You look up, but Lyra is still staring at the computer. Did she say that?
“She’d never let me go on my own, but she couldn’t trust that I’d come back either.“ She finally looks up from the monitor and motions to the seat across from her. “Have a seat. I’m sure you’re hungry.“ Lyra slides a paper bowl of… they look like slices of potato. “It’s not hay fries, but they’re pretty good.“
You pick one up and take a bite. A strong salt flavor overwhelms your senses. It’s sooo good! And you didn’t realize how hungry you were either. You shovel one after another into your mouth.
“Looks like you hit your head on entry.“ You look up from your salted potatoes and Lyra lifts her hair off of her forehead, revealing a bandage like yours. “Me too. At first I thought I broke my horn off. Pretty scary stuff.“ You pause, then go back to eating. “Your friends were being a little cryptic. I’m figuring they came with you, but I’m not sure why. Who else? Where’s Bon-Bon?“ You tell Lyra that Bon-Bon was already here and who you came with. “Blossomforth? Sounds familiar. Pegasus, I think.” She taps her chin in thought, the continues, “So Bon-Bon was already here? I haven’t exactly been hiding. Must have just missed each other. I take it Twilight knows I sneaked in and used her portal by now, then.“ As far as you know, Spike is the only one on the outside that knows about this. You tell her that. “Spike isn’t exactly a well of fortitude, but it’s nice that he’d try to keep it secret. Not sure if he’s doing it for me or not.“
It feels strange talking to Lyra so casually. You two hardly ever speak. She’s very mysterious. It’s a little intimidating. You have lots of questions, but you know you’ve only so much time. What should you ask about?
You enter the cafe and pause. Diamond Tiara pats you on the back, “We’ll leave you two alone.“ Then she and Silver Spoon step outside.
That is a lot less than you thought. Something worth so little must be tiny, though. Like a grain of sand.
Ask her something she’d know…
Your face turns flush again. Maybe save that as a last resort. You don’t want her to get upset.
Step-by-step, you slowly approach. You expect her to look up, but she’s so busy with her laptop that she doesn’t even notice you. Before you know it, you’re standing right next to her.
Your mouth dries up and your heart beats fast. If it’s not her- then what will you do? You don’t want Aunt Bon-Bon to get in trouble. Something only an Equestrian would know. The EUP? Hearth’s Warming? Nightmare Night? Summer Sun Celebration? You can think of subjects, but not content. What if this is the right Lyra and she doesn’t understand? What if you accidentally bring back the wrong Lyra?
You stare in awe at the world passing you by at surreal speeds, between stops. You’re so invested that when Silver Spoon nudges your shoulder, you gasp in shock!
“Chill out! We get off at the next stop.“ Diamond Tiara leans forward so you can see her, “We found her inside of some kind of cafe less than an hour ago. We talked to her and, unless she lied, she should still be there.“ You nod that you understand. But, even if what they say is true, you have no idea if she really will be there.
The bus screeches to a stop one last time and the three of you get up and head to the exit. The driver eyes Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, who both completely ignore him, then turns to you, “If you plan to use the bus again, try to find some change.“ You don’t know what that means. You nod anyway and step off of the bus. It takes a moment of looking around before you spot Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon already heading down the sidewalk. You walk quickly to catch up.
Diamond Tiara points to the next building ahead, “It’s that one right there, with the green and white awning. She’s sitting by the window.“
You look through the windows as you pass and spot a girl with the same minty green and white hair that you saw at the school. It’s definitely a Lyra. Now it’s time to find out if it’s your Lyra.
Bon-Bon stands up and grabs you by the hand, “Come on. We need to get home.“ Then turns to Lyra, “I have to go.“ Lyra takes a step back, “What?” She glances at the school, “Now?“ “It’s an emergency.“ “A-alright. Sure.“ She hesitates, “Sh-should I-?“ “No. You go ahead to class. We’ll be fine.“ “Okay.“ Lyra answers slowly. Bon-Bon starts to lead you away when you hear Lyra speak up behind you, “I’ll see you later, right?“ Bon-Bon stops and closes her eyes, “Sure. I’ll see you soon.“ “Alright.“ Lyra’s voice still sounds uneasy, “Bye.“ Bon-Bon never replies. She just continues to lead you away.
You look back as you round the corner and see Lyra still just standing there. That didn’t seem like something Aunt Bon-Bon would do. You start to say something, but when you look over to her face, you see tears crawling down her cheeks. She wipes them away and asks you how you got here. You begin to tell her the whole story, beginning with when you got home from school yesterday.
…
…
…
”HEY!”
