Little Lyra and You

Chapter 13: Anti Hero

"I'll give you a few minutes to get ready." Joe said motioning to the box that was next to Lyra before turning and walking out of the small home. Lyra sighed and began removing the equipment from the box that seemed to be bigger than it let on to be but she figured that was just her.

After a few moments she had laid out a black Kevlar mesh, a small grappling hoof but with a strong cable, a four inch blade and the gun she had already used along with two spare clips. Lyra let out a shaky breath at the sight of the equipment, she had never felt this way about doing a job, about going to work. She sighed and began to dawn the gear.

Within a few minutes she was fully kitted out, from horn to hooves. The Kevlar suit fit her like a glove as did the grappling hoof. There was a holster for the gun and a sheath for the blade at the small of her back.

She had to admit, it felt exhilarating to be doing this again. The have the nervous blood rushing through her veins before doing something like this, but it also came with that sick sense of dread that she had developed towards the end of her career. It was a strange combination of "I'm gonna live forever," and "I could die tonight." She had always thought of it as a healthy smattering of the two but one soon overtook the other.

"Hey, your ready?" Joe called from outside the home. Lyra walked over and pushed the door open.

"Let's do this." She said stepping outside. Joe nodded and reached into the fold of his wing and pulled out a small glass vial with a sealed cork stopper. The liquid inside glowed a light shade of blue. "What's that?" Lyra said motioning to the vial.

"It's called travel vapor, new kind of magic from the unicorns. You just hunk of where you want to go, inhale,the fumes and poof." He quickly explained.

"And where exactly do we want to go?" Lyra asked eyeing the vial.

"The Crystal Empire." He said simply. "Meet me at the crimson café at the edge of town if we don't show up together." He said slamming the vial against a rock. It shatters quietly and an ethereal blue smoke pours out from under it and up toward's Joe's nose and as soon as it reaches him he disappears with a quiet snap. Then the blue smoke homes in on her and slowly slithers it's way over to her. She steps into the cloud and let's it swirl around her body up to her nostrils. As it gets closer she catches the sweet smell of honeysuckle before she closes her eyes and feels the ground beneath her disappear.

Lyra didn't brace herself so she found it as a surprise when she felt her hooves collide with the ground, though she resigned her composure quickly she stumbled slightly. Her eyes fly open as she takes stock of her surroundings. She appeared to be in a small clearing surrounded by several small bushes covered in frost. She could see her breath before her, but she didn't feel the cold.

"Environmental control systems activated." She heard an invisible voice whisper in her ear. She felt her body begin to heat up and looked down at her chest where your suit had begun to glow a pale shade of orange on the outside where several raised parts of the mesh had appeared.

"Nice suit." She said to herself. She heard voices coming up from her right and she pokes her head over the bush to take a look. Below her were a few ponies bundled up tightly in scarves and coats looking up at where she had appeared. She noticed one a thin ring of smoke traveling down the hill that soon dissipated.

"Hey, is any pony up there?" One of them called up to her. Lyra pulled herself back into the bushes in fear of being discovered. She wasn't exactly in her normal daily get up. Suddenly a head poked up over the small shrubs and locked eyes with Lyra. Lyra jumped back in surprise and almost went over the other side of the hill.

"Woah there, no need to be worried. My names Jack." The stallion said landing in front of her and offering his hoof.

"Lyra." She replied taking his hoof tentatively. He grinned warmly at her.

"Now, if you don't mind me asking, what are you doing at the top of this hill?" He asked.

"I just came up here to think." She lied. Jack shrugged and ruffled his feathers.

"Well, me and my fiancé are about to walk back into town, if you'd like to come along we'd be happy to have you." Jack said.

"Uh, sure thanks." Lyra replied. Jack smiled, spread his wings and flew down to the foot of the hill. Lyra closed her eyes and teleported down to the bottom of the hill and re appeared with a flash.

"I told you there was somepony on that hill." A female earth pony said in a joking tone nudging Jack. "So, what's your name?" She asked offering Lyra her hoof.

"Lyra, and you?" She asks the mare.

"Melanie." She said smiling. Jack shuffled his hooves, eager to start making his way back to town. "We can talk on the way, let's get moving before we freeze to death." Melanie said. Her and jack turned and started walking up a small dirt road and Lyra followed.

Lyra could feel the air around her warming up and eventually the suit she was wearing informed her that it was powering down which must mean it was really staring to warm up. "So, are you some sort of secret agent or spy?" Melanie asked breaking the silence.

