The Humans.by Jed RChaptersI: An Unexpected Parley (Or Two).II: Lyra's Resolution.III: Help and Advice.IV: Four is Company.I: An Unexpected Parley (Or Two).Chapter I: An Unexpected Parley (Or Two). In a house, on a street in a small town beneath a mountain range, there lived a pony. Not a boring, secluded little village filled with odd looks and unpleasant locals, nor a big town that was really just a small city, filled with bustling locals with no time to stop and smell the roses. This town was just right: the locals were a fun, friendly bunch (albeit occasionally quite mad, though this is often the best way to be), the town was large enough to remain interesting, and the roses smelled lovely, and plenty of ponies had plenty of time to stop and smell them. This town was called Ponyville, which was both apt (since it was a place where ponies lived) and somewhat dull and unimaginative. When visiting Ponyville, one is usually taken aback with just how not-dull the place actually is, most likely because one is lulled into a false sense of security by the name. It is to the credit of the ponies who live there - and sometimes to their detriment as well - that they have managed to make what could have proven an exceptionally dull town into a place where it can be said with the fullest confidence that Interesting Things Happen. The particular pony with whom we are concerned was one Lyra Heartstrings, a pony - more specifically a Unicorn - of turquoise coloration and normally cheerful disposition. In Ponyville, it is to be admitted, she was not normally one to whom Interesting Things Happened (an unfortunate incident at her former foalsitter's wedding, involving brainwashing and green glowing eyes, aside). This was not necessarily for lack of trying on her part but, when one is not an Alicorn princess and her five best friends, one is naturally less likely to attract the Interesting Things than such individuals. This, however, is a story in which Interesting Things happen to Lyra Heartstrings, things which change her life - in some ways for the worse, but mostly for the better, as you will see. On this fine day in Ponyville, Lyra Heartstrings was in the middle of having a loud, raging argument in the street. Now, had you asked Lyra Heartstrings that morning whether she would be having a loud, raging argument with anypony - much less Bon Bon, a beige Earth Pony who was also her friend and housemate, and much less in the street where everypony passing by could watch with impunity - she would have said no. But then, Lyra was never particularly good at being able to tell what was going to happen at any given day, both because she was not clairvoyant (few ponies were or are, especially in Ponyville, which is probably good for their stress levels given how many frankly odd things that occur there on a semi regular basis), and because her head was normally so "in the clouds" that she couldn't tell the future if she was given an encyclopedia about it. The day had started well enough for her, I suppose you could say. She had woken up, checked the bookmark in one of her cryptozoology books that she had fallen asleep reading hadn't fallen out, saved her page, made herself breakfast (while reading a different cryptozoology book), and then proceeded to go out for a brief shop. You may glean from her choice of reading material that Lyra Heartstrings was into crypotozoology. Specifically, she was an aficionado of Humans, a semi-mythical species that very ponies knew (or cared to know) all that much about. Ever since she had been very young, Lyra had known about humans and wished to know more. Suffice it to say, this was not a hobby approved of by her parents, teachers, classmates, friends, colleagues, romantic interests, or anypony else with anything resembling a vague awareness of it. The more charitable of these various groups would dismiss it as a harmless,if vaguely irritating, line of research that was one of Lyra's quirks, without which she would not be Lyra. The less charitable usually insulted her, especially ponies among the "romantic interests" group. This may explain why Lyra Heartstrings did not currently have a romantic interest,having given up the practice a long time ago as essentially a lost cause. Now, as I said, she had chosen following her morning read and breakfast to go out to do some shopping: for Lyra, shopping consisted of buying a cupcake from Sugarcube Corner, a small sweet shop in Ponyville, and then eating said cupcake while reading another book on cryptozoology designated her "outdoor reading material". She had, along the way to Sugarcube Corner, run into Bon Bon, who was (and is), as I have said, her friend and housemate, who had gone out earlier. It was at this time that the screaming, raging argument had begun. Bon-Bon, being a pony whose mind was resolutely set on those two great concepts, the "Here and Now" and the "Solid and Factual" to such an extent that many ponies considered her one of the most predictable (and therefore reliable) ponies in Ponyville, was not one of those who tended to indulge Lyra's "hobby". Normally, when she was in a good mood, she did her best to avoid the topic of discussion wherever possible, especially considering the fact that she didn't agree with the study of cryptozoology in general. This, however, was one of those times when she was not, in fact, in a good mood. The argument had begun with Bon Bon approaching Lyra in the street, an altogether thunderous look on her face. "Oh hey Bon Bon," Lyra had begun. "Don't you 'oh hey' me!" Bon Bon replied. "I saw the mess you left in the front room!" "Mess?" Lyra asked, frowning, seemingly completely oblivious to what Bon Bon was referring to. "Yes, mess!" the irritated Earth Pony said. "As in those papers you left scattered about!" Full memory returned to Lyra at this point, and a disappointed and irritated tone infiltrated her voice. "Oh, you didn't move them did you?!" "Of course I moved them!" Bon Bon yelled, her face turning a slightly ominous shade of red. "There were taking up all the floor!" "Well, at least you put them away, yeah?" Lyra asked, now getting mildly miffed herself, "I put them in the trash where they belonged!" Bon Bon screeched. "I thought I told you to keep your stuff out of the front room and in your bedroom where it belongs!" "You threw the papers out?!" Lyra yelled, sounding more than a little furious herself now. "Do you have idea how long that mindmap took to do?!" "I don't care, it shouldn't have been in the front room in the first place!" Bon Bon yelled. "Do you have any idea how long that stuff took to collate?" Lyra said, now sounding agitated and upset. "Any idea how long it took to..." "It was covering the entire front room!" Bon Bon yelled. "You cannot seriously be telling me that..." "It was important to my research!" Lyra snapped. "Oh, your 'research'," Bon Bon said. "You mean your research into things that don't exist?!" "They do exist!" Lyra yelled, her rage building to a point where it matched Bon Bon's. For the next few minutes, the two of them exchanged various admonishments - Bon Bon infuriated by her housemate's messiness and Lyra angered that her work had been so casually dismissed and discarded. Eventually, Lyra, altogether frustrated and not a little upset about her work being destroyed, left, tears trailing down her face, leaving Bon Bon yelling after her. The beige pony blinked in shock at Lyra running off in tears, but decided to leave her to it: she was probably the last pony her friend wanted to see. *** Sat alone in a far corner of Ponyville, crying softly to herself, Lyra reflected bitterly that she must have cut quite a pitiful figure. After all: she was sat here, crying about a bunch of papers. Except, to her they hadn't just been a bunch of papers, they had been something far more important: the culmination of years and years of research into humans. The mindmap had been her attempt to collate all the dissonant accounts of humanity present throughout her researches. Everything from myths of heroes and monsters to legends of upright creatures stalking the night to crazy rumours of creatures in mountains and forests, all jotted down and collected in one place so that she could attempt, somehow, to make sense of it all. From the mindmap, she had begun seeking out commonalities, things that corresponded, dismissing the things that did not. Unfortunately, this had proved to be something of a dead end as far as her research went, as the only obvious commonality was a rough description of their physical appearance - roughly five to six feet tall, standing on two legs like minotaurs - and to a certain extent their location, usually described as somewhere North. Unfortunately, that was hotly disputed by other cryptozoologists: some claimed they were found in the south, some in the east. North might have been the most common, but no one was certain of one, single defining location. Lyra sighed and cursed softly under her breath. She guessed it was a hopeless cause to seek out some way she might ever meet a human - even find something proving they existed. Still, it was her cause. "You alright there, luv?" a voice cut in, startling her. She looked up, to see a griffon staring at her with a quizzical frown. He had light brown feathers with tinged of grey, and warm brown eyes. Behind him he tugged a cart, laden with various odds and ends. "Hello," she said. "Just thinking to myself." "Sorry to butt in on ya," the Griffon said, his accent vaguely reminiscent of a Trottingham accent, but with an odd tinge. "Grendel is my name. I'm a trader by trade. Ha, trader by trade," he chuckled softly to himself. "Anyway, I'm in the business of trading my wares to any that'll take 'em, and wondered if you might be seeking anything?" "What do you have?" Lyra asked, looking at the cart. "Oh, odds, ends, trinkets," the Griffon said. "Nothing overly impressive, I must say, but times are hard for travelling types like meself." "Oh, really?" Lyra asked, nodding. Truth be told, she wasn't sure she was interested, but this was better than going home. "Oh absolutely," Grendel said, eyes widening with earnestness as he spoke. "Why, I've been from the far reaches of the Griffon Empire to the lands of the Volken themselves, and I've yet to find me fortune. Still seeking it though. Thought Equestria might have more opportunity." "The who?" Lyra asked, frowning. "I don't think I've ever heard of the Volken." "Not surprised, few folks have," Grendel said with a shrug. "They're a pretty odd lot, all things considered. Live in the far north east, past the furthest edges of the Griffon Empire. Even past the lands of the deer and the horses, up in the Great Plains." The Griffon went over to his cart and began rummaging through his wares, as though searching for something. "Course," he added as he searched, "their right name isn't really the Volken. That's the country name, not the name of the species, and I've always heard there's more countries further up. Kinda like calling ponies Equestrians. No, I think they're called... ah!" He came up from the cart, clutching something in a talon. He tossed it over to Lyra. "That's what they look like." Using her horn, Lyra caught the small object. She floated it in front of her face, frowning, and then her eyes widened. It was small, tatty, but was recognisable as a little ragdoll: a doll positioned to stand on two legs, with two arms and a sort of mane on it's head. "This is a human..." she whispered more to herself. A massive smile broke out on her face. "Aye, I reckon that's what they called themselves, though it's been a while since I went that way," Grendel said, grinning slightly as well, not quite realising just how happy he had made Lyra. Suddenly, she turned and hugged him. "Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!" she yelled quickly. "You're, uh, welcome," he said, eyes wide. "Happy to help!" Lyra pulled away from him. "I don't suppose you have a map with the route to their lands on you?!" "A... map?" Grendel said, frowning. "Hang on." He went back to the cart, rummaging again. As he did so, Lyra had to struggle not to hyperventilate. This was it: proof of humans! Proof that they existed! And more than that, they had a culture! Some cryptozoologists had theorised that they weren't particularly intelligent - oh, how this would prove them wrong! "Here we are!" Grendel said after a moment, pulling up with small, tattered scroll. "How much?!" Lyra asked immediately. It is to the credit of Grendel the Griffon Trader that he didn't immediately consider flogging the map for more than it's worth. It would be crediting him too much to suggest that the thought didn't cross his mind, but despite being rather mercenary (and hard up, despite being so well travelled), he was at heart a fairly honest soul who wouldn't hurt the metaphorical fly. "Five bits," he said after a moment. "Tell you what, I'll throw the doll in too." Immediately, Lyra rummaged in her saddlebag for the required bits and gave them to the Griffon, who cheerfully pocketed them and handed her the map and the doll. "Pleasure doing business with you," he said after a moment. "But I'd best be off. Trading to do elsewhere, after all." "Yes, I'm sorry to keep you!" Lyra said quickly, turning towards home herself. "And thank you!" Without another word, she ran off, leaving Grendel the trader to shake his head and ponder what all the fuss was about. Had Grendel the trader realised quite what he had unleashed, or catalysed, or begun, he might have demanded more money for the map. Nonetheless, he felt, rather reasonably, that five bits was five bits, and in future he would look back on this moment and decide that the five bits was better than no bits at all. *** Author's Note Welcome to another piece of randomness from my mind. So: this is based on an idea by my friend Isaac (RoyalPsycho) about a human society in the same world as Equestria. Taking that as my beginning, I've started this: currently feels part Tolkienesque fantasy and part Douglas Adams-esque farce from where I'm sitting. Make of that what you will. I'm mainly writing this story for my daughter, to whom I will read this thing once she's a little older. It's gonna be very sporadic in it's updates - not least because I'm still focusing my pony-attention quota on Avatar of Albion - but I'll do my best. Enjoy the read. Jed. II: Lyra's Resolution.Chapter II: Lyra's Resolution. When Lyra Heartstrings got home shortly after purchasing the map from Grendel, she immediately ran to her bedroom. The little room was her sanctuary, the only place where she could