Chapter 170
You both walk until you reach the cliff. You look over it, and there it was. The town...it looked a smidge bigger than the last time you saw it. There were more buildings.
"That the place?" Lyra looks around "Is there like a path we can walk down? Because I don't think going over the cliff is a good idea. juuust saying"
"Depends, are you able to float around using your magic?"
Lyra shook her head "Nope, that's some pretty advanced stuff.I can get a few inches off the ground, but that's it. If I tried that over a cliff then we'd be the cutest pancakes this side of Equestria"
....cutest...wouldn't be the word you'd use. She obviously didn't know what a broken body looked like.
"We're going to have to find a way around then, because I don't feel safe sliding down there." You said as you looked down the cliff
"Me neither, I thought you been here before though"
"I have....just, I never had to find the normal way to get down there."
Lyra looks around the area, but all she could see is more wastes "hmmm, I bet if we just go further down we'll find a path. There has to be some way, otherwise there's no way anypony could get anywhere"
"You'd be right about that, but the path is a little more ways away than you think. It's not too bad, but I think I could give you both a lift if you really need it."
Wut? Who said that?
Both you and Lyra look behind, only to see Night Glider, hovering above you. She grins and waves her hoof to the both of you. "Yo"
"Night Glider?" Well,damn.
"That's my name!" Night Glider grinned "And...you're Anon if I remember, and you must be his mom. Hello there, welcome to our neck of the woods"
Lyra waves to her for a moment then leans close to you and whispers "pppssst, are we still doing the mom son thingy?"
You giggle a little and shake your head
"No it's ok, Night Glider this is my friend Lyra"
"Hey! Always nice to see new friendly faces. So are you guys here to scope out our town?"
you shake your head
"No, we're here to see Starlight. She's around right?"
"Starlight? Yeah she is. She's also been keeping herself busy in the old shed."
"Really? What's she up to?"
"She's been working on the plans for the new town center. We figured if we wanted to be a proper town that we probably needed one of those. At first we thought it should just be a town hall. But Starlight said we needed to dream bigger. At first we thought it'd be too much but eh, Starlight said she'd do most of the work and it didn't look like she wanted to back down. She's been a little bit of a workaholic since she came back. But you know? She just wants to prove that's she's sorry and none of us wanna put her down. We're all just hoping she doesn't crack under the pressure."
hrn, it seemed Starlight wasted no time in trying to reintegrate with the town. You just hope nothing was up....especially with Twilight coming.
"Well, I guess it's good I'm here then. I bet she needed a break anyway."
"If you can get her out that is. When she gets really into it she just ignores the outside world. We can knock a hundred times and still no answer. Some of us are on edge about it, but I've been in there once or twice. Things seemed fine to me" Night Glider shrugged, she didn't seem really worried about it.
But that did worry you, that worried you all the more. mnnnn
"Oh boy"
You chuckle a little nervously
"I hope I caught her at a good time, but wait. Can you carry my friend here?"
"Huh?" Lyra gives you a peeved look "are you calling me fat?"
W-woah, that's not what you meant! But it sure seemed Lyra took it that way as she gives you a deadly stare
"I...n-no! I didn't mean tha-"
Lyra began to grin, then giggled, and nearly laughed before petting you on the head "Relax, I'm just playing. You take things too seriously sometimes. Maybe you're too mature. Somepony has gotta make sure that foal spirit doesn't die out. And If that's gotta be me, that's fine..." Lyra then looked to Night Glider "But seriously, you don't think I'll be too heavy right? Because that's a long way down"
"It'll be fine. I may look a little scrawny, but I'm actually really tough. You gotta be when living out here."
"Speaking of which, what are you doing out here anyway?" You asked.
Night Glider looked to the right, then to the left "Keeping an eye out for a caravan, we don't really have a way to grow crops or get water yet. So we just rely on trade to get by. Gotta tell you though, now that we can make better stuff, actually getting the things we need is A LOT easier."
"Neat, I never heard of a town that had to rely on trade before. Ohh ohh! hey! you wouldn't have seen any purple princesses around, have you?" Lyra asked, both worried and giddy that you both may have not missed Twilight.
