Seven Years Ago

Forgotten Events

The three ponies sat there in silence after Lyra had finished her story. The turquoise unicorn eyed Roseluck warily, waiting for her to say “You’re crazy” or “You just made that up.” But Roseluck did no such thing. All she did was lean back into the couch with her eyes closed and a thoughtful look on her face. After some time Roseluck finally opened her eyes and looked at Lyra with a somewhat confused face.

“So let me get this straight, Lyra. You were saved by a human all those years ago, yet it seems like nopony knows about it. You were a foal back then, so you would have blabbed to everypony and their grandma about it. And as small of a town as Ponyville is, your story would have been everywhere in a matter of a few hours. So why doesn’t anypony know about it? The only thing that I heard about you when I first came here was that you were eccentric.”

Lyra’s shoulders drooped and she let her eyes fall to the ground. Roseluck would think she was even crazier if she told her what had happened after she met John. Or rather, what she thought had happened. Lyra sighed. She’d been doing a lot of sighing today. She might as well tell Roseluck. It was too late to take back what she had said and say it was a joke.

“Okay, this is going to sound crazy, but I didn’t remember any of the events with John until a few days after it had all happened,” Lyra said, knowing that she sounded insane.

“What do you mean? How could you forget something like that, and then just suddenly remember it?”

“It does sound crazy, but that’s just what happened. I remember being found on the edge of the forest and brought back to my parents’ house, and then talking to a policepony about what had happened. After that everything gets fuzzy. I woke up in my bed the next day and I knew that I had gotten lost, found a lyre somepony must have dropped in the forest and gotten my cutiemark for playing it, and then I had wandered out of the forest and collapsed from exhaustion. But it gets weird after that. I would have dreams where I could see this tall, bipedal thing. Sometimes during the day I could hear a male voice talking to me, and I knew that it was the creature’s voice. More details kept popping up in my head, then one day I suddenly remembered everything that happened,” Lyra said.

Roseluck cocked her head and furrowed her eyebrows at Lyra. “If you suddenly remembered everything, why did you only tell Bon-Bon?”

“She told me because I was her best friend,” Bon-Bon replied. “She said that she was scared about these sudden memories and didn’t know what to think.”

Lyra nodded her head in agreement. “I thought that if I told anypony what happened they wouldn’t believe me. And after this happened I began to do research on humans and ancient Equestrian folklore. I read books on magic, planets, and anything I could find that might help me find out more about John or why my memories disappeared.”

“Do you have any proof that any of this happened?” Roseluck asked.

Lyra’s face brightened and she jumped up from the couch. “Actually, I still have Henry,” she said before running out of the room. Roseluck and Bon-Bon heard a series of bangs, clanks, and curses as Lyra rooted through her things in her bedroom. After about five minutes Lyra came back from her room carrying an old, locked box and a similarly old key with her magic. She set it down on the table with a giant smile and opened the box, revealing an old, wooden lyre. The instrument had several symbols and designs cut into the wood. One was a large swirl pattern with three sides. Another one was of a sun and moon side-by-side. The most intriguing thing wasn’t a design, but a series of words in a different language.

Proprietas John Verdiramo

Roseluck stared at the instrument before picking it up with her hooves and inspecting it closely. She gently tapped the wood and strummed the strings a few times, even once licking one of the designs, much to Lyra’s horror. After several minutes of investigation, Roseluck set the lyre down on the table and shook her head.

“I don’t think this proves anything. Part of me thinks that those stallions you mentioned actually, well, did something to you, and your mind made this whole story about humans up to deal with the trauma. It’s been known to happen before, with ponies saying they were abducted by aliens when they were little, only to turn out a family member was molesting them and they had made up a story to block out the trauma. You probably found the lyre, saw the writing, and gave John his name after what was written on it. And the whole about you suddenly remembering the story several days after it had happened make me even more suspicious. I don’t think that you’re crazy, Lyra, and I think that something happened to you, but as for what it was, I can’t say. I think you need to consider other options before coming to the conclusion that you met a human.”

