"Are you going to talk then?"

* * *

Lyra and Sweetie Drops had been on the way out of their English Literature class when out of the blue, they'd run into a mysterious stranger that looked just like Lyra. For a few moments, they had stood around speechless. It had been Sweetie who had taken the initiative and spoken first. "You two need to talk."

Sweetie had bundled both girls into her car, Lyra in the front passenger seat and this lookalike in the back, and drove off, heading for the apartment. Of course, the teachers might notice they were missing the rest of their classes, but the worst that would happen would be a tersely worded letter sent back to Lyra and Sweetie's respective sets of parents. Neither girl had been bothered about that.

* * *

Sweetie drove, occasionally looking at this strange girl in the rear-view mirror. There were some very tense conversations between the occupants of the front seats of the car. "Who is she?"

Lyra looked back at the girl. It was like looking in a mirror. "I don't know, Bonny."

Sweetie Drops couldn't believe that this stranger didn't have some connection to her girlfriend. Their perfect resemblance gave her the creeps. "You must have some idea. You haven't got a twin sister you never knew about?"

"I think I'd know if I had a twin sister," Lyra hissed.

Sweetie shrugged. "Not if you were both adopted." She pulled in and parked on the street outside their apartment block.

"I wish I was fucking adopted." Lyra looked at the girl, hoping for an answer. The girl shook her head.

Sweetie got out of the car, and Lyra climbed out of the door. The girl remained in the back seat. Lyra opened the door to the back of the car. "You need to come with us." The girl sat there with a blank look on her face. Her eyes travelled from Lyra to Sweetie and back again. "You do understand us, right? YOU SPEAK ENGLISH?" The girl nodded. "Come on then."

The strange girl climbed out of the car, seeming a little unsteady on her feet. She hadn't said a single word since she'd run into them in the corridor at school. Sweetie and Lyra led Lyra's mirror image into the apartment building, and climbed the stairs to the second floor. Sweetie took out her keys and let everyone into the apartment.

"So you're not my adopted twin sister?" Lyra asked. The girl shook her head. "We're not twins, so does that mean we're related?" The girl shook her head again.

Sweetie Drops came out of the kitchen carrying a small tray holding three steaming mugs of liquid. "I hope you like tea." The girl nodded.

Lyra kept guessing. "Oh! Are you me from the future? What's it like?" Her mysterious double rolled her eyes.

"So who are you then?" Bon Bon asked. "You seem to know an awful lot about our private lives."

The girl opened her mouth as if to speak, but closed it again. She took a cup of tea and sipped at it, then looked at the steaming brown liquid as if it were going to answer the question for her.

"Are you going to talk then?" Sweetie asked.

* * *

Lyra opened her mouth to speak, but had second thoughts — she hadn't actually spoken to anyone in this world since she'd arrived. Until these two girls had practically abducted her, almost everyone had virtually ignored her, and those who hadn't had been downright hostile. But still, abduction aside, they seemed like nice humans, and Lyra knew they needed an explanation. She took a sip of her tea, then looked at the steaming brown liquid, trying to find the strength to talk.

"I--" Lyra started. Her voice surprised her — it was the same as when she was a pony, but somehow different. Like listening to a recording of yourself. The girls, who had perhaps started to wonder if she was mute, seemed stunned that she had finally spoken. Lyra could feel the weight of their expectation. "I... I am you. I think."

The human who looked almost exactly like Lyra looked taken aback by this revelation. "What?!"

"I'm you, but not you. I'm an alternative you. Or you're an alternative me. From another universe. Or, at least, I don't know... I think so?" The two humans looked shocked, but Lyra didn't leave them any time to absorb this new knowledge. Now the words had started coming, there was no holding them back. "Twilight Sparkle said that there would be humans in this world, but she never told me there would be a human me, and a human Bon Bon. It's amazing! What's it like being human? Oh wait, of course, I'm human now. But what's it--"

The human that looked like Bon Bon interrupted, a slight scowl on her face. "Hold on! You're what now? You said you're human now — what were you before?"

Lyra mentally face-hoofed. "Sorry, I should have said. I'm a unicorn. I come from a place called Equestria. The portal I came through gave me this body." She gestured to it.

