Forest IV
For the first night since she had come to the forest, Trixie did not dream. There were no painful memories or nightmarish landscapes, no glowing eyes or spreading black wings. She was barely aware of anything at all, only the dull ache of her body and the comfort of oblivion. She had won, somehow. It wasn't clear anymore what she had won, but she had, and for a long time that was enough. But eventually more coherent sensations returned to her mind and body. She was lying in a bed, a scratchy and warm blanket enfolding her. Low voices occasionally reached her ears. Spikes of pain occasionally shot through her horn, but they seemed less and less frequent. Sometimes the fog lifted enough for her to open her eyes, and she saw blurry shapes moving in the flickering light of a fire. She wasn't exactly happy, but there was no more fear.
When she finally woke up fully, there was sunlight coming in through the windows of the hut. She shuffled in her sheets, sitting up and blinking her eyes groggily. This attracted the attention of her companions, and almost as soon as she was aware of her surroundings, they were filled with the eager and concerned voices of the other ponies.
“She's awake!”
“How's it going, Tricks?”
“Don't crowd her, everypony stand back please.”
Five colorful faces stared down at her. She shifted beneath her heavy blanket and focused on Twilight Sparkle, whose face was heavy with concern.
“How are you feeling, Trixie?” the Princess asked.
The effort of speaking seemed gargantuan. Trixie tried to sit up and failed. She could already feel sleep creeping back over her brain, and her eyes flickered shut, but she smiled.
“Tired,” she muttered. “But I did it,Twilight Sparkle. You weren't there, but I did it. I made new magic.”
“Er... not quite.”
Her eyes flickered back open. “What?”
“Well, I'm still not exactly sure what happened. When you put on the amulet, pretty much every animal in the forest went wild. I mean, more so than usual. And at first I though that you—or it—was controlling them. But I think that it was more like a reaction; I don't want to say that the forest can think, exactly, but something out there knew that something was wrong and lashed out in the only way it knew how.”
With the mention of the amulet, the full memories of what had happened, what she had done, came flooding back. Putting on the amulet, the rush of power, the battle with the Ursa Major. What she had done to Lyra. What she had almost done to everypony.
She wanted to crawl back under the covers and hide away forever, but she settled for burying her face in her pillow. “I'm sorry, Twilight. I'm so sorry.”
“I'm that one who should be sorry, Trixie. I knew that the amulet might still have a connection to you, and I brought you here anyway. I put you in unnecessary danger.”
“Danger?” said Trixie, her voice still muffled by fabric. “Twilight Sparkle, I was the one that put all of you in danger. Just to try and prove myself.”
“You're being to hard on yourself,” said Twilight. “The Alicorn Amulet was a extremely powerful magical artifact, not to mention a malevolent one. It choose you for its purposes, but anypony could have fallen victim to it.”
Trixie turned to look at Twilight. “'Was'? The Amulet is still out there, Twilight, and I'm not sure if anypony is safe while—”
Twilight levitated a familiar black necklace into view, and Trixie practically screamed. She recoiled violently from the amulet, and almost fell out of bed as she entangled herself in the sheets.
“Get it away! Get it away from me!”
“It's alright!” said Twilight, reaching a hoof out to keep Trixie steady. “It's okay! It's harmless now, look!”
The amulet floated between the two of them, inert and motionless. Trixie reached out a hoof, cautious, and kicked it. It swayed, but nothing happened.
“Is it... dead?”
“Well, it wasn't really alive, but yes. Lyra told me about what happened in the forest.”
Trixie turned toward the green mare, who was smiling nervously.
“Lyra,” said Trixie. “Trixie is—I'm sorry. If you hadn't—I might have—”
“Woah, hey, whatever. You'd have done the same, I'm sure. And, uh, Vinyl helped too, you know.”
“You bet your flank I did!”
“Anyway,” said Twilight, “Once we got you back here, Zecora and I went out to find it again, but it was totally lifeless. All the magic's gone out of it.”
“Why?” asked Trixie, frowning down at the amulet. The ruby eye still stared back at her, and she had a hard time suppressing a shiver.
“My guess is that it came down to you taking it off—not because you were forced, not because you were tricked, but entirely out of your own free will. It needed somepony to feed off, you see. Somepony it could trick into doing its bidding. And when you rejected it, that was it for the amulet. It's totally useless now. Well, except maybe as a really ugly fashion accessory.”
