Chapters Chapter 1: Dusty old books
She couldn't stop crying.
The small mint unicorn was sobbing in her campus tiny office. In her hoof was a crumpled hand written note on parchment:
"Ms. Lyra Heartstring,
We regret to inform you that we will no longer be needing your services at this University. Please vacate your office by the end of the week, and turn your final ledgers into the department's front desk.
Signed,
Book Mark"
Lyra picked her red eyes up and looked around her tiny office. It wasn't much she knew, but it was her's. Every square inch of shelf and wall space was covered with books, most of which were far older then she was. Only a handful were newer than thirty years. One of these young-lings, the newest, sat on her desk. It was a red fuax leather bound tome, with gold leaf trim.
She picked up red leathery book and ran a hoof over it's binding and cover. In gold lettering were the words "Mythology of the Human Ape - Lyra Heartstring"
This book was her thesis. It was the sum total of all her effort over the past four years, and it was perfect. Collecting, codifying and even adding to the various mythology surrounding the Human Ape. An unusual subject, but one which she was passionate about.
Lyra rubbed her eyes with her hoof and got out of her chair. In the center of the room was a small, dark cardboard box that she carefully put the book into. Next, she spotted the picture frame of her family from her desk and levitated it into the same small box. A very nice fountain pen given to her when she first came to university, into the box. Some parchment paper with her letter head, into the box. A small handful of personal books, into the box.
Lastly, her research notes. She held them in front of her for a moment, looking at the text. The hoof and horn written notes burned in her memory. Years of work, years of effort and it all felt wasted. For a moment, she considered just placing them in the trash.
She looked at the small box which was barely half full. This was it, the sum total of her worldly possessions. Oh, she had a cheap mattress back at her apartment, and a hand full of worthless silverware and a towel. Just a single one. This office, this place, was her life. She had nothing else.
So many memories, all of them dancing around in her head: studying, reading, learning. Leaving this place would be hard enough, but to be ridiculed as well, wasn't just hard for her. It actually broke her heart. She felt her face scrunch up and was about to start crying again.
*knock, knock*
A large white unicorn stallion knocked at the door to Lyra's office. She shook the frown off and gave a half forced smile at the pony as he entered. "Sorry to bother you Lyra, but the dean wanted me to see if there was anything I could do to..." He paused and almost sighed, "make the move easier."
She snorted at the comment, "Easier? You mean quicker." She sighed and grabbed a book off her shelf.
"Lyra, I'm sorry. I..." She interrupted him, "No Gazu, don't apologize. It's not your fault." Lyra considered the book in her hand, "You know, these are going to be the things I miss the most about this place. Half of these books don't exist anywhere else." She put the book back on it's shelf. For a moment, she considered taking the books back to the central library. It would give her a few more moments in the university, but no. The university staff could handle it, after all it wasn't her responsibility anymore. Really though, as much as she wanted to stay a bit longer, she just couldn't stand to be there any more. It hurt too much.
She levitated her box, balancing it on her back as she let go. Side stepping Gazu she walked out of her office. She turned to look at him, he was actually kind of cute, in a bookish sort of way. "This is all I have Gazu. Everything else in there belongs to the university."
Gazu watched her leave the old office, "Where will you go now Lyra?" He asked, his voice showing honest concern for his fellow academic.
Lyra paused to think about it. Where would she go? The only real place she could turn too was her parent's home. She wasn't looking forward to that, at all. But they would take her in till she could find another job and place to live. There were several good universities in Manehattan after all. Plenty of opportunities, she thought.
The Canterlot train station was only moderately busy at this time of day. Lyra held her train ticket in the air with her magic. It took the last of her savings and what little extra she got from selling her few possessions. She was carrying only two things with her, the small box from her office, and her Lyre. Her precious Lyre, a gift from her grandfather after she got her cutie mark.
There wasn't much to do at the station but sit and think. Her mind drifted to the golden object at her side. She remembered when her grandfather first found out about her cutie mark. He was proud, but also a little confused as to what it meant. He had thought she had a skill in playing the instrument. Actually, most ponies thought that. It was such an odd mark to have given her talent, she couldn't blame people for the confusion.
Lyra's talent wasn't in music making or playing. She didn't even know how to use the Lyre till her grandfather bought her one. She was knowledgeable about mythology and story telling. She was told and had been read such stories since she was a foal. So many legends, myths, and fables. All of them used to dance around her head when she was young. Oh, she wasn't really into them at first, they were just something to read or hear, but one day that changed.
There was just so little to do here, but think and remember. All the memories of everything that brought her to this point flowed in and out of her head...
Day dreaming. Lyra sat at her small desk. She was in a small private grade school her parents enrolled her in. The school had specialized in teaching little ponies music and music theory. Some of the best musicians in all of Equestria had come from this tiny school. Her small classroom had numerous instruments in it, and the walls were line with sheet music.
Lyra watched as her teacher, Seed Sprout, walked around the classroom handing out writing assignments to the small class. Lyra was near the front, but the second to last to actually get her assignment.
Seed Sprout handed her a tiny note, written on it was her assignment. Lyra read the slip of paper her teacher gave to her. She was to give a report to the class on the mythology surrounding music, and was to provide examples. A dull topic for almost any pony. She cried out in awe as her head hit the desk.
Over a week had passed Lyra by as she sat in her room everyday after school. She read comic books or drew, even read a hidden romance novel she borrowed from a fellow classmate. She goofed off, and played around doing everything except work on that dull paper.
Then one day Lyra's grandfather stopped by for a visit. Old Golden Horn always took an interest in his favorite grandchild, so when he saw Lyra was struggling with her report he did what all good grandfathers do. He told her a story. A story of lore most ponies would not remember.
It was simple tale of a famous hero tasked by the unicorn Princess Platinum to head down to the farm lands and fight a terrifying monster. The hero fought and struck the fearsome foe with terrifying weapons and spells, but the beast never fell. So the hero went and sought the advice of a wise old ape like creature. This creature, this man called Pan, gave the hero a mystic Lyre and a tune which would sooth the savage beast into a deep dreamless sleep for all eternity.
