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Chapter 1: Meet the Misfits3,447 words
Chapter 2: Welcome to Ponyville3,713 words
Chapter 3: What could go wrong?3,843 words
Chapter 4: Things calm down3,930 words
Chapter 5: The party3,373 words
Chapter 6: Look within yourself2,460 words
Chapter 7: Seeking guidance2,545 words
Chapter 8: Meeting the newcomers2,772 words
Chapter 9: Enrollment2,610 words
Chapter 10: Through everypony's eyes2,810 words
Chapter 11: Return to Ponyville2,429 words
Chapter 12: Settling in3,353 words
Chapter 13: Love and war3,894 words
Chapter 14: Calm gatherings2,476 words
Chapter 15: Love is blind5,503 words
Chapter 17: Enter, Clockwork2,469 words
Chapter 18: Look into the past2,411 words
Chapter 19: A new face2,580 words
Chapter 20: All aboard for Predator Island3,491 words
Chapter 21: Knowing the natives3,408 words
Chapter 22: Set sail for Equestria2,662 words
Chapter 23: The cursed misfit2,794 words
Chapter 24: First steps2,481 words
Chapter 25: A little bit of history2,792 words
Chapter 26: Goodbyes3,174 words

Chapter 15: Love is blind

Cyber and Lyra finished their dinners at the diner, talking the day away.

"And then I said 'if you put that sodium in water, something amazing will happen!' And so Fang did it and guess what it did," Cyber said, Lyra listened with deep interest.

"It blew up in his face?" she guessed, Cyber nodded quickly.

"And then he chased me for two hours before Dusty stopped him, and he never touched my stuff again!" Cyber concluded as he and Lyra broke out laughing.

"Ah, that was a good one," said Lyra.

"You should hear about the time when Dusty wouldn't stop taking my lunch, it's even better," Cyber replied as he paid the bill, then the two walked outside, where it was already getting dark.

"I really had fun today, Cyber," Lyra said.

"So did I, Lyra," then the two stared at each other in the night, Cyber noticed something about Lyra that he never noticed before as he began to lean closer towards his friend, who continued staring. Cyber then looked at Lyra very closely and finally realized that what he thought he saw was real.

"You got something in your teeth," Cyber said.

"Really?"

"Yeah, it's right here," he pointed to the spot where some lettuce got lodged between her teeth, which Lyra freed with her tongue.

"Did I get it?"

"Yeah, it's gone. Well, see you tomorrow!" Cyber waved as he left toward his house.

"See you!" Lyra called back, waving.

Cyber arrived at the house to find Eclipse on the couch, reading a book, which levitated in front of him with a blazing red orange aura around it and his horn

"Hey, Eclipse, what are you doing up?"

"Hm? Hey, the smell of smoke kept me up. Which reminds me, I need something to keep that from happening, you think you could do that?"

"Shouldn't be much of a problem," Cyber joined Eclipse on the couch. "So, what'cha reading?"

Eclipse squinted at the book. "I don't know, I'm almost halfway through and I still don't understand what's going on. Mind if I burn this?"

Cyber took a brief look at the spine before nodding. "Go ahead, I've been meaning to get rid of that one for a long time but never got the chance." Eclipse smiled as he simply touched it with his hoof, causing the book to burst into flames and then ash. Eclipse and Cyber chuckled at the sight of a bad book being burned.

"If you want a good story, try one like 'Daring Do,' or 'Garry Trotter,' that's a good one."

Eclipse shrugged. He didn't give that much interest in further reading. "I might check them out sometime. By the way, what kept you?"

"Oh, dinner with Lyra went on for longer than I thought."

Eclipse gave a teasing grin. "Ah, I see. Spent a little too much time with your marefriend?"

Cyber rolled his eyes. "It's not like that, we're just friends."

"Isn't that how it starts out?"

"What makes you the expert on love, you and Moonlight have only been here two days!"

"Hey, at least I came closer to having a marefriend than Moonlight."

"Maybe it's because all the mares consider you hot!" that just made Eclipse shake his head slowly.

"That was so bad, you need to come up with a new word to describe how bad that was."

