//------------------------------// // The unknown // Story: How many have you forgiven today? // by Sarcastic Brony //------------------------------// “Are you sure you have to go?” Celestia asks. Anon has just finished his meal and has gotten up out of his seat. His day is far from over. “Yeah, I kinda left Lyra and Bonbon at the store alone. It’s been fun but I need to get back to work.” “Understandable.” Luna comes in. “Thank you for having lunch with us.” “No thanks needed. It’s nice spending time with you two.” That gets a smile out of the two sisters. Anon stretches in place some just before he gives them a wave and takes his leave. “See ya.” “Bye.” Both Luna and Celestia say. Anon walks out of the dining hall and closes the door behind him. That was an interesting turn of events but he’s done with all this craziness for today. Time for him to head on back to work then get ready for his meeting with Pinkie. He swears he has no idea what the mare is thinking. He can only hope the evening turns out better than this day has. Anon walks into the shop and gives a sigh of relief. Finally, a place he understands. The shop is still full and Lyra is working the register as usual. She looks up as she hears the doorbell and her eyes widen when she sees Anon. Anon already has a bad feeling as time starts to slow, he can see how Lyra jumps onto the counter and launches herself towards him. There’s no way he can move away in time, so he accepts his fate as she slams into him. His back smacks against the door as he wraps his arms around Lyra to keep her from falling. She’s crying with her muzzle buried in his chest. Anon has no idea what could’ve caused this but he’s glad to see Bonbon come running from the backroom to assist him. That’s until he notices she launches herself towards him as well. He quickly moves Lyra to one arm and takes the hit from Bonbon just as he uses his free arm to hold her from falling. His back is definitely hurting now as these two cry over him. All the customers just as confused as he is. “What’s going on? I haven’t been gone for that long have I?” Anon tries to joke. “We’re so glad you’re ok!” Bonbon says. “Why wouldn’t I be ok?” “There was this griffin in the shop saying how she wanted to hurt you!” Lyra answers. “Why would she want to hurt me?” Anon asks confused. “I don’t know! She just seemed really angry with you.” Bonbon comes in. Anon looks around the room and takes notice that this probably isn’t the best place for a conversation. So he carries the two of them past the customers and into the back kitchen. “Butterhooves! Man the register!” Butterhooves drops his mixing spoon on the floor in surprise, quickly giving a salute before running off to the storefront. Anon carries the two mares in his arms to the home kitchen and quickly sits them each in a chair. It takes them a few minutes but Anon waits patiently until they regain their composure. Once they do, he takes a seat and they give him their full attention. “Now, tell me what happened. From the top.” “There are so many things I don’t understand.” Twilight mumbles to herself. “So many things I’ve never noticed before. Why is that? Do other ponies notice this stuff?” “Studying as hard as ever I see.” Twilight feels her heart skip a beat as that voice hits her ears. She knows who that is instantly as she whips around with a large smile. “Cadance!” Twilight leaps off her seat and crouches low to the ground as Cadance does the same. “Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!” Twilight can’t believe that Cadance is here. It’s been so long since the two of them have seen each other. Cadance is also happy to see Twilight as well but she instantly notices the ring on her horn and winces a bit at that. Cadance spent some time talking to Shining Armor and heard the story about what happened in Ponyville. Cadance, for the most part, thought it was some kind of joke but he was serious the entire time. Now that she sees the ring she can’t help but feel conflict inside of her. How can the pony in front of her do such a horrible thing? It almost seems like an alien concept to think Twilight would even be capable of such a thing. Yet here she is, with a ring on her horn and a smile on her face. However, that doesn’t stop her from loving Twilight. They’ve spent years together and if Twilight made a mistake, then perhaps Cadance can help make everything better? “How have you been?” Cadance asks. “Great! I’ve been learning about how somepony can get another to forgi-...” Twilight becomes silent as she feels her heart fall a bit. Does Cadance know about what happened in Ponyville? What does she think about her? Cadance notices Twilight’s pause and decides to step in. “I heard about what happened, Twilight.” Cadance notices how Twilight freezes up. “I have no idea why you did it and I can’t even begin to understand what happened between you and Anon during that time,” Twilight feels her head lower as she listens to Cadance talk. “But I believe that right here and now, you truly wish to do the right thing.” “I-I just... I...” Twilight can’t stop herself as she buries her face into Cadance’s chest, letting go a stream of tears. Cadance can only embrace Twilight as she pats her back gently. “Shhh... Shhh. It’s alright, Twilight.” “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” Twilight keeps repeating to herself as she continues to cry. “That’s it, let it all out.” Cadance holds Twilight for a while as she cries everything out. It must be hard for Twilight. She’s so used to messing up and being forgiven. Yet what she did isn’t something that can be forgiven so easily. She’s faced with a challenge that she may never overcome. Cadance understands how Twilight feels, after all, she took care of her when she was a filly. Some time passes and Twilight finally calms down. Cadance using a wing to clear her tears away. “Feeling better?” “A little.” “Good.” They break from their embrace. “So what have you been learning?” Twilight clears her face a bit but feels calmer than she did moments before. “I’ve been learning about body language.” Cadance nods. “Hmm. That can be a difficult thing to learn from a book.” “What do you mean?” “Body language is organic. It’s different from pony to pony, creature to creature. Sure, you can learn basic things but to truly grasp body language you must go out and experience it.” Twilight’s ears pin back a bit. “I-I don’t know, Cadance.” Cadance feels a smile on her face. “Come on, let’s go!” Twilight doesn’t get another word out as Cadance grasps one of her hooves and runs towards the library door. Even though she’s shocked by what is happening, she can’t help but feel a smile growing on her face. “I find this lack of information disturbing.” Anon is rubbing his chin in thought after having heard the story Bonbon and Lyra told him. An unknown female griffin came into the shop threatening to punch him in the face. The only logical assumption he can make is that he met this griffin while under the influence of alcohol. So what did he do that was so bad that she would want to physically harm him? Pointless thoughts. It seems he has an immediate threat he needs to worry about. “There’s no reason to worry.” Anon says trying to calm Lyra and Bonbon. “How can you say that!” Bonbon shouts in worry. “What if this griffin catches you alone! We can’t protect you if you’re not with us!” Lyra adds. Anon raises his hand to silence them. They just sit there in wait for him to speak. “I’m not alone. Luna has ordered the captain of her guard to protect me. While I’m positive it isn’t her, there is a pony watching me right now. I can only assume it’s one of her subordinates.” Bonbon and Lyra look around the room confused. “How do you know that?” Bonbon asks. “Let’s just say I’ve gotten used to watching my surroundings.” “So, you have a personal guard?” Lyra asks. “In a manner of speaking. Yes.” That calms the both of them down considerably. Knowing that Anon has a trained guard, a guard of Luna’s no less, makes them feel a lot better about what is happening. Anon notices the both of them let out a sigh of relief. Hopefully that’ll calm them down about this situation. “So no need to worry. Sorry you had to deal with that griffin in the first place.” “Not at all!” Lyra comes in but quickly settles down with a blush on her face. “I-I wouldn’t let anypony hurt you.” “Well, it’s one less thing you two need to worry about.” Anon is taken away from this situation as he hears a crash from within the kitchen. “Horse feathers!” Anon lets out a sigh as he recognizes Butterhooves’ voice. “We better get back to work before things get ruined.” Anon adds. “That’s probably a good idea.” Bonbon agrees. The three of them quickly compose themselves and walk into the kitchen ready to get things back on track.