//------------------------------// // Chapter 9 // Story: Forgery // by DarthMaul22 //------------------------------// I slowly drifted into consciousness, woken by the sounds of my stomach growling at me. Trying to delay the inevitable, I curled myself tighter within the confines of the box I called home, holding Humie closer to me. After a few moments, though, it became apparent that going back to sleep was a lost cause. I pushed open the flaps, letting in the morning sun. I winced as the first rays made a beeline for my irises. After rubbing my face and yawning like a ferocious kitten, I sat up just outside of my little shelter, setting down my bowl and pulling out the only thing of value left to my name, my lyre. Stretching to work out a few kinks, I started playing a light melody that would hopefully wake me up. As the morning wore on, I shifted melodies every few minutes, looping every now and then. A lot of it was improv, throwing different notes together and hoping that it sounded half-decent. I sincerely thanked each and every passerby that was kind enough to spare a bit or two. Hopefully I could make up for my missed dinner the night before. I played in silence, letting the sounds of my personal instrument keep my hopes up. I noticed with some sadness that I was in desperate need of a bath. I hated bathing in the lake, but what other option did I have? About halfway to lunch, I looked up and suddenly stopped playing. There, in the middle of the road with ponies simply walking by her, was Bon Bon. She was staring at me with what could only be described with indecision. Slowly, she made her way to me. When she was about a foot away, she stopped. Everything else seemed to fade into obscurity. Finally, I spoke up. “Bon Bon, I… I’m sorry…” Her face turned into a dark scowl. “Good.” With that, she snatched up my lyre and stomped off, leaving me there in the street. “Lyra?” Humie said next to me, trying to get my attention. I didn’t even care that his voice was strangely feminine. I guess I was just in too much shock. “Lyra.” She just left me… Then Humie smacked me in the face. *SLAP* “LYRA!” I jerked awake, looking up at my attacker. “Octavia? Why would you do that? That hurts… right here…” I held a hoof over my heart. “Also, here…” I brought my other hoof to my cheek. Yikes, that stung… “My apologies, Lyra, but I figured you would’ve slept clear through lunch had I not done something.” Lunch… noon. Twilight! “FAIRY GOD PARENTS!” I ignored Humie’s contribution. He comes up with the craziest things, sometimes. Wait, what time was it?! I looked at the Clock that is the Bane of All Sleep (CBAS) and discovered that it was nearing ten o’clock. I breathed a sigh of relief that I wasn’t late yet, but choked on the next one when I realized I only had two hours to get everything in order and head out. “Tartar sauce…” I muttered. One thank-you, a quick shower and brushing, one last frantic sweep to make sure I had everything in my saddlebags, and a stolen cookie (Ha!) later, I was finally out the door. My mane was by no means presentable, but it wasn’t any worse than normal. Wiping the last few crumbs from my pilfered treat off my face, I looked to the sky for a moment. Where was I going with this? The events of the past week were leading to this, but I still found myself feeling like not everything was in place. Assuming everything went well (and it totally would), what would I do then? Where would I even keep a human? Especially now, since I was without a long-term residence? I started thinking further into the future. What if the human and I didn’t get along? What if… What if I was disappointed? That was a scary thought. All this time obsessing over something, only to have my expectations fall flat… Luckily for my mood, something unexpected derailed that train of thought. Though, it could’ve at least been something uplifting. “Oh… hi, Lyra.” “Um… hey… Bon Bon.” You could smell the tension and awkwardness. It smelled like a confectioner’s shop. She glanced at my saddlebags. “Finally heading to Twilight’s?” “Yeah…” I trailed off. I was looking for anything to end this impending train-wreck of a conversation, but came up with nothing. “Can I go with you?” Now that stopped me short. Handling the situation like a professional, I let out an elegant “What?” “Well, it’s… not every day a mythical species gets created, you know?” No, Lyra. This is a bad idea. BAD. Do you hear me? Do not do it. Whatever you do, make sure you don’t say— “Sure.” And that’s how I lost all faith in myself. A minute or two later, we were still walking, both with our heads down. Apparently neither of us were willing to break the silence. Remembering my bravado from the night before, I decided to speak up. “Look, Bon Bon-” “Lyra, I-” We both stopped and looked at each other. “Oh, sorry, I-” “No, it’s okay, Lyra. What were you going to say?” I steadied my breathing. “I just wanted to say… I’m sorry. I