"Not exactly." Lyra replied, not wanting to give too much of herself away. Melanie took the hint and changed the subject.

"You're like us aren't you, not from around this part of Equestria?" She asked.

"No, I-I'm from Ponyville." Lyra said. She figured she could afford to give away that little bit of information.

"Ponyville eh, quaint little town. I spent some time there a few years back." Jack said.

"Oh?" Lyra asked, trying to keep them talking so they wouldn't question what she was doing here anymore.

"Yeah, lots of nice ponies there." He said. Lyra nodded and looked up to the sun to see what time it was. It appeared that it was beginning to set. "Almost there." Jack said pulling up the sleeves on his thin coat. Lyra looked away from the sun and noticed a tall spire coming up from somewhere in the distance. It would have taken away her breath had her heart not been racing.

As they drew closer the city in its entirety came into view rather than the single spire that dominated the sky. But the strange thing was the entire city was surrounded by a magical bubble that whirred with energy. Lyra stared at it for a moment but jack and Melanie simply trotted through unfazed. Lyra follows them through and does her best not to flinch as she walks through the strange bubble.

The party walks for a few minutes longer before Jack and Melanie stop and turn to Lyra.

"I guess we'll be seeing you Lyra." Melanie said smiling warmly.

"Oh you two live here?" Lyra asked looking up at the tall apartment building made of an opaque orange crystal.

"Drop on by if you need anything. We're in B13." Jack said turning towards the steps that lead up to the door. Melanie waved one last time before following him inside leaving Lyra alone on the streets.

Knowing she was now on her own Lyra began to trot down the streets in search of the Crimson Café where she had been told to meet him. As she walked she noticed that there weren't many ponies on the streets and the ones that were walking along with her didn't notice her. They were too engrossed in their own thoughts.

After walking across the town and back she finally found the café. It was a quaint little spot on a street corner. A few tables sat outside for the patrons that would rather be in the fresh air than the inside of a building. Lyra grabbed the handle of the door with her magic and stepped inside.

As soon as she stepped inside several ponies turned their heads to face her, but none of them were the pony she was looking for. But nit was the one pony that didn't turn to see the newcomer that she had come for. At the back of the place sat a dark brown Pegasus in a raised table. Lyra trotted past all of the patrons in the place to the past. She pulled up a chair and sat next to Joe.

"I was starting to think that you weren't going to show up." Joe said. He took a sip of his coffee and set I t back down on the table.

"And miss this, the biggest and most dangerous heist I've ever been apart of, not for the world." Lyra said sarcastically. Joe chuckled slightly and took another sip of his coffee. "So, when are we gonna get it on?" She asks. Joe casts her a sideways glance.

"I'm married, you realize that." He said raising an eyebrow.

"You know what I mean." Lyra said chuckling slight and pinching him in the shoulder. He joins in her laughter after he'd rains the last of his coffee.

"I figured we'd kick it of just before midnight." He said. The barista came by them and sat two mugs of coffee down In front of the two of them.

"It's not even close to midnight, what are we gonna do until then?" Lyra asked.

"We sit back, relax and enjoy this amazing coffee." Joe said sipping the coffee. Lyra sighed and spooned a few spoonfuls of sugar into hers.

Roughly give hours later Lyra sat just behind a bush with Joe beside her. He had a pair of binoculars pressed to his eyes and was staring at the castle. Every few moments he would shift his body and rustle the bush slightly but Lyra stayed perfectly still. Something told her that Joe wasn't exactly the most stealth pony to ever live.

"Okay, I think there's a good route in." Joe said finally, taking the binoculars from his face and folding them up before slipping them into a fold of his armor.

"And that would be?" She asked turning to him.

"You see that overhang just above that balcony?" He said pointing just above a small balcony. "We're gonna take those two guards out and then make our way inside. It's on the same floor as the horn, but there's one catch." He said

"And that would be?" Lyra asked though she had a good idea what the answer would be.

"There's more guards on that floor than anywhere else. Not just because of the artifact room but because of the princess." He said. Suddenly his hoof flicked out and in and instant he had the gun in his hoof. Lyra's heart skipped a beat  it she soon calmed down when he flung it into the bushes. She heard it land with a soft clank. "Which means we don't want to to wake them up or attract anymore attention than we need to." He said. Lyra felt like protesting but kept her mouth shut because she knew he was right. "So, you ready?" He asked after a few moments.

