Okay, so... after the big fuckup I made, I ran away from Sweet Apple Acre and stayed on the edge of town. I loomed around until I accidentally came upon a nice-looking cottage just out of Ponyville. It was relatively close to the Everfree forest, the place I landed in ever since this crazy story started. The crazy thing about this cottage had to be the numerous animals lying around.
Bee hives, rabbit holes, birds staying on tree branches, even a bear roamed around the cottage! It was an animal paradise over there. Not sure if I wanted to stick around ‘cause of the large bear, but it was still somewhat better than to go back into enemy territory for now.
I heard the birds chirp happily, as if they were welcoming me into this domain of the wild. The strange part was that I heard a harmonious voice sing back the bird’s melody. The birds seemed way happier than before, repeating their melody to the voice. It sang back, this time much closer to us.
I saw a yellow shape descend from the sky like an angel. Graceful and slow in its movement, it stopped before the birds. A pegasus mare with nice looking eyes. Not as gaudy as Rarity, they were naturally beautiful... Wait, why am I describing a pony like that?
The mare sang back one more time to the birds, offering them worms to feed on. It was such a cute and lovely voice. I never heard a nicer sounding woman in my entire life! The pegasus noticed me shortly after and was rightfully startled by my impromptu appearance. I was practically staring her down, which probably looked creepy to her.
Her voice immediately cut off and she descended, looking awfully nervous. “O-Oh, um hi there. I-I didn’t see you come here. Um...” The shy mare examined me for a bit. “I-I don’t think I've seen you before too.”
“You haven’t. I’m new to Ponyville.” A nice blunt response coming from yours truly. I was fairly surprised with myself to admit she looked pretty for a pony. An animal with anime looking eyes. I never would have thought I would one day describe an animal as pretty. Cute? Sure, but not adjectives you’d associate with a beautiful woman! Is it because I’m a man no longer? “Why are there so many animals around?” I asked bluntly again. Probably could have weaved around the subject better, but I was still thinking about Applejack. Everything else wasn’t as important.
The mare smiled, looking less nervous the instant I brought up the animals. “Oh, that’s because I take great care of them. They love to come to my cottage every now and then to receive some love and attention!” Well, I’ve heard of people having ten different cats at home, but not this! That was a whole other level of being gaga for animals. Is the bear among her animals? That’s crazy!
“That’s... That’s a lot of them.”
The yellow pegasus giggled. “It’s nothing I can’t handle. I’ve been doing this for a very long time, ever since I first arrived in Ponyville as a matter of fact.”
“I see you’ve amassed quite the zoo in here. There are many different species and breeds of animals around your cottage.” I observed, gazing around the vast array of wildlife. It was then that I noticed her cutie mark was three butterflies. As if it wasn’t obvious what her talent was.
“I sometime get rarer animals to come by my house. It’s always a treat to help out these cute little animals!” The mare’s pretty eyes widened briefly. “Oh, dear. I-I'm sorry, I almost forgot to ask you your name. I’m Fluttershy.” Fluttershy, huh? Couldn’t have seen that one coming.
“Well I’m... Hack Writer. Don’t like the name that much. Might change it one day.”
Fluttershy blinked. “O-Oh, I can see why. It doesn’t make you look good, um, no offense.”
Very apologetic, too. Damn, what a cute pony. Still, all these animals and this fantasy world makes me wonder. “Do you sometime see mythological creatures come by? Th-The nice kind, I mean.”
Fluttershy scratched her mane. “W-Well, I haven’t really seen any mythological creatures. Unless you’re talking about something more exotic like a dragon. I’ve seen one up close before.” Oh yeah, what is mythological and what isn’t is different from our world. Dragons are not so mythological if their existence can be proven!
“Is somepony here talking about mythology?” That voice...
“Lyra?”
Indeed, it was her. Seeing her again was nice after the Applejack fiasco. It’s great to see a friendly face.
“Yes!” Lyra looked much more excited than ever before. “I love to study mythology! I’m really into cryptozoology! It’s my passion!”
“Oh, h-hello Lyra.” Fluttershy muttered. “Hack here is asking me about mythological creatures.”
“I heard that alright! I’m glad to know you’re into mythology too, Hack!” Lyra exclaimed, levitating a book she was carrying with her. “Lately, I’ve been studying this exciting creature I never heard about before and guess what? They sit exactly like me! Oh my gosh, doesn’t that sound exciting!”
W-Wait, what the fuck? Is she seriously about to talk about humans, and call us creatures? I guess we maybe are creatures to them but still, it felt wrong. Unless I’m completely wrong and she’s talking about something else. “A-And what is this exciting creature, Lyra?”
