Lyra's Voyages 2: On Strange Tides

by Prince_Staghorn

Prologue: To Adventure!

PROLOGUE

Shortly after the Nightmare Moon incident, a young unicorn began wondering one thing: If Nightmare Moon was real, then how many other “legends” could possibly be real? What if Bighoof or Night Flyers or Pine Devils or even Yahoos were real?

So she set off to find others who thought like her, who would understand her way of thinking. Her roommate did not truly approve of this, but that did not stop the unicorn from seeking others out. Soon, she had gathered a team of cryptic enthusiasts from the town of Ponyville, and they grew into a group who called themselves “The Equestrian Cryptid Research Foundation.”

The group grew and expanded, and by the re-emergence of Discord, they had a base in every major city in Equestria. By the re-emergence of the Crystal Empire, they had split into several groups, including the Equestrian Society for the Discovery of Lost Countries, the Foundation of Cryptic Botanists, and of course, the Equestrian Cryptid Research Foundation. They welcomed all, changelings, ponies, donkeys, cattle, even a few griffins and diamond dogs. All were united by their belief in the unknown.

After a new princess was crowned, the founder of this massive following went to Celestia herself for political recognition and to ask for proper funding for all the research being done. Much to the unicorn mare’s surprise, the princesses agreed, and all the groups were officially labeled as part of the Equestrian Historical Society. It was only a month after this that the unicorn was called on her first big expedition.

Her name is Lyra Heartstrings, and this is one of her stories.

…

Lyra had recovered well enough from the various things that had happened since her first voyage, though the whole "Tirek Incident" was somewhat a pain to remember.

However, she still had that taste for adventure, and that was more than some sagittarius could defeat. Which was why she was happy to hear about her next trip: the Island of Echidna.

Part one of the trio of islands known as the Nightmare Isles, Echidna was not a welcoming place, with the only flora being silvery moon grass and a few pomegranate trees, near-constant cloud cover, and the remains of a long-erupted volcano visible from all parts of the island. The islands inhabitants consisted of one-eyed cyclops ponies, giants, harpies, chimeras, and other creatures that would seem equally at home in Cirrus. To top it off, the island was a short distance away from the island of Tartarus.

Nevertheless, Lyra was excited. She would be meeting royalty, after all: Princess Medusa. And while this wasn't a cryptozoological trip, instead focusing on ancient artifacts, it was still a chance to get out of the normal humdrum of Ponyville.

***

Lyra had packed essentials: toothbrush, hairbrush, bag of trail mix, her journal, and her hoody. Traveling with her was a certain wall-eyed pegasus.

Ditzy had wanted to come, believing her experience treasure hunting with her sister* would help. While many rumors circulated about the mare's intelligence, Lyra knew Ditzy was fairly brilliant, and could teach at Canterlot University if she wanted to.

However, following her retirement from the treasure hunting game, she had settled for the simple life of a mail mare and a single mother. Not that she didn't still go on adventures, of course.**

"So, Ditzy, you excited?"

Ditzy smiled. "Yeah. Don't get me wrong, I love being a mail mare, but it's good to break out of the daily grind once in a while. I mean, unless you're a Formian or a Bumble, then you don't have much of a choice. You know, since they can't break out of the daily grind because they have a hive mind and can't really think on their own, except the queens. Well, and Bomber Formians. You have to wonder why evolution gave them the ability to think freely, since they have to be living bombs. It's just horrible to think about!"

Lyra stared. "Ditzy, I'm sorry, but you lost me halfway through that."

Both looked at each other, then laughed.

***

Waiting for them in Appleoosa was an earth pony mare, greyish-purple, with a purple mane and a slate blue smock. Maud, as almost always, had a neutral expression on her face.

Maud was relatively new to Lyra's list of friends. They had met over a fossil exhibit in a Canterlot museum, and had begun chatting, Lyra talking about the creatures, Maud talking about the geological processes which had happened after those creatures had died. From there, a friendship had blossomed, as unlikely as the pairing seemed. Lyra didn't care. Maud's neutrality balanced out Lyra's rambunctious nature, and Lyra's fun-loving attitude countered Maud's stoic neutrality. Lyra didn't claim to know a lot about the higher concepts Discord occasionally spouted out***, but she felt she and Maud might be... "soul-neighbors", much like her and Bonbon.

After a small greeting, it was onto an airship to a city outside Equestria: Bardingburgh, the capital of Concordia. On the trip, Lyra took out her journal.

Day 1...

Author's Note:

*Daring Do

**Thanks to Doctor

***Discord had, upon seeing the two, started singing: "When your heart feels all pale, like a diamond's set sail, That's a Moirail... That's a Moirail!"

Comments

[Shadowshame]

Colour me intrigued also wondering if the description of this echidna island is a reference to how early Europeans thought that creatures of fantasy lived in a southern continent( they weren't entirely wrong considering kangaroos, wombats and echidnas had never been seen before)