A Million Miles from Home

by TooShyShy

Part 7: Memories

“.....theoretically creating a portal between worlds....”

A purple unicorn droned on, her voice echoing in the crowded lecture hall. She wore the colorful but somewhat drab sweater and glasses combo that seemed typical of a Canterlot University professor. Her mane was pulled back into a severe bun.

“Can anypony tell me how portals are created?” asked the unicorn.

A light green unicorn sitting near the back raised her hoof. At a nod from the purple unicorn, the light green pony stood up. She was wearing a beret and a comically oversized sweater that could have easily doubled as a dress.

“The unicorn must first locate a reflective surface,” said Lyra. “A mirror is preferred in most cases. The spell itself requires the unicorn to focus their magic not only on the mirror, but also on the place they are attempting to access. In a sense, they must create a detailed model of this place in their mind and then project it into the mirror like putting ingredients in soup.”

Twilight Sparkle—the youngest professor of theoretical magic at Canterlot University—gave Lyra an approving nod.

“Can anypony tell me the exact spell or spells used to successfully create a portal?” she asked.

Several hooves went up as Lyra sank back into her seat.

---

Twilight smiled and slid a teacup across the table.

“I'm glad my lecture had such an impact on you,” she said.

Lyra raised the teacup to her mouth and took a long sip. Her gaze discreetly wandered the room. Bookshelves were pressed against every wall and crammed into every corner, giving Lyra the impression of being in a small library. She was surprised Twilight had sacrificed precious bookshelf space for the sake of a desk and a table.

“Of course it did,” said Lyra enthusiastically. “Theoretical magic is amazing! I mean, it's just so fascinating. Have you ever, like, tried any of those spells you talk about?”

Twilight looked bemused for a moment, but her face hastily cleared. It wasn't often she came across a student who displayed genuine enthusiasm.

“Well, no,” she said. “I do experiment with magic in my spare time, but the stuff I talk about in class is entirely theoretical.”

She levitated a book from a nearby shelf and placed it on the table. The book was a thick hardcover, the cover emblazoned with a symbol Lyra didn't recognize.

“Modern magic and ancient magic are completely different,” said Twilight.

Twilight was sliding back into her role as a teacher. It was clear from her voice that she was preparing for another one of her lectures. This was fine with Lyra. The longer Twilight talked, the less likely she would be to ask any difficult questions.

“The first spells were more like rituals,” said Twilight. “They involved a whole team of unicorns coming together and combining their magic to perform incredible feats. They moved entire mountains, summoned nightmarish creatures from other dimensions to aid them in battle, and even brought back the dead.”

Lyra took another long sip of her tea and nodded. She had been in and out of school for most of her life. It had been a while since she'd listened to a teacher so intently.

“Magic only started to become more subdued after centuries of study,” continued Twilight. “A lot of the older unicorns died out and their spells died with them.”

She jabbed a hoof at the book on the table.

“This is the closest anypony today has to a record of those spells,” she said. “Most of it is based entirely on conjecture and speculation. Of course none of the spells in this book actually work. No unicorn alive could master them. Even the princesses would struggle.”

Lyra nodded with an awestruck look on her face. She was only partially feigning her reaction.

“What kind of spells are in there?” she asked. “Are there spells for, like, time travel?”

Twilight chuckled. There was something about idealistic ponies enthusiastic about learning that gave her a warm fuzzy feeling.

“Several,” she said. “A lot of our ancestors were obsessed with changing the past.”

Lyra nodded in mute admiration. She took another long sip from her teacup.

“But wouldn't that mess things up?” she asked. “I mean, you can't really change the past, right? That's, um, theoretical.”

Twilight rested her hoof on the book. The mood in the room seemed to shift, but in such a subtle way that perhaps only Lyra picked up on it. It seemed the air grew just a little bit colder and Twilight's voice hardened ever so slightly.

“No, you can't change the past,” she said. “Time is an inflexible construct. Even if you try to tamper with it, the timeline will simply adjust itself accordingly. No magic in existence can truly alter a destined course of events.”

Twilight waved her hoof as if swatting at the idea.

“There's no point in dwelling on that,” she said. “Modern magic might not be perfect, but it's just as fascinating.”

Lyra placed a hoof on the table. She hoped Twilight didn't see her facade slipping.

“Can I, like, borrow that?” she asked. “Please please please! It all sounds so super awesome and I could learn so much and I bet reading it is how you got so smart and...”

Lyra took a deep and exaggerated breath. She told herself to reel it in a little and not get lost in her character.

“I'm sorry,” said Twilight.

Her voice again had that very subtle hardness to it.

“This book is very rare,” she said. “I'm sure you're responsible, but I don't feel comfortable entrusting it to somepony I barely know.”