"Purple Princesses? Oh you mean Twilight? Nah, why? I thought she was busy in Ponyville?" Night Glider was pretty confused
"Anon, you hear that? Twilight hasn't made it yet! We have time!"
"Woah woah...time for what? What's going on? Is there a surprise party? Because I wasn't told." Now Night Glider was really confused.
"No erm...it's just we want to talk to Starlight about something. actually..."
You sigh
"Look, I don't expect you to help us. But Starlight is still kind of angry at Twilight"
Night Glider raised an eyebrow "Why? She saved us all"
"Well it's complicated really. When Starlight was...let's say...bad. She was spying on Twilight pretty much the entire time. And she saw that Twilight was sort of...let's say....annoying, to say the least. She feels Twilight is more of a snoop that gets into others business and shoves her ideologies down others throats. Basically, at this point. Starlight would like to be able to prove herself without Twilight coming in to check up on her."
"woah...I didn't know all that. But it couldn't be that bad right? What's wrong with a little check up?"
"You'd have to be there, the moment she found out Starlight was back in town, Twilight showed up and questioned me up and down and even blamed my dad for it"
"Your dad? Now that's pretty weird. I've never met your dad, I don't think anypony here has....are you sure you're talking about Princess Twilight?" Night Glider had some doubt.
"Hey I believe him. I'd be pretty suspicious too if...I dunno the circumstances exactly...but his dad is always pretty suspicious." Lyra said, jumping to your defense.
"I...guess. This is all confusing really. So how about I just give you guys a ride down and you can sort this out with Starlight. Because really? I got nothen" Night Glider didn't know what to make of it
"Thank you Night Glider." You said as you sighed. This was getting heavy
"Hey no prob, you're first by the way. So don't shake too much."
With that, Night Glider gripped you tight and gently brought you down the cliff, she then went back for Lyra. It was actually humorous. Night Glider seemed to be struggling with her as Lyra smiled and let out a "wheeeeee!"
Adorable really.
When Night Glider was done dropping you both off, she went back to looking to see if the caravan was nearby. So you and Lyra made your ways to the town. Thankfully, the shack was one of the first things in sight. Being at the very beginning edge of the town.
as you approached the shack, Lyra stopped and began to look around.
"Lyra?" You look back, wondering what she was doing. "What's up?"
"Being super vigilant and looking out for Princess Twilight, especially since I now know she could be a snoop" She looked up, then right, then left, then up
"..oh..." You felt a little bad laying it down so thick. But, Twilight. Especially after her behavior. Probably didn't deserve your sympathy. So you do your best to ignore it.
"Thanks...though. I am a little surprised you'd just take my word for it like that"
Lyra looked back at you "Everything you said is true right?"
You nod "Yeah...it is"
"Then? Anon, I'm more friends with you than I am with her. Her being a princess doesn't change that. I mean hey, if Princess Celestia came down herself to do something bad to Bonbon, I'd jump in eyes closed; ready to defend her the best I can"
you didn't know whether to grimace or grin, so you let out a small giggle
"You know Celestia would never do that right?"
"Oh I know, she seems super cool. I was just giving an example. Now go do your thing, I'll distract Princess Twilight as much as I can"
You nod, and smile at her "Thanks Lyra"
You walk over to the door of the shack. You could hear mumbling and small click clack noises coming from the other side. You give it a gentle knock.
No answer
You knock again, harder this time
"Starlight? Starlight...it's me..Anon"
Suddenly, the mumbling and the noises stop. and in the next moment..the door opens slightly as Starlight peers through the door at you. "Anon?"
You give her a big ole smile "Yeeep! hey!"
The door opens , and instead of a hug, you feel a magical force slide you in. You yelp in surprise from the push and speed as Starlight closes the door behind you and locks it.
......ummm
You look back at Starlight, a little worried "Starlight?...you ok?"
She..looked like herself. But she also had a pretty serious expression on her face. "Anon, what are you doing here?!" She sounded frantic, she kept her voice low. da fuck?
"U-ummmm...I came to see you and.....what's going on exactly? Why are you acting weird?"
"Because!" Starlight looks around then leans in close to you and whispers "I'm working on a special project."
....oh god...please don't let it be bad..
