//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: Bittersweet Symphony // Story: Choices // by Paleo Prints //------------------------------// Choices By Paleo Prints Chapter 2: Bittersweet Symphony “So, are your classes going okay?” Caramel Apple passed the vase of flowers towards Cheerilee as she considered the question. She bit off the last of the daffodils and looked away in thought. While she considered, a waitress immediately grabbed the empty appetizer container and questioned Caramel. “Excuse me, sir? Do you want more flowers?” He had been staring at Cheerilee, intently but not intimidatingly. The waitress snapped him back to reality. “Oh? Sure. We’ll wrap them up and take them home if we need it.” She nodded, scooping up his empty platter of spaghetti squash and strawsta. He didn’t look away. “Caramel to Cheerilee. Come back from sayin’ howdy to the Mare in the Moon.” She shook her head, and he took in the way her disheveled mane bounced around her neck like a living thing. His heart skipped at the sound of her deep breath. “Caramel, I think things are going well. Professor High Class keeps saying I have all this potential as an educator.” She nervously played with the last uneaten flower stem. “I’m not sure I see it.” Caramel raised his eyebrows skeptically. “You were the best babysitter, ‘member? I really thought this teaching thing would be as natural as an apple rolling downhill for you.” A long breath came out of Cheerilee as she absent-mindedly crushed the flower stem segment by segment. “It all works okay until the kids really get going. Then I get all frazzled and things turn to crab-apples.” She looked up. “No offense.” He smiled. “I grew up around Applejack. I’ve done heard a lot worse. Honey, I think ya gotta relax. There’s a talent waitin’ for you, and it’ll come out naturally.” He pushed his hoof forward onto hers. “Everypony’s gonna see someday.” The new vase of flowers that hit the tablecloth, and Cheerilee used the excuse of new blossoms to keep her mouth chewing instead of talking. Swallowing slowly, she let a timid smile show. “Thank you.” He shook his head. “Yup, I was told there were depths to this mare. Why don’t I pay for the…“ His hoof fruitlessly groped under the table. “Um. Um.” She arched a playful eyebrow. “Did you forget your saddlebag again?” Caramel jumped to his hooves. “Darn things gotta be at the park. Be right back.” He smiled. “While I’m gone, y’all wanna decide if we can call whatever this is dating yet?” She nearly choked on a petal while he winked and turned to run. Cheerilee sat for a while, pushing her barley chunks around her soup bowl aimlessly. The philosophical food arranging dragged on until a pink-topped blue head entered her view. “Mind if I sit down?” The pegasus mare didn’t wait for an answer before helping herself to a chair. “I think we need to talk.” Cheerilee sputtered a petal onto her plate in surprise. “Sure! Sure thing… Wind Whistler, is it? You study with Ditzy for meteorology, right?” The mare Ditzy always called “Windy” gave an unfriendly smile. “This isn’t about school. I want to talk about Caramel. He’s a great stallion, isn’t he?” Cheerilee nodded. The diplomatically unfriendly mare continued. “I’d hate for him to be strung along by someone who didn’t really care about him.” Cheerilee pushed himself up. “I’d never hurt him.” A dark look passed over Wind Whistler’s features. “But you didn’t say you cared about him. Totally off-topic, how was moving furniture last night?” The prospective schoolmare stared in confusion as the pegasus continued. “You see, I was walking through the dorm when I heard the commotion coming from your room. Ditzy was outside, putting a horseshoe on the knob for some reason. When I asked about the thumping she muttered that you and Lyra were moving furniture.” As Wind Whistler smiled Cheerilee sunk into her chair. “Sure. Sure. Indeed. Lots of furniture moving.” The grinning winged belligerent pulled the flower vase toward her as Cheerilee sputtered. “It must have been strenuous. That explains what all the moaning was. Did you have any problems getting it into place?” The embarrassed earth mare shook her head. Windy nodded. “Of course not. After all, once Lyra found the right place for it you started screaming. The entire dorm floor heard you shrieking ‘right there, please right there,’ I’m sure.” Cheerilee covered her face with a hoof, having turned a pale pinkish color. “I’m very… feng shui. It had to be just right.” Windy aggressively bit the head off of a flower. “Of course. That’s why you hollered like a mad mare once it was, I suppose.” The education major nodded almost imperceptivity, her features frozen in fear as she scanned the restaurant for Caramel. “I’m delighted by proper room proportions.” Windy stood up. “I care about Caramel. A lot. He deserves a mare that cares for him instead of leading him on. He’s kind, funny, and handsome. You know, he’s handsome enough that I don’t think he needs facial hair.” She leaned over and bit every flower petal off simultaneously. Staring hatefully into her rival’s eyes, her cold voice said “Neither do you.” Cheerilee wondered if this was what it felt like if Nightmare Moon ate your soul on Nightmare Night. “Hey, when did you get here, Windy?” Caramel panted as he made his way to