Find Her, Keep Her

by midnightwolfGX

Rating: mature
Tags: Human, Sad, Lyra, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Romance, Sex, Profanity, Violence, Slice of Life
Length: 64475

A closet brony finds that Lyra Heartstrings is real, though she is a filly, and decides to take her under his care. As time passes, the two go on to share a strong friendship, but due to Lyra's accelerated aging, might become even more...

Maybe the reason Lyra is so obsessed with humans... is because she was raised by them? A down-on-his-luck closet brony learns that the mint-green Unicorn somehow ended up in his world, though she is much younger, a filly. He decides to take her home with him and take care of her, and both of them come to share a strong friendship... but because Lyra is aging quite rapidly for an unknown reason, it might end up turning out to be more than what either of them expected.

Yes, this story has humans, and no, it does not take place in Equestria. Don't like? Don't read. And especially, don't dislike without reading JUST because it's a human-related fic...

(Rated "Mature" for later content... XD)
(Credit for Lyra on cover art goes to "generalzoi")

Please keep comments modest. Any excessively offensive comments will be deleted.

Published 2016-12-30 00:30:01 UTC
Last updated 2017-06-29 06:55:03 UTC

2. The Routine Struggle

Kyle awoke to the sound of knocking on his door.

“Get up, boy!” Ed said loudly from behind the door. “I want you at the table in five minutes.”

Kyle groaned silently. He looked over at his alarm clock to see that the time was 8:30 AM. Typically, he would stay up until about 2:00 AM, and sleep until 10:00 AM, being the night-owl that he was. This was mainly because nighttime was the only time when he was free to have some peace of mind without anything to bother or pester him... but early-bird Edward Richardson had other things to say about it.

But it's my day off from work... and I have school later today! Kyle thought.

He regretted being up late to submit his online homework at midnight, just barely meeting the deadline due to procrastination.

Regardless, Kyle strained himself to stand from the bed, and put his clothes on. He trudged downstairs to find Ed and Danny already at the table. It seemed that Danny had the day off from school today, because otherwise, he would have been gone by now.

“Can I have some more turkey bacon?” Danny asked.

“It's up at the counter.” Ed said, just before turning to Kyle and shoving an empty mug towards him. “And you, bring me some more coffee!”

“Okay...” Kyle said, calmly.

He trudged over to the coffee maker and began to make Ed's coffee, when Danny nudged him hard.

“Hand me some bacon.” Danny said.

Kyle glared. “Get it yourself!” he said, firmly.

Ed set his newspaper down in less than a heartbeat, and had an angry look on his face after hearing what Kyle said.

Oh, shit... I've just lit his short fuse. Kyle thought, swallowing.

“Listen here, boy!” Ed shouted. “When someone asks you for something, you shut the hell up and do it! You don't be a whiny little bitch about it!”

“Okay, okay! I can hear you just fine when you speak normally!” Kyle responded.

But this only made Ed angrier. “DON'T TALK BACK TO ME, YOUNG MAN!” he said.

Once again, Kyle was forced to swallow his pride, and just accept what came to him, even if he did not deserve it. He did not like it, but also did not want the situation to get needlessly worse.

Kyle gave Ed his coffee, and fixed himself a breakfast of over-easy eggs and turkey bacon. He wished they could have regular bacon, because turkey bacon tasted awful to him, but Ed bought it simply because it was healthier, and Danny needed to stay in shape for his wrestling. Overall, most of the food in the house was fairly unappetizing, and Kyle never knew what to eat. He would head out and eat something at a local food joint if he could, but he was struggling to save enough money as it was.

In any case, he spent the next hour walking around outside. It was a nice, sunny day, the sky with minimal clouds. Being adventurous as he was, he liked to explore several different areas of the neighborhood. He has been doing it for the past couple of years, though, and he never liked to head out too far, so it's become basically the same thing over and over. Even so, he figured he would try to make the best of it.

After getting enough of a walk in, Kyle got ready to head for school. He would only be there for about three hours, having only two physical classes, while his remaining three were online. Just before heading out the door, he pulled something out of his nightstand drawer... something that was one of his most prized possessions.

It was a silver, analog wristwatch with a rectangular bezel. At first glance, it might just seem like any other watch that could be bought in any Walmart... but this one was special to Kyle, because it was given to him by his mother. It had been one of her final gifts to him before she disappeared. He stared at the watch for a few moments, before slipping it onto his left-hand wrist and locking the clasp into place.

At some points, the watch would end up becoming too tight for him as he was growing, but adjusting the pins in the clasp helped to fix this problem, as they were on the smallest setting position when the watch bought seven years ago.

Returning to reality, Kyle grabbed his backpack full of school materials and the keys to Ed's old car, and soon enough, was off to school.
Upon his arrival, he had the same semi-dreadful feeling that he got whenever he came to school. He was still fairly bored with school, and anxious due to the amount of homework he was given each week.

He put his mobile phone on vibrate, entered the room, and set his backpack against the leg of the table he was sitting at. At that moment, someone took a seat next to him.

“Hey, Kyle! How's it going?” The guy said.

“Hey, Jeremy.” Kyle responded.

Jeremy leaned a bit closer. “So, whatcha been up to lately?” he asked.

Kyle shrugged. “Same old, I guess.” he said, disappointed.

“Yeah?” Jeremy said. “Guess what happened this weekend?”

Kyle said nothing.

“I got to go to a friend's party at Dave & Buster's! It was AWESOME! They rented the whole place out! We had the arcade to ourselves!” Jeremy said.

“Sounds pretty great...” Kyle said, envious due to the fact that the weekends were when he had to work the most.

As strange as it sounded, Monday was when Kyle's “weekend” began, lasting through Wednesday. He had school on Monday and Wednesday, but it was MUCH better to sit bored in a classroom than it was to work a bullshit retail job with rude customers and uptight managers. He requested to have Tuesdays off, claiming that he had school on those days, when in reality, he just needed to get away.

“What did you do this weekend?” Jeremy asked.

“Worked... as usual.” Kyle responded.

“Aw, that sucks!” Jeremy said. “Don't you ever get weekends off?”

Kyle shook his head. “...When you work retail, weekends are when they work you the most.”

It goes without saying, but it seemed like Kyle worked so much that he hardly had any time to himself. And in the small instances that he did have some free reign, he did not have the energy to bring himself to do anything fun. Plus, with his working for minimum wage and most of it going toward his tuition, he could not necessarily afford to go to Dave & Buster's, despite how fun he remembered it being when he last visited years ago.

“Okay, class has begun!” The instructor said from the front of the room. “Everyone in your seats!”

After sitting through two hour-and-a-quarter classes, with a break in between the two, Kyle decided to head back home, where he collapsed on his bed, fired up his laptop, and logged onto the internet. He figured he would just surf to try and find anything interesting... but then, something else decides to step in...

Ed barged right into the bedroom without bothering to knock.

“Kyle, come on upstairs.” Ed commanded. “I've got some work for you.”

Of course, I should've known... Kyle thought. ...time to myself is taboo, right?

Ed then forced Kyle to defrost some porkchops, roast them on the smoker outside, season them, cut up some vegetables and toss them for a salad, and prepare plates for all three of the house's inhabitants.

Kyle could not help but feel out of place; though he was good at cooking, he didn't like to do it for two lazy pricks who did not even bother with so much as a “Thank you!”. Plus, after dinner, guess who had to clean all the dishes and scrape the smoker? You guessed it: Kyle. Ed was, of course, watching the NFL, and Danny was playing video games in his room.

Having put up with more than enough for one day, Kyle decided to escape from the house before Ed could call him up from his bedroom for anything else. He figured that he would head off to the woods, to his little sanctuary. The one place where, to the best possible extent, he could not be bothered by anything else...

3. She's Real!

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.

4. First Day

Kyle awoke to find light seeping through the gaps of his blackout curtains. He looked over at his alarm clock to see that it was almost half past nine... and immediately after looking, he felt something against his bare chest. It was the sleeping Unicorn filly that he had found yesterday. She had her forelegs wrapped around him, and the side of her head pressed against his chest, taking slow, calm breaths.

Again, he was overtaken by Lyra's absolute cuteness. He gently rubbed her head without waking her up.

God, she is absolutely adorable... Kyle thought. ...HOW does something so good happen to me?

He realized that she might be hungry when she wakes up, given how long it must have been since she has eaten. Quietly, he climbed out of bed and crept out the door. He climbed the stairs from the basement to the kitchen, and then he opened up the refrigerator and started looking around.

Let's see... what would ponies eat? Kyle thought as he hovered his hand over the assortment of food.

He looked in the vegetable drawer, and saw some baby carrots. Horses eat carrots, so maybe Lyra would like them? Kyle took a handful of carrots, along with an apple that he cut into slices, and he prepared some toast with butter for the filly.

She'll definitely need some protein, too... Kyle thought.

He turned on the stove and fried some eggs, along with putting some pepper and salt on them. He hoped that Lyra would like them.
It seemed that Ed had already left for work, and Danny was probably at school. At least he could spend time with Lyra alone... but what would he do when he had to go to school tomorrow? What about when he had to work on his non-school days? He figured that if he could explain what was going on, she would make some effort to avoid being discovered.

In any case, Kyle put Lyra's breakfast on a plate. He also got her a small glass of milk to wash it down, and then took the meal back to his bedroom. The filly was still fast asleep under the covers. He put her breakfast down on the floor, and gently nudged her. Lyra's eyelids flickered, and then she opened them to see the human.

“Oh... h-hi, Kyle.” Lyra said, sleepily. “Is it morning?”

Kyle nodded. “I made you some breakfast.”

“Oh, th-thank you...!” Lyra said, looking at the plate and glass he prepared for her.

She then started eating. At first, Kyle assumed that there might be something on the plate that she wouldn't like, but she ate everything that was there, and drank all of the milk. She did eat with her mouth, without using any utensils or her horn, but she did it in a way that didn't make a mess.

“Did you get enough to eat?” Kyle asked.

Lyra nodded. “Yes, and thanks again.” she said.

It seemed like she had calmed down a great amount since last night. She was no longer worried or panicked. So, now maybe taking care of her would be a more straightforward task, until maybe something happens that will help her to return home to Equestria.

There was indeed the matter of making sure that the filly had enough to eat. Technically, he could go to the store and buy horse feed, but Kyle would never do such a thing, because Lyra was not some animal. He would only give her real food to eat. After all, he wanted the best for his little pony. So, of course, he would shell out a bit of his paycheck to buy food for her, and sneak it into his bedroom through the window well. He might also need to invest in a small refrigerator to keep in his room.

Also, he would have to be able to find a way to keep her hidden from Ed and Danny, but being in the basement while the other occupied bedrooms were upstairs made this significantly easier. Ed had given Kyle's old bedroom to Danny, claiming that he couldn't climb stairs when recovering from his ACL surgeries. Even after Danny recovered, Ed would not give Kyle his room back. But still, he liked his basement room all the same, mainly because it was more isolated, and a lot more quiet. Had he been in his old room, it would have been far more difficult to keep Lyra hidden.

“Now, listen Lyra, this is really important.” Kyle said. “There are some people in this house who might not be... friendly, if they were to discover you. In fact, there are tons of people in this world who might want to... take you away for... research. So, while I am not here, you need to be extremely careful not to be caught. If they happen to come around at any time, hide. And stay hidden until you are absolutely sure that they are gone. Are you okay with this?”

Slowly, Lyra nodded. “Okay, I got it. Hide from everyone but you, right?”

Kyle himself nodded. “Yep. And as long as you can find some good hiding spots, you'll be fine.”

“Okay.” Lyra said.

Also, something had been bothering him for a little bit of time now. He wondered what exactly Lyra was even doing here in the first place.

“Um, Lyra...” Kyle began. “...do you know how you got here? What happened before I found you?”

Lyra rubbed her head, thinking. “Um... well, I remember that I was in Ponyville... some older Earth Pony named Doctor Whooves was working on a machine that can create portals which allow something called 'intersequentional travel'...”

“...You mean 'interdimensional travel'?” Kyle asked.

Lyra nodded. “Yeah. And so, I happened to be at his unveiling of it... but something went wrong when he was testing it... I remember a beam shot out of it straight at me...” she trailed off, thinking for a moment. “...I don't remember anything after that.”

So... she was here as a result of an experiment gone wrong? That was his best assumption at this point.

“Well, in any case, I'll do what I can to help you until we are able to get you home.” Kyle said. “How does that sound?”

