be the it, girl
Mama said, fulfill the prophecy be something greater, go make a legacy, manifest destiny, back in the days we wanted everything, wanted everything. Mama said, burn your biographies, rewrite your history, light up your wildest dreams, museum victories, every day we wanted everything, wanted everything.
Charlie goes until she can’t go any further, where the coast of Terrastella meets the sea and the waves roar in the backdrop of the day. “I don’t think it means the sun,” the girl says, squinting up at the sky. He’s right, the sun is everywhere, and not in the ocean. She turns back to the expanse before them, vermilion eyes bright and focused.
“There!” she says, motioning toward the distant island to the south, “The cadets talk about that place.” There is surety in Charlie’s voice, even though she’s never been to the island before, or even knows if it’s actually where they need to go. The filly seems to realize something, however, and flexes her small wings at her sides. “But, how do I get there?” She glances up at Sirius, dragging one hoof through the dirt.
~~~
When Charlie’s hooves touch the ground again, she nearly bounds forward with excitement. Only Indy, carefully perched upon her poll gives her pause and leaping to explore every inch of the island. The place truly has been over run by plants, growing up the walls and carpeting the floors. The buildings look like ruins from the stories she has been told before, but they can’t possibly be that old, can they?
Her bright eyes grow wide the further in she ventures. There are prints in the sand, as if someone has been here before them—and though Charlie isn’t much for superstition, she has a strange feeling like when she goes down to the docks and knows all the old sailors are looking at her.
When the man blocks their path, she stops, narrowing her gaze at him. Her head tips slightly to the side, as if regarding him. Something about him is strange, and not-right, but she can’t really put her hoof on it. It reminds her of the island, like some strange magic or something. The young pegasus can’t help but look to her companion when he begins to speak, directly, to them both. And wonder, how is it that he knows them?
He says a lot of things, and then he starts to freak out. Like he’s not quite real, or something. Like he is an illusion. Her heart starts to race, but she stands her ground and waits. She has come to far to be scared now, even as she feels Indy nestle down among the wild strands of her mane. And then, he stops.
And then he starts to speak. Her ears perk, and the filly takes a step forward. Another riddle, but at least they don’t have to try and read this one. She stares at the three Seneca’s, who are definitely some weird magic as they meld and merge and separate before her eyes, and thinks. One of them lies, one of them tells the truth, and one of them will do either, if she understands him correctly. But how do they figure out which is which?
Charlie turns away from the three pegasi and toward Sirius, her face scrunching up. The other riddles were so easy, they were just places, and she’s been all over Terrastella. It’s her home, after all. But to figure out if someone is lying to her, or telling the truth? “What do we do?”
It actually makes her think of one time she met a boy down at the docks, when she had been younger. A bigger, older boy. What a jerk he was, he thought he was so great because he was taller than her and stronger than her and worked on a ship. Yeah, right. But he had tried to convince her that the sky was not blue. And it had been sunny and clear that day, so the sky had most definitely been blue. She remembers that day because he had convinced her that everything she knew was a lie, but he had been the one lying. Everyone knows the sky is blue, you can’t lie about that.
Her eyes grow wide with a realization, “That’s it!” she says, glancing at Sirius with a beaming smile before turning back around to face the Senecas. For a moment she looks at them. She has to ask the right question, something that is true, that they can see or know is true, so that when any of them lies about it, it's easy to tell.
Charlie hopes Sirius trusts her enough to do this, and when she looks into those freaky, pupil-less eyes, she knows exactly what to ask. The girl takes in a breath, steadies herself, and then speaks, “Seneca, are your eyes green?” She doesn't look away from them, bright and vibrant as they are, as she asks.
“There!” she says, motioning toward the distant island to the south, “The cadets talk about that place.” There is surety in Charlie’s voice, even though she’s never been to the island before, or even knows if it’s actually where they need to go. The filly seems to realize something, however, and flexes her small wings at her sides. “But, how do I get there?” She glances up at Sirius, dragging one hoof through the dirt.
~~~
When Charlie’s hooves touch the ground again, she nearly bounds forward with excitement. Only Indy, carefully perched upon her poll gives her pause and leaping to explore every inch of the island. The place truly has been over run by plants, growing up the walls and carpeting the floors. The buildings look like ruins from the stories she has been told before, but they can’t possibly be that old, can they?
Her bright eyes grow wide the further in she ventures. There are prints in the sand, as if someone has been here before them—and though Charlie isn’t much for superstition, she has a strange feeling like when she goes down to the docks and knows all the old sailors are looking at her.
When the man blocks their path, she stops, narrowing her gaze at him. Her head tips slightly to the side, as if regarding him. Something about him is strange, and not-right, but she can’t really put her hoof on it. It reminds her of the island, like some strange magic or something. The young pegasus can’t help but look to her companion when he begins to speak, directly, to them both. And wonder, how is it that he knows them?
He says a lot of things, and then he starts to freak out. Like he’s not quite real, or something. Like he is an illusion. Her heart starts to race, but she stands her ground and waits. She has come to far to be scared now, even as she feels Indy nestle down among the wild strands of her mane. And then, he stops.
And then he starts to speak. Her ears perk, and the filly takes a step forward. Another riddle, but at least they don’t have to try and read this one. She stares at the three Seneca’s, who are definitely some weird magic as they meld and merge and separate before her eyes, and thinks. One of them lies, one of them tells the truth, and one of them will do either, if she understands him correctly. But how do they figure out which is which?
Charlie turns away from the three pegasi and toward Sirius, her face scrunching up. The other riddles were so easy, they were just places, and she’s been all over Terrastella. It’s her home, after all. But to figure out if someone is lying to her, or telling the truth? “What do we do?”
It actually makes her think of one time she met a boy down at the docks, when she had been younger. A bigger, older boy. What a jerk he was, he thought he was so great because he was taller than her and stronger than her and worked on a ship. Yeah, right. But he had tried to convince her that the sky was not blue. And it had been sunny and clear that day, so the sky had most definitely been blue. She remembers that day because he had convinced her that everything she knew was a lie, but he had been the one lying. Everyone knows the sky is blue, you can’t lie about that.
Her eyes grow wide with a realization, “That’s it!” she says, glancing at Sirius with a beaming smile before turning back around to face the Senecas. For a moment she looks at them. She has to ask the right question, something that is true, that they can see or know is true, so that when any of them lies about it, it's easy to tell.
Charlie hopes Sirius trusts her enough to do this, and when she looks into those freaky, pupil-less eyes, she knows exactly what to ask. The girl takes in a breath, steadies herself, and then speaks, “Seneca, are your eyes green?” She doesn't look away from them, bright and vibrant as they are, as she asks.
Hope the time jump at the beginning is okay haha @Sirius @redandblack
you and i, we're pioneers
we make our own rules