Harp-Struck

Chapter Seven: Stuck With You

As the all familiar bright lights cleared, Lyra and I found ourselves back in our apartment, safe and sound.

I pumped my fist in the air. “Aah, that was brilliant!” I shouted, letting the fan like excitement I kept had locked down tight flood me as we both celebrated the night’s success.

“We did it, Wingy!” Lyra grabbed me and threw me about the room, dancing in joy and caring little for what time it was. “Thank you, Wingy, I had an amazing time.”

“You’re welcome, Lyra. Like I said there is no end to the lengths I’d go just to see you smile.”

Lyra blushed as I said that. “Oh, Wingy–” she made to cover her cheeks “– you’re making me blush again.” Lyra reached up to me and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

“I’m just going to get changed, I won’t be a minute,” I said, walking back into my room and shutting the door. It was then I noticed the beeping sound coming from the device on my wrist. “Oh, what now?” I at the screen, a feeling of horror washing over me as I saw what it displayed. Basically, the device had been drawing power from Equestria’s magic field in order to travel. But that had subsequently reduced its ability to travel between different dimensions, including Earth. The device only had enough energy to make one trip more between dimensions, before it would be tied to Equestria forever. It would be rendered useless if I went back to Earth as well, since it has no magic field, the device would have no energy. “No… don’t do this… NO!” I hit the device in frustration, my fist didn’t even make a dent in the metal. “Why… why must I do this now?” I looked at the device and then back at the door, the sight of both blurring as tears clouded my vision. “She needs to know.” I went over and reopened my bedroom door.

Lyra looked over to me as I trudged back into the living room. “That was quick, Wi–” she stopped, noticing my tearful expression. “W-Wingy, what’s wrong?”

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “L-Lyra, I have to tell you something,” I said gravely as I sat down on the couch.

Lyra came over and sat beside me, wiping away the tears that had spilled over my eyes with the cravat that had been around her neck. “What is it?” She asked, worriment in her voice.

I showed her the device, the light flashing red, signifying its low energy.

“What’s wrong with it?”

“The energy’s running low, if I use it again here… I won’t be able to go home.” Tears began pouring out again in small rivulets, which I quickly tried to wipe away. “Sorry, Lyra… this, along with the concert… reminds me of home.” I buried my head in my hands. “But I don’t want to be reminded of that place.”

Lyra pulled me into her hooves. “It’s okay, Wingy… Do you want to go home?” Her voice caught as she said that. As if to say ‘don’t go’.

“I don’t know, Lyra…I-I left everything to come here. My family, my friends… Never once did I ever think of going back in the time I’ve been here…with you.”

“Wingy, I-I don’t want to be the one who keeps you here… I love you very much but… If you stay here just for me I’ll never forgive myself...” Her eyes lit up as an idea flashed in her mind. “If you go I could come with you!”

“No, Lyra.” I pulled out of the hug to look her in the eye. “You wouldn’t want to…believe me. One human may be good example of my species, or even two but… Lyra, my kind is nothing like yours.”

Lyra looked at me in confusion. “But all that fighting I read about was long ago, surely you learned from your mistakes and were able to live peacefully. Holding grudges only hurt you, not the human you’re holding it against. Fighting won’t change that. Every argument can be solved when both parties just apologise, and move on. Bloodshed won’t change somepony’s opinion, it’ll just give them more reason to hate you.”

I smiled at the purity of her thinking, not a hint of bias. Just standard ‘right and wrong’ morals. I smiled and kissed her. “If only my race could possess that same pure outlook on life. But we don’t, Lyra. Our species is unlike yours. You ponies live in harmony, never letting petty conflict get in the way of your unity… And you possess something that in our world died out long ago. Peace.”

Lyra looked astonished. “H-how can that be? Your kind is more advanced than ours, your imagination, your inventions… How in Equestria can you say that we’re better? You have hands, we have hooves, and you humans have evolved into better thinkers. We’ve stayed the same as when Equestria was first founded.”

“That’s exactly why you have peace, you’ve kept your morals. At some point in our history, we humans broke the natural order of the world. We grew beyond our simple animal instincts for food, shelter and to protect our young. Our minds didn’t evolve, we morphed into beings of desire, consumed with a lust for wealth and power. You ponies have two rulers: Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, simple. We have prime ministers, presidents, kings and queens and emperors. All locked in a savage battle for power, status and control and it’s us that suffer for it, constantly having sides picked for us regardless of how we may feel about the conflict we are being pulled into… we came to know greed like no other species…” I buried my head in my hands again. “I don’t know what to do…”

Lyra hugged me again. “Wingy, I won’t stop you. Whatever your decision, you do what is right for you… I will always love you, no matter what you choose.”

“L-Lyra…” I shut my eyes. It was now or never.