Cyber shrugged, satisfied that he's diverted the conversation away from romance. "Eh, can't blame a guy for trying, can you? Anyway, how are you enjoying things outside of isolation?"

"I'll be honest, nopony's ever treated me with so much kindness other than Breezie, but I'd rather not talk about her after what I did."

Cyber placed his hand on Eclipse for comfort, it was safe because of Twilight's spell and Eclipse feeling sadness. "Eclipse, I promise the moment we reach Hoofington, our first stop is the cemetery so you can express how you feel."

"You sure? I don't know about that..."

"Trust me, as someone who's seen his grandparents die right in front of him, I will tell you that visiting a grave is almost like meeting them in person, and even if it takes years to get there, I'm sure Breezie is looking down on you and smiling, maybe even with your parents."

Cyber winced as he saw Eclipse enter an emotional trance. "Oh, I'm sorry if I got into something uncomfortable."

"No, no, it's alright... I just never thought about who my parents were and whether they were still alive or not."

"What do you think?"

"I don't know, there are all kinds of possibilities, did they abandon me because of my powers? Or were they just trying to protect me? Did I burn them to death, or are they still alive?"

"I'm sure wherever they are, they'd be proud of you if they knew what great friends you've made."

"Thanks, Cyber, you're a great friend."

"Likewise, Eclipse, good night," Cyber and Eclipse trotted up to their rooms and fell asleep almost instantly.

The next day Mixy approached Rarity's house. Knocking on the door she deeply wished Rarity would answer.

"Just a minute!" came Rarity's voice from inside, then shortly Rarity opened the door. "Oh, hello, Mixy, what brings you here?"

"Twilight said I should talk to you for advice, is now a good time?"

"Oh, certainly, come on in," Rarity let Mixy inside.

"Right this way as I brew up some tea so we may-"

"MEEEEEEEEOOOOOW!"

"No, Opal, come back!" Rarity was interrupted by a white cat and Sweetie Belle, with the former soaking wet.

"Sweetie Belle, what is the meaning of this?" Rarity demanded as the cat started to dash across the room, clawing nearly everything in sight.

"Sorry, Rarity," Sweetie Belle said. "I tried to give Opal a bath but she just freaked out before I could do anything."

Opal continued to dash across the room, screeching and wiling as she did so, until she directed herself towards Mixy, who altered her voice and let out a sound that was just like Fang growling, which managed to stop the berserk cat and allow Rarity to grab her with her magic.

"So sorry about that, Mixy, you know how cats are with water and baths."

"Not really, but I'm glad to help, though you might want to keep her under control."

"Of course," Rarity replied, using some more magic to dry off Opal, then placed the cat on a couch, which made Opal curl up as Rarity started the tea and Sweetie Belle went up to her room. "Now as I was saying, what did you need advice about, fashion? Looks? Though for a changeling hybrid I guess that last one's not much of an issue."

Mixy shook her head. "Actually, I need advice on love."

Rarity rose an eyebrow. "Love? But you're a changeling hybrid, surely you must understand at least some details about love."

"First: that's just a stereotype. Second: it's not love itself that I want to understand, it's being in love I want to understand."

"Ooh, that changes everything, so who's the stallion that stole your heart?"

"It's Cyber, I have a crush on Cyber."

Rarity squealed in glee. "That is wonderful, how long have you and Cyber been a couple?"

"We're not, he doesn't know," Mixy admitted as Rarity poured the tea.

"But why not, darling? He has to know or else it will just destroy you from the inside when it's too late."

"Cyber has been the most oblivious when it comes to romance. Once we came across two ponies that were a couple, and Cyber simply acted like they were only best friends."

"Hm, I can see how that can be a problem, but that shouldn't stop you from telling him."

"Only a problem, I think Lyra's beating me."

Rarity gave a confused look. "I don't think I understand, Darling."

"It's Lyra, he's been hanging out with her more and more ever since we came here and I'm worried he might fall in love with her instead of me!" Mixy was nearly standing on her seat.

"Alright, first of all: please calm down. Next: I don't think it is a good idea to demand Cyber's love like that, it is certainly uncouth."

Mixy sat back down and sighed, slightly embarrassed. "Your right, I don't know what's getting over me, it might be my changeling genes that are doing this."

