Strange Friends and Visitors
The days fell into a pattern for the first week.
Two in the morning: wake up either screaming or crying or just catatonic with fear from another memory or nightmare. I then would spend a little time trying to explain the dream to Nightmare and dropping in and out of a restless sleep.
Six in the morning: wake up proper, run laps with the guard, and eat breakfast. Lance has taken over breakfast since it usually involves fruit juice and cereal. Lance's first attempt at waffles and eggs ended with nothing more than smoke and cinders.
Eight to ten: move bricks, mortar, and other supplies to the kiln build site, usually while jogging or holding them above my head as "strength training"
Ten to noon: make bricks in brick molds. This had to be done very carefully as any air pockets in a brick might cause it to crack, deform or even explode while in the kiln.
noon to one: Lunch! Steel had taken lunch duties, though that usually left a very utilitarian meal. I was eating heavily from our supply of beans and soy to make up for my protein, and I really missed meat.
One to two: sparing practice. I had gotten good with the sword and dagger in just a few days, and could beat Lance when he didn't cheat with his magic. I was still working on ways to deal with that, along with thinking of way's to stand against flying foes like Starlight. The end of practice was the same every day: Steel would challenge me and inevitably whup my butt.
Two to Five: Work indoors. After training it was too warm to work in the yard so I went around doing minor repairs and projects around the castle. Lance was supposed to stick with me during this time, but he often would leave to "go get that thing I forgot about" and be gone for hours.
Six was dinner, seven to eight was free time (usually spent inventorying supplies and cleaning up), and bedtime was at nine, though I usually crashed earlier due to my supernatural two A.M. alarm.
Today it was just after two in the afternoon and I was trying to install a secondary support on a split beam in one of the side towers. The roof as almost completely intact, save for this one beam. I had everything I needed to put the support brace in place: a tin frame for alignment, pre-cut boards, glue, bolts, etc. I just needed to nail the tin frame in place.
My resident hammer swinging unicorn had conveniently forgotten the hammer downstairs. I found said hammer under a rag a minute later, and I was damned if I was going to waste the day waiting for that slacker to come back.
Sweat dripped off my brow as I balanced precariously atop a ladder, pushing hard on a thin nail. Daily training with Steel Strike had given me more muscle and control than I had ever had on my own.
I had managed, with a lot of effort, to shore up both sides of a main beam with a massive crack through it. I had been smart enough to think of gluing the plates in place and lucky enough that the glue didn't set till I had the metal brackets on. Now I was leaning as hard as I could on the first nail, trying to make it stick in the wood just long enough to hammer it in. The hammer was clutched between my knees, and the next three nails were resting in my pocket.
Slowly, carefully, I let the nail go. It stayed, and I held by breath and glared at it, willing it not to fall out while I reached for the hammer. Aim very carefully ...and....
"I think she is in here!" a new voice said as the door swung open hard and smacked into my ladder.
The blow missed to the right of the nail, and the ladder kicked out from under me. I fell, landing in a mess of tarps and limbs while somepony shrieked and thwacked at me, retreating down the hallway.
"Ooooh." I sat up slowly, checking my self for bad cuts or bruises, but only had a few scrapes luckily. As a final last joke, the damned nail came lose and plunked me on the head.
"Sorry, sorry. I was just so excited to see you."
I looked up at a mint green unicorn who was grinning at me with a look of wonder and excitement. She grabbed my hand and helped me up.
"Lyra," another voice said, "Be careful! That thing is a monster! It was banished for a reason."
I looked over to see a cream colored earth pony with pink and purple hair standing in a nearby doorway. She looked half concerned for her friend and half ready to run for the hills. I realized that, though I was now standing, the green one hadn't let go of my hand yet.
"Um, 'that thing' has a name."
The cream one's eyes widened when she realized I could understand her and took a step back. The other one, just started a little.
"Oh, um. Lyra. Nice to meet you." The green one shook my hand, but still didn't let go.
"Sarah," I responded, pulling a little. Lyra seemed interested in how the fingers and thumb worked on a mechanical level and was bending each finger down and back.
"Lyra, get away from it."
"Aw, come on Bon Bon. She just fell off of a ladder, I don't think she's going to eat us."
"You don't know that!"
I grinned evilly at them both, but the green one still refused to let go of my hand. "So, how can I help the two of you today? You aren't here to volunteer your services are you? Good with a hammer and nails?"
"Lyra, let go! It's going to enslave us and make us work. I already have a job."
"Hang on a minute Bon Bon, I didn't come all the way through the forest to see the human for just a peak."
What is a human?
"You came all the way through Everfree just to....." My mind finally came up to speed. "Did you say human?"
Lyra smiled. "Yeah, you're a human aren't you?"
"You don't have to answer that," Bon Bon said. "She's been obsessed about this mythical species for years. Just because you happen to look a little like one doesn't mean-"
"How did you find out about humans? Where did you find out about humans?" If this pony knew about it, then maybe others did. Humans might have been some extinct species in this world, but there was also a slim chance that ARCO had visited before, and possibly left something behind I could use to find my way home.