"Ummm...what kind of special project?"
"If I tell you, you promise not to tell anypony else?"
this....was odd. Well, at least she trusted you...you'd just would have preferred a hi, a hello, or a how are you.
"um, sure"
Starlight stepped backward and pulled down a blind that was in the middle of the shack. Revealing a blueprint.
You were worried at first, but after a quick gaze. You could see it was some sort of blueprint to a building. The town center?
"What is that?"
"It's my fiftieth revision of my idea for the town center." Starlight was smiling, it seems she felt pretty good about...something.
That number to you though...was startling. No wonder Night Glider was worried.
"Fiftieth?! Starlight why?"
"Why not?..oh" Starlight slaps her face with her hoof "It seems I may have gotten ahead of myself. Sorry, I've been in here for a while. I just saw you and pulled you in. You don't even know what's going on, do you?"
Wow, she really was focused on this project.
"Sorta. Night Glider told me you were here working. and uh.....are you ok? You didn't even say hi"
"mnnn.." Starlight sighed, and took a moment to calm down "Sorry...I just been caught up in this project a little after I got here. I just want to show everypony I can do a lot of good. Not for myself, but for them. I want to make the perfect town center. So we all can have a place to talk and make decisions while also having a place for visitors and potential new townsponies to relax and experience our hospitality."
hrn, she was trying to make a big effort. you couldn't fault her for that. But you remembered Night Glider's words of the others being worried about her being in the shack for so long.
You take a look at the blueprints. It....was pretty big. there was even a recreational room in the plans. and a daycare for foals. Maybe...this was too much. At least for a town this small.
"Yeah I can see that, but Starlight. Don't you think it's a little much? This town center is huge."
"And?" She was confused by your words.
"I'm just saying, the town still kind of looks the same size. I don't think you need all this stuff yet. And...you said this is your fiftieth revision?"
Starlight nodded and looked upon her work with pride "Yes, I think I'm getting close to the perfect iteration for the town. Though, I could use a second opinion. I didn't want to show anypony in town because I want it to be a surprise. And I already know you're very smart, so I know I can count on you for a detailed and honest opinion."
This...was already awkward. It was almost like she was expecting you. or moreso. Maybe she kept making revisions because she thought she could make it better. Then the moment she saw you, she immediately wanted an opinion on her work....most likely hoping for a positive one.
"It looks great...it's just. Starlight"
You sigh, you could already tell what was going on. She was being overzealous and pushing the others away due to it.
"Yes?"
"I think you should just do the town hall instead of an entire center. The beds for guests and newcomers seems like a great idea to add. But that's about it. I know what you're trying to do. But I don't live here, my opinion shouldn't matter. You should bring some of your earlier revisions to the other ponies and ask them. Remember, this isn't just your town anymore. It's everypony's"
...you almost cringed at yourself. You sounded like Twilight.
Starlight stopped for a moment. Then looked at her blueprint. Then back at you. She was frowning. "Are you sure?"
You nod
"Yeah, they are really worried about you Starlight. They'd rather you go out and hang with them then spend all this time working on the town center. They just want to be your friend more than anything else."
Starlight again looked at her work. Besides the blueprint hanging there, there was piles of papers and rolled up blueprints all over the shack. She looked in a mirror, and looked into her own eyes. She could see her own desperate sadness.
She then looks back at you "Can I tell you something?"
geez, now she looked pretty awful. You hoped you didn't lay it on too thick....like Twilight.
"Sure, anything. You can trust me."
"ok...well, I...I guess the reason I'm even in here is because I'm a little scared."
"Scared? you mean of the other ponies?"
She nods "Yes, They've been really accepting of me despite everything I've done. But...now that I see what I've done wrong. I'm afraid of messing up again, or saying something wrong, or doing something they wouldn't like. I figured if I just locked myself in here and worked on my projects that I could make their lives better without having to actually screw up and ruin their lives."
poor girl. She's so afraid of losing friends again that she locked herself in here to avoid hurting anyone altogether.
"Hey Starlight, come on. This isn't like you. When I first met you, you were confident, tough, and prepared for anything."
Starlight gave you a passively awkward look "erm.....that's because I wanted to crush Twilight and make my old dream a reality."
