Chapter Ten - It's A Triangle Of Sorts
“Hmnurhfmn… belly… rub… hermrm…”
Anon and Bon Bon stared down at the unconscious form of Lyra that was laying on top of their living room coffee table.
‘Or would that be a tea table since they don’t serve coffee here?’
Wiping his hair back, Anon let out a sigh, trying to move a few strands from his eyes. He made a mental note to ask about a haircut next time he got. The spa ponies did mention their sister, Vera, went off to start a new hair cutting business.
“We should… probably wake her.”
Bon Bon nodded her head, “Agreed. Having her sleep on the table will set up a precedent for future sleeping sessions on it. I only just got her to stop sleeping on the kitchen table and I don’t want her to start this up again elsewhere.”
Walking up to her, Bon Bon started to poke her in the side. Lyra squirmed around with each poking until she started to jerk around. Bon Bon took a few steps back, watching Lyra kick in her direction before tumbling over the side, landing with a soft thump.
She blinked a few times, shaking her head before standing up. “Why am I here on the floor? Oh hey, guys! Did I miss anything?”
“If anything I’m the one that missed everything,” Bon Bon said.
“...Eh?”
“Anon somehow got a job, on his own might I add, as a masseuse in the Day Spa here in town. Which, by the way…” She turned to Anon. “Just how did you manage that?”
“I just… walked into shops, and asked around. They liked… my forei-gness and after some practice… saw their cli-en-tele liked my work and hired me on the spot.”
“That shop is quite popular, Anon. They don’t hire a lot of ponies or individuals not vetted by their family, so having you hired on the spot is unheard of.” Bon Bon looked at Lyra. “Though looking at how Lyra was just moments ago, there must be something to your work.”
Lyra coughed, “Ehr, yes. Well, he was pretty good.” She shook her head. “But enough of that. Is that really a place you’ll be comfortable working in? Carrot Top at the carrot farm is perfectly fine with hiring you up there. I don’t want you being in a profession that might make you uncomfortable, especially with one that requires a lot of physical contact.”
‘Says the pony that received said physical contact.’
“It is fine, I can… adapt to it. But I don’t know… if the pay is good. Still hard… under-standing your curr-ency.”
No matter how much they tried to explain it, he couldn’t fathom why a few bits could pay for either a loaf of bread or a train ride. How were the two comparable concerning their prices?
“They said… starting pay is two hundred bits a week, not including tips.”
The jaws of the two ponies dropped. “What?! That’s more than even the princess pays me!”
“That would certainly pay for this month’s expenses,” Bon Bon chimed in.
“Congratulations are in order!” Lyra rubbed her chin. “But Nightmare Night is coming soon and we’ve got a lot of work to do until then. Ah, how about you come to stargaze with me and Bon Bon after Nightmare Night!”
Bon Bon appeared seemed to choke on something, smacking her chest. “S-Sorry, just had a nasty cough right there.”
Anon noticed Bon Bon’s reaction, storing that for later.
Lyra seemed to think to herself. “But why would they pay you so much? They’re not trying to pull one over on you I hope.”
“It did not… feel like it to me.”
Lyra hummed to herself. “I think I better go out and talk to them, just to see what they’re up to. Bon Bon can you stay here and help out Anon with setting up dinner?”
Bon Bon went rigid, “H, how about I go out and ask them and you stay here?”
“No, I need to go out anyways for a few other reasons. Don’t worry I’ll be back soon!”
Having left, Bon Bon and Anon stood alone in the room; the two shared a look, Bon Bon turning from him, appearing like she was trying to say something.
“I uh, well I guess I’ll go to the kitchen and start something,” she said, slowly walking away. “I need to prepare a lot of candy as it is and I can do both at the same time.”
Before she could make her way past him, Anon stood up and blocked her path. “Bon Bon, we need to talk.”
The earth pony furrowed her brow, looking up at his tall form. Pointing at the couch, he motioned for her to take a seat. A grunt sounded out from her as she made her way there, clearly not sure what to take this for. To Anon, it felt like the perfect time to get things settled once and for all. He had been meaning to talk to her about her attitude for a while now.
“So,” the pony said, her grumpy tone made clear, “what did you want to talk about?”
She wasn’t willing to stay around for too long if the subject started off directed toward her, so Anon took a different approach to breach the topic. “It is about Lyra.”
Her eyes rolled in their sockets, “Anon, I know she can be strange and silly at times. I’m certain you’re aware she’s still a good mare despite some of her actions and any pony that gets the chance to know her can see that.”
“It is not that.”
“Is it about the massage? Or about you needing a job? We all need to pull up our hitches and support one another so you can’t think about slacking off.”
He shook his head no, confusing things for her. She was curious just what was going on with Lyra if it wasn’t anything recent.
“Bon Bon, you do not like me, do you?”
It took a moment for the words to take effect. Her eyes widened with her mouth hanging open, trying to find something to reply with.
“W-W-What do you mean by that?!”
A breath of air escaped him as he rubbed his jaw, knowing it would be very sore and painful along with his tongue after this.
“I had noticed things about you. At times, you would… glare at me or do your best to stay away. You do not like to talk to me, at all. You occa-sionally slip up even and call me an ‘it’… instead of re-ferr-ing to me as a person. Something must be going on… and I wanted to help find common ground for both of us.”
Her head pulled away from him, ashamed to look at him and shocked to realize her previous actions were easily read by him.
“I… it’s not like I hate or dislike you, or anything like that. What I… see you… it’s just complicated, that’s all.”
Anon shook his head, “Then help me find a way… to make this less com-plicated.”
Her nose scrunched up. “It’s not like I can talk to you about this. It’s just really hard for me to get around this, okay?” Bon Bon’s eyes focused on her hooves now, getting more uncomfortable as this went on. “I really don’t want to talk about this. Can we just forget this ever happened and I promise to do better?”
He rubbed his jaw, swallowing his collected spit, all the while doing his best to unravel his spun tongue from the difficulty that was speaking in their language.
