"Mmmmbrlglmmph... somebody... alarm... turn it ooooooooff..."
Lyra's eyelids slowly pried themselves apart as she blearily took in her surroundings. There was a lot of blue, but various smudges of different shades floated around her vision. A black shape framed in pink moved closer to her, two vaguely roundish pink splotches peering at her as it murmured incoherently.
"Pinky black... Bonity bon..." Lyra giggled, before letting out a groan. "Ringing... ringing everywhere... I... you and... face diapers?" She jolted up suddenly. "The foal! The foal, is the foal--?!"
A firm but friendly black limb forced her back down. "...s alright... oal is fi..."
"Foal is fine?"
The black smudge nodded, gaining more definition. "Yes, Lyra... the foal is fine."
"Ooooh. Oh. Oh goody..." Lyra slumped down. "This is the hospital, isn't it...?"
"Yes."
She blinked, trying to clear her eyes of whatever was smudging up her view. "Paprika... Everything's blurry. I remember... the gang attacked us... I threw face diapers... you were mind assaulted and... I surged. I fainted, right?"
"Gave me quite a scare," the Bonsmudge confirmed. "I was able to get you to the hospital quickly enough, though."
Lyra nodded, trying to gather her thoughts from the random meandering of partial consciousness. "How long... how long was I out?"
The paired pink smudges turned away for a moment.
"...Bonbon. How long?"
"...They... four days."
"Four days?" Lyra shook her head. "No, see, that doesn't make sense. Surges, even the powerful ones, they only conk you out for like half a day at the most! Bonbon, what's going on?"
The changeling sighed. "I... Arsenic and Lace are outside. I'll go tell one of them to tell the doctors you woke up."
"Bonbon!"
"I'm not leaving! I'm just..." The smudge backed off, slithering toward a rectangle of brown. "Lyra... I think it would be best for a doctor to tell you."
"Talk to me, Bonbon." Lyra took a breath. "Please... tell me. What's going on? Why is everything blurry? Why am I so tired...? I'm scared..."
Bonbon froze, her hoof over the doorknob. Medical screens beeped, dutifully monitoring the state of the unicorn's body as her mind jumbled back and forth.
"...alright."
The black smudge flowed back to her, and she felt a chitinous hoof wrap gently around her shoulder.
"...The way the doctors explained it to me..." Bonbon clicked her tongue. "When... whenever a unicorn surges, there's a part of the brain, a shut off valve, that stops all the magic from going all at once. A horn can only take so many thaums at once, after all, and you do use magical energy in... a lot of your body processes. But..."
The hoof gripped Lyra's shoulder a bit tighter.
"...Lyra, you know I love you. So please, please don't take this the wrong way. It's just... the way your brain is, the same thing that makes you bipolar... it, um, it also... broke the valve."
"...What?"
"All the magic in your body, every last thaum, it all escaped at once. I didn't get a good look, but I know your horn was shining almost as brightly as the sun... the doctors say that I was spared, since I was on the ground, but they thought you might have been blinded by the light--"
"Wait wait, hold on." Lyra took a breath. "I... I know, I know for a fact, unicorns--ponies in general, actually--we can't survive without magical energy in our bodies. It's a necessity! And, and you need to feed off the magic that I shape with my love, you'll starve--"
"Lyra, relax. It's not... ponies can go for three weeks without magic," Bonbon explained. "At least, that's what the doctors say. Don't worry, though, they figured out a way to get enough magic into your system. And I've got enough stored away to last till you're better, worst comes to worst I'll just nip some Philos off of our friends... we'll survive."
"Oh, that's... okay. Yeah." Lyra nodded. "More pills, I... I can handle more pills."
Bonbon glanced away. "...Listen... about the pills..."
Lyra's breath hitched. "...They're not pulling my pills. Tell me they're not pulling my pills."
"...Lyra, your magic... the pills... See, you know how it's a bad idea to drink alcohol while you're pregnant?"
