The arcade was a blast for Anonymous and Moon Flash. They were fortunate enough that there were several machines of the game Howling Horde, which meant they didn’t have to wait for a turn. The first game could have gone better, as Moon Flash wasn’t used to holding a crossbow, but after a few tips from his dad, the young colt did much better on their second game. After setting up a decent score, they moved on to air hockey and other games, such as Ski Ball and Strike Stars, an Equestrian equivalent of Galaga.

Anonymous also taught his son valuable gamer skills and tips, which gave him an edge whenever another colt challenged him in a game. Anonymous felt pride seeing his son win game after game against five colts and drawing a small audience of spectators. Eventually, Moon Flash wanted to hang out with his dad and play a few games before Anonymous realized it was about time to leave. The movie their female family members went to see was about to end, and the man felt they should start walking to the theater entrance.

Anonymous snapped his fingers and caught his young son’s attention. Moon Flash groaned but accepted that arcade time was over. As the two walked out, Anonymous asked his son, “Did you have fun?”

Moon Flash jumped and enthusiastically replied, “Hay yeah, I did! Can we come back here again? Please?”

Anonymous ruffled his mane and said, “Get your grades up, and then we can come back. Your math could be better, my little colt. Fix that, and then we’ll come out here, just you and me, without the ladies.”

Moon Flash nodded before asking, “Daddy, are we in trouble?”

Anonymous looked at his son and asked, “No, why are you asking that?”

Moon Flash stopped and pointed to something as they stood outside the arcade. Anonymous turned and was shocked to see that it wasn’t something but rather somepony. And by somepony, it was a mare he hadn’t seen in nearly sixteen years.

“Hello, Anonymous; it’s been a long time, hasn’t it?” said the mare in a thick Manhatten accent.

Anonymous couldn’t believe who was standing before him despite his eyes not playing any tricks. It was the former rookie Ponicemare he dated before meeting Sweet Shade, and despite the many years that had passed, she still looked attractive. The mare smiled and enjoyed the reaction the man was showing. The mare giggled and asked, “You okay, Anonymous? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Dad, who is this?” asked Moon Flash.

Anonymous answered his son while staring at the Ponincemare, who in turn was smiling with a blush. Anonymous smiled as he returned her blush with a wink.

“Son, she’s an old friend of mine. Her name is Copper Top, and she’s a nice lady. Say hello, son.”

Moon Flash shrugged his shoulders before walking over, and hoof bumped her. The mare returned the hoof bump and smiled at the bat pony colt. Copper Top asked, “Hey, little champ, what’s your name?”

Moon Flash smiled and said, “My name is Moon Flash.”

Copper Top smiled and replied, “That’s a nice name. How old are ya?”

The young colt proudly puffed his chest and said, “I’m nine! My birthday is two months; I’ll be ten years old soon!”

Copper Top giggled before saying, “Well, happy early birthday then! I hope you have a good one when it comes.”

The young colt beamed a smile before Anonymous handed his son some Bits. Moon Flash looked confused before saying, “Son, your dad is gonna have a boring adult talk for a bit. Here are some Bits; now go get those Timberwolves, my son!”

Moon Flash flew a backflip before taking the Bits and running off into the arcade. Usually, Anonymous would follow his son inside the arcade to keep his eye on the colt, but the game was front and center at the entrance. Knowing his son wouldn’t wander off, Anonymous returned his attention to Copper Top.

“So...” asked Anonymous as he rubbed the back of his head nervously.

“Yeah...” said Copper Top, “Been a long time, hasn’t it?”

Anonymous nodded and tried his best to control his composure. Before he met Sweet Shade, Anonymous and Copper Top dated. The attraction between them was heavy in the past and remained so after all this time. The man and the ponicemare spent a lot of time together when neither wasn’t working their jobs. Whether it was a simple coffee date, a walk in the park, or going to the dance club, they enjoyed each other’s company. Anonymous never got to take their relationship further, either physically or emotionally, as Copper Top lost touch with him.

It all worked out in the end, as the very same night Copper Top failed to show up to the dance club, Sweet Shade bumped into him, and the rest is history. Despite Anonymous being happy with Sweet Shade, a part of him wondered what would have happened if Copper Top had joined him as they had planned. Anonymous replied, “Yeah, it’s been a long time, Copper. I see you got a promotion.”

