• Published 17th Oct 2014
  • 2,385 Views, 46 Comments

The master and the windigo - stupidswampdragon



Lyra's skiing trip goes bad. Bad enough to get her a pet she never wanted and a bunch of responsibilities she was never prepared to handle.

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3 - Recreate

"Look, this is really fancy and all! But it's still just chocolate," Lyra eyed the steaming, brownish liquid. "...so they should just call it chocolate. That's all I'm saying."

"It's fondue... whether you know that word or not," Bon-Bon groaned. She was resting on a chair; a chair with so much cushioning that she was practically sinking into the stuff. Like a beanbag.

"I do know that word," Lyra crossed her legs in front of her. "That was just a joke. You know humour, right?"

"Isn't that the new neighbour who moved in last week?" Bon absent-mindedly pointed a hoof toward the ceiling. One of the cross-beams was straight above her, the aged wood almost as thick as her torso.

The rest of the ceiling was covered by similarly deep-brown pieces of wood. It was a low risk choice, the somewhat neutral colour meshing well with the dining room's warm atmosphere. It erred a little on the bland side perhaps, but that issue was offset by the flowery tapestry on the walls, roses and other lesser-known plants repeating in an intricate pattern. It seemed chaotic at first, but it really wasn't; that display of colours enhanced the uniform whiteness of the snowy landscape outside. Such comparisons were easy to make, as the room also featured a set of absolutely huge windows, the cut-crystal panels reaching from the floor right to the ceiling.

It was only a smaller castle, dwarfed even by some villas in Canterlot; but the Dancing Lights Château made up in beauty for what it lacked in size.

Having actually studied the place before she picked it for their vacation, Bon-Bon understood how that came to be. Far away from major parts of Equestria and locked in the grip of the icy snow all year, the château didn't always enjoy its current splendour. The last time it held any importance was more than a thousand years ago, when Equestria and the Crystal Kingdom weren't on unconditionally friendly terms. An age so long past that most didn't even bother learning about it.

The fact such a pointless stronghold still stood was nothing short of a miracle - and an admission to the hard work of the noble family living there.

Their trick was simple: hard work and tourism. The remote ice-paradise only started to see better days when Flash Freeze the twenty-fourth opened his domain to the public and turned the Dancing Lights Château into the Dancing Lights Lodge. North enough to "enjoy" chilly weather year around but still south enough to be connected to the railway, the spot became something of a smaller attraction. Small was also part of the emphasis, the retainers of the château having had no intentions of going hoof to hoof with the larger mainstream resorts.

They also wanted preserve much of their old ways, of course. In the end, the Freeze family only wanted to do what they had been doing through so many generations: keeping their castle running. If that meant letting commoners into their vast estate for a nominal sum - in order to cover maintenance costs - , then they did just that. A fancy abode like the Dancing Lights did cost a lot of bits every year, after all.

A louder clang rose Bon-Bon from her thoughts. She had to lower her gaze to see the source of commotion; as only the two of them occupied the dining room, the place was completely silent apart from the cracking of the fire. Even the ring of a ceramic bowl became a deafening bang against such tranquil background.

"Mmrrrh," Lyra purred and licked her chocolate-covered lips. "This phon-doo is pretty amazing. I wonder why they don't sell it in Ponyville..."

"Melted chocolate's a lot less attractive when you're not surrounded by snow," Bon-Bon pointed out, then sat up. Or rather: tried to. The ridiculously soft cushion absorbed her movements, effectively trapping her in place. "And it's fondue, all right?"

"Are you warming up already?" Lyra squinted at the puzzling sight. Bon looked exactly like an overturned bug, her legs twitching around without any purpose whatsoever.

"Gnnnnnghrrhrhgnghr!" Bon-Bon gave the sole answer expected of a pony struggling to get up. She then adjusted her plan a little; instead of getting up, she just rolled around. She successfully wound up belly-down, and with a questionably firm grip on the soft material. "HA! Victory!"

Still licking the sugary sauce from her muzzle, Lyra began to clap. She wasn't sure if she really should have celebrated, but she had to do something. The reaction was wanting out of her, one way or another. Clapping at the awkward performance may have offended Bon a little, but still it was a lot smarter than hollering with laughter.

