Ch. 27 A Planeswalker's Philosophy
"I'm so boooooooord," Lyra groaned, staring blankly at her living room ceiling.
After getting all the cards she needed for her deck the day before, there wasn't much else she could do to pass the time. All of the T.V. channels were full of nothing but cheesy holiday specials that she had seen hundreds of times. She beat all of her games hundreds of more times than any gamer had the patience for. Even the internet failed to give her any way to slay her boredom. Not helping was the fact that all of her friends were busy getting things ready for New Years, leaving her b'rift of even their company in this time of need. Just like every year.
She sighed as she pulled her phone out of her pocket and turned it on. With a few screen taps, she managed to get to her text messages. A familiar text caught her eye and made her grimace for the third time that day.
Sorry honey, but I can't come home this week. A massive influx of cases came in recently and we need to sort through them all as soon as possible. I should make it back by Monday of next week at the earliest. I love you.
"Just like last year," Lyra groaned. "God damn it mom.
She scrolled further through her messages and found another one that soured her already bitter mood further.
Major seasonal contract. Won't be home for a couple weeks. Sorry. Love you.
"Really dad?" she growled. "Great. Another lonely New Years. What the heck else is new?"
She glanced at her phone's clock and sighed.
"Two-thirty. Great. What to do to pass the time?"
She jumped as her phone suddenly rang in her hand. After a quick juggling performance, she managed to answer.
"Hello?"
"Hey Lyra," said a very dejected sounding Sunset.
"Hey, what's up?" Lyra asked,
"Not much," she chuckled awkwardly. "Just, uh, do you think I could hang out with you today?"
Lyra raised a brow at that, then asked, "Not that I don't want to hang, but what's up?"
"Um, I, uh, well...fireworks."
"You're scared of fireworks?" she blinked.
"No! It's just...I'm a Pyromancer."
"Really?" Lyra blinked, sitting up. "That's so cool!"
"Yeah," she sighed. "Too bad Derpy's family found out."
"How? Did you try cooking with your hands or something."
"I sneezed," she said flatly.
"What does that have to do-"
"KItchen tables aren't fireproof ," she grumbled.
"Oh," Lyra cringed, remembering her own magical misadventures. "Gotcha'."
"Yeah," Sunset sighed. "So, think I can hang with you while everyone's getting things set up for New Years?"
"Sure," she shrugged. "But why me?"
"Everyone else was busy and Derpy said you could probably use the company."
Lyra chuckled at that.
Crazy Hacker Queen.
"Sure, why not?" she smiled. "Where do ya wanna meet up at?"
"The mall sounds good," Sunset said, a shrug audible in her tone before turning into a grumble as she added, "Hopefully I won't burn something there."
"Sounds good to me," Lyra said, then smirked as she added, "And I'll keep an eye out for stuff like fireworks for ya."
"Ha ha," she grumbled. "See you in a few minutes."
"Yeah, see ya in a few," she chuckled as she hung up.
She smiled as she stared at her phone for a few minutes before pulling herself to her feet.
Spending the day with a real wizard princess that sneezes fire. How the heck did I forget how cool my life is?
***
The Crystal Emporium was one of the few stores in the mall that didn't get packed to bursting on a daily basis. A rather impressive feat considering all of their wares. In addition to gems and stone carvings, the store sold various types of therapeutic treatments ranging from incense sticks to scented candles. To add to the atmosphere, the whole interior of the store was made to look like the inside of a tree with solid hardwood shelves seemingly carved straight into the walls. Lyra stared at the gems on display with a critical eye as she perused the store, Sunset not far behind taking in her surroundings with a more subdued level of interest.
"Hey Sunset, which do you think I should use to make a luck charm?" Lyra asked, holding up two different stones in each hand.
Sunset examined the two stones and frowned. In her left hand sat a green jasper while her right held a green malachite.
"Both work really well, but I think you should go with the malachite. Not only can it be used to draw in good luck, it can also be used to make a powerful protective amulet against dark magic."