Lyra Heartstrings flipped through the pages of her massive book, landing on one. She turned it around so I could see what was on it and dear God, it was a human! “Humans! They’re hairless monkeys who are super smart, like us! They build stuff like houses, trains and civilisations, like us! They use tools like us, well... They do a lot of things like us! It’s like reading about a mirror world! Gosh, that’s so exciting!”
B-But wait. If humans turned into ponies are danger, then, why are we called mythological creatures? Our existence has been proven already. We are as real as dragons! “Y-Yeah, exciting indeed. And weird.”
“Yeah, it’s weird too. Everypony tells me it’s old and fake mythology, but I know that they exist somewhere far, far away from us. I just want to see how their world looks like. It looks so fascinating based on what I know.” Lyra responded, daydreaming before me.
At this point, I didn’t know what the hell to think anymore. Ponies are looking for humans disguised as ponies. Humans apparently caused a big catastrophe that made ponies hate them, but humans are also mythological creatures that nobody believe exists? What the fuck? Think I’m going a bit crazy here!
I feel like I’m missing some context here... Or maybe I’m just getting it wrong. Hold on, could it be that both Lucky and I are mistaken? Maybe, but then why would they be suspecting impostors to be amongst them? What exactly are they looking for? Well, at this point I can’t just go on and say I’m a human, I’ll just be laughed at.
I believe the objective still remains the same; don’t be outed as a faker and return home. If they believe we’re both not ponies, saying we’re humans isn’t going to save our asses. Still, I should try to learn more about this whole imposter situation.
“So, what do you know about humans?” That’s the best thing I can ask right now. I’d like to know what they know about us.
A spark appeared in Lyra’s eyes, a spark of pure excitement. She was ready to lay all the facts into me. She rambled about cars and skyscrapers, an unknown form of magic known only as electricity. I’ll admit, it was cute to hear her talk about our technology as if it was some sort of magic. It really isn’t. Give them a couple centuries and they’d be at our current stage. Still, I find it fascinating that she put so much value in technology when magic seems to be doing almost everything it can do, but better.
We humans worship the idea of magic whilst they seem to worship the idea of technology. It’s funny in a way.
“Don’t tell me YOU’RE interested in humans too?” Lyra asked me with a massive grin on her face. “Oh my gosh, I have been studying them for so long, you wouldn’t believe the number of theories I've written on them! It’s my favorite thing to do! Bon Bon doesn’t share my love for cryptozoology, sadly, but at least she’s not outright mocking me for doing this.”
“W-Well, care to ask me one of them then?”
Fluttershy nodded. “I’d like to hear one too. I mean, I have plenty of time to spare right now so, um, don’t mind me.”
Lyra opened her mouth wide, taking a deep breath before going with her detailed theory. “I’ve discovered that humans, for some reason, like to stand in one room for hours on end! They seem to be all sitting, watching a strange object that is often square in shape. I believe it may be some sort of awesome technology we ponies know nothing about! I’ve hypothesised that this strange machine might be able to see into other people’s home, replay theater plays at their own home, gather information from all around the world and teach their kids too! That sounds like the coolest thing to have, right?”
Holy crap, she’s somewhat right about this. She’s described our televisions in a way, mainly about the plays and information thing. I wonder, how the hell does she know about the television? In fact, how does one study a creature that’s on a different world without knowing if that world even exists? That’s... troubling.
“Well, that’s an interesting theory, but I think it’s a bit far-fetched.”
Lyra blinked. “How so?”
“I just think you’re giving technology too much credit. I’m certain it has more limitations than magic.”
“A mare can always dream.”
She can, doesn’t mean it will come true. None of my dreams came true thus far, so I won’t bet on it. That may sound cynical, but the truth is; reality itself is cynical. I’m just following its ideology.
Following that awkward encounter with Lyra Heartstring, I went back to Lucky Clover with the hopes of discussing a better plan than going in the middle of nowhere to find something I don’t even know a thing about.
“I’m just saying, flying around the world like a headless chicken isn’t what I’d call a plan. We’ll probably get ourselves in more danger by doing so. I’m not saying I don’t want to go home; I do. What I’m saying is, we should find a plan that doesn’t put us into more danger.”
Lucky Clover’s brows furrowed for a moment, and I was afraid he was gonna shut down my idea seeing as he’s the boss here and I’m just following him but thankfully, he put some thought into my proposition. “Hm, perhaps we can find a safer plan. We don’t appear to be in too much danger in Ponyville. I’ll check out the library then for a book about magical artefacts. If Twilight Sparkle is more relaxed considering the attack on Canterlot, then I suppose it’ll be okay for me to go.”
Yes! It’s good to know that Lucky at least respects my opinions on this matter. I was afraid he’d be a no bullshit kind of guy, but he’s at least open. He may be bossy, but he’s got his ears open.