Do I go back to a world filled with crime; greed; conflict and where everyone is consumed with the drive to pursue substance, honour and power, regardless of how many lives it costs?

Or do I stay here, where the world is simple; unspoiled; pure and untouched by that word ‘conflict’?

And the love of my life, Lyra Heartstrings who has shown me so much of this world and proved to me that not everyone is poisoned by these ‘human’ qualities, and that there is an intelligent species that is untouched by it. Could I really leave her behind?

Lyra’s eyes welled up as I silently began pressing the buttons on the device. With the destination keyed in, I pressed the confirmation key, the clock appeared and began counting down.

“G-goodbye, Wingy,” she said, choking back her tears as they flowed down her cheeks. “I-I love you…”

And in a flash of white light, I was gone.

Lyra sat motionless, the gravity of the situation sinking in. “W-Wingy…” The teal unicorn began to cry softly. The reality of now having to readjust to life without her only human friend leaving her crestfallen.

BANG

A blinding flash of light blinded Lyra’s vision and an almighty crash echoed throughout the room. As her vision cleared she could see something atop the now destroyed coffee table. As the smoke cleared, she could see it. Rising from the remains of the table. Was her beloved Wingy.

Me.

“Wingy!” Lyra threw her forehooves around me, squeezing the life out of me. “Don’t you ever do that again, I thought you were gone for good!”

I winced as she punched my side with her hoof, scolding me for worrying her. I pulled her into the longest and most tear filled kiss I had ever given her, the both of us crying as we expressed our happiness in the best way two lovers could. I could feel Lyra’s moans of relief as we kissed deeply with unbridled passion, as if we had been separated for millennia. I pulled myself from the kiss for a moment. “I would never do that, Lyra…” At this point my happiness robbed me of the need to explain. “I-I just… oh come here.” I locked lips with her again, letting my actions do the talking. “I, love you so… m-much,” I said in the seconds I was able to draw breath. “I will never… leave you.” I hugged into the soft texture of her warm cyan coat, my free hand combing through her teal and white mane. After a minute of passionate turned sloppy kissing I stepped back and showed her the device. “It’s now tied to this world, permanently.” I unclipped it and cast it onto the couch. “As am I,” I went back into her waiting hooves and hugged her tight.

In the end, there was really no decision, the amount of time I had spent here was proof enough of where my loyalties laid. I gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “I’m gonna go and get changed, for real this time, I promise.” Lyra giggled and I hurried into my room and shut the door. I sighed loudly, as if a huge burden had been lifted from my shoulders. Somehow, everything had a brighter look, the air fresher, the light brighter. These feelings gave me the assurance that I had made the right decision.

I nodded to myself and began slipping off my tailcoat, bowtie and waistcoat, until I was in just my shirt and trousers, grateful for once to be out of a suit. I hung my Goth attire in the wardrobe and went to my bedroom door. But before I could open it, I was stopped by a rustling sound, followed by grunts of what sounded like frustration, all coming from behind the door. Puzzled at this I opened the door to see what was up, Lyra was still in the living room, but jumped as if I’d caught her doing something.

Turns out, I had.

In Lyra’s mouth, was a pair of my blue trousers I had thought I had misplaced. But what captured my attention more than those was what else she had. I stifled a giggle as I saw on her rear a pair of my boxer shorts with the legs tucked in and a hole cut out for her tail.

“Uh, Lyra, why are you wearing my boxers?” I inquired, my lip quivering as I held back my giggles. The blush that adorned Lyra’s face was at a high enough temperature to melt the glaciers of Antarctica as she stared me, her eyes as wide as dinner plates. The memes are true.

“I-um,” she giggled nervously as she tried to explain. “I … really wanted to know what it felt like to wear… pants.”

“Uh, do you mean my trousers or my boxers? Because you seem to like the latter more.” I chuckled as her expression agreed with me.

“Y-your boxers, they feel… mmm… really soft.” Lyra then stood rigid as she felt her hips wiggling by themselves, feeling the soft cotton brush her fur. Her tail was still swaying even though her hips had stopped moving.

“Well, I can see why you like wearing them.” I sat back down on the couch.

Lyra’s reddened cheeks heated up as she spoke again. “I’m feeling… really hot again.” Lyra sat down beside me and snuggled up close to my chest, her horn nearly stabbing my neck. She sat up a little and our lips met in a warm kiss, our love for each other as clear as day.

“So, Wingy,” Lyra said in a sultry tone. “What are we going to do now?”

I wiped a bead of sweat from my brow as she ran her hoof in a circle along my chest. “Well, let me put it this way: not until death may we part–” I picked up the device beside me and threw it in the direction of my bedroom. "–so until then I'm stuck with you."

“I love you, Wingy,” Lyra sighed, her nose touching mine.

“I love you too, Lyra, my darling,” I said, leaning in to kiss her again.

The End