Lyra Heartstrings - 16th of Leafdrop 13 EoH - AfternoonLyra Heartstrings - 16th of Leafdrop 13 EoH - Afternoon
Multiverse Location: Cyberquestria, Equis #3
It’s nice having a VI. But it does raise a few questions about interacting with people who can’t split their attention multiple ways at once. For instance, is it rude to allow Cheer.ly to make the small talk with Fluttershy while walking to Rarity’s while I focus my own thoughts?
That wouldn’t be rude back home, like at all. The second I return my thoughts to the present, I remember every single thing that happened in the conversation as if I were there, and Cheer.ly can never say anything I wouldn’t myself and can only use the words I would use… It’s impossible to tell if it’s her or myself talking, if you are not networked to me.
So back home, that’s just a thing you do. Don’t want to deal with a coworker’s silly story? Let your VI handle it and just think about your hobby or something.
But with a single minded person… Was that rude? Maybe a little. Perhaps it was a habit I should break. But at the moment, I needed to think. Besides, I’d explained Cheer.ly to Fluttershy, she knew my augmented capabilities and wasnt turned away by them. I’m sure she’d understand me having issues, well, getting used to interacting with her.
That is, if I should be getting used to her.
It had been a hall of a month. We’d done a lot together. Hell, I think I’d spent almost every free moment with her. It helps to get to know someone when you’re well, staying at someone's house. But as awesome as Shy was… I couldn’t help but feel that I might just be latching on to her.
Before I arrived in her world, I'd had two weeks of emotional rollercoastering. Not in that civilian mood-whiplash way, in a ‘Oh shit people keep trying to murder me!’ way. Yeah, there had been good times, like hanging out with Miyuki or the Pinkies. But every three days or so…
Fuck, I’d almost died three times. Once to a few dozen crossbow bolts, once to a pure random accident with teleporting, and once to a punctured flight suit. Three times in two weeks! I lived on a planet constantly at war, spent half the year sitting in orbit guarding critical systems, and I’d never been in danger that frequently!
The human body just isn’t meant to take that sort of stress. Not even with upgrades and modifications.
Hell, the last world’s Phoenix committing suicide because of me was a whole other sort of terrible. That really fucked me up, and I’d arrived here still pretty mentally skewed. But I was over it all now. The last five days had my head totally clear. I was rested up, thinking right, and fully fed.
Which made me have to ask myself a question… Was I latching onto Fluttershy due to stress? Did I have feelings for her simply because I’d needed someone? Or did I actually love her?
Cheer.ly pinged me, showing me a few seconds of Fluttershy cutely walking a short ways ahead to playfully wiggle her rump in my direction.
<I thought you might like to see this, Ma’am,> Cheer.ly stated.
I mentally smiled. I did. Even if I was just latching on for the sake of needing comfort, she was pretty damn sexy. Who knew a pony could be sexy?
Sorry, Shy. This might be rude, but I need to work things out before, well, before I make someone do what Rose did and abandon their homeworld for me. Sure, it had turned out great for her, but I couldn’t see Fluttershy being that lucky.
I need to work it out it quick… You said Bon would be shedding any day now, Shy, and that’s when it’s time to leave.
Here’s a thought, if meditation can make magic to power an epic sword, it can definitely guide you in crafting a relationship. Right, Lyra, just like Miyuki taught you. Eyes closed, focus on the question, keep the answer at the front of your mind.
Did I love Fluttershy?
I certainly felt like I did. We’d had a lot of fun together, I play well with the quiet bookish yet firm type as a counter to my brash smugness. We’d gone for a lot of walks and talked about everything we could have. I might not know her like the back of my hand, but I did enjoy listening to Fluttershy when she wanted to speak.
Like when we’d gone on a picnic on top of a hill that used to be part of her friend Applejack’s orchard. She hadn’t really talked about herself much, mostly asking me about myself. But then I’d told her about my mom, and how she disappeared a lot, and she started talking about her mom, and it was just so nice to listen to her and learn about her own family. Even if I would never see them.
They sounded like wonderful people. And judging by Fluttershy, they had to have been great parents. I mean, their kid did grow up so kind she literally became some sort of magical conduit for using an ancient artifact which needed virtuous hearts as launch keys. Parents of the millennium right there.
She seemed to really care about me too. We’d gone to see one of the movies New Ponyville’s theater had running. It sucked ass from my perspective, but Shy liked it, so I’d stuck it out. But she noticed, and she cared, so we left early and had sandwiches by the river instead. She actually cared about my feelings.
Fuck that was rare. Had anyone ever done that except for Gramps? I really don’t think so. Mom sure as hell never cared about my feelings… There had to have been assignments she could have turned down or delegated to someone else. But nope. Always went to do everything herself and in person…
Huh. Might have some abandonment issues there. Those don’t factor into my feelings for Fluttershy, do they?
Eh, maybe a bit. But not much. Not enough to make it wrong to love her. Let’s not lose focus here Lyra. You can deal with your Mom later, assuming you really even care much at all anymore. It’s been decades. Not really critical. Let’s focus on not fucking up Fluttershy’s life.
Ah hell, I did actually love her. I was genuinely concerned for her happiness. What is that if not love? Well, genuine concern, but let’s not split hairs.
Everything we’d done together. The meals, the walks, the swimming, just snuggling up and reading books, playing with Bon, her spending time with me while I worked on Bonbon’s new body… It had healed the mental wounds the first half of my journey had inflicted.
Maybe I had reached out in need, but she had definitely reached back out of love. She wanted to help me. She genuinely cared, and maybe at first I’d just needed anyone to hold, but I was feeling great now, and all I wanted to do now was make her happy as she made me.
Yeah. I loved her. Meditation, you do a fine job of sorting shit out. Thank you.
<We have arrived at the Carousel Boutique,> Cheerly informed. <Returning control of social functions… Can we do this less? I dislike holding a conversation.>
Oh shit! Um… <Yes, sorry, I didn’t know. You couldn’t really talk to me like this before,> I apologised.
<Confirmed,> Cheer.ly said, sounding a bit relieved as she handed the reigns back over, making my body twitch.
What had we been talking abo- Ohhhh! Heh, kinky little thing aren't you Flutterbutter? Good thing no one had really been around for the walk besides us.
“Sure, I wouldn’t mind trying that out later. Assuming Bon’s asleep,” I said, resuming where Cheer.ly ahd left off. “But I think we might want to change topic before headding on in.”
