Immortality: Lyra's Suspicion

Lyra was sure she was dead this time. She was in a place she had never ever seen. It was flat land in every direction. The sky was a deep indigo, but it didn't feel like nighttime to Lyra.

"I fail to see how you are still alive." Lyra turned to see Nightmare Pony glaring at her. "Your life force is power, Lyra."

"Does that mean I'm immortal?" Lyra aren't. A shocked expression passed over the mare's face.

"That's impossible. You are a mere unicorn. If an alicorn isn't even immortal-"

"You're evil, right?" Lyra interrupted. "Can you leave, please? I need to process my thoughts alone." Nightmare Pony dissolved into black mist and reformed in front of Lyra.

"Don't be disrespectful," she hissed. "I will leave you; you are of no use to me. I hope I never meet the likes of you again. Unless-" she bared her sharp teeth "-it's to give you terror." She reared up. Lyra took a step back in fright before she remembered it was a dream. Nightmare Pony dissolved one more, for good.

Lyra was left alone in the endless plain of her dream. It would be so cool to be immortal. She could see so many things! Lyra wondered if mares would be aloud to ever wear clothes that were comfortable for mountain climbing.

"I could watch over Jewel's descendents!" She exclaimed. "They'd be safe, if I could protect them!" She suddenly stopped. "But that would mean- Jewel would be gone.

Lyra didn't feel like being immortal anymore. And yet- she had a feeling she was. A feeling. Why would she trust feeling? She had no way of knowing she was or wasn't.

But if I was immortal, she thought, then I would know, because I wouldn't die. And I've been in two deathly experiences in the past two days. And I survived.

Lyra started walking. She felt like walking. She could walk until she woke up. Whenever that was. Could she be immortal and be in an everlasting sleep? It seemed possible.

"Wake up, Lyra," she told herself. "Wake up." The sky suddenly moved down. Lyra backed away. She was suddenly on a small patch of tan in an ocean of blue. She could see the sun in the distance.

"My dreams are so beautiful," she breathed before everything turned to black.

Lyra knew she was awake. She just had no idea where she was.

"Uhh," she groaned as she opened her eyes. Her hooves felt sore, and her chest was heavy. Lyra was staring at a wooden surface.

"Where am I?" She murmured, trying to raise her head. It hurt, but Lyra managed to stand up. She was amidst wreckage of a house- Jewel's house. Lyra's eyes widened.

"Would that mean- they just left me here?" She asked. "They'd leave my body to disintegrate rather than lay me to rest with the proper burial?"

Lyra looked around. She had absolutely no idea what time it was.

"I guess I'd better get home," she told herself, then looked down. She had totally forgotten she had been wearing a dress.

It's a miracle, she thought as she began walking. My dress isn't in tatters. It's only singed around the edges.

It was surprisingly quiet in the area. Lyra wasn't really paying attention to anything. She wasn't thinking. She was just walking on sore hooves.

Lyra happened to glance at an alleyway and jolted out of- whatever she had been in. Those crazy stallions could still be on the loose.

Lyra looked around and performed a small appearance spell. She shrank to the size of a filly and changed her mane color to orange. At least, she tried to change it.

"Did it work?" She asked aloud, turning to stare at her tail. It was a short, tangles mess of orange hair that ended in a burn.

"Oh right," she grumbled as she resumed walking. "My hair was burnt off."

Lyra was almost home when she realized she hadn't seen anypony at all.

"Hello?" She called, looking around. Nopony answered. Lyra was starting to panic. She started running. She hadn't gotten very far when she realized she could attempt teleportation. Her horn glowed gold, and Lyra disappeared.

When she reappeared, she was standing in front of her house. She walked up and pushed the door open.

The first thing Lyra noticed was the hat lying on the floor. It was an army hat that could only mean one thing.

"FATHER!" Lyra yelled. Nopony answered. Lyra ran into her father's study. A letter was sitting on his otherwise cleared desk. Lyra picked it up.

"'Clock Strings: We regret to inform you,'" she read aloud nervously, "'that your daughter, Lyra Heartstrings, passed away-'" Lyra dropped the letter.

"He thinks I'm dead," she whispered, tears welling up in her eyes. He must be attending my funeral right now.

Lyra grabbed a quill and a piece of paper. She scrawled three words onto the paper, signed it, and left it on her father's desk. Then, with a sigh, Lyra trudged up to her loft.

At one point, she considered staying and explaining she was not dead. But that thought passed when she realized her father would see her as a ghost, not to mention Jewel and the neighbors that had rescued Jewel.

Is Jewel even alive? Did they save her? Lyra wondered as she stuffed her neglected diary into her leather saddlebags. Or did the spell wear off, and she died?

At one point, Lyra also wondered if she should go out for revenge on those two stallions.

"No," she muttered as she rolled up her map of Equestria. "No, no no."

SLAM! Lyra froze at the sound of the front door being shut. She heard the sound of hooves trotting slowly up the stairs. Lyra quickly ducked under her bed.

"Oh, Lyra." Lyra heard the sorrow in her father's voice as he entered her room. "I leave you alone, and you leave me." Lyra watched her father's pale grey hooves walk over to her nightstand. She held her breath.

"I was going to surprise you, Lyra. I was going to come home next week, as a surprise," he said. Lyra felt her eyes welling up with tears. She gasped to let some of the regret escape her.

"Who's there?" Her father asked sharply, turning around. Lyra carefully turned her head to look at her saddlebag. She had enough supplies, along with the spells she had learned from the library. Lyra ignited her horn and disappeared in a burst of light.

She reappeared just outside of Canterlot.

"Filly! Stop!" Yelled a guard. Lyra swung her head around and realized she still looked like a young filly.

"You'll see me again, Canterlot!" She yelled, before transforming back to her true appearance. She broke out into a full speed gallop and raced away.