I could hear voices. They were so loud, but I had no idea what they were saying. Despite the volume, they sounded distant. I couldn’t see anything. I tried to open my eyes, but they felt so heavy. I struggled, but they just wouldn’t open. The rest of my body felt the same. Was this even my body? It felt so foreign. So distant.

The morning came quicker than I thought. I didn’t want to get up. I wanted to stay in bed with my lovely wife. I turned my head. She wasn’t there.

“Lyra?”

“I’m in the shower, love.”

The bed was overrated anyways. I slithered out of bed and towards the shower. The bathroom was covered in a thin mist. Alas, it was thick enough to keep Lyra’s body covered through the glass door of the shower room. Lyra was in the middle of washing her hair when she noticed me. She shook her head. “You know, I’d rather you looked at me that way before I got in the shower. I don’t want to take another one.”

“You don’t necessarily need to take another shower.”

“With the way your mind works? One more shower might not be enough.”

I chuckled. The mist was thinning out, and I took a moment to admire my wife’s wet figure.

“Would you be a dear and wake our daughter?”

“In a minute. I’m busy.”

Lyra levitated her towel from the rack and wrapped it around her body. “Now, Symphony.”

“Fine,” I grumbled.

Lyra blew me a kiss, and I left the room. Across the hallway was our daughter’s bedroom. It was full of her collection of dolls and puppets. I could never figure out where she’d gotten such a strange, and admittedly unpleasant, fascination. Still, she was my daughter. I loved her no matter how bizarre her hobbies.

I rapped on her bedroom door. “Strings. Are you awake?”

Her response was an unintelligible grumble.

“Use your words, darling.”

“I said, ‘Yes, Dad.’”

“Good. I’ll see you downstairs for breakfast.”

I walked down the stairs into the kitchen-dining room area. I walked past Packrat, who was sitting at the counter, towards the fridge to find breakfast.

“Morning, Symphony.”

“Good morning, Packr…-how did you get inside?”

She pointed behind her, as she slurped her cereal. “Back door was open.”

“You could have called first.”

“Pfft.” She drummed her lips, which unfortunately caused milk to dribble onto the floor. “Come on, neighbor. To me an unlocked door is practically an invitation.”

“An invitation to ignore your impending doom.”

She groaned. The cereal bowl clattered onto the counter. Luckily, it didn’t break or spill. Packrat dropped her head into the bowl. She said something, but she was muffled by the milk.

Packrat had married a young zebra named Dionysus a couple years ago. He seemed like a decent kid. A complete and total pansy, but at least he treated Packrat well. His mother, on the other hoof, never let the poor girl catch a break. It was Hearth’s Warming Season, and Old Lady Shadow was going to be spending some time with Packrat and Dionysus. Cadance bless Packrat’s soul.

“Hey, Symph?” She’d raised her head out of the milk, which was now dripping from her face onto the counter and the floor. “Can you do me a favor?”

“That depends? Will you stop dripping milk everywhere?”

She quickly shook her head to dry it. She slung milk all over the kitchen and dining room, but at least she wasn't dripping.

“Old Lady Shadow is coming tomorrow, and I need to cook something.”

I had a flashback of the last time Packrat tried to cook something. I could still smell the smoke. “That’s a terrible idea.”

“Exactly! That’s why I need you to help me make something.”

“Hey, Aunt Packrat.” Strings trotted down the stairs and entered the kitchen. She had on her school’s winter uniform, a white button up shirt and black sweats. She was also wearing the green bow Packrat had given her last Hearth’s Warming, and the red pendant Lyra and I gave her on her sixteenth birthday.

Packrat lifted a hoof. “Hey, squigger.”

“Strings, would you be a dear and help your Auntie cook something after school?”

My daughter’s face turned pale, as she put some bread in the toaster. “Oh, gee. I have this, uh….” I could see the gears turning in her head. “Science project! Yeah. I have a project I have to do, so I can’t….”

I shook my head. “Nonsense. I’m sure whatever your Aunt cooks could be turned in as your project.”

Now my daughter was glaring at me. “That’s not funny, Dad.” She kept up her glare, as she removed the toast from the toaster and scarfed it down.

“But it’s truuuue!” Packrat plopped her head on the counter and sobbed. “I’m hopeless.”

“You’re not wrong.”

She groaned. “Why can’t you help me, Symph?”