Lyra’s head drooped and she wrapped her hooves around a couch pillow, hugging it tightly. Roseluck was right. There were a lot of things wrong with her story, and she had never really considered all of the possibilities. She had spent the past seven years obsessing over humans, and it was probably all a lie. Had all of that time been a waste? Lyra had sacrificed time with her friends and family pouring over old books and legends and trekking into the Everfree. She had never had a coltfriend or even gone on dates. All of that time, wasted. And for what? Some silly memory that might not have even happened. A single tear slid down her cheek, dropping off her face and landing on Henry’s old, wooden surface.

Bon-Bon frowned and shot Roseluck a glare, who merely shrugged. The yellow earth pony hugged her roommate and gently stroked her mane with a hoof, softly whispering comforting things into her ear. Roseluck joined in, trying to make the unicorn feel better. The two ponies held their friend in silence for several minutes. After a while Roseluck spoke up.

“You know, I think there might be a way to tell what happened on that night. I was at the library about a week ago to check-out the new Daring Do novel and I heard Twilight talking to Spike about a new spell she was working on. She said that it would let you look through any memory you’ve ever made, that way you could quickly remember or re-learn anything that you forgot. She could probably help you out. Even if you don’t find what you’re looking for, it would give you closure,” Roseluck said, trying to be helpful.

Lyra lifted her head and wiped one of her eyes with a hoof. “Do you think she could help?” she asked, both hope and hesitation filling her voice.

“Of course she can. She’s Princess Celestia’s personal student, after all.”

Bon-Bon nodded in agreement. “It can’t hurt, Lyra. Just try it.”

Lyra’s frown turned into a grin, and slowly formed into a bigger smile than when Pinkie sang that “Smile” song of hers. With a hop, skip, and a jump, Lyra shot off the couch and into the air, landing on all four hooves. Quickly turning to her friends she motioned for them to get up.

“Come on, slowpokes! I want to get to the library as soon as possible. I’ve got a past to find! LET’S GO!” With her sudden exclamation Lyra bounded out of the house and into the streets of Ponyville. Roseluck and Bon-Bon gave each other a “What the hell?” look and followed their seemingly bipolar friend to the library.

***

The Ponyville library was one of the few buildings in Equestria that had been grown with magic, instead of built. It was grown several years after the founding of Ponyville by a unicorn named Felt Bindings, who became the first librarian. With only a few books to start out with, the library wasn’t very popular, and even though the library now housed thousands of books on every topic, not many ponies visited it. It also didn’t help that the librarian was known to have psychotic breakdowns if everything wasn’t perfect.

That same librarian, a lavender unicorn named Twilight Sparkle, was currently sitting at her desk, reading an old book on memory spells written by Starswirl the Bearded. Her current project wasn’t progressing like she wanted it to. Her memory recall spell had worked, but only for recently forgotten memories. Trying to bring back memories any farther back than a year ago had born no fruit. Twilight had an idea on how to make her spell stronger, using gems to increase the concentration of magical force on the subject, but all of her friends, her normal test subjects, had things they needed to do today, and Spike wouldn’t let her cast a spell on him after an incident where she turned him into a female. Most ponies wouldn’t willingly submit themselves to her experiments, either. They were either afraid or didn’t take her experiments seriously. She needed a pony who was hardly scared of anything, a pony that shared her intellectual curiosity and would do practically anything, somepony like…

“Hey, Twilight! I need to ask you a favor!”

Somepony like Lyra.

***

Lyra ran towards the library as fast as she could, her legs pumping and hooves clopping on the ground. She could hear her friends shouting for her to slow down, but she didn’t pay them any mind. Making a left at Sugarcube Corner, she had the library in her sights. With an extra burst of speed, Lyra jumped into the air and threw all fours hooves in front of her. Her entire weight hit the library’s door, knocking it open and sending her crashing onto the floor.