So it was that the hero the went and fought one last battle with the beast, but not with swords and spells. Rather the harmony and rhythm of music. The beast did fall into such a sleep that he never woke again.
Truly it was a simple story, with a simple hero but Lyra was enchanted. Especially with wise old ape like creature.
Lyra wanted to hear more. She always loved her grandfather's stories, but this one was different. It wasn't just some silly little fishing story, or a story about the time Gold Horn forgot to wash his horn after chugging milk through it. Though Lyra did rather like that story, probably because her mother was always so upset by it.
No, this story was different, and it started to give Lyra ideas. She begged her grandfather for another, to which he told the small mint foal, to wait till tomorrow.
A day later her grandfather dropped off his copy of "Musical Mythos" to Lyra. Never before had tales and legends interested her, but this book was different. She had to have more. For the rest of the week she worked on that paper, writing and rewriting it as she read and reread that book.
On the day of her presentation, all her fellow students were amazed and entranced at her story telling, as she strummed her mythical harp for all the students to hear. She saw how every pony was entranced by it, and she knew then and there that this was her special talent. She could sooth and entrance everypony with her magical story telling, just like the Lyre in her grandfather's story. This was what she could do, this is what she was meant to do. She felt a warm surge in her rump as a mythical and magical Lyre appeared.
*Whoooo Whoooo*
The train pulled into Canterlot station, expelling steam as it braked and forcing Lyra out of her trance. The doors to the train opened and all sorts of ponies and a few of other species left the train. Eventually the stream of ponies turned into a trickle till finally no pony was leaving. The train was now empty.
A short and stocky conductor stepped off the train, and announced "Last train to Manehattan. Please have your tickets ready!", in his booming voice.
Lyra handed the conductor her ticket and tried to find a quiet corner of the train to sit. Her stomach growled lightly. She was famished but that ticket cost her the last of her savings.
Lyra wandered the train car, looking for a peaceful, solitary spot to sit and think. Any other time she would have tried to find a crowd to blend in. As much as Lyra loved to mingle with new ponies, today was different. She just didn't have the energy or desire to talk to anypony.
At the back of the car she found her lone empty seat. She put her box on the rack above her head and sat down. She stared out the window next to her. Her mind still awash with thoughts and memories. She was going to miss Canterlot, and the friends she had made. She wondered for a moment whether she should have said some more good byes. She hadn't even said good bye to her long time friend Candace. A part of her wondered if Cadance would ever marry that boy of her's.
*Whoooooooo*
The train's whistle blew as the conductors yelled something outside the train. Lyra wasn't paying attention.
See watched the station pull away as the train started moving. The buildings of the city eventually gave way to rocks and boulders as the train started moving beyond the city and down the mountain. A tree went by, then another, and another...
Lyra ran through the campus, seeing tree after tree pass by. She wasn't late, but would be if she didn't move it. She had to meet her adviser and the committee about her thesis. Today was her last defense. The entire committee was here this time, not just her adviser.
She had put hours upon hours of work into the tome that hung at her side. She had used the last of her grant money to print the necessary copies. One for herself, three for the libraries, one for the committee, and then the forty five extra copies left over from the print shop screw up. Somehow her invoice had an extra zero added to it and they printed fifty copies by mistake. She was thankful that they weren't going to charge her for the extras. Still, the question of what would happen to them crossed her mind more than a few times.
She ran into an old brick building, known as the old mane building. Once it was the only building on the campus, now it stood mostly for historical reasons, but it had some decent conference rooms. One of which Lyra turned into. Off in the distance she heard the campus clock start to chime. She was just on time.
In the center of the room was a large table made of some dark wood. Around it sat five ponies, Dr. Book Mark, who was the dean of the college had sat at the head of the table. To the dean's right was Acheulean, a quiet and reserved professor. Further to the right was Jajmau, a rather mean old Mare. Lyra was thankful that she was never had her as a professor. To the dean's left was Lyra's adviser, Thucydides. Beyond him was Polybius.
Lyra and her fellow students had a particularly harsh nick name for the last professor; Professor Holocaust. For his tendency to murder the grades of any one with a dissenting opinion. Of all the faculty here, he was the one Lyra was most afraid of.
They all stared at the still young pony as she entered. Lyra thought about it, stared was the wrong word, it was more of a glare.
"Oh, sorry if I'm a little out of breath. Had to run a bit to get here." She fished around to her side satchel and pulled out her copy of her thesis. She wouldn't need it, by now she had every page memorized, but formalities and all.
"Lets just get this over with." Jajmau, spoke to Lyra. She was a tenure faculty member, and she seemed agitated and annoyed to be here. As if she had serious work to be doing. Lyra seriously question that notion though. Jajmau hadn't published in years.
Lyra took a deep breath, and looked to her adviser. "So shall I begin?'
An hour later and Lyra had finished. She had a smile on her face and she felt ten feet tall. "So any questions?" That was it. The avalanche of criticisms came forth.
Most of the points brought up she addressed, but after a few question, one hit her harder than she ever expected.
"Ms. Heartstring, I have to ask. What relevance does your thesis’s actually have?" The same old mare spoke.
Lyra, just blinked. She was lost, her entire thesis had lead up to that conclusion. Humans and humanity played a huge roll in classical mythos. No modern historian or writer really covered or considered it. "What relevance?" Lyra asked the question again unsure if she heard her right. The question made her wonder if the professor even listened to her dissertation.
"Well, as I mentioned multiple times in my thesis. The human ape appears multiple times in earlier pre-classical literature and works. In the light of the role they played we can see their effects on, well, just about everything. We..." She was interrupted by one of the faculty members.
"Lyra, no one cares about these human's. They are a negligible part of pony mythology." This time the criticism came from professor Polybius. She knew he was going to be the hardest nut to crack of the lot. Yet, his response was so harsh she couldn't even respond.
