//------------------------------// // Chapter Eleven: Drunken Night with the Mint Mare, A Gift For The Party Pony, and A Cruel Encounter with Greed // Story: Living the Good Life // by Aetherpony //------------------------------// //------------------------------// // Chapter Eleven: Drunken Night with the Mint Mare, A Gift For The Party Pony, and A Cruel Encounter with Greed// Story: Living the Good Life// by Aetherpony//------------------------------// Macintosh can see the resolve in your eyes despite the low lighting. He tosses the jug in his possession to you and you instinctively catch it. You watch the contents of the jug move about from being tossed. “What’s this?” you ask with a furrowed brow. “It’s a gift. Apple cider from last season, it’s my special brew. It’ll make ya forget your day if ya drink enough. Think of it as a thank you fer helpin me get mah sister back, even if it involved ya getting yer tail whipped.” He chuckles at the end of his explanation. You remove the top and inhale its contents. You can feel your nose hairs figuratively burning upon smelling the cider. It’s going to knock you on your ass if you aren’t careful. Doesn’t help that you haven’t touched the stuff since college. Those classes can be stressful. After you thank him for the cider he gets off of the bench and walks inside. Lyra comes out to greet you soon after. You place the top back on the jug and move aside so she has room to walk. “Sup Anon?” Lyra asks before trotting past you and onto the dirt path leading out of Sweet Apple Acres. “So, what’d you and Mac talk about?” “He just wanted to thank me for helping out his sister, and he apologized for beating the hell out of me.” You explain as you walk alongside Lyra. She eyes the jug in your possession. “So… you get the cider from em too?” You nod in response before putting the jug to Lyra’s eye level. You pull off the top and let Lyra inhale its contents. Her eyes widen before turning to look up at you. “Whoa… Anon, are you sharing?” She shifts her gaze between you and the jug. You scoff before placing the top back. “You’re already getting a belly rub, don’t push your luck.” You say with a grin. Lyra groans in disappointment. The two of you walk on in relative silence. The only noise that keeps the two of you company is the chirping of crickets and the pitter patter of your feet and Lyra’s hooves. As the two of you head off in the direction of town you take a few moments to glance at the moon in the sky. The gentle illumination of the moon seems to embrace the land in a soft glow. Fireflies dot the area around you, occasionally flashing their yellow bulbs as they pass. The wind seems to chill you as it flows. You shiver a bit; you really wish you had your hoodie right about now. Maybe it’s already dry, at least you hope. Your walk to Sugarcube Corner takes a little longer than intended. Lyra insists the two of you spend some time slacking off. More or less she wanted to chase fireflies while you watched from under an old oak tree. You have to say that her reaction time isn’t the best. You watched as she crouched down and wiggled her flank in the air right when she was about to pounce. When she did she’d usually miss the firefly completely and end up face first in the poker cards. While it was fun watching her pretend to be a predator it was eating up a good bit of your time. After letting Lyra have her fun for a good half an hour the two of you set off for Sugarcube Corner. As expected when you arrived at the gingerbread laden shop you saw Pinkie getting ready to turn in for the night. You knock on the door, and when she turns to look at the two of you she perks up instantly. She rushes to the door and opens it greeting the two of you with a smile. “Hi Anon! Hi Lyra! Come in!” She motions for you to follow. You do so and she leads you to the center of the ground floor. Pinkie then bounces over to a nearby table. She comes bouncing back to you carrying what you think is your hoodie… but there’s a problem. It shrank in the dryer. It’s less than half its normal size. Pinkie passes your jacket along to you and giggles out of embarrassment. “I swear that’s never happened before, sorry Anon,” you sigh while looking over your now shrunken coat. You’ve had this thing for years, it was your favorite. And now it’s ruined; looks like you’ll have to go to your black hoodie now that your red one here is un-wearable. “Thanks for trying Pinkie, just remind me to never let you wash my clothes again, never again.” She winches when you put emphasis on how displeased you are. You’re trying not to come off as ungrateful considering she only wanted to help, but it was your favorite article of clothing. You look from your jacket to Lyra and Pinkie. Maybe one of them could get some use out of it. Seems like it’d fit a pony just fine. “Have a good night Pinkie.” You say as you walk to your door. “Bye Anon,” Pinkie hangs her head dejectedly. While you and Lyra walk out the door Pinkie remains on the main floor for a few moments before trotting up the stairs in the back. Lyra walks ahead of you considering you have no idea where her house is around this town. As the two of you walk she decides to strike up a conversation. “So that was a little mean.” She says without turning back to look at you. You respond while still looking over your jacket. “Well, I’m a mad that she messed up one of the few jackets I’ve got. Human clothes aren’t exactly easy to come by, and judging by what Twilight told me the only tailor in town is a greedy unicorn.” While Lyra walks ahead you try to measure her up to your now shrunken coat. “Yeah, but still, she only wanted to help Anon.” “I know, and I told her thank you. It was appreciated, but her help only ruined what she set out to make better.” She sighs before changing the topic. “So, you