Lyra gasped and dropped the plushie she was holding.
Twilight looked over from her books. “Everything alright?”
“Yes,” replied Lyra, picking up the dark green furred plushie. “Twilight, this is going to sound crazy, but we don’t need to do any research. I know a lot about this plushie artifact.” Lyra took a deep breath. “And I honestly hate it, but I will help this pony. Cast a transfer spell on it and move the magic into the Elements of Harmony.”
“But you told-”
“I know what I said. Just do what I’m asking now. I don’t want to see this pony ever again after this.”
Twilight teleported the five elemental necklaces onto the floor. “The past three days you have not stopped saying how much you loved that artifact. Why the sudden change?”
“I had a vision. Bon Bon was killed by this pony in it.” Lyra threw the plushie into the circle of elements, knocking one over.
“And…” Twilight shook the confusion out of her mind. “And yet you want to release this pony who did that?”
Lyra took a deep breath to calm her rising anger. “It’s a bit more complicated than that. Short version, this pony broke out and I was turned into a plushie. Bon Bon tried to get me back, but was killed.” Lyra took another deep breath, calming herself. “Can you just free that pony?”
Seeing Lyra’s anger, Twilight chose to not talk about it any further. Twilight’s horn lit up, lighting up the elements too. Transfer spells were pretty easy. Twilight had no problems moving the magic from the plushie artifact into the elements.
After the transfer of magic was complete, Twilight watched the Elements of Harmony closely. Rainbow sparks spewed out from the six elements. A moment later the dark green furred plushie was a normal sized, normal furred, living pony.
Minty ran a hoof through her orange mane. “I’m... alive again. A whole two days ahead of schedule.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “What does that mean?”
Minty put a hoof over her mouth and mumbled, “Nothing, it means nothing.”
Lyra couldn’t stop herself from giggling. “That’s a lie. Minty, yes I know your name. Answer my questions or I’ll have Twilight turn you back into a plushie.”
Minty gasped and got into a begging pose in front of Lyra. “Please don’t do that. You have no idea what kind of torture it is to be trapped as an inanimate object.”
Twilight sat quietly as Lyra stared blankly at Minty.
“You’re wrong,” replied Lyra in a firm tone. “I know exactly how it feels, just not for as long as you. Question one, I know that on Thursday morning, two days from now, you were going to switch places with me. Tell me how and why?”
“At the Ponyville variety market, you said the words ‘Your freedom is now’. Those are magic words used to transfer the spell cast on me. Since the spell was on me, I had the power to chose when the transfer would happen. I chose to wait a few days to throw off any suspicion of it being me. What’s a few more days when it will help keep you free? Is that what you wanted to know?”
Lyra nodded her head. “Yes. Next question, I know you have some magic artifacts with you, like a voice stealing necklace. Where are they?”
Twilight was curious to hear the answer and curious as to how Lyra knew these things.
Minty failed to stop herself from blushing. “Well... I sort of keep a few artifacts in my stomach. I used a shrink spell and protection spell. That way I didn’t lose them when I was turned into a plushie by my captor.”
Twilight thought to herself, That’s actually pretty smart.
“Interesting. Third question, if my marefriend had found you, brought me to you asking you to help turn me back to normal, how would you trick her into thinking she helped me?”
Odd question, thought Minty and Twilight.
“I would use a trick that my captor used, blood magic.”
Twilight gasped.
Minty looked at Twilight then back to Lyra. “I would also use psychic paper. To fool them into thinking that I was telling them the truth. I would knock them out with a powerful spell and then switch the plushie with a fake, using a replication spell. Last, I would pretend to be the revived plushie.”
“Fourth question, how long were you a plushie?”
“One hundred and sixty-four years,” replied Minty.
Lyra went wide eyed. “Not to be rude, but how have you kept any shred of sanity?”
Minty allowed herself a small smile. “I think of my freedom. One day I will be free, but I can lose that freedom instantly if I don’t keep myself sane. It was hard, but I did my best.”
Lyra nodded her head in approval. “No more questions. No point in asking any more. I feel a little bad for you, but I still don’t like you. You are free now. If you ever set hoof in my home, I will have you arrested for trespassing and sentenced to being a plushie. Also, stay away from Bon Bon.”
“I understand,” replied Minty. “You obviously hate me because that vision showed you my bad side.”
Twilight raised a hoof. “I’m very curious as to how your opinion changed so dramatically. I would love to hear this vision you had. Minty deserves to hear it too.”
The library door opened, revealing the only dentist in Ponyville, Colgate. “Hi girls. I came to help tell a story. Lyra can only tell you the story from her point of view. I’m here to tell the other parts.”
Lyra took a seat on the couch. “I guess I’m not getting out of this. The story starts on Thursday morning, two days from now.”
====================
Lyra stood outside her home. Looking up at the night sky, she yawned. “I should stop going to bed so late. Only two hours past midnight tonight. Researching magic artifacts is always worth it.” She adjusted her saddlebag and opened the door. She hung her saddlebag on a stand and closed the front door, filling the room with darkness. “Couch wins over a bed,” she said before yawning again. Passing the staircase without a second thought, she found the couch. “No Bon Bon down here to sleep with... magic artifact will have to do.” Lyra levitated a five inch tall dark green unicorn plushie out of her saddlebag. The plushie came to a rest next to Lyra’s head. Seconds later Lyra was asleep. Ten minutes later, a black aura engulfed her in her sleep.
The unicorn plushie hovered in the air, its orange mane fluttering in a nonexistent wind. The plushie grew to the size of a normal pony, its plush fur becoming real fur, its stuffed insides turning into bones and organs. The black aura around Lyra dispersed, leaving a five inch tall mint green unicorn plushie on the couch.
Minty Orange, the now-alive pony, stared at the unicorn plushie on the couch. “It... worked. I’m free,” she said as her eye twitched. “Time to leave.” Still getting use to her new body, Minty Orange slowly turned around. She walked slowly to the door, her horn glowed, as an orange aura opened the door quietly. She turned her head to face the couch. With a sad tone she said, “Sorry... Lyra. Your freedom is over... and my freedom is now.” Minty Orange grabbed a bag of bits before stepping outside and closing the door.
====================
Bon Bon’s eyes bolted open as a crash was heard outside her home. “That’s one way to wake up.” Curiosity got the better of her and she jumped out of bed. She trotted to the window and opened it. Looking down, she saw a broken cart, a pile of roses, and an annoyed looking Roseluck next to it. “Rose, are you ok?”
Roseluck looked up at Bon Bon. “Just... dandy.”
Rainbow Dash popped her head up from the pile of roses. “I’m cool too. Just a little flying accident.” A mailbag flew out of the pile of roses and hit Dash in the back of the head. “Derpy! Watch where you throw that.”
A muffled voice from in the pile of roses replied, “Sorry... but I’m not the one who crashed into me.” From within the roses, a gray hoof popped up with a letter on it. “Got a letter for you, Bon Bon.”
Rainbow Dash flew the letter up to its new owner.
“Thanks,” replied Bon Bon. She closed the window and glanced at the letter. Seeing that it was an invitation from Red Gala, she put it on a shelf for later. “Eight o'clock,” she said as she looked at the wall clock. “Should have been up half an hour ago. I’ll skip breakfast.” Bon Bon opened her bedroom door and yelled down the staircase, “Lyra, are you home!?” Silence was the only reply she got. Having made her way down the staircase, Bon Bon looked to her left. “No note on the front door. Lyra must have spent the night at the library.”
Bon Bon left her home without ever turning around to see the couch. She began trotting down the street. Ignoring every other pony on the street, Bon Bon made it to to the library within six minutes. The library would not open for about twenty-five minutes, but Bon Bon did not care.
Princess Twilight heard a knock at the door. “Be there in a second,” she replied. Teleporting to the door and unlocking it at the same time, Twilight opened it with a smile. “Ly-Bon Bon... not the pony I was expecting.”
With curiosity, Bon Bon asked, “Who were you expecting?”
“Lyra,” replied Twilight.
Bon Bon raised an eyebrow to that. “Lyra?” she asked. “Didn’t Lyra spend the night here?”
Now it was Twilight’s turn to raise an eyebrow. “No. She went... home at two in the morning.”
Bon Bon shook her head with a sigh. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?
“Yes,” replied Twilight with a roll of her eyes. “But why would she try researching magic artifacts alone? She knows what happened the last few times.”
With a chuckle, Bon Bon turned around. “Let's go back to my place and start the rescue.”
“I’ll start teleporting my stuff over. See you there.” The library door closed and Bon Bon began the trip back home.
On the way back, Bon Bon chose to buy an apple from Applejack. Needing one hoof to hold the apple as she ate it, Bon Bon hobbled most of the way back home.
Twilight sighed dramatically as Bon Bon entered her own home. “What’s wrong?” asked Bon Bon.
Without looking up from her pile of notes, Twilight responded, “I could not find the magic artifact from last night. I looked all over... with no luck.”
Bon Bon sat on the couch. “Have you tried a tracking spell?”
“No. It never worked before... why should it be any different this time?”
Bon Bon rolled her eyes. “Don’t be so biased. All you need is an item that belongs to Lyra.” Bon Bon picked up the Lyra plushie and waved it around. “Look what I found. Just humor me... please.” Bon Bon dropped the unicorn plush back onto the couch.
With a dramatic sigh, Twilight’s horn lit up with magic. For thirty seconds, purple magic surrounded the five inch tall Lyra plushie before fading.
“Results?” asked Bon Bon.
Twilight took in a deep breath. “Pointless. Interesting, but pointless.” Pointing a hoof at plushie Lyra, Twilight continued. “Tracking spell says Lyra is right next to you. Obviously false info.” Twilight’s eyes sparked with excitement. “It does tell us that she was on the couch when disappearing.”
Bon Bon smiled victoriously. “Good thing you listened to me.”
“Not worth getting excited.” Twilight put her notes down. “Do you have any bread and honey? I still need breakfast. Just a small one.” Bon Bon nodded in reply.
Two ponies went to the kitchen. Twilight sat at the round table. She watched in silence as Bon Bon took out a loaf of bread and a jar of honey. Twilight sat patiently as Bon Bon laced two slices of bread and brought one plate of breakfast to the table.
With a smile, Bon Bon said, “Breakfast is served.”
Twilight dove straight into her breakfast, with little concern for manners.
Bon Bon’s head shook in disappointment. “I expected better etiquette from a princess.”
Twilight looked up from her mangled breakfast and swallowed. In a dignified voice, she asked, “Would you like me to use proper etiquette?”
“No, no,” a smiling Bon Bon replied. “Eat however you see fit.”
Twilight wasted no time in continuing the destruction of the food in front of her. Forty seconds later she was finished. She levitated the plate to the sink.
Bon Bon smiled as she got up from her chair. “Back to work.”
Twilight rubbed her forehead with a hoof. “One moment,” she replied. “I think I ate a little too fast.” Twilight’s eyes slowly closed as sleep overtook her.
Bon Bon facehooved. “I guess Twilight has never had the special honey from the county of Buckingham. First time reaction is instant sleep.” Bon Bon sighed. “I got three minutes to do nothing now… or do I. Time for some fun.” Bon Bon dashed out of the kitchen and upstairs.
A few seconds later, Bon Bon returned with Lyra’s enchanted hoofheld mirror. “Hope this works.” Bon Bon pointed the back of the mirror at sleeping Twilight. “Open a portal to Twilight’s dreams.” The mirror darkened and an image of Twilight appeared in it. Bon Bon poked the mirror. “Is it working?”
The Twilight in the mirror looked toward Bon Bon. “Bon Bon... what happened? Where am I?”
Bon Bon cleared her throat and prepared a deep and evil voice. “Mwahahaha. You are trapped, little princess. I laced your food with a sleep potion.”
Twilight stepped back with worry. “Why?”
Bon Bon smiled evilly. “Quite simple. You are powerless when asleep. I trapped Lyra’s body and soul within this mirror and now the same fate awaits you. If you focus hard enough right now, you might be able to find Lyra and talk to her. Telepathically, of course.” Inside her mind, Bon Bon smiled. I can’t believe this is actually working.
