//------------------------------// // Discussion // Story: The Last One // by computerneek //------------------------------// The extra sparkles faded from around the six mares some five minutes ago.  After staring dumbfounded at the crater she’d left, they’d returned what was left of the monster to Tartarus.  All the pegasus magic hadn’t had time to leave his body just yet when he hit the ground the last time, so he wasn’t killed- but the earth pony magic had been the fastest to leave.  He’d survived… but been broken almost beyond belief. They’d also retrieved Princesses Celestia and Luna from the same. Now, they’re asking the townsfolk what happened. “I donno,” she hears Bonbon answer Twilight.  “I wasn’t looking. I heard a bit of banging, then my magic returned, and Tirek was in a crater.” She glances back towards the crater, smiling to herself.  A ‘bit of banging’ could describe that, she supposes.  She does get the feeling she usually does a lot more damage with dismissive ease… even though she spent almost her entire thaumic reserves in that action. “Um, Last One?  Where are your, um...” She looks up.  It’s the green mare, Bonbon’s friend.  “Sisters,” she completes the question. “Sisters?”  She sounds surprised.  “Your sisters allowed you to…?”  The mare’s eyes flick briefly in the direction of both the woods and the hospital. She shakes her head.  “No. They’re… adopted sisters, I guess.”  She looks down at the roadway. “Legally, they’re adopted parents.  But we call each other sisters, so they’re sisters.” She looks back up.  “Flutter is probably helping with the repair or rescue efforts- she works in construction up in Cloudsdale- while I think the mayor took Flitter aside for some questions.”  The green mare need not know her apparently unusual hearing is allowing her to pick out both Flitter’s and the Mayor’s voices, despite being behind two closed doors a block and a half down the street.  She can’t pick out their words from this far away, especially Flitter’s when she speaks softly, but she is able to pick out tones of voice. Except, of course, when Flitter speaks softly. “Ahh,” the mare mutters.  “I thought Mayor Mare might have noticed their behavior and gotten curious.  Would you mind answering a few questions for me yourself?” Her response is almost instinctive, as some experience she can’t remember throws up red flags, leaving her utterly confused.  Fortunately, with her ridiculously fast processing speed, she’s able to solve- or, in this case, ignore- the confusion before it can show.  She clears her expression, systematically extracting all emotion from her voice.  “That depends,” she states. The mare blinks, surprised, for a couple seconds.  “Oh, uh… it’s not like that. I’m not investigating you or your, um, sisters, or anything…  nor am I asking you to divulge anything you don’t want to. I just…” She blinks, stepping on the instinct.  “Sorry,” she states, looking down again.  “I didn’t mean…” She trails off for a second, before looking back up.  “You remember my… memory problems?” The mare nods slowly.  “Yeah…?” “I don’t remember it, but a lot of it influences how I act or respond.  That’s… one of them.” Scowl.  “So…” She nods slowly.  “You can ask, but I cannot guarantee that I will answer, or even acknowledge the question.” The mare’s scowl shifts to a thoughtful expression, one hoof coming up to her chin.  “Hmm… Almost sounds like a politician’s policy of non-guarantees.” Shudder. “I really hope you weren’t subject to politics, at your age.” She scowls, standing tall.  “I’m a big girl,” she answers.  “I can handle it.” Not that she’s ever encountered something she didn’t feel she could handle, but she hasn’t mentioned that even to Flitter. The mare sighs.  “In any case… do you mind if, uh, I ask those questions, somewhere more private?” She blinks.  “Sure.” “Awesome!  This way, please.  I figure we can use my house; my antirecording spells should still be standing after Tirek.” She looks curiously up at the mare as she turns to follow.  “Okay. And, um, what’s your name?” The mare promptly falls flat on her face, before struggling back upright again.  “What-? You agreed to follow me without even knowing who I am?” She straightens up tall again, looking pointedly in the direction of the crater.  “I’m a big girl.” “Uh…”  The mare looks at the crater for a few seconds, then back at her.  “Oh. Yeah, I suppose I can see that. Even an alicorn would be hard pressed to block something like that.”  Then she grins. “And I suppose I should be worrying more about any politician trying to poke at you than about you, shouldn’t I?” She shrugs.  “I don’t know.” Chuckle, and she resumes her path.  “Yeah, I kinda expected that. I’m Lyra- Lyra Heartstrings.” She follows Lyra the rest of the way to her house. “You’re…  not going to destroy the house, right?” Lyra asks her, as she unlocks the door. “I dislike destruction,” she answers simply. Lyra looks pointedly in the direction of the crater, hidden behind rows and rows of buildings from here. She shrugs.  “A necessary evil,” she answers.  “It was either that, or let him do even more damage to those I care about.” “...  Ahh.” Lyra closes the door with her magic, leading her into the family room.  “Here, pick a seat. Um…” While she picks a seat on the loveseat, Lyra’s horn pulses a few times. “Ahh, yes.  My antirecording and security spells remain standing.  Good thing I designed them to work without me.” She turns to her.  “About that… Uh, ‘necessary evil’, I suppose. Doctor Horse tells me you were excited to help ponies, yet fled- with amazing speed, I might add- after accidentally hurting one.  Is that…?” “I don’t like hurting ponies,” she states simply. Lyra smiles softly.  “That much was rather clear…  does that extend to centaurs?” “Usually, yes.” “Usually?” she asks.  “Then-!” She glances in the direction of the crater.  “Wait. Do you mean to tell me that it does, but he was an exception?” She nods, speaking softly.  “When he hurt those I care about, when he hurt ponies, his form became irrelevant.  He made himself the enemy.”  She looks up.  “I… I’m afraid of hurting ponies.  I want to help them, but… I’m so strong it’s hard not to hurt them.  I avoid destruction, because that bothers ponies- I want them to be happy.  But… “I don’t know why.  When he made himself the enemy, made himself a threat to my ponies, I knew I had to stop him.”  She looks up. “I knew I had him outclassed, that he could not beat me. But I knew I could not simply punch through his defenses, either- not without something to punch him against.”  She looks down.  “So I punched him against the ground.  And the air. Even some clouds. If a few buildings got destroyed…  that was nothing, compared to the danger of letting him go unopposed.”  She looks up again. “So I ignored the collateral damage. There were no ponies in the area to get hurt, and taking him out of town was too risky.” “Is…  Is it possible you served a protector role before your amnesia?” She stares at the coffee table in the middle of the room as she considers her answer.  Finally, she answers. “I… suppose,” she mutters.  “I don’t think so, though.”  She looks towards the window.  “I’ve been… hiding from, I guess, something terrible.  I don’t know what it is, exactly- but I know that when I hurt Roseluck, that was related.  And that healing ponies is directly opposed to it. “It is true, when I fought Tirek…  it felt very much like I was fulfilling my purpose in life.”  She glances back at her cutie mark. “I… suppose it wasn’t far off, with this kind of a cutie mark.”  She looks back out the window. “Even though I know that any fighting at all, really, inevitably leads to the terrible…  makes it come faster.” She looks back at Lyra. “The terrible was always something I was forced to do, not something I chose to do, or wanted to do.  That’s… probably why it was so terrible. Maybe… “Maybe I chose a protector role, but was forced to attack and destroy as well?” “Hmm,” Lyra mumbles.  “Yeah, that does sound pretty likely.  Um- Do you remember anything about where you were found, or came from before that?  The Crusaders were… rather unhelpful in that regard.” “You’re…  looking for where I was when I was found?” she asks. “Yeah…  and what path you took to get there.”  Lyra smiles. “We’d like to find where you came from- find out what happened.  Who left a foal wandering alone through the Everfree… or died to protect her.” She shudders, looking down at the floor.  “I… don’t remember that too well. My senses were…  blurry. And my amnesia ends somewhere in the middle of that stumbling walk out of the woods.”  She looks back up at Lyra. “But I… I think I can find it. Find… what direction I came from.”