"It gave you a body exactly like mine?" said the girl who had a body exactly like Lyra's.

"Yes. Well, no. It gave me a body like me. This body might be a completely different shape from when I was a pony, but there are similarities. My mane is the same, my coat is the same colour, I even have the same cutie mark."

Now it was the girl who looked like Lyra's turn to interrupt. "Your cutie mark? You have cutie marks in your world? Like in My Little Pony?"

Lyra thought it a bit strange that this girl would own a pony. But she supposed that in this world, ponies would just be considered animals, and people might keep them as pets. "You have a little pony?" she asked. "Can I meet him?"

The girl shook her head and stood up. "No, no. Where would I keep a horse in this apartment?" She walked over to a shelving unit in the corner that Lyra hadn't noticed. "I meant like the My Little Pony toys." She gestured to a row of stuffed toys.

Lyra stood up and joined the girl. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. There was an orange pony toy that looked suspiciously like Applejack. She'd only spoken to Applejack yesterday. A baby dragon toy which looked oddly like Twilight's assistant from the library. There were a bunch of others that she didn't recognise. But the last looked strangely familiar; she recognised the pink pegasus from history books she'd read when she was a school filly. The pegasus was not wearing her usual uniform, but she would recognise that cutie mark anywhere — General Firefly. Why did this girl have all these pony toys?

* * *

Sweetie Drops watched Lyra and her double standing by the bookshelf. Apart from their clothes, they really did look identical. The apparent ex-pony might have been carrying a little extra weight, but she was still slim-verging-on-skinny. And it could have just been the way she was standing, or a trick of the light. Other than that, they looked identical.

Personality wise, they seemed different. Of course, this ex-pony was in shock now, so it might not be right to judge her personality by the last few minutes. But she seemed a little calmer than Lyra, a little more "together". Perhaps it was her soft pink dress that made her seem like a gentle creature? In a way, she reminded Sweetie of how Lyra had been when they'd first fallen in love, just before Lyra's 16th birthday, and before their lives had been ripped apart.

Sweetie realised there was something she hadn't asked. "So, unicorn girl, what's your name? What do we call you?"

The ex-pony turned to look at her and smiled. "Lyra."

Sweetie's girlfriend looked at the unicorn and grinned. "Same!" She put her arms around her and pulled her into hug.

Somehow Sweetie was not surprised by any of this. "Well, that's not going to get confusing," she quipped.

Sweetie looked at the half-empty tea cups on the coffee table. "I think we're going to need something a little stronger." She headed back to the kitchen.

* * *

Lyra hugged the ex-pony. They'd only just met, and most people would have a lot of difficulty believing this story, but somehow Lyra knew that everything this visitor had said was true. And she couldn't be more excited!

Life hadn't been easy for the last four months or so. Renting an apartment together had really been their only option, but it wasn't easy. Rent cost a lot of money, and there were bills, food, and other expenses. Bonny was a genius at making their money stretch, but they were both still in school, so neither were able to get a full-time job. Between them they had five part-time jobs which they squeezed into the evenings and weekends. But this left them very little time together outside of school, and when they were together they were often tired and irritable with each other. Sometimes she felt that her ponies were the one thing that got her through the day. And now she had a real-life talking pony in her apartment.

"You've got to tell me all about where you come from!" Lyra released the ex-pony from her hug and smiled at her again. She led her back to the couch and they sat next to each other.

* * *

Lyra sat next to her human counterpart on the couch. The other human, that she assumed to be named the same as her own marefriend back in Equestria, Sweetie Drops, emerged from the kitchen carrying a glass bottle and three glasses. The glass bottle contained a golden liquid; perhaps apple juice.

Sweetie Drops poured three glasses, and Lyra reached for her glass at exactly the moment her human double reached for her own. Sweetie sat in a comfortable-looking but shabby armchair facing them.

The human version of Lyra was obviously keen to learn about Equestria. "So if you're the pony me, is there a pony Bonny too?"

Lyra nodded. "Yes, but her real name is Sweetie Drops. I just call her Bon Bon as a nickname."

"Same here!" the human squealed excitedly. "And are you friends with her?"

Lyra blushed. "Actually, we're a little more than friends."

