Tugging At My Heartstrings

Chapter 2

Well, there I was, standing in the middle of my living room, looking out the window long after Lyra left. I was a still highly confused about her behavior before, but I guess I didn't know her that well to make a judgement on her character. I let out a long sigh as I made my way to the kitchen for some breakfast, which was either hay oat cereal or some left over fruit salad. I stuck with the fruit salad, needless to say.

I ate my breakfast as I usually do, hurried as fuck, then proceeded to get dressed for the day. That was stupid, I only had one pair of clothing right now, so why the fuck would I need to change? I had to wash it everyday out back on a washboard, which was pretty damn low tech, but it took my mind off a lot of things, so that was my first stop.

once my clothes were washed, I just sat around my house naked for a few hours until they dried. Thankfully, I had my bed sheets to act as a makeshift toga, which I used to do back home anyways when I was too lazy to put on pants. So, I was walking around my home like a Greek; cleaning, dusting, or just lounging until I figured out something to do.

A light knocking on my door signaled an end to the boredom as I rushed over, opening it with haste to see who was on the other side. Standing there was a white unicorn mare, her purple mane and tail pampered and posh. She stared at me and my attire with perplexed eyes before speaking.

"Ahem. Um, hello... My name is Rarity, local fashion designer here in town, and I was wondering if you and I could... talk, for a moment?" The way she said 'talk' made it sound like I did something bad, which got me a little nervous. I nodded and let the mare into my home, watching as she eyed it, this time, with a happy look on her face. "Well, your home certainly is well kept!" She complimented, heading into the living room and taking a seat on the couch. I took a seat on the chair across from her and waited for what she had to 'talk' about.

It took a while, but she finally began to state her business. "Mr. Mason, as I said, I'm the local fashion designer, so anypony who needs clothing can come to me for anything. Even you." I nodded, knowing that's why she wasn't here. "Good, now for the next thing I wanted to talk about. Lyra came by my store this morning and bought herself quite an... extravagant dress. She said something about a 'date' tonight."

I slowly nodded, not understanding why this was something I needed to know. "Oookay, she has a date tonight. Why does this concern me in any way?" I asked. Rarity sighed and shook her head.

"Dear, could I trouble you for a cup of tea? It was a long walk over, and a tea always does me good." She sighed again, giving me a small, yet sad look. I nodded, heading into the kitchen to brew some up. There was no talking between us during the six minute wait for the water to boil, which felt like an eternity.

Once the tea was done, I reentered the living room, handing Rarity her cup. She took a sniff of the contents and, satisfied, took a small sip, letting out a hum of pleasure. "Hmmm. Divine. Now, where were we? Ah, yes, the 'date' Lyra has tonight and how it concerns you. Well, she and I talked for a few, and do you know what she said?"

I shook my had and leaned back in my armchair. "Honestly, not a clue." I admitted truthfully. Rarity nodded at that, placing the teacup delicately onto the table.

"Well, she told me she has a dinner date tonight. A dinner date with a human, as in, you, human..." Rarity waited for my response, but I simply couldn't muster one. My mind was going absolutely abound with thoughts of how this happened, where the miscommunication occurred and how to get myself out of this. Rarity, sensing I couldn't say a thing, spoke up for me.

"Listen. I know what you must be thinking right now, and I can tell by that look it's nothing good, but Lyra is... delicate. I can't tell you how many ponies she had shoot her down after they found out about her crazy human obsession, and I can't tell you how many times she's been emotionally broken. If... you are going to burst her bubble, please, do it as gently as you can? I don't think she can take another heartbreak."

Heartbreak? I was new to this world and inadvertently set myself up with a pony and she was worried about that pony's heart being broken?! How about my sanity!? Every moral fiber in my body was screaming that this was so fucking wrong on so many goddamn level! I liked Lyra as a friend, but it couldn't be more than that! I'm a human, she's a pony! What the hay was I supposed to do with that?!

"I'll um... I'll keep that in mind." I stuttered hoarsely, letting out a long sigh. Rarity nodded, getting to her hooves.

"Well, I'm sorry about yours and hers misunderstanding, but, I must be off. I just thought I should let you know about this. It was very lovely to meet you, Mason. You are most definitely not the monster ponies make you out to be." She giggled a bit and made for the door. "And if you ever need clothing, just come on down to Carousel Boutique. Ta-ta!"

Once again, I was alone with the brand new concerns and dreads in my head that turned my gut into a pretzel. What the hell was I supposed to tell Lyra? 'Hey, I'm glad you like me, but you're a horse and I'm a human so it won't work'? I know what it's like to be shot down by someone you like, and it sucks. But I had to do this, because it could never work in the long run. I mean, yeah, she saw past what I was, but... there was nothing back home that would be considered normal about this. This world had many different species, most of them highly sentient, so inter-species relationships would, logically, be fairly normal around here. I just had nothing to go off of in my life back home to find something appealing about this.

Letting out a long sigh, I pulled out my Ipod, noting it was only at a quarter of battery power left. I dreaded that thing dying, because once it was out of battery, I'd never be able to listen to my world's music again. I only listened to one song a day, and today was a good day for... God, I couldn't even think straight. I just put on a song and laid on the couch as the music danced inside my head.

