The four made their way to the center of Ponyville, the three ponies still talking about the show while Flynn trailed behind, mostly out of earshot. The streets were still for the most part empty, but once or twice a distant pair of other ponies would be spotted walking towards the center of town from another road before being obscured by the houses.
“What is this show supposed to be about again?” Flynn asked to none of the three ponies in particular. He scarcely cared enough to remember the first time they talked about it, being too caught up in his own thoughts.
“The advertisements said that a 'Trixie the Magnificent' is coming to Ponyville,” Rarity answered. “Apparently she is a world-renown magician.”
“A world-renown magician that none of us ever heard of before,” Rainbow Dash added, drooping her eyelids.
“Performing arts then,” Flynn let out a groan in disappointment. “Surely you do not expect me to just wait while you watch a show when you can simply point me to Twilight and make things faster and easier?”
“Are ya under some kinda deadline for doin' what ya need to do?” Applejack asked, turning her head to look behind her.
“Neg,” he said. “To my knowledge I do not have any apparent time limit in meeting the Founder. However, I would rather not spend any more time here than needed.”
“We know, but that doesn't mean you can't stop and see the sights while you're in Ponyville just a little bit.” Applejack said before refocusing on the path in front of her. To her side, Rainbow Dash eyed her suspiciously, all but that maybe Applejack was being too trusting to the creature behind them. Rarity listened in, but tried not to get involved unless an argument broke out. “Besides, sugarcube, what's wrong with a magic show, other than the 'xaggerations?”
“Please do not call me 'sugarcube'. I am trying not to call you 'stravag'.”
Applejack did not need to know the word's full meaning to know it was derogatory. She furrowed her brow and said, ”We're tryin' to help ya, Flynn. Callin' us names isn't gonna get ya to 'the Founder' any quicker.”
“Neither is leading me to a waste of time like a performing arts show.” The three ponies seemed to ignore the retort and resumed their own chatter about the show soon after.
The town center itself was made fairly conspicuous in that the middle was a narrow, three-story tower, presumably the main administrative building. Even as the four were at the last intersection before the town center, it was clear a sizable number of residents were attending the big event.
I wonder how they can build all these houses without hands, Flynn thought as Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and finally himself all passed under a catwalk with a heart symbol at the top of the arch. Then again, the surats at Appleloosa were able to grasp mugs and forks with their legs like they had magnets at the bottom of their feet.
Dozens of ponies gathered around one side of the tower, where a modestly-sized stagecoach was parked. Visually the stagecoach was an unremarkable yellow with a red roof and a sign fixed atop the door, which from the group's current position was barely noticeable. As they drew closer and moved counter-clockwise around the tower, the design revealed itself as a blue star-shaped wand waving an aura with stars around it.
Much like the populace of Appleloosa, the ponies in attendance paid little mind to Flynn's arrival as he sat down cross-legged at the back of the crowd, the other three choosing spots closer up front. The librarian pony may very well have been there as well, but at least for the laborers sake he would not disrupt the show by asking questions she may not even know off the top of her head - not that having to wait was preferable either. Occasionally he would catch one or two ponies making a second glance out of curiosity, only to quickly return their attention to the stagecoach once he spotted them in the act.
Not long after, the stagecoach suddenly unfolded into a small stage within the course of a few seconds. The idle chatter died down and everyone's eyes focused on the purple curtain. A light blue female pony with silvery-white hair wearing a purple cape and matching pointed hat speckled in stars emerged from the veil. A smile briefly appeared on her face as she observed the audience before she spoke.
“Come one, come all,” the pony shouted. “Come and witness the amazing magic of the Great and Powerful Trixie!” The crowd 'oohed' at her introduction, whereas Flynn rolled his eyes. Not ten seconds had passed and already he was bored. “Watch in awe as the Great and Powerful Trixie performs the most spectacular feats of magic ever witnessed by pony eyes!”
