Taking a Stand
"Lyra? We need to talk." The aquamarine mare froze, her golden magical aura dissipating as the plate she held in it, fell to the floor and shattered. I shifted uneasily on my feet as she stared out the window above the sink where she stood at. She held her breath, not turning around to face me as I could see her body start to tremble.
"W-w-what about?" She shakily said, her breathing coming rapidly and erratically now. She turned her head and her light gold eyes avoided my own, opting to search the floor for a way out. My heart ached as I took a deep breath.
"Lyra… It's just…" I struggled to find the words I so confidently had in my head moments ago but could no longer find. Her eyes shot up to mine after I said that. She started at me with sad, hopeful eyes. Tears started to well up in the corners of those sadly beautiful orbs.
She shook her head and took a couple steps towards me. "No… No... No… You can't leave me… Please no…" I took a step back, and raised my hands up to stop her. I cleared my throat and took a deep breath. I need to do this...
"Lyra… Stop, enough is enough." She stopped dead in her tracks, her head hung low as tears fell from her cheeks. She opened and closed her mouth, trying to formulate words but failed too. "Lyra, I'm sorry. This isn't working out between us."
She blinked a couple times, trying to make sense of everything that was going on. "But... I… You… Please…" She struggled for words once more as she shook her head and stared at the floor. "We've been through so much!" Her gaze shot up to look me in the face as she grit her teeth and snarled. "I've put so much into this, into us! To make this work forever! What more do you want from me?!"
Closing my eyes I took a deep breath. "Yes Lyra, we've been through a lot. But in the end, I'm tired of you obsessing over me." She recoiled in shock as her ears flayed to her head. "You smother me! I don't even have any real friends! You hog me and nopony will even attempt to make any more than idle chit-chat with me because you come after them!"
"Because I love you! I only want the best for you, I only want to protect you!" Her eyes got huge, tears streaming down her face as I facepalmed. "I've done everything for you Alex!"
"No Lyra, you just don't want me talking to anypony besides you. I've been here for eight months now." My heart was beating quicker as I stared her down. "I don't even know half the ponies in Ponyville! Hell I barely know anything about this goddamned place because of you!" I took a couple deep breaths as my words sunk into Lyra.
I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose with my fingers... "Lyra I'm sorry." She clenched her eyes shut, muttering to herself. Shaking my head I turned to leave as I heard her slump to the floor. It hurt seeing her like this, but what we had going was not working for me. I bent down and grabbed the suitcase I packed with all I had.
I placed my hand on the knob before I glanced over my shoulder. She had a hoof reaching for me as she cried on the floor. "How could you do this to me?" I stopped at the door, I heard her clamber to her hooves before she spat venom behind me. "You're making a huge mistake..." Lyra muttered but I didn't turn around. Clenching my teeth, I opened the door before stepping out into the cold, winter air.
I briskly walked away from her house, I needed to put as much distance between me and her as I could. I put my hands in the pockets of my leather jacket, as I stepped through the freshly fallen snow. Luna's moon hung beautifully in the silk-like night sky. Hundreds of stars littered the black sky, the moon and nearby lamps helping to illuminate my walk to… Well quite frankly I had nowhere to go.
All I had to do was get as far away from Lyra as possible. I walked alone, the snow crunching lightly beneath my feet as I trudged through the ankle high fluffiness. The chilly breeze swirled light flakes of snow across the already fallen snow as I continued on. Where the hell am I supposed to go? Fear struck into my heart, I couldn't survive outside in this kind of weather, but I didn't know where I could go.
I walked towards the nearest house that had a light on inside I could see from the side window. I stood at the door before I looked over my shoulder. With no other choice, I took a deep breath and knocked on the door quietly. I half hoped nopony heard me knock as I turned to leave, when I heard the wooden door creak on the hinges, and a young female voice spoke.
"Hello?" I froze and held my breath as I turned down to look at whoever opened the door. The grey pegasus mare looked up at me in curiosity, her left hoof rested on the door handle as she tilted her head to the other side. "Can I help you?" Her blonde mane hung down over her face, slightly obscuring it, but I could still see her eyes.
They, admittedly were quite adorable. They were a pale yellow colour and looked slightly in different directions which was kinda cute. I shook my head as I snapped back to my senses. "Yes. Oh well, umm maybe. See, it's hard to explain…" I ran my fingers through my hair as she tilted her head the other way.