possibly feel safe to practice her research - especially after Bon Bon's wanton destruction of her work. She shook her head: there was no point to recrimination, no, none at all. After all: this was the moment she had waited for for so long: not only proof of humans, but a way to find them! In that respect, she was sure she could forgive Bon Bon for what she had done. After all - it ultimately had t actually stopped her from being able to go find humans after all. The moment she was inside her sanctum, she rolled the tattered scroll over her desk, flattening it as best she could. She looked over the map, pouring over every little detail. On it, she could see the massive Griffon Empire, whose furthest edge lay to the North East of Equestria, an imposing (not to say downright terrifying) mass of land. Many ponies knew of the Griffon Wars, conflicts fought in the distant past between the ponies of Equestria and the Griffon Legions, but fortunately those were very distant history. Modern Griffon society was somewhat aristocratic, and there was always the slight distaste one had for creatures that were omnivorous, but they were overall considered fondly. To the North East of the Empire lay a long thin stretch of land labelled simply "the Waste", with a few mountain ranges and forests scattered therein. The Waste was known only as a legendary place where nothing lived save for monsters, rogue changelings and the ruins of ancient civilisations long passed. Beyond the Waste lay an expanse of plains labelled merely as the "Home Of The Horse Tribes", and settled to the north of that... a land named only as "Volkenheim". "Volkenheim..." Lyra whispered to herself, rolling the name over her tongue, her eyes wide in wonder. She rolled the map up and started thinking. If there were humans - if there really, really were - then she had to meet them. There was no other alternative for her. It had been her foalhood dream to go and meet humans. How could she not, when given this golden opportunity, go and meet them, go seek them out? It would be tricky though. Bon Bon would never approve of her going. Indeed, she would no doubt do her very best to talk her out of it. No, if Lyra was to leave, it would have to be in secret, and it would have to be soon. No - it would have to be today! She quickly went to her cupboards and wardrobes, grabbing a large saddlebag. She put the map and the doll - the latter after a long look and a gleeful giggle - in a special compartment in the saddlebag, then grabbed a few supplies (including a winter coat and scarf - after all, this would prove to be an especially long journey, no doubt) and put it all in the bag as well. She packed a small lunch and a water bottle, though she reasoned that there would be a number of opportunities to go grab flowers on the road (the advantage of being a pony). She packed her Equestrian passport in case she needed to go past border guards. She also grabbed a compass, a map of Equestria, several notepads, a diary, and a few choice quills, packing them all safely away. She reasoned she'd need them all: especially the diary! She grabbed her spare quill and a piece of paper and quickly jotted a note to leave for Bon Bon so she wouldn't worry. She paused, and then pulled a spare parchment out, quickly jotted down her route on a small map, drawing an arrow showing her planned route - at least to the edge of Equestria. That way, Bon Bon would definitely know which way she had gone. With that done, she grinned to herself. She was really off to go meet humans! She composed herself, stepped out of her room, checked that Bon Bon was nowhere to be seen, stepped out the house, checked again, and then checking her compass took off at a brisk trot, determined to make good time. If she knew distances right (she didn't) then she'd be there soon enough. *** When Bon Bon returned to the house later that day, she had bought a pair of cupcakes for herself and Lyra to share, sort of as an apology to her eccentric friend. Despite the fact that she really, really didn't like the talk of humans (it was entirely too fanciful for her liking) she really did care for Lyra, and never liked it when they fought. Her friend running off crying had made her feel especially guilty - it was never her intention to deliberately upset Lyra, merely to express her frustration... something which, if she was being honest with herself, she was very bad at being kind about. "Lyra?" she called into the house. She walked into the front room. "Lyra?!" She frowned. She had expected that Lyra would have been back by now, unless she was still sulking somewhere in Ponyville. Or unless she had run off - but that was a patently ridiculous idea. Where would she run off to? Then again, it did seem in character for her to decide to run off into the blue when she was really upset. Still, it didn't seem likely to Bon Bon. She was about to dismiss the entire line of thought as far too fanciful when she saw a note and a hastily drawn on map, both on the front room table. Blinking, she picked the map up and looked it over. It appeared to detail a journey to the edge of Equestria and into other lands. Dismissing this for the moment, she idly stuffed the map into her saddlebag, picked up the note and began reading it. Dear Bon Bon, By the time you read this, I will be long gone. I've acquired a map to human lands, and have set off immediately on an expedition to see them for myself. Don't worry, I promise you that I will be fine. I'll get back as soon as I can. I'm sorry about the mess and the argument. Love, Lyra. Bon Bon dropped the note in shock, surprised and a little angry at this rather unexpected turn of events. A map?! To human lands? Acquired how?! She shook her head. That wasn't important. What was important was that she had to go find Lyra, right now, before she did anything unbelievably ridiculous, or worse still, got herself lost out in the wilds and probably killed. Racing out of her door, not even bothering to lock it, Bon Bon charged off after her friend, saddlebag with cupcakes and all. *** Given a choice between getting a train and taking the long route of walking, one might think most ponies would have felt the need to take the train, especially if they were going to be going on such a long walk, not only through most of Equestria, but beyond Equestria to the Griffon Empire. Given that the rail networks didn't extend beyond the Griffon Empire, Lyra would have had to walk eventually, but there was a train of thought (if you will forgive the pun) that said that she could have made the journey easier. Nevertheless, Lyra was more inclined to walk. She couldn't have necessarily told anypony why she made this decision - it could have been more that she enjoyed walking, or it could have been a gut feeling that this was a journey to take on foot. Nonetheless, she had begun hoofing it (if you will again forgive the pun) from Ponyville at a rate of knots. To the immediate east of Ponyville were various bodies of water. The first and best place to cross these was, in face, the old bridge in the Everfree Forest. Lyra wasn't, if one was to be honest, entirely sanguine about walking through the big, terrifying forest on her own - but for the sake of meeting humans? It was a price that was more than acceptable, and she would meet the forest with her head held high and a smile on her face! As you might be able to tell, Lyra Heartstrings was something of a masochist. *** Bon Bon ran first to Ponyville train station, worried that her eccentric (not to say utterly insane) friend had gotten on the first train she could and had high-tailed it out of there. Fortunately, the last train that had departed had done so several hours ago, long before Bon Bon's argument with her friend, so she was convinced that Lyra had not gotten on a train. Lyra, however, was nowhere to be found on that train station. Bon Bon frowned, now somewhat mystified (and a little concerned). After all, Lyra was going somewhere, so why wasn't she on the train station platform, waiting for the next train? "Come on, Bon Bon," she muttered angrily to herself. "It's not like she's..." She stopped, her eyes widening in horror as the full revelation of what she had been about to say hit her. "It's not like she's going to walk the whole way," she finished with a whisper. She reached into her saddlebag and pulled out the hastily scribbled on map. She studied it intently for a moment, then lowered it. "The Everfree Forest," she said to herself. "That... idiot!" Without another word she raced off towards the Everfree Forest as fast as her legs could carry her. *** At the edge of the Everfree Forest, Lyra found herself having second thoughts. For all she knew, the Griffon trader had been a liar, the map was a fake, and this was nothing more than a wild goose chase. She should at least be getting the train. Except that this wasn't a wild goose chase, she was sure. There was something more beyond this forest, beyond Equestria. There was a world, and in that world there were humans, creatures of myth and legend that she had known about and loved the stories of since she was a very small child. If there was even a chance that she might be able to meet them, she had to take it. She was about to take her first steps into the Everfree Forest when she heard a voice calling out. "Lyra! Lyra!" She turned. Bon Bon, of all ponies, was running up towards her puffing slightly. "Bon Bon?" Lyra asked, frowning in confusion. "Have you been running?" "I got... your note," Bon Bon said, panting slightly. "Are you out of... your mind?" Lyra frowned slightly at her friend's question. She had expected exactly this reaction, but it didn't make it any less disappointing. "Bon Bon," she said, her voice more sincere than Bon Bon had ever heard it, "this is something I have to do." "What?" the beige Earth Pony asked, utterly incredulous at what she was hearing. "Run off into the wild blue yonder to find your mythical humans?!" Rather than respond to Bon Bon, Lyra used her horn to open up her saddlebag and pull out the human doll that she had gotten from Grendel. Bon Bon frowned at it. "What in Celestia's name is that?" she asked, looking from it to Lyra and back again. "It's a human," Lyra said with a grin. "This is what they look like. The trader said they call themselves the Volken, after their land, Volkenheim. I have a map and everything, I know exactly where their lands are. I'm really itching to go meet them!" "I can tell," Bon Bon said idly, looking back at her friend, then again to the doll. She shook her head. "Lyra, running off like this isn't a good idea. You have no idea what's out here. I saw your route - you're going through the Everfree Forest. Heck, after that you're trying to go past the foal mountain and then up to the eastern edge of the Crystal Mountains! That's straight up not a good idea! Do you have any idea what's out there?" Lyra shrugged. "My mind's made up, Bon Bon. You won't stop me." Bon Bon spluttered for a moment, trying to find some way to counter what her friend had said, but she could think of nothing. For a moment she toyed with the idea of leaving her friend and letting her go on her own, but her own stubborn sense of (reluctant) duty to keep her friend from doing anything stupid wouldn't allow it. Finally she sighed, realising there was only one option open to her. Then, squaring her shoulders, she nodded. "Fine," she said. "Fine?" Lyra repeated, looking confused. "If I can't stop you, I'll come with you," Bon Bon said, nodding resolutely to herself. "Somepony's got to stop you from getting yourself killed." Lyra was speechless for a long moment, and then, with a massive grin on her face and a squeal of joy, she threw her forehooves around Bon Bon and hugged her tightly. "Thank you thank you thank you!" she yelled. "Oh this is going to be so much fun!" With that, she turned and set off into the Everfree Forest, leaving Bon Bon speechless for a moment. "Lyra," she said, speaking too quietly for her friend to here, still shocked at the sudden hug, "I kind of needed to go... pack... first..." Sighing and shaking her head, Bon Bon walked after her friend. She could worry about not having packed when it came to it. *** III: Help and Advice.Chapter III: Help and Advice. The first thing anypony will tell you about the Everfree Forest, apart from the fact that it's big, creepy and you should never, ever go into it, is the fact that alone amongst all the wildlife and plantlife of Equestria, the Everfree Forest was entirely self sustaining. Within it's borders, animals took care of themselves, the weather did it's own thing, the trees grew when they wanted, the plants grew where they wanted... it was, to the organised minds of civilised ponies, pure chaos. Entering it was like entering a strange alien vista that is so completely beyond your normal life experience that frankly, it's like reading Ancient Zebrafrican to an Equestrian mouse. Even if you were somehow able to teach the mouse to understand Equestrian (and some ponies did manage it), it's still Ancient Zebrafrican and thus pretty impressively not-translatable, and even if it was translatable, why would you be reading an ancient language to a mouse anyway, when all it wanted was the cheese? Nonetheless, Lyra Heartstrings pressed on with something resembling the manic cheer of a pony who knows, somewhere deep in their soul, that they are doing what is Right, capital letter and all. For her, this intimidating, alien forest that defied the laws of nature as she knew them was not something to be feared - it was merely the first step to her culminating a journey that had taken her from being a socially awkward filly in Canterlot to the mare she was today. The fact that she was a socially awkward mare from Ponyville, not altogether that different from her previous station in life, did nothing to dissuade her from the fact that This Was Her Destiny Calling (again, capital letters and all). Bon Bon was altogether less sanguine about the whole affair. For her, this place and it's alien, unforgiving and downright unnatural nature was... well, alien, unforgiving and downright unnatural. It was worse for being an Earth Pony: her kind normally understood the measure of things of this sort, plant life et al, and even she, a pony whose special talents lay far from farm work and nature, could still appreciate it's beauty. That being said, this place was a complete anathema to her. Nothing here worked the way nature was supposed to! It was all... all so wrong! Added to that was the fact that yes, it was a big, creepy forest that everypony she had