//------------------------------//
// Six 
// Story: Age Before Beauty 
// by RunicTreetops 
//------------------------------//

Anon sighs and decides to take a seat in his hotel room. His backpack is neatly resting on a nearby table, and his cloak has been hung on a handy coat rack near the door. He wears a simple ensemble that was clearly made by hand. The occasional shoddy stitching job and torn seam make it clear that Anon's clothes see heavy use, and he doesn't make new clothes all that often. Still, the outfit he has on works well enough for traversing long distances.

The light in the room is turned off, and Anon rests his head in his hands. He rubs his temple in response to the many thoughts rushing through his head at the same time.

"Why six of them?"

"Why that cutie mark?"

"Is this just a coincidence?"

"It can't be, the timing is just too perfect."

"What difference does it make? Why are you so worried about this?"

"Because last time, Tia-"

Anon violently shakes his head and walks into the nearby bathroom, splashing some cold water on his face after he does so. He looks at himself in the mirror, seeing the exact same face he had all those years ago. He sighs again before hanging his head, closing his eyes, and mumbling to himself in the dark room.

"I'm going to make you proud, Tia. I have someone to watch over again. Heh, how did I pick up your habit of teaching the younger generations?" Anon remains silent for a long moment. "I'll... I'll tell her. I'll tell her everything. Just... not yet. I don't think either of us are ready for that. Besides..." Anon walks back over to the backpack and begins digging into it, eventually retrieving a purple-colored book emblazoned with a horseshoe and six distinct cutie marks. "I think there are more important matters at hand right now."





"Well, here we are! The Crystal Brighthouse!"

Hitch leads Anon up the grassy hill towards a large, colorful building with a totally-not-gaudy rainbow shooting out of it 24/7. The large front door suddenly opens, revealing that Sunny, Zipp, and Misty had been anticipating their arrival.

"Ah, hello everypony."

"Hey, Anon! Did you get settled in okay?"

"I sure did. It's a good thing I had Hitch with me, otherwise the receptionist probably would have kept hiding beneath her desk until I left, haha."

"Oh, I'm so sorry about that! I-I'm sure everypony will warm up to you over time!"

Anon chuckles.

"Don't worry about it, Sunny. I've been through this before."

"You have?"

"Believe it or not, Ponyville wasn't all that accepting of me at first, either."

"What?! I thought that Ponyville was, like, 'where the magic happens!'"

"Hmhm. Well, that doesn't mean they were fearless when the big scary human showed up one day."

"Wow. I guess there are things about Equestrian history that we just... don't hear about."

"...Yeah."

"A-anyway, let's get started! We'll loop around the bay and hit all of the big important places, then end right back here!"

"That sounds nice. By all means, lead the way, Sunny."

With that, the four ponies and their new human friend head back down the hill and into the bay, happily chatting amongst themselves all the while.





"And this is Mane Melody!"

"Ah, the workplace of the famed 'Princess Pipp Petals.' She's your sister, right Zipp?"

"Yup, she's my little sis. Though if I were you, I'd steer clear from-"

The front door to Mane Melody suddenly swinging open cuts Zipp off. Standing in the doorway is the short, smiling form of Pipp Petals.

"Heyyyyyyyy! Hitch texted me just a little bit ago! You must be Anon!"

Pipp flies towards Anon and enthusiastically shakes his hand.

"G-goodness. Yes, that's me."

"Sunny and Zipp have told me ALL about you." Pipp, not letting go of Anon's hand, gently begins to pull him towards the salon. "Come in, come in! I've saved a spot for you and everything!"

"Oh, wow. You really didn't need to do this."

"Please, I insist! It's the least I can do for the guy that saved my friends' lives!"

Pipp happily guides Anon into the building and sits him down in a comfortable chair. There are no other patrons in the salon, leaving Anon as the only creature seated. Sunny and Hitch find a place nearby to take a seat, while Zipp and Misty stick close to Anon. Pipp trots to the other side of the room to fetch a few things from a cabinet as Zipp leans towards Anon to whisper something into his ear.

"Yeah, this is what I was trying to warn you about. Good luck, dude."

Misty, meanwhile, seems a bit more enthusiastic than her pegasus friend.

"Come on Zipp, don't be like that! This is supposed to be fun, and Pipp is really good at it!"

Pipp returns with several beauty products in her hooves.

"Now, no offense Anon, but you look like you haven't had a professional haircut in a long time. Is there a specific style you'd like?"

"Heh, you don't know the half of it, Ms. Petals." Anon chuckles to himself. "You know what? You're the expert here. Go nuts."

"Wait, really?"

"Sure, why not?"

"Anon, I think we're going to get along juuuuust fine."





"Jazz, you're in charge while I'm gone!"

"You've got it, Pipp! We'll take it from here! It's not like we get that many customers on Tuesday afternoons anyway."

Anon, Sunny, Zipp, Misty, Hitch, and now Pipp all leave Mane Melody together. Pipp has a noticeable skip in her step, while her pony compatriots are distracted by Anon's new hairstyle. The hair is cut short on the sides, but it fades into longer hair on the top of Anon's head that is swept to one side. For all intents and purposes, he looks extremely clean, especially compared to how he looked when he first arrived in Maretime Bay a few hours prior. 

