Bon-Bon: You look like you slept well. As usual.
Lyra: Uh-huhuhu… Hey. This is kinda stupid, but you haven’t seen…? You know, that letter I get every year…? The one about the reunion. [Pause] Where are you going?

[Pause] [Drawer opening]

Bon-Bon: Here.

Lyra: W-… What in Tartarus, Bon-Bon?! How long have you had this?! The reunion is… next week!
Bon-Bon: And? What does it matter? You never go. You get upset every time the letter arrives. Why bother giving it to you?

Lyra: Are… Are they all in there…?
Bon-Bon: The first one was tear-stained and torn up. Thankfully you’ve toned it down in the years since.
Lyra: But… why? W-why would you keep these?

Bon-Bon: Because for some strange reason I always thought one day you’d want them. That you’d go back- to Canterlot, and really face your past. Connect with ponies that went through the same things you did. Maybe get a bigger picture of what happened. Maybe make a difference in somepony’s life. Honestly? When you started hanging out with Raindrops more I thought it was imminent. Then last year I realized just how much time had passed. So this year I figured “might as well skip it“. Couldn’t bring myself to throw it a way, though.

[Long Pause]

Lyra: Where’s your stationary set?
Bon-Bon: Why? Do you plan on going?
Lyra: I… I don’t know…

Lyra: Princess Luna?
Princess Luna: Hello Lyra.
Lyra: Where am I? And why do you sound different?
Princess Luna: You are asleep, and because I am communicating directly into your mind.

Lyra: Oh… Why are you here?
Princess Luna: Because the last foundations of your resolve have crumbled, and from the remains we may yet construct a healthier method of coping.
Lyra: Oh…

Princess Luna: Lyra, here in the dreamscape I may bring clarity where there was doubt. I may bring hope where there was despair. But I cannot change the past. Nothing will.

Lyra: It’s not fair…
Princess Luna: You are not wrong. But your waking mind avoids what haunts you, so your dreams are plagued with endless nightmares. It is a cycle. One cannot end until the other.

Lyra: Y-you’ve seen-?
Princess Luna: I have.
Lyra: I-I’m s-s-so-
Princess Luna: Do not apologize. Instead, reflect upon this. Your past has constructed who you are. Can you use your past to construct your future?

Lyra: No… Yes?
Princess Luna: Tis not my decision to make. But I see a window of opportunity. And I see friends that will support you. You need only act. I wish you well, Lyra.
Lyra: Wait!
Princess Luna: You may not think yourself deserving of redemption, but I can tell you from experience that nothing good will come of torturing yourself. Now…

Wake up.

Earlier…

Tootsie: I don’t think this is helping…
Lyra: It’s not a switch, Liza. It’s gonna take a while.
Tootsie: I guess…

[Pause]

Lyra: How long had you been sneaking out? [Pause] What? You think you’re gonna get in more trouble?
Tootsie: A few months…
Lyra: So those students you were with, they weren’t just random ponies. They were your friends? [Pause] Liza.
Tootsie: Yes. Alright? And now I can’t see them anymore because they’re in class all day and I’m in Manehattan on the weekends.

[Pause]

Lyra: You know… If you were to do something undeniably benevolent that left you tired in the evenings, you could go to bed earlier without any question. I mean, Bon-Bon? Ninty-nine times out of one hundred she’s so tired at the end of the day she can’t even think. Her head hits the pillow and she’s out. And… if you still woke up at night, regardless of why… Well, the only reason we knew you were sneaking out at all was because Princess Luna told us.

[Long Pause]

Tootsie: Nurse Redheart? How would I go about volunteering to help out here at the hospital?

Bon-Bon: You’re back! How did it go?

Tootsie: It was fine. I’m just tired.
Lyra: In a mad bid for filly-of-the-year, Liza has decided to volunteer at the hospital.
Bon-Bon: Really? Are you sure about that, Liza?
Tootsie: Yeah. But I’m going to go to sleep. Good night.
Bon-Bon: Oh? But it’s still a little… early…

Lyra: She’s exhausted. Heck, I’m pretty tired. We must have crossed that hospital nine-times-over.
Bon-Bon: How’d she do?
Lyra: Well, she never passed out. [Pause] It’s a process. One trip was never going to cure anything.

Bon-Bon: What about you?
Lyra: What about me?
Bon-Bon: For somepony that jumped at the opportunity to help Liza, you sure have neglected to help yourself.

Lyra: Blood is unavoidable. The things I’ve seen no pony should ever experience again. So it doesn’t matter.
Bon-Bon: Is that what Doctor Reification said? [Pause] No comment then? [Pause] Well Lyra, you can ignore me until I walk away. But your own problems? They’ll outlast you.