"And furthermore, I understand your sorrow, so I'll tell you what, I'm free today so I'll tag along with Cyber and Lyra the next time they spend time together and see how they act around each other."

"I don't think that's a good idea, Cyber and Lyra spend much of their time in Cyber's lab, and I don't think you appreciate being covered in oil, grease, or soot from things blowing up in your face."

"Quite right," Rarity thought for a moment. "I got it, I'll just invite them to a picnic."

"That should be good, I guess. Just let me know if they're in love or not."

"Of course, anything for a friend."

"Thanks so much, Rarity."

"No problem, now I must get things ready."

"Alright, let's test this," Cyber said as he and Lyra plugged in several power cords into an unfinished metal equine skull.

"Power on!" Lyra announced as she pulled a switch, instantly the skull's eyes lit up to show unmoving pupils that looked forward.

"So far so good," Cyber said as he and Lyra positioned themselves in front of the robot head. "What is your name?" Cyber asked.

A very monotone voice came from the robot's head. "Clockwork."

"Alright, voice detection working," Cyber said as he wrote it on a clipboard. "Now onto visual recognition, what is my name?"

"Cyber System."

"And her name?" Cyber gestured to Lyra.

"Lyra Heartstrings."

"Looks like that's working," said Lyra as Cyber picked up a tape recorder.

"Now, Clockwork, I will play voices, name the speaker based on what you hear," Cyber pressed a button and a familiar voice came out.

"Cyber, why are you recording me?"

"Twilight Sparkle," Clockwork answered, then Cyber pressed another button and another, albeit much more quiet voice came out.

"Cyber... what are you doing?"

"Fluttershy," Clockwork answered again as two voices emerged from the recorder.

"What are you doing with that tape recorder?"

"Probably something related to voices or something."

"Fang and Dusty respectively," Clockwork replied.

"Time for a bit more of a challenge," Cyber said, pressing the button as a very excited and happy voice emerged with the tone changing randomly and constantly.

"Ooh, are you recording my voice? I love it when I record my voice it's like I'm having a chat with myself! Ooh, ooh, let's do that, ok. Hello, me!"

It took a second before Clockwork answered. "Pinkie Pie."

"Alright, time for the final test," Cyber said as Lyra gave him a confused look.

"I thought we had more voices than that," she said.

"We do, but the next several recordings are just of Pinkie talking to herself and I don't want to go through all of them. Anyway, time for the big moment, Clockwork, how do you feel?"

Clockwork took thirty seconds before sparks started to fly. "ERROR, ERROR! ERROR #516. UNKNOWN FILE FORMAT. ERROR #291 NO FILE LABELED 'EMOTIONS' FOUND. ERROR #123..."

"Lyra, turn it off!" Cyber shouted, keeping the sparks from hitting anything as Lyra pulled the switch again.

"ERROR #4...9...1..." Clockwork blared as he gradually turned off, making Cyber remove his goggles with a sigh.

"I could have sworn we put in the right file format for his emotions."

"Maybe we just need to find a way to have his tone change with memories," Lyra suggested.

"Perhaps, but we might need to-" Cyber was interrupted by a sharp pain in his head, making him clutch it.

"Cyber, are you ok?" asked Lyra, concerned.

"Yeah, I just didn't get much sleep, lack of sleep can cause headaches and lack of focus," Cyber lied, knowing the real reason was the toxin in his blood.

Lyra bought it. "Alright, so should we get something to eat first? I'm getting kinda hungry."

"Yeah, me too, plus I could use the time to 'mentally recharge'," Cyber and Lyra trotted outside, where they ran into Rarity.

"Oh, Cyber, Lyra, how lovely meeting you here, I was just about to talk to you."

"What'cha need, Rarity?" asked Cyber.

"I was wondering if you two would like to join me on a picnic."

"Sure, sounds like fun," said Cyber.

"I'm in," said Lyra.

"Wonderful, come on, this way," Rarity said as she brought Cyber and Lyra to a picnic area she set up, shortly they sat down and began eating sandwiches.

"You know Rarity, now that we're here, I probably should tell you this," said Cyber.

"What is it?"

"Careful with your fabric around Eclipse, he burns everything he touches, like literally burns, one touch and fire ignites."