I waited a couple of minutes for him to come back and when he did, boy did he look nervous. He looked paranoid, constantly checking around him until he stopped before me. He got the book, that’s a relief. “They’re figuring it out. What did you do? They’re suspecting you’re not one of them!” He shouted in a whisper. Before I could even respond, he dragged me to a nearby alley where there was less traffic. “I saw Applejack warning Twilight about you. What did you say to her? And why would you even come to Applejack? That pony is great at spotting liars. A real liar detecting machine.”
“What? How was I supposed she was the one pony I shouldn’t have talked to? I literally bought an apple from her a few days ago and it went without a hitch!”
Lucky frowned. “Well, clearly, she wouldn’t be onto you if you hadn’t done something stupid! What did you even do?”
“I fell asleep under an apple tree. I didn’t know I was in her orchard.” It’s an honest mistake, ay? Can’t get angry at me and call me stupid for doing something I didn’t know was dangerous. I know nothing, and I rely on him to get me out of here. The one to blame here is this guy.
Looks like Lucky Clover is also smart enough to understand that. He didn’t yell back at me and instead facepalmed. He was disappointed, but seemingly not at me. “Oh, I should have told you about her much sooner... I’m sorry I didn’t, that’s my mistake. Look, I’m happy you’re even here. Without you, I’d be stuck on my own figuring out the way back home, so please forgive me if I lost my composure.”
“Hey, it’s okay. We’re both under a lot of pressure right now. Can’t blame you for snapping at me.”
My dear human friend patted me on the back. I’m not really comfortable with being touched like that, but I’ll leave it be. It is a nice gesture, even if I don’t like it. “Don’t worry about all that. I know there’s another place we can go to find a way home. It’s an abandoned castle, nopony really goes there even for the thrills. It’s in the Everfree forest though, so I hope you’ve gotten good at flying or else you’ll have to deal with timberwolves and manticores.”
Yikes, thank goodness I know how to fly somewhat. I’m not really good at running in this pegasus body either so, I’ll take my chances and fly. “I can make it, um, provided it isn’t too far away.”
Lucky smirked. “It’ll only take a few minutes to get there. Don’t you worry, soldier. It’ll take a lot more than a manticore to bring us down.”
Huh uh. Wait, did he just call me soldier? “I... don’t think I’m a soldier, Lucky.”
Lucky Clover blinked. He was completely and utterly confused. I don’t know why he assumed I was a soldier. That just ain’t me. “You’re in a lot of danger, you know that? In hindsight, I should have seen this coming. You adapt fairly well, but you’re lacking in skill and espionage. But to be fair, I’m not much of a soldier myself. My work lies elsewhere.”
Not much of a soldier, you say? “If you aren’t a soldier, then why do you act so much like one?”
My friend gave me a rather sad look. “Trust me; I wish I could be one, but I’m too scared to leave home. It’s not because I’m scared of dying or anything. It’s just... my little brother, remember him?”
“Yeah, you said he depended on you to be fed.” I responded. I might be a little stupid at time, but at least I got a good memory to compensate.
“Exactly, and that’s the problem. I don’t want to leave him alone for an entire week. I don’t know if the others would even wanna help him. They just think he’s a worthless wimp. Well, to be honest I sort of do to some extent but still, he’s my brother and I love him! I can’t become a soldier... not until he grows up.” Lucky explained.
At least I know he’s a good brother. I understand now why he sometimes seem so on edge. God knows how long he’s been here; he’s left his poor little brother alone! “Damn, you’ve been here for a while, haven’t you?”
Lucky winced, looking away from me. “More than a week. I hope he’s doing alright.” The thought of a little kid starving to death disturbed me. I have siblings myself, honestly can’t imagine how scared he must be right now. It makes more sense why he’s rather pushy and clingy. Anybody would be anxious as hell in his place. I don’t have much room to complain personally. Nobody’s depending on me, nobody but myself though I’m certain my family will freak out if they learn I’m suddenly gone. “I hope you’ll understand if I ask that we pick up the pace. I don’t want to leave him all by himself for another week. The others like to pick on him when he’s alone. He needs his big brother to even survive!”
“Right, right. I get you. I have siblings myself. I understand how you feel, if that brings you any comfort.”
To my relief, it did. Lucky smiled at me. “Right, by the end of this; we’ll be like kindred spirits. Who knows; maybe that experience will make you wanna be a soldier.”
I chuckled. “Not a chance!”
“Oh! Oh, right. Give it some thoughts. You’ve got spirit and you’re resilient. You’d make a great soldier if you put your heart into it but as I said; it’s ultimately your decision and I won’t force you to do anything at all. ‘F course, except here.”
“Yeah, I believe you’re thinking about a spy. What we’re doing here is spy work, not soldier work. Honestly, I might do that one day if it promises more success than my current job.”
