Expand your horizons.
"Hello? Anypony there?"
Lisa groaned, shifting her head in the darkness.
"Pinkie? Rainbow? Hello?"
The soft touch of a hoof brushed across the girl's forehead.
"Are... are you awake?"
Slowly, Lisa opened her eyes, brushing aside messy locks of hair with another groan. The blur of colors and shapes before her wavered for another moment, before taking the form of... her.
Or at least, Twilight Sparkle.
"Wah!" Lisa shrieked, shoving the mare away from her, "W-who are you?! What... are you a changeling?!"
"Changeling." Lisa repeated to herself, the word sounding foreign in her mouth. She pointed a finger at Twilight. "Are you one of them?"
The mare shook her head, recovering from being pushed over so abruptly. "I'm not." She replied, "Or at least, I'm pretty sure I'm not."
Lisa blinked. For a brief second, everything flashed through her mind. Every pony she knew, every road she walked, every memory of Equestria. The girl refocused her vision on Twilight, her eyes widening. "Do... do I know you?
"Lisa!" Twilight shouted, pouncing on the girl, "I'm Twilight Sparkle, don't you remember? You made me! Don't go on forgetting me now, not like you did with everything else before me!"
The girl blinked again. "Oh?" She continued, "What... what just happened?"
A warm glow began to emanate from the darkness, illuminating the pony and the human. "Wait..." Lisa paused again as she realized what the weight atop her was. "Wait... me?"
Twilight sighed a breath of relief, a smile replacing the fearful expression on her face. "Good." The mare nodded, "You remember still."
A flash of light filled their vision as the last of the darkness was replaced by a vibrant landscape. The warm glow- the sun, soared high above, minuscule clouds drifting about in the brilliant blue sky.
Lisa froze yet again, her vision filled with the image of what she'd once called home.
"See, Lisa?" Twilight grinned, "You might not have been thinking much about home, but it's still here!"
Nodding, Lisa took a step forward. The rounded cobblestones underneath her bare feet, the warm breeze rippling through her hair, the yellow tinge of sunlight in her eyes, they still felt real. She turned back to Twilight. The mare continued grinning, though hints of doubt began to show on her face.
"It feels like home." The girl whispered, taking another step on the dusty cobblestones. "But I know it isn't real."
Twilight hung her head low. "I know," She replied, "But it's the best I can do. Nothing can compare to the actual experience."
"No, no." Lisa shook her head. "I mean this place. Your home, you. It isn't real."
The mare's horn lit for a second, another bright light flashing before them as the scenery shifted to a crystalline bedroom. "I... I certainly feel real." Twilight hesitated, glancing at a mirror as she turned. "Or at least, just as real as you are."
Abruptly, the world jolted, sending both Lisa and Twilight tumbling into the darkness as the mental scenery disintegrated.
"Gosh dangit."
The slam of a door blasted the girl's ears as Professor Argall stumbled from the car. A brief jab in the side brought Lisa to her senses.
Samantha smirked, elbowing her friend again. "Took you long enough to wake, Lisa. I think we just hit a pothole or something."
Lisa glanced towards Andrew, who only let out a rumbling snore in response. She leaned back in her seat with a sigh, her eyes following the Professor as he stuck his head back in the car.
"Alright girls," Argall began, "Apparently the road happens to hate me today, so how 'bout you two and Andrew give me a push?"
Another elbow, this time to Andrew's side, was all it took to wake the man. "Hey." Samantha greeted, "Welcome back to awake-land. Get out of the car, we've got some pushing to do."
Andrew stretched in his seat, letting out a loud yawn as he popped the door open. "Sure." He yawned again, "Did the car break down or something?"
"Giant pothole." The Professor deadpanned, "Apparently, this road is so crusty that it crumbled under the wheels."
The man snorted as he threw his legs over onto the ground. "Sheesh, and I thought I'd already seen the worst roads in the line of duty."
Lisa watched as Andrew and Samantha piled out of the car, leaving only herself sitting in the vehicle. Samantha knocked on the window.
"C'mon, Lizzy!" Her muted words sounded through the glass, "The car's front wheels are completely stuck. We need all the help we can get!"
Lisa nodded, popping her own door open as her friend returned to the car's rear.
"Kay, push!"
A collective grunt escaped from the group as they shoved themselves against the vehicle. Slowly, the car began to shift, before abruptly halting again. Argall stepped back for a moment, staring blankly at his car before rushing back to the drivers-side door. "Keep pushing!" He shouted as he slipped into his seat, "I'll try driving it some more!"
The vehicle rumbled to life as he turned the key. He stuck his head out the window, turning back to face the others. "You pushing?"
Samantha nodded, giving a thumbs-up in return as she pressed her body weight against the car, followed by Andrew and Lisa doing the same.
Once again, the vehicle inched over the rim of the pothole, the rear tires spinning in place as the Professor continued to gas the engine. Just as the front tires appeared to clear the hole, an ear-splitting pop tore through the air, throwing shreds of rubber flinging in all directions. Immediately, Argall cut the engine, the car slipping back into the pothole with a heavy thud.
Professor Argall stepped out of the car, groaning as he caught sight of the front tire. "Well," He turned to the trio, "Looks like it wasn't the pothole we were stuck in after all." He crouched down, leaning closer to the scraps of tire surrounding the now-bare rim. "From the looks of it, this tire got caught on a shard of... something sticking out of the asphalt."