Taking the hint, Lyra decided to steer the conversation away. She tore her eyes from the book with great difficulty.

“How about spells that make you remember things that didn't actually happen?” she asked. “Do you know anything about those?”

For one panicked moment, Lyra thought she'd been too forward. But the words had scampered from her mouth before she could stop them. It occurred to Lyra that she knew so much, yet knew absolutely nothing. She stood here before a pony she was certain connected these two sets of memories, yet at the same time Lyra scarcely knew what questions to ask.

Twilight frowned at the question, but that telltale stiffness did not enter her voice.

“I guess a basic memory alteration spell would do it,” she said. “The illusion wouldn't hold for too long, but it'd be enough to trick the average pony for days or weeks.”

Again words came before Lyra could stop them, spilling from her like air from a balloon.

“But what if it persists for longer than that?” she asked. “What if the memories never fade but instead become stronger as the days go by? What if they become so vivid you could swear they were as real as this table? What if you become convinced they are real? What if all doubt vanishes and you're left with the impossible, yet the impossible seems so possible to you all of a sudden?”

She was breathing heavily and she could feel tears in her eyes. But Lyra kept going.

“What if the same sweet face keeps coming to you in these memories?” she asked. “What if she's there even when you're not dreaming, just hiding somewhere out of sight in your mind? What if you cried yourself to sleep every night thinking of her wonderful smile and knowing it only exists in some place you can't access? Wouldn't you do whatever it takes to find out the truth? Wouldn't you risk your life and your sanity to find her, if only to reassure yourself that she's real, that there might be a sunny spot in your life of isolation and abandonment?”

Lyra placed her head on the table and sobbed.

“I want it to be real,” she said. “Sweet Celestia, I want it to be real.”

Twilight didn't say anything for several minutes. She reached across the table and patted Lyra's head. The gesture was somewhat awkward in its execution, but at the moment it was enough.

“How about I have my assistant Spike take you home?” Twilight said. “It's getting late.”

Lyra raised her head and stared directly into Twilight's eyes.

“Does a spell like that exist?” she asked.

Was that a flicker of unease or did Lyra imagine it? Was Twilight's pause longer than normal or did the time pass at an agonizing rate from Lyra's perspective? If only her vision wasn't so blurry with tears.

“You need to go home,” said Twilight firmly. “I'm sorry I upset you.”

Wiping her tears away, Lyra hopped off her chair. She flashed Twilight an unconvincing sheepish smile.

“Sorry,” she said. “I get super weird sometimes. Must be all those energy drinks. You ever downed an entire Furious Orange in two minutes? Things get wild.”

Lyra headed to the door. She opened it, ignoring Twilight's protests.

“Really, I'll be fine,” she said. “This isn't the first time I've walked home at night.”

Lyra nearly collided with a medium-sized dragon in her haste. The stack of papers the dragon was carrying flew from his claws as the two crashed into each other. Lyra shouted an apology as she quickly got to her hooves and charged past the dragon. Despite moving quickly, she caught a snippet of conversation before the door of Twilight's office slammed shut.

“What's her problem?” grumbled the dragon.

Twilight's voice seemed to quiver a little as she replied.

“She remembers,” she said.

The door slammed shut and Lyra went on her way at a slower pace.

---

Lyra broke into a gallop as she neared Moondancer's cottage. Her thoughts were racing. Despite everything, a genuine smirk broke out on her face. Moondancer had to have a copy of that book. Lyra might not be sure of its importance, but she had a gut feeling that things would change dramatically once she got her hooves on it.

The symbol was something else. It hadn't been one of those ancient runes or magic seals Lyra had been forced to memorize way back during her school days. It was something entirely new to her. However, it did vaguely resemble something Lyra had seen before. Unfortunately, she could not for the life of her figure out what.

Lyra entered the cottage without bothering to knock. She knew Moondancer had altered her defensive spells to allow Lyra access.

“I need...,” Lyra began excitedly.

She frowned. It was late evening, yet the cottage was completely dark. The lamps should have lit automatically. Now that Lyra thought about it, she hadn't felt that familiar tickle across her fur that usually accompanied security spells. It seemed none of the magic in the cabin was working. But why would Moondancer disable her spells?

“Moony?” Lyra called.

She knew Moondancer hated that nickname. If anything would make Moondancer spring from the darkness shouting, that was high on the list. But Moondancer did not appear beside Lyra and start complaining. Nothing stirred in the cottage. To Lyra's unease, she realized that she was alone.

Lyra reached out with her magic and lit all of the lamps. The room came to life immediately in the intense glow. This should have provided relief, but instead Lyra's heart dropped.