Lyra: Hey, Liza.
Tootsie: Go away… [Sniff]
Lyra: I know you’re upset, but I need to talk to you about something. It’s not related to the whole sneaking-out thing.
Tootsie: What do you want?

Lyra: Bon-Bon told me about the blood dream. We spoke to Princess Luna about it.
Tootsie: Princess Luna? Great. Now you can’t even stay out of my mind.
Lyra: She said you’re subconsciously fixating on it when you sleep. Is that translating into daydreams?
Tootsie: What do you care?
Lyra: I’ve had similar problems in the past. I’ve seen faces twisted in agony, or heard tormented screams. It’s called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It’s pretty serious stuff. Do you ever feel afraid, but you’re not sure why? [Pause] How about guilty, but you did nothing wrong? [Pause] Was sneaking out at night affecting your sleep, or did you start sneaking out because you couldn’t sleep?

Tootsie: Sometimes, when I close my eyes, I can see it… dripping. I don’t know where it’s coming from… but it’s pooling. Sometimes there’s other pools. Sometimes it’s on shapes. Sometimes it’s on me… Why is this happening?
Lyra: PTSD comes from some kind of stimulant or event. Video games?
Tootsie: That doesn’t sound right…
Lyra: Movies? Books?
Tootsie: It can come from books?
Lyra: Anything that affects you deeply enough. It might not even start right away. It can fester inside you for a long time.

Tootsie: Is there a way to make it stop?
Lyra: Maybe. There’s this thing called Exposure Therapy. We could visit a hospital. Reinforce in your mind that blood is just a thing. [Pause] Unless you-
Tootsie: Anything to make it stop…
Lyra: Come on, then. The sooner we start the sooner it might end.

Bon-Bon: Are they drinking alcohol?
Lyra: Nah, it’s just soda.
Bon-Bon: Are they eating drugs?!
Lyra: Are they eating drugs… Is the line you just subjected me to.
Bon-Bon: Lyra!
Lyra: No, Bon-Bon. It’s just junk food. Like, not even the super-bad-for-you kind.
Bon-Bon: So?

Lyra: So they’re just… sitting outside. Liza is sneaking out at night to go hang with some older students. That’s it… I don’t know how to feel about this.
Bon-Bon: This is still really bad!
Lyra: I mean… it’s bad. But in my mind I was prepared for so much worse. They’re not even that much older than her. If she took a nap after school she wouldn’t even be losing any sleep.
Bon-Bon: That’s not any better! That’d ruin her sleep schedule!
Lyra: Yeah… I know…

Bon-Bon: You do understand we still have to punish her, right?
Lyra: Yeah… It’s just… If this was the worst thing I did when I was her age? I would have expected a marching band to come out and sing about what a well-behaved filly I was.
Bon-Bon: Marching bands don’t typically sing…
Lyra: See? You learned about marching bands while I was learning how to pick locks. And I’m the musical one! I know, I know. What she did was wrong. I just… wish it wasn’t…

??? 2: And my sister is tripping over farm equipment and the “snake’s” still attached to her hoof and the farmer is swinging the axe yellin’ “If you don’t stop I can’t get ‘em!“

[Laughter]

Tootsie: Hey everycreature!

??? 1: Liza!
??? 2: Liza.
??? 3: Hey, Doolittle. What? I’m only foolin’!
??? 1: You always foolin’!
??? 1 & 2: Hahaha!

Tootsie: You guys save me a drink?
??? 2: You got the chips?
Tootsie: Yee-ah!
??? 2: Yee-!

??? 3: Pass me some-ah dat dried carrot goodness!
??? 2: Blam!
??? 3: Ah! Mah brand! You really do care.

Tootsie: Neh. So what’d I miss?

??? 1: Misty Rose was just starting to tell us about that one time with her sister and Golden Harvest’s farm.

??? 2: No I wasn’t…? Oh! Well, the first thing you need to know about my sister is that she is deathly afraid of… snakes. Like, end of the world, salvation lies across this bridge, but there’s a snake in the way? “Eh. I’m good.“

[Laughter]

??? 2: “It was- It was getting too hot here anyway. Just… bring on that heat-death of the universe!”

[Laughter]

Bon-Bon: I hate that we’re stalking her. Why didn’t I just ground her again?
Lyra: Because once we confront Liza, she’s gonna lie. The only way to know for certain what she’s been up to is if we see it ourselves.

