Infatuation

Chapters

The New Pony
Chapter 2: Starting Over
Chapter 3: Introduction to a Broken Heart
Chapter 4: I want to be loved
Chapter5: Feed the Night
Chapter 6: Give the Mare a Chance
Chapter 7: Not I
Chapter 8: Tricky
Chapter 8.5: Lyra's day.
Chapter 8.8: Bon-bon's day
Chapter 9: Sleep with myself
Chapter 10: Saturday Ponies/How beautiful.
Chapter 11: Words are Just Words
Chapter 12: "Are you okay?"

The New Pony

Infatuation: Chapter 1 The New Pony

“My name... My name is...” I tried to speak. Wait! Hold it! I’m starting way too late. I guess that memory will never quite fade away...

Let’s start again. It was a day like any other in Fillydelphia. Celestia’s sun was up, and I with it. I looked at my poor self in the mirror. I was not the “Perfect stallion”. Who am I kidding? I wasn’t even a mediocre fellow. A burgundy, thin unicorn with a messy, black mane, and amber eyes looked back at me, as if from a window of despair. My cutie mark was a chocolate truffle. Cute right? I hated having such a happy cutie mark in a place as horrible as Fillydelphia.

“Another day... Ugh!” I said. I was bored of my life, I wished for one moment. Wished that something, anything would change. I was always bored of my life. You’re probably asking why someone whose special talent was making candy would be so depressing. I’ll get to that soon, but we’re not quite there yet. Why ruin it for later, right?

I got in the shower, thinking about how today felt just like yesterday, and the day before, and every day since I got out of college. When I got out, I dried off, and went out the door, grabbing the items that I needed for work, and nothing more. I actually had to backtrack a few steps to close the door. I decided not to rush to work that day. I had plenty of time, besides, if I look around a bit, I might feel slightly better about life in general. I passed by my mailbox. Because my address was 0 Hoofington rd. I filled the empty space with my name.

My name... What were my parents thinking? My name *sigh* is Glass
Pane. It wasn’t the worst name. I could have been Randy Colt, or Celestia forbid... Quick Clop. But my name just didn’t fit right. Colts and fillies in school, used to call me “Window Hurt”. It didn’t make sense, but it still wasn’t fun. The fillies later grew out of that. The colts however, grew with it. They would follow me halfway home and charge at me, knocking me over. Then they’d stomp on me with steel horseshoes, all the while calling me “Ass pain” And making “I thought Pain was your last name” jokes. This continued all through highschool. As far as school goes though... elementary was fine, jr. high sucked, you can imagine that highschool was torture. Oh, and as for college? It was a waste of my time!

I looked around me. All the ponies in Fillydelphia were either rich, or depressed. Sometimes both. You could tell the difference pretty easily. The low-working ponies, like myself, kept their heads low. They hardly left their houses unless they had to, and usually at night, or in the rain. This was mostly to avoid the rich snobs that were too snooty to care about us “Shadier ponies” as they’ve grown to call us.

The rich snobs that live here, keep their chins to the sky, as if to say “I’m too perfect for everything.” They don’t wear jewelry, for fear that somepony would steal it. They were the bosses of the bosses of our bosses. They almost always had an expensive item, or money as a cutie mark. Whilst the rest of us either had average stuff, like mine, or if you’re unlucky you’d have a “Tramp stamp”. Something sexual or perverse. And the really unlucky ones... would have “Straight saddle” types of cutie marks. These almost always meant you were going to make the best cartoons (In your head), or you had killed someone, and being that your special talent, you did it well. Those are the reason blank flanks were something your friends and parents worried about. It usually meant you were going to get a Straight saddle, or in the guilty cases you already did but you had it removed.

There were three ways to get a cutie mark removed. The first was black market removal by a former doctor. In those situations you got out with little pain... if you got out. The second was cutting it out of yourself. This was the second most painful, but if you aren’t careful, you’ll catch tetanus. The final one... was ripping it off... The most painful possible way to get rid of your cutie mark. It would be immense torture. Most ponies can’t rip it off in one try. They’d have to bite at it for over an hour, slowly peeling it away. Blood would go everywhere if you tried this. It left the highest survival rate, but the most scarring... In more ways than one.

I finally got to work. I worked in a candy factory, but don’t think it was all dainty and fun. It was one big, divided assembly line in my eyes. I worked with chocolate, but others made lemon drops, caramel, and peppermint. Ah yes, the highlight of my day. I walked in my assembly room to see someone new in my spot. It was a younger unicorn colt, about 18 years of age. “Umm... Hey there. Who are you?”.

The colt grimaced at me, but then it turned into a smile. “I’m Hilt! Hilt Roel. And you are?” in the happiest voice I’ve ever heard. I was freaked out, but I wasn’t going to risk looking that way until I could get a good look at his cutie mark.

“I’m Pane. I don’t give out my first name...” I tried not to look away from his eyes. “What are you doing in that spot?” I asked, while in my head I thought ‘What’s going on here? Did I not get the memo about a spot switch?’

He looked at me like I was stupid. “I was hired last night. For... minimum wage...” He said. Those words wrung in my mind. A younger colt, doing my job... for less money. I knew what this meant. I ran quickly to my employee locker. Sure enough, on my locker, I saw it. There was a pink slip.

It read ‘Glass, I regret to inform you that you’ve been replaced. In other words, YOU’RE FIRED DUMBGLASS! Signed, Big Phill’ with my boss’s face stamped on a dotted line.

I cursed under my breath. “That fucking ass” I raced to my former spot and quietly looked at Hilt’s flank. Sure enough, it had a carving knife next to a jar of red liquid. He probably passed it off as strawberry jam to my gullible boss.

I left, half smiling. ‘This is my chance to start new. I’ll grab my things and move one town over. I can get out before Hilt kills again.’ I ran to my house and put a “Vacant” sign on it before I grabbed my things. I grabbed loose change, a sandwich and a few sentimental items and left without a word of goodbye to my old life.

I ran out my door and right out of town. I sprinted onward until I got about 50 yards from Fillydelphia’s front gate. I slowed down and started walking. I had a long few days ahead. Luckily, I was prepared.

Having the ability to use magic, and having that sandwich with me, I could live for weeks on my own. I also heard of a casino about half way between Ponyville and Fillydelphia.

As I walked, I started doubting myself. “What if I can’t get a job in Ponyville? What if it’s just as bad as Fillydelphia? Or worse, It could be all pompous like Canterlot. Or even have lots of straight saddle mares. I don’t want to find a mare, and get hitched, and then have her kill me with her bare hooves!” I thought about this for the rest of the day.

The next morning, I was still walking. It’s hard to sleep when you’re thinking that there’s a murderer in the town behind you. I was almost halfway to Ponyville, but there was no sign of a casino. That is, until I got over the next hill. That’s when I saw it... A casino, only two stories tall. I ran with all my strength toward it.

However... When I got to the door, I saw it was closed. The hours were on the door, it didn’t open again until later that night. At the moment there were two things I needed, a drink, and sleep. I chose to do the latter until the casino opened. So I slept... and I dreamt... I dreamt of Ponyville, and what it must be like. I dreamt of meeting the elements of harmony, or even working in a candy shop, a nice small one without assembly lines. I dreamt of finding a nice mare, and dating her. I even dreamt that I read in the newspaper about Hilt being the best at making jam sandwiches instead of a murderer. I then dreamt of falling through a place made of candy, at which point I woke up.

I saw a red pegasus with goggles on. He had a yellow and green, slightly messy mane, his goggles had green rims, and he had a 2 of diamonds for a cutie mark. He was opening the door to the casino. “Sir. Are you guys open yet?” I asked, wiping the drowsiness out of my eyes.

The red stallion looked at me like I had just asked if water is wet. “Not yet, but you look like you need a meal. Come inside mister...”

“Glass, Glass Pane.” I said, finding myself astonished that I said my first name to a total stranger. I walked inside of the casino. It didn’t look like much, flashing lights, poker tables, diner booths, and a bar. I saw a VIP table with sompony already sitting in that booth. She had a light blue and white mane, and she herself was a light blue color, similar to cyan, but not quite, there was almost a hint of green aswell. I noticed the odd way she sat, it reminded me of a scientific theory on the subject of parallel universes. It is believed that there is a world parallel to ours where the dominant species evolved from primates, but that's beside the point. I followed the red stallion to the kitchen and asked him “Sir what might your name be? And who is that mare in the booth? I thought you said you weren’t open.” He turned around, looking at me slightly annoyed.

“My name is Remy, the mare in the VIP booth is Lyra. She’s slightly famous and she loves the sub sandwiches we make here, she comes in once a week before we open to get her VIP seat. I own this casino, and we aren’t open yet. Is that all you need?” He said cheerfully. I had gotten my answers about the casino, which I now remember was called Casino of The Air, but I wanted to know what Ponyville was like.

I had to speak up so I could brace myself. “I actually want to know what Ponyville is like. I’m heading that way and I don’t know what to expect.” Remy looked at me smiling. “Oh you’re from Fillydelphia then.” He looked at my cutie mark cautiously and said. “Well I only go there for groceries. It seems nice a nice place, my former roommate lives there now, you may have heard of Pinkie Pie. Those were the good old days, but if you want to know more about Ponyville, Lyra lives there. I’ll make you two some food and drinks, go ahead and have a seat at the VIP table.” He walked off into the kitchen.

I took his advice and walked over to the VIP table, where Lyra was sitting in that primate-like fashion. I sat down. “Is that comfortable?” I asked.

Lyra turned to me and said “Yeah, even more so on a park bench.” I changed my posture to match hers. “I guess it is.” I sighed. “If I wanted to know the best and worst things about Ponyville, what would you tell me?” I asked blatantly

Lyra starred at the walls of the casino, which at said point I noticed pictures portraying the manager in various momentous occasions. In all of them, he wore his goggles. After some time thinking Lyra spoke. “The worst is definitely the lack of a candy store, my best friend has a candy related talent. I guess it just affects us personally though.”

The lack of a candy store was the least of my worries. “Isn’t there a bad part of town?” I said quizzically. She nodded at me. “There is, but you can’t really call it ‘bad’ I met a really nice guy there once, I’m getting a job there later. It’s not bad, just a different type of colorful”

Remy brought us our food and drinks that looked a lot like hayseed sandwiches but with daisies and french bread, and just some good old fashioned soda. “When you’re done I could fly Mr. Pane to Ponyville before we open. My staff can handle the place when they get here if I’m not back in time.” He looked at us, confused, before he turned away. I heard him say “The VIP booth is full of crazies.” in a whisper.

I ate my sandwich quickly, only taking time to say “You never told me the best thing about Ponyville, Lyra.” Lyra chewed her sandwich, using her hooves to pick it up instead of magic, or her mouth. She swallowed and spoke just one word. “Friendship” I was silent. Friendship? I’d only had that a few times. Other than in preschool, I’d lived a life of “dog eat dog.” I didn’t think it existed in the real world. “Friendship... okay...” I finished my sandwich and walked to the manager awkwardly.

“I’d um... like that flight now.” I said as I made sure I still had my saddle bag on me. The red pegasus looked at me and sighed. “Okay, if you think you can fit in at a place as bright as that. You need to know a few things. 1: You do NOT piss off the element of laughter. If she doesn’t punish you for it, I will. I keep my friendship serious. 2: If you make friends, you don’t hurt them. Or you’ll end up looked down upon. 3: If you’re lucky enough to find a home, pay the rent. They seem like pushovers in Ponyville but you can’t abuse their hospitality. If you break these rules, Lyra will tell me. I’m saying this for Ponyville’s benefit and yours. Come outside so I have room to fly.” I followed the stallion outside. Why was he so insistent on these rules? I had no idea. Wasn’t a friend just another word for someone who didn’t hate your guts? Was he taking me to fight outside? For a pony from Fillydelphia that was completely normal. These thoughts all ran through my mind as I walked toward the door.

I stepped outside. “So, now you’re gonna beat me up with brass horseshoes right? I know how it goes when somepony wants you to come outside. Just get it over with.” Remy opened his wings and charged at me without warning! I knew it! I knew it! I closed my eyes, and when I opened them again... I was flying! Remy had picked me up and began flying while I was bracing myself. He went at about half the speed of Rainbow Dash. Seeing as he had me on his back, that’s truly impressive. Hell! Even without me on his back that’s above average. But what surprised me the most, was that I was unharmed.

I could’ve sworn he was going to kill me! I heard his voice below me saying “If you judge somepony so easily, you’re going to need a lot of help in Ponyville! Nopony is going to try and fight you! At least, nopony who lives there!” I couldn’t speak, I had to focus on staying on Remy’s back at the moment. Before I knew it, we had stopped.

“You’ll find Ponyville just over this next hill. Come back to my casino any time you need a drink, a meal, or just a nice round of poker. I’d be happy to play you.” He said as I stepped down from his back. I used magic to give him 5 bits. “You should take this... You helped me out, even if I don’t understand what you’re doing or saying sometimes, Mr. Remy.”

He pushed my floating change back toward me with his front hoof. “You’ll understand eventually, this town isn’t dark like Fillydelphia. However, you’ll need that money to get a nice room at the inn until morning.” He smiled at me. I could hardly put this guy together. He was like multiple people at once. I thought maybe he was bipolar, or trying to put me off my guard about what Ponyville was like. “I guess I’ll be seeing you Remy.” I said.

He looked at me with that kind smile he had on his face half the time. “Yeah Mr. Pane, I’ll see ya. After all, I always have time to re-meet the new pony in Ponyville.” He flew off without another word.

I decided to just see what ponyville was like for myself. It must have been about eight o clock at night when I climbed up that hill... Half freezing in the unseasonal cold. I looked up at Luna’s moon, and prayed to Celestia that I would make this all work out somehow...

When I got to the top of the hill... I found... A town that was already asleep. Why was that? Didn’t the worker ponies need to run errands? I thought to myself as I looked at that peaceful little town known as Ponyville.

Chapter 2: Starting Over

Chapter 2: Starting over.

I was looking out from atop that hill. Looking towards the small town that stood in front of me, I noticed an inn on the far side of town. I couldn’t read it, but I could clearly tell it was in the more wholesome part of town. The town itself was like parts of different towns all mushed together. The country welcome of Sweet Apple Acres, the poor, still lit picture of Soresaddle street, the natural neighborhood welcome of where (I assumed) the element of kindness lived, the market area and main square of town, where the famous Twilight Sparkle’s library stood, and the outskirts where I saw a large cloud home with a rainbow fountain.The inn was in the far back side where there was hardly anything but a few houses and a shop or two near the inn.

Seeing that I had a long way to walk, I started trotting toward the patchwork town, with a low head. If walking at night in a place that was never asleep was scary, then walking in a place that’s asleep so early, is somehow terrifying. ‘I’m going to get jumped by a murderer. Or kidnapped and forced to work on horseshoes for the rest of my life.’ I imagined in my head, a pegasus with knives held by his feathers, jumping from a rooftop and plunging at me whilst screaming “FRIENDSHIIIIIIP!” It was far-fetched but nopony for miles would be able to hear me scream if it were to happen.