"Haaa... yeah. This chair really gets your heart pumping," Bon giggled at the reaction of her one-mare crowd, then reached towards her glass. That was also cut crystal, obviously; what else to drink from in such a château. The contents were more to Bon's interest, however. She put the crystal glass to her mouth and gulped greedily, the taste making her lips curl into a smile. A little. She had to get the recipe for that mulled wine. She grew more and more sure of that with each glass.

Lyra cackled at her friend’s reaction, hooves hiding an inane grin.

"Tee-hee! We need to learn how they make that stuff! This is the first time I see you drink wine!"

"Heh, now that you mention... I have a growing sympathy to Berry Punch," Bon rotated her glass a little, the move sloshing the hot wine around. "Last one though. Any more and I'll be rolling down the slopes!"

Lyra's face popped like a pufferfish for a moment, the pony heroically trying to subdue her reaction to the mental image. The expression wasn't lost on Bon though, as evident by her ears taking a dive, fitting snugly to her neck. That, in turn, snapped Lyra out of her merry mood.

Uh-oh, she gulped, the chocolate drying to her lips no longer bothering her so much. Am I in trouble? I think I'm in trouble.

She didn't need to worry too long, however; the most unlikely hero came to her rescue.

"Ah, my most esteemed guests! I hope you are having a splendid time here."

Both ponies turned their heads to the newcomer. It wasn't difficult to recognize the blue pony though; and that wasn't just because of the distinct sapphire tunic he wore or the silver pendant hanging from his neck. Everypony knew him, as he took the pain to personally greet everypony arriving to the Dancing Lights. Usually it was nothing but a brief 'wishing you a good time here', but the way he could utter those words left no doubt: he had rather sincere feelings behind the stock phrase. Bumping into him on any other occasion confirmed that readily; when not greeting a hundred newcomers en-masse, he was a little eccentric but ultimately well-meaning stallion.

Viscount Flash Freeze the twenty-sixth was quite fitting to run the Dancing Lights, all in all.

"Your phone-do rocks!" Lyra used her chance to escape Bon, turning to the noble with a lightning-quick twist of her head.

"It's fondue, got it?!" Bon growled, then gave their host a short nod. "We sure do, Viscount! This place is all sorts of amazing."

"Hahaha, why, thank you! I will make sure to pass your praise along," Flash Freeze smiled and made his way to the table of the other two ponies. Courtesy of the thick carpet, his approach was completely silent. "Though if I may... please do not refer to me by my title only. I get enough of that during formal gatherings. Just FF will do."

"FF!" Lyra clicked her tongue. That was a weird way to call a viscount. It would have been a pretty friendly term even for a mere commoner - especially with two mares he just met. "That'll take a little while to get used to."

In all fairness, it didn't take her more than a second to get used to. She really enjoyed being immediate best-buddies with a noble.

"I would greatly appreciate your efforts, though!" Flash Freeze settled to the table. "See, I like knowing that I am more than my title."

"Poor old you," Lyra snorted, ignoring Bon's alarmed expression. "I would surely love to be that title. Especially if it came with a huuuuuge castle! My very own castle, mmm..."

The unexpected turn of the conversation made Bon spring up from her place. The chair thwarted her movements again, though; she was only fiddling around, her legs sinking into the soft fabric.

"Ah, the château. Splendid construction, is it not?" Flash Freeze gave Lyra a deep smile. Then he closed his brown eyes and chuckled deeply. "But as I said, that is a praise I will have to pass up on. For all intents and purposes, I am nothing but an almighty janitor. The real work was done by my predecessors... especially the Eleventh. It was during his reign this very dining hall was built, for example."

"Woah. You're some weird noble," Lyra gawked. As usual, her tongue moved faster than her brain. There was little helping that though, as the noble's admission had such a dose of honesty that she almost began doubting her ears. She had no hope of reigning in her immediate reactions.

"Never mind that!" Bon cried out, trying her best to contain the damage. "Don't sell yourself so short, uh... FF. You're still doing a very good job at running this place!"

"Why, thank you!" Flash Freeze paid Bon-Bon a deep nod, the unusual gesture visibly surprising the commoner pony. "So would any of you two care for seconds? On the house, of course."

"Errr... thank you, but I think we're-" Bon began her most polite refusal.

