Summers with Lyra and Bon-Bon

‘Ok, how is everypony feeling? I got some of my stuff packed, and with a full stomach, I think we can continue our lovely story. Now, when we last left off, things weren't going well for lil’ old me, but things were about to take a dramatic left turn…’

The first month had finally passed. As I awoke in the guest room I was now sleeping in, I knew what I was gonna do. The same thing I’ve done for the past three weeks! Eat a lot and stay in my room till my wings heal! I got up, and opened the door. I walked down the stairs and into the kitchen, and there she sat. The nicest, most caring, nurturing, pony I have the privilege to know. Octavia, Vinyl Scratch’s friend, who was nice enough to let me stay here for the rest of the summer. Now Octavia was a light gray coat colored earth pony. She had a dark gray mane, and was quite calm for being a loud DJ’s friend. She was nice and timid, the kind of pony I liked.

Octavia, like Lyra, was also a musician. She plays Cello at fancy formal events, which really brings to mind ‘Why does she live in Ponyville’ but, hey, I didn’t judge her. She had a purple treble clef as a cutie mark. “Hey, Octavia.” I said as I slowly walked over to the cupboards. “Midnight, how long do you plan to keep this up?” she asked. “Keep what up? The constant depression? The endless heartache? The ‘staying here for free’ thing?” I asked. She sighed and said, “I know how hard heartbreak is, I’ve been there. But you have to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and move on.” She said. “I’ll try to keep that in mind.” I said as I opened the cupboard. Inside the cupboard, was completely empty. “Hey, where’s all the food?” I asked. Octavia sighed once more, “You ate it all, again. I guess you have to go buy some more.” Octavia said. “But I have no money. All of my bits are back at Lyra and Bon-Bon’s place.” I said. “Well, I guess you better go get it back.” Octavia said. I groaned. “Think of it as the first sign of you moving on.” She smiled at me. I groaned again and slammed my head off the table. “.....Ow.”

As I slowly walked in front of Lyra and Bon-Bon’s house, I realized something. I didn’t want to go in there. I knew the first thing I would do is see Lyra, bring up my emotions I still had for her, and then somehow make everything worse, if that was even possible. I sighed, took a deep breath, and slowly approached the door. I gave it a firm knock. Bon-Bon opened the door. “Oh, Bon-Bon. How’s it going?” I asked. I figured the first thing Lyra did after I left was tell Bon-Bon what stupid atrocity of a thought I have bestowed upon Lyra. “Oh, hi Midnight Blue! Wow, It’s been awhile since we saw you. How’s it going living with Pinkie for three weeks?” Bon-Bon asked. “What? Me living with Pinkie? I’m not living with Pinkie.” I said. “That’s not what Lyra said.” Bon-Bon admitted. That’s when it hit me. Lyra didn’t tell Bon-Bon what happened. Instead, she told her that I had moved out and lived with another pony. I guess Lyra didn’t want to make any of us fight. “Oh, yeah. Well, I wouldn’t call it living with Pinkie.” I said, trying to cover up the fact that I just broke the lie. “Then what do you call it?” she asked. I gave her a blank look. “Uhh, sharing a room together.” I said quickly. “Hey, Midnight, that’s called living together.” She said. “Yeah, well…Hey, can I come in?” I asked. “Sure.” Bon-Bon opened the door the whole way and moved aside so I could enter. I walked into the house, noticing that not a single thing changed since I had gone. “Lyra went out to the shops. She’ll be back any minute now. We can wait for her.” Bon-Bon suggested. “No! No, that’s fine. I wouldn’t want to bother her. I just wanted to grab my things and go.” I said. The three of us being together would just be plain awkward. “Oh, well, by all means. You’re always welcome here.” Bon-Bon let me go among my own business. I walked up the steps and into the guest room, where something surprised me. The room was clean. Not in any state that I left it. ‘They…they still took care of my stuff, they still took care of me, without me even being around.’ I thought. Bon-Bon walked up beside me. "Lyra kept it clean, in case if you ever wanted to come back. She really likes you.” She said. ‘Yeah, but not the same way I like her.’ I thought. I looked around the room, then I suddenly remembered the reason why I was here. I grabbed all of my things, and we both walked downstairs. “Thank you, Bon-Bon, but I’m afraid I must leave rather urgently.” I said as I walked in front of her. “Are you sure you don’t want to wait for Lyra to get home?” Bon-Bon asked. I stopped in front of the door. “Yes, I’m quite sure. In fact, she really doesn’t even need to know I was here.” I said. I opened the door, and on the other side was Lyra, standing with her house key being held in the air with her magic.

