Lyra tore the door of her house open, pretty much unintentionally so. She was really trying to be careful; but the feat wouldn't come to her easily as her finer motor controls kept failing her.
She was sure she hadn't had more than a half dozen ciders. However, owing to her light meals and lack of sleep, the drinks had proven themselves to be extremely efficient. She numbly watched the brown door swing wide open, bang loudly against the wall - then move backwards, grinding to a halt a mere few inches short of bumping into her nose.
Whoa, she gave the surprising result a silent, but all the more confused stare. She was certain she had only applied a little yank. I must've been working out or something. Cool.
Her tribute to the open door over and done with, she pushed the wooden barrier aside and hobbled inside the house.
"Er... Master? Isn't Master forgetting about something?"
Lyra stopped, her head weighed down by gravity and leftover inertia; her mane rushed forward and covered her face. Huffing loudly to clear the hair from her nose and mouth, she turned around and had her magic lift the cider-stained dossier from the dusty street.
"Good ghostie," she commended the windigo. A thought crossed her dimming mind; she had forgotten to check if ponies were in hearing distance. She lamented for a second and decided to just shrug the bothersome worry off. After her visit to the bank and her chat with the Source, very few things could jump the high bar and gain her attention. She watched the dossier float right next to her... then she got a sudden idea and threw the thing down the corridor of her home. The dossier crashed against the wall and broke up, scattering white papers all over the floor.
For reasons beyond her meagre understanding, Lyra found herself snorting and laughing at the scene.
There was something really funny in how those papers flew about.
"Lyra?"
The familiar voice must have had magical properties, for it made Lyra's blood alcohol drop by half in under a second.
Wha-? Bon's home? Wasn't she on some errand? Lyra gawked at the slowly sinking cloud of shuffled bank papers. Oh sweet Celestia! I've made such a mess! Why did I even make such a mess? If Bon sees this...!
She lunged forward with abandon and produced a perfect gallop despite her stitches; a wasted feat, as she was screeching to a halt among the scattered white papers, way before she could have gathered meaningful speed. Panic started setting in once Lyra realized that there were printed papers surrounding her on all sides; she couldn't even imagine how she would gather all of them into an organized pile.
There was no time to overthink things either; banging noises rose from deeper inside the house.
She's coming, Lyra gulped. She had to do something. Anything!
She had to act on the first thing that came to her mind.
She shuffled all the fancy plans away; she simply spun around and used her magic as an oversized, invisible dust pan. The white papers bent and crumpled, some even tearing into two; but they were all in her telekinetic grasp soon enough. She then shoved the whole mess back into the empty dossier. The rigid blue cover resisted; the disorganized ball of papers was a lot thicker than the nicely sorted variant. An ordinary dossier was no match for an anxious Lyra however; with some help of her right hoof, she managed to squeeze the papers back into their place. The dossier bulged as if it was on a fridge-binge... an unusual sight, but an infinitely small problem compared to the overall gain. The corridor became as clean as if nopony had ever scattered the pages of a legal document all over it.
Right on time, the door to Bon's room opened up, and the beige earth pony graced Lyra with her presence.
Close, Lyra made a meek smile in relief. It was one of her lesser inspiring grins; she found it hard to be truly upbeat when her heart was racing still. Starting tomorrow, I'm counting to ten before I do anything rash. And I really mean it this time!
"Oh... so it's really just you," Bon crowned her friend's return with a rather indifferent greeting. "Where've you been? You didn't happen to wander over to the Guard, did you?"
"Hello to you too," Lyra grimaced. She lowered the bulging dossier to the floor - with utmost care, this time. "No, I haven't gotten around to that yet. I was just, uh... walking around town? You know, thinking? Getting some fresh air?"
A tired sigh and the shaking of her head made it clear how disillusioned Bon was with that answer. She didn't berate her friend however - not immediately anyway.
"Fresh air, huh? Must be raining cider then," Bon chuckled wryly. "Do you at least remember which place you were drinking at? I'd hate having to go around the whole town again... everypony would start to think I'm some sort of alcoholic, going from inn to inn like that."
"It's not a sin to enjoy cider every now and then! I clearly learnt my lesson too - do I look that wasted to you? Of course I don't," Lyra snorted and sneered. "So why do you even bring that up now? As if I would drink on tabs ever again!"
True enough, that event had been an embarrassment Lyra figured she would never live down. She kept hoping Bon would grow tired of the story and mention it less over time. A musician celebrating her first big performance with a long night and without any money on her... poor Bon had a long day afterwards, sorting all the tabs out.
The same Bon was now standing in front of her though, looking at her with the same judgemental eyes, pointing a hoof at her side in silence.
"What," Lyra blinked in confusion, then traced to where her friend was pointing. She turned her head... and realized how bare her sides looked.
No saddlebags there.
Lyra closed her eyes, clenched her teeth and pushed her right hoof against her forehead. Hard.
Not again!
"Yep. Thought so," Bon mimicked the notion and rubbed the side of her head.
"But I was so sure that I paid," Lyra mumbled, her face completely covered by her two hooves. She didn't want anypony to see her shame, not even her closest friend. "The waitress had no objections whatsoever either! She didn't even ask who I was! How could she even put it on my tab without knowing my name at least?"
"Ah, did Master forget? Our fancy dinner was paid by the other duo," Snowy joined in the conversation, approaching her Master from behind and then sitting right next to her. "That other servant, Origin had demonstrated his ability to conjure objects... by producing a few coins. Then the Great and Powerful master of his had paid with those."
Inching her hooves away from her face, Lyra sneaked a glance to her ghostly servant.
Shoot, she stared blankly at the windigo. She's right. Trixie paid... strictly as part of her demonstration. How did I even forget?