The man pointed at the stripes on her uniform, which the mare looked at and blushed. Copper Top blushed before saying, “Yeah, I’ve gotten three promotions since my rookie days. I’m Sgt. Copper Top now, and I get the easier beats. I’m eligible to be a detective, but I don’t know if I want that. I’m four years away from being eligible to retire with a decent pension, so I have some choices to make soon.”

Copper Top tried to control her blushing as she looked at Anonymous. She noticed his clothes were of a higher quality compared to his clothes from sixteen years ago. If she had to guess, they looked like luxury clothing. Despite Anonymous being the only human in Equestria, many bipedal creatures came into Manhatten, and a few of them were rich.

”Wow.” thought Copper Top, ”He must be doing pretty well if he’s sporting clothes like that. He even looks more fit than I remember; wow, he looks good!”

“But yeah,” said Copper Top, “That’s been my life these past years. How about you?”

Anonymous smiled and couldn’t resist the urge to brag before saying, “Oh, I’ve done pretty well these past years. I got promoted five times, with my last promotion having been yesterday. I’m VP of the Nightly Steel Co. Works. We closed a multi-million Bit deal yesterday, and my company will have a party soon. So yeah, pretty well.”

Anonymous grinned while Copper Top pawed the ground slightly as she was unsure what to say next. Usually, she was confident and could look anypony in the eye without faltering, but Anonymous was on a whole other level. Her attraction to the man never stopped despite all these years, making talking to him difficult. Her curiosity about his son made her ask, “So, you have a son; he seems like a good colt. I take it you’re married?”

Anonymous happily replied, “Yup, married for sixteen years and with three foals. My oldest is a filly who will turn sixteen soon, and my other sweet little filly is twelve. I married a thestral, as you can see.”

Copper Top’s ears perked up with her eyes showed a look surprised. All sorts of questions were swirling in her mind. If she did her math right, that meant Anonymous married shortly after their last date. The fact he mentioned he married a threstral meant his other foals had to be thestrals too. Copper Top asked, “So, you got married, huh? That’s nice, and I take it your foals are adopted?”

Anonymous chuckled before saying, “Nope, they are mine, thanks to cross-breeding potions. And let me tell you, they’re hard to come by and costly, especially with the low salary I used to have way back then. Not the case now, but yeah, they’re mine, alright.”

”That’s his biological son?! Only the eyes match...”

While Copper Top had heard of the cross-breeding potion Anonymous mentioned, she had never seen a foal resulting from one. Her curiosity was peaked, however, and she made a mental hoof-note to look up said potion on her upcoming day off. Copper Top wasn’t sure if it was jealousy, curiosity, or a gut feeling that something was off, but she felt compelled to find more information about the subject. Putting the matter aside, Copper Top said, “Well...that’s nice, really nice, I mean. I’m glad things worked out for you.”

Anonymous smiled before saying, “Well, Copper Top, I wish I could stay and chat, but I have to pick up my wife and daughters. They went to see a movie, and it should be over now. They’re probably waiting for Moon Flash and me, so...yeah.”

The man awkwardly smiled before Moon Flash shouted, “AWWW BUCK!”. The man and the ponicemare turned their attention to the bat pony colt who lost the game. The game flashed “Game Over!” with the face of a Timberwolf in a red filter howling victoriously at the player. Anonymous and Copper Top laughed before she said, “He’s a feisty one, isn’t he?”

Anonymous unhappily sighed as his son swore out loud. Even though it was a PG-rated swear, it wasn’t exactly upstanding for a colt his age, and he wanted his son to behave better. Anonymous knew he would have to talk with Moon Flash later about outbursts, or else Sweet Shade would be unhappy. Anonymous replied, “He certainly is; he reminds me of myself when I was a young boy. I had quite a temper losing games, but my dad set me straight. And it seems I’m going to have to do the same too. Anyway, I should let you go.”

Before the man could walk away, Copper Top said, “Hold on a sec, Anon. I got something for you.”

Anonymous turned to the mare and saw she had pulled out a business card from one of her uniform’s pockets. He took it and quickly noted it had her name, rank, the Manhatten Ponice Department symbol, and, more importantly, her contact information. Copper Top continued, “If you’re ever free and wanna chat, just let me know. I’d like to catch up more if that’s okay with you.”

”I hope he accepts and doesn’t think it’s inappropriate to catch up one-on-one with a former date.” thought Copper Top.

