//------------------------------// // Chapter 9: Spaghetti and Haybales // Story: The Monster that is Me // by Terrahex //------------------------------// o----[ Chapter 9: Spaghetti and Haybales ]---------------------------o “Why give him two tails?” I complained. “Why not just give him wings and let him fly with those?” The pony on the television screen jumped into the air with a press of a button. His twin tails spun around at a high velocity, lifting him through the air flank first. It was a completely ridiculous concept, and it was completely unresponsive as as I forcibly twisted the joystick around on the controller in my hooves. I grunted in frustration, my eyes briefly roaming Lyra and Bon Bon’s bedroom momentarily before returning to Lyra’s large television. Not many ponies in ponyville had a TV -it was a luxury item that rarely had a use in rural Equestria- and I doubted anypony had a TV as large as the one in Lyra and Bon Bon’s bedroom. Lyra was a Canterlot pony after all. “I told you that you wouldn’t like this game.” Lyra idly mentioned. She loused lazily on her bed, strumming one of her lyres lightly with her hoof to create an enchanting background melody that teetered on the edge of awareness. it wasn't the same lyre she had used while fighting Trixie. Trixie, in her anger, had savagely rended the beautiful instrument after ripping it from Lyra's stubborn hooves. I felt a bit guilty. After all, if it wasn’t for me, she wouldn’t have been fighting Trixie, but glancing over at Lyra’s dresser where two ornate and well kept lyres still sat in their display stands made me feel a bit better. “Nopony likes this game.” Lyra continued her earlier statement. Some time after landing from my awkward attempt at virtual flight, I pushed the analog stick forward, engaging in battle against a robot that... just sort of stood there awkwardly. “And why does Tails throw fake rings as an attack? It’s just confusing.” I wasn't having a difficult time understanding why no pony would like playing this. “Because it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. That was the entire goal for whoever designed this game. after a certain point, you can't claim that creating an abomination like this was an accident.” Lyra absent-mindedly launched into a new ditty with her lyre even while talking with me. She made a small mistake, grunted in acknowledgement, then started over. “You’re going the wrong way by the way.” “I can do it.” I snapped even as Tails touched ankle deep water. He then died from drowning In water that was hardly deeper than an inch. Something deep and primal inside my twisted changeling body stirred in frustration. How many times by now had I died from something as inane as this? “You’ve got to go the other way. When you reach the beach you’ve got to fly onto that dock.” “I can figure it out.” I snapped. “Just because I haven’t played as many video games as you, doesn’t mean that I can’t figure it out.” “You’ve never played a video game before." Lyra giggled at my frustration. "Excuse me if I was trying to help.” “Fine.” I threw the controller onto the bed. “You beat it.” She took the controller in her telekinetic grasp, smiling widely. Tails ran across the screen, firing fake ring bombs at anything and everything that moved before flying up and away. “I’ve beaten the Sonic Boom campaign. I was being serious when I said that this is one of the worst games I’ve ever played. Don’t you want to play something else?” I stubbornly shook my head. “I can do this.” “But you can’t even call this a game. It’s so broken.” Tails flew around the screen, the camera spinning around wildly, causing Lyra to grunt in frustration. “My girlfriend is going to be home soon.” She smiled as a thought occurred to her. “You really thought Pinkie Pie was my girlfriend?” I flushed, picking at the bandage still around my left foreleg. “I didn’t know that anypony else worked at Sugarcube Corner.” “But Pinkie Pie?” Lyra shrugged, her grin never fading. “Though that would certainly make my nights more interesting. I mean, don’t get me wrong. Bon Bon is alright, but Pinkie Pie has to be into some weird stuff.” She dropped Tails down onto some sort of button and Sonic came back on the screen. I groaned. Sonic was even weirder than Tails. He couldn’t fly, but had wings. He just used them to go fast. It made no sense. This entire game made no sense. I’ll take a book over a video game any day. Sonic made a quip about how he needed to speed up and then the screen blurred and Sonic started running fast. “The mach segments are really hard.” Lyra said over my shoulder. “Want me to do this, too?” “I’ve got this.” I ran into a wall and died. “Are you