Lucky Clover grunted. “But spies aren’t viewed as heroically as soldiers, warriors. These ones get all the glory. They’re heroes in our eyes. We’d be viewed in a much brighter light if we’re soldiers rather than spies. I know the queen loves her soldiers more.”
What? How does he know that? “Don’t tell me you’re at the queen’s service.” I swear if he somehow works for Queen Elizabeth, I am going to lose my shit.
Lucky scoffed. “Sort of. I mean, aren’t we all at her service one way or another? Any work we accomplish is ultimately in her service.”
Yeah, mostly the government though. That guy doesn’t have much of an English accent. He sounds, well, somewhat American. Maybe he moved to the UK at one point? Still, quite funny that a guy with that accent would love the queen. Lucky’s a real mystery and that makes him all the cooler for it. Should I leave it at that? Yeah, why not. It’d be no fun to ruin it all right now. “Alright, so are we going now? To the old castle you mentioned, I mean.”
My pegasus friend grinned. “But of course! Wake up that sleepy body of yours and prepare yourself. It’s time you put your wings to good use!”
“Wassup, Lucky! Whatcha doin’?” A blue blur flew past us, stopping before my friend. It was Rainbow Dash!
Oh come on, why is everybody constantly getting in our way? We have shit to do, peop-ponies!
“Just a quick exercise with my friend.” Lucky responded confidently, trotting past the mare.
“Beg pardon then; we’re ‘bout to have a little talk with yer friend. It’ll only take a few minutes, don’t worry.” Oh no... Not that voice again, not that cowboy accent.
“A-Applejack?”
I looked back and sure enough; there she was, staring me down.
“E-yup. Now, don’t take this ta wrong way but Ah was just a little sceptical ‘bout yer story. Ah mean, if what yer sayin’ is true, then ya should probably head to ta town hall to report a theft.”
“O-Oh, well in that case. I suppose I’ll go there and report the crime immediately!”
I was about to walk past this scary looking mare when Rainbow stopped me, hovering inches away from my face. “Obviously you should have reported it when it happened, but you didn’t. Like, come on! Did you really not care about your bits that much? It took you two whole days and still you had to be reminded by Aj. You’re only doing it because she mentioned it. Are you that much of a doormat?”
Oh fuck. Lucky! A little help over here would be super fucking nice! “I-I’m not. I’m just a little shaken up right now. You see, things have been going in a downward spiral ever since I got here. I’m kind of confused and still getting my bearing.” Lucky, hurry the hell up and say something! Vouch for me!
Out of all the ponies here, the one who came to my defense, sort of, was none other than Applejack! “Turn it down a notch, Dash. We may be throwin’ accusations around, but that doesn’t mean Ah’m certain ‘bout Hack. It’s nothin’ more than suspicions.”
Rainbow Dash didn’t look so convinced, sadly. “Yeah, right. We’re about to prove you right immediately. What’s the point in beating around the bush? He’s not a pony! And I’m certain this other pegasus is just as guilty!”
Lucky spoke up, his voice a little shaken like mine. “Hey now, let’s not get too aggressive.”
Applejack bit on Rainbow’s tail, forcing her down. “Exactly, Dash. We’re just ‘ere to confirm a few things. Let’s be civil ‘bout this.”
Applejack’s quite dangerous, but at least she’s not overly aggressive like Rainbow Dash. If both had the same mentality, they’d probably be bucking us against a nearby apple tree. Thank goodness we have the voice of reason here!
“Yeah, whatev. Just say what you gotta say but I’m telling you; if you have a hunch, it’s correct. These two were super icky about my Sonic Rainboom. Nopony’s that scared of my Rainboom!” Dash glowered.
Applejack sighed. “Dash, you do realise you nearly gave ta whole town a heart attack? Twilight was right when she warned you, ya know? Maybe these ponies over ‘ere understood that.”
I nodded profusely. “Absolutely! I listened to Twilight, but she just wouldn’t let us two prepare our future travel in peace so we eventually caved in. My apologies, we didn’t mean to scare Ponyville.”
To my surprise, Applejack returned a brief smile. “Anyhow, like Ah said; Ah have a few questions for ya. Ah mean, if yer really a pony it shouldn’t bother ya at all. Sorry in advance to be takin’ yer time away.” The orange mare approached me, keeping her eyes onto mine. It was like she had some magic truth finding powers and honestly; who’s to say she doesn’t have that? I can’t disprove that theory.
“So, to summarize it; ya came to Ponyville on hoof and was robbed, so ya were found on ta edge of ta Everfree forest by Lyra. Ya didn’t take ta safer option, that being ta train nor did ya use yer wings. That’s a mighty oversight if ya ask me.”
Rainbow Dash scoffed. “Oh come on, that’s obvious, isn’t it? Nopony could be that stupid! It’d make more sense if he was wearing a disguise!”
“Rainbow, please. Let ‘im speak.”