The human Lyra looked at Sweetie Drops who gave her a small nod. "So are we," she confirmed. She wouldn't have wanted to announce it without Sweetie's permission — they'd had some bad experiences with people finding out about their relationship, and didn't want a repeat of that. "Do ponies normally accept that? That two mares can be together like that."

Lyra remembered what Twilight Sparkle had told her, that such relationships weren't as accepted in this world. "Yes," she answered, "but it's not always been easy. There are a lot more mares in Equestria than stallions. So it's quite common for mares to be in relationships with other mares. With the right magic spells, they can even start a family together. But when I first got together with Sweetie, my family weren't too happy about it. Not because she's a mare, but because she's not a unicorn.

"There are a lot of unicorns who think they're better than other ponies. They tolerate earth ponies, sure, but that tolerance only goes so far. We'd book tables in restaurants, only to find out that the booking had been 'forgotten about' when we turned up. Ponies would look at us in the street. Nopony ever said anything nasty. They were never overtly hostile to us. But it wasn't comfortable.

"Eight years ago Bon Bon got offered an apprenticeship in Ponyville, and I decided to move there with her. Ponyville has a lot more earth ponies than Canterlot did, so Bon Bon feels she fits in better. And everypony is much more accepting of mixed relationships. It's a lot better now."

Lyra paused and took a sip of her drink. She coughed, almost spitting it over the floor. "What is this stuff?!"

Sweetie Drops laughed. "It's mead. There's a girl at school, Honeybuzz — her family have a... what's it called... an apothecary — you know, a bee farm.

* * *

Sweetie watched the two Lyras swapping stories over the next few hours, comparing life on Earth with life in this pony's world, which she called Equestria. The unicorn seemed so much more carefree and happy than her Lyra did. Lyra was angry at the world, and Sweeties supposed, had every right to be, but it wasn't always like that. She's once been as happy and sweet as this strange creature that they now had in their apartment.

But now that the two Lyras were chatting, Sweetie could see that her girlfriend was starting to relax. The transformation was almost visible. It was like she was the happy, giggly, crazy schoolgirl that Sweetie had fallen in love with two and a half years ago.

Of course, the two bottles of mead they'd gotten through could have had something to do with it as well.

Watching them, she was reminded how much she loved Lyra, and she started thinking about the nature of love. These two girls, so identical. Why was she in love with one of them, but not the other? It was about shared experiences, Sweetie supposed; she didn't love Lyra because of who she was, but because of the experiences they'd shared together. That was really what differentiated Lyra from this unicorn; that was the reason why she was in love with one of them, and wasn't interested in the other, beyond the obvious physical attraction.

Yes, she was physically attracted to this other Lyra. Really, how could she not have been? Sweetie was surprised it had taken so long for her to realise that she was. By now, she'd completely tuned out of the conversation and was beginning to fantasise about sharing a bed with the two identical girls. She'd always had a fantasy about making love to twins — not that they were twins, but close enough. Of course, she was sure that both Lyras would find the idea far too weird.

The next thing she knew though, her girlfriend was standing up and hitching up her skirt, while the unicorn seemed to be watching in fascination. What was going on? She wished she'd been paying more attention.

* * *

Lyra had been chatting to her human counterpart for a couple of hours now, when it struck her that there was one thing they hadn't compared. It seemed so obvious. "I should have asked. What's your special talent?"

The human smiled warmly. "I like to think I have several."

Lyra giggled. "Well, of course. But I mean, what talent did you get your cutie mark for? I got mine for playing the lyre. I can play other instru--"

The human was taken aback. "Cutie mark?! I know ponies have cutie marks in your world, but humans don't have cutie marks."

Lyra was confused. She put down her glass. "But the girl in the shower; I saw her; she had a cutie mark of a star right on her flank."

"Humans don't have cutie marks," said the girl, standing up and hitching up her short denim skirt to reveal pink lacy underwear. She slid this down a few inches at one side to reveal her flank.

Without thinking, Lyra reached for the girl's flank and stroked the soft skin where she expected her cutie mark to be. The girl flinched and Lyra withdrew her hand. The girl looked at Sweetie Drops and seeming to see no objection in her expression, took Lyra's hand and put it back on her flank. Lyra stroked her skin again; there was no scarring from a burn or injury that could explain the lack of cutie mark. Perhaps humans really had no cutie marks? "So why did the girl I saw earlier have a cutie mark?"