“Bon Bon, I do not want ani-mo-sity between us. I would like us to be friends. It is hard to do so without talking about this.”
Placing a hand on her shoulder, trying to show some connection to her, Bon Bon slapped it away with her hoof. He retracted his arm, unwilling to look bothered by her actions.
Anon then decided to go toward something she would definitely listen to. “There is also Lyra to consider.”
She froze, hearing Lyra coming into the topic.
“Lyra talked to me about this a bit ago. She… wanted me to try and get to know you better, hoping to bridge the gap between us.”
Those words forced the pony in front of Anon to slightly pale. Her stomach churned as if something heavy dropped in it. “So you told Lyra about this?” she said, the words barely reaching his ears.
“No, Bon Bon. She just noticed this as well but kept it to herself.” That made her feel even worse, not realizing her friend saw her acting in such a way. “I am hoping with this we can get to know one another.”
“Well I don’t want to do this right now,” Bon Bon grumbled, her comfort zone pushed past its limits. “Look, I’ve got better things to do tha—”
“Bon Bon!” he said with a scratchy voice.
She jumped in her seat from the couch, not expecting him to do that. He had never raised his voice in such a manner, and doing so had her think he was getting angry. It was only then Bon Bon realized she was alone, in a house, with an alien that was multitudes stronger than her, and with no proper way to defend herself should he truly want to do anything.
“This is not just about your wants. Whether you like it or not, I am stuck living with you!”
Bon Bon kept her head turned away, her face showing an angry expression, hiding the fear and sickening feeling inside. It only made him angrier.
“You have to think of others besides yourself. I know, this is your home and I should not really be speaking to you about this. But I have little to no say in much of what happens here… and that plain sucks for me, having to be around here with you showing so much dislike to me!”
The pony flinched with the rough rasp of his voice barking out. The heavy accent helped to add a flair of anger in his words, coming off as if he were growling at her. Looking at her, Anon took a pause, noticing he needed to calm down. Anger would not get him anywhere. He wanted to settle things with her, not start a fight.
“Look… Lyra may have been the one to ask me to talk to you, but I have been meaning to do this for a while. Can’t you see you’re upsetting her with your actions?”
Her head whipped to him. “What?! MY actions?!” Her words demanded an explanation.
“Yes, your actions. If you had not noticed, Lyra had been trying to get us three to do things together. Each time though… when it involved me, her attempts… were wasted around with you not wanting a part of what she was doing.”
Bon Bon’s previous emotions were gone, more intent with listening to him now.
“You barely have been around her recently, and that is not because of me. She had wanted… to do things with you and me many times but you would always excuse yourself. Have you not noticed? Lyra finally stopped asking you so much with including you with her activities.”
Anon took a moment to let his jaw rest while letting what he said sink in for Bon Bon.
“The last real thing you were a part of… was helping me learn to speak, and the last activity was that picnic a few days back. You left as soon as possible each time. You could have stayed with us though. Do you not want to be a part of what we do… like when Lyra plays her lyre?”
“I… needed to make my…”
“We could have helped with that and you know it, Bon Bon. She had offered and I had as well.”
His words felt like they were finally getting through to her. Her face softened up with the things Anon listed to her she missed out on: From the music festival to Lyra spending time with him at the farm. Bon Bon recognized the folly in her actions on everything she had missed out on. By the time he was done, her head hung to the ground, turned away from him. Cautiously, he placed a hand on her shoulder, this time without it being slapped away.
“I am trying to make this work, Bon Bon. Please, help me with this… okay?”
She didn’t respond to him, clearly taking in everything that Anon said. Her body shook unsteadily under his hand. Bon Bon wiped at her face, shaking her head from side to side. Slowly, her head turned to him, tears flowing from her eyes.
“W-Why can’t I be you?”
Anon wasn’t sure what to expect, but this was surely not one of the things he thought would come up.
“What do you mean?” he asked, unsure where this was headed.
Bon Bon looked at his shoulder, staring at the hand on her. She then turned to her hooves, turning them over, staring at them. “Your hands… I wish I had your hands…”
And now it’s gone into the creepy zone. He pulled his hand back at her words.
“You know, I’ve been Lyra’s friend for a long time. And she’s done a lot for me, more than I can ever repay her for.” Bon Bon tried to wipe the tears from her face, only for more to appear in its place. “But I still tried to be there for her, to help her as she helped me.”
This didn’t feel like something that he should be hearing. When he imagined her opening up to him, this was not what he had in mind to happen.
“I’ve tried talking to her, you know. I’ve tried telling her about my feelings, but each time… I froze. I feel like I can’t breathe and I lock up every single time. So I’ve tried to show her how I felt in different ways, hoping she’d see through it.” Bon Bon slammed her hooves into the couch, shoving her head down into them. “Why does she have to be so dense!”
“I do not mean to be rude but… what does have to do with you disliking me?”
“I-I’ve already told you I don’t dislike you. I just didn’t want to be around you and I guess I may have gone about that too strongly. It’s just so hard for me to look at you, knowing how Lyra feels about you.”
Something clicked, finally realizing what was going on. ‘Please, for the love of god, don’t tell me what I think you’re about to tell me.’
“She’s always so affectionate with you.” Bon Bon sniffed, wiping away more tears, “Not that she isn’t affectionate, to begin with. But with you, she’d always make sure to give you a hug whenever she could, or sharing her smoothies with you.”
Anon thought Lyra was just being especially friendly with him when she did those things.
“And th-those nights I stargaze with Lyra… those were supposed to be our nights together.” Her voice was barely a whisper, her words whimpering out. “I set those up so we could have some time, alone, so I could… so I could be with her.”
She continuously wiped at her face from the streaming tears. Her hooves lowered from her eyes, hovering above her chest.
“It really hurts. The fact that I’ve been with her for so long and I can’t even bring the courage to talk to her. And here you are, barely here for a few months and she’s already doing things with you I could only wish for…”
Bon Bon gulped air into her lungs, letting out a light sob. Her head shook, wiping at her face once more.