Before I could even answer, Lucky Clover came to my aid. “To my knowledge, he didn’t fly to Ponyville because he struggled to control his wings. It took me a lot of time to teach him to fly. Even so, his technique isn’t quite good, and he has trouble adapting. To me, I believe he may have a disability.”
Rainbow Dash groaned. “That’s nonsense! Who would ever believe that a pegasus can’t fly?”
Applejack rolled her eyes. “Are ya forgettin’ a certain flightless pegasus, Dash?”
“No, I didn’t. I mean, she’s a filly! This guy is a stallion. A fully grown pony and he can’t fly!” The blue pegasus argued.
“Normally, they can fly, mind ya. Ah’ve never bet a disabled one before, so Ah can’t really call that definitive proof.” Applejack informed. Are they implying that humans can fly? Well, with a plane or a helicopter, sure we can. Without technology, we’re as flightless as a chicken.
Still, better add something to the conversation to ward off suspicion. “I have a certain, um, deficiency in my motor control. I had a hard time learning how to write with my mouth, and an even harder time learning how to fly. Just to be safe, I chose to go to Ponyville on hoof. I mean, if I flew there and lost my balance, I would be dead.”
Applejack scratched her chin. “Hm, fair point.”
“You’re not even a pegasus, you don’t know what it’s like to fly.” Rainbow Dash kept her aggressive tone, getting more impatient by the minute. “Listen, I’ll buy that whole disability thing but even so. Why weren’t you training all this time to better use your wings? Why did it have to be now? In a town you don’t even live in.”
I glanced over to Lucky. He said nothing, reminding me he’s not going to babysit me. I’m kind of a nervous wreck and I foolishly hoped that he would solve all my problems but evidently, it’s about time I grow up and take care of things myself. “I didn’t have much reason out there. There are lots of means of transportation and my workplace was close to my home. I didn’t see much reason to use my wings.”
To my relief, Rainbow Dash finally calmed down. “Okay... now that is a valid reason. Still, I’m keeping an eye on you two. I know you’re up to no good and I’m going to prove it.”
“Wait, you believe that too?” Hey, hold on a minute. What is Bon Bon gonna add to this? Why is she even here? “It’s funny, I was starting to believe I was the only pony who saw him as danger.” Come on, right when we were about to win!
Applejack looked at the two of us one more time before exclaiming. “Rest assured, Ah’m not clearin’ them of suspicion. If they’re really honest to Celestia ponies, then they ‘ave no reason to be afraid. Ah suppose only time will tell if we were right or wrong.”
“I’m betting on right.” Bon Bon glowered. “They’re getting a little too chummy with Lyra for my taste. This one especially. It’s going to be a repeat of Canterlot with my friend, I can feel it. You’ll ensnare her, get her to do your bidding and then feast on her! I know a lot about monsters, so don’t even think you can get away with this!” She got a little too close to my face for comfort.
Lucky Clover furrowed his brows, pushing the earth pony away. The two stared into each other eyes, a sharp fury in their gaze. “We’re not monsters. We’re just like you, and I won’t let you harm my friend Hack. I can understand being worried for your best friend, but that’s not a reason to hurt other ponies. Plus, I can promise we won’t be here for long. We’re going on a trip soon, is that right?”
I nodded, unsure however if we would be gone so soon. We’re barely making any progress after all. “Y-Yeah.” Thankfully, I saw salvation come to us with curious and bright eyes. The much nicer looking mare came to us, waving hello. “Hey there, Lyra!”
Bon Bon watched her close friend come to us, displeased. “Lyra, why are you coming to him? I already told you he’s bad news and I was right!”
“I know that and frankly, I don’t mind. He seems fairly nice all things considered.” Lyra responded.
Rainbow Dash hovered down, staring at the two accused with mistrust. “If we’re proven right, that would mean that their ‘niceness’ was just an act. Don’t go exonerate them immediately.”
Lucky Clover frowned, impatiently tapping the ground. “I would argue against that, but I’m afraid anything we say will fall on deaf ear.”
“I don’t know about letting Lyra be our lawyer for this debate. I mean, it’s great she’s studying cryptozoology and all, but I don’t believe that her knowledge in humans will provide any use to us.” Oh yeah, I’m bringing up humans again. That should get a strong reaction out of Lyra and hopefully, open an exit for us.
“Well, it probably won’t but I can say that a pony who’s interested in our myths is likely a true pony.” Lyra argued against all three.
Applejack scratched her chin. I could see the gears in her head turning. Unfortunately, they weren’t turning in the direction I wanted. “Ah could probably believe that, but uh, it could be that they’re reading ‘bout our myths to blend in better. Lyra, have ya ever been alone with ‘em?”
Lyra blinked. “Wha-Oh. Sorry, I misinterpreted your question for a moment. Um, n-not really. We’ve mostly been talking in public.”
