//------------------------------// // S1E4: This is Happening! // Story: Blank // by Carrier of Heartbreak //------------------------------// The first thing that Lyra became aware of as she woke was the sharp pain in her head. The sickeningly white light shining right into her eyes was just making it worse. Slowly, her body woke back up, one limb at a time. She was beginning to understand what a tree might feel like if it decided to hop out of the ground and walk away. Her body was bucking stiff. What the hay happened to her? This feeling in her head...it was strange. Wrong. Something important was missing and she couldn't for the life of her figure out what it was. It didn't feel like something small was gone. It was as if bits and pieces of her entire life so far had just up and vanished. Movement to Lyra's right side caught her attention. In her peripheral vision, she could see the top of something with a dark blue-pink mixture. That was familiar. The blob yawned in the voice of her friend Bon-Bon. Oh no, the blob ate Bonnie! She had to save her best friend! "I'll save you, Bon-Bon!" Lyra shouted, waving her hooves around in an attempt to roll towards the villainous blob. She managed to turn onto her side just in time to come face to face with her friend. Bon-Bon's expression wore a combination of both concern and exasperation. Lyra looked up at her friend's mane. Dark blue and pink. Ooooh yeaaaah. Lyra smiled sheepishly, a tiny 'Squee' coming from her. "Seriously?" Bon-Bon deadpanned towards her bedridden roommate. Lyra grinned a bit wider and nodded. Bonnie sighed, leaning her head back again the wall of the room and thumping it a few times. She did not need this right now. What with all the drama going on around her involving Ryan's death and whatnot. Oh yeah, Lyra didn't know yet. "Sooo...today became a temporary official holiday," Bon-Bon said out of the blue. Lyra trained her large golden eyes on her friend. Why did Bon-Bon just say that? Where were they anyway? This looked way too white to be their house...oh, goody, hospital. Juuust where she wanted to be when she felt like she was missing part of her mind. This just in, hospitals! The new pick-me-up from the creators of graveyards! Ugh. "How come?" Lyra yawned. What did it matter to her anyway? She was in the hospital; a perfectly valid excuse to stay in bed. Sure, it was weird, but weird stuff happened all the time. Bon-Bon sighed. The mint Unicorn wasn't getting the point. "Celestia said it was to give ponies a chance to mourn," Bon-Bon explained. Lyra's ears perked up. Mourn what? Oh no, did someone important die? Princess Luna? Princess Cadance? ...Princess Twilight?! Lyra's eyes shrank. Twilight was her friend! What if she was- "To mourn Ryan," Bon-Bon finished, her words smacking Lyra back into reality. Wait, what? An entire day to mourn for her character Ryan...but he wasn't even real! Ponies should not be this hurt. It was just a bucking story! The only one who should be feeling bad should be Lyra herself. She's the one who sold her imaginary friend for money and then killed him! "Th-That's insane!" Lyra shouted in disbelief. Bon-Bon nodded her head solemnly. Bonnie liked the story, but never attached to it the same way so many other ponies had done. Although it did help that her best friend was the creator of said story. If she wanted some Lyra time, she just needed to ask. The other ponies had to pay for it. Lyra then noticed something. Ryan...he was her character. Right? The one in the hospital. With the stuff, doing the things. She knew that she had killed him, but who was him? He was...was he nice? Mean? What did his face look like? She assumed he looked like one of the many human creatures that had been populating her dreams for years, but...who was Ryan? Her pupils shrank in a slow burning realization. She couldn't remember Ryan. The only vague thing she could muster was that he was her character and she had used his death for profit. And apparently her doing so had caused so much pain to the ponies of Equestria that the Princess herself had called for an official holiday to allow those affected to calm down. Lyra's eyes were already shimmering with tears. So that's what was missing. Her memories of Ryan had been taken from her by force. He must have been deeply rooted within her, with how empty she now felt. Was this her punishment for killing him off? What was she supposed to do now? Bon-Bon seemed to finally notice her friend's inner turmoil. "Lyra, how are you feeling?" asked Bon-Bon, placing a worried hoof on top of Lyra's leg. The mint-flavored pointy headed horse sniffled and blinked her eyes, letting the welling tears fall. They were just making her vision blurrier anyway. Lyra let out a fluttery sigh, followed by a deep breath. "I can't remember who Ryan was," Lyra said after a few moments. Her voice was one of deep despair and defeat. Bon-Bon tilted her head in confusion. Weren't they just talking about him? How could she forget so suddenly? "Weren't we just talking about how he-" the cream colored earth pony started. "I know I killed him!" Lyra said aggressively. Bob-Bon flinched, but it was obvious from Lyra's tone of voice that the anger was directed at herself and not at Bon-Bon. "I know what I did to him, but I can't remember who he was!" She was almost openly crying into the room. Bon-Bon moved closer and embraced her friend tightly. Whatever was going on, it didn't make a lick of sense. Poor Lyra was distraught and Bon-Bon could barely figure out what was happening. Wait...what