• Published 3rd Apr 2016
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The Anthropologist - Weavers of Dreams



Join Lyra as she interacts in various human-related problems ranging from wannabe Nazis to eldritch horrors that just need some love. No problem is too great that it can't be fixed with a baseball bat or high-powered cieling fan, that's a promise.

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-86- Out in the Midday Sun

"Two medium poco berries and a small faux nut shake," Daring instructed the milkshake vender.

"This... isn't so bad," Lyra, who stood off to the side with Henry, mentioned as she looked about the colony. The Colt was more fixated on the milkshake vender, panting under the sweltering heat that was due to the Western Isles residing on the equator. Quite the substantial difference from the winter back in Equestria. Thankfully, he had his hat.

"So, Mark Smith is out on an expedition at the moment?"

Daring nodded. "Yeah. Practically every day. I mean, really, even I take breaks every now and then. He's a machine. Goes out, and then comes back with a new treasure or specimen just about each time."

"Anything interesting?" the unicorn asked as she decided her son had had enough sun and moved him beneath her barrel for some much needed shade.

"Only just about everything," Daring smirked as she paid and thanked the vendor once he finished the milkshakes. She passed Henry the small faux nut as he seemed to need it the most. "It's the Western Isles, only one person has ever explored it before us. Though, unfortunately, we've not found the remains of Darkest Darkness. He was my grandfather, you know."

Lyra nodded. "Yeah. I read that in a newspaper article that explained you were joining Mr. Smith's expedition. So, does adventuring run in the family?"

Shaking her head and rolling her eyes, Daring sucked on her straw for a moment. "Nah. Granny told me he was the weird colt with the unshakable wanderlust of his family. Absolutely drove his mother to tears on many an occasion. Didn't make granny's life much of a picnic either from the stories she told."

"What can you do?" Lyra sighed, thinking that over. "Once a stallion's heart is set on something... he'll, um... well, I'm sure there's a clever saying that starts like that." She gave an awkward cough, having been so sure she had something profound to say. "Excuse me. So, were you inspired by your grandfather's work?"

Daring signaled them to follow her to a more shaded area. "Ah that's better. Gettin' out of the heat. To answer your question... yes. But it was met with lots of resistance from my family." She struck a comical pose. "'No, young Do, adventuring is the lifestyle of meanderers and fools.' 'What you need is a real job, one that will build character.' 'Now-now, no fussing.' 'You'll thank us when you're older.'"

Lyra watched the pegasi's milkshake wearily as the mare looked about ready to chuck. But she didn't, like a sensible pony.

"Wasted eight freakin' months at a door factory," she slumped at the withers and sucked hard on her straw to cool off. "All day I would stand in one place, picking up a door, setting it on a table, make sure it looked pretty, and then setting it on another pile. Didn't help any that, in my first month there, there was a racist earth pony who would harass me." She gave a strange smile here. "That is... until he got fired. Not saying I had anything to do with it, but, if I did, it might account for how much my mood improved for a at least a couple more months.

"About as exciting as it ever got there," she sighed afterwards. "So... eight months later, I quit. I'd accumulated quite a bit of money by that point, thanks to my thrifty nature. That does run in the family by the way. And what do I do with it all?"

Lyra and Henry listened as the mare paused, staring at them. Staring. Henry was the first to catch on.

"What did you do with all?" he asked reluctantly, wanting her to continue the story.

Daring lowered her head so that her pith hat covered her face. "My dad convinced me to spend it all on creating a publishing company."

"Oh," Lyra chirped brightly. "So that's when you got into writing stories?"

"No," Daring hissed a bit louder than she intended. "Eep. Sorry. No. I wanted to build a peddle-powered airplane. I know, it sounds weird, me, a pegasus, wanting to build an airplane. Am I right?"

Lyra and Henry shook their heads. "Not at all."

"What? Really?" the other mare asked, genuinely shocked. "Okay... was not expecting that. At all. I'll continue. Anyway... I sunk thousands and thousands of bits into that company and nothing happened. I failed. And I knew that I would, because nobody wants to publish anything under some unknown publisher."

"If you knew it was going to fail, then why do it?" Henry asked as he licked some of the milkshake off his lips. Daring looked aside, almost shamefully.

"Because, my father decided to go bragging to everyone he met about how his daughter was going to start a publishing company," she said in a quitter tone. "I had never even voiced such an idea. but, what could I do? He had told all his friends and family all about this great thing we were going to do. 'We'. As if he actually ever put a single bit of effort or gold into actually setting it up. I was trapped by not wanting to make him look like an idiot."

She set her milkshake on the ground arched her back to stretch some. "But, once it was all said and done, and I was bankrupt, my father voiced his disappointment. Not so much in me, but in the fact that he no longer had an outlet where he could easily have his book published. So... there I realized it. It wasn't about me. It all about him and that stupid book of his. I felt betrayed to make things simple."

