Chapter Eighteen: Tentative Therapeutic Tensions
The recess was so far going exactly as expected:
Terribly.
Anon sat on her haunches, staring at her two new classmates with blank-faced confusion.
She had at first welcomed the change from being bored in class to being bored on the playground. It was a refreshing shift of scenery, at least. Despite Cheerilee's best attempts, Anon paid little attention to the rest of the lesson, content to just wait it out while trying not to think about anything in particular.
But after the school bell rang out, freeing students for the blessed period known as recess, Anon realized she'd made a small miscalculation:
Other ponies wanted to talk to her.
"So?" Diamond Tiara asked. "What do you want to do?"
Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara had approached her almost immediately. And it wasn't only them; she could still feel the attention of the other foals on her back.
It wasn't like the idea of being popular in school was unimaginable - she'd grown up with free access to a supply of unsold pastries, basically allowing her to bribe everybody around her into at least begrudging tolerance. Now that Anon thought about it, she was quite confident she could replicate that effect now if she really wanted to.
But this was different. Not only did she not need to bribe anyone with sweets - at least not yet - but there was a lot more fascination and quiet whispering around her than the old "she has cake for lunch" warranted.
The foals here found the rumors surrounding her and her mysterious arrival… "cool". It made her interesting. This in turn made for more rumors, which made her seen even cooler, and thus more interesting. It was a vicious cycle, and she was right in the middle of it.
That was pretty bad. Not only did it risk blowing her cover, but it also left a foul taste in her mouth. It didn't sit right with Anon that there were people, much less children, perceiving anything about her as interesting. Silver Spoon had looked at her with something approaching admiration, even, as she walked towards her. Well, at least until Diamond shot her a pointed look.
Anon raised a brow at that.
Diamond Tiara… she was different. The calculating, scheming look on her face - she was definitely planning something. Anon just couldn't tell what.
Yet Anon smiled to herself. As absurd as it sounded, it was almost comforting to have someone scheme against her. At least something in this place was familiarnormal.
"We could go on the swings!" Silver Spoon offered.
Diamond Tiara rolled her eyes.
"We always go on the swings. They are so boooring," Diamond paused. "And also kind of broken."
Anon's brow quirked up as she took a quick glance at the playground equipment in question. Diamond was right; one of the two chains holding the seat had snapped. That raised the question of what the foals had done to snap a chain like that in the first place, but Anon decided that she probably wouldn't like the answer even if she got one.
"If I fix it, will you leave me alone?" Anon said.
Diamond Tiara tilted her head.
"And how would you do that?" She asked. Anon shrugged.
Fixing things… she was used to fixing things. Helping to run a business since she could walk taught her to make herself useful, to not be a burden. She couldn't help in the kitchen very well, and they never trusted her with the cash register. But fixing things? She could do that Stuff broke all the time. Keeping it at least somewhat functional was something she had a lot of experience in.
And magic made it all just so much easier.
A green aura grabbed the snapped ends of the chain, pushing them together.
Anon conjured images of fire into her mind. She was trying to soften the metal with magic so it would stick together - effectively welding with magic fire. But the small, ineffective spell, built on nearly-faded memories of sitting around a campfire with friends, wouldn't be enough. She needed more.
Her hoof grazed the Sun Orb absentmindedly, with the crystal surface feeling warm on touch. A reminder of a different Equestria.
Yeah, that memory will do.
As it turned out, likening her little magic display to welding was more accurate than what Anon expected. Her magic flared, making the metal glow bright hot and blinding Anon for a brief moment.
Light-headed, the jumper stumbled backwards, falling onto her rump. Almost immediately, Anon felt something brush against her front hoof and pull her up.
"Are you feeling alright?" Silver Spoon asked, helping her stand up.
No, I do not. She felt like she was going to vomit, and had a massive headache that was somehow radiating into her horn. The fact that she was seeing a small galaxy worth of stars in her vision was also little help.
