//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: Transformation // Story: Lyra’s Journey // by _Undefined_ //------------------------------// Canterlot High School was closed for the night. So nobody was around to see the teenage girl emerge from the base of the statue in front of the building, bent over on all fours. Lyra looked at the unfamiliar building in front of her. The portal worked! Which meant… She looked down at where her forehooves would be. In their place, she saw two unfamiliar appendages, shaped similarly to those on a monkey. Even though she was still trying to be stealthy, Lyra couldn’t help but let out a restrained squeal of pure elation. Hands! She had hands! She was a human! Lyra stood up. She was standing up! On two legs! Like a human! Because she was a human! Her cheeks hurt from the sheer intensity of her smile, but she didn’t care. She checked that no one was watching her. She tried walking. It was a little unsteady at first, but she found it to be a lot easier than when she tried to walk on two legs back when she was in her pony body. She quickly got the hang of walking, so she tried trotting. Then she began to gallop in a wide circle around the lawn. She stopped at the statue and stuck her arms out in front of her. She looked at her hands. She wiggled her fingers. She grasped at the air, then used one hand to clasp her forearm. Hands were amazing – everything she dreamed they would be! Lyra then took a moment to look down at the rest of her body. To her surprise, she came out of the portal wearing clothes – some kind of lightweight pink top and a pair of ruffled blue shorts. And how did she only just now notice she was wearing boots? Somehow, her saddlebag had turned into a pack on her back, secured by straps over each of her shoulders. But most surprising of all was the fact that she had gained a necklace, a chain of small links supporting a miniature lyre – a perfect three-dimensional representation of her cutie mark. She pushed her finger across the strings, but discovered that they were inflexible strips of metal. Lyra wanted to see where her cutie mark was located, but something in the back of her mind told her that if she came out of the portal wearing clothes, there was probably a good reason to leave them in place. So instead, she continued to try out her new limbs. She hopped. She marched in place. She linked her fingers together and performed an arm wave. She looked around for things to interact with. And that’s when she saw it… A bench. After about an hour, Lyra realized that she had nowhere to sleep for the night. As fascinating as her new body was, she knew that she had to focus her attention on finding some shelter. All of the moving around had kept her warm, but she was wearing shorts and the night air had begun to get chilly. The doors of the big building by the statue were locked, so she picked a direction at random and began to walk. She was unsure of what she should look for – a hotel? Some human’s house? Any empty cardboard box? She remembered that Twilight had told her that every citizen of Ponyville had a human counterpart in this world. Too bad she didn’t know where human Lyra lived. As in Ponyville, most of the buildings in the town were closed for the night. Off in the distance, she saw one structure with its lights still on. As she got closer, she saw a sign… Sugarcube Corner? This world even had its own Sugarcube Corner? With no other ideas on where to go, Lyra made her way toward the door. Before she walked in, Lyra realized that all of the humans inside were going to assume that she was this world’s Lyra. Her goal was to find out where human Lyra lived… without making anyone suspect that she wasn’t actually human Lyra. This was going to be challenging. Lyra opened the door (with her hands!) and the aroma was unmistakable. This was Sugarcube Corner, all right. And even though she knew it would happen, it was still disconcerting to see what were clearly her pony friends, but as humans. There was Mrs. Cake, standing behind the counter. Daisy, Lily, and Rose were sitting in a booth, chatting. That human over on the other side of the room was unmistakably Pinkie Pie – Lyra decided it was safest to not attract her attention. As Lyra continued to survey the room, she was startled by a familiar voice: “Lyra? Is that you?” Was that Berry Punch? Lyra turned her head, and sure enough, there was a human version of Berry