"My drinks were... well... on the house," she announced aloud. Her voice was shaky and distant; she was a little drunk, moderately confused as to why she couldn't recall minute details, and thus very frustrated with herself. "See, I've bumped into a showmare... who goes by the name Trixie. She invited me for a drink. So don't worry, everything is okay!"
"Trixie!" Bon huffed. The name didn't carry positive connotations for her; she grimaced and drew her ears back to her neck, her discomfort palpable. "You were drinking together with the freak who brought an Ursa onto us? Are you out of your mind?!"
"Ah, well... yeah, that kinda' happened," Lyra stammered. She felt all sorts of awkward; she giggled and looked away, as if not looking at Bon would have lessened the tension in the air. "Look, I didn't recognize her at first, all right? And didn't all that happen so very long ago anyway? She's almost pleasant to talk to now."
"Yeah, I thought you'd say that. Lyra, you could have a pleasant chat with Discord after a mug or two!" Bon screeched. She pushed a hoof against her temple - perhaps trying to make sure her head didn't explode. "Seriously! Why can't you just behave like an adult? Just for once? Just for a few moments? Why do you have to wind up in all these quirky situations all the time?"
She would never admit out of principle, but Lyra felt that one resonating with her. She kept bumbling into the strangest, almost slapstick-like scenes with an alarming regularity. Nothing that had caused her big problems so far; so she had learnt to live with the fact and treat it as a permanent aspect of her life.
That conviction didn't seem to matter much to Bon though, who never gave up on her pursuit of sanity. That duality of theirs had always been a reliable source of conflicts.
"Well, what would you have me do? Scream at her? Make a scene?" Lyra growled angrily. She was frustrated as she had no idea what behaviour was expected of her; she really thought Bon would let the issue slide. "That would surely make me look like a proper adult, right?"
"I didn't mean that!" Bon took a defiant stand and slammed her hoof onto the ground. "I was thinking more like, uh... I don't know! Anything but enjoying a drink with that no-gooder!"
"That hardly sounds fun. Seriously, every pony deserves a good drink in a while..." Lyra moaned. She then tried to rub an itching eye, but her sense of balance gave out on her; she tripped and began listing to the side, staggering until she was leaning against the closest wall.
Och, she finally gave the itching eyelid a rub, uncaring of how ridiculous she must have looked. I'm tired. Sooo tired...
"Seems like you've had your fun all right," Bon snickered disapprovingly. "Well, I don't want to ruin your mood too much... so I think I'll just leave you be."
"I'm not drunk," Lyra looked up at her friend and reiterated her previous point. Her bloodshot eyes and unsteady stand didn't help her cause too much, however. "I'm just tired."
"Then go and get some rest," Bon motioned at the door to Lyra's room. "There's something I want to have a talk about, when I come back."
"I'm here, you're here. Just spit it out," Lyra grinned and raised her eyebrow in anticipation. A short-lived notion, that was; her tiredness soon got the better of her. Her head fell to the side and knocked against the wall. A funny, metallic smell tickled her nose; the one she had always thought smelling just before she would hit her head into something.
So tired, she grimaced and clenched her teeth, fighting a building yawn.
"Yeah, you look in great shape for a proper conversation," Bon shook her head with a sigh. "I don't really have time right now anyway... I can't be late from this meeting. So just go ahead and sleep, you party animal!"
You're still completely misunderstanding this whole thing, Lyra cracked an eye open. Bon was but a beige smear through her unfocused gaze; but she could still tell her friend was looking at her in utter disappointment. That made her want to speak up, to clear her name... such actions would have taken effort, however. And all the batteries in Lyra were empty. She felt like a pony who had been fresh out of a tumble drier; one who had been then cleared of wrinkles with the helpful aid of a steam roller.
It wasn't a comfortable feeling.
Ah well. I suppose it can wait until I've gotten my beauty sleep, Lyra opened her mouth wide and sucked in some cold air. It's not like I couldn't clear this up later. Bon will understand. She always does.
"Deal," she nodded drowsily. She had to catch herself with haste; a little less attention and she would have crashed to the floor. "Talk to you later, you... uh... serious pony, you."
"Was it really all right, letting Master's friend depart on a note like that?" Snowy fiddled anxiously. Her gaze entered a state of constant flux, alternating between her master and the closed door every few seconds. "Master hasn't done anything wrong. Quite on the contrary - it would seem we have succeeded in helping the pony from the market."
"That pony's got a name too, Snowy. And that name is Applejack," Lyra mumbled. Her voice was closer to being weak rumbling than intelligible speech; her nose was dug into the wrinkles of a blanket, her fuzzy mane covering the rest of her muzzle. Her head was on her bed, but the rest of her was resting on the floor, sprawled out like a dropped rag. "By the way... talking about that AJ. You do remember her complaining about something the other day, right, Snowy? It's really funny, but I... I can't for the love of my life remember what she was on about."
"Neither do I. A strangely specific loss of memory, isn't it?" Snowy turned to her master. Two of her legs were dangling in the air - the picture she was standing on was a little too thin for a proper stance. "A little too specific, perhaps."
"Bleh, stop beating around the bush already. It was you... well, us. That's why we took the contract from the bank I guess," Lyra smirked. Her eyes were open, even if just barely; still, she couldn't make out the texture of her blanket. All she saw was endless white and spots of grey, the shadows cast by the wrinkles in the fabric. "Urgh. Feels like I'd pass out any moment..."
"Then Master should definitely go to sleep," Snowy hopped down from the picture. She arrived in the centre of Lyra's bed; the landing looked forceful, yet didn't as much as shift the blanket. "I shall watch over Master in the meantime."
"Watch over me?" Lyra strained her eyes, trying to get the windigo into a clearer focus. "What for?"