Twilight closed her eyes and focused on finding Lyra. The next thirty seconds were silent. Twilight’s eyes bolted open. “I think I found her.”
Forgetting to use her evil voice, Bon Bon said, “Really?” Realizing her mistake she quickly replied in an evil tone, “That’s surprising. What do you hear?”
Twilight looked up at Bon Bon with a glare that should have shattered the mirror. “I heard a faint cry for help... and strangely a faint laugh too.”
Bon Bon suppressed a laugh. That’s great if she really can hear Lyra. And I guess Lyra is laughing at me playing a prank on Twilight. That must mean she can hear us somehow... Bon Bon prepared her evil voice again. “Mwahahaha, soon you will see Lyra. Tell her I said hi.”
Twilight arrogantly replied, “I won’t need to because you will release me.”
Bon Bon raised an eyebrow. “Oh, and why’s that, little princess?” Twilight’s horn lit up with purple magic. Bon Bon stared blankly into the hoofheld mirror. “Aww, little princess is trying to attack me.” What Bon Bon didn’t notice was that the horn on Twilight–the one asleep at the table–also glowed with magic.
Twilight smiled as a purple aura surrounded Bon Bon. “Surrender now.”
Bon Bon could feel the magic around her. She fell back onto her hind legs thinking, I took the prank too far. Worry made itself apparent on Bon Bon’s face and fear in her voice. “I surrender.” Bon Bon could feel her heart pounding in her chest. Her breathing became erratic. “Please... spare... me. I’m just... an earth pony.” The connection between Bon Bon and Twilight’s dream was broken as Bon Bon dropped the mirror. Purple magic still surrounded the terrified earth pony.
Twilight’s head shot up from the table as she woke up. “Evil earth pony,” she said as she looked around. Without releasing her magic hold on Bon Bon, Twilight teleported next to the terrified earth pony. Speaking in a soft tone, Twilight asked, “What have you done with the real Bon Bon?”
Bon Bon tried to say something, but the only noise she made was a scared whimpering sound.
Seeing the terror in the earth pony’s eyes, Twilight released her magic grip. “It will be alright,” she reassured. “I won’t hurt you. Just breathe slowly.”
Bon Bon tried to slow her breathing. After a minute of trying to relax, her breathing was slow enough for her to talk.
Twilight took this chance to talk. “Where is the real Bon Bon?”
Bon Bon smiled awkwardly. “In front of you.” Twilight raised a curious eyebrow to that. With her heart still beating harder than normal, Bon Bon continued. “There never was an evil Bon Bon. It was a joke.”
“A joke?” Twilight said skeptically.
Continuing to smile awkwardly, Bon Bon replied, “More of a prank. I was going to wake you up soon. I would have never done it if I had known you could still use magic on me. I’m deathly afraid of magic being used on me because my unicorn parents abused me with it.”
Twilight rubbed Bon Bon’s back gently. “Oh... I’m sorry. I had no idea, but I also thought you were evil. All those years of performing plays and practicing different voices paid off. You totally had me fooled.” Twilight laughed to lighten the mood.
Bon Bon laughed too. “Nice to know.” She stood up on all four hooves. “Time to continue looking for Lyra. Did you hear anything else when you were listening for her?”
Twilight slowly shook her head. “Wasn’t that a... trick by you?”
“Nope.”
“Oh…,” was all Twilight could say as she lifted up the mirror with magic.
The two ponies made their way back to the couch in the living room. Twilight put the hoofheld mirror on top of the Lyra plushie. Bon Bon jumped onto the couch, causing the plushie and mirror to fall off.
Twilight looked up from the notes she had begun reading. “Bon Bon, how does this enchanted mirror work? Better question, what does the mirror look like when it’s working its magic?”
“The reflective part turns black.” She waved a fore hoof through the air. “And then an image of the pony you’re connected to shows up on it.” Twilight seemed to be playing with the mirror, moving it around a lot. Bon Bon shrugged it off. “But that’s only if you’re actually connecting with a pony mind. Lyra uses it as a delivery system. For that occasion, it shows an image of the location she wants to send something.”
“So... if I saw Lyra in the mirror... theoretically I should be able to talk to her. Just like you did with me?”
Bon Bon rolled onto her back with an annoyed huff. “There is no theoretically. It’s fact. If you want theories, try this one. Lyra says she is always connected to the mirror because it was a gift from her father. It’s all she has to remember him, so theoretically we should be able to talk to Lyra from anywhere... since she is always connected to it. Thus, I had you try to talk to her... in a way.”
Twilight stifled a laugh. “There is no theoretically about that. It’s fact. I’m having a small conversation with Lyra right now.”
Bon Bon looked at Twilight with skepticism.
“I’ll prove it,” Twilight stated. Bon Bon watched the mirror as it floated in front of her. She could see Lyra in the mirror.
Confusion, happiness, excitement, disbelief, and curiosity all went through Bon Bon. “Are my eyes deceiving me?”
Lyra, in the mirror answered, “No, you’re seeing and talking to the one and only Lyra… mostly talking.”
Bon Bon looked away from the mirror and toward Twilight. “Princess, please explain?”
Twilight waved a hoof dismissively. “You already explained it. The mirror is connected to Lyra, thus allowing us to speak directly to her mind. What we didn’t know is that the spell put on her is inhibiting her ability to stay connected to it. She has to be close to the mirror to talk to us... like less than twenty inches.”
Bon Bon rolled over onto her stomach. “Is that what you were doing when you were moving the mirror sporadically?” Twilight nodded, but before she could reply, Bon Bon continued. "If the mirror has to be close to Lyra and the only Lyra around here is... the plushie. Lyra was turned into a plushie. That’s a new one... although not as bad as when she was turned into a timberwolf. A nice timberwolf, but still a timberwolf.” A shiver of fear made its way through Bon Bon. “Do you know how scary it is to wake up and have a timberwolf sitting in your bedroom? Quite terrifying."
Twilight’s eyes widened. “Timberwolf... when was that? Why did you not ask for my help that time?”
Anger coursed through Bon Bon. “All the princesses were in the Crystal Empire. I had to get Discord to help me.”
Twilight magically picked up some notes. “Lyra and I need to do a little research into the spell that was used on her. Do you want to help?”
Bon Bon replied with an over exaggerated sigh. “What’s there to research? Use a transformation spell. I’m sure any of the other princesses can help. Even Chrysalis could help. Transformation is a changeling’s specialty.”
Without lowering her notes, Twilight simply replied, “No. You can’t rush into things like this. We don’t know the repercussions.”
Bon Bon rolled onto her back again. “Magic does not interest me. That’s why I send Lyra to the library to research with you. I’ll just lay here and rest.”
Twilight’s horn lit up and some books appeared next to her. She began looking through them. “Lyra, what happened last night?”
Lyra shrugged. “Nothing unusual. I got home, layed on the couch, and fell asleep. I woke up as a plushie. Surprisingly, I can still see and hear things as a plushie.”
Twilight’s eyes lit up with curiosity as she wrote down notes. “That is fascinating. Why would you retain those two senses, but not others? You have owned the artifact for five days, so did you do anything on the three days prior to when I started working with you?”
Lyra raised an eyebrow. “No way. Problems always pop up when I research alone.”
“Yes!” exclaimed a happy Twilight. “I think I just found the spell used on Lyra.” Twilight continued looking through books.
Bon Bon, still on the couch asked, “Are you going to tell us the spell?”
“Sure. Obviously I looked up transformation spells. There’s a few different variations here, but they are generally the same. All of them involve turning a pony into an inanimate object. Although I have no clue why anypony would want to do that. One of the spells kills the pony. Lyra is alive... as far as we know. One of the spells removes the pony’s consciousness and stores it in something else, leaving a body free for possession. This one almost had me, but then I realized the magic artifact would still be here.”
“Question,” interrupted Bon Bon. “We know the artifact is an enchanted plushie, so what if the magic artifact changes color to match the pony that is being stored in it?”
Twilight opened her mouth to reply. At first she said nothing, her face showing she was in deep thought. “I never thought about that. That could very well be the case. I’ll have to take that into consideration. There would still need to be a unicorn to cast the spell... unless. I hope not. We don’t need some evil spirit possessing Lyra. The next spell is the one I originally thought was our problem. It’s a more evil version of the come-to-life spell. It doesn’t bring the object to life at the exact moment of casting. Instead it waits for a victim that feels attached to the object. If the connection is strong enough, the object truly comes to life and the pony becomes what the object was. Lyra loves all her magic artifacts. The last one is a bit obscure but could be our problem. This one was used by an evil princess. It’s a variation of the evil come-to-life spell. It starts out as just that, but it’s used to transform a pony into an inanimate object. The princess placed a word lock on the spell. It’s where a pony must say specific words in order for the spell to work. Nopony can break the spell unless they know the correct words. With a word lock, she also gave the trapped pony consciousness the power to transfer the spell... but only if some random pony accidently says the words to allow the transfer.”
From the couch, Bon Bon looked over toward Twilight. “Lets see if I got this. One spell just kills a pony, one spell stores away a pony’s mind, and two spells swop the mind of a pony with another mind. Is that right?”
“Yes.”
Bon Bon smiled. “How do we fix the problems? Try to keep it short.”
“Will do,” Twilight said with a smile. “First fix, if a spirit took over Lyra’s body. Technically speaking, we need to find Lyra. Fix two and three, we need to find the pony that came to life. We try to negotiate with said pony. If said pony won’t help us, we turn it back into a plushie. Then destroy the plushie. Lucky for us, Lyra and I know what said pony looks like.”
Bon Bon jumped off the couch. “Are you sure we can’t just try a quick transformation spell?”
“Positive. There is an unknown unicorn in most of these factors. We need that pony if we want to cast any counterspell.” Twilight placed a scroll on the couch. “That’s a picture of the plushie that Lyra bought a few days ago.” In a flash of light, Twilight was standing next to the front door. “Time for us to start asking for info. If you need to find me, ask Spike to send me a letter.” Twilight vanished in a purple light.
Bon Bon packed the enchanted hoofheld mirror and a scroll into a saddlebag, followed by Lyra the plushie. “Sorry to pack you away like you're some item. You don’t mind holding some bits?” A bag of bits was placed in between Lyra’s forehooves. Bon Bon rolled her eyes. “Look at me... talking to a plushie.” Bon Bon strapped the saddlebag on and left her home.
Bon Bon took in a breath of morning air as she closed the door. She felt a light tap on her left forehoof. She turned to see a white filly next to her. “Hi, Sweetie Belle. Where are your friends?”
“Apple Bloom and Scootaloo are at the apple farm. Shouldn’t you be at work?”
Bon Bon shook her head. “Work’s closed today. The restaurant is not open on Thursdays. I have a question.” Bon Bon grabbed the scroll from her saddlebag. “Have you seen this pony?”
Sweetie Belle examined the picture of the dark green pony. “I like her mane. It’s got some nice curls in it, but I don’t know her. Why do you want to find her.”
“Last night, she stole something from me and Lyra. I must get going,” Bon Bon said as she trotted away.
For the next twenty minutes, Bon Bon trotted through the streets, showing the scroll to others. Nopony could give Bon Bon the answer she was looking for.
Bon Bon jumped as a hoof smacked her flank. Turning to see who the culprit was, she glared at the guilty mare. “Berry Punch... no surprise. Instead of hitting my flank, you could simply say hi.”
Berry made a pouting face. “That would be no fun.” Berry smiled as she sat on a bench. “Have a seat. I got your attention and that’s what I wanted. My sources tell me you are looking for somepony. I think I can help you.”
Bon Bon took a seat next to Berry. With skepticism, she asked, “What’s your price?”
“The usual,” Berry replied. “A night at the pub or day. Whatever time suits you best. The drinks are on the house, since I own the house.”
Bon Bon rolled her eyes. “Only if the info helps me.”