gonna stay the night so you can give me that glorious tummy rub or what?” She turns her head to look back at you. “I don’t know, am I allowed? Mommy Bon-Bon might not like you bringing strange men home.” You say teasingly before chuckling. Lyra scoffs before shaking her head. “Yeah she might get a little mad, but hey I do what I want.” She sticks her tongue out at you and turns her head back to look where she’s going. She leads you through a collection of homes before stopping in front of one that has Bon-Bon’s cutie mark on the front mat. “Well, here we are.” As you approach you stop when you realize that you’ve made a mistake. You need to tell Twilight you’ll be out for the night. She’ll probably worry if you don’t check in with her. As you hand Lyra the jug of cider you tell her: “Hey, listen, I’m gonna go let Twilight know I’m okay and that I’ll be here if she needs me.” You turn to face the direction you’ll have to go to get to Twilight’s place. “Heh, and here you were giving me flak for Bon-Bon. Alright, go ahead and go, but you better be back here soon though, mister. My tummy won’t rub itself.” She giggles before using her magic to open her door. You can hear Bon-Bon shout angrily before Lyra shuts the door behind herself. You smile to yourself, looks like Lyra’s going to get an earful. With pep in your step you make your trek through Ponyville to the other side of town. Along the way you can’t help but notice the shadow of a building as it looms over you. You turn to the source of the shadow to find the silhouette of what looks to be a carousel. Though much larger in size, the illumination of the lights from within shows a familiar gray pony as she parades around with Lyra’s bit sack. Now that you know she lives here that make things a bit easier on you when you decide to put whatever plans you have into action. You don’t linger for long though, as you don’t want to risk being seen. After a good five minutes of walking you make it to Twilight’s Treebrary. You open the front door to find Twilight reading a book on her couch. She looks up when you enter the room. “It looks like you had a busy day, saving the mail mare, taking Sweetie Belle to see Pinkie, and hanging out with the mare stalking you this morning.” She closes her book and trots over to you. Judging by her tone and glare she doesn’t seem too happy with you. “I don’t see what the big deal is. You ponies are easier to get along with than humans. Besides, Lyra seems really nice. She just didn’t know how to go about introducing herself. Bon-Bon had a helping hoof in that.” You kneel down to Twilight’s level. “Well what happened to thinking about helping us? You know, the whole reason you went out in the first place?” Her frown deepens as she waits for you to respond. You’re not in the mood for this. “Listen, I’m going to help out with Rarity,” Twilight’s frown seems to make a one eighty as it turns to a small grin, “But, I’m only helping out Rarity as a favor to Sweetie Belle. That doesn’t mean I’m going to stick my neck out for Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash.” Twilight sighs in frustration. “Oh well, it’s a start, thanks.” She says not looking to meet your gaze. She scuffs her hoof along the floor quietly. “What? Were you hoping to yell at me or something?” you chuckle. “Well, yeah I had this whole argument planned out and everything! And here you are just… well… being you.” She sounds disappointed. You smile before standing. “Sorry to disappoint.” When you’re about to tell her your plans Twilight speaks first. “Hey, I was looking at this new book on The Gryphon Kingdom, and I was wondering if you wanted to read it with me? I figured you’d want to learn a little bit more about the nations outside of Equestria.” Twilight says before motioning towards her book on the couch. You shake your head, “As interesting as that sounds I’m going to have to say no. Got plans with Lyra tonight.” And that frown returns. You bend over and rustle her mane a bit, earning an annoyed grimace from her. “Let’s save that for tomorrow. I know, how about we hang out here and you can read me all the books you want! How’s that?” You’ve just signed your own death warrant. When you pull your hand away you gulp nervously. You don’t know if Twilight’s mouth can handle that kind of smile. Just like Lyra did earlier Twilight makes a squeaking noise before bouncing around happily, she must really love the thought of reading books and teaching others. You haven’t seen Twilight this excited before. Not even during your first day was she like this. As she bounces around you watch as color seems to slowly creep its way up Twilight’s mane and tail. You see that she’s got a dark indigo mane and tail with a single magenta streak in each. When they have their original color it stops. It doesn’t spread to the rest of her body, but it’s a start. As she starts to ramble on about what books she’s going to read to you she realizes she’s keeping you here instead of where you need to be. She apologizes before pushing you towards the door. How this pony has the strength to push you so easily is beyond your understanding. “Whoa, wait a minute! You’re kicking me out?” Your disbelief is palpable. “The sooner you leave and spend the night with Lyra, the sooner tomorrow will come. Okay bye.” Twilight pushes you back out into Ponyvile and slams the door behind you. Well that was unexpected. You shrug your shoulders before setting out to Lyra’s house. As you walk along you come across the large carousel shaped building yet again. This time however the lights are off. A few thoughts cross your mind as you eye the building shrouded in darkness. Thought you never thought you’d think… You crouch and walk over to one of the windows and peer inside. Due to the lack of lighting you’re unable to