"Awesome," Lyra smirked as she put the jasper back in its display basket with its brethren. "Let's see if we can find some coal or volcanic rock while where here."
"Why?" Sunset asked, raising a brow.
Lyra looked around to make sure no one could hear them then whispered, "So we can keep you from roasting half your room away in the spring," she smirked. "Hay fever's a real problem if you're not prepared and a fire suppression charm should make things a little easier."
"Right," she grumbled.
Lyra chuckled at that and said, "Hey, at least you didn't blowup a sweetshop."
"Huh?"
"Yeah, funny story," she chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck as she looked away from her friend. "Remember when I asked how I could shoot lasers from my horn? Turns out all I needed to do was sneeze and boom! Instant light show!"
Sunset blinked at that, then groaned as her hand met her face with a resounding smack.
"Well, that answers that question," she muttered to herself as she remembered her conversation with Twilight.
"Huh?"
"Nothing, don't worry about it," Sunset sighed, waving the issue away like a pesky fly. "You did manage to figure out how to stop that, right?"
"Totally," Lyra smirked, proudly putting her hands on her hips as she added, "Now I only shoot lasers if someone scares me out of bed."
"I... guess that's progress," Sunset blinked, not entirely sure if even she believed her own words. "Have you been able to use your magic since coming back from Equestria?"
"Not really," she frowned, staring down at the green stone in her hand. "I mean, I know I have it, but I can't actually use it. It's like there's some kind of clog somewhere in my body and I can't get anything past it. It's really annoying, you know?"
Sunset nodded.
"Maybe you need to Pony-up to activate it. That's always worked with the Rainbooms and I."
"Pony-up?" Lyra blinked. "You mean that thing where you get ears and stuff when you play instruments?"
Again, she nodded.
"Huh, never thought of that. I have a harp I used to play when I was little back home. Maybe when we're done here, we can head there and give it a try."
"Before or after we make the charms?" Sunset asked.
"Before," Lyra smirked. "Not enough magic in the air to make anything powerful enough to matter."
"How do you know that?" Sunset asked, raising a brow.
"Twilight has a big library and I like to read," Lyra shrugged, still grinning.
"Fair enough," she chuckled. "It's just a little weird to be talking about magic with someone here."
Lyra chuckled then said, "Imagine how weird it feels to know magic is real and that you have it."
Both girls laughed at that for a minute, ignoring the weird looks a handful of customers were giving them.
"Well, we're going to need a few candles for the charms," Sunset smiled, examining a shelf full of candles of varying sizes, shapes, and colors.
"And the right kind of oils and herbs," Lyra mused, scanning through the candles. "Do you think they have any jasmine or rosemary?"
"If not, I know a store nearby that does," Sunset hummed, picking up a white candle to inspect.
"That's a relief," Lyra sighed. "I don't think my neighbor would be too happy if he caught me breaking into his greenhouse again."
"Again?" Sunset asked, raising a brow as she turned to face her friend.
"He grows really good tomatoes," she chuckled.
***
As it turned out, finding a harp from a decade ago was a lot harder than Sunset's magic loving friend thought. As a result, Sunset was tasked with setting up their gear while Lyra dug through her closet to find the instrument. Sunset frowned as she walked around Lyra's house. Perhaps house was the best word to describe it, because home certainly didn't fit. While Lyra's room was a chaotic mess that reflected its main inhabitant, the rest of the two-story three bedroom house was practically bare. Aside from some high end appliances and furniture, there was nothing of any real merit worth talking about. Combined with the plain white walls and the house could've been set for an open house for all she knew.
Even with Sunset's living history, she knew this wasn't normal. When she spent time at her friend's houses, she could easily get a feel for what kind of people lived there based on how things were arranged throughout the home. Just like the last time she was here, she had no idea what kind of people Lyra lived with or how their dynamic was other than "distant". Such an arrangement brought back memories of how she and her mother interacted before she started down her dark path. Something she hoped would never happen to Lyra or any of her new friends.
