Like Any Other
It was a day like any other.
How curious a thought that was. Things had changed so drastically in daily life that their routine was nigh on unrecognizable compared to what it'd been. So many events bordering on insane had transpired in recent months that Lyra had all but lost track. How could she consider anything about how she lived nowadays normal? Since when had parenting become normal? Since when had healing a foal so grievously wounded been considered anything but perilous? At what point could the craziness of it all have possibly faded to calm status quo?
And yet, it had. Today was, impossibly, a day like any other.
Lyra woke up in her spot on the couch, lazily yawning and rubbing her eyes. Bon Bon was already up and preparing a hearty breakfast, humming a jolly tune as she waited for the stove to heat up. Knight--no, Button at the moment, by the looks of it--busied himself with batting away at the curls of her tail, looking for all the world like a kitten playing with a giant ball of yarn. Lyra's first thought--once she got past the drowsiness--was to hurry up and brush her teeth, not why a broken colt wasn't hiding away upstairs or how on Equus he felt comfortable enough to be near somepony else.
When breakfast was done, Lyra sat herself on a chair and practiced her lyre. Bon Bon came in to listen and relax and Darkest was soon to follow, curious as always. She let him have a go at it, watching with demure pride as he plunked out a few basic scales and even managed to play a few starting notes from Brayms' lullaby. He really seemed taken by the lyre, to the point where Lyra considered commissioning one just for him. Ultimately, she determined it best to take things slowly and try out some other instruments first, on the off-chance it wasn't the lyre in particular that had the colt so enraptured.
Still, looking into that beaming face, it was hard not to do everything possible to make him happy.
Sunburst and Starlight came by later into the afternoon, not because it was a scheduled appointment or a surprise inspection, but because Knight wanted them there to hang out and play. They colored, made paper mache, talked for a while, hugged a while longer. Starlight stayed on the sidelines and patiently refrained from applying pressure, but everypony could tell he was warming up to her. Lyra and Bon Bon had a much-needed break in watching their son and retreated upstairs for some quiet time alone together.
When the Glimmers left, Button decided to build a pillow fort. Both mares descended the stairs only to find he'd somehow managed to claim and use every cushion, pillow, blanket, loveseat, chair, and unanchored table in the building to create a monstrous fortress that took up the near entirety of the store's front area. Lyra, giggling with fillylike glee, immediately rushed in to try and find her son. Bon Bon was behind her, but not fast enough to avoid losing her completely and soon the three were trapped in a loop of calling out and trying to chase each other down. This turned into a game whose rules weren't exactly clear. Sometimes Lyra chased, sometimes she ran and sometimes she hid.
Naturally, they all ended up happily reunited by the end of it. Wrapped in a fluffy cuddle pile of love, Lyra caught her breath and reveled in her luckiness.
It only hit her hours later that her son hadn't been able to touch fabric without having a panic attack in weeks.
Late into the evening, the three of them settled on a grassy hill just outside town to stargaze. Lyra thought about the day, about her life and commitments. She considered the journey she'd been through and the journey she still had to take. She thought about her wife and adoptive kid, too. She thought a lot, looking up at that night sky. A sky that was not, unlike the day, like any other. Princess Luna had done her best work as always and they considered themselves lucky to be able to see it. No words were said between the three of them as they laid on that grassy hill. An hour went by, then two, then Knight started snoring against Lyra's side and Bon Bon decided it was time to go home.
Lyra's wife carried him back while she lagged behind, still thinking. When she got ready for bed, she was still thinking. When she cuddled up against her family members and shut her eyes, ready to doze off, her brain was still. thinking.
Lyra couldn't get to sleep that night. A minute or so after Bonnie joined Knight in the realm of dreams, the unicorn eased herself off the couch and crept out of the living room. The front door closed behind her with a soft click and she paused for a moment on the front porch.
Ponyville didn't have much of a nightlife. The streets were empty, nearly all lights turned off. The chirping of crickets and occasional hoot of an owl were the only sounds accompanying Lyra's dull hoofbeats. She wove through town, pausing every few seconds to see if she'd finally outpaced her own thoughts. Inevitably, they always returned and she continued on her weary way.
The bench's cold wooden seat bit into her underside. A stiff breeze ruffled her coat and sent the silvery hairs of her mane and tail adrift. Lyra scowled accusingly at the night sky that'd put her so deep in thought, then sighed and stared instead at her mint-green hooves.