Trixie sighed, then pushed the amulet away. Twilight's magic was released, and it fell to the bedside table with a soft clatter.
“Take it away,” said Trixie. “Smash it, bury it, I don't care. I don't want to see it again.”
Twilight nodded, but she wasn't done. “I also wanted to talk about what happened with the Ursa Major.”
Trixie perked up, and glared defiantly at Twilight. “I did it, Twilight. It was new magic.”
“Again, not quite.”
“It was! They saw it, ask them!” said Trixie, pointing a hoof at Lyra and Vinyl.
“Um,” said Lyra. “I'm not sure what we saw. You faced down the bear—”
“Which was so hardcore, by the way.”
“—and your horn lit up, and then the whole forest went quiet. What exactly did you do?”
“It was amazing,” said Trixie. “I tapped into my magic, and it was there. The whole forest, every tree, every rock, I could feel all of it, and I told it—I told it to sit down and shut up.”
“A suggestion spell,” said Twilight.
Trixie frowned. “What?”
“You used to use them in your performances, I'm assuming. When the actual magic was too hard for you, or a trick didn't go right, you'd fall back on casting spells on the audience themselves. Make them think they saw something they hadn't.”
Trixie glared at Twilight, who merely raised an eyebrow. “Well, am I right?” asked Twilight.
“Perhaps,” said Trixie with a pout.
“What you did with the Ursa Major was that... times a thousand, I suppose. On the scale of the entire forest. Which was an incredible feat! But not what we're looking for.”
Trixie frowned, and then slumped against the bedframe. Her sleepiness was catching up with her. She wanted to curl up, maybe with a bowl of Zecora's soup, and not think about anything for awhile.
Fleur stepped forward and cleared her throat. “So what do we do now?”
“I think we'd better let Trixie get some more rest,” said Twilight.
“I mean, with regards to our research.”
Twilight chewed her lip, and shared a glance with Zecora, who nodded silently. “I think that our research could use a break,” she said. “And I think that we've learned all that we're going to here in the Everfree. It's time to move on.”
“But we were getting so close!” said Lyra.
“It's been an exciting week, Lyra, but we're not getting anywhere. The mysteries of the Everfree will have remain mysterious for the time being. We need to pursue other paths for our research.”
“But—”
“She's right, kiddo,” said Vinyl. “You've gotta know when to fold 'em, and all that.”
“Don't worry, Lyra,” said Twilight with a smile. “I've got plenty planned for our next session.”
“The next session,” said Trixie. Her throat felt dry. “Twilight, I don't think that—”
“I know,” said Twilight. “I know you're worried. But don't decide anything yet, okay? Sleep on it first.”
It was the best advice Trixie had ever heard, and her eyelids were already closed as she nodded to Twilight. She pulled the blankets around her, and the world once again fell into a comforting darkness.
Fleur took one last look at the interior of Zecora's hut. It was strange to think that she was actually going to miss the cramped, dark, and frankly smelly cottage. But somewhere along the line, their peculiar host, with her rhymes and potions and platitudes, had grown on her. Zecora had a certain serenity, a confidence in her bearing, which Fleur had come to admire. She thought that if Zecora was the type to move to Canterlot, she might make a wonderful model.
She stepped out into the morning light and found herself alone in the clearing with Trixie. The blue mare was scraping at the dirt with her hooves, lost in thought. Her hat was gone now, though she still wore the violet cape. Fleur approached her cautiously.
“Are you alright?”
“What? Yes, Trixie is... I'm fine. And once again, I'm sorry. About everything.”
“You've made your apologies already, and we've accepted them. There's no need for any more.”
Trixie laughed. “As if it's that easy. But I put everypony in danger, all for the sake of my own stupid pride. Again! Maybe that should be my special talent. Trixie, the Great and Powerful? More like Trixie, the walking disaster!”
“Does that mean that you won't be joining us for the next session?”
“I shouldn't have been here for this one. I don't belong on this... this team, or whatever.”
“I think we all doubt our own credentials, to a certain extent,” said Fleur. “But the Princess has confidence in us. She believes in this team. I can't pretend to understand why, but I think that I trust her now.”
Trixie bit her lip. She wasn't meeting Fleur's eyes, and spoke in a harsh mutter.