Punch, sitting at a table by herself and drinking a root beer float. Well, she’d been spotted. Time to find out whether she could act like a human. “Hey, Berry,” Lyra said, sitting down across from her. “How are you doing?” “Fine,” she replied. Whew – her name is Berry Punch in this world, too. “What are you doing here?” Lyra briefly panicked. She had no idea what human Lyra would be doing, let alone why Berry Punch would feel the need to ask. Was she suspicious? Was she just making conversation? Lyra just wanted to find out where her human counterpart lived and get out of there as quickly as possible. But she couldn’t ask Berry for information about herself. Who else could she… of course! “I’m looking for Bon Bon,” Lyra said. “Do you know where she is?” “No…” Berry Punch replied, thinking. “She’s probably home.” Lyra panicked again. I can’t ask her where home is – human Lyra already knows that. How else can I— “Why don’t you just text her?” Berry Punch asked. Lyra now felt both relief and panic at the same time. It seemed like Berry had given her an opening, but she didn’t know what “text” meant. It was clearly a verb. Maybe it was something you did with some kind of object? Lyra replied, “I don’t have my…” take a guess… “texter?” She only partially succeeded in not making it sound like a question. Berry’s reaction told Lyra that that wasn’t the right word, but luckily, it must have been close enough that it wasn’t complete gibberish. She picked up the small, glass-covered rectangle sitting on the table in front of her and started rubbing one of her fingers across it. Lyra was fascinated by the motions the human hand was capable of. “I think I have her number in here,” Berry Punch said. “There it is – I’ll text her for you.” Using both of her hands, she began tapping on the rectangle with her two opposing fingers. After a few seconds, she stopped, and while still looking at the rectangle, said, “Lyra’s at Sugarcube Corner looking for you. Doesn’t have her phone.” Berry set the rectangle down and took a drink of her root beer float while Lyra made a mental note that that rectangle must be a “phone.” Which humans use to “text.” Unsure of what to say, Lyra just smiled at Berry. “Got any plans for the weekend?” Berry asked. Lyra decided that being as vague as possible was the best strategy. “Oh, you know. Just going to take it easy. You?” “There’s a sale at Fashion Corral, so I’ll probably go there sometime. They have cute tops.” “Mm-hmm,” Lyra replied. The conversation ground to a halt. After a moment of awkward silence, Berry’s phone buzzed. Without picking it up, she tapped it. Lyra saw that doing so changed the color of the light it emitted. “She says she’ll be here in a few minutes,” Berry said. “Great! Thanks!” Lyra replied. She realized that she didn’t know what to do while she waited. Was it rude to get up and leave Berry Punch alone after she had just helped her? Lyra decided that even though it was risky, she would stay and make small talk. Maybe she could pick up some more clues about how the human world worked. So for the next fifteen minutes, Lyra and Berry Punch chatted. In Ponyville, they were just casual acquaintances, so Lyra assumed the same would be the case here. It was mostly idle chitchat – the only subject that significantly confused Lyra was when Berry asked how she did on the chemistry test. Lyra gave a noncommittal answer and was relieved when Berry started describing her own challenges with the test. When the conversation turned to gossipy topics such as who was and wasn’t dating, Lyra was fascinated to discover that the individual humans had the same personalities and relationships as their Ponyville counterparts. All the while, Lyra tried her hardest to refrain from staring too long at the human noses around her. They looked like tiny muzzles, but they didn’t include the mouth. They didn’t even look like the noses on the apes back in Equestria. Lyra had her back to the door, so she didn’t initially see it when another human approached their table. “Lyra?” the human said. Lyra looked up, and as soon as she saw the pink and blue on the human’s head, she knew exactly who it was. “Bon Bon!” Lyra exclaimed, perhaps a bit more excited than she should have acted. “You were looking for me?” Bon Bon asked, confused. “I sure was! Thanks, Berry!” Lyra said and got up from the table. She motioned for Bon Bon to follow her to a booth in the corner of the bakery. As they