"She made them up!" Bon Bon cried.
"I did NOT make them up." Lyra finally let go of my hand to dash back over to the corner Bon Bon was peeking around. "I have research!"
She pulled two overstuffed saddlebags full of books, sketches and scrolls from it's hiding place, lifting it in her light green telekinesis. She floated the load over to me and I, in my foolishness, attempted to catch it.
"Oooff." I fell over again, this time pinned under the weight of her research. The tarp and tools under me pressed painfully into my back. "This is all...very impressive." I strained to breathe and shift the load slightly. "Maybe we can look at it somewhere more suited to research? Like the library?"
"See, look at the way this is shaped. This too, most of these in fact." Lyra waved a hoof at what looked like an add from a hardware store.
In fact, since there was a banner across the top that read "Tack Hammer's Hardware" I was sure of it.
"They're... doorknobs?" I asked, making sure I was following the conversation.
"Yes!" Lyra said, bouncing up and down.
I stared at the add for a little longer before turning to her. "I don't get it."
Lyra frowned. "Look at the shapes and designs. Round knobs? How are those ideal for hooves?"
"How do you grab things with your hooves anyway?"
"I'd always heard it was very short range telekinesis or something like that." Bon Bon said from where she sat three tables over. She was skimming through one of the old books in the library, keeping a wary eye on me. Lyra had taken a table and a half spreading out her research and trying to organize it into something coherent.
"Even if that was true, there have to be better designs than a round knob." Lyra protested.
I looked over other items, seeing a pattern in the tools and items. "All of these items would be better used if you had hands, or something similar."
"Right!" Lyra was really excited now, "See? This is proof that humans existed here and had an influence on our architecture and tools!"
This was not at all what I was hoping for. If ARCO had visited this dimension before, the effects would have been recent. ARCO's footprint would have been small and circumstantial, and certainly not more than a couple decades old. What Lyra had lain out with her research pointed to a lost species, one that died out thousands of years ago.
"I'm not really sure." I told her, looking over an add for shovels, "Something about this is off, but I'm not sure if humans is the answer." Lyra deflated a little. "Maybe you could bring more research? A lot of this is current, but if you can find examples of ancient doorknobs and such..."
"Oooh! Yes, correlate the change in design away from a hand style of use so I can trace the evolution! I might even be able to find regional patterns! If all humans used round doorknobs, and round doorknobs started in one region, then I might get an idea of a homeland!"
Wow, she is really fixated on humans isn't she?
"That is an awfully big jump there Lyra," I said cautiously. "Maybe we should start small."
She nodded and began to collect her documents. "Right, and I shouldn't take up too much of your time. You should spend a little with your other visitors."
I raised an eyebrow. "Other visitors?"
"Sure," Lyra finished packing up. "We split up when we got to the castle. They went looking for you with the guards, while we went looking on our own. We just found you first."
Who else would come all the way through the forest just to see us?
"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS MONSTER HUNTERS!!!"
"oh no"
And for the second time today a great weight crashed down upon me, knocking me to the floor.
"Here you are." Bon Bon said, passing an ice pack to me. I placed it down on my swollen ankle and went back to dabbing at the scrapes and scratches with rubbing alcohol. Tile floors and stone tables and benches are not made to catch you when you fall.
"So," I said, hissing from the alcohol's burn, "What brings the infamous crusaders out to this wreck of a castle?"
The four crusaders sat in the corner, patching their own minor scrapes.
"We wanted to try catchin some monsters." Applebloom said.
"And since you were a really cool monster in the area and you seemed pretty safe, we thought we could practice on you." Scootaloo added.
"I'm just glad she didn't turn into a giant purple bull and eat us." Sweetie Bell said.
"No, the guarths said she wath attacked by a giant purple bull." Twist corrected her friends, reinforcing her glasses with tape.
I looked over at Bon Bon as she helped bandage some of my scrapes. "Aren't you still terrified I'm going to eat you?"
She snerked and reached for another bandage. "If you can be taken out by a quartet of fillies, I think I can risk it."
I let out a sigh. Well, harmless was better than humorous. Nightmare had not stopped giggling since the crusaders came crashing down on me.
I groaned and stood up, feeling the sores and scrapes. My right ankle had twisted slightly when I fell, and now I had a slight limp. "This is really going to put a damper on repairs."
The doors to the library flew open, and Lance ran in. His eyes immediately spotted the bandaged crusaders, who had half mummified each other in search of a medical cutie mark. His spear was floating at the ready as he rounded on me.
"Fiend! What have you done to these children? I should slay you now and save us all the trouble!"
"In case you didn't notice, I'm just as scratched up as they are. They jumped me!"
"Lies will not save you monster! Die!" Lance prepared to charge, when the Crusaders jumped him.
"She was just helpin us!"
"She's telling the truth."
"Please don't hurt her misther!"
"Sarah?" Starlight came flying in from the broken windows. "I finished the patrol and went to help you in the tower but you weren't there. I thought you might be-" She spotted the visitors and her eyes went wide. "Heroes!" she cried, "You've come to rescue poor me from this wicked creatures clutches! You, um.. you.." She glanced around and lowered her head. "Aww, not a stallion in the lot."