"Last night, Master's sleep was hardly peaceful. Master had afterwards vowed not to sleep for twelve years," Snowy crouched down, her crimson eyes investigating the pony for any obvious signs of problems. "I figure Master must has been alarmed by something. So surely me standing guard would alleviate the issue?"
The tip of her lips curling to a wry grin beneath the cover of her cyan mane, Lyra paid the ghost a silent moment of admiration. She was touched; too touched for her distaste against subservience to kick in, even.
"Yeah. I'm sure it'll help," she giggled and pushed herself up. "But first..."
She turned to the left and focused, straining herself until the veins in her face bulged. Her efforts were not in vain, however; the diary from the nearby drawer flung itself at her. It also proceeded to smack her in the head, but she was too tired for a proper tantrum; she sighed and got the book laid onto the bed.
Snowy eyed the whole scene with open confusion. Her eyes were wide and her ears were perked all the way up. She even kept cocking her head from one side to the other, breaking her silence once her curiosity overwhelmed her sense of etiquette.
"Uh, Master, if I may inquire..." she wrinkled her eyebrows and squinted hard. "Is it really the best time to add another entry? Master hardly seems to be in the condition for writing literature."
"Haha! Sure am not," Lyra laughed dryly and brought the quill and ink-pot over as well. She then proceeded to stare at them lengthily... then moved her gaze to the white blanket on her bed... then she placed the quill, the ink and the diary onto the floor and huddled down next to them. "I'm not adding a whole lot... I just want to mark down that we've helped AJ. I'm afraid I'll forget completely if I don't write it down. Kinda like a last chance, you see?"
"I doubt my abilities would have such lingering side-effects," Snowy scratched her head and looked away. "With that being said, I'm not really sure either."
"Then I've got news for you!" Lyra chuckled and dipped the quill into the black ink. "We ponies can forget quite well on our own, too. So I better mark this down now - or maybe nopony will know how we've started helping strangers."
The air rushing out of her lungs with the tell-tale sounds of a moan, Lyra arrived at a painful discovery: that alarm clocks were not the worst way to start a morning.
While annoying, the mechanical contraptions were no match for throbbing headaches.
"Aurgh," she groaned through her clenched teeth. A light was shining into her eyes, visible even through her closed eyelids; she blotted it out with a hoof. She rose another hoof afterwards, and pushed that one against her head - half expecting to feel her very skull growing and ebbing in size.
"Good morning, Master!" Snowy chirped from somewhere nearby. "Did Master have a good sleep?"
"Bleargh," Lyra answered the question with unparalleled brevity. She ran her tongue around her mouth; but everything in there tasted metallic and weird... and dry as the scorching southern deserts. Her lips and tongue were so dry they actually hurt. A dull, throbbing pain, just like the one occupying her head - and virtually everything else in her body.
"Oh Celestia, do I hurt all over."
"Ah, er, well... maybe Master could sleep some more, then?"
Lyra let her hooves drop back onto the bed, the move revealing the smirk she had on her face. With herculean efforts, she battled the intense light and cracked an eye open. The sun was shining onto her through the window of her room. The light pained her eyes and reinforced her headache. The thick curtains could have helped with that, were they not folded at the very ends of the window.
Guess I forgot about those when I crashed to bed, she looked away, her eyes watering. Blinking the tears away and working the sticky gears in her mind, she tried to recompose herself. Ugh... what was I up to, again?
Memories filtered back to her. She had gone to a bank and then had a few drinks; then she had come home and gone straight to sleep. And... there may have been a few talky scenes in between those as well. To her, however, that recollection only carried one conclusion: the sun shining into her eyes meant that she had either slept very little, or way too much.
"How long... yaaah!" she asked, only for a well-placed yawn to break her sentence into two. "How long did I sleep?"
"For the better part of yesterday, all night and about half of today," Snowy popped into her vision, a cheerful grin occupying the windigo's face.
That grin quickly traded places with silent confusion, however. Lyra began flailing her legs all of a sudden, as if the bedbugs had started chewing on her lazy behind. The random kicks weren't really effective; the most immediate result was her blanket getting kicked into the air. She only scampered onto her hooves a few seconds and a sore right shoulder later.
"Sweet Celestia! All day! And the night, too! I overslept! Heck, not even that - I, like, überoverslept!" Lyra mashed out words in unbridled panic. She slowed down for a moment - just so she could berate the windigo that was still standing at her side. "You! Why didn't you wake me up sooner? Don't you know we have a lot to do?!"
"I was indeed aware of Master's plans about helping the world... but Master was sleeping so deep she didn't even snore this time," Snowy shirked away from Lyra's fiery gaze, pulling her head lower and shrinking her figure in general. "Master seemed so ill yesterday, I figured a little rest wouldn't hurt."
Lyra's mouth was hanging open; she was in the middle of launching into another round of complaints. She was also waking up in the meantime however. She wasn't quite at her best just yet, but she already realized how the windigo had been looking out for her own good. She clenched her jaws and rolled her head around, a few bones crackling quietly in her neck.
I did have a pretty peaceful sleep last night, I suppose...
Especially when compared to the nightmare from the night before.
Ugh. Pretty sure I would've had another nightmare had I dreamt, she rubbed the back of her head as another loud yawn escaped her mouth. Maybe I'm lucky I was so tired, I guess... heh! Isn't that a funny thing to say.
"Besides, Master's friend had also asked me to allow Master to sleep undisturbed," Snowy carried on. Her voice ran out of power though; she was almost pleading at this point. She had also tried to distance herself from her master's inevitable anger, and pulled into the farthest corner of Lyra's bed. "I thought it was a sensible request, so I figured I could have acted on it... I am very sorry if this was a mistake, and I am prepared to face whatever-"
Lyra made a brief grimace at the reaction. She wasn't sleepy enough to miss the hasty retreat. She was a little angry at having overslept, yes; but at the same time...
