Chapter 33 - Changes
The next morning, Bon Bon knocked on the door to Lyra's Ultimate Item Emporium to find that it was open. She peeked her head inside to see if it was okay to enter, and saw that most of the displays had already been taken down. Boxes full of merchandise were stacked up against one wall, along with the register and some signage. In the middle of the room sat Lyra's couch, having been pushed there at some point during the night. Lying upon the couch was Lyra herself. Her head rested upon one foreleg, with the other hanging down to touch the floor. Her tail was pulled around her for warmth, and she seemed to be fast asleep.
Bon Bon made to close the door quietly, but Lyra's eyes slowly opened. Bon Bon saw that they were bloodshot and heavily lidded, and she knew then that Lyra had slept little if at all.
"Oh, Lyra. I'm sorry," Bon Bon said. "I just wanted to check in and see if you're okay."
Lyra gave a weak smile and sat up. "I'm fine," she said, stretching. "I mean, think about it. At the end of the day, the debt's all paid off. Now I can go back to living my old life again." She shrugged. "Kind of hard to find anything to complain about."
"I know. But you just seemed so determined to succeed in all this! Plus," Bon Bon indicated the room with her hoof, "you're really, really good at it. I'm actually kind of surprised you didn't end up with a giant bag of bits as your cutie mark."
"I was never really interested in sales," Lyra admitted. She jumped off the couch and walked over to one of the remaining displays. "As far as I'm concerned, you should just walk in, buy what you need, and leave. But the reality is far more complicated than that. Everypony wants to feel like they're personally being catered to. Stock needs to be rotated, expiry dates need to be adhered to, profit margins must be scrutinized on every sale, and you need to smile and make sure each and every customer who walks in feel like a prince or princess, even if you yourself are feeling down and are barely managing to hold it together. I think nopony really understands just how much of a struggle it is to do something that seems easy until they're put into a situation where they have no choice but to do it themselves." A knock at the door disrupted her from elaborating further. "It's open!"
The door swung open and Rainbow Dash stepped inside.
"Where's Lyra? We need to talk."
Lyra was silent for a considerable amount of time as she tried to come to terms with everything she'd just heard. Her parents, Sunny and Tempo, had left her all those years ago to go on a quest sponsored by some company called Adventure Life. The debt she had just paid off was for several month's worth of supplies, plus an unhealthy amount of interest. The quest her parents had undertaken was to deactivate some device that, if left unchecked, would have completely changed the reality of everything—living and nonliving—in Equestria. They had apparently succeeded and saved the world. But in doing so, they would have been altered in both mind and body. They never came home because they didn't know they had a home to come back to.
Or a daughter.
Worse yet, the same device that had taken her parents from her had been reactivated. Its power had been spreading across the land for an unknown amount of time, and was—along with Flim and Flam's scheme with the slimes—responsible for the increased number of monster attacks that had been recorded recently, as its power seemed to make magically-created creatures more aggressive in nature. Furthermore, Rainbow Dash had spotted an enormous number of magical creatures heading toward Canterlot and Ponyville as she flew overhead, and they would probably be arriving by nightfall. Rainbow would have been happy to stay and protect the town from the monsters, but she and Discord needed to get back to the Entropy Prism as fast as possible, as Discord believed that a combination of his chaos magic along with Rainbow and her friends' friendship magic could be enough to stabilize the Prism long enough for somepony to deactivate it.
"Long enough to deactivate what, exactly?" a voice said as the door swung open again.
"What are you doing here, Trixie?" Bon Bon growled. "We're a little busy here, and don't have time for unannounced guests."
Trixie held the door open and Amber Glow came into the shop as well. "Sorry." Trixie's voice was completely unapologetic. "The door was open. Anyway, we were sent over here to help sort out the stock situation. So, yeah, if you could just go ahead and prepare us a manifest report of the remaining stock that would be great."
"We're kind of in the middle of something way more important than manifest reports right now, Trixie!" Bon Bon exclaimed.
Trixie raised an eyebrow. "What could possibly be more important than that?"
As word began to spread of an impending monster attack on Ponyville, Lyra had other things on her mind. She ducked past a hysterical couple as they ran into their home and slammed the door shut behind them. Everywhere she looked, ponies were running about in an effort to do whatever it was they always did when trouble came to town. Generally, it involved panicking.
Rainbow Dash had said she would take care of rallying a defense while Lyra took care of what she had to do. With Canterlot busy dealing with their own defense, and Discord, Rainbow and her friends having to leave to deactivate the Entropy Prism, the defense of Ponyville would have to fall upon somepony else's shoulders.