“I don’t even know why I’m telling you this.”
“Bon Bon… I see her as a friend but that is it. I am… not even sure I could see myself with a pony at all, it seems too out of place for me.” He really did not want to think about being in any kind of relationship like that. “Maybe if I talk to her about this, she will stop looking at me like this a—”
“NO!” Bon Bon screamed, turning her head to him. “D-Don’t do that! That would break her heart more than anything you could ever imagine! I don’t want to see that!”
‘What have I gotten myself into?’
“Y-You’re the one that she wants, that sp-special somepony she’s always dreamed of being with… Not me…”
Saying those words out loud seemed to take the remaining energy out of her. Bon Bon slumped down into the couch, openly crying her heart out having finally said her feelings out in the open. Anon wondered how long she had been dealing with this by herself.
Scooting closer to her, he wrapped an arm around her body in a hug, hoping to help calm her. The pony weakly struggled away from him at first. Her weak attempts ceased with her hooves slowly wrapping around him, holding him tightly as she cried into his chest. Anon rubbed her back up and down, trying to calm her.
It was clear she didn’t want to say this to Lyra due to her feelings on the subject. It was surprising to hear she was willing to give up on her chances with Lyra so she would be happy. Anon could now say he understood why she had been acting as she had been toward him. And to find Lyra thought of such things for him, it wasn’t something that ever came across his mind. Most of the ponies seemed to be very close to one another, so he took her actions as just being especially fond of him…
Bon Bon’s crying slowly turned into little whimpers, her hold on him staying strong.
“…You should not give up on her,” Anon said, rubbing the top of her head. “You just have to try harder at this. Try speaking to her, Bon Bon.” He lifted her head so she was looking at him, her red and puffy eyes looking back at him. “If you truly have feelings for her… you cannot give up so easily like this. You just need to find a way.”
Her face blushed from embarrassment at his words. As she was about to reply, the front door slammed open, announcing the return of a certain unicorn.
“Okay then! I’ve talked to those two ponies at the spa and we’ve come to an agreement for…” Her words died off as she walked in, staring at the two of them on the couch. She blinked in confusion at the situation. “Uuuum… what’s this?”
Bon Bon looked like a deer in the headlights. Anon knew she wasn’t ready to speak to her after her episode. He needed something to explain away her teary eyes and why she was on him like that.
“Bon Bon tripped and sla-mmed her face into the ground so I was cleaning out her eyes.”
‘That’s my excuse? Seriously?’
“Oh no! Is she hurt?!”
‘AND SHE BELIEVED IT?!’
“Uhh… a little? She needed to use my shirt so that is why it is so wet…?”
Lyra jumped into action, running up to her friend and examining her face. She wrapped her in a tight hug, “Are you alright?”
“Y-Yeah, I’m fine now…” Bon Bon answered in a raspy voice, returning the hug.
Standing up, Anon decided to let the two have some privacy. He had some hope doing so would allow her to talk to Lyra about her feelings now that they were out in the open.
“Anon, where are you going?” Lyra asked as he started out the door of the house.
Stopping, he turned to the two who were still holding one another. Lyra looked curious while Bon Bon appeared happy for the moment with Lyra being so close to her.
“I was going for a small walk to help clear my head.” Staring at Bon Bon, another idea popped in his head. “How about you two fix up meals while I wander around Pony-ville. Would let me… inter-act with others while you two dis-cuss this Night-mare Night star-gazing.”
“Ah, we could do that! There’s barely any time and we still have to plan for costumes and her stall. But we could also use your input on this, I mean, you’ll be there after all.”
Anon looked at Bon Bon who stared back. “I… can’t. Because… I already promised a pony out in town that I would spend some time with them. You did want me to find more friends, remember?”
“Oh… Well, I guess I’ll just hang out with Bon Bon by myself then. That’s still cool.”
Gazing directly into Bon Bon’s eyes, he nodded at her before heading out the door, closing it behind him as he headed down the street. Honestly, he did need to clear his head after what had transpired. The cool air felt fantastic as he took a brisk walk around the town. He waved at the ponies that saw him by himself.
Staring at all the ponies going about their business, thinking about what had just happened, and seeing how things have gone with him so far, he felt horribly out of place in this pony society. Why were so many of them accepting of him without much thought?
“Hmmm.”
He shook his head, not wanting to have those thoughts around his head at the moment. He said he had made a promise to be with a friend, and now he had to find someone so his story didn’t fall apart late on. Fluttershy was an option, he hadn’t been around her house before and it might be interesting.
“Well, well, well! What’s an alien doing all alone by himself out here?” Hearing that, Anon turned around, finding Vinyl standing there with a large grin.
“Hey there,” he greeted.
“Hey there yourself! So what are you doing out here in town?”
“I could ask the same of you.”
“Heh. Well, I just got back from the park from playing some wicked tunes out there! Had them throwing themselves all over the ground to my beats and it was amazing. You should’ve seen it!”
“I am sorry to have missed it,” he told her, genuinely upset to have missed something like that.
“Eh, there’s always another time, right? So, you never answered my question.”
He scratched the back of his head. “I needed to give Bon Bon some time with Lyra alone. It’s a bit… complicated.”
Anon didn’t want to just tell her about some things that he felt were clearly not for other ears. Apparently, there was no need for him to do so. Vinyl looked like she knew exactly what he was talking about, her mouth forming an ‘O’ shape.
“So Bon Bon got around to telling you about her feelings toward Lyra.”
“…You know about that?”
“Sure,” she answered with a wave of her hoof. “Both Octavia and I back in the academy used to hang out with them all the time. I told her she needed to be more aggressive in this. We knew about her feelings for Lyra after some time, and we kept telling her to snatch that mare up before somepony else does.” She looked him up and down with an appraising look. “And from how I saw some things, it looks like a certain alien may have done just that.”
“I do not understand how. I am not a pony. She is just a friend.”
She let out a hearty laugh. “Dude, it is so obvious. That mare is absolutely bonkers over you.”