the table. He grinned at Cheerilee. “Windy’s an old friend of mine. She’s something, ain’t she?” “She’s a dove.” She’s a bucking nightmare. Wind Whistler nodded. “I was just leaving, Caramel. I hope your date’s going fine.” As she started to walk away from the table, she turned back one final time. “You know, I have to admire Lyra’s spirit. I’ve helped people move their furniture before.” She leaned toward Cheerilee until only inches separated her teeth from the teaching student’s eyes. “When my partner finishes, I don’t usually scream out ‘Yee-Haw’ quite so loudly.” Cheerilee was motionless. As Wind Whistler passed by Caramel the smug and satisfied pegasus winked. “Hope your ‘date’ went well.” Caramel waved good-bye to her as he sat down. He leaned over to Cheerilee and whispered conspiratorially, “It was by the fountain. So, did it?” Cheerilee’s voice strained out the word “What?” “The date question. Did it go well?” There was a moment of silence. “Please take me home.” Free Radical’s night class was drawing to a close as Starshine snuck in through the back. He crept low behind the back row of the lecture hall. The tardy unicorn kept his head low to avoid the impromptu quizzes and abuse Free Radical shot at late individuals. He sat down near his friends. Two smiling mares simultaneously whispered, “Hey!” One was a bright sapphire, whereas the other had a scarlet coat. Starshine wasn’t alone in being thankful that Red Shift and Blue Shift had wildly different colors. Without that merciful detail the twin astronomy majors would be indistinguishable. Starshine carefully pulled himself over the seat and grinned. “Did I miss a Derpy moment?” Red Shift coughed nervously. “Well, Ditzy made an offhoof comment that the moon doesn’t hang quite as high as it used to.” Blue Shift snorted. Red gave her a reproachful look. Starshine considered that the sisters might have more differences than he thought. “Let’s increase the apparent magnitude,” shouted a voice from the lecture stage. “Starshine, come on down!” Starshine sighed as he descended the stairs. The rest of the audience pretended to stifle laughter at the promise of one of Free Radical’s famous dress-downs. Stepping onto the stage, he saw Professor Radical’s eyes light up behind slightly scratched glasses. The earth pony professor scratched his scraggly beard in what Starshine assumed was contemplation of the torments he would soon inflict. The young noble flinched as Radical scratched what was hopefully peanut butter off of his green coat. “Mister Starshine! It’s an honor to have your attention at last. I just have to find a place for you.” Radical’s eyebrows raised and lowered in a gesture not unlike a cat squinting at a mouse. “Let’s ask my lovely assistant.” He turned backwards. “Miss Doo, a moment if you would?” Ditzy was sitting on the stage, hooves playing with wires that dangled out of an open machine. “Yeah, Professor?” The Professor breathed in the moment as his eyes alighted on his victim. “I’m analyzing some light from… Starshine. The hue is… ” He walked around the nervous student, studying his flank. “I’d say yellow.” Ditzy’s tongue stuck out of the side of her mouth in thought. “Middle-of-the-road then, dead average. Not too bright.” Radical’s grin lengthened at the giggles the audience threw at Starshine’s dignity. Ditzy stayed focused on her task. “Hey, Doc? I’ll have the demonstration generator up soon.” The professor nodded as he took in Starshine’s indignation. “Hey, Ditzy!” He paused for a second as he leaned closer to whisper at the irritated noble. “Look at that tongue thing. That’s adorable. Shiny, her name’s Ditzy, right?” His eyes lit up with less than his normal humor. “You know, I heard you talking about her. I just want to get her name right.” Starshine slowly swallowed. “Ditzy. Her name is Ditzy Doo.” Radical nodded as he absent-mindedly scratched the overgrown side of his beard. “Ditzy, what if there’s a cloud of limp gas hanging off of it?” He played with Starshine’s mane. “It’s reddish and goes for quite a ways.” “Low mass, Professor. Not a lot of stuff in it, so light gravity letting the fluff spread out far… ” Ditzy stopped as the audience roared with laughter. She turned and saw the shaking unicorn stare at her. Clockwork gave her a hoof’s up from the third row. Free Radical beamed as Ditzy walked between him and Starshine. “Please stop,” she pleaded. The amused faculty member rolled his eyes. “Come on, Ditz’. A little taste of humility isn’t such a… ” Her voice cracked as she whispered, “Please stop, Professor. I’m okay being on one side of this. I’ve gotten used to it. Don’t put me on the other.” He nodded after a pause. “Starshine, I don’t think you have a chance with this classy mare.” Raising his voice, he turned away from the two students on stage. “Take out some paper, fillies and gentlecoats. An engineer friend of mine is working on a problem. He’s a technician for the wireless hydro-magic dam under construction in Ponyville. He’s given me a problem for you to work out.” While his attention was away, Ditzy leaned closer to Starshine. “I’m sorry.” At his most vulnerable moment, when Ditzy Doo could have took him to task for all the snickers and comments, the wall-eyed pegasus had taken pity on Starshine. She had showed him mercy. He knew