make out anything in the room other than what the moonlight shows. You spot a sewing machine along with some fabrics upon a nearby table… and you can see a few mannequins in the back. The thing that really calls your attention though is the sack of bits sitting on top of the sewing machine. Without thinking you test the windows to see if they’re locked. You question just what you’re doing. You can’t just break into a pony’s home and steal whatever lies within. But, it’s not like you’d be stealing anything of Rarity’s. You hold no interest in fabrics or clothes. It’s Lyra’s money, not hers. She shouldn’t have it in her possession. That leads you to wonder why no one reported her to the authorities. Probably because Discord rules the land, he doesn’t seem to be the kind to hold authority figures in high regard. But that means that if you’re caught in the act no one would stop you either. You could get away with this if you were careful about it. You swore you wouldn’t go so far as stealing. You said to multiple people that such an act was below you, but technically you’re not stealing. You’re taking back something that doesn’t belong to a thief. With that concept in mind, and with the windows locked you move on to the door. You give the door knob a test twist and come to find out it’s locked as well. “Fuck.” You’re frustrated that your venture is over before it even began. At least you thought that until you saw the diamond shaped doggie door at the bottom of the front door.So it seems Rarity owns a pet. You notice that it’s an average sized animal door on what’s an already small entrance. You get to your knees and push on the doggie door to find that it opens. You reach in and your fingers claw their way up the door’s wooden frame and to the knob on the other side. You give the lock a twist and you can hear the click signifying that the door is unlocked. Success, you get to your feet and quietly open the door. Upon peering inside you find nothing. Neither pony ready to pounce, nor animal barking at your presence. You’re off to a good start. You quietly make your way over to Rarity’s sewing table, looking around as you do so. When you get to the table you reach out and grab the rather heavy sack of bits. The money jingles when the sack dangles in your hand. As you sneak back to the door a light clicks on in one of the back rooms connected to the foyer you’re standing in. You hold your breath and stay absolutely still. Rarity steps into the back room. You find her looking over a few of them before she finds one wearing a black suit. She uses her magic to lift the top hat off of its head and there she finds a small emerald. “Ah, there’s momma’s sleeping gem.” She whispers with a smile. Without even looking your way she turns around and trots off to wherever she came from. When she turns off the lights and when the clopping of her hooves disappears you breathe a sigh of relief. That was way too close, you silently tip toe towards the open door and out into Ponyville. You’re sure to lock and close the door behind you on your way out. With your hoodie in one hand, and with the sack of bits in the other, you walk off towards Lyra’s house. As it comes into view you can’t help but occasionally glance over your shoulder. What can you say, you’re a bit paranoid sometimes; especially when you do something that’s out of your element. You can’t believe you just did that, but as you thought before you sneaked in you didn’t steal anything of Rarity’s. You’re simply retrieving Lyra’s property for her. It’s like you’re delivering a package. It’s too bad you couldn’t find her hat or sunglasses. Then again, you would have been pushing your luck. You stop at the wrapped candy mat and knock. You hear Bon-Bon shout, “Coming!” before the clopping of hooves can be heard. She opens the door and whatever smile she had is immediately dropped. “I got a bone to pick with you monkey man. I wanted Lyra home before dark and it’s almost ten now! What the hay… made… you…?” She stops when she eyes the sack of bits in your grasp. “Is that?” She points to Lyra’s sack of bits. You nod before kneeling down and opening the sack to show her that Lyra nearly lost a lot of bits. One hundred bits is quite heavy if you do say so yourself. Bon-Bon eyes Lyra’s bits before sighing and opening her door all the way. “You know, I think I can overlook her being late over this, and I think I’ll let you spend the night tonight. Come on in.” She points to her home’s interior. You get to your feet and walk inside. As you pass through her doorway you feel a tug on your pants leg. You kneel down yet again. “Yeah, what’s up Bon—“you’re cut off when she throws her hooves around your shoulders, “Bon?” “Thank you, Lyra and I thought we were gonna have to take out a loan to pay our property tax this month.” She hugs tighter. Her hooves have made their way to your neck and you’re finding it hard to breathe. “N-no prob. Bon-Bon, you’re kinda…” you tap on one of her hooves. She gets the message “Oh!” She exclaims before releasing you. She giggles nervously, “so, um, do you want to see the rest of the house?” Her grin is just as anxious as her laughter. “Nah, I think I’ll do that myself.” Lyra says from her position in the hallway. She doesn’t sound too happy. She looks upon the two of you suspiciously. “What’s up?” you ask. She seems upset about something, but you can’t imagine what. Bon-Bon shares your sentiment. ”Why’s Bon-Bon all over you huh? Wait, is that my bits?” She asks as she points to the sack in your hand. She trots over, and when she gets a good look her eyes widen, “oh okay, I thought… Never mind, it’s nothing.” You pass Bon-Bon her bits bag before narrowing your eyes at Lyra. “Yeah, it wasn’t “nothing,” what’s up?” You kneel down to her level. Lyra doesn’t seem to want to meet your