...she did act on her own for this once. I suppose that's something, right? I shouldn't berate her either... otherwise she'll just learn to never take the initiative. Sweet Equestria, foalsitting a ghost is a full-time job...
"It's fine," she showed her lack of hostility with a wave of her hoof. "You've actually done well, so quit fretting. So you say Bon had also came in?"
I really shouldn't be surprised, she bit onto her lip, her teeth snapping some of the dry skin off. Of course she'd check on me! I've been in here for almost a day. Foalsitting me may be a full-time job as well, huh?
"Yes, Master's frie- I mean, Miss Bon was here," Snowy nodded repeatedly, her head almost bouncing up and down like a cheap rubber toy's. "She didn't just come in either; she had actually spent a fair amount of time next to master."
Lyra froze solid at the news; her sole movement was giving the windigo a questioning - and quite disbelieving - stare.
"Say what?"
"Miss Bon came in soon after the sun had set," Snowy nudged her nose at the closed door of the room. "She had briefly checked on Master; then declared she knew I was around and asked me not to disturb. She then took a place next to Master and sat silently for a long while. I believe she was also guarding Master's peace."
Lyra swivelled her head to the side. She was careful - so careful as if an afterimage of Bon was still sitting there, ready to scold her.
"Whoa," was all she could say.
"I thought it was a nice gesture," Snowy continued, her voice drifting away just as her thoughts had begun wandering off. "Still, I'd have to deduct a few points for succumbing to sleep on guard duty. Though it can't be helped, I suppose? She's a living pony as well, after all. Living ponies need their rest."
"Bon slept in here?" Lyra asked absentmindedly, her eyes scanning the thin air next to her bed still. It was an absurd idea, but she could have sworn she felt the piercing stare of Bon's eyes on her.
"That she did," Snowy stood up and moved around her master, until they wound up looking at each other again. "For a pretty long while, too. She had only left in the morning... but not before calling my dedication into question."
"Ah, so she... wait, she did what? Argh! Bon, I really thought you would know better," Lyra buried her face into her hooves. She wasn't shaken too deeply; exasperation would have described her feelings the closest. "I guess I need to talk to her again, go over this thing one more time. What did she say?"
Gently rubbing the skin on her forehead with her hooves, Lyra was already planning out her next meeting with Bon; she didn't even wait for Snowy to answer.
I could bank on her sense of duty, she mused to herself. She would voice her disappointment, that was a given; but she also understood how she couldn't do so too rashly either. She's always about doing things the right way. Surely being prejudiced doesn't fit well with that!
"She didn't say much. Just things I really ought to know by my own self as well," Snowy shrugged. For somepony whose allegiance had been called into question, she appeared remarkably nonchalant about the whole issue. "That I should keep an eye on Master all times and keep Master out of trouble. And also that should anything happen to Master, I will certainly find my, quote-unquote, 'invisible frozen butt kicked all the way back to that fricking mountain'. Which I found quite strange, considering that I hail from the soulstone amulet and not some mountain."
Lyra peeked out from the cover of her hooves, completely dumbstruck.
"As if idle threats could motivate me!" Snowy glared at the ground, her eyes finally burning with emotion. "No, that's not even it. As if I would err in the first place! Yes, that's what I truly found infuriating. To call my dedication into question! Me, who solely exists for the very purpose of servitude!"
Putting her hooves back onto the blanket and fiddling around until she sat comfortably, Lyra hung her head back and mulled over the issue. She felt incredibly relieved that Bon was, in fact, being reasonable and had only tried to protect her. There was even a tinge of shame mixing into her thoughts; she should have known better than to immediately accept blame aimed at Bon.
On the other hoof, she could also sympathize with the windigo. Even if Bon had no ill intents behind her words, asking Snowy to get her act together would obviously not sit well with the servant.
I think my life has grown more complicated than I had ever realized, Lyra squeezed her eyes closed and sighed - a long and very tired sigh broke free of her. How come the Source always blabbered about nonsense like cheating, but never mentioned anything about stuff like this? Game-master, my shiny rear end - more like a lousy pony who's itching to show off.
"I don't think Bon meant anything bad," she tried to keep the damage under control. "Do forgive her - she just keeps worrying too much, in general. Especially about me."
"That's a reassuring notion. However, it's still not nice, telling me to perform my service better - when it is she who fell asleep while standing guard," Snowy scoffed and rolled her eyes. Or something along those lines. Solid crimson eyes were hard to deduce.
Cracking an eye open, Lyra gave the blue ghost an overt glance. It wasn't reasonable of her to expect Snowy to just forgive Bon, right there and then. Not unless she ordered the windigo to do so. Being the loyal servant she was, Snowy would have most likely complied - perhaps even gone as far as to eat her own words in the process - , but Lyra didn't fancy that idea one bit.
To her, Snowy wasn't just some magically bound slave; and friends couldn't be ordered to change their opinions. She had to win this one by diplomacy, or she risked digging the whole servant-liege hole deeper.
"I'll talk to her," Lyra rubbed her neck, hoping that fiddling with her hoof would distract her from the sheer awkwardness that she felt. "I can't promise she'll change overnight, though. So could I also ask you to, err... put up with her? For a while."
"But of course," Snowy bowed until her nose swept the ground. "I shall do anything Master asks."
Not quite what I had in mind, Lyra grimaced and looked away. There were few things to look at; the sparse decoration of her room didn't offer ample opportunities for the hungry eye. Two drawers occupied a corner, almost in front of her bed. And there was a huge lyre - the one she had used for practice, whenever Bon was in better mood... or wasn't at home. Right now, however, she didn't feel like touching the instrument.