“I have to drop off my daughter and get groceries for Lyra.” Packrat’s eyes lit up for a moment. “No, you can’t help Lyra cook. I prefer to keep my food edible. And I have to pick up my sister this afternoon.”

“’Chestra’s coming! Why can’t she help me?”

“Because I like my sister-in-law and want her all to myself.” Lyra sauntered down the stairs. She wrapped her hooves around my neck and gently kissed it. “You do realize I only married you for your sister, right?”

“Sounds fair. I only married you for your body.”

She pouted. “Now that’s just hurtful.”

I turned my head and kissed the tip of her horn. “I’m sorry, love.”

She snickered. “How about you—”

“Mom, Dad. Could you two not do that in front of me?” Strings’ shuddered and wrinkled her nose. “I just ate.”

“Fine, fine.” Lyra waved her hoof. “I’ll see you two later then.” She rounded on Packrat. “As for you, clean up this mess.”

“What mess?”

Lyra motioned to the milk all over the kitchen with a raised eyebrow.

“Hey, you can’t prove that was me.” To emphasize her point, she stomped her hoof. Of course, she stomped her hoof inside the bowl and splashed milk all over the counter.

Lyra said nothing; she didn’t have to.

“Okay, fine. I’ll help.”

“Thank you.” Lyra glanced at me. “You’re still here?”

I rolled my eyes. I put half a bagel in my mouth and headed for the door. “Come on, Strings.”

“Bye, Mom. Bye, Aunt Packrat.”

Packrat waved. “See ya, squigger. Bye, Symph.”

Lyra cleared her throat.

Strings stopped in her tracks and groaned. “Mom.”

Lyra cleared her throat a second time.

“Fine.” Strings trotted beside Lyra and pecked her on the cheek.

“Thank you, sweetie. Make good choices.”

“I will.”

My daughter walked out the door, and I closed the door behind us.

I was able to open my eyes. I wish I hadn’t. I was surrounded by beings that could only be describes as the incarnations of horror. One of them was a large black shadow. The shadow didn’t walk so much as twitch violently. After a few twitches, it would appear in a different spot. The shadow had no discernable features. It was a nothing more or less than a mass of darkness…-no, that wasn’t true. I could see one of its features now. I could see its eyes. Its piercing red eyes. And they were pointed at me.

It spoke. I couldn’t understand its language. A language that sounded like a knife being scraped against a rock. The shadow was screeching. I could feel the sound grating against my ears. I covered my ears to hide the sound, but it didn’t help. My hooves felt wet. I moved them from my ears and looked down. My hooves were stained red with blood. The screeching was so loud and unworldly that my ears couldn’t take it.

The screeching was followed by the sound of growling. I turned towards the sound of the growling. A bat-like pony stood beside the shadow. The bat looked vaguely familiar. After looking at the shadow, seeing a pony was reassuring. The bat caught me looking and smiled. When she smiled, she showed me her fangs. Her long, sharp, fangs. Her teeth were stained red, and blood slowly dripped from her fangs. Her eyes glowed as she looked at me. She looked excited. Almost hungry.

The shadow screeched again. The bat looked away from me and growled back. The two of them went back and forth. I couldn’t understand a thing they were saying. I started looking around to see if there was anyone I could understand. I found four other…-forms. I couldn’t even call them beings, because I wasn’t sure what one of them was. It was a series of white and black wavering lines. The lines were a formless mass much like the shadow. It was unsettling due to how bizarre it was, but it was by no means scary. Still, I had no way of communicating with it.

Beside the lines was…-I wasn’t sure what I was looking at. From the neck up, it was a pony. From the neck down, it was a hybrid of pony and machine. A collar was attached to the pony’s neck with rusty nails. Patches of flesh had been replaced with chunks of metal. The pony’s stomach was open, revealing metal organs, wires, and a beating heart. The hybrid was quiet. It looked at me with an expression I couldn’t quite read. I immediately averted my gaze. I couldn’t look at it for a moment longer.

Beside him was a filly. A suture ran down the middle of the filly’s face. The right side of her face appeared timid. Her right eye kept avoiding eye contact with me, while the right corner of her mouth was attempting a smile. The left side of her face had a maniacal look. The left eye frantically moved around and glared at whatever it looked at. The left part of the mouth was either smirking or laughing. The right half almost seemed afraid of the left half. So was I.

