Fairy Tales

by Windy The Warrior

Awakening

Ponyville Center Park was Lyra's favorite place in town. It was great for playing music and earning a few extra bits, clearing her mind, or even just getting out of a quiet house. The golden sun dappled through thin leaves overhead, and a constant breeze wove through the gardens. Small groups of ponies talked and strolled through the park.

In addition, the park was full of memories. Her first concert, the day she met her marefriend, the first time she'd attempted to play a harp... Even her first steps had been taken here. The thoughts came back to her, and she used them to add emotion to her music. It wasn't uncommon for her to trip up because she wasn't concentrating.

The turquoise unicorn leaned back, gripping her lyre to her chest. Days like these should be savored, she thought, almost slipping into poetry mode. She knew ponies gave her strange looks when she sat like this, and plenty of them thought it was strange for a unicorn like her to play with hooves. Still, she was attached to the behaviors. She'd had them ever since she started believing in humans, and that was saying something.

Just as Lyra was about to play, a huge crash blew the instrument out of her hooves. The noise sent the park's birds into the air, songs broken.

She tried to catch her lyre, but she couldn't reach. It landed five feet away, just as she realized she'd leaned a bit too far. The turquoise unicorn quickly propped herself up with her front hooves, but the falling sensation stuck for a few extra seconds.

She sucked in a deep breath before standing up. At this point, she was more angry than surprised. "Who did that?" She shouted in direction of the sound. No reply came, besides a few puzzled looks.

She frowned, anger mounting. Luckily, Lyra had enough reason to leave these ponies alone and take matters into her own hooves. She absentmindedly cast a Search-and-Direct spell. A huge red arrow blinked above her head, prompting her forward. The turquoise unicorn picked up her lyre and trotted away.

As she walked, she noticed something: nopony seemed to notice the sound besides her. The birds still hadn't returned, but other than that everything continued as it always had. Other than her lyre, nothing had come out of place.

Eventually she reached the edge of the park, facing a dark forest. It wasn't anything like the Everfree, but that didn't mean it was safe. The arrow pointed straight forward. A chill went down Lyra's spine.

The mare rubbed a fetlock nervously, debating whether or not this was worth the knowledge. Her curiosity won out, and she straightened up, ignoring the fear. She set her lyre down, then trotted into the darkness.

Inside, the trees were the same ever-present oaks as there were the park, except much, much taller. Sunlight couldn't make it past the dense canopy, but small pinpoints of light poked through. Luminescent fungi nestled at the base of the trees, glowing in a stark contrast to the moss-covered earth.

The turquoise unicorn hadn't expected this kind of beauty. The ghostly light gave the forest an ethereal quality, one that made Lyra want to sing. There were predators in the forest, though, and she didn't want to draw much attention. Instead, she turned her head down and sang under her breath. "Alone, alone in Wonderland, alone and free and glad to be..."

Suddenly the mare's hoof came down on open air. She caught herself just in time to avoid falling headlong into a pit. The abyss was crater-like, and measured about sixty feet in each direction. There were no plants in it, and the far wall cast a long shadow, so she couldn't see inside. The earth was black and moist, which made her think it was newly exposed.

Lyra glanced back for a mushroom, deftly picking one up with her magic. Orange and cerulean light fought each other until she stuck it on her head, adjusting it as securely as she could. She straightened up, proud of her work, and started climbing down.

Her hooves sank into the dank soil, making it easy for her to descend slowly. When she was almost a fourth of the way down, the mushroom dislodged. Suddenly, it fell off of her head, and as a unicorn with a talent besides magic, she wasn't able to catch it. The turquoise unicorn gasped as it tumbled, coming to rest by the form of a pony.

Lyra slid down into the pit. Dust flew up as her hooves the black dirt. She caught herself at the bottom, stumbling. She picked herself back up and grabbed her mushroom hat, readjusting it over her left ear. The turquoise unicorn studied the unmoving creature.

In the dim light, the other pony's daffodil coat was just visible. Her dark red mane lay on the ground, flaring around her petite head like the sun. The pony had no cutie mark yet, and this plus her small form led Lyra to believe she was an adolescent. A rounded horn stuck out of her forehead. The pony's eyes were closed, and Lyra didn't want to hurt her by trying to open them. Besides, that would be extremely creepy.

Lyra sat down, nervous. Now that she'd found the pony, what would she do? She could try to carry her back, but she wasn't sure that was within her physical or magical limits. She couldn't just leave her, either. She reached out with a hoof, gently shaking the filly.

The girl stayed immobile, but now at least she was snoring. Lyra pushed her again, harder this time. The other unicorn swatted at her, but it was progress. Finally, the turquoise unicorn clapped a hoof over the filly's ear, carefully but undoubtedly firm.