I grew tired of the silence, so I whistled a tune. A cheery, happy, disgustingly colorful tune. There’s nothing wrong with color, but it wasn’t something I was used to. It seemed like the thing of fairytale. I hope by now you know that I’m speaking of emotional color, not physical.

It was only 9:00... So why was everypony inside? well, I finally figured it out, when I heard a door opening from behind me. I heard a young mare gasp. ‘There’s something behind me isn’t there? She’s not just gasping at a random pony at night, that makes little sense. Well I guess right now if I saw anypony I would run for my life, but I’m new here, so that’s to be expected right?’ I turned to look behind me, and there was nothing but the shadow of a mare in a doorway. The same mare that gasped, apparently at my presence.

The next thing I knew, there was a ^WHOOSH!^ as wind blew right by me. I looked toward the doorway where the shadow once came from, and there was nopony... Just a closed door, no more shadow, no more light. I looked up, to see what this place was, as I quivered in fear, in front of what appeared to be a bakery. The sign above the door read “Sugarcube Corner”. It seemed like an ironically cheerful place to have a ghost.

That made it twenty percent more horrifying. ‘It saw me, what if it hacks me apart with a baking utensil? This is how I die, under Luna’s moon...’ I kept walking, sure that I would die that night. I wasn’t superstitious, but I was paranoid because I was in a new town. I heard the childlike giggles of the apparition. Catching glimpses of poofy mane.

If it really was a ghost, I wasn’t letting my fear become visible. I kept whistling, walking, hoping that I’d live to see the sunrise. I was nearing the inn, I could see the big sign, I could even read it now. The inn was called, “The flat hoof”. I ran now, no longer hearing the laughter of the ghost.

I sprinted closer and closer to the doors of The Flat Hoof. I finally ran right inside and stopped as the lights suddenly turned on, and a multitude of figures suddenly popped out as a single word was screamed “SURPRISE!!!” I Jumped and used my magic to turn the lights off. I snuck behind them all while the lights were out, and went up the stairs just as the lights were turned back on.

‘Was that going to be a mugging? or maybe a terrible initiation to an evil cult!’ my thinking was cut short by the same childish smile as I had heard outside. I turned around and saw the deathly figure of... A pink poofy maned pony? I was in attack position. Threatening to kill the mare! Until... I recognised her mane.

“A... are you Pinkie Diane Pie?” The mare looked at me with an, almost creepy smile. “Howdie doody? and I prefer Pinkie Pie, or Pinkaroony or Pinkiebot 5.0! *GASP* so you don’t remember me?!” As she said this she seemed to jump in impossible ways, at least for an earth pony. I looked at her. Had we met before? I had no idea what she meant... until I thought of the gasp, and the laughter. “Do you mean that moment when you gasped from behind me? Was that you?” I asked suspiciously. Pinkie Pie nodded. “YUP! Now come downstairs silly um.... what’s your name?!” I walked toward the doorway that Pinkie stood in. “Just call me Pane please... I don’t give out my first name.”

Pinkie made small hops leading down the stairs. ‘So this is the element of laughter? She certainly is odd. I kinda like it, it makes me feel warm inside’ I followed Pinkie Pie down the stairs. She started talking to the crowd of ponies. “Hey everypony! I brought him down! He’s from out of town.” She turned to me as I descended down the last step. “Why did you sneak away from your surprise party Mr. Pane?” I told them that things worked differently in Fillydelphia, I didn’t go too into detail about it. After all, I didn’t want to scare the ponies who came to welcome me in to town. I also told them that I thought Pinkie was a ghost.

There was a laugh from the crowd, but some were worried about my name. Those were the ones who would give me trouble in the future. When I was finished I nodded at Pinky, letting her talk. “Alright everypony! Let’s PARTY!!!” she said while leaping in the air with her back hooves.

For the first time since my graduation, I smiled. It might not have looked like a normal smile since it had been a year and a half, but it was a smile. I walked through the crowd, someponies made suspicious faces, others smiled. There was one pony who caught my eye though. She had a mane and tail that were curled, but not poofy like Pinkie Pie’s, with the colors of pink, and dark blue. Her blue eyes made my mind numb, and she had an amazing vanilla coat. I looked at her plot, and her cutie mark was clean. A 100% family friendly cutie mark. Not only was it that, but it was three, wrapped, candies. I knew we had a common interest right then, and I hadn’t gone out on a date in months. Before my mind had even caught up, I was already next to her.

“Hello there! My name... my name is...” I was at a loss for words. I blushed, luckily nopony noticed because of my coat’s red color. “Pain, right?” She said. My head caught up with me. “Yes but it’s spelled P a n e. And you can call me Glass, miss...” She spoke the sweetest name I’ve ever heard. In an even sweeter voice. “I’m Bonbon. Bonbon Kyandi.” I loved that name. I didn’t want to seem like a freak, so I had to end the conversation quickly. “Well then, it was nice meeting you miss Kyandi, but I should go mingle with the other ponies.”

“ Alright mister Glass.” she laughed. I backed away, giving a courtesy bow. I walked back to Pinkie, who was spouting random nonsense to the tune of the music at the party. “I don’t want to be nopony elses bestes frieeeeeeend in the world. I just want some souuuuuuup because you’re my souuuuupe givin lovaaa”

I used magic to give her a glass of punch. which she drank so I could speak. “Pinkie, could you explain friendship to me? Like define it?” Her face seemed to light up and darken at the same time. It was quite a sight, I guess you’d have needed to be there. She simply spit out her punch into the air and then caught it in her mouth and swallowed it! Then she said “You don’t know what friendship is?! Weeeeeeell friendship is what makes us who we are. Life would be WAAAAAAAAY boring without it!” I thought to myself ‘Tell me about it.’

“It’s why we all came to this last minute party for you! It’s somepony’s feelings toward another pony that they think is just awesome! Friends hang out~, go to the beach~, eat cake until they cant anymore~ or sometimes they throw surprise parties for eachother!” At the word surprise she had somehow gotten behind me faster than I could tell.

Suddenly I heard the door open, sure enough, Lyra walked in. Remy said she’d be keeping an eye on me, or at least, it was implied. I saw her walk to a place that had a clear view of me and Pinkie. “So Pinkie, does that make us friends?” I asked, trying to keep an eye on Lyra just in case. Pinkie gave me that look that by now, I was used to. Yes, the (Are you an idiot) look. “Of course we are SILLY! I thought you knew that.” She patted my back and said “But maybe I need to clarify or recriteriorate.” I doubted that criteriorate was even a word, but I let her continue. I didn’t expect what came next, the music changed to an upbeat one. Pinkie started singing ”My name is Pinkie Piiiiiiie”

“Yes I know tha-”

“And I am here to say”

“Ok is this really happeni-”

“I’m gonna make you smiiiile and I will brighten up your daaaa-a-A-aaay”

“That’s not as easy as you make it sou-”

“it doesn’t matter now”

“What doesn’t matter?”

“If you are sad or blue”

“Was that meant to be a pun? Because I’m red...”

“Because I love to make you smile smile smiiiile”

I found the DJ and asked her where I pay for my room.

“It fills my heart with sunshine all the whiiiile, yes it does”

I went to the front desk of The Flat Hoof, and paid for my room. I then went back to the party, and yelled “I NEED TO GET SOME SLEEP TONIGHT!!! If you’re gonna continue the party, please be quiet okay?” Some ponies left and others were trying to get the DJ to stay. I walked up the stairs. Quite satisfied with how my day ended, I got a ride from a nice pegasus, I didn’t die by evil possession, and there was a nice party waiting for me. I still don’t know how Pinkie put that together so fast.

I got in to my room and lifted up the blanket with magic, and got in bed before letting it fall on top of me. As I drifted off to sleep, finally in a nice cozy bed, I thought of the way Pinkie’s random nonsense made me feel... ‘Was that... friendship?’ I asked myself. I also thought of Bonbon. ‘Her mane was so nice, and her cutie mark was candy-related. I wonder if I’ll see her again.’

I fell asleep... and dreamt of friendship. That warm feeling it gave me, followed me in my dreams. If Fillydelphia was hell, I had passed in to heaven. A land where the ponies are happy, and live on an average salary. Not rich with snobbish attitudes. This place was Celestia’s safe haven, protected from the murder and evil of its neighboring city. There was one thing I thought of consciously while under the spell of my slumber. ‘What is it that separates Ponyvile from Fillydelphia? Keeping the cynical life I used to live from entering the minds of these ponies. Is Remy somehow responsible? Is he some kind of border protection? But he owns a casino, so that makes little sense.’

I awoke, not to Celestia’s sun... but to a blue hoof shaking me awake, and the sound of a familiar voice. “Wake up Mr. Pane! You need to find a job today!” My eyes opened to find that the pony was Lyra... but my eyes for were slower than my mouth. “M... mother?” I said.

“Nope, wait... are you calling me old!?” Lyra said in a cheerful … then angry tone. I jumped from my bed! “W-what’re you doing in here?” I asked. She grunted, “UGH” quite annoyedly before saying “Remy told me if I want to keep my VIP seat I need to look after you. That means no, I’m your landlady. So I need you to get a job if you’re gonna pay me rent!”

At this point she started calming down. “Sorry about that. I didn’t get much sleep last night. lets go.” I magiced the bed to its original state and gathered my sentimental things. “Okay,” I said “But I won’t be able to put my special talent to use if there’s no candy store.” I walked out the door of my room at the inn and followed her down the stairs. “Does Pinkie Pie host parties for everypony?”

Lyra didn’t bother looking back at me as she said “Yeah pretty much. It’s kinda her thing, and she has quite a crowd that goes to all of her parties.” I stopped at the front desk and checked out. I noticed some ponies still lingered from the party, including one who had fallen asleep on the floor, he was a pegasus with a blonde mane and a white coat. I decided to pay for his fair since he probably wasn’t going to enjoy waking up to an inn bill.

“So, where to first, Lyra?” I asked. She looked back at me as we walked out of The Flat Hoof. “Well, I know a nice place that needs somepony with magic. Have you ever worked with tools, Glass?” I shrugged, “A little, I guess.” I was distracted. The color all around me was so covered up by the night, but in the daytime it was so bright... and I felt like a small colt again. “Well that’s good. ‘Cause you’re gonna work with the construction crew for a while.” Said Lyra. as we neared the home of Hard Hat, I didn’t learn this name until later though.

So this was it, I was going to live in Ponyville... I was Starting over...

Chapter 3: Introduction to a Broken Heart

Chapter 3: Introduction to a broken heart

I stood in front of the home of Hard Hat, my future boss. Lyra glared at me “Don’t just stand there. You’re gonna pay me rent so you’re gonna make some cash, now get in there!” She pushed me toward the door. From what I had seen she was still pretty upset about my “Mom comment”. I walked inside the house, which was just as colorful as the other houses. I knocked on the door and walked in “Hello? Lyra said you needed an extra pair of hooves? Or a horn I mean...”

Hard Hat called out “YUP Could you come in here? Sorry I’m drawing blueprints for the mayor’s office rebuild. Apparently somepony thought to let Derpy help Rainbow Dash fix up the place. Can you believe it?! THE TWO MOST DESTRUCTIVE PONIES SINCE... Sorry...” I walked in slowly, and took a seat in front of the light-brown earth pony with a short, blonde mane. “It’s fine, I’m used to yelling where I’m from. This is a nice place, I like the living room.” I looked around and realized that this was the first Ponyville house I’d been in. It was so different from the Inn that I had stayed at the night before.

“Yeah, you don’t become a construction worker, and do nothing for yourself you know.” He said in his gruff voice. I noticed he was slightly more rugged than the ponies at the party. “So, you seem to be tougher than the other ponies here.”