Berry gasped in shock. “Do you doubt my sources? Info flows through a pub like a river through a canyon. The pony you want, the one with an orange mane and dark green fur, she took the five-thirty train. That’s the first train to leave Ponyville in the morning.” Berry jumped up from the bench. “That’s all I know. I expect to see you at the pub some time next week.”
Bon Bon watched Berry Punch walk away. “I guess I should check this out.” Bon Bon leapt into action, trotting toward the train station and her house.
Seven minutes and thirty-six seconds later, she reached the train station.
Bon Bon made her way past random ponies of varying colors. Walking onto the loading platform Bon Bon stopped at the ticket stand, which strangely had no line in front of it.
The ticketmaster, a mare, casually said, “Welcome, where is your destination today?”
Waving a hoof dismissively, Bon Bon replied, “I just need to know who was here at five in the morning.”
The ticketmaster pointed a hoof at herself. “You’re looking at that pony. I start at five and end at noon.”
Bon Bon showed a scroll. “I was told this pony,” she pointed a hoof at the picture, “took the five-thirty train. Can you confirm that?”
“I can. She was one of two ponies, but was the only one who was sleeping on a bench. I assume you want a train ride to Buckley?”
Bon Bon nodded her head. “If that is where she went. I’ll go get Twilight.”
Bon Bon turned around to see a flash of purple light.
“Hi,” greeted Twilight. “I got the news from Berry.” Twilight opened her saddlebag and threw over some bits, enough for two tickets. “I convinced my guards to stay here.” Two tickets levitated next to Twilight as she turned away from the ticket stand.
The two mares boarded a purple car at the back of the train. Bon Bon slept on the soft plush purple bed for the trip. Twilight chose to sit at the table studying.
====================
The train heading for Las Pegasus made its scheduled stop at the town of Buckley, where Twilight, Bon Bon, and a few other ponies got off.
Twilight took in a breath of fresh air. “New town, new ponies, and new... the architecture is the same. We need to set up a meeting place. Lets try that motel,” she said, pointing a hoof to a building on her right. “I will cover all the costs.” Bon Bon opened her mouth to argue, but Twilight had already teleported to the building. Bon Bon reluctantly walked over and into the motel. As Bon Bon closed the front door, Twilight signaled her to follow. “I got our room keys.”
The two mares walked down the poorly lit hallway. Stopping at the fourth door on the left, Twilight let them into their room.
Bon Bon chuckled as she entered the room. “At least the walls have a good color. It’s nice that they match my fur color.” She glanced around, checking other things. “A table and window in the back, two beds, a night stand in between them, a wash room to the right, and a... mini fridge.” Bon Bon shrugged. “I guess I can’t complain too much. But how are we supposed to find one pony in a town of ponies we don’t know? We can’t just go around asking if anypony has seen who we are looking for.”
“Ah,” Twilight said with a smile. “I might have a solution for that. A new spell, well, not totally new. Just a spell I have been practicing. It’s a foresight spell. Discord used it to show me the past. Luna uses it in dreams to show past, present, and future.” Twilight jumped onto a bed.
“That's nice and all,” griped Bon Bon. “But is there any better way I can talk to Lyra? An enchanted mirror is nice, but what about a come-to-life spell? How about some sort of telepathy?”
Twilight thought this over for a few seconds. “A come-to-life spell might work. Although I don’t know for how long. We’re fighting against a spell that is trying to make an inanimate object, as such it would wear down a come-to-life spell. I can still cast one if you want.”
“Please do so,” replied Bon Bon.
Bon Bon took the Lyra plushie out of the saddlebag and set it on the floor. She made sure the plushie was standing up.
Twilight closed her eyes and magic surrounded the plushie. After the magic faded, the two mares stared at the plushie for a few seconds.
Lyra raised a plush hoof up to her face. “I can move.” Lyra gasped. “I can talk too. It will have to do for now.”
Bon Bon put Lyra into the saddlebag. “We have some exploring to do. Twilight needs to be able to concentrate on her foresight spell.”
Lyra’s head popped out of the saddlebag. “Fine,” she pouted. “Hey! Do you think I’m breakable? Do I feel pain? Can I eat? Do I get tired? Can I die?”
“Quiet,” interrupted Twilight. “Yes, no, no, no, and yes. You only die if all of you is destroyed at once. If you’re brought back to life while damaged, well... you’ll be damaged. So no jumping into lava or other dangerous things.
“I can still die!” exclaimed, Lyra. “That sucks. I’m more fragile now too…” Bon Bon tossed her room key into the saddlebag. She then turned toward the door. Lyra quickly raised a forehoof. “One more question. Can I use magic?”
Twilight shook her head. “No magic for you.”
Bon Bon strapped the saddlebag on and opened the door. “I want some lunch. I get grumpy when I’m hungry. The plushie and candy-pony are leaving. Good luck with your spell.”
Leaving the room and exiting through a side door, Bon Bon observed the buildings outside of the motel.
Standing on her plush hind legs, Lyra looked around. “How about we go to The Couch Pizzeria. It’s to our right.”
“Pizza sounds nice,” replied Bon bon.
Twilight remembered that she had the bag of bits. Thinking fast on where Bon Bon would be at this point in time, she teleported the bag of bits away.
In a flash of purple light, a bag of bits appeared next to Bon Bon. “I already had bits in my saddlebag from earlier. Oh well, I guess I will not be spending my bits.” Taking the bits, she trotted off toward the pizzeria.
Avoiding several ponies, Bon Bon made it to the pizzeria. As she entered the building, the smell of pizza permeated the air. Her hunger and the smell made her lost in thought. Paying no attention to where she was walking, she bumped into the front desk.
The stallion at the front desk greeted her with a smile. “Hi, will it just be you dining with us?”
“Yes,” answered Bon Bon.
A unicorn waitress walked up. “I will take you to your table.”
Bon Bon followed the waitress past wooden tables of varying sizes and shapes, all of which had couches for sitting on.
Bon Bon sat down at the table she was directed to, a small square one. She gave the menu to the waitress. “I don’t need the menu. I knew what I wanted before I got here and I won’t need anything else. I’ll take the BLT pizza. That’s broccoli, and not bacon. I’m no griffon. Lima beans, and not lettuce. Tamarillo, and not tomatoes. Last and best, a large apple milkshake.”
“Understood,” replied the waitress as she walked away.
Bon Bon put her saddlebag on the table and took Lyra out, putting her next to the bag. She then closed the bag.
Bon Bon looked directly at plushie Lyra and put on a serious face. Which was a bit scary to Lyra because of the huge size difference. “Rules,” Bon Bon stated firmly. “Don’t move around on the table. I don’t want ponies coming over to see a mobile toy. Talk quietly. I don’t want ponies to see I have a talking toy... especially the little ones.”
Lyra nodded her head. “Got it boss.” In a stern tone she said, “Please don’t call me a toy. It’s offensive.”
“Sorry,” replied Bon Bon. “I bet you wish you could have a milkshake.” Bon Bon stifled a laugh. “I almost ordered two.”
Lyra turned her head away from her marefriend. “Your jealousy tactics won’t work on me.”
Bon Bon chuckled lightly. “My tactics have not even started. Just wait till I have the milkshake and I slowly drink it in front of you. As a bonus I’ll even make weird sounds of satisfaction while drinking it.”
“No,” hissed Lyra. “That last part is too far. That would just be mean.” Lyra turned to face her marefriend. “Although... it would be fun to hear you make sounds like that.”
Bon Bon excitedly rubbed her forehooves together. “Here comes my pizza. Sometimes I get jealous of how fast unicorns can cook food. Stupid heat spells.”
Bon Bon stared at her food as it approached with the waitress. Without saying a word, the waitress set the pizza and milkshake in front of Bon Bon and left.
Bon Bon took a small slice of pizza in her forehoof. She slowly bit into it, making sure Lyra could see. “Feel free to have a slice, Lyra. The pizza tastes fabulous.”
A small sigh escaped Lyra’s throat as she stared at the pizza. “I wish I could.”
Bon Bon smiled pridefully before giggling. “Just think of this as payback for all those times I made myself a cinnamon roll for breakfast and you ate it.” Lyra rolled her button eyes as Bon Bon ate another slice of pizza dramatically.
Seeing a young earth pony stallion walking toward their table, Lyra sat down next to the milkshake and assumed a motionless form. Good thing I don’t need to breathe. That’s one advantage of being a plushie.
The stallion sat down across from Bon Bon. “Your multicolor mane is pretty. The blue and pink compliment each other nicely.”
“Thanks... I guess. And your mane looks nice too. Even if it is a lighter color than your fur. The red streak through it adds a nice touch, but I like your dark blue fur better.” Bon Bon continued eating her meal.
The stallion smiled charmingly. “Would you mind if I paid for your meal?”
Giggling softly, Bon Bon answered, “I won’t mind at all. A warning to you though, ponies that want me to be their marefriend usually hear this mint green plushie talk to them. When she starts talking to you, don’t think you’re crazy.” Bon Bon took a drink from her milkshake before continuing. “I won’t think you’re crazy either.”
Lyra wasted no time in making a comment. “You won’t steal my marefriend. You haven’t even asked her name yet. That’s strike one.”
The stallion quickly glanced between Lyra and Bon Bon. “My name is Bud Light. What’s yours?”
Lyra spoke up quickly. “Doesn’t concern you.”
Bon Bon smiled, mostly because of Lyra’s witty comment. “My name is Bon Bon. It’s a type of candy.”
Bud Light glanced at Bon Bon’s shrinking pizza. “Can I have a bite of pizza?”
Before replying, Bon Bon swallowed the food she was chewing. “No,” she said with annoyance. “You don’t get my food just because you offered to pay for it.” Bon Bon took another bite from her pizza.
Lyra giggled. “You made my marefriend mad. She dislikes sharing food. You might have known that if you tried to get to know her first. Strike two.”
Bud Light glared at the annoying plushie across the table. “Bon Bon, are you sure you can’t hear that toy talking?”
Shaking her head, Bon Bon said, “Sorry, not a word.” This should get interesting. Too bad my pizza is two-thirds gone.
Lyra glared at Bud Light. She wanted to yell, but she kept a calm tone. “You did not just call me a toy. That’s insulting and offensive. Maybe I should call you a blob of meat or a snack for my friend. Maybe I’ll turn you into a weak, fragile plushie and tear you limb from limb. I don’t take kindly to being called a toy. Now apologize.”
Bud Light was still glaring at Lyra, more now than before. “This is so dumb. I’m being insulted by a toy.”
Lyra huffed in anger. “Bon Bon, I command you to hit him in the face. Do it for your marefriend.”
Bon Bon nodded her head. “Yes, master.” Jumping out of her seat, she walked over to her target. “Sorry about this,” she said before slamming her forehoof into his cheek. She then casually went back to her seat to finish off her pizza.
Bud Light lightly rubbed his sore cheek. “So you can hear the toy... I mean plushie. I so meant plushie.”
Bon Bon smiled awkwardly. “Only when she commands me to do something.”
“What?” replied Bud Light. “Why does she control you? She’s just a plushie and an annoying one at that.”
Bon Bon smiled. “I love her and she loves me. She is just mad about you calling her a toy. You still need to apologize to her.”
Bud Light facehooved. “Not going to happen. I’m not convinced that you’re telling the truth either.”
“How about a deal?” Bon Bon proposed. “You apologize and I’ll tell you the truth.”
“Fine,” Bud Light scoffed. He hesitantly looked over to Lyra. “I’m sorry for calling you a toy.” It’s like I’m apologizing to a pony for calling them a pony…
Lyra smiled as Bon Bon took the speaking role. “Yes I can hear every word Lyra says. Short story, Lyra was turned into a plushie by some weird spell after she bought a dark-green furred plushie that had an orange mane and tail. In the process, the original plushie became a real pony. Now we’re trying to find the mare and get Lyra back to normal.”
Rolling his eyes, Bud Light replied, “Sounds like the mare from a different failed date. She seemed very secretive.” Bon Bon pulled out the scroll from her saddlebag. Bud Light nodded. “That’s her.”