“Oh, hi Midnight Blue.” She said in a monotone voice. “Hey, Lyra.” I returned the greeting. “Oh, good, Lyra, you’re home. I’ll go make us some tea.” Bon-Bon walked in the kitchen. “So, uhh, how’s it been, Lyra?” I asked. Lyra looked at me. “Sit down, Midnight. I want to talk to you.” She said. I scurried over to the couch, and sat upon it. I lowered my head, like a puppy who knows he did something wrong. Lyra sat in the chair, the same chair I used to sit in. “What are you doing here, Midnight?” Lyra asked. “I just came to pick up my stuff, then I was gonna go.” I said, making sure not to make eye contact. “I see.” Lyra just stared at me. I looked at her. “Lyra, please, I miss the fun days we had. I miss the conversations that we talked about…I miss having you and Bon-Bon as my friends.” I said. I…I just admitted it. Something even worse than telling Lyra that I loved her. I just admitted I had friends. Two friends that I cherished for their company, no matter if I showed it or not. “Look, Midnight. I don’t want it to be weird between us, I just wanted to be friends. I just wanted to get to know you. Look, I realized being rejected took its toll on you, but I still want us to be friends.” Lyra said. “Then why did you kick me out for three weeks?” I asked her. “Because I knew you would heal your broken heart on your own, and it would never heal If we kept seeing each other every day. I also needed some time alone. You being here reminded me of…him…and I started to have feelings for you too, but I knew it would be wrong if we advanced on those feelings, and it would be wrong for Bon-Bon. She doesn’t deserve that kind of drama in her life.” Lyra said. I looked at the floor while Lyra continued to look at me. She chuckled. “I see you returned your mane to its original look.” She said. I chuckled, and then we both laughed, but it shortly died. I looked up at her. “So, what do we do know?” I asked. “Well, do you still have feelings for me?” she asked. I looked at her. “Lyra, you are my friend. My only friend. I would do anything to make you happy. And that’s all you are to me now. Just a friend.” It was obvious that I just lied, but I wanted Lyra to think I was sincere enough to lie about it. I walked over to her and hugged her. “Then I guess you go tell Octavia that you’re moving back in with us.” Lyra said. I looked at her and smiled. “Thank you, Lyra.” I said as I hugged her again. ‘Is this the felling of having friends? This happiness that I have never felt ever before?’ I thought. Bon-Bon walked into the living room. “What did I miss?” She asked.

I walked back into Octavia’s home. She was still sitting at the kitchen table, still reading the newspaper. “Welp, Octavia, I have to admit. It’s been fun staying here, but I’m afraid I must go.” I said happily. “Why, did you develop feelings for me too?” She asked sarcastically. “Very funny. No, Lyra agreed to let me stay there again.” I said with a smile on my face. “Well, good for you. Glad to see that you matured enough to fix your problems.” Octavia said. “Thanks. And here.” I put a tiny bag on the table. “What’s this?” she asked. “It’s rent money. I know I ate all of your food from the past weeks and I slept in your bed, and I know I kept you awake with all of my late night sobbing, so I figured I’d give you a little something.” I explained. She opened the bag and emptied it upon the table. She counted the bits, then was surprised. “Midnight, this is three hundred bits!” She exclaimed. “Yeah, and I almost got you more, but then I thought, ‘Now what would she do with that much money?’” I smiled at her. She got up and hugged me. “Thank you, Midnight.” She backed away. I was on my way out when Octavia stopped me. “Midnight, wait.” She said. I turned around and looked at her. She was standing over at the cupboards. “You opened the wrong cupboard again.” She opened the other cupboard door to reveal a cupboard full of food. I looked at her, and then we both laughed.

I breathed a sigh of relief as I opened my old room in Lyra and Bon-Bon’s house. “It feels good to be back.” I said. I walked over to my bed and took the guitar that was strapped on my back, off and laid it upon the bed. Lyra entered the doorframe. “Midnight, can we talk?” she asked. “Sure, Lyra.” I answered. She shut the door. “I just wanted to apologize for what happened to you…you know, three weeks ago.” She said. “Lyra,” I looked at her, “It was my fault. I never should have put you in that kind of predicament.” I said. I turned around and looked out my window. “I knew you were with Bon-Bon, and you two were happy together. Then I showed up and almost ruined everything. I should be the one apologizing.” I said. She walked up beside me. “I guess we’re both to blame.” She said. We both looked out the window together. We watched all the happy couples walking outside of the house, smiling and laughing. “Hey, Lyra. What was his name?” I asked. “Who?” she asked me. “you know, him. You’re old stallionfriend.” I answered. She looked at me. “I can’t tell you that.” She began to walk towards the door, then stopped, “It’s too painful to mention.” She said. I could see her eyes starting to water. She opened the door and began to walk out, but I stopped her. “Hey, Lyra.” She stopped and glanced over at me. “Bon-Bon doesn’t have to know about what happened, does she?” I asked. Lyra chuckled. “Let’s just call it a secret between good friends.” She left the room and closed the door with her magic.

The day shortly died down, I mostly stayed outside for the rest of the day to avoid anymore of Lyra’s ‘talks’. While I laid in my bed, I thought about what I would do after my wings healed. Yeah, I would go back to Cloudsdale, but I thought, what if I come back? Sure, Ponyville wasn’t my favorite town, but Lyra and Bon-Bon were here and that was enough for me to return, and really, what would stop me from coming back? As my eyelids began to grow heavy and my eyes started to burn, I rolled over, and said one thing, “I’ve been home this whole time.” Today was great! I finally found a place I fit in, and I had two great friends. The next day, however, was completely horrible. I didn’t expect what was gonna happen next, but I don’t think anyone could.

As I awoke, I peeked outside my window. There was really nopony in sight, which was weird because I can see the shopping district from it. I walked downstairs, but my two friends were gone. “Where is everypony?” I asked myself aloud. I began to approach the door, when my two friends jolted down the stairs and bowled me over. We all hit the ground with a thud. Bon-Bon was the first to notice me. “Sorry, Midnight.” She said as she helped me up. “It’s fine. What’s going on? Everypony seemed to have disappeared.” I mentioned. “Some pegasus is coming down from Cloudsdale to recruit new pegasi for the factory.” She explained. “The…factory. Did they say who it was?” I asked. They both shook their heads. “Well, why do you two care? You’re not pegasi.” I pointed out. “We want to say goodbye to any of our friends that get picked.” Lyra said. I sighed. “Ok, I guess I can say hi to one of my co-workers.” I said as I walked out, with Lyra and Bon-Bon shortly following.