"I thought we were over this."
Those hooves flickered in her mind's eye, briefly turning into something misshapen before flickering back. She pouted, shuffled a bit, then hopped down from the bench and began returning home.
Something was eating at her. She decided to get to the bottom of it first thing in the morning.
“Button, are you… hurting?”
The colt blinked up at her, eyes shining with innocence beset by years of turmoil. He cocked his head to one side, ears flopping to and fro, newly-cut mane sent ruffling. It was easy to see when Button was in charge, even for somepony not equipped with pseudo-mind reading powers. There was a distinct youth in his gaze, a chipper energy in his gait, a joyful quality in his laugh. Of the five, Button was the least likely to be pained. The most likely to shrug off any assail. The sturdiest, the most determined, the remnant of purity. His confusion at the question was understandable, then.
“No, Mommy,” he beamed up at her, his tail shifting back and forth in a slight wag. “I’m good!”
She didn’t believe him.
Lyra cradled her son’s cheek in a forehoof and peered deeper into his eyes. There it was; not a pain, per se, but certainly a degree of discontent. Much like herself in her own psyche, some of the voices were disagreeing with each other. Lyra detected an instability in her child’s mind, one that deeply troubled her.
Button’s smile gradually faded as he mentally beat back at the assault. His face found itself planted in her chest while her forelegs moved to encircle his trembling body.
“Yeah…” came Button’s reluctant reply, mumbled out and nearly smothered by the layers of fluff his muzzle was buried in. Lyra hummed, stroking his mane and thinking deeply.
“Don’t worry, I understand. I think I know how to help, too.”
When he peered up at her with those wide, sparkling white orbs, she knew she had to do everything she could. The decision was easy. Lyra wasn’t just trying to help for the sake of helping somepony who was hurt, anymore. She was fighting for her child.
“Please do.”
Her nod was resolute. Gently, she kissed his forehead and nuzzled his nose. A loving gesture like any other, but no less meaningful because of it.
The next day, when the enormous pillow mansion had been cleared up and lunch had been eaten, when the floors had been swept, the dishes cleaned, the laundry done, Lyra sat face-to-face with her partner for life. Both mares’ expressions were grave, one with a note of skepticism and the other accompanied by no small amount of pleading.
“It’s a fairly simple spell,” Lyra found herself saying, if only to fill the dreadful silence. “Powerful enough that we’d need to get Princess Twilight or somepony similar, but it wouldn’t be hard. Or, really, all that dangerous.” Her tense smile was as convincing as she was calm, but that hardly mattered. She knew her wife would see sense, even if it took a while to get there.
“How can you say that, Lyly? Knight’s mind is more turbulent than the North Lunar Sea, you know that even better than I do! Not to mention that you’re not…” Bonnie cringed at the same time as her companion, rubbing her neck with a hoof and sighing exasperatedly. “It’s not safe. There’s absolutely no way in Tartarus you’re convincing me this is in any way safe.” She was right, as was usually the case. But Lyra had no mental capacity to focus on the dangers. As far as she was concerned, anything terrible that might happen if it all went south was irrelevant.
All that mattered was helping her son, at any cost.
“I know. I don’t care,” Lyra stated. Her neck straightened. Her eyes narrowed. “He needs me. All five of them do.” Bon Bon frowned, taking a step closer.
“So do I, Lyly. What if…” the earth pony paused, drooped her head and it was many minutes before she raised it again. Minutes of quiet pondering for them both--Bon Bon because she was considering all sides of the situation, and Lyra because she still hadn't stopped thinking. The unicorn stood patiently, knowing her partner would, with the inevitability of the sun setting, come to the same conclusion she had. When Bonnie's head raised again, her face was resolute, all trace of anxious doubt gone. “Fine, then. But let me come with you!”
Lyra hated seeing her lover so hopeful. Her expression softened and she closed the gap between them, staring back into those searching eyes with gentle denial. Bonnie knew her answer before she spoke it and slumped back down in turn.
“No, Bonnie. One of us should stay out here, and we both know it’s not going to be me.”
Whoever went in would need as thorough a grasp on the mental states of all parties involved as possible. If Lyra’s suspicions proved correct, their son’s mind could be more fractured at the moment than any regular pony would be able to piece together. Any normal pony’s mind would fail to find footing in such a place and begin fracturing–perhaps irreparably–in turn.
How fortunate, then, that Lyra was not a pony like any other.
