Find Her, Keep Her

Kyle sat at the edge of the small pond in his secluded area of the woods, looking at the inverted reflection of the world in the water. He could not push the thought out of his mind that his days of happiness were over... in fact, now that he thinks about it, they had been over long ago.

Not able to remember the last time he experienced real joy, Kyle had pretty much given up hope for everything in his young life. He foresaw nothing. He predicted nothing. He felt nothing.

Whenever he was around other people, Kyle, to the best of his ability, pretended to act like a normal human being... but on the inside, he felt nothing. He knew that he was emotionally colorless, but this was the only way he could prevent himself from succumbing to his emotions. Falling too deep into sadness would lead to immense despair and depression, something that he was not in the mood for. Feigning happiness would only lead to insanity, and eventually his breaking point.

He lay on the ground, staring up at the dusk sky. The sun was setting, it was getting dark and cool. He was thankful that he brought a jacket with him, or else he would have been really uncomfortable.

After having laid for a little while contemplating, he began to hear some weird sounds. Sitting up, he could hear what sounded like sniffling, accompanied by a few sobs. Was someone close by? Why were they crying?

Kyle stood up and decided to see what was going on. He followed the sound to a dense patch of trees at the edge of his safe area, and could make out that it was coming from what sounded like a little girl. He quickly wound his way around the trees to try and help whoever it was, and when he came into visual contact with it, he found, not a young girl... but something else.

Something quite colorful... something unusual... something that looked unreal... something that should be unreal...

...Kyle had undoubtedly come across a mint-green Unicorn filly.

Lyra Heartstrings...! He thought, his eyes wide and his jaw hanging low. No... fricking... way...!

It was indeed Lyra Heartstrings, but it looked as if she were quite a bit younger, a filly, and she had no cutie mark. She had a two-dimensional appearance, like in the cartoon, but she had shadowing that made her look more three-dimensional. And she was definitely crying. But, aside from those facts...

...What is she doing here!? How did she get here!? HOW is she real...!? Kyle thought frantically.

The filly happened to glance over in Kyle's direction, and her eyes opened quite wide as she looked up at the tall human; she was only about one-and-a-half feet in height.

An immense smile overtook his face. He could not remember the last time he had a real, genuine, non-forced smile such as this.

“Hello!” Kyle said, waving.

“H-hi...” Lyra said, appearing to cower.

“Don't worry,” Kyle reassured her, kneeling down. “I'm not gonna hurt you.”

“...W...where am I...?” Lyra asked, darting her head around. “...Wh-what is this place...!? What happened to... Bon Bon...!? I-I wanna go home...!”

“Hey...” Kyle said, holding his hand out. “...it's okay. Are you lost?”

Lyra became fearful as his hand approached her; she scuffled away slightly.

Kyle's face fell. He brought his hand back, hung his head down, and turned away.

“Why, why, why?” He said to himself. “Why do I always mess things up right off the bat?”

The filly Lyra was unsure for a moment, but realized that he did sincerely mean well. She quickly came to the conclusion that he was not a savage; she would probably be dead right now if that was the case.

She walked up to the sulking human, and placed a hoof on his foot. He looked down at her.

“You...” Lyra began. “...you promise you won't hurt me?”

“I promise.” Kyle said, nodding.

Lyra looked around again. “Well... I don't wanna be out here anymore! I-it's scary!”

“Well...” Kyle began.

He did not exactly know what to do. Should he take her with him? What would Ed and Danny think about seeing a real-life Equestrian pony? He might have to try and hide her... but how? What would he do to take care of her? He had to do something. He couldn't just leave her out here.

“...Why don't you come with me... to my place?” Kyle suggested.

Lyra tilted her head. “Y-you would do that... for me...?” she asked.

I'll have to be able to hide her somehow... I don't want someone to take her away. Especially not the government. But, I'm sure I'll think of something... Kyle thought.

“Yes. I have a place you can stay. But... you'll have to stay hidden from certain... people that I live with.” He said.