“I'm pretty sure her test failed. You know why? Twilight said that the fact that we tried, when everpony else gave up, meant that there was something special about us, that we were willing to face the impossible. But that wasn't what I was doing. I was... I was angry with her. I thought she was mocking me, singling me out with a fake, impossible test. And so I just pulled a spell out of my hat, just to spite her, really. It wasn't anything particularly difficult, just a light spell that I used in my performances. Something I had a knack for. It was my way of spitting in her face, but then she was smiling and telling me how impressed she was, and how I had passed, and how I had something special. I'm still not sure that she's right.”
“I wouldn't worry so much about that. My own experience during the test was less than edifying. When Twilight asked me to do the impossible, all I was really thinking about was my husband. He had been so excited for me, so encouraging. I knew that if I walked away without trying something, that I wouldn't be able to face his disappointment. I don't believe I have a 'special something' any more than you do.”
“Then what's your point?”
“My point is that if you can't do it for yourself, do it for somepony else.”
Trixie snorted. “Who? Who would I be helping by staying on the team?”
“Her Majesty, for one. It may not seem like it, but I really do think that she needs our help.”
Trixie was silent for a long moment as she thought about this, then turned to frown at Fleur. “What do you care? Why do you want me to stay?”
“Because we're doing something important,” said Fleur. “And I really do think that we'll be worse off without you. After all, you did something incredible last night.”
“I did a lot of things, most of them incredibly stupid. And one thing that was mostly an accident, and wasn't even what we were trying to do.”
“How about this, then. The Princess likes you. She believes in you. And... and I do too. If you just walk out, if you give up, you're not just letting yourself down. You're letting down all of us.”
Trixie finally turned to look her in the face, and Fleur found herself once again wondering exactly who Trixie was, where she had come from. There was such fierceness in her eyes. Where does she get it? Fleur wondered. Does she even know?
The sound of hoofsteps came up behind them. They turned to find Twilight and the others walking out of the hut, saddlebags full. Twilight walked up to them, chewing her lip nervously.
“Well, Trixie?” she said. “What have you decided?”
Trixie gazed at Twilight, then to Fleur's surprise, turned her head with a scoff. “The Great and Powerful Trixie will of course be staying on the team. She—that is, I doubt that you would make much progress without my help.”
Twilight looked startled for a second, but then broke out in a smile. “Well, then the Great and Powerful Trixie had better get her Great and Powerful rear into gear. It's time to head back to Ponyville.”
Zecora gave each of them a low and graceful bow as they made their finally preparations. As they began their trek out of the forest, Fleur found herself walking side by side with Trixie. The blue mare was silent for a long stretch, and Fleur did not feel inclined to break it. Finally, Trixie made a noise that sounded like something between a cough and a choking noise.
“Excuse me?” said Fleur.
Trixie took in a deep breath, then, in grating, barely audibly voice, managed to say “Thank you,” then trotted quickly forward before Fleur could do anything but give her a bemused smile.
They had only been gone for a week and a half, but Lyra had almost forgotten how bright the world outside of the Everfree Forest was. The sun was setting over Ponyville, but even in the dim light of the evening the town was a thousand times more colorful and cheerful than the forest at midday. It was a joke to call the town square “crowded”, but after the solitude of the forest Lyra felt a little claustrophobic being surrounded by more than a handful of ponies at once.
“You alright, kiddo?”
Vinyl peered at her from over the edge of Fleur's chariot. Trixie had already left for the train station, dodging questions about her destination but assuring them all, one last time, that she would be returning for the next session. Fleur had offered Vinyl a ride back to Canterlot, and the two were saying one last goodbye before they left.
“Yeah, I'm good. You're coming back, right? For the next session?”
“Of course I am. You'd think I'd want to miss out on something this crazy?”
“What about that time you freaked out in the woods?”
“Yeah, well,” said Vinyl, running a hoof through her mane, “I've been meaning to apologize for that. And to thank you, for coming after me and taking care of my sorry flank. But it was kind of fun, wasn't it? You and me, off in the woods, danger on every side, overcoming huge magical monsters with just our wits and our magic. Most excitement I've had in a while, I'll tell you that.”
“The way I remember it, it was terrifying. And Trixie was the one who drove off the Ursa Major.”
“Please. She couldn't have done it without me. Er, without us.”
Lyra chuckled. “I just hope that the next session won't be quite so perilous.”
“I wouldn't count on it,” said Vinyl. “Either way, stay out of trouble until then, okay?”
“What do you mean?”
Vinyl shot a meaningful glance towards Twilight, who was chatting with the chariot drivers. “I mean, don't do anything stupid.”