"Exactly! You had drive, you were willing to risk everything to make it happen. But now I come to visit and you’re in here afraid and alone. Now I don't wanna sound like Twilight or anything. But your friends don't want to see you trapped in here working alone, they want to be a part of your life. They want to work with you and spend time with you. You gotta show them that you still have that drive. Only now you know exactly what to focus on."
Starlight didn't say anything at first, she walked over to the door and peered outside. Only to be met by the gaze of Lyra
Starlight just stares at her, caught offguard by this unknown pony who just stared back at her.
".......Hello?"
Starlight had only wanted to see what the others had been doing. She didn't expect this.
"Hi!" Lyra grinned at her "You must be Starlight, I'm Lyra. Anon's friend. I don't know if he's mentioned me or not but he's mentioned you. How are you?"
Starlight was at first...astounded by Lyra. Here was a mint green horse, right in front of her, just suddenly saying hi as if she had not a care in the world. She then felt..a little overwhelmed.
"Hi...I'm....in the middle of something actually."
Lyra only grinned more at her "Oh, that's ok. You and Anon must be pretty busy in there. I'd just thought I'd say hi since you popped your head out"
"You know Anon?...what...?" Starlight felt a chill in her heart "Has Anon told you about me?"
"Some stuff" Lyra shrugged "That you did some pretty bad things, stole some cutie marks, did some spying. Then he told me that you're his friend and that you're pretty ok. And if you're pretty ok to Anon then you're pretty ok to me. So, whatcha doing in there? Still doing that town hall stuff I heard that pegasus pony tell us about?"
You poked your head out under Starlight, you could hear the entire conversation, and already saw you could use this to your advantage. You could tell Starlight was still anxious about everything. It shouldn't be surprising to you honestly. Despite being her first friend in god knows how long, you couldn't expect her to make a full turn around in a day. So maybe you could take advantage of this situation to help her out.
"Yes...that's exactly what I'm doing.." Starlight said slowly and awkwardly with a sheepish chuckle
You smile at Lyra "Hey Lyra, you doing ok out here?"
Lyra nodded "Yep, everything's fine so far."
"Cool...so..Starlight..." You look up at her "This is my friend Lyra, she's pretty friendly. Maybe we can all hang out and...you know..give her a tour of the town?"
"Oh hey! a tour! That actually sounds like fun! I was getting bored wai-"
OH SHIT!
You had nearly even forgotten about that, you just let out a yelp the moment you realize what she was going to say to try to stop her from saying it. "YEEERP!"
Both Starlight and Lyra give you an odd look.
Shit, how the fuck could you even forget for a moment the actual reason you were there? GODDAMMIT!
But Twilight didn't seem to be around at all...maybe for a moment, you could try to help Starlight...then tell her about Twilight...
"S-sorry, accidentally stubbed my hoof."
"Well you gotta be more careful Anon, don't wanna go home early because you hurt yourself do you?" Lyra shifted her eyes to your hoof, she didn't see any kind of mark or anything. So she felt relieved, it must have been minor.
"Y-yeah..sorry" You look at Starlight again, and grin at her, then Lyra. "So how about we all get a bite to eat?"
"Oh hey! that doesn't sound like a bad idea! I didn't get to eat yet! Hey Starlight, does this place have any good places to eat?" Lyra asks, as if Starlight was already a good friend of hers.
"You're asking me? Just like that?" Starlight couldn't understand Lyra's friendliness "We don't even know each other"
Lyra shrugs "Well, that's why we can get to know each other over some brunch. Come onnnn, it'll be fun!"
"She's right Starlight, I don't get to visit everyday. And you look like you could do with some good eats. It doesn't look like you ate anything at all while you were in that shack."
Starlight had to stop and think.She at first thought it was a bad idea. But when she looked back at the shack, she could visualize herself being in there, Alone, trying to achieve something she'd just throw away and try to make better. She thought about you, and how you were the only one to understand her after all these years. And then the fact that there was a pony that knew of her past transgressions and didn't even seem to bat an eye. If she went back into the shack, and back to her work. She'd be alone. And after having contact with another pony again, especially one she was comfortable with. That didn't sound so comforting.
