Alright, I probably overplayed the panic I was feeling, but I wasn't exactly thinking that. The last several times I had met Lyra it was basically implied that she wanted to either hump me, capture me, or kill me. The last one I thought mainly because of the conversation I had with her back at the library the second time around. I basically ditched her to help my friends, the ponies, and that may still not have been an acceptable excuse with the look she had on her face.
Well, what was my first plan of action upon seeing Lyra? Diving head first into the bushes in front of Rarity's place. Despite how big I was, they were still able to conceal me from sight.
"What are you doing?"
"Quiet!" I hissed. "I spotted a wild Lyra!"
It was quiet for a few seconds while I think Twilight was looking around. I couldn't tell because she was on the other side of the bush from me. I didn't dare look out since it may give away my position.
"I don't really understand why you would think that's she is all that wild right now."
Oh yeah. Very few cultural references to work with that they understand too.
"You wouldn't under- well yes you would, but that's something else entirely. I mean that you can't let Lyra see me."
"But she doesn't have any memories of you left."
"But she's still Lyra! It doesn't matter if she forgot! Or do you not remember her pounding on your door to see me?"
"When was this?"
"It was during the incident where I accidentally turned everyone here human."
"I was in the basement most of that time and right up almost until you got there. I never heard anypony pounding on the door there other than you."
That got me a little sidetracked.
"Wait, if you didn't hear anyone at the door then how did Pinkie and Rarity get inside?"
She sounded like she was about to say something, but then stopped. I could tell she was thinking about that. It was a conundrum for her as well as myself. Of course, after a minute or so of silence, Twilight spoke up again.
"They probably got in through one of the windows. I don't generally lock those unless there's a storm or when it's windy."
Wow. She solved a Pinkie Pie problem with logic. Color me impressed.
"Now you're getting me sidetracked Seth. I'm sure it isn't that bad."
"Famous last words," I said with a hint of sarcasm. "Anyways, let me know when she isn't there anymore."
"She isn't there anymore," she drolled out.
I pushed my hands through the bush and tried to look in the direction that I saw Lyra in. Unfortunately, that failed miserably. Following that I slowly moved to a kneeling position and looked over the top of the bush. I looked around for a bit to see if I could spot her just in case. After not seeing her anywhere, I got back up to my feet and picked up the parasoul. I then let out a sigh of relief.
Which, in hindsight, was probably like a signal beacon.
"Ohmygoshitsahuman!!!"
I jumped clear from one side of the doorway to the other as I heard Lyra spook me from my left. I immediately put the parasoul in between myself and her with what I'm sure was a look of surprise and terror. Thankfully, Twilight also interposed herself between us slightly.
"Lyra, what are you doing? Can't you see you spooked him by doing that?"
I'm not sure that Lyra heard her. She definitely didn't answer as she had her gaze locked on me. I for one kept my gaze locked right back on her. I did not want her out of my sight again now that she knew I was here. I had no idea what she could do as a unicorn other than levitation and object manipulation. She may not have been a magic specialist like Twilight, but honestly you didn't want to take any unicorn lightly, especially one with an obsession on you. If you did, there was a good chance that you could wind up in her basement as a guinea pig for her to manipulate upon.
"Stay calm now teal pony of suspicious character," I managed to choke out.
"He can talk! I knew it!"
Okay. Good news is that she doesn't remember me. Bad news is that she definitely more intrigued now that she knows she can get answers out of me. Visions of horror briefly flashed in my vision before I just yelled at Twilight while keeping my gaze straight on Lyra.
"Twilight! Get me out of here!"
I watched as Lyra's gaze hardened like she knew she might lose her chance.