Her eyes narrowed as she scrunched her muzzle a bit. "Hmm, I recognize you… You're Lyra's coltfriend aren't you?" I shrugged my shoulders half-heartedly and avoided her gaze.
"Kinda… Well I used to be, up to about five minutes ago." Her expression looked saddened as she stepped to the side.
"Aww you poor thing, come inside I'll get you a muffin to cheer you up!" She said with a small smile as I hesitated. "Don't worry, I don't bite." She closed her eyes and tilted her head to the side again as I stepped inside the house. Closing the door behind me I got a good look at her place. Stepping past the stone mud room that held two sets of winter clothes, one an adult mare size and one in a foal size. I also noticed a blue satchel that hung from a hook. I walked into the living room, a small archway on the left lead to the kitchen where the mare walked into. It felt cozy, a warm crackling fire burned in the firepit on the right side of the living room as I took a seat on a small loveseat sized couch.
The warmth of the fire felt nice on my cold cheeks, slightly reaching my hands towards it I tried to warm them up as well. I took the time to look around the room. It was mostly bare, a couple generic paintings sat on the wall across from where I sat. Above the fireplace was a picture of the mare who let me in, a smaller light violet unicorn, and a brown coated stallion wearing a green bowtie.
The sound of a plate being placed onto the coffee table snapped me out of my thoughts. I turned to look as the pegasus mare sat down across from me, and nibbled on what looked like a blueberry muffin. My nose picked up the wonderful fresh and warm scent of muffins. "Go ahead, you can have one." She said as she happily munched on her own muffin, using both of her hooves to hold it lightly between them.
"Thank you miss." I reached down and took a chocolate muffin from the plate and took a bite. The warm deliciousness spread across my tongue and I gave a small murmur of delight. The mysterious mare smiled at me as I quickly finished the pastry. "Wow that was amazing." As our eyes met for a brief moment I lightly blushed. "Sorry, I haven't even introduced myself. I'm Alex Harvey."
She blinked a couple times before she smiled while closing her eyes. "My name is Derpy Hooves. But everypony just calls me Derpy." She offered me another one, but I politely declined. I was still a little nervous, sitting in a stranger's home this late at night.
I sat back and just watched her enjoy her treat. It's now or never. "Derpy, do you think I could ask you for a favour?" I bit my lower lip as she stared at me intently, her head tilted to the left. "I don't have any place to go to, and I don't know anypony in town. Could I ask from the bottom of my heart to stay here for a while? I can even help out around the house."
She took a brief moment to think then nodded her head. "Of course! It will be wonderful to have some help. It's been pretty difficult lately." Derpy trailed off a bit before regaining her upbeat attitude. "Besides, everypony needs a place to sleep." A grateful smile overcame my face as I let out a relieved sigh.
"Thank you Derpy, you have no idea how much this means to me." The clock struck ten, each hour being counted off in dongs, coming from the grandfather clock in the corner of the room.
"Oh wow it's late, I need to get some sleep before work tomorrow. Follow me, I'll show you to the spare room." The grey pegasus stood up and walked towards the short staircase as I followed. There were four doors in the short hallway, two on either side. When we came to the first set of doors she stopped, turned and pointed to the door on my right. "Here you are, It's been unoccupied for quite a while, sorry if there's a mess."
My hand pushed open the door, and I took in the details of the room. It was a bare white room, with a small bed that had light blue sheets. The hardwood floor creaked under my feet as I stepped inside. Spots on the walls look like that had been repaired, a couple paint cans sat in the corner among other miscellaneous items.
Seeing that there was no crazy unicorn in the room, I smiled a little. "It'll do the job just fine. Thanks again Derpy, I'll see you in the morning." I turned and seen she brought my suitcase and left it just inside the room before turning to leave.
With a sleepy smile she waved at me. "Good night Alex." With that she gently closed the door and left me to myself. The room was quiet, I could hear my heartbeat in my ears as I started to strip to my underwear. Once that was done I pulled the sheets back on the small bed and crawled inside. It fit snugly, not too much wiggle room but it was better than nothing.