"Sure!" Lyra jumped on the offer without any hesitation. "But only if you're going to do something more than just sitting around here. You're kinda' awkward this way."

Slamming her head onto the table as quietly as possible, Bon was pretty sure that the viscount was hardly the only one being really awkward.


Cold air makes for very beautiful skies, especially in the mountains. The air feels thinner and clearer. Clouds are few and far between. The backdrop also takes a deeper hue, sapphire taking place of the usual azure. That in turn makes the sun appear brighter, the eye-searingly bright disc the sole presence in the sea of emptiness.

There may have been more observations to make, but that was all Lyra could get to before she landed back into the snow.

The frozen flakes of water weren't particularly kind to her; it hadn't snowed in the last weeks and the aged snow compacted into denser layers. That made her landing a little harsher than she expected. She dug a few inches into the white stuff before she transited to rolling, finally just skidding on her belly. Then she stopped, her muzzle buried into a small white hill of her own making.

Then one of her skis dropped out of the sky, effortlessly embedding itself in the snow and scaring the living daylights out of her. It was a good thing her muzzle was buried into the snow, for she might have swallowed her sunglasses otherwise.

"How did you even DO that?!" Bon yelped, her skis drawing a single thick line into the snow as she braked to a halt. "Are you trying to show off because he's around?"

"Am not," Lyra watched the snow slowly melt from her nose. She was planning to get up - eventually - but she wanted to count all her ribs beforehoof. Just to be sure. She also devoted some time to hating snow and those thin wooden deathtraps ponies called skis... but she wouldn't complain out loud, seeing just how much Bon was enjoying herself. Everypony deserved a good vacation every now and then; her friends doubly so.

"I have never seen anypony fall like that," Bon slid to the vertically resting ski. She spent a few moments admiring the shiny red surface, then turned her brown sunglasses toward Lyra. "Just how did you throw this into the air anyway?"

"There's an easy and perfectly rational explanation," Lyra moaned as she lifted her head into the air. Getting back onto her hooves proved to be even more difficult; without the skis, she was just punching newer and newer holes into the snow. "I just have no idea what it is... ugh, how do you STAND there without any help?"

Bon chomped onto the ski instead of answering. She yanked the red piece of wood rather unceremoniously and threw it to Lyra.

"Figures," Lyra grumbled and placed a shaking hoof onto the ski. It immediately started to slide, only stopping when she stomped onto it. Hard. She may have been getting an itsy-bitsy fed up with the whole ordeal. All made worse by Bon, who was unknowingly rubbing salt into the wounds; despite both of them having started that morning, her friend was already pretty good at skiing in straight lines... and then stopping without tripping over all over the place.

She was still stuck at the tripping part.

"Not a bad performance," came a third voice, and Lyra immediately stopped trying to get her hooves locked to the ski again. She got more busy hiding her face and shrinking two sizes as Flash Freeze himself joined the small party.

"If you say so. She didn't break her neck at least," Bon sighed, her eyes scanning for the other bright-red piece of polished wood. "Seriously, Lyra. I told you to be careful..."

"But I am being careful, mom!" Lyra finally clamped the ski to her hooves with an annoyed stomp. "It's just this stupid thing won't go the way I want it to!"

"Then you stop! And not just slide down hoping you get the hang of it if you go faster," Bon admonished her friend with a bonk on her head. "Look around! Even fillies are doing it safer than you are!"

Huffing to herself in silence, Lyra sneaked a glance around. There were many dozens of ponies on the slopes, half of them acting as if they were true experts. While mid-spring wasn't a prime time for ski resorts, there were always a few guests everywhere. Some of them enjoyed the sparsely populated environment... and others enjoyed the greatly lower out-of-season prices.

Anyhow, she couldn't find the fillies Bon was talking about. No matter; she could well imagine a pony of any age doing better than how she did so far.

"Miss Bon, you would make a great safety instructor! Had I an open position, I would offer you the job on the spot," Flash Freeze gave the two a light laugh. "You are, however, not acting as teachers should. What happened to motivating pupils?"

Lyra gave a few hearty nods to that speech. Anything that got the verbal flak off her.

"Look, visc... FF. I'll gladly ease up on her when I see her acting responsibly!" Bon-Bon pointed a hoof at Lyra, the latter jolting at the mention. "Motivation is perfectly fine, and trust me: I would like to see her enjoying it. But I didn't organize a vacation to see her end in a hospital!"