“It's sound great!” Lyra said. “And, also, you don't seem so bad... where I come from, there are legends of you humans, and that you were always focused on greed and conflict, up to the point where you had a big war that made all humans go extinct before ponies founded Equestria.”

“Really?” Kyle asked.

Lyra nodded. “But you're not like how they described humans back where I come from. I never would've thought that you would be so... nice. It kinda makes me wanna stay. Well, until I go back somehow.”

“I'm sure we can find a way.” Kyle said.

At that moment, he heard Ed's familiar footsteps coming down the stairs into the basement. Lyra appeared to have heard it as well, because her ears perked up.

“What's that?” Lyra asked.

“No time to explain!” Kyle said, quietly. “Just hide and don't make any noise!”

Kyle picked up Lyra and put her underneath his bed, folding the bed's skirt back down and stand upright just in time before Ed entered the room.

“Okay, since you got the day off, I need you to come upstairs and vacuum the floors, tidy up the living room, wash the dishes, clean the kitchen, wipe down the windows, polish the furniture, and clean the place up.” Ed instructed.

“Okay...” Kyle said in a passive tone. “...I'll be up in just a moment.”

Ed walked away without closing the door, and Kyle peeked under the sheets to see the Lyra was still there.

“You heard that man, right?” Kyle said. “Well, he's like the humans you heard from the legends of your place. He's a tyrant. You're gonna want to stay away from him, or he'll do who-knows-what with you.”

“Okay... I got it.” Lyra said. “So, he gave you chores to do?”

“Yes...” Kyle said, bitterly. “...but I need to do it to stay on his good side. Er... as close as I can get to his good side.”

“Well, just do what you need to do. I don't mind.” Lyra said.

Kyle nodded. “Okay. Just try to stay downstairs and hide if you hear anyone coming. The secret code I'll say indicating that it's safe to come out will be...” he stopped to think for a moment. “...'Increase Tolerance'.”

He figured it would reduce suspicion from Ed and Danny, since he had a tendency to use Paint.NET a lot, and say things to himself while he worked. He would do anything to keep Lyra safe, given how much he had pretty much attached himself to her over the years of watching MLP.

“So, anyways,” Kyle began. “why don't we do something to pass the time after I finish my chores?”

After the tedious task of cleaning the house up for nearly an hour, he then showed Lyra his computer and the internet, and both of them started watching internet videos. Some funny ones, some edge-of-your-seat ones, and just entertaining ones in general. It definitely got Lyra in a good mood, so he was happy he had at least achieved that much.

6. Magic Lessons

It has been a few days on repeat of Kyle having to go to work and leave Lyra to fend for herself for a couple of hours. But she was able to evade Ed and Danny, much to his relief. All the while, in his free time, he would find anything fun to do with Lyra.

Lyra really enjoyed watching videos on Kyle's Netflix account. He showed her the ever-famous Star Wars movies, a highly-successful television drama, Lost, and one of his favorite childhood cartoons, Code Lyoko. Despite showing her several other movies and shows, it seems that the three above are the ones Lyra liked and watched the most of. Plus, it was fairly nostalgic for him, who grew up with those movies and shows.

On Sunday, after Kyle came home from work and they were watching some videos, Lyra asked him a question that had been on her mind for a while now.

“Kyle... I've been meaning to ask...” Lyra said.

“Yes?” Kyle said.

Lyra hesitated before speaking: “Why exactly did you take me in when you found me? Why are you different than how I've been told humans really are?”

Kyle was on the spot by the question.

“Well... the thing is...” Kyle began. “...a couple of years ago, I probably wouldn't have taken you in...”

“Why...?” Lyra asked.

Kyle knew why; because it was before he became a brony. He thought G4 My Little Pony would be the same thing. He was surprised at just how mistaken he was.

But, he figured that it was best to be honest about this with Lyra, because she might be upset if she found out that he kept it a secret...

“Well, see, Lyra...” Kyle began. “...I've actually known about you long before we met out in the woods.”

Lyra looked confused. “Whaddya mean?” she asked.

Kyle got his laptop. “Here, I'll show you...” he said as he logged onto Firefox and typed in “my little pony friendship is magic” into the StartPage browser. He opened the Wiki page for the show. Lyra looked awestruck.

“Wait... you humans knew about us?” Lyra asked.

Kyle nodded. “And now, look at this...” he said as he typed Lyra's name into the search bar, and pulled up her page from the quicksearch result.

Lyra's eyes went wide with amazement at the sight of her older self on the picture of the page with her name.

“Oh, wow!” Lyra said. “Look at me! I'm all grown up!”

“So, you are part of a television show called My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,” Kyle said. “a show that was targeted for little girls, but attracted male attention in one of the biggest phenomenons our modern world has ever seen.”

Lyra was getting very ecstatic. “Oh, cool! So, is this show all about me?” she asked.

Kyle chuckled. “Unfortunately, no. You only appear in the background most of the time, but there are some points where you have had a bigger role, such as talking (believe me, a background pony actually speaking makes for quite a big role on their part). Plus, I don't really know a lot of the stuff you end up doing, since you've rarely made big appearances.”

“Aw...” Lyra said, looking a bit sad. “...but still, I think this is kinda cool! You watch us on the TV through a tunnel between the universes!”

“I guess so...” Kyle said. “...plus, I know that you do have a good amount of character development in the episode—”

“NO! Don't tell me!” Lyra said, before smiling. “I want it to be a surprise!”

Kyle himself smiled. “I'm sure it will be.”

Despite showing her the show that she came from, Kyle did not want to show Lyra her own fanbase, mainly because he did not want her to know some of the awful things people say about her, which could hurt her immensely. So, he tried to keep any internet usage aside from YouTube to a minimum, but it was still a bit of a risk. To be honest, it was already bad enough that she was watching videos on Netflix as well, but she has come to enjoy Star Wars, Code Lyoko, and Lost too much for him to take it away from her.

This first week with Lyra has been one of the happiest times that Kyle has had in a long time. She has helped immensely to reawaken his positive emotions, and get him feeling good about himself again. Sure, the things they do are fairly simple and lazy, but Lyra seemed to like it. But...

He has noticed that Lyra has been staring out the window every so often, drawing her attention away from a movie or show. It was becoming clear to him that she wanted to go outside, even though she has not asked him yet. He did want to make sure that she was enjoying herself to the best possible extent, but he was not entirely sure how to take her outside without her being noticed by anyone.
She was still pretty small, so maybe he could carry her inside of his jacket to a secluded area. Perhaps to his special area in the woods? He figured that was his best bet. Also, it seemed like it would be a good chance for her to practice using her magic.

Kyle had noticed that Lyra was never using her Unicorn powers. It seemed like she did not know how to use them yet. Perhaps he could help to train her as best as she could, maybe with things like levitation and teleportation. There was no way he could directly coach her on it, so maybe he could just encourage her to figure it out.

He wanted to spend more time with her, given that he has hardly done so ever since he found her. He did have school tomorrow and Wednesday, but it was just some more lectures; nothing important was happening this week.

Well... I've had perfect attendance all semester. Kyle thought. I guess it wouldn't hurt to play hooky for a day... or two.

(XXXX)

Kyle carried Lyra underneath his jacket out to his safe area, typically playing tag, hide-and-seek, I Spy, and other things with Lyra the next couple of days, including cloudwatching, hiking, tree climbing, et cetera. However, one thing he brought her out to the field for was to see if she could hone her magic.

On the first day, Monday, he placed a small rock in front of Lyra when they were out in the open grass.

“Okay, Lyra.” Kyle said. “I want to see if you lift that rock with your magic.”

Lyra looked at the rock, and seemed a little nervous. “B-but I... don't know how to use magic...” she said.

“Just try it!” Kyle encouraged her. “I know you can do it!”

Lyra took a breath. “Okay...” she said.

The filly strained herself as she tried to focus her magic, causing silvery sparks to flow out of the tip of her horn, but no actual magic use. She stopped and panted.

“Oh... this is hard...” she said.

She tried again, seeming to force with all her might, but getting limited results.

“Hold on,” Kyle said. “instead of forcing it, why don't you try doing it by instinct?”

“How?” Lyra asked.

“Well...” Kyle began. “...why not try telling yourself “I want to move the rock” while using minimal effort with your magic?”

Lyra pondered for a moment. “Okay, I'll try that.” she said.

This time, Lyra closed her eyes, muttering to herself: “I want to move the rock... I want to move the rock... I want to move the rock...”

After a brief period of time, Lyra's horn began to glow a lovely gold color, and Lyra opened her eyes and looked up at it, smiling.

“Alright!” she said.

Then, the rock was covered in the same glow, and very slowly, it levitated upward by a few inches, and hovered in the same spot for a few seconds.

Kyle clapped after witnessing Lyra use her magic successfully for the first time.

“Nice, Lyra! You sure learn fast!” Kyle commented. “I think this calls for a round of applause!”

Kyle pulled out his phone and played a crowd applause sound on it. Both him and Lyra laughed.

“I did it! I used magic! Yes-yes-yes-yes-yes-yes-yes-yes-yes-yes-yes...!” she cheered while hopping around like Pinkie Pie.

Sure, it was only a small rock. But still, she moved it with her magic!

For the remaining two days of Kyle's “weekend,” he taught her how to move larger, heavier objects, such as fallen tree branches, and even a few boulders. It took a bit of practice, but Lyra was getting a little better, but she was still a bit of a novice.

Still, he had strong faith that she would become good with magic someday. She was learning pretty quickly, that was for sure. But only time will tell...

7. Let it Slip

Years ago, when his life took a turn for the worst, Kyle decided to start making an audio logbook as a means of helping him to cope, as well as looking back to see if things are getting better or worse. It really helped him to cope when he could get his thoughts out.

Of course, since he found Lyra and after spending a bit of time with her, he decided to make a positive entry for once. It would be nice to finally have an entry that was not very morose or disheartening. One night, after another typical bullcrap day at work, and after Lyra was asleep, he went into the basement den with his laptop, which he logged on to and made an entry into his audio logbook using Audacity and his laptop's built-in microphone. While the entries were infrequent, he still made up for it with elaboration.

“October 14th, 2016.” Kyle opened the entry. “Throughout the time I've spent since my last entry, things have surprisingly taken a turn for the absolute better, I am glad to say. Sure, it was mundane and tedious as always over the course of most of it, but something that should very much be unreal has happened.

"I have mentioned in previous logs about my interest in MLP, and it turns out that my fantasy of meeting Lyra Heartstrings has become a reality. Roughly two months ago, I found her near my sanctuary from life, and I took her in to take care of her. Since then, she has helped to open me up immensely to positive emotions! I cannot remember a time in which I have felt any happier, at least before my mother left.

"I do not know how she came to be in this world, let alone that she is quite a lot younger, a filly, but she mentioned something about an experiment that went wrong, which I assume sent her here to this world. But I have been helping her to make the best of it, and even though I can do very little, what with work and school, and being limited to where I can take her, she has still been fairly happy lately; I would know if she were unhappy, because she always tells me when she's getting bored, which is rare given that I have been figuring out things that we can do, such as walking through deserted paths in the forest, playing games, surfing the web, watching movies, playing video games, and other things. Especially after learning how to use magic."

Danny happened to have come downstairs to grab a soda from the fridge in the basement, but he heard Kyle speaking, and decided to listen without revealing himself.

"No doubt, Lyra Heartstrings is the real deal. She has really helped to make me feel a lot happier. Just knowing that she trusts me the way she does, that she listens to me when I have problems, and the way she comforts me when I'm sad... I could never have remotely imagined that such a good thing would ever happen to me. No doubt, I will want to have her around a while longer... but I will have to eventually find a way to send her back to where she came. It is inevitable. But until then, I will enjoy the time I have with her. Recording end."

As Kyle was closing and saving everything, Danny went back upstairs without his soda, pondering what his older stepbrother had just recorded in his audio logbook.

Who's 'Lyra Heartstrings'? Danny thought. A girl he's seeing, maybe? Well, I can't let him be happy! I will find out who this girl is, and make sure she HATES the douchebag! Heh heh... but, seriously, what is with her name? Really, 'Heartstrings'? I dunno, maybe he just likes to call her that. A pet name, maybe...

(XXXX)

The following day, Kyle was fortunate enough to have the day off from work. So, he decided to play a board game with Lyra. She was becoming accustomed to using her magic to move things instead of using her mouth or hoof, and this has helped her eating habit be a bit more clean. She could even handle a video game controller with her magic, primarily the Wii-mote, and she really liked playing games like Mario Party 10 and Nintendo Land with him.

Lyra was definitely getting into the game, and really enjoying herself, and the same could be said for Kyle. The competition was playfully fierce.

