//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: Fathers and Fillyfriends // Story: Settling In // by pchn00 //------------------------------// Chapter 4: Fathers and Fillyfriends The man stared hard at the girl standing in the door to his study, as if somehow trying to disprove her existence. “…hey dad?” She bit her lip and offered a little shrug. “Hey dad, howya doin?” The shrug caused the sizeable green feathered wings growing from her shoulders to ruffle slightly. He looked to the very visible wings and back to his daughters face. “Your uncle said you grew a horn.” What the hell else could he say? Jen blinked and lifted a hand to her forehead. “Oh uh…I did. Yeah. Swapped it for wings this morning.” Her father gave a slow nod. “Oh. That makes sense.” He sat heavily back in the chair behind his desk, just staring at his now winged daughter. She invited herself in, taking a seat on one of the less comfortable chairs. “So…Uncle Derek said you were uh, looking for me?” As her dad just stared she sighed. “Right of course you were. I should have written you too I just didn’t want…y’know….mom involved.” He actually managed a chuckle at that. “Well I don’t blame you there. And she’s gone…sure my brother already told you. I think he almost smiled when I gave him the news. He always hated your mother.” Now Jen was smiling back. “Oh believe me, I know. If we weren’t talking about hunting deer we were talking about how ‘that damned woman went an ruined m’brothers life.’” “Heh…you do a good Derek.” He sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair. “So…” He looked at the shield she wore on her arm and shook his head. “So did you really get into a sword fight?” Now she was nodding eagerly. “Oh yeah. It was pretty pathetic but I managed to come out on top. Walloped him right in the face with my shield too. Dude was out.” She didn’t feel the need to mention she almost died. Her dad didn’t seem to share her enthusiasm. “So…are you home? Are you staying?” Back to chewing her lip, he knew that wasn’t a good sign. “No. I have this friend…a unicorn. She’s always wanted to visit here so…I brought her.” “A unicorn.” She nodded. “As in…a magical horse with a horn?” “Well they prefer pony, I think horse is like an insult or a racial slur? I dunno. I called Pinkie a horse once and like, everypony gasped.” Now his arms were folded across his chest…the stern ‘dad’ look slipping onto his face. “…if you didn’t have wings sprouting out of your back I’d say you’re on drugs. Maybe I’m on drugs. Maybe I’m having a stroke?” “You’re not having a stroke dad…and I’m not a stoner. You remember Pennie of course. And you saw me meet up with her friends at the park, the girls with the crazy hair? I know you remember the rainbow haired one.” “They were a memorable bunch Jennifer.” “Right well…they’re from another world. Called Equestria…don’t get me started on the horse puns. Their ruler, Princess Celestia sent them here on a sort of…visit the neighbors type deal. To see if maybe we’d reached the point of peace and cohabitation they had where we could start to like…I dunno co-mingle I guess?” With a shrug she continued. “Anyway as you can probably guess, we have not become the sort of borderline utopia they have there. I mean they have problems over there. Monster attacks and all on occasion. And society isn’t perfect but pretty darn close. So Pennie and them had to go, like go forever. They can only be here for so long; I guess the lack of magic in our air is toxic to them.” “The lack of magic.” Another shrug. “Hey I’m just relaying what I’ve been told.” Her father leaned back in his chair staring hard at her. “So…do you do magic now?” “Sorta? I mean my sword is magic…and I have this magic amulet. And my bracelet lets me turn into a uh…pony. Hence my wings. Lyra has it right now; it’s letting her be human.” He was quiet for a long time. Just staring at her. His eyes would go to her wings every time they’d twitch or ruffle. “Nothing I can say is going to keep you here is it?” Jen lowered her gaze, fidgeting with her fingers. “I really like it there dad. It’s…so different. So peaceful, and clean. And the sky! Oh dad I wish you could see Luna’s night sky.” “Luna?” “Oh…Celestia’s sister. Luna raises the moon and paints the stars in the sky.” “…is it bad that I can accept that?” Now Jen was smiling again. “Well it’s not all sword fights and meeting Princesses. I’m starting school tomorrow morning again. It’s not the same here…it’s sorta like everypony goes to trade school. They have history and English and math and stuff, but really you’re there to discover your unique talents and what you’ll do best in life.” “So what? They wrap college in with elementary school?” “Yeah actually that’s a pretty good way to put it. I’m going to be living with Pennie…she has a house of her own and everything. I might even be starting a daycare business.” “You’re really happy huh?” A little nod. “I really am dad. I’m making new friends all the time, and next weekend I’m staying at the castle with