"Certainly a valid point," Flash Freeze shrugged submissively. "I can not argue with that. Though maybe... hmm. Maybe I can ease your worries a little."

The offer got quizzical and even distrusting stares from both ponies, Lyra and Bon even going as far as openly glancing at each other in their bemusement. The source of their confusion was obvious: neither of them had any idea what the strange noble could have been talking about.

"Ahahaha, I see I managed to weird you out!" Flash Freeze laughed embarrassedly, the display of emotions not lost on him. "I did mention 'a little', so do not expect me to perform some miracle on the spot. I was more thinking along the lines of something like this..."

Still in the crossfire of puzzled stares, the noble quickly undid the neck of his jacket and rummaged inside. Bon was pretty sure he was looking for a flier with quick instructions - though she had no idea why an expert skier like the viscount would carry one. Lyra, on the other hoof, was expecting a smaller bottle of wine or rum to show up... and she was pretty sure why a viscount would carry something like that with him.

They were both surprised when the noble flung his silver amulet towards Lyra, the jewellery landing almost right at her hooves.

"I have no idea if you are the sentimental type," Flash Freeze remarked as he tried to pack his white mane back into the neck of his jacket. "That amulet is rumoured to have some odd properties. One of them is protection from cold; so who knows, it may be of some use to you. Snow is pretty cold, after all!"

"A magical amulet...?" Lyra blinked at the strange object. Magical or not, it was an intricate piece of work; a long, carefully crafted silver chain connected to a blue gem, cut in the stylized shape of a snowflake.

"This is insane!" Bon gasped, hastily trying to get her hooves free from her skis. "There's no way we can accept this!"

"Oh, I am certainly not parting from it forever," Flash Freeze made a smirk over the mere idea of him giving such a relic away on a whim. "But I can do without this heirloom until we meet again... just to ease your worries a little."

There was no way he could confuse the two ponies more thoroughly than that. Both Lyra and Bon was left standing in place, alternating their stares between the amulet, the viscount and finally at each other.

"You came quite a way for this experience. So I expect to only meet you in château after dark," Flash Freeze winked at them and skidded away, leaving only two thin stripes in the snow. He remained in the focus of both mares until he took a turn to the right, disappearing behind a group of snow-covered pine trees.

"You think this is real?" Lyra poked the amulet. It was still lying in the snow as none of them dared to touch it so far.

"I'm sure he carries a bunch of replicas on him. You know, just in case," Bon bit onto her lips, then poked Lyra in the side with a ski. "Of course it's real - duh!"

An amber aura enveloped the silver amulet, the fancy object flying out of the snow and levitating mid-air. It rotated slowly, first to the left and then to the right, giving the ponies a good look from all angles. There wasn't anything suspicious about it though; a fact that only served to make both of them a little more suspicious.

"He's really going for the PR," Lyra concluded with a shrug as she threw the amulet over her head.

"Or he's just one of those romantic idiots. You know, the type who wouldn't mind falling for a pony who's absolutely ignorant about the fact," Bon mused, watching the silver necklace dangling from her friend's neck.

"Ha! Missing the advances of a noble... only a complete idiot would do that!" Lyra cackled. Then she dug a hoof into the snow and pushed, sliding awkwardly on her sole ski; her aim set on the other red piece of wood, lying half-buried some ten metres away from her.

"Thanks a lot, you love-fool dunce!" Bon cringed to herself. Her dismay was fuelled by how Lyra struggled to retrieve the missing part of her equipment - only to trip and fall, swearing loudly all the way. "Now I've got to watch out for a careless pony and a priceless amulet. Some vacation..."


"Seriously?" Bon muttered, carefully adjusting her voice so the departing waitress couldn't hear her. "Hayburger?"

"Hey, I figured I'd give it a shot!" Lyra gave her a shrug. "I never try such things back at home. Gotta' try everything once, right?"

"Everything except incest and folk dance," Bon paraphrased with a serene nod. "Got that right, I suppose. Huh. Now I'm almost regretting that fruit salad..."

"Just yell. Changing your order is no big deal," Lyra darted her amber eyes to the right, trying to find their waitress. It was a hopeless endeavour; all the guests were packed into the dining hall, making it easy for a single pony to disappear into the crowd. "Yeah, you'll have to yell. Want me to yell?"