As I laid back on the bed my thoughts wandered to Lyra. While I was saddened, I felt a sense of relief. One that I had not felt in a long time. I took a deep breath, and stared at the white ceiling. She will get over me… At least, I hope. I closed my eyes and felt the warm embrace of the bed hold my tired body as sleep soon overtook me.
I felt the warm sun rays spread across my chest and up into my face. I slowly opened my eyes and took in my surroundings. I sat up and itched my chest while I gradually woke up. Stretching my arms, the feeling of a good night's sleep was the first thing I realized I hadn't gotten in a long time. My hands rubbed my eyes before I got out of the bed and picked up my bag. Opening it I grabbed a pair of black sweat pants and a white t shirt so I could at least be decent in Derpy's home.
Opening the door slowly, I quietly made my way into the hallway. The house was quiet, light snores came from the door across the hall was all anypony would hear. Tiptoeing my way down the hall, I seen that the one on the right side of the hall was slightly open. Peeking in, I smiled a little as I found myself in the bathroom. Stepping inside and shutting the door quietly behind me, I quickly set to doing my business.
Twenty minutes later I emerged, freshly showered and clean. Stepping from the steamy bathroom I almost walked into Derpy. The grey pegasus sleepily made her way from her bedroom to the bathroom, rubbing an eye with a hoof as she walked. "Oh, good morning Alex." She yawned, making her way past me and closed the door.
The white door closed gently, leaving me standing there for a brief moment. It had just caught me off guard, Lyra barely talked to me in the morning. She was not a morning pony in the slightest. Walking down the hall and into the kitchen, my next target was well within my grasp. Breakfast.
Figuring I would be nice, my plan was to cook breakfast for Derpy and the foal I assumed she had. With the stove fired up I got to work making french toast. Thankfully, everything was stocked inside the cupboards and fridge. I took out a glass bottle of fresh milk, along with a half dozen eggs. Cracking them into a large enough bowl along with the milk, I gingerly dipped the bread inside. Once it was fully soaked, I placed them into the skillet pan.
Humming quietly to myself, it felt relaxing making food because I wanted to, not because I had to. As my mind again started to wander to Lyra, a quiet voice broke me out of my thoughts. "Hello mister." Jumping a bit at the sudden voice, I turned to see where the voice came from. Looking down, there was a small, pale violet unicorn standing at the bottom of the small steps leading upstairs.
She sleepily got up at the table and watched me cook. She had a light golden mane with a light greyish streak, as well as yellow eyes. Noticing I was lingering my eyes on her probably a bit too long, I turned back at the smell of the toast. "Uh, hi." She seemed content to sleepily sit in her chair, the smell of food wafting into her nose.
Just as I was loading up a trio of plates was when Derpy came down the stairs and stopped in a bit of surprise. Hearing her hooves, my head turned towards her. "Oh Alex, this is my youngest daughter, Dinky." She came up behind the filly and gently hugged her. "Dinky, this is Alex. He's going to be staying with us for a little while." Her nose then caught the stench of what I was cooking. "Did you… Did you cook breakfast?"
With a smile across my face I nodded while picking up all three plates with my hands, one on my arm and made my way over to the table. "Breakfast, is served." I had topped the toast with cinnamon, cut bananas and strawberries with a slice of kiwi in the middle. But for Dinky's, I had the fruit arranged in a smile.
Both ponies looked surprised, but happy as the unicorn filly quickly dug in. Using her light green aura to pick up her fork and pick up a bit of banana. She happily munched on the fruits while Derpy merely blinked before gazing up at me. She sat down in awe, her eyes looking over the breakfast that sat in front of her. "Oh wow. Thank you so much Alex!"
The pegasus mare dug in literally face first, though I didn't know what I expected. She didn't have magic like Dinky did. She smiled and munched with gusto while I started on my own plate. The two ponies said very little, way too occupied in gobbling down their meals. I had just gotten halfway through when both of them finished.
"Mmm, that was so tasty! Thank you Mr Alex!" Dinky hopped off her chair and proceeded to hug my right leg tightly. It lasted for a moment and she was off back to her room. I sat in a bit of a daze with a faint blush across my cheeks. It was the first in a long time I had gotten that much praise. And the first time a foal had come within five feet of me.
Derpy smiled as she placed the empty plates into the sink. She hovered in the air gently, coming towards me before throwing her forelegs around my neck. Her soft cheek nuzzled mine as I blushed a bit more. "Thank you once again Alex. That was hooves down the best meal I've had… In a long time." She said the last part softly, taking a small breath before breaking the hug.
