The World Inside Aurora Ray

by boardgamebrony

Just Another Day

Aurora Ray woke up to Twilight Sparkle’s voice in his head. <Ray, I was wondering if you could do a favor for me.>

Ray gritted his teeth. “It is too early, Twilight…” he said.

<This will only take a minute to tell you.> Ray was silent and nodded very slowly. <We have a new pony in here who just figured out how to connect with you. She was wondering if she could ride along with you while you were at work so she could learn how to pilot.>

“You want a pony to go with me to work so she can learn to take over my body?” Ray asked. “No. Absolutely not.”

<Ray!> Twiilght said. <She wants to help you.>

Ray got up and went through his morning routine showering, getting ready, eating breakfast and checking his email as Twilight did everything she could to convince him to allow the new pony to be at the forefront of his mind.

“Damnit, Twilight,” Ray said. “Think about what you’re asking me. Why would I say yes to this? Why would I be willing allow a pony to take over my body when they know nothing of the world? Honestly, I’d rather you guys NEVER take over my body, but that doesn’t seem to be something I can help, now can I?”

<She’s different!> Twilight said. <She can do things the rest of us can’t. She’s highly attuned to you. Most of us can’t keep talking to you every day with all the responsibilities we have here in Equestria.>

“What. A. Shame.”

<Please trust me on this. I only want the best for you.>

Ray exhaled very loudly and held it out for a long time. He hit the side of his leg with his fist before groaning. “What’s her name?”

<Her name’s Lyra! Lyra Heartstrings,> Twilight said.

“Okay, here are the rules,” he said. “She doesn’t talk unless spoken to. She sits quietly and watches me work. If she has a question, she waits until I’m not busy to ask it. She does NOT speak to me when I’m in the restroom. She doesn’t take control of me today AT ALL. She lets me eat in peace. She does not interrupt me when I’m talking to co-workers. And she MAY NOT hug me. At all.”

There was silence for a good while. By the time Ray was already sitting in his car with his hand on the ignition, Twilight spoke up. <Done!> Ray jumped a little in his seat at the sudden sound in the silence. Then he turned the key, put the car into drive and headed towards work.

<She’s going to go get ready, so expect to see her in about two hours, okay?> Twilight said. <I have to prepare some Princess stuff. See you later! And thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!> There was a feeling of a hug in his mind. Ray grunted.

“Wait,” he said. “What does she need to get ready for? What’s she doing? Twilight? TWILIGHT?”

--

The Rivercenter Mall in San Antonio was three floors of consumerism packed tightly into the center of the city. Organized in a “U” formation, the center of the layout led out to a concrete outdoor eating area for the various restaurants in the food court, including finer establishments for consumers willing to spend twenty dollars on a steak. A man-made river spun around an elevated platform connected to the concrete eating area by a tiny bridge. Small open-air boats floated slowly through the river, carrying out-of-towners who were thrilled by the sights and sounds. The mall was dwarfed on all sides by massive downtown offices, hotels and parking garages. Every level of the mall was covered in glass, allowing visitors on any floor to look down onto the riverboats below.

Ray couldn’t see any of this right now, though. He was stuck inside the security office staring at his boss who has closed the door so the other guards couldn’t hear them. Ray knew this couldn’t be good.

“You needed to see me, Jerry?” Ray asked. He slouched in the chair, legs out, staring up at his supervisor with the least amount of respect needed to get by.

“Ray…” Jerry started. The overweight elderly man seemed hesitant to speak. Ray knew something must be wrong, because Jerry was the most assertive person on staff. He never seemed unsure of himself. Save for today. Jerry pulled out a newspaper and held out the front page. The headline read:

Local Hero Saves Kid, Driver from Burning Semi

“I wanted to talk to you about this,” Jerry said.

“I’m open to any raises you’re willing to give,” Ray said with a smile. In the back of his mind, he heard a sigh, but didn’t know which pony it came from.

Jerry chuckled. “After this, I don’t think I’d be able to afford the kind of raise you deserve. But…I wanted to talk about something. Here, let me read you this:”

The child who had been pushed out of the way of the truck by Mr. Ray said that the local man took charge of the situation and moved quickly to remove 42 year-old Gabriel Rivera from the truck before it ignited. “He kept talking himself into doing it. I heard him talking to someone when he was next to the unconscious man. I think I know who it was!”

Oh. Shit, Ray thought. His featureless expression froze as Jerry continued reading.

“He was talking to his guardian angel! I know it! I thank God someone was watching over us all! Mr. Ray is a hero!”

Ray couldn’t help but smile. Jerry put down the paper and looked at Ray. “Is there something you wanna talk about?”

“Yes, Jerry,” Ray said. “As you can see, I can clearly talk to the gods. So $8.00 an hour isn’t going to cut it for someone who can communicate with the other world.” Ray smiled, then realized how his terminology was a bit too on-point considering what the ponies had told him about Equestria. Even in his lies, he told the truth.

Jerry shook his head, all the while showing a snarky smile which translated to You cocky son of a bitch.

“I was psyching myself up, Jerry,” Ray said, now more serious. “I’ve never been at the scene of an accident before. I needed to get them out of there.”

“You’re been through a serious life-threatening ordeal. I’m just wondering if you need to take a break,” Jerry said.

“I like my job,” Ray lied. “It keeps me occupied from…all that stuff.”

“I don’t think you understand. I want you to take a break,” Jerry clarified.

“I need the money, Jerry.”

“You’ll get a week’s vacation with pay.”

