Mirror: Book I - Mind

The majority of Ponyville’s populace, to some understanding, consisted of earth ponies. Even though many were insistent to claim they possessed a wide range of diversity, it appeared as only a label for the sake of said diversity. Though other races such as unicorns and pegasi were not unwelcome, but they weren’t quite as abundant either, and their presence in the humble town at the center of the valley seemed all but a rarity at most occurrences.

Earth ponies were known for both their physique and strange adeptness to the field of business planning, thus making them masters in the art of agricultural development and other traditional building projects. It was no wonder that Ponyville still rendered their constructs in the old-fashioned hay-roofed, cabin-walls style that many still see today. If anything, the ambiance of Ponyville itself practically screamed the inundation of earth ponies, and any unicorn or pegasi to behold its simple wonders found themselves in a world almost unlike any they had originated in.

It was no mystery that pegasi had come from the clouds, and the unicorns from the mountains, thus the lower percentage populace were responsible for pooling in from cities such as Cloudsdale, Canterlot, Las Pegasus and Manehattan. In the eye of the earth pony, a unicorn or a pegasus was a plus, a steward of utilities and wonders they had little to no control over. In this sense they were a need, used even in the growing and developing midst of the coming modern world. One unicorn, in fact, was currently being used as a living shopping cart of sorts.

A one miss Bon Bon trotted down the silt and cobble path stringing around the Ponyville market stalls with her friend in tow, the minty green, harp-marked unicorn known as Lyra Heartstrings. Her levitational field was stock full with bags filled to the brim with groceries, and the unicorn felt herself having to take a break every now and then from the toll it was taking upon her horn. Bon Bon herself felt at ease avoiding the trouble of having to carry so many groceries at once on her own, and she took a glance back to her roommate whom had her rump in the dirt, wiping the sweat off her brow.

“Get a move on, Lyra!” The earth mare hollered back. “Those groceries aren’t gonna carry themselves.”

Lyra sighed tiredly, faked a smile and made the effort to catch up with her friend.

“But really, I don’t think you should be…’jamming’ at such high volumes.” The earth pony said. “You’re going to damage your ears, Vinyl.”

The unicorn did not respond. Not because she had no desire to, but she was in fact deprived of the ability to get a word past her tongue. Vinyl simply stared off into the space of the market, glaring through her deep-purple visors at the many ponies passing by this way and that.

“It’s bad enough that you can’t speak, you wouldn’t want to bear the weight of another disability, would you?” Her friend inquired.

Vinyl froze and whipped her head around, throwing up her hooves to relay a series of symbols and offended gestures.

“I didn’t mean anything by it!” Octavia panicked. “I like you just the way you are, you know I would never change anything about you, even for the sake of my own benefit.”

Vinyl adorned a calmer posture and nodded in understanding, following up with an apologetic sign gesture. Her earth mare friend leaned forward and rested a reassuring hoof to her shoulder, smiling into her glasses and giving a calm nod. Their short spell of a compromise led on into the market stalls as Octavia resumed her search for ingredients for the coming afternoon. She turned back to her friend and began.

“How about I let you decide what we have for dinner tonight?”

Vinyl gave a shrug.

“Oh, come now, I think there ought to be a change of pace for once.” Octavia studied the stock before her. “How does asparagus sound?” She reached her hoof over the vendor for the last bundle which laid upon the table. Only, once her hoof had landed, a strange, fuzzy and warm feeling contacted with her frog. Gross! Was there fungus growing on this thing? The earth mare quickly returned her sights, only to come face to face with yet another earth mare.

Bon Bon stared at her opposition, confused and shocked, allowing the circuits to click together in her brain as she slowly came to realize just who exactly she was staring at. She looked back down at the asparagus that laid upon the table, a dull gray hoof snugged up next to hers. The earth ponies looked at each other once more, sparks of ire blazing beneath their tightened brows.

“You.” Their tongues boomed in unison.

“Bon Bon?” Lyra approached.

“Bon Bon?” Octavia questioned.

Vinyl, of course, remained silent.

Lyra peeked over expectantly, only to receive a shrug from the other unicorn.

“Uh…Lyra?” Lyra tried.

“Lyra?” Octavia questioned again, then shook her head. “Wait a moment, I met you at the Ponies Front meeting.”