Princess Luna. She wants to teach me how to use my sword properly, and to like…sit in while she does…princessey stuff I guess? She said it would be a good idea to learn about Equestrian politics.” Her dad crossed his arms over his chest again. “…it sounds like you’re kind of…I dunno…a big deal? I mean is it normal for this…princess to spend a weekend with uh, teenager ponies? Or just humans?” “Oh! Well…I dunno. I mean I haven’t been there long of course. I did kinda help save the whole country though. And Pennie and her friends are like national heroes.” The man let out another long sigh. “This is all…pretty insane kiddo. But I haven’t seen you so…up beat in years. You seem like you have good things going for you?” “I do dad. I really do.” “Hrm. And Pennie’s got a good head on her shoulders. I wish I could talk to her in person but…I trust her to do right by you.” Thinking back to Pinkie’s steadfast refusal to let her fly Jen had to agree…slash think how unfair she was being. “Yeah she will.” He stood up walking to stand in front of her. Tentatively he ran a hand along the top of one of her wings, it twitched outward in response. “…any chance you can start sending me letters too?” Then she was on her feet, hugging him tightly. “Yeah…I will dad.” Carefully sliding a hand around her back he squeezed her a bit, mindful of the wings. “Well then alright. And maybe a visit now and then.” “Yeah…I mean I’m not supposed to…but once in a while. Maybe for Christmas and birthdays.” “Can you stay the night? Maybe we can catch up a little bit. Tell me about what you’ve been up to.” She was gnawing her lip again. “Not the whole night…but we can stay for a while. I gotta go pick up Lyra. If I’m gone overnight I have a feeling Pinkie will have the whole town out searching for me.” Her father was smiling now. “Well we’ll have dinner then. That won’t be too late right? What sounds good?” “Oh pizza. For sure. I don’t care where from, as long as it’s covered in pepperoni.” She was grinning too. “Lemme pick up Lyra. I’ll be back in a flash.” And then with a swirl of color, she was gone. Jen blinked when she heard raucous laughter coming from her uncle’s cabin. Climbing the steps she peered in to find Lyra on the couch watching an old Three Stooges VHS with her uncle. Rolling her eyes she chuckled herself. “You guys having fun?” Her uncle jumped and looked guilty at being caught with his normally stoic front broken. “Your friend wanted t’see some ‘human entertainment’. I got my Stooge tapes and the Marx brothers. S’about it.” “Probably a good idea to keep it PG…” Lyra looked from one human to the other. “What’s PG?” Jen gave a shrug. “Don’t sweat it. We’re gonna go have pizza with my dad, you wanna come Uncle Derek?” “Er…no you girls go have fun. I think I can go my entire life without traveling by magical rainbow swirls.” He gave his niece a tight embrace, and offered his hand to Lyra, who shook with a lot less creepiness. “Thank you so much for showing me around town and inviting me into your home sir.” “Yeah yeah, g’won now. I’ll look for yer next letter kid.” With another hug for her uncle Jen took Lyra’s hand and they were again enveloped in colorful lights. When it cleared the girls were in her father’s study again. “Dad musta gone to get more coffee. Enjoying the trip so far?” Lyra was grinning ear to ear. “Am I ever?! First the meat…and I can see why you miss it so much. Then your uncle took me around town a little bit and I got to try some human candy…which was a lot like pony candy…” Her smile eased a bit. “…a lot like Bon-bon’s candy.” The younger bounced on the balls of her feet a bit trying to think of something to say. “I’m sure you guys’ll make up. I told my dad we’d have dinner, and then we’ll go back to Equestria alright?” “Sounds good! So this is your human house?” “Oh! Yeah it is, want me to show you around a little?” At Lyra’s nod Jen stepped out of the study. “Dad I’m back! I’m gonna show Lyra my room!” “Alright honey!” His voice carried from downstairs as Jen crossed the hall. Her hand hovered over the knob to her old door before she pushed it open…seeing the piles of clothes strewn about and piles of old sketchbooks she smiled a little. It’d only been a month or so since she’d seen it but it seemed like forever. Lyra entered slowly, peering around at everything. Her eyes settled on the cluttered desk beside the window, heaped with Jen’s art supplies. “I didn’t know you were an artist. Are you famous?!” “What? No I mean…it was just a hobby.” Jen eased onto her old be, picking up a battered old stuffed dog. The older girl was flipping through her sketchbooks. “Well these are really good? You really did all this?” “Huh?” Jen blinked a little out of her stupor and looked back at Lyra. “Oh…yeah I used to go on walks all the time and just draw y’know…whatever caught my eye. My art teacher wanted to showcase some of my stuff in an amateur show or something but I said no.” “How come?” Setting the toy down Jen shrugged. “Dunno…I mean it’s not very good. I usually