BiE 22: Side Quest.

=BiE 22=

>The damn sun woke you up again.
>It seemed to be closer then it normally was.
>Maybe this was Celestias payback for ruining her fun over estrus.
>You peek at the clock, 10:00.
>Aloe and Lotus had given you the day off for helping them over estrus.
>You didn't want to do it, but you had some stuff to take care of and it provided the perfect opportunity.
>You rolled out of bed and made your way to the kitchen, ignoring the sounds from Anon's room.
>Damn kids.
>Your 'special delivery' should be arriving soon, might as well get ready while you wait.
>The abundance of pancakes at the market has allowed you to upgrade to eating them regularly.
>The pancakes putting you in a good mood, you made your way to your shower and started going over the day's game plan.
>Assuming magic worked the way you thought it did, it would just be a matter of practice.
>You were screwed if it didn't.
>You hoped they had enough room.
>Considering who you were dealing with, you hoped you didn't get a hoof to the face first.

>You hear a knocking at your door after your shower.
>Just as you expected, Twilight was standing on your front porch.
>"Hey, Twilight. You look like you handled the estrus as well as Celestia said."
>She gets an embarrassed look.
>"She uh...she told you that?" she stammered out.
>"Only that you thought of everything and handled yourself well."
>She still looks embarrassed, but she's wearing a smile now.
>Twilight levitates a small box over to you, as well as a book.
>"Force fields and barriers.". Promising.
>"I have to say, I was a bit surprised when you asked for these things." Twilight said.
>This WAS a bit out of it for you.
>"Just trying to take care of a minor problem, I'm a bit surprised myself that Anon got the day off today."
>She looks like she's blushing a bit. "Hehe...yeah...the Library isn't really fit for anypony to be in right now."
>Well, there goes your mental image of Twilight being a paragon of willpower and toughing it out.
>"Where is Anon, anyway?" she asks.
>"Oh, he's around. It's not like he and Rainbow are FUCKING IN THE OTHER ROOM!" you yell.
>Silence settles in before four knocks come from Anon's room.
>"Yeah, they're fine."
>Twilight looks like she's about to die of embarrassment as she cocks her head to the side inquisitively.
>"They're on round four, if they get to round ten by noon; I win ten bits and have to call an ambulance."
>The awkwardness can be cut with a knife.
>"...I'm gonna go inside now."
>Twilight just nods with a fake smile and a rather intense blush and walks away.
>Damn, how can someone that smart get weirded out by mating?

>You step into the town proper and start your search.
>A quick study of the book Twilight gave you showed that, yes, force fields worked exactly how you thought.
>The only question was whether or not she could do it.
>You don't know where Lyra and Bon Bon live, but if they're 'together' then there's a decent chance finding one will find the other.
>Bon Bon apparently ran a candy shop that rivaled Sugarcube Corner, so you start your search in the center of town.
>You were getting an awful lot of looks.
>Probably because of the big box you were carrying around.
>You eventually break down and ask Carrot Top where Bon Bon lives.
>Let it never be said that you fall into gender stereotypes.
>You mentally prepare yourself for the situation ahead.
>Best to play it arrogant.
>You open the shop door and spot Bon Bon behind the counter.
>She looks pissed.
>"What do you want?" she asks.
>You still can't get used to her different voice thing.
>"Hey Bon Bon, Lyra here?"
>Her frown gets deeper.
>"No, Lyra is not hear. I imagine that she's blowing all her money at that spa of yours again."
>That was true, Lyra came in pretty often.
>Still, if she was out looking for you then she'd be back once she realized you weren't there.
>"That's cool, I'll just hang out till she shows up."
>Bon Bon walks out from behind the counter.
>"I don't think that's a good idea." she says.
>She still looks pretty mad.
>"Aw, come on. We can swap stories about candy and junk."
>She seems to not like your shit eating grin.
>She opens her mouth to say something but is interrupted by the door opening.
>"M-Mous!?"
>"Lyra!" you and Bon Bon call out.

>"Lyra, wha-
>You interrupt Bon Bon before she finishes.
>"Lyra! Hey, you were looking for me? Cause I was looking for you."
>"Y-you were?" she asks.
>"Lyra, I do-
>"Yep! Got something to show you, you guys got a basement or something here?"
>"Well, we have one for storage..."
>"Great, lead the way!"
>"Lyra!" you hear from behind you.
>Bon Bon looks a bit hurt, still mad, but also hurt.
>"Lyra...are you really going to go with him without knowing what he wants?"
>"Bon Bon...I..." she says.
>Fuck. Now you have to be the asshole.
>"It's all good, Bon Bon, I'm a great guy. I'll get her back to ya in one peice."
>You put your hand on Lyra's shoulder as you say that.
>You can feel her tense up, this is exactly what happens when she used to come to the spa.
>If Lyra was only considering leading you downstairs before, she just caved.
>"It'll be fine, Bon Bon. Mous'll show me this thing and I'll be right back up."
>She opens a nearby door and reveals a long stairway down.
>You follow her down the stairs as Bon Bon comes up behind you.
>"Well then why can't he show us both!" she shouts.
>You turn around.
>"This is kinda just for Lyra."
>You don't wait for a response and shut the door.

