Shellstrings

by shortskirtsandexplosions

Health Hath No Fury

Appleloosa – Retreat – Cabin – Daybreak

Lyra Heartstrings grunted and groaned for the umpteenth time. For the last seven hours of attempted "sleep," all she could do was toss and turn anxiously in her tiny, squeaky bed. The memories of the previous day's ludicrous attempts at "therapy," only exacerbated an already brain-numbing restlessness. The strange smells and desert musk of the place certainly didn't help either.

At last, after accepting "defeat" at the hands of insomnia, Lyra let loose a disgruntled breath and rolled angrily out of bed. On stealthy hooves, she crept over to her saddlebag, grabbed her lyre, and then sneaked across the tiny cabin—shuffling past the slumbering figures of her friends.

With gentle telekinesis, she opened the front door and slithered out. A bright desert sun rose in the east, blinding her. She shuffled towards the southwest side of the porch, grabbed a rocking chair, and pointed it away from the intense dawn. Then, with a breath of relief, she squatted upright in the chair and... plucked gingerly at the strings of her lyre.

The tune she produced was spontaneous, loose, and whimsical. It brought her the first feeling of relaxation in days... not to mention a genuine smile to her fuzzy face.

Exhaling slowly, she closed her eyes and rocked back and forth, forming a gentle rhythm that undulated with the passing breaths of the dry, desert morning. Lyra performed a little meditation spell of her own—and she wasn't a "larva" or a "butterfly" or any of the other innumerable absurd things that a sleepy-eyed hippy would have prescribed. Instead—for all intents and purposes—she was nothing. Lyra cleared her mind, and in the ensuing gap she found herself soaking in the sensations of long-cherished memories. She envisioned the charming smile on Bon Bon's squishy face. She imagined Octavia falling into a puddle of mud and ruining her mane. And—at one point, with a dreamy sigh—she imagined a blue eyed stranger heroically capturing her in his strong orange limbs, carrying her to some safe, fluffy cloud high above Canterlot, above Ponyville, above everything.

And it was somewhere in the midst of all this warmth... that she finally heard the sobbing.

Lyra's eyes fluttered open. Her eyebrow arched, and she immediately look to her right.

A pale pink figure was squatting along the northwest side of the cabin. She wept into her forelimbs, her pink tail curled about her.

Lyra's muzzle hung open. "...Twinkleshine?"

The unicorn flinched at the sound of her name. Her sobs quieted slightly—but did not go away.

"Twinkleshine, girl... what the frig?" Lyra stepped out of her chair and trotted over to her. "What are you doing out here? Have you been outside all night?"

"Mmmm... n-no..." Twinkleshine choked and whimpered. "I mean... I dunno. I sat h-here a couple of hours ago, I guess..."

"Yeesh..." Lyra winced. "And I thought I had insomnia."

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..." Twinkleshine hiccuped.

"Hey... h-hey hey, relax. Come on..."

"I'm such a nuisance. I know it. I-I'm sorry—"

"Shhhhh... don't say that, girl..." Lyra squatted down by her side and gave her a tender hug. "It's all cool. I'm not mad. See?" She put on a goofy grin. "Why would I be mad?"

"It's j-just... just that I know it's st-stupid and I should be in bed and—"

"Whoah whoah whoah..." Lyra raised an eyebrow sharply. "Do I look like Lemon Hearts?"

Twinkleshine merely blinked at that. She snorted, giggling slightly—which created a brief but blissful break in the sobbing.

Lyra smirked. "See? Dissing Lemmy. Best damn medicine in the world. You think?"

"Mmmmmm..." Twinkleshine dabbed her eyes, leaning into Lyra's embrace. "Your... m-music was pretty nice too..."

"You find it soothing, huh?"

"Yeah..." Twinkleshine shuddered. "But... being hugged is nice to."

"Well, today's your lucky day." Lyra smirked as she levitated the lyre beside them, gently plucking away at the strings. "Turns out I can do both. Ta-daaaaa..."

Twinkleshine exhaled out a calm smile. The expression didn't last very long, and soon the emotionally-drained mare sat limply in Lyra's embrace, staring off across the desert compound between cabins.

Lyra cleared her throat. She continued to play the instrument while she squatted beside her friend, forelimbs wrapped gently around her. "So... you gonna tell me what's bothering you?"