The pony stood on her hind legs and as soon as she finished her sentence, the air around the stage burst into splendorous multicolor explosions. Staged fireworks. The masses did not seem to care and raved the light show all the same.
As the last of the fireworks faded away, Flynn turned his attention to one of the ponies at the back of the crowd, primarily because it kept looking back at him more than the rest. It was obviously wondering who - or what - he was, but while it did not look necessarily shy or afraid, it seemed to be trying to build up the courage and speak to him. The MechWarrior raised his hand and gestured it to come to him, which it unhesitatingly did. Maybe that is Twilight, he thought.
Much like the majority of the crowd, the pony was female. More specifically a teal unicorn with whitish hair, yellowish-orange eyes and a stringed musical instrument for its symbol. “Can I help you?” Flynn asked in a somewhat bored tone.
“Sorry about staring at you,” it replied as it went to his left side and folded its legs to enter a restful position on the grass. “It's just that I haven't seen something like you around here before and, uh, I'm just kinda curious. I think we all are. I'm Lyra, by the way.”
“I am Flynn,” he said. “I presume you have not encountered a human before. Quineg?” He quickly realized he probably should have said 'Clansman', as humans on Terra were a given, but he did not try correcting himself.
“Um, no I haven't,” Lyra answered. “I haven't even heard of that word until now actually, or that other one. What does that last word mean?”
“It means I expected you to answer negatively to my query,” Flynn replied, quietly keeping his minor surprise at the answer to himself. “Had I said 'quiaff', I would expect you to answer affirmatively.”
Lyra nodded and smiled in understanding. “Oh now I get it. It's the words 'query' and 'negative' or 'affirmative' shortened and mashed together. Right?”
“Aff.”
“Huh, that's a interesting way to say yes or no,” she titled her head to the side lazily. “So, what brings you to Ponyville?”
Flynn looked up at the stage, where 'Trixie' had paused her act to talk to someone who was presumably heckling her in the crowd. He could not see who or hear the conversation, but he could have cared less as well.
“Well, you would probably have a hard time believing all the details in my full story,” he said. “But basically, I have been exiled from my homeland with no way to return and I am trying to find the town where I believe my idols are in this new land. When I asked a group of ponies in a town called 'Appleloosa' somewhere in the desert this morning, they told me to go here and speak to the librarian, Twilight.”
“They led you to the right place then,” Lyra said. “I don't go to her place that much, but I do know Twilight Sparkle has a huge collection of all kinds of books. I'm sure you can find an atlas or something to help you.” The teal unicorn observed Flynn's facial expression, noticing something off about it. While he appeared bored, if mildly irate to the casual observer, Lyra could tell he was also 'disconnected' from the environment. It was not just the geography, though, nor was it the visible culture the ponies had...
A few more seconds of speculation and her mind clicked a plausible solution. “Flynn, pardon me for asking this, but have you ever met a pony in your life before reaching Appleloosa?”
“Neg,” he said at first, but quickly followed up his answer. “Wait, that is only half-true. I have seen horses before, but nothing like you. The horses I knew not being able to talk is one of the differences between them and yourself.” The MechWarrior held out his hand and hovered it about a foot before Lyra, who curiously followed the hand with her eyes in uncertainty of what he was supposed to be doing. “That, and I never got so close to one before today. And no, the horses I know of cannot talk at all, not because I never tried contac-” Flynn was abruptly cut off by a second round of fireworks bursting. Both he and Lyra jumped in surprise and bolted their heads to face the spectacle before returning their focus to each other.
Lyra relaxed back into her spot and continued the chat between them. “Anyway, do you have any questions about being in a land of ponies like myself?”
Flynn broke eye contact and stared off into a distant hill. Lyra nodded in acknowledgment that it meant he was seriously considering what to ask her and patiently waited. “Just one that I can think of,” he said. “Why do you care?”