sure?” Lyra teased. “I didn’t- He just- He just ran into the wall. I wasn’t even touching the controller. He turned and ran into the wall!” “I told you it was a terrible game.” “Then why do you have it?” I retorted, restarting the game. “Because Sonic used to be awesome, and when it came out, I didn’t know that this game would suck so much.” Lyra finished her song and launched into an emulation of the one that was currently playing as Sonic the pony raced over the beach. I squinted in concentration, jumping over obstacles and squeezing between pillars of stone. “Dude, get the rings!” Lyra announced. “You can take a hit if you have a ring.” “What? That doesn’t make any sense.” But I directed Sonic toward the rings anyway. Sure enough, when I inevitably hit a pillar of stone, I lost all my rings but Sonic was still alive. “Hey, anypony home?” A feminine voice called from outside the bedroom. The effect on Lyra was immediate. Her cute, little pony ears perked up noticeably, a smile growing on her face. I felt a small aura of love start radiate from her. The melody of her lyre splintered off. “In here!” Lyra called out. A cream colored mare appeared in the doorway, her curled indigo and taffy-colored mane bobbing slightly with her sashaying steps. “Oh, hello.” She said, a surprised expression overcoming her features “I forgot we were having company.” Her cutie mark was three tastefully arranged candies with striped wrappings. “Hi.” I greeted. I heard Sonic die on the screen, making me swear inwardly. I was almost to the end, too. Don’t ask me how I knew; I could feel it in my cracked ribs. “Bon Bon, this is Midnight. Midnight, Bon Bon.” Lyra introduced. “This one is my girlfriend.” Bon Bon stepped into the room. “You’re the one who thought I was Pinkie Pie?” She grinned. Despite my immediate blush that spread over my features, I was struck by the simplistic attraction of her smile. “Lookin’ great, babe.” Lyra smirked, hopping off the bed and landing with a thud. “I thought your leg hurt.” Bon Bon reminded her, a hint of disapproval in her voice. “It does. It’s excruciating. Kiss me and make it all better.” Bon Bon tried to look annoyed, but it soon turned into a smile as she complied with Lyra’s wish. Uncomfortable, I turned back to the screen, observing the features of the pause screen as love floated through the air. Changelings ate love, but they couldn’t feel it or understand it. What about it had such a dramatic affect on ponies like Lyra? “Anyway, I’ve had a hard day of working the ovens.” Bon Bon shuffled away from Lyra. “You’d be surprised at how sick a pony can get of the smell of cookies when you’re baking them all day.” “I’ll handle dinner.” Lyra offered. “Midnight, you got any preferences?” “I’m... I’m good.” I excused, knowing I sounded rude. “Oh come on.” Lyra said, nudging me with a hoof. “You’ve got to be hungry for something. I’ve never seen you eat a single thing.” Being unable to eat pony food had been my downfall in at least one other village that I tried to settle down in. “Yeah... I’m allergic to a lot of things.” Honestly, I wish that I had come up with it sooner. Lyra couldn’t keep the surprise from her voice. “Are you serious?” I scratched the back of my neck, not anticipating how bad it felt to lie to my only friend (besides Twilight, but she’s also my boss, so I’m not sure she counts). “Yeah.” “Why didn’t you tell me? I made you eat that sandwich!” “I used to tell everypony, but ponies started to make fun of me for it.” “I wouldn’t do that.” Lyra sneered, “You could’ve told me.” “Well, I know that now.” I insisted. “Well...” Lyra glanced at Bon Bon. “What can you eat then?” “Uh...” I hadn’t actually thought that far ahead. That’s what I get for trying to be clever. “Um... You know, hypoallergenic... stuff.” “Whatever.” Lyra waved her hoof, trotting out of the room. “I’ll throw in a pizza.” “We don’t have any pizzas.” Bon Bon pointed out. “You ate the last of them yesterday.” “Oh, yeah. I did, didn’t I?” Lyra chuckled at her own absent-mindedness. “I’ll just whip something up.” She meandered down the hall. I unpaused the game and Sonic immediately ran into a rock, spraying rings across the countryside. “I’m no good at this.” “It’s just a waste of time anyway.” Bon Bon sat next to me, studying the screen as Sonic continued to fly his wings at high speeds to propel himself across the beach. “But Lyra loves her games at least half as much as she loves her lyres, and that’s an awful lot.” “Yeah.” I agreed as if knowing Lyra for little over a week gave me the same impression of her as her long-time girlfriend. The only sound between the two of us was the clacking of a controller in my unwieldy hooves