Andrew stood up, folding his arms. "So... do we have a spare or something?"
The Professor scoffed at the suggestion. "Why, of course we do!" He grumbled, reaching into the car to pop the trunk. "Mind handing me the jacks first, though?"
Bump. 17. Lisa counted, rubbing the sore spot on her head from hitting the window. "Professor?" She called.
The car slowed for a moment. "Yeah?" Argall responded, adjusting the air conditioning with a free hand, "What is it?"
Lisa glanced out the window again, once more leaning her head against the cool glass. "Where are you taking us?"
The car slowed even further this time as the Professor turned for a brief moment to face the girl. "You'll see." He grinned, returning his attention to the road.
Bump. 18. Lisa groaned, rubbing her head again.
"You gotta stop leaning on the window, Lisa." Professor Argall commented from the front, "One of these days you're gonna get hurt quite a bit more than a simple bruise. There's quite a few potholes and stuff like that on this road, y'know."
Lisa nodded, resting her head this time on the seatbelt.
"Liii-saa." Twilight's voice echoed, "Liiiiii-saaaaaa..."
"Urk." Was all that escaped the girl's mouth as she once again awoke in her dreamscape.
"Come on, get up. You still recognize me, don't you?"
The girl stared at Twilight.
"Don't you?" The mare pressed on, "Don't tell me that you're suffering from memory loss starting today. Is it from all those times you smacked your head on the window?"
Lisa shook her head. "No, no." She replied, reaching an outstretched hand to Twilight. "It's not that. I know that I still remember you. After all, why would you even be here if I didn't?"
Twilight paused for a moment, her hoof raised in opposition. "N...nevermind." The mare continued, "Separating from you like this is making things so wierd..."
"Separating?"
The mare shrugged, her face a mash of confusion. "Well, that's what I call it, at least. I mean, look at yourself. Look at me. We're clearly separate now, aren't we?" Twilight looked down at her own hooves. "Look, I know that I'm a part of the simulation. I know that Equestria is, as well. It's still real to me, though. What I don't get, however..."
"...Is why we're suddenly separated into two conscious entities?" Lisa finished for her counterpart. "I've been trying to figure that out as well. Especially when-"
Twilight raised a brow, staring at the girl. "When what?" She began, "Go on, Lisa."
Lisa stood silently, staring blankly into the depths of the dreamscape. Her eyes wavered for a second, before focusing on the mare. "Wait..." She began, "Where am I? Wh-what's going on?!" She shook her head frantically. "Oh, crap." The girl muttered, rushing about. "Crap crap craaaaap. I knew I should've put that exit route in!"
Twilight frowned. "Exit route?" She began, stepping towards the panicking girl, "What are you even talking about?"
The girl spun around, her finger pointed directly in Twilight's face. "You!" Lisa said, "I'm pretty sure the simulation's malfunctioning. You should've merged with me a long time ago."
"Simulation? Malfunctioning?" Twilight shook her head. "Lisa. We've been out of the simulation for over a week now. Are you alright?"
"I programmed you to have a backup communication line to Professor Dad, didn't I? Call him for me!"
Wide-eyed, the crazed girl grabbed Twilight by her barrel. "Come on, future me, call him! Don't let me be trapped in here before I even finish!"
Twilight let out a heavy sigh, staring into Lisa's eyes before punching the girl in the chest.
"Urgh..." Lisa groaned, bringing a hand to her temples, "W-what happened?"
"Eh?" Professor Argall called from the front, "Something the matter, Lisa?"
The girl shook her head slowly, still rubbing at the rapidly-developing migraine. "I just had the weirdest dream."
"Well, save the dream talk for later. Look, we're almost there!"
Lisa raised a brow, narrowing her vision as she stared through the windshield.
Just above the horizon, a brilliant skyline had emerged, its buildings shimmering in the Autumn sun.
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Cogito, Ergo Sum, huh? Now you've recaptured my attention.
i read this twice, and i still got a headache
8998310
Why?
8997741
That... that was actually entirely unintentional. I didn't realize that that was what this chapter essentially was until you pointed that out.
8998311 the time stuff. i deal with this a lot, but reading after throwing stuff at the dump all day? it hurts
8998372
The timeskips transitioning between dream sequences?
8998311
Please keep it up, it's getting better after these developments.
8998579
Ah. No worries, this is more or less the intro to a new story arc focusing on the outside world. The past few chapters have been transition/character building chapters made in preparation for the next major set of events.
First, Sammantha and then, Lisa. Wow, things just got a bit interesting.
8999616
9000666
Or will she?
I intentionally kept many things in this story vague to spur reader interest.
9011649
Heck, I've only ever hinted at the age range of the characters. Lisa could be in her twenties, or perhaps late teens. Heck, she could even be in her early thirties, for all the story gives.
As for Timothy, it's been hinted multiple times that he joined the simulation at a very young age, meaning that he's clearly younger than Lisa.
I won't spoil the rest...
9011649
To be fair though, I've been throwing quite a few hints lately about the location that the story's taking place in.
Think the midwest/rocky mountains region...
And with the next chapter, the town name (or at least, one part of the town name) is actually the name of the city next to the one I grew up in.
8999052
That's very insightful.