The crunching of gravel mingled with the sound of midday traffic, ponies bustling this way and that as they meandered along the roadside. The sounds of so many ponies slowly trickled away the longer they walked, like they were drifting away on a very calm breeze.

“... You've been quiet for an awful long time,” Eris said quietly, arms crossed over her chest as they walked. “Is it 'cause I dropped you? Because I totally didn't mean to this time. Swearsies.”

“Sorry. Just thinking is all,” William responded slowly, staring straight ahead.

“Quiet and apologizing,” she grinned. “Wow, there must be something really wrong.”

“There's nothing wrong.”

“Oh, don't give me that. You're so distrusting, oh mon dieu.”

“I am not! And since when do you speak French?”

“You can make anything sound awesome with French,” Eris snorted. “No matter how dumb it is, everything's great in French. Just tell me, dude.”

“Everything's wrong, Eris,” he harrumphed, throwing a lost look up at the surrounding healthy trees of the park. “All of this. This town, the people, the air, it all feels... wrong.”

Eris didn't seem to have any reply to that, opting instead to lazily wander ahead in spite of his slow march.

“... I'm gonna get to the lake way before you do, short stack,” Eris called, turning around and walking backwards away from him. She nearly tripped over an old bench on the park's path.

“I feel wrong,” he said more to himself than anything, slowing almost to a halt. Clearing his throat, he spoke up so that she could hear. “Just... go on ahead, alright? I need to stop for a minute.”

“What, tuckered out already?” the draconequus was swift to return, beaming. “Alright, I swear I won't drop you, it's not too far and then we can-”

“I'd really just like to rest by myself for a bit,” he insisted, clambering carefully onto the worn roadside bench. “I'll catch up with you before you know it, I just... need a minute.”

Eris looked as if she wanted to say something, but it quickly left and she only shrugged. A single nod was all that came from her before she continued along her way, arms looped around behind herself and clasping in a manner that made William briefly think of a contortionist.

A small part of William instantly regretted being left alone. However, the buzzing in his head simply refused to die down, and he found himself falling deeper into thought once again.

I can still fix this. I know I can.

This doesn't feel right. I don't like this. It's all gone wrong.

My life is wrong. But isn't that better than no life? Even if it's not right?

I could save her... I could save them, we could all be together again. I could make it right.

My head hurts... I wonder if that's a remaining effect of what Father did to my head. But what did he remove?

No blank spots, no feelings of missing time... the crazy place, what I did to Neil, it's all in place...

No place for me there, no place for me here – who is me? Am I still me? Am I still Will? I don't even know. I feel so empty. I feel numb. I still feel cold. I don't know if I'm still Will.

But the other Will, the Iron Will, the one sharing a namesake with himself caused a furious, fiery knot to rise up in his stomach.

He must be... disposed of.

I need him out of the way... then everything's going to be fine. Then everything's going to be right.

It took him several seconds to realize that he was having such difficulty steepling his fingers together in thought because he didn't have any fingers. He stared at the bottom of his pink hoof for a beat, rushing thoughts all seeming to crash into each other like a derailed train.

“... But I'm what's wrong.”

“Whuzzat?”

William nearly leaped out of his skin in fright, a strangled yelp erupting from his throat. He scrabbled desperately at the seat of the bench to keep from falling off, having never even heard the mare approach. Had he really been that deep in thought that he hadn't noticed someone dropping into the bench beside him?

“Just talking to yourself, huh?” the mare blinked calmly, taking another long, loud sip from her drink. The straw wobbled a bit as she finished it off, giving the empty container a couple of sad rattles.

“... Yes. Talking to myself,” William answered slowly, not taking his eyes off her as he readjusted himself. “... I'm not crazy.”

“Never said you were,” the strange mare's calm tone never rose an octave, but somehow he could still detect something akin to mockery in her voice. “Not crazy at all to argue with yourself from time to time. Now, losing an argument to yourself, that's another story.”

William did his best to remain stationary, observing the spring green mare. She did the same out of the corner of her eye, sipping wordlessly at the last of her drink as if merely the wish for more could bring it about.

“... Shouldn't you be in school?” the mare asked at last.

“We got the day off.”

“Implying that you aren't all by yourself out here.”

“No,” he said carefully. “No, I'm definitely not by myself. I have someone else who should be waiting for me.”