Twilight’s draconic assistant, Spike, briefly looked up from the Daring Do novel he was reading. “Oh, hey Lyra. If you’re looking for Twilight she’s upstairs. Call me if you need anything,” the purple dragon said, not surprised by the eccentric unicorn’s mode of entering the library.

Completely ignoring the dragon, Lyra rushed up the stairs. Spike heard her shout something, and then heard the sound of two sets of hooves clopping on the wooden floor. Spike didn’t even have to look up from his book to know who it was. Motioning towards the stairs with his thumb, the dragon simply said “Upstairs.”

“Thanks Spike,” the voices of Roseluck and Bon-Bon said in unison.

The two earth ponies made their way upstairs to find Lyra and Twilight talking excitedly, with Lyra gesticulating wildly with her hooves. They stood to the side, letting the two unicorns finish their conversation.

“So you’ll help me with my experiment?” Twilight asked.

“Of course I will! I even have the perfect opportunity for you to use it!” Lyra replied. “There are some very important things that I’ve forgotten from my foalhood, and I’d like to remember what they were.”

  “Okay, then! I’ll get the materials ready to start up the spell. You can sit down on my bed.” Twilight said. “Oh, Bon-Bon and Roseluck can, too,” the lavender unicorn said, upon noticing Lyra’s friends.

Twilight walked out of the room and down the stairs, presumably to her basement, to gather up what she needed to do her spell. Lyra, Bon-Bon, and Roseluck sat down on Twilight’s bed, waiting for her to return. The two earth ponies glanced at their friend, who was fidgeting while she sat, unable to control her excitement.

“Just think of it, you guys! I’ll finally get to know what happened that night! I’ll know for a fact that humans exist! I’m so excited!” Lyra said, letting out an adorable squee at the end of her sentence.

Roseluck and Bon-Bon exchanged concerned glances with each other. They both knew how excited Lyra was about this, but they couldn’t help but be scared about what they would find out. If the human John didn’t exist, and both earth ponies were sure he didn’t, that would completely crush everything that Lyra has believed for nearly half of her life. As for what happened all those years ago, that was a complete mystery, and both ponies thought that solving that mystery would only cause more problems. Both ponies were interrupted from their thoughts when Twilight came trotting up the steps, carrying several gemstones with her magic.

“All right, Lyra, I need you to sit down on the floor. I’ll place these crystals around you to act as an amplifier, creating a concentrated field made up from my magic. I’ll have to ground the crystals first to create the boundaries for the field, and that’ll take several minutes.”

Lyra pouted, sticking her lower lip out. “A few minutes? I don’t want to wait that long.”

“You’ll just have to be patient, Lyra. Anyway, what memory are you trying to remember?” Twilight asked as she placed the gemstones around Lyra in a circle.

“Well,” Lyra said, trying to figure out how to tell Twilight without actually telling her anything, “Seven years ago I became lost in the Everfree forest, and I can’t really recall what happened back then. I do know that I ran into some weird creature, even by Everfree standards, and I really want to know what happened.”

Twilight looked up from the gem she was grounding, her horn glowing with the magic she was pouring into it. “Why were you in the Everfree?”

“It may have been because I was rejected by Big Mac after asking him out on a date,” Lyra replied, grinning sheepishly.

“You suffered from Macintosh Heart, too? I never would’ve guessed.”

Macintosh Heart was a condition that half the mares in Ponyville had suffered from at one point. They fell in love with Big Mac, went to great lengths to impress him, only for him to turn them down, causing the mares to become depressed and sullen. Macintosh Heart was generally cured with heavy doses of ice cream and chocolate, sulking, and finding a new crush after a week. With very few stallions in the town, and since most of the mares that fell for Macintosh wanted a strong, tough, manly pony, they usually fell for the second manliest pony in Ponyville, Rainbow Dash.

“Well, Lyra, it’s good that you eventually found somepony for you,” Twilight said.

Lyra tilted her head in confusion. “I’m not seeing anypony, Twilight.”