No one deserves that, she thought, resolution prominent in her features as she set their tools out on the table. No one.
"Found it!" Lyra cheered, strutting into the kitchen with a square black-leather instrument case under her arm.
"That's great," Sunset said, forcing a smile as she set the last of their tools onto the table.
"Yeah," she chuckled as she set the case onto the table across from their supplies. "I haven't pulled this thing out of the closet in years. I don't know if I even remember how to play it."
As she said that, she undid the security clasps of the case and lifted the lid. The second she looked inside, she froze as a sad smile spread across her face. Concerned, Sunset walked around the table to investigate. Sitting in the case was indeed a harp, but one of truly high quality. The arch, point, shoulder, and pillar were made of brilliantly polished silver while the sound box and sound board were an expertly carved and stained dark oak with genuine tree bark. The tuning and bridge pins held the harp's strings perfectly taut, leaving the instrument ready to play at a moment's notice. Certainly, this was an instrument of great design, but that wasn't what held its owner's attention. Resting on the strings, as if waiting for her, laid a single Magic card. Lyra swallowed thickly as she picked up the card, her hands shaking as they handled it like it was sacred.
"I-I forgot I had this one," she sniffled, tears sliding down her cheeks as she smiled at the card. "F-Figures that it would be hiding here."
"Lyra? A-Are you okay?" Sunset asked.
"Y-Yeah," she sniffled, wiping her eyes with her wrist as she delicately returned the card to the harp. "Just got some dust in my eyes. This old thing's been hidden for a while so a lot's gonna build up, you know?"
Lyra flinched as Sunset placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
Lyra stared down at the harp and card for a few seconds, then sighed as she said, "My Grandma was the one that introduced me to Magic, you know? She won a couple tournaments back in the day and always did it with a smile. Every pic Grandpa had of her competing always showed her with a big smile on her face. She even gave her opponents tips on how to do better while she played. When my folks stopped spending time with me, she taught me how to play and kept me company. She taught me everything she knew about the game and for a while, things were pretty good. Then things started to fall apart. I started playing games just to win them. Around that time, I started using black cards just so I wouldn't have to rely on Grandma's strategies to win. I was tearing up players left and right, but she'd whoop my ass every time I played against her. She told me that if you play only to win, you never win, but if you play to have fun, you win even when you lose. I thought she was full of it at the time and kept trying to beat her. This harp was the last gift she gave me before..."
Her lip trembled as she tried to force what she needed to say past her lips. Sunset patiently waited for her friend to find her words as she placed a supporting hand on her shoulder.Then, with new tears sliding down her face, she continued.
"Before she died. Cancer can be a real bitch, you know? While she was in the hospital, she taught me how to play this old girl. I was god awful at first, but by the time the funeral came around I could play this thing like a champ. That was the first and last time I preformed for anyone with this thing. I guess the card was my way of saying thanks for everything she did for me. The first card my first friend ever gave me."
Sunset looked down at the harp and the card that sat atop the strings. Both objects held the same faint glow found on the cards that Lyra gave to her, but it was a much stronger bond of magic then theirs. Those held magic that could bond with another's, but this was a magic bond reserved for two people specifically that could never be changed. This was the magic of loved ones, of family that held each other in both the darkest and brightest of times. A bond that even death could never hope to break.
"Devout Harpist," Sunset said, a small smile spreading across her face as she stared at the card. "Fits you pretty well."
"Yeah," she said with a wet chuckle as she wiped her face. "Grandma was good at that. She could look at ya and poof, she knew exactly what card you could do well with. It was kind've creepy sometimes, but really cool too."
"She sounds like she was a really great woman."
"She was," Lyra smiled as she reached for the harp. "She was my best friend."
She pulled the instrument out of its case and gently held in her arms as she brought a hand up to its strings.
"Hope you and Bons can live with being second to her," she smirked, then began to play.