don’t like people looking at it. Pinkie Pie was the only one I ever let watch me draw.” Lyra managed to hide a smile. That sounded vaguely similar to something she’d heard Rarity’s little sister say about her singing. The musician had been asked by Cheerilee to guest teach a music class on more than one occasion, and while most of the foals were typical noise makers when it came to little one’s making music, Sweetie Belle had been a noticeable exception. “Well you’re very skilled.” Jen gave her a non-committal shrug. “Well my dad is probly dying to talk to me some. How about I set you up on my computer and you can read up on whatever human junk you want?” She moved over to her old computer booting it up. With a quick glance at the excited young woman she turned on the mature content filter her parents used to make her keep on…no sense letting Lyra stumble on some skeevy porn sights or something. After a quick tutorial she left her happily surfing the web. “So my friend’s on the computer, we got some time alone.” Her dad was sitting at the table, fresh cup of coffee in hand. “You just disappeared. With magic.” “Oh uh…yeah. Teleporting I guess.” Taking a long sip he just shook his head. “Teleporting. Well…let’s hear what you’ve been up to. I got a bit of the story from your uncle but you know how he can get with details.” With a nod Jen took a seat across from her dad and began to relay the story. She omitted some of the more gruesome details, like being thrown off a moving train, almost getting eaten by giant spiders (she ‘slipped’ and found the sword…which was kinda true!), and of course almost dying in the old unicorn castle. “Jesus Jennifer it’s like you’ve been living in a fantasy novel for a month. I suppose you always did like your nature walks…and those trips to my brother’s cabin. It must seem like a whole world of nature walks there huh?” His daughter gave a nod. “It really is. And there’s so much unmapped and unexplored stuff. Like Indiana Jones style crap, I could discover ancient ruins or lost treasure. Everything here is pretty much found already y’know?” Her father seemed less than excited. “This sounds dangerous Jennifer.” She gave a bit of a shrug. “I mean I guess it could be, but I’m not gonna like…go do it tomorrow. After I finish school I mean. These’re just plans for the future.” He gave a quick glance toward the stairs. “Your friend’s been awful quiet up there.” “Huh. She has. I’ll go check on her, you wanna order pizza?” “Domino’s work?” “Only if you get me lava cakes too!” She called back on her way up the stairs with a grin. She found Lyra parked in front of the computer, a frown on her face. “How’s the web search goin?” Lyra turned to face her; Jen was surprised to see she looked unusually pale. Almost on the verge of tears. “I…this stuff, it isn’t all true is it? All the wars and…and hate?” Jen winced as she took a look at the screen. The unicorn turned human had found her way onto Wikipedia and was currently reading up on WW2. “Well…I mean yeah…that’s true.” “I mean…I knew you guys had troubles. I’ve found the occasional magazine and such that found its way through a portal….but I never even imagined…” Jen took a seat on the edge of her bed close to Lyra. “Well like…hasn’t Equestria had problems? Wars and racism? I know the pony tribes were divided a long time ago.” Slowly Lyra nodded. “Well yes…but ponies haven’t had those kinds of feelings in…forever. You’re all humans so…why do you hate each other so much?” Pursing her lips Jen tried to organize her thoughts. She definitely wasn’t used to such heavy conversation topics. “Well…it’s not that simple. I mean…ok you got ponies, dragons, griffons, zebras…all different cultures, sometimes languages all with their own beliefs right?” At Lyra’s nod she continued. “Well it’s the same here. We’re all HUMAN, but people in all different countries all over the world have their own beliefs and cultures. Sometimes when one group of humans believes something strongly enough, and their neighbors don’t share their beliefs it can result in well…that.” She nodded to the screen. “It just seems so…so horrible though. We have disagreements but I can’t even imagine going THAT far.” “Mm. I dunno. I was reading one of the like, thousand books Twilight had given me while I was recovering. One was on ancient history and talked about a huge war between ponies and griffons. There was a lot of killing on both sides. Now you guys might get along well enough as neighbors but it’s been like…six, seven hundred years? For us these wars are like….” History was not Jennifer’s strong suit. “….not seven hundred years. Probly closer to like…a hundred I guess? I’m not gonna lie, there’s a lot of terrible things in the world…but there’s a lot of GOOD too.” Gently Jen nudged Lyra aside and took the seat in front of the computer. Pulling up all sorts of charity sites and pictures of soup kitchens. She brought up famous artworks, music and musicians, and showed her some of humanity’s more literary masterpieces. “I guess at