He laughed a little. “Well I suppose ye’r new here Mister.... I didn’t catch yer name fella.” I was used to this by now, ponies getting friendly before even asking my name. “Pane... call me Pane.” He looked at me suspiciously “Could ya spell that please?” I looked back at him annoyed. “P-a-n-e, sir. Yes I’m new here.”
He sighed in relief “Well mister Pane, we have lots of ponies tougher than I am. Apple Jack fer example. or Big Macintosh, Rainbow Dash, just to name a few. I just seem like the gruffest.” I looked up, distracted. “So you want a job kid?” He said
I looked right at him when I heard the word “job”. “Yes please!” He stamped on a sheet of paper. “You’re hired then, now you should go explore town, you can start work next week.” I was surprised. That was it? No huge interview or test? I said goodbye, with a confused look on my face.
As I stepped out the door, I saw Lyra talking to Bonbon. My face lit up as I ran towards them. I stopped about three feet away from Bonbon. “Hey guys.” I said nervously. Bonbon looked at me smiling. “Oh hi Glass.” She said in her perfect voice as I looked between the two mares. I realized something that made me gasp. “You two know eachother?” I said, confused. Bonbon just looked at me, and then her, and then back to me. “You guys know eachother?”
Lyra took two step back and began explaining. “So I’m guessing you two met, well Glass, I know Bonbon because she is my best friend, the one I talked about with the candy cutie mark. And Bonbon, I met glass on his way to Ponyville.” Bonbon just grinned. “So you two are on a date!” I got nervous, as the mare jumped to a conclusion that I had not yet even considered. I had to say something. Fast. “No no no no no no no no. That’s not what’s happening here!” I said as I panicked.
Lyra gave me a mean glare. “And what is that supposed to mean?” she said in a brash tone. I had forgotten how easily insulted she was. which is no small feat seeing as she’s been annoyed at me all morning. “That’s not what I meant! I mean that we just aren’t on a date. It’s not that you’re not attractive, but I’m trying to clear the air of misunderstandings.” Bonbon giggled as Lyra blushed. “You think I’m attractive?” She said nervously.
I had to resist the urge to face-hoof. Before I could speak, my brain once again caught up with me. “Well, yes, but we’re not on a date and, I don’t think we should if you’re going to be my landlady.” She nodded as I spoke my half-false excuse. I then turned my head to Bonbon “Are you going to hang out with us?” I said, excitedly.
Bonbon shook her head. “Sorry, but I gotta go talk to my friend Shimmersoar. See-ya!” She then trotted away happily. My face went from smiling happiness, to the bleak pokerface that I keep on a usual basis. I turned to Lyra “He gave me the job. Where to now?” I said as Lyra waved goodbye to her friend. She looked at me smiling. “Well now you need to have a tour of the town! You’re going to be surprised about how different it is from Fillydelphia!” She looked at me happily. I wanted to say “I’m already surprised.” but I decided that it would sound rude and she’d take it the wrong way.
I just nodded and said “Lead the way.” She began walking towards Sugarcube Corner. I followed her, trying to veer my eyes away from her plot. ‘Seriously... why didn’t she just let me walk next to her? people probably think I’m stalking her... I’m a shady-looking stallion after all.’ I continued to follow her when we reached Sugarcube Corner. She looked at me. “I’m sure you saw this on your way to The Flat Hoof last night. This is the town bakery! Sugarcube corner. Home to the Cake family and Pinkie Pie. I saw you with Pinkie last night so you know her already, but I want you to meet the Cakes.” She walked through the door of Sugarcube Corner from whence came the cheery, friendly mare whom I first thought was an apparition. I followed Lyra in to the very pink, candy-like bakery.
The second I stepped in, the pink mare who I had come to know as the “Pink Party Pony” jumped seemingly out of nowhere at me. I fell down with fright as she yelled “HEY PANE!” I looked up to see Pinkie Pie smiling at me. “Why are you down there silly? The fun is all up here!” I got up slowly and Pinkie Pie was suddenly on the other side of the room. “Hey Pinkie... ow. I’m still not used to your hellos. I hope that eventually I’ll be able to understand you. Along with the rest of this town from a little philly’s dreams”
Lyra rolled her eyes. “Don’t mind him Pinkie. Glass, follow me.” She walked in to the back room with the “Ok” of Pinkie Pie. I followed them in to the back room. I expected ingredients everywhere, piled on top of eachother like boxes.
But no. Instead there was a play pen. “There are kids in here?” I said. Pinkie quickly disappeared and then reappeared with two babies. One was a light-brown pegasus colt, with brown eyes and a brown mane. The other was a yellow unicorn filly with blue eyes and an orange mane. She pointed at the unicorn and said “This is Pumpkin Cake!”
She then moved her hoof over to the pegasus colt. “And this is Pound Cake!” Upon hearing these names I laughed. To somepony who’s used to names like “Big Bucks” or “Scarhoof” these were the silliest names in the world. Lyra glared at me. “Glass! Don’t laugh at their names!” This shut me up. “Sorry... So do they have parents?”
Pinkie said “Of course they do silly! but they’re upstairs” I sighed. It was all so bright. So happy. It brought out a new part of me. But I was still depressed. Just not as much. Maybe if there were children nearby who I could actually converse with. Instead of just watch stuff their faces and hit things with random items. The cute looks of a baby make one’s worries go away, but it’s nothing compared to the naive cheerfulness of a 5 year old colt or filly.
But what I really wanted was to see Bonbon again. So I subconsciously began to frown. Pinkie was the first to notice this. I don’t know how, but she seemed to know the reason why. “Your city must’ve been tough...” She said as she tried to used her hooves to manipulate my face into a smile. I backed away from the discomfort of a pair of hooves squishing in my face. Lyra seemed confused. “What are you doing Pinkie?” Pinkie looked at her. “My job of course. I’m making him smile.”
I finally replied to Pinkies statement. “I don’t like talking about my home, but let’s just say that it’s nice to be out of that place.” Two earth ponies came down the stairs to my left. One was A blue mare with a pink, swirly mane. Almost like pudding. Her eyes and earrings were also pink. The other was a yellow-orange stallion with an orange mane wearing a striped bow tie and a hat. He had almost nervous-looking green eyes.
“Um... Hello, you must be Mr. and Mrs. Cake.” I said. I looked at the parents and their children. There was little to no resemblance other than Pumpkin’s coat, and her father’s. The adult Cakes greeted me. “Hello there, yes we’re the cakes. I’m Cup and my husband is Carrot.” Carrot gave a tip of his hat and a hearty “Hello, and who might you be?” I pondered whether or not to give my full name. I decided that my last name wasn’t necessary. “I’m Glass, it’s nice to meet you two.”
Lyra gave me a motion, saying we were late and it was time to go. You’d be surprised at how elaborate yet subtle this motion was. We said our goodbyes and left. “What did you think of the cakes?” Lyra asked enthusiastically. “They were nice. The little ones were both too young to tell.”
Lyra looked at me, much like Remy had when I asked if his casino was open. “Well of course silly, they’re babies. Barely old enough to be called trotlers.” I laughed. “Yeah, cute little demons though. Where are we heading next?” Lyra smiled. “Well you were walking a long time. So we’re going to go to my house. You can sleep on the couch, my room is off limits. Rent is due in 2 weeks and is twelve bits. You can see the rest of the town on your own time.” I was surprised. Lyra said we’d see all the important places today. I guess she was tired of babysitting a huge downer like I was at the time.
When we got to her house, I noticed one thing in particular. “I-it’s got a turquoise roof... just like your coat color.” Lyra laughed. “I got it for a good price because it was the previous owner’s favorite color.” We entered the house and I noticed that inside there were pictures of monkeys, and what the hairless apes from that scientific theory I spoke of earlier might look like.
I walked in and got settled, placing my things around the room, lied down on the couch and thought to myself...

I was thinking of Bonbon... but that was how it started... the introduction to a broken heart

Chapter 4: I want to be loved

Chapter 4: I want to be loved!

I awoke from a mid-day sleep on Lyra's couch. I hear the sound of... 'What could it be? Children laughing? I haven't heard that since preschool.' I got up and walked over to the turquoise door. I opened it to see if there was some poor colt or filly being picked on out there. Only to find that there were three paint-covered fillies having fun painting a house. Each of them constantly looking at their flanks, only to frown at the blankness.

"Aw we'll never get our cutie marks" Said the yellow earth pony with a red mane, a southern accent, and a bow. "Don't give up. We still haven't tried knighthood!" Said the white unicorn foal with her pink-purple mane. To this an orange pegasus with a darker purple mane replied, "Knighthood? There are no knights in Ponyville Sweetie!" I walked outside to see what was going on between them.

Before I got within ten feet of them, the yellow one turned and ran up to me. "Who are you sir? I don't know you. Are you new in Ponyville? What's your cutie mark?" Said the energetic young filly. The other two followed behind her. "Hey... um, I'm Glass, and yes I'm new here. I only got here last night." I yawn as I wish I hadn't taken that afternoon nap. "And my cutie mark is a chocolate truffle."

The one who was referred to by the orange one as "Sweetie" spoke next. "I GOT IT! Chocolate making! Cutie Mark Crusaders, candy makers!" They all jumped and hopped happily to the idea of a new adventure. I had no idea why these children were so simple. They had even more colorful personalities than Pinkie Pie, who I had come to think of as the bounciest pony in all of Equestria.

They introduced themselves to me in a fashion I had never seen before. "Cutie Mark Crusaders! It's our job! To find a talent before we sob! Cutie mark crusaders it's our quest to find something at which we're best!"I chuckled a little at the young spirits of these fillies. I smiled, something I still wasn't used to doing. These curious ponies had made my day. No, my year!

"It's nice to meet you three..." They starred at me with wide eyes. "What are your individual names though?"

The yellow one stood straight and introduced herself happily in her southern accent. "I'm Apple Bloom" The orange one followed with "My name's Scootaloo" In a slightly more gruff, but still childish voice. And the white one was last, saying in a sweet voice with no accent to speak of, "Call me Sweetie Belle"

I decided that I didn't have time for this if I wanted to see the important parts of town. "Where are the biggest landmarks and such here?" I asked. Apple Bloom's face lit up even more. Something I thought was impossible for the circumstances. In a hyperactive tone she said "I know a place! Yer' gonna love it!" She pointed towards a farmhouse area, and after a bit of back and forth about what that place was. I headed of in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres.

As I walked, a multicolored stream of light flew right by my head, causing me to fall on my face. I looked up to see that it was coming back, and after squinting my eyes, I could see that it was not just a light. Is that... a pegasus? The flying object stopped right in front of me in the blink of an eye, it was a cyan pegasus with a rainbow mane. I had read the papers, I had heard the radio stories. I knew who this was...

"You okay man?" Looking down at me... was Rainbow Dash. "You took quite a fall there. I probably should have slowed down." She chuckled. I looked up. "I...It's fine." I got up, patting myself off. I stuttered in the presence of the famous Rainbow Dash. "Y-you're... You're Rainbow Dash!" I exclaimed.

She laughed. "So you've heard of me?" She smirks as she looks at me. I had to try not to feed her ego or I might have never heard the end of it. "Yes, I um... saw your big crash two years ago." That was probably the ninth stupidest thing I had ever said. "I see..." Her smirk disappeared and she looked at the ground. I had to think of something else. And I remembered Remy's words. (If you make friends, you don’t hurt them) "W-wanna be friends?" I said nervously. My logic at this point was crippled. But at least I said something that might make her feel better.

"Sure I guess. If you beat me in a contest of some sort." As she said this, I thought of the many things I'm good at, and how good she might be at them. One thing came to mind... "A hoof wrestle!" I said. I was fantastic at hoof-wrestling. I hated having normal fights because of my lack of muscle. But I was an amazing hoof-wrestler.

"Fine." She gave out a cocky chuckle as she flew over to a nearby stump and readied her hoof. I walked over to it aswell. I placed my hoof next to hers and the fight began.

She was strong. Her hoof almost had mine over the edge from the start, but I was slowly making my way back up. The whole thing was five minutes of sweating in a stalemate before I decided to do something I had never tried before. I looked her dead in the eye. Her red eyes locked with my amber eyes, as I gave a single, flirtacious, wink.

Rainbow Dash was startled and her wings shot up like rockets as her hoof went down onto the stump. I chuckled. "Well it looks like I win this round." I said proudly. Rainbow just sat there, flabbergasted.

"I have somewhere to be. Sorry, Miss Dash!" I said as I ran towards Sweet Apple Acres. I was later informed that she was sitting there for a good twenty minutes with extended wings and a dropped jaw. I had no time to calm her down from her shock. It was almost dark and I wanted to find some more of the colorful town I had awoken in twice in the same day.

I finally got to the acres ten minutes later. And somehow, I was noticed right away by a red stallion with an orange mane. Oddly enough, he walked up to me slowly, rather than the usual speed of a pony in this town who sees a new face. He was calm and collected as he slowly trotted toward me.

"Is this the Apple residence?" I said, not knowing what else to say to such a muscular earth-stallion. To this he replied a simple "Eeyup." followed by a small smile.

"My name is Glass Pane" I was finally getting used to saying my full name "What's yours?" The large red stallion chewed on the piece of wheat he had in his mouth and said "I'm Big Macintosh. But you can call me Bic Mac. It's what a lot of ponies call me in these parts. You seem like a new face, where ya from, stranger?" He said in his oddly nonchalant voice.

"F-Fillydelphia..." I hardly knew what his reaction would be. He seemed like a pony who knew more about the outside world than the others.

His eyebrows raised as his eyes widened. He looked over at my flanks to check my mark. He sighed in relief when he saw the harmless truffles. "Well you must be alright if Remy let you through. I'd introduce you to the rest of the family, but Applejack and Granny Smith just left to go sell jam in Manehattan. It's getting dark anyways. You should head home."

I smiled slightly, trying not to take offense at the first half of what he said. "Sure. Thank you mister Macintosh. Have a nice night." I smiled and walked away. I found that it was dark before I could get back to Lyra's house. I stood there in a part of town I didn't recognize.

It was colder than the night before. I shivered quite a bit. A door to a house behind me opened, and a familiar voice called out. "Hey out there! you're gonna freeze! Come inside, I have food and a guest room!" Said the voice of an elegant mare.

I recognized the voice instantly, and made my way to the open door that led into the warm house. Bonbon was waiting at said door. Her slightly curled hair, moving with the breeze. "H-hi Bonbon." I said. stuttering from both nervousness and from the unexpected cold I had just been through.

"Oh! Glass!" She said as I stumbled inside. She led me over to her couch. "Are you alright?" She said in her amazing voice. Like an angel asking if the trip to heaven was too bumpy.

"I'm fine. Thank you. I suppose I didn't make it to Lyra's in time." I said, without thinking about the implications.

"Oh my! You and Lyra are already living together? Well you DO work fast, mister Pane." She snickered. I blushed furiously and said "It's not like that!"

After an hour of talking back and forth on the subject of Ponyville as a town, she asked me. "So what do you want out of Ponyville?"

This was a great question... What did I want out of Ponyville? My verbal answer was "I'm not sure yet." But in my mind. being there next to Bonbon Kyandi...

The one thing I could think of was...
'I want to be loved...'

Chapter5: Feed the Night

I awoke... Again in a home I did not recognize as my own. It was 7:30 and Celestia's sun was rising. I looked around and realized I was on a blue, uncomfortable couch. And in the home of a pony whom I wanted to be next to me.

I looked around and in my panic I walked into a room which, before entering, I thought was a bathroom. I took one step in before noticing that this was no bathroom. This was Bonbon's room. Miss Kyandi was sleeping on satin, red sheets. They looked as though they were tailored for a princess's bed. And the mare of my dreams was sleeping on the most comfortable looking sheets I had ever seen. I smiled as I noticed that she was still asleep, and I was about to walk out.

Just then, I heard the faint noise of a shower starting, and the slow humming of a pony about to enter. I couldn't tell the gender. It was either an effeminate stallion or a masculine mare. I didn't care what sex it was though. I didn't care one bit, because I was shocked. My mind raced as I backed a few steps from the doorway and bolted out of the house. My heart was cracking as I ran through Ponyville. Nopony was around to see my tears, it was too early for everypony except the Apple family.

I ran all the way to Lyra's house, and fell, face-first onto the couch. I was beginning to feel like I was going to lie there until I starved, when Lyra walked in from her room at around 10:15. "Um... Glass? Are you okay?" She asked as I lay down emotionlessly.

I replied "Yes... Why wouldn't I be?...." In my darkest, and unwaverinigly dullest voice. "Where were you last night? I was scared that you have frozen to death! The weather last night was really out of season." She asked in a worried tone. It almost sounded like she had cried in the last hour.

I turned my head towards her and out of the couch cushion. "You were? I didn't know you cared enough to be scared. I kinda thought you disliked me and you were only helping me because Remy told you to." I said. I'm not proud of saying that, I'm really not. It was my shock talking really.

She blushed deeply and looked down, as if to say 'I care more than you know.' And while her expression said that, her lips gave out a squeaky sound before forcing out the words "W-well, you're my friend, right?" She looked at me, still blushing. At this point I got up and walked over to her. If I couldn't have Bonbon, I would have Lyra instead.

The problem with this was that, I didn't love Lyra that way... I felt my heart yearn for something... ANYTHING. As long as it was with a mare of any kind. And I could tell how much she wanted me, just from the look on her face told me that she had thought of me in such ways as I think of Bonbon.

I was out of control as a flirtatious look spread across my face. Lyra's blush deepened as I came face-to face with her, and before I could think about the situation!............. My eyes opened, as I saw Lyra enjoying the kiss I was giving her... And though I didn't love her, I wanted more. It was all physical hunger that made me yearn for more as I pulled us to the floor and began kissing her neck. She blushed deeply and spoke in a shy tone "G-Glass... You know how I feel then?....". To this I nodded and gave a mischievous smile.

"You gave it away when you blushed." I placed my hoof on her back leg.

... You know what? You shouldn't hear what happens next unless you're really sure. So for now, I'll skip that bit.

When finished, she looked at me and panted as she said "T-that was great!" But she looked into my eyes... And frowned. She saw that I didn't have for her, what she had for me. I looked at her, and sighed as I saw her notice. "So... You don't love me back... This was purely physical for you..." She said as she turned herself away form me.

"Listen, Lyra... You're very nice... And I'm very sorry for what I just did. I was on the couch of the pony I like last night... And when I woke up, I noticed that there was somepony in her shower... And it wasn't her... That's why I was so sad when I got home... You just came in at a really bad time... I really am sorry." I said as I reached out to touch her shoulder.