“I’m taking that break.” Ray said immediately. “But why so generous?”

“You’re one of our senior staff,” Jerry said. “You just went through a stressful situation, and you were seconds away from dying. I know you like to pretend you’re too tough to feel the effects of any of this stuff. Hell, look at the way you’re presenting yourself right now. Sitting there like you aren’t worried about a damn thing. Ray, I’ve known you long enough to know you only do that when you’re hiding some serious emotional stress. Ever since you told me about your time in Afghanistan, I’ve been noticing small tics that you have.”

Ray listened intently. Not just to Jerry, but to anyone else listening along with him. He heard nothing. And he was worried. “What tics?” He said, defensively.

“Hold on. I’m not attacking you, okay?” Jerry said. “I noticed you space-out a lot. Like you’re thinking about something far off. Sometimes it takes us several tries to get your attention. We can’t have that with someone who needs to respond quickly. I mean, you’ve gotten better about it in the last few months. But after that accident, I don’t want to risk overworking you. You’re one of my best. And I don’t want you to leave cause of burnout.”

Ray looked down at the ground, intending to look away from Jerry for a chance to think about what he said. Instead, his eyes went wide as his gaze locked on the form of a small, mint green pony sitting right below Jerry’s desk. She had minty hair lighter than her coat color with streaks of white in the tail and mane. A small golden harp symbol rested on both of her flanks. Her eyes were golden and very bright. And she had a tiny horn atop her head. Ray couldn’t believe he was seeing a tiny, dog-sized unicorn sitting in the room right now.

“Ray?” Jerry said. He sighed and then leaned in closer as Ray switched his gaze back to his boss. “Ray, I think I know what’s happening to you. You might be undergoing PTSD. Just know that whatever you’re seeing…it’s not really there.”

He had no idea how to respond to that. He chanced a glance back down at Lyra, who was smiling, before looking back at Jerry. “It’s hard to…deal with some of this stuff,” Ray said. He was going to ride the PTSD excuse for as long as he could.

Jerry sat down behind his desk. “Believe me. I know. I’m a Vietnam Vet myself. I tell you what.” He pulled out a card from his wallet and handed it to Ray. “This is a support group for veterans that I attend every week. We met down at a local library. The address is there. You should come.”

Ray felt his heart drop. It isn’t right to push this excuse any further. Not like this. “Jerry, I’ve been through some tough stuff, but it doesn’t compare to what you’ve gone through. It wouldn’t be right for me to attend this meeting. I’m not going to take time away from veterans who need to work through their problems. I’m sorry, I…I’ve been through some stuff, but it’s not PTSD.”

Lyra smiled at him from the floor. Her eyes were very compassionate and she wouldn’t stop looking at him. He was starting to feel uncomfortable.

“Ray,” Jerry started, “You are going through something. I don’t know what it is. But it’s affecting you on the outside as well the inside. Rather than judging yourself unworthy of attending this group, why don’t you try it? You don’t have to speak. Just sit there and listen to the others talk about what they’ve gone through. If you can find some common ground and you decide to share, then you can do so. Maybe you’ll find some hidden issues you’ve been suppressing for a while.”

Ray couldn’t stop staring at the small pony that apparently only he could see. She walked right up to him and curled up at his legs, waiting patiently. Somehow, he could feel the warmth of her body on his legs. She made little cute noises as she cuddled closer and rested on his shoes.

Holy shit, she’s adorable.

“REALLY!?” Lyra said as she sat up instantly, her eyes aglow with sparkles that had to be magical. “You think so?!”

Ray looked up awkwardly. “I…uh…I have to go. I’ll be there, though.” He said. “Thank you, sir.” He shook Jerry’s hand. The handshake was just as real to him as the pony moving around his legs like a little puppy.

“Didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable, but I understand,” Jerry said. He released the handshake and looked at his calendar, marking it. “Your vacation starts immediately. Go somewhere that makes you happy. Leave this whole place behind.”

“Right. Thanks Jerry,” Ray said as he stepped out the door, then stopped. He looked down at the mint green pony. You must be Lyra. She nodded eagerly. I need you to sit on the chair. Wait there.

“Okay,” she said and stood on the chair. Ray turned to Jerry. He feigned looking for something in his pockets.

“Hey Jerry. I think I dropped something here around the chair. Can you help me look for it?”

Jerry got up and stared at the chair. His expression was unreadable.

He can see her! Ray thought. Yes! I’m not crazy!

Jerry bent down and looked underneath the chair, then across the top of it. Lyra looked down too. Ray pretended to look behind, but never took his eyes off Lyra and Jerry. “Check the space underneath the cushions. Might’ve slipped in there.” Ray said. Jerry moved his hand towards Lyra and the chair. She started to move out of the way.

DON’T MOVE, Ray told Lyra. She froze. Jerry’s hand went right through her body and into the couch cushion. “I don’t feel anything here. What did you lose, Ray?”

My mind, he thought.

--

Author's Note:

Extra Story Details

Ponies in this chapter: Twilight, Lyra

Writing Time: Approx 1 hr 50 min
Draft Number: 1 Draft
Story Settings: Modern Day, San Antonio, Texas, Rivercenter Mall, Security Guard Room
Story Themes: Reality Tested, Honesty, Integrity, Cute Ponies Being Cute

Note: This is an "A" story. It took a while to get started, but then became more and more complex as time went on.

Story Background:

Who doesn't want a little Lyra following them around everywhere? :P

Watched the following video about dialogue in movies before writing this chapter:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l293Qyua5QM