the end of the day we’re just people. Some people are good, some are bad. Some are both…people are complicated y’know? We’re not so different from you guys…we just haven’t had as much time as you to sort all the mess out. Also its probly helped that ponies have had a wise and benevolent ruler unifying her land for like ever, so your government isn’t all bloated and corrupt like most of ours are.” Lyra was smiling, staring at an image of a group of volunteers in a children’s hospital. “…I guess you’re right. We’re really not too different on the inside…ponies are just more…mature I think.” “Yup! That’s us! Bipedal immature ape people.” The other girl giggled. “I still say hands beat hooves any day.” “Oh no doubt. Even with magic I’m not looking forward to trading these babies in for leg stumps.” Lyra giggled again, and studied Jen a bit harder. “…I think you’ll make a great pony though Jennifer. …gotta work on that name though.” Jen wrinkled her nose. “What’s wrong with my name?” She stood up moving for the door…not hearing the soft footsteps of her eaves dropping dad hastily retreating. “It’s so boring. It doesn’t say anything about you. “Hi I’m Jennifer. I’m an expert in jennifering.” It’s just silly. Bon-bon makes candy. I play the lyre. Applejack’s an apple farmer; Rainbow Dash is a racer who works with weather. OUR names make sense.” Eyes narrowed Jen regarded Lyra with a tilted head. “I can’t tell if you’re serious or not.” Sticking her tongue our Lyra followed Jen downstairs. “Only a little.” “You know now that I think about it, that’s a good point. How the heck do so many of you guys have names that happen to correspond with your talent in life.” Lyra shrugged. “It doesn’t ALWAYS work out that way. The stallion that runs Quills and Sofa’s is named Mint Delight. And the waitress at the Ponyville café’s name is Symphonica and she has noooo musical talent. At all. Sometimes our names come from our parents, like Twilight’s mom is Velvet Sparkle. Most of the time we’re raised to follow in our parents footsteps, so our names happen to fall in line with those professions. Sometimes we have naming ceremonies, it’s this super old tradition that goes back before Princess times. The parents take their foal to the temple and the priest or priestess there…mmm…communes with spirits or something? And get the name for the foal. It’s only done by really traditional families nowadays. In fact the only temple I know of is in Canterlot.” “Wonder what mine would be. Sketchbook? Nature Hike?” Jen was grinning at the possibilities. Her dad was in the living room with the TV on, muted though. “How about Pain In Her Dad’s Butt? Is that a pony name?” He stood as a huffy Jen and giggling Lyra approached, offering his hand to the stranger…after staring at her horn a few moments. “…Jon Allen, Jennifer’s father.” SOME of the novelty of a handshake had worn off by now, and Lyra gripped and shook in a much more subdued nature. “Lyra Heartstrings. It’s a pleasure to meet Pain In Her Dads Butt’s father. She’s a great filly.” “Ha! I like this girl.” He took his seat as the girls sat on the couch opposite. “…filly huh? So are you really a uh…horse?” A brief flash of irritation crossed Lyra’s face. “Pony sir, please. And yes, I’m normally a unicorn.” “Right…sorry. So you’re one of Jennifer’s friends over in uh…Equestria?” He stumbled over the unfamiliar word a bit. “It’s my pleasure to say I certainly am sir.” Jen grinned a little at that. She assumed that after all this it was likely she’d made a new friend at the same time…but it was nice to hear it vocalized. Her dad seemed to be considering his words now. “…would it be possible to ah…see…you?” Lyra looked to Jen who just shrugged. “I’m not invisible now I thought…” He laughed. “Oh! Sorry I mean uh…unicorn you.” “Oh! Well…I mean not for very long. We have to have human bodies because your magic free air isn’t healthy. But I should be ok for a few minutes.” Lyra stood reaching for the charm bracelet. Jen yelped and jumped up slapping her hand over Lyra’s wrist. “Wait wait! If you do that now you’ll like…explode the clothes Rarity made me. Go in the kitchen, get undressed THEN do it.” Eyes wide Lyra nodded. “Oh good save. That would probably be a little hard to explain when we get back wouldn’t it?” The girl zipped into the kitchen…a moment later a bright flash illuminated the room…and the mint green unicorn stepped out gingerly. “The weird tiles in here feel funny on my hooves.” Jen was watching her dad to make sure he didn’t freak out too much. To his credit while surprised, his jaw wasn’t hanging open or anything. “Jesus…that’s a real life talking unicorn Jennifer.” “Yeah dad I know…hey do some magic for him Lyra.” The unicorn settled on her haunches and pondered. “Wish I had my lyre…” She clapped one hoof atop the other in a gesture that would be a human slapping her fist into her palm if she’d had hands. “But I can use my recall spell to do one of my favorites for you.” Eyes closed, her horn began to glimmer faintly as she focused