Bon Bon raised an eyebrow. What time was this? “Any chance you know where she is or went?”
Bud Light rubbed his chin with a hoof. “It was around seven. She was going to the salon. Something about dying her mane and tail to hide. I didn’t ask questions.”
Bon Bon chugged down what was left of her milkshake. “Thanks,” she said while packing Lyra into the saddlebag. “Sorry for playing a prank on you. You never had a chance with me anyway.”
Bud Light threw a gem toward Bon Bon. “The ruby is payment for your meal.”
Bon Bon took the ruby and went to the front counter. She paid for her meal, and left.
Bud Light went back to his sister’s table. “Another failed date. Ironically they were looking for a mare from one of my other failed dates.”
Bud Light’s sister smiled reassuringly. “You’ll find a marefriend sometime.”
Bon Bon excitedly trotted back from the salon she had just been at. The workers had told her what her target pony now looked like. She was happy to inform Twilight. She trotted into her and Twilight’s room. “I learned some new info, Twilight.” Bon Bon stared at the white-furred plushie in Twilight’s hoofs. “Where did you get that pegasus plushie?”
Twilight smiled proudly. “I created her. She is my experimentation partner. I’ve been practicing transformation spells on her.”
Still staring at the plushie, Bon Bon asked, “Is she a real pony?” The plushie happily waved a hoof at Bon Bon. “Did she agree to this?” The plushie nodded, her purple mane bobbing in the air. “Twilight, I’m happy you’re getting some practice, but what about the spell you said earlier, the foresight one?”
“Failure,” Twilight said with a frown. “I tried it out. I looked into the past at exactly when the first train this morning came in. I watched for our subject... never saw her. She obviously knows a few tricks. I needed a new plan. Practicing the transformation spell seemed like the best option. So I went and asked for help. What’s your news?”
“There’s been a change in appearance for the one we are looking for. She went to a salon, having her mane and tail dyed. Her mane and tail are now light-blue and yellow. How are we supposed to find her? We can’t just go around asking... takes too long.”
Snow Charm, the pegasus plushie jumped into the air. “The princess and I have a good idea where to look. Try the farthest west side of town. There are some homes near White Tail Woods that are used for new towns folk and homeless ponies.”
Bon Bon threw down the scroll from in the saddlebag. “Won’t be needing that outdated pic anymore.”
Twilight quickly levitated a saddlebag to herself. “I should go with you. I can’t let you face a unicorn alone. If you do find her, there is no guarantee that she will still be there by the time you come get me. Especially if she figures out why you’re looking for her.”
“No, Twilight. We need you here perfecting the transformation spell. If she sees us before we see her, she might run away in fear. If you really want to help…” Bon Bon shuffled her forehooves nervously. “You can cast a... protection spell over me.”
“Bon Bon, are you sure?” Twilight put a concerning hoof around Bon Bon.
“Yes... maybe, probably, most definitely. I would rather have your magic protecting me over a different unicorn’s magic attacking me.” Bon Bon closed her eyes. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself. “I’m ready, Twilight.”
Lyra and Snow Charm watched as a purple magic surrounded the only earth pony in the room. Bon Bon trembled under the feeling of magic. Even with the knowledge of knowing that Twilight would never hurt her, magic being used on her still brought fear.
“Done,” replied Twilight. “I also recast the come-to-life spell.”
Bon Bon opened her eyes, slight confusion showing in them. “I can feel the magic on me, but I don’t see a shield. I assume its cloaked. Time for nervous candy pony and plushie pony to leave.” Bon Bon left the room and motel.
Bon Bon could see the edge of White Tail Woods. Already being on the west side of town, she began her walk to the farther west side of town. She paid no attention to the strange looks she got from unicorns. It didn’t take long for her to reach her destination. Bon Bon felt the trip was longer because of the magic constantly protecting her. Her fear of magic would not let her be happy.
Bon Bon took in the sight of apartments lining the edge of the woods. “Apartments are so bland when they are all painted the same color.”
“True dat,” replied Lyra.
Bon Bon sighed. “You should probably stay hidden in the saddlebag and not say a word.” Lyra vanished into her hiding place.
Many ponies were wandering around the dirt road in front of the apartments. Bon Bon began following the road, looking for anything that might help.
A mare began to walk alongside Bon Bon. “You look lost,” she commented.
Bon Bon forced a smile. “Not lost, just don’t know where to go. I’m looking for somepony.”
“Keep walking and you’ll get to a round building. If you need to find somepony who lives around here, that’s the place to start.”
“Thanks,” replied, Bon Bon before she broke into a gallop.
Four minutes later, Bon Bon reached her target. She entered the circular structure.
The mare at the reception desk greeted her. “Hi,” the pegasus said with a wave of her wing. “What can I help ya with?”
Walking up to the desk, Bon Bon put a forehoof on it. “I’m looking for a mare with dark-green fur. Her tail and mane are light-blue and yellow. She would be a brand new resident.”
The pegasus at the desk shuffled through some paperwork. “We got a new resident that fits your description. Why do ya want to see her?”
Thinking fast, Bon Bon came up with a lie. “Just an old friend wanting some help.”
“You’ll find her in apartment ninety-four. It’s right across from here.”
“Thanks,” said Bon Bon as she turned to leave.
Once outside, Bon Bon had no trouble spotting her new target. She excitedly trotted over to the apartment. Excitement turned into fear as she stood in front of the door. Not knowing what to expect, she quickly knocked three times.
The door opened, revealing an annoyed recognizable unicorn “What do you want?”
Bon Bon swallowed her fears. “I need your help... and I’ll pay for it.” The unicorn motioned for Bon Bon to enter. Closing the door behind her, Bon Bon sat down on the welcome mat. “You have to promise that you won’t freak out when I tell you what I want help with. Do I have your word on that?”
Raising an eyebrow, the unicorn replied, “Sure... I’ll do my best. My name is Minty.”
Bon Bon smiled awkwardly. “My name is Bon Bon. Remember, no freaking out. I need your help... with... a transformation spell.” There was an awkward silence for a moment. “It’s actually my friend who needs help.”
With doubt in her eyes and skepticism in her voice, she replied, “Friend? This... friend of yours, is she a unicorn?"
“Yes,” gulped Bon Bon.
Minty’s horn began to glow with magic. “You really should have used a different name, Bon Bon. I really wish you had chosen not to follow me.” Minty took a deep breath before continuing. “Not freaking out yet. Might freak out soon, so tell me what you want.”
Bon Bon started shuffling her forehooves. “I just have questions. I want to know how to remove the spell on my friend.”
“Not possible,” chuckled, Minty. “Unless you know the words to remove the spell, all you can do is transfer it.” The magic around Minty’s horn faded. “Are you willing to sacrifice some other pony’s life for your friend’s?”
“No,” said, Bon Bon. “I would never do that, unless it was my own. Unfortunately that would only move the problem.”
Rubbing her chin with a hoof, Minty smiled. “Not necessarily. If you are willing to make a sacrifice, I might have a solution. Side effects include loss of memory for your friend and loss of your rights to be a pony.”
“What?! Explain, please.”
Still smiling, Minty began the explanation. “Using a more powerful magic, I can transfer and change the spell. It would free your friend and change you into another animal. Doing this would use all my magic, thus killing me on the spot. I’ll make sure I disintegrate, so nopony will blame you.”
“Why would you agree to die so fast?” Bon Bon unconsciously tapped a hoof on the floor.
“Simple!” snapped Minty. “Being trapped as a conscious inanimate object is a fate worse than death.” Minty’s eye twitched. “I’m not afraid of death. At this point in time, I don’t have much to live for. You have a life, I don’t. Accept my offer before I change my mind.”
Bon Bon’s saddlebag shuffled slightly as Lyra’s head popped out. “I don’t agree with this plan.” Minty stared at the small plushie that had just spoken. Lyra crossed her plush forehooves. “I want to keep my memories.”
Bon Bon put plushie Lyra on the floor, staring ominously at her. “You get no choice. I promise to get your memories back.” Without looking away from Lyra, Bon Bon asked, “What do we need for this spell, Minty?”
“First, we need to remove the come-to-life spell on your friend. It is a come-to-life spell... right?” Bon Bon nodded her head, but said nothing. “Good, replied Minty. “Next I’ll need to go pick up a few things from the main building across the street. It will take less than two minutes. You should stay here with your friend. Write a letter to the other friends helping you, telling them not to worry about you two.”
Minty closed her eyes, levitating her saddlebag, quill, and a sheet of paper over. She then focused her magic on Lyra. Lyra waved goodbye to Bon Bon. Bon Bon closed her eyes as the light around the plushie became a little too bright.
A moment later, the removal of the come-to-life spell was complete. Bon Bon moved to let Minty leave.
Looking to her left, Bon Bon saw a kitchen. “Looks like a kitchen and a living room are the only rooms here.” To pass the short amount of time, Bon Bon hummed her favorite song that Lyra usually played on the lyre.
The door opened, revealing Minty. “Phase three can start,” she announced. Bon Bon nodded, but simply kept humming to herself. Minty shrugged and levitated a medical needle over. “I need to take some blood for the magic to work.” Bon Bon stuck a forehoof out for the blood draw. After taking some blood, Minty went to the kitchen.
In the kitchen, Minty opened her saddlebag and began putting the ingredients from it into a small bowl, blood included.
After mixing up a potion, with nice background music from Bon Bon, Minty felt some tears form in her eyes. Immediately, she smacked her face with a hoof. Not now, emotions! No time for remorse. Must go through with plan.
Upon exiting the kitchen, Minty levitated the strange potion over to Bon Bon.
Bon Bon lightly tapped the bowl, causing ripples in the blue liquid. “How did you know my name?” she said with concern. “Do I need to drink all of this?”
Minty sat down in front of Bon Bon, the Lyra plushie in between them. “There’s only two ponies in your home. I was in your home for five days. Not hard to figure out. Yes, you need to drink it all.”
Picking up the small bowl, Bon Bon sighed before gulping the whole potion down in one shot. “That had an interesting taste. Not as bad as I was expecting. So... what now?”
Minty rubbed her forehooves together excitedly before teleporting a scroll to Bon Bon. “You need to sign this.” A small bottle of red ink appeared at Bon Bon’s side. “It’s a magic contract, a very old form of magic. It tells the ins and outs of the spell I’m going to use. More importantly, it binds you to the spell so that if anypony tried to reverse the spell, it wouldn’t work. You need this because I won’t be here to help you. Restoring your friend’s memories is the only way you will be able to keep you both as ponies.”
Bon Bon glanced through the scroll, seeing that Minty was not lying. It even explained how Lyra and Bon Bon could reverse the spell if they wanted to give up. Taking a deep breath, Bon Bon grabbed the quill she had used to write the letter and signed her name. Once finished, Bon Bon flinched when a quick burst of magic radiated from the paper.
“It’s done,” commented Minty. “We need to know what animal you will be turned into. Smaller makes things easier.”
Bon Bon pondered this for a moment. “I think I’ll take a dog. They are cute and small. Also, when will I send my letter to Twi, my friend? It’s ready to be mailed.”
Minty closed her eyes. “You and Lyra can mail it when the spell is complete.” With eyes still closed, Minty focused an immense amount of magic into her horn. It just vanished quickly. “You need to lower that protection spell of yours.”
Bon Bon stared blankly at Minty. “Oh... that. How?”
“Just focus on it going away. It’s cast to protect you. If you feel threatened enough by it, it will go away... naturally.”
Bon Bon did as told, focusing her thoughts on the protection spell. She was more than happy to have it not be there. A few moments later, the spell visibly shattered from around her.
Minty smiled. “Hope this works.” The magic returned to her horn and began surrounding all three of the ponies, forming a small tornado.
Bon Bon sat with her eyes closed as fear took hold of her. She could hear and feel the magic around her. She shivered in place as the whirlwind of magic intensified. She could feel the magic beginning to take hold of her body. Pain shot through her whole body as her bones began to change shape, putting great pressure on her body. “It hurts,” she griped.