"Always itching to be the center of attention, huh?" Bon chuckled. She rolled her head around, the move making her neck pop a few times. She may have been sitting at the table smiling, but she felt dead tired actually. She enjoyed the day, all in all; even with all the distractions and the constant worry, skiing was quite fun. Just really, really draining. More so than any sports she has tried so far. "Don't bother. I'll just try that tomorrow... IF you liked it!"

"Ha! What, I'm your food-tester now?" Lyra threw a sly grin at the other pony. "Sure, I can do that. Anything for my little assistant!"

"Assistant!" Bon narrowed her eyes to slit sand giving her friend a piercing stare. "When did I become that?"

"When you organized a whole trip here, all on your own! I even thought you went a little crazy, hoarding a whole pile of magazines. Shows what I know, huh? " Lyra reached over the table to pat the Bon on the head. "You did a really great job though! Say, feel like organizing my next show as well? I'm supposed to do a performance at the-"

"Nope!" Bon brushed the cyan hoof away from her. "Not until you can give me a monthly wage!"

"Well, I'll gladly remind you that we came here from what my performance at the Opera cashed us," Lyra smiled slyly, turning her head away from her friend. The flame of the candle on their table drew her attention; or, more precisely, the reflection of it. They had a good view of the windows as they sat at the same table like earlier that day, but the view was much different. With the outside world being dark and the many candles and fireplace illuminating the dining hall, all she saw were their own reflections; only the moon managed to penetrate the crystal window, its pale form meshing into the reflections.

"Sure thing. I'll gladly remind you that you mooch off me between two big hits though," Bon chuckled with equal confidence. She also turned a little, following the gaze of the cyan unicorn - and also winding up staring into the flickering light. She only realized that fact a few moments later, the thought squeezing another chuckle out of her. "Drawn to the candlelight... we're like two moths, haha."

"D'aaaw, and here I was thinking you'd say romantic!" Lyra giggled evilly, then yanked her head to the side. The move made her silver necklace bounce around, its blue gemstone sparkling even against the scattered light. The sight really pleased her and even led her to an important decision.

I need a huge dressing mirror at home, she clicked with her tongue.

"You're nopony to talk about romance," Bon sighed, moving a hoof to her temple. "You still have no idea why you got that pendant, do you...?"

"Of course I do!" Lyra snapped her eyes back to her friend, her face shining with triumph. "FF said it was a good charm thingy!"

"So...?" Bon cocked her head to the left, her hoof slowly massaging the side of her head. She had no idea why, but she was preparing for a mind-numbing answer already.

"He gave it to me so I don't break my neck!" Lyra exclaimed with a self-confident nod. "Tourists dying on the slopes does NOT make for good PR! Ha, am I smart or something?"

Bon's muzzle took a dive, the earth pony holding both her hooves on her face. She had absolutely no idea how to respond to that one. Probably just nod and play along. Yeah; that was probably the least painful way...

"My, my. To think I would be seen through so easily."

Bon didn't act too hastily. There was no need to either. She just cracked her eye open; as expected by the voice, she was staring at the viscount. The noble wore a thick white coat this time, the fluffy material matching his mane to the point where she couldn't see where one ended and the other began.

Must have been real expensive to tailor that.

"FF!" Lyra turned to the noble with a honest grin. "We've just been talking about you!"

"So I have heard," Flash Freeze paid the two ponies a token bow. "It is rather peculiar, but all my guests seem to have dinner at the same time. Which is, coincidentally, also the time-slot I prefer myself. I know it is rather embarrassing, but may I take a place at your table?"

Lyra quickly darted her eyes around, just to confirm her suspicion. It wasn't hard to see there were still tables unoccupied. Those were all in the back, however; the owner of the whole castle would likely not consider them as valid choices.

Yeah, this whole place is his, she reminded herself. This is like him asking for a place at his own table. Probably one of those polite mannerisms the nobles do, huh?

She was quite sure she wouldn't ask for permission was this her home. She always just did whatever she felt like, even when she had guests over.

"Sure, there's plenty of space here!" she mentioned at their table with a hoof. "I'm actually glad you've picked us... teehee! Right, Bon?"

