The Ballad of Xyclone

Ponyville, Equestria, mid-morning

I couldn’t believe this was even happening. I was a pony! I was in Equestria! It was just…so…awesome! Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie all showed me their homes and introduced me to their friends and families—even though there really was no need to; I already knew who their families were! I only asked for a tour so I could get closer to Lyra. Whoa, wait a minute. Did I really just say that?! I thought to myself. No, Skyler, stop thinking that! You’re not even the same species! But…I *am** a pony now…* I didn’t get it. I kept thinking about Lyra. It creeped me out. I was—key word, “was,” a human. And she was…well, a pony; It was weird. I continued to try and push those crazy thoughts out of my racking brain. It was late in the afternoon when the ponies and I started heading to Rarity’s Carousel Boutique when Lyra suddenly pulled me away from the rest of them. She started dragging me to her place.

“Oh, d-don’t worry, Rarity, it won’t be long! I just want him to meet my friend Bon-Bon,” Lyra called out.

“Uh…o-okay…?” said Rarity.

“Come on, Vinyl, Octavia. I want to show him your house, too,” Lyra called out to Vinyl Scratch and Octavia.

Both of them shrugged and followed reluctantly.

“Oh, my gosh, I just can’t get over how awesome this is! I’m with a real-life human!” Lyra continued. I didn’t know if she was talking to me or if she was just thinking out loud.

“But I’m not a human anymore—” I tried interrupting, but Lyra wouldn’t listen.

“I can’t wait to see the look on Bon-Bon’s face when I introduce you to her!”

When we got to Lyra’s cottage, she turned around and kicked the door open with her hind legs. “BON-BON!” she shouted. “PREPARE TO EAT YOUR WORDS!”

When Bon-Bon finally entered the living room, she had an unamused expression on her face. She sighed. “What is it now, Lyra? And who is this?” She pointed at me.

“THIS,” Lyra said. “THIS, my fair Bon-Bon, is a human. A real-life human!"

Bon-Bon facehoofed. “Lyra…that’s a pony.”

“No, he’s not! Well, right now he is, but he just turned into a pony when he came to Equestria! I’m telling the truth! Honest! Tell her, Skyler!”

Bon-Bon glared at me. “I’m afraid she’s telling the truth this time, Bon-Bon,” I said. “I am a human from another world, another dimension,”

Bon-Bon’s look changed from unaffected to confused. “Wait…how did you know that there were other times?” she asked. This time I was the one to facehoof.

“It’s a…long story,” I said. “Now, Lyra, why don’t you give me a tour of your place? Your house was never shown in the show.”

“Show?” I heard Bon-Bon whisper under her breath. “What show…?”

As Lyra gave me her tour, I grew happier and happier. It was like her presence was comforting to me. I felt as if I was growing more attracted to her by the moment. After her tour, she directed me over to Vinyl’s and Octavia’s living arrangements. I personally loved this; Vinyl Scratch was my all-time idol. I squealed like a little filly when she showed me her room and DJ equipment. I was just like Lyra earlier that morning when she first met me in my human form. I wished I could’ve stayed there forever! It was amazing! It was late in the evening when we—yes, we. Lyra followed me. Although, I didn’t really mind. It was a nice gesture—met up at Rarity’s boutique. When we knocked on the door, Rarity and her little sister Sweetie Belle greeted us warmly. In the middle of the tour, my stomach started growling. It was just then that I realized that I hadn’t eaten anything since my small breakfast that morning. I was so encompassed in the ponies’ lives that I had forgotten all about food.

“You want me to make dinner?” Sweetie Belle politely asked. “I could make some dinner, if you like?”

“NO!” I and Rarity shouted simultaneously. Lyra stifled a giggle.

“I mean…” I and Rarity said together…again.

“Uh…you go,” We both said, chuckling awkwardly.

“Yes, well…” Rarity began.  “Uh, you have school tomorrow, a-and I wouldn’t want you to stay up too long and be late. S-So, why don’t you be a dear and go to bed, won’t you darling?”

Sweetie Belle sighed. “Okay…” she said dejectedly.

“Now…” continued Rarity. “Why don’t I make you two a proper dinner?”

“That would be nice,” I told her.

“So, Lyra…” Rarity asked during our dinner, “How does it feel to finally meet a human? From what Pinkie has told me and what I saw this morning, it seems you’ve been waiting quite a long time for this moment.”