Whose grand idea was it to make the bone structure protruding from my head have so many nerve endings? I hate alien physiology.
Anon managed to say, "Fixed it," while trying to shake off the feeling of someone driving a rusty nail right into her frontal lobe.
Silver Spoon blinked a few times, turning to stare at the repaired chain, and inspected the place where the links had been mended. The new joint was deformed and splotchy, but it did look like it could hold.
"H-how?" Silver Spoon said, picking the chain carefully and tugging at it, testing how it held together. "You made steel glow red! You need temperatures over… a thousand degrees for that!"
"Magic," Anon answered simply, her vision finally free of the spots and stars that were relentlessly attacking it.
Note to self: If you ever want to do this again - don’t.
"B-but!" Silver Spoon said. Anon leaned closer, a glint of madness in her unblinking stare.
"Magic," Anon whispered.
Before Silver Spoon had more time to question Anon’s barely-existing sanity, Diamond Tiara gave a low chuckle.
"You know, we could play dodgeball or something, if you insisted," Diamond Tiara suggested.
Anon turned away from Silver Spoon. The rich, tiara-wearing filly was giving her a patient smile - or at least a pretty good imitation of one.
She was acting - Anon was sure of that - but for what purpose, she had no idea.
A course of action was open to Anon. Would she go along with the charade once more, trying to carefully reveal Diamond’s secret plan? Brave the risk of betrayal, using herself as bait until she either discovered the trap, or stumbled right into it, too late to avoid it?
"Okay, what are you playing at?"
Or she could ask. That should work too - they were just kids, after all.
Diamond Tiara tilted her head.
"The swings, duh," she gave Anon another almost-believable smile. "It would be kinda rude to not go on them now."
Anon shook her head and the smile on Diamond Tiara's face faltered just a little.
"No, I mean, why are you trying to be friends with me?" Anon pushed. "And I mean the real reason."
Diamond Tiara stepped back a little, the smile now totally vanishing as she started to dig at the ground - nervous.
Finally, I'm getting somewhere.
"You complete the team," she said quietly.
Anon's mind went blank.
Or maybe not.
"...I do what now?" Anon said, feeling her tenuous understanding of the situation slip more and more.
Diamond Tiara sighed, exasperated, and pointed to Silver Spoon.
"Okay, so Silver? She's the smart one. She knows stuff, and reads, like… whole books." She paused to let that revelation sink in - which only made Anon question reality more. "And not fun books either. Boring ones about old ponies who don't matter anymore. And she wears glasses."
The importance of the filly's eyewear went right over the jumper's head, as Anon had not yet snapped from her daze. Nevertheless, Diamond Tiara moved on, putting a hoof over the jumper's shoulder, causing her to flinch away.
"And I’m the charismatic leader." Diamond Tiara said smugly. "I know how to talk to ponies. Make them do what I want. As for how you fit in?"
She gave Anon an unflappable, totally serious look, sending even more of Anon’s rapidly dwindling sanity down the drain as she tried to determine if this was just an elaborate prank or if she had finally gone insane.
"You're the bruiser."
Yeah, I’m nuts, definitely.
"The what?" Anon said, while slowly edging away from Diamond.
"Bruiser. You know?" Diamond said, her tone suggesting that what she was saying made even a modicum of sense. "The muscle behind the operation."
Anon paused, her mind racing, desperately reaching for any rationale behind that sentence.
"...Is your dad in the mafia?"
She found one. Maybe.
Diamond Tiara raised her brow.
"The what?" she asked, and it sounded sincere.
A bit too sincere, Anon thought. But she was probably wrong. Or at least Anon hoped she was wrong, because the idea of a pony-run mafia was something even the jumper was not yet ready to accept.
That's too crazy, they don't sound even remotely Italian!
"Okay, we'll get back to that later." Anon said. "What do you mean by me being -" she raised her hooves to do air quotes, something remarkably hard to do without any fingers "- 'the muscle' behind the operation. Me? A short, scrawny little unicorn?"