"Ooh," Lyra cringed a bit at hearing that last bit. "I can imagine. Finding out my parents have been keeping me in the dark my whole life was fairly eye-opening. But, that. That's just low. So, what'd you do?"

"Ran away," Daring shrugged. "Far away. Far far far away. Kind of a small adventure prerequisite to my first book. I'll write it down some day."

Lyra placed a hoof upon her son's back, rubbing softly. "I hope I never get so deluded as to put my own son through that."

"What happened to your mom and dad?" Henry asked, having abandoned his straw and was now shoving his muzzle into the cup.

Daring smiled. "Ah. Wanting to know the whole story. I like it, kid. I reconciled with them years ago. We keep in contact, mainly by mail. But, I do visit every now and then. I've got some nieces and nephews who look up to me after all."

"That's good," Henry nodded, looking a little sad. "I can't see my family anymore. Er, my human family, I mean. Cause I don't exist anymore and stuff. There's a lot I'd like to say sorry for."

"There's a lot I'd like them to say sorry for," Lyra muttered under breath before she tried to explain what her son meant about not existing.

"You're aligned?" Daring asked, beating the unicorn to the punch. "Dang... my condolences, kid. That's pretty rough."

"You know about the aligned?" Lyra asked, rather surprised. "I usually have to explain that."

Daring shrugged. "Eh, I'm just full of surprises. Or, have you never read my books?"

"I haven't," Henry piped up.

"You get a free pass," the pegasus waved him off.

"Yeah, I'm gonna be reading them to him when we get back home," the unicorn said. "Have to keep my colt up to date on the modern classics."

"Good," Daring smirked with no hint of modesty.

The conversation seemed to trail off a bit after that, the three ponies opting to enjoy their milkshakes in the shade while they could. Then the little earth pony broke the silence.

"Why is this called a foe nut shake?" he asked, looking to his mother, who shrugged, not knowing the answer either. Daring was a different story.

"Because it's actually a fruit, meaning it's formed from a flower, but, it also has a hard outer shell, like a nut," Daring explained casually. "So, it may resemble a nut at first glance, but, in reality, it is a fruit. Therefore a faux, meaning 'mistaken', nut. Faux nut. And, from the way you're obliterating it, you must like it, right?"

He nodded. "Yep. It tastes kind of like vanilla and bananas and something else."

"That sound'f good, can I twy fum?" a familiar voice drew both mother and son's attention. The honey-colored chubby filly came to a wobbly halt just a short distance from the colt, giving him a most pleading doe-eyed expression. Walking hesitantly behind her was another, equally familiar figure.

"Precious, do not beg for food, mommy will feed you soon," the peach mare softly scolded her daughter, but her attention was mostly drawn towards Lyra. "M-Mrs. Heartstrings, I-I know I'm not really the pony you want to see right now, a-an-and..."

"What do you want?" Lyra asked in an even tone, casting a quick glance at her son, who seemed to be offering the filly some of his shake anyway. He was a proper gentlecolt, and she would have smiled, had it not been for the present company.

"I said 'no', Precious," the peach mare sighed, pulling the filly back just as she was about to take a bite. Goodness, it almost looked like she was ready to eat the entire cup. She cleared her throat and tried to assemble herself before continuing. "I... I just want to talk to you. Okay? I've been putting it off ever since we met on the ship."

"Here and now?" Lyra asked, raising an eyebrow. "I'm sorry, but, if we're going to be exchanging any words, I'd rather there be no children present."

The peach unicorn shook her head. "No-no. Not now. I need to get Precious and I settled into our new home. But, yes, here, it'll be easy to remember, just a little south of the landing tower and close to the colony's wall. I should have everything in order by this evening..."

"Eight o'clock," Lyra huffed. "Though, I'll need to find a reliable babysitter for Henry."

"Oh, right," the other unicorn nodded. "I'll need to find one as well. Such short notice, though."

Suddenly, the two mares found themselves with a hoof wrapped about each of their necks.

"I'd love to, thanks for asking," Daring grinned, giving them both a gentle squeeze.

Lyra blinked. "You? Really?"

The frown the pegasus gave her could have turned Medusa to stone. "I happen to be very good with foals, thank you very much."

"But...," the peach mare started.

"Nuh-uh," Daring shushed her like a mother would a fussy infant. "There's obviously a lot of animosity between you two that needs to be worked out. I'll meet you all here at eight o'clock, as you both already decided, and take the foals on a tour. Ooh, the new observatory would probably be an excellent place. Foals still like stargazing these days right?"

She looked down at the two foals, who both just nodded.

"See? They're looking forward to it already," she released the two mares and brushed herself off in a Freudian fashion. "So, is it settled?"

The peach and mint unicorns looked at each other, then to the foals, then back at each, and then to the pegasus. With sigh and nod in near perfect unison, they agreed.

"Fine," Lyre said. "But make sure he doesn't get any sugar. He'll be going to bed as soon we're done."

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