Sweetie Drops shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe it was a tattoo?"

"What's a tattoo?" Lyra pressed.

Sweetie Drops supplied an explanation. "It's a symbol that some people get drawn onto their skin. They choose a word or a sign that means something special to them, and it gets drawn on and stays there for life."

"Oh," said Lyra, "so it's like an artificial cutie mark." Lyra's human counterpart nodded her agreement. Sweetie Drops just shrugged.

Lyra noticed that her hand was still on the girl's flank, and withdrew it like it was burning. The girl sat back down on the sofa next to Lyra, closer this time, their legs just near enough to brush together. "It's OK," said the human girl, "I don't bite."

Lyra laughed. "It's just that… well, I don't know how it is here, but where I come from, there's a taboo about touching other ponies that you hardly know in intimate areas."

The girl laughed too. "It's the same here. But you're not a stranger. You said it yourself: you are me; I am you. I don't have a problem with you touching me." She looked over at Sweetie Drops, who watched them with interest. "And I don't think Bonny does either." Lyra looked at Sweetie Drops, or 'Bonny' as she apparently preferred to be called, and it was clear that she had no objection.

* * *

Lyra had almost felt electric when the ex-unicorn had touched her thigh, dangerously close to her butt. It only lasted a moment before the visitor had taken her hand away. She had looked to Bonny for reassurance before taking the visitor's hand and putting it back on her thigh, this time slightly higher.

While they discussed cutie marks, she enjoyed the feeling of a new person's hand in a place only Bonny's and her own had been before. It was weird but exhilerating. Could she really be thinking like that about a version of herself? She'd never considered herself so narcissistic before. She was disappointed when the visitor again withdrew her hand. She sat down right next to ex-pony, making sure that their thighs would be in contact, and tried to reassure her that it was OK to touch.

Was it really OK though. She knew it was as weird as anything, but the touch of her hand had felt like magic. Would Bonny ever understand?

* * *

Sweetie Drops blurted out what she'd been dying to say. "Go on, just kiss!"

The two Lyras were surprised, but neither of them were more surprised than Sweetie Drops that those words had come out of her mouth.

Sweetie had been watching her girlfriend and her double making moon eyes at each other for several minutes. As much as she loved Lyra, and the thought of her being with anybody else would normally sicken her, she had to admit to herself that the possibility of watching these two together was a real turn on. And it looked inevitable anyway.

The two Lyras looked at each other. The pony Lyra knew that this might be her only chance to experience intimate contact with a real live human; perhaps to learn something about the human world that even Twilight Sparkle didn't know.

The human Lyra had fantasized about ponies hundreds of times, and even convinced Bonny to roleplay a couple of times — to actually kiss a real talking pony was a dream come true. Sure, she hadn't dreamed about that pony being in a temporary human body, but — even though it would seem conceited to say so out loud — it was at least a pretty hot body. And here was her girlfriend, not only saying it would be OK to kiss her, but positively encouraging it.

* * *

Lyra looked at the human girl's lips, and unconsciously licked her own. She closed her eyes and leaned forward. And further forward. And further. Just when she thought her lips would never make contact, and that the human had fled in horror at the idea of kissing a pony, she felt something warm and moist meet her lips.

Lyra's golden eyes shot open in surprise at the new experience, and she saw a similarly stunned pair of eyes looking back at her. They kissed the way two eight year olds might behind the bike shed in the school playground — nervously and hesitantly, with closed lips.

Lyra wasn't a naive little mare anymore. Although she and Bon Bon had been together for many years, they had an open relationship, so she'd kissed plenty of other ponies — the DJ, that jeweller, the teacher, the post mare, even a stallion once, though she'd ended up regretting that. She was no stranger to kissing techniques, but was a stranger to human mouths, and human tongues, and for that matter, human customs, so she was cautious.

She could taste the honey-sweet mead on the human's breath. She closed her eyes again, enjoying the new experience.