Celestia was right when she said that Anon looked much healthier now, but three years of hanging on the edge of starvation weren't going to be fixed so quickly. Anon was vaguely aware that she had muscles - logically speaking, she had to have some to be able to move around - but finding them would be a whole other matter.
"You have magic," Diamond Tiara explained. "And you’re fast and tough. And you stood up for me, even saved me, after I was not nice to you and called you a mean word.” She paused, her ears drooping just a little. “No one has done that before."
Anon stayed silent for a little while. Was Diamond Tiara… genuine? She could at least see the logic behind it: She had saved her, so now Diamond wanted to be around her more. That made sense.
But then, why did she sound so sad when she mentioned the last part about mean words? Like it was somehow just as important, or even more so, than the "saving her life" thing.
Anon shrugged. She had already made her choice and accepted the invitation into Diamond's little posse, even if she didn't think it was that big of a deal.
"Well, it's that and mom wanted me to make friends with you," Diamond added sheepishly.
Anon shot her a puzzled look. Her mother? Thinking about it, she hadn't met her yet. Without data, any guesses about her motives for this would just be that: Guesses.
Maybe her mom just wanted Diamond to make more friends? That is something that parents do, right?
But then, it sounded like her mother spoke about Anon, specifically. She simply chalked it down to another show of gratitude for carrying Tiara out of danger, yet something felt off about it.
"But you seem fun to hang out with." Diamond Tiara added. "Nothing ever happens in Ponyville. It's so boring."
"Except when Everfree monsters wander into town," Silver Spoon piped up. "Or ancient night-goddesses attack out of nowhere."
"Okay that's true." Diamond Tiara said, rolling her eyes.
But Silver Spoon didn't pay any attention to her, as she tapped her hoof on the ground - a pony equivalent of counting your own fingers, Anon guessed.
"Or Pinkie Pie does Pinkie Pie things. Or it's election year, or any major national holiday or-" Silver Spoon shuddered. "Or when it's Tuesday."
Diamond Tiara gave a grim nod. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot about Tuesdays."
The filly then waved her hoof. "Anyway, you seem fun to be around and basically nothing ever happens in Ponyville. So let's hang out and have some fun."
Anon stayed silent, staring at the ground.
Fun…
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Diamond pointed at the repaired swings. "Let's go on. Who will push who first?"
Anon got up, dusting herself off. A smirk on her muzzle.
"I have a better idea."
Cleaning.
It was such a calming, meditative task to Bon Bon. Something to do with her hooves while she and Lyra talked. It gave them time to relax and simply enjoy each other's company while they did the mundane chore of keeping their home from slowly becoming a landfill.
“And that's the last reason Trot on my heart is the superior album.”
Well, at least that was what was supposed to happen.
"In short, I'm saying I like Coloratura's earlier works more." Lyra huffed, oblivious to the feather dusters levitating around her.
Bon Bon gave her a curt nod, picking up yet another discarded roll of paper with music notes hastily scrawled over it.
Bon Bon sighed.
She loved witnessing Lyra’s bouts of creativity. The times where the minty mare would sit for hours, creating music from that mysterious space in her head where thought became songs were fascinating to watch. It was just that Bon Bon sometimes wished she would be a little less messy about it, and not leave empty cups of coffee and crumpled-up sheet notes scattered everywhere.
Or, in this case, scribble her ideas over an old poster for Coloratura concerts because she ran out of music sheet.
And also their walls, shower curtains, napkins, table cloths, and basically any other surface that could conceivably be written on. Their whole bedroom looked like it was visited by a very musically inclined tornado.
"I know you do honey. You explained your reasons for it. All seventy four of them," she replied. "But that still doesn't tell me if you want to keep the poster or not."
Lyra puffed her cheeks, giving her fiance a playful nudge.
"It was seventy six. And don't honey me, sweet cheeks," she said in an exaggerated tone, made even less convincing by the wide grin on her muzzle. "This is serious!"