gaze. “I was just being silly, now am I gonna give you the grand tour or what?” You’re obviously not going to get a straight answer from this mare, so you might as well just go along with it. After all if you’re going to be staying the night it’d be nice to know what is where. It seems as if Bon-Bon isn’t going to join you on this little tour. It looks like she wants to get her friend’s bits to safety as soon as possible. She trots past the two of you and down their long, narrow hallway. She trots up a set of white wood topped stairs and out of sight. Before Lyra shows you into any of the rooms she motions to the hallway the two of you are standing in. You take a quick look around. Stark white painted wooden walls, hardwood floors, and small oval shaped lights illuminate the hallway. It seems as if this house has electricity. You swear pony technology is quite sporadic at best. Sugarcube Corner has regular lights as well, but Twilight’s library is illuminated by oil lanterns and candles. You’ll have to ask somepony why there’s such a huge variation to technology. But before then you need to pay attention to your surroundings. You spot one open doorway leading to one room to the right. A white painted wooden door lies to the right beyond the first doorway, a third room to the right beyond the closed door. It’s also shut off from your curious eyes. A fourth room straight across from the third room is an open doorway much like the first room. Lyra waits for you to finish looking around. “Hallway,” Lyra says before trotting into the first room on the right. You follow soon after. Judging by the mint tiled flooring and the sink and counter combo opposite the doorway you assume this has to be the kitchen. When you take a look to your right a white refrigerator blocks your vision. You’re forced to walk into the kitchen if you wish to see it all. The wall to the left houses various pony sized cupboards. A small silver trash can sits in the gap in between the fridge and cupboards. You also spot four cupboards attached to the wall above the sink. Two lie to the left of the sink and two lie to the right. A window closed by cream colored curtains shows the dark outside. “We don’t have a pantry, but these babies can hold our snacks just fine.” She points to the cupboards along the left side of the kitchen. Lyra goes over the various drawers and cupboards along the front of the counter. They’ve got a utility drawer, cleaner drawer, silverware drawer, zip lock bag drawer, and they even have one completely dedicated to those little twist ties for bread. Lyra notices you looking over the multicolored twist ties. “Got sick of losing them and my bread going stale. So I save these babies in case I lose one.” She goes on by pointing to the four cupboards above the sink. Those are used to hold plates, bowls, cups, and what I like to call: “Fancy Stuff.” When you’ve gotten an eyeful she leads you back out into the hallway. The first closed door she opens to reveal shelves of towels and rags. So it’s virtually a hallway closet. The third room on the right side remains closed. “That’s Bon-Bon’s exercise room, I’m not allowed to go in.” She chuckles nervously. ”Why’s that?” “Oh, well, you see, I kinda, sorta messed up a spell in there and it peeled the paint off the walls. She got mad.” Lyra shivers as if recalling the event scared her. “Nice,” you laugh heartily. Lyra lightly strikes your leg with a front hoof. “Hey, it’s not funny! I had to repaint the whole bucking room!” Lyra exclaims. You shrug. “Whatever, you deserved it.” You smirk and her frown deepens. “Anyway, here’s the next room.” Lyra she points to the final room in the hall. The two of you enter. Like the hallway this room sports hardwood flooring. You look around the room and spot a cream colored sectional a near the center of the room. A mahogany coffee table sits in front of the couch. You see Macintosh’s gift sitting upon it. In front of the coffee table are three book cases that lie upon the wall. Each book case contains five shelves. Various books line each shelf. Their age varies; some appear brand new while others appear worn beyond repair. A fireplace sits to the left of the book cases. A huge gap lies between the left side of the room and the couch. On the left side of the room lies an oval shaped dining table with four pony sized chairs and a window giving you a view of their front yard. A single basket of fake fruit acts as a centerpiece for the table. “This is the living room. Over there is where Bon-Bon and I eat and stuff. We got a few extra chairs for guests. Over here is a comfy flanking couch… sectional… whatever you wanna call it.” Lyra explains as she trots over to it. “And up those stairs in the back is my room, Bon-Bon’s room, and our bathrooms. My stuff is on the left side up there while hers is on the right. That concludes your tour.” With that Lyra trots to her table and grabs the jug of cider. While wondering just how the hell she’s able to grab things with her hooves you walk over and join her on the couch. When you set your shrunken jacket along the arm of the couch she passes the jug to you, and you pop the top. “Party time?” you ask with a smile. “Almost,” you watch as Lyra gets off of the couch and trots over to the book cases. She picks one up in her magical aura, then she levitates it over to the table before joining you back on the couch. You point to it. “What’s with the book?” you ask as you take a whiff of the jug’s contents. “Oh, you don’t know? Twilight’s basically the town’s witch right?” You nod. “Well, one day when I went to check out a few books she was looking to make a new spell. She was wondering what she wanted to try. I asked her if it’d be possible to project a story or information out of a book in order see what it describes, you know?” You