don’t blame you for kicking me out. I mean, I went way over the top. I don’t even know what I was thinking.” Spies. Spies everywhere. “Even…” I gulped, “Even if you never let me move back in… do you think you could at least find it in you to forgive me?” Bon Bon silently regarded me for a bit. I could try and tell you how long this lasted, but at the time, every second felt like an hour, so I’m pretty sure my estimate would be pretty inaccurate. Finally, though, she looked down with a frown. Well, horseapples. “The thing is, Lyra…” Oh, please just let it be over quickly… “The thing is… I have some apologizing of my own to do.” Either I was hallucinating for a moment, or we weren’t far enough from Vinyl’s place, because I could’ve sworn I heard a record scratch right then. “Huh?” I know, much eloquent. So tact. Wow. “Don’t get me wrong, you still went overboard,” she paused, giving me a look (you know the one), “But I think I overreacted, as well.” I waited for her to continue. “It just… aggravated me. You constantly came up with hair-brained and half-baked schemes, sometimes to the point where you seemed intent in getting yourself killed… and then you went and pulled… that stunt out of nowhere, without even trying to talk to me about it. I guess I just snapped. I was tired of dealing with it. “Looking back now, I realize it probably would’ve been better to just sit you down – or tie you down, knowing you,” I gave a sheepish grin, ”And try to reason with you, but at the moment, I was seeing a bit of red.” She sighed, pausing again. “You didn’t deserve to get away scot-free, but you didn’t deserve to be kicked out, either. I’m sorry.” I sighed. “So, is that it, then? I guess a mutual apology is more than I could really hope for.” I turned to her, starting to speed up and giving her a sad smile. “I guess I’ll see you around, then.” And with that, I left behind a pony who had defined an entire chapter of my life. “Lyra...” Or, at least, I tried to. “Lyra.” Stupid fate. I’ve already suffered for my mistakes, why can’t you just let it be over?! “Lyra!” I winced at the insistent tone and turned back so see a concerned former-roommate. “You know… this doesn’t have to be goodbye. You’re welcome to move back in.” My ears perked. “What? But what about yesterday?” “Well, I did think about it after you left… and I decided that… well, I’m sure you can guess.” Was I dreaming again? “You mean it?” Bon Bon nodded, and she only got half a second’s warning before my hooves were wrapped around her neck, hugging her for all I was worth. I could feel her, and when she returned the hug, I knew it wasn’t a dream. It was real. I was forgiven. “Thank you…” I whispered into her neck as tears liquid pride threatened to leak from my eyes. We stayed like that for a bit longer than what would’ve been considered necessary, but I didn’t mind. Finally, the embrace was broken, and I couldn’t help a stupid grin from staying on my face. “So,” she said, “You had an appointment with a human, right?” My grin only grew wider as I nodded. I felt like nothing could go wrong ever again. My smile was still there by the time we made it to the library. After a quick knock on the door, Twilight poked her head out. “There you are! And hello to you too, Bon Bon.” “Hey, Twilight,” I said, “Can we come in?” “Actually, we’re doing it outside.” Well, that was new. “Really? All the other times have been in the main room of the library.” Twilight sighed. “Nevermind. It was supposed to be a joke. Pinkie’s been trying to get me to try out different styles of humor. I guess I can cross that one off the list. Come on in.” After Bonnie and I entered, I realized with a start how… different everything was. A sizable portion of the floor was covered in white chalk in a pattern that brought to mind an image of a crazy pony with sidewalk chalk having a seizure. There were some unlit candles in what I surmised were key locations, and there was a podium at one end with a large, open book. After making a round to make sure nothing had somehow moved despite being inanimate, Twilight turned to me again. “So, you got that research done, right?” I magicked (that’s a word, now) the results of six hours of tired work out of my saddlebags. “Yeah. I made some rough summaries, and some outlines, where appropriate.” Something caught my eye in the top-right corner of each page. “And I see I put my name on them, out of habit…” I passed the papers to Twilight, who gave them a once-over. “You know, this isn’t bad for one night of research.” “Thanks, I-” Wait. “You knew?!” She let out a small laugh. “Sorry, Lyra, but you’re a terrible liar.” “Don’t I know it.” Bon Bon quipped. So that’s how it was going to be, eh? No, I’m not Haynadian. Stop looking at me like that. Twilight let out a small laugh, before looking back and forth between my notes and the chalk on the ground. “Yeah…” she muttered, “I can do this.” She made a few short-lived patterns