Lyra awoke to a comfortable bed, and the lovely smell of cooking eggs and meat.
wait......MEAT!!! She quickly scrambled out of bed and bounced down the stairs, landing on the bottom with a small thud. ".......ow" She sat up and rubbed her muzzle with her hoof. Missed that last step. She opened her eyes and found that she was being stared at by another set of them. She yelped and backpedaled against a nearby wall.
Lumina, who was the one watching her, simply cocked her head to the side and waddled back into the kitchen. Lyra sighed in relief that it was just her and followed her into the kitchen, where she was greeted by the sight of Midnight on his hind legs over a stove. He turned to see who came in and smiled when he saw her. "Have a pleasant sleep?"
Lyra yawned, "It was fine.......what is that smell?" She asked, the scent of meat strong in the air.
"Oh....some of the animals I take care of are carnivores. Sometimes I spoil them by cooking. Are you okay with the smell?" He asked, "I can set up a table outside if it bugs you too much?"
Lyra shook her head, "No it's okay. I don't mind it." But if you have any extra, I'll gladly take it.
"Huh...It bothers most ponies....." he pondered while flipping some meat.
"....so when's breakfast?" She asked.
"As soon as I've finished these." He stated. And poked one lightly with the spatula. "Aaaand done!"
"Great!" She replied with a grin, "So what now?"
You're a little too excited around meat.... He thought. "Now, we feed them to the animals." Midnight started taking off the meat and placing them on a tray beside the stove.
"What kind of animals are they for?" Asked Lyra.
"Let me think...." Midnight paused for a few seconds, "Well....one of them is for a bear that's been coming in lately. And the other one is going to be made into treats, and the third one is in case he wants extra."
".....A bear's coming here?"
"Well, yeah. He's coming around lunch time." He said as he walked over to a door and opened it, a cold breeze coming out.
"We don't need to be here when he comes though. Normally I just leave it out for him."
"Oh." She replied, somewhat grateful that she wouldn't have to meet a huge bear.
Midnight set the tray on a shelf, and closed the door. "Anything you'd like to do today?"
Lyra thought for a moment, "Well...I wouldn't mind seeing Ponyville. A tour maybe?"
Midnight's smile took on a slight nervous edge to it, "Hehehe......funny story I should've told you earlier...."
"What?"
He swallowed the lump in his throat, "Well...I....in a way....haven't been in, Ponyville for a little over a year now.."
Lyra raised an eyebrow, "How'd you manage that?"
He chuckled nervously. She's living with you. It's not gonna be a secret much longer. Besides, better you tell her than have her find out herself. "Well....the thing is......" He took a breath, "......You know what it would be better to just show you. " And with that, he ran upstairs. A door closing could be heard, along with frantic scrambling.
Lyra looked to Lumina with a questioning look, while the bat just gave a knowing grin.
*Upstairs*
Midnight rummaged through his room, searching high and low for his things. "Oooohh where is it?!" he groaned and sat down in a corner, hoping to see it from a new perspective, "OW!" He jumped up, and looked underneath him to see what he sat on, ".....That's......surprisingly convenient." He grinned and picked up the box, "Time to get to work"
*Downstairs*
What is he DOING?! It's been... She checked the clock, Half an hour! She sighed and showed her cards, a Flush, "Alright, let's see what you've got."
Lumina grinned and set her cards down, a Royal Flush.
Lyra sat there slack jawed, "......" she pushed four bits to Lumina, who slipped them into a pouch that was strapped to her side.
Her ears twitched as she heard the sound of the door opening upstairs, followed by the sound of hoofsteps leading down.
"Finally" She said, "What were you doing that took so long?"
"Sorry. Some of the stuff takes a while to work." A voice said from the stairs.
(Just a heads up. I am Red Green Colour blind, so forgive me if my descriptions are off. I'll include a picture at the end of the chapter.)
Lyra stood up quickly and bolted over to the stairs, to find a Pure White mare, with a Dark Purple mane, and Gold eyes, walking down the stairs, "......Hi."
"Hi." The mare smiled lightly as she continued down the stairs. At the bottom, she turned and faced Lyra, "I suppose you're wondering who I am?"
Lyra nodded, "Yeah. Midnight said he lived alone out here. But I guess he lied. Are you his little sister?"
The Mare giggled, "That's what I tell most ponies. If you want the truth though...." The mare motioned to her left ear, which looked like something had chewed it up.
Just like Midni-... "..........Midnight?...."
The Mare Struck a heroic pose, "The one and only." The newly discovered Midnight turned back to Lyra, "Though I prefer to be called Dream Weaver when I'm swapped."
Lyra instantly realized what he meant when he said he, "in a way" hadn't been to Ponyville for a year. "B-But...how?"
Dream giggled, "When one works in the Everfree, one learns a few tricks."
Lyra stared at her for a second before realizing something. She didn't care. "Okay. You could make a fortune off that."
She raised an eyebrow at Lyra, "You don't care that I'm now a mare?"
Lyra shook her head, "Nope. But seriously, how'd you change your whole appearance like that?"
"Oh, well first off, the body shape, I was born with that, the colour just makes it stand out more. The voice requires some training on my part. The strut comes naturally to me. The mane and tail styles...." She shuddered, "trial and error with a curling and flat iron...and many burns."
Lyra winced, she knew how those felt.
She continued, "The eye colour is courtesy of Poison Joke eye drops that I made to change your eyes the same colour every time. And the main and tail colours are simple dyes from plants in the forest. As for my cutie mark," She winked, "that's my little secret."
Lyra looked at her flank, and realized that a new cutie mark was there. It was now a blue lotus flower, with a gold ring around the bottom of it.
The area she looking at reminded her of something though, "What about your uhhh hehe..." She blushed slightly, "...bits?"
She shrugged, "Invisible."
"Ho-"
"Poison Joke. Don't ask how I found out." She visibly shuddered.
Not. Gonna. Ask. "....that's a very nice anklet (...or would they still be called bracelets?....)"
She smiled, "Thanks, it was a gift from my sister." She looked down with a sad smile for a moment before looking back up,
"Anyways. Shall we head out?"
Lyra decided that she'd ask her about her family later, "Sure."
Dream smiled and walked over to the door, noticing Lumina in the corner counting bits, "You played her at Poker didn't you?"
Lyra grinned sheepishly, "Hehe yep."
Dream laughed and shook her head as she walked out the front door, Lyra following behind her.