The warm smile on Lyra's face faded somewhat as she adopted a more serious tone of voice. “Well, it's because I think I can see a problem you might have around here: You're practically stuck in a foreign land where everypony is, no offense, different than you.” The teal unicorn turned her head to the crowd of ponies, lowering it as if to point with her horn. “Not just physically, but socially as well. It's already apparent from your clothes you have a unique fashion sense to wear camouflage - even if beige and brown is a bit unusual pattern to use, but I digress. Not to mention, if your journey has taken you to Equestria, the town you're looking for is likely in Equestria too.”
Lyra's reply caused something to click in Flynn's own mind. “Almost forgot, I just realized that I have not told you the name of the town I am looking for. If you can tell me where I can find Unity City, I would appreciate it and it would save me from having to ask Twilight Sparkle the same.”
Lyra kept her head low and shook it gently. “Sorry,” she said. “I don't know where to find Unity City. I have not heard of it before either.”
Flynn nodded, even if he was finding the fact that one of the two capital cities of the Star League being so obscure peculiar (the other capital was some town called 'Geneva' in the continent of Europe, but right from the start even Flynn doubted his heroes were there).
“As I was saying, with Unity City probably being in Equestria...” Lyra intentionally let the sentence hang to let Flynn fill in the blanks himself.
The MechWarrior in turn quickly caught on to what she was implying. “I would have to get used to living alongside a bunch of talking ponies. Quiaff?”
“Yes,” the teal unicorn replied. She tried to follow up her answer with something else, but was interrupted by a third set of fireworks. Lyra was not startled this time, only irritated. “I'm getting real tired of that,” she groaned as part of her face turned different colors from the light.
“If she does that again, I will call for a Trial of Grievance against her,” Flynn warned. Noticing Lyra's confusion, he added, “It is the way individuals settle problems with each other in my homeland.”
“Uh-huh,” Lyra said, wary of the 'human's' intent for the way he said it sounded like a threat; which Lyra knew would not help him adjust in the long run if he went through with it. “I don't think that 'Trixie' mare is really worth getting too upset about. The fireworks are annoying, sure but we are having a conversation while she is performing after all.”
Fortunately for Lyra, Flynn seemed to take the bait. “Back to the subject at hand,” he said. “I have only been in this land for a few hours, I think, and I can see some issues. Such as the winged ponies supposedly being able to manipulate the weather.” He pointed at a pegasus hovering above the crowd as he spoke, specifically at a gray mare with blond hair and a literal bubble butt. “Among other things.”
“You probably haven't encountered magic before then,” the teal unicorn looked at the ground, her eyes searching for a stone to use for her upcoming demonstration. “All ponies have some form of magical ability. Earth pony magic is the most passive, but I honestly don't know what it's used for though. Pegasi use it to stand on clouds and, as you mentioned, control the weather. And finally, unicorns like myself are the most inclined with magic.” Lyra was just about to telekinetically lift a stone off the ground to show Flynn, but realized they were at a show starring a unicorn showing off her magical abilities. “Just watch Trixie for a second and you'll see.”
The two set their attention to the stage, where apparently Rainbow Dash was in the midst of upstaging the magician at her own show for who knows what reason. Whatever the pegasus just did, it allowed her to create a glowing, miniature rainbow above her.
Her opponent on the stage was less than impressed. “When Trixie is through, the only they will call you is 'loser.'” The unicorn had discarded its hat, and its exposed horn glowed with a magenta aura. The rainbow above Rainbow Dash rapidly swirled around her and morphed into a tornado. The pegasus was helplessly thrashed about from her own multicolor whirlwind shortly before being tossed to the ground and obscured by the mob of adoring spectators.
Flynn clenched his fists and whisper-yelled, “Did those surats lead me here just to watch them make fools of themselves?!” While he was not explicitly trying to get attention from the showmare, Trixie seemed to personally acknowledge him by smugly nodding in his direction.
Bad idea, Lyra thought. Fortunately for the both of them, the human appeared to have enough restraint to not get up and declare his 'Trial of Grievance'. Instead he took a deep breath and shifted himself to face Lyra head on, who in turn did the same to him.