Everypony was gathered outside town hall. Mayor Mare was standing on top of the stage. Lyra, Bon-Bon, and I shortly entered the crowd. “Fillies and Gentlecolts, we are gathered here today to say goodbye to some of our pegasi citizens and congratulate them on their accomplishment of joining the elite of the elite at the Cloudsdale Weather Factory!” she announced. Everypony cheered. All of the young, brave pegasi lined up upon the stage. “Now, let me introduce the representative for the Cloudsdale Weather Factory…” Mayor Mare paused. The curtain opened and standing in the center of the stage, was a dark blue pegasus. A little darker than me. He was tall. His wings had special machines attached to the bases of them, allowing him to fly faster than most pegasi could ever imagine. He wore big sunglasses, which were completely black and was unable to see through them. His mane had a blown back look, like he just flew Mach 3, and had the colors of black and blue. I gasped at this sight. “No, not him! Anypony but him!” I shouted. “…Mr.” The pegasus held his hoof up to Mayor Mare, stopping her before she could say his name. “I’m looking for a pegasus, and his name…is Midnight Blue.” He said.

Everypony looked around for me. “Guys, can we go? Like, Now!” I whispered to them. “Midnight, who is this pony?” Lyra asked. “Yeah, and why does he want you?” Bon-Bon added on. “I’ll answer questions later, but can we please just go before he spots me.” I answered. “Hey, here he is!” Pinkie yelled right next to me. She held her hoof up in the air, and waved it at the pegasus on stage. “Pinkie, no!” I grabbed onto her hoof and drug it down, but by then, the crowd split apart and there was just a clear line of sight from the pegasus and me. “Ahh, Midnight Blue. There you are.” The pegasus said. “Well, look who it is. Dark Eclipse, or should I just call you father.” I said. Everypony gasped. Lyra ran up beside me. “That’s your father!” She yelled. I started walking towards the stage. “Yep, Dark Eclipse, the fastest flyer in Cloudsdale and the CEO of the weather factory, is also my dad.” I said angrily. “You were close to beating my record, Midnight, but you just didn’t have it in you.” He said. “Let’s cut to the chase, father. Why are you here?” I asked. “Well, I’m here to take you back to the factory, son.” My father said. “Why, just so you and mom can just send me on more tedious tasks, or maybe you want me to clean the rainbow filters again.” I said as I walked onto the stage. “Now son, we need you. Nopony can clean the factory as well as you can.” He said. “No. I like it here. I have friends here, and I’m not leaving.” I ordered. “You, having friends. Midnight, we both know how ridiculous that sounds. You never had friends your entire life.” He said. Lyra and Bon-Bon ran up to me. “It’s true, Mr. Midnight Blue’s dad.” Bon-Bon said. “Yeah. We like Midnight.” Lyra added. My father slowly approached the three of us. “Oh, and who are these two? Do you three do each other’s make up and have girly slumber parties together? How absurd. Now I’m not joking, Midnight. Let’s go.” My father said. “No!” I barked at him. He stood over me. “Midnight Blue, I am your father! Now, you listen here.” “NO! You listen to me! For my whole entire life, you and mom have bossed me around and treated me like I was your own little slave pony. Well, no more! I’m tired of being pushed around! I’m tired of waiting on you all day and night! I’m tired of being everypony’s lap dog! And I’m tired of you!” I yelled at him. He just stood there, awestruck. It felt good to get in my father’s face and tell him how miserable my life was because of him. He looked at me and then towered over me. “How dare you! Do you think it’s easy running a factory AND supporting a colt? It’s not! But of course you wouldn’t know that. You never even had a marefriend. You just sat in your room, and cried. All day and all night, like a wimp. I’m amazed you made it this far in life.” He said. I hit my boiling point then. I began to flap my wings. I got up in the air, but then my wings made cracking sounds, and I fell, except my hooves didn’t hit the stage. Instead, they hit furry flesh. I looked down to see that I was being held up by Lyra and Bon-Bon, and I was now taller than my father. “Yeah, and you chose work over your own son! Over your own flesh and blood! I’m not a bad son, you’re a bad father!” I yelled. “That’s it! I had enough of your intolerance!” he flew into the air, and flew into me, flinging me down off the stage and hitting the ground hard. As I laid there, in pain, I opened one eye to see my father was now walking towards me. As I closed my eye, I heard more hoofsteps and then a voice. “If you want him, you have to go through me!” Lyra yelled. I opened my eye to see Lyra standing in front of me; protecting me. Then, Bon-Bon walked up next to her. “And me.” She added. Then, Pinkie bounced up next to them. “And me!” she said. I lifted my head and opened my other eye. More of the ponies joined Lyra and Bon-Bon in their fight for my safety. I looked around the expanding group that was raising up against my father. In front of me stood Lyra, Bon-Bon, Pinkie Pie, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Derpy, Lily, Daisy, Rose, Octavia, Vinyl, Carrot Top, Berry Punch. Hay, even Fluttershy was in the group. I got to my hooves, and looked at my father. “You see, dad. I have friends, and many of them. And they all love me more then you or mom ever did.” I said. My father looked across the group of ponies that were between me and him. He shook his head and then took flight. “I can’t believe this. You’re no son of mine. Don’t expect a good location next year.” He flew up into the sky and away towards Cloudsdale. “I’ll be looking forward to it!” I shouted up at him. Everypony turned around and cheered for me. Lyra and Bon-Bon ran up to me and hugged me. “Thanks, you two.” I said.