"Well, yeah. The alcohol loosens your magical biodefense and can get to--Oh no." Lyra's eyes went wide. "Have... Have I been posioning the foal all this time--?"
"No!" Bonbon put another hoof on Lyra's other shoulder. "Your magical immune system was preventing the pills from reaching your uterus, it was fine. But... now that you don't have much magical energy, the doctors... they think that won't work anymore."
"Oh no..." Lyra shivered. "Oh no oh no oh no.... this isn't good."
"Lyra--"
"No, Bonbon, you don't understand. You've seen me go a day without the pills. You haven't... you haven't seen me go a week, a month--"
"Lyra, it's only until your magic builds up again--"
"I am legitimately crazy without those things!" The unicorn's breath grew quick and ragged. "I could be very, very dangerous--I could become, I could be--"
Suddenly Lyra felt something press against her lips. Something flexible and cool and familiar and calming. Her body tensed for a moment, before slowly relaxing, and she leaned forward to return the kiss almost instinctively.
Eventually, Bonbon pulled away. "In sickness and in health. That's what I promised. And I swear, Lyra Heartstrings, there is absolutely nothing that you could do that would drive me away."
"I... oh... Bons, please. Don't make promises you can't keep..."
"You know I never do, Lyra." Bonbon nuzzled the unicorn's cheek. "And it's not just me anymore. Arsenic and Lace are there to help out now."
"That might not be enough!"
"Two trained guards?"
"Well, yeah, but they're royal guards--"
"Lace is with the Hagfish Hive," Bonbon reminded her flippantly. "Which means she isn't incompetent."
Lyra bit her lip. "...still... Ah... hmm." She glanced away from the black blur. "I just... this is... all at once. And I'm pregnant on top of that. Or is it all this on top of the pregnancy? Bonbon, am I fat?"
"Um. Hmm. Well, you're... large, but most of that isn't actually fat." Bonbon tilted her head. "Why are you asking this?"
"I don't know, I'm still a little woozy and where is my head from waking up. And all my magic drained, which means I can't telekinesis stuff anymore. And also got blurvision, can't forget that. Oh, there it goes," she added brightly, "I'm panicking again. Oh horseradish these next few weeks are going to be horrible for everypony..."
"Lyra. Lyra, focus on me. Listen to me. I will make absolutely sure we get through this. Okay?"
"...Okay. Okay..." Lyra shivered. "Bon.... the ponies. The ponies that attacked us--"
"They were..." Bonbon hesitated. "...some of them are still... here, in the hospital. The ones who have already been treated are behind bars."
"Are... are they going to die?"
The changeling glanced away for a moment. "I... I don't think so. I'm not sure, I didn't bother checking on them after...." She trailed off, letting her hoof whisper down Lyra's foreleg.
The unicorn nodded quietly, reaching over and gripping it firmly. "Doesn't matter. You, you're alive.... foal's alive... That's the important thing right now. Us. Family. Yes."
A knock came from the door. Lyra blinked in confusion. "What... who is that?"
"Probably a doctor..." Bonbon shrugged helplessly, gently pulling her hoof back. "It is a hospital after all. Come in!"
The door swung wide, admitting two golden outlines with white highlights... or was it white outlines with golden highlights? Lyra squinted as a third outline, far larger than the other two, stepped into the room. There were golden highlights on this one too, but they weren't as big as the other two and the whole thing was framed in a shifting cloud of colors...
"Bonbon, I don't think those are doctors."
The large white outline gave a small chuckle. "That would be correct, miss Lyra."
"Wait a minute, I know that voice..." Lyra peered at the white shape. "Good cinnamon and pumpernickel! You're... You're..."
She paused dramatically, allowing Bonbon to let out a preemptive sigh.
"Princess Blurestia!"
"My apologies, Princess. Lyra has an... odd sense of humor at the best of times, and as you can see she's..." Bonbon gestured. "Well, she's a little loopy right now. Also, with all due respect, why are you here?"