he’d never forgive her for that. Fireworks exploded into shimmering rose blossoms over the crowd. Long lines of expectant society ponies snaked out of the front doors, chatting eagerly about the upcoming show while softly establishing the pecking order. While excitement bloomed a single armored pony broke from the crowd. The determined guardsman strode purposely toward the opposite street corner. His eyes were narrowed in concentrations and his ears swiveling for sounds. Slowly but deliberately he approached a disheveled vagrant that others gave a wide berth. The corner was commanded by a mint musician sitting uncomfortably on a stool. Her saddlebags were open in hopeless expectation of higher society charity. He idly wondered if she had made enough for a daffodil sandwich. A cheerful folk song floated away from the harp toward an audience of indifferent passersby. He cleared his throat pointedly, to no effect. She played on with her eyes closed. Eyes rolling, he tapped the pavement loudly twice. “Miss? You’re a block away from the Sillyputty Napalm show.” She smiled. “I know, isn’t it cool? I love the bit he does about the ‘Seven Words You Can’t Say in Canterlot.’ Say… ” Lyra smiled suspiciously. “Have you heard his routine about the royal guards?” A quick cough into a hoof followed. “The point is, Miss, that the venue wants you to leave.” She opened her eyes and scanned the empty street. A family of gentleponies crossed the street to avoid her. Sighing, she gently leaned the harp against the saddlebags. Her eyes flickered to the unmoving guard. “I’m on the outside. I’m looking in. Surely I don’t need a ticket for that, Sir?” The smile held as the soldier heard a nearly inaudible crack in her voice. He shook his head slowly as his muscles went from tense to relax. “I’m sorry, Miss. The theater’s registered a complaint. I can’t let you stay here.” Lyra nodded as she stowed her instrument into the saddlebags. As she doffed them they sounded a much quieter jingling sound than the guard had expected. “How long have you been out here, Miss?” He frowned at the mare’s hesitation. “The early bird catches the worm, Sir! Been here since early morning. I think I made sixteen bits in total. Well, time to run back to the U.” The stallion’s brow furrowed as concern slipped into his voice. “The university’s all the way across town.” Lyra nodded as she walked away. “Yup. Nice and far, indeed. Good night Mister The Man! Don’t let anyone stick it to you!” “Wait.” Lyra paused. She had been stopped by strangers before, and it wasn't usually pleasant. The cops certainly didn’t enjoy street performers in Canterlot. She tensed her back hooves for kicking and grimaced. “Come on, then,” she whispered. “What better place than here? What better time that now?” The guard slowly walked to her side, oblivious to Lyra’s coiled violence. He dropped a small sack out of his mouth that jingled as it hit the group. Her eyes went wide. “I… I can’t… “ “Take it.” He pushed it towards her. “I can’t let you work this neighborhood anymore. You’re going to need food for a few days.” She nodded. Lyra tried to speak and failed. Settling for another nod, she turned and started the long walk home. Lyra crept carefully across the ground of Canterlot University. The student ID card she found resembled her enough for a casual inspection. Regardless, there was no need to draw extra attention to her. Shortly after a yawning guard wandered bleary-eyed toward the gardens a grinning green blur rushed out of a bush toward the dorms. The dormitory door open slowly and quietly. Lyra’s cautious eyes scanned the common room. The only pony was the shock-haired unicorn from the second floor, sleeping off a bender with cans of hard cider scattered about. Lyra slowly crept toward the staircase. Passing by the prone partier Lyra carefully used her horn to levitate an unopened can out of the snoozer’s grasp. Her victim only rubbed her ever-present purple glasses and mumbled as the drink-thief snuck upstairs. Lyra relaxed as she passed the studying hallway. Experience had shown her how unlikely it was to attract the attention of those hard-working ponies. A passive glanced showed a gray-coated mare pouring over volumes of musical theory. Lyra’s throat made a small choking noise as she scanned the titles of the famous and expensive textbooks. Sighing, she moved to the dorm room hallway. Lyra heard voices outside Cheerilee’s dorm. Quietly she cleaned up her hair with a little help from her horn and wiped the grime out of her coat. The exhausted musician put on a relaxed smile as she opened the door. Inside Ditzy was furiously working on a mess of disorganized parts on the table. The obsessed engineer-to-be gave a warm wave as Lyra entered the dorm. From their first meeting the two mares had gotten along famously. Cheerilee had commented that Lyra’s famous mood swings tended to stay in the middle ground around Ditzy. The emotional noble found it hard to launch into a rage-filled diatribe while Ditzy watched on. The wall-eyed mare seemed to take personal responsibility for the world’s unfairness; Lyra felt self-conscious when she saw Ditzy chew her bottom lip in guilty empathy. Cheerilee was spread across the couch. Evidence of Ditzy’s care suggested a bad mood. A tray of now-cold muffins sat near