It was on a night in the winter of 2020, and Kyle had to get in some grocery shopping before the local Costco would close. He would definitely not be going to Kroger, since he wanted to stay as far away from that place as possible. Plus, it was nice that Costco had the option to buy in bulk much easier. He grabbed what he needed, and the things Lyra asked for which he put on his shopping list, and proceeded to the checkout.

Things were going fairly well and good... until someone decided to start up a commotion.

Right in front of Kyle, a woman, who appeared to be in her thirties, started raising her voice at the cashier, who was a young man, about his own age.

"I don't care if I didn't get two, I want to use the coupon!" the woman shouted.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but..." the cashier nervously skimmed over the coupon. "...it will only ring up if you buy two."

The woman then became extremely irate. "I wanna report you to your manager for refusing to help me! Let me see your name tag..."

Kyle was becoming infuriated by this. It was injustice, abuse, and irrationality.

"I can't stand for this..." Kyle said to himself, before walking from behind his cart up to the woman. "...HEY!"

The woman looked over at Kyle, annoyed. "The hell do you want?" she asked.

" 'The hell'? Nice greeting..." he responded in a smug tone.

" 'Scuse me?" the woman asked.

"Cut the shit." Kyle said. "You have no right to get belligerent with the clerk! You need to read your coupons more carefully!"

"YOU have no right to be talking to me about this!" the woman responded. "This is none of your business!"

"I'm a patron of this store! It is TOO my business!" Kyle said.

"Well, this pathetic excuse for a cashier is refusing to ring up my coupons!" the woman said.

"Because clearly, it's two-for-one, and you only got one!" Kyle said.

"But I want this discount! The customer is always right!" the woman said.

Kyle glared. "The customer is NOT always right, stupid bitch."

The woman gasped. She raised her hand to try and strike Kyle across the face, but he was quick to react and caught her wrist before she could make contact with his face.

Kyle then gave her a cold glare.

"You ever raise your hand at me like that again..." he said, threateningly. "...and I'll be having a little word with the police about attempted assault."

"Manager to seven, please. Manager to seven." the clerk said over the PA.

Shortly after having the woman call both him and the cashier, who's name tag read "Alex", all kinds of slurs and insults, a manager came to the register. Alex explained that the customer was being uncooperative, and so the manager stepped in.

"Let me see that coupon..." the manager requested.

The customer handed her the coupon. She examined it and the ringup list, and then turned back to the customer.

"It's a two-for-one coupon; you need another one of those items." the manager said.

"I don't care! I want that one for free! I'm not getting another one!" the annoyed woman said.

"Uh, ma'am..." Kyle said to the manager. "...I don't think she should be standing here debating this if the coupon guidelines are absolute, don't you think?"

The manager nodded. "Yeah, I'd say you're right." she said.

"And also, this woman attempted a battery on me." Kyle said. "She brought her hand up to try and strike me."

The manager became fairly surprised at this. "Is that so? Well, I suppose we'll ask her to remain here while we notify security. And we'll check the surveillance system to see exactly what she did."

After some more arguing, the security came over and escorted the woman away, who was resisting and causing a scene, repeatedly saying that she was going to sue the company. After she had been removed, Alex began checking Kyle's groceries out.

"Thank you, man." Alex said. "No one's ever done that for me before."

"Hey, I used to work retail... I know how bad and stupid people are." Kyle said. "One of these days, you'll make it out of here. And I'm sure that, if you set your mind to it, you can go on to do AMAZING things that no one ever thought you could pull off."

"...You really think so?" Alex asked.

"Yep!" Kyle said. "And, just 'cause I'm curious... what's your dream job?"

"Well..." Alex began. "...I have always wanted to be an indie author. I've already written and revised a couple of manuscripts. But... my dad doesn't want me to do it, because he says I won't get anything from it."

Kyle put his hand on Alex's shoulder, giving him a reassuring smile. "Dude... your dad couldn't be any more wrong. And trust me; I know this from firsthand experience. My stepdad said I would get nothing out of my passion, which is artistic painting, but I started accepting commission requests and putting my paintings up for auction, and now I earn six-figures!"

"For real!?" Alex said, looking in total disbelief.

"Yes!" Kyle said. "I'm telling you that you gotta do what you want! Don't conform just to satisfy people around you! Take control of your own path and chart your own course to make you happy! Stick to it! And one day... you may be surprised to find that it all worked. Really, if you want something bad enough... go for it! Publish and promote your books! And, if you'd like... I'd be more than happy to do some coverart for you!"