Lyra's hoof closed around the hilt of her blade that was in the sheath sown into the back of her suit. "Let's do this." She said in the most determined voice she could muster. He nodded and took to the sky and she galloped out in front of him. Just before she reached the tall hedgerow that encircled the castle she flung her hoof up and the grappling hoof shot out of the end and into the sky. It flew for a few moments before she felt it catch and the line went taught. She had used this kind of thing before and she tugged on the line twice and jumped and the grappling hoof started to reel her in, faster than she remembered, but totally silent.

Within a few moments she found herself nearing the top of the overhang. She held her breath as she passed the guards on the balcony and prepared herself the catch the ledge and pull herself up, but she didn't realize how fast she was going at the time and with the speed she was going even after the hook disengaged she went up a fee more feet, clearing the ledge and only just sticking the landing.

"What took you so long?" Joe hissed at her as she landed next to him.

"Not all of us are born with wings wise-guy." Lyra snapped back. Joe chuckled slightly and peered over the edged two guards were positioned just below them staring out into the night.

"On three we take em' out." Joe said. He flicked his wrists and two blades slid out silently. "One, two...three." He whispered before jumping over the edge, but Lyra hesitated slightly and jumped off just an instant after him, but it was already too late.

Joe landed on the back of of one of the guards, driving his blades in between the pony's shoulders. The other pony jumped back at the sudden appearance of the pony next to him, taking him out from underneath Lyra. She hit the concrete hard sending a jolt of pain up her legs that made her body go stiff. The guard began to call out but was silenced quickly as Joe clamped his mouth shit and twisted his head ninety degrees to the right, emitting a sickening crack before slumping to the ground. Lyra felt like she was going to be sick.

"What was that kid?!" Joe hissed angrily.

"I'm sorry Joe, but I'm not a killer." She said cradling her hoof.

"These aren't ponies, they're spirit guards. Like automatons that bleed." He said. "Potesta." He said and the two bodies of the ponies dissolved into nothing leaving only spots of blood on the ground.

"How di-, was that magic." Lyra asked astonished

"More like a command. As a Pegasus my magical abilities are limited to clouds mostly." He said. "Now c'mon." He said roughly, the displeasure obvious in his voice. He turned and started trotting into the palace and Lyra followed halfheartedly.

Inside the palace there weren't as many guards as she had thought in the hallway. Only one or two which Joe quickly dispatched with his blades or his bare hooves before whispering the command and the bodies disappeared. They made quick progress and weren't spotted until they came to the actual artifact room which, as they had expected had several guards occupying it.

Joe sighed and turned to Lyra. He reached behind her and unsheathed the blade that glimmered slightly in the weak moonlight. "You swig for the neck, belly and head, don't try stabbing because the blade isn't that sturdy and for the love of Luna, please don't get killed." He whispered all on one breath. Lyra didn't respond and just nodded. Joe signed and stepped out into the room. Two ponies who had their heads' turned for an instant both got strapped in the back of the skull and slumped to the ground with a thud, as for the other guards, they all readied their weapons.

"Drop your blades and come quietly." The guard said, the fear obvious in his voice.

"You must be new here." Joe replied. He reached into the fold of his armor and withdrew a smaller blade and flung it overhoofed at the guard and it hurried itself in his neck. A strange gurgling sound came from his throat as he suck to the floor. As the guard died Lyra stepped out from behind the wall with her short blade in hoof, though the rest of the guards in the room were either paralyzed with fear or too focused on Joe to pay her any attention.

Suddenly two guards lunged for Joe spears held by magic next to them. Joe turned to one of them and pushed the spear up from the front of the shaft with his hoof and let the pony's momentum carry him into the blade and burry itself in his neck, but Joe only barely avoided the other pony's spear by mere centimeters but lost his hoofing when he slammed into him with his shoulder.

The guard pinned him by his shoulders and drew a dagger from behind him. Joe fought at the pony pinning him down with one hoof and held the dagger just inches from his neck with his other. But suddenly a small piece of steel Hussites out of the pony's chest, blood dripping off the end and onto Joe's chest. Then steel retracted and the pony's body slued down and landed on top of Joe who pushed him off and onto the floor next to him, but before he could get up three more guards were charging him, but were stopped in their tracks by the bright green beams that collided with each of their chests and sent them to the floor in heaps with blood seeping from massive scorch marks on their chests.