With a nervous grin on her face, Lyra said, “Well, you saw that unicorns have magic. And, uh, don't worry about Rainbow Dash. She takes her pride very seriously. And-”
“I know what you are doing, horse,” Flynn semi-calmly accused. “You are trying to talk me down from starting fights for no good reason. I assure you that I learned that lesson in Appleloosa.”
Lyra leaned her head to one side and said, “That's good, I think. It means you're making progress already in adapting.” When the human's expression went blank, she took that as a cue to explain. “Um, you know how those TV shows and books and stuff turn out with somepony having to move to a foreign land and initially there's conflict because of the difference in culture until they eventually grow accustom to each other and everything returns to normal?” She took a breath. “I think that's what's going to happen to you, Flynn.”
Smart girl... pony, he thought. He had little idea to the exact source material Lyra was citing though; as books were scarce and he used what little free time he had watching holovid programming geared toward war documentaries. Yet somehow, she sounds like this is not the first time this very situation happened. “Lyra, you sound like you have dealt with this situation before. Is that true?”
“Well, not really,” she replied. ”I've never actually talked to someone about this kind of thing before, you're the first. If it wasn't for the fact that my friend Bon-Bon-” Lyra pointed a hoof to the left side of the crowd “-the tan-ish earth pony with the purple and pink curls-” the added description allowed Flynn to find said pony with ease. ”-went through the exact same thing you are when she moved here a few years back, I probably wouldn't have brought it up at all.”
The two sat in an awkward silence for a moment before Flynn spoke up, “I am thankful for your attempt at insight, Lyra.” The MechWarrior turned his head to the mass of equines in a vain attempt to find the so-called 'Twilight Sparkle'. “Could you describe what Twilight Sparkle looks like so that I can go talk to her? I believe this show is about to end soon.”
“You're welcome,” she replied, her smile returning before she too faced the crowd and searched. “I can't see her, but she is a purple unicorn. Eye color, mane, coat, all purple. She's probably up at the front near the stage, you'll know her when you see her.” A single question popped into the teal unicorn's head as she recollected part of the conversation. A minor query that normally would only surface in retrospect, but since Lyra was thinking of it now she opted to get an answer while she had the chance. “Before you go, there's just one nit-pick question I have. You said you were in Appleloosa a couple hours ago, but the express train takes at least half a day from there to Ponyville. How did you get here so quickly if you can't fly?”
“I ran,” Flynn deadpanned. “Really, really fast.” It was technically true, as he did use a bipedal 'Mech and ran as fast as it could go without kicking into overdrive via the MASC system.
Lyra grunted in amusement at the answer but desired a more informative response. “Yeah, and?”
“I ran really, really fast in my BattleMech. That is a better answer. Qu-”
“Wait just a second,” Lyra interjected, her eyebrow lifting and ears stiffening in attention. “Did you just say, 'BattleMech'? As in... a 'giant robot with laser guns' BattleMech?” The teal unicorn leaned forward slightly as though to hear better.
“Aff. Firemoth, OmniMech, twenty-tons.”
As Flynn listed the details, the smile on Lyra's face grew into a wide grin, her eyes shot open as far as they could, she suddenly had a hard time keeping still and was practically squealing in excitement. Though the model was unfamiliar, as was the concept of an 'OmniMech', she did not care. Those were just details to a simple fact: “I knew it! BattleMechs are real!”
Flynn meanwhile tried to act unfazed by the unicorn's outburst, even if he had to admit it was at first unsettling. “BattleMechs have been real for six-hundred years, Lyra,” he said plainly. “They should come as no shocking revelation, especially here of all places.”