As I sat in my room back at the house, I felt satisfied. I had completed one of my lifelong dreams. I stood up to my father, and won! I was proud as punch. I decided to have a celebration. I stood up and walked out my room. “Lyra? Bon-Bon? Are either of you here?” I asked. I had no response. I walked down into the living room, but it too was vacant. “Am I the only one here?” I wondered. Then, I heard hoof steps below me, but the beat was off. I didn’t know we had a basement. I looked around the floor, but all there was, was a kitchen and the living room. But then, I noticed something. There was a hidden door built below the staircase. The door wasn’t completely shut. I opened it, and put my head through the crack. The hoof steps got louder and I started hearing somepony panting. Instead of calling out Lyra or Bon-Bon’s name, I instinctively walked down the steps, but what I saw was something I never expected for. What I saw was Lyra, standing on her hind legs, and she was standing up. Straight up! She was holding onto the adjacent wall. “Lyra!” I said with astonishment. Lyra quickly turned and faced me. “Midnight!” She quickly pushed herself off the wall and put her front legs on the ground. We both just stared at each other.

“What were you doing?” I asked, still shocked at what I just saw. She ran up the stairs and shut the hidden door. She sighed, then looked down at me and sighed. “I guess I might as well tell you now.” Lyra said. She walked down the stairs and over to a nearby table. “Have you ever heard of the humans?” She asked me. “You mean those ancient mythological beings?” I asked. “They’re not a myth! They were real! They lived with our ancient ancestors, and they co-existed.” She said. “Lyra, that doesn’t make sense.” I said. “Look at this.” She grabbed a stone slab from the table and gave it to me. It had a giant oval shape with 5 small circles around the top. “I don’t get it. What is it?” I asked. “It’s a fossil of a human’s footprint.” She answered. “Ok, so you believe that these human creatures existed some time ago. That doesn’t explain what you were just doing.” I said. Lyra sighed. “Humans were said to have only walked on two feet instead of four. They had a different spinal structure then us ponies do.” She answered. I looked at her. “So, you try to walk…like a human.” I said. “Let me guess, this sounds weird, ridiculous, and arbitrary.” She looked at the floor. I saw that I wasn’t the only pony to have seen this, and she was judged about it. I looked at her. “I think that makes you special.” I said. She looked up at me. Anypony could tell that she was confused. “Wh…what?” She asked. “I think that makes you special.” I repeated. “So, you have a weird obsession with ancient mythological creatures. That’s fine. I’m hydrophobic. I’m petrified by huge bodies of water like oceans. It’s these little things that make us stand out among ponies. But, why keep this in secrecy? Why hide it?” I asked. “Because Bon-Bon doesn’t like it. She first thought that I was different, and she liked that. But now, she says this obsession is making me crazy.” She answered. I looked at her and put my hoof on her shoulder. “Then your secret’s safe with me.” I said. She smiled at me. “Thanks.” She replied.

As I awoke from slumber, I wore a smile on my face. It felt good to be back. I felt like I was one with myself again. I got up and walked downstairs. Bon-Bon was in the kitchen, looking through the cupboards. I decided to walk in and join her. “Hey, Bon-Bon.” She looked over her shoulder and at me, “Good morning, Midnight.” She closed the cupboards and sighed. “What’s the matter?” I asked her. “Well, it seems that Lyra forgot to get groceries this week, again. I tell you, she would forget her own mane if it wasn’t attached to her head.” Bon-Bon said as she sat down at the table. “Well, I can go get some. It would be the least I could do,” I felt up for the task. “Really? That would be great!” She ran over to the counter, grabbed a long list, and gave it to me. “This is everything you will need to get,” she ran her hoof down the list, showing me every item. I gulped at the tedious task bestowed upon me, but I grabbed the list, and walked out the door. Lyra poked her head out of the living room closet. “Did he buy it?” She asked. “Yep.” Bon-Bon said, feeling confident doing a good job.

I walked around and gathered the items that I could pick up from the market district of town. I felt uplifted, seeing how I knew some of the shop owners. The flower mares were some. I said hi to each of them. Rose blushed when I said hi to her. ‘I think she has a thing for me.’ I remember thinking. As I worked my way down the list, I saw a note beside the item ‘Apple Pie.’ It read ‘Go to Sweet Apple Acres.’ I knew my way around ponyville like the back of my hoof by now, but I didn’t know where Sweet Apple Acres was. I felt somepony lean up against me. I turned my head and found Pinkie Pie smiling at me. “Need my help?” she asked. “Wow, you’re good. How’d you know?” I asked, seeming confused as ever. “It’s just my thing. My Pinkie sense.” She walked in front of me. “Powerful stuff. I need help finding Sweet Apple Acres.” I looked at Pinkie. She sighed, picked me up, and turned me around. She then pointed her hoof towards a sign that was an arrow that said ‘This way to Sweet Apple Acres’. My face got red. “Thanks, Pinkie.” I slowly walked towards the dirt path the sign pointed to. “No problem.” Pinkie waved goodbye.

As I walked towards Sweet Apple Acres, I was trying to think who the pony in charge was. I suppose it was that one pony that I met at the party that…the one thing with Lyra happened three weeks ago; Apple, something or another. As I reached the top of the hill, it revealed the apple farm. The orchard was massive, the barn was big, and the apples looked luxurious. I began my trek down towards the farm, I noticed the familiar orange mare carrying a large basket of apples into the barn. In the orchard was a big red stallion, kicking trees and knocking the apples out of them. As I walked down to the barn, three small fillies ran past me. I remember that I saw them when I first walked out of the hospital. The first thing I noticed about them was that none of them had their cutie marks…just like me. I never found out my special talent, therefore I never earned my cutie mark. I don’t even think I have one, but now wasn’t the time to think of that. I was on a mission.