on the spell. Faintly at first, then more forcefully gentle music began to emanate from Lyra’s horn, to fill the room. Though she had no instrument the humans could clearly hear each note as if she were playing for them. Father and daughter stared enraptured by the surprise performance…Jen’s dad actually looked a little misty eyed, a fact she pointed out with a smirk. He harrumphed as the music slowly ebbed and ended, and Lyra ducked back into the kitchen, emerging human and clothed again. “That’s one of my favorite spells. I use it in an emergency if I break a string or something. Can’t leave the audience hanging.” “Jeez Lyra I knew you were a musician but that was like…famous level playing!” Lyra waved the praise off with a shy smile. “Well, I do perform in high society circles. And when you’re personal friends with a Princess it helps open some doors too. I was one of Cadence’s bridesmaids you know?” Her dad just gave a bemused chuckle and shook his head wonderingly. “Well between magic, princesses, and flying I am definitely understanding why you’re wanting to live over there kiddo. Can’t exactly take all this away from you after seeing it firsthand.” “Thanks dad…I-“The doorbell rang abruptly. With a strangled yelp Jen’s wings flared open in surprise and she grabbed Lyra’s wrist tugging her out of sight into the kitchen. It was just the pizza guy fortunately and he was soon paid by her dad and on his way. “Just to be safe why don’t you make our uh…non-human bits invisible again Lyra?” With a nod she did so. “I can’t do it for more than an hour or so…the air here feels really…I dunno, heavy when I try magic. It’s a lot harder.” “We don’t need it for much longer, we’re just gonna have dinner than head home.” She grabbed a couple plates and glasses for the table where her dad was laying out the food. Lyra seemed to like pizza as much, if not more than the burger and chicken earlier. “You know we can make a meat-free pizza when we get back to Equestria. People put all sorts of veggies and stuff on it too.” Jen was on her third slice of the pepperoni laden delicacy. “Oh yeah. We are single hoofedly bringing pizza to Equestria. Maybe you can make the first pizza place!” Her dad just shook his head with a smirk at Lyra’s pony terminology. Jen gave a shrug at that idea. “Well maybe heh. I suck at cooking though. I was kicking around the idea of a theatre. See if Twilight can use a duplication spell or something on my iPod. Could make a few bits selling tickets.” The man laughed again. “When did you become such an entrepreneur Jen?” “I dunno…it just seems like obvious stuff. See a need fill a need y’know?” She said with a shrug. Lyra grinned. “Well I think that’s a great idea. I bet a lot of ponies would love to see human entertainment.” Eventually pizza boxes were emptied, two liters of soda drank, and lava cakes devoured. “I need to hit the bathroom real quick!” Jen slipped upstairs leaving Lyra with her father. He watched her go, shaking his head again. “When did she get so…mature? I heard you two talking in her room. I can’t believe all that was coming out of my daughter.” Lyra was helping to clear the table. “No? She seems very bright and insightful, you should be proud.” “Oh I am…don’t get me wrong. It’s just a startling change. A month ago she’d barely string together enough words to qualify as a sentence. Now she’s comparing the good and evils of the people on two different worlds in a competent manner. Makes me think she could’ve joined me at the firm someday.” “Firm? What do you do sir?” “Oh, I’m a lawyer. Do you uh, have those over there?” She gave a nod. “We do! And that’s a good profession. We don’t often need lawyers to settle disputes, most ponyfolk where I’m from work things out themselves. It’s a lot different in the big cities like Manehattan and Fillydelphia I’m sure.” Now he couldn’t hide a laugh. “There are so many parallels between our worlds; I have to think there’s some deeper connection somewhere.” As she dried the dishes Lyra pondered this. “I’ve thought the same thing myself. There are all sorts of conspiracy theories in some circles about the Princesses having some kind of connection to another world, maybe even having COME from one. They just appeared in Equestria one day. There were all sorts of troubles, and when Celestia and Luna came upon the ponies they began using their vast power to solve them. It was almost unanimously decided they should rule.” Jon just shook his head. “Well this is all a bit above my head I’m afraid.” He turned to the stairs as Jen came back to the kitchen. “Well I guess you have to get going?” “Yeah dad. But I’ll be sure to write you along with Uncle Derek from now on. And I’ll try to visit…I can’t do it a lot but when I can find time I’ll come by. Maybe I can sneak away for Christmas.” Her father gathered her in another firm hug…mindful of the invisible wings. “Just stay safe. Study hard, and listen to Pennie alright?” “I will dad.” She enjoyed her father’s embrace for another few moments, before finally