"You again?" you sigh to yourself, "And just when I thought it was a dream..."
The little pony on the seat next to you looks out the window and at the passing street lights, "I wanted to see them again..." she whispers.
"What?" you make a right turn, the car slightly leaning to the left.
"This..." she whispers as the countless buildings pass on the outside, "It looks so beautiful... all those lights."
Your shoulders sag a bit at her words, "Here I am, with an imaginary pony admiring the view..." you shake your head with a chuckle, "Imaginary, mint and talking pony..."
"Unicorn." she corrects you with a sigh.
"Yeah... how could I forget." sarcasm never was one of your strong points.
The unicorn turns her gaze away from the window to look at your face for a moment, "You're not going to freak out again, are you?"
The memory of her first appearance makes you cringe in your seat, you had almost driven your car into a wall when she suddenly sat next to you. "No." you shake your head as you continue to drive through the night, "I think I just got to terms with the idea of being crazy."
She sighs, "I already told you that I am real."
"Sure." you wave your hand through her form next to you as if to demonstrate, the hand gliding through her body like it wasn't even there. "Can't touch you, talking mint unicorn... definitely not real."
"I just can't make the transition correctly..." her head slumps a bit, "I'm just not powerful enough to come here completely..." she returns to looking out the window, "But at least I can watch." a small smile appears on her face, "If only I could live here..."
"Live here?" you raise an eyebrow, "I don't think living in a car is good for ponies."
"No. That's not what I meant." she looks around herself in wonder, "Car..." she shakes her head, "I want to live here, see this world."
"Why?" for a brief second you wonder why you even reply to her... talking with imaginary ponies can not be healthy for your mind.
"It's so amazing!" the little pony starts to talk with an enthusiasm only a kid could have, "All these tall buildings, all the lights in the night! It's so beautiful! And you..." her gaze travels over you, "I've never seen something like you before! How do you move this... car? How can you make all these lights and build so high? What are you?"
Your car comes to a short stop at a red light, and your head slumps on the steering wheel for a moment, "Can't you just leave me alone? I already have enough to worry about." your gaze travels up at the few people crossing the road... and the strange faces they make when they see a guy talking to himself in his car.
"But I want to see more! I want to know everything!"
The light switches to green and you slowly accelerate, leaning back in your seat with a sigh, "First off, what you see outside is just the surface. Trust me, behind all those shiny lights and polished windows, it's just plain old life... Dirty, boring and nothing special."
"It is special!" she retorts, "In my world, the night is just black and everypony is asleep..."
"Everypony..." you mumble the world to yourself, "Why am I not surprised?"
"There is nothing like this where I come from; no lights, no cars, no..." she's obviously still trying to figure out what you are.
"Human."
"Huh?" her eyebrow travels upwards in confusion.
"I'm a human." you repeat as you check the road signs, the interstate shouldn't be far now, "That's what our race is called."
She smiles at the word, "I'm Lyra."
"Scott." your reply is short. A quick check on the clock confirms your inner sense of time, three in the morning. You take a sip from the can in the holder, another two hours and you'll have been up for forty hours straight and you still have an errand to run... busy night.
"It must be great living like this..." she turns her head as you pass some night club, people mingling outside as they start to head on home, "Getting to see so many places. Is this the same city as yesterday?"
A small yawn escapes your mouth, "No. I passed two other big ones on the way..." not counting the countless little towns that you passed already. Little houses, people and stories... just flying by in a flash as your headlights illuminate them for a short moment while the engine continues its relentless work.
"There are so many buildings..." she whispers, "Look how many humans there are! I wonder where they are going..." Lyra turns to you, "Where are you going?"
"Me?" your voice is dry, "I'm making an errand run."
"You travel for work?"
"Something like that..."
Her eyes grow wide with admiration, "That's amazing!"
"Huh?"
"You get to see so much! All these amazing cities, all the humans you meet! Everyday somewhere else, something new..." she hangs her head, "It's the same each day for me... everyday, always the same. The same faces, the same town... it feels like nothing special ever happens... I hate that."
"You're wrong." you take another sip from the can, the caffeine is struggling to keep you awake. It won't have to much longer anyway; once you pass the forty hour mark sleepiness disappears... everything just becomes blurry. Not the best conditions for working but you wouldn't be able to sleep even if you had time to spare. It's routine.
"You're wrong, kid." you repeat, "Living a normal life is a gift, people need something steady in the life..." you give her a short glance, "Ponies probably too."
"But all the places you get to see! All these amazing cities and lights!"