* * *

Lyra closed her eyes and kissed the pony. When their lips met, the feeling was so magical that her eyes sprung open. The unicorn had spoken about her species' ability to manipulate magic in her home land. Maybe kissing her was channelling a little part of that Equestrian magic?

The pony's breath tasted partly of mead, which was to be expected, but also surprisingly minty, like she'd just brushed her teeth. It was an unusual combination perhaps, but certainly not an unwelcome one.

She closed her eyes and melted into the kiss, gently parting her lips.

* * *

Sweetie Drops could barely believe what she saw. They actually did it. Her girlfriend and her double actually kissed. It was a beautiful sight to behold. It was only an innocent schoolgirl-style kiss, but to her it was more of a turn on than any porn she'd ever seen. And she'd seen a lot of porn — the good stuff too, the really good stuff.

As soon as their lips met, Sweetie saw their eyes pop open in what looked like surprise. She prayed that it wasn't disgust, because no doubt then Lyra, her Lyra, would blame her for suggesting it.

But her prayers were answered when they kept kissing, both closing their eyes again. Then Lyra, her Lyra, tilted her head to the side and started taking the kiss to the next level.

* * *

Lyra felt the human's tongue slip between her lips. It ran along her teeth and Lyra instinctively allowed them to part a little; the tongue darted inside her mouth. It was not as long or thick as a pony tongue, and didn't provide the feeling of filling up her mouth like she got when she kissed Bon Bon at home, but the girl's tongue moved quickly and nimbly around her mouth, seeking out her own tongue and stroking it gently. It was a new and very pleasant sensation.

Lyra used her own tongue to caress her double's tongue. She felt her heart beating in her chest with excitement. She soon felt brave enough to slip her tongue between her partner's lips and explore the textures and tastes of the girl's mouth.

Lyra felt the girl's hands on her mane, or rather, hair was what they called it. She mirrored her actions. Back at home, she'd often run her hoof through Bon Bon's pink and blue mane while they kissed, or while Bon Bon's mouth was occupied in other ways, but using a hand was a whole different experience; a hand is a lot more sensitive than a hoof. The soft human hair ran through her fingers, almost tickling the skin in between them.

The human girl played with Lyra's hair, twisting a thin lock of her shoulder-length green hair around her finger before letting it fall back into place. Her hand stroked down from Lyra's hair to her cheek, caressing it softly, holding it gently, and pulling Lyra nearer to her in an urgent yet tender way.

Lyra did the same. The girl's face felt smooth and soft and warm. Lyra could faintly feel the movements of the girl's tongue through the thin wall of her cheek. Lyra rubbed her thumb back and forth while holding the girl's cheek, and felt her partner copy the movement.

Lyra let her hand wander further down to the girl's delicate neck and come to rest there. The girl's pulse was beneath her fingertips and Lyra could feel that it was as fast as her own. It thrilled her to realize that this human was getting as much excitement out of this as she was, and her kissing became more ardent and passionate.

Lyra's double mirrored Lyra's movements and put her hand on Lyra's cheek too. She took the lead again, becoming more daring, allowing her hand to rest on Lyra's chest.

Until the girl had touched her chest, Lyra hadn't realized quite how sensitive that part of her had become. It was like back in that shower room; she had been aroused and it had made the mounds on her chest respond so pleasurably to being touched. Lyra reminded herself that she needed to ask the humans if there was a word for these lovely little lumps on her chest.

Lyra let her hand wander down to her counterpart's chest as well. She could feel the girl's heartbeat even better from here. When the human started rubbing Lyra's mounds through her clothing, it felt so good, and wanting the girl to feel the same pleasure, Lyra copied the actions, rubbing her clothing through her magenta t-shirt.

The human girl seized Lyra's hand and brought it downwards and then up the inside of her shirt. Lyra felt the girl's chest again, this time hampered by one fewer layers of clothing. Why do these humans need so many layers of clothes, Lyra thought. Even with the lacy garment that the girl was still wearing, Lyra could feel plenty of soft human skin under that t-shirt.

Lyra felt another hand on top of hers. The human had reached back out of the t-shirt, and had her hand on top of Lyra's, through the fabric. The girl pressed on Lyra's hand, guiding it to rub her chest harder; her other hand was still on Lyra's chest rubbing her mounds through Lyra's soft pink dress. A moan escaped the girl's lips, and Lyra knew that her partner must be experiencing the same pleasure from this as she was herself. She moaned too, to let the girl know she was enjoying it.