known for years and years insisted was Not A Good Place To Visit, and she was feeling that every step of the way, down to her very core. A sudden noise from somewhere deep in the forest caused her to jump at least a foot in the air. Lyra turned to look at her friend, and grinned when she saw her panicking. "What was that?!" Bon Bon yelped, looking around frantically. "I'm sure it was nothing," Lyra said with a soft smile. "Come on Bon Bon, we're making good time!" "How can you tell?!" Bon Bon asked, looking around the forest. To her, everything in this accursed forest looked the same. "I can't even tell which way we're going! How in Celestia's name are we going to stop ourselves getting lost?!" "Because I've got a compass," Lyra said brightly. As if to prove her point, she got her compass out, before staring at it thoughtfully. "Hmmm. We've been going a little further south-east than I wanted to go, but that's ok, we'll get there eventually." "Uh huh," Bon Bon said, nodding slowly, a frown on her face. She had already been vaguely certain that Lyra really didn't know what she was doing, but this just confirmed it, and it didn't exactly make her feel happy knowing she had been right. "Look, I hate to suggest it, but maybe we should go back, pack more stuff, maybe take a train at least as far as the Crystal Mountains..." "Don't be silly, Bon Bon, we're halfway through the forest by now," Lyra said chirpily. "We'll be there in no time at this rate." Considering the fact that Celestia's sun was already lowering in the sky, this was something of an optimistic appraisal of the situation. Nevertheless, Bon Bon didn't call Lyra out on it, she only sighed and kept on following her friend. "Anyway," Lyra continued with a grin, turning round to look at Bon Bon as she walked. "If we keep going this way, I'm sure we'll come across a way out of the forest in a momen -" She was cut off by the fact that she had suddenly, quite by accident, stepped over the steep edge of a cliff and begun a plummet toward the ground "Lyra!" Bon Bon yelled in shock. She ran up to the edge of the cliff, looking down to see where her friend had gone. Suddenly, however, she felt a hoof on her shoulder, and she turned to find herself facing a figure shrouded in shadow. "One hundred and twenty nine feet, seven inches," the figure said ominously. *** Lyra was, for a brief moment, rather accepting of the fact that she was probably going to die, albeit very indignant that her death was going to be right before she got to go meet humans. She closed her eyes as soon as she started falling, not wanting to see her imminent death up close. After a moment of falling and a sudden jolt that she was sure was her own demise, however, she was suddenly struck by the fact that she was still conscious, something that would probably not be possible had she ended up a rather unpleasant stain at the foot of the cliff. She opened her eyes, and found herself staring at a cheerful pair of golden eyes that were just slightly off-kilter with one another, "Hi!" spoke the cheerful voice of Ditzy Doo, colloquially known as Derpy. She was a Pegasus pony with a grey coat and blonde mane, with bubbles for a cutie mark. "Are you ok?" "Uh..." Lyra said, looking down. She was about a foot off the ground, but Ditzy had managed to somehow catch her. "I'm not dead at the bottom of a canyon. So yes." "You're lucky," came a swirly prim male voice. "That fall was precisely one hundred and twenty nine feet, seven inches. If Ditzy had been only one point four seconds later, you would have impacted the ground - and the speed you were falling, which was roughly four feet a second, would have seen you pretty messed up, I'll tell you that." Lyra turned, to see Bon Bon and a stallion with a brown coat and darker brown mane descending the cliff face via a small rock path. Bon Bon looked worried, and the stallion looked... blasé. "Um..." Lyra repeated, but before she could do anything, Bon Bon was hugging her. "Don't ever scare me like that again!" her friend practically yelled in her ear. "I knew this was a bad idea! We should go home right this minute!" "It's fine, Bon Bon," Lyra said, trying to placate her friend. "I'm fine. Ditzy saved me." "It's ok," Ditzy said, smiling brightly. "I'd do the same for anypony." "We were passing through anyway," the stallion said. "This little sojourn has only taken us four hundred and twenty six steps off of our initial course, we should be there in..." "Turner?" Ditzy said, without missing a beat. "Yes?" the stallion asked. "You're doing it again," Ditzy said. "Oh," 'Turner' said, looking faintly sheepish. "Sorry." Ditzy smiled again, before looking back at the others, both of whom looked vaguely puzzled by this strange stallion's behaviour. "Time Turner likes keeping track of things," she said by way of explanation. "We noticed," Bon Bon muttered. Lyra nudged her and frowned at her. "What are you guys doing in the Everfree forest, anyway?" Ditzy asked them. "Apparently we're nearly killing ourselves," Bon Bon said sarcastically. "We're going on an adventure," Lyra said proudly, ignoring Bon Bon's comment. "We're off to meet humans!" "Humans?" Ditzy said, frowning in confusion. "I think I heard of them once. Aren't they only a fairytale?" "They occasionally pop up in mythology," Time Turner said absently. "I've read about twenty one instances in twelve separate books featuring them. Usually, they're considered only a myth." "They're not just a myth," Lyra insisted, looking from Turner to Ditzy. "They're real, and we're off to go meet them." "Sounds like fun!" Ditzy said brightly, smiling warmly. "We're only here to deliver a package to Zecora." "Which way is Zecora's from here?" Lyra asked. "We could walk with you for a little while." "About nine hundred and thirty seven steps in a north easterly direction from this location," Time Turner said. "Give or take, and not accounting for different stride length and paces." "Thanks," Bon Bon said. "Lyra, don't you think we should maybe think of a different way to go where we're going? Like, for example, the train?" "Don't be silly, we're so far into the forest now!" Lyra said, smiling. "Besides which, I'm sure Zecora would be able to give us brilliant advice! And it's in the north easterly direction I said we should be going in, too!" Bon Bon sighed and shook her head, but shrugged in defeat all the same. "Fine. Come on then, let's get going." "Follow me!" Ditzy said brightly. She began a slow flap to get to where she was going. Beneath her trotted Time Turner, who seemed to keep a brisk pace, muttering under his breath every so often. Lyra and Bon Bon kept up, Lyra looking - if anything - more cheerful than she had before she had fallen off a cliff. Bon Bon couldn't help but think that this was all a mistake, but she supposed she was committed now. *** When the four of them reached Zecora's little hut a short while later, the Zebra was there waiting for them. Zebras, in case you weren't aware, normally lived in Zebrafrica, and Zecora was one of only a scant handful of her kind in Equestria, something that had caused a certain amount of tension initially for her (ponies being a very insular sort of folk who don't really know, as a rule, all that much about the world beyond their borders). Fortunately, that had been a few years ago, and these days she was well regarded by the ponies of Ponyville, though she still preferred to live in the Everfree forest, saying it reminded her of her home. "Ah, Ditzy, there you are. I hope this delivery wasn't too far," she said, smiling at the mail mare. It was her habit to speak in rhyme, though whether that was cultural to the Zebras or her own unique quirk nopony knew for certain. "Not at all, Zecora," Ditzy said happily, giving the Zebra a small package. "I had Time Turner helping me keep track after all." "Three thousand one hundred and nineteen steps, including detour," Time Turner said absently, investigating a small flower while his friend spoke with Zecora. "Not so far, not so far." Zecora, after a moment looking puzzled, shrugged and ignored the odd pony, turning her attention to Lyra and Bon Bon. "Who are these others you've brought with you? Were they helping with the delivery too?" "Oh no, this is Lyra and Bon Bon," Ditzy said with a smile. "We ran into them along the way." "We're off on an adventure!" Lyra said with a grin. Zecora raised an eyebrow at this. "An adventure, you say? Along what way?" "They say they're off to go meet humans, whatever they are," Ditzy explained. Lyra nodded eagerly, and Bon Bon, with a rather tired expression on her face, also nodded. Zecora's other eyebrow joined it's fellow somewhere near her hairline. "Humans?" she repeated, sounding somewhat surprised. "It's a name I've heard before, though those tales are of sorrow and war." "You've heard of humans?" Lyra asked excitedly. She was surprised - not many ponies had even heard the name, and fewer still knew what it was attached to. Bon Bon caught the reference to sorrow and war, but chose not to speak up. "During the Zebrafrican wars with the horses, it is said that our foes were helped by human forces," Zecora explained, "but that was an age or more ago, a time long past that was full of woe." "So they are real?" Bon Bon asked, sounding sceptical. Zecora shrugged. "All of those wars are ancient history, so the truth of the matter is quite a mystery," she said. She frowned and looked at Lyra. "Why do you seek them with such zeal, when you do not know if they might be real?" "Because they are!" Lyra said, grinning. "I have a map and everything!" As if to prove her point, she pulled out the small map and showed it to Zecora. The shaman looked the map over, raising an eyebrow again. "This map is old," she said, sounding vaguely concerned, "and clearly used, but are you sure your trust was not abused? There could be deceit behind this scroll, and if that is so you will pay the toll." Bon Bon rolled her eyes at the somewhat tortured rhyme. "I'm certain," Lyra said with a grin, apparently not phased by the Zebra's warning. Zecora shrugged again. "I cannot tell you of these lands, for they are far from my native sands. All I can say is to travel with care, for you don't know what dangers lurk out there." "Great," Bon Bon said sourly. "Do you at least have a spare water bottle for me?" Zecora nodded, popped inside, and returned a moment later, passing Bon Bon a water bottle with a smile. Bon Bon returned the smile, happy to at least feel marginally prepared for this trip now. "Thank you for your advice, Zecora," Lyra said with a smile as Bon Bon put the bottle away. She consulted her compass, and then her map. "But we really do have to be going now." "A little advice before you leave, so that from some danger you may be reprieved," Zecora said, holding up a hoof. "Take care in the forest at it's deepest point, for it isn't a very happy joint." "Joint?" Bon Bon muttered. Lyra shushed her. "There are things down there in the forest deep filled with a malice that does not sleep," Zecora said seriously, ignoring the interruption. "Be ever cautious and wary friends, or you will meet a sticky end." "Thank you, Zecora," Lyra said, smiling. "Well. Goodbye everypony!" Without another word, she took out her compass and headed off, walking past Zecora's hut and off into the depths of the forest, keeping her compass in front of her the whole way. Bon Bon, a sigh escaping her lips, followed her, waving back at the others as she walked off. Ditzy, for her part, watched them go with a thoughtful frown on her face. Once they were out of sight, she turned to Zecora. "Is it really dangerous?" she asked, worry in her tone. "Their path through these woods is fraught with peril, for there are many creatures that are quite feral," Zecora replied. "Beyond the woods I cannot say, but I fear danger still lies in their way." Ditzy looked as though she was wrestling with something for a long moment. She turned to Time Turner. "Do you want to go on an adventure?" she asked. "Long journeys are good for the soul," Time Turner said absently. "Less good for the hooves, but good for the soul." "I'll take that as a yes," Ditzy said. She looked back at Zecora. "I don't suppose you have some spare saddlebags?" *** Author's Note Hello everyone. Just wanted to say a big thank you for all the kind comments. A big thank you to everyone who's favourited as well. :-) You might have noticed that I have an... interesting interpretation of Time Turner in this story. Rather than go for Doctor Whooves, I wanted to go for a pony with entirely different quirks. His obsession with numbers seemed logical. Thanks for reading. Jed. IV: Four is Company.Chapter IV: Four is Company. It was getting dark in the Everfree Forest as Lyra and Bon Bon continued their journey. The sun had descended some time ago, making way for Luna's moon, a pale orb that hung in the sky and cast a soft light across the world. While it was beautiful, making the sky glow a sort of deep blue, it entirely failed to drive back the shadows of night, which cast their eerie darkness across the forest - and the two ponies. Bon Bon had asked Lyra whether the two of them should go to sleep soon, but the unicorn had been of the opinion that this wasn't necessary yet - "we can at least make another two or three hours!" Bon Bon, reluctantly, had agreed, more because she didn't really have a choice. As they walked, the beige Earth Pony couldn't help but wonder whether they were really safe in these woods. Zecora had spoken about "malice that does not sleep," and though Bon Bon was fairly certain there had been some wrangling on the Zebra shaman's part in order to make a tortured rhyme out of her words, she was still concerned that they might run into something unfortunate while they were in this forest - timberwolves, goblins, diamond dogs... there could have been any number of horrid things just waiting to ambush them and - well, she didn't really want to think about it. Still, Lyra seemed remarkably unconcerned by any of the possible dangers they could possibly encounter. Her single mindedness with regards to meeting humans was almost remarkable, and Bon Bon had to wonder what brilliant achievements Lyra might have been able to make if she hadn't been wasting her energy on something as foolhardy as this. All the same, her optimism - nay, her sheer blunt enthusiasm - was getting quickly tiresome. "We're making good time!" she would frequently say at utterly random intervals, with or without Bon Bon's prompting. "We'll be there in no time!" Bon Bon would inevitably sigh at this, and ruminate on exactly how