a cup of cold coffee and a neglected bowl of melted ice cream. The sounds of Seacattle grunge could be heard from across the room bouncing out of Cheerilee’s headset. Lyra rubbed her marefriend’s back with a hoof. Cheerilee flipped over with a contemplative stare. Her face softened out of a mess of stress and worry. “Hey. Lyra. Your music class went on a little late tonight.” The mint busker rolled her eyes. “Yeah, the Prof’s really working us. I may need to spend some extra time in the labs in the week to come.” Cheerilee groggily pulled herself up from her nap and threw her forelimbs around Lyra’s waist. “C’mon. I miss you enough already.” Silence hung for a few minutes. Cheerilee opened her eyes to look at Lyra’s poker-face. She eased Cheerilee back onto the couch and joined her there while pulling a sack out of her saddlebags. “It’ll be okay. Here’s the grocery money from my scholarship. They’re hassling me; they may not send some for a while.” Cheerilee shrugged and leaned her head onto a warm, green shoulder. “S’okay. I can ask Mom for more bits if we need it.” Lyra shook her head. “Hey, what do I gotta do to prove I can take care of us?” Cheerilee smiled as she nuzzled Lyra’s neck. “You want me to be your kept housemare? Maybe greet you in an apron everyday?” Smiling, Ditzy chose that moment to diplomatically disappear to the other side of the kitchenette . Lyra’s breath stopped. Her eyes drank in Cheerilee’s contented breathing as she pulled the fuchsia mare closer. An optimistic pain crawled through her chest. “So, should I be worried about your date? He’s such an attractive stallion. Quite a catch, all things considered. After all, if you marry him your father will condone you. You marry me, your father will disown you.” “It was… nice.” Lyra frowned. “Nice? Are you a double agent, now? I should check your background for treasonous thoughts. After all, whatever happened to that nice colt you made out with on Prom Night under the statue?” Cheerilee sat up. “Um… He moved away.” She looked away. Lyra frowned. “How was it? You playing for the other team yet?” Cheerilee launched herself at Lyra, wrapping her hooves around her neck. “Spending time with him was nothing like spending time with you. It doesn’t matter what team I’m on. I’m on whatever yours is.” Ditzy walked in from the kitchenette with a thoughtful look. “You know players get traded in the off-season, right?” Cheerilee sputtered as Lyra giggled. The perplexed pegasus shrugged and sat down to her homework. Cheerilee stared at Ditzy’s back. “I love her.” Lyra raised an appraising eyebrow. “Yeah? How much are we talking about?” Cheerilee turned with a stunned expression at Lyra’s leer. “What? No, I just mean as a roommate.” The unicorn nodded sternly. “A likely story.” A memory lit up inside Cheerilee’s sleep-fogged brain. “Hey, Ditzy. Did you tell someone I was ‘arranging furniture’?” Ditzy stayed focused on her work as she answered. “Yeppers! I had to think quickly. I couldn’t put a sock on the door in time.” Lyra raised her eyebrows. “Dear Ditzy, you wear socks? Who’s the lucky colt you put those on for? I knew you were some stallion’s special somepony.” The two mares on the couch heard the pegasus drop her tools. “I wish I was special. He’s so very special.” Ditzy walked morosely to the kitchen again, opening the cabinets while searching systematically for cooking supplies. Cheerilee noticed that Lyra had stopped responding to her embrace. Lyra was staring at the wall of tiny boxes inside one cupboard. There was a little yellow tag on every one of them. She curiously turned to Cheerilee. “Rain,” she explained. Lyra raised her eyebrows. “Hey Ditzy, that stuff’s for your meteorology class, I bet.” Ditzy took a bite of her muffin and shook her head. “Nope.” She continued pulling small contented bites out of her exceptionally late breakfast, eyes closed in happiness. Lyra pushed herself out of her marefriend’s grasp. Sitting up, she gave Ditzy an inquisitive look. “Miss Doo, I don’t get you.” Ditzy inclined her head. “You have the cheerful bubbly act down pat. You eat food in a cuter way than anyone else I know.” She turned to Cheerilee. “No offense.” The prospective teacher shrugged. “No, I agree.” Nodding, Lyra continued. “You greet everyone with a smile. Heck, all of Ponyville thought you were the town airhead. Now that I’m hanging around you more, I see the deep side of the pool. You go to mental places where I’d need a translator to understand. How do you have half the school convinced you’re a mad genius and the others that you rode the special chariot to flight school?” Ditzy put her food down. “I’m not like them. But I can pretend. If they think I’m dumb it makes them happy.” She sighed. “I think I’m dumb.” Cheerilee jumped to her hooves. “That’s not true!” The depressed pegasus shook her head. “I’m dumb about ponies. I don’t get the rules that no one writes down. Like, why should I stand in line in a salad bar when the line crosses the soup table and no one in line wants the soup anyway? Ponies are inefficient. When I pointed stuff out like that everyone looked at me. I just pretend not to get things and they laugh and leave me alone.” Lyra stared at Ditzy, biting her lip. As Ditzy’s emotions poured out the mint musician looked more and more