have no idea what Lyra’s talking about and it shows. “Yeah I figured. It’d be best if I showed you. Twilight taught me how after she perfected her spell.” Lyra’s horn begins to glow and the book she chose does in turn. Lyra closes her eyes and begins to concentrate. Her horn starts to grow brighter, so much so that it’s almost blinding. You’re forced to cover your eyes as a result. When the light finally dissipates you look to find that the book is open, but that’s not what causes you to gasp. What does is the three foot by three foot moving image being projected a few inches out of it. Suddenly the image freezes. You’re shown a heroic looking Pegasus Mare dressed in cyan colored Praetorian gear. The title above the mare says, “Sonic Boom the Dragon Slayer.” Needless to say you’re surprised at what you see. Lyra smiles triumphantly. “You like it? I call em: Visual Novels. You gotta be a unicorn if you wanna use em. It beats having to go to the movies and it saves you bits too.” To you it’s like looking at a hologram straight out of a science fiction movie. ”Party time begins now.” As the movie begins you’re greeted with fanfare coming from it. Least you’ll have sound to go with it. You start off by taking a deep swig straight from the jug. The contents burn your esophagus on the way down. You cough a few times from the sudden sensation. It’s like rubbing alcohol mixed with apple cider. “Damn, what is this moonshine?” You wheeze. You were under the impression that these ponies wouldn’t know a thing about alcohol, and it looks like you were wrong. You pass the bottle off to Lyra and she imitates you. When she pulls her lips from the bottle you see her eyes watering. “Oh my Celest-“she can’t finish before she starts doing the exact same thing you did. When she’s finally able to speak again she passes the bottle back to you. The more you drink the easier it gets. You have no idea how much time passes, but you do know one thing. Your entire body feels heated from the liquor. Your thoughts are swimming about in your head. You smile stupidly as you watch the novel play out. Sonic Boom faces off against a dozen minotaur bandits, there is no way she’s going to beat them, at least that’s what you think. Your head hangs lazily as you turn it to look at Lyra. Her cheeks are a deep shade of red and she’s sporting a grin. She can’t seem to sit still either. Her entire body appears to be wobbling around. It’s as if she has no balance while sitting. In your drunken stupor you finally realize you forgot Lyra’s tummy rub. “Oh shit, Lyra?” You raise your right arm limply and poke her cheek. When she turns to you she makes no motion to move your finger. Now you’re scrunching up her snout. “W-what’s up Anoooon?” She giggles in between drunken hiccups. “I forgot t-to give you that, belly rub, thing.” You manage to formulate your thought; albeit the entire thing was slurred. Lyra’s eyes open wide and she gasps, it ends with a hiccup. “You’re t-to-totally right,” She nods, or she loses all feeling in her neck. You can’t tell at this point. “So, like, how do you want it?” You carefully try to set the jug down next to the book without spilling any on it, somehow you’re successful. Lyra simply lies on her back and uses your thigh as a pillow. You have to admit that the way she curls her hooves in front of herself makes her look like a dog. “You look silly.” You laugh like it’s the funniest thing in the world. She sticks her tongue out at you in response. “Just *hic* rub my tummy.” Lyra says. “F-fine.” You reach your hand out and place it along the center of her stomach. Her coat is unbelievably soft to the touch. Lyra smiles as she looks from you, to your hand. Lyra lets out a short gasp when you run it from the top of her chest to just above what you think to be her equivalent to breasts. You repeat the action in reverse. Your hand travels at a slow rate. You watch as your fingers part her coat along their paths. You switch between curling your fingers along her fur and simply running your hand down her. Lyra sighs happily as she snuggles her head into your thigh. Soon enough you become distracted by the visual novel and you turn your head to watch it. You’re able to multitask between watching the entertainment and giving Lyra her tummy rub. At least you think you can. Little did you know she's been dreaming of this moment when she saw a human run their hands along a dog’s belly. She’s wanted this for a lot longer than you know. She lets out a quiet moan when your hand runs back up to her chest. She looks up to you and sees you’ve become distracted by the novel. You continue the belly rub for an untold amount of time. During the movie Sonic Boom starts her fight with a black scale dragon by the name of Glaurong. It’s interesting to say the least. You get the feeling that Lyra isn’t watching a single bit of it. She’s really missing out, this movie looks amazing. The vivid colors, the clear voices, the enchanting music; why couldn’t humans make such a wondrous thing? Hours later Sonic Boom starts a second fight with Glaurong and what you think is his son, that’s when you realize that the bathroom calls your name. You’ve long since stopped your belly rubbing; you look down to find she’s asleep. You watch as her chest rises and falls with each little breath she takes. She’s still using you as a pillow though. You’ve got to say, Lyra is adorable when she sleeps. You’re careful to get up as gently as possible. You succeed in getting her off of you without waking her. You’re sure the alcohol played a huge part in that. You step out into the hallway and you eye the stairs leading up. Thanks to you letting that liquor sit untouched for a while you’ve sobered up a bit. That allows you to scale the stairs without you making too much noise. When you come to the