“It will be over soon,” responded Minty.
Bon Bon whimpered in pain as her internal organs followed in the path of her bones. “It hurts! I feel like I’m dying! I feel like I’m being crushed from inside!” Her world went black as she fainted.
====================
Twilight quickly looked up from her notes with great worry on her face. Seeing this, Snow Charm asked, “What is it?”
“I just felt a new magic being used, new to me.”
With skepticism, Snow Charm asked, “You can sense when magic is being used?”
“Yes,” replied Twilight. “Magic is my special talent. This happens a lot with Lyra. I’m pretty used to sensing new or different magics. This was a powerful spell. Bon Bon could be in trouble.”
Snow Charm put a concerning hoof over Twilight. “Your protection spell will protect her. Stop worrying.”
Twilight looked at Snow Charm with concerning eyes. “Please go check on her. I’m asking you as a friend. It would be smarter for me to stay here. We don't know if that unicorn can sense magic too.”
“Fine, I’ll go take a look. I won’t be staying long.”
Snow Charm quickly trotted out the door and out of the motel, immediately spreading her wings and flying as she stepped out. Being a citizen of the town, Snow Charm knew exactly where to go. She made it to the reception building in less than two minutes.
Still in a hurry, Snow Charm glided to the reception desk, never touching the floor. “Have you seen a beige pony come in here? She has a blue and pink mane.”
“Apartment ninety-four,” replied the receptionist. “Across the street. The pony who lives there is leaving soon, so hurry.”
Wasting no time, Snow Charm zoomed out and toward apartment ninety-four. Hovering next to the door, she pounded on it with a forehoof.
Getting no response, Snow Charm shoved open the door. “Is anypony here?” Silence was the answer she received. “It sure is messy.” Doing a quick fly-through of the two room apartment revealed that no other ponies were there with her. “I should get back to Twilight.” She exited the apartment. Looking to her left, past her purple mane, she saw the mailbox flag on the mailbox was up. Opening the mailbox, she grabbed the letter in it. “It’s addressed to Twilight. I better deliver it.” She closed the mailbox and lowered its flag. With letter in teeth, she bolted away.
Snow Charm came into their motel room, slightly out of breath.
Twilight curiously watched as Snow Charm stuck her tongue out and peeled off an envelope from it. “It’s a letter for you. I was carrying it with just my teeth.” Snow Charm smiled awkwardly. “But I was flying too fast and the momentum pushed it into my mouth. Luckily, I caught it with my tongue before I choked on it.”
“Um... didn’t need to know that.” Twilight levitated the moist envelope into the air. Keeping it a good distance from her, she broke it open. Focusing hard, she slowly levitated the letter out of the envelope, trying to keep the actual letter from getting saliva on it. Having completed her mission, Twilight levitated the dry letter over to herself. “It’s from Bon Bon. It says she found a way to help Lyra. However, there was a complication, but nothing to worry about. She says she doesn’t know how long she will be gone. She wants Lightwing to be in charge of the restaurant and me to manage her mail... and it ends with her saying don’t forget to make cinnamon rolls in my name.”
“Do you believe any of that?”
Twilight rubbed her chin with a hoof. “Well, the writing is in Bon Bon’s hoofwriting. However, that does not mean she wrote it willingly.” Twilight suppressed a laugh. “Did you see anything on your paper eating adventure?”
“I didn’t eat it!” retaliated Snow Charm. “I accidentally almost choked on it. No, I did not see anything or anypony we were looking for. Who’s Lightwing?”
“Lightwing is a black-furred pegasus with a dark green mane. She met Lyra a few months ago. She’s the reason they have a restaurant. I think we need to go look for Bon Bon. I think she’s in trouble.”
Shrugging, Snow Charm asked, “How? We have no clues. We lost Bon Bon, Lyra, and that mirror. We have nothing.”
“We have my magic.”
Snow Charm replied with a roll of her eyes. “Your magic worked so well. That time seeing spell was a fail. We have no items for a tracking spell. Your magic won’t help.”
“You’re wrong!” Twilight pointed an accusing hoof. “My magic can fix this. I have a short time travel spell.” Twilight bolted out the door.
Snow Charm stared at the door in shock. “What just happened? I guess I’ll find out soon.”
Now outside of the motel, Twilight was preparing her time travel spell. She saw a train leaving the station. Because of the small wind her spell was making, she got a few looks from other ponies. Twilight then vanished.
Twilight appeared in the same spot. She looked over to see a train letting passengers out. She fluttered her wings in joy. “The first train of the day! A bit weird considering I technically just saw it leave.” Twilight’s beady eyes scanned the train station. There she is. The orange main is a plain giveaway. I can see why she changed it. In a whisper, she said, “Time for a tracking spell. Not much I can cast a spell on, only a bag of bits and a small necklace. Better get to it.” Twilight turned her head away from the crowd as she was casting her spell on the two items. After the spells’ completion, Twilight manically rubbed her forehooves together. You can’t escape the Element of Magic. Magic began to spark around Twilight, as her time travel spell was wearing off. A few seconds later, Twilight was standing in the exact same spot, not moving had that effect. Smiling proudly, Twilight went into the motel.
Twilight strutted into her motel room with more pride than needed. “Guess whose plan is a total success?” Before she got an answer she simply said, “That’s right, my plan was.”
“And what is that plan?”
Twilight answered, her face beaming with joy. “I just did the simple thing. I cast a tracking spell and I can feel where the target is. Isn’t it great?!” she said with a jump. Being too excited, Twilight did not realize she should have been sensing two targets, since she cast the spell on two items.
Snow charm allowed herself a smile “And where is our target?”
“Moving north, just outside of the town,” replied Twilight, still smiling.
Snow Charm shook her head. “Is the target picking up speed?”
Twilight’s pride, joy, and form fell as realization struck her. “The train is going north... the one that just left.” Twilight vanished in a purple light.
Snow Charm sat alone for two minutes before Twilight walked back into the room.
Twilight sighed in relief. “The train is going to Canterlot but will make a stop in Ponyville. I will issue a royal arrest warrant to search the train when it gets to Ponyville. Nopony will leave that train without my knowing.
“How will we get to Ponyville before the train?”
“Simple,” replied Twilight. “I can teleport us there.”
Twilight rolled her eyes. "I still can't believe my tracking spell was used against me. Putting the bag of bits on a train was ingenious. We had to wait for the train to get to Ponyville before I could take any action, thus wasting a huge amount of time."
Snow Charm put a reassuring hoof over Twilight. “Are you sure there’s nothing else you can do?”
“Positive,” replied Twilight. “I have other responsibilities to attend to. I can’t go looking all over Equestria just for one pony That pony could be anywhere by now. Tomorrow I will reroute their mail to me, I’m busy Saturday, but Sunday I’ll inform Lightwing that she is the new owner of their restaurant. Snow Charm, I’ll pay you the bits I owe you and you can leave.”
====================
In a dark room, Bon Bon slowly awoke from sleep. Yawning and looking out a window, she saw moonlight. It appears to be night. She stood on all fours and realized she was shorter. The last thing I remember is... magic. She quickly held up a paw to her face. Magic spell thing turning me into a dog and supposedly bringing Lyra back.
Bon Bon, now a small dog, jumped off the couch, landed on the hardwood floor, and scurried into a low-lit hallway to her left. A four door hallway, two doors on the left, one on the right, and one at the end of the hallway. The first door she reached was on her left. She stopped and pressed her ear up to it. Hearing nothing, she scurried up to the next closest door, also on the left; once again pressing her small ear onto the wooden door. The results were slightly different this time as the door at the end of the small hallway opened, revealing Lyra.
Lyra cheerfully smiled as she walked up to the small dog. “I knew I heard something wandering around out here. Nice to see you’re feeling better.” Using her magic, Lyra grabbed the dog and hugged her. “I was worried about you. You were unconscious when I found you. Sorry to abandon you like this, but it is one in the morning and I need my sleep. Candy, you have to sleep on the couch.” Lyra gently put the small dog down and trotted to her room, closing the door with her back hoof.
Bon Bon could see the one door on the right side of the hall was slightly open. I”ll explore later, she thought. Lifting up the tag on her collar, Bon Bon saw that it indeed said her name was Candy. I guess it’s true. Looks like my fur is still beige too. Ironic that my collar is pink and the tag is blue. I guess I should rest a bit. Candy casually walked back to the living room and got on the couch to rest.
Not having been truly asleep at any point in the past two and a half hours, Bon Bon chose to get up. Slowly and quietly getting off the couch, she thought, Time to explore. I almost said that out loud. Waking Lyra with a bark... bad idea. With her eyes now adjusted to the dark, Bon Bon slowly and quietly walked toward the kitchen on the right. The darkness makes it hard to see any details. I see the usual kitchen stuff. Being satisfied that the kitchen was just a kitchen, a small beige dog went back into the living room.
Paying no attention to the living room, Candy walked straight into a familiar hallway.
Walking on a hardwood floor made walking quietly quite difficult. Four room hallway, she thought. I know one room is a bedroom, one room has to be a washroom, one must be a storage room, and the last one is... could be anything. Casually walking past the two closed doors on the left, Candy used a paw to open the door on the right. Looks like I found the washroom. What’s that? she thought as she saw a faint light to her upper left. Looking toward the faint light source, gave an answer. It’s a portal... a small one but still a portal. I have to get onto the counter.
With a quick jump onto the side of the bathtub and a leap to the sink counter, Candy had reached her target. She stared at the hoofheld mirror that contained a swirling portal in place of a mirror. I only know of one hoofheld mirror that can open portals. Why is a portal open? Nopony or dog was here to open one... weird. Candy rubbed a paw on her chin. Not surprising when I think about it. Lyra always says this thing has a mind of its own. With a sigh, a paw touched the portal. Magic energy engulfed the small beige dog and absorbed her into the portal.
====================
Bon Bon was standing in a dark void. She was also a pony again, although she didn’t notice. “Three... two... one.” The void began to change shape and color until it looked like Twilight’s bedroom, with Twilight asleep on the bed. Bon Bon trotted over to Twilight’s bed and repeatedly tapped the wing of the princess. I’m a pony again. Must be because I’m in a dream.
With eyes still closed, Twilight turned to face the opposite direction of her waker. She then covered her face with the blanket. “Not now, Luna. We agreed to no dream walking on the weekends. Thursday night to Sunday morning is weekend.”
Bon Bon raised an eyebrow. With an evil smirk, Bon Bon prepared to use her voice acting skills to impersonate Nightmare Moon. “Foal! Thou hast named me wrong.”
With fear pounding through her heart, Twilight bolted up from her bed, magic shield protecting her. Turning to face her enemy, she saw Bon Bon trying to hold back a laugh. Unable to hold back her laughter, Bon Bon collapsed backwards onto her hind legs laughing at the event.
Twilight glared at Bon Bon with annoyance.
No longer laughing, but still smiling, Bon Bon said, “I’m sorry. I just couldn’t resist scaring you for a second time. The look on your face was priceless.”
Twilight, still annoyed, took a few deep breaths to calm herself. “How... how are you in my dreams?”
Bon Bon raised a hoof and a hoofheld mirror appeared on it. “Mirror, mirror in the hall, who is this princess, if not a princess at all?”
Twilight replied with a blank stare of confusion.
Bon Bon shrugged. “I needed to come up with a rhyme fast... that was it. I used Lyra’s enchanted hoofheld mirror.” Bon Bon rolled her eyes. “Honestly... how else could I dream walk?”
“Are you dream walking alone?”
“Yes,” replied Bon Bon with a tilt of her head.
“I can sense another presence in here.” Twilight closed her eyes and began to focus.
Behind Twilight, a nightmare entity appeared in a flash of darkness. “Mwahahaha, thou hast discovered me.”
Twilight sighed dramatically. “Not now, Bon Bon. The joke is over.”
Bon Bon sat there in terror as she stared directly into nightmare pony’s eyes. “It’s... it’s... not me this time. Twilight!”