“But I am not. Bon Bon is the one that wants her, not me!” Anon rubbed the bridge of his nose, getting annoyed at the accusations thrown at him. “Can you just help me put those two together?” He felt a need to try and help Bon Bon with her problem.
Vinyl clicked her tongue. “You know how long I’ve tried doing just that? Lyra is incredibly oblivious and Bon Bon is too much of a wuss to try anything with her. Maybe in a few years, a few more barriers will drop and they’ll be honky-dory with one another, but right now? That candy mare better act fast or Lyra will just keep falling all over for you.”
“I do not… get you ponies.” He took a few steps away from her, staring up at the night sky. “Nothing you do makes sense. You are all either too fi-dge-ty or too friendly. Your soci-ety sounds like it is written from a children's book. I am captured by Lyra, only to be… ordered to inte-grate into your people… and get a job. And now you say… Lyra might like me more than just a friend.”
“Not might like, does. And comparing things from your world, of course, nothing would make sense. Up is down and friendship triumphs over evil!” Vinyl gave off a laugh. “Although, I do have to admit, us ponies have always been a bit… kooky in certain respects.”
“No kidding.”
Vinyl cleared her throat. “But uh, yeah; loving other species isn’t exactly frowned upon. Hay, I know of a few relationships that have three in their crowd, tangoing down the congo-line to their own beat of passion. It’s called herding, and if you think being with a pony is weird, wait until you see a minotaur, a griffon, and a pony together in one. That sure was a weird trip up in those minotaur lands.”
The unicorn walked up to him, pushing a hoof lightly into his gut. “Just don’t be surprised if someone eventually comes down with a burning sickness of the loving-pains. And between you and me, that bug may have already stricken Lyra hard in the chest.”
He shook his head, “Romance… is not something I am ready for, or thinking about. Even the idea of being with a pony…”
Hot air escaped her lips, steam flowing out from the cool air. Lifting her goggles up with her magic, she stared him down with her intense eyes. “Are you trying to tell me that love can only be found in the hearts of familiar beings in familiar places? The way I see it, love is much, much more complicated than that. It has a way of sneaking up on you, and before you know it… it’s found you. Then the only thing left is to allow it to flourish.”
A grin appeared on her face before she let out a chuckle. “I know you’re a stranger in these parts. I just don’t think it’s something that you should ignore. Or at least, that’s how I see things, anyway.” She gave him a wink, placing her goggles back on. “Don’t worry. You’ll get over the whole species thing, I’m certain of it.”
‘Just let it go or she’ll keep talking about this.’
It was too weird for him to think of such things at the moment. Anon wasn’t even sure if it was something he could imagine ever happening. Lyra was just a good friend… that’s it.
Vinyl started to walk away from him, thinking she made her point and that the conversation was over. “Hey,” he called out, halting her from leaving.
“Something else on your mind that, should I steal a line from another, the grand and mighty Vinyl can help you with?” she responded with a turn of her head.
“I need a favor from you.” Now that he thought about it, she was the best choice to stay with. “I have to stay with someone after Nightmare Night for the night… possibly until the next day. Do you mind if I came over?”
“I do hope you’re not going to try and convince either me or Octavia into that little herd of yours.”
Anon looked nonplussed. “Har-dee-har-har.”
She chuckled, “Sure you can come over. We can stay up and talk about music. I wouldn’t mind showing you what I have and see what you think compared to your own worlds. You, humans, do have music, right?”
“Yes, we do,” he said with a nod, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out his iPod, showing it to Vinyl. Walking up to him, she looked confused at the object.
“What’s this?” she said, levitating it to her, twirling it in the air.
“It’s a music player from my world. If you can make it work I can show you some music myself.”
She turned the thing around in the air with her magic, playing around with the earbuds connected. “You’re giving this to me?”
“Lending it, I will want it back eventually. You said you used lightning. We call it electr-icity back home. That thing runs on it. If you are careful enough… you might be able to figure out how to charge it back up.”
“Now that I’m looking at this, it looks just like that drawing that Twilight showed me a while back. She said something about a flashlight and how the battery could be charged to make it work. So this has one of those battery things in it?”
“Be careful… it is fra-gile, could break. Also, it is touch-screen.” She looked confused at the word combination. He held up his hand, “Our digits touch the screen, and control… different actions that are pro-grammed, choosing what to play… how to play it, vo-lume… and so on.”
“Oooh, that’s pretty rad. So I’ve also got to figure out how to mimic your hands to operate it on top of charging the battery. And I just noticed how these noodles are smaller versions of my headphones; I didn’t think it was possible to make them that small! This makes me even more excited. I have to get back and see what I can do with this!”
“Just make sure not to over-charge or it could destroy the battery!” he yelled out to the now running Vinyl.
He heard something but with how far away she was he missed it. Humming to himself, Anon looked up into the sky, noticing how the night sky seemed to sparkle with life. Shades of purple drifted in the air, the lights twinkling about. It certainly made for a spectacle.
Arriving back at their house, he opened the door slowly, walking in and closing it quietly. There was no one he could see in the room. Looking in the kitchen, he saw Bon Bon sitting at the table, staring out at the window. He knocked on the side of the wall which made the pony jump in her seat.
“Darn it, Anon, you scared me!”
“Sorry,” he apologized with a chuckle, taking a seat at the table with her, ignoring the cold food on the plate in front of him. “So… did you tell her your feelings?”
She turned her head away from him. “…No.”
He was really hoping she would have said something. “Where is Lyra?”
“She’s setting a bath for me right now, telling me it would help me relax.” Bon Bon saw Anon raised an eyebrow at her. “Lyra noticed that I was pretty stressed out, not including the excuse you used about me smacking my face into the ground, so she wanted to help by having me laze around while she went around doing things for me.”
Bon Bon had a small smile on, showing she wasn’t too upset with how things turned out. While that unicorn could be trouble at times, she always did her best to help her friends out when she could.
“Anon, I wanted to thank you for what you did… the stargazing thing, I mean. If you want, I can try and find somepony you can be with on that day.”