silly and impulsive her friend was being about this whole thing. Had she planned this out a little before setting off, she might have been halfway there by train by now. More importantly, she might have been able to go without dragging Bon Bon along with her. It wasn't that Bon Bon didn't want to be here, supporting her friend. On the contrary, she felt being here was the best of the available options she had. She just wished Lyra had taken a course of action that had left her more options, like the train, a Zeppelin... indeed anything other than walking through this accursed forest and halfway across Equestria. She was distracted from these ruminations by a rustling that she heard coming from behind them. She turned around, looking to see if there was anything following, but could see nothing. She frowned, and turned back to the path. A moment later, another rustle sounded, slightly louder, and Bon Bon turned again. "Lyra!" she said sharply, trying to keep her voice low. "I think something's following us!" Lyra, to her credit, turned around and looked in the same direction as Bon Bon instead of just ignoring her. For a moment, they waited, but there were no more noises. "Might have been a wild animal passing nearby," Lyra postulated quietly, peering into the dark wood. "I don't think it's anything to worry about." Another rustle caught their attention, and Lyra and Bon Bon's ears picked up. Bon Bon's eyes widened in horror, and Lyra gulped, the cheerful expression on her face falling away for the first time since this trip had begun "You were saying?" Bon Bon whispered, terrified. A moment later, two dark shapes emerged from the foliage. Bon Bon screamed and covered her eyes with her forehooves for a moment, fearing that she was about to devoured by some terrible monster... and then she heard a familiar voice. "You've come an extra one thousand, three hundred and six steps since Zecora's. That's actually pretty impressive." She uncovered her eyes, and found herself looking, slack jawed, at the smiling faces of Ditzy Doo and Time Turner. The two of them had their own, somewhat bulky saddlebags on, and looked as though they had been walking for some time, judging from the slightly tired looks they had. "Hi!" Ditzy said brightly. "What... how...?!" Bon Bon spluttered, eyes wide with shock. "What are you two doing here?" Lyra asked, frowning at them. "You're not here to try and stop me, are you?" "No," Ditzy said with a smile. "We're here to join you!" "What?!" Bon Bon yelped, her voice squeaking slightly. "We can't let you both go off into the world outside Equestira alone!" Ditzy said, looking oddly serious. "That's just not right. What kind of friends would we be if we did that?" "Probably the sensible kind," Bon Bon muttered under her breath. "Don't you have a child?" "Oh, she's staying with her grandparents for the summer," Ditzy said, smiling. "I've asked Zecora to take a message back for us, to let everypony know we're ok." "But you guys don't have any reason to come see humans," Lyra pointed out, "you didn't even know they existed!" "Ahem," coughed Time Turner. "I did." "Ok, but not properly," Lyra corrected herself. "Why would you do this?" "Friends don't let friends go off alone," Ditzy reiterated, speaking slightly slower. "We're coming with you." Lyra looked at the two ponies, her head going from one to the other, before a massive grin split her face. "Thank you!" she yelled hugging the two of them. "I really appreciate this!" "It'll be nice to have some company on the road," Bon Bon said, slightly grudgingly. Truth be told, she would have preferred it had they come to stop Lyra from going through the wood and convinced her to take a quicker route, or even not go at all, but instead they were simply encouraging her. It reminded her of the old saying: 'who's the more foalish? The foal, or the foal who follows her?' "In any case, we're quite a way into the forest by now," she added. "Four thousand, four hundred and twenty five steps," Time Turner interrupted. "Assuming your route was the same as ours, so add in an extra..." He trailed off, seeing the slightly incredulous looks Bon Bon and Ditzy were giving him, a slightl blush creeping into his cheeks. "Sorry. Carry on." "As I was saying," Bon Bon said, frowning slightly, "don't you think it's time we settled down for the night?" "Good idea," Lyra said. She immediately walked over to a tree and lay down, closing her eyes. Bon Bon frowned at her expectantly, but Lyra didn't move. "Didn't you pack a sleeping bag?" she asked after a moment. Lyra opened an eye somewhat sheepishly. "I... may have forgotten." "Seriously?" Bon Bon said, now somewhat annoyed. "I mean, I can almost get wanting to walk to wherever we're going, but you didn't even pack a sleeping bag? Tell me you at least packed some money." "Um..." Lyra said, grinning. Bon Bon groaned. "Don't worry, guys," Ditzy said, grinning again. She reached inside her saddle bag and threw a few rolled up sleeping bags onto the ground. "Zecora gave us a bunch of stuff!" Bon Bon laughed out loud, relieved. "Finally! Someone who packed for this trip!" "Don't you have anything?" Lyra asked her, looking confused. "I wanted to stop you, remember?" Bon Bon said tiredly. "All I have is two cupcakes I bought us to make up for our argument." "Ooh! Do you have muffins?" Ditzy asked. "...no," Bon Bon replied, nonplussed. "Oh," the grey Pegasus said, sounding disappointed. "Oh well." "I'm sure we'll be able to buy muffins while we're on the road," Lyra said reasonably, a smile on her face. "But for now, I think it's time everypony went to sleep." *** If Bon Bon had hoped Ditzy and Time Turner's presence would convince her friend to not go through with her rather ridiculous plan, she was to be sadly disappointed. If anything, Lyra had taken their presence to be a validation of her desire to go on this adventure, and had redoubled her efforts to get through the forest. After a somewhat uncomfortable night's sleep (Zecora's sleeping bags were pleasant enough but the ground was less so), the company had awakened and immediately set out, barely stopping to eat a somewhat unpleasant breakfast of raw grass and a few harmless wildflowers. Lyra had chatted away with Ditzy about her desire to go meet humans, talking at great length about all the myths, legends and stories she had read. Time Turner had been mostly silent. He had, shortly after the group had set off, asked to see the map, but all he had said after finishing his perusal of it was "something like one four million, one hundred and forty two thousand, three hundred twenty six steps, if the relative scale is accurate". Upon hearing this, Bon Bon had inwardly groaned - she had no idea what "steps" was in miles, but it certainly sounded like a very long way. Turner, for his part, merely kept muttering numbers to himself, keeping count of seconds or keeping count of steps, or both, Bon Bon couldn't tell. The forest still stretched on. When asked, neither Ditzy nor Time Turner knew exactly how far - Zecora's hut was the furthest the mail-mare had gone, and Time Turner had never visited even there before now. "Are we even sure we're still going the right way?" Bon Bon asked. "North East," Lyra said, glancing at her compass. "We've got to reach the end eventually." "We will," Turner said, surprising them all. "How do you know?" Bon Bon asked, trying not to sound too scathing. "Relative scale," Turner replied, smiling at her. "On the map, the Everfree is approximately ten thousand and thirty steps across, give or . We've traversed about seven and a half thousand. Only two and a half thousand to go!" "Oh, only," Bon Bon muttered, sighing to herself. "Where are we even going after this?" "I was thinking we might head for Dodge City," Lyra suggested. "It's directly East, and it's the nearest town. We'll be able to get supplies from there." "With what money?" Bon Bon asked. "You left without any, remember?" "I have money," Ditzy put in. "One hundred twenty one bits," Time Turner supplied helpfully. "More than enough for any supplies we should need for the journey. Prices in Dodge City have been at an all time low due to an economic recession in that part of Equestria." "Great!" Lyra said, grinning brightly. "We should be all set for getting supplies for the journey then!" "Wonderful," Bon Bon said, grimacing slightly. As they progressed, Bon Bon kept her eyes open, ever watchful for any sign of anything untoward. The forest was getting slightly less dense, but that was no reason to get less wary. Eventually though, the trees of the forest gave way to more clearings. For a brief moment, Bon Bon was afraid that they would come across some monster at the edge of the forest, some final barrier that would hinder their way. They didn't. A moment later, they had reached the other side of the Everfree Forest, and could see less than ten minutes ahead of them (“about nine minutes, fourteen seconds at present rate,” according to Turner) it's far edge. "Well," Lyra said with a grin as she almost bounced toward the edge. "We've passed the forest. So much for 'malice that does not sleep'." It was at that point, perhaps predictably, that she fell through the ground. “Lyra!” Bon Bon yelled, shocked. A moment later, however, she too fell through the floor, and blacked out. *** When Lyra awoke, she blinked in surprise, finding herself lying on the ground in what must have been a dirty, dusty old cave. There was no light source, and no visible exit. “Hello?” she called out. “Is somepony here?” She lit her horn up, and saw to her shock both Time Turner and Bon Bon, both of them apparently unconscious. They - and, to her shock, Lyra as well - were wearing white robes, with silver circlets upon their heads, almost as though they were arrayed for a funeral. “Guys?” she whispered. “Guys?!” There was a soft moan from further in the cave, and Lyra turned, eyes wide. “H-hello?” she whispered softly. “I-is somepony there?” There was no reply, and Lyra looked around, trying to find something that might prove a good defensive weapon - a rock, or a stick, or… Jackpot! A sword of some kind was lying on the ground in a dusty leather scabbard. In a flash, she grabbed it with her magic and drew it, aiming the blade out at the darkness even as she tried shining a light out at it. “W-whoever’s down there, I-I’m armed,” she stammered, still deathly afraid. She didn’t know why this one cave filled her with such horror, but she found herself barely able to summon the will to fight. “I-I’ll u-use this if I-I have to.” Why didn’t we listen to Zecora? she thought to herself. There really is stuff we don’t understand out here! A hiss sounded from deep inside the cave, and Lyra could dimly make out the skeletal figure of what might have been a pony once, but certainly wasn’t anymore. “What the hay,” she murmured in horror. Was this a zompony or something? Suddenly, the thing lurched forward, and Lyra, yelping, held up the sword, pointing it straight at the thing. She could make more of it out now - it definitely looked like a pony, armoured in what might have been ancient Royal Guard armour except that it was rusted and pitted. The thing was a skeleton, save for a few scraps of ancient, rotted flesh that stuck to it. Horrified, Lyra stepped back, and the thing took one step forward. It hissed. She held up the sword, and it hissed again, louder. “S-so you’re s-scared of t-this, huh?” she said, with a stammering bravery she definitely did not feel. She scowled and held up the blade again, and the thing stepped back as though burnt. She figured she could probably hold it off with this, but that still left the question of how to get her unfortunate friends out of here. Suddenly, a light cracked open behind her. The thing hissed again, and a voice called into the cave. “Lyra Heartstrings, to your back! Mind yourself should the Wight attack!” Lyra’s heart skipped a beat - Zecora! She held up the sword and the thing stepped back, hissing again. “Lyra!” she heard Ditzy’s voice say. “We’ve got the others, back off, come on!” Taking the advice, Lyra waved the sword once in the creature’s direction, before turning and bolting for the light. A moment later, she found herself outside in the cool air. It was morning, and the air was damp and misty. She heard the sound of something heavy being slid into place, and turned to find Zecora pushing a boulder over the cave entrance. “That should seal the thing away, at least until another day,” the Zebra said with a satisfied nod. She turned to Lyra. “You nearly met a sticky end. Are you alright, my pony friend?” “Yeah,” Lyra said quietly. She looked at the sword. “Wouldn’t have been without this.” She held it up, and Zecora frowned at it. Examining the blade, Lyra was surprised at its condition - it was shining silver, with an ornate bronze-plated hilt and a single sapphire set into the hilt. “This is a very ancient blade, and it was not by ponies made,” Zecora said, eyes wide. “This weapon came from far off lands - and, I think, was made for human hands!” Lyra blinked, before looking at the weapon again. The long, thin hilt certainly didn’t look like a pony-made sword, which ordinarily needed thicker and shorter hilts for mouth-manipulation. “Human?” she repeated. “Human,” Zecora said with a nod. “I know little of the mysterious creatures, but in this weapon I recognise the features - the blade is long, the hilt is thin. Much love and craft is set herein.” Lyra grinned. She heard a groan, and Bon Bon came up to her, rubbing her head. “What the hay happened?” she asked, frowning blearily. “Zecora? What happened here?” “You nearly fell prey to a cave-dwelling Wight,” Zecora said. “Without my help, you’d have never seen the light.” “Thanks,” Bon Bon said. “Well, that’s another time we’ve nearly died, Lyra. Are you willing to give this madness up?” Zecora looked at Lyra, who was now looking at the blade. Ditzy and a weary and ruffled looking Time Turner also came up to her, questioning looks on their faces. “No,” Lyra said quietly. “I just found proof of what I’m looking for. I am not giving up now.” Bon Bon sighed. “Why am I not surprised?” *** Author's Note Boom! i actually updated this thing! So: I've been absolutely inundated with AOA stuff these past few months - completed the first one, started the sequel and an AU, organised three or four more AU's with other authors - so this has taken a backseat. But this chapter was mostly done and I had a burst of inspiration, so I finished it. hope everybody likes it - it's slightly longer than previous chapters, so it should be up to standard. I'll work on the next chapter when I have time, AOA notwithstanding. Cheers. Jed.