were sitting down, Bon Bon spoke. “What’s going on? I thought you were at home.” Lyra wasn’t sure what she meant. Wouldn’t Bon Bon have known whether human Lyra was home? That was the one thing that Lyra worried would blow her cover while Berry was texting her. No matter. Lyra had already decided that she needed someone in the human world to confide in. And if there was anyone she could trust, it was Bon Bon. She kept her voice low, just in case another human was trying to listen in. “Okay, this is going to sound weird, but hear me out. I’m not the Lyra that you know. I come from a world of ponies. There’s a magical portal that connects my world with your world, and I used—” “Wait, you’re from the pony world?” Lyra blinked. That wasn’t the reaction she was expecting to… oh, right! Twilight had told her that the humans knew about her true identity as a pony princess. So of course they would already know that Equestria exists! “I… yes.” “Is Princess Twilight back, too? Is there another magical creature threatening this world?” “No. Actually, Twilight doesn’t know I’m here. I kind of snuck over here behind her back. Please don’t tell her.” “I won’t say a word,” Bon Bon replied. She cupped both of her hands over her mouth in demonstration. “Okay! So this makes this part a lot easier. I just got here, and I was trying to find out where human Lyra lived – I wasn’t sure where else I could spend the night.” “Oh, sure! I can take you there. Come on!” “…So are any more of you coming over right now?” “I doubt it,” Lyra replied. The two were walking through a peaceful residential neighborhood. “Twilight said that she didn’t want anypony else to use the portal—” Bon Bon giggled. “‘Anypony.’” “Oh. Yeah, I guess you wouldn’t say that here. What’s the right word – ‘anyhuman?’” “Just ‘anybody.’ Or ‘anyone.’” “Huh. We sometimes say those, too. Weird. Anyway, Twilight’s out of town, so I snuck through without her knowing about it. I have to go back before she returns on Tuesday – if she finds out I was here, I’m going to be in big trouble.” “Yeah, ever since Lyra – my Lyra – found out Sunset Shimmer was originally a unicorn, she’s been begging her for a chance to visit the pony world. But Sunset Shimmer said the same thing, that it was too risky to let anybody and everybody visit both worlds.” The two approached a two-story house with some kind of long, horizontal strips adorning its sides. It was more boxy and angular than the cottages in Ponyville. To Lyra’s eyes, it looked a lot like all of the other houses in the neighborhood. Then again, the same could be said of Ponyville’s cottages. “Oh man, Lyra is going to freak out when she sees you,” Bon Bon said. She rang the doorbell, then after a moment, shouted, “Lyra! It’s me, Bon Bon!” After another moment, the door opened. “Bon Bon? You know my parents said you can’t come over when they’re not home. What are you…” Upon seeing… herself… standing next to Bon Bon, her mouth hung open. “Whaaaa…?” was all she could manage. “Lyra, this is Lyra. She’s from the pony world,” Bon Bon said, grinning. She was thoroughly enjoying her Lyra’s reaction. For her part, Ponyville Lyra’s reaction wasn’t much different. She hadn’t had the chance to look at a mirror since arriving in the human world. Not only was this the first time seeing her human face – essentially – it was also strange to be looking at another one of her. Even though she had known going in that this would be the case, it was still a little mind-boggling to actually see physical evidence of it. “How long until your parents get back?” Bon Bon asked. “Another couple hours,” human Lyra answered blankly. Her mouth was still hanging open. “So, can we come in? I think this is a special exception,” Bon Bon said. “Sure…” human Lyra said, stepping back to let them inside. Her mind was a little overwhelmed at the moment, so she just did what Bon Bon said. The three sat down, Bon Bon and Ponyville Lyra each in a recliner and human Lyra at the end of the sofa. After a few minutes, human Lyra was finally able to get a mental grasp on the situation. “I can’t believe me from the pony world is here in my living room!” she said. “What’s it like? Oh, I’ve always wanted to visit there!” “Yeah, that’s what your Bon Bon was telling me,” Ponyville Lyra replied. She too had finally regained control of her senses enough to hold a conversation. “You have no idea. I love unicorns! One second…” Human Lyra ran upstairs. After