“And what do you think you’re doing with my Lyra?” Bon Bon butted in. “Keep your filthy hooves to yourself, donkey!”

“Well, I never.” Octavia ha-rumphed. “Vinyl and I were partaking in a simple stroll through the market, that is until we were both rudely interrupted.”

Once again, Vinyl delivered another shrug.

“And who’re you calling a donkey, you walking candy wrapper!” The cellist returned.

“Oh, that does it.” Bon Bon seethed. “I’d buck you into last week when we fought for the first time just so you could get your ass kicked all over again, but as you can see Lyra and I are running a little late.”

“I can see the undivided labor at work.” Octavia commented upon Lyra’s dismay.

“Exactly!” Bon Bon seemed to disregard her opposer’s comment altogether as she turned back to her companion. “Lyra, grab that asparagus, we’re leaving.”

“Oh, I don’t think so.” Octavia countered. “Vinyl, take it. It belongs to us.”

“I saw it first, jackass.”

“Well, I thought of it first, cotton-pig!”

The verbal brawlers pushed their muzzles against one another for a second time, it almost looked as though the two would break out into a full on fight that very instant. Lyra and Vinyl both visibly panicked, sharing uncertain glances as their gazes returned to their friends and met back with glares of impatience. Sweat drops and nervous eye dartings commenced for a moment more before the two unicorns finally made the decision to light their horns and lift the asparagus from the table. It was an involuntary action, as both of their magical fields had met the vegetable at once, and in that moment they looked at one another apologetically.

‘My apologies.’ Lyra said.

‘It’s okay, my bad.’ Vinyl replied.

They both froze. Lyra blinked again and again, and Vinyl stared dumbfounded.

‘You talk?!’ The two unicorns pushed their muzzles together.

‘Wait, I always knew I could talk! Why am I surprised?’ Lyra giggled inwardly.

‘You can hear me?’ Vinyl pushed harder.

‘Yes! Yes I can hear you!’ The minty unicorn bounced up and down.

‘I could never talk! But…now I can. What in the hay is going on?!’ Vinyl squirmed excitedly and adorned an ecstatic grin. ‘Holy crap, talking is so cool. I can’t believe I’m talking right now, after all these years!’ She froze again and looked around. ‘Wait, am I really talking?’

‘I’m not sure.’ Lyra followed up. ‘I can hear your voice but your lips aren’t moving.’

‘Your lips aren’t moving either.’ Vinyl noted.

The unicorns shared their sights downwards and spotted the asparagus still in their grasp, as one held on to the item with their magic so did the other. Vinyl let go, and suddenly her thoughts were her own. Lyra let her magic die, and the monologue of her brain remained to herself. Like that of flipping a light switch on and off, the unicorns tested the phenomenon over and over, sparkled, transparent blankets of red mixing with gold. The earth ponies had ceased their arguing at this point and stood by watching as their mares seemed to enjoy playing with the asparagus like it was some sort of mini-game. At once, they had enough.

“Lyra!”

“Vinyl!”

The unicorns jolted and returned their attention.

“Whatever is taking you so long?” Octavia wondered.

“Quit playing around and grab the asparagus already!” Bon Bon barked.

“Oh please, we’re rivals are we not? You don’t need to be so kind as to finish my sentences for me.” Octavia replied dully.

“Who said anything about being rivals? As soon as we’re done here I’m sure as Celestia’s sun I won’t have a rival anymore.”

“I’ll bet upon Luna’s moon that the concept of a rival won’t even beset your mind once I’ve knocked your skull in.”

Once more, the cacophonous cries of bickering and arguing on the rise filled the quaint, calm area of the Ponyville market isles. Plenty of ears flickered and picked up the sound of debate in the direction of the two and slowly began to gather in anticipation of finding out what was the matter and eager to witness yet another fight break out. Vinyl and Lyra needed only to deliver to one another knowing gazes and grins as they slowly set down the plethora of groceries in their magical grasps, and trotted away from the scene with the asparagus bundle in their telekinetic tow.