I: An Unexpected Parley (Or Two).Chapter I: An Unexpected Parley (Or Two). In a house, on a street in a small town beneath a mountain range, there lived a pony. Not a boring, secluded little village filled with odd looks and unpleasant locals, nor a big town that was really just a small city, filled with bustling locals with no time to stop and smell the roses. This town was just right: the locals were a fun, friendly bunch (albeit occasionally quite mad, though this is often the best way to be), the town was large enough to remain interesting, and the roses smelled lovely, and plenty of ponies had plenty of time to stop and smell them. This town was called Ponyville, which was both apt (since it was a place where ponies lived) and somewhat dull and unimaginative. When visiting Ponyville, one is usually taken aback with just how not-dull the place actually is, most likely because one is lulled into a false sense of security by the name. It is to the credit of the ponies who live there - and sometimes to their detriment as well - that they have managed to make what could have proven an exceptionally dull town into a place where it can be said with the fullest confidence that Interesting Things Happen. The particular pony with whom we are concerned was one Lyra Heartstrings, a pony - more specifically a Unicorn - of turquoise coloration and normally cheerful disposition. In Ponyville, it is to be admitted, she was not normally one to whom Interesting Things Happened (an unfortunate incident at her former foalsitter's wedding, involving brainwashing and green glowing eyes, aside). This was not necessarily for lack of trying on her part but, when one is not an Alicorn princess and her five best friends, one is naturally less likely to attract the Interesting Things than such individuals. This, however, is a story in which Interesting Things happen to Lyra Heartstrings, things which change her life - in some ways for the worse, but mostly for the better, as you will see. On this fine day in Ponyville, Lyra Heartstrings was in the middle of having a loud, raging argument in the street. Now, had you asked Lyra Heartstrings that morning whether she would be having a loud, raging argument with anypony - much less Bon Bon, a beige Earth Pony who was also her friend and housemate, and much less in the street where everypony passing by could watch with impunity - she would have said no. But then, Lyra was never particularly good at being able to tell what was going to happen at any given day, both because she was not clairvoyant (few ponies were or are, especially in Ponyville, which is probably good for their stress levels given how many frankly odd things that occur there on a semi regular basis), and because her head was normally so "in the clouds" that she couldn't tell the future if she was given an encyclopedia about it. The day had started well enough for her, I suppose you could say. She had woken up, checked the bookmark in one of her cryptozoology books that she had fallen asleep reading hadn't fallen out, saved her page, made herself breakfast (while reading a different cryptozoology book), and then proceeded to go out for a brief shop. You may glean from her choice of reading material that Lyra Heartstrings was into crypotozoology. Specifically, she was an aficionado of Humans, a semi-mythical species that very ponies knew (or cared to know) all that much about. Ever since she had been very young, Lyra had known about humans and wished to know more. Suffice it to say, this was not a hobby approved of by her parents, teachers, classmates, friends, colleagues, romantic interests, or anypony else with anything resembling a vague awareness of it. The more charitable of these various groups would dismiss it as a harmless,if vaguely irritating, line of research that was one of Lyra's quirks, without which she would not be Lyra. The less charitable usually insulted her, especially ponies among the "romantic interests" group. This may explain why Lyra Heartstrings did not currently have a romantic interest,having given up the practice a long time ago as essentially a lost cause. Now, as I said, she had chosen following her morning read and breakfast to go out to do some shopping: for Lyra, shopping consisted of buying a cupcake from Sugarcube Corner, a small sweet shop in Ponyville, and then eating said cupcake while reading another book on cryptozoology designated her "outdoor reading material". She had, along the way to Sugarcube Corner, run into Bon Bon, who was (and is), as I have said, her friend and housemate, who had gone out earlier. It was at this time that the screaming, raging argument had begun. Bon-Bon, being a pony whose mind was resolutely set on those two great concepts, the "Here and Now" and the "Solid and Factual" to such an extent that many ponies considered her one of the most predictable (and therefore reliable) ponies in Ponyville, was not one of those who tended to indulge Lyra's "hobby". Normally, when she was in a good mood, she did her best to avoid the topic of discussion wherever possible, especially considering the fact that she didn't agree with the study of cryptozoology in general. This, however, was one of those times when she was not, in fact, in a good mood. The argument had begun with Bon Bon approaching Lyra in the street, an altogether thunderous look on her face. "Oh hey Bon Bon," Lyra had begun. "Don't you 'oh hey' me!" Bon Bon replied. "I saw the mess you left in the front room!" "Mess?" Lyra asked, frowning, seemingly completely oblivious to what Bon Bon was referring to. "Yes, mess!" the irritated Earth Pony said. "As in those papers you left scattered about!" Full memory returned to Lyra at this point, and a disappointed and irritated tone infiltrated her voice. "Oh, you didn't move them did you?!" "Of course I moved them!" Bon Bon yelled, her face turning a slightly ominous shade of red. "There were taking up all the floor!" "Well, at least you put them away, yeah?" Lyra asked, now getting mildly miffed herself, "I put them in the trash where they belonged!" Bon Bon screeched. "I thought I told you to keep your stuff out of the front room and in your bedroom where it belongs!" "You threw the papers out?!" Lyra yelled, sounding more than a little furious herself now. "Do you have idea how long that mindmap took to do?!" "I don't care, it shouldn't have been in the front room in the first place!" Bon Bon yelled. "Do you have any idea how long that stuff took to collate?" Lyra said, now sounding agitated and upset. "Any idea how long it took to..." "It was covering the entire front room!" Bon Bon yelled. "You cannot seriously be telling me that..." "It was important to my research!" Lyra snapped. "Oh, your 'research'," Bon Bon said. "You mean your research into things that don't exist?!" "They do exist!" Lyra yelled, her rage building to a point where it matched Bon Bon's. For the next few minutes, the two of them exchanged various admonishments - Bon Bon infuriated by her housemate's messiness and Lyra angered that her work had been so casually dismissed and discarded. Eventually, Lyra, altogether frustrated and not a little upset about her work being destroyed, left, tears trailing down her face, leaving Bon Bon yelling after her. The beige pony blinked in shock at Lyra running off in tears, but decided to leave her to it: she was probably the last pony her friend wanted to see. *** Sat alone in a far corner of Ponyville, crying softly to herself, Lyra reflected bitterly that she must have cut quite a pitiful figure. After all: she was sat here, crying about a bunch of papers. Except, to her they hadn't just been a bunch of papers, they had been something far more important: the culmination of years and years of research into humans. The mindmap had been her attempt to collate all the dissonant accounts of humanity present throughout her researches. Everything from myths of heroes and monsters to legends of upright creatures stalking the night to crazy rumours of creatures in mountains and forests, all jotted down and collected in one place so that she could attempt, somehow, to make sense of it all. From the mindmap, she had begun seeking out commonalities, things that corresponded, dismissing the things that did not. Unfortunately, this had proved to be something of a dead end as far as her research went, as the only obvious commonality was a rough description of their physical appearance - roughly five to six feet tall, standing on two legs like minotaurs - and to a certain extent their location, usually described as somewhere North. Unfortunately, that was hotly disputed by other cryptozoologists: some claimed they were found in the south, some in the east. North might have been the most common, but no one was certain of one, single defining location. Lyra sighed and cursed softly under her breath. She guessed it was a hopeless cause to seek out some way she might ever meet a human - even find something proving they existed. Still, it was her cause. "You alright there, luv?" a voice cut in, startling her. She looked up, to see a griffon staring at her with a quizzical frown. He had light brown feathers with tinged of grey, and warm brown eyes. Behind him he tugged a cart, laden with various odds and ends. "Hello," she said. "Just thinking to myself." "Sorry to butt in on ya," the Griffon said, his accent vaguely reminiscent of a Trottingham accent, but with an odd tinge. "Grendel is my name. I'm a trader by trade. Ha, trader by trade," he chuckled softly to himself. "Anyway, I'm in the business of trading my wares to any that'll take 'em, and wondered if you might be seeking anything?" "What do you have?" Lyra asked, looking at the cart. "Oh, odds, ends, trinkets," the Griffon said. "Nothing overly impressive, I must say, but times are hard for travelling types like meself." "Oh, really?" Lyra asked, nodding. Truth be told, she wasn't sure she was interested, but this was better than going home. "Oh absolutely," Grendel said, eyes widening with earnestness as he spoke. "Why, I've been from the far reaches of the Griffon Empire to the lands of the Volken themselves, and I've yet to find me fortune. Still seeking it though. Thought Equestria might have more opportunity." "The who?" Lyra asked, frowning. "I don't think I've ever heard of the Volken." "Not surprised, few folks have," Grendel said with a shrug. "They're a pretty odd lot, all things considered. Live in the far north east, past the furthest edges of the Griffon Empire. Even past the lands of the deer and the horses, up in the Great Plains." The Griffon went over to his cart and began rummaging through his wares, as though searching for something. "Course," he added as he searched, "their right name isn't really the Volken. That's the country name, not the name of the species, and I've always heard there's more countries further up. Kinda like calling ponies Equestrians. No, I think they're called... ah!" He came up from the cart, clutching something in a talon. He tossed it over to Lyra. "That's what they look like." Using her horn, Lyra caught the small object. She floated it in front of her face, frowning, and then her eyes widened. It was small, tatty, but was recognisable as a little ragdoll: a doll positioned to stand on two legs, with two arms and a sort of mane on it's head. "This is a human..." she whispered more to herself. A massive smile broke out on her face. "Aye, I reckon that's what they called themselves, though it's been a while since I went that way," Grendel said, grinning slightly as well, not quite realising just how happy he had made Lyra. Suddenly, she turned and hugged him. "Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!" she yelled quickly. "You're, uh, welcome," he said, eyes wide. "Happy to help!" Lyra pulled away from him. "I don't suppose you have a map with the route to their lands on you?!" "A... map?" Grendel said, frowning. "Hang on." He went back to the cart, rummaging again. As he did so, Lyra had to struggle not to hyperventilate. This was it: proof of humans! Proof that they existed! And more than that, they had a culture! Some cryptozoologists had theorised that they weren't particularly intelligent - oh, how this would prove them wrong! "Here we are!" Grendel said after a moment, pulling up with small, tattered scroll. "How much?!" Lyra asked immediately. It is to the credit of Grendel the Griffon Trader that he didn't immediately consider flogging the map for more than it's worth. It would be crediting him too much to suggest that the thought didn't cross his mind, but despite being rather mercenary (and hard up, despite being so well travelled), he was at heart a fairly honest soul who wouldn't hurt the metaphorical fly. "Five bits," he said after a moment. "Tell you what, I'll throw the doll in too." Immediately, Lyra rummaged in her saddlebag for the required bits and gave them to the Griffon, who cheerfully pocketed them and handed her the map and the doll. "Pleasure doing business with you," he said after a moment. "But I'd best be off. Trading to do elsewhere, after all." "Yes, I'm sorry to keep you!" Lyra said quickly, turning towards home herself. "And thank you!" Without another word, she ran off, leaving Grendel the trader to shake his head and ponder what all the fuss was about. Had Grendel the trader realised quite what he had unleashed, or catalysed, or begun, he might have demanded more money for the map. Nonetheless, he felt, rather reasonably, that five bits was five bits, and in future he would look back on this moment and decide that the five bits was better than no bits at all. *** Author's Note Welcome to another piece of randomness from my mind. So: this is based on an idea by my friend Isaac (RoyalPsycho) about a human society in the same world as Equestria. Taking that as my beginning, I've started this: currently feels part Tolkienesque fantasy and part Douglas Adams-esque farce from where I'm sitting. Make of that what you will. I'm mainly writing this story for my daughter, to whom I will read this thing once she's a little older. It's gonna be very sporadic in it's updates - not least because I'm still focusing my pony-attention quota on Avatar of Albion - but I'll do my best. Enjoy the read. Jed.