"We can all just calm down and discuss this-"
That was about all she managed to get out before I saw Lyra's horn light up. I'm pretty sure Twilight saw it too and that's why she didn't continue from there. I continued to watch as the parasoul lit up with the same color as Lyra's magic which indicated to me that she was going to get that out of my grasp and then do something else to follow up with. At least that's what I think. It only got so far as to feel a slight tug on it before I felt a tingling sensation all over my body. I saw Lyra gasp right before a flash enveloped my vision for a moment and I found myself on a road outside of Ponyville. I hadn't been actually teleported anywhere in about a year, but I honestly didn't feel like it was disorienting at all like the first time I had done it. The sudden change in my field of vision was something that I had gotten used to.
"Okay, so maybe you were right about Lyra."
"It's fine Twilight. I'm just kind of surprised that she hadn't already tried to track me down at my home yet. I'm starting to think that maybe news doesn't travel as fast through Ponyville as I thought."
"That doesn't matter right now. We need to get back on schedule. We're just outside of Ponyville so let's continue on to Fluttershy's place."
"Oui mon capitan!" I stated with a salute.
I watched as she rolled her eyes and started walking down the road. I did admire the fact that wherever Twilight was, she knew instantly where she was going after teleporting. Of course, it didn't last long once I remembered that I used to be able to do the same thing. Her mental map was just much more accurate than my own.
We passed the fork in the road and went on up towards Fluttershy's at a... well, whatever the opposite of a brisk pace is. I may have gotten a boost from Discord in some way that made me not be in pain when I walked for more than a bit, but it did nothing for the speed at which I did it. Both Fluttershy's and Applejack's homes are about a mile from mine and it took me around fifteen to twenty minutes to walk there. A better pace than back home for damn sure, but by no means was it quick for ponies.
For the record, according to my watch it took us just slightly over half an hour to get within view of her cozy little cottage. It hadn't changed a bit since I saw it last. Honestly, nothing ever does seem to change on the surface around here. Sure, the ponies seem to learn and grow, but other than that I saw the same library, the same Sweet Apple Acres, the same cottage, and the same houses that are so much the same that I can't even tell them apart most of the time and definitely can't navigate. Then again... cartoon. The status quo is king. Yet here that only applied to the environment surrounding them. Twilight was the most prime example of change. I kind of wished that I had brought that up. Instead, the two of us walked in silence once again. Even I'll admit that it was getting old.
We made it to the front door not long after we spotted the place. I looked around and noticed several of the animals there had their gaze fixed on me. I say me only because that was what it felt like. It wasn't bad like it had been with the ponies, but it was still a palpable feeling. I ignored it as Twilight knocked on the door and we waited for an answer. It only took a few moments before Fluttershy answered the door.
"Oh! Hello Twilight," she said happily at seeing her friend at the door.
Her demeanor quickly shifted as she spotted me there too.
"Oh, um, hello," she said adawwably.
"It's okay Fluttershy," Twilight said calmingly. "He's just here to have a chat with you. Is Rainbow Dash still here?"
"Yes she is. I'm letting her take a nap upstairs right now."
I snickered quickly at hearing that.
"Sorry," I said while thinking about it. "I just thought that she usually takes her naps up on some clouds."
"Well, um, she usually does," she said while starting to frown. "She just seemed so tired today and, well, I thought she would like to use my bed for a bit instead so I offered to do so."
"Aww, that's so nice of you."
Her frown seemed to turn into a smile when she heard that.
"Well, now that I know she's still here do you mind if the two of us come in to talk to you?" Twilight asked. "We'll keep it down for Dash's sake until she wakes up."
"Oh, I guess that's okay," she answered hesitantly.
"If you aren't comfortable," I said while kneeling down, "then we don't have to come in. Or rather I don't have to since Twilight is still welcome. I can sit out here if you'd prefer."
"Oh, well, that is..." she said; stumbling about while trying to find the right words.
"You don't remember, and I'm not sure I remember when, but I think told you once before; if you're not comfortable with doing something then you don't have to if you don't want to."
I watched as she thought about it for a second.
"It wouldn't be very nice if I invited Twilight inside and not you. You can come in. You know. If you still want to."