"Oh, I'll keep that in mind, darling."

"By the way, what's the deal with Moonlight?" asked Lyra. "She keeps herself in her cloak and won't take it off, plus she's so secretive."

"Moonlight has had a rough foalhood, that's about all I know, but it's probably better to leave her alone than bombard her with questions too personal to answer."

"Oh, and before I forget, you two" said Rarity. "How strong would you say your friendship is with each other?"

"It's pretty strong," answered Lyra.

"I treat her like I do with the other misfits," said Cyber.

"Yes, but have you considered going further in building up your friendship? 'To the next level' as you would say."

Cyber thought about it for a second, then gasped in realization. "Of course, Rarity, you're right!"

"About what?" asked Lyra.

"I can't believe I never saw this earlier, but thanks to Rarity I know I can trust you enough to say this, so would you like to..." Rarity waited in anticipation at what Cyber was about to say. "Would you like to... be registered in my lab's scanner to gain permanent access?"

"Cyber I knew you had- what?" Rarity was astonished by how Cyber mistaken her hint. 'Mixy was right, he is oblivious.' she thought.

"I completely forgot about that, of course!" responded Lyra.

'And so is she,' Rarity thought. 'Well, they don't appear to be a couple, but it wouldn't be a surprise if they were.'

Mixy was filled with excitement as she saw Rarity come to her from the picnic with Cyber and Lyra.

"Well, are they in love?" Mixy asked.

"I must say you weren't kidding when you said they were oblivious, but from the looks of things they aren't a couple, but they're headed in the right direction. I suggest telling him soon or else you'll end up tearing yourself apart."

"Oh, well thanks for the help, Rarity."

"My pleasure, Mixy," what seemed like understanding was really more confusion than ever for the changeling hybrid, maybe she just needed to spend a bit more time with Cyber like Lyra. Yes, that was the answer, Cyber just needed to understand her more.

Two weeks have passed, and there have already been a few noticeable differences. Moonlight has become a bit more social and even shared a bit of her powers in a show, which everypony loved. Eclipse started taking anger management classes and has already seen results. Cyber and Lyra together worked on Clockwork and managed to get him to express slight boredom, annoyance, and sarcasm, as well as allowing his eyes to change and show various emotions if needed despite Clockwork's lack of mouth. Heart and Hooves day was tomorrow and for some reason it made Mixy act strangely by spending more time with Cyber despite not having a clue what he's doing or how to do it herself, she also started to push Lyra out of the picture for some reason. Although, while Cyber remained oblivious (albeit confused) towards Mixy's behavior, the other misfits quickly noticed that something was wrong.

"Mixy, what are you doing?" asked Fang, seeing Mixy with large, square, nerdy glasses.

"What? Can't I change my look once in a while?" Mixy said.

"It's not just that, you've been acting strange lately," said Dusty.

"Strange? How?"

"Where do we begin?" said Eclipse. "How about when you started to try help Cyber with his projects instead of anything else, how you are starting to act like somepony other than yourself, and I'm pretty sure that is not your usual cutie mark," Eclipse pointed to Mixy's flank, which had a lyre on it, but a brief shock of embarrassment made Mixy change it back to its normal mirror shape.

"Mixy, we're here to help you, and it's more than obvious that you have something going on," said Dusty.

"I don't know what you are talking about, I'm just trying a new approach that's all," Mixy argued.

"She lies," said Moonlight, who has gradually become more talkative over the past couple days. "There is a aura of dark energy around her that I sense, filled with desires, jealousy, madness, and lust."

"You can do that?" asked Fang.

"Are we talking about me, or Mixy?" glared Moonlight, still as secretive as ever.

"Right, anyway, Mixy there is no denying it, so spill it."

Mixy hesitated and remained silent, she looked at her friends, each of them glaring at her like she is the culprit of a murder, so with a sigh, she spoke up.

"Fine, I admit it! I have a crush on Cyber, and I love him; I love him until the very end. Normally I could keep it under control but ever since he met Lyra I've become jealous! And I don't know what to do!" Mixy was trying to hold back her emotions.

"And you think that the best solution is to push her out of Cyber's life and try to take her place?" asked Dusty.