and the alternating sound of sonic collecting rings and then losing them right away. “Lyra tells me that you were hurt.” Bon Bon said suddenly. I had a feeling that she’d want to talk about Lyra’s and my fight with Trixie. “I was.” I confirmed, making a show of concentrating on the game. Unfortunately, just as I was trying to focus, Sonic ran into a giant ring and the stage was over just like that. “And Lyra was hurt a bit too.” “Not really.” Bon Bon shrugged. “She’s more devastated over her lyre than anything.” I glanced over at their dresser; the lyres on top of it gleamed with obvious care. “Why does she have so many?” “Hmm?” Bon Bon followed my gaze. “Oh. She plays all of them. She’s really quite good.” “All of them?” I asked incredulously. “You mean at the same time?” Bon Bon nodded. “As I understand, not many musicians can do that.” My mind spun. I hadn’t made a habit of levitating things even when I had an unblemished horn, but I knew that manipulating multiple objects with magic got exponentially harder with each object; it felt like trying to solve two separate rubix cubes in your head at the same time. “And she composes her own music.” Bon Bon added. “I’m sure you’ve heard her play some in the park.” “Yeah.” I got tired of looking at my D rating on the TV screen, pressing a button. A scene began playing out in which Sonic did something that I honestly couldn’t care any less about. “And she’s got a good heart. She can’t just sit around while another pony needs her.” Bon Bon continued, ignoring the TV. “She’s beautiful and talented and the world would be a bleak place without her, so be careful around her, okay?” I looked down at Lyra’s controller held in Midnight’s hooves. I was suddenly very painfully aware that this skin I was wearing wasn’t my own. I may have made it, but I was really only wearing it as a convincing costume. I was the wolf trying to fit in among sheep. A monster. But I did challenge Trixie to help Twilight... right? “I’m not going to apologize for what I did.” It was, afterall, one of the few moments I could be proud of in my short life. I could kid myself into believing I had acted out of a sense of heroism, that I had wanted to do my part in protecting my new home. “I’m not asking you to.” Bon Bon smiled. “Just be more careful. Lyra will throw herself at pretty much anything dangerous if she thinks that it’ll help somepony in need.” “Bon Bon,” Lyra poked her head around the corner, “Where did you put all our garlic?” “We don’t have any garlic.” Bon Bon said with a sideways glance. Lyra harrumphed and disappeared back into the kitchen. “She was totally just checking up on us.” Bon Bon said a wide smile on her face. “She knows our kitchen better than I do.” “Was not!” Lyra yelled. “Were too!” Bon Bon replied Having been distracted by the exchange between Lyra and Bon Bon, my eyes were pulled back to the screen when a shrill cry of “It’s no use!” permeated the air. The screen now displayed sonic being tossed around by a silver unicorn with green aura. “Well,” I tossed the controller onto the floor, “I don’t like this game.” “You shouldn’t!” Lyra yelled. “I think they made it just to piss off as many ponies as they could!” “Stop yelling in the house!” Bon Bon responded. “I pay half the rent; I’ll yell in my half!” Lyra shouted. “Girlfriends.” Bon Bon huffed. “I don’t know how you can stand her.” I agreed sarcastically. Bon Bon laughed. “It’s just because she’s cute.” ~~~~~ “It’s Do~ne.” Lyra called. The table was set with three plates, each with a fork and knife placed next to it. In the center was a bowl full of steaming noodles next to another bowl full of tomato sauce. A large plate was set off to the side, piled high with small, cubed bales of hay. "Viola!” Lyra continued. “Spaghetti and hay bales!” Bon Bon frowned. “Why do you always make spaghetti when we have company?” “Because spaghetti is cool, and I’m cool. That’s why.” Lyra huffed, sitting down heavily next to the low table. Following her lead, Bon Bon cheerfully sat across from her. “Thank you.” Lyra grunted, trying to retain her sullen appearance as her horn lit up. A pair of tongs floated out of a drawer, picking up a glop of spaghetti noodles before depositing said noodles on Lyra’s plate. “Why didn’t you just pick up the noodles with your magic?” I asked, realizing that I was the only one not sitting at the table. “Do you know where my horn has been?” Lyra mused, grabbing a ladle in the same fashion that she had grabbed the tongs. “So you can’t eat spaghetti and hay bales? Aren’t you hungry at all?” I shrugged. “You get used to it after awhile.” “I envy you.” Bon Bon smiled as she twirled her fork in her spaghetti. “Well, not