Lyra frowned. “I know what I'm doing, Vinyl.”
Her friend lowered her voice. “You really think now is the best time to approach her? After everything that happened in the forest, you should really give it some more time. Sleep on it.”
“I've slept on it for long enough. Besides, I've gone face-to-face with an Ursa Major. How dangerous can asking somepony on a date be?”
“You'd be surprised,” said Vinyl, not smiling.
“What are you two whispering about over there?”
Lyra turned to find Twilight looking quizzically at her. “Oh, just, uh, trading some musician's secrets. You know.” She grinned sheepishly.
Twilight raised an eyebrow, but any questions were forestalled by Fleur stepping into the chariot behind Vinyl. The tall unicorn gave Twilight a small smile as she bowed her head.
“I do not mean to be rude, Your Majesty,” she said, “but we must be off if we are to reach Canterlot before it is too dark.”
“Of course. And really, Fleur, you can call me Twilight. Get plenty of rest while you're in Canterlot—I've got big plans for the next session. I'll send you the details in a week or so.”
“Wouldn't miss it for the world,” said Vinyl. “Catch ya later, Sparks.”
“You too, Vinyl.”
Vinyl turned back to Lyra, and looked as if she had something she needed to say. After a short moment, thought, all she said was “Good luck, kiddo.”
With a nod from Fleur, the drivers began to beat their wings. Dust rose from the ground as the chariot began to lift off. In a few short moments, the vehicle was airborne, rising in a slow circle over the village square before it cleared the rooftops of Ponyville. Soon the chariot was nothing but a small dot in the sky above them; Twilight and Lyra stood waving goodbye until it disappeared in the dusk towards Canterlot.
Twilight sighed. “'Sparks.' I'm not one for formality, but I am still a Princess. I should probably do something about that.”
Lyra giggled. “It might be already too late.”
“So, you live over on Horseshoe Lane, right?”
“Oh! Yeah,” said Lyra. “But, um, I could walk you home. If you like.”
Twilight shrugged. “Sure, I guess. If it's not too far out of your way.”
“No, it's, uh, no problem.”
They began to make their way through the streets to the library. Light and music spilled out from the occasional restaurant, and here and there a pony or small group passed them, but for the most part the streets were dark and deserted. The two ponies also walked in silence for some time. Twilight seemed lost in thought, her face an unreadable mask. For her own part, Lyra's heart was pounding. A thousand unspoken thoughts crowded in her brain, and she couldn't find the courage to give voice to a single one.
No limits, she told herself.
“So,” she said suddenly. “I think that the first, uh, session, went well, don't you? I mean, we didn't discover any new magic, but we learned a lot about the forest. And, um, each other. I mean, we got to know each other, you know?”
Twilight nodded, smiling absently. As the light grew dimmer, her features seemed to Lyra to take on an otherworldly beauty. The soft, gleaming eyes, the grace of her gait. Even the shade of her coat seemed to take on an extraordinary color in the growing moonlight. Twilight spoke softly.
“I think it was a success as well. It makes me optimistic for the project overall.” She turned and gave a Lyra a warmer smile. “And I think quite a lot of it has to do with you. You've impressed me quite a lot, Lyra. Especially with what you did for Trixie. I'm glad she had somepony like you there for her needed it.”
“Well, what are friends for?” Lyra laughed nervously. “And I'm real glad to be on the team. It's been awesome so far. Real, uh, awesome.”
The library loomed above them, its lights already lit against the coming night. Twilight was pulling ahead, trotting toward the door. Lyra's legs shook. Her heart hammered against her ribcage.
No limits.
“Twilight!” she blurted, her voice ringing too loud in her own ears. “I was wondering if you'd, maybe, like to go on a date sometime.”
Twilight stopped in her tracks. She turned her head slowly to look at Lyra, her brow furrowed and a small frown on her face.
“Excuse me?”
“I mean, I feel like we've gotten to know each other, you know? Over the past couple of weeks. And, I don't know how you feel about me, but I find myself quite, um, you know, like, I like you, Twilight! I like you a lot. And if you would give me a chance, I mean, if you would go out with me, I think I could, um, I hope that you might find that maybe you could—maybe you might like me too.”
Twilight chuckled. “Lyra, I—really, I'm flattered, but I really don't think that that sort of thing would be appropriate.”