“What are you even talking about by 'here of all places'?! Maybe where your from 'Mechs are common, which is awesome! But here? Not at all.” Lyra could not bear jittering on the ground any further and promptly stood up to pace in a small row. “I should probably explain. Bon-Bon and I love the idea of giant robots fighting each other. We collect miniatures, we read every novel we can about the subject, we even watch cheesy Saturday morning cartoons of them whenever they come on.” The unicorn blushed at the last part, as if it was somehow especially embarrassing. “Well, okay, Bon-Bon says I'm a little obsessed with them, but I'm sure that's just because I usually beat her whenever we play tabletop. It's not my fault that she wants to play as the Everfree Acres League all the time.”
Flynn was at a loss for words. Lyra being a crazed fan of BattleMechs was forgivable, if somewhat unnerving. But the way she referred to presumably the Free Worlds League by that alternate name downright made no sense. Especially when the nearest Free Worlds planet was one jump - thirty light-years - away at most.
Of course, Lyra also mentioned that she never met a human before; when she was on Terra of all places.
...Unless that insinuated that the ponies around Flynn were humans at one point and Lyra had been a unicorn for so long that... the MechWarrior tried not to burst into laughter at such ridiculous conjecture, only stopping short at a hiccup-like exhalation.
“I should be going now,” Flynn said as he stood up and searched the front of the stage for Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash. It was not long after that he found the former three ponies talking to a purple unicorn matching Twilight Sparkle's description, who acknowledged his presence by looking directly at him, nodding and resuming her conversation with the others. “It was surprisingly a pleasure speaking to you, Lyra.”
“Hold on, Flynn! Before you go, could you show me your BattleMech please?” Lyra's pupils dilated to nearly the size of saucer plates, her lips changed into begging, quivering frown and made a 'squeaking' noise in doing so.
It was both as adorable and creepy as it sounded.
“Later,” Flynn said. “Right now I need to talk to Twilight Sparkle and learn where to go next on my journey. Once I am finished, I will pilot my Firemoth close to the edge of town to give you the opportunity to see it. Assuming doing so will not panic the townspeople.”
“It won't, I promise.” Lyra's expression reverted back to a simple smile of reassurance. The confirmation was enough for Flynn and he immediately walked off towards the three ponies as the unicorn waved goodbye with a foreleg. “Hope to see you again, Flynn. Good luck on your quest!”
Lyra placed her leg back onto the ground and watched Flynn briefly introduce himself to Twilight before they both, with three of her friends and that baby dragon of hers - Spike, if she remembered - walked off towards the library.
This wasn't so bad after all, she thought. When Bon-Bon had insisted that the both of them should see the magic show, Lyra was less than excited. She cared little about the show itself, not because of the acts, or the pony performing them. She simply did not find the appeal to be had in watching another use their magic to make pretty lights appear. Honestly, she would rather spend the afternoon doing nothing but painting her new set of hoof-crafted 'Mech models that set her back one-hundred bits, or practice the harp to unwind and relax, or both. Still, she went anyway so that her friend could be happy.
It was not long after they reached the town center that that Lyra became bored out of her mind. Fortunately, the arrival of Applejack, Rarity and Rainbow Dash with an entirely different being spiced things up somewhat. Maybe it was inappropriate to keep staring at him, but the resulting conversation with Flynn proved to be a more stimulating experience for the both of them.
Over the course of the two's chat between each other, Lyra had slowly developed a slight interest in the 'human'. Flynn seemed to be a nice enough guy. Thinking back on it, she probably should have asked a few questions about what his homeland was like while the opportunity presented itself. Then again, that was what the Equestrian mail service was for. All she needed to do was wait a reasonable time for Flynn to presumably get asylum and continue contact from there. She doubted tracking him down would be that difficult.
Of course, those plans were all but forgotten upon the reveal that BattleMechs, did in fact, exist.
Lyra scanned the crowd of now-leaving ponies for her friend, eventually finding Bon-Bon searching for herself as well near a shrub. “Bon-Bon!” Lyra yelled over the chatter of the dispersing citizens of Ponyville as she enthusiastically trotted towards her friend. “You won't believe what I just learned right now!”