"Okay, my move..." Kyle said.

He was about to move his piece, when he heard Ed's footstomps pounding down the stairs. It was clear that he was angry. It was sure enough to get Lyra's attention; the filly immediately ran into the closet and shut the door using her magic. Literally a second later, Ed barged into his room.

"I thought I made myself clear when I asked you to unload and fold the laundry!" Ed shouted. "WHY THE FUCK IS IT NOT DONE!"

Kyle flinched; he was always afraid that Ed was going to strike him. He did it a lot, especially when Kyle was younger, but even to this day, he still received an occasional smack over the head or belt to the thigh.

The worst part: Ed did not tell him to do such a thing. It just seemed like it had become a blind expectation of him.

"I-I'm sorry...!" But I--" Kyle started before being cut off.

"DON'T SAY YOU'RE SORRY!" Ed bellowed. "YOU'RE NOT SORRY!"

"Okay... I'll get it done...!" Kyle said, rushing past Ed and up the stairs.

He did the tedious task of folding the laundry from the dryer, and the worst part was always the socks. It seemed next to impossible to match them up right away, and he had to look through the entire load just to be able to do it. It took a while, but he was fortunate enough to find all of the socks. Any time there was a sock missing its pair, Ed would get angry at him, even though it was not his fault.

"And since you were so defiant with me by not doing it..." Ed started. "...you are going to wash my truck! I had to tow some soil and rock from the rock yard, and now the thing needs her cleanin'! Scrub the outside, vacuum the inside, and spray the windows! I want it SPOTLESS!"

"What?" Kyle asked, totally shocked.

He did not believe that he deserved this; Ed never told him to do anything, so now he is being punished for something he did not know about. Plus, Ed's pickup truck was huge, and all the nooks and crannies on the fenders and doors made it tough to clean out all the find corners.

"Get to work, NOW!" Ed thundered.

"Okay, okay..." Kyle said, trying to stay calm and not cry. "...I'll go get a bucket and some soap."

(XXXX)

Kyle was put to work cleaning Ed's absolutely filthy pickup truck. While Ed was lounging in a portable reclining chair and drinking Coca-Cola, Kyle was repeatedly trying to scrub the grime off the vehicle, dip and wring the sponge in the bucket of soapy water, and repeat.

“C'mon, keep scrubbing!” Ed said. “Don't be a lazy ass! Work fast and good!”

“Ngh...” Kyle groaned quietly, wiping sweat off his forehead.

“Scrub harder! A little more elbow-grease! You can do better than that!” Ed commanded.

After about an hour of cleaning the truck, Danny came outside, and Ed saw him approaching.

“Hey, dad.” Danny said.

“Ah, Danny, my boy!” Ed responded. “How's your training coming along?”

Danny nodded. “Pretty good. I've been able to learn all the moves. I know I'll make it into the finals! Coach Hoffer has good faith in me!”

Liar! You've just been playing video games all night and day! Kyle thought.

“Good! Good!” Ed said. “That's my boy; one who knows how to really do things right... unlike some others.”

Kyle pressed his lips together. Yeah, I just love the way you look straight at me when you say that... thank God for inner monologue. he thought to himself.

“Anyways, I figured I'd take a little break.” Danny said. “Maybe I could give Kyle a little help? The scrubbing will help me build up more strength!”

Kyle became a bit suspicious. Why did Danny want to help him?

Ed nodded. “Okay, if that's what you want, I'll go and grab you a sponge.”

With that, he got up out of the chair and walked inside of the house. Immediately, Danny confronted Kyle.

“So, you seem a lot happier than you have been before.” Danny said. “I guess you've finally woken up to see all the good things we've been trying to do for you; prepare you for what's really important. I'm gonna get a good career in athletics, while you're just gonna starve in a ditch, because you won't get anything good in life by just drawing shit!”

Kyle sighed. “Whatever...” he said.

“So, tell me. Have you been holed up in your room all this time that I haven't seen you...” Danny began. “...or have you been heading off to see this 'Lyra Heartstrings'? Huh?”

Kyle's eyes widened. “Uh... what?” he asked, trying to seem ignorant.

Danny smirked. “I heard you say something about Lyra Heartstrings when you were making your little voice-diary. Who is she? You got a crush on her or something? No girl would ever date you! And why is her name 'Heartstrings'? Is that some kind of weird nickname you gave her or something?” he questioned.

Clearly, Danny knew nothing about My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, nor the fact that Kyle was a closet brony... and thankfully, nothing about Lyra, who was likely taking a nap in the closet right now, since he never let her back out.

“Erm...” Kyle began, thinking quickly. “...Lyra Heartstrings... is the stage name of a musician. She's a singer and she plays the lyre, hence the stage name. Her real name is...” he just decided to bullshit it, knowing that Danny knew nothing about MLP. “...Lauren Faust.”

Danny laughed. “What, you listen to girly music by a girly singer?” he asked.

“No...” Kyle replied. “...her music is pretty gender-neutral. She has a large male fanbase, as well.”

“Hm, what do you think I am? An idiot, or something?” Danny asked, folding his arms.

“Uh, you said it. Not me.” Kyle answered, handing the sponge to Danny. “Here, since you volunteered to help me. It's time I took a break!”

Danny sighed and started scrubbing the truck, while Kyle laid in Ed's recliner chair, putting his hands behind his head.

“A little more elbow-grease!” Kyle said, smirking and making his voice sound hardy, like Ed's. “Keep scrubbing! You can do it! C'mon, you can do better than that!”

“...Hhm-mmm-mmmmmmm...” came the deep sound of throat-clearing right behind Kyle.

Kyle looked behind him to see Ed glaring angrily at him. Standing from the seat, Kyle smiled, closing his eyes and holding up a “peace” sign.

(XXXX)

Later that night, Kyle woke Lyra and got her out of the closet.

"Sorry about leaving you alone most of the day." Kyle said. "I really wish that shitbrain Ed would learn to just cut me some slack..."

"It's not your fault, you know." Lyra said. "They just like to take out frustrations on others when they feel powerless."

"Well, either way, I do wanna spend more time with you." Kyle said. "I've been thinking about maybe taking you to some places... given that we can find you a good disguise. Are you okay with maybe... wearing a costume or something if I take you out with me?"

Lyra nodded. "Sure! It'll be like Nightmare Night everyday! It's my favorite holiday!"

Kyle smiled at the filly.

"And Kyle..." Lyra said. "...thank you. For everything."

"And I wanna thank you, Lyra, for helping me get through all of this." Kyle said. "You've made it so much easier for me."

(XXXX)

" 'Lyra Heartstrings'?" Danny's friend asked over the phone. "I dunno, man. Sounds like the username of a desperate, horny chick on a free dating site or somethin'."

"Well, I just gotta make sure that, if he is seeing a girl, I'm gonna break it all up!" Danny proclaimed.

His friend rasped over the phone. "Yeah, I mean he is a total moron, but really, is it really worth it at all?"

"Well, I know that my stupid stepbrother's been up to something lately." Danny said.

"Yeah? Like what?" his friend asked.

"I don't know, but that queer's up to something, I know it!" Danny said. "And I'm pretty sure this Lyra Heartstrings is in on it! So, this is gonna be the start of a big investigation! I'm gonna play super-spy, and watch his every move!"

"But, don't you have school?" his friend asked.

"Man, fuck school!" Danny said. "I'll just not go, it's doesn't matter!"

The friend was silent on the line for a moment. "Okay, you do you..." he said, just before hanging up.

Danny set his phone down. "Okay, Schaeffer... I'm gonna figure out what you're all on about lately..." he said to himself as he lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling until he switched on his XBOX a few minutes later.

8. Happy Birthday, Lyra!

Danny had been trying in vain to see what Kyle was up to, but Lyra was always able to quickly hide as they could always hear the creaking of the stairs whenever someone would come into the basement. It was becoming clear that Danny was bent on figuring out who Lyra was, but his plans always failed, because Lyra would always hold the doorknob shut with her magic before hiding, often puzzling him as to how Kyle could have been holding the door shut some distance away.

For once, Kyle was (reluctantly) fortunate that his work schedule was primarily on the weekends that Danny had off from school, and Lyra had learned quite well by now how to avoid Ed or the ever-persistent sibling. She was becoming quite skilled with stealth, and even started sneaking past the two ungrateful residents of the house in order to meet up with Kyle outside, despite his advising against it.

Overall, Danny's attempts were quite poor at best, and he had to consider quitting it sometime soon, because he already got triple detention for skipping school and was now being threatened with suspension. Also, Kyle had threatened to tell Ed about it, especially since he had been recording with a hidden webcam in his room.

But several of the scenarios were quite hilarious...

(Flashback)

Danny was riding on his bike for a second lap around the block, when he happened to notice Kyle in the backyard through the gate, reaching down to pick up what looked like a mint-green creature.

He hastily put the brakes on his bike, and backtracked to see that Kyle was now lifting a garbage bag with something inside.

"Hey! What was that!?" Danny asked.

Kyle looked confused. "I'm just taking out the trash..." he said.

Danny darted his eyes around for a moment. "Meh, whatever..." he said, as he continued riding.

After he was gone, Kyle peeked inside the bag... which held Lyra.

"Ha! We fooled him!" Lyra chuckled.

"Yep!" Kyle said triumphantly. "And also, Lyra, you are anything but trash."

(XXXX)

Kyle crept into the basement with Lyra bundled in his cardigan under his arm... but he was unfortunately spotted by Danny, who noticed him holding his jacket that way.

He followed Kyle to his room, and waited outside as he shut the door.

In the room, Kyle let Lyra out of the cardigan.

"Okay, just wait down here." he said, quietly. "I'm just gonna go take my jacket to the laundry."

"Okay." Lyra said.

With that, he left his room with the jacket under his arm...

"HA!" Danny whooped as he snatched the cardigan from Kyle from behind, startling him.

He unfurled the jacket... only to find nothing else, much to his confusion.

"Huh...?" Danny uttered, looking through the article of clothing.

Kyle gave him a stern stare.

"Uh... got your jacket! Heh heh..." Danny said in a stupid joking tone.

"Give me that!" Kyle said, snatching the cardigan back.

Danny quickly rushed over to look around Kyle's bedroom, only to have the occupant of said room step in his way upon entering.

"What do you think you're doing? You won't find anything in here." he said. "And would you like Dad to know that you're snooping?"

Danny let out an annoyed sigh and left.

"I will find out what's going on! Don't think I won't!" he said.

(End Flashback)

Aside from the complications Kyle and Lyra were facing, something important had come to Kyle's attention. About two and a half months after discovering her in the woods, he happened to be aware that it was the filly's eleventh birthday today; November 15th. He was surprised that it had come so quickly; he would have assumed it was later or something. Fortunately, Ed was at work today, and Danny, reluctantly, chose to stay at school to avoid any trouble, and Kyle had the day off from both work and school, since it was a Tuesday.

Of course, Lyra had told him when he had ample time in advance, and decided to get her a really nice present that he was sure she would love...

"How would you like to help me bake your own birthday cake?" Kyle asked.

The filly looked quite eager. "I'd love to! It's gonna be the best birthday cake ever!" she said.

Opening up an online recipe list on his laptop, Kyle showed Lyra some of the cakes.

"Pick any one you want." he said. "We've got plenty of ingredients around here."

Lyra looked over the cake recipes on the page, until something caught her eye...

"Ooh, how about that one?" she asked, pointing to it.

Lyra had chosen a coconut cream cake.

Kyle smiled at her. "Excellent choice!" he said.

With the selection made, Kyle began to prepare the ingredients, and start mixing them, all the while letting Lyra help however she wanted. He mixed the wet ingredients in a bowl while the filly mixed the dry ingredients in another bowl. Eventually, the two were ready to pour them together, mix them, and put them into the pan.

"So, how big will the cake be?" Lyra asked.

Kyle pondered for a moment. "I think we can make it big enough..." his face became a wide grin. "... to cover you completely!"

Lyra looked shocked. "Wait, what...!?" she asked.

Kyle laughed. "I'm just kidding, Lyra."

The two poured the batter into two pans and put them in the preheated oven for the set time on the website. In the meantime, they just watched television to see if there was anything good on. After a while, it started to smell really good as the batter was boiling and hardening.

Kyle became saddened as the aroma of the cake filled his nostrils. Lyra noticed his dipping mood.

“What's wrong?” the Unicorn asked.

“It's just...” Kyle began. “...the smell of the cake... it reminds me of... my mom.”

"Really?" Lyra asked.