She would still try, "But my work challenges that. The idea of Humanity permeates all of our legends and mythology. Their hands are in everything if you only look and study..."
"Hands, Ms. Heartstring? You can't expect this board to take any of this seriously. Why next you'll be going around telling ponies that the Humans were real!" again it was Jajmau who spoke. A mean old mare, if there ever was one.
The dean on the other side of the table raised a hoof to silence the two. Lyra was confused. This wasn't how a defense should go. It was like none of them were even interested in her work. As if their conclusions were forgone.
The dean spoke, "You've completed your thesis much to the chagrin of this board. You'll graduate this semester." Lyra should have been happy to hear those words, but instead she was terrified. His voice was so cold.
"However, we can not, in all good conscience offer you the permanent faculty position you requested. I'm sorry Ms. Heartstring. Good day." All the faculty members left the conference room. The last to leave, her adviser put a halfhearted hoof on her shoulder before leaving. She sat in her seat unable to move. She should have been happy, she had her degree. But with no job prospect, what would happen now?
Asking for a position was just a formality, it was expected of you. The board would pass your theses and offer you a position, after which, well it was really up to you if you stuck around or went somewhere else. But without that in, without that offer, it was difficult to find work in Pony academia.
She thought about it. Why didn't they let her defend her theses? They just accepted it as it was, even with their complaints? The longer she thought about the more worried she got. Did they pass her just to get rid of her?
She sat and stared out the window for several minutes...
"Ms. It's time to leave." Lyra blinked and shook her head. For a moment she had forgotten where she actually was. The conductor looked at Lyra with a near vacant expression.
"Ms. this is the Manehatten station. You'll need to get off here."
Lyra smiled absent-mindedly. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize we had even stopped." She gathered up what few belongings she brought and head off the train. Ignoring the snide comment the conductor made as she left.
She would show them, all of them! There were other schools and Universities out there that would love to have her.
Lyra got off the train hoping to see somepony she knew, her mother, her father, anypony. She waited around for five minutes. Then ten minutes. Finally twenty minutes went by. Eventually the train pulled out again, on it's long journey to some other faraway town.
After half an hour Lyra sighed, and began the walk back to her old home. It was a good five mile walk. As soon as she left the station her stomach started growling again. She really wished she had save a bit or two for a roll or something. At least she could get a sandwich at her parent's place.
Almost two hours and five miles later Lyra stopped in front of a large ornate brick row home. The door had an extravagant knocker plated in gold. While it complemented the deep cherry and oak door the metal felt cold even on this warm day.
*knock, knock, knock*
She raised and lowered the knocker with her hoof and waited. Behind the door a faint soft and feminine voice could be heard "Coming.“
Lyra stared at the door for a moment waiting for it to open considering the elegance of the whole building. It contrasted with her old run down spartan apartment she had. Her parents were more then well off, yet they did little to support their daughter. All through out college she had to work and rely on grants. It was difficult, but Lyra managed. Up until recently anyway.
The door finally opened.
In front of Lyra stood a smaller light Green Unicorn, with an all white almost silver mane. She was an older pony and had a clarinet cutie mark on her flanks. "Oh, Lyra. Didn't expect you home till tomorrow." The older unicorn walked back inside the house, half ignoring her own daughter.
Lyra felt the chill coming from the warm house. "I told you was coming home on Tuesday, mom." Lyra rolled her eyes as she spoke back to her mother. Still, she forced a smile "It's good to see you again mom." Lyra tried to coming in for a hug, but her mother continued her walk away from Lyra.
"So how long will you be here for?" Her mother asked. She was just as cold as Lyra remembered her.
"Oh, not too long. Just till I can get back on my feet. I got my degrees so I should be able..." Lyra's mother wasn't really listening to her when she interrupted.
"Honestly Lyra, I don't know why you just didn't go to school for music like your cutie mark says you should have." With that final cutting her mother walked out of view, leaving Lyra alone in the foyer. "Your room is how you left, only a less of a mess." Her mother disappeared deep into the house, probably to lounge about in it's rich and cold confines.
Lyra looked down at the ground and whispered to her self "Welcome home Lyra.". At least she didn't feel hungry any more. The hunger pains in her stomach were replaced by something else.
The next three days were simple enough. Lyra would wake up and shower, grab something light to eat then send letters off to one of the many Universities in the city. Letter after Letter, at the end of the day her horn and hooves burned with fatigue. Then one day, she sat down to write, only to realize there was no one left to write too. Every University in the city had a copy of her CV.
So she went beyond Manehattin. Writing letters to Fillydelphia, Los Pegussis,
Lyra bounced all over her parents house when the first letter came in from Grand Galloping University. one of the most prestigious universities in the city. Lyra knew GGU was looking for historians with a specialty in mythology and ancient culture. The very subjects she got her degrees in.
The envelope looked so formal, with it's gold trim and hand written text on the front. It had to be an offer letter. Why else would they spend so much time and effort making such an amazing envelop? She wanted to open here and now, but no. She had to wait. She had to show her parents. 'For once they would be proud of me', she thought.
Lyra had a good feeling about this letter. She just knew it had to be good news.
The small family sat around the dinner table eating. Occasionally speaking but mostly just eating in silence. It was times like this that she missed her brother. They never really got along, but he always had a way of breaking the ice in tense situations like this, and somehow always made her feel less of a failure.
The old colt at the end of the table looked much like his daughter, just a slightly darker coat and mane then her's. He looked at Lyra, giving her his usual forced smile. "So Lyra, your mother tells me you got an important letter today?"
"Oh well, yeah. I got a response from Grand Galloping U. I was going to wait till everyone was home to open it." She tried to hide her excitement by toying with her the food on her plate.
"Lyra, don't play with your food." Lyra's mother scolded her. Lyra scowled and put the fork down.
"Why don't you get your letter Lyra? I want to hear the good news." her father was unusually cheerful about the whole matter. It seemed just for a moment he actually cared about her academics.
Lyra beamed, bounced up and ran up the stairs to grab the letter on her desk.