Lyra kept one hand on her double's chest, and lay the other one on her bare lower thigh. It was soft, smooth, and hairless, just like her own. She slid it upwards, her thumb trailing along the girl's inner thigh. Lyra's fingertips arrived at the hemline of her skirt, and she boldly slipped them underneath, feeling the warmth of the girl's upper thigh.

Lyra's partner shivered involuntarily. Feeling Lyra's fingers on her thigh, she did the same. Still squeezing Lyra's breasts, she placed her hand on Lyra's bare thigh and stroked it up and down for a few moments before she too dared to slide her hand further upwards, under the covering of Lyra's pink dress, and stopping only when she felt some lacy trimming that seemed to be the edge of Lyra's underwear. Lyra gasped and kissed her more passionately than before, hoping that the girl would take this as a signal to continue her explorations.

Although the girl did keep exploring Lyra's body, Lyra was disppointed that she didn't move her hand further up towards her now very moist pussy, but instead slid it around to grab her on the back of her flank, giving her a little squeeze. Lyra thought that this area didn't seem as physically sensitive and pleasurable to be squeezed on as her chest did, but there was still a certain thrill to having it squeezed.

Lyra decided to try doing the same, and slid her hand around to the girl's flank and it came to rest on her lacy underclothes. Lyra gave the girl's flank a little squeeze through the thin fabric. Lyra felt the girl moan more than she heard it, because their kissing muffled the sound from her mouth. This incensed her to become bolder and she slid her fingertips under the lace, feeling the soft, warm skin of her flank.

The human was stunned when Lyra slipped her hand up the back of her pants to fondle her bare buttock, and opened her eyes with surprise. She squeezed the ex-unicorn's buttocks harder and kissed her with added fervour to show that it was appreciated. Tonight had gone a totally different direction from what she'd been expecting.

Lyra felt the human squeeze her flank harder and knew that the girl must be enjoying what Lyra was doing. She found the little crack between the two halves of the girl's flank and rested her hands so that her fingers were gently snuggled in the crack. It was warm and slightly moist with sweat.

The girl started kissing up Lyra's cheek to her ear. She gently sucked on Lyra's ear lobe and Lyra sighed with pleasure before the girl kissed down the side of Lyra's neck and gave it a playful bite, then raised her head so that Lyra could so the same.

Lyra kissed the soft skin on the girl's cheek, then like she'd been shown, made a trail of kisses up towards the girl's ear. She sucked on the wobbly bit and considered sticking her tongue inside the ear like ponies liked to do, but wasn't sure if that custom translated to the human world. Instead she kissed down towards the girl's smooth neck and kissed the soft, warm skin she found there.

Finally she broke off the kiss and looked the girl in the eye. The girl stood up and grabbed Lyra's hand, and Lyra was fairly sure that the girl wanted her to stand up too.

* * *

Lyra stood up and took the ex-unicorn by the hand. "I think we should go somewhere a little more comfortable," she purred. She led her towards the bedroom door before calling back to Sweetie Drops. "Aren't you coming?"

"I can come and watch?" asked Sweetie Drops, with a grin on her face. Although she knew she was attracted to Lyra on a deep, emotional level, she was also drawn to Lyra for her gorgeous looks and slightly kinky sexuality, and was to this side of her attraction watching them make out had appealed. She'd mentally stored these images of two copies of her beautiful girlfriend kissing away for a later date. But now being allowed to watch them go even further was more than she could have possibly asked for.

Lyra smiled. "Oh, I think we're both hoping you'll do a bit more than just watch."

Author's Note

Still no Lyrasecks? I'm so sorry that you lovely, lovely people have had to wait for so long. But really, there's quite a lot of it coming up in the next six chapters! This is the end of my teasing with you; really, it is. If you can't wait, then check out Lyra Heartstrings Masturbates With a Toy, a chapter I wrote for sbloom85's imaginatively titled collaborative work Ponies Masturbate With an X. It was a sort of testing ground for some of the ideas in this story, and can be seen as a prequel.