was that thing Lyra said right before she passed out...? "He's gone," Bon-Bon mouthed to herself. Finally, something connected. Whatever had happened to Lyra back during the broadcast, it had taken her detailed memories of who Ryan was. Someone...had been inside Lyra's head, searched around in the few seconds it took, and ripped out every memory of who Ryan was, conveniently leaving some details about what happened at the hospital. A sudden thought popped back up into Bon-Bon's head. This wasn't going to be fun. She rubbed the back of her head with her hoof and leaned back, taking a breath. "So, uh...the ponies from OW are going to be stopping by tomorrow..." Bon-Bon said nervously. Lyra's eyes shot back open. Where did her pupils go? ...oh, there they were. They were just veeeery tiny. It took Lyra a few seconds of shuddering and spitting to get her words out. "W...what?! Why?!" she asked her friend loudly. She did not want to have to deal with those foals anytime soon. Besides her not being in the right state of mind, those ponies were just jerks. "They might have said something about, um...Princess Celestia telling them to bring Ryan back somehow," Bon-Bon said, a nervous chuckle or two escaping her lips. "Apparently Princess Luna is a fan of the show, too." Oh. Oh, buck. **** "So...I get that you want to sit down and talk about everything, Ryan," Twilight began, "but do you really have to hug all of my friends while we do it? They're not even awake!" I looked down at the five ponies wrapped around me somehow, all but one snoozing gently. Pinkie was currently hugging my chest tightly, a grin spread across her lips. My hand was scratching her ear, my fingers sometimes running through her mane. I had tried rubbing her head when the cuddle pile started, but quickly stopped when I felt my hand just going and going. It was like her pink poof of a mane was bottomless. The last thing I wanted to be eaten by was Pinkie Pie's cotton candy hair. Well, okay, not the last thing, but I'd rather not be eaten again by anything, thank you very much. I took another look around at the four other unconscious ponies snuggled against me in a way that I shared all their warmth. I nodded to Twilight. "Uh-huh. Hugs make me feel better," I said, calming down for the first time since I got here. The sudden weight of recent events was finally starting to come down onto me. Just to summarize, I had died twice, been separated from my family and friends, Sarah had left me, I had gotten eaten by a TV and now I was somehow inside a world of adorable cartoon midget horses. Oh god, here come the shivers. Mmm~ This cuddle pile is so warm. Look at Fluttershy sleeping! Aw, they're all so cute! Okay, good. The shivers left. Just got to focus on how warm and amazing these hugs are. I just hope this isn't molestation by pony standards or something. Twilight said it was kind of okay, as long as she was there with me at all times. Does that count as consent? Please don't let me be hug raping these poor ponies right now. Twilight sighed and levitated a notepad over to where we were sitting on the floor. I had piled up all the ponies on the same mound of blankets and pillows that Twilight, Spike and I had slept in overnight. Spike had awoken a bit earlier and gone down to make some kind of lunch for himself, but not before whispering something to Twilight. The look of suspicion he gave me after pointing at Rarity let me know he was probably asking her to make sure I behaved around his mistress. Don't worry, little dragon. I'll only ravage her precious mane a little bit. Wait, why was Twilight over there? With Spike gone, there was an open spot in the nest! I patted my hand on the spot, giving the purple Princess the 'Come Hither' look. She blinked before shaking her head. "Sorry, Ryan, not right now. Can't afford to fall asleep," Twilight explained, blushing a bit. I smirked at her, wiggling my eyebrows in a teasing manner. "Oh? Am I too comfortable then?" I implied. Twilight's blush grew, but she saw through my teasing. She cleared her throat and nodded the point away, unwilling to fall into my trap any further. Boo, Twilight Sparkle, boo. Ruining my fun. Eh, I guess it was time to get serious anyway. I had to find out just what in the fuck had happened to me. "So...I'm imaginary, you say?" Twilight nodded slowly. She was probably afraid I wouldn't be able to handle what she was going to discuss with me. I'm a big boy, Twilight. An excitable, cuddle-crazed big boy. I could handle anything she could tell me. Probably. "Care to explain?" She nodded again. "Okay, so, um...You're Ryan Burbank, the main character of OtherWorld, a very popular GemShow story," she stopped for a second, looking at me. I had a look of confusion plastered across my face, of course. "It's a kind of light and audio projection that pops up out of an enchanted display gem." Just go with it, this world had magic and shit, after all. "OtherWorld focused around your family and all the stuff you guys have been experiencing for the past few years." Okay, stop. Repeat? According to Miss Spackle here, I've been being watched by adorable ponies during my everyday life? For years? That's...I'm not sure I know what to think about that. "Twilight...?" I asked, my voice shaking a bit with the rest of me. This was starting to get scary. She gave me a pitying look and nodded her head, prompting me to continue with my question. "Just...how long has the story been going?" Twilight flinched and looked down. "Eh...Eight seasons...the show last night was