I walked down in front of the barn. “Howdy, Midnight Blue!” the orange mare walked up to me. “Oh, hey, Apple…” “Hey, Applejack!” one of the small fillies ran up to her. ‘Applejack! That’s her name!’ I remembered. “Howdy, Apple Bloom. You and your two friends going cutie mark crusadin’ again?” Applejack looked down at her little sister. “If that’s okay with you, big sis?” she asked. Applejack nodded and said “Go, you little fillies. Have fun.” She said. The three fillies smiled, giggled, and ran off. “So, Applejack, I need an Apple Pie.” I told her as I watched the little fillies. “Sure thing, Midnight, let me just go ‘n’ get one for ya,” Applejack walked into the house. She waved a hoof at me, signaling that I could go in. As I walked in, I noticed how it looked like an old 50’s styled house. On an old rocker chair was an old green pony. I continued to follow Applejack into the kitchen. “So how’s staying with Lyra ‘n’ Bon-Bon?” she asked me. “It’s great! They’ve actually sent me on a grocery mission.” I answered her. “I heard about the wedding. Ah’m sure ya must be happy for both of them.” Applejack reached into the oven and pulled out a pie. “Well, after I got over what happened at the party about a month ago, yeah, I am happy for them.” I answered. She put the pie down on the table in front of both of us. “But are you happy for them, or are you pretending to be happy for her. You still have feelings for her, don’t ya?” she looked at me. I avoided the question. I put the bits for the pie down and picked up the pie. “Well, thanks for the pie, Applejack.” I walked out of the house and walked out of the farm.

As I walked back into town, I spotted Applejack’s little sister, Apple Bloom. She was with the other two fillies she was with back at the farm. They were having fun, but then they spotted me. They smiled and ran up to me. I didn’t know what they wanted to do with me. I didn’t know them, and I don’t think that they hardly knew me. They ran up to me and Apple Bloom said “Hey, Midnight.” As I stood there looking down at Apple Bloom, and her two filly friends, I had no idea what to say. “uhh, hey Apple Bloom.” I could feel the tenseness. It was surely awkward. “So, Midnight Blue, my sister says that you don’t have your cutie mark.” She said as she tried to look at where my cutie mark should be. I sighed. “Yes, I don’t have my cutie mark, but I don’t find it important. No, I never found my special talent, and I don’t know if I ever will, but it’s not important. I have an okay life without it. I have a job, I have money, and now I have friends. I didn’t need any cutie mark to show that I can have a successful life.” I said proudly. The orange filly standing behind Apple Bloom moaned and said “I told you he wouldn’t help us get our cutie marks. Come on, crusaders, let’s go.” The three fillies walked away and my ears drooped. ‘Well, that sucked. I thought I was being quite inspirational.’ I thought, but then, I realized the three fillies were stopped by two other fillies. A pink one wearing a tiara, and a gray filly wearing glasses and a pearl necklace. They began laughing and taunting the three fillies who did not have their cutie marks. I heard the two fillies yell “blank flank!” and other taunts like that. It reminded me back when I was a small colt, still in flight school, and the same taunts were used against me. The three fillies sat there, lying down on the ground, sad and probably on the verge of crying. I couldn’t stand for it. That whole speech that I just said, that was only because that’s what I told myself after getting laughed at, but no more!

“Hey!” I shouted. All five fillies turned and looked at me. I walked up to the two fillies. “What’s wrong with you? You think making fun of fillies that don’t have their cutie marks makes you cool? I’m surprised you two even have friends! I bet your classmates despise you!” I shouted. They looked back at me, and then at the blank area where my cutie mark should be. They both laughed. “Oh, look, Silver Spoon, the blank flanks found an adult blank flank. Let me guess, you still live with your parents?” the pink one said and both of them laughed. I looked at their cutie marks, a tiara and a spoon. “Oh, let me guess, you hardly see your dad.” I said as I smiled at the pink pony in front of me. She stammered to say something and began to stutter. “Wh..what?” she struggled to ask. “Well, it’s obvious that your parents never pay any attention to you. Your parents are obsessed with money. They’re too busy with their jobs to even stop and notice you, but you think you’re miss princess, and that’s what your cutie mark tells you. That all you’ll be is a little princess in your mind, but you’re not. You have to make other foals fell horrible just to feel the tiniest bit good, but at the end of the day, and you’re lying in bed, crying because your life is horrible, you’ll think ‘is it worth it?’ and the answer is no, so stop it. You’re a horrible pony for doing it.” I stood above them. I looked back at the small fillies I was defending, who were looking up at me and smiling. I looked back and saw the gray filly now standing up to me. “How dare you! Do you feel big for picking on a small filly?” this Silver Spoon defended her friend. “I could ask you the same thing! What I’m doing to you two is a small fraction of what pain you two brought to these three fillies. And let me guess, your parents gave you everything. ‘Born with a silver spoon in your mouth’, huh. It’s a shame that your cutie mark tells you that all you are is a spoiled brat.” I said. She looked down at the ground. “Let’s go, Silver Spoon.” The pink one said and both of the fillies ran away. The three fillies ran up to me and bounced around me, thanking me.