"And I'm just passing through... always just passing through..." you sigh as you take the road leading to the interstate, "After a while, you come to realize that every place is just the same... different faces and more strangers you'll never know. You travel and travel, and the world slowly starts to lose its glamor. You realize that you're just another insignificant stranger among others, all living their lives completely unaware of one another. Just going without knowing where you're heading to. At some point, you stop to wonder what happens in all these places, and you just start to feel numb." you turn to her, "How old are you?"
"I'm twelve." she replies with thoughtful expression, seemingly surprised at your words, "What kind of work do you do?"
You shift in your seat, "I'm a cleaner."
Lyra raises an eyebrow, "You're a traveling janitor?"
"Something like that..." you whisper, "I clean problems." you flip the lever on your steering wheel, the windscreen wipers coming to life. Your thoughts travel to the large bag on your backseat, and what's sealed inside of it... busy night, "Lyra, was it?" she nods, seemingly perplexed by the motion of your hands, "Can I ask you something?"
"What?"
"Assuming for a moment that you are not just something I imagine, lets say you're real." you check your back mirror, "Why me?"
Her face scrunches up for a moment, "I don't really know... I'm not that good with theoretical magic." Magic, that actually makes you grin, "Maybe there's something special about you?"
"Nothing special about me..." you reply, "At least nothing I can think about."
"You seem calm, maybe that's it."
"Calm?" you think for a moment, "No... probably not. I just already know where I'm going, that's all."
"Where are you going?" her voice sounds anxious.
You turn your head to the seat next to you, but find it empty. She's gone again, just like the night before. For a moment, you reach out and let your hand travel through the air above the empty seat, but there is nothing there. You sigh and concentrate on the road again while your hand checks on the gun strapped to your chest, "Where am I going?" you whisper to yourself, "I'm just passing through..."
Your gaze travels over the faces of the other ponies riding the tram. Just more strangers, each with their own story that you'll never know... Outside the tram, Manehatten. At first the names had been amusing, but after a while you realized that this place was just like any other. More buildings and more strangers.
Your hand travels over the small charm secured around your neck, courtesy of princess Celestia herself. To the ponies, you just look like a gray earth pony; bleak, unnoticeable and nothing out of place. They wouldn't see what you really looked like, nor would they see the large bag you carry on your back... or what was inside it.
A mare enters at the next stations and takes a seat opposite of you. She looks up for a moment and returns to staring off like everyone else. There's nothing unusual about you to them, Celestia made sure of that. You sigh as the tram sets into motion again, you miss your car. At least it had offered some closure from the rest of the world... then again, it's just another busy day at work. No time to think too much about it anyway.
You recheck the bag on your shoulders, it's heavy but you'll manage... you were surprised at how light they are at first, but even that passed with time. That dreadful numbness returned all too quickly. You mentally check the list for this month, three were already finished, just another one left. What was the town called again? Ponyville? Wasn't that were Lyra had told you she lived?
The name makes your mood drop considerably. How long was it ago now? Four years? Five? You wonder what became of her... the last time the two of you spoke with one another... it wasn't a pleasant memory, but it had been back home. You can't help but chuckle at that word, home wasn't the correct word was it now? You never did own a place of your own, not back on earth and certainly not here. Five years in this world, and you're still just a passing nobody...
You can see a large clock pass by outside and the time it shows makes your thoughts travel to Celestia. She would probably seek you out soon to collect what's inside the bag. A sigh escapes your lips as you step off the tram at the next stop; with all that happened, who would have thought you'd still be running errands?
After a short walk you reach the old warehouse where you took shelter for the last week. It's a rundown place with a bed and a desk, nothing much... just the essentials. Not that you have any pictures to hang up... too much traveling, no time to for nice things.
You set down the bag down on the table with a grunt and walk to your bed, pulling off the charm as you sit down. You still don't sleep much... Lyra would be concerned if she knew. A small curse escapes your lips... if she knew. How many nights did you spend thinking about her? How many times did you want to go find her even though you knew that it was not an option. She lived her life, you lived yours... the spells had made sure she would not remember you or any of your conversations and as much as it pains you to think about it, you know it was the right thing to do.
Your head drops a bit at the memory, the two of you had talked a lot... so much more than you had ever spoken to anyone else. Her innocence, her enthusiasm... she had truly been something special... probably still was. Talking to her had made you feel special, even though it took time for you to realize it. These days you just have yourself to talk to again, it makes you feel insignificant... just like you felt back then in the car, before you met her. Just another stranger passing through.