Twilight opened her eyes to see the petrified Bon Bon. Twilight turned around. She stared directly at the nightmare. “You can leave now.”
“Yes, master,” replied the nightmare. The nightmare vanished into darkness.
Turning back toward Bon Bon, Twilight smiled with victory. “Sweet payback!”
Heart still pounding with fear, Bon Bon stared at Twilight for a moment before sighing. “Nice job. You got your revenge on me.”
Twilight walked over and quickly hugged Bon Bon. “Let’s hear why you’re here.”
“I’m here to tell you that I got Lyra back... kinda. I know I sent that letter, but I needed to make sure you knew I was truly ok.”
“You said there was a complication. What was it?”
“Um…” I wonder if I should tell her I was turned into a dog? “Lyra lost her memories.” It’s not a lie but it’s not the whole truth.
“I have a memory spell I can use to help her remember. Come see me in Ponyville and I’ll perform it.”
Bon Bon nervously shuffled her hooves. “I don’t think we can get to Ponyville. Can you just give me an enchanted item here?”
“Not unless you get Lyra into here.”
“I’ll try to get to Ponyville... it might take longer than wanted. Keep that transformation spell on hoof. Ya never know when you might need it.” Bon Bon waved goodbye to Twilight.
Bon Bon sighed as magic energy surrounded her.
====================
Lyra smiled as she saw her dog appear. “I knew I sensed magic in here. Candy, welcome back from... wherever you went. I had no clue my mirror was a portal device. I assume it’s mine.” A green aura moved the hoofheld mirror toward Lyra. “Better put this in my room. We don’t want my sweet candy dog to get lost somewhere else.” Lyra levitated Candy onto her back and trotted out of the washroom.
Once in the bedroom, Lyra placed the mirror up on a shelf and her dog on the bed. Lyra got into bed and snuggled up with Candy before falling asleep.
====================
At six twenty in the morning, Twilight’s alarm clock went off. Twilight used some magic to turn off the enchanted clock that only she could hear. Twilight grumbled quietly as she got out of bed. “At least I had a nice dream. I shouldn’t do this, but I’m too tired to walk.” Twilight vanished in a flash of magic.
A flash of light brought a dizzy Twilight with it into the post office.
The office manager behind the desk looked at the wobbly headed librarian. “You alright, Princess?”
“Fine,” replied, Twilight as she fell backwards onto her hind legs. “I... I just need a minute... and everything will be great.
Derpy Hooves entered into the room from a back room, wearing her mailmare attire. With a smile, she said, “Adventure Friday begins now.”
Recognizing the voice, Twilight yelled, “Wait!” She jumped toward the mailmare, tumbling in the process.
Avoiding the fumbling princess and keeping the box on her back from falling, Derpy smiled. “An amazing dodge by Derpy Hooves, mailmare extraordinaire. Too bad I was not extraordinaire yesterday.”
Twilight recovered from her fall and dizziness. “Somepony crashed into you yesterday?”
“Rainbow Dash,” replied Derpy. “She was zooming, zooming, and zooming.” Derpy waved her fore hooves around, simulating two flying objects. “Then pow! Right into me. We crashed into Lucky Roses. Roseluck was not too happy. I paid for all her roses and the ruined cart though.”
“What!?” Twilight shook her head profusely. “Roseluck brings two hundred roses to sell throughout the day. That’s four hundred bits... just for the roses. Where did you get the bits for that?”
“Twilight! I’m not a stupid pony. I know how to budget my bits.” Being an amazing secret artist helps a lot. I love the name, Anonymous Pegasus Arts. Selling my art for thousands of bits does help. I love my first painting I made. Those bubbles were so amazing that they jumped out of the picture and onto my flank.
Twilight waved a hoof in front of Derpy’s face. “Derpy, Derpy, you’re daydreaming again.”
“Sorry, Twilight. I need to get flying. What was it you wanted to tell me?”
“I’m rerouting Bon Bon and Lyra’s mail to my place. Also, I noticed that the package you’re carrying has no forwarding address or return address. So... where is it going?”
Derpy saluted with a hoof. “Mail reroute, check. This box is going to my home. The mail company in Equestria sends me all packages that would get lost in nowhere land. No go-to or go-back addresses. I must get flying now. I have mail to deliver.”
Twilight watched the mailmare extraordinaire fly away. “Who would mail anything without putting any forwarding or return addresses? I guess if a pony just wanted to get rid of it fast... seems like the most logical choice.” Twilight yawned. “I should go back to bed. I can get at least two more hours of sleep.”
====================
Lyra had just finished packing a small suitcase when she heard a bark from her bed. “Good morning to you too, Candy.”
Candy saw a map on the bed she was on. She tapped a paw on the map, Ponyville to be precise. She barked again saying, “Over here!”
Lyra turned toward the bed. “I get the message.” She went to the bed to see the map. “Ponyville? Sorry, Candy. We are on our way to Seaddle. Candy placed her other paw on Seaddle, just north of Yanhoover. Lyra smiled. “That’s right. Good to see you know... wait. Where were you when I found you?”
Candy moved her left paw onto a spot west of White Tail Woods. The town of Buckley, all though not on this map, was located at that spot.
Lyra stared in slight shock. “Pretty smart for a dog. Now answer this, where were you when you came back from the mirror portal?” Candy smacked down her left paw on Ponyville multiple times and barked. “I get it. No need to get verbal. Two barks for a yes or one bark for a no. Do you want me to go to Ponyville?”
A two bark answer was given.
Lyra shook her head. “Fine, I’ll check it out in the guide book.” A book from the suitcase made its way over to the pony and dog. Lyra turned to the Ponyville section. “Ponyville, a small town just southwest of Canterlot. A good tourist stopping point for ponies on their way to the capital city. Not as glamorous or posh as the capital, but houses the great fashionista, Rarity. Rarity is a good friend of Mr. Fancy Pants and Fleur Dis Lee. Go support her if you want to score some points with the elites. Ponyville also houses all six of the element bearers, Rarity included. Last but not least, Ponyville is home of Equestria’s newest princess. Princess Twilight Sparkle… it’s her.” Lyra slammed the guide book closed upon seeing the picture of the princess. “Twilight Sparkle! Twilight Sparkle is the pony who cast-... um... I vaguely remember her. I don’t like her.” Lyra shoved the map and guide book into the suitcase. “No Ponyville, Seaddle it is.”
What? We can’t have that, thought, Bon Bon. I need to lodge a complaint. A cute growl was heard from the dog on the bed.
Lyra looked at her dog with a stare that could rival Fluttershy’s. “Don’t take that tone with me.” Another growl came from the dog. Lyra got right up to Candy’s face. “Do I need to punish you with magic?” Silence was the only reply and Lyra smiled to that. “I’m glad you got the point. Now we will be leaving for Seaddle soon. It’s a full days trip by train. I don’t want any more problems.”
The train ride from Buckley to Seaddle was a long and uneventful one. Lyra and her dog both slept through the boring trip. The train arrived in Seaddle at midnight.
Lyra found a small hotel to spend the rest of the night at.
====================
Around ten at night, Twilight heard a knock on the library door. She teleported over to open the door. “Hi, Dinky. Where is your mom and what do you have in that box?”
Dinky wanted to smile but couldn’t. “Mom’s at home and the box has a gift my mom gave me today. I brought it to you because I can feel magic from it... it’s scaring me. I asked mom to take it out of our home, but she said I should bring it to you and you would make it not scary.”
Twilight smiled reassuringly. “Bring it in and I shall try to remove whatever spell is on it.”
Dinky stepped in and closed the door. She then opened the box.
Twilight was speechless at the sight of the object in the box, a five inch tall Lyra plushie.
Dinky looked up at Twilight with worry. “Twilight, why do you look scared too?”
“I’m not scared,” replied, Twilight. “Just... just a little surprised. Where did you get that plushie?”
“Mom gave it to me. She got it in the mail. It wa-” Twilight had put a hoof in Dinky’s mouth.
“Your mom got it from a package with no addresses on it.” Twilight removed her hoof from the filly’s mouth.
“Yes, how did you know?”
“I saw it earlier, even sensed a little magic from it. I should have asked to see it.” Twilight closed the box with her magic. “Go home, Dinky. I have work to do.” Twilight teleported over a plushie of Octavia. “You can have this plushie. I promise it’s not enhanced in any way.”
“Thanks, Princess,” replied Dinky as she left with her new toy.
After Dinky had left, Twilight immediately opened the box and used a come-to-life spell on the Lyra plushie. “Is that you, Lyra?”
The Lyra plushie jumped out of the box and nodded her head.
“This makes no sense. How could you be here when you have supposedly been saved?”
Lyra opened her mouth to reply, but no voice came out. She tried to speak again, but the results were the same.
Twilight looked at the Lyra plushie curiously. “It appears you can’t speak now. This could be worse than I originally thought.” Twilight stroked her chin with a hoof. “This could be a phase two in the spell. You might be turning completely into a plushie. I know a way we can talk.” Twilight’s horn lit up, but nothing else visually noticeable happened. “I have opened a telepathic connection between us.”
Is that so?
“Yes,” replied, Twilight. Her tone became serious. “Now tell me what’s going on here.”
Don’t get your feathers in a bunch, Twilight. Simple story is we were tricked by that mare. Lyra stood up on her hind legs and began pacing around the Princess. That mare told us we needed to write a letter to the ones helping us. She also said she could transfer the spell and change it. The protection spell and come-to-life spell had to be removed for this to happen. So she removed the spell on me, but she switched me out with a fake while Bon Bon had her eyes closed. Then she brought me to a place and I was mailed to Derpy’s home.
Twilight nodded her head slowly. “Interesting tale. However, it doesn’t explain your lost voice.” Twilight grabbed plushie Lyra, looking her right in the face. “And you have a plush necklace that was not there before. It’s physically part of your plush body, meaning it had to be on you when you were turned into a plushie. I know for a fact that Lyra was not wearing any such thing.” Twilight glared at the plushie. “I’m only going to ask once, where is my friend?”
Lyra twitched in fear under Twilight’s glare. Please believe me when I tell you I am Lyra. I had no idea that was even there. Bon Bon is in trouble and we have to save her.
Twilight showed little mercy as she held the plushie. “Alright, how about this... no, that won’t work. What else could be a good test?” Twilight thought about this for a few seconds. “I got it. What was the first thing I told you after I became a princess?”
You knew that I work for the secret agency of Warehouse 13. A secret group of ponies and griffons who collect dangerous and unstable magic artifacts in our world and store them away in secret. Which I still work for.
Twilight smiled and put Lyra down on the floor. “It really is you. If you are truly here... who is with Bon Bon? It must be that unicorn. Bon Bon wrote a strange thing on the letter she sent. It was ‘don’t forget to make cinnamon rolls in my name’.”
Lyra was still standing on her hind legs and still pacing around Twilight. That’s our secret code for help. We only say that if we think there could be a problem in the future and we think we will need help. She must have thought something could go wrong. What’s the plan?
“Plan, plan, the plan is we need to find out where Bon Bon is.” Twilight’s face lit up with an idea. “I think I can help you connect to your enchanted mirror. You are always connected and I can switch out the spell on you. It’s simple, I cast my version of the same spell on you. We have another pony say the magic words that will move the spell onto him. Because my spell will be stronger, it will take the one already on you with it. If I can keep my spell power higher than the one on you, you will stay a normal pony. You use your mirror to talk to Bon Bon and we know where she is. You have to work fast. I don’t know how long I’ll be able to keep up my counterspell.”
Lyra’s face showed some skepticism. I hope it works. Who is our other pony?
“I’ll show you,” replied, Twilight. She vanished. She reappeared with one of her two guards. “One guard has to stay up all night. They alternate. So tonight, he is our other pony.”
The guard stood at attention. “I’m here to serve you.”