top you see a hallway similar to the hallway on the first floor. It’s as Lyra said there are two doors to the left and two to the right. You’re sure to stick to the left. You open the first door on the left and you’re greeted to a rest room. You don’t bother taking in its appearance. There’s a sink, a toilet, and there’s a bath. There’s no need for anything else. You walk over to the toilet and do your business. After washing your hands and shutting everything off you make your way back down the stairs to find Lyra curled up on the side of the couch. You hate to wake her, but that couch is looking really comfortable, and you’re fairly tired. Today drained a lot of energy, and you could use a good night’s sleep. You scoop her up in your arms and carry her back up the stairs. Using your feet you nudge open her bedroom door and carry her inside. The room may be dark but you’re able to the silhouette of her bed. Without thinking of the consequences you unceremoniously plop her on her bed, then collapse next to her. You decided that it’d take too much effort to go back to that couch. Besides you’re sure Lyra won’t mind, you think. As you’re getting yourself comfortable you can’t help but think that today went a lot better than you thought it would. Aside from the obvious today wasn’t bad. You were able to put what happened between you and Macintosh behind you. You were able to get Lyra her bits back. You were also able to take care of a filly when she was hurt. As your eyes begin to close and as sleep’s embrace comes you wonder if there’ll be a day to top this one in the future… You wake up the next day to the sun shining its light into Lyra’s room. You rub the sleep from your eyes before letting out a tired yawn. You find it a little hard to move considering the weight upon your chest. When your eyes are able to adjust to the light you find that the weight is actually Lyra. At some point in the night she ended up using your chest as a means of sleep. She’s curled up into a little ball sleeping peacefully. As much as you’d hate to wake the little unicorn you need to get up. You reach out and lightly poke her snout. That only causes her to snuggle into your chest and let out a contented sigh. You’re going to end up a diabetic if you’re exposed to such sweetness for too long. You’re forced to shake yourself in order to get her up. She lets out an adorable little yawn before rubbing her eyes. “Sleep well?” you smile lazily. Lyra’s tired eyes bore into yours. Then she gives you a smile of her own. “Yes, and buddy,” she pokes your nose, “best, tummy rub, ever. My leg wouldn’t stop kicking.” She giggles as she recalls the events of last night, or what she could remember anyway. You tell her that you were the one who ended up carrying her to her room last night. This causes her face to light up with a new shade of red. When she realizes just where she’s at it takes her less than a second to get off of your chest. She mutters out an inaudible sorry before getting out of bed. That’s when Bon-Bon decides to make her appearance. She opens the door and shoots the two of you a deadpan glare. Before you could ask what’s up she tells you. “The two of you left the lights on. Also, Lyra, hurry up and get ready. We gotta head in today.” Bon-Bon points to a watch on her hoof that isn’t there. Lyra’s eyes widen; lethargy is now distant memory. “Oh buck! I gotta get ready!” Lyra scrambles through her mint colored dresser in hopes of finding something to wear. “Lyra, you don’t wear any clothes.” You say as you get out of her bed. she seems to realize that you’re right, she doesn’t. Except for special occasions of course, but work isn’t one of those things. “Uh, yeah. right.” She laughs nervously before trotting over to Bon-Bon. Before the two leave for their jobs Bon-Bon tells you to help yourself if you’re hungry and to lock the door when you leave. You wave good bye to the two and they head down the stairs and out of sight. When you hear the door shut you can’t help but feel surprised. You haven’t known them for long, yet they trust you enough to leave you alone in their home? Crime must be rare in this little town. You get out of Lyra’s bed and walk into her restroom. After taking care of your business you decide to see if Bon-Bon or Lyra has anything appealing in their cupboards. After all Bon-Bon said to help yourself. So you do, or at least try to. When you check their fridge and cupboards you realize that a good portion of their food would be inedible for you. Grass chips do not sound appealing. Deciding on skipping out on breakfast you decide to just leave their home with hoodie in hand. After you’re sure to lock and shut the door behind you, you set off towards Twilight’s treebrary. You’ve got things to do and by things you mean more education. Twilight seemed ecstatic to teach you, and why wouldn’t she? After all you’re an empty space looking to be filled with knowledge. That’s a little much; you’re not the bookworm you used to be. In fact you were never one. You realize today’s going to be boring for you. But whatever makes Twilight happy. If she’s happy then maybe she’ll regain more of her color. Having someone confident in their abilities would prove useful should you really go against Discord. Twilight could probably help her friends herself if you could just cure her. There’s a good chance she probably knows a spell that would get rid of Discord’s influence. In no time at all the treebrary comes into view, and an off pink pony does as well. Pinkie appears to be sitting in front of the door. Her hair lacks its poofy nature; instead it’s as straight as a board. She appears depressed; she’s looking at a pink box with “Sugarcube Corner” written on the side. When she sees you approach her frown seems to get worse. “Hey Anon,” she says despondently