"Mmmmm... what else?" Twinkleshine grumbled.

Lyra simply continued to pluck the strings.

"Every morning... I wake up... and I feel so..." Twinkleshine grimaced breathily. "...so sick."

"Uh huh..."

"Just... sick to my stomach. Like I want to vomit... but there's nothing to come out. And... and..." Her eyes closed as she shuddered. "...I can't stop thinking about yesterday... and the exercises we did. All of that meditation on... on bugs and stuff..."

Lyra sighed. "I knew I wasn't the only one freaked out about it."

"I just..." Twinkleshine gulped. "I just need to give it more time."

"Or maybe no time at all."

"No... it's... it's a good thing, Lyra."

"Says who?"

"Face it." Twinkleshine sighed. "At this point... I'm almost willing to try anything if it will mean a change."

"You say that as if this is all worth you tormenting yourself over."

"Believe me... after nearly a year of just... dealing with this sick feeling... day in and day out... morning after morning..." Twinkleshine sighed, her ears drooping. "The word 'torment' has lost all meaning to me."

"Well, that sucks super hard, Twinkleshine," Lyra muttered. "I'm really sorry about it."

"I know... I know..." Twinkleshine sniffled. She turned to give Lyra a delicate smile. "I almost envy you in a way."

Lyra hit one note off key. Refocusing her magic, she recuperated, and squinted at her friend while the music kept playing. "What for?"

"Face it. You have everything together."

"I do?"

"Yeah. Lemon Hearts might think you're smug and... y'know... flankholish..."

"Heh..." Lyra smirked slyly. "Her words or yours?"

Twinkleshine merely continued: "But I believe that you've found a way to deal with all this baggage... and it's really remarkable, Lyra. Minuette and I—we both think it's super awesome."

"Trust me, Twinkleshine," Lyra muttered. The music paused as she freed a forelimb to point at her own chest. "Inside this sexy green exterior there's a bunch of bottled-up nonsense." She gulped. "I may not like to admit it around Lemmy... or Bon Bon for that matter... but I need help just as much as you and Minnie. Hell, I need more help than any of us can imagine."

"Maybe." Twinkleshine nodded. A faint smile. "Or maybe... you're still the strongest of us."

"Huh?"

Twinkleshine giggled, wiping away the last of her tears. "You always did have a way of calming the rest of us."

"I did?"

"Don't you remember?" Twinkleshine blinked. "Back in magic kindergarten. You were the one who got Lemon Hearts' head out of that beaker."

"Really?" Lyra squinted through one eye. "Did it—by chance—involve a really big hammer?"

"Heehee... and when Twilight Sparkle scraped her knee, it was you who brought her to the nurse's office." Twinkleshine stifled a giggle. "Poor little-egghead had read up on biology and become a hypochondriac overnight. She was screaming and wailing about how she was going to die of an infection."

"Holy dragon balls..." Lyra chuckled raspily. "You know what? I actually remember that!"

"And remember that one time you stuck up to those bullies who were harrassing Moondancer?"

"Uhhhhhhh..." Lyra fidgeted. "I... remember kicking the crap out of Bobby Starshine over a broken clarinet."

"Yeah! Exactly! It was Moondancer's clarinet!"

"She was studying the clarinet? Heh... wicked."

"How long were you suspended for again?"

"Eh... I don't remember," Lyra said with a wave. "In fact, I don't recall a lot of things before..." She winced. Hard. "Erm... b-before middle school, that is..."

"What I'm trying to say is that you were always there for us, Lyra," Twinkleshine said. With a soft sigh, she leaned her head against the mare's shoulder. "Just like you are right now."

"Yeah, well..." Lyra plucked a few lyre strings with heavy vibrations. She glared off into the desert horizon. "I haven't been doing a very good job of it these past few years."

"Mmmmm..." Twinkleshine merely exhaled. "I think... Lemon Hearts has tried to take up the torch... in her own little way." She gulped. "Not just your torch... but Twilight's too. And Moondancer's... basically everypony who's vanished from our lives."

"Some of us have got to move on, Twinkleshine."

"Yeah. I know."

"Too bad Lemon Hearts doesn't."

Twinkleshine bit her lip.

"Look... I-I'm sorry," Lyra muttered, pausing to caress Twinkleshine's chin. "Here you are, opening your heart out, and all I can do is get snippy about Lemon Hearts."