“Oh. Someone?” she asked, finally looking directly at him. “You don't mean somepony, do you?”

“Does it matter?” William frowned, feeling uneasy.

“Not really,” the unicorn shrugged, turning back and giving her empty drink another rattle before lofting it up in a magical grip and depositing it into a nearby waste bin. “Just a strange phrase to hear from a colt is all.”

“I'm not a f-” he started angrily before clamping his jaw shut.

“Not what now?”

“... Nothing.”

William sat stewing for a few moments, his thoughts jumbled. A bizarre anger tore at his chest, along with something else that he couldn't quite identify; something furious that made his brows furrow.

“... Was it something I said?” the strange mare asked. “I'm Lyra, by the by. I don't usually see you here, you guys just move to town?”

“In a sense,” he didn't look at her. “And my name is William.”

“Cool,” she held out her hoof to him. “Never met a pony with that kind of name before, where'd it come from?”

“I don't know,” William didn't acknowledge her outstretched hoof, which she eventually retracted. “It's... Brooklynese, or something.”

“Brooklynese,” Lyra nodded. “Never heard of it before in my life. You must be from somewhere really far away.”

“You have no idea,” he sighed. “I think I'm further from home than I ever have been before.”

“Ahh, so just moving then. You have a lot of friends back home?”

“A few. Why do you care?” he scowled.

“Just trying to be friendly,” the unicorn shrugged again. “Yeesh. You're awfully suspicious for such a young colt. You waiting on your parents?”

“No. They're gone.”

“I'm sorry.”

William paused, turning his thousand yard gaze straight ahead and thinking.

What am I doing? I don't even know this woman. This is crazy.

“... Do you mind if I ask what happened?” Lyra inquired. “I don't mind if not. Just curious.”

“I suppose you could say that my father was... a bit irresponsible,” he answered quietly. “And Mother was, I guess... unwell. It's complicated.”

“That's terrible,” she shook her head sadly. “Moving in with relatives?”

“Orphanage.”

“Ohh,” Lyra shook her head again sympathetically. “That sucks. I have a friend who grew up in one, she hated it.”

“It's not necessarily the height of luxury,” he snorted.

“Well... I could adopt you, if you want.”

Alarms blaring in William's head seemed stifled by the numbness, which felt as if it were spreading down from his brain to the rest of his body. His every instinct screamed at him to turn her down instantly, and a small part of him grew even more angry at her suggestion as if she did it solely to aggravate him. But there was an honest look on her face as she awaited an answer, and he felt that there wasn't really a proper answer to her statement.

She's not my mother.

What about Discord?

What about him? He left. He ran away. Running away is for cowards. It's his fault.

She's not my mother.

But she could be.

No she can't! Nobody can replace Mother!

It's not a replacement. She could help get her back.

You blamed her, but you know the truth. It's your fault for running away, that's why she doesn't-

“It was just a thought,” Lyra coughed uncomfortably at his incredibly long stretch of silence. His usually furrowed brows seemed to be doing a bizarre, frantic dance, everything from confusion to eagerness to anger swimming across his face in a matter of moments.

“It's-it's fine,” William frowned hard, wiping the expression off instantly. “Just... difficult is all, erm... h-hormones. That's what it is.”

“Hormones,” she repeated without a hint of sarcasm, but his cheeks flushed regardless.

“... Yes. That is all.”

“If you say so,” she hid a small grin behind her hoof. “Tell you what – I've got to pick up some things for my friend; how about afterward I drop by and see you and Miss Rooty this afternoon?”

“You know Rooty – I mean, Miss Root?” William stared.

“You could say that,” Lyra smiled openly. “She's a sweet old gal, I knew her grandmother too. Bit of a loopy cow; and I do mean that, no slur,” her grin grew. “She really was a cow, moved over from the east a long time ago and settled right in. Nice folks. Well,-” she stood, rolling her neck. “- I suppose I'll see you later, little Mister William. It was nice meeting you.”

“... It was a pleasure meeting you as well, ma'am,” he nodded in reply, still in a bit of a daze. She hardly managed to make it two steps away before something occurred to him.

“... I feel I should warn you,” he said after her. “I do have a sister. And under no circumstances will I be separated from her again. Am I clear?”

Lyra cocked an eyebrow, watching him closely over her shoulder for a few seconds before shrugging for the umpteenth time, shaking her head with another small grin.