Twilight’s horn lit up. “When you take the spell onto yourself, it will hurt quite a lot. There’s no way around it. Be ready, Midnight Arment,” she said to the guard. Magic surrounded Lyra as Twilight cast her own version of this darker come-to-life spell. “I modified the spell to work with thoughts instead of verbal words, in case Lyra still can’t talk. You need to be touching for the spell to transfer though.”
The guard walked up to Lyra and placed a hoof on her. “What do I think?
Twilight smiled with embarrassment. “I guess you do have to know what to say in your mind. It’s switch spell.”
The guard did as told and magic surrounded both him and Lyra.
Twilight closed her eyes and focused. This won’t be easy. Twilight began to feel the strain on her body from trying to keep her spell going strongly.
Lyra now stood over a royal guard plushie. She closed her eyes to focus. Enchanted mirror, show me to you. Lyra’s mind was taken to her enchanted object. She knew this because of the black void she was standing in. Open a portal to Bon Bon’s mind. The dark void turned into Bon Bon’s bedroom, with her asleep on the bed. Lyra teleported to the bedside. “Bon Bon! Wake up!
Bon Bon’s head shot up. “What!?”
“Where are you at and/or going?”
Bon Bon stared at Lyra, but said nothing due to shock.
Lyra’s horn lit up with magic. “Bon Bon, I need to know where to find you. Twilight is looking for you.”
“Seaddle, we're going to stay in Seaddle.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes,” replied Bon Bon.
“We are coming to rescue you.” Lyra vanished from the dream.
Lyra opened her eyes. She was now back in Ponyville. She tried to tell Twilight she was done, but having no voice made it impossible. Seeing the stress that Twilight was under, Lyra forgot she could talk telepathically, thus she smacked Twilight on the cheek, breaking her concentration.
Twilight collapsed in front of a Lyra plushie.
The guard, no longer a plushie, ran up to the princess. “Are you alright, Princess?”
“Fine,” replied Twilight.
Lyra rubbed Twilight’s cheek with a plush hoof. Sorry I did that. It was the fastest way I thought of breaking your concentration. They are staying in Seaddle.
Twilight smiled at Lyra. “It’s fine. Don’t worry about me. Tomorrow we head to Seaddle. Let’s get a good nights sleep first though.”
Twilight was sitting at the kitchen table. She had just finished her breakfast alone because Spike and the two royal guards had been sent to Canterlot to tell some bad news to the griffin leader. Twilight sighed at that. “The leader of the Griffin Empire won’t be happy with me. Canceling on our meeting to go to Seaddle won’t look good. My apology letter will have to do.” She turned toward plushie Lyra, who was sitting on the table. “Lyra, I think I found a way to remove the spell that was cast on you. I’ll transfer the spell into the Elements of Harmony and they should dispel the dark magic. What do you think?”
Plushie Lyra tapped her mouth with a hoof.
Twilight facehooved. “Right, you have no voice.” Twilight opened a telepathic connection to Lyra.
Lyra shrugged. I think it’s a fine idea. I do wish to be a normal pony again. One who can talk again too. Why didn’t you blast me with the friendship laser earlier?
“The elements don’t work that way. I can’t just summon their magic for every problem I have, even if it includes dark magic. This is just a loophole I’m exploiting. It might not even work.” In a flash of purple magic, the five other elemental necklaces appeared on the floor and Lyra appeared in the center.
Twilight’s horn pulsed with magic and her purple magic surrounded plushie Lyra. Her magic mixed with a light-green magic for several seconds, before the green magic was dispersed into the six elements.
Lyra watched as rainbow sparks spewed out from the six elements. A moment later, Lyra was a normal sized pony. That was anticlimactic. Where was the rainbow laser or rainbow explosion?
Still sitting, Twilight rubbed her head with a wing. “Well... at least we solved half the problem. Now that you’re mostly normal, how about you find out where we need to go upon reaching Seaddle.”
Standing in place, Lyra closed her eyes and focused on her enchanted mirror.
Lyra was now standing in a dark void. The void quickly turned into Bon Bon’s bed room. “Bon Bon’s not sleeping in her bed. This is the first time I have linked minds when she wasn’t asleep, so I guess it makes sense.”
“Is that you, Lyra?” Bon Bon’s voice emanated from every direction.
All though Bon Bon couldn’t see it, Lyra smiled. “You bet it’s me!”
“Please no shouting in my head. I must be going crazy.”
Lyra chose to lay on the empty bed next to her. “Sorry, I shall not shout again. I need to know where in Seaddle you are.”
“Um... with you at the docks. How are you in my head? I want a real reason, not just an excuse.”
Lyra smiled as she sat up on the bed. “The me you are with at the docks... that’s actually that unicorn mare that caused all this mess. Me in your head is the real me. I’m with Twilight at the library. I’m using my enchanted mirror, connecting with it to talk to you. It only works because the mirror is close to you. You still there, Bon Bon?”
“This is my mind... I can’t go anywhere.”
“True,” giggled Lyra. “Do you have a place that you call a home? A place that Twilight can wait for you.”
“That would be a boathouse near the southern docks. Swan Boats, it’s a home-run business. I think the other you knows something suspicious is happening. She just took out the mirror and is looking at it with a strange face.”
Lyra sighed dramatically. “Guess I’ll leave now. When this is over, I’ll make cinnamon rolls in your name.” Lyra disconnected her mind from Bon Bon’s. With a sigh, Lyra opened her eyes. Back to no voice.
Twilight hesitantly smiled. “Destination?”
The southern docks. Some place named Swan Boats. Lyra poked the strange necklace that was on her. Where did this come from? Let's see if I can take it off? To Lyra’s disappointment, she could not remove the necklace physically or magically.
Twilight’s horn glowed and the necklace levitated off. “Magic lock. The wearer can’t remove it. Lets see what this trinket does.” Twilight cautiously put the necklace around her neck and latched it. Twilight opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. It appears I lost my voice. Good thing I opened a telepathic connection to Lyra. Lyra, try to speak.
Lyra took a dramatic deep breath. “Testing. Yah! Sweet voice, oh how I missed you.”
Lyra! Put the necklace back on, now!
Lyra quickly did as she was told. With forehooves crossed, she telepathically asked, Why do you want me to wear this thing?
Twilight shook her head. “I might have just made a mistake. If the unicorn with Bon Bon is who we think it is, then why would Bon Bon think it was you? Simple, somepony is trying to be you, thus she stole your voice. That necklace gives your voice to her... and I removed it. Bad day, bad day, bad day!” In a flash of light, both mares were gone.
====================
At a small sea port stood a mint-green unicorn. On the back of that pony, sat a beige dog. Some voice in my head just told me that my marefriend is an imposter. I will not jump to conclusions.
Lyra, or a look alike of her, put the enchanted hoofheld mirror back into a saddlebag. “Am I crazy or could I sense a faint magic from that mirror? That thing is scaring me. I should sell it. I just need a good price.” In the few seconds it took Lyra to think of a price, her voice had changed. “Twenty... oh my... my voice changed.”
Lyra now spoke with the voice of Minty, the one who was supposed to be dead. The shock of the event knocked Candy off. The voice in my head was right. Candy slowly backed away from the imposter.
The next surprise was even bigger as Twilight’s voice came out next. “Looks... like a voice change. Looks like I'm a princess.” The final voice change brought back Lyra’s voice. “Now you- again.” A green shield surrounded the scared and confused beige-colored dog. “You’re not going anywhere! I guess my act is over.” Minty, disguised as Lyra, tapped a hoof on the solid ground. “My simple plan is falling apart. I keep having to add more to it. I just wanted to live again.”
A bark broke Minty out of her verbal thinking.
“Quiet, dog. Your master is thinking. I bet your friend is on her way here this very moment. You did tell them we were here. I knew that portal you went through was trouble... and that slight magic before the voice changes.” Minty’s–technically Lyra’s–eyes lit up with worry. “Princess Twilight is helping your friend. It makes perfect sense. Twilight was helping Lyra do research, so she is still helping. She must have cast a tracking spell on two of my things. I need a new plan. If your friends find us, you better behave. If you don’t, I’ll hurt you... maybe worse.” Minty grabbed the enchanted mirror and threw it onto the ground. Being enchanted, the mirror did not brake. “I cant keep running away. My bits won’t last forever. I better tell Emma Swan I can’t work for her anymore.” Minty galloped away, taking Bon Bon, still in a magic shield, with her.
====================
Lyra and Twilight appeared in a large round room. A large group of ponies glared at Twilight.
A mare walked up to Twilight. “Hello so-called princess. What brings you to our unaccepting city?”
Twilight glared at her greeter. “I don't have time to deal with your dislike toward me. I’m a little busy.”
The greeter shook her head. “You are not speaking like a princess. You should also br-”
“Quiet!” interrupted Twilight. I know you and this city do not approve of me being a princess and even though I do not like it, I respect that. I do not want to be here as much as you do not like me, so just let me walk through here and leave.”
Twilight’s enemy laughed arrogantly. “You think that you can do whatever you want just because you were made a princess.” Twilight was smacked in the face with a hoof. “I have no care to why you want to get your sorry princess flank out of here, but it will no-.” A bright flash interrupted everypony.
Twilight’s horn was still glowing as she smiled at the new plush unicorn in front of her “Problem solved.” Twilight raised her voice for her next question. “Would any other ponies like to slow me down?”
Everypony watched silently in fear and annoyance as Twilight and Lyra walked to the door.
Twilight opened the door. Before leaving she said, “She can still hear and see stuff. I will change her back to normal tomorrow night.” Twilight slammed the door shut. She then sighed dramatically. “I hate that I am required to teleport into that building when I travel like that to here. This whole city hates me.” Before she even finished her second sentence, she had already gotten over three looks of disinterest from passing ponies.
I can see, replied Lyra.
Twilight spread her wings. “I’m going to fly to the docks. It’s much faster.” Twilight quickly took to the air, getting above the towering buildings. Now being above every building except the Needle Top Weather Factory, she zoomed away.
Lyra began trotting south at a brisk speed. I have never been to Seaddle. I should visit some time. I hear there is a great view from atop the Needle Top Weather Factory. Being the tallest building here, it’s a great tourist attraction.
Lyra, still trotting quickly, took this time to observe the city. Most buildings were large and tall, although there were a few small shops.
Lyra’s short-lived observations ended when Twilight telepathically spoke to her. Lyra, I found our target. Good thing we are already on the south side. I’m following her now, by air. She is moving pretty fast. I theorize that she knows we figured her out and are here. I’m going to stop here. I’ll teleport you over too.
Nine seconds later, Lyra was teleported away.
Lyra was now standing next to Twilight and a good distance in front of herself. What’s with the large purple dome around us?
Without looking away from her enemy, Twilight sidestepped over to Lyra. “It’s a shield to stop your impostor from escaping.” Twilight levitated the voice-stealing necklace off of Lyra. Got anything to say to yourself?”
Lyra twitched in anger. “I have a few things I would like to know.” Lyra took a calming breath. “I want to know why you have done this to my family.”
Minty raised an eyebrow as she sat down. “Family? I had no clue you felt so strongly of your friend.”
“Shut your deceiving mouth,” snapped Lyra. “And answer my questions. Why did you choose me? What have you done with Bon Bon, and where is she?”
Minty rolled her eyes with a smirk. “Oh, Lyra, don’t be so dumb. You chose me at the Ponyville variety market that comes to town once a month. Don’t you remember saying ‘Your freedom is now’ Those words were more true than you knew.” Minty casually ran a hoof through her mane. “Now I shall tell you what happened to your dumb earth pony friend.”
“Hey! Don’t call my marefriend dumb.”
Candy the dog, who was sitting next to Minty, wanted to smack Minty with a claw. Remembering the warning, she withheld her anger.
Minty snickered evilly. “Be quiet for the story. Yes, I promised a lie to your needs-to-be-more-smart friend. It was never supposed to go that far. Your friend was never supposed to go looking for me. Once she found me, I knew I had to get her to stop looking. So I pulled out a nice trick my original captor used on me and a simple unicorn trick.” Minty couldn’t stop herself from laughing arrogantly.
Lyra smashed a hoof into the hard ground, but said nothing.