"Thank you," I stated and made an after you motion to Twilight.
After she went inside, I stayed on my knees and shuffled my way inside. I still didn't quite understand why the ceilings were so high and yet the door frames were so low. I only made it halfway through the door when something poked my knee. My knees already hurt anytime I put weight directly on them so having that happen as well gave me a knee-jerk reaction and I tumbled the rest of the way forward.
"Oh my goodness! Are you okay?"
"Yeah," I said while a little aggravated. "Something just poked me in the knee is all."
I started rubbing the spot as I rose to a sitting position.
"I'm just glad I didn't roll over anyone. Or any of your animals either."
I stood up and had a look around. The place looked primarily the same as before. I did see a few animals this time around. A couple of birds in some birdhouses, a few mice here and there, and a rabbit as well. Wait. That wasn't some random rabbit. The look it was giving me made me realize that it had to be Angel. It was a real 'don't screw with me' kind of glare. I didn't plan on doing so, especially since if I did then I would lose any cordiality that Fluttershy was willing to give me. I still decided to keep an eye on him while the three of us talked.
"So, what did you both need to talk about?"
"Well, it seems that almost everypony who knew about Seth has lost their memory of him from his previous visit. I wanted all of the Elements of Harmony to regain their memories just in case something happens again."
Wait a tick. That isn't what she was saying earlier. Did she figure something out and not tell me? Oh who am I kidding? Twilight is way smarter than I am. I'll just let her do her thing and she can fill me in later.
"So you have proof then?"
"I seem to recall Applejack saying something like that. Did you think I was lying or something?"
"Well we weren't sure about what was happening. You were just summoned here with Discord and all Princess Celestia would say is that you were an intimate acquaintance."
"That's only because I let her- Oh, wait. Celestia told me not to say anything about that."
"She's keeping secrets from me?" she said sounding a little hurt.
"Look, of course she keeps secrets. We all do. If she had spilled the beans on some of those tests she administered to you then there might have been a chance that you wouldn't have become an alicorn. You remember what happened when you opened that door deep inside Sombra's castle right?"
"You saw that!?!" she said disbelievingly.
"It was from the two part season opener. The door was showing you your worst fears. In the context with the show, it was part of a misdirect to the audience. Anyway, that whole thing was meant as a test to see if you were ready to ascend into being an alicorn. The season finale showed that you had what it took. By the way, was that place the ethereal plane?"
"I'm not supposed to talk about it," she said while looking away.
"Aww man! But I saw it already! I mean... Celestia's sweet aria while walking along that hall of memories... Come on!" I said in a bit of a whiny voice.
"You saw my memories!?!" she yelled while starting to blush slightly.
"It was just scenes from the show. Nothing else," I said a little too casually.
"But they're still my memories!"
"You know what?" I asked getting irritated, "You can ask Celestia about mine. She knows all about me. Just don't say you weren't warned."
"I didn't even get the option of warning somepony! Anyone who watched that was given a free pass through my life!"
"You were in that hall so you know that all the best moments in your life were what was being displayed."
"But it was still my life! It's not supposed to be someone's entertainment!"
I wanted to keep yelling, but honestly I had nothing else to say on my mind. She was, of course, fully justified in what she was saying. The problem is that everything you can think of nowadays can be construed as entertainment. A giggling baby can bring smiles to many, and apparently millions of Youtube views. Hell, to a psychopath someone getting hit by a train can be entertainment. I once managed to entertain myself by laughing at a falling piece of string for five minutes. We're all a little weird sometimes. That's what free will is.
I closed my eyes, let out a big sigh, and opened them once more.
"It is what it is. Neither of us can change that fact. We just have to deal with it. Do you feel any better after that rant?"
"A bit," she said with a sigh that matched my own. "I think I really needed to get that off my back."
"I understand."
"Hey!" a voice yelled from upstairs. "What's with all the racket? Some of us were taking a nap here!"
"Craaap," I stated bluntly.