Bon-Bon: What if she’s endangering herself? We’re already outside of town.
Lyra: Well, she’s nearing the fork. Either Liza’s sneaking into Twilight’s Castle to go to the human world, or possibly mack on Spike… which’d mean I’d have to kill him… Or else she’s sneaking into the Friendship School… for some reason.
Bon-Bon: PleaseBeTheFriendshipSchoolPleaseBeTheFriendshipSchool-
Lyra: There’s no way its the Friendship School.
Bon-Bon: Shut up! PleeeeeaseBeTheFriendshipSchool!

[Long Pause]

Lyra: What the hay.
Bon-Bon: Why is she sneaking into the Friendship School?!
Lyra: I thought that’s what you wanted!
Bon-Bon: Shut! Up! I’m putting a stop to this!
Lyra: Nooooononononononononono no no no no. No. No. We can’t give her any opportunity to act like this is a misunderstanding or the first time. We see this through. Then we ground the snot out of her.

Bon-Bon: My sister’s gonna kill me…

Lyra: Yeah probably. [Pause] What? Ow!

Bon-Bon: Thank you for seeing us, your highness. And on such short notice.

Princess Luna: Consider it no inconvenience. One of our duties is to hold court, there is just… rarely a need.

Lyra: I’m… sorry?

Princess Luna: Do not concern yourself. Tis but a consequence of our work ethic. And to be frank, we prefer it that way. But you are here regarding Liza Doolots, are you not?
Bon-Bon: Yes! Y-Your majesty

Princess Luna: Investigation of her dreams continue. Alas, the trail has grown quite cold. My perception begins and ends with her own. If she cannot create a clear vision, there is little I can resolve, save to dispel the sight.

Lyra: So she is seeing blood!

Princess Luna: That certainly appears to be the case. However, the context is absent. And to that end, her psychological reaction is… extreme.

Bon-Bon: Seeing blood isn’t supposed to be extreme?

Princess Luna: Throughout the night you will witness countless images devoid of context. While some invoke stronger reactions than others, tis not until you begin associating these that you truly dream. Liza often fixates on the color red. And that red often takes on a liquid form of varying consistency. Most would have only a mild reaction to such a vision, but Liza is quite disturbed by it. The cause of her fixation and why she is bothered are unclear. And yet, rarely do true dreams manifest from these visions. We do not presently consider them a cause for concern. Many ponies have strong fixations-
Lyra: Wait! It’s not affecting her sleeping? Then why isn’t she sleeping well?

Princess Luna: Oh… She’s sneaking out at night.
Bon-Bon: WHAT?!

Bon-Bon: Lyra… You really never said anything to Liza?

Lyra: What? No.

Bon-Bon: No backward comment. No sideways remarks.
Lyra: No!

Bon-Bon: Nothing that could be interpreted or lead somepony to start imagining-?
Lyra: No! I don’t want Liza to know she was adopted! I never wanted to know I was adopted!

[Pause]

Bon-Bon: I’m wondering if maybe she should know, before-
Lyra: Absolutely not. All it does is lead to a lifetime of insecurity. Trust me, I know. [Pause] Ribbon was right. Liza looks enough like her and Champagne that she should never question it. [Pause] She has said something to you, hasn’t she?

Bon-Bon: I was thinking back… and I remember a few months ago she mentioned something about a nightmare. Said there was a lot of red, and she thought it might be blood, but that she wasn’t sure. And… I’ve been noticing bags under her eyes on and off lately. I questioned it- she’s obviously not sleeping well, but she just shrugged it off. Maybe it’s reoccurring?

Lyra: Do we know anything about what happened to Liza’s real parents?

Bon-Bon: If Ribbon knows, she’s never brought it up.

Bon-Bon: You look upset.
Ribbon: [Sigh] Liza’s teacher assigned one of those “who do you most admire” essays…

Bon-Bon: I’m sure she didn’t mean anything by it.
Ribbon: It was a top five! How is your own mother not in the top five? My husband was there, of course.
Lyra: I wasn’t there, was I?
Ribbon: Praise Celestia, no!
Lyra: Oh good. I don’t have to be in this conversation then.

Ribbon: I don’t understand… Does she hate me?
Bon-Bon: Have you tried talking to her about this?
Ribbon: Oh sure. That’ll go over about as well as any other time I try talking to her about literally anything. To this day, she has still avoiding explaining that unsightly knot that wound up on her head a few years ago.

Lyra: It just sounds to me like teen rebellion. You’re the authority figure.
Ribbon: Well I certainly never signed up for this!

[Pause]

Bon-Bon: Technically… You literally did sign up for this.
Ribbon: Yes I-… You don’t suppose that…? Liza doesn’t know does she?