Back at the table the two continued eating, "Honesty Brass, I don't know why you encourage her so much."
The pony raised and eyebrow at his wife, "She's our daughter Clare. She deserves some encouragement once in a while. Beside, if she gets a position she'll be out of the house."
Clarinet nodded in agreement. In the end, it wasn't that these two hated or even disliked their daughter. They were just disappointed in her. She had failed to follow the family line into music, and they never let their daughter forget it.
Though, truthfully Clarinet did hide a bit of resentment for how much time Lyra's grandfather and her father had spent with her child. Again truth be told, she was more then a little jealous that his last moments were with Lyra, and not her.
"Here it is!" Lyra couldn't help but continue to beam.
"Well, don't just stand there Lyra. Open it!" Her Father's voice was full of encouragement. His unusually warm words and emotions filled Lyra with hope and pride. 'He will be proud of me this time!' She thought.
Lyra opened the letter, and read:
"Dear Ms. Lyra Heartstring,
We've read over your CV and were impressed with qualification. It is with a heavy heart that we regret to inform you that we have no positions opened for somepony of your skill. We will keep your CV on file should a position open up.
There is no need to contact us further.
Thank you for your time,
-Dr. Tome, Chair of historical studies."
Deep inside of Lyra another small part of her went cold.
Lyra's mother held a hoof to her mouth, "Oh, oh Lyra I'm sorry." Yet deep in side all she could think was 'I told you so.'
Lyra looked up at her mother and smiled, "Nah, it's ok mom. I mean this was Grand Galloping U. They're one of the biggest and best colleges in the country. I'm not surprised they rejected me." She continued to smile, acutely aware of how much work it was taking to keep those particular face muscles taunt. "The next one will be an acceptance letter, just wait and see!"
The days passed, more rejection letters came in. It was worse then when she applied to actually go to university. She had sent one hundred and two letters in total, and received just shy of ninety rejection letters, and not one actual job offer.
The day the final letter came in Lyra didn't bother to tell her family. She had stopped telling them after the fourth. Taking the letter to her room she opened it in silence.
She read the first line to her self "...We are sorry..." That was all she need to read She had no more energy to hold up the letter and the magic from her horn faded. It floated to the floor as she began to cry again.
“Why is this happening to me?” She whimpered.
No. She thought as she wiped her eyes. She wasn't going to cry. She had to know why. Lyra came up with a plan, a simple plan.
Tomorrow, she was going to GGU in pony to talk to someone to find out why they rejected her. There had to be a reason. She looked at the red book her desk, in her heart she feared what it might be.
Grand Galloping University's campus was large, and had over forty buildings scattered around it. Lyra was more then a little lost when she arrived on campus. She wandered around, looking for the so called Foundation building. It was there that she would find the dean of the Historical Study's.
On her walk she passed many younger ponies on her way to the building. Lyra considered them and she thought about their chances. All of them were full of potential, and hope. So long as they didn't make any major mistakes they had a bright future ahead of them. Lyra's thoughts drifted from them back to herself. If only she hadn't made a huge mistake with her thesis.
She shook her head no. This wasn't the time to think about that. Picking up her self up she noticed a directory not more then ten paces to the side. The foundation building was surprisingly easy to locate on it, as opposed to finding it by just wandering. Once her bearing’s were set trotted off towards it, paying more attention to where she was going rather then the thoughts in her head.
The building was rather large, made mostly of glass. It was impressive and slightly intimidating, it's crystal brilliance reflected the cold sunlight. The first floor was more then opulent, as a golden chandelier adorned he center of the lobby. White and black marble floors were adorned with gold leaf trim. GGU had spent a large potion of it's funds in making this palace to old ideas.
Against the wall, just to the side of the entrance a receptionist sat. Lyra walked up to the clearly busy pony. "Um, excuse me." Lyra spoke her uncertainty rolling off her tongue. The receptionist looked up from her desk, a set of large glasses adorn her face.
She gave a mechanical smile to Lyra, "How can I help you miss?"
"I'm here to see... Um..." She paused, realizing she had forgotten the dean's name already. She reached around her satchel to fish out her rejection letter. Finding it she gave the receptionist his name "Dr. Tome"
"Do you have an appointment?"
"N-no, I don't." Lyra was honest, she didn't have an appointment, and probably couldn't have gotten one if she tried. "I just need to talk to Dr. Tome about something. Really, It's just a few questions. Is there anyway he could see me today?"
"Dr. Tome is a very busy man." The receptionist looked down at one of the many calendars in front of her. "but, he does have a half hour opening at 3:30. What do you need to see him about?"
"Um, well..." She paused not quite sure what response to give here. She could lie, but that wouldn’t go over well. She sighed. The truth was probably her best option even if it meant she wouldn't see him. "I received a rejection letter, and I just...I wanted to see why."
The receptionist glared at the pony in front of her. "Rejections are final, but I'll see what I can do." The receptionist in her misunderstanding picked up the phone next to her and called someone. She spent only a minute talking before hanging up. "Dr. Tome is willing to meet with you at 3:30, what was your name Ms?"
"It's Lyra, Lyra Heartstring." Lyra smiled. She knew she'd probably couldn't get the dean to change his mind, but maybe. Just maybe she could. At the very least she would get some much needed answers.
She took a seat in a small lounge room not far from the receptionist’s desk. It was just past 9AM. She had a long while to wait.
Lyra kept her self busy by reading a small book she brought with her. The book was a gift from her long time friend Bon Bon. Bon Bon had sent it to her parents house a long time ago, where her mother forgot all about it till a few days ago.
The book "Daring Do and the quest for the sacred staff" was like most Daring Do books simple and a bit trashy, but Lyra was happy to have something to read. Even more so since it was a gift from a good friend. Lyra made a mental note to write Bon Bon when she got back. It had been too long since they had written to each other, much less actually seen one another.