the eighth season's finale..." she said, her voice low. Oh. Oh shit. Isn't that, like, a good amount of time? They...those poor ponies saw my teenage years! The horror! But still, this sounded really weird. If I wasn't currently snuggled in with most of the main cast of characters of a cartoon show about brightly colored ponies, I would have been laughing by now. This world was magic, though. Who's to say they couldn't just peak in on another world and broadcast what they saw? "Okay, ignoring that for a second, how are you sure I'm imaginary and just not from some other world or something? Maybe they were peeking in on Earth when they were looking for something to show," I offered. Twilight looked up in thought for a moment before lowered her eyes, her head shaking slowly. "The lines for GemShow products are enchanted to come directly from a Unicorn's mind. Princess Celestia was concerned about them being used as hidden cameras around Equestria so she decreed that they could be sold, as long as they held wards against spying," Twilight explained to me. Okay, that made a bit of sense. So no live feeds. And Twilight did know my first and last names. Was that enough to convince myself I had been being watched for a good chunk of my life? Not really. Question time. "Okay, you watched the show, you said?" I asked, looking at her attentively. She nodded and lifted her wings, giving me a glimpse of a very familiar looking horse-shaped hoodie covering her front section. How didn't I see that before? Is that...is that the goddamn Federal Boob Investigator hoodie I wore a few years ago?! Okay, Twilight was wearing her F.B.I. hoodie. It was cute on her, but why the hell was she wearing that? Didn't she know what it said? The Alicorn caught onto my laughter very quickly. "What? What's funny?" she asked, looking down at herself to make sure nothing was on her that she was unaware of. Nope, nothing, just her, her hoodie and a spare feather or two from one of the pillows she had been laying on earlier. I laughed a bit more at her, drawing further confusion. "Do...*snrk*...do you know what that even says?" I ask her. Twilight tilted her head at me before smiling widely. Well I wasn't expecting the smile, to be honest. Okay, the smile's getting bigger. It's going to be scary in 3...2...oh, god, that's horrifying. Why is she smiling at me like that? I...I need an adult... "I've always wanted to know, but I'm not familiar with 'English' yet," she said happily. Christmas had apparently came early for little Purple. Well, it probably came last night when she got to meet a character from a show she liked so much that she adorned a hoodie from it without even knowing the meaning of the words plastered on the front. I guess I should just give her what she wanted, so she didn't get too excited and decide to wear my skin as her next piece of show memorabilia. Yeesh. "It says 'Federal Boob Investigator', a play on the F.B.I. from my home world," I explained calmly. Okay, no signs of skin removal yet. I must be doing well. Twilight tilted her adorable purple head. Were ponies in this world evolved from dogs or something? "Boob?" she inquired. Oh. Oh, this is going to be good. My smirk seemed to make her nervous. "Mammary gland," was all I said. The Princess looked at me for a second. Then she looked down at her hoodie. Well, my hoodie, but made for her. She didn't tear the thing off in a fit of embarrassment however. Aww, I was kind of looking forward to that. Instead, she just sighed and buried her face in her hoof. "Of course," she groaned. Heh, that was still pretty amusing. Spackle, you so crazy. Well, the hoodie was a good piece of evidence of two things. The first was that I had indeed been watched, and for quite awhile, too. I hadn't worn that hoodie in quite awhile. The hoodie I was currently wearing was just a plain grey one, similar to one I had back at the cabin. The second thing the hoodie supported was that I was involved in some sort of largely-viewed television show for ponies. That hoodie had a logo at the bottom that hadn't been there when I owned it. I would bet anything that it belonged to whatever company aired...what was it called...OtherSide? Something like that. So I had merchandise based off of me. Interesting. Well, they were watching me, that much was clear. Just how much though? Time for the true test. "Hey, Twilight," I asked. She looked up at me, her annoyed expression dropping. "Yes, Ryan?" Let's see how much you really know, purple pony princess. "Have you every heard the story about the asparagus plants?" I asked, very calmly as to not tip her off. Sure, she had probably seen me scream the summary in the hospital, but did she know the true horror of the full story? Moment of truth right here. Her eyes widened and her whole body went rigid. Before I could say anything else, I felt as if my mouth had become a zipper that was zipped shut tightly. Holy fucking shit, she knew. "NO! Nononononoooo!" she screamed, covering her ears. Um, Twilight? I can't say anything. My new zipperface can attest to that. I gave her an annoyed look but she gave one right back, her hooves still smashing her ears against her head. Oh boy, was I about to be scolded? "Do NOT start. I'll let you talk only IF you promise to not tell it!" she shouted. Easy, down girl. I can hear you just fine. It's my mouth you closed, not my ears. I sighed through my nose and nodded. A moment later, the zipper was unzipped and replaced with my lips once again. Fucking hell, magic felt weird. I hope they sell chap