II: Lyra's Resolution.Chapter II: Lyra's Resolution. When Lyra Heartstrings got home shortly after purchasing the map from Grendel, she immediately ran to her bedroom. The little room was her sanctuary, the only place where she could possibly feel safe to practice her research - especially after Bon Bon's wanton destruction of her work. She shook her head: there was no point to recrimination, no, none at all. After all: this was the moment she had waited for for so long: not only proof of humans, but a way to find them! In that respect, she was sure she could forgive Bon Bon for what she had done. After all - it ultimately had t actually stopped her from being able to go find humans after all. The moment she was inside her sanctum, she rolled the tattered scroll over her desk, flattening it as best she could. She looked over the map, pouring over every little detail. On it, she could see the massive Griffon Empire, whose furthest edge lay to the North East of Equestria, an imposing (not to say downright terrifying) mass of land. Many ponies knew of the Griffon Wars, conflicts fought in the distant past between the ponies of Equestria and the Griffon Legions, but fortunately those were very distant history. Modern Griffon society was somewhat aristocratic, and there was always the slight distaste one had for creatures that were omnivorous, but they were overall considered fondly. To the North East of the Empire lay a long thin stretch of land labelled simply "the Waste", with a few mountain ranges and forests scattered therein. The Waste was known only as a legendary place where nothing lived save for monsters, rogue changelings and the ruins of ancient civilisations long passed. Beyond the Waste lay an expanse of plains labelled merely as the "Home Of The Horse Tribes", and settled to the north of that... a land named only as "Volkenheim". "Volkenheim..." Lyra whispered to herself, rolling the name over her tongue, her eyes wide in wonder. She rolled the map up and started thinking. If there were humans - if there really, really were - then she had to meet them. There was no other alternative for her. It had been her foalhood dream to go and meet humans. How could she not, when given this golden opportunity, go and meet them, go seek them out? It would be tricky though. Bon Bon would never approve of her going. Indeed, she would no doubt do her very best to talk her out of it. No, if Lyra was to leave, it would have to be in secret, and it would have to be soon. No - it would have to be today! She quickly went to her cupboards and wardrobes, grabbing a large saddlebag. She put the map and the doll - the latter after a long look and a gleeful giggle - in a special compartment in the saddlebag, then grabbed a few supplies (including a winter coat and scarf - after all, this would prove to be an especially long journey, no doubt) and put it all in the bag as well. She packed a small lunch and a water bottle, though she reasoned that there would be a number of opportunities to go grab flowers on the road (the advantage of being a pony). She packed her Equestrian passport in case she needed to go past border guards. She also grabbed a compass, a map of Equestria, several notepads, a diary, and a few choice quills, packing them all safely away. She reasoned she'd need them all: especially the diary! She grabbed her spare quill and a piece of paper and quickly jotted a note to leave for Bon Bon so she wouldn't worry. She paused, and then pulled a spare parchment out, quickly jotted down her route on a small map, drawing an arrow showing her planned route - at least to the edge of Equestria. That way, Bon Bon would definitely know which way she had gone. With that done, she grinned to herself. She was really off to go meet humans! She composed herself, stepped out of her room, checked that Bon Bon was nowhere to be seen, stepped out the house, checked again, and then checking her compass took off at a brisk trot, determined to make good time. If she knew distances right (she didn't) then she'd be there soon enough. *** When Bon Bon returned to the house later that day, she had bought a pair of cupcakes for herself and Lyra to share, sort of as an apology to her eccentric friend. Despite the fact that she really, really didn't like the talk of humans (it was entirely too fanciful for her liking) she really did care for Lyra, and never liked it when they fought. Her friend running off crying had made her feel especially guilty - it was never her intention to deliberately upset Lyra, merely to express her frustration... something which, if she was being honest with herself, she was very bad at being kind about. "Lyra?" she called into the house. She walked into the front room. "Lyra?!" She frowned. She had expected that Lyra would have been back by now, unless she was still sulking somewhere in Ponyville. Or unless she had run off - but that was a patently ridiculous idea. Where would she run off to? Then again, it did seem in character for her to decide to run off into the blue when she was really upset. Still, it didn't seem likely to Bon Bon. She was about to dismiss the entire line of thought as far too fanciful when she saw a note and a hastily drawn on map, both on the front room table. Blinking, she picked the map up and looked it over. It appeared to detail a journey to the edge of Equestria and into other lands. Dismissing this for the moment, she idly stuffed the map into her saddlebag, picked up the note and began reading it. Dear Bon Bon, By the time you read this, I will be long gone. I've acquired a map to human lands, and have set off immediately on an expedition to see them for myself. Don't worry, I promise you that I will be fine. I'll get back as soon as I can. I'm sorry about the mess and the argument. Love, Lyra. Bon Bon dropped the note in shock, surprised and a little angry at this rather unexpected turn of events. A map?! To human lands? Acquired how?! She shook her head. That wasn't important. What was important was that she had to go find Lyra, right now, before she did anything unbelievably ridiculous, or worse still, got herself lost out in the wilds and probably killed. Racing out of her door, not even bothering to lock it, Bon Bon charged off after her friend, saddlebag with cupcakes and all. *** Given a choice between getting a train and taking the long route of walking, one might think most ponies would have felt the need to take the train, especially if they were going to be going on such a long walk, not only through most of Equestria, but beyond Equestria to the Griffon Empire. Given that the rail networks didn't extend beyond the Griffon Empire, Lyra would have had to walk eventually, but there was a train of thought (if you will forgive the pun) that said that she could have made the journey easier. Nevertheless, Lyra was more inclined to walk. She couldn't have necessarily told anypony why she made this decision - it could have been more that she enjoyed walking, or it could have been a gut feeling that this was a journey to take on foot. Nonetheless, she had begun hoofing it (if you will again forgive the pun) from Ponyville at a rate of knots. To the immediate east of Ponyville were various bodies of water. The first and best place to cross these was, in face, the old bridge in the Everfree Forest. Lyra wasn't, if one was to be honest, entirely sanguine about walking through the big, terrifying forest on her own - but for the sake of meeting humans? It was a price that was more than acceptable, and she would meet the forest with her head held high and a smile on her face! As you might be able to tell, Lyra Heartstrings was something of a masochist. *** Bon Bon ran first to Ponyville train station, worried that her eccentric (not to say utterly insane) friend had gotten on the first train she could and had high-tailed it out of there. Fortunately, the last train that had departed had done so several hours ago, long before Bon Bon's argument with her friend, so she was convinced that Lyra had not gotten on a train. Lyra, however, was nowhere to be found on that train station. Bon Bon frowned, now somewhat mystified (and a little concerned). After all, Lyra was going somewhere, so why wasn't she on the train station platform, waiting for the next train? "Come on, Bon Bon," she muttered angrily to herself. "It's not like she's..." She stopped, her eyes widening in horror as the full revelation of what she had been about to say hit her. "It's not like she's going to walk the whole way," she finished with a whisper. She reached into her saddlebag and pulled out the hastily scribbled on map. She studied it intently for a moment, then lowered it. "The Everfree Forest," she said to herself. "That... idiot!" Without another word she raced off towards the Everfree Forest as fast as her legs could carry her. *** At the edge of the Everfree Forest, Lyra found herself having second thoughts. For all she knew, the Griffon trader had been a liar, the map was a fake, and this was nothing more than a wild goose chase. She should at least be getting the train. Except that this wasn't a wild goose chase, she was sure. There was something more beyond this forest, beyond Equestria. There was a world, and in that world there were humans, creatures of myth and legend that she had known about and loved the stories of since she was a very small child. If there was even a chance that she might be able to meet them, she had to take it. She was about to take her first steps into the Everfree Forest when she heard a voice calling out. "Lyra! Lyra!" She turned. Bon Bon, of all ponies, was running up towards her puffing slightly. "Bon Bon?" Lyra asked, frowning in confusion. "Have you been running?" "I got... your note," Bon Bon said, panting slightly. "Are you out of... your mind?" Lyra frowned slightly at her friend's question. She had expected exactly this reaction, but it didn't make it any less disappointing. "Bon Bon," she said, her voice more sincere than Bon Bon had ever heard it, "this is something I have to do." "What?" the beige Earth Pony asked, utterly incredulous at what she was hearing. "Run off into the wild blue yonder to find your mythical humans?!" Rather than respond to Bon Bon, Lyra used her horn to open up her saddlebag and pull out the human doll that she had gotten from Grendel. Bon Bon frowned at it. "What in Celestia's name is that?" she asked, looking from it to Lyra and back again. "It's a human," Lyra said with a grin. "This is what they look like. The trader said they call themselves the Volken, after their land, Volkenheim. I have a map and everything, I know exactly where their lands are. I'm really itching to go meet them!" "I can tell," Bon Bon said idly, looking back at her friend, then again to the doll. She shook her head. "Lyra, running off like this isn't a good idea. You have no idea what's out here. I saw your route - you're going through the Everfree Forest. Heck, after that you're trying to go past the foal mountain and then up to the eastern edge of the Crystal Mountains! That's straight up not a good idea! Do you have any idea what's out there?" Lyra shrugged. "My mind's made up, Bon Bon. You won't stop me." Bon Bon spluttered for a moment, trying to find some way to counter what her friend had said, but she could think of nothing. For a moment she toyed with the idea of leaving her friend and letting her go on her own, but her own stubborn sense of (reluctant) duty to keep her friend from doing anything stupid wouldn't allow it. Finally she sighed, realising there was only one option open to her. Then, squaring her shoulders, she nodded. "Fine," she said. "Fine?" Lyra repeated, looking confused. "If I can't stop you, I'll come with you," Bon Bon said, nodding resolutely to herself. "Somepony's got to stop you from getting yourself killed." Lyra was speechless for a long moment, and then, with a massive grin on her face and a squeal of joy, she threw her forehooves around Bon Bon and hugged her tightly. "Thank you thank you thank you!" she yelled. "Oh this is going to be so much fun!" With that, she turned and set off into the Everfree Forest, leaving Bon Bon speechless for a moment. "Lyra," she said, speaking too quietly for her friend to here, still shocked at the sudden hug, "I kind of needed to go... pack... first..." Sighing and shaking her head, Bon Bon walked after her friend. She could worry about not having packed when it came to it. ***
III: Help and Advice.Chapter III: Help and Advice. The first thing anypony will tell you about the Everfree Forest, apart from the fact that it's big, creepy and you should never, ever go into it, is the fact that alone amongst all the wildlife and plantlife of Equestria, the Everfree Forest was entirely self sustaining. Within it's borders, animals took care of themselves, the weather did it's own thing, the trees grew when they wanted, the plants grew where they wanted... it was, to the organised minds of civilised ponies, pure chaos. Entering it was like entering a strange alien vista that is so completely beyond your normal life experience that frankly, it's like reading Ancient Zebrafrican to an Equestrian mouse. Even if you were somehow able to teach the mouse to understand Equestrian (and some ponies did manage it), it's still Ancient Zebrafrican and thus pretty impressively not-translatable, and even if it was translatable, why would you be reading an ancient language to a mouse anyway, when all it wanted was the cheese? Nonetheless, Lyra Heartstrings pressed on with something resembling the manic cheer of a pony who knows, somewhere deep in their soul, that they are doing what is Right, capital letter and all. For her, this intimidating, alien forest that defied the laws of nature as she knew them was not something to be feared - it was merely the first step to her culminating a journey that had taken her from being a socially awkward filly in Canterlot to the mare she was today. The fact that she was a socially awkward mare from Ponyville, not altogether that different from her previous station in life, did nothing to dissuade her from the fact that This Was Her Destiny Calling (again, capital letters and all). Bon Bon was altogether less sanguine about the whole affair. For her, this place and it's alien, unforgiving and downright unnatural nature was... well, alien, unforgiving and downright unnatural. It was worse for being an Earth Pony: her kind normally understood the measure of things of this sort, plant life et al, and even she, a pony whose special talents lay far from farm work and nature, could still appreciate it's beauty. That being said, this place was a complete anathema to her. Nothing here worked the way nature was supposed to! It was all... all so wrong! Added to that was the fact that yes, it was a big, creepy forest that everypony she had known for years and years insisted was Not A Good Place To