Alex started to look more confident than he had been when the woman started complaining. "You're right... I'll do it!" he said.

Shortly after checking all his items out, Kyle was about to head out when the manager approached him.

"I think we're gonna need you to wait here for a few minutes." she said. "The police are on their way, and might need a statement from you."

Kyle sighed. He did not feel like waiting around.

"Alright..." he said.

After waiting in the back room for the cop to show up, he began questioning both him and the mad young lady. After examining enough of the surveillance and eyewitness accounts to get a clear idea of what happened, the officer was ready to make his judgment.

"You attempted to hit this young man! It's clear as crystal on the video! You realize that's considered attempted battery?" the cop said.

"No, it's not! It's me punishing him for insulting me!" the woman said.

"You can't do anything about him insulting you! He's protected by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution!" the officer stated.

"It's verbal harassment!" the woman said.

The officer rubbed his chin with his index finger and thumb. "Did he insult you first?"

"Yes!" the woman said. "He called me a 'stupid bitch,' and I didn't even do anything to him!"

"You sure about that?" the officer asked. " 'Cause according to the audio of the recording, he approached you in a fairly calm manner, and you were very rude to him."

"Well, he grabbed my wrist, and it hurt!" the woman said.

"I can't do anything about that, either, because he was defending himself." the cop said.

"I don't care! You need to take him out of the store and take him to the police station!" the woman said.

"Well, that's not you're decision to make, lady..." the officer said, just before turning towards Kyle. "...would you like to press charges against her?"

"I would like to have her arrested, yes." Kyle said.

"No, I want him arrested for calling me a 'stupid bitch' and for grabbing my wrist without my permission!" the woman said.

The officer sighed impatiently. "Well, that's not gonna happen, because, in this case, neither of those are arrest-worthy offenses."

"You call yourselves police officers when you aren't even gonna arrest this criminal here!?" the woman shouted, pointing to Kyle.

"Ma'am, you're gonna go straight to jail if you keep talking to me like that..." the cop said.

The woman scowled. "I'm not gonna go to jail! This young man is gonna be the one who will--"

"You got any weapons on you?" the officer asked, just before trying to pat her down.

The woman pushed him back. "DON'T YOU TOUCH ME!" she shouted.

The officer then wrestled her to the ground with her fighting back in vain, and then he pulled her arms behind her and handcuffed her. He then stood up, keeping one foot on her back.

"Okay, so we're gonna take her to the station for questioning." the officer said to Kyle, pulling out a notepad. "Could I just get your name and number?"

Kyle nodded. "My name is Kyle Schaeffer, and my number is [phone number]."

"Alright, thanks." the officer said, tucking the notebook and pen away. "We'll give you a call if there's any concerns. You can go now."

Finally! Kyle thought, heading out the door and grabbing his cart of groceries.

He went out to his car, loaded the groceries, and returned the cart to the store entrance. And with that, he was off.

Kyle decided to drive on one of the obscure roads away from the freeway, since the ice has caused some accidents that have backed up traffic immensely. The Costco was not too close to where he lived; it was about fifteen miles. Not only that, but because he was departing much later than he thought, the ice on the roads had accumulated even more.

"Woah... kinda hard to keep traction." Kyle commented to himself after turning.

As he continued along the road, the snow started coming down... quite hard, too. He was losing visibility, and had to put on the fog lights just to see the road in front of him. He was so focused on trying to see that he was not aware that he was going a bit too fast.

"Shit! Can't see!" Kyle said to himself.

Right as the visibility was starting to come back, he saw trees straight ahead of him... and he should have been slower for the turn. He tried to make it, but the car ended up going into a skid.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH...!" Kyle cried out.

He had completely lost control of the car, and it collided with the tree on its front-right corner. The airbags deployed, hammering him in the face and chest, the blast of heat burning him and the seemingly-solid bag knocking the breath out of him. The seatbelt pretensioner crushed his pelvic region as it deployed.

He lay with his eyes shut for a moment as a high-pitched whistling filled his ears, as though he had just listened to a gunshot at a close range without hearing protection. And then, slowly, he looked up. The car had stopped functioning.

"Fuck..." Kyle said. "...I can't believe this."

He began to look around, but could not see much because the headlights had died.

"Gotta get this thing started again." Kyle said, upon feeling the temperature starting to drop.