remorseful. Cheerilee pulled the insecure savant into a hug. “How do you do it, Ditzy? How do you keep yourself so happy all the time?” Ditzy looked out the window. “’Lee, look at all the stars. Imagine how many worlds could be around them, and what they would be like. You might have planets where everyone gets ordered around, or places where nobody stops smiling on pain of death. They’re could be stars out there with nasty monsters orbiting around them. Maybe they spend all their time planning how to get here and be horrible to ponies like us.” While Ditzy lingered on the night sky, Cheerliee’s mind struggled to keep up. She rose from the couch and moved behind Ditzy’s chair. Over the past few months she had tried to crack the protective wall her room-mate kept up. She treasured the occasional glimpses she got of the whole worlds of thought spinning around inside Ditzy Doo’s head. Ditzy finally returned to the conversation. “I’m lucky enough to live in a world where I get to bake you and Lyra muffins for breakfast. That’s worth dealing with the nasty things.” Cheerilee silently embraced her room-mate, tenderly pulling her close. “Someday you’ll get the special somepony you deserve, Ditzy. You’ll find someone who realizes how amazing you really are.” Ditzy weakly nodded and looked back out at the sky. Lyra grinned. “And that is the reason why you’re coming with us to the Nightmare Night dance tomorrow night!” Cheerilee and Ditzy stared uncomprehendingly. Cheerilee swallowed and moved alongside Lyra. “Ly-Ly, is it a good idea to bring Ditzy Doo to the Phi Cloppa Cloppa frathouse?” Lyra nodded, teeth in a rictus of excitement. “This is happening.” She sprang onto her hindfeet, gesticulating wildly. “You’re going to shake your cute little rump on the dance floor and let everyone on campus know how wrong they are. Word will travel to that special stallion about what he’s missing.” Ditzy shrunk back into her chair. “No. That’s a bad idea. I’m… nopony anypony should know.” Lyra cradled Ditzy’s chin on her hoof. “Ditzy Doo, you are cute, funny, philosophical, bubbly, wildly attractive, and have a mane ‘Lee and I would kill for. Also, I swear if you skip out on this dance I’ll hide your baking supplies.” “Let’s start wrapping up our pumpkin drawings, class! It’s almost three, and your parents are coming soon!” Cheerilee moved from desk to desk in the educator’s classroom. The room had once been a laboratory, but it now resembled a elementary class. Excited young fillies bounced around the room while young prospective teachers provided pro bono babysitting and tutoring for the children of students and teachers. As the rest of the children gathered up their coats and scarves Cheerilee knelt beside an active white filly. “Surprise, it’s time to go soon.” The plucky pegasus nodded in a blur of motion. “Almost done, Miss Cheerilee.” The curious teacher sat gingerly on a child’s stool. “Surprise, what are you drawing?” The young ball of motion shrugged. “Monsters. The mare in the moon. The Travelling Box. Purple goop. Stuff.” She suddenly grinned as she held the paper up. “And you!” Cheerilee giggled nervously. “And who’s that red pony with me?” Surprise beamed. “That’s the stallion you’re going to marry.” Cheerilee’s mental gears stopped spinning as Surprise hovered out of the chair, hugged her teacher, and flew outside. The confused mare picked up the paper. I can’t tell what kind of clothes he’s wearing. Is… is that a white dress on the stallion? A voice made her drop the paper and turn. “Miss Cheerilee, have we received our first bit of fan art?” She turned to High Class, nearly breaking out in laughter. She never fully accepted the juxtaposition of High Class’ proper attitude and his white apron covered in crayon marks. “Yes, sir!” Her pride collapsed for a moment. “Well, the Stormsong colt drew a picture of a manticore eating me today after I made him sit in the corner.” Her face fell. High Class sat down on the stool neck to her and chastely patted her on the shoulder. “My dear, you can’t let the students see when they get to you. Have I ever looked rattled in front of the children?” She shook her head as he nodded in triumph. “A teacher has to wear a mask. Imagine a mask of smiling joy and control. Let it cover any other features. They need that smile. At the end of the day, you may be the only pony that smiles at them. Whatever your real feelings, keep the mask up for them.” Cheerilee stared in his direction, but High Class saw that her thoughts were elsewhere. He waved his hoof in front of her face and watched her snap back to Equestria. “And now, isn’t it time for someone to join their special somepony for the Nightmare Night dance?” She frowned thoughtfully and nodded as she walked out of the class. High Class shook his head at her retreating flank. “My poor Cheerilee. What masks are you already wearing?” Ditzy sat quietly in Free Radical’s office, sweating profusely. “Well, the evaluation certainly looks good, Miss Doo.” She drew in a breath. The professor eyed the confused scribbles that spread across his desk. “The calculations you turned in are ahead of some researchers I know. If they’re correct, that is.” She heard her blood racing through her ears and felt her heart beating. Free Radical looked at her and sighed. “Ah, heck. You’re