a few seconds, she returned with some notebooks. “I asked Sunset Shimmer to draw what your unicorns look like, but she isn’t a very good drawer.” She showed Ponyville Lyra a crude drawing of a unicorn. It wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t that great, either. “Well, that’s… basically…” Ponyville Lyra said, trying to find the right words. “So I tried to interpret that into what I thought they might look like,” human Lyra said, showing her another drawing. It was closer, though a little more muscular than the average pony, with a longer horn. “Or are they more like this?” She showed her the cover of a notebook, which depicted a tall, slender unicorn soaring through outer space. “Well, that looks more like a horse,” Ponyville Lyra said of the notebook cover. “We’re ponies – we’re shorter, and our legs aren’t that skinny. Maybe a little rounder around the belly, if I’m being honest.” “I just wish Sunset would let me…” Suddenly, human Lyra’s face lit up. “Wait a minute. If you just got here, then does that mean the portal is still open?” “Yeah – I activated it without Twilight knowing. So please don’t tell her about this.” “Princess Twilight doesn’t know? Then that means that Sunset Shimmer doesn’t know either, right?” “I don’t know who that is, but no. No one knows I’m here. Except for you and Bon Bon. And my Bon Bon back home.” Human Lyra began to have a little trouble breathing. “So I could go visit the pony world right now… and nobody would know?” “Oh…” Ponyville Lyra said with a smile of realization. “Hold on,” Bon Bon said. “Are you actually thinking of…” “It’s perfect timing!” human Lyra said. “We don’t have school tomorrow and then it’s the weekend. I’ll come back on Sunday night. When am I going to get a chance like this again?” Bon Bon looked uncertain. “Only ponies have come through to visit our world. We don’t even know what would happen if one of us tried to go through the other direction!” “There’s only one way to find out,” human Lyra said. “Come on, Bon Bon – you know how much I want to do this!” “And it would solve the problem of there being two Lyras in this world at once,” added Ponyville Lyra. “I can cover for you, and you can cover for me.” “See, Bon Bon? It’s two against one.” “That doesn’t count!” said Bon Bon. She closed her eyes and exhaled to steady herself. She looked at human Lyra. “Are you sure this is a good idea?” “It’s the best idea!” human Lyra said. “You know I’ve always wanted to see a real live unicorn!” “See one?” Ponyville Lyra said. “In my world, I am a unicorn.” Human Lyra’s eyes widened. “SHUT. UP. That’s it – I’m going, right now!” Bon Bon knew she had lost the debate. Ponyville Lyra was just as excited, eager to help her human self fulfill the same dream she was fulfilling. “Do you know where the portal is?” “Yep – it’s in the base of the statue in front of Canterlot High.” “Okay, so when you go through the portal, you’ll be inside a library in Twilight’s castle. I don’t think anyone else is there right now, but be careful, just in case. When you leave the library, you’ll be in a big hallway with a pair of large doors at one end. Those are the doors to the outside. Then, follow the path to Ponyville. Turn right at the pizzeria, then left at the farrier’s, and another left at the barber shop. My house is the third house on the right.” “Farrier’s?” human Lyra asked. “Horseshoe seller,” Ponyville Lyra explained. Human Lyra grinned. “Right at the pizzeria, left at the farrier’s, left at the barber shop, third house on the right,” she repeated. She looked at Ponyville Lyra’s backpack. “Anything I need to bring?” “Nah, anything you might need is at home,” Ponyville Lyra said. “This is just filled with stuff I used to sneak into the castle.” Suddenly, it dawned on her. “Oh, you’ll need to sneak back in when you want to come back! You’d better take it.” She took off the backpack and gave it to her human counterpart. “I used the grappling hook to get in through the first window in the back. Although if no one’s home, you could probably just go through the front door.” “Got it. My room is upstairs to the right, on the left-hand side. I can’t think of anything else you need to know. Bon Bon, are you coming with me?” Bon Bon looked surprised at the offer. “I’d rather not. I should be getting home anyway – I told my parents I wouldn’t be gone too long.” “Then can you help me?” Ponyville Lyra said to Bon Bon. “I could really use someone