The Star in My Eyeby Boondock PantherChaptersSix Slender PointsFriends, at MostShrapnel RepellantGame RageOh DearWhat You Wish ForSix Slender PointsChapter One Six Slender Points "Get over here!" Scorpion roared, harpooning the Joker and dragging him across the battlefield. I worked frantically, looking for the combo to get off of Scorpion's line, before the ninja sent me soaring through the air with a mighty kick. Scorpion raised his hands to the sky, and a column of fire erupted from under my priceless shoes. "FINISH HIM!" the game roared, prompting Scorpion to simply clone himself and beat me around the arena for a few more seconds before stopping, spearing the camera, and screaming "Come here!", drop-kicking the camera back to a distance. "God dammit," I muttered, Zane sitting on the other end of the couch smugly. "SCORPION WINS!" I tossed my controller over to him and stood. "Later broseph. I'm sapped." My brother's jaw dropped, and he got up as well. "But duuude, I'm not finished whupin' your haunky white clown-ass." I laughed. "You're whiter than I am." "Not in the game!" I shrugged, and started walking back to my room. "Play DCUniverseOnline or something. I'm done." He waved me off, moving to turn off the PlayStation 3. "Well, if you aren't gonna play then it won't be any fun. I might as well go to bed too." I shrugged again, and continued to bed. I picked up my several sketchpads, adding them to my unruly pile of papers next to my bed, and straightened out my fleece blanket. A few minutes later, Zane came into the room, shut off the light, and laid on his cot(he had decided that he was too good for a bulky mattress). Once the light was off, I realized that the window blinds were open. This picked at my OCD, but I was too lazy to get up and fix it. "Zane." "Mmm?" "Close the blinds." "No." "Yes." "No." "Now." "Nooo..." "Argh. Rainbow Dash. Close the blinds." "... No." I burst out laughing. I hadn't expected Zane to answer to that. I quieted myself, and ignored that mental itching to fix the abnormality in the room. Instead, I looked out the window and up at the moon, appreciating the fact that we didn't live in a city. Suddenly I frowned. I don't know why, but something also seemed off about the sky... it was when my gaze shifted back to the moon that I realized why. You know that star, always the first one out, always closest to the moon? The one you wish on? I noticed, that night, that that star had points. Six slender points, oddly familiar, though I was unable to place it. I shook off the deja vu and rolled over, only to look back out the window again a few minutes later. I mean... why not? So I looked into the star, the very center, narrowed my eyes, and I wished. Rolling back over I laughed to myself, although deep inside, I felt that pang of sadness when you realize... What am I saying? That'll never come true... ... Of course, Luna just loves to prove people wrong. I woke on my back. My failure to close the blinds the previous night left the sun to illuminate the room harshly, enough so that I didn't need to open my eyes to know how bright it actually was. I prepared myself for the light and let my pupils crack through. Big golden irises stared back, curious as Lyra Heartstrings froze where she stood just below my collarbone. I blinked, my eyes wide, and gasped. She rocked unsteadily on my chest, and I stopped breathing. "Sorry!" I breathed harshly, and she grimaced. She hesitated, then carefully stepped closer to my ear. "Your breath stinks." I started to speak again, but thought better of it and slowly turned away first. "Sorry again. If you can get off then I can fix that." She cocked a brow. "You mean I'm standing on you?" I glanced to her hooves, currently situated on the collar of my Godsmack t-shirt. "Uh, actually yeah." "Oh..." She leapt down next to my torso on my mattress and watched me curiously. I hesitated, figuring I would probably make her trip again on the soft surface. "You should probably lay down." She cocked her brow again, but complied after a moment. I stared for a moment, just watching her posture and the way she moved. It was when she shot me a questioning look that I slowly rose out of bed and stood up. "Holy--" Lyra stood again, eyes wide at my enormous size. "You're the size of a hill!" I absentmindedly checked my watch. 6:57. Glancing at Zane's cot, he was still wrapped in an unceremonious bundle of comforters. Wait... I looked closer, near his neck. Is that...? Indeed, Bon Bon sat curled comfortably next to his collarbone, asleep. I looked back at Lyra. "I'll be right back." I stepped over a pile of duffel bags into the bathroom, and brushed my teeth. Returning, Lyra looked a little nervous, shifting back and forth on her hooves. "What's wrong?" Her eyes widened, and her face reddened. "Is there like, a bathroom around here?" "Uh... yeah, but..." She's gonna fall in the toilet... "Do you mind going outside?" Her brow cocked, again. "Why would I have to go outside if there's a bathroom?" ...Shit. "I... well, the uh, toilet is kinda my size, so..." Her jaw dropped. "Is everything here your size?!" I laughed. "Yeah, actually. Here," I lowered my hand next to her. "curl up in my hand. I can get you outside." Of course, she hesitated. I mean, if you were a 50th the size of an unfamiliar creature that was offering to give you a ride, wouldn't you wonder? Anyway, she stepped gingerly into my palm and laid down, visibly tense. She was a surprisingly perfect fit, completely filling my cupped hand. I slowly stood, opened the bedroom door, and left the house. Doublewide. Whatever. I stepped into the yard and laid my hand on the ground. She stepped off, looked back at me, and trotted under a dry leaf, reemerging a moment later looking relieved. She remounted my palm and laid down, her attention on her surroundings. "It isn't very bright here," she muttered. "I know." Standing up, I heard what I'd been dreading since I saw Bon Bon. "OH MY GOD!" rang through the walls of my house, Zane obviously having awoken. "Hold tight," I said, quickly cupping my free hand over Lyra and dashing into the doublewide. Zane stood tensed and wide-eyed on one end of the bedroom facing the closet, Bon Bon nowhere to be seen. His bedhead and the fact that he isn't a morning person made him more intimidating than me, not to mention that he's 17 and has facial hair. Lyra pushed my hand up and looked out, spotting Bon Bon in a matter of seconds. "Bon Bon! You're here!" I only saw the pony when she stuck her head out from around the closet door, slightly ajar. Oh, she was scared. Lyra had been given a decent greeting, but I can see why Bon Bon would be so terrified right now. "It's cool! These guys're cool!" Lyra glanced at Zane, then gestured to me. "At least, this one is!" Bon Bon's eyes flicked from Lyra, to me, to Zane, and back. "You sure?" Lyra turned to face me. "Set me down." I raised my brows, but complied and lowered her gently to the hardwood floor. She closed most of the distance, slipped, caught herself, and kept going until she disappeared behind the closet door. "Brady... what the hell?" I turned to Zane, who was panicked, amazed and surprised all at the same time. Well, the last one's obvious, but still. I grinned. I couldn't help myself, but I felt really, really smug right then. "Zane..." I said, leaning against the doorway into the living room. "Have you ever wished upon a star?" Friends, at MostChapter Two Friends, at Most Lyra stepped out from behind the door, Bon Bon following close. The two of them trotted over to me, Lyra's eyes shining. "So, Anonymous, this is Bon Bon. Bon Bon, Anonymous. Anonymous, I'm Lyra, the awesomest high-school dropout you'll ever meet. And I don't know your name yet." I laughed. "I figured, since you kept calling me 'Anonymous'. I'm Brady, 13 years old, and the ape is Zane. He's 17." Lyra nodded. "Nice to meet you, Brady. And since we're throwing around ages, I'm 19 and Bon Bon is 20." Bon Bon looked at Zane, who had sat on his cot with his head in his hands. I decided that the situation was overstimulating his manliness, so I decided to utilize the weekend and ask the golden question. "Have you guys ever played on a PlayStation 3?" The Grand Theft Auto V screen came up, and, like I do every time I reach this stage in the game, I used the loading time to get a salsa bowl and