in the air before I spoke up. “Do you need me for anything?” She gave me a contemplating look before shaking her head. “Not really, I’ve got it all handled. You’re free to watch, though. Of course, you’re welcome to stay, too, Bon Bon.” “I may as well see if all the insanity was worth it.” “Then both of you go ahead and stand over there” -she nodded toward the circle- “While I adjust a couple things.” In a moment of clarity, I realized this was it. This whole week was (more or less) leading up to this event. Some part of me realized this would be a milestone in Equine history. The first human with irrefutable evidence of its existence! I was sure the vocabulary alone would’ve been enough to make Twilight proud. Bonnie and I stood side-by-side next to the chalk for a few moments before Twilight took her place opposite us, behind the podium. A hushed silence was quickly formed between the three of us as an initial aura formed around Twilight’s horn. The candles were quickly lit, and the chalk lines started to take on a fluorescent glow. The room around us seemed to get darker and darker, cutting us off from the rest of the world. I couldn’t even see the walls if I squinted, not that I tried. Instead, my focus was captured by the small swirls of magic that started to appear, like fleeting contrails. It was really cool, too. They were glowing, but not bright enough to hurt your eyes when you looked right at them. They all rotated around the center of the circle, the ones farther out moving much faster. Part of me became scared. Afraid I’d be pulled into the center of the vortex and never see the light of day again. Bon Bon must’ve noticed it, because I suddenly felt her hoof over my shoulders. I tore my gaze from the sight before me to give her an appreciative smile, and put my arm over her withers in kind. A slight wind started tugging at my mane, though the candles’ flames remained unaffected. The breeze picked up in speed, pulling and whipping as the streaks of magic flying through the air all started flying faster and faster. The areas they patrolled became smaller as a bright light started to emit from their core, almost blinding in its intensity. I fought the urge to cover my eyes as everything started to reach a crescendo. Finally, all the little swirls coalesced to a central point, and sent out a pulse of bright light. I’ll never forget what I saw in that moment. I saw the walls around us, each title of every book forever etched in my memory. I saw Twilight’s face, eyes closed in an expression of calm determination. I saw a ball of light, so strong it almost looked solid. And to my side, I saw Bonnie, the one constant in this second act of my life, catching my glance and giving me a reassuring look. And that’s when everything exploded. Some undeterminable amount of time later (though, I imagine it wasn’t too much later), I was awoken by the sound of crying. Not exactly how I wanted to start my morning, but I certainly wasn’t going to get any sleep by not doing anything. …What an odd sentence. Anyway, I forced my eyes open and was greeted by the unusual sight of waking up in Twilight’s Library. Aside from the obvious questions of ‘How did I get here?’ and ‘What did I do last night?’, one question came to the forefront of my mind: ‘Exactly how much did I drink, and how strong was it?’. After a few moments of waiting for the headache to hit, I realized it wasn’t coming. ‘That’s new…’ It was also about that time that I realized that I had full motor control, slow as it was due to grogginess, and it was then that I ruled out being hung over. And for Luna’s sake, that crying was STILL GOING ON! Make it stop! I got up and stumbled over to the source of the noise, hoping to silence whomever was making all the racket. When I looked down at the living noisemaker, however, everything came rushing back to me. It was a human. It was really small, and had less hair than I thought it would, but it was unmistakably a human. Some instinct came over me in the midst of my shock, and I sat down and scooped him (yes, it was definitely a ‘him’) up in my arms. Immediately, he started to settle down. His crying died down with his fidgeting, and I just looked into his face all the while. The only things I could think about were how precious and adorable he was. My vision clouded a bit, but it was probably the wind or something. Shut up. Eventually, my gaze was torn away by purple hooves entering my field of vision. I looked up to see Twilight admiring her handiwork. “Beautiful, isn't it?” I said. “It really is.” She replied. “Ugh... how much did I drink last night?” A grumbling voice spoke up from somewhere else in the room. Bon Bon sat up, rubbing her head until she opened her eyes and saw me, Twilight, and the human. “Oh, yeah...” After gathering herself, she joined our little impromptu huddle. “Well, it’s definitely an infant.” Twilight said, stating the obvious. A thought