Bon Bon’s face lit up. To her, that was her “gotcha!” moment. The proof that we should still be under suspicion. “That’s why you don’t suspect them! You believe they’re innocent because they haven’t tried to hurt you yet, but that’s only because you were not alone with them. Lyra, do you realise how much danger you’ve put yourself in? I thought you said you will be more careful from now on!”
Lyra looked beaten down, sad to hear such a harsh tone coming from her friend. It didn’t look like these two fought a lot. “I am being more careful! I know they’re weird and all, but I don’t get the impression they’re dangerous! Still, I wouldn’t go somewhere alone with them!”
Ow, it looks like we haven’t gained her trust enough. Still, the fact she’s defending us prove that we can push it further. If we can get her to stay with us at Lucky’s house without anything bad happening, then maybe they’ll change their minds about us. Or maybe they won’t. That could be interpreted as a desperate attempt to appear normal. Fuck, why does it always have to be hard? Why can’t we be friends?
“I feel like we’re not being treated favorably here.” Lucky Clover grunted. That statement, I agree wholeheartedly. “We have a lot of respect for... mares.”
“Like, come on. Why are we, stallions always viewed as dangerous and untrustworthy? We deserve more than to be treated as hormone driven animals.” Good retort! But I wonder where that last part came from. It felt like I pulled that out of experience. Feels like my memories are returning, slowly but surely.
Lyra didn’t know what to say. I could see it in her face. She looked like she wanted to take her previous statement back somewhat. “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound like that. It was just that I, um, don’t swing that way. Uh, I could have phrased that better.”
Oh? Are Lyra and Bon Bon “close friends” instead of just friends? That would explain the earth pony’s overprotective behavior. Bon feels like she’d take a bullet for Lyra. But let’s be honest, she’s just trying not to hurt our feelings. I can clearly tell she meant it in the sense I initially believed. I suppose we’re still at the early stages of friendship.
Rainbow Dash groaned, looking away from the entire conversation. She picked up and looked like she wanted to leave now. Good, considering she was the biggest threat here. Bon Bon is much less dangerous with Lyra around, not that I wish to imply that she’s nothing more to me than a shield. No pony is more deserving of my friendship than her, Lucky not included for obvious reasons.
“Ugh, whatever. Keep on going with your drama without me. Just know that I’ll keep an eye on you two in case you try anything funny.”
Applejack sighed. “Only time will tell what yer intentions are, Ah just hope yer not thinkin’ ‘bout hurtin’ anypony.”
Lucky Clover nodded. “Rest assured; we’re not going to be here for long.”
And finally, the two mares left. Sure, Bon Bon was still there but without these two, it was three against one, the odds were in our favor. Now I’d just like for Lyra to somehow get Bon away for we’re about to head to a creepy castle in the woods and that certainly won’t put us in a good light.
“So, what are you guys up to?” Lyra asked curiously. “Maybe Bonnie and I could tag along?”
You, yes. Bon Bon? No.
“Might be a bit of a problem.” Lucky, what are you doing? “Where we’re heading is much easier to reach with wings.”
Lyra blinked. “Oh, r-right. Cloudsdale’s off limit for other ponies.”
I nodded, hoping they would leave us. It’s sad we can’t bring only Lyra with us. We can’t have it all. “Yup.”
“Actually, we were heading for the old castle in the Everfree forest. I heard there’s a lot of lost knowledge in there.” Lucky, the fuck? Why would you tell them that? That’s very suspicious for two civilians to go to abandoned areas seeking ‘lost knowledge’. You make it sound like we’re cultists.
Lyra’s eyes widened. “Oh! That sounds really interesting! I know the Everfree is dangerous and all, but I won’t mind following you two along. Who knows? Maybe they have lost information about humans?”
Lucky Clover frowned. “We’re flying there. I really don’t think you should tag along. We’re not going to risk our skin in that gloomy forest.”
Lyra waved her hoof. “We can handle ourselves just fine!” She looked at her “close friend” with a pleading expression. “Please? I swear they’re really nice if you give them a chance!”
Stared down by the two vicious eyes of the earth pony, I could see there was something more to this mare. Lucky felt it too. She was extremely dangerous, but we couldn’t figure out why. Thankfully, it seemed she’s more open than I thought. “Alright, if you insist...”
I don’t know if it was a good idea to fly to that castle whilst our two grounded friends trekked through the dark forest. If they died, it would have been our fault. Still, Lyra Heartstring reassured me that they would get there just fine. I suppose I’ll just have to place my faith in Bon Bon, and I don’t know how to feel about that.
We each brought a saddlebag (this world’s version of a handbag I presume) to bring back some of the books we’d judge interesting.