"I... don't blame you. She takes everything so seriously. But..." Twinkleshine smiled. "She cares so very deeply about us. About you too."

"Uh huh..."

"I mean it. She wants to be everypony's hero."

"Yeah, well..." Lyra snorted. "...she'll have way better luck than me."

"You think so?"

Lyra didn't have a response. Until she did: "Too bad she sucks at making music."

Twinkleshine giggled inwardly. She relaxed her chin on Lyra's shoulder, listening to the gentle music.

The two rested against one another as the dawn covered the desert world with bright light.

"Lyra...?"

"Yeah, Twinks?"

"... ... ...do you think we'll ever be healthy again?"

Lyra exhaled, striking a few harmonic chords. "I think this is the healthiest we've ever been."

At that, Twinkleshine smiled. A tear or two squeezed out of her eyes as Lyra held her close, softly continuing the morning serenade.

Comments

[Sharp Quill]

Instead—for all intents and purposes—she was nothing.

Fixed that for you.

[IceKitsune]

That was very heartfelt, I liked that Twinkleshine pointed out to Lyra that Lemon Hearts does care for them a lot. Even though she even feels like she goes to far sometimes. It's good to see them both open up about stuff.

[bigbear]

I love that this story goes from cynical humor, to punch in the face action, to deep world building, to dark conspiracy, to actual friendship is magic feels. And it gets away with it, day after day and chapter after chapter. Lyra is a fascinating audience surrogate character, a PIE acting like a HIE.

Thank you for giving me a great reason to keep refreshing my feed.

[The_K_Man]

Lyra performed a little meditation spell of her own—and she wasn't a "larva" or a "butterfly" or any of the other innumerable absurd things that a sleepy-eyed hippy would have prescribed.

I think the term imago works. Lyra's not fully healed, but she's an image of such.

Hell, I need more help than any of us can imagine.
...
Eh... I don't remember," Lyra said with a wave. "In fact, I don't recall a lot of things before..." She winced. Hard. "Erm... b-before middle school, that is...

Suppressed memories of trauma? I presume that any feelings and issues involving fire have never even been mentioned in the group therapy session.

Call me skeptical, but I'm still have my doubts about Lemon Hearts. Though, I know I've got the reader-perspective biasing my view relative to the character's.

[mastermenthe]

7546930
no.
NO.
Bad Sharp Quill!
Your cookie privelages are revoked!

[Razzy]

Touching.

And then they were eaten by changelings.

[Booster Spice]

The next day the buffalo shaman declared a certain expanse of land as not to be touched due to being sacred. Conscrated by all the buffalo that had lost it at the haunting wails of the spirits and left fertile offerings.

A few years later, Braeburn was heard to say, Thems great Apples.

[Derpmind]

"... ... ...do you think we'll ever be healthy again?"

Lyra exhaled, striking a few harmonic chords. "I think this is the healthiest we've ever been."

At that, Twinkleshine smiled. A tear or two squeezed out of her eyes as Lyra held her close, softly continuing the morning serenade.

And then they all got better and lived happily ever after. The End!

[Leftover of Saikano]

This is what an actual hero does.

[Lightning Bearer]

As interesting as the other subplots are shaping up to be, it's nice to see Lyra again. And just in time for a cute, warm, healing moment, too.

[Revan]

Caught up. Very nice mood here. Adding to Tracking.

[Cotton Fluff]

A pretty nice chapter without the usual Lyra snark, proving that she actually can be there for her friends. I wonder if she'll try to get more into the spirit of things while they spend time with Treehugger or if she'll continue to resist.

[remnants]

God damn it that bait and switch at the start of this chapter. I was so sure that the merging arc was about to begin with her taking an early morning walk or something like that.

Instead we get feels and bsckstory without exposition dumping. You crafty bugger skirts,

[Scorch215]

Very nice little convo, Lyra has the mamongs of a good hero.

Also ehu do I get a Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask vibe from how Lyra thinks of Flash near the begining of the chapter?

[SIGAWESOME]

Health hath no fury...like an HMO scorned!

[Nostromo_Crew]

"She cares so very deeply about us. About you too."
"Uh huh..."
"I mean it. She wants to be everypony's hero."

Calling it, Lemmy dies to give Lyra the strength to be the hero they deserve.