tortilla chips, inviting Zane to join us at the couch. By the time I had gotten back to the living room with the refreshments, the screen was loaded and the two mares were working together to control my GTA Online character, who is a badass ghetto girl in simple duds with a Pegassi Bati 801 mach bike. They managed to leave my garage on the bike, run over a few pedestrians, and accidentally shoot somebody before they got a Wanted Level. Once the police got there, they panicked and took down an entire law enforcement squad with a pistol. By that time, they had earned 3 stars, and were saved from the police by another player sniping them. For their size and hooves, they were doing remarkably well, calling orders to the other and coordinating their moves to get the right angle to take cover and attack. And so we had a jolly good time, cracking jokes and eating chips. Well, me and Zane were eating chips. The mares had passed, and eventually I began to feel guilty. I knew they were probably hungry, so I got up, got another bowl, and took some fresh spinach leaves back to the couch. They were gone in a few minutes, but again, Lyra and Bon Bon said they were fine after those. Eventually they got bored of the PlayStation, so I helped Lyra search around my bed and, voila! Her lyre had fallen between the bed and the frame, and within the next few minutes she was playing on the coffee table, singing a soft tune and gracefully stroking the strings. By the end of the hour, Bon Bon was far more comfortable than she was before, and Zane wasn't quite as hesitant to talk to them. Suddenly my parents' bedroom door opened, and dad walked out with nothing but a pair of boxers on, squinting at the coffee table. Lyra quit playing and became stone still. Bon Bon's eyes widened, and from her lying position beside Zane, she too fell silent. After a moment, he walked to the bathroom, where you could hear a faint tinkling sound before he reemerged and walked back to his room. ...What? I looked around, Zane meeting my gaze with a dumbfounded look on his face. "Am I the only one who thinks something more should've happened there?" My only response? "I-- uh... well, that adrenaline was wasted..." A few minutes later, I stood corrected when the door opened again and dad came out of the room fully dressed. He sat down beside me on the couch, and looked at Lyra, then Bon Bon beside Zane. "So." he began. "Who's this?" Immediately Lyra put down her lyre and trotted over to dad's corner of the coffee table. "I'm Lyra, and that's Bon Bon. As for how we got here, I honestly don't know." Dad paused. "Did you use magic to read my mind, or...?" Lyra's turn to pause. "I've... had some experience confronting authority." "Well gee, that sounds inconspicuous," Bon Bon said sarcastically from the arm of the couch. "It seems you've fallen into a sarchasm, Bon Bon," Lyra spat back. Bon Bon rolled her eyes, and turned her attention back to dad. He looked between me, Zane, and the mares, and looked back to Zane. "Well, they look like your type." Everybody in the room froze, and he laughed. "Not like that, I mean friend-wise. I honestly don't see how you'd manage to go much further than that anyway." Bon Bon gasped, and Lyra's eyes widened. "He's like this when he first wakes up. You'll get used to it," I assured them. "I'm just gonna leave you four alone," dad said, standing up. "I'm going to Hardee's. Anybody want anything?" "Steak biscuit F.T.W.," I replied. He looked at me, shook his head and addressed Zane. "What about you?" "Sausage." "Ugh," Lyra muttered. "You guys eat like Gryphons." Dad paused at the front door, turning to face the guests. "Do you two want a salad or something?" Lyra perked up. "Do they have hayburgers there?" Again, dad paused. "They have salads. Or Brady could make you smoothies, if you'd rather go that way." With the hayburger plan being shot down, she vouched for the smoothie, so I walked into the kitchen as dad left, threw some fruits and vegetables together in our blender and set it to 'liquify'. After a moment I looked down to see Lyra trotting across the tile floor, curiously eying the blender as it tore the vegetables apart. I looked around for a dish small enough for her, but the closest thing I could come up with was a Deer Park bottle cap, which I quickly rinsed under the sink and set before the four-inch-tall Equine. She really is little, huh? She knelt down, sniffed the smoothie, and leaned back on her haunches before raising the bottle cap to her mouth and taking a drink. She spluttered, wiped her mouth, and cleared her throat. "Chunky." Damn. "I got it as fine as I could." She smiled. "Chunky, but good." She turned back towards the living room, missing my grin. "Bon Bon! You need to come try this stuff!" After a few seconds, Bon Bon trotted into the kitchen and accepted Lyra's offer for my shake, which I was complimented on for a second time. "I've been making these for a while. It's not really as hard as it used to be." Smacking her lips together, Bon Bon looked up at me. "Do you measure?" I scoffed. "Of course not. If I measured it wouldn't be coming from my judgement." "Oh yeah!" Lyra cheered. "Somepony understands!" "If you'd measure, you'd get the same flawless result every time!" Zane retorted from the living room. "Thank you!" Bon Bon called back. "Any time!" "Do you wet your toothbrush before or after you put the toothpaste on?" Lyra cut back in. "Before," I said, crossing my arms. "Duh." "Traitor!" Zane screamed from the couch. "Why would you wet your toothbrush before you apply the paste?" "Well maybe he just wants to soften the bristles first!" Lyra yelled, wide-eyed. "Who the fuck leaves the brush dry?!" I said, backing her up. "I the fuck do!" Bon Bon roared. "Well fuck you!" Lyra screamed. "Fuck you!" Bon Bon yelled back. "You would!" Lyra retorted. The two mares backpedaled away from each other, and an awkward silence fell on the house like a warhammer. "Whaaat..." "Shut the fuck up, Zane." Shrapnel RepellantChapter Three Shrapnel Repellant "You sure you wanna try this?" Lyra scoffed. "Is that doubt I hear?" I continued to hesitate, and she gave me an incredulous look. "Come on cowboy, I got this." I laughed. "'Cowboy'? Really?" I selected 'new game' on my tablet. The menu fell away to my Fruit Ninja background, and Lyra leapt onto the face of the device. A watermelon popped into the wcreen and collided with her hooves, falling away in two. The game went through it's cycle, and she slid the tips of her hooves across the screen, hitting most of the fruit. Suddenly a bomb flew in. "Holy--" She hopped over it and stepped out of the way as it sailed back out of sight. "I assume the bombs are bad." I laughed. "So you try to stay away from explosives. That's good." She swiped a mango, banana, and strawberry at the same time and leapt over another bomb. "I wouldn't go that far." A barrage of fruit and bombs assaulted the screen and she yelped in surprise, falling on her back and landing on top of a bomb. The screen exploded in a white haze and she stood back up, shakng herself off. "Damn." She looked up at me, stepping off of the tablet. "Anyway, I wouldn't go that far. When a molotov cocktail's involved... well, I like fire. Just leave it at that." I cocked my brow. "Okay, so you stay away from shrapnel. That's still good." She laughed and waved me off, my mind taking advantage of the moment for itself. I need to get to know her better if she's staying long-term, which I really hope she is. She seems to enjoy electronics, so... why not? "What in kinds of music do you like?" She gave me a blank look as she wat down. "I play a lyre..." I bit my lip and mentally hit myself. "... Right. But I have a few songs on my playlist that I think you'll enjoy." Lyra shrugged. "Sure. Whatcha got?" She watched me reach to the headboard of my mattress and pick up my headphones, which were hanging on aforesaid headboard. Connected to the other end of their cable was an outdated Walkman. I put the headphones down next to her, set the volume to a civilized level, and began digging through the collection of songs that I'd accumulated over the four years I'd owned the device. It had an exposed headphone jack, w fractured screen, and the printed icons on the buttons were completely worn away. "Is... it supposed to look like that?" Lyra asked, craning forward