the allergic to everything part. It’s more about the lack of eating part. Working all day in a sweet shop isn’t exactly healthy.” “I hope you have a good dentist.” I commented. “I was talking about how fattening it all is, but that’s important, too.” “Bon Bon, you’re not fat.” Lyra commented. Her tone was flat and unamused and gave me the impression that that statement had worn out long ago. I had to change the subject. “Anyway,” I interjected, “I read that book you recommended, Lyra.” Bon Bon’s fork stopped halfway to her mouth. “What book?” “Uh...” I looked back and forth between Lyra, who was unsubtle motioning for me to shut the hell up, and Bon Bon, who was looking at Lyra with an expression of disdain. Knowing that listening to one would upset the other, I decided to go the safe route. “Anthropology.” Lyra immediately winced. Going into battle with a pony watching your back tends to forge a bond that isn’t easily broken. Having just met Bon Bon, I decided that putting my newly forged friendship with Lyra could stand a bit more strain than Bon Bon’s. “I thought you were done with humans.” Bon Bon whined. “I am.” Lyra insisted. She released her telekinetic grip on her fork and it dropped down onto her plate. “It just came up and I recommended the book.” “Humans never come up in conversation, Lyra.” “I’m sorry.” Lyra’s shoulders slumped. “She just... They just...” “You know I don’t mind if you study humans. Just tell me about it. You don’t need to sneak around behind my back.” “No!” Lyra insisted. “I’m done with them!” “I’m serious.” Bon Bon said. “I don’t mind you researching them.” “But I do.” Lyra bemoaned. “ I know that ponies still talk about us.” “Lyra, I don’t care if-” Oh, Celestia, this conversation was worse than the last. “So...” I cut in. “Yes!” Lyra exclaimed, hurriedly scrambling at anything to once again change the subject. “I found more of Twilight’s books this morning. They were scattered all over the place when Trixie turned the library upside down.” “Oh really?” Lyra said, overcompensating on her fake interest. “Yeah, they were thrown pretty much everywhere. I found several under the flower box this morning.” And that wasn’t the worst of it. Books were showing up in the weirdest of places. The day after beating Trixie, a little over a week ago, I found a book in the toaster. In. The. Toaster. “Wait, really?” Lyra’s the fake enthusiasm was gone, replaced by the real thing. “Yeah.” I nodded. “It hasn’t rained in a week so Twilight asked me to water her flowers, and I just noticed them there. Now we’re only missing seven books and the back cover of Dyslocopia.” “And I thought Lyra had it bad.” Bon Bon said sarcastically. “She’s been writhing in agony over her sporadically sprained leg. Meanwhile, you’ve been on a wild goose chase with Ponyville’s resident perfectionist. That can’t be pretty.” I could only nod in agreement before a loud rapping noise punctuated the room, emanating through the front door. “That’s strange.” Bon Bon muttered. “Lyra, did you invite anypony else?” Lyra shrugged. “Who else is there for me to invite?” Bon Bon hopped up, a bounce in her trot as she approached the door. Throwing it open, she let out a cry of surprise. “Saf! What brings you here?” Bon Bon greeted cheerfully. A feminine voice responded: “Oh, Derpy delivered your to me again by mist-AHHH!” The shout drew my gaze. Bon Bon’s body blocked most of the mare in question, but it was clear that the mare was a dark blue pegasus. Her light blue mane and tail were streaked with stripes of varying shades of calming blue and they appeared wind blown and frizzed from a day spent up in the air. Over her back was a tan saddlebag and just behind that was her cutie mark: a cloud in front of a sparkling sapphire. That’s what Lyra and Bon Bon saw. I saw something different. Sure, I could see Saf the way she presented herself, but under that I saw the smooth black carapace of a changeling. Memories of treacherous changelings I’ve met since the wedding blurred through my mind. “Do you two know each other?” Lyra asked after swallowing a mouthful of hay. “Er...” Saf stuttered slightly. “No. She just reminded me of an ex-girlfriend.” I realized that I was standing, all my muscles tensed and ready for metaphorical flight. I sat back down, trying to get myself to relax. I could handle this. She was only a changeling. I’m a changeling, too. “I thought you spent Hearts and Hooves Day with a stallion.” Bon Bon “It was a phase.” Saf replied smoothly. Lyra grinned. “Which one? The stallion or the mare?” “Anyway...” Saf reached her hoof into her saddlebag, pulling out a bundle of letters held together by a rubber band. “Derpy delivered your