"I have to say, getting to experiment with a head of hair that isn't obstructed by a pair of big floppy ears was just what I needed for inspiration! I have so many new ideas that I need to tell Rocky about!"

"Haha, I'm glad I could help. Thank you for the haircut, Ms. Petals. Er, what do I owe you?"

"Just 'Pipp' is fine, Anon. And you don't owe me anything!"

"Really? That wasn't exactly a simple haircut."

"Pfft. Don't worry about it! I insist!"

"That's really generous of you, Pipp. Thank... you."

Anon hesitates for a brief moment as if he just realized something. Zipp is the only one who notices, but she says nothing.

"You're very welcome! Now, where are we heading next?"

Pipp smiles and looks at Sunny expectantly.

"We've covered most of the bay already, so I guess we should start heading back to the Brighthouse. We can show Anon the-"

"SUNNY, YOU WILL NEVER BELIEVE WHAT I FOUND IN THE GARBAGE EARLIER AND- oh hello!"

A tall purple unicorn with a silky blue mane comes rushing up to the group, pulling a wagon full of stuffed trash bags behind her as she does so.

"Oh, there you are, Izzy! Anon, this is Izzy, our friend we've been telling you about. Izzy, this is-"

"The human that saved you and Zipp in the Everfree Forest?! Hi new friend!"

Izzy, with unparalleled speed, rushes over to Anon. Rather than shake his hand, she instead stands on her hind legs and pulls him into a tight hug, catching him by surprise. By the time she finally lets go, Anon is breathing heavily.

"It's nice to meet you too, Ms. Izzy. But please, maybe hug a little less hard next time?"

"Huh? Oh! Hehe, whoops!"

Hitch gently pats Anon on his side.

"Sorry about that. Izzy's... 'energy' tends to catch ponies off guard."

"Heheh, it's alright. She, uh..." Anon hesitates yet again. "She reminds me of an old friend." Anon turns from Hitch back to Izzy. "I appreciate the warm welcome."

Sunny chuckles at the sudden increase in energy before looking back up at Anon.

"Shall we return to the Brighthouse? We can rest for a bit and show you the Unity Crystals if you'd like."

"That sounds nice, Sunny. Thank you."





The group, now consisting of six ponies and a human, stand before the strange crystals suspended in midair. The massive rainbow shooting out of said crystals seems to spread warmth and joy to the area around them, and Anon cannot help but feel somewhat nostalgic while looking at them.

"So this is how you reunited Equestria?"

"Sort of. The crystals brought back our magic, yes, but it was our bonds that made their unification possible. If the earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns hadn't finally decided to see past their differences and work together, these crystals wouldn't have meant a thing."

"...Well put. Friendship is magic, after all."

Zipp speaks up before Sunny can.

"You know, you sound a lot like Princess Twilight when you say stuff like that."

"I learned from the best, Zipp. Having someone like her around to teach me that stuff was... monumental in making me the person I am today. Who knows where I'd be without her? Heh, dead, probably."

"Does this have to do with that story you were telling us a few months ago?"

Anon sighs.

"Well, that's neither here nor there. Thank you for showing me around Maretime Bay." Anon looks up at the six ponies, who all smile back at him. "All of you. This is a really nice place, and you're very fortunate to be able to call it your home."

Misty breaks eye contact with Anon when he says those words, but Pipp is the one to respond.

"You know, I've been meaning to ask. If you already know what happened to your daughter, why don't you just move here?"

Sunny leans into Pipp in an attempt to whisper to her, but she's easily loud enough for everyone present to hear every word she says.

"Pipp, Anon is way, way older than us. He knows what he's doing! He lives alone by choice, and I doubt he'd want to move to a place as busy as Maretime Bay."

Anon puts a hand up and sheepishly smiles. In the meantime, the entire group begins making their way back to the lower levels of the Brighthouse.

"Actually, I was just considering doing so."

"W-wait, really?"

"Though I will need some time to iron out the details. For now, there is still much we need to discuss. Er, do you mind if I borrow your stove?"

"Our... stove?"

"I brought some tea with me that I would love to share with you all."

"O-oh, of course! Follow me!"

With that, Sunny makes her way to a nearby staircase and starts heading towards the kitchen as her friends follow suit. As she turns around to do so, Anon mumbles to himself.

"Magic."

Zipp and Pipp follow closely behind Sunny.

"Loyalty. Generosity."

Hitch and Izzy start making their way behind the pegasus sisters.

"Honesty. Laughter."

Finally, Misty stops once she reaches the top of the stairs and turns to look at Anon. Anon shakes his head awkwardly, realizing that he was staring at her. He gives her a nervous smile and begins following her down the steps, but not before sneaking one last look at her butterfly-shaped cutie mark.

"Kindness."

As Anon and Misty make their way into the kitchen, the group begins to engage in friendly conversation. Anon, however, finds himself lost in thought. What he is about to tell these little ponies could have a drastic affect on their peaceful lives here in Maretime Bay. Does he really need to teach them this stuff?

Anon shakes his head. The consequences in the present don't matter, especially when he alone knows what the alternative would mean for Equestria.

No matter what, he won't let past mistakes be repeated.