“She absolutely loved cooking and baking. It was her favorite hobby.” Kyle said. "She worked for a catering business... but I don't know what she does now."

"Come to think of it..." Lyra began. "...I haven't seen your mom around. Where is she?"

Kyle hung his head down. "...I don't know."

Lyra gasped. "Oh... i-is she...?" she stammered.

"No." Kyle answered. "I know she's still alive... somewhere. I just don't know where. But... while she was still around, she cooked and baked a lot. Her recipes were to DIE for... and she was always willing to whip up something special for me if I ever had a bad day."

“...She really cared about you, didn't she?” Lyra said.

Kyle nodded. “Like any mother would.”

At that moment, the oven timer beeped.

"Ah, cake's done!" Kyle said. "Let's put some icing on it while it's still hot!"

So, the two iced and decorated the cake to how Lyra liked it, and wrote a cursive "Happy Birthday Lyra" on it with colored frosting, and she was overall satisfied with the results. Kyle stuck eleven candles into the cake, lit them, and immediately started to sing "Happy Birthday" to the filly. Once he finished, he pushed the cake slightly towards her.

"Now, make a wish and blow out the candles!" he said.

Lyra closed her eyes, waited for a moment, and opened her eyes and blew the candles out. Kyle clapped for her, and then he sliced into the cake, giving the first piece to the filly. The two enjoyed the cake... probably eating a little too much of it. But they were both very happy with how it turned out. But, unbeknownst to them...

...Danny was listening outside of the open window, but could not see inside because of the closed blinds. If he walked in on them, he was sure that Kyle would tell Ed about it, and get him into a lot of trouble. It was unlikely that Ed would believe he only had a half-day today.

"Weird..." he said to himself. "...this Lyra chick sounds like a little girl! Jeez... the queer's got more problems than I thought! If he's into little girls..."

He started silently snickering.

"Ooh-hoh-hoh-hooooooh...!" Danny chuckled. "He's gonna end up in jail someday! I look forward to it!"

(XXXX)

Next came the matter of giving Lyra her present. After the cake, Kyle put it into a Tupperware container and washed the bowls and pans. He put the remaining cake into the fridge in the basement, hiding it behind a bunch of other foodstuffs and beverages.

He brought the present to Lyra, who was careful to not rip the wrapping that Kyle had to lookup how to do. When she opened the box and removed the bubblewrap, she was surprised at what was inside.

"A small harp!" Lyra exclaimed.

Kyle chuckled. "No, it's called a 'lyre'. It's like a small harp, but not quite." he said.

Using her magic, Lyra plucked a few of the strings. Her eyes widened in amazement.

"It sounds excellent!" she said. "Thank you, Kyle!"

"You're welcome, Lyra." Kyle said.

(XXXX)

Lyra spent a decent amount of time practicing her lyre skills. Within a few weeks, she had become quite good at it, and decided to perform a song she wrote for Kyle.

"I've decided to call this song 'Viridian Valiance'." she said.

With that, she started to play a very upbeat, but still calm-sounding, series of notes on the lyre. It made for what sounded like a very good piece of stock music that sounded suitable for something in a very cinematic scene of a good movie. Kyle was absolutely stunned at the quality Lyra could play at. She was like the ultimate lyrist. After all, she was probably named after it.

After the song concluded, Kyle started clapping.

"That was really good, Lyra!" he said. "You are the best instrument player I've listened to in my whole life!"

"Thanks!" Lyra said.

Immediately, a glowing light appeared on the Unicorn's flank. Both her and Kyle looked straight at it... they both had a gut feeling of what was happening right now. Fading in from the light came the shape of a golden lyre. The glow went out, and the lyre symbol remained on her flank.

A blissful expression overtook Lyra's face. “My cutie mark! I finally got my cutie mark!” she exclaimed.

Even though he had seen the Mane Six get their cutie marks in the show, it still blew Kyle's mind to see it happen for real.

"Well... I think this called for another round of applause!" he said, pulling out his phone to play the sound effect of crowd applause.

Just like before, it got both him and her laughing about it. Later on, they just decided to have the remainder of the cake for her cute-ceañera, along with letting her pick out some games on the Nintendo eShop for the Wii U.

Kyle was quite happy that Lyra was now growing up... but it seemed a bit peculiar at just how she was growing. She had become noticeably larger, as he found her to be a bit more cumbersome when trying to conceal her beneath his jacket. She seemed a bit too big for an eleven-year-old filly.

But he did not let this matter bother him for right now. Lyra was happy, and so it made him happy in return. He was glad to be helping her grow up, and having her to brighten his dull life.

9. A Taste of the Human World

In February of the following year, Kyle was forced to get up early so that he could be to work at 8:00 AM, and clock out at 4:30 PM. Being a night-owl, he was utterly angered by the schedule he had been giving for the week, especially since he did have to wake up early very often, and it badly threw off his internal clock; he could not fall asleep until late into the night, and he would awaken in the early hours of the morning, unable to fall back asleep, and leaving him with little energy. Once he was able to recuperate from it and get his internal clock readjusted, he was scheduled the same early shifts once again, restarting the process.

Another thing that angered him about it was that he could not get his time of peace that he would typically have in the late hours of night. If having his only part of the day that mattered to him the most was taken from him, he always gave up all hope for the week, and could only look forward to his time off that was quite far away.

On the start of his workweek, the alarm on Kyle's phone woke him with a jolt, but he was still extremely drowsy, wanting to fall back asleep. He did not get enough sleep. One might say "you should have gone to bed earlier," but he did go to bed at 9:00 PM, and his body would not let him fall into a state of sleep until hours later.

"Ahh..." came Lyra's sleepy voice. "...what was that...?"

"...It was just my alarm..." Kyle said, sitting up. "...I have to go to work today... but you can go back to sleep if you want, Lyra..."

Lyra yawned. "...Okay..." she uttered.

While the filly trudged over to a pile of sheets in the closet and fell back asleep once she had sufficiently concealed herself, Kyle quietly got his uniform on, went upstairs, ate a poor breakfast with the only good part being the coffee, and proceeded to the grocery store. As always, he was astounded that he was able to drive properly in such a condition.

(XXXX)

Today, Kyle was a utility clerk, meaning that they would have him do whatever they needed, such as bagging, checking, cart retrieval, and maintenance. And, of course, they put him on a checkstand, but what was worse... it was an Express Lane. He hated being put on them as often as he was, especially since he had to do the bagging on his own, and nearly every customer tried to go to them, even if they had more than the limit of fifteen items.

Standing at the checkstand, he pulled out a notepad and pen and pretended to be writing something to make himself look like he was occupied... but the ever-so-ignorant customers have it go right over their heads, thinking that only they matter.

"Well, look at that!" an old man said as he approached Kyle with a small cart of groceries. "He was lookin' for some work, and was waitin' just for me! What a guy!"

Kyle screamed inside his brain.

How dare you have the NERVE to think that you are entitled! Nobody is more entitled than anyone else! he thought.

But of course, he simply carried out the transaction and interacted with the customer in a way that he hoped would pan out well and not get him fired... all while having to carry the soul-crushing false-smile on his face. Given that he did not enjoy this job, forcing happiness does not work out too well for his psychological wellbeing.

(XXXX)

Later that day, Kyle had to go out to retrieve carts and bring them to the front entrance of the store for one hour. It absolutely annoyed him that people did not return their carts to the corrals, and even when they did, they did not do it properly, leaving the corral in disarray.

He was pushing a line of six carts, which was the maximum that employees were allowed to push at one time, from one of the corrals to the front entrance. There was an old woman at the front who noticed him and appeared to try and get his attention.

"Hey, could you get a cart for me?" the woman asked.

"Okay." Kyle said, taking the cart from the back off and leaving it for the woman.

He could not stop and block the entrance just to give a single customer a cart, because there was a great volume of people going into, and coming out of, the store... but given what would transpire next, made it seem like a lose-lose situation.

The old woman gave him a cold scowl. “You just left it there and didn't roll it over to me, you lazy child?” she said in an unforgiving tone.

Well, I couldn't exactly stop and block other customers with the line of carts... then they would be yelling at me! And you think I'm LAZY for pushing carts!? You should be thankful that I even acknowledged you and left the damn cart for you! Kyle thought.

“YOU STUPID MILLENNIALS WHO DON'T KNOW A DAMN THING!” The old woman thundered.

You think you're any better by going off the rail instead of being a little more forgiving!? You are NOT entitled! No one is more entitled than anyone! And I know QUITE a lot more about the modern world than you, you stupid old bitch! This is a different world than what YOU grew up in! Kyle thought.

Again, like always, he was forced to simply apologize (which, like always, did not help), and just take whatever came to him.

(XXXX)

Nearing the end of his shift, Kyle was on maintenance, and was mopping the floors, dipping the mop in the bucket, wringing the mop, and repeat. He would look for any dirt or filth on the floor (which there was a lot of, nearly all the time), and just mop it clean, only to come back later to find it like how it was before he cleaned it.

He continued cleaning when a man approached him.

" 'Scuse me." the man said. "Y'know where I could find corn oil?"

"Uh..." Kyle said, racking his brain to think of where it could be. "...I'm not exactly sure."

The man looked annoyed.

"Would you like to ask someone in customer service?" Kyle offered, motion his arm in the direction of the service desk.

"Never mind, you're worthless!" the man said. "I don't know how you're even working here if you don't know where shit is!"

Because utility clerks are not REQUIRED to know where shit is! Kyle thought. If you need to know where something is, ASK A GROCERY CLERK! It's not fricking rocket science!

But of course, he apologized, and the man just left in a brisk, angry manner.

(XXXX)

Following his work day, Kyle returned home to see that Ed had set up tables, chairs, snacks, and drinks for the 2017 Super Bowl in Houston.

"Now, I'm gonna be havin' some coworkers and friends over for the Super Bowl." Ed said. "You are to stay downstairs, and not bother us! Do I make myself clear?"

"Okay..." Kyle said.

He tried to refrain from shuddering, especially with the maelstrom of anger, hurt, and fatigue he was experiencing from his dreadful day.

"Well, go on! Move it!" Ed said.

With that, Kyle went straight into the basement. Where he pulled off his uniform, put on a sleeveless undershirt and nylon basketball shorts, and collapsed on his bed.

"...Increase Tolerance." he said.

He did not bother to open his laptop to pretend to be working on some artwork.

Lyra emerged from the ajar closet door and climbed onto the bed.

"Hey, Kyle." she said, just before noticing his mood. "Oh... what's wrong?"

Kyle began to tear up for a moment, before he began to fully let off the waterworks.

"...I-I had..." he struggled to speak. "...a h-horrible day..."

Lyra looked immensely saddened. "Oh... I'm sorry, Kyle!" she said, coming closer and hugging him.

He returned the hug to the filly.

Kyle did not like to admit it, but he was a crier. Several nights of his life, he would often reach the point where suppressing his emotions would only go so far, and he had to have some release. Having no one to talk to whom he could fully trust, or who could understand him, he resorted to crying himself to sleep on certain nights, and has been doing so for the past couple of years.

"So... just tell me what happened." Lyra said.

He told her everything; the egocentric, happy-go-lucky, old man, the mad old lady who wanted a cart, and the man who wanted info outside of Kyle's department from him. After hearing exactly when they became furious with him, Lyra figured that their anger was completely unjust.

"I'm so sorry that you have to put up with this, Kyle." Lyra said. "You don't deserve any of it!"

"Thanks, Lyra..." Kyle said.

"And, so what if you made a few mistakes? Everyone does! It doesn't make you a bad person! I know that you are a very good person, Kyle. Those people at the grocery store seem like bad people; if they get angry for the slightest thing, they shouldn't even go out in public! So, my point is, Kyle... you are a much better person than those people you put up with! You never get angry unless it's completely necessary, and that's a good thing that a lot of people here, I've noticed, don't have." Lyra said.

Kyle wiped his face, and gave the filly a warm smile. Once again, he pulled her into another hug, and she wrapped her forelegs around him in return. He could not possibly express how grateful he was for Lyra to be there for him, especially when he needed someone to talk to who would listen to and understand him.

Sure enough, he was eventually able to stop crying, and he felt a lot better with Lyra's consolation.

(XXXX)

It was a little later in the evening that Ed's friends all showed up to the house, eating and drinking and watching the Super Bowl. They were all causing quite a ruckus, which was still loud even downstairs.

“Why are they all getting so loud?” Lyra asked.