As I returned home and held the groceries, I opened the door to Lyra sitting on the couch sipping a hay smoothie. “Hey, I thought we were out of food?!?” I acclaimed. “Oh, yeah. That was a lie so you could go see Applejack. Sorry.” She apologized. I dropped the bags and sat on the chair. I crossed my arms and looked at Lyra with a hatred look on my face. Lyra looked at me and said “don’t look so angry. We thought you should meet some of Ponyville’s country folk.” I let out a sigh and said, “Whatever.” I looked at Lyra. She sat in this weird position. Her back was straight against the back of the couch. “How can you sit like that?” I asked. “Huh?” Lyra looked at me in confusion, then she realized what I meant. “Oh, come over here. I’ll show you.” She said. I got to my hooves, and walked over to the couch. Lyra got up and put her hooves on my stomach. I could feel my face got hot. “Now, try to stay firm and still.” She lifted me up and put me on the couch. My back made a loud crack, but then it felt comfortable as I sat like how Lyra did. “how do you feel?” she asked me. “Surprisingly good.” I said. “I told you!” she yelled as she sat back down on the couch. She sat with a pomf. I wriggled around, trying to maintain my balance in this new sitting gesture. “Stop fidgeting.” Lyra laid down and put her head on top of my legs, and was now looking straight up at me. Lyra laughed and said “You’re blushing.” I quickly turned my head away from her and let out “No I’m not!” Lyra hit her hoof on my shoulder and said “Don’t lie to me, I can see it on your face.” I snorted, turned to face her, and gave her a light shove, “Whatever.” We both sat there and laughed. Lyra snuggled up to my stomach and said “You’re warm.” I looked at her. “Stop it, I know what you’re trying to do.” Lyra then let her front left hoof fall off the couch, and then started running it up my leg slowly. While she continued to do this, she licked her lips and fluttered her eyelashes up at me. My face got warm again and I blushed once more. “Gotcha!” she yelled. I pushed Lyra off of the couch; she landed on the floor with a thud. She got up, and drove her hoof into my shoulder. “Ow!” I yelled as I began to rub my shoulder. “Then you shouldn’t have done that.” We both gave each other angry looks, but then we both laughed once more. Lyra hopped back onto the couch, and sat down. I looked at her, a million thoughts rushing through my head. “Hey, Lyra, what did you ever do as a filly?” I looked at her. She looked back up and asked “You mean about my foalhood?” she answered my question with another question. I nodded as a response. “Well, let’s see… I started out living in Canterlot. My parents were both unicorns, and unlike somepony, I did a lot with them. Then, that changed when school started. I wasn’t the best at school, in fact, I didn’t do very well. Every unicorn there could do magic so easily. Every unicorn, except me. The teachers thought I had some type of magical block, thought I could never use magic at all. A unicorn that couldn’t do magic! How absurd! I mean, sure, we all can’t do the spells Twilight Sparkle can do, but levitation is like, the first spell unicorns learn, and I couldn’t do it.”

“Now, when I was in around third grade, the class started having music class. The teacher never expected us to be any good; she just wanted us to try. I was one of the last unicorns to get an instrument, and all that was left was the lyre. At first, I didn’t know what to think. A string instrument that was so easy to hold, and was so light, but had 10 strings and seemed so difficult. I held it and felt a unbreakable bond with the instrument. As I walked back to my chair, I remember one of the other unicorns asking, ‘Teacher, what is Lyra holding?’ and the teacher responded ‘That there is the lyre, a golden string instrument that takes a lot of focus and discipline to use. Unicorns have to focus on a single string and make it shake and vibrate. Lyra, why don’t you pick something a little easier.’ I slumped down in my chair and said ‘I’ll just play it with my hooves.’ The other unicorns laughed at me because I couldn’t use my magic to play, but when we started playing, it turned out that I was quite good at the lyre. I closed my eyes and focused all my energy into playing the lyre. Sweet melodic music came from the instrument, but when I opened my eyes, I saw that the whole class was looking right at me. Wondering what they were all looking at, I looked at my lyre to see that my hooves weren’t hitting the instrument, and in fact, was floating just out of my reach. I quickly let out a gasp, and the lyre began to fall, but instead of falling, it stopped and was covered by a mint green aura. I looked around to see who had stopped it, but I realized, the only pony’s horn that was glowing was my own. I was happy, ecstatic, elated, and the only thing that made me happier that realizing I could do magic, is that I got my cutie mark the very same day.” Lyra told as she laid her head back down onto my legs.

“And after that?” I wanted to get more out of Lyra.

“Then, I completed school, knowing how to play the lyre perfectly with ease, and I joined an orchestra. I traveled around with them, played a few galas at Canterlot, then I decided to get away from it all and decided to move here, in quiet ol’ Ponyville.” She said as she begun to close her eyes. “Then what?” I barged on. “Then…he happened. After that, I met Bon-Bon and a couple years later, we have a broken down pegasus living in our guest room.” Lyra said with a smirk on her face. I nodded and took in all I just heard, when the final part hit me and I looked down at Lyra, an angry glare pointing right at her, but I decided to let that one go. As I sat there in thought, I wanted to ask Lyra more questions. “Hey, Lyra?” I sat there, but didn’t get a response. I looked down to see that Lyra had fallen asleep with her head resting on my lap. “Well, looks like I’m not going anywhere.” I tilted my head back on the couch as I also drifted off to sleep.

I awoke with the sound of the door opening. I shifted my whole head over to see Bon-Bon walking in. She spotted Lyra sleeping and snuck inside the house. She quietly shut the door, and sat down on the big chair. “I see Lyra taught you how to sit ‘her way’”, Bon-Bon whispered. I chuckled. “Yeah. I found it odd to see how comfortable it is.” I looked down at my legs. Lyra was still sleeping peacefully on me. “So, I’m guessing today was exciting.” Bon-Bon said. “Oh, yeah. We were so exhausted, we had to rest.” I laughed and Bon-Bon chuckled. It went quiet, but then I looked up at Bon-Bon and asked, “How did you two meet?” Bon-Bon looked up and said “Well, if you really want to know”…

“Lyra played in the Royal Canterlot Orchestra in Canterlot, but then she wanted to get away from the fancy dresses and décor, and wanted to live here. She actually moved in a couple houses away from me at the time. She didn’t start with much; I remember that she only had one small box of stuff when she moved. At first, I didn’t really care for her. I remember seeing her in the market a few days later. She was confused and was looking for some carrots. Now, she could have asked anypony, but for some reason, she chose me.