Lyra felt her heart sink in her chest. “Please, Twilight. It would mean a lot to me if you would just give me a chance. This isn't—this isn't easy for me, to finally confess my feelings like this, and I know it's asking a lot, but—”
“Wait, 'finally'?” asked Twilight, her eyes narrowing. “What do you mean, 'finally'?”
“Okay, I—I admit, I may have, um, been thinking about this, I mean, thinking about you, for awhile. Like, since we both came to Ponyville, and I noticed you, and, okay, that sounded weird, I know this all sounds weird, but I've always, I've always admired you.”
Twilight was backing away from her. “Are... are you saying that you've been stalking me?”
“No! No, of course not! I mean, we both live in the same town, and Ponyville's pretty small, and you're super famous, so why wouldn't I know who you were? But I'm not saying I just like you because you're famous! Like, I knew who you were before that, back at Celestia's school, remember? I mean, you probably don't remember me, but, uh, I thought that maybe if I joined this whole research project thing, then we could get to know each other, and you could get to know me, and maybe—”
“So the real reason you joined my team was because you were... attracted to me.”
“No! I mean, not just that, it's complicated.”
“Do you even care about our research at all?”
“Yes! I just care about you too!”
“I have to say that I'm disappointed, Lyra. All this time I thought you were somepony different. Somepony who cared about the work we were doing. But this was all just about some silly crush, wasn't it?”
“That's not—I'm not—it's not a crush!” yelled Lyra. “I'm in love with you, Twilight!”
Those last words echoed in the empty street around them. The sun had finished setting during the course of their conversation, and now only the soft light shining out of the library window illuminated them. Twilight closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them, there was neither warmth nor anger in her face, just a neutral coolness.
“I'm sorry, Lyra, if I ever gave you the impression that our relationship was anything other than—was something that it wasn't. And I think that this fixation of yours is nothing but unhealthy. I can't accept your request.”
“Twilight—”
“In fact, I think that it would be best if you didn't return for our next session.”
“What?! You can't—”
“I can,” said Twilight sternly. “Trying to work together after something like this would be too difficult. For both of us. Again, I'm very sorry.”
Lyra's mouth opened and closed, but no words came out. Her vision was blurry with the beginnings of tears, but she could make out Twilight as the alicorn turned her back on her.
“Just—just please go,” said Twilight.
The library door opened and slammed shut behind Twilight. Lyra sat there in the darkness for a long time as the lights in the library were shut off one by one. Her mind was a jumbled mess, and grasping for something, anything, she pulled out her lyre. She plucked out a note, then one more, but couldn't advance beyond that, and the instrument fell out of her magical grip and fell softly into the grass. All she could do was stare at the space where Twilight had stood.
The moon rose, and the cool summer night settled in around her.
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oh wow that's a lot of updates gonna read this tonight! Thank for being awesome ColtClassic This really made my day
This is the most "eccentric" update I have seen in some time
Holy sudden update-palooza, Batmare! I was just thinking of this story yesterday and how I wished it would update. I must be magic!
This is on my must-read when I get the chance.
Gods that's scary. I was just wondering this morning if this would ever update, and now their are 4 new chapters.
Dropping everything in order to read.
read, liked, enjoyed and looking forward to more.
Aww, poor Lyra, after all that she got her heart broken anyway.
Twilight seems angry. Wonder why.
images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100718095619/left4dead/images/e/e7/Left_4_dead_2_conceptart_bUxvq.png
Bitch!
Thank god for the email notification feature, although it was a little repetitive tonight
I knew from the prologue that I'd enjoy this story, and your updates have not disappointed
Awkward...
And Lyra was doing so well.
When I first read this story, I was wondering how the relationships would work out with all these different personalities crammed together. I'm delighted that the characters are bouncing off of each other in unique ways. Particularly how Fleur reached out to Trixie and got her to stay. That was nifty.
If this is just the opening salvo of what the unicorns can expect, better bring weapons next time. And a war face.
A pleasure to read!
Update!! YEAH!
FOUR UPDATES AT THE SAME TIME WHAT IS THIS MAGIC
I know what I'm doing tonight
Welp, and I had just forgotten about this one. I might have fallen out of my chair.
I read the first chapeter and, and then I was like "that was cool I want to read more." then nothing happened, then earlier today I was cleaning my laptop and I thought, whatever happened to this one... well, that's one way to run an update schedule I guess.
poor Lyra
Good, like it so far but frankly I'm tired of the whole trixie vanquishes an urea major thing. Kinda feels cliche. No fault of yours of course and no where near enough to take this off my favorites , just my only real concern.
