//------------------------------// // Chapter VIII // Story: Why Do I Feel This Way // by TheKing2001 //------------------------------// Moondancer I sat on the couch with Lyra as we watched others wake up. I still had no clue how that mare could sit upright without hurting her spine. I took a deep breath and kicked my hindquarters out and strained to sit up right as Lyra glanced over with a raised eyebrow. “What are you doing?” “Trying to sit like you,” I grunted as I fell on my pillow and tried again. My eyes widened as the floor got closer. “Woah!” A light purple glow enveloped me as I floated in air and was tossed back on the couch. I glanced over at a exhausted Lemon Hearts looking at me. “Thanks.” “You’re welcome,” Lemon Hearts mumbled as she sniffed the air. “Do I smell lemon donuts?” “Yes,” I said as Twinkleshine and Minuette started stirring. “Lyra and I went to get donuts this morning.” Lemon Hearts sat up and levitated a yellow iced donut her mouth, biting it and giving an approving sound. “Thanks. And is that a coffee?” Lemon Hearts asked curiously as Lyra and I smirked at each other. “Yeah,” I said as Twinkleshine took one in her magic and sipped at it. Apparently a pumpkin spice latte was a new thing going around Equestria and Lyra wanted our opinions. Twinkleshine spit it out and started gagging. “What in Equestria was that?” Twinkleshine shouted as Minuette jumped to her hooves. “Zombies?” “Where did you get zombies from?” Lyra demanded as she snorted laughing. “It’s a pumpkin spice latte.” “What the buck is a pumpkin spice latte?” Twinkleshine exclaimed as my jaw dropped. I don’t think I’ve ever heard her swear in my life. Well, according to Lyra there was a lot of cursing coming from her during the Star Tracker hook up incident but I don’t know. I wasn’t there thankfully. “Here let me try one,” Minuette said as I levitated one to her and she took it in her hoof and drank some. “Huh, not bad. I like it.” “Seriously?” Twinkleshine scoffed as she set hers on the nearby table. “It was the worst!” I shrugged and levitated one to my mouth, taking a long sip. It was very pumpkiny. It wasn’t bad per se but it definitely wasn’t something I’d buy on my own. “Yeah I’m with Twinkleshine. This is gross,” Lemon Hearts announced as she took another sip. “Then why the Tartarus are you drinking it?” Lyra demanded as she tried her own. “Because you paid for it! It would be rude of me to not finish it.” “Imagine somepony just dumping a lot of pumpkin seasoning into one coffee, stirring it together and adding whipped cream,” Twinkleshine said as she stood up. “I would probably like it if there wasn’t just so many offensive flavors in it.” “Says the mare who can’t cook to save her life,” Minuette giggled as Lyra took another sip of her coffee. “No that’s Lyra. She can’t cook at all. Remember the time she tried disguise Hayburgers fast food as her own?” Lemon Hearts asked with a grin. Lyra spit her coffee out and glared at Lemon Hearts as I burst out laughing and laid on my back. The others all gave me looks of disbelief as I finished laughing. “Moondancer?” Lemon Hearts said with a stunned expression. “Yeah?” “D-did you just laugh?” I frowned suddenly and nodded slowly. “Uh yes? Did I do something wrong?” “No, not at all! It’s just we haven’t heard you laugh in a long, long time,” Lemon Hearts admitted as they crowded around me. I won’t lie, it was a bit much but oh well. “It’s a nice sound to hear is all.” “She’s right,” Minuette chimed in as she chewed a donut. I didn’t even notice she had gotten one. I didn’t really laugh that often. Mainly because I had nothing to laugh about. Think the last time was when we played soccer in my yard. “Can I ask a series of stupid questions?” I asked hesitantly as Minuettes expression became surprisingly serious. “There’s no such thing as stupid questions but go ahead,” she said as she sat down next to me. “What’s on your scarily smart noggin?” “Shouldn’t you guys be like mad at me? For ignoring you guys and all?” I raised an eyebrow in confusion as the others started laughing. Lemon Hearts placed a hoof on my shoulder as she grinned. “Oh Twilight said the same thing when she visited. We aren’t mad at you. Like we told her, we were used to you being busy. And if your next question is why we care so much, it’s because we are your friends silly. It’s kinda gonna be harder to get rid of us than you think.” I don’t really know how I should feel being compared to Twilight. We had a pretty healthy rivalry when we were fillies but time changes things. I don’t even know if I still have that rivalry with her or not. At the time I thought it was friendly but maybe I was trying to convince myself that at the time. “Are you okay? You’re hyperventilating,” Minuette pointed out as I nodded. I didn’t even know I was. Did I do that every time I thought to myself? Celestia, I hope not. “Are you really seeing a mare?” I asked curiously as Minuette nodded after a second. “Yeah. Berry Punch. She’s a unique individual to put it mildly. When you catch her sober, she’s a fascinating pony to talk to. It’s finding her sober that’s the hard part. I haven’t really talked to her recently because we had a minor disagreement about a certain unicorn.” “Trixie?” I asked as her eyes widened. “Lyra told me about her. Shame what happened.” “I heard about that. What even is the Alicorn whatsitcalled?” Lemon Hearts asked as I winced internally. “Alicorn amulet,” I corrected automatically. “Blesses the wear with untold power but the more the bearer uses the amulet, it corrupts them more. Only the bearer can take it off.” “Yuck,” Twinkleshine shuddered. “Why exactly wasn’t it in a museum or under the Princesses care?” “I’m not entirely sure. Maybe it was stolen or something. Books aren’t exactly clear. But since Princess Celestia pretty much manipulated Twilight’s life from the getgo, maybe she put it in that shop intentionally for Trixie to find as a test for Twilight,” I suggested as they all stared at me. “Moondancer, that’s treason talk right there. Be careful,” Lemon Hearts warned after a moment. “But what if she’s right?” Lyra muttered as she looked between us all. “Then our entire life was a lie,” Twinkleshine admitted as her ears flattened against her head. “And we were just convenient for her agenda.” “I don’t believe the princess would do that,” Lemon Hearts said and shook her head. She didn’t sound entirely convinced though. “Let’s just keep this to ourselves for now. We can figure it out later,” Minuette announced as we all looked at each other. “Let’s get to work. We have a lot to do today.” I gave a nod as we all started eating our donuts. I couldn’t help but feel right about my theory of Celestia. Time will tell.