“O-okay...” Lyra said, clearly still shaken up by the whole ordeal.

It was definitely understandable, since neither of them seemed to know why she was even here, or what had happened that caused her to be sent here. Kyle hoped that he could help her find a way to send her back home to Equestria... somehow, if it were even possible in this world. But until that time would come, he decided that she could live with him.

“My name is Kyle.” He introduced himself. “Kyle Schaeffer.”

“I-I'm Lyra...” the filly said. “...Lyra Heartstrings.”

Yeah, I know. Kyle thought to himself.

He picked up Lyra, and immediately noticed that she was shivering. Not surprising, given how cold it was now. He decided to zip up his jacket partway, tuck Lyra against his chest, and zip it the rest of the way up, all the while leaving Lyra with enough opening for air. It took a moment, but her shivered subsided as she was immersed in his body heat.

The filly Lyra immediately shuffled herself around to become more comfortable.

“...Th-thank you...” Lyra said, softly.

Kyle lightly rubbed her head. “You're welcome.” he responded.

He began to walk back to the house, Lyra safely in his jacket. Along the way back, Lyra had fallen asleep, which struck him directly in the heart; it was absolutely adorable. Plus, it took a lot to convince him that something was cute, and Lyra was definitely right on the money.

They made it back to the house, and Kyle went through the basement door into his room. He removed Lyra from his jacket, and she awoke from her nap with a cute yawn. Now that she was in a room with a roof over her head, Lyra did not look so scared anymore; it seemed she had calmed down quite a bit.

“How are you doing, Lyra?” Kyle asked.

Lyra sighed in relief. “I feel better now that I'm here. Thanks for doing this for me.” she said.

Kyle smiled once again. He had forgotten just how good it feels to be genuinely happy.

“You're welcome.” He said.

He decided to use a couple of old, large pillows from the closet and a small blanket to create something of a makeshift bed for Lyra, right next to his own bed. It was getting a little later in the evening, and it was clear that Lyra was getting tired. Kyle tucked her in to the small “bed,” and climbed into his own. He fired up his laptop, and started surfing through the internet.

He watched a couple of YouTube videos, some live streams on Twitch.tv, and later decided to switch to his Wii U and play Xenoblade Chronicles X (a very underrated game, if Kyle did say so himself. God, Elma's hot. He always thought with a chuckle). He did, of course, use his headphones so as not to wake up Lyra.

After a little while, the clock struck one in the morning, and Kyle figured that he should get to bed, since Lyra could wake up a little early for his liking. He shut off his computer and Wii U, and climbed into bed. After a little while of laying and drifting, he was pulled back into full consciousness by something climbing onto his bed. He noticed in the dim lighting that Lyra had woke up and climbed up onto the bed.

“Um, Kyle...?” Lyra asked.

“Yes, Lyra?” Kyle responded.

“Well... is it okay if... if I sleep with you?” she asked. “I-I'm a little scared...”

Overcome with immense delight at this thought, he took no hesitation to answer:

“Yes, you can.” he said with a smile. “I'm sure you've had a rough night.”

Lyra immediately crawled under the sheets right next to Kyle. She tried to shuffle herself closer to him, and he decided to make it more simple by wrapping his arms around her. Her hide felt extremely soft and smooth, like silk. Her mane was longer, but still had similar texture. It felt so nice to hold the filly close to him.

Much better than a plushie... Kyle imagined. ...now I can give up my plans to buy one! Who needs plush when you got a real pony?

Soon, Lyra fell asleep to the sound of his heartbeat... and this made his heart melt once more. He could not resist the absolute cuteness that the filly Lyra manifested when she was asleep.

The lone filly has re-taught Kyle an emotion that he had long since forgotten... joy.

Wow... this has got to be my biggest turn of luck ever! Kyle thought. She's real! Lyra Heartstrings is REAL! And she's with me, of all other people! I found her... so I'll keep her.

Soon enough, Kyle himself fell asleep, holding the filly close to him as they both slept.