Fluttershy blushed and kicked a hoof against the cobbled streets. “W-well, actually, I used to date Rarity. So she already knows I like that.”
I raised an eyebrow. “So uh, Ponies don't find it awkward to talk about their sex lives in front of friends?”
She shook her head. “No. I um… I am a little. Sometimes. But that’s normal, well, not talking about specific things with specific people. But we don’t have any problems talking about sex. Everypony’s a mature adult, so if the topic comes up, and well, you know. Aren't humans like that?”
I shook my head. “Heh, nope. We usually need alcohol, online anonymity, or to trust everyone present a lot to talk about that stuff.”
“Oh! Well, then I won't talk about it when we are not alone anymore. I’m sorry if I upset you today,” she apologised.
“No, we were alone for the walk. That was fine. Just, let’s not talk about fun stuff while a third party is present… Unless you want them to join in,” I requested.
Shy nodded. “Of course,” she gestured to the carousel shaped store’s doors, “after you, cutie.”
I playfully glared at her. “Hey! I’m the top here, that means I have to be the gentleman,” I stepped over and opened the door, holding it firmly. “After you, Flutterbutter.”
Shy beamed me a huge grin. “That one’s nice!” She exclaimed happily before trotting inside.
R-really? That one worked? That one? Of all the hundred I had gone through, she goes for the-
Eh, fuck it. She liked it. Flutterbutter it was.
Stepping into the somewhat familiar mini-palace that was Rarity’s shop, I immediately heard the mechanical clicking of a sewing machine. I wouldn’t have been able to place that sound before spending a day and a half here for fittings and trying out various ideas Rarity had for completely impractical outfits. It’s interesting really, all the small things visiting other cultures can teach you.
“Rarity, we're here,” Fluttershy announced as we walked into the center of the pink velvet draped room.
“Just a second, darling. This Prench seam just isn’t cooperating with this… This… Terrible substitute for silk!” Rarity called, sounding more than a little exacerbated.
Fluttershy and I stood waiting for just a few minutes, the sound of the sewing machine continuing to click off and on before finally stopping, and Rarity emerged from behind a curtained off area which the rest of the drapes cleverly hid.
“I’m terribly sorry about that! Our Lyra placed an order for this…rather frustratingly delicate garment. It’s quite hard to sew with a silk that’s rather slippery, even with magical assistance and years of experience. Fluttershy, you will be a dear and bring back some silkworms, cotton plants and other fabric making plants, won't you?” Rarity asked hopefully.
“Oh, of course Rarity! I have a whole list of things to get for everypony, and I’ll be sure and take care of everything I can,” Fluttershy promised.
Rarity nodded happily. “Thank goodness!” She exclaimed before turning to face me. “Now then, Shy’s Lyra, I think you’ll be most happy with my efforts to encapsulate the...utilitarian style you insisted on, while still benging an element of fashion to the overall design.”
Oh… Oh physics no! Please don’t have crammed gemstones onto everything like with all those dresses you wanted to do for me. It’s bad enough that you refused to make panties that didn’t have a little gem set in the waistband at the front. Which is why I had refused them. So tacky. Quality mind you, but tacky...
Besides, with everypony naked all the time, I was not really caring if I was anymore. Probably over exposure starting to kick in and make it feel normal.
How do you even find and afford all of these then?
Rarity smiled, clearly seeing the frightened look on my face. “Don’t worry darling, I’m proud of these because you forced me to work outside my usual niche, so to speak.”
Her horn rippled with blue light as she lifted a bundle of clothes from behind a curtain and set them atop a nearby end table to lift and show each piece one at a time. To my amazement with a bit of effort she was able to make the blue glow around the lifted clothing almost completely vanish, letting me see the clothing clearly.
“Designing clothing to be worn all the time was already a challenge, most ponies might wear a particular outfit six or seven times,” Rarity said as she held up a nice simple no frills minty green t-shirt. “I needed to find the perfect fabric to use, and since cotton is unavailable I managed to spin this fabric from a blend of polyester, nylon, and kevlar. It feels soft, and is very durable, but there isn’t enough kevlar for it to be protective. It is though, quite enough for the material to resist wear and tear. Which is good as that will preserve the life of the healing enchantment.”
I nodded gratefully, then gently took the shirt, deciding to change into it. “I like the color, and thanks for keeping it simple. I don’t look good in elaborate clothing.”
Rarity nodded. “I understand you point of view. Frankly I was quite baffled by your refusal for the outfits to be gorgeous, but then I realized that without fur, and being rather plain colored, no offence intended-”
“None taken,” I interrupted. Human skin was pretty boring colored all around. Hence the popularity of tattooing.
Fluttershy’s ears drooped. “I think your colors are nice, Lyra.”
Rarity laughed. “Well of course you would, she’s more white than I am! I do recall you liking pale colors. As I was saying, I realized that for humans, clothing must be like interchangeable fur. You seek to have a simple but colorful appearance for daily tasks, as to you, clothing isn’t simply a thing to make a fashion statement. I apologize for any rudeness during the fitting, I was working under ‘pony logic’ let’s call it.”
I slipped my jacket off, tucked it into my satchel and slipped on the incredibly soft shirt. It fit perfectly! Not too tight, not too loose.
“Damn! Good job. I’ve never had something fit this nice that wasn’t my flight suit!” I exclaimed.
Rarity gagged a little. “I um… That’s wonderful! Ar-are you sure you wouldn’t like me to touch up that suit for you?”
“Absolutely no one other than an engineer gets to modify or repair the million credit piece of military equipment that I might one day need again,” I repeated for the third time.
Rarity smiled, seemingly embarrassed. “It’s just the color is so… Olive green. Why not a sky blue? Nevermind, let’s move on.” Rarity picked up a dark blueish green pair of jeans from the pile, holding them up so they unfolded. “I know I have the pattern down, but do these look right aesthetically?”
“Yes!” I exclaimed happily, snatching them from her telekinetic grip.
They were prefect! I’d only ever gotten to use AR projections to make it look like I had a pair of these. The fabric felt tough, but still smooth. The dark blueish green was nice, the pockets large enough to fit things, a nice loop for holding a hammer, or something, belt loops, the little leather patch on the back of the was for tucking a folding knife into, and a nice bonus extra in an embroidered silver harp on the right asscheek pocket which took up most of the pocket’s face.