"Don't sweet cheek me then, Lyly," Came the swift reply, accompanied by a little giggle and another nudge.
"Don't Lyly me…" Lyra hesitated, muzzle scrunched in concentration. "Candy butt."
Bon Bon gave her a stoic, disapproving look, her lower lip twitching before she burst out laughing.
"Candy butt?" she managed to gasp between chuckles. "Really?"
Lyra scratched the back of her head nervously.
"Eh, you put me on the spot," she said sheepishly.
The mood soured fast as Lyra’s eyes trailed towards the letter marked with the Equestrian Royal Seal on the bedside table, delivered in the morning by the ever-dutiful Ponyville mailmare. She picked it up and gave it another look - it didn't matter how many times she had read those official-sounding words, they still felt unbelievable, too good to be true.
Sweetie Drops more or less knew what would be in the letter, of course. The agent had no doubt about the result of Celestia's - or rather Sunny’s - visit. Not after Lyra's display of parental responsibility.
Anon would stay with them for the time being. Their foster care was prolonged until adoption, with them being considered as candidates.
And while it was nice how bubbly and happy it made Lyra - enough to trigger a whole songwriting episode - there was a little note attached to that letter that made them both worry, even though it was for very different reasons.
"Are you sure it's a good idea?" Lyra asked slowly. “Sending Spring to talk to a therapist?”
Bon Bon gave a long sigh, leaning on Lyra’s side.
"Not very," she said after a few seconds of thoughtful silence. "But it's probably the right thing to do. And she's good at what she does."
Bon Bon paused, tapping at her chin with her front hoof.
"Though this seems very different from her usual line of work," Bon Bon said. "She specializes in couples therapy, last I saw her."
Lyra put the letter down, giving her fiance an incredulous look.
"You know her?" Lyra asked.
"Oh yeah," Bon Bon answered. "Since I was a teenager, actually. She was also an apprentice in the palace. Learned from the therapist there."
Lyra nodded. That sounded good. There was prestige to having an apprenticeship at Canterlot Palace. It meant that you learned from the best of the best. Lyra was pretty sure that Bon Bon could build her entire career on that fact alone - she'd learned her craft in royal kitchens, from the royal chefs. There was a nonzero chance that Celestia herself had tried something Bon Bon had made.
If Bon Bon truly wanted, she could have opened her shop in Canterlot, instead of a small town like Ponyville - a place where Pinkie Pie and Bon Bon gave each other dirty looks everytime Pinkie attempted to make her own chocolate or Bon Bon tried to sell baked goods.
Yet, something started to bother Lyra. A little detail that didn't make much sense.
"Why were there therapist apprenticeships in the palace, of all places?" She said, "I understand why chefs and chefs' apprentices would be there, but a therapist? How would that even work?"
Bon Bon gave her a shrug.
“It's a big building," she explained. "Well, several buildings actually. There are whole families living there, not to mention the guard barracks, a few embassies, and the most prestigious school of magic on the continent. So the castle has its own hospital. And that includes a psychotherapy staff."
Lyra smiled. Of course Bon Bon would know more about this than her - she’d only visited the castle twice, and both times she'd wanted to get away from there as fast as possible.
"Huh," Lyra said. "I guess I never really appreciated just how big the castle complex was."
Suddenly, the minty unicorn perked up, rasing her hoof in as she gestured for silence.
"Somepony is at the doors," she said just as somepony knocked downstairs.
Bon Bon cast Lyra a strange look, before shrugging and saying, "I'll get it." She trotted down the stairs quickly, and heard snippets of conversation from behind the front door…
"Wait," Anon interrupted, "so were you promoted or not?"
Beside the green filly trudged a stallion in faded golden armor. The bags under his eyes whispered a secret tale of having to deal with forgotten paperwork late into the morning. Only his sense of duty, and ungodly amounts of coffee, was keeping the guard on his legs.
Well, that and Steel Wind didn't want to get yelled at again.