Visit, and she was feeling that every step of the way, down to her very core. A sudden noise from somewhere deep in the forest caused her to jump at least a foot in the air. Lyra turned to look at her friend, and grinned when she saw her panicking. "What was that?!" Bon Bon yelped, looking around frantically. "I'm sure it was nothing," Lyra said with a soft smile. "Come on Bon Bon, we're making good time!" "How can you tell?!" Bon Bon asked, looking around the forest. To her, everything in this accursed forest looked the same. "I can't even tell which way we're going! How in Celestia's name are we going to stop ourselves getting lost?!" "Because I've got a compass," Lyra said brightly. As if to prove her point, she got her compass out, before staring at it thoughtfully. "Hmmm. We've been going a little further south-east than I wanted to go, but that's ok, we'll get there eventually." "Uh huh," Bon Bon said, nodding slowly, a frown on her face. She had already been vaguely certain that Lyra really didn't know what she was doing, but this just confirmed it, and it didn't exactly make her feel happy knowing she had been right. "Look, I hate to suggest it, but maybe we should go back, pack more stuff, maybe take a train at least as far as the Crystal Mountains..." "Don't be silly, Bon Bon, we're halfway through the forest by now," Lyra said chirpily. "We'll be there in no time at this rate." Considering the fact that Celestia's sun was already lowering in the sky, this was something of an optimistic appraisal of the situation. Nevertheless, Bon Bon didn't call Lyra out on it, she only sighed and kept on following her friend. "Anyway," Lyra continued with a grin, turning round to look at Bon Bon as she walked. "If we keep going this way, I'm sure we'll come across a way out of the forest in a momen -" She was cut off by the fact that she had suddenly, quite by accident, stepped over the steep edge of a cliff and begun a plummet toward the ground "Lyra!" Bon Bon yelled in shock. She ran up to the edge of the cliff, looking down to see where her friend had gone. Suddenly, however, she felt a hoof on her shoulder, and she turned to find herself facing a figure shrouded in shadow. "One hundred and twenty nine feet, seven inches," the figure said ominously. *** Lyra was, for a brief moment, rather accepting of the fact that she was probably going to die, albeit very indignant that her death was going to be right before she got to go meet humans. She closed her eyes as soon as she started falling, not wanting to see her imminent death up close. After a moment of falling and a sudden jolt that she was sure was her own demise, however, she was suddenly struck by the fact that she was still conscious, something that would probably not be possible had she ended up a rather unpleasant stain at the foot of the cliff. She opened her eyes, and found herself staring at a cheerful pair of golden eyes that were just slightly off-kilter with one another, "Hi!" spoke the cheerful voice of Ditzy Doo, colloquially known as Derpy. She was a Pegasus pony with a grey coat and blonde mane, with bubbles for a cutie mark. "Are you ok?" "Uh..." Lyra said, looking down. She was about a foot off the ground, but Ditzy had managed to somehow catch her. "I'm not dead at the bottom of a canyon. So yes." "You're lucky," came a swirly prim male voice. "That fall was precisely one hundred and twenty nine feet, seven inches. If Ditzy had been only one point four seconds later, you would have impacted the ground - and the speed you were falling, which was roughly four feet a second, would have seen you pretty messed up, I'll tell you that." Lyra turned, to see Bon Bon and a stallion with a brown coat and darker brown mane descending the cliff face via a small rock path. Bon Bon looked worried, and the stallion looked... blasé. "Um..." Lyra repeated, but before she could do anything, Bon Bon was hugging her. "Don't ever scare me like that again!" her friend practically yelled in her ear. "I knew this was a bad idea! We should go home right this minute!" "It's fine, Bon Bon," Lyra said, trying to placate her friend. "I'm fine. Ditzy saved me." "It's ok," Ditzy said, smiling brightly. "I'd do the same for anypony." "We were passing through anyway," the stallion said. "This little sojourn has only taken us four hundred and twenty six steps off of our initial course, we should be there in..." "Turner?" Ditzy said, without missing a beat. "Yes?" the stallion asked. "You're doing it again," Ditzy said. "Oh," 'Turner' said, looking faintly sheepish. "Sorry." Ditzy smiled again, before looking back at the others, both of whom looked vaguely puzzled by this strange stallion's behaviour. "Time Turner likes keeping track of things," she said by way of explanation. "We noticed," Bon Bon muttered. Lyra nudged her and frowned at her. "What are you guys doing in the Everfree forest, anyway?" Ditzy asked them. "Apparently we're nearly killing ourselves," Bon Bon said sarcastically. "We're going on an adventure," Lyra said proudly, ignoring Bon Bon's comment. "We're off to meet humans!" "Humans?" Ditzy said, frowning in confusion. "I think I heard of them once. Aren't they only a fairytale?" "They occasionally pop up in mythology," Time Turner said absently. "I've read about twenty one instances in twelve separate books featuring them. Usually, they're considered only a myth." "They're not just a myth," Lyra insisted, looking from Turner to Ditzy. "They're real, and we're off to go meet them." "Sounds like fun!" Ditzy said brightly, smiling warmly. "We're only here to deliver a package to Zecora." "Which way is Zecora's from here?" Lyra asked. "We could walk with you for a little while." "About nine hundred and thirty seven steps in a north easterly direction from this location," Time Turner said. "Give or take, and not accounting for different stride length and paces." "Thanks," Bon Bon said. "Lyra, don't you think we should maybe think of a different way to go where we're going? Like, for example, the train?" "Don't be silly, we're so far into the forest now!" Lyra said, smiling. "Besides which, I'm sure Zecora would be able to give us brilliant advice! And it's in the north easterly direction I said we should be going in, too!" Bon Bon sighed and shook her head, but shrugged in defeat all the same. "Fine. Come on then, let's get going." "Follow me!" Ditzy said brightly. She began a slow flap to get to where she was going. Beneath her trotted Time Turner, who seemed to keep a brisk pace, muttering under his breath every so often. Lyra and Bon Bon kept up, Lyra looking - if anything - more cheerful than she had before she had fallen off a cliff. Bon Bon couldn't help but think that this was all a mistake, but she supposed she was committed now. *** When the four of them reached Zecora's little hut a short while later, the Zebra was there waiting for them. Zebras, in case you weren't aware, normally lived in Zebrafrica, and Zecora was one of only a scant handful of her kind in Equestria, something that had caused a certain amount of tension initially for her (ponies being a very insular sort of folk who don't really know, as a rule, all that much about the world beyond their borders). Fortunately, that had been a few years ago, and these days she was well regarded by the ponies of Ponyville, though she still preferred to live in the Everfree forest, saying it reminded her of her home. "Ah, Ditzy, there you are. I hope this delivery wasn't too far," she said, smiling at the mail mare. It was her habit to speak in rhyme, though whether that was cultural to the Zebras or her own unique quirk nopony knew for certain. "Not at all, Zecora," Ditzy said happily, giving the Zebra a small package. "I had Time Turner helping me keep track after all." "Three thousand one hundred and nineteen steps, including detour," Time Turner said absently, investigating a small flower while his friend spoke with Zecora. "Not so far, not so far." Zecora, after a moment looking puzzled, shrugged and ignored the odd pony, turning her attention to Lyra and Bon Bon. "Who are these others you've brought with you? Were they helping with the delivery too?" "Oh no, this is Lyra and Bon Bon," Ditzy said with a smile. "We ran into them along the way." "We're off on an adventure!" Lyra said with a grin. Zecora raised an eyebrow at this. "An adventure, you say? Along what way?" "They say they're off to go meet humans, whatever they are," Ditzy explained. Lyra nodded eagerly, and Bon Bon, with a rather tired expression on her face, also nodded. Zecora's other eyebrow joined it's fellow somewhere near her hairline. "Humans?" she repeated, sounding somewhat surprised. "It's a name I've heard before, though those tales are of sorrow and war." "You've heard of humans?" Lyra asked excitedly. She was surprised - not many ponies had even heard the name, and fewer still knew what it was attached to. Bon Bon caught the reference to sorrow and war, but chose not to speak up. "During the Zebrafrican wars with the horses, it is said that our foes were helped by human forces," Zecora explained, "but that was an age or more ago, a time long past that was full of woe." "So they are real?" Bon Bon asked, sounding sceptical. Zecora shrugged. "All of those wars are ancient history, so the truth of the matter is quite a mystery," she said. She frowned and looked at Lyra. "Why do you seek them with such zeal, when you do not know if they might be real?" "Because they are!" Lyra said, grinning. "I have a map and everything!" As if to prove her point, she pulled out the small map and showed it to Zecora. The shaman looked the map over, raising an eyebrow again. "This map is old," she said, sounding vaguely concerned, "and clearly used, but are you sure your trust was not abused? There could be deceit behind this scroll, and if that is so you will pay the toll." Bon Bon rolled her eyes at the somewhat tortured rhyme. "I'm certain," Lyra said with a grin, apparently not phased by the Zebra's warning. Zecora shrugged again. "I cannot tell you of these lands, for they are far from my native sands. All I can say is to travel with care, for you don't know what dangers lurk out there." "Great," Bon Bon said sourly. "Do you at least have a spare water bottle for me?" Zecora nodded, popped inside, and returned a moment later, passing Bon Bon a water bottle with a smile. Bon Bon returned the smile, happy to at least feel marginally prepared for this trip now. "Thank you for your advice, Zecora," Lyra said with a smile as Bon Bon put the bottle away. She consulted her compass, and then her map. "But we really do have to be going now." "A little advice before you leave, so that from some danger you may be reprieved," Zecora said, holding up a hoof. "Take care in the forest at it's deepest point, for it isn't a very happy joint." "Joint?" Bon Bon muttered. Lyra shushed her. "There are things down there in the forest deep filled with a malice that does not sleep," Zecora said seriously, ignoring the interruption. "Be ever cautious and wary friends, or you will meet a sticky end." "Thank you, Zecora," Lyra said, smiling. "Well. Goodbye everypony!" Without another word, she took out her compass and headed off, walking past Zecora's hut and off into the depths of the forest, keeping her compass in front of her the whole way. Bon Bon, a sigh escaping her lips, followed her, waving back at the others as she walked off. Ditzy, for her part, watched them go with a thoughtful frown on her face. Once they were out of sight, she turned to Zecora. "Is it really dangerous?" she asked, worry in her tone. "Their path through these woods is fraught with peril, for there are many creatures that are quite feral," Zecora replied. "Beyond the woods I cannot say, but I fear danger still lies in their way." Ditzy looked as though she was wrestling with something for a long moment. She turned to Time Turner. "Do you want to go on an adventure?" she asked. "Long journeys are good for the soul," Time Turner said absently. "Less good for the hooves, but good for the soul." "I'll take that as a yes," Ditzy said. She looked back at Zecora. "I don't suppose you have some spare saddlebags?" *** Author's Note Hello everyone. Just wanted to say a big thank you for all the kind comments. A big thank you to everyone who's favourited as well. :-) You might have noticed that I have an... interesting interpretation of Time Turner in this story. Rather than go for Doctor Whooves, I wanted to go for a pony with entirely different quirks. His obsession with numbers seemed logical. Thanks for reading. Jed.