I felt something touch my shoulder. I whipped my head around to see what abomination was behind me. To my surprise, there was no abomination. It was just a pony. A small green unicorn. There were still some oddities. She had buckteeth and a handlebar moustache. After what I had just seen, I’d take the teeth and facial hair any day.

“Are you alright, Symphony?”

Symphony? Was that me? It sounded so familiar.

“Good morning.”

The cashier grunted. “What’s good about it?”

“You didn’t die in your sleep.”

He rolled his eyes and scanned the milk. “Just my luck.”

I glanced down at his nametag. “Having a bad day, Templar?”

“Bad year.”

“Anything I could do?”

“Yes.” He finished scanning and bagged the items. “Pay the money and leave me alone.”

I should’ve been mad about the rude customer service, but I was prying where I wasn’t wanted. I could understand that. I paid, smiled, and left with my groceries. Time check. It was…-9:30. ‘Chestra would be landing in an hour, and I’d need about forty-five minutes to get there. Not a problem if the traffic gods permitted.

By the time I arrived, it was 10:45. My sister was waiting for me outside in the blistering wind. She stood unflinching in her CDF uniform. And she was tapping her hoof. Great. I parked the car and stepped out to grab her luggage.

“You’re late.”

“Sorry, I had other errands to run and traffic didn’t forgive me for that.”

“And those other errands were more important than your big sister?”

“I had to drop off my daughter and get food for dinner.”

“All is forgiven.”

I put her bags in the trunk, and we hit the road.

“How was your flight?”

“Terrible.” She leaned the chair back as far as she could. “I had two flights. The Crystal Empire to Baltimare, and then Baltimare to Vanhoover.”

“You couldn’t get a direct flight?”

“No,” she scoffed. “Every flight had a layover. I tried to find one that would take me to Neighagra, but they were way too expensive.” She wrinkled her nose and sneezed.

“Bless you.”

Instead of saying thank you, she glared at me. “I’m only sneezing, because you left me out in the cold for fifteen minutes.”

“You could’ve waited inside the airport.”

“And deal with the smell? No, thank you.”

“Speaking of smell, Lyra bought a new perfume.”

“Of course, she did. She knew I was coming.” She smirked. “You do know she only married you for me, right?”

“Why didn’t she just marry you?”

“Because you need her more than I do.”

Oh. I thought I’d stumped her, but that was a good retort. A little too good. I was about to ask her about it when my phone started ringing.

“I’ll get that for you.” ‘Chestra picked up my phone. “Symphony’s phone, Orchestra speaking…. I’m his sister…. Yes, it does.” Her tone turned serious. I cast her a questioning glance. She held up a hoof for a moment. “Okay, he’ll be right there. Thank you.” She put down the phone and hung up.

“What happened?”

“Your daughter got into a fight is what happened.”

“WHAT?!”

She winced. “Could you not shout at me? My ears are just now recovering from the flight.”

“Sorry.”

She grunted. “They didn’t tell me much since I’m not her parent. She got into a fight with some colt. Both of them are in the principal’s office.”

My daughter fighting? I couldn’t believe it. “Did she at least win?”

“If she did what I taught her, then she should’ve.”

I gave her an incredulous stare. “And just what have you been teaching my daughter?”

She waved her hoof. “Nothing to lose your head over. Just basic self-defense. A couple grapples, pressure points. How to disarm someone with a knife.”

I narrowed my eyes. “She’s not joining the CDF, ‘Chestra.”

“I know that. She wants to study anatomy. I think she should.”

“Then why are you teaching her all this?”

Now it was her turn to stare incredulously. “Because she’s not a filly anymore. She’s a young mare and a damn cute one at that. She needs to be able to defend herself if some stallion or another mare doesn’t take no for an answer.”

That sounded so bizarre to me. I still saw her as my little girl. The thought of her having sex…-good Cadance, I threw up in my mouth.

‘Chestra smirked at my discomfort. “Have you given her the talk yet, or do I have to teach her that too?”

“Lyra said she’d handle that.”

“I can always help Lyra with that. Especially if we need a physical demonstration.”

“You want to teach my daughter about sex by fucking her mother right in front of her?”

‘Chestra blinked. Clearly, she hadn’t understood what she really said. The right half of her face scrunched up. “Well when you put it like that.” She yawned and closed her eyes. “I’m going to retreat from this conversation and take a nap. Wake me up when you pick up Strings.”

“Will do.”

