• Published 26th Jun 2016
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Shellstrings - shortskirtsandexplosions



After freakish happenstance turns Lyra Heartstrings and Queen Chrysalis into a symbiotic being, they find themselves putting their superpowers to heroic use in an ever-changing Equestria.

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Making Friends With the Natives

Desert – Buffalo Camp – Seconds Before It All Hits the Fan

"Shadow Charge." Swift Breaths gulped, reaching a cloven hoof out. "Bro. Why not just sit down for a b—?"

"Little Paws..." Shadow Charge smiled through streaking tears. He hobbled towards Lyra, his lower lip quivering. "...somehow... s-somehow I knew you weren't dead...!"

A whimper escaped Lyra's throat. Tail-wagging, she turned around and prepared to bound off—

"Heeeee!" Shadow Charge's limbs wrapped around the fuzzy canine. Despite his feeble strength, he easily lifted Lyra up and hugged her to his chest. She felt a hairy head and horns nuzzling her ears from behind. "Such a strong lil' guy! No m-monster could ever hold you down! Huh? Isn't that right, fella? Yeah?"

"Mmmmm—!" Lyra squeaked, struggling for breath.

"Shadow Charge..." Chief Thunderhooves trotted closer, speaking in a low voice. "We need to talk."

"Just... just so h-happy..." Shadow Charge shuddered, holding Lyra close. "So happy to b-be home..."

"And we're glad for that, Shadow Charge." Little Strong Heart shuffled up, gulping. "But... there are so many questions unanswered..."

"How and when did you leave your tent?" Thunderhooves asked. "Who or what injured you so terribly in the last few minutes?"

"Was it the monster?!" Little Strong Heart squinted. "I swear, Shadow Charge, you were here the whole morning! How could you even have rescued our brother in such little time?"

"Uhm..." Lyra finally found the breath to murmur. "If I may..."

~o~Silence.~o~

Lyra blinked dazedly. "But—"

~o~Simpleton. You are concealed. Let it act out.~o~

"Wait... a minute..." Little Strong Heart looked directly at Lyra.

~o~Blend, fool. Blend.~o~

"Something's... wr-wrong..." Lyra slurred.

Shadow Charge sniffled, his eyes widening. "Little Paws...?"

Little Strong Heart leaned in low. "Shadow Charge? Did... your dog just speak—?"

Lyra looked up. She and the female buffalo made eye contact. A green light billowed between them—

FLASH!


"This... this is just so wonderful!" Little Strong Heart stood at the crest of a hill overlooking a massive valley. Far below, a stampede of buffalos galloped briskly through a narrow strip of earth that had been cleared between a dense cluster of apple trees. "Buffalo! And ponies! Working together!" She turned around, smiling wide. "We get to honor our ancestral running ground... and you get to keep your harvest!"

Lyra blinked at her. She looked down at herself—at her translucent green pony limbs. -=Uhhhhhhh.=- Her eyes narrowed, glancing back up at the buffalo. -=Exactly where are we?=-

The unicorn mentally gasped as a beautiful specimen of stallion marched up, phasing directly through her.

"Darn tootin'!" Braeburn said with a smug grin. "And dun forget!" He tilted the brow of his hat, winking at the buffalo. "You get to have all the tasty apple pies you could want! For free, too!"

"Heehee..." Little Strong Heart giggled. "Yes... I suppose that's a nice bonus. At least..." She winked back. "Chief Thunderhooves sure seems to like them."

"See? We ain't meant no harm!" Braeburn waved a hoof at the desert horizon. "Just fixin' to spread pony cheer and harmony far and wide!"

"I'm starting to understand now. And... I'm sorry for all of the attempts we made to sabotage your apple farming earlier."

"Awwww... ain't no big whoop. What matters is that we worked our differences out!"

Lyra squinted confusedly at the scene. Just then—without warning—a tall, slender unicorn with a dark coat shuffled up, phasing through the scenery.

~o~Quick. End the trance.~o~

Lyra did a double-take, glancing at the stately unicorn and her flowing green mane. -=Huh?=-

The unicorn glared at her, unnoticed by Braeburn and Little Strong Heart. ~o~Wake from this. Now. Before the connection is made.~o~

-=Connection?=- Lyra glanced stupidly at Braeburn and Little Strong Heart. -=What connection?=-

"Once the stampede is over, I promise, we'll be out of your hair," Little Strong Heart said.

"Dun be silly." Braeburn waved a dainty hoof. "Y'all should come on over and enjoy a good ol' fashion hoe-down with us!"

"Hoe... down...?"

"You betcha!" Braeburn smiled dashingly. "No better way to get to know another culture than through dancin'!" He tipped his hat. "And it would please me to no end to get to know y'all better. How would ya like that?"