when you get close. What could possibly have this pink bundle of joy so sad? You just have to know. “What’s gotten into you Pinkie?” you ask kneel down to the pink mare’s height. She’s eyeing the hoodie you still have in your hands. You’re able to put two and two together rather quickly. “I brought some doughnuts to show you how sorry I wa--“you hold your hand up to silence her. It’s just an article of clothing. Sure it’s your favorite, and sure you don’t have that many clothes. But it’s not like it’s the end of the world. It’s not worth being angry over nor is it worth having Pinkie be like this. “Pinkie, I’m not mad at you. If it helps you feel better, you’re forgiven.” Pinkie doesn’t seem satisfied with that. “But you can’t wear it anymore it’s too small, it’s worthless now.” Is she really trying to find a reason to stay sad? You look over your jacket again. She’s right you can’t wear it, but that doesn’t mean it’s worthless. You look over Pinkie and compare her size to that of your coat. It’s just like with Lyra. This thing could be worn by your little friend her too. “I may not be able to wear it, but that doesn’t make it useless, in fact.” You throw your jacket at Pinkie. She’s temporarily blinded by the red clothing. As she uses her hooves to pull it away you get up and walk to Twilight’s door. “Here’s a present. Now stop being so glum. Apologies can’t change what happened, but at least you feel remorseful. If you didn’t care I’d be pissed. Besides, I’ve got another one.” Pinkie says nothing as you open the treebrary door and enter. When you close the door Pinkie sits there for a moment. She looks over your jacket before smiling to herself. It takes her a few moments but she’s able to put it on. When she adjusts the little strings for the hood you come back out. You see that Pinkie’s already in her “present.” You take a look at the pink box on the ground; you reach out and grab it. “I think I’ll still take the doughnuts, for, umm” as you try to find a reason Pinkie looks you over with a raised brow, “science, yes, eating doughnuts for science.” Pinkie giggles at your nervous demeanor. “Anon, you’re so silly!” and here come those pink curls, “enjoy the doughnuts!” And with that she bounces away happily. You breathe a sigh of relief before walking back inside the treebrary and shutting the door behind you. Her body reflecting her mood has got to be the oddest thing you’ve ever seen… You see Twilight looking over a few open books set upon a nearby table while Spike brings her more. When she finishes one she orders Spike to get two more. The poor little dragon is being run ragged. You walk over to the two and take a seat on the nearby couch. “Hey Twilight, what’s up?” you ask as you pick up one of the many books that have already been read. “Anon! I’m looking for the elements!” Twilight says frantically as she tosses another three books off of her table. You set down the book you were sifting through. “I thought you said they were missing,” you close the book you’ve opened and set it back where you got it. Twilight looks to you with blood shot eyes. “I know but I finally figured it out! Go back to where you began, that’s what Discord told us! Do you know what that means?!” You shuffle away from her a bit, she doesn’t seem to notice. “What does it mean?” “That they should be in the library somewhere, this is the beginning! But I’ve checked every single book, looked under every cushion, and searched every room, they aren’t here.” You see tears welling in her eyes, “they just have to be!” “Twilight, if you really believe that then you would have found them by now. You seem to be pretty good at finding something when you need it. Maybe his riddle meant some—“ “NO! I’M NOT WRONG ABOUT THIS!” she cries, you visibly flinch from her shrill tone. She uses her magic to shove the books Spike gathered off of her table. “I pretty much said the same thing Anon,” Spike says as he goes over to the book shelves to grab some more. Twilight yanks them out of his claws with magic before he can even get back to her. She searches through them before tossing them away. “Need help?” you ask with a raised brow as you watch Twilight casually toss books away “Please?” Twilight turns to you again. This time her eyes are filled with tears. She turns back to her books, but before she starts sifting through them again you place a hand on her withers. She flinches from your touch and her head jerks back to face yours. “What?” You wipe a stray tear running down her cheek before putting your hand back where it was prior. “Twilight, please, take a deep breath and calm down.” You try to come off as understanding, “you’re not gonna find anything when you’re like this. You’re bound to make a mistake if you this anxious.” She shakes her head in disbelief. “Calm down?! Anon do you realize how important this is?!” You nod, “I do, I can see it in your eyes, but please, Twilight, you need to give yourself a moment. When did you realize the meaning behind his riddle?” “An hour after you left, I haven’t slept…” she trails off. You sigh before getting to your feet. “Anon, what are you doing,” you point to the stairs leading up to her room. She shakes her head, “you expect me to stop? Are you crazy?!” You nod, “Yes I do. Spike and I can handle things down here.” “I’m not going anywhere.” She gives you a defiant glare. You open your mouth to speak, but when you look into her purple orbs you promptly shut your mouth. In that moment you realize that no matter what you say, she’s not going to stop until she’s certain they aren’t here. If you really want to help her, you’ll aid her in her search. When you know it’s hopeless then you’ll force her to get some sleep, but until then you’re stuck on book sifting duty. You sigh when you grasp this, you weren’t looking forward