I wasn’t walking so much as I was being dragged along. After every step I heard the sound of rattling chains. I also couldn’t escape discomfort around my neck. My neck felt tight, and I could feel something scraping against it. Something metallic.

“He’s awake.”

I blinked. I actually understood that. I looked in the direction of the voice and saw the hybrid pony. Although they were more pony than machine now. The chest cavity had been closed, so I no longer saw the metal and wires. Some of the metal chunks had been replaced by actual flesh, though the new flesh did have wires protruding out of it. The key difference was the collar with the rusty nails had disappeared. I glanced down. The rusty nails were no longer there, but I saw a weathered metal collar around my own neck.

“How’re you feeling?” the hybrid asked.

Confused. I poked at the metal collar. I was rewarded by the sound of incoherent screeching. The shadow rounded on me. It was more than formless darkness now. The darkness had formed into the shape of a masked pegasus. I couldn’t see the shadow’s red eyes, but I could see their glow behind the mask. The shadow jabbed at hoof at the collar and then pointed to the hybrid.

I shook my head at what I was experiencing.

The bat appeared beside me. Her fangs were still dripping, but she didn’t look hungry anymore. “Did you understand any of that?” She was still growling her words, but I could understand them. I shook my head again. Now her growl was unintelligible. She pointed to the shadow with one of her wings. “Shadow was getting sick of your shit. So, she decides that if you couldn’t walk we’d drag you.” She pointed her other wing at the hybrid. “She decided to trust you in his care. She said, and I quote, ‘Your contract is dead or alive. If you decide to run, I’ll just shoot you. And I’m a damn good shot.’ So far, he hasn’t tried to run.”

So that was the chain’s purpose. I had become such a liability one of the prisoners had more freedom than I. I supposed it could have been worse. I could’ve been left behind for lollygagging. Hold on a moment. Wasn’t I responsible for one of the prisoners? What happened to her? I quickly found her attached to the wavering lines. The lines hadn’t changed, but she had. The suture no longer ran down the middle of her face. It was at an angle under her left eye. It remained frantic and malicious. The rest of her face was unified. Her left eye glared at me, while the rest of her face smiled. I focused on the smile rather than the glare. It was a very nice smile.

My daughter smiled at me. I didn’t smile back. I couldn’t. I wasn’t upset with her. Far from it. According to what she’d told me outside, a colt she went to school with touched her flank inappropriately, and she fought him off. ‘Chestra may have been right after all. If anything, I was proud of my daughter. I couldn’t smile, because I was too angry at the situation.

I was currently sitting in the principal’s office. I left my sister sleeping in the car. My daughter sat next to me. On the other side of the room was the other child. He was greasy looking pegasus. He sat with his front hooves crossed and slumped in the chair. He was chewing on something, but I couldn’t tell what it was. Beside him sat his mother. A mauve Nocti with a dark blue mane and bright amber eyes. Oh, no.

She snorted when she caught me looking. “Like what you see, asshole?”

“You’re looking well, Mirage.”

“And you look the same as ever.” She looked at Strings for a moment before returning her attention on me. “Cute kid.”

“Apparently yours thought the same.”

“It was an accident!” the colt whined.

“No, it wasn’t!”

“Enough, please.” The Vice Principal spoke.

She sat behind a large desk and gazed at us with her beautiful blue eyes. I could tell she was the vice principal because of the golden VP pin attached to her pink dress. In addition to the suit, she had a on a gaudy hat. The hat may have been a bit much, but it didn’t detract from the rest of her. Sweet Celestia, she was attractive. I wondered if Lyra had the fortune of meeting this mare yet. She kept offering me a threesome for my birthday….

“Dad,” Strings whispered harshly. “Could you stop looking at Vice Principal Lysandra like that? It’s embarrassing.”

I coughed and adjusted my manner of staring from ogle to paying attention.

Lysandra flipped her scarlet mane. She smiled lasciviously at me very briefly before adopting the stern frown of a disciplinarian. “Vanhoover High School has a no tolerance policy for fighting. Under said policy, Principal Pie would suspend the two of you on the spot.”

“But I didn’t do anything!”

“It was self-defense!”

Lysandra held up her hoof. “Fortunately for the two of you, the Principal is away on personal matters. That leaves the matter of your punishment in my hooves.”

She sounded a little too delighted at the prospect. I shared a look with my daughter. If Strings’ expression was anything to go by, yes, Lysandra was always like this.