"...I understand... I can't stay in the same house with you anymore." She didn't move, but I could hear sniffling as she said that. "Get out, Glass. Go try to be with the pony you actually care about." She shut her eyes and I sighed.

"Yes Ma'am." I said as I got up and walked towards the door. But before I opened it, I heard Lyra say "WAIT!" In a worried, rushed tone. "Hm?" I looked over at her. She had tears streaming down her pretty face. It was a shame really. She looked as though somepony had died.

"You can't leave! I'm sorry for asking you to, but I have a job to do and I also want to be around you... Even if I'm just a friend... Or a toy... And before you say anything about that... Who is the mare you have feelings for?" She said with a varying show of emotions.

I sighed. I knew I'd have to tell Lyra at some point, and I knew that it was the least I could do to make up for what I had done to her. "It's... Miss Kyandi..." I said, ashamed of the circumstances. She gasped. She gasped like the air around her was going to vanish. "Y-you... love... Bonbon?... And she never told me she had a coltfriend... odd how she wouldn't mention that to either of us." She said, shocked, heartbroken and confused. Just as I was only hours ago. "Glass... She's my best friend... I don't know what to say... But if you're giving up and looking for sex, there's a club in Soresaddle street. Go there and you'll find plenty of drunk mares. Now if you'll excuse me, *Sniffle* I need to get to sleep..." She walked out and I sighed once more.

'I think... I'll continue going after Bonbon... Even if she's in love with somepony else... Giving up never helped anypony.' I thought to myself. 'But... I need to help Lyra... I think I broke her heart... I just had such an urge... Even though it was daytime, I wanted to Feed The Night...'

Chapter 6: Give the Mare a Chance

I didn't go to the club that night... I couldn't, after what I did to Lyra. I, instead slept for the rest of the day, and most of the night. But my sleep was tormenting. I couldn't stop thinking about Bon-bon, or what I did with Lyra. I felt like crap. Complete and total crap, in the form of Cadenza and Celestia's half-assed attempts at making a love triangle in Ponyville.

I was convinced when I woke up, that I had been asleep for years. I was that tired. But, I was not so lucky. Being asleep for so long might have meant that Lyra had forgotten anything that happened with me.

It was still night time, and I swear that Princess Luna had a spotlight on me when I awoke. As if to say, " It must feel almost as bad as having been trapped for a thousand years." I however, wasn't looking for sympathy.

I looked around, noticing that Lyra had somehow ended up next to the couch I was sleeping on. 'I wonder... Did she want something? Was she trying to do something with me?' I shivered at the idea of her possibly watching me sleep. But I suppose it's no worse than me peeking in on Bon-bon as SHE slept. 'Oh Miss Kyandi... What would you think of me if you knew what I've been up to? Maybe... Lyra should be my top priority for now. I don't want her to think that she goes unapreciated, or that all I like her for is her body.' She really was a great friend.

I gave Lyra a blanket, and went out to find somepony to give me advice. And the only pony I knew well who might be adult enough to help me was... Pinkie...

I closed the door behind myself. 'Thank goodness for magic' I thought. 'If I kicked the door closed like an earth pony, or pegasus, I might have woken Lyra.' I began walking towards Sugar Cube Corner, in the night.

Ponyville wasn't as spooky now as it seemed on my first night there. Probably because it wasn't as new to the idea of being in a nice place anymore. I now know that everything is safe here in the colorful town of ponyville. Safe for the ones who can stand it.

I walked up to the door of sugarcube corner, where Pinkie seemed to have been waiting for me already.

"Um... Hey Pinkie Pie" I said nervously. "Can I talk to you?"

The pink mare smiled brightly as if she knew something. "Sure!, come on in. The cake family is asleep though, so be quiet." She trotted inside and I followed her as she bounced childishly upstairs. When we reached her room, she sat on a chair that at first I though was flying but actually the back of it was glued to the wall. I sat on a bag of flour that had a party hat on it. When I asked her about it all she said was. "That's for special parties." Whatever that means. It seemed a bit irrational when I noticed the party-hatted ball of lint in the corner though.

"It's about Lyra... And miss Kyandi..." I said with a sigh. Pinkie nodded and started writing something on a piece of paper.

"What about them?" She asked with a bit of a frown on her face. I explained what happened in unfortunate detail. Not leaving out the slightly less appropriate parts in fear that I wouldn't get my point across otherwise. Pinkie looked very concerned. "Mr. Pane. Maybe you should go see Remy. I... I don't think I can help here. But what I will say, is that Lyra is your friend. You need to be there to help her. I'll do what I can to help out. But I can't do anything about Bon-bon. And Lyra must be so torn... Go see twilight tomorrow after work. She might be able to teach you a spell to get to Remy's casino faster. I should get some sleep though. And so should you." She led me out of the house on a slightly sour note. "goodnight, Glass." She said as I walked back to Lyra's.

The walk back didn't take long. I slipped in the house and Lyra was waiting in the living room for me. "So, you did go out. You should really leave notes when you plan on going drinking." She said, sounding slightly annoyed. I looked at her and sighs. "I was visiting Pinkie. I needed some advice." I said, hoping she'd understand. "Okay Glass..." She turned around and went to her room. "Wait, before you go to bed... W...Wanna go to The casino and get a sandwich tomorrow afternoon?" I said before she closed the door. She smiled at me weakly. "Sure, Glass. I'd be happy to get a sandwich tomorrow." She said happily.

I nodded. "And while on the subject of leaving notes. You should let me know when you plan on sleeping on the couch next to me." I said jokingly. She blushed and closed the door. 'oops...' I thought as I lied down on the couch. Luna's moon was practically gone already, but I got a nice amount of sleep before the sun rose.

I woke up at around eight AM. I got straight up and left a note saying I'd be back around one to take her to the Casino of the Air. I snuck out to head to Twilight's house. I Ran as fast as I could to get there in time to be back by 1:00.

When I reached Twilight's giant tree house. I was astounded by just how different it was from the other cookie-cutter houses in ponyville. I knocked on the door softly, and a few moments later I heard somepony talking quite loudly. "Why do I have to get the door, Twilight?" Said a young male's voice. "Because, Spike. Pinkie said that I need to teach somepony a special spell, and if I don't get ready, I'll have no time afterwards to study the anatomy of Cerberus!" Said a mare's voice.

"Fine!" Said a small dragon as he opened the front door. I looked down at him, confused. "Hey there. I'm here to see Twilight Sparkle." I smiled slightly as the baby dragon called Twilight to see me.

A purple unicorn walked up to the door as the small, purple and green dragon left. "Hello, you must be Glass." She said in an intelligent voice."Come in, come in." She said as she led me into the house. Which I now remember was also a library.

"Pinkie said you had a spell to teach me?" I said, hoping that I could figure it out within the next 4 hours and 30 minutes so as to be back in time to take Lyra to the Casino and talk to Remy. Twilight pulled up a book and said. "Yes, we're ready to teach you. First watch me demonstrate." She focused her magic into her horn and I watched in amazement as with a flash of light, she was upstairs next to Spike, who had gone to bed while we were talking.

"Oh my Celestia! How did you do that?" I said as I looked around desperately trying to find a switch or wire or trapdoor somewhere to make sure it wasn't a trick. I found nothing. Twilight giggled slightly and then got serious. "Well that's what I'm here to teach you. Now, focus your magic into your horn and think of exactly where you want to be. Try getting to that table." She motioned toward a table in the middle of the room.

"I'll try." I said as I focused my magic into my horn. I have to admit, it put a lot of strain on my head. and the light wasn't nearly as bright as that of Twilight Sparkle's teleportation. But I focused on the table, closed my eyes, I heard a *POOF* And suddenly!..... I was standing in the exact same spot I was two seconds prior. Only now I had a headache.

Twilight shook her head. "Focus on the table, and move all of your magic to your horn. Also, stand with your knees locked." She said. I couldn't help but notice how she suddenly got kinda demanding when I failed the first time. But I tried again. Following her instructions to a point.

I focused as hard as I could and tried again. This time though, I fell flat on my face from fatigue.

I woke up at 12:30 to Twilight reading a book entitled. "An egghead's guide to hiding an unconscious pony from guests"
I got up and decided it would be awesome to teleport right next to her while she read her shady book. I focused on the book and moved my magic to my horn, concentrated, and with a flash of light, I was in front of Twilight Sparkle.

"EEK!" she said, stepping back from her book as I tiredly looked up. "D-did I do it?" I asked, worn out from the effort it took. Twilight nodded and looked at me worriedly. "I don't think you're going to be able to make more than 3 trips a day with that though. You're not quite as efficient at magic as I am, but practice some more and maybe in a few months, you'll be able to teleport twenty times per day."

I smiled at her. "It's okay. I still have two trips to get where I want to go and home again. Thanks Twilight Sparkle." I said happily in a tired, relieved, and yet hurried voice. It was almost time to go, so I said my goodbyes and ran as fast as I could to Lyra's house. I passed by many ponies whom I would in other conditions would have stopped to greet. But I couldn't be late today. It was 12:55 now, and I wasn't going to let Lyra down. But I was two blocks away. I remember thinking to myself. 'What would Pinkie pie do?' almost by instinct I looked at a hanging porch-top cloth over a shop. As silly as it was, I just had to say. "Bouncy...".

I jumped on some boxes and hopped up to the cloth. which I immediately bounced off of and onto the rooftop. Cringing from the fall, my back-right leg got hurt a little, but I ran and jumped across the rooftops as fast as I could. I just hoped that I could get there before Lyra gave up on the Idea of the sandwiches. I jumped off of the last roof of the block, trying to make it home. and suddenly... I looked over to the town clock building... it was one o' clock. 'I'm late... I'm late and I have no idea what to do. Lyra is going to be so pissed!' I thought as I was about to hit the ground. just then, I panicked and teleported straight to her house. landing on the couch. 'well, I'm here, but now I only have the one teleport.' I looked around. Lyra was in her room, she didn't notice me poof in. She was reading a book. Sitting on her bed in that awkward position she always seems to.

I walked in happily. "Ready to go?" I asked. She looked up from her book and nodded. "Yeah. I am." She said as she got up and walked toward me. I looked at her and smiled. "I bet you that we can get there in ten seconds flat." I said. She looked at me quizzically. "That's impossible. Flying takes the average Pegasus thirty minutes! What makes you think we can get there faster? We don't have wings!" She said, thinking that I had gone crazy. I smirked and said. "Just close your eyes." She reluctantly did so and counted out loud to ten. "1" I focused my magic. "2" I thought of Remy's casino. "3" I concentrated on it. "4" I strained to start teleporting. "5" I took up teleporting position. "6" I realized that I was trying too hard and relaxed a bit more "7, 8, 9," With a flash of light we were there. In ten... seconds... flat. "10"

She opened her eyes and we were already at the VIP table. there were one or two other ponies since the casino was open early tonight, but for the most part, it was just us and the workers. A Pegasus who had a golden mane, white coat and blue eyes walked over to us. I knew this pony. Well, sort of. I never asked his name, nor have I seenhim since the first real day I had in ponyville. The sleeping stallion from the Inn. "Hello there. I usually don't take orders but Remy was short on staff and I owed him a favor. So can I take your order?"

I chuckled a bit. "Yes, we'll have two of the "Lyra's common" please." I said. Remy must have run out of names for sandwiches to name Lyra's favorite one. "Lyra's common." That's like naming clouds. "Rainbow's bed" But I'm just nitpicking. Lyra ordered two "Burgundy-blacks" to drink and I told her I wanted to see Remy, and that I'd be back soon. She sighed "Okay, Glass... I'll still be here when you're back." She then realized that she was sitting like a normal pony since she hadn't moved after our teleporting here. She moved back into her comfortable pozition and played with her front hooves. Actually, she called this "Twiddling her thumbs" Even though she has no thumbs.

I walked over to the stairs which had a door at the top that said "Remy's office" I walked up these stairs and tripped on the fourfth one. After this the door at the top opened and Remy stepped out. "Oh hey, Glass. Sorry, that step is 3 millimeters higher up than the others. Come on up." He said in his happy, young-sounding voice. I found him less odd now that I knew that there were other ponies like him. Nice, but serious when need be. Ponies like Lyra, and Twilight. Ponies who don't give up on friends.

I got up and walked up the rest of the stairs. I went into his office. there was a bed in there. As well as a desk and two chairs. Remy sat at one chair and offered me a seat. I sat down and sighed. He took quick notice of this. "What's on your mind, Glass?" He said seriously.

I looked at him, about to cry, but too nervous to show it. "I... I met a mare in Ponyville. A sweet, elegant, beautiful mare." I said. He looked at me in what seemed to be confused cheerfulness. "That's great Glass. So why are you sad? What happened?" He asked my with such sympathy and concern that I was caught off gaurd. "I.. I was at her house after being lost late two nights ago. and well... when I woke up... There was another pony in her shower... So I went back to Lyra's house and cried."

He frowned. "I see, well. Heartbreak is something everypony has to deal with, Glass." I looked at him straight into his goggle-covered eyes. Tears were now rolling down my face. "But... Th-that's not all... Remy..." I sobbed as I spoke these words. "I did.. I did something bad Remy. *Sniff* Something that I shouldn't have done..." I cried into my hooves for about a minute before letting him speak again.

When I was finished with the bulk of my crying. Remy spoke. "What did you do? I can help you out if you tell me what happened." When he said this I looked up. "I... I needed something to help me cope... Lyra walked in as I cried on her couch... S-she has feelings for me and I..." I couldn't talk. I cried. I cried a lot. I gathered all of the bravery I could, and finally said it. "I fooled around with Lyra... I used her..." I said, half-expecting Remy to explode in a fit of rage.

"Glass Pane..." He said, his goggles leaking with tears. "Have I ever told you why I wear these goggles?" He said, sobbing much like I was at the time. I shook my head, not willing to speak. "I used to be like you, Glass. Like everypony in FillyDelphia. I used to do what you did with Lyra. With a lot of other ponies. And one day. I realized how terrible I was acting. I gave it up. I settled down. I bought these goggles for two reasons. To hide my sadness from everypony... And to remind myself never to look back." He looked at me more closely. "Glass Pane, For the sake of Lyra's heart. I want you to go on at least one date with her. If you don't want her after that. Then find somepony you do want. But for her sake, I want you to give her a chance. Now get out of my office until you've got good news to tell me." He said. I walked over to the door and went down the stairs. 'Well, I suppose I could Give the Mare a Chance.'

Author's Note

I'm baaaaack!~ I hope you didn't miss me too much.

Chapter 7: Not I

I walks down the stairs. Being careful not to trip on the off step. When I got down there, I saw Lyra at our table. She looked bored... And somewhat depressed. The food had already been brought. But she wasn't eating yet. She wasn't going to eat without me. I couldn't believe my eyes as I walked over to her.

She was patiently waiting for me... Something nopony had cared to do before. I walked over to the table, and when she noticed me, her ears perked up and she smiled. "Well look who came back. I almost thought you'd forgotten about me. You were there for twenty minutes!" She said, half-jokingly. I could tell she was slightly mad, but just wanted to enjoy the time she had with me. I sat next to her (Like a normal pony) And smiled at her. "I'm sorry, Lyra. I had some things to tell Remy about my time in ponyville." I said.