struck me. “Wait, if it’s just a baby…” I trailed off as Bon Bon’s eyes widened, no doubt coming to the same conclusion I had. “So, who’s going to care for it?” Bonnie asked. “Well,” Twilight said, “You were the one who wanted it, right Lyra?” My ears perked up. “But wait, how am I supposed to house a baby, let alone feed it? I don’t make bits that often, and-” “Lyra.” Bon Bon silenced me with a hoof to my mouth. “Don’t worry. I’ll help.” “…You mean it?” “Of course. We’ve lived together for a while now… it’s the least I could do.” I embraced her in a one-armed hug. Disaster averted. “Thanks, Bonnie. Really.” “Just don’t make me regret it, alright?” I pulled back and gave her a salute. “Sounds like that’s settled, then,” Twilight said, “If you two ever need help, feel free to come by.” “Sure thing,” I responded. She nodded and turned to Twilight. “Well, if we’re gonna do this, then we should get going. There’s a lot of stuff that needs to get done. We’ll see you around, Twilight.” After saying our goodbyes, Bon Bon and I were out the door. Once again, we were silent for a bit as we walked. The baby I was holding seemed to have dozed off for the moment. I guess some part of me was still catching up with the fact that, after all these years, I actually did it. I had a human. “So... you finally did it.” “Yeah…” “I’ll be honest, I didn’t think this day would come.” I turned to her. “Wait, what?” “Well, they were just an obscure myth, Lyra. The odds of this working were slim, at best.” I looked dejectedly at the bundle levitating in front of me. “But,” she put a comforting arm around me, “I suppose this says something about determination and tenacity, huh?” "Gesundheit." Bon Bon shook her head. “Come on, let’s get your stuff.” I knocked on the door of the house that I had left just that morning. After a few moments, Octavia opened the door. “Hello, Lyra,” she said, “And you as well, Bon Bon. I suppose you two finally made up?” “We’re just here to get my stuff, and… yeah, I guess I’m moving back in with Bonnie. Thanks for letting me stay.” “Anything for a friend in need.” The moment was shattered by a shout from farther in the house. “TAVI!” Vinyl yelled, “WHO IS IT?!” “It’s Lyra and Bon Bon!” Octavia called back. There were hurried hoofsteps for a moment before the unicorn in question showed up. She immediately noticed the newest member of our party and lifted her glasses, giving everyone a rare glimpse of her eyes. “Well I’ll be a second-rate disc jockey on a Tuesday morning…” She said in a breathy voice. “So ya did it? This is a pleasant surprise. I guess you and your marefriend have a kid now, huh?” “She’s not my marefriend!” I insisted for the umpteenth time. “Actually…” Bon Bon spoke up, “About that…” I looked at her, surprised. To be honest, I don't think anything would've prepared me for what she said next. “Do you think that… maybe… we could give it a shot? Us, I mean.” I blinked. I don't think I'd ever seen her this meek or embarrassed. “Us? As in… like… together?” She nodded. I thought hard for a moment. Bon Bon had been a sort of anchor in my life for… quite some time now. No matter how crazy things got, I always knew she’d be there to give me a pretty generous dose of reality. It kinda felt like a big step, but I figured, how much would really change? We were already extremely close, we practically knew each other inside and out… we already lived in the same house, for pony’s sake! So maybe… maybe it wouldn’t be so bad? “I… I mean… sure.” I couldn’t help a big grin from plastering itself on my face. I dunno why, but… I just felt happy all of a sudden. “PSSSST,” Vinyl cut in with a stage-whisper, “This is where you kiss!” Vinyl, I swear to Luna I’m going to come to your house in the middle of the night and – “Mmph?!” I just- She- She kissed me! Right there, in front of Vinyl and Octavia! Smack on the lips! And in front of the kid, for Princess’s sake! After a moment, the shock wore off and I sputtered out what little breath I had. “What the hay?!” “What? I… I thought…” Bon Bon trailed off. Oh, snap! Think quick, Lyra! “No! You’re fine - I mean, I just didn’t really expect it… I guess…” “Seriously?” Vinyl interjected again, “Did you not hear me or something?” Oh, yes, I heard you alright… But I decided not to verbally reply. Thankfully, Octavia chose that moment to give Vinyl a look that seemed to get the message across. You know the one I’m talking about. “Fine…” she relented, “Anyway, what are you gonna name the tyke?” Okay, I'll admit, that floored me. In hindsight, I really should’ve seen it coming. I mean, kids always have names, right? Even if the spell had created a more adult human, we’d have to call it something. A name, though… I had absolutely no idea. “Well…” “We’ll just have to think about it.” Bon Bon said, putting an arm over my withers. She turned her head towards me, “Right?” I thought about it. Somehow, I felt everything was going to be okay.