He turned the key, trying desperately to get the car started again, but all it did was sputter and stammer. After multiple tries, there was nothing left. The engine had died completely, and the ventilation system was shot as well, so he could not get any heat from the vehicle. He was unfortunate to find that his phone had been destroyed. He couldn't call anyone. There were no cars visible for miles.

No one was coming to help him.

"Okay... don't panic." Kyle said. "I can figure this out..."

Hours had passed, not a single car passing by (presumably due to the road now visibly thick with black ice), and it was freezing inside the car. It did not help that Kyle only had a thin jacket on. Though he did not know it, his body temperature had dropped to ninety-four degrees Fahrenheit, and was still slowly falling.

“...I-I'm gonna... d-d-die out here...” Kyle said, trying to curl up to keep the little warmth he had left.

He surrendered himself to his fate, and his entire life began to flash before his eyes, which welled with tears.

“...N-nobody will notice... or c-c-care... that I'm g-gone...” he stammered, slowly letting out tears. “...nobody w-will... mourn me... or... p-pray for... m-me...”

Just as he began to feel absolutely remorseful that he could not live his life to the fullest... he had the vague feeling that what was to come for him after this was probably going to turn out better than he would hope.

It's funny... Kyle thought. ...I did want to die at some points of my life. Now that it's for real... it doesn't seem so bad... it feels kinda... relieving.

There had been several instances in his life where bullying and harassment at school, from both the students and teachers, had gotten out of hand. Also his emotional and physical abuse at home from his stepfamily was quite bad as well. It had gotten to points where at least one blow per day was considered normal. Even Ed and Danny's friends and acquaintances developed some sort of stigma against him for some reason, even though he did nothing. He was always being scolded by nearly everyone just for doing the slightest thing wrong... or what they considered “wrong”.

No one was ever around to console or reassure him that things would be better. Ed made for a very poor father figure. And he also wanted a girlfriend, not just for love and affection, but so he could have someone who would understand him. Not only that, but seeing everyone else around him hugging and kissing each other just made him feel terrible about himself, which did not help his bullying and abuse situation any better.

At these points in time when Kyle became so upset and disheartened from all the trauma, he had seriously been considering suicide. He had been there... he was ready to go... in some cases, he almost did... but something always held him back before he could. Perhaps some sort of guardian angel would intervene and stop him?

Maybe. And if it were so... he would surely find out in a matter of time. Probably less than a quarter of an hour now.

If this... is h-how I... d-d-die... Kyle thought. ...so be... i-i-it. I won't... f-fight it...

He happened to notice a glowing button on the dashboard of the car. This was strange, considering the car was totaled.

Out of curiosity, Kyle summoned the little strength he had to press the glowing button on the dashboard, which turned on the radio. Though the car engine was totaled, the radio was somehow still working, and the song “My Immortal” by Evanescence began to play. Kyle began to lose consciousness as his body began to shut down from the hypothermia kicking in to its full strength. The pain of frostbite had vanished completely, and he felt a pleasant, warm feeling overtake him as he lay dying, listening to the song.

“...O... kay... Amy...” he managed to barely utter. “...just... sing me... to... s... sleep...”

Within seconds, Kyle lost all consciousness to the hypothermia while listening to the sad song, and within minutes, he fell into a deep coma. It was like the ultimate relief that death felt like falling asleep...

(XXXX)

Back at the estate, Lyra had been surfing the web and playing computer games, but had completely lost track of time.

"Where's Kyle?" the mare asked herself. "He sure is taking a long time..."

Flashes of light filled Lyra's eyes, startling her.

"W-woah...!" she shrieked. "What is this...?"

She suddenly saw still-images of Kyle buying groceries, driving... and then crashing his car.

After the lights in her eyes went out, Lyra was in a state of panic.

"Oh, Celestia... was that real!?" Lyra said. "Is Kyle in trouble!?"

She slammed her laptop shut and made a break for the door.

"I have to find him... but I need a fast way to do it..." she said.

Lyra concentrated for a moment, and then the tip of her horn ignited brightly.

"Alright, horn..." the mare said as her horn began to lift her off the ground. "...lead the way!"

Her horn then started pulling her through the air in the direction Kyle was in...

Author's Note

As a little tidbit, I got the idea of Lyra letting her horn take her to Kyle from Rarity getting her cutie mark in "The Cutie Mark Chronicles". I don't know why, but I always thought that maybe Unicorns could do it on command if they want to be taken to something they wish to find. Anyways, hope you all liked the chapter... even in a bizarre, bitter way.