Eventually, she made it to her destination and knocked on the door to Fluttershy's cottage.
"A guest? How wonderful," a voice said from within. "Come on in. I've been expecting you."
Amber Glow sighed and turned the sign in the door to read 'Closed.' She then turned and walked back to where Trixie was idly packing some saddlebags.
"I honestly can not believe how often this town ends up in peril," Amber said. "And just when we had momentum going with sales and the acquisition of Lyra's Ultimate Item Emporium." She leaned against the sales counter and stared at the ceiling. "I guess the plan to have you keep running Trixie's Rich's while Mr. Rich breaks ground on a new Lyra's Ultimate Item Emporium for me to manage will just have to wait."
"Mm hm," Trixie mumbled. She grabbed something and stuffed it into one of the bags.
Amber noted the move and continued. "Seems pretty terrible, huh? Whoever they get to deactivate that artifact is going to become a whole other pony, just like Lyra's parents did. If they even remain a pony."
"Yeah," was Trixie's only response. She busied herself with adjusting her cape.
"Can you imagine Ponyville without Twilight Sparkle, or Rainbow Dash, or any of the other heroes of Equestria? I mean, somepony has to deactivate it, right? Which one of them do you think it will it be?"
Trixie simply shrugged as she checked over some of the straps on the saddlebags.
Amber stared at the floor. "Hey Trixie... I think I may have left my key in the safe in the back room. Do you mind quickly checking for me?"
Trixie didn't bother to answer, and instead just turned and listlessly walked into the back room. A moment later the door slammed shut behind her, and she heard the lock slide into place.
"Just what do you think you're doing?" she cried. "Let Trixie out this instant!"
Through the door, Trixie could hear Amber sigh.
"No, Trixie. I know what you planned on doing, and I won't allow you to do it."
Trixie banged her hoof on the door. "Trixie wasn't planning anything, now let me out!"
"You're packing your saddlebags, wearing your travelling cloak, and so upset you were barely speaking. I'm an observant mare, Trixie Lulamoon, and what you're trying to do is obvious."
Trixie stopped her knocking and sat down, her back to the door. "And what if Trixie were planning something?"
Amber sighed again and sat with her own back to the door. "I'd tell her she doesn't need to change," she said. "I'd say that she might be brash and a bit arrogant, and maybe not the best manager—"
Trixie raised an eyebrow.
"—but when push comes to shove she's loyal, hard working, and brilliant at advertising. She's the mare who took out Lyra's Ultimate Item Emporium... arguably the best shop to ever take hold in Ponyville. But more importantly, she let me see a side of her that I don't think many other ponies know about. She showed me that underneath the costume is a pony with determination to succeed, and the desire to be a better pony. There aren't many ponies out there who realize they need to do better, and that's why you don't need to change, Trixie. You're already perfect to me. I hope you always remember that."
Though Trixie would never admit it, Amber's words caused her to tear up. She was silent for a while, pleased that there was at least one pony out there who actually understood her. Eventually, she stood up.
"Okay, Amber Glow. You've outwitted Trixie this time, and she's ready to come out." She tried the door, but it was still locked. "Amber? Hello... Amber?"
"Of course I can do that. I'm the Lord of Chaos, after all." Before Lyra could get her hopes up, Discord continued. "But even if you somehow track them down, I snap my fingers, and they return to being the ponies they once were, you still have the problem of, what? A decade or so's worth of memories lost."
Lyra's ears turned down. "So... there's nothing you can do?"
Discord frowned, as if insulted. "I believe you misspoke. There's nothing I can't do. Oh, I could fill their heads with all kinds of memories. Happy memories, sad memories, maybe a few surprising memories thrown in just to spice things up. But what you need to understand is that every last one of them would be a facade. Something false, and not earned." He leaned back in the chair he was sitting in. "Believe me when I say I do sympathize. It's ironic, really. Almost as ironic as the ponies of Equestria requesting my assistance in disabling the very thing they created to defeat me." He stood up and made a show of checking the nonexistent watch on his wrist. "Oh, look at the time. I need to get going. There's some chaos that needs organizing." He gave a mock sigh. "Oh the things I do for you ponies."
"I don't suppose you'd be willing to snap away all the monsters that are about to attack, would you?" Lyra asked and put on a wide grin.
"And take away such a valuable learning experience from you all? What kind of friend would do that?" With that said, he snapped his clawed fingers and disappeared.
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I'm really excited and also kind of sad to be just 2 chapters away from finally completing this story. Seven years is a long time to keep people waiting, so it will be bittersweet to finally bring this one to a close.