“I used a psychic paper on your friend, a simple trick. It shows them whatever I want it too. In this case, a contract of how my spell was going to work on you and her. It was a half lie, as the contract really does bind her to the spell I was using on her. She signed it with her blood.”
Twilight gasped. “You used blood magic!?”
“Yes,” answered Minty with a smile.
Lyra, still mad, but also confused, asked, “What’s blood magic? I have never heard of it.”
Twilight shook her head with a sad face on it. “It’s one of the most permanent forms of magic, if not the most permanent. Spells are only breakable by the one who cast it with the blood they used and their own blood. The only loophole is their sibling's blood could be used too. Not even their parents or their foal’s blood would work. It has been banned and deemed dark magic since before Celestia’s time of rule, but not before she was born. Continue now... what’s your name?”
“Minty is my name. The blood contract was not the only part, I did cast a spell, just not the one I told her. Point is that your friend is stuck with me till I die and she dies when I die. It’s as simple as that.”
Twilight smiled. “It’s a good thing you can remove the spell you cast. Give back Bon Bon and I will leave you be and make sure any illegal things you have done will be pardoned.”
Minty raised a curious eyebrow while she sat in place. “So we are making a deal? I don’t trust words alone. I like more permanent things. We are all magic using creatures, so how about we all make a magic oath?”
Lyra looked over at Twilight, her eyes burning with anger. “I don’t trust that deceiving unicorn. I vote against this.”
Minty rubbed the back of candy. “What would your marefriend say if she knew you were denying the only chance you have to ever see her again? That’s totally showing her you think of her as family.”
“No!” commanded Lyra. “I know there has to be a different way. I wish my mirror could break spells. Too bad it’s only a portal device. Twilight, how about time travel?”
Smiling awkwardly, Twilight replied, “Um...I kind of already tried that.”
Minty repeatedly blinked a few times. “Whoa, you time traveled?”
“That’s not important,” replied, Twilight. “If we make a magic oath, you have to free Bon Bon and we have to leave you alone. It’s our best option. Lyra, she wants all of us to do this. This is how we are going to fix this problem.”
Lyra shook her head profusely as anger continued to boil in her. “I don’t agree to this. Our only option last time was to have Miss Deceiver cast a spell and look how that turned out. She already took Bon Bon from me and I won’t stop looking for her. I know how I can find her without this deal. I’ll use my enchanted mirror.” Lyra closed her eyes and began to breathe in a calm manner.
Minty looked over to Twilight. “What’s she doing?”
Twilight looked back at Minty with little emotion. “She is using her connection to her mirror to try and find Bon Bon.”
A small flash of green light brought Lyra’s hoofheld mirror to her. “I could not connect to Bon Bon’s mind. She is obviously out of range, and you tried to get rid of my mirror!” Anger rushed back to Lyra. “Tell me where Bon Bon is?”
Minty smiled deviously. “I will, once you take the magic oath.”
Lyra moaned in annoyance. “Fine! I’ll take the stupid oath. Let it be noted that I still think this is a bad idea.”
Twilight lowered her purple shield. Lyra had forgot it was even there with all the rage in her. The three mares and a small dog all walked up to each other. The three mares touched their three horns together and they all began to glow.
Twilight began an oath. “I, Twilight Sparkle, take a magic oath to take no actions of hostility against the pony known as Minty and pardon all illegal action taken by her. As punishment for her breaking her oath, she will be transformed into a plushie.”
Minty was next to speak. “I, Minty, take this magic oath to remove my spell on the pony, Bon Bon and return her to her marefriend. As punishment for the other two breaking their oaths, Lyra and Bon Bon will die.”
Lyra had been glaring at Minty the whole time, and she continued. “I... Lyra... take this oath to... not harm Minty for her actions against my family. As punishment for her breaking her oath, she will be transformed into a plushie.”
Purple and two different green magics swirled around the three mares and was absorbed into their horns.
Lyra wasted no time in asking the important question. “Where is Bon Bon?”
Minty pointed a hoof at her beige dog. “She's right here. I kept her close to make sure nothing would go wrong... so much for that plan.”
Twilight had no response to the answer, but Lyra did. “I guess I should have used my mirror after I teleported it back here.”
Minty grabbed a scroll and a small container of her blood out of her saddlebag. Minty signed the scroll saying, “I revoke this blood oath that Bon Bon took.”
Like a tornado, green magic swirled around the small beige dog. The magic stayed there for fifteen seconds before dispersing into nothingness.
A familiar beige furred pony now stood where the dog had been. Bon Bon collapsed. “That hurt just as much this time too.” She fainted.
Less than a second later, Twilight was using a healing spell on Bon Bon. Lyra silently watched.
Minty turned around, preparing to walk away. “You might want to know something. Bon Bon is going to die because I removed my spell on her. The contract was never a transformation spell, it was a life binding spell. Your friend can't live without it. You lose! You should die too. Maybe you will see your friend that way.”
“What!?” Lyra pounded her forehooves into the hard ground, causing a few cracks. “You little deceiving piece of trash. I knew I should have never trusted you. If I were not under a magic oath, I would kill you!”
Minty chuckled lightly. “But you can’t. That’s what you get for following me. It was never supposed to go this far. I have a life to go live. Bye, I hope to never see you two again. I need to wash this color out of my fur.” Minty trotted off.
Lyra looked over to Twilight in anger.
Twilight stood in place shaking her head. “I think this is the end. I think she won. My healing spell is not having any effect. Bon Bon’s life signs are fading quickly. She is going to die.”
Lyra shook her head, getting over her shock. “I might have a fix to that death problem, not me specifically, but I know a pony. Twilight, use your telepathy to contact my number one chef at Heartstrings Dinner, Lightwing.”
Twilight closed her eyes for about thirty seconds before opening them with a sigh. “Lightwing says her two forms of immortality won’t help in this spot. She says blood magic is stronger than life force magic. She would know, with her being technically over twelve thousand years old. Blood magic has killed Bon Bon.” Twilight fell back onto her hind legs, crying lightly. “It’s too late. Bon Bon is dead. I don’t sense any life signs. It’s because you listened to me. I’m sorry you listened to me. ”
Lyra stood in place, anger exploding out of her. “I won’t accept Bon Bon being dead!”
Twilight stood next to Bon Bon’s dead body. “Lyra, I’m sorry I doubted you when you said trusting that other mare was a mistake. You were right, completely right.”
Lyra looked over with anger. “It’s not your fault. The blame goes to that deceiving unicorn.” Without saying a word, Lyra grabbed her mirror that was floating next to her.
Twilight levitated Bon Bon’s dead body onto Lyra’s back. Lyra then focused her magic on the magic of her hoofheld mirror.
Twilight could see Lyra’s enchanted mirror glowing. A large portal began opening in front of them. “I thought your mirror only opened portals that were small and it used the lens of the mirror?”
Lyra replied in an annoyed tone. “Really don’t want to talk right now. Just follow me back to Ponyville. That’s all this portal device is good for.”
Lyra walked through the portal, followed by Twilight. Upon exiting the portal, they entered Lyra’s home.
Lyra put Bon Bon on the couch. “Please leave, Twilight.”
Twilight did as told and left Lyra alone to mourn the loss of her marefriend.
Lyra rubbed a hoof on Bon Bon’s cheek. “Don’t worry sweet Bon Bon. I will bring you back to life. I did it once and I’ll do it again.” Lyra put her enchanted mirror in a saddlebag and put the saddlebag on. “Time to talk to the Time Keeper. Her time controlling powers are just the thing to fix all of this mess.”
Lyra trotted out of her home, locking her door on her way out. She was on a mission. She began heading north, avoiding anypony who passed by her. Not even the warmth of the noon sun slowed her down.
Four minutes later, Lyra had reached her target building. Lyra looked up, allowing a small smile on her face. “Ponyville Dentist Office.” How about top secret time controlling pony building. Workplace of an immortal pony that's a little over two hundred thousand years old.
Lyra walked into the office, ringing the bell above the door. “Very important visitor.”
Colgate walked in from another room with a smile. “Nice to see you. What’s the occasion?”
Lyra kept an emotionless face. “The occasion is time travel.”
“No,” answered Colgate with a scowl. “You know I hate using my power to alter time. It's my obligation to make sure time stays on the right track, not make certain ponies benefit from time altering. The answer is no.”
Lyra forced out a sarcastic laugh. “I’m traveling through time with or without you. You know I’ve opened a portal through time once before. I’ll do it again.”
Shaking her head in disappointment, Colgate replied, “I don’t approve of this. I really wish you didn’t have that portal-opening mirror. For a device that only opens portals, that thing is annoying. We both know I can’t stop you, so tell me where in time you want to go.”
“Tuesday,” replied Lyra. “Tuesday is the first day I started research with Twilight. Thursday morning is the day it all began falling apart. Nine in the morning on Tuesday. I’ll tell you the story right now, I’ll mark it on my calendar. Right now as in after I relive my weekend.”
Colgate sighed, annoyance apparent on her face. Colgate’s horn lit up with magic, as a blue ring of light appeared around Lyra. Strange symbols also appeared around the ring, rotating in place. The blue light glowed with a mystic humming sound. The light slowly faded, Lyra fading away with it.
Lyra appeared in the Ponyville Library. She gasped and dropped the plushie she was holding.
====================
In the Ponyville Library, Lyra got up from her seat. “That’s the story of the future I have stopped. Freeing Minty on Tuesday has stopped the events of Thursday and forward.” Lyra walked to the door. “I’m out of here. I’m going to have a lovely breakfast with my marefriend. Only two hours till I need to go to work. Lightwing is adding some food called sky beef to our griffon menu. Quick question, even though I was a plushie, you got that necklace onto me. It appeared as if I was wearing it before I transformed. How did you do that?”
Minty smiled softly. "I don't know how it works. My captor used it to swap voices. I stole it for my own uses."
Lyra walked out and closed the door behind her.
Colgate sat in place as Twilight walked up to Minty. “This was an unusual first meeting. Would you like a home here in Ponyville? I’ll make sure it’s far from Lyra’s home.”
Minty smiled. “That would be nice.” Minty curiously looked over to Colgate. “You have time controlling powers?”
“Yes,” replied Colgate. “They allow me to see all of time. I know all that was, all that is, and all that can be. I really don’t like using them. Don’t go advertising it to anypony. You have now been added to the small list of ponies who know my secret. Only Lightwing, Lyra, Bon Bon, and the princesses know of it.”
"One question," said Minty. "Who is Lightwing? She was said to have lived for twelve thousand years and is immortal.
Twilight and Colgate looked over at each other. Colgate answered. "Lightwing is a pegasus who traveled through time. She is skilled at making potions. She uses her potions to give her temporary magic. She has a potion that gives her eternal youth and a necklace that brings her back to life."
====================
Lyra made it home in six minutes. She opened the door with a smile. “Candy mare! I’m back.” She trotted over to the kitchen.
Bon Bon looked over from the table. “I thought you were researching that artifact with Twilight for the day?”
Lyra waved a hoof dismissively. “There wasn’t much to do. Just a simple transfer spell and it was over. I’ll be working at my restaurant today.”
“Our restaurant, Lyra.”
“No,” replied, Lyra with a smile. “It’s mine. We are business partners. You own a candy shop and I own a restaurant. Just because they are connected to each other, does not mean you own them both.”
“I know.”
“This Thursday we are going to Buckley for lunch. At a place called The Couch Pizzeria. There is this poor stallion who can’t get a marefriend. I think we should go on a date with him, both of us. Also, we should plan a vacation to Seaddle some time soon.”
Bon Bon nodded her head slowly. “Weird date on Thursday and a vacation soon. Anything else you want to tell me?”
“Yes,” replied, Lyra as she walked over to Bon Bon. She kissed Bon Bon on the lips. “I love you and always will.”
Bon Bon smiled. "Random act of affection from nowhere means one thing. Something big happened. Tell me what it was."
Lyra took a seat at the other side of the table. "It all started two days from now."