The poor soldier was at the end of his wits. After the catastrophe that was the Summer Sun Celebration - for which he was noticed by command - a decision was made to station guards in town permanently. Which meant a whole squad of rookies was assigned here.
And they needed a leader.
Not for the first, or last, time, Steel Wind considered the pros and cons of claiming insanity to get off duty. (Not that it would work if he tried, anyway, as being insane doesn't stop one from serving or getting promoted. If anything, it helps…)
"Yesn’t," the guard answered simply.
Anon stopped, eye twitching slightly.
"So you were promoted. Technically." Anon said slowly. "But you don't have a higher pay or anything. Just more responsibilities."
Steel Wind nodded. "Precisely."
Anon pondered this for a few seconds. Her eyes narrowed, as if she was trying to physically pinpoint the logic behind any of this.
She didn't find any.
"That doesn't make any sense," Anon finally declared.
"Correct," agreed Steel Wind.
Anon shot him another puzzled look, her shoulders sagging.
"I don't think I get how the guard works," she said sadly.
An armored hoof patted her on the head. Steel Wind's eyes were empty as they looked into the distance. "Me too buddy," he muttered. "Me too."
Their short moment of camaraderie, pondering the senselessness of the giant bureaucracy that called itself an army, was interrupted by Bon Bon opening the door.
The earth pony mare wore a look of profound worry mixed with confusion, seeing a certain green filly sitting in front of her.
The reason for her confusion was an easy one.
School wasn't supposed to be over yet - and she was the one who was supposed to pick Anon up once it ended. She'd only gone home from work to get lunch first, but then got caught in helping Lyra clean the mess from her songwriting episode
Bon Bon panicked. Did she take too long? No, the town's clocktower showed her that there was still time left before school was supposed to end. So something else must have happened.
And then there was the whole other issue.
"Hello Spring, you’re home early," Bon Bon's eyes drifted towards Steel Wind, fighting to not fall asleep where he stood, totally ignoring her pointed look. "And with a royal guard as an attache."
Anon gulped, turning towards the guard for help, but the only answer she got was gentle snoring.
"Yeah, there was an… accident."
The tone of voice used when talking about the "accident" did not help Bon Bon’s rampant paranoia, but there was no smoke over the horizon, so it couldn't have been that bad, right?
From behind Bon Bon, Lyra’s head popped out, squeezing around her fiance to run towards Anon.
"Accident?!" Lyra shrieked, stopping inches away from Anon, looking for any signs of harm or injuries, fortunately finding none. "Are you alright? What happened?"
Anon gave a nervous chuckle.
"So, eh, I tried using my magic to push a swing and, well… Do either of you know what a centrifuge is?"
Lyra froze for a second, staring intently at the small foal currently trying to disappear into the pavement.
Bon Bon's reaction was much more immediate.
She facehooved, relief mixing with exasperation.
Magical mishaps were to be expected - more if Anon wasn't used to even being an unicorn. As long as everypony was alright and the school was left standing, she could live with it.
"Is anypony hurt?" Bon Bon asked.
Anon sunk even lower, her voice trembling.
"Maybe?" she said, sounding too unsure for comfort. "They haven't found Snails yet…"
The foal perked back up, giving them both a big, shining, and obviously false smile.
"On the bright side, we got to go home early!" she said, attempting to sound cheerful, but failing miserably.
And then Bon Bon noticed that Anon was shaking.
Lyra reached for Anon, but the foal recoiled, putting her hooves above her head.
Defensive posture, noted the analytic part of Sweetie Drops’ brain. Expecting an attack from above - from somepony taller than them.
"Spring…" Bon Bon sighed.
"Well, if this is all, I will be going," Steel Wind yawned while stretching his neck with a loud pop that made Bon Bon cringe - she was pretty sure that necks were not supposed to make that sound.
"Oh, thanks Corporal," said Lyra.
"Sergeant." Steel corrected, waving his hoof. "I’m “acting” Sergeant Steel now."
Lyra blinked.
"...What does that even mean?" she asked.
Steel Wind shrugged.