Lysandra motioned to the colt with her hoof. “Toothpick, I’d like to hear your side of the story. Strings, you’ll present your side of the story after. Is this agreeable?” Both the kids nodded. Lysandra levitated a pen and a scroll beside her. “Please start with how you know Strings.”

He shrugged. “There’s not a lot to tell. Strings and I have been going to school together since Mom and I moved here in middle school. She seemed like a nice filly.”

“Do you see her very often?”

He shook his head. “I see her around the school, and we have PE together. I see her sometimes at the mall and stuff, but we don’t really talk much.”

Lysandra nodded and wrote something down.

Mirage didn’t look happy; there was a surprise. “Why does any of this matter when she gave my son a black eye?”

Lysandra smiled an overly-pleasant smile at Mirage. “Your colt said it best. Strings seems like a nice filly. I want to see if there’s anything in their history that would cause her to lash out as aggressively as she did.”

Strings nodded. “Uh, yeah. There is.”

Toothpick glared at her. “She said you’d get your turn after.”

“You’ve already talked, so I am going after.”

You tell him, honey.

Lysandra pointed to Strings with her pen. “Strings, you have something to add?”

“Yeah, he’s a creeper.”

“Am not!”

“Well, yeah. A creeper’s not gonna admit to being a creeper.”

The cracks were beginning to form in Lysandra’s enthusiasm. “Would you care to explain what you mean by ‘creeper.’”

“Yeah.” Strings sat up confidently and pointed at the slovenly colt. “Like he said, we have PE together. What he didn’t say is that he’s always staring at me. You can ask anypony; they all see it.”

“I don’t stare.”

“So then what do you do? Ogle me intensely?”

“My eyes just wander.”

“And they usually land on my flank!”

Lysandra looked at us parents. Neither of us said anything. I was proud of my daughter for standing up for herself. I assumed Mirage felt the same. Once she realized we wouldn’t step in, Lysandra sighed. “Aside from the accused staring, is there anything else?”

“Yes, he follows me after school sometimes.”

That caught Lysandra’s attention. “He follows you?”

“I’ve never done that.”

Strings didn’t even respond to him. “Whenever I hang out with my friends, I always see him there. And he’s always watching us.”

“What? So it’s a crime for me to go to the mall on a Friday?”

“It is when it happens every single time.”

Lysandra wrote something down.

Mirage’s lips curled when she saw that. “What’re you writing?”

Lysandra didn’t reply. She finished writing and put her pen down. “Toothpick, could you tell me what happened during the incident?”

“Yeah, sure.”

He was starting to sound less assertive. Did that mean my daughter was telling the truth? I didn’t believe she was lying, of course. It was just strange to think that my daughter was being stalked. And that she’d never told me about it. I hugged her. She hugged me back.

“We were passing each other in the hall after first period. I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night, so I was feeling tired. While walking I lost my balance a little. I bumped into Strings. I looked at her to say sorry, and she kicked me right in the face. I fell down, and she jumped on me and started smashing her hoof into my face.” He rubbed his swollen lip. “It still hurts.”

Lysandra took some notes on what he said. She looked at Strings. “Does your story differ from his?”

She nodded. “A little. He did look a bit tired and more clumsy than usual.”

“See? I’m inno—”

“But he seemed to wake up when he saw me walking towards him. He didn’t just casually bump into me. He slapped my flank with his hoof. And when he turned around, I saw him smirking at me. And when I saw that smirk, I hit him. And I hit him again. And again.”

I noticed Lysandra didn’t write anything down. She cast a glance at Toothpick, nodded, and looked down at her notes. “There is a lot to consider here—”

“Like Tartarus it is.” Mirage pointed at Strings. “She just admitted to assaulting my son.”

“It was self-defense,” I growled.

“’It was self-defense.’” Mirage drummed her lips. “He touched her on accident.”

“You sure you can say that after he’s been stalking my daughter.”

“According to her. She has no proof.”

“She said she has friends who can verify her story.”

“Oh, how convenient!”

“Enough!” Lysandra took a deep breath. “As I was saying, I have a lot of information to process. I will also be conducting an investigation and collecting witness testimonies from today’s incident. I will inform both your households of my decision before the day is done. For now, I think it best you both leave with your parents for the day. Is this agreeable?”