Bon-Bon: She’s never made any indication to me.
Lyra: Me neither. Though you have to figure she’s going to piece it together eventually.
Ribbon: There is literally no reason she should ever “piece it together”!
Lyra: Hey! I’ve said nothing to her! I still think it’s just teen rebellion!
Ribbon: Well I hope you’re right… The last thing I want is for her to start looking for answers she’s never going to accept.

Lyra: He… [Shutter] He was an undercover guard… When I turned him in, I blew his cover. There were tons of arrests, but he said he had almost traced the source… And I ruined everything…

Bon-Bon: Lyra… I…

Lyra: He was furious. Said he never loved me. That it was all part of the act. That he secretly hated me. I don’t know how much of it was true and how much was just anger, but it hurt… It… It never stopped hurting. [Pause] And I failed. I failed Princess Celestia again. Took another 6 months before they stopped the drug trade, and however many ponies died along the away. Because of me.

Bon-Bon: It… It wasn’t your…

Lyra: After that was when I got the job working on the castle grounds… Sometimes I wondered if it was just to keep me out of the way.
Bon-Bon: Princess Celestia wouldn’t… She couldn’t have blamed you.

Lyra: I spent all my bits getting drunk. I wanted to forget everything. Everything that happened; everything I was- If I could… If I could just be somepony else… It didn’t work…

Bon-Bon: That was when…

Lyra: I’m still alive, but I can’t speak to her. I don’t deserve to. Any social event she’s at I make it a point to avoid her. Whenever I’m involved I just make things worse for her…

Bon-Bon: And how do you think that makes her feel? Avoiding her, I mean.

Lyra: Relieved?
Bon-Bon: Relieved… Does that sound like Princess Celestia? Look, I can’t speak on behalf of the princess… but I’m gonna! Princess Celestia loves you! You may not have believed in yourself, but all those things you said to that imposter were true. I’m sorry about what happened, but I can’t believe you allowed this to stand between you two! You need to reunite. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but this… This can’t end like this. And I know she wouldn’t want it to…

Bon-Bon: Hey, Lyra.

[Pause]

Lyra: Hey, Bon-Bon.

Bon-Bon: We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.

[Pause]

Lyra: So… How was the play?

Bon-Bon: I didn’t go. I caught Raindrops after the show. She said Princess Celestia wasn’t even in it. She was behind-the-scenes working stage direction. Said it was good, though.

Lyra: I’m sorry…

Bon-Bon: Raindrops is the one you should be apologizing to. You never promised me you were going to be there. [Pause] I get it. It’s one of those “complicated things”. No use in even asking, so I won’t.

Lyra: I just… I don’t deserve to be around her…

Bon-Bon: Why? Princess Celestia raises the sun for everypony, not just you.

Lyra: It’s not the same.

Bon-Bon: Why? Without her none of us would be here. All of us owe our lives to her, not just you.

Lyra: It’s more personal than that.

Bon-Bon: Why? Because she gave you a place to stay? Your actions contributed to the eventual end of the gangs in Canterlot! You can’t seriously believe you owe anything! You spoke out and turned in your own coltfriend! [Long Pause] That was another lie… wasn’t it?

Lyra: I mean, you’re going, right?

Raindrops: Oh absolutely! I can’t wait to see Princess Celestia on stage. And… Um…

Lyra: You’re leanin’ in kinda close there-
Raindrops: I’ll actually be there on official Wonderbolt business, watching over the Princess. Shhh~…

Lyra: Oh, okay.

Raindrops: I bet you’re so excited! This must be a big deal for you!

Lyra: Eh heh heh… Ah W-why would…? [Pause] Why would it be a big deal to me specifically?

Raindrops: Oh… I don’t know… I always got the impression that Princess Celestia meant a lot to you. She helped you or something, right?

Lyra: Yeah… Kinda…

Raindrops: You’re going to be there though for the play, aren’t you?

Lyra: Eh-I… Y-eah! Of course!

Raindrops: Oh good! I’ll try to find you so we can sit together. It’ll be nice to talk to Bon-Bon some more, too. I don’t think we get to talk enough these days.

Lyra: Hey Bon-Bon.

[Pause]

Lyra: Hu… How’s it-?
Bon-Bon: You haven’t heard.

Lyra: Heard wha-?
Bon-Bon: Princess Celestia- No… Princess Twilight’s friendship school is putting on a play. It- Oh, in Ponyville. It’s going to be about how Princess Celestia first rose the sun. And THE REAL DANGED PRINCESS CELESTIA IS GOING TO PLAY HERSELF!

[Pause]

Bon-Bon: If you manage to pick your jaw up off the floor in the next hour, I could use some things from the market before it closes.

[Long Pause]