Note: This is a revision of "Reflections from all Directions - Part 1 - Inciting Tour" by The 1 (Me). Special thanks to LeezardMan for revising the original chapter.
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A wise woman once said that remembrance is most potent under the currents of dreams.
Alice, otherwise known as Alicia Laverna, the self-proclaimed greatest scientist of her time, if not the multiverse, would know. After all, that was the conclusion she had made after conducting numerous studies on the subconsciousness.
Alice was still sitting on the ground next to Nat’s fully healed body in the middle of the cloud forest, a hand placed on her forehead. She was still spying in on Nat’s dream through memory lane. The oracle hand mirror she used to keep track of Isaac’s progress was set to the side, laying on the swaying vapor grass. She could always catch up on Isaac’s progress later. One of the perks of having a hand mirror forged from mirror ore was that it included a rewind and recording feature for all of her peeping needs.
She was currently waiting impatiently for the right time to... stir up the girl’s sleeping mind to see if she was worthy of learning under her guidance. But... For some reason, she couldn’t help but continue watching her resurfacing memories. She could not fathom what she awaited. Perhaps she was simply waiting for the right moment to test her? Yet, Alicia’s long experience is telling her it was much more than that. She held the power to form nightmares, one of many means of testing this girl, yet, for some reason, she didn't have it in her to interrupt this seemingly ordinary girl’s dream.
She’ll test this girl... but for now she felt it'd be best to take all the time she may need. Besides… In their current states, the Paladin and the other intruders were in no position to do any major damage to her precious mansion. Most property damage should be able to be reversed through magic.
It should be fine…
...
“Hey Mary? Do you plan on coming back to visit this town someday?”
“...”
Mary remained silent, her only answer being a conflicted expression.
Their first stop on the tour was the town library. Nat had been on her way home from the library when she met Mary. Her parents allow her to go to the library by herself under the condition that she get home before dark. However, Nat figured that since Mary might not be returning to visit, she should give her a good first impression of her hometown.
“This is the Town Library! I come here to work as the assistant librarian and read whatever books the library has to offer on my free time! All I know about magic comes from this treasure trove of knowledge!”
The library building itself didn't look all that impressive from the outside. It looked like any other building in town, as if someone turned their own house into a public building.
“What kind of information does this library have on magic?” Mary asked.
Nat’s eyes lit at the opportunity to get her new friend to open up to rant about her favorite subject!
“Most of the magic related books here are fantasy novels full of made up adventures based on myths and commonly known theories about magic. Stuff like traveling to other worlds and bending the laws of reality. There’s even stories on time travel and shooting light out of your hands!”
Mary quizzically glanced at Nat, her head tilting. “Hmmm.... That’s interesting. But what does ‘time travel’ mean?”
Nat looked at Mary as if she suddenly turned into a newly born child. “What do you mean, “what is ‘time travel?!' Time travel is a basic concept every kid knows!”
Mary shook her head. “I wasn’t aware that ‘time travel’ was common knowledge. Is it something like traveling by air or cloud?”
Nat shook her head in pity. “You really don’t know? Time travel is as the name implies. It’s the ability to travel through time! Imagine being able to transport yourself to a time period where your grandparents were still young, or transporting to a time period where your kids live! Many people have dreamed of having the ability to time travel!”
Mary looked thoughtful. “That sounds... surprisingly enthralling. Shame that it doesn’t seem possible.”
“Don’t say that! It’s theorized that magic is capable, making time travel a possibility! With magic, anything is possible! Besides, even if we can’t time travel now, we can still imagine what it might be like! And I believe that magic has the power to make your imagination become reality!”
Mary nodded in semi interest. “So it’s like optimism come to life. Tell me... What would you do if you had the power of magic? Or the ability to time travel?”
Nat’s eyes glowed with enthusiasm. “If I had the ability to time travel, I would go to the future and see what it’ll be like! As for magic, I want to see if there is more than just water, light and air! I've been hearing legends of all kinds of super rare materials! Like a legendary type of cloud called ‘Earth!’”
“Hmmm…” Mary hummed.
Nat glanced at Mary in joy, her body trembling in excitement. “What about you? What would you do with the power to bend reality to your imagination’s whims?”
Mary's eyes closed, deep in thought. There was a moment of silence.
“Well... If I had the power to travel to another time period, I would travel to the past to see for myself if what the history books said were accurate. As for what else magic might be capable of... I don’t know what I would do with it. Time travel is the only thing I can think of at the moment.”