to see into the gap in the corner. I laughed. "This thing's been through a lot. I actually fell into a lake with it in my pocket, and the earbuds I had at the time wouldn't work anymore. This quit for awhile too, but after it dried it started working again. I love it." She paused. "Why would it stop working?" I realized she probably didn't know what electricity was, and more than likely assumed that all the power around here was magic. "Mm. What do you think powers this and the PlayStation?" My assumption was correct. "Magic. Duh." "Wrong." "... Huh?" She asked, cocking her head to the side. I smiled. "You have got a lot to learn." I shifted on the bed, setting my headphones to the side and picking my Walkman back up. "This isn't powered by magic. It's powered by electricity." She didn't move for a second, but perked up as I was about to continue. "You mean like lightning?" I snapped my fingers. "Yes. Exactly. A long time ago, humans, as in my species, learned to use lightning rods, as well as the electricity provided. Then we learned to generate it in large buildings called power plants. These buildings create electricity, which is then transported to a town via powerlines hanging in the air. These powerlines connect to houses through underground cables and feed electricity into outlets..." I pointed to an unused outlet next to my bed. "... like that one. Then we connect things like this..." I wiggled my MP3 in the air. "... to the outlet with a cable that will charge the battery. That way we can carry devices like this everywhere we go until it runs low on power, at which point we have to plut it in again." Once I'd got to "power plants", her head cocked again and it hadn't moved since, save blinking. After a moment she straightened back out thought for a second. "So electricity is like magic, except it has to be created?" "Prrretty much, yeah." She nodded, somewhat slowly. "Can humans handle it? Or does it have to be controlled with wires and stuff all the tme?" "Oh, it'll more than likely kill you if you touch a live wire." Her expression went blank, and I decided to change the subject. "Alright, so this song's called Islands, by a band called Hey Ocean..." Lyra sighed. She laid curled on my chest, with me just lying on my bed bored with nothing to do. We'd been through drawings, music, idle conversation, and everyhing else I could think of. Besides Bon Bon. Lyra didn't want to talk about Bon Bon. The earth pony was somewhere else in the house with Zane, possibly to avoid those of opposing opinions. Suddenly an idea for another conversation crashed through my mind. I say crashed, because this is often a touchy subject, and could very well be taken the wrong way. "Do you have a coltfriend?" She hesitated. "No." After a few more minutes of silence, she sighed again. "I used to have a marefriend though." She stood up, stretched, and laid back down facing me. "What about you?" I smiled at the thought of my girlfriend, probably swimming in her family's forest pond. "I've fallen for somebody, yeah." "Which way?" I frowned. "Huh?" "Are you straight?" I laughed. Of course. She's different. She paused, and looked at her hooves. "I used to be with Bon Bon, but as it turns out she's not as much of a fillyfooler as she thought." Well that explains the tension between the two of them. "That's rough, man." Lyra smiled. "Thanks Brade." She looked up at me thoughtfully. "You know, I've never really liked silent ponies, but you're a good listener. You can hold a conversation without talking too much. It's hard to explain, but you're cool." I grinned. "Thanks, Lyra. I'm glad we're bros." Then one of the coolest things happened. Lyre offered a hoof and I took it, lifting my little finger for her to bump. Game RageChapter Four Game Rage I brought my hands back down, and looked at my reflection in the bathroom mirror. My image seemed to ring a bell, and after a couple seconds I was able to place who I looked like. Ichabod Crane, from the Sleepy Hollow series. "Hm. Imagine that." I opened the bathroom door and flicked the light switch off as I stepped into my bedroom, Lyra lazily thrown across my pillow. She watched me from her upside-down perspective, and her brow cocked. "You wear your hair in a second tail? That's unusual for a guy." I shrugged. "Meh. I don't really care. Haven't really gotten around to cutting it, and it seems like a shame to just shave all this off. So I just put it up to get it out of my way." "It's called a pony tail here!" Zane called from the living room. His sentence brought another of her brows up, and she blinked. "And that's not creepy at all." I scratched my damp scalp. "Did dad leave for work when I was in the shower?" "Yeah." "Hm." Could check FiMFiction, I might... Oh my God, I need to write this stuff down. As if reading my mind, Lyra rolled over and used those big shining eyes to watch me thoughtfully. "So whatcha wanna do?" I shrugged again. "Dunno. It's Saturday, so time moves like a friggin slug." She chuckled and rolled onto her back again, staring at the ceiling as if it held the answers to all the mysteries of the universe. "That much, giant monkey boy, is true." "We could get in another argument with Zane and Bon Bon." She sighed. "I've been fighting with Bon Bon for the past couple weeks. Pissing her off is getting old." I laughed, and sank down on the bed next to her. "Do you like it here?" She shrugged and looked at me. "It's okay. Kinda boring, but okay." "How is it boring?" She laughed. "How else do you explain boring? There's not really anything to do, and I feel kinda lonely. I mean, no offense, but I wish Derpy were here so that we could do all the stupid stuff we usually do together. And then Whooves is kinda cool. Or Big Mac! He's like you, silent but still awesome." I nodded. "Makes sense." If I were transported to Equestria, wouldn't I get lonely? I blinked as the thought rolled around my head, snowballing an answer together. No. Hell, I'd probably be chasing somepony to be my marefriend after a couple days. Okay, too big of a snowball. "Brady, when can I go back home?" A wave of guilt just plowed into me, and I sighed. "I don't know, Lyra." Her features darkened as a faint sound reached my ears, somewhat familiar but far fairer in volume. Lyra looked down at her midriff. "I'm hungry." At my surprised expression, she grinned. "What? I'm a grazer, and Bon Bon ate most of the spinach earlier!" I shook my head as I heard dad come in through the front door, and I offered Lyra my palm. She refused, as I quickly came to realize that dad, more than likely, didn't have anything vegan in that Hardee's bag. So, I left the room and got a couple of spinach leaves on a Tupperware lid, nodding a greeting and a thanks to dad when I returned to my room with my biscuit. Lyra gasped as her eyes grazed over the spinach, and I set it down in front of her. After a few minutes of silent eating, I finished my biscuit and laid back on my pillow. Lyra watched me for a moment, that curious glint in her gaze. Finally she spoke up. "What does meat taste like?" I blinked, unequipped for the question. "Uh... meaty." She choked on a shred of spinach, and stared at me. "Well gee, that's helpful." "What? You can't explain it!" I exclaimed, my voice cracking. She laughed, obviously enjoying my embarrassment. "Why don't you come try to kill this guy?!" Zane intervened from the living room, shattering the humor. I sighed. "You want to?" Lyra shrugged, standing and stretching on the fabric of my sheets. "Sure." We came into the living room, Lyra curled in the palm of my hand, to find Bon Bon laid on the arm of the couch watching the enemy's killstreak rise higher and higher. I let Lyra onto the couch cushion and accepted the PlayStation controller from Zane. I checked the minimap and found a player a block or two away, facing my direction. I was about to dive into cover when a spray of red flew from my forehead, and Zane's character fell to the ground. N1GHTM4R3_M00N picked you off. Oh DearChapter Five Oh Dear A streetlamp flickered, hardly contrasting the ghetto environment with the half-dead bulb. The darkened sidewalk, cracked in a multitude of places, laid covered in garbage. The cityscape blocked all licks of a breeze, the humid stench of exhaust and dingy alleyways filling the air. The litter peppering the concrete moved for