“Yeah, fine.” Mirage didn’t sound happy at all. “Carbine’s gonna lose his head when he hears about this.” She looked down at her colt. “I hope for your sake this really was an accident.” She stood up and opened the door. She scowled at me once before leaving. Her son slinked after her.

I stood up to leave, but Lysandra held up a hoof. She said nothing; her ears were angled towards the door. Mirage and her son’s hoofsteps continued. Slowly but surely they grew fainter. Once they were no longer audible, Lysandra put her hoof down.

“I’ll be honest, I don’t think this was an accident. Based on what you told me, Strings, my first instinct is to suspend him. Possibly even further.”

“You believe me?”

“Of course. However, I do need to conduct an investigation. If you could, I’d like a list of witnesses to both the incident today and the times he’s followed you.”

“Yeah, sure. Of course.” Strings prattled off a list of names I paid no attention to. I was still too shocked at the concept of my daughter being stalked. Thank Cadance this was all that happened. I hated that this prick had touched my daughter, but it could have been so much worse.

Lysandra finished writing and set her pen down. “Thank you, Strings. I’ll get on this right away. Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to have a quick word with your father.”

“Yeah, sure.”

“The car is parked out in front. ‘Chestra’s sleeping inside.”

“Auntie ‘Chestra is here!” Strings’ eyes lit up like a fireworks show. She opened the door and galloped outside.

I smiled. “I’m glad she’s doing okay. Now what did y—” I returned my focus on Lysandra. What a sight to be focused on. She was laying across the desk. Her dress didn’t quite cover her legs. Her blue eyes were transfixed on me, and I could feel my heart thumping at a quicker pace than usual.

“I noticed you staring at me earlier. I have to say, I didn’t mind in the slightest.”

“Is that a….” I gulped. “Is that a fact?”

“It is.”

“Tell me, is there a mare waiting for you at home? Or are you a single father?”

It was an easy question but a difficult answer. “I am happily married.”

Lysandra pouted. “That’s a shame.” She sat up and adjusted her dress to show considerably less of her body. “In that case, I’m afraid I—”

“—But my wife is an…-unconventional mare. I’m sure she’d be open to the idea of adding a third party now and again.”

She fluttered her blue eyes at me. “In that case, feel free to stop by and let me know what she says.” She nodded towards a door to the left. “My office is always open Mr….”

Oh, right. I just realized I’d yet to tell her my name.

“Just call me….”

My name was Symphony. My companions knew me primarily as Savage. I was travelling to Vanhoover.

I looked around at my companions. A Shadowbolt hiding behind her mask. A slaver who ironically walked in shackles. An NCR nocti on her journey home. A terrified filly with a broken horn. A kleptomaniac with a hero complex. And a set of wavering black and white lines. Hmm. perhaps I wasn’t fully lucid yet. Though I supposed five out of six wasn’t bad.

Shadow turned her head towards me. She hesitated for a moment; then she snickered. “Damn. I kinda liked you being completely terrified of me.”

I grunted. Hello to you too, Shadow.

“Are you alright, Sparkles?”

I looked at the wavering lines, which I assumed were Dionysus. I glanced back at Shadow and nodded my head.

“Can you walk?”

I disdainfully tugged at the chain around my neck.

“You were lollygagging. It was either that or leave you behind. Wings tried explaining that to you earlier.”

I vaguely remembered that. I tugged at the chain again.

Shadow whistled. “Squirt. Come help Sparkles.”

“Okay.” Packrat trotted towards me with a smile on her face. She levitated a key and unlocked the collar from my neck. It clattered to the ground with a dull thump.

I rubbed my neck. That felt so much bet—I stopped when I felt my scar. The collar had nicked me and opened the wound. The opening was small. It was so small I wouldn’t have noticed if I hadn’t felt the drop of blood. It was enough to make me realize how much I truly hated the world I lived in. Life was so much simpler in that other world. I had Lyra. ‘Chestra and I were still close. I could fucking speak! I really wanted more vulpa venom.

I felt something hit the back of my head. I turned around to see Mirage glaring at me. “When I said don’t kill yourself while I’m duty, I didn’t think you’d actually try and kill yourself.”

I returned the glare. I didn’t try to commit suicide, and I didn’t die. What was she so angry about?

“Don’t glare at me like that. I saved your life, dumbass.”

I raised an eyebrow at her.