My flight wasn’t the best. I was still moving weirdly, constantly having to think about my wing’s movement. I was like a child learning how to walk, nothing was done subconsciously, it all had to be manual. It’s really, really hard to fly when you’re normally a grounded specie. Lucky Clover was nice enough to slow down so I could keep up with him. At our speed, we were slightly faster than a trotting pony.
I’m getting the hang of it, at least. Hopefully I can fly more comfortable before I leave this world and this body behind. It’s my one and only chance to fly, sometime most humans dream of.
Remember when I said memories were resurfacing? It happened again while Lucky Clover and I were flying to the castle. Memories of a computer screen, documents on Microsoft Word amongst other things.
I believe... I truly was a writer all along. That cutie mark on me, it’s truly who I am. Money wasn’t a problem for me. Never was, but I remember a somewhat empty feeling inside me whenever I completed a work. It’s true now, I really was a hack writer. My profession was not an art form, it was just that, a job. I only embarked on this venture for financial gain, not out of a love for writing. As such, it was etched on my new body permanently. An insult to millions of people.
Needless to say, it didn’t feel good to be reminded of that.
And as for my friends, I had few. Maybe only two at most. I never understood the kind of people that’d go around making friends left and right. These kinds of friendship never seemed to be deep, genuine really. I’d rather call them acquaintances. I was fine with having only two friends because they were two I could count on. People that chose to stay in contact with me because they truly appreciated who I am. Not sure they would appreciate what I do for a living...
Oh my, a lot has happened in such a little amount of time, hasn’t it? And to think I initially believed I was stuck in a skin suit Tusk style. Funny how quick I was to accept that this is my reality now. Following a possible covert agent into a wild adventure to hop in a portal back home. I don’t know, it just feels like I’m missing something. Maybe it’s a job I’m actually satisfied of?
I’d really like to go back home; I don’t see how I can write with hooves instead of fingers.
Well, back to our travel. We arrived a few minutes later at the old castle in the middle of the Everfree forest. I seriously wonder whose idea was this to create a palace for the two rulers of a country in the middle of a hostile forest filled with hungry beasts. That’s the stupidest idea ever. Or maybe there didn’t use to be a gloomy forest around it?
“And now, we wait for them, assuming they can make it.” Lucky Clover coldly announced, resting upon a nearby boulder.
“Come on, aren’t you a little worried for them?”
Lucky gave me an undecipherable look. “I suppose I am, but never forget to focus on the mission. We can’t lose track of it, not when we’re this far in.”
Eh, good enough. I guess Lucky Clover must be as fond of them as I am. I suppose it makes sense, considering his background and all. Still, it would be nice if he’d open his heart some more. They might not be humans, but they should still be treated with as much dignity. I mean, there isn’t a lot of difference between us and them. We both have sentience, societies and buildings. They’re practically us in a way. I’m sure he already knows; he just doesn’t seem to care since it’s not the “mission”.
“I know, I know.”
Now that I think about it, I still don’t know Lucky’s real name! We’re far away from other ponies, it wouldn’t hurt to share our true names now that we’re alone. But right as I opened my mouth to ask, two small figures emerged from the dark forest, that being Lyra Heartstring and Bon Bon. Dang it! I guess it will have to wait, again. I swear, if I don’t get the chance to learn it before our ways split, I’m gonna be pissed.
“Hey! Told you guys we were gonna make it. Of course, it was mostly thanks to Bon Bon. She’s just the best!” Lyra exclaimed jovially. Her close friend didn’t seem so jovial, but her mood was noticeably better than before, so progress was made at least.
“Alright then, I guess we’ll be heading inside to the library to find all sorts of lost knowledge.” I announced, staring inside the decrepit castle.
“Yeah, speaking of lost knowledge...” Bon Bon trotted up to us pegasi and gave us the side eye as she examined the entrance. “What are you two exactly looking for that’s exclusively in here?”
“Oh, just some stuff about humans. I got my friend here into studying mythological creatures, we thought we could find more stuff about these bipedal creatures inside this old place!” God, speaking about us like that is just plain weird. Bipedal creature? Pff!
Lyra smiled brightly, barely able to contain her excitement. Her friend, meanwhile, sighed in defeat. “Sweet Celestia, I fought a manticore for books about humans...”
I understand your disappointment. I honestly don’t see all the hype about us, we did some cool shit throughout history, but we’re also some of the biggest scumbags ever. We live to conquer and assimilate. That’s Europe and America for y’all.
Inside the castle, things didn’t start out too well. We heard a strange sound in the distance, I can’t tell you what it was. It sounded like some sort of metallic creak. Faced with this creepy occurrence, we turned to Lucky Clover for a suggestion. “Alright, what do we do?”
“Let’s split up, that seems like the best idea to me.”
Lyra stepped on something, squishy. “Uh, there’s a dead rat on the floor.”