"I... I... I don't know! I've never been so confused in my entire life, what am I supposed to do?"

"Look, I'm sure that none of us here know a thing about romance," said Fang. "So this is a problem you have to overcome yourself."

"I tried, but it just left me stressed out even more," replied Mixy.

The other misfits exchanged looks before Dusty sighed. "I may be the only one here who knows about changelings, and even then I don't know much, but what I do know let's me ask this: will you let things go and let whatever happens happen like a pony, or demand Cyber's love on yourself like a changeling?"

"Dusty, not all changelings are like that!"

"You know what I mean! So we're going to let you decide what you should do. And Heart and Hooves day is tomorrow, so you should probably make up your mind fast," and with that, The Misfits left, leaving Mixy alone to tend to her own thoughts.

"We're getting closer, but there's still the problem of Clockwork's happiness and reactions," said Lyra as she shut down a now half-finished Clockwork.

"Yeah, sure," said Cyber, distant.

"Is something wrong?"

"Hm? Actually, yes, it's Mixy, she's been acting strange lately, like how she was always trying to help out with the experiments."

"Didn't she say you wouldn't let her help out?"

Cyber shook his head. "It's not that I won't let her, it's because she doesn't know how to help. She said it herself, 'I would love to help you out, but I don't know the first thing about programming,' quote unquote."

"Now that you mention it, she was pushing me out, is there something you two are talking about?"

"Not that I know of, there has to be some reason for this behavior, but I can't figure it out."

"She will tell you, she's your best friend, I'm sure of it."

"I guess, but I still want to know what's wrong."

"Just give her time, trust me, I know what this is like," Cyber looked at Lyra and smiled.

"I guess you're right. So now where were we?"

The next day...

"Can you believe it's already Heart and Hooves day?" asked Twilight.

"I know, and to think it's only been sixteen chapters!" Pinkie exclaimed with a *squee* which left Twilight confused.

"Sixteen... chapters? Pinkie, this is real life, not some kind of literature."

"That's what you think!" Pinkie said in a sing-song voice as Twilight scratched her head in confusion, but shrugged it off.

"Right... so anyway, anypony asked for some sweets yet?"

"Nope," the distinct sound of the door opening was heard. "Nevermind, hi, Cyber!"

Twilight turned to see the familiar technological unicorn approach the counter. "Hi Cyber," she said.

"Hey, Twilight. Hi, Pinkie," Cyber replied.

"So, want anything for a special somepony?" asked Pinkie.

"No, not really, just give me a large cake to share with all the misfits and Lyra."

"Okey doki loki! Be right with you!" Pinkie then bounced into the kitchen where instantly, aromas of various flavors emerged.

"I swear, if somepony were to look inside her brain, they would either see unimaginable happiness, randomness, or horror, maybe all of the above," Cyber said.

"Well, it's Pinkie Pie, who knows what goes on in there?" Twilight responded.

"Never before have I been so curious, but so scared at the same time, I mean where did she even get meat flavored cake?"

"I've learned not to question her. So anyway, how far are you to completing Clockwork?"

"Lyra and I are getting there, right now we're getting him to express rage, which isn't a good thing to add on the same day as hooves. Which reminds me, Mixy has been acting weird lately, do you have any idea what's wrong?"

"Well, I made a Pinkie promise and I don't want to break it," Twilight responded.

"Why, what happens if you break it?"

"You don't wanna know!" Pinkie called out from the kitchen.

"And there's that curiosity/horrified feeling again. Anyway, I understand, I just need to ask Mixy herself."

"That is the best idea," Twilight smiled as she brought in a very large cake that was evenly separated into sections, with each of the Misfits' and Lyra's cutie mark on a section made with icing, except Moonlight's, which was blank.

"Each section has your favorite flavor," Pinkie said. "By the way, what's Moonlight's cutie mark?"

"I don't know, nopony does, but I think she prefers it to be that way."

"Okay, thirty bits please!" Cyber reached into his bit pouch and with one hand, he pulled out the money and handed it to Pinkie. "Thank you, have a nice day!" Pinkie and Cyber waved to each other as the techno unicorn left.