Lyra got lost in the book, trashy or not it was certainly compelling. "Ms. Heartstring." Lyra looked up from the book and blinked a few times clearing the fog of fantasy from her mind. The receptionist had walked over to the waiting room. "The dean is expecting you, you might want to go to his office." Lyra looked up at the clock. Somehow the six hours flew by, and it was now 3:35." She was already a few minutes late.
"Oh sorry, thank you." She got out of her chair and ran out the room, ignoring the receptionist’s glare and shaking head.
Lyra ran up the two flights of steps and walked out on to the third floor. this floor was not quite as nice as the first floor. Carpeting and cherry oak wood panels adorned the walls. She ran down the hall looking for a Room, 3915.
She found that the room was open. An older pony sat behind the desk, reading something in front of him with mildly bemusement. He saw the green unicorn walk into his office.
"Hi Dr. Tome I'm sorry if I'm a few minutes late." She walked into the office and took a seat on the opposite side of his desk.
"Indeed. Ms. Heartstring, my receptionist told me you wanted to talk about a rejection letter. I agreed thinking you were talking about something from one of our programs." He held up a letter in his hand, a copy of the one she received a few weeks ago.
"Our faculty positions and assignments are final Ms. Heartstring. I'm not sure what you want to talk to me about."
Lyra's heart sank just a bit. She had hoped that maybe she could convince him otherwise, maybe just by shear will she could be given a chance. "I know your letter said not to contact the university, but I just had to know why you rejected me."
He looked at her, unsure she was serious. "Really, Ms. Heartstring?"
"Yes. I wanted to know why. Maybe I could improve my resume, or do some temporary field work. Something. I just want to know what you are looking for." She was determined. Maybe she couldn't get in today, but if she worked at it, there was always the chance of tomorrow. Right?
The old pony took his glasses off and gave Lyra a slight head shake. "To be completely blunt Ms. Heartstring, what we are looking for is not you."
She didn't understand, not me? What did that mean exactly? "I don't understand. Is it my lack of field work? Do you want me to know more languages, I already know six..." Dr. Tome held up a hoof to silence her.
“Ms. Heartstring, I read part of your thesis.” He gave a slight scowl at the thought. “Humans? Really?”
Lyra didn't know how to respond, she started to stammer “B-but...”
“Ms. Heartstring, these humans you refer to are a negligible part of pony history. You are probably the first pony I've meet in my entire academic career who has even tried to publish something serious on them.” He held up a copy of her thesis, "As well written as this may be it's full of questionable sources and at best flimsy argument." He put the text down, “I'm sorry, but we have no place for somepony of your...” he paused looking for the right words “qualifications, here. Good day, Ms. Heartstring.” With that he waved her away.
Lyra tried to say something else, but he just repeated the same words, "Good day."
Lyra walked out of the office her head, tail and ears held low in defeat. It was true. Her thesis had come back to haunt her. She wasn't depressed so much as confused. How did he get a copy in the first place? The three copies she gave to the library wouldn't be sent out for circulation yet. The committee would still have the copy she gave them and then there was her copy. How did he get one? Then Lyra had a sudden realization. The other forty five copies. Somehow they had gotten picked up. The print shop must have sold them off instead of just destroying them.
Lyra felt so utterly defeated. By now every school she sent her CV to had no doubt read her thesis or was about too. Every school. What more was there to do? Even if she could go to each school individually, they would all say the same thing.
Lyra felt like a mountain had been placed on her back. Her legs were weak, and she could barely stand.
The walk home felt so much longer then the walk to campus.
Chapter 3: Rebellious youth
Author's Note
A warning about this chapter and the next. Up till now this story has been mostly sad, but here's where the dark tag comes in. If you have any aversion to depictions of attempted rape you might want to skip this chapter and the next... Thought the story will be missing a chunk out of it.
Chapter 3: Rebellious youth
Lyra filled the large automated coffee machine with new beans. She wore a barristia cap and a black vest with a coffee shop's logo on it. A small little bell rang off to the side of the counter. "Hi welcome to BuckingStalion's Coffee House!" Lyra greeted the new customer who walked in.
It had been two months since Lyra had visited the department dean at Grand Galloping University. Lyra's parents had given her an ultimatum after her last rejection letter, find a job or move out. She had been working at BuckingStalion for the past three weeks. It was the third job in as many months. While it wasn't the greatest job in the word, it put some money in her pocket. Well, a little bit any way.
Since her parents started charging her rent most of it went back to them. She earned a meager, but liveable wage from the job. Provided she could keep from spending it.
"One caramel frappuccino, no whip.” Lyra overheard the order and walked to the blender to start making it. She put the skim milk and caramel into it along with a healthy heap of ice. She put the top on the pitcher then hit the setting marked high. The unit shook for a second before launching the blender's pitcher off it's motor base.
The frappuccino mixture went every where. It covered Lyra, her coworker, Chip, and even splashed on to a few customers as well. Lyra just stared and blinked at the unit with a blank look of surprise. She knew that something went wrong, but couldn't quite process it.
"My new sweater!" Lyra heard one of the patrons yell. She closed her eyes and smacked her forehead. She didn't check that the pitcher was on the housing correctly before she started it. This wasn't the first time either.
"Lyra!"
The next yell was from her manager. She was going to be chewed out. Again.
She managed to clean her self up a bit before meeting the manager in his back room. Parts of her mane still stuck to hear head, and her fur was still a bit of a mess. It was better then it could have been but she would need a shower to get rid of the rest.
The manager's office was small, and split into two even smaller sub spaces, a work space for her manager and smaller table for staff. "Lyra, what am I going to do with you?" Her manager scolded her again, "This is the forth time this week you've screwed something up. And you ruined that customer's sweater!"
"I'm sorry Mr. Buck. It wont happen again." Her voice was low and soft. She knew it was her fault, that she had to pay more attention but it was so difficult. This job was boring and it was hard for her to focus. Plus Mr. Buck gave Lyra the creeps sometimes.
Mr. Buck laughed at the statement, "Lyra you've said that the past four times this week, and the in-numerous other times before that. I'm putting you on notice, if it happens again. I'm going to have to let you go."