stick somewhere around here. My lips were dry as hell now. Well, I guess that solved that. She knew the horror of the asparagus plant story. When was the last time I told that in its entirety? Hell, had to have been at least a year or two ago, and to only one person in private. That guy deserved it though, he tried harassing Emily at school. Emily liked to think she was my guardian, but she was still my little sister. Still amazing how I could put a guy in the hospital without touching him. The power of asparagus compelled him a bit too much. Anyway, moving on. "Okay, Twilight, I'm convinced that I may have been part of some show that you ponies watched," I started. She smiled and let out a sigh of relief. What, was she expecting me to attack her over this new information? That's not the way I roll, homegirl. "However, I still don't believe that I'm just imaginary. I have memories, family, and all that stuff. I was aware of myself, Twilight. The screams you probably heard last night? Yeah, I felt that pain. It's real to me, Twi." Twilight stopped using the quill I just noticed she was using. How did she do that? Was she writing the whole time? Urgh, magic. The Alicorn looked at me sadly, but said nothing. Instead, she set her supplies down on the floor and got up. She then slowly moved to me and joined me in the pile of sleeping ponies. I didn't feel all that great about the way she was acting. I felt like Lennie right before George shot him in the back of the head. I watched as Twilight settled herself down in the spot I had offered her earlier. And then the snuggled pile was complete. I now had the six main characters of the show with me. Well, was it even a show? Was I the show? How did I- "Hey, Twilight, I've been meaning to ask..." I said softly. My hand had found its way to the purple pony's ear and started scratching softly. Oh geez, I think I heard her purring. She looked up at me with her large shimmering orbs of white and lavender. "Yes?" Her voice was a lot calmer now that she wasn't in study session mode. I liked this more, it was a lot more comforting. And it wasn't just because she was snuggled up against me along with her five friends. She was talking to me more like a friend and less of a parent trying to tell their child that the family dog just got hit by a car. "How did I even get here? I mean...I was dying. I remember dying, then the television did a thing, and poof, I'm here in your room. What happened?" This question had been bothering me since I had become stable enough to think of it. Twilight's gaze traveled to the front of the room, which was for some reason covered with many shards of...some kind of glass thing maybe? Her hooves fidgeted nervously, like she was now thinking about something she had so far been oppressing. After a few moments, she took a breath and began. "I...I did something. I don't know what, it was just...when I saw you dying, I kinda...heh...lost it, I guess," Twilight was shivering a little, so I pulled her a little closer to share the warmth. She gave me a guilty smile and continued. "I think it was some kind of teleportation spell? Maybe mixed with a summoning spell. All I know at this point was that I shouldn't have been able to bring you out of someone's mind like that. Magic or not, it should have been impossible. What I did was probably very...very...illegal..." Twilight's eyes had slowly widened towards the end of her explanation. Her shivering had returned, even worse than it was before. Okay, now she was starting to worry me. I mean, since I wasn't convinced yet that I was imaginary, the teleportation theory seemed likely. Why was she freaking out? She had apparently saved my life! I was still alive! And now all I had to do was find a way back to my family to tell them myself that ponies were awesome at cuddling. Wait... "Princess Celestia is going...to kill me..." Twilight squeaked. The tears were falling now. Crap, that will not be tolerated! No more tears around me, I've had enough to last a few thousand lifetimes. I quickly pulled the trembling pony onto my chest and hugged her tightly. Well now I'm covered in pony tears. Oh well, as long as it makes her feel somewhat better. "She is NOT going to kill you, you silly pony," I shushed. I was rubbing her head again, hoping it had the same calming effect that it did for Sarah. Apparently it was far more dangerous here. Twilight was falling asleep in my arms. Should I let her? No, it's not good to go to sleep scared for your life. I think. A quick 'boop' to the nose woke her up. She sniffled and scrunched her face a few times, her eyes crossing to look down at her muzzle. "Twilight, you saved my life! Why would she be mad at you?" I asked, trying to very best to give her a supportive smile. It didn't work out that well. Better luck next time. "Because I didn't save your life!" Twilight said loudly. "I created it! You were just an idea, and I must have...oh buck, I must have ripped you out of the original storyteller!" Twilight was shouting at this point. The ponies around us groaned and moved a little bit, but stayed asleep. Good, I had enough on my plate with Twilight, I don't think I could handle a raging Alicorn princess AND a group of ponies probably amazed that I existed. I could deal with that later. Right now was Twi time. She needed a way out of his funk. I knew the proper trigger word that could make this whole issue end, but I wanted to ease Twilight into the idea. "Hey, Twilight, just curious," I said, getting her attention, "how popular was the