A Journey Unthought Of

by Hustlin Tom

Chapter 4 REVISED

As the two of us came into sight of Lyra's cottage, we both saw Bon Bon waiting outside for us. Her body language reeked of fear and defensive aggression as she caught sight of us.

"Lyra Heartstrings," she yelled, "Get away from it!"

Lyra and I looked at each other for a second, then back to her.

"Bon Bon, just calm down," she exclaimed, "Let me explain what's going on."

"No, let me explain what's going on," the earth pony said as she stamped her hoof on the ground, "You brought an unconscious animal into our home, which then woke up. The next thing I know, I wake up on the floor and both you and it are gone! I was about to go into town and file a missing pony report when I see you just waltzing back here like nothing strange was going on!"

"First off, he's not an animal: he's an alien," Lyra retorted as she pointed up to me, then she brought her hoof around to aim at Bon Bon, "Second, I went to Fluttershy's like we'd discussed before you fainted! You knew exactly where I was the entire time!"

Bon Bon gave a quick huff as she yelled back, "But I didn't know I knew where you were! I thought it had kidnapped you, or eaten you!"

"Oh my sweet Celestia," Lyra murmured to herself as she brought her hoof up to her face.

My stomach growled, as I realized I hadn't eaten anything in a good while. Fortunately only Lyra and I heard the gurgling coming from my belly. "If it makes you feel any better, I don't eat horses," I said in as calm of a raised voice as I could, which I mentally appended, I think. Who the hell knows what's in processed meat anyway?

Bon Bon flinched when I spoke to her, and she was physically forced to come to terms with the fact that I wasn't some dumb beast. She shook her head slightly, and then turned her frustrated eyes back to Lyra, "I thought that you were leaving it with Fluttershy. Isn't that what we also agreed to?"

"He's sick, and needs rest. We can offer him just a few days of hospitality, can't we?"

Alarmed and dumbfounded by what Lyra was asking, Bon Bon shook her head, "A few days?! Let me remind you that we still have no idea what he eats beyond 'not horses', no idea what sorts of other needs he may have, and no idea who he is! Besides, how can you trust him? You only just met him!"

I didn't even hear what Lyra said in reply as I experienced a sense of Déjà Vu. Old memories began to creep into my consciousness, and they replaced the waking world around me.

"Don't give him anything," I heard a mother scold her child who had tried to offer me something as they passed my spot on the street, "He'll just waste it on drugs."

"We're sorry," the man in the suit said, "but given the fact that you don't have a stable home address, a good credit score, or even a complete high school education, we cannot accept you into our company."

A man wordlessly looked at me as he threw a bag of garbage into the dumpster I'm huddled next to. I'm so cold. My feet have become frostbitten through the frayed and half-destroyed shoes I'm wearing. Silently he just turned away back down the alley, leaving me to my fate. I realized that he wasn't looking at me; he was looking through me.

I stepped around Lyra, not caring or paying attention to what was being said, and I started to walk away into the field towards the south of the town in the valley below.

"Adam?" Lyra asked hesitantly as she watched me, "Where are you going?"

"I won't stay where I'm not wanted," I yelled bitterly over my shoulder.

"Wait!" I heard her call out, and I heard her trotting towards me from behind.

"It's okay," I snapped, "Really, it is. I'm used to the whole 'Untrustworthy, dirty scum of the earth' treatment. I just didn't think I'd one day get it from-!" I coughed, "a talking horse of all things!"

My cough intensified until I was leaning over with each one, feeling like I had an entire ocean in my lungs. Lack of oxygen made me dizzy, and forced my trembling legs to squat a little. Lyra yelled my name in alarm. "I'm fine," I wheezed as I started to breathe deeply through my nose to keep any more attacks from immediately happening.

"Adam, we both know you aren't in the best of condition," she tried to reason with me in a soft tone, "I'll keep working on Bon Bon every day, but I want you to know that you can and you will stay with us until you are better."

I was beginning to breathe more evenly now, and I was able to stand up fully again. Despite knowing how messed up I could be if I tried going out on my own anyway, I was seriously considering the possibility: I knew how to handle myself. Well, I knew how to handle myself in a city. Admittedly the countryside had to be something else entirely, as I couldn't exactly depend on a wasteful society around me to provide for my needs.

Lyra looked up to me and wrapped her hoof around my knee, "If it's any consolation, I trust you. You could have hurt me or done something to Fluttershy, but you didn't, so I think you're safe."

I looked down at her, and then I looked over my shoulder to the distant earth pony. She glared at me. I glared right back.

"Alright," I replied, "but you better keep her in line!'

I trudged towards the cottage, giving Bon Bon as wide of a berth as possible when I reached the door, and walked inside. After I had entered the house, I heard heated whispering outside. I strained my ears as best as I could: all I heard was 'similar situation', 'parents', and 'away' from Lyra, and from Bon Bon I heard 'different'.

After a tense dinner of what amounted to a bunch of vegetables and water for me and a few assorted grasses and grains for my hosts, I tried to ponder what exactly the jumble of words meant. So far I hadn't come up with much of anything that made sense. I was glad that I at least had somewhere to sleep for the night, but I expected that wouldn't last much longer. The couch, while I’m sure it would have been comfortable for someone much shorter than I, simply wasn't an option for my makeshift bed. The floor and one of the sitting pillows made for a decent combination, though. At least I was someplace warm with something soft for my head to rest on, and at that moment it was all that mattered to me.