He shook his head. “It is fine, I already found someone.”
“Really? Who?”
“I was walking around when Vinyl found me. We talked and I asked her. She agreed without any problems.”
“Well, that’s good then.”
An awkward silence between the two had them shuffling in their seats. Anon coughed into his hand, clearing his throat.
“I feel I should also mention that we… sort of got on the topic about you and Lyra. I did not mean for the conver-sation to go there… but it seemed she already knew about this, to a degree.”
“Uuugh, of course, she’d say something. What did she have to complain about now?”
“Um, well… how you should try harder?”
“That all?”
He rolled his eyes. As much as he didn’t want to continue this, he felt it would be better if she heard it from him rather than from Vinyl. Anon had a feeling she would not appreciate that one bit unprepared.
“No, she mentioned something about herding. I just… do not get the whole poly-gamy thing. It is so weird, right? Other than that, she took my music box and will… try to repair it. That might be nice if she… manages it.”
“…Uh-huh.”
Bon Bon didn’t seem to be paying attention to him, and from how she looked, he took it that she was simply exhausted. Standing up, he stretched his arms out.
“I better go and take a shower… before reading some books for tomorrow, what with my… new job in the morning. I will see you tomorrow.”
“…Okay.”
He shrugged at that, making his way upstairs.
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
Once Anon left, she slumped down on the table, laying her head on it. Lyra had asked her to wait downstairs until Anon came back as she set up the bath for her. The memories from earlier played around in her head, forcing her to groan in embarrassment. Not only had she confessed to someone she had no intention to, but she cried herself silly on him as well!
She hated feeling so out of control. Bon Bon also hated the fact that what Anon said was completely true. Why was she acting so badly toward him for so long? He wasn’t a bad guy or anything. In fact, he was quite pleasant to be around. But seeing how close Lyra was to him made her upset enough to keep a wall up around him.
Bon Bon wanted to change that. It was unfair to him how she was acting so badly to him. He was another being to her much like any other pony. It wasn’t his fault that he was sucked from his home and met the one pony she had feelings for.
She hummed to herself, thinking back on him. It was nice of him to leave her alone with Lyra. It gave her plenty of time to talk with her, catching up on some things. Of course, she did try to say something to her and confess some of her true feelings. But much like all the other times, she choked on the spot.
‘Why can’t I admit my feelings for her? Why can’t Lyra see what she means to me? I want to see her happy… but isn’t there a way for me to come out happy as well?’
Her head shook away from those thoughts, feeling tears prickle at the side of her eyes. Bon Bon had no intention to start that emotional ride once more. A sigh escaped her lips, thinking back on Anon and what he said to her.
‘Of course, Vinyl would say something like that. That darn mare’s been saying things like that for a good while now. I probably should have listened to her back in the academy…’
The pony thought about all of the chances she had to say something to Lyra. Vinyl would always push her toward something or another with her plans. And many of them were quite good, but she never went through with them.
If she could just talk to Vinyl again, maybe she’d tell her of some way to help. But with how Lyra seemed so set on Anon to her, it felt like a distant dream for her to think she had a chance now.
…Something clicked in her head, thinking about her musical friend. She had shared her thoughts with Anon about what could be done.
‘Did she know he would do that? Vinyl must have, she’s done this kind of thing before in the past! And what she said…’
Her heart thumped hard against her chest.
‘Could it work? Risking everything for one last gamble? ‘
Just the thought alone made her head swim with little fantasies daring to bubble in her head as a euphoric feeling flew right through her.
‘Yes… maybe I can try it. It’s not something that would ever come across my mind, but it might be my last chance with her…’
A herd. Bon Bon would try and learn to love an alien.
And with that, she would get him to love both of them in return. She felt it might be easier even to talk with Lyra with somepony else there with her. Just thinking about a relationship with her, something that felt like it could truly happen, made her feel light-headed.
She had a lot of ground to make up with Anon. And surely, for that pony, she had enough room in her heart for another. In loving Anon, she might get what she’s always wanted.
Lyra.
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Anon had just finished his breakfast with the two ponies, barely able to make conversation before he was out the door and making his way to the Ponyville Day Spa for his first day on the job. He was not looking forward to it, knowing that it was likely they would have more volunteers for him lined up. Lyra and Bon Bon had attempted to try and talk to him one last time about not working there, but he politely declined, thinking he would get over his discomfort soon enough.
Walking down the street, Anon thought back to the house. Bon Bon had certainly seemed much nicer to him. The conversation from the other day seemed to have helped things with the two of them.
It did confuse him when she tried to get him to join in on their stargazing that morning. He took it as her way to try and play along from the other night. Anon, of course, refused, stating his plans for that night. Bon Bon didn’t seem to like that answer for some reason, but once more he assumed she was just playing along.
Once at the spa, he saw Lotus and Aloe at the front, getting started for the day. The two ponies turned to him before looking to one another, looking nervous to him.
“Anon, we… we understand that you might have some difficulties with us…”
“But know that we are there for you. We can help you with learning and being able to manage things when needed.”
‘Where was this coming from?’
“It is understandable when someone with… special needs have some trouble with work.”
“Yes, we will be there to help you with anything you may have problems with so don’t think we will give up on you.”
‘What the heck did Lyra tell these two?!’
“You do not need to worry. We shall overcome any obstacles that stand in your way!”
“We shall give you the confidence you need and help breach anything that you may come across in your times of need!”
‘...I’m going to talk to Lyra about this and figure out what rumor she just started about me.’
“I am… ready for the day,” he said, hoping to move on.
“Yes, that is good. And don’t worry; we will make sure to train you before you work on any customers, okay?”
“Volunteers only for now, yes?”
The two took him to the backroom once more, only the place now had been segmented into different areas. There was one in the corner that had black mesh walls that went up over his head.
“You shall work inside the zoned out area. It is magic proof, soundproof, blast-proof－”
“－fire proof, waterproof, lightning proof－”
“－sigh proof, word proof, and sad proof.”
“Plus a few other proofs I can’t remember, no?”
