A Glimpse of Another World
Lyra rubbed her eyes with her hooves, and rolled over to face the ceiling. She yawned, and blinked blearily.
I was pretty sure I heard something..... she thought. Shrugging, she turned over again, and closed her eyes.
CRASH!
Lyra jerked awake, and sat up. Now, she had definitely heard that! Her ear twitched, trying to pick up any sounds.
"Ow......." a voice groaned.
Slowly and quietly, Lyra climbed out of her bed, and made her way to the window. She peeked out, almost afraid to discover what was out there.
From the bright light that the full moon provided, Lyra could just make out something writhing in the shadows. What seemed to be a tail flicked in and out of the moonlight, but that was all she could see.
Plucking up her courage, Lyra grabbed a flashlight she kept for emergencies from her desk drawer, and exited her bedroom.
She lit the way through her house with her flashlight, careful not to bump into anything. Lyra took the back door outsides, it being closer to the alley.
She cautiously stepped out, her legs shaking like a newborn foal's. "H-hello?" she called out softly, her voice muffled by the flashlight in her mouth. "Anypony out there?"
Suddenly, a shadow loomed up in front of her. Lyra screamed, and dropped her flashlight.
The flashlight landed in front of the thing, illuminating the creature against the darkness.
A pony stood reared up on its hind legs. It looked like a normal Earth pony mare, but Lyra sensed something off about her.
"Umm, what are you doing in a alley in the middle of the night?" she asked.
"Where am I?!" the earth pony exclaimed. She looked down at her hooves, her eyes wide and panicked. "What am I?"
What is wrong with her? Lyra thought. Does she have some kind of mental issue?
"You're in Ponyville," Lyra said, taking a small unnoticeable step back.
"What is Ponyville?" she asked, her eyes full of confusion. The mare got tired of standing on her hind legs, and dropped to the ground, almost losing her balance. Her eyes darted around the alley, as if she expected something to jump out at them.
Oh, sweet Celestia, what do I do?
Against her better judgement, Lyra said, "How about we go to my house, and then we can talk things over?"
The mare hesitantly nodded, and started to walk towards the house.
Lyra picked up the flashlight, and took the lead. She opened the door for the mare, letting her go in first. Lyra closed the door back, dropped the flashlight in a basket, and then turned on the light.
"Ah!" the mare jumped, her eyes darting around the room. "How did you do that?"
Lyra blinked. "I just turned on the light......."
The mare looked at her, confusion written all over her face. "But it's dark outside."
Sighing, Lyra led the mare to the kitchen, flicking lights on as they walked. This earned many startled gasps from the brown mare.
Lyra turned on the light in the kitchen, and walked to the table. She patted the chair next to her. "Come sit down so we can talk," Lyra instructed.
The mare looked around in wonder at the kitchen, like she had never seen one before. Maybe she hasn't! Lyra thought, observing the strange mare.
Now that she was in the light, Lyra could finally take a good look at the mare. Her coat was a dusky brown, her mane a slightly lighter brown, and she had weird angular cat-like ears. Her cutie mark was a brown mouse.
The mare caught her staring and snapped, "What are you looking at?"
"Sorry," Lyra muttered, startled, dragging her eyes away. "That's an interesting cutiemark."
"Huh?" The mare walked over to the table, and clambered awkwardly onto the chair next to Lyra. "What's a cutiemark?"
Lyra drew in a sharp breath, staring at the mare as if she had just asked if the sky was green. "You don't know what a cutiemark is?!" Something is seriously wrong with this pony!
The mare snorted, irritated. "If I had known what a cutiemark is, I wouldn't have asked you."
Shaking her head, Lyra said, "A cutiemark is a picture on your flank that expresses who you are. A pony gets it when they discover their special talent. Mine is a harp-she pointed to her flank, earning another gasp from the mare- Taken from your cutiemark you're good at- umm, what are you good at?"
The mare shrugged, glancing down at her flank. "I don't know. I just got here remember?"
Lyra face-hoofed herself. "Right! Where are you from? Uh, do you know where you came from?" she added, quietly.
"Of course I know where I came from!" the mare snapped. "I'm not a mousebrain."
What's a mousebrain? She thought curiously. "Sorry, I was just making sure," Lyra shrugged. "I'm Lyra by the way."
"Mousefur," the mare grumbled. "Now, where in the name of StarClan am I?"