only the worn sneakers kicking it out of the way as they carried their owner across the walk. The figure continued down the street, his hands in the pockets of his hoodie and his head bowed beneath the fabric of his hood. He turned off the road to face a warehouse, and he ducked under a gap in one of the doors. Immediately he was swept off to the side as a click sounded and the barrel of a glock was pressed against his head. Despite the aggressive nature of the action, his adrenaline failed to reach his veins as he raised his hands. "It's just me." The thick arms lowered the weapon and released him, allowing him to step away from the nameless figure before shoving the gun in it's jeans' pocket. It lowered it's hood, exposing it's complete appearance. A tall African-American man hardly above drinking age stood next to the warehouse door in a black hoodie and baggy jeans. His strong-jawed face held concern, not an uncommon thing coming from Devonte. "What's the problem, holmes?" The shorter silhouette reached up and lowered his hood as well, exposing light skin, thick long black hair, and brown eyes. Vincent Houlse slid his hands back into his red hoodie. "I got something to show you." Vincent's hand cupped in his pockets, and he slowly drew out something that made Devonte's breath catch. Caught in an unruly wad of starry blue hair was a bundled up, tiny dark blue pony. She sat up, shook her mane back into place, and looked around. "So, Vincent," she piped up cheerfully. "Where are we?" Vinnie grinned. "Luna, I'd like you to meet Devonte." Her attention turned to Vincent's friend, and she smiled. My jaw dropped, and I handed the controller back to Zane. "I'll be right back." Leaving Lyra on the couch, I walked into my room and booted my tablet back up. With 'mlp appearances' in the search bar, the browser came up with a grand total of "about 383,000 results". I cycled through the links until something serious entered the screen, from Facebook. I clicked it and logged in, and somebody that I actually knew, a 14 year old nerdy-ish guy named Jordan from an acting class I took last year, had posted on the public feed: I don't know how to explain this. Anybody else have ponies spawning in their rooms? Under 'said post was an iPhone photo of a tiny Fluttershy hiding under what I assumed was Jordan's bedspread. My skeleton felt like it had solidified into a rigid frame, restricting my body from moving at all. I blinked, my dry eyes beginning to water, and looked down at the time it was posted. A few minutes ago. Finally, I rose out of my bed and walked back into the living room with my tablet in hand. "Lyra." She swiveled around, and Bon Bon and Zane's attention turned back to me as well. "You wish came true." She frowned and stood up. "What?" I swallowed, and let the grin that was balling up inside me since I read Jordan's post spread. "You said you were lonely. A friend of mine says Fluttershy's here, and if I'm not mistaken," I continued, gesturing to the PlayStation. "N1GHTMAR3_M00N is Luna." Her expression shifted from confusion, to surprise, to a wide smile. "Really? Where are they?" My grin dropped, and I looked away from her a second. "Well, I mean, Fluttershy's miles away, and I don't know about Luna." I said, regaining eye contact. Her brows rose, and she nodded her approval of the situation. "Sweetness. Is there a chance that we might be able to see them sometime?" I blinked. "Maybe Flutters, but like I said, I don't know where Luna is." "Cool." She turned back around, and a second later I notice she had a sly grin. "Man, I sure do wish I had my guitar." My brow cocked. "You have a guitar?" She looked at me again. "Yeah. Why, do I not look like a guitarist to you?" I blinked again. "I just thought you played the lyre alone." Her brow cocked. "Is it a crime to have multiple talents?" "Dunno. Is it?" "That's usually a sign of illness." "Indeed." "What are you talking about?" Zane cut in. "Cutie pox," I replied without thinking. Lyra's eyes widened. "How do you know about cutie pox?" Wrong turn. "Uuuh..." Avoid MLP, avoid MLP, avoid MLP... "We have it here." Zane facepalmed, and shut off the PlayStation. Lyra's expression remained somewhat stunned. "Really? I haven't seen a cutie mark on anybody here." "... It... appears on us in the form of... jewelry." I briefly disappeared in my room to back myself up, returning with a heavy copper ring I bought from a skating rink a year and a half ago. On it was depicted a manga-styled skull with headphones on and crossed drumsticks behind it. "This is mine." Lyra's eyes became impossibly large, and Bon Bon came up behind her to see what my cutie mark was. "Cooool." Oh, thank God I don't have any pony merch yet. "What's yours?" Lyra asked, turning to Zane. He gave them a blank expression, before making a first attempt at acting. "It's... embarrassing," he said, turning away. Bravo, Zane. Whew. What You Wish ForChapter Six What You Wish For Dude the exact same thing happened at my house Lyra and Bon Bons here. I sat back and waited for a response, double-checking Jordan's status. Jordan is online. Several more seconds passed, and Lyra ran into the room, coming up to my bed and giving me puppy-dog eyes. "Do you shed?" Her expression intensified, and I grinned as I lowered my palm for her to step on. Raising her up to my tablet, I checked the screen again. Jordan is typing... "Whacha doing?" I took a second, expectantly waiting for the message to appear. "Talking." After another couple of seconds, the 'Jordan is typing' notification vanished, yet a message still failed to appear. Come on you bastard, answer me... "Doesn't look like it. Seems to be a one-way to me." She suddenly snickered. "I can't believe I said that." "Yeah, neither can I," I grunted irritably. After another moment, a message came through, but not from Facebook. In my Android's notifications bar, the Skype emblem appeared. Of course, I clicked it. One missed call from: Jthe2nd. My eyes widened as my heart skipped a beat and I opened Skype, sending a video call to him. Finally, by the grace of God, he picked up. "Seriously? They're there?" he said as soon as the video appeared. His iPhone didn't have very good resolution, and his face was dim, but you could make out his short hair and big eyes behind his glasses. "Yeah man, they're here," I replied, tilting the camera to accommodate Lyra. "Oh my God, dude this is amazing! I woke up with Fluttershy on my windowsill!" "Is he stuck in there?" Lyra asked me, gesturing to the tablet. I laughed. "No, his phone has a camera on it that gives me his image." "You can talk?!" Jordan said a little too loud. My brows furrowed. "I thought you said you had Fluttershy?" He looked down a second before looking back at the camera. "Well, she hasn't said anything but 'eep'. She's terrified." "Ooh," Lyra said, wincing. "Where is she now?" I asked. "She's either really fond of dog hair, covers, or both, 'cause she's been hiding under my sheets for the past ten minutes." Alarm sprang up in me. "Is she still even there?" Jordan turned the camera around to show me his bed, a silky pink tail half-exposed from under the covers. The camera turned back around and refocused on him. He started to say something, but I cut him off. "Hold on a sec." I scrambled up, and picked up a sheet of paper and a pencil from my bookshelf. "What's your address, Jordan?" "Uh, 192 Warlock Ct." I wrote it down, looking back to the camera. "Is it safe for me and Dad to come over?" His brows raised. "Uh, hold on, lemme check." His eyes looked past the camera, probably to his bedroom door. "Mom! Is it okay for a friend from last year's acting class to come over?" A muffled response could be heard, Jordan visibly brightening. "Yeah dude, it's cool." "'Kay, let me ask Dad if he can drive me. Dad!" "What?!" "Can you drive me over to a friend's house today?!" "How far is it?!" "Uh, hold on!" I walked over to my bookshelf and retrieved my laptop, which I booted up to head to MapQuest. "12.3 miles!" "Alright, sure! When?!" "Now!" "Well get your shit together! Let's go!" "I'm coming, brah. Be there in a few minutes." "Alright. Bye." I looked down. Lyra was flicking her ears, trying to get them to respond. "Sorry. You ever been in a car before?" I asked, know what the answer would be. "The fuck's a car?" I'll admit, I thought the answer would be milder, but hey... You don't always get what you wish for.
