Madmare's Paradise

Madmare's Paradise

I like sitting on the roof of my new home in Ponyville. I enjoy the sunset even though I should never be outside during the day. Nopony ever sees me up here anyway and that is a good thing.

I should never be seen.

I can hear Lyra and Bon Bon arguing again. At least it sounds like Bon Bon is trying to argue, but Lyra is not paying attention. They have been doing their best to keep me from hearing but when Lyra starts getting dismissive Bon Bon gets agitated. Even so, I haven’t been able to overhear what they are talking about.

I have been trying to keep out of their way, especially after their last fight. That was when Lyra brought me home and told Bon Bon that they would be looking after me. At first Bon Bon was simply annoyed with Lyra for not consulting with her first. After Lyra explained my situation Bon Bon was furious.

She didn’t want me here and I don’t blame her for it. It wasn’t me that was the problem, it was Lyra. Bon Bon’s primary concern was that they could not handle the responsibility. She thinks that Lyra will be a bad influence on me. I also suspect that Bon Bon does not trust me.

I agree with all of Bon Bon’s concerns. I have learned that Lyra can be a bad influence, but only when she gets excited about something. When that happens Lyra tends to act without thinking.

It sounds like Bon Bon is getting more riled up. I think that I’ll go downstairs and find out what they are talking about. I slide down to an open window and climb back into the house. I make my way to the kitchen and see Bon Bon frowning at a grinning Lyra.

“This sounds very dangerous, Lyra,” Bon Bon is almost yelling at this point. I walk into the kitchen behind her, quietly.

“C’mon, how dangerous could it be,” Lyra asks as she stands up on her hind legs and leans her back against the kitchen counter. “If it were really that bad the Princess would have asked Twilight to go instead of me.” Lyra waves a hoof in the air dismissively.

“Maybe Twilight is still in trouble after she freaked out and caused that riot yesterday,” Bon Bon points out. “And you said that she wanted you to put together a team to go investigate.”

Lyra is grinning at me. That means that she is going to drag me into this and probably make things worse. Next time I will have to remember to eavesdrop from another room.

I should never get involved.

“If both of you come with me, that would make us a team.” Lyra’s grin is growing larger. Bon Bon had not noticed me yet and she takes a moment to look back at me. Lyra, of course, takes advantage of this minor distraction to continue before Bon Bon can reply. “There is a train leaving at eight twenty five that will get us there by morning. If we all pack up right now we can get to the train station. Hopefully we’ll get there early enough to stop this from becoming some kind of end of the world, eternal night kind of thing.”

I can tell that Bon Bon still doesn’t think that whatever Lyra is planning is a good idea. I can also tell that Lyra is playing off of Bon Bon’s concerns. The implication that things will definitely be worse if there is a delay will make Bon Bon less concerned about things possibly going wrong if Lyra deals with it now. It seems to be a pretty strait forward ploy to me.

“You might be right,” Bon Bon concedes. Apparently Lyra’s ploy was not so obvious. “Better to prevent a disaster now than clean up after it later.” Bon Bon turns and walks past me out of the kitchen. “I’ll go pack.”
I watch Bon Bon head upstairs. I feel sorry for her every time she tries to argue with Lyra. Lyra always wins. I look back at Lyra to find her staring back at me with a more genuine and less mischievous smile.

“So, do you want to come with us?” Lyra asks me. “If you do I’m alright with it. Though, you should probably know what we’re doing first.”

I walk up to Lyra and sit down in front of her. She is pretty excited about this so I assume that what I am about to hear is going to be very vague. Lyra always losses sight of the details when she is excited.

“Alright,” Lyra begins excitedly. “It’s pretty simple really. The Princess just wants us to track down some cursed magic thing in Marenonia before somepony uses it and gets hurt.”

Not even a mention of the danger that Bon Bon was concerned about. I can see that in Lyra’s mind this should be ‘pretty simple’. Even without knowing what they are, I can tell that the facts are being twisted around in her head. Lyra can see the ideal outcome of any situation, but she then loses sight of the possibility of failure. Even worse, she cannot plan for the unexpected when this happens. It seems ironic, considering how fascinated she is with unusual and supernatural things.

It does not take long for Lyra and Bon Bon to finish getting ready for the trip. I have nothing worth taking. Lyra and Bon Bon try to get me gifts from time to time, but I have always turned them down. Material goods have always seemed so unnecessary to me.