“So serious. Heh. I'll see what I can do!” she said cheerfully, continuing along her way without looking back. “Take care, you!”

He watched her go for several minutes, and she didn't look back once as she followed the trail out of the park. His mind was even more in a buzz than it was before, and something in his gut told him that he had just said or done something extremely foolish, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.

Maybe it's because I don't have any fingers.

“Eris!” he yelped, falling off of the bench in his hurry. She was probably still waiting for him, as she had been the whole time – what if she got sick of waiting and left? What if she wasn't there when he finally caught up, what if he had made her wait too long?

William bolted even faster down the path toward Ponyville Lake, legs thumping rhythmically against the dirt. Granted, it certainly wasn't a very fast run, not even a gallop; every time he tried to pick up speed he began focusing too much on maintaining control of all of his limbs, and too unaccustomed to them began to stumble and trip over and over again. He'd bitten his tongue three times and landed flat on his face twice before he at last managed to reach the crystalline surface. Eyes darting worriedly over the surroundings, he spotted no sign of Eris anywhere – in fact, he couldn't see another soul on the shores of the lake, and the place was usually bound to have at least a couple of ponies enjoying the water at this time of day.

“Eris?” he yelled, fighting to keep down an unnatural panic. “Eris? Where are you? Eris? I'm sorry, I-I lost track of time!”

He whirled on the spot, leaving hoof tracks in the sand as the worry continued to rise. He could have sworn that sand must have gotten in his eyes, and his throat constricted tightly the faster he ran down the beach, faster and faster as if he could find her through sheer exertion. His breathing was heavy and ragged by the time he finally faltered and stopped, his heartbeat pounding in his ears as he hanged his head and desperately tried to force himself to come to his senses.

Being silly. Being silly. Of course she left. Being silly.

The sound of heavy breathing met his ears, and his head whipped about in search of the source. Eris's head broke the surface of the water, her melodic laugh ringing through the air.

“Hey!” she called out, tail flying up from beneath the surface and waving at him a couple of times, flinging droplets everywhere. “Where've you been, dude?”

“I-I got distracted!” he shouted out to her, relief flooding his chest as she lazily swam toward him.

“By what?” she cackled. “Come on in, the water's fine!”

William stared for a second before blinking.

“... Actually,” he shifted awkwardly. “Actually, that's-that's fine, I'm really not, um, in the mood for swimming-”

“Oh, come on!” Eris threw out her arms in exasperation. “What's wrong now?”

“Nothing,” he lied. “Do you mind just coming out for a bit? There's something I need to tell you-”

“It can wait,” she frowned, waving him in. “Come on, dude. Just chill out and hop in, it's fine.”

“I-I really, really don't think that's such a good idea,” he danced back and forth on his front hooves, suddenly looking as if he were very itchy. “It's-it's just, I-I-I, well-”

“For god's sake!” Eris lurched forward, water sloshing as she approached. “I'll pull you in if I have to, now get in here and enjoy the damned water!”

“Alright, alright!” he caved in, putting one trembling hoof in the water to show her. “Just don't pull me in! I'm coming, I'm coming!”

“Giggidy.”

“What?”

“Just get in!” Eris giggled, clearly enjoying just how frenetic and worried the water was making him as he finally managed to get two hooves in. “What are you, a cat now? Scared of a little water, lil' pussy cat?”

“I'm not afraid of the water,” William glowered at her, not moving another inch. “Thank you very much, Eris. It's-it's just untested is all, I don't know the exact depth, it's-”

William couldn't manage to say much else, as Eris laughingly jerked him in from his front hooves. Water burned his eyes and nostrils, and he spat and coughed hysterically as he struggled for the surface. His lungs burned as he hacked out water, his screech of terror muted to a weak snort.

“Y'alright?” Eris slapped him on the back, grinning widely.

“C-c-co-co-cold!” he spluttered as he kicked furiously at the sandy bank beneath him, desperate to stay above water. “C-ca-can't-”

“Ahh, you're fine!” she sniggered, tipping him further back toward the center of the lake. The lack of ground beneath his feet only made him kick harder as he tried to stand on his hind legs, terror rising. “Chill out, dude. Relax-”

“Shore!” he shouted, struggling to cling to her arm. “No no no! Eris, I can't swim!”

Thankfully, she stopped pushing him out into the water and just stared for a moment.

“... Seriously?”she blinked at long last.