“But they are very important, yes?”
Anon looked at the walled-off area. “Is there anything not proof in there?”
“Smiles!”
“Hugs!”
“And most importantly…”
“Friendship!” the two said in unison.
‘LYRA!’
“And before we begin, we have special garments for you to wear.”
“So very special!”
He was handed something that appeared normal, a simple blue one-pieced garment that clipped over his chest. It appeared stylish, albeit bulky with a slight sheen. They certainly didn’t look like something he’d want to wear around outside of the spa. He assumed Rarity was the one to make them for him.
Thinking on the pony made him realize that he was most likely going to massage her once more that day. It was a good assumption to make, he felt since they had to have talked to her recently to make the clothing he held so quickly for him.
“We will be teaching you for most of the day unless we need to pull away for a customer. Our study sessions will go on for most of the day but you will have a lunch break on your own time out in town. The volunteers should come in after that for practice.”
The idea of massaging them was still an awkward subject to broach. He would just have to get used it this since it would be where he would work from then on.
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It had been a few hours since he arrived there. The two had started out by showing him the cleaning process of their equipment, such as how to sterilize and clean their jacuzzis. While they were very clear he would actually be doing nothing but massages, in the event they needed to pull him away for other tasks, they wanted him prepared beforehand, or beforehoof as they said. They did continue with teaching him more about how to properly apply pressure to the right points. He felt he would have it down in no time.
During his lunch break, Anon had decided to go by Bon Bon’s stand. Lyra was too busy at the moment catching up on work from the princess, and he felt working on his relationship with Bon Bon would be a good idea. She had certainly done a one-eighty from what he had seen.
“—The six of us had to hide inside the closet until the teacher for over an hour until she left,” Bon Bo said, recanting an old story of her academy days. “It certainly was a pain, but it was better than being caught for blowing up the alchemy lab again.”
‘She must have taken what happened to heart yesterday. I’m certainly up for this new, friendlier Bon Bon.’
“Hey Bon Bon, I probably should get back to work now,” he said, standing up, brushing the crumbs off his pants. “It was nice having lunch with you.”
“W-Wait, Anon,” she said before he could walk off. “Are you, um… can you come back tomorrow like this?” He blinked at her, seeing her blush. “I mean, that’s if you want to and all…”
“Well, sure, I do not mind that. But would you not rather spend time with Lyra?”
“It’s fine if you come along every now and then. I’ll try and invite her when I can so we can all eat together.”
“I guess that is fine. I will see you after I get off from work.”
He waved at her, a smile returned. Anon lightly jogged back, not wanting to be late to work on the first day. Some sort of timepiece would be needed in the future so he didn’t mistakenly miss work.
Once he arrived back, Aloe had him in the back room working on a dummy pony. She showed him how to massage certain areas and told him multiple reasons why for each one. He was so engrossed in his work; he didn’t notice how much time had passed by.
At last, the time came for him to work on the real thing. In his sectioned area, he put his special garments on, waiting for whoever was to be his volunteer.
Aloe walked in, “And here is your first charge of the day, yes.”
“Oh… Hello, Fluttershy.”
“H… Hello, Anon.”
“Why did you volunteer?” he asked as she climbed the table.
“Oh, well, um… I just felt so bad yesterday.” Anon gave her a confused look. “I mean, Aloe and Lotus asked both Rarity and me to help you and I said no, and it made me feel so bad since Rarity went by herself. If I had known it was you, I would have certainly helped!”
“It is fine, no hard feelings,” he said, drying his hands after cleaning them.
“Now Anon, you will be working on multiple pegasi today, one unicorn, and one earth. They were what we could get for volunteers for the moment.” She walked around the table to him, pointing at Fluttershy’s wings. “Please be aware of what I taught you earlier on how certain areas of their wings are quite sensitive. Even though they can use them as appendages, they keep those areas away from being touched. And it even differs from pony to pony where it may be, though it is commonly…”
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“...Oh my.” Aloe looked quite surprised at Fluttershy’s reaction.
She looked like she enjoyed what Anon had done in his massage very much. Her tongue was lolling out, a leg twitching with her wings limp across both sides of the table.
“I was not aware pegasi could enjoy a massage much like that!”
“Sister, how is the—” Lotus paused at the entrance. “Oh my my my!”
“My exact reaction!”
“I better take her off for a dip in the sauna, no?” Lotus walked up, slinging Fluttershy over her shoulder. “We really need to find an easier way to transport our future customers from Anon’s super massages.”
“A conveyor belt from here to there, yes?”
“Ooh, I like that idea!” Lotus said, walking out of the place.
Anon let out a sigh as he started to clean up the table for the next volunteer he was told was waiting for him. Just as he finished, an unfamiliar pony with an orange coat walked in, looking up at him.
“Hello there,” Anon said.
“And a hello back to you,” the pony said, walking to the table. “The name’s Golden Harvest but most call me Carrot Top.” Anon felt like he heard that name before. “I figured I would come down here and see why you gave up working for me down at my carrot farm.”
‘Ah, the pony Lyra mentioned the other day.’
“The name is Anon,” he introduced just as she laid herself on the table.
Aloe walked up to her, making sure she was properly in place. “Just relax and allow Anon to work his magic.”
Carrot Top smirked at this, turning her head to him. “Oh, I don’t know how much of a job he’ll do compared to you, Aloe. You’re the one with the magic touch around here.”
Aloe smiled back at her. “As true as that is, I fear Anon may surpass me…”
He had done exactly as he was instructed to in his work. Earth ponies had more mass on them compared to other ponies. It didn’t mean much in the end, just a bit more pressure was needed. She turned to putty underneath his hands in no time. Apart from the rare mess-up on his work, she enjoyed every bit of her time underneath his touch. The pony had him mostly working on her hindquarters.
“H-How can a massage feel this goooood?” Carrot Top moaned, letting out another squeal.
“See, Anon? With practice, you are perfect for the job! Now, the next volunteer should be here at any moment. I will need to bring Carrot Top to the bathing room since Lotus is still working on another customer.”