"After showing her where to get them, she asked me to accompany her and help with her shopping. By the end of the day, I thought it was a safe bet to say we were friends, at the least, but she didn’t seem to leave her house much. Then, I didn’t see much of her for at least a month or so. I did see her once after that, and she was walking with some stallion. I assumed that they were going steady or something. Now, I didn’t think much about it. I wasn’t into Lyra at the time, in fact, I had somepony else. Then, after that, he…died, in a storm if I recall. It was a tragic day. Everypony in Ponyville liked him and enjoyed his company. After a few days, ponies starting getting apprehensive about Lyra. Nopony had seen her since the stallions death, and the only other pony that had seen her since her arrival was me. So the ponies came to me and asked me to check up on her, to make sure she was all right.”

“I slowly approached the door to Lyra’s house and knocked. ‘Go Away!’ she yelled from behind the door. You could tell she was crying. Her nose sounded stuffy, she gasped for breath, and you could hear weak moans coming from her. ‘Lyra, it’s Bon-Bon. You’re friend from the market, remember?’ I tried to get her to trust me, but it didn’t seem to work. ‘Look, Bon-Bon, I lost the only pony that ever liked me. I have no friends anymore’ she said. Sound familiar at all, Midnight?” Bon-Bon paused from her story. I just gave her a little smile, and she returned one back. She took a deep breath, and continued. “ ‘That’s not true, Lyra. The whole town is worried about you. I…I’m worried about you. Please, Lyra, let me in.’ I said. Sobs continued to come from inside the house, but then a small snort was heard, and the door opened. In the doorframe stood a bloodshot eyed, mane a mess, tears running down her cheek, broken Lyra. ‘Ok, Bon-Bon, come in.’ she said. I walked up to her and gave her a hug. ‘Thank you.’ I replied.”

“And after that, we realized that we were perfect for each other, and we started going out ever since.” Bon-Bon finished. I looked down at Lyra, her head still nuzzled into my warm lap. I chuckled. “There used to be an old song my dad listened to, it was more a less a little nursery rhyme. He actually named me after it. It went ‘I remember what my father said, he said ‘Son, life is simple’, it’s either cherry red or midnight blue’”. I don’t know what it meant, but he said the meaning was something like at the darkest of times, or midnight, we must see the joyfulness in life. Don’t see the midnight black, but instead, see it blue.” I told Bon-Bon. Bon-Bon looked at me, and asked “Do you live by those words?” I looked at her and sighed. “I remember my dad well enough to know he didn’t live by them. I tried to see happiness in life, but when you live a life like mine, it got hard.” I stared at the floor, and Bon-Bon did the same. Awkward silences filled the room. “…But, after meeting you two, and gaining friends so fast, I guess this is the joyful side of life. Having great ponies there to help you through life’s problems...There’s another part of that song that I also hold dear to my heart, ‘Things could be different, but that’d be a shame, ‘cause I’m the one who could feel the sun right in the pouring rain.’ And for once in my life, I do. I finally see life’s happiness.” I looked at the sleeping Lyra. ‘Even if that happiness doesn’t belong to me, I still enjoy it.’ “You love her, don’t you?” Bon-Bon asked. I quickly looked up at her, “What!?! No, I don’t! She’s just my friend!” Bon-Bon chuckled. “Relax, Midnight. It’s okay. Octavia told me that’s why you weren’t with us. I understand, and I wanted to thank you for what you’ve done.” She said. I instantly became confused. “Wait…huh?” I asked. “You put aside your own emotions and feelings, so Lyra and I can continue our relationship. Most stallions would try to take Lyra from me and have her for himself, but you’re different. You’re a true friend.” Bon-Bon said. I looked down at Lyra, then back up at Bon-Bon. Then, a yawn came from my lap. I looked down to see Lyra opening her eyes. “Oh, hey Bon-Bon. When did you get home?” she stretched. “Oh, just about ten minutes ago.” Bon-Bon gave me a wink. “Come on,” Bon-Bon got off the seat and helped Lyra, “Let’s get you to bed.” Both of them walked upstairs. I leaned back onto the back of the couch and let out a huge sigh. I let myself fall onto my side. ‘Why do I do this to myself?’

As I laid in my bed, I realized…I wasn’t tired at all. I sat up and looked out the window. The empty streets of Ponyville were so peaceful. I got out of my bed and grabbed my guitar. As I played a little bit of it, but not loud enough to wake Lyra or Bon-Bon, I thought about that song I started making. As I hit the first chord, then the second, the music just began to write itself. “Plucking strings and broken wings are the things that describe my Ponyville summer. When nice Nurse Mare from urgent care put my wings in slings…” I looked back at my broken wings. “Man, what a bummer.” I sang. My door opened and Lyra walked in while holding her lyre. She sat down next to me and began playing the same chords that I was. “But you wouldn’t care when you’re in the care of.” I paused. Lyra cleared her throat “When you’re in the care of Lyra and Bon-Bon.” she sang.

I awoke very early in the morning. I yawned and stretched to prepare myself for the day. I got up and looked in the mirror. With one run of my hoof, my mane fell into its shape. My eyes were bloodshot from having my little playing session with Lyra last night; It’s only been a few hours since that. I looked out in the hallway, and figured out that both of my two roommates were still asleep. I decided to let them stay that way and creep down the stairs, slowly opening and exiting the front door.