The man nodded and smiled before saying, “Thanks, Copper. Since I got promoted, I have a more flexible schedule to do what I want. I’ll reach out within the week, and we can schedule a time to grab a coffee. Ever heard of the Manehatten Mocha?”

Copper Top smiled and replied, “Sure have; I go there whenever my beat is nearby for a coffee break. I guess I’ll be hearing from you?”

Anonymous smiled again before saying, “Yes, you will. See you later, Sgt. Copper Top.”

He saluted her, making the mare giggle and reply, “You too, Mr. Vice President Anonymous.”

Anonymous turned and collected his son, who begged to play another game. The man was having none of it and pointed toward the direction of the movie theater. The colt sighed before walking with his father and waved to Copper Top. She waved back to Moon Flash and stared at Anonymous once his back was facing the ponicemare. She took a good look at his plot, and despite him wearing clothes, it was obvious he had a well-toned set of glutes. Copper Top’s tail flicked, which made the ponicemare blush and look around to see if anypony noticed.

Fortunately, nopony had seen her flick her tail, making her sigh in relief. However, a new idea popped into her head as Copper Top’s curiosity got the better of her. She thought, ”I wonder what his daughters and wife look like. It wouldn’t hurt to do a little investigating, I suppose.”

Since her partner hadn’t returned, Copper Top knew that the Ponicestallion could always contact her over the magic-powered radio if he needed her. With that in mind, Copper Top discreetly followed the man and wouldn’t stop until she knew what kind of mare had won Anonymous over her.

Many thoughts were swirling in Anonymous’s mind as he and Moon Flash walked away from the arcade. Never in his years since being married did he ever suspect he’d run into Copper Top. Before Sweet Shade came into his life, he and Copper Top had major chemistry. Both had bumped into each other on the street while running for their afternoon fitness training. After apologizing, the man and the mare made eye contact, and a spark formed between them. Once their introductions were out of the way, they met up at a Café and hit it off.

They had gone on many dates, and while they never went into a relationship, neither Copper Top nor Anonymous saw anypony else during that time. Both were happy and enjoyed the company of each other despite their jobs taking up a lot of their time. It made no difference to them as they spent almost all their free time together. Many times Anonymous wanted to take her to his bachelor pad and rut her into oblivion, but it never happened. The man had screwed a few mares before but quickly booted them out of his place since they always annoyed him afterward.

Copper Top was something else, and her personality compelled Anonymous to respect her naturally. Something about her made him think, “she’s worth the wait” in the man’s mind. And despite not getting around to rutting her, he fapped to the mare many times. She was consistently a great fap and hinted at a sexual attraction to the man. Copper Top had no qualms about teasing and flirting with the man on top of the fulfilling conversations they shared. Whether it was a discussion of work, dreams, games, hobbies, etc., their time together was always exciting.

If Sweet Shade never came into his life, Anonymous was confident he would have married her. As he walked with his son, this made the man wonder, ”Why did she never show up to the dance club? I waited for hours, and she never arrived.”

Moon Flash snapped Anonymous out of his thoughts by asking, “You okay, dad? Your face is getting red.”

”Shit, I’m probably blushing or something. I better calm down and not think about Copper Top’s hot plot...DAMMIT! Why do I think that?! I have Sweet Shade, I shouldn’t be thinking about Copper Top.”

“I’m fine, son,” said Anonymous, “Don’t worry about it. We need to your mother and sisters and get some dinner.”

Moon Flash shrugged off his worries and said, “Okay, dad. That cop lady was cool; you should tell mom you met your friend.”

”Yeah, son, that will go over well.” thought Anonymous.

“Better not, son; the Ponicemare was looking for a bad pony. It’s best to refrain from advertising official ponice business. You know how your mother likes to gossip.”

Moon Flash nodded, “Yeah, so does Eventide. It’s always “Blah Blah yadda yadda, boring filly stuff here and there.” It’s pretty annoying for sure; I won’t tell.”

”Phew! Problem averted. That’s the last thing I need, my wife asking, “Who the buck is this mare!? How do you know her? Is she hot? Do you like her? I swear Sweet Shade can be jealous sometimes.”

Anonymous ruffled his son’s mane as he said, “That’s my boy. How far did you get on Howling Horde?”