I can ask questions about how to be human.” “All right,” said Bon Bon. “I’ll be over tomorrow after breakfast.” “I usually go to bed around eleven,” human Lyra said. “Although since there’s no school tomorrow, it’ll be closer to midnight. I spend most of my time in my room, so mom and dad shouldn’t get too suspicious. Have fun! Bon Bon, can you at least walk me to Maple Street?” “Of course. See you tomorrow… Lyra,” Bon Bon said. She had enjoyed meeting someone from the pony world, but it was strange to address a second Lyra by the same name. The two humans left and closed the door behind them. Lyra stood alone in the house, trying to organize her thoughts. Now that it was too late to ask, she realized that she really needed some clarification on why everyone kept referring to school. Also, apparently she lived with her parents? She made a mental note to ask Bon Bon about those things tomorrow. But she had accomplished her goal of finding a place to sleep, and she was alone, at least for the time being. Which meant that it was back to trying out her new limbs. She wondered how easy it was to go up and down stairs on just two legs… Maple Street was where Bon Bon needed to turn left to head home and Lyra needed to turn right to head to the portal. The two stood at the corner of the intersection, faced each other, and held hands. “I’ll see you on Sunday night,” Lyra said. “Please be careful,” Bon Bon said. Lyra could feel Bon Bon’s hands shaking. “I will,” Lyra promised. She leaned forward and the two shared a good-bye kiss. Lyra let go of Bon Bon’s hands, gave her a smile, then turned around and began walking toward the high school. Bon Bon knew it was time to turn around and walk home. Instead, she found herself taking small steps backward while she watched Lyra recede into the darkness. Shortly thereafter, on the grounds of Canterlot High, Lyra approached and stood in front of the portal. She thought about what Bon Bon had said about how no person had attempted this before. Lyra was still confident – after all, if it didn’t hurt the ponies who came through to their world, it shouldn’t hurt going in reverse – but Bon Bon’s nervousness made her a little nervous, too. Lyra thought about being a unicorn, and that gave her the courage to go through with her plan. She poked one finger into the portal to make sure it was actually open, then instinctively closed her eyes and stepped through… …to the main library of Twilight Sparkle’s castle, where Lyra emerged from the portal on her two hind legs, then quickly dropped onto all fours. That motion removed any apprehension which was inside her – the portal worked, and she was definitely a pony. She looked down at her hooves for confirmation and began to giggle uncontrollably. As Lyra turned her head to look at her tail, she caught her reflection in the mirror-like portal behind her. A horn! She had a horn! She wasn’t just a pony – she was an honest-to-goodness unicorn! Lyra stood there, staring, transfixed. She was a little surprised at the shape of her muzzle (and the stubbiness of her horn), but she was still overjoyed. She wanted to shoot a beam of magic from her horn right then and there, but then she remembered that her immediate goal needed to be to sneak out of the castle. She located the library door, walked up to it, and saw that it had a pull handle. She reached up to grab it… then realized that she didn’t have fingers. Uncertain of what else to do, she placed her hoof inside the handle and awkwardly stepped backward on her other three legs while pulling the door open. It seemed like a more natural motion than wedging her horn behind the handle and pulling with her head. The hallway was nearly pitch black, illuminated only by some faint moonlight entering through a far window. Once her eyes adjusted to the additional darkness, Lyra spotted the large exit door and made her way down the hall. She tried to walk quietly, but no matter how slowly or lightly she stepped, her hooves still made a clip-clop noise on the crystalline floor which reverberated throughout the castle. This put her on edge, but fortunately, she didn’t hear the sound of anyone else approaching. Finally, she reached the front door – another door which she had to pull open. Lyra stepped outside and awkwardly pulled the front door closed. A little way down the path stood a charming town filled with cottages. Lyra quickly followed the path to the edge of the