“Okay.” The mumble was small, but Lyra appreciated it all the same. She said thanks, they kissed, and then she was off to fetch a princess and begin perhaps the most dangerous experience of her life.
So, there they were. Knight and Lyra sat side-by-side on the couch, the latter stroking the former in a somewhat-successful gesture of comfort. Princess Twilight Sparkle sat across from them, reading out the warnings and dangers of this procedure from her clipboard one final time. Lyra felt calm; her constant thinking had finally quieted. She knew this was what she needed to do. Knight wasn't calm in the slightest--in fact, roughly half of him wanted to bolt away, she could tell. Still, he trusted her, and that meant everything.
Bon Bon sat nearby, an anguished spectator helplessly watching the events unfold. Lyra sent one last comforting smile her way, but only received a tense nod in return.
Posh was the issue. He'd been causing all sorts of troubles that nopony had been noticing for a long time, now. Posh's actions had been turning Lyra's thoughts against her, keeping her awake and bothering her so much that her own carefully-healed psyche had started shaking. That stubborn, rude, ignorant voice inside her son's head had been sowing far too much discontent for far too long and Lyra was determined to put a stop to it.
She was coming for him, and Posh knew it. She would ensure her son knew peace, no matter how hard parts of him fought to the contrary.
Soon, Twilight's horn lit up and both unicorns felt themselves be pulled into a deep sleep. A sleep like any other, except here, their dreams would merge and their minds coalesce.
And thus, the Heartstrings began their last effort for healing.
Faust only knew what they would find.
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I know some readers tend to skim past lengthy, yapping-filled author's notes (I, myself being somewhat guilty on that front sometimes) so I figured I'd put this here:
No, you're not hallucinating, high, or suffering from dementia. I did actually remove some chapters and pull the story back in time a little. That whole thing with Canterlot, the Storm King, and Tempest was poorly thought out, so I axed it. We're refocusing and giving everyone the quality ending they deserve.
This isn't the spot for anime-caliber fight scenes, no matter how epic they are XD.
I'm happy to answer any questions anyone might have. Ideally, updates should spring forth pretty rapidly from here until the story's conclusion. Expect chapters somewhat weekly. The next one's almost ready, in fact.
12104196
Sometimes you gotta chop off a leg to save the body. In this case the leg can be rewritten and better than ever.
Good to see this come back tho
12104209
Well said, mate. And ditto.
12104196
It's your story and your choice so if this is what you want to do then go for it and don't let anyone stop you
12104231
Much appreciated
Why is this so small in the synopsis?
ay it's back
12104259
Y'know, I don't really know. Good question. Maybe to take up less space, since the description was getting long? Maybe because it's not very important information to share compared to everything else? A big shrug from me.
But, thanks for your comments--I've noticed you leave a lot of them on a lot of stories. I thought you'd like to know your contributuons are appreciated
12104260
Tis! Back and better than ever.
Oh boy! A new chapter! Now I've got to re-read the rest so I know what is still canon.
I'm glad to see you haven't given up on this story. Sure, it has a few issues, but altogether it's a pretty unique take on the adoption story archetype (my personal favorite, to be honest). Be interesting to see the results of this mind dive too, given that there are like 5 or 6 personalities in there. Bon Bon may have been the better choice of diver though, by virtue of her being (to my recollection) more mentally stable than either Knight or Lyra. Then again, Lyra's experience with putting a mind back together probably trumps mental stability. Nice to see the Glimmers and Twilight too. Feels like its been a minute. Regardless, I'll be looking forward to what happens next.
Hope the next one comes out soon! Keep up the good work!
12104315
You're not alone in needing to re-read this
A big reason why this update took so long was me realizing I didn't fully recall everything that'd happened and needing to go back through everything for smoothness' sake. Actually reading the words didn't take very long, but mustering up the will to put myself through the cringe? Well...
In any case, I'm ever so grateful you enjoy this as much as you do. Thanks for the continued support; it's part of the reason I came back to finish everything.
I'll see you reading as long as I continue writing, sound like a deal?
I may be old.. but I respect you for coming back however late! Thanks so much!
12104323
Sounds like a fair deal to me!
I'm glad to see this story updating again. It's a really sweet chapter, too. I don't really have much recollection of how we got to this point, but I'll keep watching and reading this story as long as it goes on.
Your back! This is most excellent, and with a great chapter double excellent :)