Starlight held her breath for a moment, then slowly exhaled as she looked to the left, further into town. "Well, we could go get some food at Sugar Belle's place. If that's ok with everypony"
"Sounds good to me, anypony with a name like that must make some pretty sweet food...she does make food right? I don't think my tummy could handle candy and sweets while it's empty" Lyra gave her soft stomach a rub.
"It's got more than just that. She bakes some pretty good muffins too. And..." Starlight stopped, she started to think, she was about to go eat not just with you, but with a pony she didn't know. At a place where a pony she subjugated will be serving them food. One of the troubles she had was despite them accepting her, she personally began to felt it was undeserved and that perhaps it was Anon's words in the first place that got her that chance. She didn't want to ruin it.
"And?" Lyra looked at her with curiosity
"And...why?" Starlight plopped down on her butt, and looked down, feeling terrible and scared. "Why is this hard? I want to show them I've really changed. But if I mess up once. They'll just hate me again. Maybe you both should go, I think I can make things better if I just finish my work."
"It's not hard. All you gotta do is walk up to everypony, smile, and say hello! I got a friend named Pinkie Pie who's like..friends with EVERYPONY. All that bad guy stuff you did in the past doesn't matter anymore. For example, Anon's dad is this guy named Discord. He was prettttyyyyy bad. Infact, he even committed treason on all of Equestria. But look at him now! Only a few ponies hate him instead of everypony. And considering Anon here is a pretty cool friend, Discord's probably been doing a pretty good job at raising him."
Those words pass through Starlight's ears. And as it does, she begins to think. and comes up with a single question. "I...heard about Discord. I heard about the terrible things he's done...I've...seen a few things even. Which, brings me to this question." Starlight looks up Lyra with serious eyes "Are you friends with Discord then? Despite what he's done?"
Lyra rubbed her chin on that ".....no actually, I've never really got to talk to him. But I'd sure love to. I bet he can be a pretty fun guy when he's not terrorizing ponies. Like I said, look at Anon. Anon has done a lot of amazing stuff ever since he showed up. He became the "Hero Colt of Ponyville" by beating up these two bad guys that were up to no good."
Starlight began to think again. She started to think logically about it. She remembered Chrysalis and how Anon actually seemed to be ok with having one of Equestria's truly evil villains living with him. Anon forgave her...or it seemed that way to her. Starlight considered something after that. If two villains, who she at least considered much worse than her, can be forgiven...even by a single colt.
Then...maybe she had been overthinking and over worrying after all. The ponies she had control over before had forgiven her. They never even seemed all too upset with her back, they all cared. And she just pushed them away....afraid that maybe it was all a facade. That they'd just eventually leave her...like Sunburst.
Starlight had a new resolve. She realized she had only made a half effort, and only because you intervened in the first place. She'd give it a shot. She'd go to brunch, and then afterwards. She would ask Sugar Belle if she'd like to see her earlier revisions of the town center. If what she was being told was right, then...it wouldn't turn out so bad. And it would make them happy while she also got to interact. She almost felt idiotic. before she was willing to talk to anybody...sure to convert them but still. She was a master of speech and manipulation. But now? she didn't ever want to go back to that.
For you, it was like a light just turned on in her. She smiled...genuinely. "Well Lyra, it looks like you're a really good friend then. So while we get a bite to eat. What do you know about the unicorn spells of old? Mostly those created by Starswirl the Bearded."
"Absolutely.....nothing, buuuuut! I do got this neato ball that shoots colored lights when you tap it with some magic. Wanna see?" Lyra asks with a happy smile.
Well, for Starlight that was disappointing. But she wouldn't let that put down her resolve. "erm....ok. That sounds nice"
"Ok, so when you tap the ball on your horn like this. It lights up with all sorts of colors" Lyra touches it upon her horn, making it glow as it did before. She then holds the ball towards Starlight "Wanna give it a try?"
Starlight hesitated, then slowly put on as good as a smile as she could and takes the ball. "Ok...so, I just tap it on my horn?"