The song was soft like the wings of a dove, but brought to mind open evening skies with a brilliant full moon. Sunset closed her eyes and embraced the melody as it took her away to places unknown to her. She could see tall mountains that seemed to tickle the heavens. Clear ocean waves lapped at her feet as she stared out into an endless sea past the moon's border. Deep forests full of life surrounded her with its splendor as stars peaked past their canopies. Fog and frog song greeted her as she stood at the heart of a great swamp. Wide open plains surrounded her under a giant blanket of stars. All of it filled her with a sense of peace and harmony that felt so foreign to her, yet so familiar at the same time. Just before the song reached its climax, she found herself standing in the middle of her own bedroom. Standing a foot in front of her was a smiling Derpy, her arms spread out wide and welcoming. The image faded away as the song's final note was struck and she opened her eyes.
Lyra remained seated, a sad smile gracing her face and tears staining her cheeks as she stared down at the instrument in her hands. A wet chuckle slipped past her lips as she wrapped her arms around the harp like a teddy bear.
"I've still got it," she whispered.
"Definitely," Sunset smiled.
Lyra laughed at that, then returned the harp to its case with the card placed back on top of the strings as she closed the lid.
"God I miss her," Lyra sighed, wiping away her tears as she turned to face her friend. "Almost forgot how much until now. Thanks Sunset."
"F-For what?" Sunset stammered, taken aback by her friend's earnest words.
"Helping me remember, duh," she chuckled.
Just then, a golden glow surrounded Lyra and her body began to change. Out of the top of her head sprouted a pair of pony ears while a spiral tipped horn grew from her forehead. Her hair lengthened and weaved itself into a ponytail with a teal streak cutting through her dual-toned gray hair to the end of her tail. She blinked as she felt her magic flow through her, no longer bound by whatever block held it at bay. She stared at her glowing hands and gasped before shifting her attention back to a gawking Sunset.
"D-Did I just-"
Sunset nodded.
Lyra beamed, then said, "The charms! Quick! Let's make them before I power down!"
As the glowing girl frantically scrambled towards their gear, Sunset let out a small chuckle as she followed.
One minute she's crying, the next she's laughing. I don't think I'll ever be able to fully read that girl.
She watched as the glowing human started arranging their gear to begin the ritual needed to make their charms with all the enthusiasm of a foal on Hearths Warming.
Good.
***
Laughter filled the air as two teens watched what had to be their hundredth gaming video.
"Th-That dork can't play his way out of a cardboard box!" Lyra crowed as she almost fell out of her chair with laughter.
"No kidding!" Sunset laughed, doubled over as she tried to gasp past her mirth. "What made him think charging the boss was going to work any better this time?!"
"W-Wait," Lyra cackled, moving the mouse across the screen. "I-I gotta see that again!"
Both girls stayed silent for a few seconds as Lyra rewinded the video a few seconds back. When a man in armor was flung across the screen by a dragon, they both almost fell over with laughter again.
"Oh man," Lyra wheezed, wiping a tear from her eye as she righted herself in her chair. "I could watch that part all day."
"Yeah," Sunset gasped, wiping her own tears out of her eyes. "Hey, thanks for the charm. It should make things a little less hectic at home."
As she said that, she stroked the lava rock pendant at her throat. Lyra chuckled at that as she lightly tapped her own pendant with a hint of pride.
"No prob," she smiled, then turned somber as she added, "And thanks...for listening to me for a bit. It really helped me out, ya know?"
"Anytime," Sunset smiled, then let out a sigh as she saw the clock on the computer screen. "Guess I should be heading back home now."
Lyra blinked at her for a minute than looked at the time and frowned.
"Yeah. Any later and you'll be stuck here for the night."
Reluctantly, the two teens got up out of their chairs and made their way to the front door. As Lyra opened the door for her, Sunset couldn't help but frown at how dreary the house was for what felt like the thousandth time that night.
"Hey," Sunset sighed as she stepped through the door into the cold night air. "If things get bad for you, please call someone. I don't want you thinking your alone anymore. Trust me, those kind of thoughts don't go over well in the long run."
