=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.