My skin tingled, my heart was beating like a drum. I swallowed the lump in my throat and scratched the back of my head. "Think nothing of it Derpy. It's the least I can do for you and your daughter."
The pegasus lazily flew into the entrance and picked up the blue satchel that had a little white letter on it. "Come on Dinky! We don't want you to be late for school now, do we?"
The tiny filly came galloping out of her room with a smile on her face, her saddlebags loosely sitting atop her flank. Once in the mud room, they both started to get dressed in their winter clothes. Derpy had what looked like a tan body tight sweater, most likely to keep with her uniform code, and a pink scarf wrapped around her neck. To top it all off, she wore a tan cap. Reminding me of a delivery man.
Dinky slipped on purple winter boots, a light purple hat and scarf. Along with a set of ear muffs. The two were almost ready go before Derpy stopped and glanced back at me. "Oh Alex, can you pass our lunches to us? I put them in the fridge." I blinked and merely nodded before getting to the magic fridge and peered inside. I seen two brown paper bags with each of their names on them, and pulled them from the confines of the cold box.
I placed their lunches inside their bags, and helped them get them on. With the fillys saddlebag secured to her flank, and Derpy's bag around her shoulder she smiled at me. "Again I have to thank you." She spoke softly, her golden eyes more or less centered. I rubbed her shoulder and grinned a tad.
"Go on you two. Have a great day." They both said their goodbyes before leaving the house into lightly snow-covered Ponyville. I closed the door behind them, slightly shivering from the cold breeze. The house was quiet, I could hear my heartbeat inside my own head and noticed it was rapid. Must just be the cold.
I shook my thoughts from my head and grabbed a couple pieces of wood for the fire. Humming to myself I opened the front of the fireplace. The ashes glowed dully, embers from last night's wood. Next to the fireplace, there was a small pile of kindling. Putting a couple pieces of the small dry wood inside, it didn't take long to start burning. Carefully I slipped in a couple of larger logs and closed the door.
The heat was already starting to warm up the inside of the house. I sat in the same chair Derpy did when I came here last night, and let out a small sigh. With my eyes closed I heard the clock in the corner, ticking the seconds by.
A hard hoof pressed into my side, startling me as I fell from the bed onto the hard floor. "Come on, get up. I need to eat so I can go make money." My eyes shot open as I looked around the familiar room. My gaze eventually landed on Lyra Heartstrings. She had a dirty glare plastered onto her face, all the while a deep growl came from her clenched teeth.
Rolling over I pushed backwards. "N-no I left you Lyra, you and me are done." She merely laughed and rolled her eyes before smiling a devilish smile.
"Alex, nopony wants you but me. You can't do anything better then what a pony could do anyways. You need me to provide bits for you. Pay for the roof over our heads, and the food in the kitchen. We've been over this all before. You remember what happened last time? With the stairs?" Her eyes sharpened as she took a couple steps closer. "I don't want you to get hurt, a hurt human makes me sad."
Her lips turned into a pout as she roughly ran her hoof up my leg. Her horn flared up quickly, a right pressure clenched around my neck as she stared into my eyes. "You are nothing without me. Just like when you came here, you need me." With a hefty push from the magical force, I fell to the floor and clenched my eyes shut.
I heard the unicorn take a deep breath. "Now don't make me have to say it again…" Lyra's voice trialed off as I heard a loud dong.
When I opened my eyes, I blinked a couple times as I shot up. D-did I fall asleep? My body felt so relaxed, the crackling fire, the ticking clock and nothing else in the entire house. But in the same breath, I felt more stressed than ever. But it was just a dream, or rather, a nightmare.
Groggily, I stood up from the warm confines of the chair. Wasting no time, my hand moved to the latch on the fireplace and I opened it. The fire was small, almost burning through what I had placed in there earlier. Reaching down to pick up a couple more logs, I eased them inside, making sure to not get myself burnt.
With new logs inside, my stomach started to make it's new hunger known. Glancing at the clock, it was a bit past one in the afternoon, so I decided to make myself some lunch. Figuring I should just have something simple to tie me over until supper time. Grabbing a half loaf of sliced bread, I dug around in one of the cabinets to find a jar of peanut butter.