Little Strong Heart stared back at him. Her cheeks flushed slightly...

...and that's when Lyra noticed a pink light fountaining behind her eyes.

"Yes... ehehe..." Little Strong Heart bashfully toed at the soft dirt of the plateau beneat them. "I... I think I would like that, actually."

"Well alrighty! Welcome to Aaaaaaaaaapleloosa!"

"Heehee!" The pink light in Little Strong Heart's eyes intensified, although Braeburn appeared to be completely blind to it.

-=Wait.=- Lyra stepped forward on translucent limbs, gazing close. -=What's with...=-


FLASH!

"...the cotton-pickin' light?" Lyra drolled in Braeburn's voice. She blinked, glancing up to see the brim of a hat shading her yellow muzzle. "Awwwwww hell."

"Duaaaaah?!" Chief Thunderhooves did a double-take, wide-eyed. Several other buffalo shrieked in surprise.

"Braeburn?!?" Little Strong Heart yelped, twitching in confusion.

"...?" Shadow Charge's voice shuddered as he looked down at the petite little stallion he was suddenly cradling. "Little Paws...?"

"Eheh..." Lyra tried to wriggle out of his embrace. "Look... seriously... I-I can explain—" At last, she slipped from his grasp, falling hard onto the desert floor. "Ooomf!"

FLASH!

More buffalo gasps.

Lyra blinked, gazing at her outstretched limbs. She was Bon Bon again. "Manure on a sundae..."

"What in the ancestors' name is going on here?!" Chief Stronghooves thundered.

"Please... j-just don't freak out... that's my job!" Lyra hopped up, swiveling to face the Chief with blinking blue eyes. "Something's happening to me and I really really need your help—" FLASH! "—my beloved." She finished the statement in a shaky, elderly voice... for she had transformed into a graying female buffalo. "Uhhhh..."

Chief Stronghooves' jaw hung agape. "Rains In Sunshine?" He gulped hard. "How... how can this be? You died years ago..."

"No, Chief..." Swift Breaths marched up, frowning. "That creature is not your deceased mate. This is a deception!"

"No! I-I didn't mean it! Honest!" Lyra looked at Swift Breaths. "I'm sorry!" FLASH! She whimpered through Little Strong Heart's muzzle. "You can... trust me?" Wincing, she looked over her shoulder.

Little Strong Heart gazed in shock, her eyes reflecting herself. "How is this possible?"

"I'll tell you how!" Swift Breaths snarled, dragging his hooves. "It's the monster! That's how!"

"The monster?!" another buffalo shouted.

"Of course!" A growl flew across the camp. "It took our brothers and sisters!"

"Now it's come to devour us from within!"

"Slay it!"

"Slay the beast!"

"No-no-no... wait!" Lyra grimaced, waving two cloven hooves. "Let's just talk this out!"

~o~Flee, you fool.~o~

"Something h-happened to me inside that cave!" Lyra whimpered and stammered. She glanced at countless pairs of angry eyes, and her body flickered between a dozen different buffalo, some living and others dead. FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! "Please! I'm just as much a victim to that thing in the cave as your friends are!"

"Kill the monster!"

"Spill its blood!"

"Now and for good!"

~o~They are right. You are the monster.~o~

Lyra grimaced as the green flame gave her a different muzzle every second. FLASH! "But..." FLASH! "B-But I—!" FLASH!

~o~Run. Now.~o~

The buffalo closed in from all sides.

Lyra squeaked and turned to run—

—when a fierce pair of forelimbs grabbed her from behind.

"You foul creature!" Shadow Charge snarled, the veins in his hairy forehead pulsing. "You killed my Little Paws!"

"G-get off of me!" Lyra shrieked, seeing more and more angry bodies closing in from all sides. "Rnnngh!" Her teeth clenched as her body flickered to the familiar peach fuzz of her roommate. FLASH! "I mean it! Lay... OFF!" And she kicked her rear legs with all of the talent and might of the world's most versatile member of S.M.I.L.E. WHACK!

"Ooomf!" Shadow Charge didn't just fly off of her; his emaciated body flipped twice before smashing hard through a wooden rack of fishing supplies. Smasssh! "Unnngh..." The already battered buffalo rolled his eyes back and collapsed in fitful spasms.

"Shadow Charge!" Little Strong Heart shrieked.

"Bro!" Swift Breaths shouted.

An entire camp full of angry faces converged on Lyra. Hooves dragged and horns glinted.

"Uhhhhhh..." Lyra gulped, sheepishly brushing back blue and pink bangs. "S-sorry?"

"RAAAAAAAAAAUGH!" The entire tribe rushed her as one.

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