We leave the house and begin to make our way to the train station. Lyra and Bon Bon are both carrying saddlebags full of supplies. Bon Bon has brought noticeably more than Lyra and it slows the two of them down. I decide to take my time and make sure that I am not observed as we walk. I look down all of the side streets and keep to the shadows. I end up tripping over a cart that had been left out, and fall into a patch of muddy ground.

Maybe I am a little too concerned with being inconspicuous and should just watch where I’m going. I pick myself up out of the mud. Now I’m filthy. I continue walking after Lyra and Bon Bon, the mud still mUd clinginGwash ing off to my coat taoc ym the of Me. I catch up towalking in front ofthem, trying to draw as little attention as I can to the mess that I made of myself, now that I was clean. s clean. I casually walk alongside Bon Bon, hoping that she and Lyra didn’t notice what I just did. changed

“You alright?” Bon Bon asks as she looks over at me. “You look nervous.”

I shrug my shoulders in response. I am usually nervous when I am outside. More so now after my little accident, but I am not going to bother Bon Bon with my worries.

“I know you haven’t been outside of Ponyville before,” Bon Bon continued. “You will be fine. Lyra and I will be there for you.”

We walk the rest of the way to the station in silence. I think about how much more accepting of me Bon Bon is now compared to when we first met. She was afraid of me. She was afraid of how I might influence Lyra. She was even more frightened by the thought that Lyra might influence me. Bon Bon had enough trouble dealing with Lyra’s cavalier attitude; she did not need another trouble maker to take care of. After she saw how calm and reserved I am Bon Bon was able to relax around me.

We arrive at the train station. It is empty and dark and quiet. I am glad that we will be the only passengers from Ponyville to be taking the train tonight. Bon Bon goes to buy our tickets from a nearby booth. Lyra is watching the train pull up with a giddy smile on her face. I find myself smiling for a moment as well. The childlike excitement that was radiating off of her was almost visible. This was the side of Lyra that I liked the most.

Bon Bon has returned with our tickets. Together the three of us board the train and look for a place to sit. Fortunately there are only a few passengers aboard and none of them are paying much attention to us. Bon Bon leads us into a passenger car without any occupants. Lyra and Bon Bon sit next to each other while I go across the aisle and lay down over two seats.

Lyra is babbling to Bon Bon about our trip as the train starts moving. I don’t pay much attention to them as I watch the scenery through the window. A railway employee enters the car and walks up to Lyra and Bon Bon.

“Tickets, please,” he yawns as he reaches Bon Bon and Lyra. Bon Bon pulls out our three tickets and gives them to the ticket taker. “You have a third ticket?” he asks is confusion.

He apparently hasn’t noticed me yet. I getjUmP UP FrOm beh nd Bon and Bon and restwalk o v e r to m.y fore hooves on t0p of her headrest I up. I should not Never do have just done that. that. Never do that. Never do that.

The ticket taker lets NEvErout a startled yell and falls back into another seat. I can feel my ears droop as I hide behindfront Bon Bon’s seat. The ticket taker soon recovers and shakes his head. “How did you get over there without me seeing you?”

Lyra snorts as she tries not to laugh. “The mare of misdirection strikes!” she snickers.

“We have quite the little prankster here.” The ticket taker smiles at me. That’s unexpected. “At least now I won’t need a coffee break to get through my shift. You got me good.” He then makes his way to the next car.

“Are you alright back there?” Bon Bon asks me as Lyra gives in to a fit of laughter.

I walk back to my original seat and nod to Bon Bon.

“That was pretty awesome,” Lyra says as her laughing subsides. “Why don’t you do that more often?”

I shrug and go back to looking out the window. I scowl at my reflection. For a while Lyra and Bon Bon try to drag me into a conversation. They want me to open up more, I think.

Conversations are distracting. The meaning of words can be twisted and misunderstood so easily. It is easier hear the words spoken than the meaning behind them. I have nothing worth saying anyway. So I keep quiet, listen and learn.

I should never speak.

Besides, I am distracted enough as it is. I have screwed up twice tonight already, and in public no less. Thankfully it is late and we are all tired. Lyra and Bon Bon soon fall asleep. I am content, sitting quietly and watch the night sky as we make our way to Marenonia.