“YES, I am serious!” he shouted, scrabbling at her wrist and kicking at nothing but water with his back hooves. “I can't swim!”

“... Well, no time like the present!”

“No wait wait wait wait-!”

Eris kicked off, drifting out into the lake without fear as he was dragged helplessly along.

“Don't drop me!” William pleaded, grasping for her with all his might.

“I'm not gonna drop you,” she rolled her eyes, gradually flipping over to her back and letting him cling to her chest underwater. “Just chill out for once. I'll teach ya how to swim, so hold onto your britches.”

William fell silent against his urges to shout for her to return to shore, and she gradually began to release him.

“Don't-” he started, only for her to shush him.

“Chill,” Eris said slowly. “I'm not gonna drown you, calm down and trust me, would you?”

“A-alright,” William agreed eventually. “Just don't drop me, okay?”

Eris let her actions speak for themselves, wordlessly drifting along on her back. She held him up effortlessly with one paw, stroking quietly at the water with her other and using her tail as a makeshift rudder to steer.

“... See?” she grinned. “This isn't so bad.”

“... It's still cold.”

“Ugh,” Eris poked him in the belly, making him wriggle in panic. “Shut up. Listen, just try to relax-”

“But I can't-”

“Relax,” she insisted. “Try kicking a bit with your feet, not too much. Think of how frogs do it. And quit holding your breath so much, you'll sink if you tense up too much.”

William reluctantly followed her instructions, struggling to force his muscles to stop clenching up as he shook atop her. Her own hand met the bottom of his trembling hoof, her relaxed grin matching his worried grimace.

“You'll get the hang of it,” she promised. “It just takes a little practice. Like riding a bike, you never really forget how. Except you're riding me instead.”

“Are you deliberately wedging in incestuous undertones?” William frowned down at her, still straining to stay afloat.

“No idea what you're talking about,” Eris said expressionlessly. “But it's easy to tell where your mind is at, dirty, dirty. And whatever happened to 'not really your sister', hmm?”

“Oh, shut up,” he pushed off from her. “I'll have you know I was thinking nothing of the sort until you brought it up.”

“Implying that you're thinking it now,” she giggled, prodding him in the belly again. He let out an unwilling gasp as he fell, equally surprised that Eris caught him before his head could sink back beneath the water. William let the cool water flow just behind his ears as Eris propped them both up, letting them simply drift in peaceful silence for a while.

“... But, seriously,” William said at last. “When did you learn to speak French?”

“I dunno,” he could feel her shrug. “Just sorta comes naturally.”

“Malarkey,” he frowned, unable to turn to look at her without falling again.

“No, really,” Eris insisted. “I can parler français or vielleicht französisch, I can fazer português and even siarad Cymraeg. You pick it, I learned it.”

Something odd occurred in William's ears as she spoke each language, as if it were understood the moment it left her lips even though he'd never heard it before, one language after another easily distinguishable from another.

“... That's incredible,” he blurted. “I never even knew. Have you been able to do that all this time?”

“I can do a whole lot of impressive things you never knew about,” Eris giggled, wrapping her mismatched hands over his chest and kicking off again, slowly trailing circles in the water. William's heart beat louder and louder, thrumming like a heavy drumbeat in his ears.

“We, er... we really should be getting back,” William awkwardly said after a bit. “I'm pretty sure Miss Root is going to realize that we snuck out the window sooner or later.”

“Ah, who cares?” Eris yawned, stretching. “Come on, for once, dude. Live a little! For me?”

“... I think I'll do just that,” he agreed, realizing just how tense he still was. “But just this once.”

And just like that, away they drifted.

Faster, faster!

Discord bolted down the crumbling well of reality like a spinning hallway, entire oceans of existence flooding forth from jagged holes erupting behind him. The call rang deep in his ears, in his bones, in his very soul, needy and desperate in its being as he was pulled further and further.

“I – do not – have time – for this – you – son – of – a – bitch!” the draconequus growled with each bounding leap, every step taking him further than any mortal could dream to reach in a hundred lifetimes. Screaming scraps of nonexistence billowed behind in hunger as he fled, wisps of the crumbling path he relied on so gratefully before literally disintegrating faster than either eye or even imagination could follow, but still Discord was faster. Even so, he dared not look back.

Hang on, kids. I'm on my way.

Author's Notes:

The Beatles - You Got To Hide Your Love Away