"I came to give my most humble apologies to one of my citizens." Celestia shook her head and sighed. "I've done my best to encourage integration of changelings into Equestria after the events surrounding my niece's wedding, but... well, as you can see, there are some who would take matters into their own hooves. If I had known--"
"We of course accept your public apology for these events, but let's cut to the chase. You're not going to visit every pony or changeling attacked by bigots personally." Bonbon glowered at the princess. "Why are you really here?"
Celestia took a breath. "Guards... please wait outside."
The two other outlines stepped into the hall, shutting the door behind them.
"...I was not lying about trying to encourage integration. Chrysalis's arrogance aside, the fact of the matter is Canterlot nearly fell, and our defense against the invasion the first time is not likely to occur again. Peace is always preferable to paranoia.." Celestia let out a resigned sigh. "Unfortunately, the changelings that formerly were in Chrysalis's hive have... splintered quite a bit. Various microhives and single rogues have broken off and their position and action is lost to us. On top of that, Queen Myxine is trying to use her new alliance with Equestria to gain more leverage... and there's the other major hives we know of, but have little information about."
"The point, Celestia."
The princess gave an amused huff. "I do tend to ramble, forgive me." She stepped forward, coming to the side of the bed that Lyra was lying on. "In point of fact, this pregnancy and the relationship leading up to it has been cited again and again when the subject of integration came up. Its progression, and its results, are of a fair amount of political importance... and that's not to mention the responsibilities that parenthood forces."
Lyra blanched. "Oh salt... I think I'm gonna be sick..."
Bonbon snorted. "So we're your favored pawns in this game? Fine. Why weren't we better protected then?"
"...I was... overly optimistic." Celestia glanced away. "I had assumed that our nation, founded on the unification of the three tribes, would be inherently welcoming."
"Right," Bonbon growled. "You made a mistake. You've apologized. But you know what? Sorry doesn't fix our broken windows, or pay the hospital bills, or change the fact that I was accused of rape and then mindraped by your oh so loving ponies! Lyra is going to need delicate assistance for I don't know how long because of all that!"
"No seriously, I'm really going to be sick here."
"The crown will, of course, pay for your medical expenses and home repair bills. I'll also increase guard presence in Ponyville--"
"AND! And you'll see to it that somepony can help us out for the next few months!"
"Of course. Do you have any other requests?"
Lyra turned to Celestia, opened her mouth to speak--
"HURGALLLPHLARGHPHAAAAAaaaa....."
The sound of medical screens was joined, very quietly, by a slow dripping noise.
Bonbon smiled. "No, I think that just about covers it."
"...quite." Celestia nodded, very very slowly. "If you will excuse me...."
Well, that outcome wasn't quite what I expected.
Also, Bon Bon being so...blunt and cynical regarding Celestia's actions was...somewhere between refreshing and depressing. ...Pinkie, can I get a new word combining those two? You're good at that.
Was that the Greek philos(φίλος)?That means friend.Maybe you were going for friendship which is philia(φιλία)).
Good, Lyra and the foal are unhurt. Uh oh, let's hope the lack of Lyra's meds doesn't cause any major problems. Did Lyra just vomit?
5490272 Repressing?
I mean, we'd hace to come up with a new word that means what repressing used to mean, but that's a small price to pay!
5490272
I'm no Pinkie, but I'll take a stab at it...let's see...
Refressing? ...Depreshing? ...I'm not sure, but those aren't already words, are they?
AN-Y-way, loving Bon-Bon's reaction to the situation...not to mention getting some nice compensation from the Crown is exactly what she'll need with all the things sounding like they be going down. ...plus, gotta admit, Celestia getting thrown up on was classic, love it!
On another note...yeah, Lyra's current condition...that set-up man, now I NEED to know what happens!! Well played.
5490316 yes. quite possibly on Celestia.
We need a picture of that.
5490316
noooo, she simply made gurgling sounds whilst downing a gallon of coke
Hmm, morning sickness on the most powerful pony in equstria, no one bats an eye,
Something something filler for joke, Everyone loses there mind
5490310
It's the term for love between friends.