"Tartarus if I know. Have a nice day!"
With the guard leaving, Bon Bon turned towards Anon.
"Well, it's decided now," she said.
"You’re going to therapy."
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Thanks for updating this absolutely fantastic work.
Can't wait for the therapist to inevitably need a therapist after talking about Spring's issues.
Nothing ever happens in Ponyville... except when it does, at a surprising frequency, come to think of it.
Bad and naughty foals get put in the meat centrifuge.
I think this has something to do with the poor Sergeants fate - being the victim of soulless meat grinder known as "beuracratic apparatus"...
Thanks for the update.
11606489
Plus considering she tries to keep the whole multi verse thing a secret from those who aren't somewhat in the know. Celestia has enough knowledge and experience to understand about it even if she doesn't check it out. Spring is experience with it but has been through more than most ponies have in one lifetime. There is very little chance she going to be talking about it and her experiences in it with someone who doesn't even have a clue what it like. Celestia certainly would be a choice if she has to talk with someone.
I would find something to comment on, but I burnt the shit out of my thumb pad laddleing soup at the grocery store, and it's hard to focus on anything but the fact that I'm probably going to have a big fucking blister in the way once it stops hurting.
Oh, take care of yourself: ) another great chapter here!
I'm guessing that Anon being friends with Diamond Tiara will make her less of a bully to the CMC?
Anyways, glad to have you back with a new chapter <3
I am now imagining Snails being launched over the school by a rocketing Diamond Tiara and that image makes me smile.
well at least lira is there to notice spring needs a magic tutor and fast
*Laughs in shared pain*
I hope the swings remain a noodle incident.
11606916
That hits a bit too close to home...
To the mooooonnnnn!
Getting promoted without an equivalent pay raise is the worst.
Nice
Spoiled Rich is involved with this. That’s going to make an interesting twist.
I like how DT and Silver have some moments of relatability here, that they’re not pedal-to-the-metal insufferable 24/7.
The sergeant will probably get back pay. That’s normal for government work: job change is quicker than HR but things are dated and corrected after the fact. Nice detail for the world building to bring him back, btw.
Thanks for the chapter
Congratulations for being promoted, more responsability, more chances of mistakes, more work and all with the same pay and autorithy
Weeeeeee! Space!
Love it, hope to see more in the future :)
so Steel Wind is essentially you in this chapter, huh
Laughed, thanks!
I have to raise one point, Anon is acting more and more like a filly every day rather than the grizzled Veteran Of The Psychic Wars (tm) that we started with. And I really can't figure out if that's on purpose of if the author lost track of that.
Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, because regardless, it works either way: Anon was a veteran and had "seen things" (and run from them, and blown them up, etc.) but he wasn't "all there". And now the fact that he's stuck here and can't move on and is forced to "deal with it" as a filly and I we know he's losing his grip on who he was originally and where he came from.
So, yeah, not good for Anon.
11606944
Least Equestria might not have the screwed up rewording to try to make it sound better. “It’s not more responsibility, it’s more opportunities to succeed.”
So she’s got a bit more magical muscle than she thought… ohhh boy.
11608443
Probably shouldn't have used the Orb to give herself a boost?
That promotion bit was way too relatable. I love it lol
11607753
I mean, Anon doesn’t really seem to remember much from their original life. Can’t remember their name, their sisters name who’s important to them etc. Though I found it interesting that Anon’s original sister and BonBon practically have the same shop with the living space connected to it(I could be remembering wrong on if bonbons was connected to their house)
11608594
I'm pretty sure she didn't so much use it for a boost as much as used it as a catalyst for the memories of her time in daybreaker's world.
Could be wrong though
11617552
The problem is the details are missing. And unfortunately with time changing everything even they find the right place how would they be sure it was the right place. Details help see the difference between similar things. Unless someone who knows him sees him he won't be able to find it.
11607753
Biology is a bitch and this is the first time in long time the MC can just relax and have fun.
great chapter
Typo