Hope you all enjoy what's unfolding.
10256619
It is a little sad, but overall, I'm still happy. It's been a great ride, in my opinion.
Well this is going to end very quickly now isn't it
Damn
10256644
I've been known to disappear for years at a time, so maybe not that quickly.
But yeah, the wheels are finally turning, and the destination is in sight. Let's hope it's a good one.
Years of missing memories doesn't seem like reason enough to not do the thing.
10256648
Kind of a catch 22.
There's 3 choices. Find them, change them back, and leave an enormous gap in their memories, possibly damaging their psyche in the process.
Find them, change them back, and plant false memories within them, and live knowing that most of what they know is a lie.
Leave them be, and miss out on creating new memories with them.
All have pros, all have major cons.
10256656
Option 4: Change them back but let them keep their memories of those years, in addition to restoring prior memories. There would probably be some psychological whiplash from remembering being two different ponies at different times, but there would not be any trauma from having an extended period of their lives missing from their memory, and there would be no need to implant false memories.
Setting up a right Ramareo and Juliet event there?
If all the main hitters are going to be out of town, is it just going to be an all you can eat buffet, Phyrric, or are the swarm heading Only for Ponyville, so theres any other assistance possible from the disbanded Adventure Guilds squads from elsewhere around the world, wanting to have personal chats with Flim and Flam about renumeration?
Snowflake and Big Mac any comparison to incoming? No Maud?
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Maud was there when Lyra sold her shop, and is still in town.
She's just not much of a talker.
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Thank you.
Its just, one of the most hilarious lines ever said, or rather, most hysteria causing.
Its a rock. I threw it.
Really Discord? REALLY?? Having to face a massive monster hoard is somehow a good learning experience?!
Definitely interested in how things will go. Though so sad that Lyra ended up having to barter a deal with Filthy Rich.
10256953
How are you supposed to get experience without killing monsters for it? >_>
10256953
I'm wondering that too. I think he knows something about the monsters, that we don't...
...
Why is Amber Glow sacrificing herself? Is she just that kinda person? Or does she have more of a psychological motivation to want to be changed by the chaos magic?
Oh, also Discord can immediately reverse whatever changes the Entropy Prism does to Amber?
Did Amber have something to do with the Entropy Prism's reactivation??
OMG
When did this not ded!? I totally forgot about this glorious masterpiece!
Whew, a third chapter even this soon, amazing!
This is great. Kinda weird to spill the beans to specifically Lyra and party, but I guess there's not really anyone else since the rest of the adventurer's guild got axed. Heh, Amber is probably going to be the one to touch it I figure. She knew what Trixie was doing and it's possible she doesn't like herself that much considering what all she said.
So I guess Lyra's parent's aren't ponies anymore? I dunno but it seems like that was implied. I mean if Discord said he can do anything what's not to let them keep the memories they had up to that point and chop off the fake memories before the incident implanted by the crystal so they have a continuity of what happened.
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Ah yes thank you -- ha -- I had almost forgotten about this -- she's a mobile tactical nuke
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There's no [Alternate Universe] tag, so we just have to deal with the horrible person Discord is in canon. Discord is worse than when he was a villain in attempted damages, but it's in character.
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Alternate Universe is usually only saved for massive shifts from canon, like utter shifts in relationships, and stuff...
This is just expanding the universe to add the adventuring guilds, Lyra's parents and stuff.
Not big enough changes to be totally not the canon universe.
So, Discord can still be sorta different.
See most uses of AU: https://www.fimfiction.net/tag/alternate-universe
10258753
Well he's not different, sooo, he's just as unlikable as he should be ha. The main plot hole has always been "but discord could just not let that happen" so the writers made him a giant piece of work so he wouldn't do anything.
I was saying that he's completely in character for those that were unhappy about it
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10259988
I generally try to keep characters as spot-on to the show characterization as possible. Though, obviously with Lyra I had to make up a personality from scratch. Pretty sure mine was one of if not the first silly genius Lyra's out there. As for Discord, it's Discord. He has his reasons.
I love Recettear but thank god you didn’t follow its story.
Here’s to the finish line.
Alondro stands before the marauding hoard of monsters and cracks his knuckles, "Why waste time with a Discord when you could hire... me!"
Discord leaves the morality of his actions for others to decide on. If what Lyra wants is correct or not (to which thre is no definitive answer) isn't something Discord bothers himself with. Trixie clearly intended to sacrifice herself but that would be a greater loss than Trixie herself realizes.