>A few minutes later, you're both sitting in a small circle of candles you removed from your box.
>You were amazed that Bon Bon didn't kick the door in and throw you out.
>People and ponies do weird things for the people they care about, it seems.
>Lyra speaks up as you light the last candle.
>"What's all this for, Mous?"
>"Ambience."
>Go hard or go home.
>Might as well begin.
>"Lyra, you're a unicorn, can you make force fields?"
>She looks a bit confused.
>"What's this about, Mous?"
>"Please answer the question."
>She sighs
>"Yes, I can make force fields."
>You don't move a muscle.
>"Show me."
>A minty glow envelops Lyra's horn and a similar colored sheet of light floats above the center of your circle.
>You poke it with your finger, it has resistance, but gives if you push.
>Perfect.
>You extend your hands over to Lyra.
>"Okay Lyra, I want you to make a force field around both of my hands.
>She looks confused but complies.
>A green bubble seals both of your hands, stopping at your wrists.
>"Okay, now, shrink the force fields to match the contours of my hand. Be as precise as you can."
>"Mous, I don't know if I can do that." she said.
>"Have you ever tried?"
>"Well...no...bu-"
>"Then try. It's one of the most human ideals there is."
>She gets a determined look and the glow from her horn intensifies.
>As it does, the bubbles around your hands begin to contort and twist.
>They shrink down further until both of your hands are on a mint green energy glove.
>Lyra sighs.
>"I did it..."
>You nod.
>"Yes, you did. Now comes the hard part."

Music - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vK4gv11PTI8
>The next few hours were spent in the basement with Lyra.
>She was trying to learn how to bend her force fields the same way as your hands.
>It was slow going, she had to stop more than a few times to rest.
>Eventually though, you'd gone through almost every way a hand can bend you can think of.
>"Okay, Lyra, final step. You ready?"
>She nods her head.
>"Okay, I want you to take these off my hands and put them on the end your hooves."
>"What?" she says.
>She doesn't look convinced.
>"Do it. Worst case scenario is that we just lost a few hours over nothing."
>Lyra shuts her eyes and hold up her hooves.
>The magic gloves you've grown used to over the past few hours slip off your hands and float over to Lyra.
>The 'hands' spin around and slowly lower themselves, connecting the wrists to the end of Lyra's hooves.
>They hold themselves there as Lyra opens her eyes and smiles.
>Her smile only grows bigger and bigger as she wriggles her new fingers.
>"Mous...I..."
>She looks up to you.
>She has tears in her eyes.
>"I-I don't know how to thank you."

>You sigh.
>"You want to thank me?" you ask.
>You extend an arm down to Lyra.
>To her credit, she gets the idea and grabs your hand with her new ones.
>"Do two things for me."
>She nods her head as she stands on her hind legs.
>"One: Stop coming into the spa so damn much, you have 'hands' now, satisfy your own fetish."
>Aloe and Lotus could never know of this, they'd kill you for getting rid of a customer who came this often.
>"And Two:"
>You gesture with your thumb through the floor above you.
>"Go talk to your girlfriend. I could see the looks she was giving me when we came down here."
>Lyra's face drops.
>"Bon Bon...I don't know what I'm going to do about her..."
>"Do you want her gone?"
>Lyra jumps back.
>"No! No, no...I lo-really like Bon Bon...it's just...I don't know what to do."
>You put your hand on her shoulder, even on her hind legs, she was a bit shorter then you.
>"Go talk to her, work something out, if this did what I wanted and got you over whatever was making you come to the spa so often, then it should be pretty simple."
>You start your way up the stairs
>"I don't know why she thinks I'm so worth it..."
>You stop and look at Lyra over your shoulder.
>"Lyra, you're probably the most important person in the world to Bon Bon, of course you're worth it to her."
>You head out the basement door and head for the exit when a voice stops you.
>"Homewrecker."

>You turn to see Bon Bon sitting on a couch in the other room.
>She's holding a pillow tight to her chest.
>She looks like she's been crying.
>She gives you a death glare as you walk into the room.
>"You took the most important person in my life."
>Bingo.
>"And stole her away from me."
>"Bon Bon, nothing happe-"
>She tosses the pillow across the room at you.
>"SHUT UP!"
>She looks furious now.
>"Don't tell me nothing happened! Nopony spends four hours in a basement and does 'nothing'!"
>She has her head in her hooves now.
>"It just-I always tried to be so understanding! Everypony called her fascination with humans weird, but I looked past it. I looked passed her sitting, I looked past her trying to walk on her hind legs, Celestia knows I even looked past her going to that spa to see YOU so often!"
>She jams a hoof in your direction.
>"But I don't think I can get past her ignoring me just because you fell into our town..."
>She keeps staring daggers at you.
>"...Bon Bon?"
>You both turn to the basement door to see Lyra walk out, on all fours, it seems.
>"Bon Bon...nothing happened." She says.
>"I really wish I could believe that Lyra..."
>Lyra takes a few steps closer. "Hey, I may be weird."
>She gets up on the couch next to Bon Bon and throws a hoof around her.
>"But I'd never hurt you."

>Bon Bon throws Lyra's hoof off her and retreats to the other side of the couch.
>Lyra tries again only for Bon Bon to shoot her down.
>The room is quiet for a long time.
>You start to back away towards the door
>"I should go."
>Lyra looks up at you.
>"Thanks Mous...for everything."
>"Yeah, right..."
>You start to walk to the door.
>Quick, say something to lighten the mood.
>"Play nice, you two."
>Fuck.
>You walk out the door and hurry home before the idiocy of that remark comes back to haunt you.
>The sun was setting, the perfect setting for the relationship you just ruined.
>This blows.
>Dammit, you were trying to help.
>This always happens when you try to help.
>You trudge into the living room when you get home, Anon and Rainbow are there.
>"Hey dude...you okay?" Anon asked.
>"I'm fuckin' fine."
>You didn't need to talk about it.
>You fucked up.
>It was your responsibility.