The cottage was empty. It wasn't merely the lack of another pony that Lyra had sensed. Some time between her leaving that morning and her return, the cottage had been emptied out. The stacks of books were gone, as were the file cabinets, the notebooks, and the typewriter. It was as bare as if nopony had ever set hoof inside.

Lyra almost passed out. This couldn't be. How could an entire chapter of her life have vanished so quickly and throughly? The hours she'd spent waiting for a chance to talk to Twilight without interruptions seemed like hours wasted.

Maybe I am insane, Lyra thought.

Lyra's stomach rumbled. She trotted over to the fridge in a daze. It seemed bizarre to her that such basic bodily functions were still active. But at least this simple equine need gave her something to focus on while she wrapped her head around everything. Lyra was surprised to find the fridge was as fully stocked as it had been before. She pulled out a candy bar and slammed the fridge door shut.

The chocolate helped steady her thoughts. Lyra was able to piece together some possibilities and start working on a solution.

Somepony had obviously come for Moondancer and her stuff. Whether it was Fleur or somepony else was unknown. Granted, the idea of another player entering the game made Lyra shudder. She could deal with Fleur—Fleur was predictable in some ways—but Lyra wouldn't bet on her chances with a complete stranger. So where had Fleur—or whoever--taken Moondancer and why had they taken all of Moondancer's stuff?

One thing was for sure: Lyra had to get out of there. Anypony who knew about Moondancer probably knew about her as well. They might come back any minute to nab her. But where in Equestria could she go?

The university, Lyra thought. Their security spells are pretty flimsy. I bet I could break in and camp out there for a while in some abandoned classroom. They won't know to look there.

It was a desperate plan, but worth a shot. Lyra swallowed her last mouthful of chocolate. She was about to throw the wrapper to the floor, but she instead froze. A thought had come to her. Lyra stood rigid in the middle of the room, her heartbeat increasing with every passing second.

They had her satchel. Lyra had left it at the cottage because she was sure it would be safe. She'd trusted in Moondancer, trusted in all of Moondancer's security spells and her intellect. Lyra thought of her picture of Bon-Bon, of the important files she'd stuffed into her satchel. Whoever had taken Moondancer had them all now.

“I'm sorry,” Lyra mouthed to the empty room. “I'm so sorry.”

She was apologizing both to herself and to Bon-Bon. This had been one of the worst blunders of her life. Lyra couldn't rearrange her plans to make things better. She was going to have to live with her mistake.

Lyra gathered herself after a few minutes. She reminded herself that regardless of her mistake, she had to leave. Lyra started to stuff the wrapper into her saddlebag, but she again stopped. An idea had hit her.

That candy bar had been on the top shelf. It had been the only candy bar on the top shelf. The rest were stacked on the middle shelf. Why had Moondancer moved it?

Lyra smoothed out the wrapper. There was hoofwriting on the inside. Moondancer had unwrapped the candy bar, then re-wrapped it with some kind of spell. From the outside it was indistinguishable from the others.

The note read: DoCit

Lyra puzzled over it for a moment. “DoCit”? Was that some kind of secret code? Was it perhaps an anagram? But however Lyra rearranged the letters, she couldn't come up with anything. She squinted desperately at the note, trying to turn it into something she could follow.

Cit, she thought. Sit? Cite? City?

Lyra's eyes lit up. City. If the second word was “City”, the first word was probably “Dodge”. Dodge City. That had to be it.

Lyra shoved the note into her saddlebag. She realized it was about time she got going for real. She extinguished the lamps and trotted to the door. Lyra opened the door a crack and peeked outside. The coast was seemingly clear, but that could change at any second.

Getting to Dodge City wasn't going to be easy, but Lyra was confident she could make it. She just had to stay in the shadows and keep her head down.

“Don't worry,” Lyra whispered. “I'll be fine.”

One way or another, she was getting her satchel back.

Comments

[Pony_Person_123]

Dose Twilight remember also?

And an explanation for equestria girls.

[Da Fennec]

8456599 Obviously Twilight and Spike remember something otherwise the comment she remembers doesn't make sense.. Now are they all remembering the same things that is a question. Maybe they all remember Ponyville. Maybe Twilight and Spike remembers the whole story or some variation while Lyra bits and pieces

[silvadel]

They are in trouble if Twilight is on the other side.

Plus it will make it so much harder for Lyra to remember without that picture of Bon-Bon.

[Emperor]

Aha, so Twilight Sparkle does exist. And she does appear to remember. Lyra was already a known factor, but since she put on a disguise, she would have been able to at least thrown off anypony hunting her down. But now she's outed herself again with her current disguise, so it'll be interesting to see.