Proper men's style fitted jeans. Fuck yeah!
Screw it! Pants go on now. It wasn’t like Rarity hadn’t already seen me naked. She’d refused to make clothes for me before doing anatomical sketches with me in various poses so she could understand how my body moved. A thing which totally paid off, if the fit of this shirt was any indication.
The jeans fit as good as the t-shirt did, even after I did a few practice stretches. “Shit, you do a good job!” I said happily, giving Rarity a grateful smile.
“The sketches helped a lot. I’ve never sewn for a biped before… I’m glad you like them. I made one more pair of jeans, three more shirts, two the same color, and one black one for formal events,” Rarity informed handing me the clothes.
This left a bundle of black leather on the end table. As I packed away my new clothing into the satchel, I nodded towards the leather. “And that’s…what?”
Rarity smiled and held up-
“Is that a jacket?” I asked, looking at the black jacket with it’s silver fittings and stylized cut.
It was very nice looking. Black shiny leather, polished silver buttons, zippers, and buckle for its integrated belt. A kick ass pronounced collar. Little straps on the shoulders which would be epic at holding a backpack’s straps, and the same silver harp design on my jeans was embroidered on it’s back. The back also seemed to be one panel, with slits in the side which seemed to be vent’s for sweat or something?
“Yes it is, and it’s not made of leather, despite the appearances. I asked Doctor Trigger, or rather, I asked Pinkie to bother her husband until he made this for you. It’s the same material as our skin and fur, only without the fur,” Rarity informed as I accepted the jacket. “Phoenix came up with the style, calling it a ‘greaser jacket’. Personally, I don't know why you would compare such a nice double breasted jacket to the gunk in a sink…”
I nodded. “Yeah, that’s just weird. This looks pretty nice. Thank you.”
Fluttershy tilted her head in thought. “Wait, if that’s made from synthfur, is it just as protective?” she asked.
Rarity nodded. “Oh yes. That’s why I had Pinkie beg- Or rather, ask for it to be made. I recalled you getting shot, Lyra, and well, we can’t have that. And with your new wings, your flight suit will prevent flight.”
“Oh, shit.. I didn’t think about that,” I admitted with a thoughtful frown. “Hell if I deploy my wings in these shirts-”
Rarity gave me a triumphant and proud grin. “Their cut will adjust to accommodate the wings. Multi-form garments, a specialty of mine I couldn’t have even dreamed of making a decade ago.”
“That’s awesome! And here I thought I’d have to go topless forever incase I needed to fly,” I said.
Fluttershy kicked the floor with one hoof sadly. “Aww! I- I would have liked that.”
I rolled my eyes. “You’ll see plenty of my chest at home.”
“Y-yes, but um, your breasts will go away eventually, and I’ve always liked them on a mare,” Fluttershy lamented.
I took a knee and gave Shy a quick hug. “You don’t have to worry about that. They’re permanent for humans.”
“Oh! Okay,” she said, half happily, half embarrassed. “S-sorry for talking about sex in front of somepony.”
I rolled my eyes. “They’re just boobs. Don't’ worry about it. Boobs aren't sexual until things are done with them.”
Rarity giggled. “Pardon me, but you two are so cute together. It’s like watching Twilight and Dash’s first few months all over again.”
I smiled. “Right, back on track, how protective is this thing?”
“Well, the blast which disabled you upon your arrival would certainly still harm you, but this jacket should be about half as good as our armor modes,” Rarity answered. “I’m not sure how good exactly, you have flesh and bone under your skin. A swift buck to the chest could still break your bones, but I don't think you need to worry about cuts or punctures. And lower energy magical attacks should be blocked too.
“It’s rather light protection I’m afraid, but I couldn’t let you travel without something protective you could fly in. Besides, you could put on your helmet with this jacket and the overall look would totally work! You mentioned the helmet holds, uh…what was it you called it? Radar?”
I nodded, impressed at Rarity’s proper pronunciation of the English word. “Yeah, that wouldn’t look half bad. Thanks a lot!”
“Not a problem, darling!” Rarity said, accepting the praise with an upwards tilt of her head and a smile. “It was a challenge I relished. Besides, your payment of a proper lettuce, cucumber, and daisy sandwich every day was more than enough compensation. If you’d please try the jacket on, I can make any needed alterations with a spell or two before you leave.”
I nodded and slipped the jacket on. Zipping it up, moving around and then unzipping it. It was comfortable either way, but unzipped it would show off the t-shirt nicely. For good measure, I deployed my wings, each wing neatly moved through the jacket’s slits, and seemed to have their full free range of motion. How was that-
Ah! The jacket’s material moved and stretched like skin would! That made perfect sense. Especially with what it was made of. I mean, I’d had hands on experience with a lot of it. It was indistinguishable from the real deal.
I nodded, quite satisfied. “This is perfect. I’ll have to thank Sky.”
The Boutique's bell rang as the door opened.
“Hey, Rarity, have you fin...ished…” My own voice trailed off.
Surprised to hear myself behind myself, I turned around to find a shorter minty green pony.
A unicorn, golden lyre cutiemark, a shorter than usual horn, large gold eyes- Wait. My eyes were gold… And she had my hair colors. The fuck was-
Oh, derp! Counterpart to me, duh.
“Hel-” I managed to say before the mare practically tackled me around the waist with an iron-tight hug.
She let go and stepped back, coughing in embarrassment. “Ahem, s-sorry. I knew a human was visiting but I um, I didn’t think I’d actually meet you. It’s a big world and I heard you were in the Trottingham settlement… I’m an archeologist. Can I pretty please ask just a few questions? I’ll keep it short so you’re not like, totally sidelined with questions forever… I only have a few great mysteries I really really really want some answers too!”
I couldn't help but laugh. I’d always liked horses growing up, and had been considering entering equine bioforming as a career since lots of people used horses to traverse the wastes more remote sections. And this version of me in this world was obsessed with humans enough to become an archeologist!
I guess her sense of adventure didn’t get in the way of her love for other creatures.
I gave her a nod and sat down on the floor. “Sure thing. But before we start, I am human, tail notwithstanding. That’s from a potion. Full disclaimer: I’m from a universe related to this one, but not this one. There may be some differences between my humans and the ones that used to live here.”
Other me grinned. “Oh no, that won't matter! I know a LOT about culture and a little history, but it’s hard to learn the little things about a people from what they leave behind… Especially when finds are so rare due to age. Um, may I make a tracing of your hands?”