Once the music was over, I shut off my Ipod again and went to go check on my clothes in the back. They were almost fully dried, so I decided it was a good time to head to the market now for some more supplies. I was glad to be out of the bed sheet toga and in some jeans and a t-shirt. I loved how tight fitting my shirt was, too. It showed off my muscle mass that I gained from working as a package handler for over a year, and the manual labor I had done when building my home. I wasn't stacked, but I was definitely defined, which was something I was immensely proud of. I forwent the jacket, which I wore everyday, because I needed to test something out...

Out in the market, ponies passed me by, eyeing me, or more specifically my body, carefully. I had always thought the ponies here saw me as a monster, but apparently that time had passed. It was different, seeing the town not run and cower away from me. I mean, I was never in town much to begin with, so I never really paid any of them much mind other than when I bought something from the market and whatnot. While the Stallions weren't paying me much heed right now as I walked through the streets, the opposite gender was.

Some mares began to take notice of my body definition, which just assured me that many ponies were used to the whole inter-species thing. Two mares passing me by gave me the biggest hint of all. One of them whistled, while the other bit her lip as her eyes trailed up and down my torso, her cheeks a light shade of red. Mine instantly began to match that as I made for the apple stand across the market. I knew Applejack fairly well now, since I had been buying one of the few edible items I could eat around here from her since I first set foot in Ponyville. She saw me approach and her eyes went wide for a second.

"Well, uh, howdy, Mason. Ah see you decided to leave yer jacket at home." She stated obviously, trying to keep her eyes on her apples.

"Yeah, I needed to see if something I thought was true..." I sighed, picking at a piece of pealing wood from Applejack's cart. "Turns out I was right..."

"Right about what, hun?" Applejack asked worriedly, putting twelve Apples into a bag for me. "Now, Ah ain't lettin' you leave till you tell me what's got you down in the dumps." She said sternly, pulling back the bag of apples when I went to reach for it.

I gave up, letting her know what was really eating away at me. "Well, Lyra thinks that we're having a date tonight because of... some strange miscomunication, and I don't know what to do. I thought maybe it wasn't normal around here either for two different species to date, but the reactions I got today suggested otherwise..."

Applejack tilted her head slightly in confusion. "Well, a'course that's normal round here. Ain't it normal back where ye're from?" She asked. I shook my head and let out a sigh as I pulled my pouch of bits out of my pocket.

"No, it's not... I... I don't know what to do, Applejack. I know you and I don't know each other very well, but do you have any advice on what to do?" I asked hopefully. Applejack smiled a very genuine smile at me as she grabbed my hand in her hoof.

"Well, if Ah were you, Ah'd realize that life is too short to be holdin' onto these fears. So, there ain't no inter-mawhatsit relationships back where ye're from. So what? Yer here now, and here it's normal. Ye'll never know how you feel unless you give it a chance. Remember; personality over looks. That's what Ah always say."

Applejack's advice was the first real good advice I have ever heard in my entire adult life. Why shouldn't I give this a chance? Because of my own upbringing and moral views? Anything could be conquered, and I didn't want to hurt Lyra over this. She was a sweet girl- er, mare. Maybe I should...

But what if my sister and her boyfriend found out? What would they think of it? Of course, they had each other, so they wouldn't know the crippling loneliness that one feels without a member of the same species. I didn't want them, the only family I had left, to think I was a freaking weirdo. Whatever I was supposed to do, only could be answered by me... and I didn't know which choice was the right one...

"Thank you, Applejack. You've given me a new side to this dilemma." I stated gratefully, passing her the bits and she passed me the apples. "I'll see you around, okay?"

Applejack nodded, waving as I left. "You know it. You have yerself a good day now, ya hear? And try to look on the up side of things!" She called out as I disappeared into the crowd.

I finally felt a sense of happiness wash over me. With a somewhat clear head, I was able to see things in this world clearly for the first time. So, these creatures are different and may be pony shaped. They can all talk, feel and think like a human, so what's the difference. And, after all, I was only a man. I had needs too; needs which I alone couldn't satisfy. I guess it's better to start sooner rather than later, right?

"Where is he!? Where's the human!?" I heard an angry female voice call out through the crowd. I turned about to see a very angry looking mare with a tan coat, pink and blue mane and tail, and three candies as her cutie mark skulking about. One of the ponies she was 'asking' pointed directly at me, and when her eyes met mine, I could instantly tell she meant business.

I didn't move an inch as she approached me, her eyes seething at me. She stopped dead in front of me, stood on her hind legs, and pinned me to a lamp post at my back. She was still a head shorter than I was, but she definitely was strong. Stronger than I would have liked...

"You Mason?" She asked bitterly. I slowly nodded and watched as her eyes narrowed. "Bon-Bon, Lyra's roommate. Now, listen here, bub. Lyra likes you, and believe me, I know how hard she falls for ponies. I've had to clean up the aftermath of relationships gone wrong for her for too long, and you, my friend, just entered dangerous territory..." She pressed me further into the streetlamp and snarled. "If you break Lyra's heart, I'll break your spine! That is not a threat, that is a promise! Now, you're coming with me, and we're going to make you look like a gentlecolt for my friend tonight. Got it?"

"O-O-Okay..." I stuttered, shrinking my head into my shoulders as she wrapped a foreleg around my wrist and began dragging me through a crowed of utterly confused ponies. I had no idea where she was taking me, but all I knew was one thing.

I was fucked, no matter what decision I decided to make...