You start to pull out your tools from your west; knifes, gun, wire... tools of the trade. After a short look at the clock you start to check and clean them. Not that there is anything wrong with them, it's simply the only routine you knew. Tomorrow you'd leave this place again and find yourself another rundown shack.
The flash of light doesn't even make you look up anymore, you've seen it way too many times already and it's always the same one visiting.
"You're early." you remark as you slide the magazine back into the gun. The sound it makes as it is lodged within the weapon almost sounds reassuring to you. It's one of the few things that stayed the same.
"I had time." Celestia replies as she watches you. "Did you find them?"
You use one of your knifes to point to the bag on the table, "Three... two male, one female... names checked and confirmed... As always." you keep your reply short, "Any new names from the list for me to add?" you silently pray that there aren't any.
"Thankfully not. I hope that these will be the only ones this month." Celestia walks up to the bag and carefully opens the zipper a bit. That strange moment when she confirms your work... you can never quite tell what that expression is. Remorse? Bitterness? Or is she simply feeling just as numb as you are? You wouldn't even blame her for it.
She closes the zipper with a sigh and returns her attention to you, "I will transport them immediately... I take it that Ponyville is your next destination?"
You give a short nod, "According to the list... Something I should be aware of?"
Celestia shakes her head, "No..." she is so bad at lying it almost makes you laugh, "Just be cautious of how to proceed." she gives your face a quick check, "You should get some sleep."
"I can sleep when I'm dead."
Author's Note
Next chapter: Day three and more ^^
"Finally! That took forever!"
You close your eyes and whisper a silent prayer that it isn't what you dread it is, but when you open your eyes again she's sitting next to you again, "Hi, kid." you barely manage to conceal your displeasure.
"I already told you, my name is Lyra." she scrunches her face at you.
"Sure it is, kid... sure it is..." you sigh as you change gears.
"We're not in the city anymore?" she looks out the window and you can hear her disappointment.
"We're not."
"So where are we?" Lyra gives you an expectant look.
"Desert."
"I can see that..." she makes a pouting face, "Doesn't it have a name?"
"Doesn't need to. It's a desert."
"Why wouldn't it need a name?"
"Because that's the least of your concerns if you're in one..." you reply with a small chuckle, but she obviously doesn't get the joke. Not that it's a very good one anyway... "Trust me, kid. This place is nothing special."
You can actually feel her gaze searching your impassive face. From time to time a bead of sweat runs down your brow... frigging desert... frigging air conditioning not working either. Two hours till night and you're still sweating like a pig, even with only your wife beater on. Not to mention the guy in the trunk, he's probably cooked half-way through already... not much longer and he'll probably start to smell...
"What happened to your cheek?"
The question nearly throws you off balance, "This?" your fingers trail the fresh band-aid... the damn bastard had been carrying a knife and you fool hadn't noticed... "Cut myself while shaving..." she gives you a raised eyebrow, "You try and do that while driving." Then again, she probably doesn't even know what shaving is.
There's a moment of silence as she seemingly tries to weigh your response... and a bump from the trunk as you hit a small pothole. "So..." you try to change the subject before she has time to ask about it, "How was your day?"
Lyra's head sags a bit, "Not good." you cringe at the foal's answer, you never were that good with kids...
"What happened?" you mentally bitch slap yourself for asking.
"Some of the other foals made fun of me..." she replies with a downtrodden voice.
"How come?"
"They think I have an imaginary friend."
This time it's your turn to give her a raised eyebrow, "What? How come?" she gives you a look, "Ahh... I guess I understand where that comes from..."
Lyra looks out the window again with a humph, "How was I supposed to know that everything I said here I also said out loud back home?"
"Don't blame me..." you shrug, "People would think the same of me if they saw me talking to my passenger seat." you pause as a thought hits you, "Where are you now? You're not at school, are you?"
"No..." she sighs, "I'm in my room."
"And your parents won't notice?"
She's silent for a moment, "Mom works a lot... and dad..." her voice becomes tiny.
"Your mom looks after you alone, huh?" you feel like punching yourself in the stomach.
"Yeah..."
"Sorry, kid. Wasn't my place to ask." you quietly take the next exit while wondering if you can find something else to talk about.
"So..." she looks back up at you, "Why couldn't I come here earlier?"
"Huh?"
"I tried the spell about two hours ago and it didn't work..." she gives you an inquisitive look, "What were you doing?"
Two hours ago... yeah, that about fits. Lot of work, lots of adrenaline, the guy in the trunk... nothing calm there, "I took a nap..."
She doesn't seem to be buying it, "You don't look like you sleep a lot."