Twilight lifted her eyes from the gemstone she was grounding, confusion apparent in her voice. “Wait, you’re not dating anypony? I thought you and Bon-Bon were together.”

The room was engulfed in an awkward silence. Roseluck had her hoof covering her mouth, trying her hardest not to laugh, while Bon-Bon glared at Twilight. Lyra, on the other hoof, was standing stock still. She didn’t move for a few seconds, before finally breaking the silence.

“Twilight, why do you think Bon-Bon and I are together?”

The lavender unicorn gulped at the other unicorn’s question. Lyra’s voice was monotone, completely emotionless except for a hint of bitterness. Twilight’s eyes darted around the room, trying to come up with an answer.

“Well, when I moved to Ponyville I was told you two were together. You both live together, and I see you two with each other all the time. I can think of very few times when you two were separated.”

Lyra’s lowered her head and let out an agitated sigh. “Hey, Twilight?”

“Yes?”

“Why do we being together all the time mean that we’re dating? Can’t we just be friends who spend a lot of time together? I could understand you thinking that when you first came to Ponyville, but after living here for a year, I’d think you would know us a little better. You spend a lot of time with Spike, don’t you? But that doesn’t mean that you two are dating, now does it?”

Spike’s voice could be heard from downstairs. “Damn straight, Lyra.”

“Spike, watch your language! Oh, looky here! The gemstones are finished grounding! Let’s begin the spell,” Twilight said, eager to quell the awkward situation.

Twilight shifted her position on the floor so that she was in front of Lyra, her head down with her horn touching a gemstone. The gems began to glow, shining with an eerie, arcane light of dark green. The glow spread from the gems and moved upward and around Lyra, forming a transparent dome around the unicorn. Roseluck and Bon-Bon both leaned forward from the position on the bed, hopeful of the results of the spell, yet they couldn’t shake the feelings of trepidation and fear for what Lyra may find out.

“All right, Lyra, I’ll need you to concentrate on the memory that you want to remember. Think back to the day that you became lost in the Everfree, and only that. Any straying thoughts could compromise the spell.”

Lyra closed her eyes and breathed in and out, calming herself. She thought back to the day she became lost, walking to Sweet Apple Acres, being rejected by Big Mac, and running to the forest. As the spell worked its, her memories of the events became more and more clear. Small details that she forgot on that day came back. The smell of the grass and the apple trees, the fear she felt when she saw realized she was in the Everfree. The memories flew back, faster and faster, the stallions she had met, John saving her. The cave they were in. Playing the lyre and receiving her cutiemark. Falling asleep and waking on the edge of the forest. Her parents’ voices of relief and anger. And then…nothing.

Lyra saw nothing. There was just an empty blackness surrounding her. She looked down at her hooves, trying to find any semblance of the hardwood floor of the library. Nothing.

“Hello? Twilight? Anypony? Is this supposed to be part of the spell?”

“Huh, well I guess there must have been a screw-up. Am I in the depths of my own mind, or am I dead? At least I know that what happened with John was real. Wait, John? Oh yeah! In your face skeptics! Humans bucking exist! I’ve seen one and myself! Now I just need to figure out how to get in contact with John or any other human. Twilight could help me with that!”

Lost in her soliloquy, Lyra didn’t notice the blackness as it began to crack around her hooves. The cracks started out small, but slowly grew, a white light shining out of them. The light changed colors from white to dark green, then purple. Lyra noticed the cracks and jumped back from the spot she was standing on.

“What the hay?”

The cracks grew ever larger and began moving towards Lyra. The turquoise pony turned and ran, moving her legs faster than when she ran to the library. The breaks crept up the sides of the darkness and across the black sky, as if the tenebrous place was some sort of room. Lyra was starting to run out of breath, and her body felt sluggish. Lyra’s hoof stepped onto a crack and the purple light stuck to her creeping up her leg. She yelped in terror and shook herself wildly, trying to dislodge the substance from her body. She heard faint, far off voices calling her name, and her head began to swim, images she had never seen flashing in her mind.