“They're watching football. It's a type of sport that's very popular here... but I'm not a big fan of sports.” Kyle said. “For whatever reason, the fans just like to go off the rail and cheer like no mañana every time they hear the word 'Touchdown!', which basically means 'goal'. And it seems to be a really big deal with this particular game, the Super Bowl, which is the most anticipated game of the season.”

Lyra pursed her lips together. "Seems kinda extreme... especially with all the unnecessarily loud cheering." she said.

With nothing else to do, they decided to stream some movies on Netflix.

After watching the way Kyle would sit upright, Lyra decided to try it out for herself. They were both sitting on the futon sofa, watching the movie Finding Dory, when Lyra switched from her normal “pony-style” sitting position to an upright position, like how she did in the MLP episode “Dragonshy”. Kyle happened to noticed, but did not mention anything.

So, she learned that from me, huh...? he thought. That's interesting. Her entire fandom, all of her theories... it was all started by me. Heh heh...

By the time the movie was over, the game was still going on, and the cheering was getting out of hand.

"What's say we head out for a while? Just get away from here?" Kyle suggested.

Lyra shrugged. "Sure. I've been cooped up in here for the past couple of days. It would be nice to have a night out!" she said.

Kyle then grabbed his phone, wallet, and car keys before they left. Creeping out of the basement through the back door, the two made it to Kyle's borrowed car and revved up the engine, driving as quickly but quietly as they could.

"Fasten your seatbelt! It's gonna be a bumpy ride!" Kyle said.

Lyra put the seatbelt on, and they both quickly drove off from the street.

"What's say we grab a bite to eat?" Kyle offered.

"Yeah! That'll be great!" Lyra said. "I'm starving!"

Kyle decided to take Lyra to Wendy's for their dinner. He did not have a habit of eating fast food very often, because it was unhealthy in excess, and would cost him too much. But, for Lyra, it was worth it.

He decided to order himself a burger combo meal, and get Lyra a salad, since it was probably best for her to stick to vegetarian foods. Whilst in the Drive-Thru, Lyra hid underneath a jacket in the back seat of the car, just so she would not be spotted by the server. She returned to the front seat once they were park in a secluded spot.

"Bon appetite!" Kyle said, giving the filly her meal.

As they ate, Lyra noticed Kyle grabbing and lifting food with the strange, small appendages sticking out of the... things... where his hooves would be if he were a pony.

"Um, Kyle... I've been meaning to ask for a while..." the filly spoke. "...what are these?"

She touched Kyle's hand with her hoof. He was a bit surprised by the question, but remembering her fan theories, decided to answer.

"They're called hands." Kyle said. "They are the result of human evolution that allows us to grasp and hold objects."

Lyra held Kyle's hand in both of her hooves, rolling and examining it. Then she looked at her own hoof. She looked back at his hand again for a moment... and then back at her hoof.

“I wish I had hands...” she said, sadly.

Wow, more and more, I'm leaning her towards her fanbase theories... Kyle thought. ...I'm actually kinda surprised that they were true!

Aside from the matter, the two simply decided to enjoy the remainder of the evening with each other. After they finished eating, Kyle took her on a delightful drive through the fields, woods, and other neighboring regions of his neighborhood. Being driven around was a thrilling sensation for Lyra, especially when Kyle rolled the windows down to get some of the cool, pleasant night air. It was such a rejuvenating experience that neither of them wanted to have end...

10. Life is Depressing

It has been almost a year since Kyle found Lyra in the forest, and already, she has shown some pretty rapid growth. Even though she was only eleven, it seemed like she was into the early teen stage of her growth. She was definitely no longer a filly, but still not large or old enough to be a mare. She was roughly the young-teen size between mare and filly.

This proved to be a challenge when trying to conceal her breath a jacket. Kyle had decided that she was too large to do so. But, he had been planning ahead for this; he decided to purchase a costume for Lyra so that she could resemble a canine pet for when he decides to take her out with him. Out of all the costumes from the list, she seemed to like the wolf costume the most. So, Kyle ordered it, and it arrived in a few days. Lyra tried it on, and it fit her perfectly! She loved it.

One day, shortly after Kyle returned from a walk with Lyra, Danny confronted him just after the young mare managed to hide in her makeshift hiding spot in the closet that Kyle made by cutting an opening in an old, tall wicker basket, and throwing some sheets over it to make it blend in.

“You'd better stay down here!” Danny said. “Come out of your room, and you're DEAD!”

“Why?” Kyle asked.

“Because you're weird! And I don't want the girl I'm having over know that!” Danny said.

Wait... a girl!? Kyle thought bitterly. Danny got a GIRL!? HOW!? HE'S A TOTAL DOUCHEBAG! WHAT CHICK WOULD TOLERATE HIM!?

After Danny left, Kyle laid on his bed, stirring with anger, envy, and extreme jealousy. He could not get his head around the fact that all of the rude, selfish guys get the girls, but the kind, genuinely-caring guys just don't. It made zero sense.

Lyra decided to come out and see what was up.

"What's wrong, Kyle?" she asked.

"I don't get it. I just don't frickin' get it." Kyle responded.

"You don't get what?" Lyra said.

Kyle sighed. "...Ever since I became a teenager, I've wanted a girlfriend more than anything. But every time I've tried to get one, it always backfires on me. And yet, there are all these stupid, messed-up guys who are getting girls in their beds on the first night! I just don't understand how they do it..." he said.

Lyra looked a little confused. "Human girls like rude guys? You're right; that doesn't make any sense..."

"Exactly!" Kyle said. "You would want a kind, well-mannered stallion over a bad, stupid one, right?"

Lyra nodded. "Yeah, who wouldn't?"

“I swear... this world drives me absolutely bus-a-looey!” Kyle said.

“Absolutely what?” Lyra asked, looking lost.

“Well... it's a reference to Arthur, an educational cartoon that I watched all the time as a kid. Anyways..." Kyle said, standing. "...I'm gonna go see what they're up to..."

After the girl arrived, she went up to Danny's bedroom, where she appeared to be watching him playing a video game... at least from what Kyle could observe. He dare not try to open the door, or Danny would probably beat him senseless. So, he just listened through the door.

“Yeah, so I've already got about two-hundred friends on here.” Danny said. “Most of 'em are just a bunch of bitches... oh, oh-oh-oh! YEAH! FUCK YOU, NOOB! Pwned your assed!”

“YEAH!” the girl said. “Own these whores!”

Kyle was disgusted by their behavior.

This makes NO sense. Girls like obnoxious guys, but don't care for a kind, caring guy such as myself? What IS the female mind...? he thought.

(XXXX)

Kyle got bored with spying and decided to return to his room, where he more or less just spent some time lounging with Lyra, both of them surfing the web on his laptop.

Lyra looked at the painting of a field with mountains in the background, hanging on the wall right above Kyle's bed.

“You know, I've always thought that's a very nice painting!” she commented. “Where'd you get it?”

“I painted it.” Kyle said.

Lyra's eyes went wide. “You painted that!?” she asked, amazed.

“Yep.” Kyle said. “Back when I was in high school... but, I really hate to think about those years.”

Lyra returned her attention to the painting. “It's amazing! It looks almost like it was taken with a camera!” she said.

“Really?” Kyle asked. “C'mon, it's not that great...”

Lyra's face fell. “Kyle... why do you always do that?” she asked.

“Do what?” Kyle questioned.

“You never seem to appreciate the good things about yourself!” Lyra said. “You always brush it off, saying that it's not that great! Why don't you ever praise yourself?”

Kyle shuffled his feet nervously. He knew why, but it was embarrassing to admit to anyone... but maybe it would be okay to say it to Lyra.

“Well, see Lyra...” he began. “...I don't really have a lot of self-confidence. Back when I was little... I was extremely shy and had trouble understanding other people. I was always bullied, both by my peers and my stepfamily. Everyone always criticized me and put me down... and because everyone seemed to think so, I thought that they were right about it...”

"Kyle...!" Lyra said, stunned at his lack of self-esteem. "...They are NOT right about it! You define yourself, not other people! If the people around you don't support you, try looking outside the boundaries for people who do care."

"Yeah, that would've made sense if I thought about it back then." Kyle said. “School never really mattered much to me... I was never involved in any clubs or the student council... I would just attend my regular classes and then head home... I wasn't popular at all...” he briefly trailed off. “...I was just another face in the crowd that nobody would look twice at.”

"And also, I don't get why your stepdad and stepbrother get so up on your case about painting! I think it's a great skill to have! Art is a passion!" Lyra said.

"...Only my mother really appreciated my talent." Kyle said, somberly.

“You talk about your mother quite a lot.” Lyra said. “What was she like?”

Kyle pulled out his wallet. “Here's a picture of her...” he said, opening his wallet and showing her the small picture of a woman with the same light skin and dark-brown hair that he had.

“Oh...” Lyra said as she looked. “...she's pretty. I can see the resemblance.”

“Her name is Jan Rhodes-Schaeffer.” Kyle said. "Up until I was nine, she was married to my biological father, William Schaeffer... but... my father..." he briefly paused. "...he died in a plane crash when he was returning from a business trip."

"Oh, Kyle!" Lyra said, her eyes widening in sorrow. "I'm so sorry to hear that!"

Kyle continued: "Of course, me and my mother both took it very hard... the airline company compensated us with a large sum of money... b-but... nothing could ever... r-replace my dad..." he said, struggling to keep himself together. "...he was... a good man... the... best m-man I've ever known..."

He took a few breaths to pull himself together.

"So, both I and my mother were quite depressed for a long time... but my mom couldn't stand to have me suffering the way I was. So she took time off from work, and we did a lot of things together to take my mind off it. I was happy, so she was happy." Kyle said.

Lyra nodded. "It's only a mother's duty to look after her kids."

“She always wanted to do what she could to keep me happy.” Kyle said. “If I was having a bad day, she would go out of her way to cheer me up. She hated seeing me sad.”

He had to really collect himself for the next part, as it was the part that involved the time his life hit rock bottom...

"A little while later, my mom started dating." he began. "She dated an assortment of men, before she settled on Ed. At first, he seemed like a kind, spontaneous, benignly-sarcastic man, and I seemed to think so, too. We had been visiting the Richardsons for quite a bit of time before eventually moving in with them. My mother thought it was the best decision, both psychologically and financially.

“It was only after she got engaged and filed the child custody papers with the court that Ed revealed his true nature. He became irate for even the smallest things... he even started beating her. I was only eleven at the time, but I can still remember jolting whenever he got the urge to randomly backhand her. After about a year, she had enough, and then she decided, in secret, that she was going to leave.”

Lyra looked really saddened. “Why didn't she take you with her?” she asked.

Kyle hung his head down. “She wanted to. In fact, she was desperate to take me with her. But for whatever reason, she couldn't get the court to give her legal custody of me. They didn't have enough evidence to prove that Ed was ineligible to assume custody. It was a losing battle, and with Ed putting most of her money into his own account instead of a joint account, she couldn't get a good lawyer with her free representation. Ed, on the other hand, was spending most of her money to hire some pretty high-end attorney to convince the court to rule in his favor... I guess he wanted to keep me around to do all his heavy lifting for him. Then, on the day before she disappeared, I saw her sitting on the porch. She was crying. She was repeatedly saying to herself 'I don't want to, but I have to'...”

Kyle was starting to choke up and tears filled his eyes.

“...and then, on the following morning, really early before Ed woke up, my mom came to my bedroom and woke me. She told me that she had to go somewhere. I asked her where, but she said it was better if I didn't know. She had tears in her eyes as she was saying all of this to me. I didn't understand what was going on. All she told me was 'Be brave, Kyle. And just know that, even if I'm not here, I will love you to the end of the world'. Then, she gave me a long hug and kissed me on the cheek and left. I think I might have fallen asleep, because I woke up a few hours later, and rushed out of my room to look for her... but she was gone.”

Lyra was now tearing up herself. “Oh, Kyle...” she said.

“After that, I started sitting at the porch every day after finishing my homework, until the sun would set, just waiting for her to return.” Kyle said.

Kyle looked out the window of his room.

“I waited...” he said.

The sky was deep azure with pink clouds as the sun set outside.

“...and waited...” Kyle continued.

The faint breeze made the branches of the trees outside sway ever so slightly.

“...but she never came back.” Kyle said.

Lyra was looking like she had just finished watching Interstellar.

"The worst part: I have no other living relatives..." Kyle said. "...my grandparents died before I was born, and when I was very young... and my parents both had no siblings..."

He hung his head down, slouching forward. All of these memories came flooding back to him, just as painful as they were when they had formed.

“I-I really miss my m-mom...” Kyle said. “...I really want t-to see her again.”