Other me reached out with one hoof, reaching for my hand. I nodded and held it out. She gently took my hand running a hoof over the shape.
“I was close… I thought the innermost finger would be longer,” she murmured, levitating a pencil and scrap of paper from her saddlebags and quickly tracing my hand, marking each joint rather expertly before doing the same for my other hand.
“Thanks! I got the general shape down from analyzing some weapons I found, but this is WAY better,” she proclaimed happily, tucking the drawings away. “So! First question, why the purely mundane physics base for your technology?”
“Easy,” I replied. “We have no idea magic is a thing. Can’t sense it, apparently have it, and I have NO IDEA what it is.”
She nodded. “That makes sense, you don’t even use simple enchantments to remove energy loss over time in your power storage devices. I always wondered about that… Next question, why is your technology so obvious? I mean, it’s always clearly visible, generally given a sleek look, and for some reason almost always rectangular in shape. Even with mundane physics only parts, you could make more subtle stuff. Is it a culture thing?”
I thought for a minute then nodded. “Probably. Like I said, no magic. But worse than that, no natural advantages other than we can run for a long ass time, and we are smarter than animals by an order of magnitude or three. Technology is comforting to us. It’s our equalizer. We might not be able to take on a bear on our own, but in a set of power armor, well, that bear is an amusement at best. It probably started as a ‘this thing keeps me safe’ sort of instinctual feeling, and just became tradition.
“Counter question, does this mean you guys had high technology before the plague? Because I’ve been to more than a few worlds and while I’ve seen technology used. It’s not… It doesn't seem to be in the homes. Exception to the Emerald changelings.”
She nodded. “Yeah. Even before the rebuild we had lots of technology in our homes. Both mundane, arcane, and hybrid systems. We just don't like it being out in the open, a more natural look is just, better. Like, my old kitchen table top could change to display any image I wanted. Our stuff is just integrated into other things.”
Fluttershy nodded. “Oh yes! Traditions are important to everypony I know. Twilight may write with a quill, but our quills are specially made to work as best as they can. We do make new things sometimes… But most ponies just like to improve old things.”
“Quite true. When an individual will be living for a full three centuries, I’m sure you understand why new things popping up all the time would be…distressing. I’m sure most long lived species would rather improve than replace,” Rarity added.
Fair enough.
Other me nodded in agreement. “Right! Now um… You’re not blue. Like, your skin. According to records I found, humans came in blue. Is your appearance natural, or, what?”
“Yes, and no. We’re big on genetic engineering,” I explained. “I’m unmodified from how I was born-”
“W-wait,” Fluttershy interrupted. “Uh, can I ask a question? It’s about, you know…”
I nodded, “Alright, just keep it mature please.”
“I thought since you said humans modified themselves that um, well, you know that ‘toy’ was custom,” Fluttershy said awkwardly, clearly not wanting to break a promise to me. “But, does that mean-”
I nodded in confirmation. “Yeah. Previous upgrades gave gay males girl-like sensitivity just to be nice. As species wide modding law goes, lesbians and straits had to get something equivalent. Frankly I’m glad everything retracts… Things look way nicer with everything internal.”
“I’m intrigued…” Other me said haltingly.
Ugh, fine… But only because pony-me was adorable and this was technically a scientific question. “To greatly summarize for the sake of I really don’t like talking about sex stuff publicly, all human females born after Twenty One Fifty Three can consciously choose to increase the size of their cliterious to something useable for penetration. Though usually it’s not very big, just enough to ‘work’. Naturally, shrinking it is also a conscious choice.
“It’s really only a means to enable more forms of intercource between females since, again, legally they improved males with the intent of making gay male couples more easily able to enjoy sex, so every other orientation had to get a boost too. Straits got some sort of pheromone that boosts the endorphin release from sex while you're doing it. Probably because that does make sex better but also promotes breeding and the gov likes live babies because we need a lot of dead soldiers.”
Other me nodded and smiled a bit. “Ignoring that bit of grim there. So, heh, we have potions and charms for all those things. It would be cool to permanently integrate some fun times enhancements though… And wallet saving. Too bad nopony’s rebuilt the red light district. Even if you find sex awkward to talk about, we had a lot of cool stuff. One more question?’
“Knock yourself out,” I replied, grateful to be moving on.
“But that would hurt…” Other me said, tilting her head in confusion.
“Human expression, means go ahead,” I explained.
“Ah! Right, so the other big mystery of mine. What did you guys eat? Nothing with that data has survived this long,” she asked.
“We’re omnivores. Though historically most of us prefer to stick to meat, grains, fruits, and synthetic foods. Unfortunately, I’ve only had traditional food myself for six weeks now, we don’t have the resources at home to feed everyone those things. So right now at least, we mostly eat genetically modified algies cut into cubes.
“They taste horrible, but you can buy flavors to substitute it with AR. Also, if you’re willing to get a bit pricy, you can get some traditional foods… Uh… I sort of had to spend my free money caring for my Bon though. Rabbits cost A LOT! Also she got into my Spaghettios once and well, even snakes deserve a treat so those became hers.”
Other me raise one eyebrow in alarm. “Wait, you're clearly my counterpart, so then, that means your Bonbon is a snake!?”
I shook my head “Um, well, no… I named the AI in my jet Bonbon I after a childhood friend of mine, and then I got a pet snake and I couldn’t think of a name so I named her Bonbon too. Also she got hit with wild magic and is a lamia now.”
Fluttershy nodded twice. “A very cute one! You should come by tomorrow and meet her.”
“I think I will,” other me decided, frowning suddenly. “What did I come here fo- Oh! Right. Thank you very very much for putting up with my questions. So um, Rarity, did you finish?”
“Afraid not, darling,” Rarity apologised. “But don’t worry, I should only need a few more hours. It will be ready for your anniversary this evening.”
“Thanks! Sorry if it’s hard… I don't know how sewing works,” she admitted, ears drooping.
I stood up, nodding to Fluttershy to indicate it was time to go. Then, on a whim, I reached into my bag, pulled out my belt, and slipped my long gone gun’s battery pack out of it’s pouch.
“Hey, pony me… I don’t need this anymore. Want a fresh human artifact? It’s fully charged, so be carefull if you take it apart,” I warned, holding out the power pack.
