//------------------------------// // 11) Lyra's Harp // Story: New Human // by MyVodka //------------------------------// Lyra is the newest addition to the group, aside from Twilight arriving just one week ago. When the other residents are gone for school, she stays home, waiting for everyone to come back. She routinely watches the television for what the Humans are doing, other than that, she goes outside to see what humans do and mimic them. She would enter Downtown Oakvale and walk around until the Mayor's office. She would take the route into Downtown Oakvale by a bridge and pass a couple of restaurants. One day, she took a new route to see other buildings and found a small thrift store. She took a look inside, at her right was a Toxic Barrel prop with the words, 'TOXIC', painted on. To her left, she saw a drum set and a vacuum cleaner. She entered further into the shop to find other assorted materials. "Hello! May I help you?" A womanly voice said, It was one of the shopkeepers. "Oh, no. I'm ok." Lyra said. "Ok, if you need anything. Just ask." The shopkeeper leaves Lyra to her doing. Lyra looks deeper around the thrift store. She saw assorted items such as woodworking equipment, a couple of electric guitars and many 12" records. From her curiosity, she picked up a guitar and plucked a string, producing a small flicking sound. The shopkeeper walks towards her, "Do you want to use the amp? I can hook it up if you want." "Oh no, that's alright. Thank you." The shopkeeper leaves again, sitting on her desk. She plucks another string, producing another sound. She does this for five minutes, then three guitar strings broke. "Uh Oh" She places down the guitar and tells the shopkeeper of the incident. She does not mind it and will fix it at a later day. Lyra looks around again to find an open door with many shiny objects inside. "Hey, may I go inside and look?" She said to the shopkeeper. "Uhhhmm... Sure!" Lyra walks inside the room, it was very dusty and the backdoor was opened. Two other shopkeepers came inside and walked passed her, saying "Good Afternoons". A big flash of light comes from the backdoor, it was a man bringing large harp. The harp was made of Redwood, the column and soundboard all scratched, but the strings were intact. "Excuse me," She grabbed the attention of the man, "May I see it?" "Um, yeah." He places down the harp inside the store and gives Lyra a stool. "Ya know how to play this thing, ma'am?" "Um.. Yeah" Lyra said, not confident with herself. She thinks inside her head, "Maybe my new 'hooves' can play this thing." She places her hands on each side of the harp. She begins to play the harp, grabbing the attention of everyone in the store. She loses herself in the music and goes on to play for ten minutes, everyone records her on their phones as she plays. She looks around as she slows down as she plays, noticing everyone. "What are you people doing? Are you taking my soul?" People laughed as she made that comment, "What's going on?" "Dude, you were playing and you went all out when you played." A teenage boy explained to her, "You were playing on that like you knew what it was. That shit was swag." "Swag?" "Yeah. That shit was boss! Do it again!" "Oh... Um, thanks?" Lyra looks at the clock, it was 2:39. "Oh no, I'm sorry, but I must go. I need to get home." Everyone was disappointed to see her go. "Awww, come on! One more time! Before you leave." Others soon followed with wanting an encore. Lyra apologizes for the sudden leave and runs back to her house. The crowd began to disperse after her leave. It was 3 and everyone just gotten home from school. Lyra lays down on the couch, watching television, thinking about what happened. Twilight and May enter the living room, throwing their backpacks onto the ground. "*yawn* Hey Lyra, how was your day?" May said in a drowsy mood. "Nothing much, just watched some of this television." "You know, Lyra, your not gonna get any information if you just stay at the house and watch television." "I know..." She pauses, flipping through channels, "I... I just like to watch....Tr..Transform...ers!" Twilight sits down on the rug, "So. What's this about you and a harp?" "A what?" Lyra asked. "A harp. You were playing a harp and.... 'you were swaggin'.." "Oh... Well, that must've been a different person." Her face began to turn red, playing with her hair. "She had green hair, Lyra. There's no pony-- I mean, person, with green hair besides you." "Well... Maybe there was someone who looked like me...?" "May. May I borrow your phone?" Twilight uses May's phone to go to the YouTube app. She searches for 'Green haired girl playing the harp'. The video shows Lyra, sitting on the stool, playing the harp. "Ok, so it was me. But how can you even tell, huh?" Lyra asked. Twilight moves her hair with her hand, revealing a small earring with a particular design. The earring is the same exact design of Twilight's cutie mark. "I don't think you knew, but when we went inside the human world, our magic have gone away. But our cutie marks stayed onto us, as an earring." She removes one earring to show Lyra. "You got lost in the music and showed your earring when your hair moved around." Twilight gave her a mirror to see. "Oh... Wow, I didn't know. When did you learn of this?" "This morning as a fell asleep in one class." "Twilight? Falling asleep in class?" "What? I never knew human school was different from magic school." The next day, Lyra walked to the same thrift store, the harp in the exact same spot. The woman shopkeeper noticed her and smiled, "Hey! You were amazing yesterday. Why'd you leave?" "Oh, you know. Just some things I had to do. Hehe." "You wanna use the harp again? Go ahead." "Oh! Thank You." Lyra walks over to the harp, sitting down onto the stool. She begins to play the harp slower than yesterday's performance. The store was filled with Lyra's harp, it reached outside of the store. Nearby listeners went inside the store, either buying or listening to Lyra play. An employee from a bar and grill across the street heard her play, telling his boss on the