She was too preoccupied with the situation about Bon and Snowy to lose herself in music. The previous day also weighed on her - she wanted to see what happened to Applejack. She wasn't expecting a great success right off the bat, but she had to check on the farmmare at the very least. She owed that much.
Every cheat has a price.
The words came from nowhere and kept echoing in Lyra's head. She wasn't distraught by them; she felt herself grow more resolute about surveying the results, if anything.
I've mucked around with her life, haven't I? So it's my responsibility to make sure everything goes as I imagined, Lyra bit onto her lip. The realization of her new responsibility didn't elicit unanimous approval from her; she threw herself back onto the bed and pounded her head with her hooves.
Argh! Why did I even take all this onto my back? Did I need to make my life so complicated?! I used to live so simply! I was happy! I was-
A gurgling sound interrupted her. Both she and her ghostly servant proceeded to look at each other, both faces mirroring the other's confusion - until the sound repeated, this time so loudly that Lyra felt her ribs shake.
The second wave had also come with a sensation she couldn't mistake for anything else either.
"I'm hungry," she gulped and turned her head around, her noisy stomach in the middle of her gaze.
"Is Master certain those things go well together?" Snowy recoiled. The mere explanation of the so-called 'breakfast' had proven too much for her nerves - and now that she was facing the real deal, her courage had completely evaporated. "That combination looks... strange..."
"Nonsense," Lyra dismissed the worries without missing a beat. "Everypony knows a balanced and complete breakfast is the best way to start a day. Well - it doesn't get any more complete than this!"
"That is most certainly true," Snowy gulped, then backed into the farthest corner of the stove. "I also understand that I have little expertise in these matters, but... I just know those things aren't compatible with each other!"
"Hah! Shows what you know! They were all in the fridge, so they are all meant to be eaten at some point," Lyra burst into a proud laughter. She grabbed her plate and moved it forward - leaving the windigo with just enough time to hop off the stove, dart past the pony and scurry to the highest available point.
Snowy crawled upwards with an uncanny, cat-like display of skills; she didn't stop until she reached the top of the open door.
"Sorry Master, but I just... I just can't accept this!" she cried out. She spun around with a grace unknown to mere mortals; she turned around in one fluid motion while also balancing on the thin top edge of the kitchen door. "Green, brown and white... I may be ignorant in the customs of this era, but those colours should never be presented together!"
The tenacious refusal taking her by surprise, Lyra pulled the plate back to her. She eyed the food on the dish - then shrugged and took a bite. The taste was like nothing she had ever had before, but wasn't bad enough to make her quit. Meals were quite often just necessary chores to her; a waste of time she had to endure between actives she earnestly enjoyed. Now, some foods she did find really exquisite; but those were the exceptions rather than the rules.
On the upside, she could follow that logic and eat just about anything in turn. And quite often she had done so as well, freaking out Bon to no end.
Now I've managed to creep out a ghost as well, she mused as she chewed on her mostly sweet breakfast. I guess Bon was right, huh? I should spend some time reading up real recipes, right? So not feeling like it, though...
"I still don't get what's wrong with this tho'," she mused with her mouth half-full, her amber eyes resting on the remainder of the food. "Bread is pretty usual for breakfast."
"Bread I can understand," Snowy grimaced and pointed a hoof at the plate. "But what's with that dressing? How did Master even arrive to such untold depths of culinary terrorism?"
Despite her better wishes, Lyra flinched at the remark.
Of all the ways to independence, she had to pick insulting me!
"Culinary what now? All I did was think practically," she huffed and turned away indignantly. She grabbed the bread and shook it around, a reaction that only made sense with her anger taken into mind. Pieces of brown cream and green spheres flew around, landing in various points of the kitchen; but Lyra kept waving the bread for all the length of her short outburst. "See, I realized that if I put the hazelnut cream onto the bread, these peas won't be able to roll away! Makes them really easy to eat. So what's wrong with this, really?"
Demonstrating her point in the easiest way possible, Lyra opened her mouth and took another huge bite out of the bread.
A little higher up and a few steps away, Snowy shivered atop the door, wondering just when her master would finish with that madness and leave to check on Applejack already.
"Whoaa! How busy!" Snowy chirped. Her ghostly form could barely contain her excitement; she was hopping around without much sense, her head constantly swaying in the wildest directions.
Lyra didn't mind any of that. She had no problems with the windigo frolicking around; a little fun never hurt anypony before. She had considerable difficulties in keeping up anyway. Unlike Snowy, who could blitz through the densest crowds without the slightest care, Lyra had to pay a lot of attention to the other ponies around her.
She remembered what the empty market had been like. In hindsight, while that made for a dismal experience, she kind of enjoyed not having to dodge a pony at every second step.
Unlike during their previous visit, the market now gave the duo a true demonstration of what passed for a fair. The stalls were packed to their limit. Hoards of exotic fruits battled the cheap local goods for shiny golden coins; veritable armies staring down at each other, eager to acquire their coveted objectives. The battle was further enhanced by the yells of the various vendors; the generals who put their trust into their carefully assembled armies, now giving their all to attract at least one more customer.
For a pony with keen hearing, all that yelling was pretty irritating. Lyra could have navigated the whole mess blindfolded; solely relying on the obnoxiously loud shouts would have sufficed.
I now remember why I don't come here often, she grumbled to herself. Her teeth clattering against each other, she took a hasty step - almost a real dodge - to the right; even so, an earth pony's saddlebags scraped along her left.
"Ack! Oi! You! Watch where you're going with those!" she yelled after the stranger, but the pony paid no heed. He either had no ears to her complaints, or Lyra's voice had been drowned out by the surrounding noise. Neither served to improve her mood.