She looked at me, confused. "Glass... Have you been crying?" She asked. Looking kinda worried. 'Her worried face is kinda cute. But it makes me feel really sad... Maybe I should explain what I was talking to Remy about? No, then she'd think she's a bother. I should just change the subject' I smiled at her. "So what's in this Burgundy drink stuff?" She sighs, probably knowing that I didn't want to talk about any of it. "It's called a Burgundy-Black and the menu says it's got fruit punch, rum, and red grape juice in it." She said as she messed with her mane. "The menu also says in the description that it's based on somepony that Remy thought had potential. It reminds me of you, now that I look at it." She looked closely at the glass of various fruit juices with rum in it and giggled. I however, wasn't quite as bubbly. "Shall we eat?" I asked. She smiled and nodded, picking up the sandwich with her hooves rather than magic, and taking small bites.

I used my magic to pick up the sandwich and eat it like any unicorn stallion would. I chewed my first two bites and after I had swallowed, I decided to speak. "Y-you look good tonight, Lyra." I said, wanting to try to play this as if it were a date rather than a night between friends. After what Remy said, I decided to try it out. Lyra blushed and looked down at her plate. "Are you still that upset about Bon-bon... That you'd try to seduce me twice, Glass?" She asked, sounding both sad and flustered.

I Panicked. 'Shit! This isn't what was supposed to happen.' "No, Lyra. That's not it at all! I'm being sincere!" I couldn't believe what I'd gotten myself into. But I'll be damned by Celestia herself if I don't fix it. Lyra looked at me. Her golden eyes looked right into my own eyes. Not with happiness, anger, or sadness. She had a 100% straight face. She then leaned in and kissed my cheek.

I couldn't help but blush. "W-what was that for?" I asked, rubbing my cheek with my left-front hoof. She giggled. "Well, you're not jumping on top of me, so I suppose I trust you." She smiled at me. I was still confused, but I just kept eating. after about five minutes of silence, she was the first to talk. "You know, This seems a lot like a date... Just saying..." She said nervously. I blushed deeply and looked at my food. "Would you like it to be a date?" I said, beginning to think she was growing on me. She sighed. "Is it some kind of pity date or something? Because I don't think I want that." She was still quite suspicious. I don't blame her. I've been used before. I know how it feels... How paranoid it makes a pony.

"Lyra. I make a lot of mistakes. But I'll be damned to the moon if I make the same mistake twice. I have no ulterior motives. I just wanna see if this works out." I said. I was being as sincere as I knew how to be. And I think she picked up on it, because she started smiling again. "Alright Glass. It's better than being home alone." She said.

A different pony from the first waiter came to check if we wanted anything. This one was a blue, pegasus mare, with a pink and white striped mane, pink eyes, and a seemingly bubbly personality. "What happened to our other waiter?" I said. the mare giggled quite falsely. But only I could tell that behind that mask of giggles, she had been hurt and has turned off her emotions. Simulating happiness at the expense of her health. "You mean mister Vibrato?" she pointed onto a stage, in the center of the casino. Where our former waiter was tuning a guitar. The current waitress giggled and hooved us a large, unidentifiable drink. "It's on the house. Courtesy of Mister Remy and Mister Vibrato." said the waitress. Who's nametag read "Bree" The drink was an odd swirl of turquoise and burgundy.

I couldn't help but think that Remy was trying to play "Cadence" on us. The stallion who I now knew was named Vibrato, started talking. "This goes out to the two at the VIP table."

Everything you plant will die...

The seasons all will pass you by...
Liars will look you in the eye...
So who's afraid to love? Not I.

I looked to Lyra and blushed. "I didn't plan this, I swear." I said, nervously. Lyra just looked at me and giggled. "I think this is Remy's plan. You told him about what happened... Didn't you?" She eyed me suspiciously and smiled. "That's why you were up there. That's why you look like you've been crying." She said, as if it were a jigsaw puzzle being pieced together in front of her, and she found the last piece. I sighed, and nodded. "You're right for the most part. At least, from what I can gather." I was not quite sure myself. We both took a sip of the large, drink and talked about our days. I talked about my new spell and how I fainted when I tried the second time. She laughed when I told her the story. I did too.

Vibrato was still up there singing. Hours passed and I'm pretty sure we were both drunk when Vibrato had stopped and we decided to leave. It was around 8:00 PM when we stumbled out the door. "H-heeey, Glash. D-do your Poofy thing! The one you did earlier to get us here~" She stuttered as she giggled in a tipsy fit. I don't know what was in that drink. But dammit, it was strong. "I actually should have told ya... I can't ushe it agen today." I was as drunk if not more drunk than her. She shook her head. "It'sh a tree hour walk home, Glash... We'll be lucky to make it by midnight." She said.

I gasped. "W-what? You mean we's got ta walk home alone at night for three hoursh?" I started walking forward with her. We were about a mile away when we started talking again. (2:30:00 to go). She spoke first. "Glash... I had so much fun tonight. And I guess we're going kinda fasht. But would you maybe wanna sweep in my bed tanight? No sex or anuthing. Just... Maybe to shnuggle?"

I drunkenly nuzzled her cheek. "Sure, Lyra. After tonight, I need a real bed to shleep on anyways." I wasn't exactly in my best mental state at this point. In my drunken head I thought that this was perfectly acceptable on a first date with a pony whose best friend I'm in love with... Again. That drink was REALLY strong. What went through my head was the equivalent of 'Lyra and I are in the same general area... Cool... what's she saying? something about me taking her bed tonight? I suppose she could take the couch. awesome.'

In the next hour... She poured her heart out to me. saying things like. "You know Glash, if I hadn't met you... I'd shtill be depressed." and " I kinda liked you from tha moment I metcha'" To this, I just smiled and nodded. every now and then saying, "So shweet of you." (1:30:00 to go)

Later the conversation shifted to Bon-bon. I was now sobering up. "Lyra... I want you to know that I still have feelings for miss Kyandi. One great night isn't enough to change that. But I'm giving us a chance. Because I truly do think you're great. And You deserve a chance."

Lyra wasn't as sober as me. "Glash. I think yoooooouuu're sexy~ and if you think I'm shexy, let's just leave it at dat till we're a bit more sane" She said. I doubt she even heard what I said. But eventually things went silent. (00:5:00 to go)

We got into town and she seemed to be really happy to have had a night with me. When we got back home, I remembered what she asked me about bed... I couldn't exactly go back on that now that I've said it.

I went to her room. It was a really nice place. She didn't have any pictures. Her sheets weren't any better than mine were back in Fillydelphia. It kinda felt like home... In a good way. I felt like the only good part of Fillydelphia was right there. I fell onto the bed and Lyra fell right next to me and snuggled quite intimately next to me. I was both uncomfortable and comfy at the same time. I suppose as long as she's happy for one more night. I've done what Remy wanted me to.

Lyra placed her front hooves around me and nuzzled the back of my neck. It was almost creepy, but I suppose she deserved her moment of drunken creepiness while she had the chance. Her horn lightly grazed mine. Which made me just want to get to sleep, because I didn't want to be awake to feel her constantly rubbing my horn with hers. She spoke as she closed her eyes. "Who here isn't happy to be home?" She giggled drunkly and tiredly.

I sighed and smiled as she fell asleep. "Not I."

Chapter 8: Tricky

I awoke. Celestia must have been giggling as she saw me in the bed of my roommate. I had no hangover, oddly enough. Though that drink we had was some of the strongest stuff I've ever tasted. Lyra still had her hoof around me.

She woke up and nuzzled me before realizing just what was going on. "Oh! Glass!" She shot up out of her bed so fast that one might mistake her for Rainbow Dash. "W-what happened last night?" She said nervously. I simply rolled out of bed and told the truth. "You invited me to sleep in your bed last night. Nothing happened." I said, tiredly.

She blushed and sighed. "Alright. Thank's for giving it to me straight, Glass. Do you have anything you need to do today? Because I'll be getting groceries all day. I won't be back until at least five tonight." she said. I was relieved to hear that I'd have a day to go about the town. "I can just go explore the town today. I don't want to spend all day inside alone. If I did I wouldn't have moved here in the first place." I said, with a bit of humor, but mostly sincerity in my voice. She giggled and nodded. She left with no more than a "See ya later."

I took a quick shower and left the house with high hopes for today. I had just realized that I met 3 of the 6 elements of harmony. There were 3 more to meet before I'd have made friends with all of them. But that wasn't really a goal. just a realization. I felt that if I made friends with all of them, some kind of "harmony" would rub off on me. As nice as this town was, trouble seemed to follow me wherever I went. 'First Bon-bon broke my heart, then I broke Lyra's, and now I'm just confused.' I had no clue what to do next. I decided to just go see if I would find something nice to wear. After all, nopony suspects sadness from a stallion in a suit.

I walked towards a tomato vendor who seemed to have a really high price for tomatoes. I asked where I could get a nice suit. and she suggested the Carousel Boutique and pointed towards the business area (If one could call it that) of Ponyville. I smiled and went on my way in that direction.

I quickly arrived at an amazing boutique with no lack of fanciful decor. I can't describe it and do it justice. I was just blown away by how beautiful the building was. I walked over, slightly intimidated. I knocked on the door and waited as I heard a very high-class sounding pony say "Be right there, darling." I could tell that the pony who owned this was Rarity. The element of... Generosity? I didn't quite see it at the time. She seemed to have a lot for herself, from the looks of things.

The white unicorn, Rarity opened the door and smiled. "Is there anything you need sir?" she said nicely. I was starting to see the generosity, but I still wasn't sure how generous she was.

"I need a new suit. One that makes me seem a bit happier. Can you help?" I asked. Rarity stroked her purple mane. "I'm helping another customer right now. But come on in and I'll get you fitted in a second. You can watch me work if you like." She smiled and walked inside, I followed her in and I was immediately noticed by a young filly on the way in. "Hey, I know you!" Said a familiar voice.

A small, white unicorn with that purple and pink striped mane ran up to me and smiled. "You're Glass right?" She jumped up and down as she spoke. "Yes, and your name was Sweetie, right?" I smiled down at the adorable little mare. She nodded and smiled as Rarity, whose accent didn't match her sister's non-existent one in any way shape or form, started talking from across the room. "Sweetie, stop bothering the customer." To which Sweetie replied "His name is Glass." as she did this odd sliding thing with her hind hooves to get back to what she was doing.

I walked into the room where Rarity was back to working.

... Unfortunately, there was somepony else who recognized me in that room.... Standing there, modeling herself with a new dress, was a mare I knew all too well. "Glass, Glass Pane? Is that you? You asshole! I haven't seen you in ages!" Spoke a voice that I could only describe as disturbingly gruff for a mare's voice. Not like Rainbow dash's more like the sound of a jacket zipper if zippers could talk.

Standing there, was a brown, white-haired pegasus mare with a broken heart cutie mark. She was taller than most mares without being princess-sized. She was... "Oh, you know Harriet York?" Said Rarity. "Also, Miss York, watch your language, my sister is just outside the room, you know.

Before I could reply, Harriet started talking. " Glass and I used to go out in highschool. He broke up with me for some reason during junior year." The truth of the matter was that she cheated on me with two mares, four stallions and a griffin. I didn't want to talk about it anymore. I just stayed silent for the rest of her visit. I couldn't help but feel like she was in Ponyville for reasons not quite as innocent as mine. That dress was added to a list of mental notes. 'Why is she here, and why does she need to be dressed up? This reeks of one of her schemes.' She was a sneaky weasel of a mare.

Rarity spoke first. "Well, darling, your dress is finished. that'll be 20 bits." She smiled and held out her hoof. Harriet giggled "I'll have to send you a check." She said. Rarity was drawn aback slightly, but agreed. "Sure. I suppose." And Harriet left without another word.

From behind Rarity, I spoke. In a tone I hadn't used since the morning Lyra woke me up. "She... She isn't going to pay..." I said sorrowfully. Rarity turned to look at me. "I trust her, she seems nice." She said, looking concerned at me. "Now let's get you fitted." I stood up on the little stage thing, and she took my collar, and stomach measurements. And being in this line of work, she was very interested in listening to me talk about things. I stuck to things about the town and how amazed I was by how happy it is.

When she had taken all of the measurements she needed, she asked if I wanted any specific color. "No thank you. You're a designer, you choose." She told me it would be done in two days and it would be 10 bits for a suit of my size, I gave her 30 on the way out. She looked at me funny as I opened the door. "Why so much?" She asked. I said. "Because what I saw here today was a robbery. and that's the profit you lost." I left without another word, I decided that I should see if sweet apple acres sells hard cider.

Cider is good, but I just needed a drink really. So I walked towards sweet apple acres. 'Damn... Why the hell is Harriet here? She must have known I was here. Or maybe there's something I'm not getting. I came here to be happy, the only reason she goes anywhere to make ponies miserable. So if turns out not to be me, I need to save whoever she's got her sights on.' Somepony was going to be in trouble soon. I had to figure out if it was me, or somepony I knew. And I thought best when I had some alcohol in me.

It took me a few hours at my slow pace to get to the acres. But when I got there, I called out for Big Macintosh. But instead of the large, red stallion that I saw when I first came here, there was a small, familiar filly. With those large, amber eyes, she looked up at me. "Hello, Glass. How are ya?" Said the energetic Apple Bloom. I couldn't help bet chuckle slightly at the young filly who may damn well have been one of the five cutest things in town. Cuteness... That was rare where I came from. "I'm alright, Apple Bloom. and you?" The young filly jumped up and down. "I'm great! We got around ta trying ta make candy today... No cutie marks though..." She sighed, but quickly smiled. "what're ya doin at the acres?" She asked.

I sighed, I couldn't just tell some filly that I needed alcohol. "Is Big Macintosh here?" I asked. Apple Bloom shook her head. "Nope. But mah sister is! She got home from Manehattan last night!" She called out into the large area. "APPLE JACK!"

Not a few moments later, Apple Jack ran up to the gate. "What's up Apple Bloom?" She looked up at me and smiled. "Oh howdy there, partner. What can I do ya fer?" She asked me as Apple Bloom got distracted by a butterfly, whispering under her breath. "Cutie mark crusaders butterfly catchers."

I smiled at the cuteness Apple Bloom displayed, and look to AJ. "Do you sell hard cider here?" I asked. The orange mare nodded in reply and was in and out of the nearby barn with a six pack of hard cider. "That's 5 bits please." I gave her the money and she gave me the drinks. "Mah sister seems to know ya. I think it only fair that ah should too. I'm Apple Jack. What's yer name, sir?"

I smiled and held out my hoof. "Glass." She shook my hoof and smiled. "Good ta meetcha, Glass. Have a good day!" She said. I waved goodbye to Applejack and (The still distracted) Apple Bloom.