“Oh-buck-the-hay-yes-I-want-it-what-is-it?” she said almost too rapidly to understand, wheeling around on her rear hooves to snatch the pack from me and stare at it intently.
“It’s a power pack, an advanced battery. It’s meant to power a maser pistol, but mine was destroyed,” I explained. “Keep it. Maybe you can power some relic up with it or something.”
“I totally probably maybe can!” She exclaimed happily, bouncing from hoof to hoof.
I smiled and took a few steps towards the door.
“Wait!” Other me called, rushing over, magic aura glowing. “I want to give you something too!”
“Um, alright,” I said, taking a step back in surprise as she pulled an old style guitar from a saddle bag.
Black bodied, white pickguard, natural wood neck, silver fittings… Not a bad replica of a 2090’s era Les Paul replica. Not exactly my style, or favorite instrument, but who rejects a gift?
“How the hell do you even play an old relic like that?” I wondered out loud.
“Dexterous hoof pads, and magic. Like it? Sky makes them, not the best instruments, but I like the human inspired design over the ease of pony use. They’re all styled after pictures of your species. The internals are all meant for a batpony made guitar, we invented the guitar too, but ours have the strings wider apart and are five string instead of six,” she said, holding it up for me to take. “So that means it doesn't need to be plugged into the big speakers like in the pictures. All the sound is done from the guitar, and you can adjust it with the knobs on the face plate there. Er, I’m assuming you can play it, because you’re me.”
I nodded, taking the guitar and gently sliding it into my own bag. Who knew that bottomless bags would be common things in pony future, but big deals in their past?
“Yeah, I can play guitar, piano, drums, and most synthesizers… I downloaded a TON of instrument packages as a kid. My favorites always been bagpipes with the lyre as a close second. Though I do love rock, so thanks! I haven't gotten to play something in a long time. Should be fun,” I thanked gratefully.
“You like the lyre too?” She asked, beaming me a huge smile. “It’s like I have a human sister. Awesome!”
Fluttershy’s ears perked suddenly. “Oh! Lyra, we need to go! Bonbon’s done and on her way to the park.”
“Ah, gotcha,” I acknowledged. “We'll, see you around other me. My jet and I need to pick up flying again.”
After returning her wave goodbye Fluttershy and I ran out to get to the park. After all, Bonbon would be teleporting. Also Dash apparently might as well be teleporting over short distances, so really, they were waiting on us. I had a pretty decent knowledge of Ponyville’s layout by now, so winding my way through the semi-busy streets wasn’t much of a problem.
A few short minutes brought Shy and I to the entrance to the park, and just a moment’s glance to locate the bright rainbow colored pegasus who'd be teaching me to fly today. Me. Fly. Today. Without the use of technology!
Well, um, without separate from my body technology. Shut up, me!
Standing next to Dash was a random pony I had never seen before. Kinda dark peach colored, darker than cartoon human skintone, like someone mixed pink and burnt orange. She also had Sky’s electric blue spiky hair.
“Sky and Pinkie have a kid?” I asked Fluttershy as we jogged towards the two.
“Um, I didn’t think they did, but apparent- Oh! No, that’s Bonbon! Just heard Dash say her name,” Shy informed cheerfully.
That’s what I had figured. I’d only wanted to be sure.
I skidded to a halt next to Bonbon, boots digging at the ground. “Hey! Bonbon, right? And not this universe's one?” I asked just to be sure.
“Well, technically, I was created in this universe, so we would both be this universe's Bonbon,” she replied cheekily.
I shook my head and gave her a hug. “Love ya, sis. Nice look by the way. No buttstamp?”
“Apparently those are earned,” she replied. “But if you think this looks good…” Her eyes twinkled happily. “Check this out!”
Her fur split apart, the transformation looking really horrific, simply due to the nature of the plates sliding out. Fortunately it was over in less than a second, leaving me looking at… at…
At a really poor paint job. Yeah, I knew it was copied over from a robot from a show she liked, but just… Yeah, no. Not every paint job looks good on every shape.
“Yikes!” Dash exclaimed for me. “That’s what you went with for your armor?”
Bonbon frowned, nodding. “Obviously. It’s painted on me after all.”
“It’s um… The blue is good but, it’s a bit…busy. And I’m not Rarity, and I’m saying that, ” Dash continued.
Bonbon rolled her eyes and turned to me. “I’m sure you like it though, right?”
I bit my lip. “Honestly? It looks great on M.E.G.A.S., but it’s better on a square shaped bot. The rounded shapes you have don't suit it. But Dash is right, the blue is good.”
Bonbon’s face contorted into the single most heart wrenching sad look I had ever seen, save for Fluttershy’s puppydog eyes. Turning to face Fluttershy, Bonbon asked. “D-do you think it’s bad?”
Fluttershy nodded. “Yes. And Lyra’s right. The flames are stylish but I can tell their shapes were meant to go on a flat surface, not a rounded one, and that makes it look wierd. If you want to look cool, you could paint yourself like a Neighponese A.L.I.C.O.R.N. mecha. Perhaps, um… What’s that one… It’s a nice dark blue like that, with a few dark red stripes to highlight different plates edges. If you’d like to repaint, I could help you.
“But just so you know I’m not being mean, I think you picked out a wonderful appearance for your pony mode! It’s very nice.”
“Fine… I get it. I’ll get repainted,” Bon grumbled dejectedly as I wondered how many worlds have Neighponese fighting Kaiju in them.
“Sorry to burst your bubble, kid,” Dash apologised. “ I don't know what AIs think looks good, but that just didn’t work. No hard feelings?”
“Slight hard feelings,” Bonbon objected. “I’ve always wanted to enjoy cosplay…”
“Well then, how about I make up for that by teaching you to get back in the air?” Dash asked.
“But you were already going to do that,” Bon asked, frowning in confusion.
Dash turned to give me a funny look. “Um, she doesn't get out much, does she?”
“She’s really only talked to me, two technicians, and well, Sky,” I answered.
“Ah, well uh, Bonbon…” Dash paused. “I’m going to get really confused if I keep calling you Bonbon, especially because she’s also named Lyra. Mind if I call you BB for short?”
“That is an acceptable shortening,” Bonbon confirmed.
That wasn’t a bad idea, it would help Bon not get so confused… “Sorry for naming everyone Bonbon…” I coughed.
BB turned to face me. “But, you… I… I thought you just read my serial number?!” She accused.