Joe looked over to Lyra stunned by her sudden violence but she didn't meet his eyes, or even turn to look at him. She had one pony who had tried to run past them by the tail and was doing her best to tug him back into the room which kept her from noticing the guard that was lining up a throw with his spear aimed directly at her. Without thinking he launched himself at her, knocking her to the ground and out of the way of the spear, but the same couldn't be said for him. The barbed tip of the spear grazed his shoulder but he didn't notice. They skidded to a stop in front of the guard that had thrown the spear. He tried to jump out of the way but bumped into a trophy case and fell over and within seconds Joe had driven his blade into his throat. He withdrew it quickly and spun around to find himself alone in the room. He lowered his hooves but kept his blades out just in case.

"Lyra?" He asked looking for her around the room but the only thing that accompanied him were the trophy cases. Suddenly, with a flash, Lyra appeared next to him and threw a trembling pony to the ground in front of him. He tried to crawl away but Lyra grabbed him in her magic and hauled him back up to his hooves.

"What do you want to do with him?" Lyra asked. Joe raised his hoof and pressed the blade to his chin but Lyra held his hoof back. "We don't have to kill him, he's not armed and he won't tell anyone." She said. "Right?"

"Y-Y-yes'm." The young guard managed.

"Lyra we can't leave anypony alive, and remember he's not real, just magic." He said. Lyra drew her blade quickly and nicked the pony's chin. A small drop of blood dripped off onto the ground.

"He bleeds, that's good enough for me. He's as much of a real pony as you or me." Lyra said sheathing the blade.

"Sir please don't, I won't tell anyone, honest. I'll move out of town and ever-" He never got to finish the sentence for he was cut off asJoe plunged his blade into the guard's chest. He made a slight moaning noise before his body went slack and he dropped him to the floor. Lyra stared daggers at him as the body sunk to the ground.

"No survivors." He said. He muttered the command and all of the ponies in the room that had died that night disappeared.

"Let's find that horn and get out of here, the less time I spend with you the happier I'll be." Lyra said hatefully turning her back to him and beginning to look for the horn that she had been sent for. Joe muttered something unintelligible before turning away from her and walking down a line of trophy cases. some of them had been knocked over during the fight, their glass cases shattered and their contense spilled out onto the floor.

"Hello?" He said noticing something black with a red tip covered in shattered glass. He reached down and grasped it in his hoof, taking care to avoid as much of the glass as he could. as his hoof closed around it and he lifted it from the glass he could feel it, humming with energy.

"Did you find anything?" Lyra asked turning around. anger was still present in her voice but it was  much less apparent.

"I think so, come take a look." Joe said stepping out from behind a trophy case and into the center of the room and into the moonlight where he could see better. Lyra trotted over and pulled a picture out o the cuff of her uniform and held it up to the fragment. Sure enough, it matched it perfectly.

"I can feel its power from here." She said. "It must be used to boost magic or something."

"Not quite, but very close." Joe replied hoofing her the fragment which she his away in one of the many pockets of her uniform. "You could probably use that to boost your magic and teleport yourself back to Zecora's hut, my people should be waiting for you there." He said somberly.

"And what about you, are you going to use that travel vapor to get back?" Lyra asked.

"Sadly, i don't think this is a mission i'll be walking away from." He said calmly though Lyra could see the fear in his eyes.

"W-what do you mean?" She asked him,her previous anger towards him was gone and replaced by fear. Fear for him.

" Do you believe in destiny Lyra, the order of everything and everyone on the timeline that is history. Every little event that connects to another in impossible and unimaginable ways?" He asked her. Not waiting for a response he continued. "If you don't then you should. I've seen the future of this world, of myself you and Michel and every pony else. There is no such thing as leaving it to chance." He said. "You were the only one of the two of us that is meant to walk out of this castle alive." He said finally.

"Y-You're going to just stay here and die?" Lyra asked.

"Not without a good cause." He paused, "Someone's gotta give your boyfriend what he came here for." Joe said smirking. He moved his hoof over the bulge of the val of blood that was slid into his blade pocket.

"Wait, Michael's here?" Lyra asked looking around excitedly.

Time will come for that, but what you need to do is get that horn fragment back to Zecora's hut before it's too late. we don't have long before Sombra rises again, and this time with an army." Joe said. His ears perked up as e heard hoof steps coming from just up the hall. "Lyra, you have to go right now!" Joe insisted, trying to keep his voice low. Lyra opened her mouth to protest but the look on his face stopped her. She nodded somberly and took a step away from him. Her horn started to glow and in a flash she was gone.