stepping back and turning to Lyra. “Ready?” Lyra gave Jon another firm handshake. “Thank you for the meal and inviting me into your home sir. Maybe I’ll see you again sometime.” She stepped over to Jen, seizing her arm in a vice like grip. “Alright…ready…” Jen grinned at her nerves and gave her dad a wave. “Love ya!” He returned the gesture. “Love you too Jennifer.” And then the girls were gone. Jen was leaning her head away from the again shrieking Lyra as they emerged from the vortex and back into Equestria. Jen peeled Lyra’s hands off her arm with a wince, sighing at the bruises. “Hey the sun’s just setting too! So we should be okay.” Lyra looked around, taking a deep breath. “It’s good to be home.” Both girls whirled as a third voice piped up behind them. “What is this my eyes do see? A transformed unicorn and winged monkey?” Lyra sucked in her breath in alarm as Jen just blinked at the curious mare before her. She could tell she was a zebra from the white and black striped coat. She even had golden bangles around her neck and foreleg she’d seen some tribal women from Africa wearing in National Geographic’s. Come to think of it she sounded like she had an African accent like they had in some movies. “Oh uh…hi there! I...winged monkey?” “In regards to Equestria’s creatures I have renowned acumen, and unless I miss my guess I behold a human.” The rhyming was making it hard to take the situation seriously, but if this zebra knew too much Jen could be in serious trouble. “Uh…yes ma’am! I am in fact a human. You mighta heard about me.” “Ah! Yes you must be the ward of Pinkie Pie. I hope you will tell your mother I said hi.” The zebra was smiling now. Lyra was busy undressing, when the borrowed clothes were safely tucked away into Jen’s pack she activated the charm, settling onto the ground as a unicorn once more and returning Jen’s bracelet, which the girl slipped back onto her wrist. “Hi Zecora! It’s…been awhile!” Zecora’s attention had shifted from Lyra to the bracelet on Jen’s wrist. She approached and took the girls hand in hoof examining it. “Powerful magic I sense in this trinket, from whom did you get it?” The girl didn’t protest the zebra taking her hand. “Oh, it was a gift from Princess Luna.” “Aha! A most clever way to help you settle, perhaps without so strongly taxing your mettle.” She let the girls hand fall to her side again, before squinting at the gem around her neck. “Your other jewel is not quite so friendly, if misused its power could be deadly.” “Oh! Well….well of course. It’s why I don’t use it.” She gave a nervous smile. “Mmm.” Zecora looked from Jennifer to Lyra, studying their faces intently. “Well then I suppose there is nothing more to say, aside perhaps for have a lovely day.” “Er…you too ma’am. It was nice meeting you!” Jen smiled and waved until the zebra was out of sight, having disappeared into the forest before she sank to the ground letting out a huge breath. “I thought we were busted.” Lyra didn’t seem to share her enthusiasm. “We still might be. Zecora is good friends with Twilight Sparkle; the two visit one another often. And she might have a silly way of speaking but she’s really smart. I don’t think for a minute she believed we didn’t use the jewel.” With a frown Jen fingered the gemstone. “…well it’ll be alright. If they ask I’ll just say it was an accident or something.” The unicorn didn’t seem comfortable with outright lying. “Do you think we should just come clean?” Eyes wide Jen shook her head violently. “We can’t! I promised Luna AND Discord I wouldn’t use the jewel. Who KNOWS what she’ll do if she finds out I’ve been using it.” Lyra sighed softly, but finally nodded. “Alright…I promised I wouldn’t tell.” She looked toward Ponyville. “I should get home. Before I go though…I just want to thank you again. This day…it meant so much to me Jennifer. Even more knowing how much trouble you could get in for doing it for me. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to repay you…but I’d like to start by saying if you ever need anything, my door’s open.” “Aw it was nothing. It was nice seeing my dad and uncle again…and getting some meat.” She laughed, and the unicorn finally smiled. “And hey if I make a good friend out of the deal I’d say it was worth the risk.” She knelt down and the two shared a hug. “Well then! I’ll see you around town I’m sure. Maybe we could make lunch at the café on Sundays a regular ritual.” “I’d like that! Er…this coming weekend won’t work though; I’m going to be a guest of the Princess.” “Sunday after next than. I’ll see you later Jen!” Jen watched the unicorn gallop for town with a smile, heading the opposite direction she returned to Applejack’s farm. -Lyra- Bon-bon was pacing upstairs in the bedroom. After her fight with Lyra, her fillyfriend hadn’t come home all day. It was starting to get late…and she was starting to get worried. She wasn’t with her usual friends or at her normal hangouts. When she heard the front door close downstairs her heart skipped a beat but she hesitated