As I walked away, I thought to myself. 'I should find Lyra... With Harriet around here, I don't think we'll be safe outside of her house for a while. And I should warn miss Kyandi too.' I ran towards Bonbon's house, because it was closer. I ran as fast as I could to get there before something bad had any chance to happen. I arrived at the door of miss Kayndi's house. I knocked twice.

The door opened, but the pony standing there wasn't Bon-bon... Standing there... was Harriet York. She spoke. "Well hello there, Ass Pain." I look up to her face and grimace.

"What are you doing here, Harriet?" I asked, angrily. To this she giggled. "Bon-bon is my room-mate. And what are you doing here?"

'My goddess... This is Tricky...'

Chapter 8.5: Lyra's day.

This is a story. Not a long story. Just a story about my day. I felt like I needed to share it.

I woke up and felt something soft against me. It felt so smooth, so welcoming and warm. I had my hoof around it, and I felt happy. I kept my eyes closed for about five minutes, not caring what I was next to. It just felt warm, and comfortable. I wondered if maybe I should open my eyes. But why ruin the mystery? Why look upon what it was, only to find a blanket or something? Why not just stay, and imagine it was the one I wanted this with.

Eventually, I nuzzled the object. It twitched slightly. Almost as though it were... Alive? I opened my eyes slowly. Equestria's record for the most obvious blush must've been what was on my face as I saw the burgundy fur, and messy black mane of Glass Pane. I did my best not to scream with both joy and terror. "Oh! Glass!" I yelped as I jumped out of the bed with no nerve left intact. "W-what happened last night?" I said, hoping to Celestia it wasn't what I thought it was.

Glass rolled tiredly out of my bed and said with such a trustworthy expression, "You invited me to sleep in your bed last night. Nothing happened." That was a relief to hear. It started coming back to me. 'I was drunk last night' I thought to myself.

I gave out a sigh. "Thanks for giving it to me straight, Glass." I had to get out of the house today. I wanted to get some air and think about things. "Do you have anything you need to do today? Because I'll be getting groceries all day. I won't be back until at least five tonight." I said. He smiled and told me he was going to explore town a bit.

I giggled nervously while thinking 'Oh my Celestia, Glass looks so cute with bedhead. I really wish that he thought of me that way too.' I kept finding myself looking from his head to his hooves, exploring him with my eyes. I smiled at him and said "See ya later." As I left the house, I decided that i'd go talk to some of my friends. They'd be able to help me with this whole Glass situation.

'I don't think I can go to Bon-bon for this one... She's usually my first choice, but the circumstances call for somepony else.' I decided to start by going to Octavia's house. Octavia and I went to music school together and found our special talents. She played the Cello, and I played the lyre. It really was a great time in my life. Colts and Stallions meant nothing to us back then. They would only have distracted us from our musical dreams. Eventually, Octavia decided that she wouldn't date anypony who didn't have better musical talent than she did. I found myself just not finding interest in stallions until Glass came along.

I began walking to Octy's house about half way there, I remembered that she had gotten a new roommate in the last few weeks. I was kind of excited to meet this mare who was fancy enough to live with Octavia Noteworth. I giggled at the idea of an even more uptight pony than her. 'I bet she folds her tail at night to keep her bedsheets from getting hair on it.' I thought a lot of things like that to myself. It was mean, but I had to say something lighthearted to myself today. 'I bet she sorts her cereals by hay content.'

I giggled like a schoolfilly by the time I got to Octavia's house. I calmed myself down and pushed the doorbell. to hear only a WUBWUBWUBviviviviviivi WUBWUBSCREEECH! 'That's not normal...' I thought to myself. Octavia yelled something I couldn't hear and another pony yelled back.

The door opened and I was greeted by Octavia, her mane was messy, and it looked like she hadn't slept much. She smiled at me. And I smiled back at her. Her familiar face looking like it was being weighed down by stress. Her gray fur and mane all shabby-looking.

"Hi, Octy." I said, slightly concerned and slightly happy.

She smiled, "Hey! Lyra 'The Lyre' Heartstrings! How are you today?" She giggled, but her giggle was like her. Worn out, tired sounding, and yet happy.

"I'm alright." I said. "And you?" I looked at her and could already tell what the answer would be. It's odd how the world has such mundane talk. I can see how she's doing, but I have to ask anyway, just to get a conversation going.

She smiled weakly. "Tired. My roommate has kept me up all night for the past three days. Would you like to come inside?" She said without so much as a hesitation.

I walked in and sat on a livingroom chair. Her livingroom was much like a library. But with only sheet music, or collections of sheet music in book form. A white mare walked in from the kitchen but, the lighting was off. Honestly I wouldn't have noticed if she were actually a pale yellow. Her mane and tail were striped with dark and light blue, she wore sunglasses with purple lenses and her mane seemed intentionally messy. She simply waved and then went upstairs and started messing with some records.

Octavia came into the room. "Who was that?" I asked.

Octavia looked confused. "Who?" To which I pointed upstairs. "Oh, that's Just Vinyl Scratch. My new roommate. And the town's DJ."

A voice came from upstairs. Not effeminate, but not quite masculine either kinda like Rainbow Dash. "Call me by my stage name when talking to other ponies!" Octavia sighed and said "I mean DJ Pon3."

I giggled "I expected somepony a bit prissy. You two must be polar opposites." I smiled.

She looked at me. "Well, she's a good roommate. She cleans up every day. I wake up in the morning and walk down stairs, and she's already doing the dishes. Only... One problem... She cleans them with..." And before Octavia could say another word, there was a loud WUBWUBWUBWUBviviviivivivi Zipzapzippy WUBWUBWUB WWOWOWOWOWOOOOO from upstairs.

"Those..." She said.

I uncovered my ears. "I see. Wow. That must be annoying." Octy nodded. "Well... I hate putting stress on you, but I have a situation that I want to talk to you about." I said calmly.

She smiled and perked up. "Oh, anything for you, Lyra."

I blushed deeply. It was embarrassing to say. I decided to just get it over with. "I met a stallion who became my roommate, and now I think I'm in love with him, and we slept together but he's really in love with Bon-bon! And last night we went on a date because he's giving me a chance and I got drunk and invited him into my bed and I woke up next to him this morning and I don't know how to prove myself to him!" I gasped for air, as if my lungs were folding in on themselves because I spoke too much.

Octavia smiled "So you found a stallion? I was beginning to think that you were just in the closet." she giggled "Well, I suppose you should just let it be natural. who he chooses is who he chooses, isn't it? but stand up for yourself if he tries anything funny. Honestly though, Derpy knows a lot more about stallions than I do. Go talk to her instead." She said all of this so nonchalantly, I suppose I should've expected as much from somepony who has never loved before. She always wanted to be alone. Only friends. Never anything more. No matter how many stallions and even mares hit on her.

We said our goodbyes and I left just in time to escape the loud dubstep music that played a few moments later. I walked outside and did what I always did when I needed to find Derpy. I followed the trail of clouds with pony-shaped imprints where she crashed.

Derpy was by no means stupid, despite her reputation. Ponies thought she has brain problems because of her clumsyness. That's simply not the case. She has cross-eyed vision. Her intelligence is nothing to sneeze at. But she seems to stay pretty quiet about that, she's always keeping to herself when it comes to her personality. I kept walking and eventually found her. "Hi Derpy!" I said.

The gray mare looked at me and gave me a hug. She wasn't much for words, but her actions spoke louder. Her yellow eyes looked at me happily before one of them slid downward as if it were trying to escape. She smiled and gave me a quizzical look, as if to say "What brings you here?"

"I wanna talk to you about a stallion, actually. One that has worked his way into my heart." I said with a little sorrow and a little hope at the same time.

She nodded, as if to say, "Do tell,"

I told her all about Glass, and what we did, how I got drunk, the moment I fell in love with him, everything.

Derpy gave me a sympathetic look. Her eyes were wide and watery. She hugged me tight. She spoke for the first time in what must've been at least twenty four hours, judging by her voice. "I know what that's like... I'm here for you, what do you need?"

I looked at her and smiled. "You're always such a good friend. I just want some advice if you have any." I didn't want her too worried, so I had to be quite delicate with my words.

She nodded. "The best thing to do is let him know one final time how you feel, and letting him decide for himself what he wants. If he has a heart, he'll choose without putting you through any more pain." She said with a voice like silk and music. This was her real voice. But as somepony walked by, she put on a deeper fake voice. "I Just don't know how it could go wrong!" She said. She was odd at times, not letting the world hear her true self. 'But that's alright. I know that one day she'll open up. When she does, she'll find somepony who loves her for her real self, not just for her good looks.'

We said our goodbyes and I headed home.

Then things went wrong... it was 4:37... A brown pegasus mare trotted towards me. Her mane was as white as snow, One could easily say that she was taller than average, and as she trotted over, I saw her face change. Before seeing me, she had a smug grin on her face. almost an "I'm better than all of you" look. But as she saw me, her eyes clearly shifted into eyes of somepony who was not about to walk peacefully.

She rammed into me while I was distracted. "Hello, Bitch!" She said in an ear-grinding voice. Somewhat like if you rubbed a horn on a chalkboard.

"W-who are you?" I asked, shocked as I was forced back. Nopony was around they were all going home. and I just happened to be in the business district after everypony had left.

"I'm Harriet, Harriet York. But you can call me your only warning! Stay away from Glass, before you get hurt." She said, with a smirk.

"What in Equestria are you talking about?" I asked. She shoved me with her hoof and extended her wings, trying to look tough.

"He's nothing but an asshole. He's a cheater too!" She said. I could tell she was lying, but hearing it still hurt. I instantly punched her with my front right-hoof. I was angry, crying, and we were in an open empty space. I was ready to fight this little snob.

"HOW DARE YOU?" I screamed as she recovered from my punch to her face. She turned her head to look at me, only to get punched again, square in the nose. She took a step back and growled,

"FUCK YOU, BITCH!" She said as she charged at me, she flew about 3 feet above me and kicked me in the face. I was knocked down, still crying and angry. "You're nothing to him! You're a little filly who's just fucked up in the head! You're just his sex fix!" She said. 'So many lies. Maybe at one point we did have sex, and it didn't mean anything to him, but he promised he wouldn't do it again, I can't be that messed up, can I?' I got up and tackled her, pulling her hair and slapping her back and forth. She showed no signs of injury, she turned it over so that I was pinned down by her wings. She punched me multiple times. My lips started bleeding. My face was bruised, and she left when I had told her I gave up. It was too much. She laughed as she flew away. saying something like. "Now, I have an appointment with my roommate, I'll see you later, BITCH!"

I lay there for a good ten minutes before making my way home again. Glass wasn't home yet. I put on some makeup to try and cover my wounds, but it only emphasized them. I washed my face and cried in my bed. She flew so fast... She fought so hard... She couldn't have been from ponyville. Not somepony that tough.

Would Glass even care if he saw me like this? Would he even ask about Lyra's day?

Chapter 8.8: Bon-bon's day

I'm Bon-bon Kyandi. This is how my day went today, in case somepony wanted to know.

I woke up, just like any other morning, my recent roommate Harriet was already in the shower as always. She wakes up so early, I sometimes wonder if she ever sleeps at all. I decided that it would be a good day to hang out alone and have Harriet treat herself for a day. 'If I'm lucky, maybe mister Glass would come over with Lyra. I don't really know much about their relationship, and if Harriet weren't here, I wouldn't have to worry about my best friend meeting my roommate. I want to wait until she's all settled in before I do that, introducing her to too many ponies just after she moved could put a lot of stress on her.' I thought.

I waited until Harriet was out of the shower and dried off, and I told her that she should go out and buy a dress. I gave her some money, and she grinned. "Thank you, Bon-bon, that's nice of you. I'll pay you back later." She said in her gruff voice. Not quite like a stallion, just a masculine mare. She left and I sat down on the couch with a book. Specifically, "A Fault in Our Moon". By Greenward Johnson.

I sat there, happily accepting the peace and quiet. 'I have to admit, I was somewhat sad when Glass left before I could get a chance to talk to him the other day. Harriet hadn't seen anypony leave the house. I think she might've been in the shower. When he left. He's pretty cute actually, Lyra is quite lucky.'

I giggled, maybe I was a little jealous. But I'd never get in the way of my best friend's relationship. I was truly happy for her.

Harriet walked in again about two hours later, wearing a dress. She changed out of it before coming back to talk to me. "Bon-bon, what do you know about a stallion named Glass Pane?" She asked. She seemed like she was in a mix of anger and happiness. I didn't notice at the time though.

"Glass Pane? That's Lyra's coltfriend. I don't really know much about him. He's nice, though. And a bit funny." Hiding my blush as I said such things, I went to pour myself some lemonade from the fridge.

"What's Lyra like?" She asked, impatiently.

I honestly couldn't think of a reason to deny her any information. I drank some lemonade and then told her about Lyra. "She's a turquoise unicorn, you might've seen her around. She has a white stripe in her mane. She's also my best friend." I said, hoping not to offend Harriet with such a remark.

Harriet smiled and nodded.She left a while later. She said she had somepony to meet.

When she came back sometime around 5:15 she had tomato juice on her hooves. I asked her where she'd been and she said she got in a fight with the tomato salesmare. she washed up and s few moments later, there was a knock at the door. "Harriet, can you go get that for me?" I said as I stirred dinner.

She went to the door and opened it. A few moments later she came back smiling, wiping something from her face. "It was just the tomato salesmare again. She gave us a free tomato to apologies. It's too bad she had me eat it right in front of her to make sure I accepted it." She said. She smirked oddly.

"I just hope that this is all resolved now."

"It probably is. So, how was my friend Bon-bon's day?"

Chapter 9: Sleep with myself

I was stunned to say the least. ' Bon-bon's room-mate? Why would Bon-bon ever even talk to somepony as horrible as Harriet?' I thought to myself. Her white mane was slightly wet. More so than before. She had been sweating between the moment she left the boutique, and now. Her wings were ruffled, as if she had flown at a great speed for a short distance. Her nose was slightly bruised. Barely enough to notice though. Her hooves were wet, as if she had recently rinsed them off, but had not thought to dry them properly.

Harriet glared at me. "You know, it's very nice of you to bring over drinks." She said, with a slightly mischievous undertone.

I wasn't going to respond to her... Even if I was, I was too shocked to speak anything I hadn't already said. I looked to my cider, floating above me. I had practically forgotten that I was carrying it. I glared at her and decided to just turn around before things got any worse. Before she could figure out what Bon-bon was to me.

She said something that I couldn't hear.

I looked at her, still not speaking.

She giggled, and in her terrible voice, she said "I met your marefriend, by the way. She's a sweet mare... It's a shame she's stuck with you. Of course, I don't think it'll last too long.~" She said, mischievously.

I wasn't sure what angered me more. The fact that she was probably lying about meeting anypony close enough to be mistaken for my marefriend... Or the actual insult. Or maybe it was the idea that she might have figured out my feelings for miss Kyandi. Whatever it was, it got me looking for something to throw at her. The first thing that caught my eye, was a tomato plant. Long past its prime for sure. in the yard next door... The perfect way to end a conversation...

I set down my drinks, turned to Harriet, picked the rotten tomato with my magic... And tossed it at her, hitting her right in the mouth.

"GAH!" She yelped.