The scent of freshly baked goods and pastries accompanied by the linger of coffee and tea wafted from the open stable door of the restaurant and into the outdoor seating area, closed in by a thin red rope fastened from one white and pink striped pole to the next, wherein the faithful telekinetic talkers seated themselves with wary eyes on the crowds outside. A pink vase holding a bright red tulip sat upon a purple, flattop mushroom, serving as their table and the setting place for the very asparagus bundle that had begun this entire state of affairs, and a possible rediscovery in a lost art at that. Lyra and Vinyl sat opposite of one another, both studying the vegetable closely and with quiet concern. The DJ had even gone to lift her iconic purple visors from her eyes and get a better look at the item. Once again they both enveloped the piece with their magic, and their talking continued.

‘What do you think?’ Vinyl started. ‘Spooky asparagus?’

‘I would’ve hoped so.’ Lyra speculated. ‘But no, this is something completely different. I don’t suppose you’ve ever heard of telekinetic communication?’

‘And I’m supposed to assume vegetables are good for that sort of thing?’

‘Not unless you boil them.’

Their waitress made to interrupt their staring contest by trotting up with a notepad and pencil, only to notice the asparagus lying upon their table. She eyed the two unicorns curiously, wondering if they planned to share it together, to which Lyra gave a quick, nervous smile and pushed the bundle to the side with a swift hoof swipe. “W-We’ll be ready in just a minute.” She giggled in a nervous fit.

The waitress shrugged and turned to trot back into the building, prompting the minty mare to levitate a saltshaker from a nearby table and rest it between herself and her new companion. Their ritualistic procedure took place once more, and thus the conversation continued on.

‘Wow, that is so much cleaner.’ Vinyl blinked, amazed. ‘It’s like you can actually hear my voice.’

‘It probably depends upon the composition of the object we’re holding.’ Lyra explained, staring at the salt shaker. ‘For instance, an asparagus is only made up of plant cells, so it’s going to make us sound muffled no matter what. This saltshaker on the other hoof contains sodium chloride, an almost crystalline like structure. The more organized the material of the object we’re holding, the better we can hear each other.’

‘Then it’s no wonder they use certain metals for my sound equipment.’ Vinyl followed. ‘But, I’m not actually hearing you right now, am I? And you can’t actually hear me.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Well, I know for a fact Octavia would’ve dropped everything the moment she heard my voice for the first time.’ Vinyl thought back. ‘But she didn’t, and neither did your friend. They just kept staring at us like our conversation didn’t even exist.’

Lyra blinked with realization. ‘You’re right.’ She pondered, a hoof to her chin. ‘It’s more like we’re speaking to each other through…’

‘…our thoughts?’ The DJ finished.

‘Somehow I knew telekinetic was the wrong word.’ Lyra pondered a moment more. Her friend watched on as though the mare was trying to pop a vein, and a second later a light bulb burst above her horn. “Telepathy!” She said out loud.

Nearby tables ceased their conversations to swivel their attention over to Lyra. The flustered unicorn grinned nervously once more and sat herself down, blushing and giggling in Vinyl’s direction. The white unicorn surrendered a raised brow before moving on.

‘I take it this filly reads a lot of comics?’ Vinyl smiled knowingly.

‘This isn’t just an old mare’s tale, I know I’ve read about it somewhere else before.’ Lyra went on. ‘Telepathic communication, or telepathy. It comes from the Griffish words ‘distant’ and ‘feeling.’

‘Distant feeling…?’ Vinyl surmised. ‘Huh.’

‘We’re communicating to each other from a distance by feeling one another’s horn wavelengths, and using our telekinesis to touch the same object is what makes that possible’ Lyra explained fervently. ‘It’s like talking to each other through a wire or something that would carry our voices.’

‘But only you and I have access to the wire.’ Vinyl concluded. ‘That would explain why Octavia couldn’t hear me, or anypony else for that matter. Ah, horse apples, I suppose this means I can’t talk to her after all, huh?’

‘How come you haven’t talked to her before?’

Vinyl mimed a dotted line slicing across her neck and mimicked a gagging motion. Lyra caught a glimpse of a shiny, silver piercing stuck into the DJ’s tongue, and at that the white unicorn gave a shrug and a shake of her head.

“Oh, right…” Lyra nodded, quickly slapping her hooves over mouth. ‘Sorry! I mean, sorry to hear that.’