“What do you mean?” I asked, frowning.
“Four-two-six-eff-six-ee-six-two-six-eff-six-ee, “ BB said quickly. “If you decode that as hexadecimal, it reads Bonbon…”
“I um, I did not know that,” I said as diplomatically as I could, pretty floored by that coincidence.
BB’s ears drooped sadly. “And there goes their integrity again… I need a tig welder and some scrap metal.”
Dash rolled her eyes. “What do you say we get to teaching you two to fly? You’re grown ups, we know your wings work, shouldn't be hard to teach you. It’s only hard for foals to learn cuz short attention spans and well, you know, primary feathers aren't grown in.”
I nodded. “Right, I’m paying attention.”
<Cheer.ly, record everything to file please,> I requested.
<Understood,> my VI confirmed.
“Fluttershy, would you mind helping me show them the positions?” Dash asked.
“Oh, um, okay!” Shy agreed, trotting to stand a bit in front of BB and I.
“Pegasi flight isn’t about the flapping, we don’t really fly like a bird. It’s all magic,” Dash began. “That said, there IS a physical component to this. While being in shape isn’t really a thing anymore, but rather better engineering, it’s still very important to know how to move your wings.
“Because what you’re really doing to fly is a sort of gesture based magic. Each subtle movement of your wing and feathers shapes your ‘flight field’ and helps control what you do. Unlike a unicorn, you can use more than one part of your magic at a time.
“This only applies to BB, as she can still manipulate the weather while in flight. Sorry Lyra, but you're limited to flying, unless you want to lose more body parts. BB, I’ll show you weather tricks later, we’ll start with lightning. Fluttershy, move your wings to hover, but don't take off.”
I watched as Shy spread her wings, dipping each individual feather much like how you would set an aileron to climb.
“You guys see this?” Dash asked. “Walk around her, memorise the positioning of each feather, and then copy that position yourself. I’ll make sure you have everything right, and we can start talking you through the basics. We should have you in the air in… Meh, few hours. Not like, good to fly on your own in a few hours, but flying-like-a-young-filly is totally doable.”
“Position memorised,” BB informed, spreading her own wings to the position Fluttershy held.
<Cheer.ly?> I asked.
<Got it,> she responded.
I deployed my own wings, setting the posision according to the first frame of the movment template Cheer.ly was building.
“Dunzo,” I informed.
Dash rolled her eyes and moved into inspect the two of us, thoroughly going over each individual feather in my wings, even running her hoof down them in a way which felt nice enough for me to be uncomfortable before moving on to inspect BB.
“Huh, alright. Not bad. Beginner’s luck can come in handy sometimes,” she mused.
“I’m an artificial intelligence. I simply mapped her wing’s positions to a coordinate grid and replicated their motion,” BB explained.
“Huh… You know, I could do that, but I never thing to do it. Good idea there,” Dash turned to me, “Still at least you have le-”
“I have a computer assisted learning system as a part of my brain,” I smirked.
<Half of your brain,> Cheer.ly protested.
“Oh fine, half,” I corrected.
Dash turned back to look at Fluttershy.
“She does, I talked to her over the network. Twilight improved her a bit, she’s nice,” Fluttershy said happily.
<Wait, you talked to her?> I asked in confusion.
<Yes. I like her,> Cheer.ly repplied.
<How? Why?> I asked suspiciously.
<I’m you, you are me. I like who we like,> she replied.
<Fair point…> I decided, <You’re getting chatty.>
<I’m between stored ebooks. I will resume scilence when I have chosen my next- Silence resumed,> Cheer.ly rambled.
God dammit Twilight… I’m tempted to ask you to undo this. I shook my head, turning my attention back to reality.
“So, Dash, what’s the next keyframe look like?” I asked.
“It’s not just as easy as knowing how to move your wings, you’re going to need to learn how best to move them for your own unique magic,” Dash cautioned.
“Sure, but we can still power through the basic training and get into the air for real training as fast as possible,” BB said simply.
I nodded. “We’re both seasoned fliers, we know that basic is one tenth of training.”
Dash nodded in satisfaction. “Fluttershy, upstroke, please.”
Fluttershy - 20th of Leafdrop 13 EoH - Afternoon
Multiverse Location: Cyberquestria, Equis #3
I always heard that foals hated their step mothers, and vice versa. I know I wasn’t Bon’s mother by any means, but I understood that idea even less now. I loved taking care of my marefriend’s little girl!
And not just because I hadn’t taken care of an animal for a long long time. I’d thought about that long and hard. This was a different sort of nice. A new thing to do. It was new, but familiar. And most of all, it was just fun! I’d always been good with folks who knew how to behave themselves, and Bon was very well behaved. It probably came from Lyra’s training her before Bon’s people days.
What’s even better is Bon liked me too. She liked Lyra too, and Lyra definitely loved her back. But the moment Lyra was too overwhelmed to keep playing, busy, or like now, napping after her fourth strait day of what had become an impromptu flight school for over thirteen pegasi who asked if they could join in, Bon would happily come up to me and ask if we could play.
It was nice. She was fun to play with, well, except for wrestling. I think Bon could beat a cragadile at wrestling. She definitely beat my poor chassis… I’d gotten a little extra padding for safety when I went in for repairs.
“When mom wakes up can we go to the lake?” Bon asked as I rummaged in a cupboard for a can of her favorite snack food.
I’d asked Discord for a case of it. He never minded helping me get little things, as long as they weren't really for myself.
“I’m sure she’ll love to go to the lake today,” I said encouragingly. “Oh! Here it is. Let me just open this for you.”
I retrieved the can and carefully pulled the lid off the top, dumping the contents into a bowl. Say what you want about the crudeness of premixing everything like this. Human meals were definitely efficient. The poor things must not have much time!
“Yay! Skettios!” Bon exclaimed, rearing up to reach the bowl atop the counter, and proceeding to use her tongue like a fork to eat the rings one by one.
She paused after a moment then looked up at me. “Why’s mom so tired all the time now?”
I landed next to her, hooves thumping lightly against the floor as I gave Bon a gentle pet on the… tail? Back? Oh goodness, even I have problems with snake anatomy.
“She’s been learning to fly for the last four days, sweetie. It’s very exhausting. Especially when Rainbow Dash is the one teaching you. She pushes ponies to their limits while they learn. But not in mean way,” I explained.
“Oh, okay… Will I ever get to fly?” Bon asked, turning back to her treat.