A burning red sun traversed across a grey sky, all life burning under its light. Screams of agony and terror filled the air. Cities collapsed and civilizations died in front of her eyes. An army of ponies marched across the land, led by a golden alicorn, her fiery-red mane whipping in the wind and dust. Across the horizon an army of humans appeared, each wearing a cloak of the deepest green. At their helm stood John, wearing a suit of chainmail and leather armor, his body surrounded by an aura of blue. He raised his hand and the moon flew through the sky, blotting out the sun and its hellfire light. The two armies rushed at each other, killing and dismembering with magic and weapons. John and the alicorn met head-to-head, an explosion radiating from their collision. The sky cracked and splintered, the edges of the vision darkened, and everything went black.

***

The room was dark, the only light coming from the hundreds of different colored candles scattered around, resting on any flat surface like a forest of multi-hued trees. The room contained boxes of old herbs and artifacts from several periods in history, from before Luna’s banishment to before Equestria’s founding. In the center of the room was a circle drawn from red chalk, covered with symbols of unknown meaning and arcane incantations. The back wall had an old, tarnished mirror hanging from it, the body made from blackened iron.

The door to the room opened and a cloaked mare came in, dragging a large, cloth sack behind her. Her cloak was dark green and the tuft of her mane that could be seen poking out was blue. The mare’s face was orange, and she currently had a look of annoyance plastered on her visage. The pony opened the sack and dumped the contents into the middle of the circle, the body of a brown unicorn stallion.

The mare grunted and pulled her cloak off, stretching out her wings. Her cutiemark was of two blue lightning bolts, and her body was lithe, covered in toned sinew from years of strenuous exercise. She stepped out of the circle and placed one hoof at the boundary. The lines of chalk began to glow, as did the mirror.

“John, can you hear me? I found a suitable body.”

The image of a tall, bipedal creature appeared in the mirror. The background behind him was obscured and his face was blurry, but basic details could be made out. He seemed to lean back into something like a chair and raised an eyebrow.

“You didn’t take an innocent pony’s life, did you, Firefly?”

The pegasus dismissed the human’s question with a hoof. “Don’t worry about it. This guy was wanted for murder, anyway. But are you sure you want to do this? You could just come across the boundary normally.”

“You know as well as I do that Celestia has a tracking spell set up over all of Equestria that would find me the instant I came here with a human body. Besides, I can’t just waltz into the Canterlot Palace looking like I do now. Let’s just get this over with.”

“Yeah, yeah. Quit being in such a hurry.”

Firefly stretched her wings out to their full length and turned the undersides outward, revealing a glowing pentagram on each. The symbols began to glow brighter, as did the circle on the floor. Energy crackled around Firefly’s wings, taking the form of blue lightning, just like her cutiemark. She felt a burning sensation throughout her body, and she waited until it became unbearable before pointing one wing towards the mirror and the other towards the dead stallion. The energy shot from her wings and hit the targets, both glowingly blindingly bright. A cloud of blue smoke coalesced at the mirror and moved along the trail of energy. Firefly shivered as it passed over her body before flowing into the body of the stallion. The light from the body grew even brighter than before, and suddenly stopped. Firefly collapsed on the ground, her body exhausted from channeling so much magical energy.

The stallion in the circle stirred, standing up and blinking a few times. He lifted a foreleg to his face and stared at it.

“Not having fingers is weird. I haven’t been in this body for thirty seconds and I hate it. How do you ponies stand it?”

The pegasus mare stood from her place on the floor. “Because we’re born with it. Now let’s get out of here and start preparing. Tomorrow’s the day, after all.”

The stallion looked at the mare with a burning determination in his eyes. He walked out of the circle and towards the door before turning back and looking at Firefly. “Yeah, tomorrow is the day that everything comes to fruition,” he said.

“Tomorrow is the day we kill Celestia.”