Six Slender PointsChapter One Six Slender Points "Get over here!" Scorpion roared, harpooning the Joker and dragging him across the battlefield. I worked frantically, looking for the combo to get off of Scorpion's line, before the ninja sent me soaring through the air with a mighty kick. Scorpion raised his hands to the sky, and a column of fire erupted from under my priceless shoes. "FINISH HIM!" the game roared, prompting Scorpion to simply clone himself and beat me around the arena for a few more seconds before stopping, spearing the camera, and screaming "Come here!", drop-kicking the camera back to a distance. "God dammit," I muttered, Zane sitting on the other end of the couch smugly. "SCORPION WINS!" I tossed my controller over to him and stood. "Later broseph. I'm sapped." My brother's jaw dropped, and he got up as well. "But duuude, I'm not finished whupin' your haunky white clown-ass." I laughed. "You're whiter than I am." "Not in the game!" I shrugged, and started walking back to my room. "Play DCUniverseOnline or something. I'm done." He waved me off, moving to turn off the PlayStation 3. "Well, if you aren't gonna play then it won't be any fun. I might as well go to bed too." I shrugged again, and continued to bed. I picked up my several sketchpads, adding them to my unruly pile of papers next to my bed, and straightened out my fleece blanket. A few minutes later, Zane came into the room, shut off the light, and laid on his cot(he had decided that he was too good for a bulky mattress). Once the light was off, I realized that the window blinds were open. This picked at my OCD, but I was too lazy to get up and fix it. "Zane." "Mmm?" "Close the blinds." "No." "Yes." "No." "Now." "Nooo..." "Argh. Rainbow Dash. Close the blinds." "... No." I burst out laughing. I hadn't expected Zane to answer to that. I quieted myself, and ignored that mental itching to fix the abnormality in the room. Instead, I looked out the window and up at the moon, appreciating the fact that we didn't live in a city. Suddenly I frowned. I don't know why, but something also seemed off about the sky... it was when my gaze shifted back to the moon that I realized why. You know that star, always the first one out, always closest to the moon? The one you wish on? I noticed, that night, that that star had points. Six slender points, oddly familiar, though I was unable to place it. I shook off the deja vu and rolled over, only to look back out the window again a few minutes later. I mean... why not? So I looked into the star, the very center, narrowed my eyes, and I wished. Rolling back over I laughed to myself, although deep inside, I felt that pang of sadness when you realize... What am I saying? That'll never come true... ... Of course, Luna just loves to prove people wrong. I woke on my back. My failure to close the blinds the previous night left the sun to illuminate the room harshly, enough so that I didn't need to open my eyes to know how bright it actually was. I prepared myself for the light and let my pupils crack through. Big golden irises stared back, curious as Lyra Heartstrings froze where she stood just below my collarbone. I blinked, my eyes wide, and gasped. She rocked unsteadily on my chest, and I stopped breathing. "Sorry!" I breathed harshly, and she grimaced. She hesitated, then carefully stepped closer to my ear. "Your breath stinks." I started to speak again, but thought better of it and slowly turned away first. "Sorry again. If you can get off then I can fix that." She cocked a brow. "You mean I'm standing on you?" I glanced to her hooves, currently situated on the collar of my Godsmack t-shirt. "Uh, actually yeah." "Oh..." She leapt down next to my torso on my mattress and watched me curiously. I hesitated, figuring I would probably make her trip again on the soft surface. "You should probably lay down." She cocked her brow again, but complied after a moment. I stared for a moment, just watching her posture and the way she moved. It was when she shot me a questioning look that I slowly rose out of bed and stood up. "Holy--" Lyra stood again, eyes wide at my enormous size. "You're the size of a hill!" I absentmindedly checked my watch. 6:57. Glancing at Zane's cot, he was still wrapped in an unceremonious bundle of comforters. Wait... I looked closer, near his neck. Is that...? Indeed, Bon Bon sat curled comfortably next to his collarbone, asleep. I looked back at Lyra. "I'll be right back." I stepped over a pile of duffel bags into the bathroom, and brushed my teeth. Returning, Lyra looked a little nervous, shifting back and forth on her hooves. "What's wrong?" Her eyes widened, and her face reddened. "Is there like, a bathroom around here?" "Uh... yeah, but..." She's gonna fall in the toilet... "Do you mind going outside?" Her brow cocked, again. "Why would I have to go outside if there's a bathroom?" ...Shit. "I... well, the uh, toilet is kinda my size, so..." Her jaw dropped. "Is everything here your size?!" I laughed. "Yeah, actually. Here," I lowered my hand next to her. "curl up in my hand. I can get you outside." Of course, she hesitated. I mean, if you were a 50th the size of an unfamiliar creature that was offering to give you a ride, wouldn't you wonder? Anyway, she stepped gingerly into my palm and laid down, visibly tense. She was a surprisingly perfect fit, completely filling my cupped hand. I slowly stood, opened the bedroom door, and left the house. Doublewide. Whatever. I stepped into the yard and laid my hand on the ground. She stepped off, looked back at me, and trotted under a dry leaf, reemerging a moment later looking relieved. She remounted my palm and laid down, her attention on her surroundings. "It isn't very bright here," she muttered. "I know." Standing up, I heard what I'd been dreading since I saw Bon Bon. "OH MY GOD!" rang through the walls of my house, Zane obviously having awoken. "Hold tight," I said, quickly cupping my free hand over Lyra and dashing into the doublewide. Zane stood tensed and wide-eyed on one end of the bedroom facing the closet, Bon Bon nowhere to be seen. His bedhead and the fact that he isn't a morning person made him more intimidating than me, not to mention that he's 17 and has facial hair. Lyra pushed my hand up and looked out, spotting Bon Bon in a matter of seconds. "Bon Bon! You're here!" I only saw the pony when she stuck her head out from around the closet door, slightly ajar. Oh, she was scared. Lyra had been given a decent greeting, but I can see why Bon Bon would be so terrified right now. "It's cool! These guys're cool!" Lyra glanced at Zane, then gestured to me. "At least, this one is!" Bon Bon's eyes flicked from Lyra, to me, to Zane, and back. "You sure?" Lyra turned to face me. "Set me down." I raised my brows, but complied and lowered her gently to the hardwood floor. She closed most of the distance, slipped, caught herself, and kept going until she disappeared behind the closet door. "Brady... what the hell?" I turned to Zane, who was panicked, amazed and surprised all at the same time. Well, the last one's obvious, but still. I grinned. I couldn't help myself, but I felt really, really smug right then. "Zane..." I said, leaning against the doorway into the living room. "Have you ever wished upon a star?"
