It was just after sunset as Rainbow Dash flew towards the town of Ponyville. After the events of Twilight and her crown, she needed to stretch and fly around for a while. After all, she needed to stay in tip-top shape to stay the best flyer in Equestria!
As she flew closer to home, a single phrase popped up in her head. What are “hands”? All day her thoughts would come back to that one question she had asked Twilight. Twilight had tried to explain these “humans” to Rainbow and her friends, and yet still she couldn’t picture all of the details in her head. It was easy to picture something walking on two legs; it was just harder to picture the rest of the body.
Not until now, at least.
Rainbow Dash always had a habit of searching the ground for trouble. She didn’t find anything suspicious, except for Lyra Heartstrings. Lyra had always acted strangely, so Rainbow eventually learned to tune her out.
This time, though, she couldn’t ignore what she saw. Lyra looked exactly like what Twilight had tried to explain to her: a human. The only details that told Rainbow Dash it was Lyra were the hair color, style, and eye color. The rest looked different; for instance, she had the color of pale skin instead of light blue fur. Lyra was also wearing some sort of black clothing.
Her looks weren’t the only strange thing, though. Lyra looked as if she was trying to sneak out of Ponyville and into the Everfree Forest near Fluttershy’s house. Her head kept darting from side to side, watching for others. Suddenly the lights turned on in Fluttershy’s house, alerting Lyra. She dove into a nearby bush, and waited for the lights to turn back off. Rainbow Dash decided to quietly follow her on hoof, so Lyra wouldn’t be alerted by her shadow.
Rainbow lowered herself behind a tree, watching as Lyra quietly stepped out of the bush. Lyra then looked from side to side, and took off into the forest. Rainbow Dash noticed that humans run a lot slower than ponies do, making it easy for her to keep up.
Lyra eventually slowed down, coming to a complete stop. For running all of this way, she doesn’t seem to be out of breath. Rainbow Dash quietly stepped behind a tree, watching as Lyra walked up to… Zecora’s hut? Why would she be here?
Lyra knocked on the wooden door and stepped back. The door opened up, and she went inside. Rainbow walked up to one of the windows, trying to stay as quiet as possible. She watched as Zecora put a few things into her cauldron, talking quietly to Lyra; quiet enough that Rainbow couldn’t hear. Lyra nodded, and then seemed to focus on the cauldron. Rainbow strained to hear what she could.
...
Lyra focused her mind into the cauldron. After training for so long, I should be able to reach Link’s mind. After a few minutes, she heard a spark and opened her eyes. Before her was a tear into… memories of the past?
Link must be asleep. She turned to Zecora, who gave her an approving nod. Lyra smiled, and went through the tear. Don’t worry, Link. We’ll see each other soon.
...
Rainbow Dash couldn’t believe what she saw. It was as if Lyra could open portals to other places! How was she able to do that? As far as she knew, nopony was born with powers like these. Not even Unicorns! Rainbow didn’t even know ponies could turn into humans either, though. So maybe that just means she’s more different than she-
“Rainbow Dash?! What are you doing here?!” Lyra, who had just come back through the portal, was staring wide eyed at Rainbow through the window.
Uh oh, I was thinking too much and lost track of time! Lyra had seen Rainbow. Something was going to happen, and she didn’t want to stay around to find out. She turned around and bolted, flying as quickly as she could towards the entrance to the Everfree Forest. I’ve got to find Twilight. She’ll want to know about this.
Rainbow Dash flew towards the entrance. She had almost made it out when golden magic consumed her, stopping her completely. She was then lowered to the ground. The golden magic still surrounded her when she heard a voice come from the left of her.
“You didn’t answer my question. What are you doing here?” Lyra said, coming out of the trees. She was now a pony, with golden magic surrounding her horn.
Rainbow was appalled. She had been flying at a high speed, and Lyra was still able to catch her! “How did you get here so fast?” she asked nervously.
“I used a teleportation spell,” Lyra said sternly, still holding onto Rainbow with her magic.
Confusion swirled in Rainbow’s mind. I thought regular unicorns would be too tired to use magic after teleporting!
Twilight isn’t the only gifted unicorn in Ponyville, you know. Rainbow Dash was startled by these words in her head. She didn’t tell herself that! Which could only mean… “You can read my mind?!” Rainbow exclaimed. "What kind of a spell is that?!"
“It’s not a spell. It’s something I’ve always been able to do.” Lyra said sternly. She still magically held onto Rainbow Dash. “Now, tell me what you’re doing here.”
Rainbow Dash gulped. “I saw you sneaking out of Ponyville in the form of a… h-human. So I followed you.” Rainbow was panicking. What was Lyra going to do to her?
Lyra thought for a moment, then let out a sigh. “I should’ve been more careful…” She shook her head, and let go of Rainbow Dash. “Before you go, you need to promise me that you won’t tell anyon- anypony about this.” Lyra herself now looked nervous, as if something bad could happen if everypony knew.