show?" Twilight blinked away some tears before answering me. Poor little pony...she looked so damn vulnerable like this. It's a good thing I had seen how powerful she was, or I might have taken her for a weakling. "Very...very popular..." she sniffled. I nodded. "You were...everypony's favorite..." Hmm, was that so? That might make it easier then. I needed to get help. If I was alive, I was going home. My home wasn't just inside some other pony's head, that was stupid. Maybe Princess Celestia could help? She was old as fuck, probably knew the most about magic too. But I doubt she would trust some random monkey thing that her personal student had pried out of another world. What I needed was a way to show her that I was both harmless and the same creature from a massively popular story. Easy enough, right? Luckily enough I had a secret weapon that could help me do just that. I just hope that Twilight would let me do this. "Okay, I might have an idea to help this whole thing, but I'm not sure if you're going to like the first step," I said to her. She swallowed nervously and nodded, gesturing for me to go on. I sighed and looked down at Pinkie. Good, she was still asleep. I looked back up to Twilight and leaned as close to her ear as I could without making out with it. She was confused at first, but leaned in to help me. It wasn't exactly the easiest thing to lean upwards when I was covered in sleeping equines that I really didn't want to wake yet. I even covered the area surrounding my mouth with my hands so that some of the sound got locked in. "I want to have a party," I whispered into Twilight's ear. It was said so softly that I myself barely heard it. That didn't stop Pinkie Pie from shoving her fucking face right into mine, her eyes blinking excitedly. Her grin was frighteningly huge. Wasn't this pony just sleeping?! How did she...no, don't think about it. It can't hurt you if you don't think about it. "Ooh!~ That's just what I was thinking!" Pinkie proclaimed loudly. Goddamn it, Pinkie Pie. Well that did it. The other four ponies started to move around, their consciousnesses returning. Oh, here we go. **** Rainbow Dash groaned out loud. Buck, her head was killing her! What did she hit it on? It wasn't the internal pain that came with a hangover. Nah, it was just sore. But why? What did she do to herself this time? She slowly opened her eyes, trying to keep the light out. Her pondering about her previous actions was halted when she spotted her friends laying around next to her. Where were they? What's up with all the pillows? What's this big warm thing that they're all...oh. *SQUAWK!* Rainbow let out a very bird-like squeak and shot out of the pile of stirring ponies, flying like a dart to the corner wall. That couldn't have been right. Her eyes were broken or something. She was just seeing things. In her desperation, she sat on her flank and rubbed her eyes vigorously with her front hooves. Was the world back to making sense yet? Nope. Try as she might, she couldn't rid herself of the sight displayed before her. There in front of her, surrounded by all five of her friends, sat Ryan bucking Burbank. The giant hooman just sat there, patiently watching her with gentle eyes. What was he doing here? How?! But...he was dead! And not real! But he was obviously real, he was just sitting there! He was slowly petting Pinkie's mane, to which the pink mare responded by letting out content moans. Okay, so whatever he was, if it even was Ryan from OtherWorld, didn't seem to want to hurt her or her friends. Ryan would never hurt them...okay, so it might be the real Ryan. She took a few steps closer. The maybe-Ryan thing smiled kindly at her. What if it really was him...? He was right there, smiling happily. He wasn't screaming in pain anymore, wasn't crying, wasn't passing away while his family hugged him. This...if it was the real deal...was awesome. It sent a surge of emotion through her body that almost made her choke up. Almost. A flurry of movement erupted from where Ryan was sitting, capturing Dash's attention. Something pink and yellow had latched itself to the large man's chest, giving him a scare. He let out a 'Gah!' that awoke Rarity and Applejack from whatever sleep they had still been experiencing. "Ryan!" squeaked Fluttershy louder than any of them had ever heard her become, "It's you it's you it's you it's you it's really you!" She was giggling her little heart out, not a tear to be seen. Ryan appeared confused as all Tartarus at first, but quickly wrapped his powerful monkey arms around the pony on his chest. His face broke out into a wide grin as he cuddled Fluttershy for all he was worth. Applejack and Rarity sat there in the same positions they had slept in, gaping at the hooman that they were snuggled into. When had that happened?! They just remembered walking into Twilight's room, then...nothing! Just boom, bang, cuddling with a being they assumed was both dead and fictional! Rarity made the first sign of life between the two. "It's just like the show..." she muttered under her breath. Ryan turned his head to face her, despite the yellow cuddle terror that was busy assaulting his torso. He tilted his head at her, apparently unsure of how to process her words. Rarity stood up on trembling legs, taking a couple steps towards Ryan before she was right on him. The confused man watched her warily, ready to bolt if she tried attacking. It was then that her eyes wandered down towards his bottom half. Rarity then flopped down onto Ryan's lap and rubbed her body all over his