The voice sounds foreign. You’re not sure where it came from, but the pair
are both staring at you now. You’re out in the open and your hands are
clinched into fists so tight it hurts. Your entire body is trembling.
The world begins to blur, but you blink back the tears. All you can do
now is stand there.
Bon-Bon’s smile is gone. Her jaw is slack and
the color fades from her cheeks. Her hands fall to her side. Her eyes
are wide with horror. With recognition. She mouths the word “Liza“.
“Isn’t that your niece?“ You hear Lyra ask.
Bon-Bon
turns to look at Lyra, then rushes toward you. Her run is off-balanced
and she almost trips once. When she reaches you, she drops to her knees.
“Liza,
are you alright? I’m so sorry. Are you alright?” She pushes your hair
away from your bandage, “What happened to you? Are you alright?“ She
keeps repeating herself. Lyra catches up to her and bends down to
you, “Hey! Eh Tootsie, right? That’s a nasty bump you got there.” Why is
she acting like she doesn’t know you? “What are you doing here?“ Her
head is tilted to one side and she has a soft, kind smile across her
lips. Why is she acting like she doesn’t know you?
You take another look. They’re holding hands and talking. You try to find some kind of fault- some way to disprove them. The way Lyra is standing? Her weight is on one leg with her other leg spaced out behind her. Her body is tilted forward and her head is curved down. You try to picture your Lyra standing that way. Proud, but humble… it matches up perfectly. Both on four legs and on two.
But Aunt Bon-Bon is always busy. She always looks like she has something else on her mind. She’ll hardly ever look directly at you when she’s talking. You’ve watched her eyes shift down and to the left and right countless times. And sometimes she’ll pause mid-sentence when she does it too! You don’t know anypony else that does that the way she does!
You stare into this Bon-Bon’s eyes and watch her mouth. Sure enough, you catch her mouth hanging open and her eyes dart down and to the side.
They… look like Aunt Bon-Bon and Lyra. The only Bon-Bon and Lyra you’ve ever known. Smiling. Laughing. They look happy here. Happy away from Ponyville. Happy without you…
You’re not comfortable watching them kiss! Not because it’s kissing, but because it’s them kissing! It’s just so… wrong! Kissing is for when you love somepony. But all Aunt Bon-Bon and Lyra do anymore is fight! They don’t sit together. They don’t play together. They don’t even hug!
You’re frustrated and confused and angry and… scared?
You expected them to be in trouble. You thought you were going to be the hero. But now it’s like you’re watching something you can’t understand- impatiently waiting for somepony to come along and explain what’s going on. Only… nopony is coming. You feel helpless. Like a foal. Like a baby.
Why is this happening? Was this a mistake? Was it a mistake to look for them? Should you just… go?
What should you do?
Minus Princess Twilight? Okay… Well let’s see… There was Rainbow Dash. And… Um… Roseluck? Was Aunt Bon-Bon an Element of Harmony? She always seems to be busy.
As you approach the pair you quickly realize exactly why they seem so noteworthy. That mix of pink and blue next to that blend of minty green and white. That’s Aunt Bon-Bon and Lyra! You found them! Although, you still have no idea why they’re here, what they’re doing, or why they left in the first place.
You’d run over to them as fast as you could if your stupid, backward legs would let you! As you get closer you get a good look at their faces. They’re not pony faces, obviously, but it has to be them! You can see it in their eyes! There can be no doubt!
They slowly turn away from you. Fearing they might walk off you get ready to call out to them. But just before you do, Aunt Bon-Bon leans close to Lyra. Is she whispering? Telling a secret? You expect Lyra to turn her head so she can hear, but instead she copies Aunt Bon-Bon. Is this a game? Are they playing mirror?
…
You practically fall behind a column to hide yourself. You try to make sense of what you just saw, but how can you? Nothing makes sense anymore!
Yesterday you were a pony. Today you’re some kind of minotaur-dragon… thing. But this…? This is too much even for fantasy!
You guys! They updated the Manedroid version of the game! We can move now! Mr. Cake, Bon-Bon, Spitfire, and me all went to visit Zecora and Twilight to celebrate!
Mr. Cake is feeling a little down, so I wanted to share something close to me.
Like the other screenshots I’ve posted, this is from my version of that human game about us. This is where I’ve stood from the time I was level 22 to where I am currently, having just reached 41. Even though we don’t get to talk very much in reality, I get to see him everyday!
I just want you to know that if you ever do leave tumblr, while I’ll respect your decision, I’ll miss you Mr. Cake. You’re my friend and you do mean a lot to me.
With regards to this, my game is finally linking to the Gameloft friend servers (I play on a Manedroid). So now I can send treasures and gifts and stuff! Still there listed as AskLyra if you want to friend me!