5490428 Talk about making a point.
5490428 Not quite possibly, but with absolute certainty:
She turned to Celestia before it happened, and everyone knows how projectile vomit works. Blurestia turned into Barflestia.
~Crystalline Electrostatic~
O_O
i.imgur.com/tZOS8.gif
5490310 I read it as a plural unit, like Thaums a line or so earlier, which would make it a standardised unit of love energy called a Philo.
Man...you are not making this easy for dear old Lyra are you?
5490272 Represhing? Defreshing? Defressing?
The lack of detail at the end allows us readers to paint what just happened as vividly as we like. Kudos!
God, I l8ve pony politics...
Sooo, will Lyra's vision also recover?
Pregnancy: The Only Acceptable Excuse for Vomiting on Royalty!
Queen of the Hagfish Hive? Used that queen from Siansaar?
Ahaha, oh vomlestia....
5490615
A lot of things came out of Lyra's mouth, but most of them certainly weren't words.
5491684 I think it conveyed how she felt about the whole thing
Well, can't say she didn't warn her.
Interesting information on magical biology. As for Lyra's meds... yeah, that's not going to be fun for anyone involved.
Looking forward to more.
Well... That happened. Someone must do a picture of that ending if it doesn't exist already
Lyra just projectile vomited on Celestia, didn't she??? Oh, and I suggest that the next doctor or nurse to visit the assaultees is actually a changeling in disguise that slips itching powder into some uncomfortable places. Nothing enough to get somepony in trouble, but vengeance must begin!!!! Or unleash the Cutie Mark Crusaders on them, they'll be begging for isolated jail cells after five minutes.
5491701 Indeed.
You tell 'er Lyra!
5490320
refressing? (slightly different)
5490272 Defreshing? Represhing? Re-defreshing? De-refreshing?
5496975 Twilight says, in the Winter Wrap Up episode;
Episode transcript
This doesn't mean they've been doing it in Ponyville for hundreds of years, but that earth ponies, like the ones that founded Ponyville, have done it without magic for hundreds of years.
5490272 Repressing
5496975
No, dear, that's just Granny Smith. She's a vampire.
That was fun. Looking forward to more.
Keep up the good work. Deus tecum.
When's Lyra going to have the nightmare about giving birth to a giant maggot in homage to the 1980's version of "The Fly"?
5490310 No, it was correct...because changelings are EVIL CARNIVORES THAT HUNGER FOR PONY FLESH!!!
We've gotta stop em! They've been studying ponies for years! Finding out their weaknesses! THEY'RE GONNA KILL US ALL!!!
Havent read this yet but judging from the description...id better check my sanity at the door
am i the only one waiting for a HUGE "my god what have we done" moment from the Xenophobes? or would they be racists?
That ending XD
This is a soaring, Everest-esque monument to the levels of crack that can be wrought by a determined writer, and I am surfing down it nose-first.
5620711 I screwed up my info and I found that out like a week ago
5490872
"Philos" comes from Greek, and it means love, specifically, the love that one has for a friend. In fact, the word philosophy literally means "love of knowledge"
The love between Lyra and Bon Bon is known as "Eros", which is the love in a romantic relationship.
(Personal preference)
My headcanon is that educated characters (Twilight, Princesses etc.) use nice, non sloppy, grammar: "there are ... hives"
Saw that coming!
Jeez. All her magic drained at once. Dude, that's harsh.
6107311 indeed
5491256
Now I'm wondering if the Kings of Ye Old London ever had that happen.
Awww that was adorable but poor Lyra and lol at that ending though I feel bad for Celestia Lyra did warn them though.
6093498 I think it was a truncation of "there's the matter of ... hives". Related: my headcanon is that Celestia is getting too damn old for all of these fleeting little cultural quirks, and doesn't bother with them in casual company. She'd just drop them altogether, but the populace would take the faux pas as a sign of the apocalypse and riot... Again.
Seriously, she wonders, who even decides these things?