“Oh, yes, it’s wonderful!” Lyra replied. “It still feels like a dream!”

“I know!” I cut in. “Just this morning, I was living a boring old life as an ugly human, and now I’m a pony! It’s my wildest dream come true!”

“Well,” said Rarity, “I find it hard to believe that you were ugly, because you’re one of the most handsome stallions I’ve ever met! Maybe even more handsome that that spoiled brat, Prince Blueblood—that jerk!”

I looked off to the side and blushed.

“Y-You know, she’s right,” Lyra whispered to me delicately, but loud enough for Rarity to hear.

Rarity then looked at us sarcastically.

“O-Oh, d-d-did I say that out loud?” said Lyra, chuckling awkwardly. Both she and I began to blush, looking away from each other.

Rarity chuckled playfully. “Well, what is this?” She said. “Is this a budding romance I’m sensing here?”

Lyra and I quickly denied it. “No, no!” I said. “We’re just friends!”

“Yeah!” Lyra said, laughing. “T-That was just a general compliment!”

“Yeah!” I said. “Besides, w-we just met each other, like, this morning!”

Lyra and I continued laughing uncomfortably. We then started sinking under Rarity’s dining table, trying to make ourselves smaller.

“Oh, please,” Rarity continued. “I know when two ponies are in love. You know how I know?” Suddenly, she began blushing.

“How?” I said.

“If you tell anypony about this, I swear to Celestia, I will kill you.” Rarity warned us.

“What? What is it?” Lyra asked.

“I…kind of have a crush on—ahem—on Applejack.”

“…” Lyra froze. She was absolutely speechless.

Rising back up, I started to snicker. “…What?”

Rarity stood up. “I…have a crush…on Applejack.”

“What…?!” I started laughing harder.

“…” Lyra still said nothing.

“I think her southern drawl is...uh...adorable…” continued Rarity.

I started dying with laughter. I fell out of my chair, rolling on the floor. Lyra, however, was still frozen. “SERIOUSLY?!” I cried between bouts of laughter. “OH MY GOD, MY SIDES!!”

“Hey!” cried Rarity. “It’s not funny!”

“You’re right, you’re right,” I said, calming down, wiping tears from my eyes. I returned to my seat. “So the shippers are right…” I mused out loud.

“What’s a…shipper?” asked Rarity interrogatively.

“Oh…sorry,” I said. “It’s a bit hard to explain. I’ll show you and the rest of the ponies tomorrow. Anyway, back to what we were saying…I don’t have a crush on Lyra, and she doesn’t have a crush on me! We literally just met!” I looked over at Lyra. She somehow was still frozen. I shook my head.

“Whatever you say, darling, but you can’t hide your feelings forever.” Rarity advised.

I then began yawning. Then I realized; I had nowhere to sleep. I was too tired to go back to the portal, and I was enjoying being a pony rather well.

“Would you like for me to make you a bed, darling?” Rarity asked warmly.

“Could you?” I asked groggily. “That would be grea—”

“WAIT!” cried Lyra all of a sudden. “You can sleep at my and Bon-Bon’s house!"

“I’m terribly sorry, Lyra, but I’m much too tired,” I said, yawning. “Now, you go on home to Bon-Bon. I promise you, I’ll be just fine here."

“A-Are you sure…?” asked Lyra worriedly. Before I could say anything, Rarity spoke up.

“Yes,” she said reassuringly. “I am positively sure.”

“Oh,” said Lyra sadly. “O-Okay.” She slowly trotted out the door.

“Now,” began Rarity, “Why don’t we get you to bed?” I nodded tiredly. “I’ll put an extra mattress in Sweetie Belle’s room. You can sleep there.”

“Thank you for this, Rarity. And…I’m sorry about earlier. I shouldn’t have laughed at your feelings like that.”

“Oh, it’s quite alright, darling.”

“And don’t worry,” I said comfortingly. “Your secret’s safe with me.”

“Thank you, dear. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight to you, too, Rarity.”

I slowly drudged up the stairs. When I trotted into Sweetie Belle’s room, I could see she was already fast asleep, snoring happily. Guided only by the dim moonlight, I found the extra mattress Rarity had laid down and, as quietly as I could, slumped into it and quickly drifted off to sleep.