Lisa barely noticed where she was going as she walked home from meeting Samantha. Her mind was running over the details, over and over, searching for something she’d missed. She still had more questions than answers--even worse than when she’d begun!
Finally, she looked up at her surroundings, only to realize that she was lost. She’d been paying so little attention, she’d forgotten to even navigate. The town had only a basic layout; it shouldn’t have been that difficult to find her way back to the center if she could just get an idea of the direction it was in.
Sighing, she approached a woman standing by the side. Her brown hair was done in a long braid, almost to her waist. Lisa found herself wondering if anyone received haircuts while plugged into the simulations.
“Excuse me,” she began, “can you point me in the direction of the Town Center?”
The woman’s eyes opened wide. “I’d recognize that voice anywhere! Twilight Sparkle?”
“...yes?” Lisa answered uncertainly. “Do I know you?”
She moved back a bit, awkwardly. “Well, no, I guess you wouldn’t. I’d recognize you anywhere, though. Twilight Sparkle, the mare who invented three different library organizing systems, each more efficient than the last! I attended talks you gave on each one. I’d never forget that voice. So rational, so organized!”
“Are you… drooling?”
She straightened self-consciously. “No.”
Lisa decided not to press the matter. “What’s your name?” she asked with interest.
“Minty Clear.”
“Your real name.”
“It is.” Minty replied determinedly. “As far as I’m concerned, that world was real. The ponies I interacted with on a daily basis were real. The books they wrote for each other, the books they checked out from my library that they read time and time again that they dog-eared the pages of... and everything else, those were real.”
Lisa paused. She had forced the question down to the bottom of her mind, determined to focus on the here and now, but Minty’s words made it bubble up again with full force. When the power comes back on, will I re-enter the simulation? If Minty was to be believed, she’d made an impact on more than just her five friends--six, counting Spike.
Minty pointed to her left. “Also, the Town Center is that way.” she added.
“Thanks,” Lisa said, turning to head back. She tried to push the turmoil of thoughts within her back down, and focus on the here and now, but it wasn’t as easy as it had been before. Even when she tried to focus on making a checklist of what things she needed to do that day, the question bubbled up again:
Will I stay here, or go back to Equestria?