Even though she knew it was fair, Lyra still tried to speak up and defend her self, but Mr. Buck would have none of it. "I'm sorry, this is your last chance Lyra If you want to keep your job there's only one thing you have to do. Stop screwing up!" With that he sent her out of his office.
Lyra stood up and walked out of the office, unconsciously swishing her tail once as she walked away. Mr. Buck couldn't help but stare at her plot as she walked out.
'Well, maybe there's something else you could do.' He thought to him self as a particularly evil smile crept over his lips. Mr. Buck started to think about the opportunity that just flung it self through his coffee shop, and he felt a subtle familiar tingle. Mr. Buck wanted her golden mint leaf, and Mr. Buck always got what he wanted. Always.
Lyra walked out the office and went behind the line to help Chip clean up her mess. The dark brown pony with black mane was trying to clean up the display case when she walked by. "Chip, I'll clean that up. It's my mess anyway." Lyra and Chip actually got along fairly well despite her constant screw ups.
"Aw, don't worry about it Lyra." Chip went back to cleaning the case as Lyra gave him a warm smile. She thought he was actually kind of sweet, just like his chocolate chip cutie mark.
Another customer came in. "Hi! welcome to BuckingStalion's Coffee House!" So the day continued. Lyra made it a point to double check everything. She wasn't going to screw up again. She couldn't.
The next few orders came in and Lyra double checked everything. Leaving nothing to chance this time. She only had another hour today, and then she could go home and shower. Maybe even write a little.
Lyra paused for a moment and shook her head. 'No.' she thought. She wasn't going to do this again. She had to focus. Be in the moment, live in the now, pay attention to what you are doing. She repeated to her self. This was going to work, she was going to make it work. She just had to focus.
Everything went smoothly for the rest of her shift. Well, aside from her manager watching everything she did. Lyra knew he was looking for just one excuse. His constant attention actually made her uncomfortable. It feel like he was staring more at her then her work. On more then one occasion it felt like he purposefully bumped into her.
Eventually the day ended for her. Lyra sighed and walked back into her manager's office to punch the clock. She was free to go but didn't leave right away. She wanted to wait for Chip to get done so they could walk home together. It was a simple ritual they had settled into after she started.
Lyra enjoyed the colt's company, even if he was a bit dense sometimes. In truth, Chip was a bit of a do nothing, but he seemed nice and was a good friend. Part of Lyra wondered if maybe they could be a bit more then friends. She knew it wasn't a good idea since they both worked together. Still if he ever asked...
Chip's head popped around the corner of the manager's office, "Oh, hey Lyra." She smiled at him. "Hey Chip, want to walk home?" His eyes darted to the side and he looked down. "I-I'm sorry Lyra. Mr. Buck wanted to talk to me about something. He says it's going to take a while."
She paused for a moment "Oh, I see... Well I could wait..."
Chip interrupted her, "No! That's ok Lyra. I'll see you at work tomorrow." He forced a smile, a bead of sweet dripped down the side of his head. Lyra couldn't see the rest of his body.
His behavior was odd, even for him. Lyra wondered if she had done something to make him wary of her. Maybe she thought, he really was upset that he had to clean up after her? "ok chip. I'll see you tomorrow than."
She walked out of the coffee shop, unaware of Chip staring at her as she walked. Mr. Buck came out of his small office and stood behind the dark and brown pony. "Trust me Chip, she needs this job."
Chip looked at the ground, studying the lines and contours in the tiling. He was unsure about what Mr. Buck had told him, but he did like Lyra. This would make her like him he thought. Wouldn't it?
The walk home was lonely, and gave Lyra time to think about things. She thought about money first and for most right now. She needed to save up at least a few hundred bits. Preferably a thousand before she moved out. It was going to be difficult with how much her parents were charging for rent, but she could do it. Five months of working at the coffee shop. “Just five months.” She whispered to herself.
She entered her parents home calling out to them that she was home. Their response was a flat and detached "Welcome home." Lyra was about to go up the stairs, when her mother came out to great her personally. Lyra was taken a back by the personal contact from her usually distant mother. For a moment Lyra was actually afraid of what her mother was going to say.
"I wanted to give this to you." Her mother levitated a yellow and pink envelope to Lyra. "It was sent by your old friend Bon Bon a month ago. I completely forgot to give it you."
Lyra took the letter, "Thanks mom." Her response had just the subtle edge of sarcasm to it. Which her mother either ignored or missed as she walked back into the depths of the house.
Lyra walked up stairs and put her apron on the handle above her door. The shower could wait, she had to read this. Lyra took the letter and began to open it. The first thing she noticed was the smell. It had a surgery sweetness to it. Just like a candy shop she thought as a smile came over her mussel.
Lyra was happy for her friend, she had opened a fairly successful candy shop and was no doubt doing well. 'Unlike me', Lyra thought.
The letter was short,
"Dear Lyra,
First how are you? I haven’t heard from you in a while, I know you were set to graduate a few months back. I hope everything has worked out. You used to talk about your research all the time. I didn't know your address in canterlot since you moved so I sent this to your mom's house. I just hope she actually gets it to you!
Me? I moved out to the small town of Ponyville. It's nice here, kind of quite. My candy shop isn't doing as well as I hoped. I had to close it down for the time being. The local bakery was more then helpful in getting me started too, but starting a business is difficult. Don't worry too much about me though, I'll be able to start it up again eventually. Just need to get some odd jobs together in the mean time.
You should stop by to visit some day when you get time. There's a train from Canterlot that runs daily. Or I could visit you if you have a room for me to stay?
Take care of your self, and write back sometime! Your such an airhead sometimes!
-Love you,
Bon Bon."
Lyra was a little disheartened to hear that Bon Bon's candy shop wasn't doing well, but she was confident in her friend. If Bon Bon put her mind to it then she could do anything.
Lyra sat on her bed and levitated some parchment paper and a quill. She was going to write a letter to Bon Bon. She couldn't come out to Ponyville, but maybe Bon Bon would be willing to visit her?