“You were having a seizure last night. Foam and everything.” She pointed her wing at me. “Fortunately for you, Symphony, the NCR trains its soldiers how to react during a seizure.”

“You kept his head level and turned him on his side. I’d hardly call that training, Wings.”

“Well its more than what the rest of you did. Besides, I think keeping him from choking on his own spit counts as saving him.”

Why did she take pride in saving me? Dying wouldn’t have been so bad. I could’ve continued my dream. I could’ve enjoyed spending time with my sister. I could’ve had that threesome. I could’ve spent time with the mare I loved. I’d much rather be there than here.

I felt something touch my leg. I flinched and looked down. Strings was hugging my back leg. She averted her eyes, but I could see her tiny smile.

“I’m glad you’re okay.”

Yes, but why? Why did any of them like me? I could barely communicate with them. Even when I could, I was usually rude or dismissive. It was partially my fault we were caught by the White Hooves. My lollygagging had caused us to lose time. What kind of value did I possibly have?

Why did any of these idiots like me?

I looked around for Lyra. Lyra could give me an answer. I still wasn’t fully lucid, right? She should be here. She could explain this to me, or she could lecture me on something. Where was she?

Where was she?

Where was she?

Where was she?

“Symphony?”

That wasn’t her voice. It was hers.

Packrat sat beside me. She put her hoof around my shoulder and pressed her cheek against mine. “You feelin’ okay?”

No. I felt self-aware. I felt awful. I opened my mouth. My throat felt hot. I could feel my breath scratching against the walls of my throat. Like a rusty collar. I pressed my hoof against my neck in an attempt to stabilize it.

“Symphony?”

“….”

The sound I made was an inaudible wet rasp. If I could strain my voice just enough.

“….”

“Sparkles? Is he choking?”

“….”

“Squirt, help him.”

“On it.”

Packrat tried to get behind me, but I shook my head. I could feel blood trickling from the prick in my neck. My throat burned, but I tried one more time to voice my thoughts.

“Ahhhhhhhye.”

I was trying to say “why,” but I couldn’t get the w sound. I wasn’t focused on my failure at pronouncing the letter. I couldn’t even focus on the miracle of speech. My throat hurt far too much. I coughed violently. The insides of my neck begged for relief. I tried scratching my neck, but scratching the outside did nothing for the internal pain.

I felt something prick my neck. Instantly, I felt better. Thank Cadance for Med-X. Mirage was holding a syringe in her mouth, which she unceremoniously ripped out of me. She spat the syringe into the dirt. “Anypony understand what the fuck he just said?”

“Um, it sounded kinda like, ‘Ahhhhughe.’”

“No, Squirt. It was nothing like that.”

“Then what do you think it sounded like, Shadow?”

“I’m not really sure. It sounded like he was just screaming.”

Templar shook his head. “He said, ‘why.’”

I was surprised he understood me. I nodded my head.

“Why?” Mirage looked confused. “Why, what?”

“If I may.” Templar motioned to my saddlebags. “Symphony is in possession of my notebook. He could use that to write to us.”

“Good idea. That’s why we keep you around.”

“Aside from the contract on my head.”

Shadow chuckled. “The caps are just an added bonus.” She whistled at Packrat and titled her head towards my bag.

Packrat didn’t need to be told twice. She stuck her head into my bag and started rummaging around. “No. No. Nooooooohohoho, here we go!” She slipped her head out and held the notebook in her mouth. She placed it on the ground in front of me. “Here ya go, Symph.” She giggled. “Um, is it okay if I call you that?”

Why would you want to?

“Um, Packrat?” Mirage was frowning. “He’s gonna need a pen or a quill.”

“Hmm?” Packrat looked down at the notebook and didn’t see a writing utensil. “Ah, shit. One sec.” She went back into the bag and emerged with a pen. “Okay. Now, here ya go.”

I picked up the pen and wrote down my question.

“Why do you all care about me?”

Packrat’s response to my question was to laugh. It wasn’t even a giggle; it was a full guffaw. Mirage’s smile was full of mirth as well. Something close to laughter came from the wavering lines. I didn’t understand. What was so funny? Packrat laughed so hard she snorted. She turned red and chuckled. “Okay, I think that’s enough of that.” She took a quick breath and looked me in the eye. “I’m sorry I laughed so hard, but it was such an easy question. I care about you, because you’re my friend.”

Mirage nodded. “Yeah, dummy. We can’t just let one of our companions die.”