town. Satisfied that she had escaped the castle undetected, she paused to get a feel for her new body. When she had looked at herself in the portal mirror, the pink light emanating from the machinery had made her coat appear to be some shade of blue, or maybe purple. But now that she was standing underneath a streetlamp (filled with what appeared to be… fireflies?), she could see that her coat was actually an aquamarine color similar to the skin of her human body. The lack of hands and feet was obvious. But Lyra also realized that she was standing on her four legs differently than she would stand on human arms and legs. Given the way her joints moved, she equated it to standing on just her fingers and toes. But even though the motion was different, she was able to instinctively walk, trot, and gallop. Lyra thought that being in a horse’s body would be the most interesting thing of all, but what really caught her attention was the image of a lyre located on each of her… thighs? It looked just like her necklace – the necklace that her grandmother had given to her when she was just a little girl. The necklace which had somehow disappeared, along with her clothes. Lyra reached out to touch the image – it appeared to be a permanent part of her coat. Astounding. Being a pony was exciting enough, but most importantly, she was a unicorn. Before she went home, Lyra wanted to do something amazing with her horn. She decided on a rainbow. Then she realized that it would be too dark to see a rainbow. A glowing rainbow! Perfect! Granted, she wasn’t sure how to create a glowing rainbow. But if she was able to instinctively understand how to walk in her pony body, she was certain that rainbow magic would come naturally to her, as well. She focused her concentration on her horn and imagined a glowing rainbow shooting forth from her forehead. And nothing happened. Well, not nothing – she felt an unfamiliar sensation, similar to a tingling, graze over her horn. And she thought she saw a slight golden light reflect off the post of the streetlamp. But there was no rainbow, glowing or otherwise. She tried again, squeezing her eyes shut and concentrating as hard as she could. But the sensation felt the same, and when she opened her eyes, there was still nothing. Disappointed, Lyra decided to head home. Maybe there would be something there that would help her figure out how to make a rainbow. Although the streets of the village were winding, with buildings seemingly scattered around at random, Lyra was able to successfully follow the instructions given to her. As she approached the third house on the right, she saw that the lights were on. Lyra stopped and wondered how she would be able to sneak in. She then realized that the other Lyra hadn’t said anything about sneaking out in the first place – maybe she had made up some kind of excuse about traveling to explain her absence? Lyra hoped that she would be able to bluff her way out of it and slowly opened the door. Bon Bon was upstairs when she heard the door creak open. Ponyville was a friendly place where no one locked their doors at night, but still, visitors had the decency to knock first. Instantly on high alert, she quietly stepped down the hall. The glass in a picture frame at the top of the stairs provided the perfect reflective surface for her to look down toward the front door without being spotted. When she saw who it was, she stepped out and walked down the stairs. “Lyra? Let me guess – the portal didn’t work?” Lyra felt a number of emotions in quick succession. First, she reflexively jumped back in fear because she had been spotted. When she realized it was the pony version of Bon Bon, she calmed down. This was followed by amusement at the sight of Bon Bon as a pony. Finally, confusion as to why she was in Bon Bon’s house. Seeing that Bon Bon was waiting for an answer to her question, and remembering that the other Lyra had said that Bon Bon knew about the secret plan, Lyra realized that it was safe to tell her the truth. “Actually, I’m Lyra from the human world. It’s nice to meet you, Bon Bon. I’m sorry I came in – pony Lyra told me that this was her house.” At first, Bon Bon thought that Lyra was trying to be funny. But the way she was startled while walking into her own home… Lyra wasn’t that good of an actress. Which had to mean… oh, Celestia. Bon Bon couldn’t think of anything to say, other than to repeat what had already been stated. “You’re… a