I took this time to run out. I wasn't about to head home... I wasn't about to do anything sensible.

As I looked behind me, I picked up my cider with my dark-red magic, and watched as Harriet shook her hoof at me before going back inside.

'Where to now? I could ask around for a place to get some quiet... But I suppose it can't be too quiet if other ponies knew about it...' I thought about this for a while. My running turned into walking the dirt streets. Nopony was around. It was getting dark, Lyra was probably home. I wouldn't have been surprised if she had been home for a few hours by now.

I walked on. Mumbling things to myself, on the empty streets. "What can I do?... I'm not going home, I don't want to talk to anypony at all right now... And I'm sure as hell not heading back to Fillydelphia. Where is a place I won't be bothered?"

Then it hit me. The one true place of solitude. The place where plants grew without the help of ponies. Animals roamed around without the need of a vet, or a caretaker. The place where mysterious things could happen, and nopony would even know. Right outside of town... 'The Everfree forest!'

I took a leaf from a nearby tree, and wrote into it with a stick, cutting the words in there. "Dear Lyra, I won't be coming home for a while. Go to bed without me. Don't wait up, please. -Your friend, Glass."

I smiled and focused my magic on the leaf, sending it to Lyra's bed in an instant. "I didn't think that would work." I said. I placed a hoof on my head as it began throbbing from the extensive strain that teleportation takes.

I kept walking after my head felt better. I had reached the edge of town closest to the Everfree. 'Here I am.' I thought to myself. I stood in front of the tallest trees I had ever seen, outside of Twilight's house. A dark mist was all I could see behind said trees. The grass surrounding the forest was tall, and a shade darker than the grass I stood on, looking into the darkness.

I swallowed my fear, and walked into the darkness slowly. The mist cleared within a four foot radius of me. And that clear radius followed me as I walked. 'I kinda wish I had been more prepared. I don't know what effects these plants might have on me... I don't even know what most of them are...' The flora of these woods was completely unfamiliar to me. There were vines, flowers, weeds, and even saplings all along the ground. The dark forest was quiet, but one could not say "Calm".

If anything, it was unsettling. I caught sight of a few animals aswell, but they didn't seem to see me. Most likely because of my dark color. I camouflaged well during the night time. One of these seemed at first glance, to be a chicken. But I noticed a reptilian body, and instantly turned my head away. I had read about such things. A cockatrice. Able to turn a pony to stone with one stare. I kept quietly making my way through the forest, being careful not to disturb a group of timberwolves.

I eventually came to a lake. There was no animal, or odd plant near it. Its shore had only grass on it. and a single, thin tree. Looking up, I could see the night sky. It was fantastic on that night. I almost got lost in Luna's sky that night, but I decided to stop basking in the glow of the stars and moon. I would instead take a soak in this lake, and clear my head. I stepped into the lake, expecting it to be cold. And yet... It was quite warm. I even started noticing some steam, as I walked in.

'What kind of lake could this be? To hold back the forces of the Everfree forest...' I looked around. It seemed like an ordinary lake. A little warm, sure... But that was the only abnormality I could see.

"Enjoying a nice swim?" Said a voice, from the fog. It was a nice voice. That of a stallion. It almost sounded like Remy, but not quite as deep.

I looked around. "U-Um... I'm sorry, if I'm intruding." I said, nervously.

The stallion moved out of the fog, and into the lake. "Oh, it's no problem." He said. I could now see him clearly. He had a blue-gray coat, and a short, blonde mane. With a tail that matched pretty well.

He had blue eyes, and a smile that Pinkie Pie would certainly approve of. He was a pegasus, and taller than me too.

I looked at him and asked. "What's your name?" I had my guard up, just in case. Anypony who hung out in the Everfree forest, must've been bad news. But, look who's talking.

He smiled. "I'm Charles. And what's your name?"

I mumbled. "Glass Pane..." I was not in the mood for a talk with a stranger in a lake, but something told me I wouldn't be getting out of it.

"What did you say?" He asked.

I sighed, "My name is Glass Pane. Just call me Glass." I waded to the farthest possible point from Charles, torn between my need to get away from all social activity, and my desire to stay in the comfort of this nighttime spring soak.

Charles smiled in a friendly manner. "You look troubled, what's wrong?"

'Nosey stalion, aren't you?' I thought. "It's not your business, because you don't know me!" I snapped. I looked to him, and despite my aggression; he was still smiling at me. Not an average smile though. His expression was the kind of expression that said "You should trust me. I want to help."

I sighed. "If you have to know, my terrible ex is now roommates with the mare I love, who doesn't even know I love her, and thinks I'm dating her best friend, who happens to be my roommate and landmare. I doubt you could help with something like that." I said, looking at him as his expression changed. He looked like he was thinking hard. 'Did I cram too much into what I just said?'

Charles smiled and splashed me with some of the we were wading in. I closed my eyes and tried to block my face, but to no avail. My mane and face got all wet, dripping as though it were raining two inches in front of me, but nowhere else.

I opened my eyes, to find that I wasn't in the lake anymore... But in front of a bar... "What happened? Why am I here?" I asked to nopony specifically.

Soon afterwards, Charles appeared next to me without warning. No flash, no sound, no warning whatsoever. I looked over to him and jumped back a bit, startled by his sudden appearance. "You didn't think it was a normal pond did you? It's a Placement Pond. It can take you anywhere you want to go if you get completely soaked in it. I wanted you to go here. So I splashed you!" He said, all too joyfully.

I couldn't place my hoof on this guy... He heard my story, and then took me to a bar. His smile though... It sickened me to an extent. I may have been getting used to Ponyville, but I was by no means ready to accept the existance of a pony who was always happy. At least, not one who wasn't named "Pinkie Pie"

"Why are we here?" I asked with a bit of resentment in my voice. I saw him take notice of my tone, but shake it off.

"We're here to take your mind off of things. You said you had mare troubles? What better way to stop troubles with somepony old than by meeting somepony new?" He said excitedly.

'Not quite the kind of thing I went to the Everfree to achieve...' I sighed and accepted that I wasn't going anywhere else for a while. Teleporting an object might take more than teleporting myself. I wasn't sure if I would get anywhere if I tried to teleport, but I wasn't going to risk looking crazy AND getting a magic headache.

I walked with him into the bar. The sign said "The fighting stallion". 'Is that a franchise? There's one of those in Fillydelphia too...' My eyes widened as I looked around me. I looked outside the door, and was shocked to see where he had taken me. The street was concrete... The buildings... All cookie cutter boxes... "No..." I said aloud. "I just left this fucking place..." I looked around the bar.

Mares and stallions with scars, or suggestive cutie marks on their flanks were all around.

Charles looked at me. "What's wrong?" He asked.

I looked at him. "Have you been here before?" I asked.

He shook his head. "I wanted to come here because this was the first real chance I got. Why?"

I looked down. "Take us back..."

He looked at me quizically.

"You don't know what happens in this town... TAKE US BACK!" I couldn't believe what I was saying. Just a few days ago, I was living in this town. It didn't scare me at all then... It just got so damn grinding... Depressing... Filthy... Had I already changed so much... That this was truly frightening now? To come back to this terrible place... was torture.

"I can't," He said. "The pond only goes one way, we'd have to go back by wing and hoof, Glass!"

I was ready to punch him in the face, bringing heart into the name of this tavern. But as I glared at Charles, and his blue eyes that might haunt my thoughts every time I went to the pool for a week, I could hear two ponies behind me, one stallion, and one mare. They had just walked in and heard my name.

The stallion tapped me and spoke in a masculine voice. Like that of an old hoofball player from highschool, grown up. "Ass Pain? Is that you?" Said the voice. My eyes nearly popped out of my head as I heard these words. I turned around to find an old highschool bully. His blue coat filled my teenage nightmares on a regular basis, his yellow mane was receding despite him being only twenty seven. His rugby cutie mark, and obviously injured front left knee, told me that he was still a jock, like always. His build was that of Big Macintosh almost. An earth pony who was buff without being all vein-y. His face was shaped somewhat like mine though.

I looked down, and sighed. "Rockin Trot... Yeah it's me..." He looked at me quizically and patted my back with his good hoof... Really hard. 'Ow!' I thought.

" Hey, I'm sorry for what I did in highschool. Being held back a year after having bad grades was really stressful, and I took it out on you. Can we bury the hatchet?" He asked. The honesty in his voice was clear, but I was certainly shocked at the idea that he would apologies to me.

I decided to take the high road, and despite my dark notions of taking revenge while his guard was down. I nodded. "Consider it buried, Trot." I held out my hoof with a weak smile, and he shook it happily.

He nodded to me and then introduced me to his marefriend. Her name was Silver Scope. She was an astrologist with a white coat and an orange mane. She smiled at me and I smiled back, politely. "She's definitely my special somepony. I wouldn't trade her for anything in the world. How's your love life, Um... I forgot your real name... Sorry."

"It's Glass Pane. And things are complicated to say the least." I turned my head to see Charles looking for a non-alcoholic drink and smiled. I found it slightly amusing that he would go to a bar to have a soda. "I think I might pull through it though. The only reason I'm in Fillydelphia again is because my friend was trying to cheer me up." I said. I found myself surprised to call Charles a friend. I had only just met him, and he was a little pushy. But I suppose when you only know three stallions, you aren't picky with which ones are your friends.

It was at this moment that I zoned out. Trot was talking about how he met Silver, and I realized just how much I had changed since leaving... The old me would have just run at the moment I saw Rockin Trot. But I told myself to stay, and hope for the best. The old me would have punched Charles for making me leave my comfort zone in favor of meeting somepony, but I went inside, despite my fear and irritation. If I hadn't left Fillydelphia and met Remy, Pinkie, Lyra, Bon-bon, and the CMC... I might still be a shut in working a stupid job, with stupid ponies. Only leaving my house when I absolutely had to...

I became proud of myself for a moment. I forgot all about Harriet, the past, my worries... And this town... 'I-I've changed... For the better. And no matter what happens, I'm still happier than I was before! No matter what happens!' I thought to myself. 'The color, the change! The happiness of everypony around me! That's why I keep moving forward! That's why no matter what anypony say, thinks, or does, I'll pull through! Why should I care about what Harriet says? She's probably lying anyway! And if Bon-bon doesn't end up liking me, I'll move on. If Lyra still has feelings for me, I'll give her a chance. If I don't know what to do, I'll ask my friends! I have friends now!'

I snapped out of my thought-induced trance, and noticed that Trot had finished talking. I looked at him and said. "How interesting. You know, if you ever come to ponyville, stop by the turquoise house. You can't miss it. I have to go now though." I shook his hoof and ran over to Charles, leaving Trot quite surprised. Charles, I have to go now. I'll meet you by the pond some time. Careful who you talk to in here, Bye!"

I ran out the door and got ready to attempt a teleport back home. 'Dear Celestia I hope this works and I don't have to walk home.' I focused my magic into my horn, and thought of Lyra's house.

Charles came out the door, and yelled to me. "What about meeting somepony new?!" He asked, somewhat shocked by the flashing light coming from my horn.

I looked to him, waiting to teleport. "I'd rather sleep with myself tonight! Good luck to you, though!." I said just before flashing away, and ending up on Lyra's couch.

Lyra was asleep in her room, and it was probably some time around 10:00. I smiled and closed my eyes and chuckled as I fell into the best night's sleep I'd had since being a young colt.

Author's Note

Charles is Captain Sir, in case you were wondering.

Chapter 10: Saturday Ponies/How beautiful.

I woke up, with a nice Saturday morning ahead of me. Celestia felt like making the sun shine quite brightly as eight in the morning, and as I got up, I noticed Lyra about to leave. There was a note on the door, supposedly in case I woke up and wondered where she was. I approached her tiredly. "Hey Lyra. How are you today? Did you have a nice night?" I asked.

She glanced at me and turned her face away quickly. Not so quickly however, that I didn't notice a bruise on her cheek and a scratch just under her horn. "I-it was fine. I got your note. Next time you should look for parchment, leaves are hard to read." She giggled slightly.

I turned her face towards me with my front-left hoof. "What happened?" I inquired, motioning to the injuries on her head. It looked like she had put on makeup to try and conceal them, but hurriedly washed it off, realizing it wouldn't help. I could see patches of her face where she didn't quite wash enough.

She sighed. "I-I fell down some stairs... Tall... Brown stairs..." She said.

I knew just what she meant. I wasn't about to leave that alone. '(I met your marefriend, by the way. She's a sweet mare... It's a shame she's stuck with you. Of course, I don't think it'll last too long.~)' I looked at her. "Harriet... I'll fucking kick her-!" I said, as Lyra stopped me mid sentence with her hoof up to my mouth.

"Glass, you don't have to do anything. I mean... Please don't do anything for me. I can't afford to stay attached to you, and if you helped me, it would only fuel my emotions... You want Bon-bon.... I should just accept that." She sighed, and I understood, though I didn't agree.

'She's just giving up?... I don't want her to keep chasing me... But I can't let my friend give up on what she wants. Especially if it's even the slightest bit possible that she might get it.' I looked at her dead in the face. "You shouldn't give up on anything ever, Lyra. You can't afford to do that in a place this happy." I said, with a dead serious look on my face.

She smiled weakly. "Thanks Glass. I have a gig to get to today. I'll be back later. I'm not sure when later. Remember, in case you go somewhere and don't come back till Sunday night, you have to go see Hard Hat on Monday. It's gonna be your first day." She smiled and ran out the door before I could say ''Goodbye''.

I closed the door behind her, and read the note, which basically said the gist of what Lyra had just told me. I looked around, unsure of what to do. I decided to see if there was a bar with a radio so I could listen to the hoofball game. I walked out, and lo and behold, the first pony I saw was Bon-bon. I walked over to her. A smile as wide as a mile, grew across my face she was standing out there, with a sign that said "Good luck Lyra!" I chuckled.

"You just missed her." I said, as I adressed the sign that she held on a string around her neck.

She giggled at me. "Oh darn! Today was a big thing for her! She's going to play the lyre with so many listeners!" She said as she smiled.

I smiled back, hoping to be able to clear things up with her before too long. "So, how are you?"

She grimaced slightly." I'd be better if you had said Goodbye a few days ago instead of just leaving." She said. I felt kinda guilty for leaving on her like that, I had jumped to a pretty harsh conclusion on that morning, something which later proved to be a slightly less harsh truth. The pony in the shower was simply her roommate, Harriet. This, however was proving almost as troublesome, if no more so.

I looked at her. "Sorry, I was a little hasty... I thought you had somepony else over for the night. Though... I can tell that wasn't the case now." I said.

She looked back at me quizzically. "What do you mean by that?" She asked, as if she didn't know I'd been to her home the day before.

"Did Harriet not tell you that I was over last night? I guess she wouldn't've. You know she attacked Lyra?" I said with an odd mixture of emotions.

"What?! I thought she got into a fight with the mare who sells overpriced tomatoes!" She seemed genuinely shocked. She must've been under the impression that Harriet was a nice mare. The same way Rarity was.