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Anon stared down at the large pony that was on the table who stared ahead, eyes narrowed and legs poking out on either side of him. The pony looked extremely agitated to him. He could barely tell if the pegasus was enjoying his massage at all the entire time he worked on him. Aloe said he was doing perfectly fine, but he was barely assured of that at all.
“…Is everything going alright for you?” he asked.
“YEEEEAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!”
“There is nothing wrong? No pain or anything?”
“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”
“Would you like to try some oil on the wings now?” Aloe asked.
“HHHMMMMMMMMMMMMM…”
The pony stuck his lip out in thought.
“YEEEEAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!”
“I remember your preferences were either Delightful Jasmine or Light Lily. Which would you like to try today?”
“HHNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGG…”
“…The jasmine?” The large pony narrowed his eyes, clearly thinking it over. “…The lily?”
“YEEEEAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!”
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Anon blinked, staring at the yellow-coated pony that made her way to the table.
“H-Hello again, Anon.”
“…Fluttershy. What are you doing back here again?”
“Well, um, see, I… I thought you could do with more w-work and since I had nothing else to do today, I came in to help volunteer again…?”
She made her way onto the table, eagerly awaiting another session with him. He cleaned his hands once more, getting ready for her massage.
“Oh, and could you please try massaging the tips a little more thoroughly this time? That is if you wouldn’t mind…?”
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“Hey there, Anon!” Flitter said, trotting right up to him. “Looks like I’ll be your next volunteer for the day!”
“…Joy.”
“See, when I heard there was a need for volunteers for a new kind of massage I immediately knew that it would be you working here! And I couldn’t just let myself not help out a friend in need!”
“…Right.”
Flitter climbed onto the recently cleaned table, making herself comfortable.
“So I’ve only done this a few times, but I’m certain you’ll do a good job with those hands of yours!”
Anon let out a sigh, preparing for another session.
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“Oh, um… hi again,” Fluttershy said, walking up to the table once more. “I thought this time you could try that new oil they brought in from Manehatten: Silky Salvation.” She climbed the bed once more without hesitation, waiting for another message with him.
‘...Fluttershy, why?’
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“Okay Anon, you’re nearly done for the day,” Aloe said just as he cleaned up his workspace. “You only have one more volunteer for the day and you can go home early.”
Relief could be seen on his face hearing that. While the work didn’t seem overly complicated, he was getting tired from all the massages. Hearing Lotus returning with the last pony, he turned around, staring at her.
“Um… hey, Anon.”
‘Why is Lyra here?’
“Could I talk to Anon real quick, Aloe?”
The pony nodded her head, leaving her alone with Anon.
“Why are you here?” Anon struggled out, trying his best not to slip into English.
“I-It’s not what it looks like. After yesterday, I went and confronted Lotus and Aloe about you working here.” That explained their actions in the morning. “When I was talking to them, Rarity may have been there, already talking to them and… well, I know having her as a volunteer made you uncomfortable. So I thought you would have a better time if it was me in her place.
Having Lyra as a volunteer was even more uncomfortable!
“…Let us just get this done for the day. I am tired.”
“You’re not upset with me, are you?” she worriedly asked, making her way to the table.
“…No, Lyra. I am not upset.”
Yes, Anon was very upset. He just wanted to get this over with so he could leave for the day.
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Why did Lyra have to volunteer for this?
Anon knew she meant well, but he wished she would think things more thoroughly. Of course, from what he had noticed, many of these ponies didn’t really think things through all that much. Perhaps this is just something that he’ll have to get used to.
As soon as he finished her massage, Lyra got cleaned up in their bathing area before heading off to Carrot Top’s place, stating she would be spending some time up there to catch up on things. Both Aloe and Lotus had immediately broken down the day and how his massages went. He knew there were problems here and there, but overall they were very happy to see him improving at such an enormous pace.
They told him it would be another two weeks give or take before they would allow him to do massages on his own. As much as Anon didn’t care for the job, a twinge of pride at his work could be felt, knowing it was appreciated.
Arriving back at Lyra’s place, he stretched his back, feeling relieved to be done for the day. Anon was ready for a hot shower before taking it easy, likely to go and study things once more.
“Anon,” he heard from the kitchen.
“Hello, Bon Bon,” he said, taking a seat next to her in the kitchen. “How was your day?”
“It went really well! In fact, I have a big batch of candy that I have ready to sell tomorrow. I’ll still need some help from Lyra to do some batches, but other than that it shouldn’t be a problem.” Bon Bon moved her seat closer to him, giving Anon a warm smile. “But what about you? Tell me about your day.”
Anon frowned, confused at her question. “You… want to hear about my day?”
Bon Bon didn’t look offended at the question. “I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t want to know, right?”
It certainly wasn’t what he would expect from the candy mare from her previous character, but Anon could see it was most likely her attempting to be friendly with him. It was certainly not something to complain about. He could do with this over how she was.
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For what felt like the past hour, he had been talking about the different things that he had done at the day spa. It was a new experience for him to hold such a long conversation with her. Even when he grew tired from the difficulty of their language, Bon Bon sat patiently for him to continue on. She was very amused hearing some of the rumors that passed through that spa he picked up. Most of them didn’t make any sense to him.
Feeling just how one-sided the entire conversation had been with him, Anon tried to move things toward Bon Bon. He also tried to ask her a few times about things between her and Lyra, but all she did was smile back at him.
“Don’t worry about it Anon. I… think I have a plan for that that will work in the end.”
Anon simply nodded, happy to hear that. The previous conversation between him and Vinyl fluttered across his mind, and it was something that he just couldn’t see coming to fruition, nor did he really care for it. Yes, the most obvious answer was for Bon Bon to be with her.
Feeling drowsy, Anon yawned, stretching his arms out. As much as he wanted to study his books, sleep sounded like a better idea. But first, he really should get a shower soon before heading off to sleep.
“Bon Bon, it was nice talking to you but I am tired. I need to shower and get some sleep soon, okay?”