So much happened, wow. Put it on a little thick there Lyra.
Oh this story is updated... ...wh? FOUR CHAPTERS!!!!
-reads all in one sitting-
Awww.... poor Lyra
wow... I mean damn..... I did not see that coming at all and thank you for the updates. but to end it with that bomb shell is a cruel joke!!!!!!!
i duno i think twilight is kinda pessimisticaly labeling everything as old magic. sometimes new magic must be born from old. trixie didn't just tell animals or ponys to be quite she told nature to shut up. that is a whole other idea there.
I am loving how the story is shaping. I like the idea that each character will get an arc, and Trixie's is a great place to start. I like how the girls bounce off each other so well, even if they are different. My favorite moment between them was when Fleur convinced Trixie to stay, it's just a great angle for both characters.
And Lyra's crush on Twilight was fantastic. I am surprised she confessed this soon, and I'm somewhat surprised how upset Twilight was about it. I figured she wouldn't return her feelings because she doesn't feel like the same way.
But going against my expectations is never a bad thing. I can't wait for more.
Holy...! That is some update!
Wow, I don't know of many stories that update with 4 chapters at once. I like it! I'm guessing we can expect a schedule like this from now on? 4 or 5 chapters an arc, and an arc for each mare?
Also, Poor Lyra. While I understand Twilight not accepting Lyra's advances considering what they're all doing and they need to maintain a professional relationship, she still put her down quite hard
Holy alicornium Jesus freaking hell! It finally updated! With 1, 2, 3, 4 chapters! Yay!
Loving it so far but as with everything...I have a nitpick. Twilight's reaction to Lyra was kinda...odd to me. I mean, first off I don't think that Twilight honestly believes that everypony who showed up at the auditions was there for the sole purpose of the research...okay, maybe she would. She does get that way about studies.
But with a public ad, there was bound to be a few ponies who showed up to try to get close with the young princess, so it should have been seen coming. Many advancements in research come from a secondary motivation, such as a doctor specializing in cancer research because they lost a parent to it. Every action is governed by self-satisfaction to some point, so as long as Lyra does her part in the research, a crush shouldn't be grounds for dismissal. Lyra did her fair share in the research, and more for helping Trixie get ahold of herself. And Twilight acting with such anger, of all emotions, towards the confession? The last few lines of dialogue just seem awkward.
while im glad you didnt go all twi X lyra here...you shouldnt have done it the way you did it....that rejection...was a low fucking blow that...personally, and recently...that i know too well
somehow im calling that scratch is going to go apeshit on sparkle for kicking her source of entertainment off of the team, then possibly quit/get kicked off herself
its like youre making this story into Survivor: University Edition
Damn, Twilight, that was cold.
Damn it Twilight, what the hell were you thinking?
Lyra proved that she is a valuable member of the team regardless of her feelings, so kicking her off like that was totally uncalled for. Oh well, at least Vinyl knows what is going on and will not hesitate to call Twilight on her stupidity which will definitely bring Trixie and probably also Fleur around so Twilight will have a major mess on her hooves after this.
Damn it, Twilight! I hate you now!
First you rain on Trixie's parade. She did something awesome! Like a rainboom of magic and you were all like 'meh'.
Now you just heartlessly crushed Lyra.
Someone get Lyra a hug, STAT! Where the hell is Pinkie when we need her?! First Luna is MIA to help with Trixie's dreams and now no Pinkie when there is hug emergency!
Does anyone still do their damn jobs in this universe?
I think Twilight judged without thinking. Although, she was probably still in shock from what Lyra said. Hope to see Lyra back for the second part. Twilight does think about things rationally once she's calmed down, of course.
2948613
Most people (ponies) don't tend to think clearly when they're confused or angry. Also, Twilight's a newly crowned Princess, she's going to be naïve about the sort of things royalty goes through.
I think when she's calmed down and thought about it clearly, she'll reinvite Lyra.
hm, I see two possibilities on why Twi reacted the way she did.
One. Twi has feelings for somepony else, and therefor dose not share Lyra's feelings.
Two. Twi shares Lyra's feelings, but dose not wish to jeopardize their mission of discovery.
Or it could be something else entirely, who knows, I'm just a shipper at heart.
Saw that coming!!!