I looked into her beautiful eyes, and glared into them. "Bon-bon. Harriet is not I repeat NOT to be trusted! She's from Fillydelphia, and she is my ex. She will do anything in her power to hurt me and those I care about, and I don't want you getting caught up in this. And while I'm on the subject of assumptions, Lyra and I aren't an item. We're just friends, and that's all. And while I'm at it, wouldyouliketogooutforadrinkwithme?!" I breathed heavily, panting as though I had run a marathon of words. I spoke that last bit so quickly, I couldn't distinguish one word from another.

Bon-bon looked overwhelmed. "G-Glass! I-I think I'll take you up on that drink really quick. We can keep talking about it when we're somewhere less hot." She said. I too was noticing that Celestia might've been trying too hard today.

"Where's the nearest bar?" I asked.

She told me the address of a bar called The Cider Workshop. I smiled and teleported us there in an instant. I was getting a lot better at that. Bon-bon looked at me, with wide, beautiful, blue eyes. "W-where did you learn how to do that, Glass?"

Mildly tired, I took a deep breath. "I learned it from Twilight. I can only do it a few times a day." I walked over to the counter, and ordered two drinks. The bar tender looked at me, and then down at what seemed to be a piece of photopaper. He nodded and a few moments later he gave me a very familiar mixture. The burgundy turquoise mixture haunted me a bit, and I rejected the drink, instead asking for a gin and tonic. I shivered 'How much control does Remy have over the liquor industry?' I looked down at the paper, and sure enough, it was a picture of me.

Bon-bon and I sat down with our new drinks in hoof, and talked about things for a bit. Ourselves, our troubles, our wants, our philosophy, and our plans about what happens to Harriet.

We talked for about an hour before the bartender turned on the radio. And the shabby bar, with only two customer in it, lit up with a familiar voice.

The sound of strings was accompanied by a song. A song by a mare, around my age. She had a soft, elegant voice. It flowed like water, through the room. Lyra's face lit up at the sound of it. "She's on!" She said.

I listened to what I now knew was Lyra's voice. I noticed the bartender lock the door. 'He wants to make sure that nopony disturbs the music... does he have some kind of attachement to Lyra? Or is he just a fan? And Lyra didn't mention the radio.'

The sound flowed around us. But the lyrics punctured my chest with guilt.

I know that I should stop it, but I can't help myself.
I just have to tell you I love you.
And I know that you don't feel that way, put me on the shelf
And it hurts that I can't even touch you.
But it's not like I don't even un-der-stand.
I know she's great, and she deserves your plan.

But You're playing, with my heart...
I know, you wanna try parts...

But the more chances I get. The more things you have to regret.
and the more I get attached,
the worse off I end in fact.

Why should I even bother, when you only love the other,
And the other must deserve you more.
Why should I even try, it'll only make me cry.
And upon my heart it leaves a sore

And it's messing with my head.
I want you but I'll end up dead...

If you give me a chance again, if we were to dance and then
it'd be another reason to cry.
And I think we should just let this thing lie...

Why should I even bother, when you only love the other,
And the other must deserve you more.
Why should I even try, it'll only make me cry.
And upon my heart it leaves a sore...

The song ended... I turned to Bon-bon, to see an expression of guilt and pity on her face. It was like looking into a mirror. She looked at me. "I-I'm not sure if I should go... or just help her out later... I don't want to leave right now. I want to stay, you have no idea how much I wanna stay... but it's obvious that my best friend is hurting, and that we're the reason."

I nodded. "Go. Find the studio, and support her. I'm not going to hurt the first friend I made. Not even if you mean a lot to me. Just make sure you give Harriet a hard time when you get home, okay?"

She smiled and nodded as she got up and left the bar. It was at this point, I looked around the bar. It was all wooden, everything except the coushins on the seats. It was a really shabby place, and I ordered more to drink. I knew in my mind, that drinking helped nothing... but what else was there? I wasn't going back outside. Not while the streets were crowded by Saturday ponies.

I ordered the drink I had earlier rejected, and drank it all in one gulp. If sharing that drink was enough to get me drunk, this was certainly enough to get me beyond that.

The door opened, and a pony walked in. I couldn't notice much other than a blur of Cyan and some other colors through my alcohol-blinded eyes. The figure walked towards me, and poked me with a hoof.

"Glass? Is that you?" Said a familiar tomboyish voice.

I looked up at the figure. "Oh hai Dash." I said. The drunkness in my voice was quite obvious.

She picked me up and walked outside, saying things that I couldn't hear do to my impaired senses. 'My goodness... Bon-bon today... And the singing... How Beautiful.'

Author's Note

Over 380 readers! OVER 1000 reads! OVER 9000 POINTS ON THE "Remy is happy" METER! Also, I'd love for someone to make and Infatuation song! It could be the one in this chapter, or something original. Send it to me with whatever instrument you feel like using, and message me up. I can't wait to see what you come up with. I've already seen how commited some of you are to the story, I'd like to see how you can contribute to it.

Chapter 11: Words are Just Words

Being carried... It's like being on a boat... Maybe that's why I puked off the side of Rainbow Dash's back... Or maybe I was just really drunk. "Glass! Come on, dude! I know you had a lot to drink in there, but you need to learn to hold your liquor! I mean, honestly!" Said Rainbow. But in my ears it sounded more like. "Glass! c- du-! Lot to drink! Hold, honesty!"

To which I replied, "Uuuaagh. Where're we goinz?"

I heard a sigh. "We're going to find Bon-bon and Lyra. According to Bon-bon the first thing you should do when you get there, is apologize."

"How'm I gonna do that? It'sh obvious that I'm not in teh condition for intelligent talksh." I said as I began laughing for seemingly no reason.

Dash, obviously annoyed by the drunken mess on her back, decided to try and sober me up a bit. She found a nearby fountain, and without warning, she flew straight through it at an intense speed! "GAH!" I screamed as I fought the sickness that came from the sudden increase in acceleration. She landed about 30 yards from the fountain, and I instantly fell off of her back, feeling less drunk, but more dizzy than before.

I shook off the water, and sighed. "T-thanks, Rainbow Dash." I got up, and started walking. "Lead the way." I said, wobbling a little. I was still tipsy, but I could form coherent sentences, and that was enough to apologies to my friend.

Rainbow nodded and began walking. She blew her multi-colored mane out of her face, and remained silent for the first few minutes. But about ten minutes into the walk, she started asking questions. "So, Glass. Why do you need to apologize to Lyra?"

I sighed, the question was impossible to avoid. I would just have to suck it up and tell her. "She has feelings for me... But I have those feelings for Bon-bon. I was with Bon-bon when I heard Lyra's song on the radio..." I said sadly. " It's pretty rough."

Dash nodded. "What are you going to do to fix it?" I had a feeling she had heard the song already.

"What can I do?" I asked. "It's not like I'm a therapist or anything."

She nodded again. "Yeah, but she like you right? That means you have a lot of control over how she feels. And while that's a scary thought, it can work to your advantage in this situation. I'm not saying you should play with her emotions. Just find a way for everypony to win."

I was surprised by the cleverness of the rainbow mare in front of me.

We eventually reached the studio of the radio station 99.4 "The wing", where Lyra often played live, according to Dash. I walked inside and up to the front desk. "I need to see Lyra." I said to the mare at the front desk. She was a white mare with odd butterfly wings and a lack of mane. She had black marks on her body, and her hooves were the darkest shade of black possible.

She spoke in a light french accent, barely noticeable, as if she had been born in Prance and spent most of her life in ponyville. "Lyra? We don't have a Lyra performing today."

My jaw dropped as I looked back to see RD walking inside. "Are you sure? Aqua-marine turquoise mare? Unicorn! Plays the lyre?" I said as I made gestures that I could have sworn I picked up from Pinkie Pie. Using my hooves to express the importance of the situation.

The white mare looked at me, puzzled. "You mean Heartstrings? She's in room number four on your left." She said.

I quickly bolted in that direction. If the description was the same, it would make sense that Heartstrings would be her stage name, seeing as it's her last name. I ran in to the room, to see Lyra practicing in a chair by herself. She turned to look at me the second she could possibly have heard the door.

"G-GLASS?!" She yelped. "What are you doing h-" She paused. Her expression went from that of surprise, to that of sorrow. "You heard... I didn't think you'd be near a radio or anything..." She sighed.

"Lyra... I like Bonbon a lot. But I can't keep hurting you. You're my friend. One might argue that you're my best friend. And I keep messing up, which is something that I don't want to do. I couldn't have stayed in this town for this long if it weren't for you. I-I'm really sorr-" She stopped me. She got up from her chair, and walked over to me. She closed the door behind me with her magic, and with a loud slap sound, I was on the floor. "OW!"

"DID YOU EVEN LISTEN TO THE LYRICS?" She said. I looked up to see her crying, her tears ran like a stream that had subtle waves, rather than drops. "I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT THIS WITH YOU! I JUST WANT TO LET GO! YOU KEEP GIVING ME REASONS TO LOVE YOU, AND IT HURTS! SHE DESERVES YOU JUST AS MUCH AS I DO! IF NOT MORE! SO JUST GO AND BE WITH HER!" She yelled. Her bruised face was red from salt irritation. It was obvious she had been crying for a while before I walked in. My heart skipped a beat though at the word "Love" 'How could anypony love me? I mean, I've done nothing but hurt her since I got here...'

"I... I don't know what I shou-" I was interrupted again as the door opened and in walked Bon-bon. She was carrying a small blue box with a yellow bow on it.

She took one look at the situation, and immediately knew what was going on. "I know both of you enough to know that Glass only sort of deserved that slap, Lyra." She trotted over to Lyra, and gave her the box.

Lyra sniffed and looked at Bon-bon. "W-what is this?" She asked.

I looked at both of them, wondering what would be in the box. I tried not to take notice of the fact that from the angle I was at I could see past their tails. I could see everything. But it felt wrong to look so I ignored the urge to stare.

"Just open it!" Miss Kyandi exclaimed.

Lyra opened the box and gasped. "B-Bon-bon! T-there are no words for-"

Bon-bon stopped her. "Don't worry about words. Words are just words." She giggled

I got up, curious. I walked over slowly, wondering to myself: 'What the hell is in that box?'

Author's Note

Prance... Faris Prance? GAH! These puns are so stupid, why do I love them so much!?!

Also, who do you want Glass to be with? Who do you think is most likely?

What's in the box? I know what's in the box, but what do you think is in

Chapter 12: "Are you okay?"

I peered over Bon-bon, hoping to get a glance at what was in the box that she held in front of Lyra. I couldn't get a good look yet. So I leaned in closer, hardly noticing my cheek graze against Bon-bon's.

Bon-bon immediately panicked and I fell to the floor with my second slap of the day. THUD! Went my head as Bon-bon quickly pushed the box to Lyra and began checking my cheek for a bruise. "OMGOSH! Glass! Are you okay? I'm sorry, I forgot you were even here!"

'Thanks a lot...' I thought to myself, still a little too surprised to speak.

Lyra looked down at us. "He's tougher than that, Bon-bon. I think he wanted to see what your gift to me was." She giggled.

I got up slowly and laughed it off. "I'm alright, Miss Kyandi. I was just shocked, not hurt." I said, trying to sound cool. Truthfully, my cheek hurt a bit. But what stung more was my pride. I didn't think myself to be a tough stallion. Certainly no Big Macintosh... But I couldn't help but feel like now I had made a strike on my "Stallion Card".

I looked at Lyra. Then at Bon-bon. Two mares, who both wanted my affection. (Though, Bon-bon seemed to have slightly weaker feelings, mostly because we hadn't spent much time together as of yet.) I should feel like I'm in heaven... So why do I feel so... bad? "W-what's even in the box anyway?" I asked, nervous as to the contents and how it affects the situation.

"OH! That's right!" Lyra said as she showed me the box. Opening it up.

I was confused as I looked at the small object in the box. 'A jewel? No wait... a piece of round plastic? No, that can't be it.'

I think Lyra noticed my confusion, so she explained. "That's a project that Bon-bon has been working on for three years. Her "Magnum Opus Candy". Only one exists in the world right now. And if it becomes successful, Bon-bon will have enough money to open up a candy store!" She turned and looked to Bon-bon as I pieced together what to do next. "Bon-bon. You can't give me this. It's too important!"

Bon-bon smiled and giggled. "Well it's not like I made it to be placed on a pedestal. I made it to be eaten! And who better to test it than my best friend?" She said happily.

As if nothing happened, Lyra hugged bon-bon. I smiled as the two had a moment as best friends. Though, I must admit that my dirty mind had been smiling at the hug for other reasons. 'Dammit. I need to not think like that in public.' I thought to myself as they finished hugging.

Lyra ate the candy and her eyes widened. I wasn't sure why at first, but I was about to find out as Bon-bon turned to me. "I made another. would you like it?" She said as Lyra chewed her candy, making abnormal "MMMN!" Noises.

I nodded and held out my hoof. Bon-bon gave me the candy and I placed it in my mouth.

Instantly I was drawn aback by the chewy confection. with an outer chocolate shell, that melted almost instantly into a yogurt form like on a Clop-tart and in the very center, strawberry filling. "A-A-a-amazing!" I said. "T-they don't make candies this good in Fillydelphia!" I swallowed the chocolate treat and smiled. "I need to work with you some day, Bon-bon."

Bon-bon blushed and looked to Lyra. "And what's your opinion, Lyh?" She asked, happy and hopeful.

Lyra looked at the two ponies standing in front of her, and with a sly grin she said. "It tastes like success!" She hugged Bon-bon and smiled. "Now..." Her face turned serious and she looked away from us. "Glass... Why can't you leave well enough alone? Why do you give me reasons to like you?"

I stayed silent. There was nothing to say. Even if there was... There was nothing I COULD say. I decided that it would take some thinking, I had to get out of there and figure out my shit. "I... I need to..." I said.

Bon-bon stopped me as I tried to walk for the door and finish my sentence. "What are you doing, Glass? We're here to cheer her up!" Bon-bon said, sternly. I looked at her, and then at Lyra. Lyra was still looking away from us, but there were soft squeaks and sniffs coming from her. She was crying... And with each whimper a piece of the appeal Ponyville had, washed away. I turned back to Bon-bon.

"I really need to leave..." I said sadly. It felt awful... I had only recently gotten the boost in confidence I needed, and now... Now I felt like I was home... Not in a good way. I felt like there was sadness in the air, but somehow it felt worse than home. I was the reason everypony was sad.

Bon-bon knew what I meant, and let me through. "I'll talk to you later, Glass. I can't go, I'm her best friend. So when you figure things out, let me know so I can do what we need to to fix this." She said as I walked out the door.

I nodded solemnly and closed the door behind me. I avoided eye contact with everypony as I left the studio.

Everything was wrong... I needed to take my mind off of things so I could fix them. I needed to see somepony who had very little care in the world. Who had one mission and one alone. Who had no clue about the harshness of love, fear, anger, hatred, or life in general.

As I walked, I heard tiny hoofsteps behind me. I turned sadly, tears streaming down my face, to see a little... Orange... Pegasus filly. Scootaloo was standing right behind me.

"Are you okay?"

Author's Note

Pony related puns... Clop-tart? Really me? really?