Ask Lyra

Guess who got sick from something she ate yesterday and had to go to work anyway, on Nightmare Night no less?

I’ll give you a hint-kill me.

1) I’m off all day Friday so why not? Sounds like fun! It’s a daaaaay of the week.

2) And what a day it was. Kinda felt like every other day, but it wasn’t.

3) Haha, I don’t think so. I’m not letting my hoofsies get cold, especially not for somepony else.

4) Nah. Folks just express themselves in different ways.

And there are so many games I want to play/replay. But I just keep playing Warframe…

5) Never a bother, friend.

1) This is Lyra the Pony with a reminder that only YOU can prevent forced memes!

2) What if I’m not a decker? jk, chummer, im tots a decker

3) Speaking of memes, where did this gem even come from? Do you want her to say it while singing, crying or singing while crying?

4) Are you calling me stupid or weak?

Seems we have some conflicting views here.

For what it’s worth, my online buddy (who I’ve mentioned a few times) told me extensively about the game days before all the fan art and screenshots blew up all over tumblr. So it was already ruined for me.

Princess Cadance is having a foal! A royal baby! I’m so excited! This hasn’t happened in… ever? Has this ever happened? Who is Prince Blueblood related to anyway?

This has probably never happened! Isn’t that exciting?!

Gee, I wonder what you’d call the foal of a princess….

1) Wow. Well I’m glad you’re okay now! Don’t suppose you know how this happened or how to prevent it from happening again, do you? It’s okay if you can’t tell me.

2) Eh. I mean, I’ve heard it’s hilarious, ingenious, thought provoking, challenging, and with a morality system that makes your actions feel like they truly have weight. Basically brilliant on every developmental level.

But I have absolutely no interest in it. Whenever a game has pass/fail objectives that alter the ending, possibly without you even knowing it, I feel overwhelmed. Like I have to study what to do, where, and when, before even starting, or else I’ll mess something up.

3) Lyra: What do you think, Bon-Bon? Should I?

Bon-Bon: What’s uhpdha- NO!
Lyra: Nuttin’ much, Bon-Bon~
Bon-Bon: Don’t you dare!
Lyra: Wassup witchu~?!

4) Thanks! Actually, the original was just stick figures. I redid it even better!

Lyra: I’m happy for them. Ecstatic even! Sweetie Belle and her friends worked really hard and they deserve their cutie marks.

B: Sure.

Lyra: It’s just… No. I’m happy for them. Nothing else. That’s it.

[Pause]

B: This has never happened before.

Lyra: No it hasn’t… In all of recorded pony history there has never been such a thing as a shared cutie mark.

B: Unique cutie marks are rare as is. Even a pony like Twilight doesn’t have one.

Lyra: I know. Rainbow Dash’s tri-colored lighting cloud is unusual enough. But three unique cutie marks, all bearing an obvious connection?

B: More than strange. But compared to the last thousand years there’s been more reality shaping events than ever before. The Nightmare, Discord, Tirek. Magic and Cutie Marks being stripped away and restored. Dimensions crossing. Harmony being disrupted. The unseen forces that guide us may be reacting to it all.

Lyra: But why this? What does it all mean?

B: Our world is in flux. Magic is changing.

Sorry I haven’t wrote anything in you in like… 2 years. Lyra says that days turn to weeks and weeks turn to months and before you know it years have past and you don’t know what you’re doing with your life anymore. That might be an exaggeration. I’m honestly not sure.

I just wanted to write down my feelings before all of this just becomes normal. I spent more time than I would have liked with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. Silver Spoon seemed kind of stuck up and proud, but Diamond Tiara was just this mean, controlling thing. I haven’t forgotten the ring of secrets she held over us, but it seems like such a long time ago.

After we came back from… our trip… They were a little nicer to me, but it was still all about being the best to them. Diamond Tiara, more than Silver Spoon, would do anything in her power to manipulate and blackmail others into getting what she wanted. Then this election thing happened. And suddenly everypony was ready to finally stand up as one against them. Against her.

Pipsqueak was the start, but it was the Cutie Mark Crusaders that rallied everypony together. Despite her threats and taunts, or maybe even in spite of them, Diamond Tiara lost. And not just a small contest, but something big. She lost her control. And she lost her friend. Perhaps it was wrong of me, but I immediately took the opportunity to hang out with Silver Spoon in her place. She was always so much more approachable when Diamond Tiara wasn’t around. We had fun. We played. I thought this was some huge change.

But then, Diamond Tiara. She told off her mother. Told her off in front of everypony. Just like I did… In that moment I felt like maybe she and I weren’t so different. As I watched it all unfold I felt like the entire world must have been changing. Diamond Tiara and the CMC as friends? They were the two biggest causes for conflict in the school! If they weren’t at each others’ throats anymore… Nothing would be the same! No more fighting! No more picking sides!

Maybe it won’t last. Maybe this is just a phase and everything will go back to how it was. But I hope it doesn’t. I feel… free. Like I can breathe again. Like I’m allowed to be a kid again.

~ Liza “Tootsie Flute“ Doolots

P.S.: The new playground is really cool! And so are the CMC’s cutie marks! I wish I had a shared cutie mark.

1) lol wut?

2) Barriers work by diffusing a force, magic or otherwise, over a solid surface other than the self. They don’t nullify magic. As such levitation can grab and lift the barrier, contents and all. That’s why barriers are usually big and partially submerged to anchor them down.

I wouldn’t be able to unfasten the claws, but I could still grab, drag, lift, and push them around. Which would making hitting me very hard.

3) This is probably the most likely of the three. And that’s very sad.

Wooooow, @askheartandviolet. There has most certainly been a misunderstanding, though. I was joking about the weapon thing. I didn’t think anypony claiming to be a warrior would be foalish enough to bring a weapon in a one-on-one against a unicorn. Even in a spar, where I’m supposed to go easy on you, that’d be far too unrealistic. But I guess that’s what happens when you remain close-minded to other fighting styles in your own blind overconfidence. Pardon the crude visual aids.

And this is just me and my limited magic. A more gifted unicorn would probably magnetize your claws to your armor so you couldn’t even stand up!

This is the entire reason why no division of the Equestrian Guard employs armed patrols! The use of weaponry in civilized combat is as archaic and backwards as your notions of training! The whole reason we’d spar hoof-to-hoof would be to give you the advantage! You’re faster, probably have more experience, and I hope would be in better shape.

And you can have the advantage because I don’t mind losing! Winning only reinforces what you already know. Losing is how you learn what to do different next time. I would have thought that to be a millennia old concept. But hey, you grew up sheltered and unexposed, and that’s not your fault. But remaining that way is.

Oh, and you can forget about the spar. You’re clearly beneath me. Even holding back I’d probably hurt you.