“Well um, maybe if your mom and I try to carry you together… But that probably won't happen,” I said doing my best to be honest but not sound mean by a foal’s logic.
Bon nodded and kept eating for a while then asked. “Aunt Shy, can you skitch my tail? Is itchies.”
I moved my hoof down, scratching at her tail, and only barely suppressing a yelp as a strip of scales and skin peeled off. “Oh! Um, you’re shedding. Are you itchy all over or just the tail?”
“Um… Itchy,” Bon replied, too busy eating to want to talk.
“Hold on sweetie, I’m going to get your mom,” I said, not wanting Lyra to miss Bon transitioning to a proper young lamia.
Quickly running into my bedroom, I hopped up onto the bed and gently shook Lyra’s shoulder. “Dear… Dear, get up! Bon’s shedding.”
Lyra rolled over with a groan mumbling. “Save it, make a belt… They are good belts.”
“No, sweetie, she’s growing up, right now. You won't want to miss it,” I continued urgently.
“Huh?” Lyra said, sitting upright, properly awake.
“Bon is shedding, she’s going to be a proper lamia in a few minutes,” I informed.
“Anaconda’s take like, two days to fully shed,” Lyra said sleepily.
“Yes, but Lamia’s take about three minutes. Come on! You don't want to miss our little girl growing up!” I said.
“Heh, you said our,” Lyra noted.
I blushed deeply and nodded to the door. “S-sorry. I like her.”
“It’s okay, hell you're a better mom than I am,” she said standing up.
The two of us quickly left the room, returning to the kitchen with Bon still eating, but her old skin now split almost all the way down the back.
“Woah, you were right! They do go fast,” Lyra apologised as she walked up to Bon and gave her a quick hug.
“Yay! Mom!,” Bon exclaimed. “Can we go to the lake? I’m itchy. Water gets rid of itchy.”
“Sure thing, hon,” Lyra agreed. “Did you know you’re shedding?”
Bon nodded. “Skettios more importance.”
Lyra laughed. “Want help getting out of the old skin? It looks peeled enough for me to take it off for you.”
“Sketties done!” Bon announced, simply slithering backwards, the old skin crumpling as she moved out of it.
I’d never seen a lamia shed before, it was awfully clean! It looked like her whole skin pushed up off the new skin then just split open like a sleeping bag.
Bon on the other hand, had definitely undergone some changes. Her head was now attached to a distinct neck section of her body, with shoulders for her dragon-like forearms which were pressed tightly against her sides, slowly moving outwards as the transformation magic did it’s job until she looked sort of like a snake headed dragon of Spike’s age when I had first met him.
Which multiplied her adorableness by at least twenty!
Bon turned, noticing her left arm, blinked in surprise and asked, “Wut?”
“That’s your arm, hon,” Lyra said gently.
“I have hands?!” Bon exclaimed in a sort of delighted surprise, before thrashing her shoulder slightly. “How. Make. Go?”
I couldn’t help but giggle at her antics. “It’s okay! We’ll help you get used to them,” I promised.
“Arms. Like. Nooooodles...” Bon lamented, still trying on her own to move them. “Halp!”
Lyra and I shared a look of barely contained laughter then began to gently show Bon how an arm worked.
Lyra Heartstrings - 21st of Leafdrop 13 EoH - Noon
Multiverse Location: Cyberquestria, Equis #3
Alright Lyra, last chance to make sure everything is ready for the second leg of your journey. No, our journey. Hell, you have your kid, your sis, and your girl with you. Adventure family, for the win!
Hopefully.
Fluttershy’s got all her important things in her saddlebags. I’ve got my helmet on, jacket zipped, belt on, and combat knife ready. BB’s geared up to go. Everyone’s here to say bye… Even Rose. Yeah, I think that’s it.
We stood outside of Fluttershy’s house, a point chosen mostly to make sure that nopony decided to portal hop with us. All of Fluttershy’s friends were there to see her off. I had wondered about them, after all Shy had mentioned she was part of their whole, magic superweapon activation spell thing.
Turns out that the plague had destroyed the source of that magic. So she was free to go. Her only ties to this place left were her friends, and she could visit them once a month or so.
“We’ll miss you a lot, Fluttershy, but you need real nature. Maybe in a hundred years or so once we have everything replanted you and Lyra could move back!” Twilight suggested as she broke her farewell hug.
I nodded. “That’s not a bad idea. I’ll help her with that list of plants. I’m sure someone will be willing to set up a more official source of assistance.”
Fluttershy nodded. “Hopefully. It would be the first one though.”
“First time for everything,” BB noted.
Her newest paintjob was much better. It took her five different coats of paint to finally settle on a ‘Gypsy Danger costume’. It looked WAY better on her than her other choices.
Twilight nodded and took four small earrings out of her saddlebags with her magic. “Speaking of a first time for everything, I made these last night. Simple charms to negate Wild Magic. It won't protect you from anything very, well, potent, and they will probably only work once. But better once than dead, right?”
I nodded in agreement and took one of the rings, opening my helmet to slip it into my left ear, before moving on to the right ear since the telekinesis ring was in my left ear. Shit man, I’d totally forgotten about that. I should have been practicing using it this whole time!
I noticed Twilight gently slipping one ring onto one of bon’s talon-like fingers. “That’s not too tight, is it?” Twilight asked.
Bon shook her head.
“Good, don't take it off, it keeps you safe, okay?” Twilight asked.
Bon nodded. “Okay.”
Not to self. All ponies are apparently very good with kids.
I turned to Dash. “Thanks for the flight lessons, blue fast.”
After four days, Dash was reasonably confident that I could fly on my own from that point on. My experience flying a jet realy helped. After all, I knew all the maneuvers. I really just needed to relearn the ‘controls’ so to speak.
Dash shook her head grinning at Bon’s nickname for her. “No problem. Don’t get cocky though, you still got a LOT of learning to do.”
“No worries, I promise to only crash half as good as you used to,” I teased.
Dash rolled her eyes and gave me a friendly punch to the hip. “Yeah, you better not!” She retorted with a smile.
I turned my attention to Rarity. “Thanks for the clothes again, I’ll pop back in if I ever need a new outfit.”
“Do me one favor,” Rarity asked. “When you inevitably run into one of my counterparts, show her my clothes. I’ve always wanted to have a multiverse wide fashion show against myself.”