It was in that moment that Lyra burst into tears and lunged at Kyle, pulling him into a tight hug.

“I-I'm so sorry, Kyle...!” Lyra sobbed. “N-no one... should e-ever have to... g-g-go through this...!”

Kyle hugged the young mare back. "...But, I just want to say... thank you, Lyra." he began. "You've really helped me to cope a LOT better than I could have done without anyone to be there for me."

He then slightly separated himself from her... and leaned his head towards her's.

"You have been that small ray of sunlight penetrating the dark stormcloud of my life..." he continued, slowly leaning closer.

"...And you've helped me realize how even a savage creature from legends... can actually be very... caring..." Lyra said, leaning closer to Kyle herself.

The two closed their eyes slowly... pursing their lips... going in for the point of contact...

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

Danny's footsteps were coming down the stairs. Lyra quickly hid as Kyle hastily opened his laptop to pretend to be doing something. As usual, he barged into Kyle's room.

"Where's your art scraps?" Danny asked.

Kyle tilted his head. "Why?"

"Because," Danny said. "I'm gonna show them to Gretchen, and tell her that I painted them."

Kyle glared. "Not a chance! That's plagiarism! You can't take credit for my--"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Danny snapped. "Do it, or I'll grab a knife and slice your neck while you're asleep!"

"Ngh... fine!" Kyle said.

He grabbed his box of old art projects, and gave them to Danny, who went back up to his room, satisfied in a smug way.

"Christ..." Kyle said to himself. "...he's willing to do anything to keep this girl, and not care about the risks of lying. Oh well, his odds, not mine..."

Author's Note

Okay, I know that the custody scenario is fairly far-fetched. But, let's just assume that it's one of the many corrupt courts in the United States, with the attorney representing Ed possibly forging evidence for him. It's just a made-up scenario, too. Really, I had to think of something that would separate Kyle and his mother.

11. Keep Moving Forward

Kyle had to, once again, head off to school for his third year, and like always, he was anxious with how much homework he was given, having to take full-time classes in order to have any chance of graduating within four years. Really, the only reason he was going to school was so that Ed wouldn't get up on his case about being lazy.

Even when I do get my degree, what's the point? It's not like I'm gonna be able to use it for something... Kyle thought. ...I mean, really, what can do you with a fine arts degree?

In any case, he just decided to head to class, and take a seat in the spot he would usually sit in. A little bit later, a girl sat next to him; the same girl who had been sitting in the same spot since the beginning of the semester.

"Hi, Kyle." the girl said.

"Hey, Naomi." Kyle responded.

Once class began, the instructor gave directions for the project they would do today, and that they would each select a partner.

"Guess it's you and me again?" Naomi said.

Kyle nodded. "Sure." he said.

While they both worked to create a variation of a painting that each of them had previously done, one using the other's for a base, Kyle was constantly stopping and watching Naomi as she worked. She was pretty attractive, Kyle thought, and fairly nice.

Once class had concluded, Kyle decided to catch back up with Naomi just before she left.

"Hey, Naomi... uh, so... I was just wonderin'..." Kyle began. "...would you like to... um... grab a bite to eat with me sometime?"

Naomi looked quite confused. "Uh... what?" she asked.

"Or just a cup of coffee... maybe catch a movie..." Kyle said. "...I mean, it doesn't have to be today... and it's only if you want to... I'm not trying to pressure you or anything..."

The confused look on Naomi's face became one of deep disgust. "Get the hell away from me, you creep!"

"What? Why?" Kyle asked.

"Just go, before I call the police!" Naomi said.

Kyle sighed. "Okay... I'm going..." he said, just before quickly leaving the area.

He walked briskly back to his car, and drove off from the campus.

Okay, seriously... WHAT DID I DO WRONG? Kyle thought. I was nice to her, I've known her long enough to develop some rapport, and I wasn't forcing her to go out with me... so, WHY did she get all panicked when I tried asking her out...?

He could not help but have flashbacks of similar scenarios enter his mind as he drove. Throughout his life, it always ended like this with women for him.

Doesn't she know I'm a human being with emotions, just like her...? Kyle thought.

(XXXX)

Kyle decided to go out for a bit of a walk just to help himself calm down after he arrived at home. Thankfully, neither Ed nor Danny were around to pester him.

As he walked down the block, he could not help but constantly reminisce about his repeated failures with women. No matter who he asked, they always seemed to find a reason not to openly accept him. It was frustrating, not because of the constant rejections, but because of the fact that Kyle did not know what he was doing wrong.

If I'm going about this wrong... then what IS right? Kyle thought.

As he walked, he began to hear voices from a house he was passing. He looked at the second-floor open window with a light, where he assumed it came from.

“You are not going, and that is that!” came the voice of a very stern man.

“But pleeeeeeease, Daddy!” a teen girl responded. “Prom's a once-in-a-lifetime thing!”

“You should've thought of that earlier and studied for the exam! You don't deserve to go after you fucking flunked!” the father shouted.

“YOU'RE SUCH A FUCKING DICTATOR!” the daughter retaliated.

“YOU ARE NOT APPLYING YOURSELF!” the father snapped.

Kyle chuckled a bit as he continued his walk, the sound of the argument fading as he got further away.

He did not feel bad for the girl one bit; he had never been to Prom, but it was for multiple reasons. He thought it was overrated, it cost too much money, you would probably only wear the suit or dress one time, and the main reason... he could not get a date.

In any case, he decided to head down to the drugstore not far from where he lived, and pick up something for Lyra. He was, like always, looking forward to having her around to cheer him up.

(XXXX)

Kyle returned from the store to the house drinking a vanilla milkshake, and holding a mint chocolate-chip one in his other hand. He knew that mint chocolate-chip was Lyra's favorite ice cream flavor, since it was the one she requested most often whenever he took her out for a drive to get something to eat.

He made it back down to his room, and just announced the "all-clear" code without bothering with his laptop. At this point, it really did not matter when Ed and Danny were not around, let alone close by.

"Hey, Lyra." Kyle said. "I brought you a milkshake."

"Oh, thank you!" the young mare said.

While Lyra sat sipping her shake at the other end of Kyle's bed, Kyle himself was doing a bit of online window-shopping. He was browsing through the NewEgg website, looking for a laptop that he would like, and that had good specs.

“Ooh... what kind of power's this one got?” Kyle asked himself as he clicked on the link to a new Acer gaming laptop.

“Watcha doin'?” Lyra asked.

“I'm looking at getting a new laptop to work on my artwork.” Kyle said.

Lyra raised a brow. “What's wrong with the one you already got?” she asked.

“Well...” Kyle began. “...it's condition is really deteriorating. I've tried running diagnostics, defragmenting the hard drive, cleaning the junk files, but the problem is that its hardware is just too old. It used to belong to my stepdad, and after he got a new laptop, he gave this one to me as a present for my thirteenth birthday... along with having to give him a bit of cash in order to have it.”

“So... you want a better one?” Lyra said.

Kyle nodded. “Yeah. If I'm gonna be painting high-resolution pictures and doing intensive Photoshop work, I need a powerful computer. I've been putting money aside for it, so I think I can afford something good. It's gotta have a fast processor, high RAM, a good graphics card, and preferably a nice solid-state drive to give it some good speed. This piece of junk I've got only has 4 gigs of RAM, 500 gigs of disk memory, and the processor and graphics card suck!” he said.

After thinking and browsing for quite a bit of time, Kyle settled for a refurbished 15.6-inch 2015 Lenovo IdeaPad Y700 gaming laptop. It had an Intel Core i7 6th-gen quad-core CPU, a 1TB hard drive, a 128GB solid-state boot drive, an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M GPU/VPU, 16GB of DDR4 RAM, and preinstalled Windows 10 Home, which he would wipe off the hard drive and replace with Linux Mint v18.1 “Cinnamon” (constantly disabling background apps such as Cortana, repeatedly rebooting after update installations, and altering registry to disable telemetry felt like too much of a hassle for him).

The laptop cost Kyle a little under $900, which he paid via PayPal from his debit card. It was definitely a bargain, since even today, the same laptop, brand-new, would go for about $1,200 or more. Plus, it came with a free one-year warranty.

He opted to have the laptop dropped off at the local FedEx office, which he would pickup once it was delivered. He did not want Ed or Danny's sneaky fingers on the package if it arrived at the front door.

Once the new laptop arrived about a week later, Kyle decided to let Lyra have his old Lenovo ThinkPad T430. It was a bit outdated, running Windows 7 Home, but she still liked it. She mainly used it for light purposes such as web-surfing and picture-viewing, as well as a few online flash-games. Her magic was agile enough to use the keyboard, trackpad, and even the trackpoint.

He was successfully able to boot Linux Mint from a USB drive, and make it the primary operating system for the computer. Kyle was more than happy with his purchase (it blew his mind at just how fast it booted up and could smoothly run multiple tabs of Firefox).

Of course, he was working on his artwork (he was used to drawing/painting with a mouse), and it worked excellently, as there was no lag, and especially no crashes, which happened quite often on his old ThinkPad, causing him to lose his work, forcing him to save often.

One night, he decided he wanted to take a break from artwork. It was pretty late, a little past eleven o'clock, and both he and Lyra were still wide awake.

Lyra sighed. "I'm bored."

"Me too." Kyle responded.

Thinking for a moment about what they could do, Kyle happened to recall something in just about every romantic drama he had ever seen...

"Wanna go lay outside and look at the stars?" he asked.

Lyra shrugged. "Sure, why not? Be nice to get some air."

The human and young mare crept up from the basement door that led outside, and both lay on the grass in the back yard. Looking up at the sky. At first, it didn't seem like much, but after looking at the unending sky long enough, both of them became entranced by it.

"Wow... it's beautiful, isn't it?" Lyra said.

"Yeah, it is." Kyle answered. "It's really clear tonight; I've never seen this many stars out before..."

Lyra let out a sigh. "...Do you ever wonder what could be up there? If there could be other alien cultures? If there's anything beyond our universe...?" she asked.

"Hmmm..." Kyle pondered. "...I can't say. I think it would make sense; our planet can't be the only one with intelligent life."

They did not say too much more, and just continued to stare at the sky. Lyra scooted herself closer to Kyle at one point, and he could feel her shivering a bit.

"I'm a bit cold..." she said.

"Here..." Kyle said, lifting her up onto his abdomen and wrapping his arms around her.

"Thanks." Lyra said.

While she was laying on his stomach as they looked up at the stars, Kyle decided he wanted to take advantage of physical actions.

He placed his hand on Lyra's belly and started rubbing it. She leaned her head backwards and let out a pleasured sigh. After a minute, Kyle start rubbing her stomach a bit faster, and he could feel her loosen herself all over.

“Ahh... this feels... sooo good...” the young mare commented. "...ah, I just... looove the feeling of your... hands..."

Hearing this, Kyle subtly stretched his fingers farther apart so that she could get a feel for the spread. He continued to do this until they got bored with the stargazing, and just decided to head back inside.

It was about twelve o'clock, but Kyle was already on the verge of passing out for some reason. So, he decided to go to bed, and just let Lyra do what she wanted... quietly.

Once he was asleep, Lyra took out the diary Kyle had bought for her, and she levitated one of Kyle's pens off of his desk to use for making her first entry:

Dear Diary,

I really need to get it all out—coming to this world is just about the greatest thing that ever happened to me. It's a bit like eating a pomegranate; it's a little bitter on the outside, but once you get past it, it's nice and sweet. The human Kyle Schaeffer has been one of the greatest friends I have ever had... even more so than Bon Bon, I dare to say.

He is such a nice, sweet human. He's given me a home to live in and food to eat while I'm in this world. We've been spending our free time watching movies, playing games, and doing other fun things. And I am surprised that he's as humble as he is, given what he's had to put up with.

Other people in this world... they are SAVAGES. It's just like the legends of humans back in Equestria... but Kyle is different. He is just a lone soul in this cruel world, seeking love and acceptance, which has only been given to him by his family, who is now gone. It's all the fault of these self-centered humans Kyle is forced to serve. They all stop at NOTHING to make life miserable for my angel!

Yes, as weird as it may sound, and while this could be heavily frowned upon back in Equestria... I must admit to both you, and myself, that I have fallen in love with Kyle.

Author's Note

I know that some of these chapters seem like a bit of filler material, but I am trying to set up a series of events to age Lyra so that she will be of... proper age for a romantic relationship with our brony protagonist. XD

Anyways, thanks for your patience, everyone! I do plan to try and finish this fic before spring.

12. Memento Lost, Vengeance Gained

At the start of 2018, it seemed like Lyra was now at her full size. Standing at roughly a meter in height, she was a fully-grown mare, and was now twelve years old... strangely.