jeans. His face grew red immediately and he tried squirming away from her, but Fluttershy was holding on too tightly to allow much movement. Rarity's hooves felt all over the length of the poor man's pants, taking in the sweet feeling of denim. "Oooh it's sooo gooooood~" she sang to herself, images of all the new designs she could create with this strange material popping into her head. It's a good thing she just got some sleep, for she would get none tonight with all the ideas she just had to copy down for later projects. Ryan was struggling his hardest to get away from the invasive white pony that was currently molesting him. This was not right. She had already brushed up against his little Jimmy a few times with her hooves, and man was that more pleasant than it should have been. Pinkie then decided to pink up his day by latching onto him from behind, her legs wrapping around his neck. He make a choking sound and fell backwards, now covered with three warm, touchy ponies. "PONY PILE!" Pinkie shouted, her war cry filling the room. From the other side of the room, Dash zoomed quickly over and joined in, laughing the whole time. Oh boy, Ryan was in for it now. Four ponies assaulting him from all angles, refusing to allow him anything remotely resembling movement. Twilight had backed off before that point, watching the scene with wide-open eyes. Sweet Celestia, she was not expecting that. They were all so happy! Not even worried how he had came to be! She was almost expecting- "Twilight, what'd y'all do now?" There it was. Applejack had parked her rump down next to her purple friend. Good ol' Applejack, always there to let Twilight know when she bucked up royally. The Alicorn gave a guilty smile to her friend. The orange cowpony sighed and looked back to the pile, which had devolved into Ryan trying his best to escape from his prison, yelling something about 'Rodney King.' Whatever the hay that was. "Ya gotta tell the Princess bout this, Twi," Applejack went on. Twilight nodded and sighed in defeat. "Yeah, we know...she's going to be so mad..." Twilight fretted, her front hooves shuffled nervously along her floor. Applejack nodded once, her eyes still locked on the mayhem going on a few feet away from them. "You reckon ya got a plan yet?" asked the middle Apple child. Twilight gave a shrug. "Ryan says he thinks a party would help. Not sure what good it would-" she was cut off by her friend suddenly. "Sounds 'bout right," Applejack stated. Twilight turned to her friend with a look of disbelief on her face. Why was Applejack agreeing with him? This was crazy! They needed to stay hidden for now! At least until a proper plan could be formulated... "How does a party 'sound about right'?!" Twilight asked with exasperation. Applejack smiled and waited for it. Uttering words like that around the Super Duper Party Pony was just asking for it. And there she was. Pinkie was standing on top of Twilight's head now, causing the Princess to let out a surprised 'eep!', almost akin to how Fluttershy usually was. "That's easy, Twilight! We just invite every sad pony in Ponyville to a party so they see Ryan! Ponyville gets to be happy again and Ryan gets to prove that he's not here to hurt anypony! Then Celestia could help us without worrying about him!" Pinkie shouted down to the pony she was currently standing on. Twilight looked up to her pink friend in confusion. "Sad ponies?" Twilight inquired to her new hat. The Princess hasn't been outside since the episode aired. Had something been going on without her knowing? Applejack gave her a 'really?' look. "Yeah, sad ponies. The town took his death purdy hard, Twi. No, not jus tha town, a good chunk a Equestria's been down since last night," Applejack explained. Twilight took a step back, causing Pinkie to giggle and sway around on her head. Applejack continued, "Princess Celestia pretty much canceled everythang. Said today's a holiday." The color in Twilight's face drained. This was getting out of hoof. Okay, so a good portion of Equestria was sad and mopey because a character from a fictitious story they all loved had been killed. That sounded weird, but Twilight couldn't blame them. At least they hadn't dug around inside the mind of the storyteller and ripped the character out by force... So they were sad because they thought he was dead. But he was right here in the room with them, alive and well. At least, he was, the last time she could see him under the mountain of pony he was currently trapped under. Was he even struggling anymore? ...Yep, there's a hand. Oop, now Fluttershy's got a hold of it. A foot escaped after and was quickly enveloped in Rarity's magic and pulled back in. Well at least he can breathe. ...Right? Okay, maybe a party wasn't such a bad idea. Ponyville needed to cheer up and Ryan didn't seem to mind the contact. Twilight was sure that if he really wanted to, he could escape that pile easily with his violent human mind and brute strength. As it was, he was just playing along with the rest of the Elements, soaking in the cuddles that were being given. Underneath the often vulgar and teasing humor he had, Ryan was such a sweetheart... "Okay," Twilight sighed, "Party it is then." Applejack gave an encouraging shove and smiled at her. "C'mon, everythang will be fine, Twilight, jus you wait," the orange mare said before taking off and joining the pile. Ryan had very nearly escaped, and was now holding onto the base of Twilight's bed desperately. The charging cowpony made short work of his grip and he was sent flying back into the mass of cuddles. "NOOOO!" Ryan wailed as he was sucked back into hell. Twilight rolled her eyes and smirked at his antics before getting herself up and trotting over to help her friends. Big strong human, meet tiny purple horse with god-powers. "SCREW YOU ALLLL!