phone. It was 2:00, Lyra was taking a break from playing and was talking to a carpenter. She talked to him about repairing the harp. He agreed to do it for free, if Lyra plays the harp for his girlfriend, she accepted as well. The door opens, a woman in gray business-wear approaches Lyra. The woman was old with brown hair, she was Hispanic, but with an American accent. She even had a cigarette in her mouth. "Hello, are you this 'Green Haired Girl' all over YouTube?" "Um... Yes?" The carpenter walks out of the store, jumping in excitement and joy. "We need to talk." Both Lyra and old woman walked across the street, to one of the tables outside of the bar and grill. "Lyra, I have seen your videos, and I would like to ask you a question." She clears her throat, "How would you like to work with us, you'll be our harpist on those lovely nights under the stars. People pay lotsa money for that." "Um... Ma'am?" "Oh, call me Mrs. Garcia." She puffs smoke onto Lyra's face. "I'm sorry, Lyra." "I.. *cough* It's ok... Now, *cough* Mrs. Garcia. *cough*" She begins to cough nonstop. "Hey! Cyril!" Mrs. Garcia shouted, calling on Cyril the waiter. "Get Lyra some water." Cyril runs inside to get water, then comes back outside. Lyra drinks the water, her cough stopped. "Thank you." Lyra takes a deep breath, "Now, Mrs. Garcia. I don't know about doing this, I mean, I love playing the harp, but I don't want to do it for your... pay." "Why not? Being a harpist in our bar and grill is worth doing. You get $80 an hour, paid vacation, you get to eat free. Plus, you only have to work on requests and nightly. So, if you were to play at night for a romantic couple, that would make you $80 richer!" Mrs. Garcia inhales, then exhales two smoke circles at the sky. "So... What'dya say?" "Hmmm, I don't know." Mrs. Garcia, determined to get her, begins to get desperate. "Lyra, do it. You might not be in it for the money, but we will support you with many items for you. We could get you a dress, a hair stylist, maybe a new harp! What'dya say to that?" Lyra is confused whether to accept or decline the offer. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Garcia." She stands up, "I'll have to think about it." "That's ok, Lyra." Mrs. Garcia takes out a business card from her suit pocket. "Here's my number. If you want to take the job, just call me." Lyra takes the card. "Thank you." She walks away, back into the thrift store. Later that day, she talks to May and Seamus. She gives them cups of coffee to show her appreciation towards them. They exchange words of gratitude and await for further items. "Lyra... What're buttering us up for?" Seamus asked, sipping his coffee. "Buttering you up?" "Well, your giving us these things. You must be wanting something from us." May said. "Ok. You got me." Lyra sits down on a chair. "I think both of you have seen the video of that 'Green haired girl with the harp', right?" Both nod their heads. "Well, have you seen the harp I've played in that video? I want that." "Hmm... I dunno, how much does it cost?" Seamus asked. "About... $300." Seamus looks at May, "Sister, do you have $300?" May sighs at Seamus, "God damn it. Gotta learn to stop carrying cash." "We'll pay." Seamus said. "But we'll bring Kevin. Use him as a pack mule." It was Friday after school, May, Kevin and the ponies walk to the thrift store. They see the harp outside of the store, repaired and clean. Lyra ran up to it, showing everyone the harp she wants to buy. The harp was in very good condition, the column and soundboard had no scratches. "Wow! Haven't seen a harp like that." Twilight said. "I know. It's so much different than the ones in Equestria." May gives Lyra $300 to pay for the harp. "Thank you, May." "No problem." Lyra enters the store, like a boy in a candy store. She walks over to the shopkeeper, "I'd like to buy that harp." "$300, please." The shopkeeper says. Lyra gives her the 300 dollars, in exchange for the receipt. Lyra looks outside the store window, the others were standing outside, waiting if she bought it. Lyra gives them a thumbs up, they begin to lift it off the stand. May places the harp onto Kevin's back, using him as a pack mule. "Fuck! This is heavy.." Kevin struggles to keep the harp intact. "Who's idea was this?" "Stop whining. At least your not doing homework, right?" May said. "Son of a bitch..." Kevin carries the harp all the way back to the house. He places dismantles it, then reassembles it in the living room. Lyra was happy to see the harp actually inside for all to see. "So... Where's my payment?" Kevin places an open hand out. May reaches over to kiss Kevin's cheek. "There's your gift." "A kiss on the cheek?" "Would you rather not get paid at all?" Kevin does not answer back. "Alright, fine." He leaves the house, walking back home. May looks at the harp, fascinated at the size. "Wow, I really hope you can play this thing." "Oh don't worry, I can." Lyra sits down on the stool, playing the harp. Twilight and Seamus hears noise coming from their rooms, walking downstairs to see. They see Lyra playing the harp, losing herself in the music again. Spike comes inside from the backyard, watching her play the harp. She played through the whole night, on the harp, playing endlessly. Later that night, Lyra wrote in her journal. Dear Princess Celestia, I have found Twilight, along with many friends of hers. She has grown accustomed to their clothing and way of life. The texts I've read about humans are far different. I do not see any "evil menace" or "dangerous creatures", all I see are nice people. I also found a harp in this strange store. I was able to achieve what they call, "money", to buy it. I also found out that our cutie marks, they're hidden. To be specific, they are these, "earrings", and "bracelets". I hope to come home again. I think Bon Bon is still hiding from me. From your Faithful surveryor, Lyra P.S. What's swag? Back in Ponyville, Bon Bon is hiding under Lyra's bed. Patiently waiting for her arrival, she hears the noise of an owl. "Hello? Lyra? Are you home?" Bon Bon is too scared to exit under the bed.