Kyle had noticed that she was growing quite fast... maybe a bit too fast. She was definitely no longer a child, and was into her adult-stage of growth, even though it has only been one and a half years. It seemed more like she was fourteen or fifteen in terms of her size.

It seemed like Lyra was aging twice as fast. Kyle assumed that it might have something to do with her being in this world instead of Equestria, but he wasn't entirely sure.

In any case, she had become fairly adept at stealth, and even learned how to teleport using her magic, so as to evade Ed and Danny whenever they were around. And it was for good reason, since Kyle himself had many obligations to fulfill, which left him with little time to himself... and with Lyra.

Today, Kyle was outside of the Kroger store he worked at in the parking lot collecting carts, as usual, since it was his responsibility for the hour.

He pulled a stray cart from behind the corral, and tried to push it into a row in the corral. The cart's back was stubborn, and refused to give way. Kyle tried slamming the cart harder, but it still did not open. He then built up a lot of force and momentum, and the cart's back opened... quite hard, as it swung over the handbar, and landed on his wrists, hurting him a bit.

Kyle pushed the cart's back into its downward position. But he was not prepared for what he saw on his left-hand wrist...

“N-no...” Kyle stammered. “...it can't be...”

He noticed that the crystal on his prized wrist watch had been completely destroyed. The cart's folding back had smashed it. He could barely see the face or hands, but still noticed the second-hand struggling to move. The watch was still functioning, but the crystal was beyond repair.

Kyle clenched his teeth as he tried to fight back tears.

“...No... n-not the watch... my mother g-g-gave me...” he said to himself.

Something he treasured so dearly has, ironically, been destroyed by something that's part of a bigger thing that he utterly despises. For the remainder of the day, he tried to sober up, but by the end of his shift, he was about ready to explode.

(XXXX)

It had become very late in the night, and Kyle was still having a breakdown. He had taken a long shower, eaten a decent dinner he fixed up for himself, gotten into his night clothing, and tried playing some video games to take his mind of things, but he could not get the incident off of his mind.

“Kyle, please...” Lyra said. “...you really need to try and settle down.”

Kyle sighed. “I can't, Lyra. With my prized possession destroyed, as well as the other things that happened today, there is no way I'm gonna be able to settle down!”

“Stressing over it won't do you any good! It's bad for you! You won't be able to get any sleep! Besides, I'm sure you can get the watch fixed by a jeweler or someone!” Lyra protested.

“But still, I can't help it!” Kyle said. “Everything like this happens to me, and no one else, and it's not even my fault! I seriously don't get why Mother Nature has some kind of stigma against me! It's like, what? What does the universe want to get out of this? It's not like I—”

“Kyle...” Lyra began, her tone becoming serious. “...I'd given you a chance to calm down on your own, but it looks like I'll have to do it for you...”

“What do you mean—” Kyle was cut off as Lyra's horn began to glow.

His eyes began to glow the same yellow color as Lyra's horn as she put him under a hypnotic trance.

Lyra smiled. “That's better. Now, Kyle... please calm down... and go to sleep.” she said softly.

With his mind under Lyra's control, Kyle closed his eyes and half-smiled as he began to sleepwalk while Lyra started singing a lovely tune:

“You have reached the end of the day,
now let your worries flow away.
Don't stress on them, don't think too deep,
you must get your rest, now fall asleep.”

Kyle was sleepwalking to the edge of the room, where he was about to walk straight into his backpack and desk chair, which would have tripped him, but Lyra levitated him before it could happen.

“Careful...” Lyra said, just before she resumed singing:

“To the dream world, let yourself cast,
your bad day is now in the past—
A time and place to which you are not bound,
you'll be alright, because I'm still around.”

While he was being levitated, Kyle let out a few occasional hums. Lyra could not tell if they were in comfort, or vain attempts at protest. But still, she continued to sing to him:

“Fly over the rainbow, swim through the deep sea,
may you have the best dream that there could be.
Stand tall and be strong, my valiant knight,
push through the dark and reach the light.”

Lyra levitated Kyle in an upward laying position, inches above the ground with his head inclined backwards, to take a look at him. She noticed his breath and heart rate had both slowed down.

“...Ah, he's asleep!” Lyra whispered.

Kyle mumbled a bit. “...Mmmm... P-Princess... Luna...” he said, a slight smile on his face.

Lyra laughed a little bit. “Dreaming about Equestria, I see.” she said quietly.

She pulled back the sheets on Kyle's bed before levitating him into it, laying his head on the pillow, and pulling the sheets over him, and climbed up onto the bed, sitting next to him before finishing her song:

“Regain your strength, drift off for now,
because to feel better, this is how.
Just think of all good things you can list,
and soon your worries will cease to exist.”

Lyra smiled at her sleeping human friend. It felt so much better now that he was calm. She bent down and kissed him on the forehead.

"Everything's gonna be okay..." Lyra whispered. "...tomorrow is a new day."

She climbed into bed next to Kyle and was off to sleep herself.

(XXXX)

The next day happened to be the day when the owner of the landscaping company Ed worked for, Henri de Luc, was coming over for drinks, and for what Ed hoped would be a promotion to the company board.

Kyle had recovered from his breakdown, but he could not wear a broken watch around. So, he put it back in its box for now and made a stainless steel bracelet he had as a temporary replacement.

Again, as usual, he was forced to clean up the house... and Danny was up in his room playing video games and eating chips, while Ed was lounging around, drinking too many beers, and watching a hockey game. If it had not been for Kyle, the entire house would probably still not be standing.

A little later in the evening, a car pulled up into the driveway, and Ed quickly rushed Kyle into the basement.

"If you come upstairs, you can consider your good life over!" Ed shouted at him.

Kyle said nothing, not wanting to anger the living, walking time-bomb, and went for the stairs, but he peered behind the wall once Ed had moved away. The doorbell rang, and Ed opened it to reveal Henri de Luc.

“Good evening to you, Monsieur Richardson.” De Luc said in a French accent.

“Evening, Mr. De Luc, sir.” Ed said, shaking De Luc's hand.

“Zis is my spouse, Antoinette.” De Luc said, motioning to the woman with him.

"Likewise." Antoinette de Luc said.

“Want a beer?” Ed offered.

Don't you drink enough already...? Kyle thought. You probably go through, like, five bottles of Budweiser a day!

As the three of them moved inward, Kyle was forced to quickly and quietly head back downstairs to his room. He got Lyra out of her hiding place.

"What's going on?" Lyra asked.

"Well..." Kyle began. "...Ed and his company's boss are upstairs having drinks. They don't want me to interfere, and I'm guessing that Ed's been hoping for a promotion or something, at least from what I heard over his phone conversations with his coworkers and friends."

"Oh." Lyra said.

Then, Kyle got an idea...

"What's say we head outside, peek through the window... and keep Ed from getting that promotion?" Kyle suggested.

Lyra smirked. "With all the garbage he's put you through... I'd say it's fair enough!"

"Okay, let's go!" Kyle said.

With that, both of them headed outside through the basement door. They happened to look through one of the open windows to see Ed and the De Lucs sipping beer.

"Z'ere is nuzzing like un fine beverage to soothe zee mind and body..." De Luc commented.

"I agree with you..." Ed said, taking another sip. "...a man needs his sedative."

But too much of it is a BAD thing... Kyle thought.

"Now, about zis proposition I 'ave considered." De Luc said. "See, z'ere are some zings zat I must see to being arranged before you can come through with it..."

"Wait... what?" Ed questioned.

"See, it is rather... complex. It cannot be done right away..." De Luc said.

Ed looked quite shocked. "But I'm prob'ly the hardest worker you got!" he claimed.

"I'm quite sure you are, Monsieur Richardson." De Luc said. "But z'ere are several others who also aspire to zee level of board member."

Ed then looked quite irritated. "What... but, I... you..." he said, trailing off.

Suddenly, the bottle in Ed's hand shattered, sending glass all over the floor and spilling the remainder of beer. Everyone, including Kyle, jumped as this happened. Even Ed looked quite shocked at what just happened.

"Well... you have quite zee anger troubles, non?" Antoinette scolded.

"But..." Ed stammered. "...but I barely squeezed it!"

"Heh heh..." Lyra chuckled.

Kyle looked over at her. "What's up?"

"Well... I used a spell to make the bottle break!" Lyra said. "I hoped it would make him look like a total buffoon!"

Kyle quietly laughed with Lyra, and then both of them proceeded to continue spying.

"Strike one..." Kyle whispered.

Ed stood from the seat. "I cut my hand, I gotta go wash it off..."

After Ed returned from washing his hand, he wiped up the spilled beer and cleaned the broken glass.

"I apologize for that, Mr. De Luc..." Ed said.

But De Luc did not look convinced.

"So, anyways..." Ed said. "...figured I'd break open some nice champagne that I've been saving for a good occasion."

Kyle happened to spot the very same bottle of champagne that Ed alluded to, sitting on a countertop in the kitchen, just outside of the view of Ed and Co.

"Ooh... try shaking up the bottle!" Kyle said to Lyra. "Can you reach it from here?

"I'll try..." Lyra said as her horn began to glow.

After a second, the bottle began to glow the same gold color, and began to levitate into the air. Lyra shook it up an down, not at a vigorous pace, but sufficient to agitate it enough. Quickly, she set it back down before Ed and the De Lucs could arrive in the kitchen.

Ed grabbed a bottle opening, screwed the corkscrew into the cork, and prepared to pry it open.

"You, Mr. De Luc, have the privilege of enjoying some of the most expensive champagne I can afford!" Ed said, prying the cork out.

Immediately, a jet of champagne shot out of the bottle, and lobbed through the air... straight onto De Luc.

"O', merde!" De Luc exclaimed, hastily rushing away from the spray, and rapidly wiping his face across himself to wick away the drink.

Antoinette put her hand on his shoulder. "O', Henri! Are you alright, my dear?" she said.

De Luc looked up, an immense boiling anger manifesting itself on his face. "You clumsy oaf! Why would you do such a zing! You zink zis is partytime un 1999!?"

Ed was thoroughly dumbstruck at what just happened. "I-I apologize, sir! I didn't know... I think it was shaken up..."

"Yeah!" Lyra said quietly, raising her hoof.

Kyle gave her roughly the equivalent of a high-five.

"...Strike two..." Kyle whispered again.

"Here, sir..." Ed said, heading into the dining room adjacent to the kitchen, and pulling out a chair. "...why don't you sit down? I'll get you all cleaned up and dried off."

Kyle noticed the corkboard hanging on the wall close to the window. He smirked as he got an idea.

“Put a tack on De Luc's chair!” he whispered to Lyra.

Lyra snickered quietly as she did so. It was amazing that none of the adults noticed.

De Luc went to sit down... right on top of the tack placed on the spot he sat at.

"AIE!" he shrieked as he rapidly stood from the chair.

De Luc had an enraged look on his face as he pulled the tack from the back of his pants and held it up.

“So...!” he spoke loudly. “..You are trying to make a booby of me, huh!?”

De Luc smacked Ed across the face with his glove. Ed put his hand up to his face after flinching and looked at his company boss with desperate eyes.

"S-sir... I..." Ed stammered.

“UNASSEPTABLE! Zis is entirely unasseptable!” De Luc shouted. "Zis meeting is ova'! Come, Antoinette darling. We must not associate ou'selves wis a man of babyish disposition who finds joy in zee humiliation of others!"

"Yes, I agree!" Antoinette said, grabbing her belongings. "You are un man's body zat houses zee brain of un child!"

"And you can forget about zee opportunity for your promotion!" De Luc said.

With that, the two were out the door.

"...Strike three, and you're out!" Kyle closed his countdown.

Ed was left alone for a moment, and then... he was overcome with seething, unstoppable anger. Veins pulsed in the sides of his necks and temples, he clenched his teeth quite firmly, and his eyes were wide and bloodshot.

"KYLE!" Ed shouted. "Get your scrawny ass up here, NOW!"

"Uh-oh..." Kyle said quietly. "...we'd better get out of here!"

"Yeah, Iet's go!" Lyra acknowledged.

Both of them tried to make a run for it down the street, but then the front door opened right as they entered the front yard. Lyra quickly rushed back out of sight, but Kyle was not so lucky...

"I knew you'd try to run!" Ed shouted. "And I also know that you tried to fuck up my meeting with Mr. De Luc!"

"I didn't do a thing! Did you even see me touch anything!?" Kyle said.