Friends, at MostChapter Two Friends, at Most Lyra stepped out from behind the door, Bon Bon following close. The two of them trotted over to me, Lyra's eyes shining. "So, Anonymous, this is Bon Bon. Bon Bon, Anonymous. Anonymous, I'm Lyra, the awesomest high-school dropout you'll ever meet. And I don't know your name yet." I laughed. "I figured, since you kept calling me 'Anonymous'. I'm Brady, 13 years old, and the ape is Zane. He's 17." Lyra nodded. "Nice to meet you, Brady. And since we're throwing around ages, I'm 19 and Bon Bon is 20." Bon Bon looked at Zane, who had sat on his cot with his head in his hands. I decided that the situation was overstimulating his manliness, so I decided to utilize the weekend and ask the golden question. "Have you guys ever played on a PlayStation 3?" The Grand Theft Auto V screen came up, and, like I do every time I reach this stage in the game, I used the loading time to get a salsa bowl and tortilla chips, inviting Zane to join us at the couch. By the time I had gotten back to the living room with the refreshments, the screen was loaded and the two mares were working together to control my GTA Online character, who is a badass ghetto girl in simple duds with a Pegassi Bati 801 mach bike. They managed to leave my garage on the bike, run over a few pedestrians, and accidentally shoot somebody before they got a Wanted Level. Once the police got there, they panicked and took down an entire law enforcement squad with a pistol. By that time, they had earned 3 stars, and were saved from the police by another player sniping them. For their size and hooves, they were doing remarkably well, calling orders to the other and coordinating their moves to get the right angle to take cover and attack. And so we had a jolly good time, cracking jokes and eating chips. Well, me and Zane were eating chips. The mares had passed, and eventually I began to feel guilty. I knew they were probably hungry, so I got up, got another bowl, and took some fresh spinach leaves back to the couch. They were gone in a few minutes, but again, Lyra and Bon Bon said they were fine after those. Eventually they got bored of the PlayStation, so I helped Lyra search around my bed and, voila! Her lyre had fallen between the bed and the frame, and within the next few minutes she was playing on the coffee table, singing a soft tune and gracefully stroking the strings. By the end of the hour, Bon Bon was far more comfortable than she was before, and Zane wasn't quite as hesitant to talk to them. Suddenly my parents' bedroom door opened, and dad walked out with nothing but a pair of boxers on, squinting at the coffee table. Lyra quit playing and became stone still. Bon Bon's eyes widened, and from her lying position beside Zane, she too fell silent. After a moment, he walked to the bathroom, where you could hear a faint tinkling sound before he reemerged and walked back to his room. ...What? I looked around, Zane meeting my gaze with a dumbfounded look on his face. "Am I the only one who thinks something more should've happened there?" My only response? "I-- uh... well, that adrenaline was wasted..." A few minutes later, I stood corrected when the door opened again and dad came out of the room fully dressed. He sat down beside me on the couch, and looked at Lyra, then Bon Bon beside Zane. "So." he began. "Who's this?" Immediately Lyra put down her lyre and trotted over to dad's corner of the coffee table. "I'm Lyra, and that's Bon Bon. As for how we got here, I honestly don't know." Dad paused. "Did you use magic to read my mind, or...?" Lyra's turn to pause. "I've... had some experience confronting authority." "Well gee, that sounds inconspicuous," Bon Bon said sarcastically from the arm of the couch. "It seems you've fallen into a sarchasm, Bon Bon," Lyra spat back. Bon Bon rolled her eyes, and turned her attention back to dad. He looked between me, Zane, and the mares, and looked back to Zane. "Well, they look like your type." Everybody in the room froze, and he laughed. "Not like that, I mean friend-wise. I honestly don't see how you'd manage to go much further than that anyway." Bon Bon gasped, and Lyra's eyes widened. "He's like this when he first wakes up. You'll get used to it," I assured them. "I'm just gonna leave you four alone," dad said, standing up. "I'm going to Hardee's. Anybody want anything?" "Steak biscuit F.T.W.," I replied. He looked at me, shook his head and addressed Zane. "What about you?" "Sausage." "Ugh," Lyra muttered. "You guys eat like Gryphons." Dad paused at the front door, turning to face the guests. "Do you two want a salad or something?" Lyra perked up. "Do they have hayburgers there?" Again, dad paused. "They have salads. Or Brady could make you smoothies, if you'd rather go that way." With the hayburger plan being shot down, she vouched for the smoothie, so I walked into the kitchen as dad left, threw some fruits and vegetables together in our blender and set it to 'liquify'. After a moment I looked down to see Lyra trotting across the tile floor, curiously eying the blender as it tore the vegetables apart. I looked around for a dish small enough for her, but the closest thing I could come up with was a Deer Park bottle cap, which I quickly rinsed under the sink and set before the four-inch-tall Equine. She really is little, huh? She knelt down, sniffed the smoothie, and leaned back on her haunches before raising the bottle cap to her mouth and taking a drink. She spluttered, wiped her mouth, and cleared her throat. "Chunky." Damn. "I got it as fine as I could." She smiled. "Chunky, but good." She turned back towards the living room, missing my grin. "Bon Bon! You need to come try this stuff!" After a few seconds, Bon Bon trotted into the kitchen and accepted Lyra's offer for my shake, which I was complimented on for a second time. "I've been making these for a while. It's not really as hard as it used to be." Smacking her lips together, Bon Bon looked up at me. "Do you measure?" I scoffed. "Of course not. If I measured it wouldn't be coming from my judgement." "Oh yeah!" Lyra cheered. "Somepony understands!" "If you'd measure, you'd get the same flawless result every time!" Zane retorted from the living room. "Thank you!" Bon Bon called back. "Any time!" "Do you wet your toothbrush before or after you put the toothpaste on?" Lyra cut back in. "Before," I said, crossing my arms. "Duh." "Traitor!" Zane screamed from the couch. "Why would you wet your toothbrush before you apply the paste?" "Well maybe he just wants to soften the bristles first!" Lyra yelled, wide-eyed. "Who the fuck leaves the brush dry?!" I said, backing her up. "I the fuck do!" Bon Bon roared. "Well fuck you!" Lyra screamed. "Fuck you!" Bon Bon yelled back. "You would!" Lyra retorted. The two mares backpedaled away from each other, and an awkward silence fell on the house like a warhammer. "Whaaat..." "Shut the fuck up, Zane."
Shrapnel RepellantChapter Three Shrapnel Repellant "You sure you wanna try this?" Lyra scoffed. "Is that doubt I hear?" I continued to hesitate, and she gave me an incredulous look. "Come on cowboy, I got this." I laughed. "'Cowboy'? Really?" I selected 'new game' on my tablet. The menu fell away to my Fruit Ninja background, and Lyra leapt onto the face of the device. A watermelon popped into the wcreen and collided with her hooves, falling away in two. The game went through it's cycle, and she slid the tips of her hooves across the screen, hitting most of the fruit. Suddenly a bomb flew in. "Holy--" She hopped over it and stepped out of the way as it sailed back out of sight. "I assume the bombs are bad." I laughed. "So you try to stay away from explosives. That's good." She swiped a mango, banana, and strawberry at the same time and leapt over another bomb. "I wouldn't go that far." A barrage of fruit and bombs assaulted the screen and she yelped in surprise, falling on her back and landing on top of a bomb. The screen exploded in a white haze and she stood back up, shakng herself off. "Damn." She looked up at me, stepping off of the tablet. "Anyway, I wouldn't go that far. When a molotov cocktail's involved... well, I like fire. Just leave it at that." I cocked my brow. "Okay, so you stay away from shrapnel. That's still good." She laughed and waved me off, my mind taking advantage of the moment for itself. I need to get to know her better if she's staying long-term, which I really hope she is. She seems to enjoy electronics, so... why not? "What in kinds of music do you like?" She gave me a blank look as she wat down. "I play a lyre..." I bit my lip and mentally hit myself. "... Right. But I have a few songs on my playlist that I think you'll enjoy." Lyra shrugged. "Sure. Whatcha got?" She watched me reach to the headboard of my mattress and pick up my headphones, which were hanging on aforesaid headboard. Connected to the other end of their cable was an outdated Walkman. I put the headphones down next to her, set the volume to a civilized level, and began digging through the collection of songs that I'd accumulated over the four years I'd owned the device. It had an exposed headphone jack, w fractured screen, and the printed icons on the buttons were completely worn away. "Is... it supposed to look like that?" Lyra asked, craning forward to see into the gap in the corner. I laughed. "This thing's been