I'll make a point of not helping you when my plan gets going at full steam! she fumed to herself. There was no time for overplayed rage though; Snowy had already gotten so far ahead that her blue figure was barely visible in the swirling crowd. Swallowing the rest of her complaint, Lyra turned her head back in direction and resumed her slow-paced struggle forward. She would rather not have an overly excited windigo bumble around without supervision.
Who knows what odd ideas the oddball might pick up along the way...
Fate demonstrated its keen sense of irony right away; a pegasus with a huge box showed up in her way. There was no way around, as the box was too wide and almost clipped the stalls on both ends; so Lyra had to backtrack a few steps. She backed into a stall, just so the box-carrier would have enough space to pass. A shopkeep selling silverware approached her, mistaking her for a wayward customer; but she paid the vendor little to no actual attention. She was busy tip-toeing in the same spot, eager to get going as soon as the boxy-pegasus had passed. The huge box moved ever so slowly however; so slow that at times Lyra wondered if the pegasus underneath was about to go into reverse or something.
I swear you're moving so slow on purpose! Just to annoy me!
After what felt like a few millennia had passed, the box and its pegasus finally passed her. Lyra needed no further encouragement; she blasted out of the stall as if her hind parts were on fire. She darted down the narrow passage the earlier courier had left. Big boxes demand - and easily receive - large free space, and a lot of the ponies who had shuffled out of the way hadn't resumed their walks just yet. Whatever they were busy with, Lyra didn't care; she just hoped they wouldn't be back in her way too soon. She enjoyed the sudden ease of movement. She was only walking slightly faster, but even that snail-like pace made it feel as if she was doing record laps in the Equestrian Games. The miracle didn't last very long though. The crowd was back to its usual density soon after, forcing her return to the routine of stopping and letting other ponies pass at almost every step.
I wish somepony had the idea to make this place more customer-friendly, she snorted angrily when another pony bumped into her side. The least they could do is space out these freaking stalls, for Celestia's sake! This is more like a bumper ride than anything resembling shopping! What is Major Mare spending all our taxes on anyway?!
Having been forced to stop and thusly given a moment to think, another thing occurred to her.
She had completely lost sight of Snowy.
Uh-oh.
She turned her head around, moving so fast that her mane had difficulties in keeping up with her; the long strands of hair whipped around and slapped against her neck each time she changed direction. No sign of the blue ghost however; no matter where she looked, she could only see very real and very opaque ponies surrounding her. No see-through blue creatures for sure.
Can't believe I've lost a windigo, Lyra gulped dryly and felt a very uncomfortable sensation race down her spine. Calm down girl, calm down. She's gotta' be around here. She's just easily excited. What would draw her in, I wonder? Something shiny? Or maybe something hot? I mean, she totally loves eating heat. I wonder if there's any candle vendors around here...
"Master!"
The call came rather unexpectedly, and from a direction Lyra absolutely wouldn't have guessed beforehoof. She looked around, the palpable confusion sitting onto her face - then she raised her gaze upwards, just to see the translucent ghost sitting on the top of a stall's flimsy sunshade.
Right... ghost, Lyra punctuated her relief with a loud sigh. I keep forgetting she can do these kinda things.
"Master, I have found where Applejack resides!" Snowy grinned at Lyra, then pointed a hoof to her right. "If Master has nothing else to do here, I can easily guide Master there."
Nodding with some reluctance, Lyra resisted the strong desire to slap herself over the head. The answer to her earlier questions turned out to be nothing she could approve of.
Apparently the best thing Snowy can do in a crowded fair is make sure my day goes without a hitch, she ground her teeth. Disapproval or not, she did need the help though; so she started moving again, following the blue figure that hopped from the top of a stall to another's.
Watching the windigo do another physics-defying leap - and then land without so much as wobbling the textile ceiling of a stall - Lyra reassured herself on her self-made vow.
Just you see! I'll turn you into a real, sensible pony yet.
"Ten bits!" Applejack smiled at the green pegasus.
"Ten?" the pegasus squinted then scratched the top of his head. "Who are you and what have you done to my Applejack? I've always paid twice as much for these - and that was after hard bargaining."
"Sure ya' did - but there's some special discount today! Or maybe Ah've lost me wits," Applejack giggled and poked the front of her hat, pushing it back onto her neck. "Of course, 'am ain't offended if ya' decide to pay the good-ol'-regular price either, sugarpie. Customers be always rite', ain't they?"
"Hahaha, if you say so!" the pegasus burst into a laughter. She turned to her saddlebag and fished a white pouch from under the many apples, then turned it upside down and watched all the content fall out. The shiny, round coins clanged loudly and bounced around, doing their mad spinning dance until they ran out of momentum and settled down.
"I'm fine with ten if you say so!" the pegasus winked at AJ and turned away, pushing the empty pouch back into her saddlebag. "But I just can't not pay an extra ten for your customer service. Cheerios!"
A loud flap of wings and a burst of brown dust followed; and by the time the air cleared up, the count of pegasi standing at Applejack's stall had been reduced by one.
"Well, can't complain 'Ah suppose," Applejack shrugged and cleared the coins from the counter, straight into a crude-looking bag below.
"Somepony sure looks like she's having fun," Lyra chuckled and approached closer. She had been listening into the exchange from a few steps away, strategically hiding behind a cluster of ponies who were measuring the fine drinks at the stall opposite to AJ's.
"Well Ah'll be! If it ain't Miss Eavesdrop from the other day," AJ gave Lyra a stern glare, then shook her head lightly. She didn't look too scolding, all in all; a mild disapproval radiated from her at most.
"I'm not-" Lyra opened her mouth in protest, but changed her mind rather quickly. Her habit of not butting into other ponies' business did make her listen into a few conversations every now and then. So she closed her mouth and swallowed her response along with her pride, trading all those discarded goodies for a humbled smile. "Okay, so maybe a little. I didn't mean to do it, though. Honest!"