"Ye- yes. Very glad," Bon mumbled, visibly tenser than she was moments before.

"So how did your first day skiing go?" Flash Freeze asked, the question hovering between a mere formality and actual curiosity.

"Pretty good, thank you," Bon gave an impeccably polite answer.

"I didn't even break my neck! Or, eh, any other limbs. Despite somepony always imaging THAT happening," Lyra threw a toothy grin at Bon, who only leered back angrily.

"Well, you are wearing my lucky necklace," Flash Freeze chuckled, the scene entertaining him greatly. "It would be really bad sports if it allowed harm come to you."

Lyra blinked a few times, then snapped her gaze downward. She almost forgot she had better gave that present back.

"Oh! Yeah, this thing also helped! ...probably," she giggled absent-mindedly, her amber magic lifting the silver pendant right away.

"I do not mind you hanging onto it a little longer," Flash Freeze shook his head. "Keep it until you are confident on the snow. There will be plenty of chances to return it anyway; you are staying for two whole weeks, after all."

That off-the-hoof remark drew the attention of both mares, both pairs of eyes equally curious and puzzled.

"Haha, well... I am the owner of the Dancing Lights!" Flash Freeze explained with a short but very nervous laugh, his hoof scratching the mane on his neck. "It would be strange if I did not know of the reservations."

"And you can recall all of them? Just like that? Woah," Lyra whistled admiringly, her bamboozled expression staying unchanged. "I can barely remember where I put my winter clothes!"

"Explains why you're always trying to wear mine," Bon-Bon grumbled under her nose. She wasn't exactly surprised at the revelation anyhow; Lyra has already raised her thresholds quite high. She turned to the noble instead, the issue with the amulet still bugging her. "FF, the necklace... you said it was an heirloom. Surely it would be better back with you?"

"Heirloom," Lyra yanked the silver jewellery into her view. "I've been meaning to ask... was it from your grandpa' or something?"

"You could say that," Flash Freeze raised an eyebrow and gave the ceiling a thoughtful glance. "The pendant is from the very original Freeze... Flash Freeze the First. So my very very-great-great-great-grandfather, in a way. Then again, that is such ancient history that even I do not feel any connection any more, hahaha!"

"The first!" Bon gulped. Images from earlier flashed through her mind; how they spent a half hour digging up a slope after Lyra stumbled and lost the 'stupid amulet that stupid noble threw at her'. They almost gave up and left the thing there - and the mere possibility of such a thought made her really uneasy all of a sudden.

"Woah. This thing is OLD!" Lyra stared at the pendant, her amber eyes reflected in the glistening blue gemstone. "Is it really magical, though?"

"That is rather hard to say. It is as old as the château itself, so it is only natural it gathered the same amounts of silly superstitions," Flash Freeze shrugged. "But I have seen stranger things than an enchanted amulet, so I always tried not to judge it too harshly. For all I know know, it may wind up saving a life one day! Yes, that most certainly would be a poignant confirmation."

"Well, it helped me today! Not quite saving my life yet... but kinda' handy," Lyra giggled. She let go of the necklace; the silver pendant bounced around a few times before settling down. She was pretty sure it provided her no help whatsoever; but it was also quite fancy and she took her chance to parade around with it. Even if for only a little longer.

"Ugh, there she goes with the hands again..." Bon went back to burying her face in a hoof.

Fate decided to spare her though, the salvation arriving in the form of the waitress bringing their food. The unicorn wore a strange, black-and-white garb; she also carried a slightly oversized metal plate a little above her head, crossing the many tables of the dining hall with eerie precision. She arrived at their table in complete silence and placed the three plates in a heartbeat; a blink and she was also gone, disappearing among the other guests as quietly as she arrived.

Flash Freeze paid his employee a barely noticeable nod; he seemed satisfied with the performance. Quick. Efficient. Graceful, even.

"Woah!" Lyra went with her own way of admiration. "That's... that's like a ninja. A ninja waiter."

"The only kind of ninjas I could settle with," Bon aloofly commented, most of her attention focused on the bowl in front of her. Inside the porcelain dish was a batch of fresh fruit salad, the various delicacies forming a pretty colourful mix. It looked rather appetizing, the image only stained by the strong smell of hayburgers right next to her.

That fact took the earth pony a moment to click. HayburgerS. Plural.