before running downstairs. What if Lyra was still mad? Her heart sunk even lower when she heard her head down into the basement. …how she hated that room. Ever since Lyra found that…darn magazine a couple years ago she’d become obsessed and turned their basement into some kind of creepy human research headquarters. Old irritations began to rise, but she forced them back down. She wanted to make up, not start another fight. Slowly the earth pony made her way to the main floor, than into the basement. The sight before her caused her mouth to drop open. Lyra had a sizeable trash bag in the grip of her magic, pushing the bulk of her collected paraphernalia into it. She didn’t toss everything…she kept the couple human novels she’d acquired and a snow globe she’d chanced upon one Hearth’s Warming. “Lyra what…what’re you doing?” The unicorn had heard her coming downstairs of course, and didn’t react at first. “Well, I spent the day with Jennifer. We just talked and she answered all my questions so…I pretty much got this out of my system I guess. Hey do we still have that invitation to Fancy Pants’ thing in a couple weeks? It’d be fun to get some new dresses and go don’tcha think?” The only thing that would shock Bon-bon more at this point would be if Lyra had suddenly wandered in human herself. “I…I think so yeah! I can…I can go find it?” Looking over her shoulder Lyra shot her love a smile. “Alright, I’ll see if Rarity can squeeze us in soon. Maybe matching dresses?” Tying off the bag the unicorn ascended the stairs first. “I was thinking maybe I should do a performance in the park sometime this week. Like I used to y’know?” Still in a state of shock Bon-bon followed her upstairs. “That…that sounds really nice Lyra. I know everypony loves hearing you play. Maybe you could ask Octavia to join you.” “Oh good idea! We used to do duets all the time. It’s been awhile since we performed together huh?” She ducked out the back door to toss the trash. As happy as the earth pony confectioner suddenly was…something was nagging at her. The smile faded and with a sigh she looked toward Sweet Apple Acres. -Jennifer- Fortunately the only one about when Jen returned to the farm house had been Big Mac. “Look like y’had a busy day.” She jumped in surprise. That was probly the most she’d ever heard the huge stallion say at once. “Oh uh…yup. I was hanging out with this unicorn, Lyra.” Switching the stalk of straw he was chewing from one side of his mouth to the other he fixed the girl with a stare. “Hm. In the Everfree? Funny place t’be meetin’ friends.” Crap. He must have seen her heading into the forest this morning. “Oh! Well...I like to y’know…walk. Around trees and…stuff.” Her palms were getting sweaty suddenly. She had her whole story rehearsed and now she was falling apart! To her relief he nodded slowly. “Hm. Seem t’recall Applejack sayin’ somethin’ to that effect. Best have a car if y’all’re goin out inta the Everfree. Lotta dangers in there.” “Oh…yeah I know Mac.” She was relaxing as he seemed to let the issue die there. She settled on the rocking chair beside him stealing a little glance from the corner of her eye. Even as a red stallion she couldn’t help but remember the hunky human he’d been on the one visit he took to earth with his sister. “Hear Pinkie’s gonna have her place set up for the two a’ya soon. Excited t’be movin’ inta yer own place?” “A little. I’m gonna miss seeing your smiling face every morning.” She teased. A deep rumbling chuckle came from the stallion. “Well shucks y’all can come see m’smilin’ face anytime. Sides ain’tcha s’posed ta start helpin’ round the farm any day now?” Jen tilted her head. “Well I’m probly gonna wait til spring at this point so I can do some actual farming. Pinkie says I can’t fly til I spend some more time as a pony…so I guess I’ll probly do unicorn first.” The farmer bobbed his head in a slow nod. “Makes sense.” He squinted a bit toward the farm entrance. “Think m’gonna turn in. See ya t’morrow Jen.” “Night Mac!” She stood to follow him inside, when she spotted what he must have seen. Bon-bon was trotting up the path to the farm house, and Jen couldn’t hide a grimace. “Hello Jennifer.” She seemed a little nervous. “I was hoping to talk to you.” Jen couldn’t help herself. “Would you rather go in the middle of town so you can try to make me look bad in front of everypony again?” The mare winced but stood her ground. “I suppose I deserve that.” Jen just crossed her arms over her chest. “I have my first day of school tomorrow Bon-bon, so if you wanna talk, talk.” This seemed to make her frown deepen. “Right…I forgot you’re just a filly. You’re so tall…” With a sigh she lifted her head. “I came to apologize. And to explain myself.” Slowly the girl sat back in the chair, silently inviting the mare to continue. Taking the hint she stepped onto the porch. “Lyra moved to Ponyville about three years ago. We hit it off right away and started dating. Nothing too serious at first, lunch here or just a walk in the park together. After a couple