mail to me again.” “Oh, thank you.” Bon bon took the mail. “Sorry that I can’t stay and catch up,” Saf turned, her indigo wings spreading, “I’ve got to get something to eat before my weather shift begins.” I relaxed. She’d be gone soon. “Why not come in?” Bon Bon invited. “Lyra made enough spaghetti for three, but Midnight has allergies.” “Oh...” She looked uncertainly at the table. “Well, if you don’t mind...” “Of course I don’t mind. I feel like we haven’t spoken in ages.” “I know.” Saf smiled widely. “We just don’t talk as much as we used to. My job has me so busy all of the time.” She couldn’t be a drone. No drone could manipulate a pony like that. She, of course, sat next to me. I scooted my plate over to her, more than eager to see how she’d embarrass herself getting out of eating food. “My name is Sapphire Skies.” She held out her hoof. “But everypony calls me Saf.” “Midnight.” I took her hoof, shaking it cautiously. Actually, this is the first hoofshake I got in ponyville that didn’t nearly tear my leg off (Pinkie Pie gets very enthusiastic). Saf retracted her hoof, reaching instead for the spaghetti tongs. “Sorry about yelling at you.” “It’s, uh, it’s okay. It happens to the best of us.” “Yeah, she’s just been on my mind lately. I guess I’ve been looking for her.” Was she trying to tell me that she was looking for me? I conjured a smile. “She must’ve been important to you.” “She was at one time.” Saf, finished filling her plate with a healthy portion of spaghetti, then took her fork in her hoof and liften noodles into her mouth. I gagged reflexively, but Saf seemed to have no problem with the food. She chewed and swallowed, a pleasant smile on her face the entire time. “Wow, Bon Bon, this is delicious!” She enthusiastically asserted. “Don’t look at me.” Bon Bon diverted attention from herself. “This is all Lyra’s doing.” “Oh.” She recovered quickly. “Sorry, Lyra. Um... It tastes great." Lyra dismissed it with a wave of her hoof. Now that I looked at her, she was obviously perturbed that Bon Bon had invited her but was too polite to say anything. “So Midnight,” Saf started turning her attention back to me, “I haven’t seen you around.” “I’m new here.” I said, my mind set on revealing as little as possible to this changeling. The less she knew the better. “Oh, welcome to Ponyville. I know how it feels being new in town. Trust me, this place is great. I looked down, studying the grain of the wood. “Well, in the two weeks I’ve been here, it’s been assaulted by a barrage of Pinkie clones and a disgruntled magician run out of town prior to my residence.” Saf smiled wryly. “I’ll admit that it’s been an eventful two weeks. Say what you like about Ponyville, but it’s certainly not dull.” "That much is certain." I tried to smile, but I knew that it came across forced. “You should come by my place some time and we’ll talk. My apartment is just on the other side of the street.” “Yeah I... uh...” I clopped my hooves together nervously. “The thing is... my boss... she has me working, like, tomorrow and all next week." “I thought Twilight gave you the weekend off.” It was all I could do control my facial expression. “Oh, thanks for reminding me, Lyra.” Lyra shrugged. If I knew Lyra at all, she had to notice that there was something going on between me and Saf. But then again, maybe she didn’t. Maybe she was just pointing out an incongruencey that she noticed. “So you work for Twilight?” Saf smiled. “She’s nice.” “Yeah.” My shoulders slumped. “I’ll have to drop by the library some time.” Saf smile didn’t fade. I stood up. “Thanks for having me over Lyra.” I said, trying to keep any edge out of my voice. “I just remembered that I have to... do something... for Twilight.” Not the best excuse I could’ve come up with, but my mindset was starting to border hysteria. “You’re not leaving already are you?” Bon Bon, to her credit, sounded genuinely saddened at this. “I’ll walk you home.” Lyra dropped her fork halfway to her mouth, causing spaghetti sauce to splatter off her plate. “Lyra...” Bon Bon whined. “It was nice meeting you.” Saf said as Lyra apologized to Bon Bon. “Truly, it was.” “Likewise.” I lied, eager to get out of there before any more of my personal details were shared. “Coming Lyra?” I asked. “Yeah, give me a sec.” Her horn glowed as she manipulated a napkin to clean up the mess she made before she threw it into the trash. “Let’s go.” After Lyra gave Bon Bon a quick peck on the cheek, which nearly doubled the amount of love floating around the room, we exited their apartment into the humid dusk. Though it wasn’t quite dark yet, Lyra immediately lit up her horn with her golden aura, lighting her features and creating