a better pony than Starshine deserved. You got the demonstration. You’ll present to the class and advisors on the last week before winter break." Ditzy leapt into the air, squealing merrily. Free Radical covered his ears. “That’s enough joy in this office! Get that mirth out of here until it’s at someone else’s expense!” She saluted and flew out into the corridor. He shook his head and smiled. “Celestia, if I was only a few dozen years younger… “ Ditzy flew into the corridor, grasping the waiting Clockwork in a silent bear hug. The brown engineer smiled. “I take it things went well?” Ditzy nodded with tears in her eyes. “Well, only one thing left to do. Go to your room and get spruced up for your party, young filly! Have you contacted that lucky stallion you won’t tell us about?” Ditzy grinned as she flew away. “Absoyuply! I filled a bottle with clock gears and a picture of him and buried it in the garden!” Clockwork stood where Ditzy left her from several minutes before deciding it was better not to know. “Miss, do you have the hundred bits?” Lyra nodded excitedly as she passed the bag to the costume shop owner. “Yep!” He counted out the coins carefully. “This is some expensive costume work. I don’t usually get requests from that play. I hope your audience appreciates it.” Lyra closed he eyes as she hugged the hanging costume. “Believe me, she’s worth every bit.” Cheerilee’s white dressed glittered in the moonlight as she walked through the garden with Caramel. He looked her over appreciatively. “I gotta say you look splendid, Ma’am.” She gave a small giggle as the cowboy-costumed pony doffed his hat to her. “Thanks. Do you recognize the play?” He squinted. “Gone with the Windigos?” She shrugged. “I’ll take you there sometime. It’s about a filly that gets lost trying to find something important.” He offered his forelimb to her as they approached the frat house. “Sound like a right sad play.” Cheerilee shook her head. “Oh, not at all. There’s magical friends, and life lessons, and dancing… “ Caramel stared blankly. She sighed. “It might not be your thing.” As the pair entered the room Clockwork was enjoying the punch bowl while drawing compliments on her knight’s armor. A strong tap on her plate mail brought her face to face with Starshine. The crowned and caped stallion smiled. “So, how are things?” Clockwork dropped her vision. “Fine.” She turned away. Starshine stood his place. “How’s your scholarship?” Clockwork froze as a chill ran down her spine. The gloating pretend-royalty walked in front of the stunned mare. “You do know my father is on the approval board?” He stood in front of her and stared into the visor. She stuttered out, “Why?” He grinned. “One day I’m going to ask you a favor, and you won’t say no. I have the power. I have the need. Now, I'm gonna push you around.” As Cheerilee and Caramel walked unknowing past Clockwork’s hidden drama, Ditzy Doo made an entrance into the frat house. She wore an elegant dress with a long trail and a complicated hat. All eyes suddenly turned to regard the unique gown made fully out of grocery bags. She stared down the crowd with confidence. “On Fraxorcohelios Six this is considered royal apparel.” She raised her chin and sniffed, walking off past the confused onlookers. Ditzy grinned as she spotted Lyra at the snack table. She trotted over, eyes wide at the culinary monstrosity the lunatic lyricist was creating. “Lyra, what’re you doing?” Lyra grinned. “Getting crazy with the cheese whiz. Have you seen Caramel and Cheerilee?” Ditzy nodded. “They went to the dance floor.” She looked past her dorm mate and grinned. “It looks like he’s walking over here to get her a… “ Ditzy stopped, her mouth wide open. A chestnut-coated stallion was tip-hoofing through Caramel’s area, looking guilty. His hourglass cutie mark drew Ditzy’s eyes like a magnet. Lyra glanced at the object of Ditzy’s affection. She gave an approving nodded. “Go.” The shaking pegasus looked back at her friend. Lyra smiled. “You’re more than Ditzy Doo. You’re a Bag Queen of Fraxowhatevery, and he’s just a common stallion. The impossible is possible tonight.” “Excuse peanut bomb neck fluffer Frederick.” Ditzy walked off with purpose. Lyra grinned. “Knock ‘em dead, kiddo.” Cheerilee stood pensively on the side of the dance floor. She frowned as she watched the other carefree couples spin. A voice behind her snapped her from reverie. “How you’ve changed my world, you precious thing.” Cheerilee’s heart skipped. Lyra was standing on her hind-limbs, juggling a glass sphere with her hooves. She was dressed in a noble stallion’s garb, with an elegant vest and noticeably tight pants. Her mane was styled outward, pointing in every direction. Cheerilee nearly fainted dead away. She couldn’t find the words to speak. Lyra stepped forward, moving closer to the dumbfounded mare. She leaned in close enough for her breath to make Cheerilee’s face blush at the heat. “You starve and near exhaust me. Everything I’ve done I’ve done for you!” Lyra pulled Cheerilee off of her front legs, keeping her from collapsing with both hooves. The crystal had disappeared at some earlier point. Tears ran down the earth mare’s cheek into a delirious smile. “You…you remembered.” A handful of ponies began to take notice of the scene. Lyra beamed as she