Lyra nods "mhmmm, remember to put some magic into it. Or it won't work"
"ok..ok, I got it. So, tap it onto my horn and..." Starlight moves the ball to her horn. And when she puts magic into it. It doesn't just glow and release lights. The ball radiates like a mini-sun and blasts rainbow magic balls all over the place before the ball itself explodes into embers and dust.
Starlight was confused and momentarily erked, afraid she may have done something wrong "I-is it supposed to do that? Did I break it?"
Lyra looked upon the the remains of the ball, then nodded "Yup."
"I-I didn't m-mean to...I just." She was already having a spaz moment, thinking she angered Lyra "I.....I'm sorry..."
"Hey, don't even sweat it. I didn't even know that could happen. How'd you do that? That was super cool!" It seemed Lyra enjoyed the magical display
You did as well, it was like a magical firework shooting what turned out to be harmless magic balls of various color as the ball became a damned sun.
"Yeah..that was pretty neat, I wonder what would have happened if I tried my horn on it."
Starlight was confused, and then relieved. It seemed that despite her breaking something of someone else's, it was actually no big deal, especially after such a spectacular display. "I think maybe I used too much magic.....you're not mad at all?"
Lyra shook her head "Nope, those things were pretty cheap in the first place. Considering what Anon has said about your magic, no wonder it broke. Tch, I wish I was that powerful."
"Well...." Starlight began to calm down again, nothing bad happened. She found it strange but, she wanted to keep to her resolve, and she guessed that meant to be pleasant. "If you study really hard and practice your magic everyday for hours on end, you'll get pretty good at it in a few years."
"Hours on end?....eh, I'm good. I think I'll just leave that kind of magic to the professionals. Still, super cool that you can do that"
Starlight actually found that a little funny, she thought it was kind of humorous that Lyra gives up the moment she is told a ton of hard work would have to be put into it. It made her smile. "Well, it's not for everypony. Though, I have to admit. Maybe It does have to do with a little natural talent." Starlight felt a little smug about that, since she knew she was brimming with talent and skill at the same time. But once she sensed herself feeling arrogant, she mentally put a stop to it. And took another breath. "Anyway, let's go get some food. I'm sure there's a lot you'd both like to talk about, am I right?"
"Yeah, I wouldn't mind catching up a little. Actually, I got a story for you when we get there Starlight. I know you have interest in my horn, how'd you like to hear about a whole day where I got to use it?"
Now that caught Starlight's attention. While she kept her urges down from wanting to use the horn for herself, hearing about its uses and limits did interest her greatly. Not to mention that the care she did have for you made her want to hear what you personally did that day. "I'd love to hear about that. And don't skip any details, no matter how boring. Any and every detail, no matter how small, can actually turn out to be very interesting."
you nod, you take notice that she's still very interested in the horn. But unlike Twilight, you'd put faith in her. It was very possible that it could just be that, interest. She's studied magic all her life. Of course the power of the horn would make her curious. Besides, you already used up today's charge, so nothing to worry about really.
With that, the three of you head deeper into the town. The town wasn't much better than the last time you saw it. The only real difference was the more vibrant colors and the townsponies being even more outgoing than before.
When you all arrive, Starlight picks the closest table to the door. You all sit down, relax, and wait.
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Anon's achievement list (chapters 168-170):
The Best Policy III: she's definitely a parent, there is no way she's too immature to be trusted with a child.
Hell-bent: TWILIGHT DIDN'T LEARN HER LESSON.
Huggles The Magical Pony III: Huggles knows best.
Flight II: WHERE'S YOUR CHEATS NOW HUGGLEPONY!
Lesson Learned II?: did you ever really learn anything?
Blabbermouth II: LEARN TO KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT HUGGLEPONY!
I would also like to put it on record that Anon is not an Earth Pony, he's a Hugglepony an obscure race of slightly fluffier ponies.
hmm when is book horse gonna fuck shit up i wonder?
8654332
I hope when she fucks shit up anon gets really pissed at her. I hate her in this fimfic
Started makin' trouble in mah neighborhood...
8674584
Got in one little fight and my mom got scared.
Why do I get the feeling twilight is invisible and following anon and lyra around this whole time? Maybe im paranoid, IDK....
9692766
She said, "You're movin' with your auntie and uncle in Bel-Air"