Rainbow thought for a moment. She must know what could happen if I told somepony. “What would happen if I told Twilight?”
Lyra was becoming stressed. “You can’t tell Twilight! Telling her could result in something very bad.” She looked around as if making sure there was nopony else around. She looked back to Rainbow Dash. “Something horrible is coming. Equestria will need a hero to stop it. If word got out that I can do these things, then this hero won’t be able to save us. Things need to happen exactly as planned, or Equestria will be no more.” Lyra stared at Rainbow Dash with pleading eyes. “Please don’t tell anypony about this!”
Rainbow Dash couldn’t believe it. Lyra knew what was going to happen in the future? If what she says is true, then I should stay quiet. “Alright. I promise,” she said, making a pinkie promise motion with her hoof.
Lyra smiled. “Thank you. I’ll be heading back to Ponyville now.” And with that, a light surrounded her for no more than a second. When the light went away, she was gone. Lyra must have teleported again. I guess she realized walking back wasn’t a good idea. Rainbow Dash thought about what had just transpired here for a moment, and then took off, heading back to ponyville.
...
“Are we prepared?”
“Yes, sir. Everything is ready. We await your commands.”
“Excellent. Send the last assassin to Hyrule.”
“What about the others, sir?”
“I have already sent them to the future land of Hyrule’s neighboring world.”
“Why the future, sir? Equestria could be yours as soon as it was founded.”
“There is… a threat in the future of Equestria. She will need to be dealt with.”
“Alright, sir. I will tell the last assassin of your orders.”
“Good.” Evil laughter echoed throughout the room. “My plans are perfect. Be prepared, heroes. There will be no stopping me this time.”
The sun was setting into Lake Hylia, a brilliant hue of red against clear blue water. Link was lying down on the shore, nearby the Lakeside Laboratory. Princess Zelda was right next to him, staring into the water. Epona and a white horse were behind them, chewing on the grass. Link had left his shield and sword over by Epona. This was a very relaxing day for him.
Link took in a breath of fresh air, listening to the breeze sending ripples through the water. Today’s my 17th birthday. That means it’s been 7 years since I defeated Ganon as the Hero of Time. Because of that, I was able to warn Zelda about Ganondorf. With him locked away, Hyrule will know peace for years to come. He glanced over at Zelda, who was gazing into the sky. She looked like she was thinking hard about something. “Is something on your mind, Zelda?” Link asked curiously.
“Huh?” Zelda snapped to attention, looking around. She noticed Link watching her. “What did you say?” she asked.
“You seem very distracted,” said Link. Hopefully she’s not worrying about becoming queen next year. “What’s troubling you?”
Zelda stared into the clear water, watching her reflection wave back and forth. “I’m not entirely sure. I've been having these dreams for the past few nights now.” She then flinched, as if seeing something. “Now I’m having them during the day.”
Link perked up when he heard the word “dream”. “It wasn’t like the dark dreams you had seven years ago, was it?” He preferred to call her dreams of Ganondorf “The Dark Dreams” so he wouldn’t confuse the good dreams and the bad ones.
“No,” Zelda said thoughtfully. “It was more of a memory coming back to me.” She took a deep breath, and sighed. She put her full attention on Link. “Do you remember L-Lyra?” Zelda asked shakily.
The atmosphere around them grew sorrowful. Link couldn’t remember a time when he didn’t remember Lyra. Any time Lyra was brought up around Zelda, she would become really upset with the person who mentioned her. Though when she was brought up around Link, he would become depressed for the rest of the day. Why did you have to do it, Lyra? “Yes, I remember her. Why do you ask?”
“The day she was banished to the other world, she said something,” she started. “I’m beginning to understand now. What Lyra said was important. The only problem is, I can never remember what she says. Every time I dream of that memory, her words become muffled and distorted.” Zelda stood up, stretching. “We should continue this when we get back to the castle. It’ll be dark soon.” Link nodded and got up. They walked towards their horses together. Once mounted, they began their way back to Hyrule castle.
...
Link and Zelda sat at the dining room table. A servant had come to clear away the empty dishes while the two continued their conversation.
“Are you sure you can’t remember what she said?” asked Zelda.
Link let out a huge yawn before answering. “I can’t remember. I think I was too upset to know what was going on around me.” He drank the last of his water, put the glass down, and yawned again. “Zelda, did the water taste funny to you?”
“I don’t think so,” she replied. “Why do you ask?”
Link was finding it harder and harder to keep his eyes open. Why am I so tired? “No reason.” He got up from the table, stretching his arms. “I think I’m done for the day. I must have gotten little sleep last night.”
Alright,” Zelda replied. “We’ll continue this conversation tomorrow.” She got up, walking towards the hallway leading to her room. Link walked sluggishly behind her, heading for his own room.
Once he reached his room, he immediately fell onto his bed. His last thoughts before falling asleep were of his memories of Lyra, including the day he met her…