breathily whispered to her dance partner. “I move the stars for no one.” She grinned. “Of course I remembered. What kind of marefriend would I be if I forgot your favorite play?” A nervous stallion in a tie and trench coat walked unobtrusively through the party. He looked askance at the physical displays of affection that surrounded him. He was even more shocked when a pretty grey mare grabbed him with both hooves and pushed him against the wall. She was quaking as her eyes started to water. “Doctor! You came! I knew you’d find the bottle at the archaeological dig! You dated the cogs to the date of manufacture, right?” The stallion gently pushed her hooves away. “I’m sorry. Do you know me, miss?” “Oh Celestia, please no.” She searched his face desperately for understanding. “You… you haven’t met me yet, have you Doctor?” He blinked. “Okay, it’s obvious there’s been a mistake here. I don’t know you. And there's no way you could know me.” He started to walk away hurried, but stopped as she stepped forward and leaned her neck across the top of his mane. She shivered at his warmth and breathed slowly. He was spellbound at the sudden surprising sensation, and stood still while she started speaking. “Orange is your favorite color, like the sky where you grew up. Except for the days when your favorite color is blue. You scratch the back of your mane when you’re pretending to not be flustered. You cry every time the plane takes off at the end of ‘Casabronco.’ It’s why I found you that lobby poster for your birthday. You hate pears.” She shuddered. “The Day you landed on in the Everfree Forest was the best day of my life, Doctor.” He swallowed and gently moved out of the embrace to point at her with an uncertain hoof. There was a careful tenderness in his voice now. “Listen, miss. Please help me. I’m trying to keep a low profile. I possibly just might have just prematurely destroyed an illegal experiment in the chemistry lab basement that would have killed everyone on campus.” Ditzy giggled. “You always save me, don’t you?” He coughed. “Be that as it may, you should find some nice stallion who’d want to take you home and… “ “Doctor,” she said with a longing look, “I know who I want to take me home.” She gingerly stepped closer as he backed away. “Please, if I look at all like a good pony, maybe a pony worth a short kindness, if you think the universe might owe me any happiness, just please give me a dance and pretend it means something.” He drew a long breath. “I… I can’t dance.” “You could learn.” He grimaced. His hooves were screaming at his brain to run, but he ignored them. He self-consciously began scratching the back of his mane. “You look… beautiful. Stunning. I know places that would launch a thousand ships for you. But I have to run.” She smiled. “I love that part. I could come with you. I bake banana muffins. I laugh at your jokes. I know basic Gallopfreyan quantum navigation.” He sputtered in shock. “Wha… what? I… You… What?” Ditzy tried to form a response. Suddenly she turned, hearing a commotion in the dance floor crowd. Lyra swung Cheerilee around the dance floor in a majestic circle. They were both dancing on their back hooves, to the shock and confusion of everyone watching. Lyra’s eyes drank in the smile on Cheerilee’s face. The unicorn started as her dance partner finally spoke. “Kiss me.” Lyra nearly tripped. She cast a nervous glance around, her confidence suddenly far away. “I think lover-boy’s close. You’re going to get spotted if we… ” Cheerilee pulled Lyra by her forelimbs until their faces almost touched. “Kiss me.” “You don’t care if he sees? I mean, we mostly fit in around here at the moment. Think about it, 'Lee. I don’t want the world to see us, ‘cause I don’t think that they’d understand.” Lyra scanned the crowd. Most of the dance floor was their audience. Cheerilee’s heart ached at the pensive reaction she had provoked in a mare that she’d never seen back down. She’s swallowing her pride for me. Smiling, she was even more convinced of her desires as she gently lifted Lyra’s head by placing both hooves delicately and deliberately on her partner’s chin. I better get her to do this before I fall on my flank. “Lyra,” she breathed out. “It’s not that I don’t care about what he sees, or what everyone else sees. I do care that ponies are watching.” Lyra held her breath as the rest of the party finally turned their attention to the two stopped dancers in the middle of the floor whispering intently to each other. “I really do care,” Cheerilee said with pleading eyes. “I can’t stand having you as my little secret anymore.” She heard Lyra’s throat choke as the unicorn’s grip tightened on Cheerilee’s fore-hooves in uncertain panic. “That’s why I want to kiss you right now while everypony’s watching me. They should finally see what I want.” Cheerilee leaned forward, her mouth gingerly seeking Lyra’s lips. Lyra’s breath caught in her throat as she felt the familiar warmth. A sensation she felt daily and never took for granted found new meaning as the gasps of surprise around her sounded. She closed her eyes, gripping her fore-limbs around Cheerilee’s back. The earth pony’s eyes widened as she nearly lost her balance in the un-pony-like pose. Lyra stood up straight, holding her lover up firmly as she drank in the moment with