A few weeks later.
*knock knock*
The door knocker's sound rang through the house rousing Lyra from her sleep. Looking at the clock before she got out of bed she saw how early it was. Her parents were still asleep no doubt. She quietly and stealthfully walked down the hallway to the stairs, making sure not to make any noise. The last thing she needed was her parents yelling at her for waking them up.
She had no idea who it was, probably some delivery person, or door to door marketer, she thought.
Lyra opened the door, and was not expecting to see the yellow pony with the pink and purple maned in front of her. "Bon Bon?!" Lyra forgot about being quite and shouted her friend's name.
She opened the door and came out to give her the biggest hug she could. It had been almost a year since the last time she saw her dear friend.
The two let go of each other, "Bon bon! I didn't expect to see you so soon? What brings you out to Manehatten?"
"Well I got your letter, and figured why not take you up on your offer to visit. Honestly I needed to get out of that town for a while." The two smiled at each other, and Lyra shook her head. "I'm sorry Bon bon, why don't you come inside?"
The two talked for hours at the kitchen table. Swapping stories and talking about things in the world, more then each others lives.
Eventually Lyra's mother woke up and came down stairs for breakfast. She was not expecting to see Bon Bon.
"Oh. Hello Bon Bon." Clarinet smiled at the pony, "Haven't seen you in a while I thought you had moved?"
"She did mom. I sent Bon Bon a letter seeing if she could visit for a day or two. I didn't think it would be a big deal." Lyra was a bit concerned that her mother or father would be upset.
"Oh, of course it's fine for your friend to visit." There was some sarcasm in her voice, very subtle, but Lyra could hear it. "So where will Bon Bon be sleeping, on our couch?"
"No, she'll be sleeping in my room. I have a sleeping bag she can use." It suddenly hit Lyra that maybe Bon Bon might want other accommodations
"A sleeping bag will be fine. It will be just like we're in school again!" Bon Bon answered as if reading her friend's thoughts. The two squeed and smiled at the thought of reliving their school days even if it was just for a few days.
The two continued to talk well into the later morning, eventually Lyra's father came down and was equally as surprised as Clarinet was.
Bon Bon was happy to be here, but she had a hard time smiling. She just couldn't help but feel sorry for her friend. While Bon Bon's life could certainly be going better she didn't feel as deep in a hole as Lyra. "Lyra. I'm sorry. Those guys at the university are jerks, you're better then they are and your ideas sound amazing!"
"Hump", Lyra's mother laughed to her self under her breath. Yet it was loud enough to be heard by both ponies at the table.
Lyra held her head down slightly, "My parents didn't approve of my choice in majors." She whimpered slightly.
A hoof brushed over top of her's. Lyra looked up at her friends smiling eyes. "Lyra, I think your ideas are really interesting. I'd love to try and read your thesis if you have?" Lyra smiled, her eyes beginning to water up slightly. "Yeah! I've got the copy on my desk!"
There was a mint green streak as Lyra bounded through the house and ran up the stares. She dug through the mess of paper work on her desk and uncovered the red and golden tome.
Lyra turned around and was about to head back to kitchen when she saw Bon Bon enter her room. "Sorry, do you mind if I read it up here? Your mom is giving me the stink eye."
Lyra held her ears back and silently cursed at her mother. "I'm sorry Bon..."
"Stop with the sorrys Lyra. You act like a kicked puppy. Your mom and dad are dicks, we both know that." Lyra smiled and let out a light little laugh. It felt good to laugh for a change. "Yeah, they kind of are pricks aren't they." The two shared a laugh as Lyra handed the tome over to Bon Bon.
Lyra felt good. For the first time in months, she truly felt happy. Even if it would only last for a moment.
The two sat in Lyra's room, Bon Bon engrossed in Lyra's book while Lyra laid on her bed day dreaming about things. Occasionally Bon Bon would ask a question or two about the text, and Lyra would try to answer. Some of it was difficult though. Most of the text was mired in ancient culture's and there were some foreign languages sprinkled about. Otherwise though there wasn't much for the two ponies to discuss, both were just enjoying each others company.
Eventually the sun started to creep down along the horizon. Somewhere deep in the house an old clock chimed three bells. Lyra got up and picked up her apron. She turned to Bon Bon as she put it on. "I'm sorry I have to go to work Bon Bon."
Bon Bon looked up from the book and gave a shrug. "Eh, it's ok. I'm sure I can find something to do while you're gone." She motioned down to the large book which she wasn't even half way through.
"Hey maybe you can stop by when I get off work. I'll buy you a coffee."
Bon Bon smiled at the offer, "I'd like that."
Work was very strange today. Both Chip and Mr. Buck were working incredibly close to Lyra all day. Even worse then they had over the past two weeks. She felt like they both were waiting for her to fail or screw up. Well they were going to have to look to someone else to screw up. Lyra was a model employee now. She checked and double checked everything.
An over weight blue pony came into the store and made her order. A frappuccino, a double Espresso, and a Daisy Field Salad, no nuts.
Frappuccino, check ingredients, check blender, hold blender while blending.
Espresso, check ground type, check pressure, lock everything into place.
A Daisy Salad with fresh fruit and hold the nuts, check.
Everything was perfect, as chip handed the large order to the rather plump pony. Chip even went the extra mile to help Lyra by checking the salad contents and putting them in a bag.
Yes, everything was going well. Lyra thought, as she broke down the espresso machine to clean it.
"I want to talk to your manager!" The slightly overweight pony had come storming back into the store and yelled at Chip. "Now!" She barked at Chip's stammering.
Lyra walked over to Chip to support him if nothing else. Just what was this pony on about she thought?
Lyra and Chip were both intimidated by the large pony. Mr. Buck had come out to investigate the source of the disturbance.
"Hi, I'm Mr. Buck, owner of the BuckingStalion. What seems to be the problem miss?"