through a lot. I actually fell into a lake with it in my pocket, and the earbuds I had at the time wouldn't work anymore. This quit for awhile too, but after it dried it started working again. I love it." She paused. "Why would it stop working?" I realized she probably didn't know what electricity was, and more than likely assumed that all the power around here was magic. "Mm. What do you think powers this and the PlayStation?" My assumption was correct. "Magic. Duh." "Wrong." "... Huh?" She asked, cocking her head to the side. I smiled. "You have got a lot to learn." I shifted on the bed, setting my headphones to the side and picking my Walkman back up. "This isn't powered by magic. It's powered by electricity." She didn't move for a second, but perked up as I was about to continue. "You mean like lightning?" I snapped my fingers. "Yes. Exactly. A long time ago, humans, as in my species, learned to use lightning rods, as well as the electricity provided. Then we learned to generate it in large buildings called power plants. These buildings create electricity, which is then transported to a town via powerlines hanging in the air. These powerlines connect to houses through underground cables and feed electricity into outlets..." I pointed to an unused outlet next to my bed. "... like that one. Then we connect things like this..." I wiggled my MP3 in the air. "... to the outlet with a cable that will charge the battery. That way we can carry devices like this everywhere we go until it runs low on power, at which point we have to plut it in again." Once I'd got to "power plants", her head cocked again and it hadn't moved since, save blinking. After a moment she straightened back out thought for a second. "So electricity is like magic, except it has to be created?" "Prrretty much, yeah." She nodded, somewhat slowly. "Can humans handle it? Or does it have to be controlled with wires and stuff all the tme?" "Oh, it'll more than likely kill you if you touch a live wire." Her expression went blank, and I decided to change the subject. "Alright, so this song's called Islands, by a band called Hey Ocean..." Lyra sighed. She laid curled on my chest, with me just lying on my bed bored with nothing to do. We'd been through drawings, music, idle conversation, and everyhing else I could think of. Besides Bon Bon. Lyra didn't want to talk about Bon Bon. The earth pony was somewhere else in the house with Zane, possibly to avoid those of opposing opinions. Suddenly an idea for another conversation crashed through my mind. I say crashed, because this is often a touchy subject, and could very well be taken the wrong way. "Do you have a coltfriend?" She hesitated. "No." After a few more minutes of silence, she sighed again. "I used to have a marefriend though." She stood up, stretched, and laid back down facing me. "What about you?" I smiled at the thought of my girlfriend, probably swimming in her family's forest pond. "I've fallen for somebody, yeah." "Which way?" I frowned. "Huh?" "Are you straight?" I laughed. Of course. She's different. She paused, and looked at her hooves. "I used to be with Bon Bon, but as it turns out she's not as much of a fillyfooler as she thought." Well that explains the tension between the two of them. "That's rough, man." Lyra smiled. "Thanks Brade." She looked up at me thoughtfully. "You know, I've never really liked silent ponies, but you're a good listener. You can hold a conversation without talking too much. It's hard to explain, but you're cool." I grinned. "Thanks, Lyra. I'm glad we're bros." Then one of the coolest things happened. Lyre offered a hoof and I took it, lifting my little finger for her to bump.
Game RageChapter Four Game Rage I brought my hands back down, and looked at my reflection in the bathroom mirror. My image seemed to ring a bell, and after a couple seconds I was able to place who I looked like. Ichabod Crane, from the Sleepy Hollow series. "Hm. Imagine that." I opened the bathroom door and flicked the light switch off as I stepped into my bedroom, Lyra lazily thrown across my pillow. She watched me from her upside-down perspective, and her brow cocked. "You wear your hair in a second tail? That's unusual for a guy." I shrugged. "Meh. I don't really care. Haven't really gotten around to cutting it, and it seems like a shame to just shave all this off. So I just put it up to get it out of my way." "It's called a pony tail here!" Zane called from the living room. His sentence brought another of her brows up, and she blinked. "And that's not creepy at all." I scratched my damp scalp. "Did dad leave for work when I was in the shower?" "Yeah." "Hm." Could check FiMFiction, I might... Oh my God, I need to write this stuff down. As if reading my mind, Lyra rolled over and used those big shining eyes to watch me thoughtfully. "So whatcha wanna do?" I shrugged again. "Dunno. It's Saturday, so time moves like a friggin slug." She chuckled and rolled onto her back again, staring at the ceiling as if it held the answers to all the mysteries of the universe. "That much, giant monkey boy, is true." "We could get in another argument with Zane and Bon Bon." She sighed. "I've been fighting with Bon Bon for the past couple weeks. Pissing her off is getting old." I laughed, and sank down on the bed next to her. "Do you like it here?" She shrugged and looked at me. "It's okay. Kinda boring, but okay." "How is it boring?" She laughed. "How else do you explain boring? There's not really anything to do, and I feel kinda lonely. I mean, no offense, but I wish Derpy were here so that we could do all the stupid stuff we usually do together. And then Whooves is kinda cool. Or Big Mac! He's like you, silent but still awesome." I nodded. "Makes sense." If I were transported to Equestria, wouldn't I get lonely? I blinked as the thought rolled around my head, snowballing an answer together. No. Hell, I'd probably be chasing somepony to be my marefriend after a couple days. Okay, too big of a snowball. "Brady, when can I go back home?" A wave of guilt just plowed into me, and I sighed. "I don't know, Lyra." Her features darkened as a faint sound reached my ears, somewhat familiar but far fairer in volume. Lyra looked down at her midriff. "I'm hungry." At my surprised expression, she grinned. "What? I'm a grazer, and Bon Bon ate most of the spinach earlier!" I shook my head as I heard dad come in through the front door, and I offered Lyra my palm. She refused, as I quickly came to realize that dad, more than likely, didn't have anything vegan in that Hardee's bag. So, I left the room and got a couple of spinach leaves on a Tupperware lid, nodding a greeting and a thanks to dad when I returned to my room with my biscuit. Lyra gasped as her eyes grazed over the spinach, and I set it down in front of her. After a few minutes of silent eating, I finished my biscuit and laid back on my pillow. Lyra watched me for a moment, that curious glint in her gaze. Finally she spoke up. "What does meat taste like?" I blinked, unequipped for the question. "Uh... meaty." She choked on a shred of spinach, and stared at me. "Well gee, that's helpful." "What? You can't explain it!" I exclaimed, my voice cracking. She laughed, obviously enjoying my embarrassment. "Why don't you come try to kill this guy?!" Zane intervened from the living room, shattering the humor. I sighed. "You want to?" Lyra shrugged, standing and stretching on the fabric of my sheets. "Sure." We came into the living room, Lyra curled in the palm of my hand, to find Bon Bon laid on the arm of the couch watching the enemy's killstreak rise higher and higher. I let Lyra onto the couch cushion and accepted the PlayStation controller from Zane. I checked the minimap and found a player a block or two away, facing my direction. I was about to dive into cover when a spray of red flew from my forehead, and Zane's character fell to the ground. N1GHTM4R3_M00N picked you off.