her eyes closed. In that moment Cheerilee felt like she was suspended over the world, and only Lyra’s hooves kept her from falling. She threw her hooves around Lyra’s neck and held on for dear life, pulling her head back slightly to plant small kisses on the unicorn’s lips tenderly and gently. “Love me,” she pleaded. Lyra smiled through bleary eyes. “Forever,” she promised. Caramel let his drinks fall out of his hooves, shattering on the floor. No one noticed. Ditzy clapped, pounding her hooves on the floor as she felt the tears coming. Impulsively, she turned to the stallion next to him and pulled him close. Right before her mouth covered his she realized he was purple. They both blinked. “You’re not him,” she said. She was surprised at just how unsurprised she was. He shrugged. “No. But I could be. You could keep going.” He gave a hopeful smile. She nodded as she released him. “You’re cute. You go find someone, sir. There’s plenty of pretty mares around who’d want to get close to you.” She walked to the window. As she looked at the sky the stallion gave one finally effort. “What do you want, miss?” Ditzy turned to him with a sad smile. “I want him to notice when I’m not around.” Outside, a security guard briefly investigated a strange noise that sounded out from where a small blue box was previously. Outside the Magical Land of Equestria… Inside the legendary Travelling Box, the chestnut-coated pony moved his hooves over the glowing console. As he adjusted his vessel’s course, he talked to himself. “Pears. How could she know about the pears? Don’t mention pears. Ever.” He threw a lever in frustration. “Orange is a perfectly common favorite color. Anyone could have guessed that.” The strange stallion stopped. “Lobby poster. Huh. Those are hard to come by.” He tapped his chin thoughtfully. “Comb! I need a comb. Where do you file combs? Maybe I do need a mare’s touch about the place.” After pulling out a spanner, a melted popsicle, and a chunk of pop rocks from his shelves he found a silver comb. Running it through his mane produced an exclamation of victory and a single blond hair. The ancient traveler dropped the hair in a box on the console, flipped a few switches, and set his craft in motion. “Everfree Forest, she said?” Not too long ago, in the Magical Land of Equestria… The grey filly sniffled as she leaned on the tree. She idly picked at the burrs that covered her blond mane. A howling in the distance drew her attention. “Oh, fuzz apple reliable to being dew!” She started crying. Suddenly her head turned at a strange sound behind her. Slowly creeping around the tree she saw a blue box in the clearing where she was sure none had previously occupied. The doors of the box opened to reveal a brown pony wearing a disheveled tie and a manic grin. “You look lost, Miss.” He stepped towards her slowly, seeing the filly nearly bolt. “Did your friends leave you behind?” “No.” She sniffled. “Those tomato five wonder wall space hogs… “ She hesitated, shivering. “They’re not my friends anymore.” He nodded sympathetically. “Well, I happen to have a lift if you need one.” He gestured toward the box. “The Everfree Forest is an awfully dangerous place for a single filly.” She carefully steeped out of his reach to pass him. Ditzy’s mouth dropped in wonder as the insides of the box came into view. “It looks bigger on the inside than the outside. What’s in the box?” He grinned. “What’s the things they never showed you?” Ditzy chewed her tongue in worry. “I’m not supposed to go anywhere with a stranger.” “Quite right. I may be a mad pony in a box, here to offer you candy.” He thoughtfully stopped and rummaged through the pockets of his trenchcoat. The strange stallion smiled as he produced a battered white bag and offered it to Ditzy. She sniffed it distrustfully. The young filly started to wretch. Sniffing it himself, the traveler grimaced and cast it aside. “Mental note: get new jelly babies. See, little one? I’m absolutely terrible at offering children candy.” Ditzy giggled. She looked at him in hesitation. The Doctor sighed. He knelt next to her. “Look, little miss.” He pointed toward a nearby tree. “If you walk counter to how that moss grows on trees you’ll reach Ponyville in about two hours. See? There’s help. No need to take a risk on a strange stallion.” Both ponies turned at a snuffling sound. A gigantic beast was examining the discarded bag of candy. A leonine head smelled the foul sugar sack suspiciously. Suddenly a goat head peered out behind the lion, staring straight at Ditzy and the Doctor. “Mister, what is that thing doing?” He grimaced. “It’s getting ready to pounce. You have two choices. You can fly off. It’s terrible at flying; you’d outpace it easily. You might even catch a view of Ponyville. That’s a rational, logical choice.” A dragon head peered at them, licking its teeth. “A-a-and the other choice, sir?” He smiled as he stepped back onto his feet. “Come into the box.” The beast screamed as it reared back. The Doctor ran into the open door. “Decide now, my dear!” Ditzy gave a look back at the charging monster. “Cool.” She stuck her tongue out, and kicked off the ground as it drew its claw back for a swipe. Ditzy flew as fast as she could as the TARDIS doors closed behind her. She had decided to chase after the Doctor.