As I walked through town to say hello to some of my pony friends and get some fresh air with the smell of morning dew, I realized something was off. Instead of seeing bright and smiling faces of ponies when I walked by, I got angry stares and mean looks. ‘What’s everypony looking at? Do I have something in my coat?’ I quickly gave myself a quick look over, but I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. I went into a gallop and ran towards the center of town, but as I ran, I still only got mean and angry looks. ‘What did I do wrong?’ I thought. As I slowed down, the other ponies began to circle me. I looked to find a hole I could run through, but I was only seeing ponies getting closer and closer to me. “What’s going on! What is everypony doing?” I asked. The mayor of Ponyville walked in front of me. “Midnight Blue, we let you stay in this town and greet you with smiling faces, and this is how you repay us! By yelling at our fillies!” she proclaimed. “Wait, this is about those two from yesterday! They deserved it!” I yelled back. All the ponies gave out a huff of breath in disgust. “Those two fillies were innocent, they were doing nothing wrong, and you just yell at them!” the mayor yelled once more. I looked over to see Apple Bloom standing next to Applejack. “They weren’t innocent, they were…” “Apple Bloom, Shush up and let the big ponies talk!” Applejack cut off her little sister with an order. “But they were…” “Apple Bloom, head back to the farm with Big Macintosh!” Apple Bloom looked at me with quivery eyes. Then, the red stallion picked her up and walked her away from the group. “Is this him?” Another stallion asked behind me. I turned my head to see a grayish amber coat colored pony dressed in what seemed to be a tie and collar. By his leg sat the pink filly from yesterday, Diamond Tiara, except she was crying into her father’s leg. “Yes, that’s him! He said nasty things to me like how you never loved me and how I’m so alone in life!” She yelled. Everypony turned and gasped at me. Diamond Tiara then turned her head at me and gave me an evil smile. She then waved a hoof at me as if she was signaling a goodbye. “What!?” I yelled. I looked all around me, I saw Pinkie Pie standing at the front of the crowd. “Pinkie, please, believe me.” I hoped she would take my side. A single tear ran down her check. “I thought you were nice. I thought you were my friend.” She said. My jaw dropped and then I looked at the mayor. “Midnight Blue, I hereby banish you from Ponyville and into the Everfree Forest!” She ordered. As the group came closer to apprehend me, I quickly opened my wings and flew into the air. My wings ached in pain, and I began falling down to the ground once again. I hit the dirt just a little bit away from the circle. “Get him!” the mayor yelled from inside the crowd. I quickly got to my hooves and started making a dash for the one place that was still safe for me in Ponyville; Lyra and Bon-Bon’s house.

I kicked in the door and slammed it shut behind me. “Lyra! Bon-Bon! I need your help!” I yelled. Then, I noticed the door underneath the stairs was open. The same door that led to Lyra’s secret hideout. I looked down the stairs, and I heard yelling. I walked down the stairs and there was Lyra and Bon-Bon both yelling at each other. “You’ve been lying to me all this time! Lyra, you said you quit this stupid fascination!” Bon-Bon yelled. “It’s not stupid! Humans did exist!” Lyra yelled back. “I can’t take this.” Bon-Bon walked upstairs, passing me without a single glance. “Get back here!” Lyra quickly followed her. I walked upstairs and continued to witness this nightmare of a day unfold onto me. “Lyra, I can’t be with someone who will just constantly lie to me!” Bon-Bon yelled. “That’s fine by me! All you ever did was try to change me to who YOU wanted me to be!” Lyra returned the yelling. “Well then it’s settled, WE ARE THROUGH!” Bon-Bon yelled. She opened the door and stomped out. “Yeah, well good riddance!” Lyra walked upstairs. I sat there with an open mouth. “This can’t be happening!” I bit myself to try to wake myself from this terrible nightmare, but sadly all it did was bring me pain. I ran out the door and tried to follow Bon-Bon. “Bon-Bon, wait! We can settle this thing out!” I ran outside, forgetting why I ran to the house in the first place. I stood outside of the house, looking in every possible direction Bon-Bon could have went, but sadly, I didn’t see her. I sighed, laid down, and lowered my head. “There he is!” my ears perked up, suddenly remembering why I ran, but I didn’t move. I couldn’t. Not after what just happened. A group of unicorns surrounded me, the leader of them was Twilight Sparkle, horn glowing with spells at the ready. Spells that I didn’t know what could possibly do to me. “Get up.” She ordered.

The group had apparently walked me out of Ponyville and into a terrifying, petrifying, stupefying, most evil forest I have ever seen. “This is where I’m being banished to?!?” I commented. “Be glad. It could be worse.” Twilight said. “Yeah, how so?” I asked. “It’s still daytime.” She responsed. The group walked me into a clearing. “This should be far enough. We’ve been walking for about an hour or two by now. Hold him down.” Twilight ordered the rest of the unicorns. The other unicorns used their telekinesis to hold my hooves down to the ground, yet I found it redundant. I had no place to run off to now. Twilight approached me with her horn glowing. “This spell with erase the past few hours of your memory. You won’t remember the path that we took you. You won’t remember how to get back to Ponyville. Any last words?” She asked, sounding cliché. I sighed and looked at her, “I’m being banished to a creepy forest for no reason, My wings are broken, and worst of all, my two best friends just broke up with one another. How can things get possibly worse?” I asked. Twilight grew a smirk on her face. “Just wait, you’ll find out when they show up in just a little bit.” She leaned her head forward, putting the tip of her horn onto my forehead. At that instant, my memory blanked out, and I had passed out onto the grass.

End of summer 1 Part 2