These ponies made the best peanut butter, I wasted no time and unscrewed the lid before digging a knife inside to gather some of the creamy paste on the metal blade. With enough of the peanutty goodness on the knife, I smeared it along the soft, white bread.
My stomach growled as I replaced the lid, and opened the fridge looking for jam. With my eyes on the prize, I pulled out a small jar of homemade jam. It probably from that strawberry farmer mare. With Lyra around, I never really got the time to catch her name. Regardless, the jam looked delicious as I spread it on one slice of bread. With peanut butter on both sides and jam in the middle I was done.
It wasn't the most glorious meal in the world, but it would do for the time being. I returned both jars back to where they belonged, and made sure to clean up any mess before I took my sandwich back into the living room. Taking a large bite, three light knock coming from the entrance, snapped my attention towards the door.
Frozen in fear, a lump came up into my throat as I held my breath. It couldn't be her, right? H-how could she know where I went?! I swallowed the lump and placed the sandwich onto the table. Three more knocks came just as I stepped into the mud room. I placed my hand onto the cold doorknob and paused.
My heart raced and a sinking feeling welled up inside me. With a deep breath I pulled the door open and winced a bit. I stared straight ahead, but quickly realized I probably had to look down. As my eyes scrolled down I seen a bit of purple, a horn and then a somewhat familiar face. Her purple eyes blinked a couple times as she tilted her head.
The pony studied my face, looking for the words on the tip of her tongue. "Alex? Was it?" The purple pony asked with a raised eyebrow. She wore a light blue scarf and earmuffs along with a tan saddlebag. Her wings ruffled a bit from the slightly chilly weather. I tried to open my mouth to speak, but found my jaw locked in fear of what she might want with me. It was only when she cleared her throat and spoke once more did I snap out of my daze. "Derpy said you'd be here, do you think I could ask you some questions?"
Taking a couple of steps to the side, she quickly trotted inside out of the cold. With a little shake to get any snowflakes off her fur, she continued inside and towards the kitchen. I meekly followed, my lips still sealed shut as I came into the archway. She hummed to herself as she magically boiled water into a mug with what smelled like tea. "Do you want some Alex?"
I just shook my head no, her name had escaped me. All I knew was that this pony was very important, that much was obvious. She had wings and a horn, as far to my knowledge it was something only for a select few. As her mug of tea slightly steamed, she made her way into the living room, giving me a look that told me to follow.
The winged unicorn hopped up in the chair right beside the fire. I ignored my lunch on the table and sat across from her in the loveseat. Her lips pursed, as she blew lightly to cool off her drink before taking a sip. "Delicious as always. Now, to the matter at hoof." Those intelligent, purple orbs looked up into my eyes, gazing between them as if seeking an answer to a question not spoken. She laid on the chair with her forehooves slightly hanging over the edge.
Her once friendly demeanor and soft look suddenly got very serious. "You and me haven't gotten to know each other very well. Let's be honest here, I doubt you even recall my name? I'm Princess Twilight Sparkle, the princess of friendship." That feeling of dread fell lower inside me, I was probably shaking at this point from my nerves. If someone needed to send a princess here, I was in big trouble.
All I gave was a simple, shaky nod. My right hand flexed a bit as she continued to stare at me. "The reason I came here today, is because of you." My jaw tightened, our eyes never leaving each others. Her right forehoof came towards my leg and I tensed while holding my breath. Much to my surprise, she gently placed it onto my knee and gently stroked it. My leg recoiled at her touch, but she kept her hoof on it.
Twilight's gaze softened into a look of pity. "I'm not here to hurt you Alex." It was then that I realized I was holding my breath. I shakily let it out as a look of empathy came over her face. "This is exactly what I was expecting was going to happen." The princess mumbled, more so to herself but my ears picked it up as clear as day.
I was confused, I had no idea what she was talking about. "W-what do you mean?" I pulled my leg away from her hoof, missing the comfort it did provide. Twilight just sighed before she shook her head.
She pulled out a scroll of parchment, along with a quill out from the saddlebags that sat beside the chair. "You." She paused for a good ten seconds, her tongue flicking inside her mouth as she searched for the right words. Twilight's eyes closed for a brief moment, then opened to meet my gaze once more. "You were in an abusive relationship."