“Ah, well… alright then.”
Standing up, Anon pushed his chair in and started toward the stairs.
“W-Wait,” Bon Bon said right before he left the kitchen. He turned to her, seeing the pony looking flustered and red in the face. “Um… could you, well, um… Could you… give me a hug? N-not that you have to or anything, but, well…”
Anon merely blinked at her. It was possible she was still feeling upset about the day before, or maybe she just wanted a hug from him. He still didn’t know about their customs very well, but the ponies around him always wanted hugs, and he didn’t see anything wrong with it.
Walking up to her, he got down on one knew before grabbing her body, squeezing her in a tight hug. Anon heard her hum softly, obviously enjoying it. Clicking could be heard behind him, interrupting the moment. Turning around, he could see Lyra standing at the entrance.
“What are you doing?”
“I was giving her a hug,” he told her, standing up. “How was your time at the farm?”
“Um… Good! It was good. Lots of catching up and chasing off bunnies.”
“I am glad to hear that it was good,” Anon chuckled. He let out a yawn, rubbing his eyes. “I better get a shower now and then some sleep. I will see you two tomorrow morning.”
“Right well, goodnight then,” Lyra said, slowly making her way to the living room and to her desk.
Walking out of the kitchen, Anon made his way straight to his room, feeling the day’s events wearing him down. Though it was stressful work trying to make sure he didn’t mess up in his work, he felt good being able to do something once more.
As strange as it sounded, Anon could feel things were going well for him. He could finally feel himself getting used to the ponies and their strange ways. Hopefully, in the future, he could get some semblance of normalcy in his life. And surely Lyra would get over him. Right?
‘…Yeah, I just have to be optimistic about things. Bon Bon did say she had a plan, so it was clear she was going to try for Lyra. Whatever her plan was, I hope it works out for her. That pony could use someone like Lyra.’
~End Chapter Ten~
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Well the herd is not the most original thing but your path to it is I look forward to it
And another week till the next AWESOME chapter! Xd
Well, certainly a few developments. The Herd concept is definitely not my slice of cake, but I think your approach to the subject/poor oblivious Anon is a very interesting scenario. Well done! Your take on a HiE is a very unique one, and it's definitely captivating!
10083650
As long as the herd doesn't happen 'just cause', then I'd be happy,
I was never a fan of stories that create unrealistic herds that form seemingly out of no where.
Cant help but feel like all this is just gonna make Lyra angry and jealous at bon bon and make lyra do something stupid.
Fluttershy has been entranced by the superior work of the hands. I hope she doesn't become an addict before it's too late. May already be with that three sessions in one day. Anon may have a secret stalker buddy.
Ah, I had forgotten about that part of the story...
Can't wait to see the princess' reaction
10083783
Exactly
Okay, well, you obviously made a very good story, since I now have to, ahem, "wake up," in 22 minutes. After not having gotten any sleep whatsoever tonight...
This is going on my tracking, and favourites list. I am also going to be putting Rad's story in the favorites list as well after I finish typing this up.
But yeah, seriously, this is a REALLY good story.
10084156
I can't wait to see how dopey a face Celestia can make after he massages her into a royal stupor.
Hopefully his magic hands won't get too popular. Poor guy won't get any rest then.
10084960
I can already see the accusations of, 'It's using it's mind control powers on the Princess, we must save her!'
images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/e3b9a9b1-7f6b-4c7b-bfbb-637ae59de111/d9syq5k-bc185e42-1080-4b4b-91da-1441d465e2fe.png?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7InBhdGgiOiJcL2ZcL2UzYjlhOWIxLTdmNmItNGM3Yi1iZmJiLTYzN2FlNTlkZTExMVwvZDlzeXE1ay1iYzE4NWU0Mi0xMDgwLTRiNGItOTFkYS0xNDQxZDQ2NWUyZmUucG5nIn1dXSwiYXVkIjpbInVybjpzZXJ2aWNlOmZpbGUuZG93bmxvYWQiXX0.CayMF1fGYX34XzjzlbqN6RmmL-0G7y7L5tKWcCuTqiU
> either a loaf of bread or a train ride. How were the two comparable concerning their prices?
That very much depends on the train ride, doesn't it? An artisinal loaf is several times the cost of a subway token.
10083783
What do you have in mind?
10086258
Lyra and Bon bon deal with their relationship first, while Anon is getting used to the idea of being with ponies with more encounters with mares like vinyl scratch along with some foreshadowing or build up to herding. Maybe even hint that its even thing that exists in this equestria instead of it just happening because Anon is here.
example: like in 'not a hero' where herding only existed because the world altered itself to cater to that Anon's wishes despite evidence that some of the mares in the herd wouldn't have under normal circumstances agreed to be in a herd.
10086274
I meant, what stories did you have in mind that form unrealistic herds out of nowhere.
10086829
off the top of my head, 'alternate beginnings' and that spyro one 'a legendary adventure' not really sure of its name however both of with some suspension of disbelief are good stories.
I don't really try to remember bad herd stories, just try to forget them.
Just a heads up to the author, this chapter is a bit rougher than the others...more little gramatical mistakes (like knew instead of knee) and there were a few places where I had to stop and reread several times because the wording/ punctuation was just off.
Ah so this is where the romance comes into play. It’s certainly an interesting trope, just hope it’s done well. Never was a fan of herding. And while it’s sadly comes into the categories of the rest of the HIE tropes at least the cliches are done well. Something to note is Anon’s talk with Vinyl was that she doesn’t really understand the severity of Anon’s perspective when it comes to loving another species entirely, especially combined with polygamy parts of what vinyl is hinting. Which to my opinion is quite rude, I do wonder when anon will snap, after all he’s bottling all of this baggage and it will be an event that will dare I say “break the camel’s back.” If that what the author is planning if not then it’s all speculation.
Bon Bon being all
"Anon Anon Anoooo-oon please don't take her, even though you can 🎵"
Something tells me Anon's massage volunteers are getting a bit more than muscle relaxation from him, especially Fluttershy.