human?” “Yep. Pony Lyra came to my house. I’ve always wanted to see your world, so when I found out the portal was open, we decided to switch places.” Bon Bon groaned internally. She wished it could be a year ago, when humans were still just a myth. But hoping that this situation wasn’t actually happening didn’t make it any less real – she’d might as well roll with it. And this was a version of Lyra, after all. “Sorry – when Lyra said she’d be traveling to your world, I didn’t expect anypony to travel here. Come on in.” Bon Bon closed the door behind Lyra, who only stepped forward far enough to take in the décor. She was distracted by how much the furniture resembled human furniture. Lyra turned her attention back to Bon Bon. “I don’t want to get you in trouble. If you can tell me where Lyra lives… oh, and if you know what excuse she gave for being gone, that’d help.” “Lyra lives here. With me.” Bon Bon wasn’t expecting Lyra’s surprised reaction. The happiness was also unexpected, but nice. “Really? Cool! But what about her parents?” “They live in Canterlot. We visited them this past Hearth’s Warming.” “So she lives out here on her own… with you?” “Yeah.” “Lucky!” Bon Bon wasn’t sure why this was such big news. She hadn’t paid close attention to her Lyra’s second-account descriptions of the human world, but she was under the impression that everything there was parallel to Equestria. “Don’t you live together where you come from?” she asked. “We still live at home, with our parents. Do ponies not live with their parents when they’re in high school? Or do you not have high school?” “We both already graduated,” Bon Bon said. As bizarre as this whole situation was, she had to admit she also found it a little intriguing. “So the two of you are still in school?” “This is our last year.” “Are you a couple?” “Totally. No matter what her parents think.” Bon Bon smirked at that. There were definitely parallels. “Does that mean while I’m here as a pony, I can stay here with you?” Lyra asked. It sounded too good to be true – she had to be certain. “If you’re switching places with Lyra for the next few days, then I guess so,” Bon Bon said. “Just until Sunday. I have to go back to school on Monday,” Lyra replied. She was more disappointed than ever about that. “Okay. Well, I hate to be a bad host, but when you arrived, I was getting ready for bed. So we should… hmm.” “Oh, no problem. Where’s your Lyra’s room?” “That’s the thing. We only have the one bedroom. And even though I guess you’re the same as Lyra, I’m not sure that I’m comfortable…” “Oh! No, absolutely! I totally understand! I can sleep down here, if that’s okay with you.” Bon Bon sighed in relief. “Yes – thank you. I’ll get you some blankets. And the couch is pretty soft. I’m sorry I don’t have anything better – we never have anypony over for the night.” Bon Bon went upstairs to get the blankets while Lyra struggled to take off the backpack which had transformed into a saddlebag. Lyra was too excited to be sleepy, but she didn’t want to be a bad guest – especially not for the pony version of Bon Bon. Besides, there were rugs on the floor – she could quietly keep moving around in her pony body while Bon Bon was asleep upstairs. The rainbow would have to wait until tomorrow, though. The next morning, Starlight Glimmer returned to Twilight Sparkle’s castle after having spent the majority of the week in Canterlot. It had been an intense few days meeting with Princess Celestia’s leading wizards to discuss her modifications to Star Swirl the Bearded’s time travel spell. Now that she was home, she had just enough time to check in on Owlowiscious and make sure Twilight hadn’t left behind any other assignments for her to do before she left on another trip – she would be spending an extended weekend in her former village to continue the work of rebuilding her friendships with the ponies living there. As she walked down the hall, she heard a humming noise coming from the main library. She walked in and saw that the portal to the human world had been left on. “I know that Twilight’s already with the buffalo – Spike just sent me a letter from there,” Starlight said to herself. “She must have been in a hurry and forgot to turn this off.” Starlight levitated the magical book from its place above the portal and put it back on the shelf. The whirring of the machinery died down, and the gateway between Equestria and the human world was closed.