~" were Ryan's final words before he was consumed once more. **** Princess Luna was currently locked in an intense staring contest with the wall on the other side of the room. Scarily enough, she seemed to be winning. She had barely moved for hours. Her body was stuck; lost in another battle against her mind. Why couldn't she have been smarter? She should have been able to alter it, she had done it before. She couldn't stop the memories as they came once again. Ryan's thrashing body. His heart monitor going flat. The doctors barely being able to revive him. All of this had happened right in front of her eyes. She had been too surprised by the events at the time to even think about changing the direction that Miss Lyra Heartstrings had apparently wanted to take the story. The only thing she thought to do was to run away from the hospital, crying the whole way. She hadn't dropped her human appearance until she was well away from where Lyra was busy concentrating. She had done it again. She had let Lyra surprise her, causing the Princess to alter the events in a way she hadn't prepared to. What if she was supposed to stay at the hospital with her Ryan? Lyra would be more aware now, and would focus harder making sure the events happened according to plan. She couldn't reveal herself, especially now. This was the season finale. Hundreds of thousands of ponies would be watching! What would they think if they saw the main character's love interest suddenly turn back into the ancient Princess of the Night she truly was? Her beloved sister alone would shout her eardrums into oblivion. Well, either that or send her to the moon for a week. Both thoughts made Princess Luna shiver. No, she would just have to stay away and hidden. If Lyra put her focus back on who she assumed to be Sarah, and had instead found the Princess, who knows what would happen? The shock alone would probably be enough to jolt Lyra awake and end the broadcast. Of course, it would only end right after showing the flushed and guilty face of the blue Princess. She was trapped for the time being, waiting to see if Lyra would allow 'her' character to leave the scene for now. Just to be safe, Luna adorned herself in her human body once again. If she had been a few seconds slower with raising her disguise, she would have been discovered. Princess Luna felt a gentle tugging on her consciousness. Lyra was trying to pull her back to the hospital and right the wrong that had been created. Luna could not risk it further, Lyra seemed to be unstable with herself. Was she doing this against her will? No, it would be unwise to remain in the spotlight. She wanted to be there for her Ryan, but he was going to be fine now. The doctors were there to help him. The scare was over. Princess Luna gently whispered some words into the mind of Miss Heartstrings to convince her to leave Sarah alone. Lyra immediately went to work with mending those words into the story, thinking them to have been from her own imagination. Good, she was taking the decoy. Hopefully she wouldn't bother Luna again until the show was over and it would be safe to leave Lyra's mind. The Princess shifted her environment until she was sitting on the couch in the cabin belonging to herself and her lover. She would just have to wait here for however much longer it took for the broadcast to end...how grand. The outside of her cabin was subjected to a few changes in lighting over the time she sat there, waiting. Why was Lyra skipping days so quickly? Surely she couldn't be- He's gone. Oh Sister of the Sun, Lyra killed him. The fool actually had the nerve to kill her Ryan! All of the absurdly real emotions that came from the part of Lyra's imagination that controlled Ryan had just been muted. He wasn't erased, this was closer to being stamped into silence. The imprint upon Lyra's mind that Ryan had left was still there, but his actual presence was no longer there. Heartstrings just took a figment of imagination with enough emotional detail to almost be sentient and she had murdered it. Luna wanted to be mad, but all she could feel was loss. Ryan, or the collection of random thoughts and emotions that made him up, was her closest friend. True, it was strange to have another pony's imaginary friend as a best friend and...erm, lover, but Ryan was different. Hay, Lyra was different. She dreamed in more detail than any other the blue alicorn had ever seen. At night, between battles involving nightmares, she would stop by Lyra's dreams to visit Ryan. He was the always so nice to her...always joking and trying to cheer her up. Nopony else made such an effort to keep her happy. She latched onto him in a way she later found out many others had done through their viewings of the strange show 'OtherWorld.' It had been her mistake of involving herself once again with Ryan during an episode about two years prior to this night. Lyra's subconscious latched onto her character and involved her in the story. That was certainly strange to the invasive Princess. But oh well, might at well go along with it. She could spend more time with Ryan and she would be a somewhat-celebrity! Sure, her subjects would be unaware it was their princess in there, but it would still be nice to be liked for personality other than