Afraid that her curiosity may cause trouble, Bon moved her eyes ever so slowly. Her gaze wandered away from her salad, onto the white tablecloth and finally onto a hayburger... then onto another. It took all her self-control to suppress the surprised gasp; props to her fortitude, only a small cough left her mouth. That was a reaction so underwhelming that nopony could have suspected why she even made it.

But still! The viscount eating a hayburger, of all things!

The wrinkles deepening above her eyebrows as she wrecked her mind, Bon quickly pieced together the most likely story. As the owner of the whole place, it wouldn't be difficult for Flash Freeze to keep tabs on them. What they do, where they eat, what they eat... especially Lyra, whom he became infatuated with. A clumsy attempt to break the ice: ordering the same thing she ordered.

What a strange vacation, Bon groaned to herself as she forced a poker face. She was quite intent on sitting that one out. She may have been sharing a table with the two, but she was just a background pony at that moment. It would have been rude to get involved, for one; and she was also somewhat curious to see how the viscount's effort would fail on her thick-headed friend, for two. Ordinary ponies rarely understood just how mysteriously Lyra's mind worked at times.

Most times.

"Oh, lookie!" Lyra blinked, the extra burger also catching her interest. "Two hayburgers! I thought I only ordered one."

"That is quite all right. We just happened to order the same tonight," Flash Freeze looked away. He tried to look very innocent and even surprised; but he proved to be a quite mediocre actor. "A fancy coincidence, I suppose."

Holding back a laughter this time, Bon wondered if there was a pony who would fail to see through that excuse. Other than Lyra, apparently.

"I see," Lyra nodded thoughtfully. "Gotta' be some pretty good hayburger then... if even the viscounts like it, I mean!"

"I sure hope it would be," Flash Freeze giggled somewhat nervously, the carelessly chose words betraying how he has never ever tried the thing before.

Lyra, however, did not dive in right away. She stared at the burger and focused intently, looking as if she forgot how she could move the piece of food with her magic. Then she turned to the viscount and began giggling pretty nervously.

"Ahah... ahaha... say, FF, would you mind if I asked a favour of you?"

"Most absolutely not," Flash Freeze shook his head. "What do you have in mind?"

Lyra took her time answering; only the twitching of her face showed how she was going over the idea multiple times.

"You live here, right?" she finally asked, her voice still distant. "I mean, you can try these burgers every day. Bon and I, however... we're just visiting here. Sooo, I was thinking..."

Don't you dare say something stupid, Bon cringed, already anticipating something utterly awkward to follow.

"Could you switch plates with Bon?" Lyra smiled and leaned close to the viscount. "I mean, if you don't mind..."

Both Bon and Flash Freeze were dumbstruck at the request. Bon found it difficult remembering to breath; she could only gasp in short, ragged bursts. That idiot was humoured by a viscount - the noble actually ordering the same dish she had - and she nonchalantly asked him to swap it away! Forget missing all the cues during the day, that was like missing a freaking tower on the top of a mountain! Lyra, even you can't be this-

"Most gladly!" Flash Freeze switched to a smile without missing a beat, then turned to Bon. "May I?"

"Uuuuh... uh-huh?" Bon nodded. She looked as unsure as she felt; she was expecting the noble to take offence, but saw none of that happening. He seemed... quite pleased at the development, in fact.

Then it struck her.

You don't even like hayburgers, she thought as the viscount moved the fruit salad and the hayburger around. The realization made her grin, a sign the viscount took as her being helpful for the change in meals. No matter; she was way more interested in the doomed-from-the-beginning love affair than any food at this point.

Poor FF couldn't have picked a harder ordeal. His struggle would make this the most memorable vacation possible, though.


Some ponies loved mornings. They could instinctively tell when the sun would come up, waking up just a little before that. They would roll out of bed, all fresh and ready to go; and they would be on the street as the sun rose, heading toward the adventures of the new day, full of power and energy.

Lyra always wished she was one of those freaks.

Her mornings always started with drowsy eye-rubbing... then a bitter struggle against just snoozing for a half hour more. Then she would scamper out of bed - eventually - and crawl all the way to the kitchen, kick-starting her system with a huge mug of coffee. Too bad hotel rooms didn't have kitchens, making the reception the nearest source of that lifeline.