The young colt replied, “I got to level three! But that stupid timberwolf boss got me. I shot it with a scatter bolt, but it rebuilt itself back! I wish you had helped me because I couldn’t figure out how to beat him.”

“Ah,” replied Anonymous, “You have to aim for the mouth, son. When he rebuilds like that, his mouth is the weak spot. Otherwise, he will build back. It makes no difference if you upgrade the crossbow or shoot him anywhere besides that.”

Moon Flash groaned before saying, “Dang! Okay, I’ll get him next time. I had a lot of fun, dad. I wish we could do this more often.”

Anonymous smiled and felt proud that his son loved spending time with him. His father was his role model back on Earth, and the man owed much of his success to his father’s advice and examples. He wasn’t sure how his family would have reacted to him marrying a pony and having pony children, but he imagined his father would be proud either way. And now it was Anonymous’s turn to be the role model for his son, and the man loved every second of it.

“Me too, son, and if you work on your grades, we can come back again. But you need to promise me you’ll work for it, you hear me?” asked Anonymous.

“Consider it done, dad! If I can memorize cheat codes, I can memorize the numbers in my Algebra class.”

Anonymous chuckled before saying, “That’s my colt! Now where the hay is your mother and sisters?”

Moon Flash pointed a hoof in a direction and said, “There they are!”

The man looked in the direction his son pointed, and sure enough, they were waiting among the sea of ponies leaving the movie theater. Eventide and surprisingly, Glisten Sheen was in good spirits while Sweet Shade looked annoyed. As Anonymous and Moon Flash reunited with their female family members, the family’s mother impatiently tapped the ground with her hoof and asked, “Did you colts forget about us fillies?”

Moon Flash looked at Anonymous and winked before saying, “Dad let me play some more games, and I won a bunch! We also got to play Howling Horde! No other reason at all why we were late.”

Sweet Shade looked at Anonymous with a cross expression, making the man nervously chuckle.

Anonymous thought, ”My son covered my plot and threw me under the bus simultaneously. That’s my colt, alright.”

“Sorry about that, honey; we lost track of time playing games. Everything alright?”

Sweet Shade huffed before replying, “Other than waiting nearly twenty minutes for you two to arrive? Just fine.”

Glisten Sheen jumped into the conversation and said, “Mom’s hangry, dad. She wants dinner right now.”

Eventide excitedly jumped and said, “Me too! Let’s get something to eat, please!”

”Oh boy, a hangry wife is nothing to be trifled with.”

“Sorry honey, I’ll make it up to you by taking us to The Reining Buffet.”

Sweet Shade smiled while his foals cheered as “The Reining Buffet” was a special treat they would get every month or so. The buffet had a surprisingly varied amount of food that even humans would want. Sweet Shade flapped her wings, flew up this level, and kissed him on the cheek. The mare said, “Well, let’s get going honey since I’m “hangry,” as Glisten Sheen calls it. The motherly mare stared at her eldest foal with a raised eyebrow while the teenage filly frowned. Anonymous had no clue why his eldest daughter pulled a 180 in her attitude.

”I’m going to talk with her sooner rather than later. Something is clearly bothering her regarding her mother. Did they have a fight I’m not aware of?”

As the family started walking toward the entrance, Anonymous asked, “So, did you ladies enjoy the movie?”

Eventide cheerfully replied, “The movie was so good! I loved the struggles of forbidden love. I liked how the stallion risked everything for the mare he loved. I wish I could get a stallion like that someday.”

Anonymous turned to his youngest daughter and jokingly said, “Oh, my sweet little Eventide, you’ll be a filly forever. It’s such a shame that won’t happen, really; oh well.”

He patted his daughter’s mane, making the filly pout with a blush that rivaled any cute anime girl. Moon Flash laughed, “Hahaha! Eventide can’t get a colt friend! Look at her getting mad!”

Eventide turned to her brother and said, “Oh yeah? If I can’t get a colt friend, then you can’t get a filly friend!”

Moon Flash blew a raspberry at his sister before saying, “Fillies are gross like you. Neener-neener!”

Eventide hissed at her brother before Sweet Shade jumped in and said, “Both of you stop it this instant! I’m too hungry to deal with this. Eventide, you’ll grow into a fine mare someday, but romance isn’t something to run into recklessly. It will happen one day; be patient.”