Lyra gave her a small smile and nodded as she said, "Yeah, I'll try. Bon's been trying to help me get out of that mindset, but it's not easy sometimes. Especially this time of year."
"Right," Sunset sighed then smiled as she said, "Guess that means Derpy and I'll have to come by every so often this week."
"Wha-really?" Lyra blinked.
"Yeah! Maybe I can talk her into all of us going to Equestria for the the Twilight Festival this year," she beamed.
"Twilight has a festival?" she asked.
"Not that twilight," Sunset chuckled. "It's kind of like pony New Years only, instead of celebrating the changing to the year, we celebrate my mom and aunt's birthdays."
"How does that work?" Lyra asked, raising a brow.
"Mom was born December thirty-first at one PM while Aunt Luna was born January first at one AM five years later. So most of the day is spent honoring mom while most of the night is dedicated to Aunt Luna, at least that's what mom told me."
"It wasn't always like that?"
Sunset shook her head.
"It used to be all for mom, but that apparently changed when Luna came back."
"Cool, so it's like some really big party?"
"The biggest," Sunset chuckled. "Imagine a whole city being part of one giant party all the way until the sun comes up. That's what all of Equestria does for new years every year."
"Awesome!" Lyra gushed, stars in her eyes at the thought of such a party. "I have got to see that!"
"I'll see what I can do," she chuckled. "In the mean time, try not to let things get to you, okay?"
"Yeah," she smiled. "And if things get a bit much-"
"We're all a phone call away," Sunset finished with a smile.
"Right," Lyra chuckled. "Goodnight Sunset."
"Goodnight Lyra."
And with that the two friends parted ways, hearts a little less heavy and bonds a lot stronger then before.
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I was expecting the card to be Mother of Runes.
images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41XF2mzalaL._SL500_AC_SS350_.jpg
I swear, this is by far the best bonding moment Sunset has had in a long time with someone that isn't Derpy. I just want a hug Lyra so much after that story about her grandmother
9845176
Hmm, that seems more a fit for Derpy.
And I can't wait for the moment where Lyra ignites her spark. She deserves to have her own little magical speciality, and what could be more fitting for a Magic geek?
First magic card I ever got was a Revised Edition Birds of Paradise. My brother introduced me to the game and went with me to the mall to pick up a starter and a few boosters.
Devout harpist? Talk about useless...
I'd have expected something like Elvish Lyrist.
9845562
I was looking for an old white card that would fit the scene. Considering there are thousands of cards out there, it's no surprise that I may've missed a few options.
9845562
9845591
given devout is tap, white, and effects all attached-to-creature enchantments (which is a fair amount), it's really not that bad
compared to lyrist, a pay to tap, one use sacrifice green, whose only extra benefit is all enchantments?
meh, i'd say it fits pretty well
9845176
kinda like this one too
I'm catching up on FiMFics I've been following for a while. And just...I can't...GAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!
Sunset and Derpy! Pinkie and Tattle! Dinky! Mischievous Luna! Maud and Limestone and Marble! Rainbow and Rarity and Applejack! I just....I can't....GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!
TOO MANY CUTES! TOO MANY FEELS! I CAN'T!
Side Notes:
There are so many instances where I can't help but imagine Tattle's voice somewhere between Capper's and Lando Calrissan's.
I'm still waiting on that notification of the Lyra spin-off where she narrates her MTG matches like actual duels between Planeswalkers! Hell, I might write something like that myself; it's so good!
Lyra needs hugs badly!
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=2-M9-6OSYMY&feature=share
for some reason when Lyra played her harp, I expected something like this.
9845591
I actually have a question concerning the MTG Lyra plays. Is it Commander, Standard, Legacy or Modern?
All of them are good, but I personally think she would make a great Commander gifter. I make decks for friends a lot like Lyra based off what my friends like to do in other games. One friend currently has the Locust God based off All the draw power you could possibly use in a 99 card deck. While I want to help him update the deck he personally enjoys how it runs right now.