The pony grumbled, forcing herself up. "Wha..." She rubbed her eyes vigorously, blinking at Lyra. Suddenly, she turned her head up. "Seriously? I'm really having this dream?" The young unicorn rattled off a few curses, all the while striking angry gestures to the sky.

Lyra stepped back, unsure. Suddenly she didn't like this filly very much.

The filly shot her a look. "What?! Who are you, anyway?" She shoved Lyra back with a hoof. Suddenly her freckled face twisted. "No no no! This is not happening. But I'm not a brony! I'm barely even a fan!" Lyra's head inadvertently tilted at the outburst.

The older mare tried to just ignore it and sidle away quietly. Still, there was something nagging at her thoughts. Actually, there were three things. First, it would be cruel to leave another pony in a wild place, even if they were a little violent themselves; second, she wondered how the filly got here; three, she recognized her for some reason.

Besides, the other girl had noticed her trying to sneak away. "Hey, get back here! You look familiar. Who are you?" She stood up on the tips of her hooves, suddenly inches away from Lyra's face, eyes narrowed. The turquoise unicorn fell back on her rump.

The filly's scowl deepened. "I know you. Tell me right now. I promise you, you won't like me when I'm angry."

Lyra pushed her back, trying to seem dominant. "I figured that much. Do you seriously think you're alone in this whole mess? I'm just as confused, don't get me wrong, but this can wait until we get out of here." She tried to mimic the filly's expression. She only got as far as the glare, but it was good enough.

The sunny-coated unicorn's resolve faded, giving way to fearful curiosity. "Wait, is this... This can't be the Everfree forest, right?" She glanced at the mushrooms outside the pit.

Lyra shook her head. "No, but it's still dangerous to stay in one place for so long. We should get moving." She was already making her way back out of the pit. The filly nodded, suddenly very aware of all the moving shadows.

"By the way, I still don't know your name," Lyra said to break the ice. "I'm Lyra Heartstrings."

The filly stumbled, finally recognizing the turquoise mare. "I'm Kassidy Williams. But I guess I'll have to get a new one..." She frowned, remembering that pony names consisted of words. Still, ever since she saw the show she'd wanted to be a pony, if only for a day. Actually having it happen, though... She had a hard time coming to terms with it.

Lyra smiled. That reminded her of the stories she'd read about humans as a filly. There was one about a male human named Sherlock Holmes who went around solving mysteries, and another about a group of four human children that discovered a fantasy world, although "Narnia" was awfully similar to the southern Fae Kingdoms. She couldn't remember all of them, but the girls were Lucy and Susan and one of the boys was Edmund. She'd found all of her human stories in a run-down library, and none of them were listed so she was allowed to keep them, despite her parents' concerns.

Then a thought occurred to her. Maybe Kassidy believed too! Maybe her family taught her stories about them, and she would have a talent regarding them someday...

The turquoise unicorn was still lost in her thoughts when they escaped the forest. She kept walking obliviously - straight into a trio of colts playing with chalk. A little red one frowned when her hoof came in the way of his drawing, dragging the chalk across her leg. She noticed him after a moment, smiling nervously as she backed up into another. This one was more tolerant; he was one of her friends, and knew the "omigosh somepony else knows humans" face when he saw it.

Lyra quickly stepped out of their circle, head down as she caught up to Kassidy. The two of them talked a little bit, but Lyra tried to save the big questions for when they got home. The filly had a hard time walking on even ground for some reason, but she decided she would ask later.

Kassidy was amazed by the park topiaries. They were mostly just well-trimmed bushed and the like, and the largest trees were left alone, but a few were in the forms of creatures. Eventually they came to a garden full of huge animal-shaped ones. She tapped Lyra's shoulder. "What's that one?" The yellow unicorn pointed to a group of delicate bushes that vaguely reminded her of fish. They were circle around a lake.

Lyra looked up. "... I don't know. They show up in mythology sometimes, but rarely by name. We just call them "Sea Ponies", but I don't know if they're real... Maybe when we get home, I'll look it up, okay?"

The filly nodded, but the sight of them nagged her memory. Something she'd watched as a kid had characters like that, but it had been years. She shook her head, trying to ignore the thought.

When they trotted away, the topiary plaza was empty. Empty, of course, besides the little creature in the lake.

Author's Note:

Comments

[Windy The Warrior]

I use a tablet since I don't have a computer, so the emoticons and basic icons don't work for the site and erase everything after. I had to rewrite Lyra's search, and I know it's not as much good now but I was able to get a new chapter up so that's okay. Is it still good?

[Violet Petals]

5849219

It is good, just update it.