a contrast with the darkness that couldn’t be dispelled from below. Taking that as my cue, I lit my horn up as well, creating a green, flickering flame that didn’t let off nearly as much light as Lyra’s silky soft glow. I often wondered after I crashed into that tree and broke my horn why my magic aura morphed into a flame. Perhaps it was because most of the spells I knew were offensive traditional changeling soldier spells, but I’ve never seen anypony else with a flaming forehead. Lyra snapped me out of my thoughts. “So are you going to tell what was going on back there?” I smiled meekly. “Whatever are you talking about?” “Well, I don’t like Sapphire Skies very much either, but you seemed to be giving her a very cold shoulder.” “It’s... Complicated.” “Well, I’m listening.” For a moment, I wanted to tell her everything: confess that I’m not a pony and that I was a love eating monster. Then, common sense got in my head and I got a hold of myself. “I can’t.” I refused, hoping she’d just let the point drop. Lyra being Lyra, she didn’t. “Why not? Aren’t I your friend?” “Of course!” “Then why can’t you tell me?” “I just... You wouldn’t like me.” I flushed, knowing I was getting close to saying too much. “Let me tell you something.” Lyra interjected, stepping in front of me to prevent my progression down the street. “When I realized that I loved Bon Bon, I also realized that she was the only friend I actually had. My study of humans seemed so weird to everypony that they all avoided me save for the pony who I lived with.” “Is that why you stopped researching them?” I couldn’t help but ask. “No.” She smiled wryly. “I couldn’t care less about the opinions of ponies that avoid me because they think I’m weird. I stopped because I started dating Bon Bon and my reputation was affecting her reputation.” “Anyway,” Lyra continued, “The point being, you’re one of the only ponies in this town that matters to me, not to mention you’ve got my back in a fight. What I’m saying is that ther's not much that can change that. You can trust me.” “So, to get this straight...” I started, “To get me to tell you something abnormal about myself, you tell me a story about how everypony ostracizes you because you're abnormal?” “Hmm... maybe that wasn’t the best decision.” Lyra giggled, and I couldn’t help but let out a little nervous chuckle myself. Why was I lying to her? She didn’t deserve that. After all, she leapt to my defense and asked for no favors. Friendship shouldn’t have secrets. “Do... you really want to know?” I asked cautiously. “You can trust me.” “Well...” I took a deep breath. “The truth is that-” A shrill voice suddenly permeated through the evening air, startling me enough that my flaming horn flickered out. In my distraction, I had failed to realize we were standing outside of Ponyville’s premier candy store. “What are your two doing out here?” Pinkie Pie shot out of Sugarcube Corner, throwing her hooves over our shoulders. “The party’s in there!” She gestured her hoof toward the thrown open door of Sugarcube Corner where ponies could be seen milling about in various states of high spirits. “Pinkie Pie...” Lyra mumbled mournfully. “C’mon! you’re both invited! I have cake and games and ponies eating cake and playing games at the same time! Well, actually that’s just me, so only one pony playing cake and eating games!” “No offense, Pinkie, but we were kind of in the middle of something.” Lyra snapped, an edge in her voice that was lost on the exuberant pink party pony. “Actually,” I injected, “I’ve really got to get going.” “But, Midnight...” Lyra looked hurt. “Sorry, but I really should go. See you tomorrow.” I turned around, forcing myself not to look at Lyra as I walked away toward the mass of foliage ahead. Was I really just going to tell Lyra my secret? I know she’s my friend but how would she react? The obvious conclusion when you have a love sucking friend would be that that love sucking friend would be, well, sucking your love, which was absolutely true. Throughout the meal, I had been tentatively eating a bits and pieces of the love flowing between the love struck mares, monitoring each to make sure I wasn’t adversely affecting either. How would Lyra feel about that? I couldn’t risk it. She could easily turn hostile, and I didn’t stand a chance against her. Even if she didn’t outright attack me, she could still turn the town against me simply by exposing my secret to the town. There were way too many bad endings to this story. No, I couldn’t tell her. Ever. She was already suspicious enough as it was. I had to lie low, avoid Saf, avoid both Lyra and Twilight’s suspicions. I actually felt happy here. I didn’t want to leave.