"Hey!" Bon Bon countered, "What's wrong with mares?"
"WHAT IS GOING ON IN HERE?!"
Everyone froze and turned to see Steel Strike standing in the doorway.
"Have I walked in on a coup or an insane asylum? Star, what are you doing being melodramatic when the very creature we are charged with guarding has been injured. Lance, what are you doing fighting children?" Steel stalked forward, yelling everyone down. "And you four, when an adult tells you not to run off on your own then you will listen to them. I have a sudden urge to march you back through the Everfree and tell each of your parents exactly where you were and what you were doing."
I had to grin. It seemed that threat worked on a child in almost every dimension as the crusaders were now cowering in fear of parental reprisal. Sadly, grinning in front of someone on a drill sargent style rampage was never a good idea.
"And YOU!" Steel rounded on me. "Was all that training for nothing? Jumped by four children, for Celestia's sake. I ought to just wrap you up in a bow and toss you into the woods. Not that you can leave the castle because you are dilly-dallying down here when you need to be working on repairs!"
"Well, I'm sure she would get the repairs done sooner if one of you would help her!"
I turned around, mouth agape to find Bon Bon defending me.
"Yeah," Lyra chimed in, "When we found her, she was trying to hammer a nail into a board above her head. She's only got one hand."
"I'm a trained guard, not a work bench" Lance countered, finally getting up from where the crusaders had knocked him over. "I don't have time to go swing a hammer every time she needs a nail or screw put in place."
"So just go power her circles." Sweetie Bell said.
Circles?
"Circles?" Lance asked.
"Yeah, mah sister said she had made this huge circle in the Day Court ta send her home." Apple Bloom had managed to get her bandages tangled and was working her way out of or into a hog tie. "If she can make sumthin like that, then she can make one to drive nails and stuff."
"Hey, that's a pretty good idea." Lyra said.
Now why didn't I think of that?
No.
Just no.
They were underage, impulsive, and nearly crazy. They had traveled through a monster infested forest to an abandoned castle to jump an inter-dimensional traveler as training for hunting manticores and hydras.
They were absolutely NOT allowed to be smarter than me.
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children just have the best idea's at time and lance is a jerk and i hope they rotate him soon with a better gaurd he just to stupid trigger happy for trying to pick fighting everything. i wonder if those human in the mlp dimension lyra was talking about were either from the g1 mlp human mentioned from the rainbow bridge or if they were really the crystal mirror humans of equastria girls.
3361398
Lance is paranoid, but don't hold your breath for any cycling. If you are waiting for G1 or Equestria Girls to answer your questions about Lyra and humans you may be disappointed.
3361501
The Fae is inspired in part by the New World of Darkness game Changeling: The Lost. The Fae in that setting are part of their worlds and their nature shapes their lands. This Fae is actually part of a story/ game I wrote called "The Glass Ice Heart" but as it has no ponies, it won't get posted here.
There will eventually be more info on D and Machina, but it should be noted that D’s magic absorption ability is unique in Equestria (as shown by even the Princesses being unsure how to address it). Changelings can eat love, which is a form of magic in itself, but D is a magical omnivore and that is terrifying. Everypony - EVERYTHING has magic, even the earth ponies and pegasai. The circle is something she learned at ARCO and can use to seal D even when it was on her arm.
3361958 sorry just throwing some idea's around of how humans were in equastria or thought up like how i had this idea that ponies dreamed of humans enough in detail to be influenced by them like a reality bleed effect people dream of ponies so ponies dream of humans or human related things used by them it possible so humans they weren't there in equastria physically so no real evidence to prove to be found in all of equastria since they were dream about but were there in a spirit like sense cause i figure hey dreams are powerful stuff.
3363108
Hey, thanks for pointing that out. It slipped by me.
"Treason" will be changed to "Crime against the state" unless you have a better suggestion.
If you notice any other errors or inconsistencies, please PM me and point them out.
3363351
Don't be sorry. I love getting feedback and theories and there have been times in the past where the story has shifted because of something a reader suggested in comments or private messages. I actually already had plans for how human's have interacted with the world (or at least, where Lyra got the ideas from), but I might tweak things a little here and there.
Thanks for commenting!
Now that was funny! With cutie mark crusaders. That they cumming up with the ideal of using Sarah bran of Magic to help build. I wonder how long Twilight can stay away? Shes has a need to know every thing. Is she going to let pried hold her back? Lots of old books and there is Sarah, being a dimension jumping alien.
Keep up the grate Job you are doing. I do hope to see a new chapter soon.
Dragonfox
Ooops....
Frum le deskripshn:
>it's about to get rougher
Sounds sexy
Its called children logic, its straight forward, direct, and often the most logical and smartest thing you will hear.
Oh look fourth clause. Says you're wrong every time you need to be right. Can't find the shoes on your feet, skip over your homework five times while looking through your backpack, etc.
3413987 disregard any message I sent to you prior I have confirmed that twist is alive
I do feel like I missed something, like how she wasn't suicidal again after Celestia trapped her there without help...