to be put through lessons and this was even less appealing. But Twilight needs help and she’s your other tenant aside from Discord. You’re sort of obligated to help, unless you want to be out of a home. So you suck it up and start grabbing books off of the shelves. Spike seems to be thankful for the assistance. So instead of spending your time reading with Twilight you’re instead on a frantic search for the elements. Book after book is torn from the shelves… Many hours pass and you’ve nearly searched through every single book within the library. With each book you sift through the search becomes more and more hopeless. You’ve been at it for the entire day almost. You haven’t eaten, and you’re pretty sure neither Spike nor Twilight have either. You’re in need of a break, you know finding the elements is a huge deal, but you can’t search on an empty stomach. You haven’t had time to grab a single doughnut since your search began. Your mouth begins to water as you picture what they must look like. You shake your head of these idle thoughts. You cannot allow yourself to be distracted with hunger. You must find the elements. You’re about to grab another six books until a loud banging comes from the treebrary door. The ferocity of the knock causes the three of you to stop what you’re doing. Suddenly a very familiar voice calls out, and it’s calling out for you specifically. “I KNOW THAT THIEVING APE IS IN THERE! LET ME IN!” shouts Rarity from the outside. You cringe from her tone as does Spike. The banging continues louder than before. Judging by the sound of it there’s more than one hoof knocking. Either Rarity is standing upon her hind hooves or she’s got somepony with her. “YEAH YOU DUMB MONKEY! OPEN THE BUCKING DOOR!” shouts none other than Fluttershy. That is just the pony you didn’t want to see. Spike looks to you expectantly. You look at him in turn. “What?” You ask before pointing to the door, “Don’t tell me you really want me to go out there.” You say with uncertainty. Twilight seems to be ignoring the two troublemakers for the most part. That is until the wood on Twilight’s door begins to splinter. “Anon, I don’t know what you did, but please go out there and settle this?” Twilight asks without turning away from her books. You sigh loudly; you really, REALLY didn’t want to do this. But you get up and walk over to the door anyway. Your anger from Fluttershy has subsided slightly and Rarity would have to be referring to Lyra’s bits so you’ve already got her there. All in all you have answers for their outbursts. Maybe this won’t turn into another fist fight. You’d rather not fight either a Unicorn or a Pegasus pony today. As you turn the handle to open the door it bursts open. You’re greeted by two very angry looking mares. You open your mouth to say something but Rarity is more than willing to interrupt you. “WHERE ARE MY BITS?!” She shouts angrily before trying to walk past you and into the library. You move to block her path. There’s no need to be nice about this. “I don’t have YOUR bits because they weren’t yours. They were Lyra’s and you know it you thieving little shit.” Malice drips from your voice. “She dropped her bits on the floor. That made them public property. I am a part of that public and thus I am entitled to that money.” Rarity says simply before trying to make her way into the library again. You step forward, forcing her to walk back, and shut the door behind you. That blocks the both of them from getting inside. “You had better give us those bits Anon, or else we’re going to tell everypony that you’re a no good lying crook.” Fluttershy ends with an evil grin. You laugh in her face. “Really, so the ponies that SAW Rarity steal those bits, and the ones who saw me chase them around town are just going to believe you over me? That’s cute.” Your smirk only further fuels their flames of anger. Fluttershy doesn’t appreciate your laughter one bit. She lets out a low growl before snapping at you. “Stop laughing!” That only makes you laugh even harder. You point to Rarity, “and you, you think your logic makes any sense? That’s hilarious. I have a better offer. How about the two of you fuck off?” Any sort of laughter you had died off when you finished your question. You cross your arms and look upon the two with scrutiny. “Y-y-you…” Rarity stutters. She’s shaking with anger as she glares at you. You smirk and kneel down to Rarity’s level. “Y-y-you what?” you mockingly ask with a smile, “I guess there’s s-s-something wrong with your voice?” “Now!” Rarity shouts. You furrow your brow when you hear Fluttershy grunt. You turn to see that Fluttershy is hovering in the air eye level to you. You have no time to move as her hind hooves are driven right into your field of vision. You should have kept eye contact on both of them rather than the fashionista. The force of impact causes you to fly right back into the door. Your weight causes it to come off of its hinges. You’re now lying on top of it in a daze. Your vision blurs and splits, you see multiples of single objects. Rarity walks over your body and into the library. Fluttershy flies over you, and she spits in your face as she goes. Rarity takes a look around the room. She spots the surprised Twilight and Spike. The two of them are in the same area as before, except now they’re looking at the damage with slack jaws. Rarity clears her throat daintily. “Because you have such a rude monkey as an assistant we were required to perform such brutish actions. Now please return my property to me before I’m forced to have Fluttershy tear apart each and every book in your library.” Twilight reacts with a gasp. “No you can’t do that!” Twilight shouts before stepping in front of her books. Rarity lets out an elegant laugh, “oh but I can and I will. No pony steals what’s MINE. NO PONY!”