That's four levels down, Lyra groaned and dug her head beneath her pillow. She already knew that was way too far. In all honesty, she couldn't tell how she managed getting up the day before. Then something filtered through the fabric on her head, finding its way to her nostrils...

She knew that smell. She could tell what it was, even if she had to wake up from the deepest depths of her slumber.

Propelled by unicorn magic, the pillow flew away from her head; and she got a fresh view on the world. It was a rather small world, only consisting of a small paper cup. There was also a beige earth pony holding the tray the cup was on... but to Lyra, the cup was everything in that moment. She concentrated so her amber magic did its job, and the cupful of coffee was already hovering in front of her face.

"Hot," Bon cautioned her as she placed the tray onto the bed.

Fresh was all that Lyra heard, and she hastily began to drink. The rushing pain cleared away any and every bit of sleepiness she had; she could feel every part of her tongue flare up as they came into contact with the steaming liquid.

"I said it was hot!" Bon recoiled at the sight, cringing as mightily as if she were the one suffering.

"Duncare," Lyra mumbled and took a few quick breaths to calm her mouth. "Caffeine."

"You're nuts," Bon shook her head and turned around, moving to her own bed. "How's your head anyway?"

"Hurts," Lyra admitted. She blew some air onto her cup, the white steam disappearing for a moment - only to be back as soon as she took a breath. "T'is a bad morning."

"Serves you right! Get up already though, we're having breakfast soon," Bon chuckled loudly and pulled a drawer from the bottom part of her bed. "You know how the saying goes! You should be lively in the day if you could be lively in the night."

Lyra recalled that phrase, though it was a difficult rummage with how heavy her head felt.

"What?" she squinted at Bon as the accusation dawned on her. "There was a party last night...?"

"One of a kind!" Bon giggled. Her voice was a little muffled as she was halfway into the drawer, looking for something. "You started tasting wine... then you borrowed the viscount's violin, stood onto a table and played the Blue River waltz."

Taking another deep sip of the slowly-cooling coffee, Lyra closed her eyes and rubbed her head. She couldn't recall any of that. Her memories ended at the point where she finished her hayburger... after which FF asked if she cared for some dessert. That one turned out to be some old ice-wine; an oily-thick wine that was almost as sweet as sugar syrup. Then... then she woke up. Crankily and with a mighty headache.

"Ugh," she dropped her head and rubbed the back of her neck. "Did I do..."

"...anything stupid? Nah. Nothing out of ordinary," Bon cheerfully placated her, the earth pony yanking a small purse free. She placed it onto the mattress of her bed and began to check its innards.

"I don't play the Blue River standing on tables. Usually not," Lyra chuckled sombrely, breathing in the smell of coffee emanating from her cup. "Must've been a sight... a thoroughly drunk unicorn destroying a priceless violin. Ugh."

"Ease up, Miss cranky-morning. The viscount was there all along. He would've stopped you if you did something THAT stupid," Bon turned her head and winked at the cringing unicorn. "But it wasn't so bad... it was pretty good, actually! Goes to show that music is ingrained into your reflexes already, haha!"

"Ha. Ha. Haaa," Lyra laughed, as sarcastically as she could manage. "Wait, what? FF was there all along?"

"As if he would miss that sight," Bon rolled her eyes and closed her purse.

"I hope he isn't mad," Lyra bumped her nose against the paper cup. "He was kinda' nice yesterday."

"Kinda' nice, huh...?" Bon turned around and eyed her friend with some disbelief. Then she shook her head and hit a more placating tone. "Don't worry about him, anyhow. He'd have taken his necklace back if he was really angry at you!"

Jolting as if somepony pinched her, Lyra yanked her head backward. The move was followed by a series of faint clinks; the silver jewellery moving around her neck.

"Woah," she mumbled as she rubbed her forehead with a hoof. "I almost forgot about this thing."

"Good thing I didn't. Now take it off... then go get a shower," Bon commanded, her hoof pointed at the bathroom of their room. "And hurry up! They will stop serving breakfast in half an hour."

The snappy tone only serving to worsen her headache, Lyra made a weary nod. She rose her cup and downed the last of her coffee, then scampered out of bed with all the willingness of a paralysed chicken.

Ugh, I can so see it. This gonna' be a fun day...