“Let’s camouflage ourselves with fresh blood... that seems like the best idea to me.”
Okay, now I know what you’re thinking. Daniel! Tell us the truth! It’s not possible that he’s that bad! And to that I swear I’m not making this up. You’ll see in a moment.
So, guess what? We (mostly I) found an old typewriter in this place! And it was still in working condition. I was born when these machines were starting to fall out of fashion so by the time I got into writing, they were already replaced by the much superior computer overlords. Just the novelty of using one got me excited.
So excited in fact, I decided to sit down and use it right now whilst Lucky Clover watched in the back.
“Dear diary, today I arrived in an old castle that is really, really scary.”
“It’s giving me white hair.”
We were all really bad.
Anyway, we made our way to the library soon after, carrying the typewriter for safekeeping. Old dusty bookshelves everywhere, torn books littering the place, cobwebs and rats roaming around, making their home inside this castle. Not a welcoming look, but if we ignore that, the rest is in surprisingly good condition for what’s supposed to be a thousand-year-old library. I opened one of the books and was surprised to see it was still readable, only a little dusty.
“Oh, wow. Maybe this wasn’t a waste of time.”
Lucky Clover chuckled, flying above me. “Naturally, this castle isn’t any abandoned castle after all. It belonged to Princess Celestia and Luna, the two rulers of Equestria.”
And I’m guessing we shouldn’t go anywhere near these two. Yatti yatta, I know the song already, no need to remind me.
Bon Bon stayed close to Lyra the whole time, occasionally checking on us to make sure we weren’t doing something suspicious, which would be hard to do when all we’re looking for are books. We just need to nab a book on portals and stuff while she’s not paying attention to us and voila, mission accomplished, we can pack up and go home.
Lucky searched the upper bookshelves while I stayed grounded, looking at the lower parts. I didn’t feel confident enough to hover above ground. Again, my control over my wings were still subpar compared to a normal non-human pegasus. My friend here seemed like a natural, he couldn’t have been here for a few weeks, it had to be longer. Sure hope I won’t be there that long.
“Hack, you might want to see this.” He eventually said after a couple of minutes of searching.
“Is it about humans? Let me see!” We heard Lyra screaming from across the room.
Lucky raised his voice, “No, it’s just a book about us pegasus. Sorry.”
It was exactly what we were looking for. A book about portals and stuff. With enough luck, we should be able to find a wormhole of some sort that’ll take us back to Earth. The problem was that the book was referring to the old Equestria while we are currently in the present Equestria. Towns, woods and other things have changed since then. To find one of these portals, we essentially have to solve a puzzle. Nothing’s that easy. That’s life.
“I have some books that could help us identify these places at home. Let’s look for more in the meantime.” Lucky exclaimed, closing the book and placing it in his saddlebag.
“Ooh! Check this out, guys!” Lyra screamed, running towards us with a book levitating at her side. “It says here that humans believe we unicorns are mythological creature! Ah, isn’t this funny how wrong we both are? I didn’t know mythological creature could also have their own myths.” Her eyes widened and she gasped. “But what if it’s not possible? Myths can’t have myths in them! That could only mean one thing...”
Bon Bon rolled her eyes. “Not likely, Lyra. This is not definitive proof of humans existing. Having myths inside a myth is like making spin-off stories. Sure, it’s rather odd but it’s not impossible by any means.”
Lyra frowned, holding the book within her hooves. “A mare can always dream.”
“Sure, just don’t get your hopes up.”
Oh, do get your hopes up. On second thought, no, I agree with Bon Bon. I don’t believe we’ll ever get to reveal to her that humans do exist. It’s sad but at the same time, a mystery is always more fun when you don’t have the answer to it. As some artist would say, we really ought to respect the mystery instead of always wanting the answer. Maybe it’s best we let her believe without knowing.
“If it makes you happy, then keep on pursuing that dream. The fun’s in the getting, not in the having after all.”
Lyra smiled, pointing at me. “See? Hack here gets it, Bonnie.”
Just then, we heard a quiet ruffling in the distance. That was bigger than a critter, around our size. It sounded like a pony, but weaker. Faced with this strange and feeble presence, Lyra and I looked to Bon Bon and Lucky Clover respectively for guidance. Although, in retrospect, maybe I shouldn’t have placed my faith in him considering his previous advice weren’t the best.
“There should be an exit nearby. Let’s not stick around any longer. That thing could be more dangerous than a manticore for all we know.” Bon Bon instructed first.
Lucky Clover didn’t look so pleased to be forced to listen to an earth pony. I didn’t care personally; I was willing to follow the first one to speak up.
The strange pony creature didn’t follow us, but we could feel it was close. It knew we were here, and it was observing us but didn’t dare to close in. As such, we got out of this old castle quickly, having thankfully found what we were looking for though we’re only slightly closer to home...