"The nation you`re in is Equestria," Lyra began, ignoring the fact that Mousefur was a very peculiar name for a pony. "Princess Celestia and Princess Luna rule Equestria. There are three types of ponies: pegasi, Earth ponies, and unicorns. Once, a long time ago-"
"Woah, woah, woah!" Mousefur interrupted, holding her hooves up. "I just asked where I was, not the whole known history!"
Lyra blushed. "Sorry. How about you tell me where you came from, and how you got here?"
Mousefur sighed, closing her eyes for a second. "Well, I don't exactly remember everything that happened, but the last thing I remember before I blacked out was that I was chasing a mouse-"
Now it was Lyra's turn to interrupt. "But ponies are vegetarians. Why were you chasing a mouse?"
"Where I come from, I'm not a pony I'm a cat." Lyra barely had a minute to process this before Mousefur started talking again. "Anyway, I was chasing a mouse, and it ran into a bush. I dived into the bush after it, and suddenly I found myself falling. I blacked out, and found myself out there." Mousefur pointed in the direction of the back door.
She's a cat?! How can she be a cat? Did she REALLY fall through a portal? HOW IS THIS HAPPENING?!? All these thoughts rushed through Lyra's head, as she sat there at the table, her lips moving but no words coming out.
"HELLO?" Mousefur waved a brown hoof in front of her face. "Anybody there?"
Lyra snapped out of her trance, and instantly began blurting questions: "Are you really a cat? How come you can communicate with me? Where do you come from-"
"One question at a time!" Mousefur said, putting a hoof on Lyra's mouth. "I will tell you about my world, if you tell me about yours."
Lyra quickly agreed to this.
So, for about an hour and a half the two mares exchanged information about their worlds:
Mousefur told Lyra that she was part of a Clan called ThunderClan in the forest, and how Twolegs were stupid mousebrains.
Lyra told Mousefur about Equestrian creatures, and how she was friends with Princess Twilight Sparkle.
After a while, Lyra yawned and glanced at the clock hanging on the kitchen wall. It was past eleven.
Mousefur sighed. "I think it's time to go."
Lyra nodded wordlessly, got out of her chair, and walked to the back door. She held the door open for Mousefur, and she trotted out, her ears down and her tail dragging in the ground.
I know I just met her, but I feel as if we've been best friends since magic kindergarten! Lyra thought, as she watched Mousefur search the alley for a portal opening.
"Hey, are you going to just sit there and daydream, or are you going to help me?" Mousefur asked, glaring at her.
I want you to stay here! "Sorry," Lyra mumbled, and began to reluctantly search the alley.
"Found it!" Mousefur exclaimed loudly, motioning Lyra towards her.
"Shhh!" Lyra shushed her, not wanting Mousefur to say those words. "You're going to wake up the neighbors!"
Ignoring her, Mousefur pointed to a hole hidden behind a fallen trashcan. "Look!"
Lyra trotted over, and peered in the hole. The hole was about the size of a small pony. It was pitch black at the bottom, so nopony knew how far it went down. It seemed to glimmer in a way.
Lyra`s face and heart fell, when she saw it.
She whipped around before Mousefur could see her expression. "How do you know it's the portal?" she asked desperately. "It could just be a normal hole!"
The brown mare sighed again. "Lyra, you know I was going to have to go back soon. I can't stay here forever." she added, her voice gentle but firm.
Lyra nodded, though hearing those words broke her heart. "I'll miss you," Lyra said, hugging her new friend for the first and last time.
Mousefur returned the embrace. "I'll miss you too."
Lyra broke the hug, and stepped back. "You should go."
Mousefur nodded, and walked to edge of the portal-hole. She looked over her shoulder, tears glistening in her eyes. "Goodbye," she whispered, barely loud enough for Lyra to hear her.
"Goodbye, Mousefur." Lyra croaked, fighting back tears.
And with that, Mousefur dived down the hole, never to be seen again.
For a long time, Lyra just stood there in the alley, sniffling. You did the right thing. she told herself. Mousefur couldn't have stayed here forever. Shaking her head, she headed back into the house.
Lyra plodded up the stairs, through her bedroom door, and collapsed on her bed. It was still dark outside. Tears flew freely down her cheeks now, but soon she was starting to nod off.
I wonder if I'm going to wake up in the morning, and this will all turn out to be just a dream...... Was the last thing Lyra thought, before darkness enveloped her completely.