"If ya' say so!" AJ smirked and pulled the hat down until it covered half her face. "So, what's ya' fancy today? Some more of 'em apples?"
"Nah, I'm good! The last batch is still lasting me," Lyra moved to the stall with almost regular, if a little misaligned steps.
"Ah' thought so, seein' as how ya' carry no bags on ya'," AJ chuckled with a mischievous wink. "So what brings ya' here, then? Ah' thought ya'd be back at home and lyin' in bed, getting fresh bandages on that shoulder of yers."
"Ah, this..." Lyra stammered and turned to her right side. Her shoulder was still in bandages; but the formerly white texture had turned light-brown, stained by the dust and the everyday activities it had suffered through.
Now that I think about it, I really should get these bandages cleaned. Or changed... or whatever they do with these, Lyra frowned and fought off a wave of nausea. Truth be told, she had quite forgotten about the injury. The wound had stopped itching and hadn't really bothered her in the last few days either. Her steps had also become easier; she was still dragging her right leg, but she didn't need to hobble around like a three-legged weirdo any more.
"Ah' guess ya've gotta' be a real treat to look after," AJ snickered and brought Lyra out of her thoughts. "Yer' just as fiddly a patient as Dash is."
"I can attest to that," Snowy chimed in from above - from the very top of AJ's stall, to be exact. "Master seems to pay very little respect to her physical well-being. However, no matter how much I voice my concerns, I am always-"
"Zip it," Lyra groaned with a decidedly low - almost contralto - voice and rolled her eyes. "I'm fit as a fiddle! If anything, I'm only tired of always being told to-"
She shut her mouth closed, fast enough to actually catch her tongue between her teeth. The pain didn't bother her; not nearly as much as what she had just done. She had lashed out and completely forgotten how she wasn't alone with the windigo.
Please don't be mad at me, she blinked at Applejack, who looked absolutely confused about the sudden outburst. Pretty please don't be mad at me! Pretty, pretty, pretty please. I swear I will count to ten next time!
"Haha - okay, okay!" Applejack started laughing and pat the counter of her stall with a hoof. "Easy there, m'kay? Sorry if Ah've joined the choir forcin' their opinions on ya'! Must be real annoyin', hearin' that sentence all over an' over all day long. Well, now that Ah think 'bout it... Ah' suppose ya've gotta' be fine if ya' can walk around the fair like that!"
Wha... what? Did she just apologize to me? Lyra blinked even more vehemently, just as confused as Applejack had been moments ago. Also, what's with the sudden rush of empathy? Didn't I just, like, throw a rude thing at you?
She gulped and felt really tense.
Somepony tell me she hasn't gone REALLY crazy! I mean, that would be my fault, yes? Oh Celestia, please be sane.
"So what brings ya' over 'ere?" Applejack leaned forward, onto the counter. She didn't look upset at all, only a little curious.
Lyra had no idea why she was let off the hook so easily, but she - reluctantly - accepted the gift for now. The behaviour was a little suspicious, but she could convince herself that AJ was just a really professional apple-vendor. No undeniable signs of a windigo-mind-erasing-induced-madness just yet.
"I was just... you know, wandering around? Getting myself used to walking again," Lyra giggled and lifted her right hoof, moving the limb in circles in the air. It was a lie, of course; but it was the best idea she could come up with on the spot.
"So some sort of therapy, huh? Ah' think Ah' can recall Dash doin' something like that once," AJ hummed and turned her gaze upward, to the rim of her hat. "Shoot! Sugarpie, Ah' reckon ya' must've wrecked yerself real good then. Sorry Ah' hadn't realized sooner."
Oh, nuts! I think I've just started a weird rumour, Lyra flinched. She knew how rumours worked, all too well. They always grow in ridiculousness at each retelling, completely departing from reality at the fourth or fifth iteration. So she was pretty sure that in weeks, she would hear ponies whisper how she had spent weeks in the ER and that she would never recover fully ever again.
If only she could put to a stop to that - stomp it out right at the root.
If only.
But I can't really just tell AJ that she got it all wrong! she gritted her teeth in sheer frustration. What if this therapy thing is only needed for badly injured ponies? Then she would know I've lied to her!
Weighing her possible choices, Lyra drew a deeper breath and made peace with the inevitable rumours of her demise.
"But enough about me!" she threw the topic of her health to the side, lest she wander onto another figurative landmine. "What about you? You look... well..."
She fell silent. She had no idea how she could describe AJ, she really didn't. She barely knew the farmmare! What could she begin with? She felt that she would need something simple yet descriptive. Something like-
"She looks happy," Snowy noted from above, rejoining the conversation only when she sensed her master getting stuck. "She didn't call out Master earlier, and gave the previous customer a huge discount, too. I'm certainly no psychiatrist, but I think this pony looks happy. I mean, old Master would also give his subjects surprise presents whenever he felt happy... which was admittedly rare, but not completely unheard of."
Happy, Lyra chewed on the word and curled her lips into a wry grin. How could such a simple expression escape her?
"I mean, you look happy," she put the finishing touches onto her sentence. "Something happened?"
"Now just why'd ya' be askin' that?" Applejack snorted, but there was no anger in her voice. Quite the opposite, in fact; she looked as relaxed as a pony possibly could. She was smiling softly and lowered her head, her muzzle resting on her hooves. "Would Ah' need a reason to be happy? Them farmmares can't possibly be enjoyin' themselves just because? We're all sour apples, is that what yer' sayin'?"
I'm pretty sure I've said none of that! Lyra yanked her head back in surprise. Never had she seen paranoia couple with such innocent expressions. What can I even say to that, really? Also, is paranoia a possible sign that things have gone wrong? Someone please tell me it isn't!