Later that night, Cyber opened the fridge and pulled out the cake to begin the party they have every year during Heart and Hooves day.

"Who wants cake?" Cyber announced as he placed the large cake on the table and they started eating.

"Do other ponies celebrate Heart and Hooves day like this?" asked Eclipse.

"Not really, normally we would just spend time with our special somepony," said Lyra. "I think humans celebrate something similar, Valen-tin day, I think?"

"I don't know, but the way us Misfits celebrate it is we just have fun with a party and cake in the nearest town," said Dusty. "It's actually really fun!"

"Maybe it's because you don't have a crush on somepony," said Lyra.

"Yeah... maybe..." mumbled Mixy. "Um... Cyber...?"

"Yeah?" Cyber responded through his half eaten cake.

"Umm... I... I... I gotta go!" she drastically said as she ran into the bathroom.

"O... kay...?" Cyber shrugged.

Mixy washed away the stress in the sink. "Come on, Mixy," she told herself. "Today is Heart and Hooves day, the day of romance and love, you can do this, you can tell Cyber how you feel."

As Mixy encouraged herself, Cyber faced Lyra. "Hey, Lyra..."

"Yeah?"

"Out of all the towns and cities I've been to, I have never met a town as friendly as this one, and never have I met a pony so friendly, so smart, and so human-obsessed as you. I mean, I have never even come close to making Clockwork even show the slightest emotion by myself, so I just wanted to say... I'm glad you're my friend."

Lyra smiled. "So am I, Cyber, so am I. Happy Heart and Hooves day," when they could've just returned to their cakes, they suddenly found themselves leaning closer to each other, slowly Lyra wrapped her hooves around Cyber while he did the same to Lyra with his arms.

…and that was when Mixy returned to see that very thing which shocked her so much even her mirror cutie mark shattered.

Mixy felt as though everything around her was sucked in a void, the way Cyber and Lyra were hugging each other was so gentle, so heartwarming, so... romantic... she couldn't believe it, she missed her chance, now he was with Lyra. And now she won't be with him. Everything seemed meaningless as tears streamed down her face and she ran out the door crying, as she ran through the night, she couldn't stop thinking about it. Eventually she found herself on a hill, where she stopped.

'It's too late, I failed! I failed, he's with her now, and I never told him how much he means to me, how could I be so stupid!?' she thought as her tears nearly blinded her vision. 'I don't know what to do now, I'm so confused, more confused than ever. Why did I have to be the daughter of the one thing that understands love the least? Why am I such a misfit? If I was just born to normal ponies, none of this would happen! I would have told Cyber how I feel and we wouldn't be in this mess, what do I do? What do I do? What. Do. I. Do!?'

"Mixy? Are you okay?"

Mixy turned around to see Cyber and Lyra behind her.

"What are you two doing here?" she asked.

"We saw you crying, are you alright?" answered Lyra.

Mixy sniffed and shook her head, wiping away whatever tears were on her face. "No, I'm not alright, I'm not alright after what you did."

Cyber rose an eyebrow, exchanging his gaze with both mares while keeping a look of slight guilt. "What did we do? Did we do something wrong?" asked Cyber. Out of concern for his friend he approached her almost apologetically. "Mixy, if there's something going on, I'm sure we can work this out."

Mixy fell silent. To her it felt as though it was just the two of them, not even noticing Lyra to the side. Everything felt set up, from Heart and Hooves day, to the night sky, it would almost be romantic had Mixy's eyes not been swollen with tears. Still, she felt it was necessary to speak.

"Cyber, it's... you didn't do anything wrong, I just jumped to conclusions. I'm sorry for all of this, I'm sorry for how I've been acting lately, but I just can't stand the thought of you and Lyra without me."

Cyber sat down in front of her. "Mixy, I know I've been spending a lot of time with Lyra, but that doesn't mean you're any less of a friend to me."

Mixy shook her head, "No, I don't care how much of a friend she is."

"Then what's the problem? Mixy, I can't solve this if I don't know what's wrong. Come on, you can trust me."

Cyber smiled at her, only causing Mixy to uncomfortably rub her hoof. "It's because... well... ever since I met you... I... I love you."

Cyber gave a confused look. "I don't think I understand. Isn't it normal to love your friends?"