of months though, we got more serious. Dinner together almost every night. We met each other’s families, she moved in with me maybe…half a year into the relationship.” She settled on her haunches to get more comfortable. “Everything was perfect, like a storybook almost.” She smiled thinking of it. “She used to perform every day. Usually just down at the park for free, but then Octavia heard her perform.” Seeing Jen’s questioning look she elaborated. “Octavia is a musician here in Ponyville, the best of the best really. She only performs for the nobility and such. Anyhow she liked what she heard of Lyra, and introduced her to the right ponies. Soon my Heartstrings was playing for big venues all over.” “I found a promise bracelet box hidden in one of her drawers. I was just putting away laundry, and Lyra can be such a slob so I found it when I was straightening up. I didn’t tell her of course, if she wanted to propose it should be on her terms…though it was killing me not to say anything.” Jen’s eyes widened a little at that, of course it made sense. Not as if earth ponies or pegasi had something to stick a ring on. “She said she had reservations at The Gemmed Saddle for us, probably the priciest restaurant in Canterlot, it was a special occasion she told me, and I should dress nice. I knew that was the night.” Her nostalgic smile faded. “I waited three hours for her to show up. They had to kick me out when they closed. I was worried sick, figuring something awful must have happened. As soon as I got home I was ready to send out a search party. And there she was, lying in the middle of the floor in this beautiful gown…reading a magazine.” Jen had heard Lyra found a magazine and that had sparked her obsession. “I was upset of course, but she apologized and promised to make it up to me. How could I stay mad at the mare I loved? I knew she was sorry and I knew she’d make it up. But then things changed a little more every day. She started spending all her free time wandering from place to place looking for…human lore. Meeting with weird ponies in dark rooms. Then she began missing gigs. Little ones at first, but then the bigger ones soon enough. Every day she was less like the Lyra I fell in love with…becoming someone else.” “I tried to talk to her about it, to convince her to give up on such nonsense. When that didn’t work I tried to become interested in it myself…anything to reconnect. It didn’t work of course.” She shook her head sadly. “And then you came along. Rumors of humans coming to Equestria had circulated before…but never with the frequency we heard about you. She didn’t sleep, she barely ate.” Another heavy sigh. “Then when she told me we were meeting…I’m ashamed to say I found an outlet for all my frustration and anger.” Bon-bon’s eyes were wet with unshed tears now. “I said such horrible things to you at lunch. Then when Lyra came home today she was…she was Lyra again. She was MY Lyra. I don’t know what you did or said, and I don’t care. All that matters is you gave me back my Lyra. I can never thank you enough Jennifer and I can’t apologize enough.” She stood up, wiping a hoof across her eyes. “I don’t expect you to accept my apology, but...I just wanted to explain.” To say the mare was surprised to feel a friendly hand rest on her shoulder would be an understatement. She looked up to see the girl smiling down at her. “I do accept your apology Bon-bon. I think I’d be pretty upset myself if the situation was reversed. If I knew how…twitchy this had made her I dunno…” She shrugged helplessly. “I’m just glad our talk today seems to have helped. Lyra and I are going to be friends, and I hope you and I can be too.” Bon-bon almost laughed. She’d treated this filly so badly today, and now here she was wanting to be friends. “I’d like that I think. Very much. And if you ever want something sweet…consider it on the house.” “Oh you might regret that. I used to eat it by the pound back home.” Now the mare did laugh. “Maybe you can tell me about some of your favorite human candy. I might even be able to make some of it. New ideas are always exciting.” Jen finally stood. “I really should get to bed. I’m not exactly a morning person.” “Oh I know how that goes. I’ve had to kick Lyra’s flank out of bed more than once. I’ll see you in town Jennifer. And I’m sure you’ve heard this a lot, but welcome to Ponyville.” The mare turned and trotted for the gate with a much more pleasant bounce in her step. Jen made her way inside, shaking her head with a grin at the snoring Granny Smith seated in her rocker. Quietly making her way up the stairs she went to her room at the end of the hall, gently shutting the door. With a happy groan she tossed her clothes in a pile on the floor and settled on the edge of her bed. Fingering her charm bracelet, she gently brushed the unicorn charm. Her wings vanished in a flash and her usual horn returned. Settling under the covers she looked cross-eyed up at the returned horn. “…kinda missed you.” Smiling to herself she was soon asleep.