I laughed. “Sure thing Rares. Hell, I’m not into fashion, but I’m sure I’d watch that.”
And then, there was Rose. I turned to her and took a knee to be sure I could look her in the eyes. “You sure you want to stay here?” I asked.
She nodded firmly. “Yeah. I have to. Family honor is important to me… Also they’ve started building thestral models and I have the knowledge of Clan Taikwuan in my head. I need to pass it on, that way, the clan doesn't die.”
I nodded in understanding. “Alright, I’ll see you next time I’m here. Good luck with your vendetta.”
“Wait!” Rose said as I stood up to leave.
Looking down I saw her reach into a saddlebag and pull out the single most simple, bulky, over built pistol to ever see the light of day. Black, squarish, angular. Like an old Desert Eagle if it were designed by someone in love with smooth flat surfaces.
It’s only interesting feature was a small white chunk of quartz fitted into the back of the slide.
“I forgot to give you this for a while,” Rose explained. “it’s the gun Ayna and I worked on together. It’s, crude looking. She refused to make it look nice, cuz quote ‘That’s a waste of effort. It works, who cares how it looks?’ unquote. But it’s not half bad. Good heavy pistol. Should punch through medium armor, light shields.
“It fires small bits of sand or sandstone, you load that into the sliding bit in the handgrip. The enchantments are powered by the quartz crystal, it’s a standard mage gem. Gem should power fifty or so shots, sand provides a few thousand shots, sandstone will give you around eight thousand. It’s select fire, single, burst three, or burst five. We would have done more but working in a hand grip was hard. Pony weapons are built entirely different.”
I took the weapon from her grip and inspected it, turning it in my hands. Solid, heavy, well built. Definitely a heavy pistol. Not bad.
“This will do just fine. Thank you,” I said as she handed me a small cloth bag.
“Five more mage gems. Incase you can't find any given hardware store in a place you end up,” she informed.
I slipped the gun into my empty holster, and tossed the bag of gems into my satchel. “Thanks again, and seriously, good luck here. I hope you kick her ass,” I said sincerely.
“I think I will,” Rose replied with a grin. “I’ll catch you next time you're in town, Lyra.”
“Same here Rose,” I said as I stepped back over to my family.
My family. Shit. It’s one thing to adventure by yourself, but with a whole family...
I apprehensively flipped open the VM’s cover. I still had a feeling deep in my gut that said I should stay here. But, I promised Shy a better world to live in, and after coming this far it would be an insult to everyone who helped me to stop now. It was time to leave.
I took a deep breath and tapped a button to bring up the holographic display. “Right, everyone grab ahold of me. Not to say I don’t trust Twilight’s charms, but let’s not waste those just incase they are one offs.”
“A-are you sure that will protect us?” Fluttershy asked worriedly.
“Yeah, Sky said the VM’s shielding should protect me, and I didn’t mutate when I came through despite not having my flight suit on, did I?” I asked.
Twilight shook her head. “No. It should be safe, Shy. The rings are just to be doubblesafe. I’ll see you soon!”
Fluttershy nodded and grabbed ahold of my right hip. BB took the left, and Bon slithered up to grab my belt.
Satisfied everyone was secure, I tapped the button. Immediately the purple vortex rippled to life, flickering almost ominously in front of us.
“Too bad you don’t use books like Ms. Hooves did,” Fluttershy sighed.
Shaking my head I stepped forward to touch the portal. “Hold onto your plot, this almost always leads right into something dangerous.”
My hand met the portal’s shimmering surface, the sharp jolt in my guts was almost familiar as the portal pulled me into the next universe. I could feel the others pulled along with me as well, as if I had strings attached to the normal ‘hook in the guts’ feeling.
Maybe it was the fact that I hadn’t done this in a month, but the trip seemed to take longer than I remembered. As if the extra people slowed down the trip, or-
The pull sharply changed direction, the straight ahead pull, yanking slightly to the left, then sharply down after another moment. It felt like a combination of being on a slide and being in a zero-g environment. The purplish nothing dimmed for a moment, and I could see a series of bubbles all around us, drifting aimlessly through a…space. We had been heading for one, but a second one had drifted up and intercepted the…thing we were in?
The hell was I seeing? How was I seeing it? How screwed were we?
Before I could even think of part of an answer, a world materialised around us. A palace of some kind, judging by the nice quality carpet, tapestries woven to make maps of Equest- Um, no, that wasn’t a language I could read… And that massive black carved iron throne didn’t look very-
Wait… Blackish gray painted walls. Lots of hanging drapery, massive map behind an iron throne which sat atop a 15 foot high staircase with a black red and silver carpet leading up to it. With the base of the throne surrounded by carved blackened iron sculptures of gargoyles which were holding up big ass bowls of unnecessary burning green stuff.
Shit. This was a stereotypical evil villain's throne-
Sitting in the throne, hooves stepped eagerly, staring down at the room before her, sat Chrysalis. Not the one I’d met and hung out with. Not by a long shot. I didn’t need to do more than look at her rage filled eyes. And notice the unnecessarily voluminous dark green cloak covered in random magic looking runes and the big platinum and jetstone crown resting atop her head.. And spot the pink pegasus mare and white unicorn stallion chained to her throne on either side. Then notice the suspended ceiling cages that were people sized.
Fuck me! Why?!
Another split second ticked by. I then noticed the ring of changelings in gothic looking plate armor encircling a long gray furred blond maned pegasus mare who was bleeding, clearly exhausted, and standing atop a small mound of dead guards. And holding up a small silver charm which had a rapidly fading magical glow around it.
I didn’t have time to process anything further before Chrysalis spat, “Summoning allies, Traveler? They too shall feed our Empire!”
Scratch that, all of the changelings said it in unison. In her voice.
Half of the changelings spun in unison, turning to bear horns and weapons at the four of us. “I am the Swarm,” the said in unison. “Lower your weapons and surrender your lives. I will add your emotional energy to my own supply. You will be adapted to serve me. Resistance, is entertaining.”
FUUUUUUUUUUCCCCKKKKKKK!
“Ms. Muffin!” Shy gasped in horror as she spotted the mare in distress.
“They look noms,” Bon mused.
Seven for seven… The guards turned to face me. I drew my gun, grimacing at the unfamiliar grip and balance.
“Business as fucking usual,” I growled wishing I could give the multiverse the finger. “Right, save what’s-her-face!”