Mixy shook her head. "No, I mean I really love you. Like how my parents love each other."

Cyber barely reacted. Lyra had to cover her mouth to keep herself from gasping. She felt like leaving, yet her curiosity convinced her to stay, after all she was involved, if only on the side. After a few seconds of thinking, Cyber hung his mouth open and blushed. "You... really?" Mixy nodded.

"I loved you ever since we met, you always knew what to say to me, you never pushed me out because of my changeling side, you treated me with respect, but you never knew what love really was, so I was worried about what you would say if I told you. Then when I saw you hanging out with Lyra, that just got me confused and I didn't know what to do, but the truth is I always wanted to be your marefriend." Mixy felt like kissing him right there. The moment just seemed too perfect, yet there was still something deep down telling her to stop. It wasn't anxiety, but reason. With her feelings now open, it was Cyber's turn to make the decision that would determine their relationship.

"Mixy... I had no idea... but now that I know about this... I must say that I think we are much better as just friends. And I have a good reason: I don't even want a marefriend. Even if I were to have one, I'd want her to see things without romance and just focus on the fun, I'd want her to look at a date the same way as they look at a normal activity. Don't get me wrong, you are a great mare, one of a kind, and I like that, but I don't think I'm ready for romance just yet."

"I... I understand..." Mixy said, sullenly.

"But, if it makes you feel any better..." Mixy felt all four of Cyber's metal mechanical arms wrap around her in a hug before she did the same. "You'll always be a misfit to me, just let love come to you instead of looking in every nook and cranny for it."

Mixy smiled. "I'm sorry for my actions, could you forgive me for what I've done?"

Cyber smiled at her and nodded. "Of course, you're my best friend. I could never hold a grudge against you."

"Aww, I forgive you too, Mixy," said Lyra, joining in on the hug.

"Thank you, Lyra."

"Just promise me you won't do something like this again and just express yourself next time, okay?"

Mixy nodded. "Pinkie promise. 'Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye'." Both Cyber and Mixy mimed the movements accordingly.

"Now come on, we have a party to get to."

"Honey, you haven't eaten your dinner, is something wrong?" Dandelion Meadow asked.

Mirror Shard looked up at his wife. "Nothing's wrong, dear, I'm just worried about Mixy, that's all."

"Are you worried that she will tell about you being a changeling?"

"Sort of, but mostly because back when she was accepted into The Misfits, I noticed that she was brimming with young love."

"So she has a crush, where's the harm?"

"When a changeling goes through true love, they're technically breaking away from the hive and out of Crysalis' command, then they go through a dramatic confusion which makes even the simplest decisions difficult and they begin to question what's right. They can break free from it and it makes going through love much easier. Of course, being a changeling I had limited will to start with, so it was easier to overcome like a simple 'yes, I'm sure' or 'no, I'm not'. Mixy though..."

"She'll be fine, I know it."

Mirror sighed and smiled. "You're right, I'm worrying too much. If Mixy has a problem she knows who to talk to, she's a smart mare."

"I always say she takes after you for that," Dandelion chuckled. "So, when did you experience that 'period of confusion'?"

"It happened when you told me I was going to be a father," Mirror Shard smiled and returned to his dinner, keeping his daughter at the back of his mind.

"So long, Cyber!" called out Lyra as she left the house, most of the Misfits were already asleep either from exhaustion, sugar crash, or just plain sleep, only Moonlight, Mixy, and Cyber were still awake.

"It's nice to see you act like a normal pony instead of a love-sick animal, Mixy," said Cyber.

"Feels nice too," Mixy responded. "Kinda feels like a mystery I never knew the answer to just got solved."

"Alright, good night!" Cyber said as he trotted up to his room, yawning.

"So, you told him?" asked Moonlight.

"Yeah, it feels nice getting something off your chest."

"Could be because all the dark energy I saw pulsing from you is now gone."

Mixy shrugged. "I'm just glad Cyber and I are still best friends."

"From the looks of that stallion, the only way to lose his friendship is to kill somepony."

"What about Eclipse?"

"Then to kill somepony close to him. On purpose too."

"That may be the only way to lose Cyber's friendship. Well, good night!"

"Likewise."