Oh DearChapter Five Oh Dear A streetlamp flickered, hardly contrasting the ghetto environment with the half-dead bulb. The darkened sidewalk, cracked in a multitude of places, laid covered in garbage. The cityscape blocked all licks of a breeze, the humid stench of exhaust and dingy alleyways filling the air. The litter peppering the concrete moved for only the worn sneakers kicking it out of the way as they carried their owner across the walk. The figure continued down the street, his hands in the pockets of his hoodie and his head bowed beneath the fabric of his hood. He turned off the road to face a warehouse, and he ducked under a gap in one of the doors. Immediately he was swept off to the side as a click sounded and the barrel of a glock was pressed against his head. Despite the aggressive nature of the action, his adrenaline failed to reach his veins as he raised his hands. "It's just me." The thick arms lowered the weapon and released him, allowing him to step away from the nameless figure before shoving the gun in it's jeans' pocket. It lowered it's hood, exposing it's complete appearance. A tall African-American man hardly above drinking age stood next to the warehouse door in a black hoodie and baggy jeans. His strong-jawed face held concern, not an uncommon thing coming from Devonte. "What's the problem, holmes?" The shorter silhouette reached up and lowered his hood as well, exposing light skin, thick long black hair, and brown eyes. Vincent Houlse slid his hands back into his red hoodie. "I got something to show you." Vincent's hand cupped in his pockets, and he slowly drew out something that made Devonte's breath catch. Caught in an unruly wad of starry blue hair was a bundled up, tiny dark blue pony. She sat up, shook her mane back into place, and looked around. "So, Vincent," she piped up cheerfully. "Where are we?" Vinnie grinned. "Luna, I'd like you to meet Devonte." Her attention turned to Vincent's friend, and she smiled. My jaw dropped, and I handed the controller back to Zane. "I'll be right back." Leaving Lyra on the couch, I walked into my room and booted my tablet back up. With 'mlp appearances' in the search bar, the browser came up with a grand total of "about 383,000 results". I cycled through the links until something serious entered the screen, from Facebook. I clicked it and logged in, and somebody that I actually knew, a 14 year old nerdy-ish guy named Jordan from an acting class I took last year, had posted on the public feed: I don't know how to explain this. Anybody else have ponies spawning in their rooms? Under 'said post was an iPhone photo of a tiny Fluttershy hiding under what I assumed was Jordan's bedspread. My skeleton felt like it had solidified into a rigid frame, restricting my body from moving at all. I blinked, my dry eyes beginning to water, and looked down at the time it was posted. A few minutes ago. Finally, I rose out of my bed and walked back into the living room with my tablet in hand. "Lyra." She swiveled around, and Bon Bon and Zane's attention turned back to me as well. "You wish came true." She frowned and stood up. "What?" I swallowed, and let the grin that was balling up inside me since I read Jordan's post spread. "You said you were lonely. A friend of mine says Fluttershy's here, and if I'm not mistaken," I continued, gesturing to the PlayStation. "N1GHTMAR3_M00N is Luna." Her expression shifted from confusion, to surprise, to a wide smile. "Really? Where are they?" My grin dropped, and I looked away from her a second. "Well, I mean, Fluttershy's miles away, and I don't know about Luna." I said, regaining eye contact. Her brows rose, and she nodded her approval of the situation. "Sweetness. Is there a chance that we might be able to see them sometime?" I blinked. "Maybe Flutters, but like I said, I don't know where Luna is." "Cool." She turned back around, and a second later I notice she had a sly grin. "Man, I sure do wish I had my guitar." My brow cocked. "You have a guitar?" She looked at me again. "Yeah. Why, do I not look like a guitarist to you?" I blinked again. "I just thought you played the lyre alone." Her brow cocked. "Is it a crime to have multiple talents?" "Dunno. Is it?" "That's usually a sign of illness." "Indeed." "What are you talking about?" Zane cut in. "Cutie pox," I replied without thinking. Lyra's eyes widened. "How do you know about cutie pox?" Wrong turn. "Uuuh..." Avoid MLP, avoid MLP, avoid MLP... "We have it here." Zane facepalmed, and shut off the PlayStation. Lyra's expression remained somewhat stunned. "Really? I haven't seen a cutie mark on anybody here." "... It... appears on us in the form of... jewelry." I briefly disappeared in my room to back myself up, returning with a heavy copper ring I bought from a skating rink a year and a half ago. On it was depicted a manga-styled skull with headphones on and crossed drumsticks behind it. "This is mine." Lyra's eyes became impossibly large, and Bon Bon came up behind her to see what my cutie mark was. "Cooool." Oh, thank God I don't have any pony merch yet. "What's yours?" Lyra asked, turning to Zane. He gave them a blank expression, before making a first attempt at acting. "It's... embarrassing," he said, turning away. Bravo, Zane. Whew.
What You Wish ForChapter Six What You Wish For Dude the exact same thing happened at my house Lyra and Bon Bons here. I sat back and waited for a response, double-checking Jordan's status. Jordan is online. Several more seconds passed, and Lyra ran into the room, coming up to my bed and giving me puppy-dog eyes. "Do you shed?" Her expression intensified, and I grinned as I lowered my palm for her to step on. Raising her up to my tablet, I checked the screen again. Jordan is typing... "Whacha doing?" I took a second, expectantly waiting for the message to appear. "Talking." After another couple of seconds, the 'Jordan is typing' notification vanished, yet a message still failed to appear. Come on you bastard, answer me... "Doesn't look like it. Seems to be a one-way to me." She suddenly snickered. "I can't believe I said that." "Yeah, neither can I," I grunted irritably. After another moment, a message came through, but not from Facebook. In my Android's notifications bar, the Skype emblem appeared. Of course, I clicked it. One missed call from: Jthe2nd. My eyes widened as my heart skipped a beat and I opened Skype, sending a video call to him. Finally, by the grace of God, he picked up. "Seriously? They're there?" he said as soon as the video appeared. His iPhone didn't have very good resolution, and his face was dim, but you could make out his short hair and big eyes behind his glasses. "Yeah man, they're here," I replied, tilting the camera to accommodate Lyra. "Oh my God, dude this is amazing! I woke up with Fluttershy on my windowsill!" "Is he stuck in there?" Lyra asked me, gesturing to the tablet. I laughed. "No, his phone has a camera on it that gives me his image." "You can talk?!" Jordan said a little too loud. My brows furrowed. "I thought you said you had Fluttershy?" He looked down a second before looking back at the camera. "Well, she hasn't said anything but 'eep'. She's terrified." "Ooh," Lyra said, wincing. "Where is she now?" I asked. "She's either really fond of dog hair, covers, or both, 'cause she's been hiding under my sheets for the past ten minutes." Alarm sprang up in me. "Is she still even there?" Jordan turned the camera around to show me his bed, a silky pink tail half-exposed from under the covers. The camera turned back around and refocused on him. He started to say something, but I cut him off. "Hold on a sec." I scrambled up, and picked up a sheet of paper and a pencil from my bookshelf. "What's your address, Jordan?" "Uh, 192 Warlock Ct." I wrote it down, looking back to the camera. "Is it safe for me and Dad to come over?" His brows raised. "Uh, hold on, lemme check." His eyes looked past the camera, probably to his bedroom door. "Mom! Is it okay for a friend from last year's acting class to come over?" A muffled response could be heard, Jordan visibly brightening. "Yeah dude, it's cool." "'Kay, let me ask Dad if he can drive me. Dad!" "What?!" "Can you drive me over to a friend's house today?!" "How far is it?!" "Uh, hold on!" I walked over to my bookshelf and retrieved my laptop, which I booted up to head to MapQuest. "12.3 miles!" "Alright, sure! When?!" "Now!" "Well get your shit together! Let's go!" "I'm coming, brah. Be there in a few minutes." "Alright. Bye." I looked down. Lyra was flicking her ears, trying to get them to respond. "Sorry. You ever been in a car before?" I asked, know what the answer would be. "The fuck's a car?" I'll admit, I thought the answer would be milder, but hey... You don't always get what you wish for.