A thought occurred to Nat, “Are you sure you haven’t heard of time travel before? You gotta have other kids in your village talking about it. You don’t even have any books on time travel where you came from?”
“...”
“...” Nat stared back into the abyss
Mary eventually caved in. “I do have books... But they're all filled with facts. Everything that is real about this world. I have heard mention of ”magic”, but I was told to not believe in such a thing. Where I came from, the belief of magic is highly looked down upon.”
Nat couldn’t really comprehend what she was hearing, her eyes wide. “That must suck. Was everyone in your home like that?”
Mary shook her head. “No. My teacher welcomed the possibility of magic. She said that magic was simply science that hasn’t been figured out yet.”
Nat smiled. “Well I don’t know about ‘science’ and how it can possibly be compared to something as wonderful as magic, but I am glad someone else believes that magic exists!”
Mary simply nodded. Her eyes stared off, before gazing upon a building. Tapping Nat on the shoulder to get her attention, she pointed to the two-story building. “What’s that over there?”
Nat nodded in understanding.
“That’s the town inn. It’s where people who don’t live here go to rent a room to stay for the night." She cocked her eyebrow in confusion. "Do you even know what an inn is?”
Mary didn't answer. Instead, she pointed to another building. “What’s that over there…?”
“That's the Mayor’s house.”
The house itself was unique compared to the other buildings in town. It was four stories tall, making it the tallest building in town. In addition, there was a horseshoe mounted above the front door.
“What’s that horseshoe doing up there?”
Nat puffed out her chest in pride. “That’s to let us know that is the Mayor’s house! And that’s not a horseshoe, that’s a Pegasus shoe! The Symbol of our town!”
Mary tilted her head in confusion. “Pray tell. What is the difference?”
Nat gave her a ‘are you serious?’ look.
“Uh... I really don’t know. But I can tell you that really is a Pegasus shoe!”
“How can you tell?”
“Umm... Well it goes back to the creation of this town. Supposedly... The founder of this town was a Pegasus!” Nat puffed out her chest even further.
Mary meanwhile blinked with disbelief.
“How does that prove the shoe's authenticity? And are you talking about those animals delivery men use to deliver mail throughout the kingdom? How can an animal create a town?”
Nat’s cheeked puffed out like the morning sun as her irritation rises. “How dare you call Pegasus "animals!!!" They are more than mere animals! They can talk and may even be more intelligent than us cloud folk!”
Mary’s eyes filled with curiosity. “How so? Every book I read on animal lore didn’t say anything about them being able to communicate with cloud folk.”
“Did any of your books have anything on Pegasus?”
Mary nodded with confidence in her stride. “Yes. About their wingspan, how they fly and what makes them different from regular horses. But nothing on an ability to speak. Do you have any proof on such a ability?”
“Well...” Nat’s head drooped with depression. “...I've never actually seen a Pegasus before, much less heard one speak before.
“Then how can you know for sure that Pegasus can speak?”
“Uh... I just know! The town legend has been told around town as a bedtime story for generations! Pegasus are the town national animal! Pegasus are cool! Don’t you DARE insult them! I believe-“
"You still haven’t answered my question. What proof do you have that Pegasus are more than mere animals? A legend can be exaggerated over time.” Mary bluntly interjected.
The flustered look in Nat’s eyes was on the verge of tears. “SHUT UP!!!”
Nat grabbed Mary’s hand as she dragged her away from the Mayor's house. “Let's just continue the tour!”
It’s getting pretty dark now. The sun had began to set, illuminating the town with a ghastly glow. Nat gulped in nervousness, her Mom is most definitely worried by now. Heck, Nat wouldn’t be surprised if she saw her walking around town searching for her.
Mary didn’t resist Nat pulling her along, but she did protest at the sight of the coming night. "I probably should get going to my destination by now. I mustn't delay any longer.”
Nat had been anxiously dreading the time for when her newfound friend had to leave, but she wasn't going to give up. Mary might not come back again, so she better make the most of this first impression.
“You can just stay at my house for the night! I’m sure staying one night wouldn’t hurt. Now let's finish up this tour as soon as we can.” Nat urged.
As the two walked through the empty streets, Mary did not say anything. She hadn't protested nor accepted Nat's offer. With a determined look on her face, Nat kept on holding on to her new friend’s hand as she pulled her along...