"Who would, in this heat?" you give a halfhearted laugh, "Hey kid, wanna learn something new about humans?"
You flip on the radio, praying to god that this will protect you from any further questions you don't want to answer to a child... and that she'll be gone by the time you reach your destination.
The shovel gives off a loud clank as you throw it back into the trunk of your car. Things had gone relatively smoothly... Lyra had disappeared a few hours before you reached the spot. The digging took the whole night though, and the cold of the night barely helped to cool you off. When the time finally came to toss the bastard into the hole you were covered in sweat and dust... not to mention it took three more hours to fill it up again... fun times.
You close the trunk and trudge around your car with tired steps, hoping that you won't find a little unicorn on your passenger seat... you even actually check before you get in yourself; nothing there. Good.
You get in your seat, close the door and are about to start the engine when there's a surprised gasp next to you... "Great." you huff without looking and put a cigarette in your mouth, "Back already, kid?" you put fire to the end and give a drag, "Ain't it time to..." you turn around and stop talking.
There's a pony sitting next to you, at least you're sure of that part... but it's not Lyra. It's bigger, female from the looks... and it looks absolutely terrified at what it's seeing. You greet it with a silent frown and exhale a small puff of smoke while the red morning sunlight catches on your face, "You're not Lyra." it's more of a question than an actual statement on your part but the effect is immediate.
The pony gives off a high-pitched scream and simply disappears into thin air.
You take another drag from the cigarette and carefully, you reach out and check the air above the seat... still nothing there... what the hell was that just now anyway? "The fuck if I know..." you whisper to yourself and shift into first gear, all the time wondering what childhood trauma could possibly be responsible for the shit you're going through right now.
"I swear..." you groan as you find your way back to the old dirt road, "If the next one wears a crown or says she's a magical princess... someone's getting shot in the face."
"Princess." you give a short nod as Celestia enters the room.
"Scott." she returns the greeting, "Is everything ready?"
"I was just about to get started." you check the tools on the table before you, this was always the routine for the end of each month; gathering. You look up for a moment to see a gray unicorn enter behind Celestia, "Who's that?"
"This is Adamant Shimmer." Celestia introduces the mare, "She will assist you in the future."
"So you finally got me some backup?" you give the mare a short glance, "Is she from the list?"
Celestia nods, "She is."
A small sigh escapes you before you turn your attention back to Adamant Shimmer, "Then you know what you're up for?"
"I do." Adamant Shimmer is obviously nervous, "Who are you? I've never seen you before."
"Scott, please remove the charm." Celestia's voice is calm as always.
You give a grunt and pull the charm from your neck, Adamant Shimmer's gasp signaling that the spell stopped working. She's now staring at you with a puzzled expression.
"This is Scott." Celestia introduces you, "He is the one who has been working as the collector for these past two years."
"Wow..." Adamant manages to stammer, "I heard that there was something special about him... but this?" she turns to Celestia, "What is he?"
"Not really important right now, is it?" you reply with a small frown and walk to a big steel table, "We've got work to do."
Adamant Shimmer's eyes follow you as you reach the table, her gaze shifting to the large white cloth covering what lies on top of it. She swallows, "Is that..."
"Sure is..." you reply with a heavy voice, this part has always bothered you the most, "You sure she's up for this, Celestia? This is pretty heavy stuff."
"I have selected Adamant Shimmer myself." Celestia's gives her a reassuring nod, "She holds my complete trust. Besides... you can not keep on doing this all on your own."
"If you say so." you shrug and turn your attention back to Adamant, "Last chance to back out. I won't blame you."
She seems to hesitate, but only for a moment, "No." she shakes her head and puts on a brave face, "I pledged to do this for the safety of everypony." God, how you still hate that word, "I won't back down now."
A short snort escapes you, if only she knew what she is about to get herself into, "Your decision..." you can't help but wonder how long it will take for her name to show up on the list if she takes up this work... The first and last one Celestia tried barely lasted a year. "Alright then."
You pull back the cloth, revealing the unmoving body of a pony beneath. As you pick up the scalpel you give Adamant a short glance, she looks terrified... Probably the first time she's seen a corpse this close... and it won't be the last. Your gaze travels to Celestia; her face is as impassive as always, but you've learned to look right through that... she hates this probably just as much as you do... but someone needs to do it.
After a quick check of the blade to make sure it's still sharp you don the coat just like you always did for these last two years... and you light yourself another cigarette, simply because it will help to cover the stench. It's all become routine these days. You step up to the table, "Let's get this over with."