The large pony looked like she was going to hurt someone. "The problem is my daughter!" She pointed to the little green foal next to her. "I bought this salad for her to eat, and I explicitly said no nuts!" The blue pony's face turned a shade of purple as he face flushed with anger. "My daughter is allergic to nuts!"
Lyra shook her head. "I'm sorry miss, but your salad didn't have any nuts in it. Chip and I both saw that. Didn't we chip?" Chip couldn’t look Lyra in the eyes as he stammered.
*Thud*
The blue pony plopped a salad bowl down on the counter. Lyra couldn't believe what was on top of the salad. Sitting there like tiny little brown and shriveled gremlins were walnut fragments. There is no way she could have missed them she thought.
"But I checked..." She whispered.
"Well clearly you didn't check hard enough!" the pony barked back.
Mr. Buck came between the counter and his two employees. "Please Ms. I'm sure I can make this up." Mr. Buck took the recipe next to the cash register, and made note of the amount, '10 bits'. He opened the cash register and gave the pony back her bits and also coupon for a free coffee on her next visit.
She took the bits and huffed at the empty gesture, leaving with out the coupon.
Lyra knew she screwed up, and she also knew that this was probably her last screw up too. "Mr. Buck I'm so..."
"In my office Lyra. Now!" He walked away from the counter to the back of building. Chip started to follow them. "Not you Chip. You'll be next" he said, with a very subtle hint of a smile.
Chip watched the two walk into the office, in his stomach a knot started to form. Something was deeply wrong with the whole situation. He knew that, but what else could he do? He liked Lyra, a lot, but Mr. Buck was instant. He always said there was no way she could like an idiot like him, was there? This was the only way he would be with her, he thought.
The idea provided little comfort to him. It was wrong, yet still he would do nothing. He walked back to the counter to server the line that had started to form.
Lyra entered Mr. Buck's office and sat down in front of his desk. Mr. Buck, gave a quick lick of his chops as he shut his office door, quietly locking it behind him. Outside Chip watched the door shut, his mind full of confusion.
Mr. Buck Walked around Lyra who had her head down. She was nervous, and scared.
"Please! Mr. Buck, I need this job. Just..." She thought about what to say. Begging seemed to be her only option. "just give me another chance."
"Oh I know you need this job Lyra." He put a hoof on her shoulder. Lyra couldn't help but feel a bit uncomfortable with the gesture. "But, you screwed up again Lyra. Why that poor foal could have eaten that salad. Gone to the hospital." He stood behind her, rubbing her shoulder ever so slightly, "Maybe even died." His voice was hollow, he didn't really care the little foal one way or the other. The only real thing on his mind was between Lyra's legs.
Lyra's head perked up. She knew it wasn't her fault. She made that salad by hand. She check it twice, there were no nuts. "Mr. Buck I checked that salad twice. There were no nuts in it. Chip even..." She paused. A thought crept into her mind, a terrifying and horrible thought. What if Chip did this to her?
"Oh, Lyra. What am I going to do with you?" Mr. Buck's hoof had moved to the center of her back. Lyra was starting to become really comfortable by Mr. Buck's touches.
"P-Please Mr. Buck. Stop touching me." She half whimpered.
He raised an eyebrow, "Oh, why should I?"
She pulled away from his hoof. "I don't like it. Please stop." She wanted to get out of the office now. She was tempted to just tell Mr. Buck to shove it at this point. As she turned to face him, she saw something dangling from underneath Mr. Buck.
'No.' She thought, she didn't want to be here. 'To hell with this job.'
Lyra began to get up when Mr. Buck reached his hoof around to grab her flank. Lyra hit his hoof as hard as she could. "Stop it! I'm not interested Buck. You can go find someone else to fuck." When she turned around Buck tried to jump on top of her attempting to pin her down. Lyra was having none of it though, she gave a hard kick from her back legs, Bucking buck back into his own desk.
She walked over to his door and found it was locked. She glared back at Mr. Buck was just starting to get up.
“Go to hell!” She screamed and ripped the door off it's hinges with her magic. The coffee shop was in dead silence when she walked out. Lyra's head was down, her mind working connecting the dots of what had happened. She had heard stories about Mr. Buck, almost everypony did. Now she knew they weren't just rumors.
Buck limped out of his office and screamed at Lyra that she was fired. Of course by now she couldn't even care. Chip walked up to Lyra, he wanted to apologized, "Lyra I'm..."
*Smack* She hit Chip across his face as hard as she could. "How could you Chip?" She had tears in her eyes, "I thought you were my friend. I might have actually liked you. you... Pervert!" The tears were replaced by a growing rage. "You and your boss can stay the fuck away from me! You two are fucking nuts if you think I'm going to fuck either of you over this shitty job!" She looked back at the stallion still in his office, his mouth agape. "I quit!"
The entire coffee shop watched in silence as Lyra walked through the coffee shop. A brief thought crossed her mind, about what she would do now, but she ignored it. She could worry about it later. Before leaving she removed her apron and hat and let them fall on the floor. With that last act she walked out of BuckingStailion's coffee house for the last time.
Lyra took the long way home, walking through the city park on her way back. The park was quite and serene, it was the only part of this city she ever really liked. She walked down a small path towards a small hill. On the top of this hill was an equally small bench. Lyra approached this bench, and sat on it. Her back pressed against the hard wood a strange posture, for a pony.
There was a very slight breeze which caught part of her mane. She brushed the hair out of her eyes and looked out towards the distant cityscape and setting sun. This place was a small eye of calm admits the maelstrom of her life. A moment to breath, as the hurricane outside blew more of her sanity away.
'What am I going to do?' She thought. She had lost her job, and who knows how the coffee shop incident would be seen by others. She doubted any merchant down town would give her a job now even if she was in the right.
Lyra looked to her side. It felt empty with out her lyre. She wished she had thought to bring it this morning. The sun slowly crept bellow the building skyline. The approaching shade and night had a bitter cold to it.
Lyra sighed, as she got up and made the journey back to her parent's house. This was not going to be a fun night. She hoped her parents would understand what happened, but she held her doubts.
Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.