‘Don’t sweat it, I’ve gotten used to the whole mute thing by now.’ Vinyl shrugged again.

‘You mean you weren’t always a…mute?’ Lyra prodded.

‘These lips’ve been sealed for so long I can’t even remember the last time anything came out of them.’ Vinyl explained, looking across the other tables. ‘It’s not like I was much of a chatter box when I was a kid, so figuring that one out was like getting clothes for Hearth’s Warming Eve, only you already knew your parents were going to get you clothes.’

‘I suppose that’s an accurate enough way of putting it.’ Lyra glanced about. ‘Though, I could never imagine what that amount of silence in your life must feel like. Don’t you just wanna, I dunno, say something every now and then?’

‘Like I said, you get used to it.’ Vinyl sufficed. ‘It’s just nice that I can actually talk to somepony else for once. Hope you don’t mind me filtering fifteen years of unsung madness through your brain for a while.’

‘Trust me, it’s what I live for.’ Lyra chuckled inwardly. ‘But it’s got me thinking, why us?’

‘Because…the universe hates us?’ Vinyl raised her brows.

‘Besides that.’ Lyra pondered further. ‘As far as I’m concerned, telepathic communication should only be achievable for high level unicorns, and even those guys have a hard time hitting the bullseye.’

‘Hey, maybe we’re just gifted?’ The DJ suggested.

‘And you may not be wrong.’ Lyra furthered. ‘Back in the beginning ages of Equestria, when sorcery was on the rise, unicorns used to communicate to each other like this all the time. Of course, they didn’t need an asparagus or saltshaker or anything silly like that. Some unicorns could even talk to each other from miles away.’

‘If we’re talking about magic then it sounds like they used spells to communicate.’ Vinyl followed. ‘Isn’t that what we’re doing right now?’

‘I suppose that could be the case, but the unicorns of the past were naturals. They didn’t need to concoct any sort of complicated tomes or instructions, they sort of just grew into it. It was an evolutionary stretch.’

‘What if they just didn’t want other ponies to understand what they were saying?’ Vinyl jolted forward as unfamiliar words weighed upon the tip of her horn. ‘What was I talking about earlier? Something about my parents?’

‘How you always got clothes for Hearth’s Warming?’

‘Yeah, Hearth’s Warming!’ Vinyl pointed her hoof. ‘The ponies before Hearth’s Warming Eve hated each other’s guts, so they all stayed with their own respective tribes. Y’know, unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies. Maybe that’s when the unicorns started developing their own ‘horn language’ to keep undercover from the other tribes.’

‘But now that we’re all together…’ Lyra raised her head and looked around. Unicorns, pegasus ponies and trotters of the earth all lingered and walked together like pieces to a background that belonged together. “…that language is dying out.” She finished, spoken aloud.

As the air began to settle and the scent of brew from the open restaurant door seemed to die down, it served as a tell tale sign that their waitress wasn’t coming back anytime soon. Vinyl forced a few awkward glances this way and that as she returned to a spiritually diminished mint-green mare sitting across from her, head hung low and eyes half-lidded. It was within these calm, quiet seconds that not only did Vinyl realize they were finally getting a mental break from their telepathic talk for the first time, but that this was in fact the first time in forever that the DJ was finally relaying every piece of her mind to another listening ear. The white unicorn nervously tapped her hooves together and reset her mind, a mental breath of sorts, to start all over again.

‘Listen,’ She began. ‘This whole talking thing is sorta new to me, like I haven’t been able to communicate like this with somepony else since…well, ever really. And I know we only just met, but it wouldn’t be too much to ask if we could hang around for a bit, would it?’

‘Not at all.’ Lyra replied with mirth. ‘We’ll put it this way. I’m just as enthusiastic as you are lost. So, how about we meet in the middle?’

‘Yeah, I’d like that.’ Vinyl smiled, then paused. ‘Uh…?’

‘Lyra.’ The unicorn lent her hoof. ‘Lyra Heartstrings.’

‘Vinyl Scratch.’ The DJ returned. She took a moment to let go of the saltshaker and levitate her visors back down to her face, to which she considered for a moment and proceeded to shoot a look towards her new friend with a mischievous glint in her eye. ‘Say, wanna see something cool?’