Eventide smiled before nodding as Sweet Shade turned to Moon Flash, “As for you, my little colt, your attitude will change in the next few years. I suggest you learn to be nice to fillies, or else you’ll regret it.”

Anonymous smirked and said, “Heed her words, son; you’ll change your mind; if not, it’ll be too late.”

Moon Flash wanted to retort but backed down, knowing his father knew better. There was no way he would challenge or disrespect his dad, and instead, he replied, “Yes, dad, I understand. Eventide, I’m sorry.”

Eventide smiled and said in her signature bubbly tone, “Thanks, brother!”

She unexpectedly hugged him, which surprised him and made him blush. Anonymous and Sweet Shade laughed and said, “Awww!” while Glisten Sheen huffed and rolled her eyes. Anonymous looked at his eldest daughter again and asked, “Well, how was the movie Glisten Sheen? Did you like it?”

Glisten Sheen’s ears perked in surprise before saying, “Yeah, I liked it. I didn’t think I would, but I did. And I’m with Eventide on this one, the sacrifice he made for his mare really hit my heart. This was a good movie, hooves down. A great example of true love.”

Sweet Shade flew up and kissed Anonymous’ cheek again before saying, “Oh, I’m not so sure about that. You have a great example of true love right here.”

Glisten Sheen turned away and frowned before whispering to herself, “Yeah, sure it is.”

Anonymous didn’t hear what she said but took note of her attitude again. As much as it annoyed him, the man let Glisten Sheen’s attitude go and focused on taking his family to dinner. As they stepped out of the mall, the family was unaware they had been spied on. Their ignorance was bliss as they made it to the restaurant by riding the high-class tram. They had one of the best meals of the year and enjoyed their time together as a loving family. The night for the family was perfect, and nothing could spoil it.

Sgt. Copper Top spied on Anonymous for a few minutes before he led the mare to her ultimate target. Copper Top was surprised and jealous to see that his wife was very attractive. Her blond mane and tail were not common among the thestral ponies, and her body was also in great shape for her age. The man had scored a mare with an easy eight out of ten for the looks department, and she had given him three foals, as Anonymous claimed. Despite having a good career in the Ponice Force, a part of Copper Top was resentful for not having foals of her own.

After losing touch with Anonymous many years ago, she never found a stallion worth her valuable time. She was still fertile, according to her last check-up, but her age was becoming a problem. A part of her wondered if she had been too picky with her last few dates, but she shoved those concerns aside. Copper Top knew she should be happy for Anonymous but couldn’t shake the feeling that it should have been her next to his side. She also felt bad for feeling that his foals should have been hers to give to the man.

In addition to all the jealous and resentful feelings, something troubled Copper Top as she spied upon the wife and daughters of Anonymous. The first thing that bothered her was that she felt she had seen his wife before.

”I swear I’ve seen that mare before, but I can’t remember where for the life of me. I don’t know why but she gives me bad vibes.”

Another thing that bothered the ponicemare was the fact his daughters looked nothing like him. Granted, the ponicemare knew next to nothing about cross-breeding between species other than the hippogriff race. She was sure they would at least have inherited more features associated with humans, such as his hair color. The only thing they shared was their green-colored eyes. Copper Top knew a visit to the Manehatten Public Library was in store to find more information about cross-species breeding.

Copper Top also felt guilty for her jealousy and resentment towards the mare that snagged Anonymous instead of her.

”I should be really happy for him, but something is bothering me. And if this job has taught me anything, it’s to listen to my gut.”

Copper Top narrowed her eyes at the mare who flew up and kissed Anonymous. An unmarely snort of air passed through her nostrils as she narrowed her eyes at the bat pony mare. She resolved not only to find out more about species cross-breeding but also resolved to find out more about his wife. Copper Top knew she couldn’t use ponice resources because it was against policy and not worth a reprimand. She did have connections, spare Bits to spend for a PI, and all the experience needed to find the answers she wanted.

As Anonymous and his family left the mall, Copper Top sighed before returning to her beat. She couldn’t wait for it to end to start her own personal investigation.

”Don’t worry, Anon, I’ll watch your back no matter what.”

Author's Note

Well, look what we have here, an old flame has come back to Anonymous. It's Copper Top! Hot damn, and she's VERY jealous of Sweet Shade and thinks Sweet Shade is sus. Things are getting interesting folks, so stay tuned for the next arch. This concludes part 1.