IV: Four is Company.Chapter IV: Four is Company. It was getting dark in the Everfree Forest as Lyra and Bon Bon continued their journey. The sun had descended some time ago, making way for Luna's moon, a pale orb that hung in the sky and cast a soft light across the world. While it was beautiful, making the sky glow a sort of deep blue, it entirely failed to drive back the shadows of night, which cast their eerie darkness across the forest - and the two ponies. Bon Bon had asked Lyra whether the two of them should go to sleep soon, but the unicorn had been of the opinion that this wasn't necessary yet - "we can at least make another two or three hours!" Bon Bon, reluctantly, had agreed, more because she didn't really have a choice. As they walked, the beige Earth Pony couldn't help but wonder whether they were really safe in these woods. Zecora had spoken about "malice that does not sleep," and though Bon Bon was fairly certain there had been some wrangling on the Zebra shaman's part in order to make a tortured rhyme out of her words, she was still concerned that they might run into something unfortunate while they were in this forest - timberwolves, goblins, diamond dogs... there could have been any number of horrid things just waiting to ambush them and - well, she didn't really want to think about it. Still, Lyra seemed remarkably unconcerned by any of the possible dangers they could possibly encounter. Her single mindedness with regards to meeting humans was almost remarkable, and Bon Bon had to wonder what brilliant achievements Lyra might have been able to make if she hadn't been wasting her energy on something as foolhardy as this. All the same, her optimism - nay, her sheer blunt enthusiasm - was getting quickly tiresome. "We're making good time!" she would frequently say at utterly random intervals, with or without Bon Bon's prompting. "We'll be there in no time!" Bon Bon would inevitably sigh at this, and ruminate on exactly how silly and impulsive her friend was being about this whole thing. Had she planned this out a little before setting off, she might have been halfway there by train by now. More importantly, she might have been able to go without dragging Bon Bon along with her. It wasn't that Bon Bon didn't want to be here, supporting her friend. On the contrary, she felt being here was the best of the available options she had. She just wished Lyra had taken a course of action that had left her more options, like the train, a Zeppelin... indeed anything other than walking through this accursed forest and halfway across Equestria. She was distracted from these ruminations by a rustling that she heard coming from behind them. She turned around, looking to see if there was anything following, but could see nothing. She frowned, and turned back to the path. A moment later, another rustle sounded, slightly louder, and Bon Bon turned again. "Lyra!" she said sharply, trying to keep her voice low. "I think something's following us!" Lyra, to her credit, turned around and looked in the same direction as Bon Bon instead of just ignoring her. For a moment, they waited, but there were no more noises. "Might have been a wild animal passing nearby," Lyra postulated quietly, peering into the dark wood. "I don't think it's anything to worry about." Another rustle caught their attention, and Lyra and Bon Bon's ears picked up. Bon Bon's eyes widened in horror, and Lyra gulped, the cheerful expression on her face falling away for the first time since this trip had begun "You were saying?" Bon Bon whispered, terrified. A moment later, two dark shapes emerged from the foliage. Bon Bon screamed and covered her eyes with her forehooves for a moment, fearing that she was about to devoured by some terrible monster... and then she heard a familiar voice. "You've come an extra one thousand, three hundred and six steps since Zecora's. That's actually pretty impressive." She uncovered her eyes, and found herself looking, slack jawed, at the smiling faces of Ditzy Doo and Time Turner. The two of them had their own, somewhat bulky saddlebags on, and looked as though they had been walking for some time, judging from the slightly tired looks they had. "Hi!" Ditzy said brightly. "What... how...?!" Bon Bon spluttered, eyes wide with shock. "What are you two doing here?" Lyra asked, frowning at them. "You're not here to try and stop me, are you?" "No," Ditzy said with a smile. "We're here to join you!" "What?!" Bon Bon yelped, her voice squeaking slightly. "We can't let you both go off into the world outside Equestira alone!" Ditzy said, looking oddly serious. "That's just not right. What kind of friends would we be if we did that?" "Probably the sensible kind," Bon Bon muttered under her breath. "Don't you have a child?" "Oh, she's staying with her grandparents for the summer," Ditzy said, smiling. "I've asked Zecora to take a message back for us, to let everypony know we're ok." "But you guys don't have any reason to come see humans," Lyra pointed out, "you didn't even know they existed!" "Ahem," coughed Time Turner. "I did." "Ok, but not properly," Lyra corrected herself. "Why would you do this?" "Friends don't let friends go off alone," Ditzy reiterated, speaking slightly slower. "We're coming with you." Lyra looked at the two ponies, her head going from one to the other, before a massive grin split her face. "Thank you!" she yelled hugging the two of them. "I really appreciate this!" "It'll be nice to have some company on the road," Bon Bon said, slightly grudgingly. Truth be told, she would have preferred it had they come to stop Lyra from going through the wood and convinced her to take a quicker route, or even not go at all, but instead they were simply encouraging her. It reminded her of the old saying: 'who's the more foalish? The foal, or the foal who follows her?' "In any case, we're quite a way into the forest by now," she added. "Four thousand, four hundred and twenty five steps," Time Turner interrupted. "Assuming your route was the same as ours, so add in an extra..." He trailed off, seeing the slightly incredulous looks Bon Bon and Ditzy were giving him, a slightl blush creeping into his cheeks. "Sorry. Carry on." "As I was saying," Bon Bon said, frowning slightly, "don't you think it's time we settled down for the night?" "Good idea," Lyra said. She immediately walked over to a tree and lay down, closing her eyes. Bon Bon frowned at her expectantly, but Lyra didn't move. "Didn't you pack a sleeping bag?" she asked after a moment. Lyra opened an eye somewhat sheepishly. "I... may have forgotten." "Seriously?" Bon Bon said, now somewhat annoyed. "I mean, I can almost get wanting to walk to wherever we're going, but you didn't even pack a sleeping bag? Tell me you at least packed some money." "Um..." Lyra said, grinning. Bon Bon groaned. "Don't worry, guys," Ditzy said, grinning again. She reached inside her saddle bag and threw a few rolled up sleeping bags onto the ground. "Zecora gave us a bunch of stuff!" Bon Bon laughed out loud, relieved. "Finally! Someone who packed for this trip!" "Don't you have anything?" Lyra asked her, looking confused. "I wanted to stop you, remember?" Bon Bon said tiredly. "All I have is two cupcakes I bought us to make up for our argument." "Ooh! Do you have muffins?" Ditzy asked. "...no," Bon Bon replied, nonplussed. "Oh," the grey Pegasus said, sounding disappointed. "Oh well." "I'm sure we'll be able to buy muffins while we're on the road," Lyra said reasonably, a smile on her face. "But for now, I think it's time everypony went to sleep." *** If Bon Bon had hoped Ditzy and Time Turner's presence would convince her friend to not go through with her rather ridiculous plan, she was to be sadly disappointed. If anything, Lyra had taken their presence to be a validation of her desire to go on this adventure, and had redoubled her efforts to get through the forest. After a somewhat uncomfortable night's sleep (Zecora's sleeping bags were pleasant enough but the ground was less so), the company had awakened and immediately set out, barely stopping to eat a somewhat unpleasant breakfast of raw grass and a few harmless wildflowers. Lyra had chatted away with Ditzy about her desire to go meet humans, talking at great length about all the myths, legends and stories she had read. Time Turner had been mostly silent. He had, shortly after the group had set off, asked to see the map, but all he had said after finishing his perusal of it was "something like one four million, one hundred and forty two thousand, three hundred twenty six steps, if the relative scale is accurate". Upon hearing this, Bon Bon had inwardly groaned - she had no idea what "steps" was in miles, but it certainly sounded like a very long way. Turner, for his part, merely kept muttering numbers to himself, keeping count of seconds or keeping count of steps, or both, Bon Bon couldn't tell. The forest still stretched on. When asked, neither Ditzy nor Time Turner knew exactly how far - Zecora's hut was the furthest the mail-mare had gone, and Time Turner had never visited even there before now. "Are we even sure we're still going the right way?" Bon Bon asked. "North East," Lyra said, glancing at her compass. "We've got to reach the end eventually." "We will," Turner said, surprising them all. "How do you know?" Bon Bon asked, trying not to sound too scathing. "Relative scale," Turner replied, smiling at her. "On the map, the Everfree is approximately ten thousand and thirty steps across, give or . We've traversed about seven and a half thousand. Only two and a half thousand to go!" "Oh, only," Bon Bon muttered, sighing to herself. "Where are we even going after this?" "I was thinking we might head for Dodge City," Lyra suggested. "It's directly East, and it's the nearest town. We'll be able to get supplies from there." "With what money?" Bon Bon asked. "You left without any, remember?" "I have money," Ditzy put in. "One hundred twenty one bits," Time Turner supplied helpfully. "More than enough for any supplies we should need for the journey. Prices in Dodge City have been at an all time low due to an economic recession in that part of Equestria." "Great!" Lyra said, grinning brightly. "We should be all set for getting supplies for the journey then!" "Wonderful," Bon Bon said, grimacing slightly. As they progressed, Bon Bon kept her eyes open, ever watchful for any sign of anything untoward. The forest was getting slightly less dense, but that was no reason to get less wary. Eventually though, the trees of the forest gave way to more clearings. For a brief moment, Bon Bon was afraid that they would come across some monster at the edge of the forest, some final barrier that would hinder their way. They didn't. A moment later, they had reached the other side of the Everfree Forest, and could see less than ten minutes ahead of them (“about nine minutes, fourteen seconds at present rate,” according to Turner) it's far edge. "Well," Lyra said with a grin as she almost bounced toward the edge. "We've passed the forest. So much for 'malice that does not sleep'." It was at that point, perhaps predictably, that she fell through the ground. “Lyra!” Bon Bon yelled, shocked. A moment later, however, she too fell through the floor, and blacked out. *** When Lyra awoke, she blinked in surprise, finding herself lying on the ground in what must have been a dirty, dusty old cave. There was no light source, and no visible exit. “Hello?” she called out. “Is somepony here?” She lit her horn up, and saw to her shock both Time Turner and Bon Bon, both of them apparently unconscious. They - and, to her shock, Lyra as well - were wearing white robes, with silver circlets upon their heads, almost as though they were arrayed for a funeral. “Guys?” she whispered. “Guys?!” There was a soft moan from further in the cave, and Lyra turned, eyes wide. “H-hello?” she whispered softly. “I-is somepony there?” There was no reply, and Lyra looked around, trying to find something that might prove a good defensive weapon - a rock, or a stick, or… Jackpot! A sword of some kind was lying on the ground in a dusty leather scabbard. In a flash, she grabbed it with her magic and drew it, aiming the blade out at the darkness even as she tried shining a light out at it. “W-whoever’s down there, I-I’m armed,” she stammered, still deathly afraid. She didn’t know why this one cave filled her with such horror, but she found herself barely able to summon the will to fight. “I-I’ll u-use this if I-I have to.” Why didn’t we listen to Zecora? she thought to herself. There really is stuff we don’t understand out here! A hiss sounded from deep inside the cave, and Lyra could dimly make out the skeletal figure of what might have been a pony once, but certainly wasn’t anymore. “What the hay,” she murmured in horror. Was this a zompony or something? Suddenly, the thing lurched forward, and Lyra, yelping, held up the sword, pointing it straight at the thing. She could make more of it out now - it definitely looked like a pony, armoured in what might have been ancient Royal Guard armour except that it was rusted and pitted. The thing was a skeleton, save for a few scraps of ancient, rotted flesh that stuck to it. Horrified, Lyra stepped back, and the thing took one step forward. It hissed. She held up the sword, and it hissed again, louder. “S-so you’re s-scared of t-this, huh?” she said, with a stammering bravery she definitely did not feel. She scowled and held up the blade again, and the thing stepped back as though burnt. She figured she could probably hold it off with this, but that still left the question of how to get her unfortunate friends out of here. Suddenly, a light cracked open behind her. The thing hissed again, and a voice called into the cave. “Lyra Heartstrings, to your back! Mind yourself should the Wight attack!” Lyra’s heart skipped a beat - Zecora! She held up the sword and the thing stepped back, hissing again. “Lyra!” she heard Ditzy’s voice say. “We’ve got the others, back off, come on!” Taking the advice, Lyra waved the sword once in the creature’s direction, before turning and bolting for the light. A moment later, she found herself outside in the cool air. It was morning, and the air was damp and misty. She heard the sound of something heavy being slid into place, and turned to find Zecora pushing a boulder over the cave entrance. “That should seal the thing away, at least until another day,” the Zebra said with a satisfied nod. She turned to Lyra. “You nearly met a sticky end. Are you alright, my pony friend?” “Yeah,” Lyra said quietly. She looked at the sword. “Wouldn’t have been without this.” She held it up, and Zecora frowned at it. Examining the blade, Lyra was surprised at its condition - it was shining silver, with an ornate bronze-plated hilt and a single sapphire set into the hilt. “This is a very ancient blade, and it was not by ponies made,” Zecora said, eyes wide. “This weapon came from far off lands - and, I think, was made for human hands!” Lyra blinked, before looking at the weapon again. The long, thin hilt certainly didn’t look like a pony-made sword, which ordinarily needed thicker and shorter hilts for mouth-manipulation. “Human?” she repeated. “Human,” Zecora said with a nod. “I know little of the mysterious creatures, but in this weapon I recognise the features - the blade is long, the hilt is thin. Much love and craft is set herein.” Lyra grinned. She heard a groan, and Bon Bon came up to her, rubbing her head. “What the hay happened?” she asked, frowning blearily. “Zecora? What happened here?” “You nearly fell prey to a cave-dwelling Wight,” Zecora said. “Without my help, you’d have never seen the light.” “Thanks,” Bon Bon said. “Well, that’s another time we’ve nearly died, Lyra. Are you willing to give this madness up?” Zecora looked at Lyra, who was now looking at the blade. Ditzy and a weary and ruffled looking Time Turner also came up to her, questioning looks on their faces. “No,” Lyra said quietly. “I just found proof of what I’m looking for. I am not giving up now.” Bon Bon sighed. “Why am I not surprised?” *** Author's Note Boom! i actually updated this thing! So: I've been absolutely inundated with AOA stuff these past few months - completed the first one, started the sequel and an AU, organised three or four more AU's with other authors - so this has taken a backseat. But this chapter was mostly done and I had a burst of inspiration, so I finished it. hope everybody likes it - it's slightly longer than previous chapters, so it should be up to standard. I'll work on the next chapter when I have time, AOA notwithstanding. Cheers. Jed.
