,” she said with a smile. “I haven’t seen her like that since I was a young filly.”

Anon wasn’t sure how to reply, still at odds with what had happened. At that moment, Lyra did a high flying jump kick at the snowbear, its head flying off from the kick. She then, once more, began building the bear.

“Bon Bon, about that whole thing about me being with you two—”

“I… I know, Anon. I know you feel uncomfortable around that thought. Lyra and I, we wouldn’t mind of course if you gave it a shot, being with us. But I still understand you have difficulties with that idea.”

“Lyra seems to think she can change my mind on this.”

Bon Bon laughed, “If anypony can convince you we’re worth being with, it’s her.”

“Can’t my friendship be enough for you two? I mean, you’re with Lyra already; surely that’s enough for you?”

Bon Bon fidgeted in her seat, “I originally thought just being her friend was enough for me, even though I wanted more. I was fine so long as she was happy. But, looking back on it, I can’t believe how stupid I was. Is it wrong for me to want more out of life, to be greedy and be with both of you?”

“I don’t see how you two even like me. I’ve been here for only a few months.”

“Love can’t be measured in time, Anon. Love is measured with how you feel, with what you do with that time, and how much you treasure it.”

“It still doesn’t feel right to me, Bon Bon…”

“That’s perfectly fine with me, Anon. We’ll give you all the time you need. We just… we hope that you try someday being with us.”

“I don’t think it’ll be easy if it even happens.”

“Love isn’t easy, I learned that lesson the hard way.”

Shaking his head, he leaned back into the bench, watching Lyra forming a fairly convincing bear head out of the snow before placing it on the body. Walking a good way from it, she charged straight at the bear with a yell, slamming right into it and throwing snow everywhere.

“See,” Lyra said, with a cough as she lay on her back, “I can totally take on a bear.”

Bon Bon giggled at the sight, smiling at the scene. Lyra got up and shook off the snow before rebuilding the bear once more.

“Sooo… what exactly did your mom say back at the table about me anyway?”

“The bluthering-balueth thing?”

“No, the part when Lyra was pointing at me for some strange reason and you flipped out.”

Her face reddened like mad, looking down at the ground. “I-I’d rather not say, and you don’t want to hear about it.”

“If you say so,” he said, thinking about bringing it up with Eddie later to find out.

“Switching topics, how has your little… power thing been going? The other one Anon, not the nullify power.”

“Is… she going to be a problem if I say anything out loud?” Anon asked, pointing at the small form of Bella Belle who was sitting off to the side with a score placard, scoring Lyra’s attempts at tackling the snowbear.

“Shouldn’t be. She’s very good at keeping secrets, right Bella?”

“Uncy Blue already told me about his super-silly-secret! I also still know all the safe combinations to Uncy Blue’s house and haven’t told anyone yet!”

“Uncy Blue?” Anon asked Bon Bon.

“It’s Prince Blueblood. I don’t know why but after I joined the agency, he encountered Bella and dotes on her like a little filly.”

“...Isn’t she a little filly?”

“She’s in college right now, the first year. She’s just really, really small.”

“It’s not a cursed thing is it?”

“No, that’s just how she is. She was born so small they were afraid she wouldn’t make it the first month. Oh, how wrong everyone was. Bella has the energy of ten mares and five times the cute powers.”

“Is that why her cutie mark is a small, cute face?”

“It is.” Bon Bon shook her head. “Getting off-topic, your little cartoon powers haven’t been bothering you have they?”

“I keep saying it’s not a power. A lot of your actions and how things work just fit with cartoons in my world. At times it is mostly slapstick, while other times I feel like I’m part of some serialized storyline but as a side character. If I only had some access to the internet I could look up a tropes page.”

“Momus isn’t still bugging you is it?”

“Of course it is. The guy could see into the future and saw multiple possibilities. He has plans for me, for us. Only… it doesn’t feel like I’ve got any control over the narrative. I don’t understand it. I’ve looked into a lot of the events that have happened around us for the past few months, and so far, nothing seems to add up.”

“Lyra and I, outside our jobs, are just normal ponies. It’s almost common to find a pony here or there, winding up in some kind of adventure. Cheerilee last week was on a field trip that wound up with the class going back in time four hundred years ago, and upon returning had solved ways out of the cave they were stuck in originally.”

“That’s not exactly what I- They went back in time?”

“Yes. I hear that Diamond Tiara was instrumental in getting them back in fact.”

‘So my training is paying off with her. Good.’

“All I’m getting at Anon is that perhaps you’re not looking at the right ponies for this ‘main story’ you think is happening?”

Anon went to say something and then paused. Perhaps she was right. He had been thinking this whole time that Momus had chosen him because he was instrumental in everything for his plans to work. For some reason, he interpreted that as being important to the main plot of what was happening and had imagined him as being the main character.

‘But what if I have that wrong? What if I’m just a side story that leads up to the main event in the future?’

It dawned on him what he thought he was and had refused to acknowledge.

“Oh god… we’re background characters.”

“I’m sorry?”

“We’re not needed for the plot, at least not for a while. I’m a MacGuffin that Momus had created, and will be hinted at in future events. You and Lyra haven’t done anything that involves the world at large, not unlike a certain pony and her friends.” He placed his face into the palms of his hands. “It’s Twilight. Twilight and her friends are the main characters. Dammit, I feel like such a fool.”

“Twilight does make some sense. She’s the apprentice of the princess, runs the town library, is a magical prodigy, and is an Element alongside the other five of her close friends.”

‘Why did I think I was the main character? It was so obvious. Lyra and Bon Bon are a side plot if they even get an arch of their own.’

“So what does that mean for us?” Bon Bon asked. “I’m still not sure what this ‘cartoon’ means but it doesn’t ruin things for you does it?”

“No, it doesn’t, though my pride sure took a hit. This means I don’t have to worry about my actions as much. Whatever happens, until it somehow involves Twilight and friends, I’m probably safe. I should be able to plan a way for us to avoid a lot of conflicts. We just need to stay out of her way as much as we can until certain points of her plot are developed. Easy-peasy.”

“Ah, speaking of Twilight, that reminds me, one of my associates had leaked to me about a package the princess is planning on sending to Twilight soon that involves Star Swirl the Bearded. He was a mentor to the princess that-”

“And we’re staying away from that mare for until she finishes with her bearded business!”

“But, I have some books I want to check out from the-”

“Far, faaar away!”



~End Chapter Twenty Two~