“You still didn’t do all that much, Wings.”

“Not the time for that, Shadow.”

Packrat smiled at me. A smile full of alacrity. “Besides, you were there for me in Greco Village when I needed somepony. I owe you.”

I owe you. It wasn’t the first time I’d heard that sentiment. I’d thought the same thing when Packrat saved me from Lysandra. Our friendship wasn’t built on common interests or affection. It was based upon debt. I followed her, because I felt I owed her. She’s staying with me, because she feels she owes me. It was the way of the Wasteland. As cynical as my perspective was, it wasn’t exactly a bad thing. The desire to help a comrade out of duty provided a reason to live. To keep paying the debt until it was impossible. It had given me a reason to live after I lost Lyra and met Packrat. Before I decided vulpa venom was a better purpose.

Cadance not above, I spent the past few days revolving my life around poison. What the fuck was wrong with me? It had felt good; I couldn’t deny that. The sensation was amazing. The problem was the sensation was fleeting. Another problem was the shame I felt after every hit. Lyra’s specter was testament to that.

….

That’s what was wrong with me. It was Lyra. It was always Lyra. I wasn’t addicted to vulpa venom. I was addicted to Lyra Heartstrings XIII. I convinced myself the best way for me to be happy was to do whatever I wanted. If I were being honest, the only way for me to be happy would be to overcome my addiction. It’s what Lyra would want. It might not lead to happiness right away, but it would help in the long run.

I removed all the vulpa venom from my bag. I made a pile of it on the ground.

I couldn’t do this to myself anymore. Lyra wouldn’t want that. My companions didn’t want that either. Besides, it wasn’t exactly my choice. I had some debts to pay after all.

Shadow chortled and retrieved two objects from her belongings: a bottle of whiskey and a lighter. “Mind if I do the honors, Sparkles?”

I stepped away from the pile. Be my guest.

She dropped the lighter at her hooves. She used her teeth to open the bottle. She took a long gulp of the whiskey and then emptied the bottle onto the venom. “Ahhhh,” she hissed. “That’s some vile shit, but damn if it doesn’t wake me up.” She tossed the bottle and picked up the lighter. She lit the flame and dropped it on the whiskey soaked venom sacs.

If I were being honest, this was quite anticlimactic. I was hoping for a large flame and to watch the venom turn to cinders. The flames were minimal, and nothing seemed to be burning. I grunted to show my disappointment.

Shadow reached towards the flames to grab her lighter. She yowled and drew her hoof away. “Fuck! It’s hotter than it looks.” She turned her head towards Packrat. “Squirt, you mind getting that for me?”

“Okie dokie.” She levitated the lighter out of the blaze and dropped it in Shadow’s bag.

“Thank you.” Now Shadow was facing me. “You good, Sparkles?”

I nodded.

“Are you sure? You’re not gonna pull this shit on us again?”

Wouldn’t dream of it. I shook my head.

“Alright then. Let’s hurry up before we waste any more time.”

Shadow faced front and trotted along. The others followed behind her. I did as well, but I stopped to look at the fire. It still wasn’t a big fire. The venom sacs hadn’t started melting. They barely even looked burned. Neither did Lyra. Her specter stood inside the flames. She looked beautiful as ever. She smiled at me and waved.

“Goodbye, Symphony.”

Goodbye, Lyra.

Author's Notes:

As always, I want to thank Kkat for writing the original story, other authors for contributing to the universe, and to the readers who care about Symphony and his companions.

Sorry! I know this one's a few days late. My home internet hasn't been working for the past couple days, so I haven't been able to upload it. I hope it was worth the extra wait. I honestly had a blast writing this chapter. I had a lot of reservations early on in the planning stages of Crystal hearts about giving Symphony a drug addiction, but I thought the hallucinations would be an interesting method to help him work through his issues. And I couldn't pass up the opportunity to put him through a bad trip.

I'm not trying to make light of drug addiction. I've seen what it effect the lives of my friends and their families. I offer my sincerest condolences to anyone who has lost anyone to drug abuse, and encouragement to anyone struggling through addiction. It might not be easy, but you can do it. You are stronger than you think you are. But remember that no one struggles alone, and that it's okay to rely on your support system when you need to. Whether that support comes from family, friends, co-workers, or the Lord Almighty, your struggle is never yours alone. They will struggle with you and love you in your darkest moments.
God bless. See you in the next one.