2949076 I'm not saying she shouldn't be confused. But jumping so quickly to anger is unlike her. This is the mare who hooked up one of her best friends to a machine to get some understanding of an unknown, and, while frustrated, didn't get genuinely angry until much later. And even then it was the result of a near death experience NOT being the prediction of said unknown.
Twilight is one of the mane 6 least prone to fits of anger, and is probably the 2nd most empathetic of the group. Her reacting in anger so easily and in such a harsh manner just doesn't seem to fit.
I might not be the first to say it, but...ouch. That was a bit harsh, Twilight.
Needless to say, I'm re-favoriting this story. Pleasantly surprised is an understatement to how I felt upon seeing this update. I especially liked your characterization of the cast. They were spot on, in my opinion. It was always a nice feeling to get some comical relief from Vinyl's silly yet blunt quips. The way you allowed the characters to interact with each other so fluently throughout this arc, giving each of them depth and keeping any of them from appearing underdeveloped kept me interested all the while. My favorite thing, however, is what you did with Trixie. This might just be blatant favoritism, but just the way that you've captured her charisma and haughtiness from the show and kept it for this story put a stupid looking grin on my face whenever I read through her scenes. Of course, this can be said for the rest of the cast. I just happen to love Trixie. A lot. Good job, though. I'm looking forward to seeing updates like this again. Maybe in a short enough time that I don't un-favorite the story from loss of hope for progress again.
Well ain't this a pleasant surprise can't wait to give it a read.
That was, hard for poor Lyra, for certain. But, we must never forget: Although they are on a quest to discover new magic, there is still one type of magic that, though discovered, is so poorly understood, so poorly documented, it may as well be undiscovered.
After all, can any of us really, and truly say that we understand the magic of friendship?
YEEEESSSS!!! I go away for 2 days and my most anticipated story updates 4 times! I haven't even read the new chapters yet but thank you!
Twilight, you really need to explain why not better... poor Lyra
Sad. Chapter 5 really felt a bit too scattered, rushed, some errors. Feels like a bunch of incomplete thoughts here and there, too.
Lyra's not goign to show up for the next session and it's going to go horribly. That's my guess for next chapter.
i kinda got the impression that it was simler to yarn. Each string representing a bit of magic or calculation of the spell when tied together makes the spell. but then the goal of the story is questioned. it seems that they are simply trying to figure out a new spell, however they say they are looking for new magic. meaning they would be looking for the strings, not the yarn.
which comes back to the question, How does magic work in this story?
i realize that most people would over look something like this and isn't necessarily necessary how ever knowledge of basic's how it works can add a bit of depth.
the yarn idea was from when lyra was trying to put together a spell to get water and put out the flames. however she either didn't know the right magic strings or math strings that worked together thus creating unstable spells that fizzed
either comment or add your idea of how magic works to the story but i would just like to hear what the author is building this story around
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Within this context, firing lyra is the professional thing to do. She needn't have been angry.
Twilight, you absolute BITCH!
I can't believe she just did that.
Well, now we know why Cadance is princess of love and not Twilight.
Twilight you cold-hearted, overreacting, two-faced daugher-of-a-RRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGHR
I'm going to go play Dead Space and take my anger out on some zombies now.
The story's great, by the way. I'm just really pissed at Twilight.
Twilight has a crush on Celestia but was rejected by her for the same reasons.
Vinyl Scratch doesn't make a good impression. She comes across as incredibly self-centered. And I'm kinda surprised no one called her out on being worse than useless.
*facedesk* Sometimes I wanna shoot this unicorn..... Sometimes you really suck Twilight.
Could the reason Twilight snapped on Lyra be because of her new princess hood, a lot of ponies keep trying to get close to her just so they can say they're friends with a princess? That could jade her a little bit as well as putting her on guard. If she's never had anyone show even the slightest bit of interest in her romantically, Lyra suddenly confessing to her could look similar. /sigh Still think she acted like a jerk though.
2950771 well it IS made of a gem I guess.... lol^^
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There was a theory somewhere that Twilight is wary of relationships because many others have tried to court her for the sole reason of getting close to Celestia.
This is out of character for Twilight. I can see her letting Lyra down gently, but never being so needlessly cruel about it - overinterpreting her motives to be creepy, cutting her out of the group entirely, particularly when Lyra has been the most committed and useful member of the group so far. Twilight forgave Trixie for all her ridiculous faults; why should asking a princess out on a date jusify giving her the cold shoulder?
Should be agoraphobic.