appearance. So, for the last two years, Luna played along with the show, investing in her own 'GemShow' gem for her room. She didn't need it, since she spent each episode tapped directly into the storyteller herself. The gem was more to convince her sister she was actually just watching the show instead of living it. Lyra was not a perfect storyteller, however, and Luna often had to plug the leaks between the minty mare's memories and the ideas for OtherWorld for her. Most of these leaks happened through rough pieces of technology that Lyra had created called 'Teevees.' She simply couldn't let Ryan view some of the events that had taken place in Equestria. If Ryan became aware of Luna's true self and the story surrounding her, how could she ever hope to one day reveal herself? Not that it mattered anymore... As she remembered all the times she had spent with Ryan, she thought of all the time trying to protect him that had been for nothing now. No, that was wrong. He was real enough for her. She had seen his face every morning when she was there with him, he was happy. It was just really lucky at the time that Luna's sleep schedule was the opposite of Lyra's. That way, she could be awake while Lyra was sleeping. Lyra always dreamed of her world. In the off chance that she didn't, the Princess would just give her that little shove towards it. It wasn't mind manipulation if the location belonged to the host, right? A warm wetness was growing under Luna's eyes. She had been feeling this moisture too much in the past few weeks. The Princess had tried to deter Lyra's mind from going through with its plans, but Miss Heartstrings was nothing if not determined. Why? Why did she want her Ryan dead so badly? It was all the more heartbreaking every other night of the week when Ryan was back at the cabin with Luna, seemingly unaware of the disaster coming. It was almost like...the Ryan during the episode was another Ryan entirely. What was going on in the mind of the storyteller? To see her love happy one day then dying and crippled the next, was often too much for the poor Princess, regardless of her age and experience. And now he was gone. Murdered by the one that had created him. Another one of Luna's loved ones had been ripped away from her by force. That was it. Time to snap. And snap she did. Not a piece of furniture in the cabin had been spared. Everything was gone, the doors, the windows, the couch, fridge, everything. Luna was a master of destructive rage when the situation called for it. And this situation what practically made for that rage. Only after the damage was done, when nothing could be more ruined, did Luna let herself cry out. The corner of the room had been mostly empty before the Lunanado had struck, so it was relatively clear of litter. This was the corner she chose to curl up and cry in. Why her? Why Ryan? Was every entity that showed an interest in being her friend doomed to suffer? It was too much for the Princess of the Night to handle. Too many times had this happened and no tears had been shed. Luna was done being the immortal about this. She needed to let some of this pain out. A few minutes after she started crying, she felt a presence watching her. Oh Mare in the Moon, she was being projected! She tried to feel what direction Lyra wished for her, but her mind seemed content to let the poor human cry in the corner. The only difference was the addition of some small piece of...plastic? It was now in her hand, but she dare not look at it. She just continued to cry to herself. It wasn't even acting, she was still breaking down. After a few moments of the scene focusing on poor Luna, the projection was lifted. Finally, Luna could sit up. Lyra's consciousness lifted and she was awake once more. The Princess curled her weird legs to her chest, squishing them against the fleshy mounds that Ryan had loved so much. She sniffled to herself quietly for a few moments. What did Lyra even plant in her hand? It was a small and oddly shaped white stick, with the only color coming from the '+' mark on it. Wait... ...That's bucking ridiculous. She was not pregnant! Ryan had never mated with her! Ugh, that was just manipulative. Poor form, Lyra. Oh well, it's not like Luna had to come back anymore, she wouldn't be the figment that would bear the virgin pregnancy. Without Ryan, Luna had no reason to come back here again. She was about to pop herself out from the realm when she was forcefully ejected back into her own body. Luna wasn't sure what caused the sudden shut down. All she knew was that when she tried to enter again, she found Lyra's mind in an unconscious state. She had tried digging around for Ryan without the fear of being discovered, but he was just...gone. He was now erased, along with every memory of him except for the hospital situation. The Princess was at a loss. She might have been able to transfer the details of Ryan's being to her own mind if she had the memories, but had no longer been possible. Whoever stole him had done so very quickly and violently and left no trace. She would have to look into this very disturbing act, but for right now... ...She just wanted to be alone with herself. Oh, look, it's time to raise the moon again. That's nice. For the first time since coming back from the moon, she felt absolutely alone. Not even her sister could help her, she would get angry for what Luna had been doing. Oh, well. Perhaps she could take her frustrations out on some nightmares... Ah, there's one. Off to Ponyville once more to ease some poor pony's slumber.