"Master, this pony has just received the wealth equivalent to a small kingdom's," Snowy pointed out. She looked alert; despite how she had been goofing around earlier, she was fully devoted to the task once her master had started getting into trouble. "It's natural she would be secretive on the matter. Old Mas... I mean, some ponies have always said that bearing riches too openly only welcomed assassins and leeches. We should approach the matter indirectly."
What the... Lyra sneaked a quick glance at the windigo. Just how do you know all that? More importantly, how come I need your help with even such small talk now?
At that very moment, Lyra was more upset at her own self than anypony else in the whole world. She had never realized how reliant she had become on her servant's help, and the feeling was not to her liking. She felt glad for the assistance, yes... but that also made her very vulnerable; and more importantly, it also made her feel very, very daft as well.
She loathed feeling daft.
"I'm just saying that you're looking happier than usual," Lyra forced a self-confident grin onto herself. Owing to her upbeat mood, it wasn't an exceptionally hard task; but the outcome was a little strained nevertheless, as she was also quite nervous. The grin turned out okay - as long as nopony looked at the slight twitching at the tip of her lips, or the quivering of her eyebrows. "Care to share some good news with me? I mean, I'm neck-high in bandages! I could sure use some!"
"Umm... well, that's also an approach," Snowy stuttered and hugged the top of the stall, her hooves clenched over her head. "I was thinking more about how Master could inquire who this pony would help out. Surely she has children, siblings or nieces or step-nieces or some such to pay money to now! Family always pops up at the sound of riches and always demand their share."
What a depressing way to look at things, Lyra mused to herself, but managed to keep her outwardly appearance unchanged. Snowy had goaded her into an unwise remark just before; she wouldn't make the same mistake twice.
It was just the right time to keep her composure, too. AJ raised an eyebrow and measured her carefully, then raised her head and looked around. A purely cosmetic move, most likely; the whole market was bristling with ponies of all sizes and colours, and that included the vicinity of the apple-farmer's stall as well. That didn't deter Applejack one bit; she waved at Lyra to come closer, discretely enough so that no more than two dozen ponies could see the notion.
This freakin' crowd is really starting to get on my nerves, Lyra grumbled internally. She dragged herself to AJ nevertheless, looking at the nearby ponies all the while. Her divided attention only achieved one clear result: that AJ's hug took her by a complete surprise.
The orange earth pony wrapped a leg around Lyra's neck and yanked the surprised musician onto the counter of the stall. Lyra was so surprised she couldn't even cry out.
Whah-!
"Looks intimate," Snowy blinked and dropped from the top of the shack, arriving straight next to the struggling master of hers. "VERY intimate. I wonder, should I turn away? I have never asked how much Master values privacy in, well, those moments..."
WHAT! Lyra blushed in earnest. She also made sure she flung one of her hind legs through the windigo amidst her struggles. It was pointless but very rewarding. I'M BEING CHOKED HERE! I'M LITERALLY KICKING THE BUCKET HERE! SO JUST WHAT MENTAL FAULT ALLOWED YOU TO ARRIVE AT THAT CONCLUSION?!
"Hey, ease up there," AJ whispered into Lyra's ear. "Ya' reminded me of somethin' just now. And Ah' wanna' tell ya' that something in private."
"Ah," Lyra raised her eyebrows, She deliberated on her choices briefly; it didn't take a genius to see she wasn't in true danger, so she complied. That left her lying limp on the counter... and she couldn't help but notice how Snowy turned away in haste. The windigo even began whistling a horribly false tune, as if her discomfort wasn't obvious enough.
That was more than enough to bring Lyra out of her comfort zone, in turn.
Oi! Just what do you think I'm about to do here?! And why would you take me for that kind of a pony anyway!
"Am' only telling ya' cause' ya' look like ya' could use some good news indeed," AJ kept on whispering. "That and for havin' Big Mac run ya' over the other day. Ah've only heard of it last nite', but it almost escaped mah' mind already. Real sorry 'bout that."
"Oh... that," Lyra giggled weakly. The incident with the red stallion was absolutely the last of her concerns. She was actually fighting ferociously, both to ignore her idiot ghost and to keep herself from asking the other pony to go away. In the bid for privacy, AJ had leant so close that her hot breath tickled the skin inside Lyra's ear. It made the ear twitch and also made Lyra want to scratch it like no tomorrow... not to mention the multiple layers of uncomfortable she felt at the same time. "It's... erk... it's okay. Momentarily."
"No, it ain't okay. Ah' dunno if them injuries were outright caused by Mac or if he just worsened 'em; but it definitely ain't right," AJ tightened her grasp around Lyra's neck, dragging the hapless musician even closer. "Ah'll be honest with ya': Ah' ain't ever told a lie. Never! So ya' can believe me when Ah' say Ah've no idea what happened in the last few days... but somehow Ah've found a whole cache of wealth at home. Ah' ain't havin' no idea where it came from, but Ah've asked them Guard and they ain't havin' no reports of anything being stolen... so it's gotta' be legitimate."
Those words worked like magic. Lyra forgot about the chokehold and stared at the orange pony... then smiled as if she had gone raving mad, grinning so widely that all her teeth showed. That lasted for a whole whooping four seconds, because she was let go afterwards. With nothing to support her weight, she slumped off the counter and fell onto the ground. It should have been a fairly harsh landing - but she bounced back like a rubber toy, her excitement leaving her with no room for minor inconveniences such as pain.
"Now yer' in the know," Applejack winked at her and settled back to resting comfortably on the counter. "If ya' need help with yer' recovery, don't be afraid to just gimme' a shout."
"Cool," Lyra cooed, her whole being quaking with excitement. She had the mind to glimpse to her side though, and her gaze met with Snowy's for a moment.
No words were needed; the eye-contact was enough to convey their feelings on the matter.
We did it!