Ed scrunched his lip as his eyes became wide with intense anger. “Y'know what, boy? I've had enough of your back-talking and smart-ass-mouthing! I'm gonna kick your ass 'til you're an inch from death! Get over here, NOW!” he said, quickly walking towards Kyle.

Kyle was hastily stepping backwards, holding up his hands. “H-hey...! Stop, please! There's no need for—”

“NOT A FUCKING WORD!” Ed thundered. "DANNY, COME ON OUT AND HELP ME TEACH THIS PATHETIC SACK OF SHIT A LESSON!"

After a moment, Danny came down the stairs and outside, a look of immense delight on his face as the two prepared to beat Kyle.

"You don't know how long I've wanted to do this, queer!" Danny said, cracking his neck.

Danny took the first shot, kicking Kyle in the stomach in less than a heartbeat. Kyle was flung backwards and collapsed to the ground, stunned from the sudden blow. Then, a second later, he was grabbed by the hair and had his head pulled up.

"AGH!" Kyle shrieked.

"I SAID NOT A FUCKING WORD!" Ed shouted, who was the one holding him by the hair.

He struck Kyle over the head with a closed fist, knocking him to the ground again, and pulling out some of his hair. Ed flung the dark bristles away and started kicking Kyle, who curled his legs and crossed his arms over his face. He tucked himself inward so as to avoid any kicks to the vital organs. But his spine provided little defense.

Danny pulled out one of Kyle's legs, straightened it, and pounded his kneecap, as if in an attempt to break his leg via the wrong direction. Kyle winched in pain, unable to scream. A buzzing sound filled his ears.

"Now, whaddya need to say me?" Ed said, towering over Kyle.

Kyle panted for a moment as he glared at Ed.

"...Drop dead." he managed to say.

Ed, infuriated by the remark, kicked Kyle squarely in the shoulder.

All he could do was whimper as he took several painful blows from both his stepfamily members. He had absolutely no defense.

"See what happens?" Ed said. "You're just a worthless sack of shit who can't do shit right! I'm the good guy here, because I'm trying to prepare you for the real world, and I'm the one paying for the roof over your head and the food on your plate!"

Danny decided to throw some insults of his own out there: "You're just a stupid-ass scrawny cunt who can't stand up to people! You're just a caveman who sits in his man-cave all day drawing stupid shit no one wants to see!"

"You'll never amount to ANYTHING with the path you're going down!" Ed said. "You're just gonna be a freeloader all your goddamn life! YOU. ARE. WORTHLESS!"

“THAT'S ENOUGH!” came Lyra's voice.

Kyle looked up to see that Lyra had revealed herself. Both Ed and Danny stopped their assault and had the same confused look on their faces. Lyra was infuriated; her nostrils were flaring, and veins pulsed in the side of her head.

“You leave him ALONE!” the Unicorn shouted.

She watched the beating, and desperately wanted to help Kyle, but was unsure if revealing herself was a good idea... and it was, considering how bad it was getting.

“The fuck is that!?” Ed said.

“Some sort of weird, girly, fairy-unicorn?” Danny guessed.

Lyra's eyes went wide, her pupils shrunk. And then, her eyes went narrow as she leveled her horn at them, and drew one of her front hooves back twice, as if preparing to charge the two.

“Don't... you... ever... call me... weird, or girly... or a fairy-unicorn!” Lyra shouted.

“Ooh, I'm soooo scared!” Danny said in a stupid sarcasm. “What's the little girly horsey gonna do? Fart rainbows on me?”

“THAT'S IT, YOU MAREBUCKER!” Lyra shouted.

In a fit of rage, Lyra rushed at Danny, whipped herself around on her forehooves, and bucked him in the knees. Almost immediately, Danny fell over, clutching his shins as he struggled to scream.

Sitting up, Kyle could not help but laugh a little at this.

Wow, if Lyra can buck like that... I'm sure Applejack could have some good competition. He thought.

“...Agggghhhh...!” Danny strained. “...I think you re-tore my ACLs!”

Kyle sat up. “God, I never thought I'd see this day... you got your ass kicked by a pony!” he said, laughing. “Makes me think of the old meme: 'haters gonna hate... ponies gonna pwn'!”

“Y'know what, fuck this shit!” Ed shouted, rushing for Lyra.

Lyra gasped, but she disappeared in a flash of light just as Ed was about to grasp her, and she reappeared directly behind him as he fell from failing to catch her.

“Missed me!” Lyra said smugly.

Immediately, she used her magic to conjure ropes that bound Ed's wrists behind his back, and his ankles. She did the same thing to Danny afterwards. The two struggled to try and escape. Kyle stood up slowly, which was painful after his beating.

“Now for a bit of fun...” Lyra said as her horn glowed once more.

She levitated them into the air, and slammed them into the ground, both of them grunting in pain each time it happened.

"Yeah! How'd ya like that!?" Lyra said.

Then, Lyra started to spin the two around, like a pair of bolas, at a very high speed; at least 70 RPM. Ed and Danny both screamed as they were being spun around.

"Now... for the final showstopper!" Lyra said.

Ed and Danny stopped spinning, and then Lyra focused her magic so that she could move specific body parts. She made the ropes she conjured vanish, brought up their hands near their faces, made them into fists... and forced them to start punching themselves.

"Stop hitting yourselves! Stop hitting yourselves!" Lyra taunted.

"YOU STOP!" Ed shouted.

"I swear, I'm gonna kill you, you stupid little turquoise mule!" Danny said.

"Nope! Nopony's dying today!" Lyra said.

With that, she slammed the both of them into the earth for the final time.

“And just to make sure you both don't remember how all this happened...” Lyra trailed off, just before she closed her eyes, and her horn began to glow.

Ed and Danny's eyes glowed yellow-orange, and then they fell unconscious.

“Okay, I've altered their memories. They should wake up pretty confused... and in a LOT of pain. Also, they shouldn't remember me.” Lyra said, smirking.

“...H...how did... you learn to do that?” Kyle asked, amazed.

Lyra shrugged. “Just... came to me, I guess. I think magic can get better with practice.” she said.

"Well... let's get them to their beds, just so they don't wake up and think I did something." Kyle said.

Kyle strained himself to stand, but he was still in a lot of pain from the beating.

“Oh, Kyle...” Lyra said, looking at the bruises on his exposed skin. “...let me take care of you first!”

“No, Lyra, you really don't need to—” Kyle began, before getting cut off.

“No, Kyle.” Lyra said. “Those bruises and scrapes look pretty bad. Just let me do a quick healing spell on them. Please?”

Kyle sighed. "Okay." he said.

Lyra closed her eyes, and her horn glowed once again. Golden strands of light began to flow from her horn, and travel through the air around Kyle's body. Immediately, he felt the pain start to disappear, and looking at a cut on his arm, saw that it appeared to be knitting itself and vanishing. Soon, all of his injuries were reversed, and he was back in the same condition that he had been in before the beating.

Kyle smiled at the mare. "Thank you, Lyra." he said.

But his smile faded quickly, and his face fell as he thought about what Ed and Danny claimed him to be.

Even after the beating, Kyle could not get his mind off of what the two were saying to him. Was he really weak? Was he not doing everything right? Does he need to start doing things that please others just for him to have a happy life? He did not know, and he did not feel the least bit pleasant.

“Kyle... I don't think you're worthless.” Lyra said.

“Yeah. Kinda figures you would say that...” Kyle said, his confidence obviously still very low.

“No, really!” Lyra said. “What those punks said about you, don't believe a word of it! You're not worthless! You're not weak!”

“How would you know?” Kyle asked. “I can barely stand up for myself...”

“Well...” Lyra began. “...you still seem to take on the trials that everyone forces upon you, all without even complaining to them once! A weak pony... er, person... would just give up and not try at all. Seriously, pushing through all of this is not easy. You would only be worthless if you quit and hide from it all! And the best part, you've learned how to cope with it, even with the little that you have to do so!”

Kyle's eyebrows raised a bit after hearing this.

Lyra continued: “And even after putting up with all this crap, you've still come out of it as a great person! That, if anything, really takes a strong heart to pull off. A weak person would give in and become as bad as their abusers, or even worse!” she said.

Lyra was definitely getting somewhere with this, Kyle felt firmly...

“Plus, you've still held on to your dreams. Your ambition to become a professional artist one day!” Lyra added. “You're not weak for having dreams, you're strong for holding on to what you believe in! The problem is that everyone is trying to hold you back; just push past it all and chart your own course! Don't let anyone hinder you!”

Again, like always, Lyra served as his confidence well, which brought it all flooding back to him. He was glad that she could make him feel good about himself.

"...You're right, Lyra!" Kyle said. "I know that I AM a good person. And I want to do thing that will make people happy... and make me happy in return."

"That's right!" Lyra said. "Now... let's get these two idiots into their sacks, shall we?"

Lyra levitated the two Richardsons up the stairs, and Kyle pulled their sheets over them.

"Just for good measure..." Kyle said, picking up one of the many beer bottles on Ed's bedroom floor, and put it in Ed's hand.

He cuddled it like a plushie, which made Kyle fight to avoid laughing and waking him.

Danny was next, so they just repeated the process.

"Okay, here's your video games..." Kyle said, putting an XBOX controller in Danny's hand, and turning on the console and TV, just to make it seem like he'd fallen asleep while playing... again.

Kyle and Lyra then both proceeded to head out the door.

"Nap time..." Kyle said to Danny. "...but don't you dare dream about any girls!"

They both closed the door and went back into the basement.

13. Astral Bond

Whenever Lyra was helping Kyle to clean up the house whenever Ed and Danny were gone, she had a habit of using her magic to move things around. Sometimes, it was several things at once, which ran the risk of damaging surrounding objects, since she did not pay close attention to what she was doing all the time.

"Careful, Lyra..." Kyle said as she levitated some dishes around a lamp, which risked knocking it over.

"I'm watching! Don't worry!" Lyra said.

But Kyle stepped in and grabbed her horn, which disrupted the flow of magic. The dishes slowly set onto the floor.

"It's just a bit too risky, with all the furniture that could be knocked over..." Kyle said, looking back over to the dishes. "...besides, it would help if you would just do them one at a time."

"But that takes longer!" Lyra said.

"I know, but if you would stack the plates, and carry them like that..." Kyle trailed off, because he noticed that something had happened.

He had been looking over at one of the plates on the floors as he was mentioning them, and one of them lit up with a green aura as it levitated for a moment, before falling back to the carpet. He also happened to notice the green glow on Lyra's horn, too, and he was still holding it.

Lyra looked quite shocked. "Whoa... what was that!?" she asked.

"Hm..." Kyle hummed. "...let's see if that works again."

Again, Kyle focused on the plate, as if he wanted to lift it. A moment later, Lyra's horn glowed the same green color as his eyes, as did the plate as it levitated and slowly set into place on top of another plate. Both the human and Unicorn were in immense surprise at what had just unfolded right in front of them.

Kyle took his hand of Lyra's horn, and looked at his open palm.

"That was me..." he uttered. "...I did that!"

"Wow!" Lyra said. "I never thought humans could channel Unicorn magic!"

Kyle assumed that it was the horn itself that contained the magic, and that any living thing that touches it can use its energy.

"That's interesting..." Kyle said. "...I didn't think it was possible to do that!"

"Kyle... are we..." Lyra said. "...gonna keep cleaning the place up before those two lazy sacks come back?"

"Huh, what...? Oh! Y-yes, we should get it all done here quickly..." Kyle said.

With that being said, they both resumed their task of cleaning up the house, just so that Ed would not be up on Kyle's case by the time they arrived back. In a short while, however, everything was neat and squared away.

"Well, we're done." Kyle said. "Want a soda?"

Lyra nodded. "Sure!" she said.

As they both sat at the table with their drinks, Kyle could not help but think about how he was capable of utilizing magic. Such a force did not exist in this universe, and yet it felt... natural to him. If magic does not exist... why would he be capable of using it? He was not a Unicorn, but just touching the horn seemed to make it work for some reason.

Kyle suddenly came back to reality as he let out a fairly large burp. He did not feel it coming. He put a hand to his mouth as he gained a surprised look. Lyra gave him a puzzled look.

“Are you serious?” the mare asked him.

Oh, shit... Kyle thought. ...I can't be doing that in front of women... or mares.

“If you're gonna do it, do it right! Like this!” Lyra said, just before she let out a fairly loud belch herself.

Both of them laughed for a while. They could not stop.

In any case, it got later into the evening, and the human and his pony went back into their sanctuary in the basement. They were more or less just browsing around the internet on their laptops. They continued until well past midnight... and that's when Kyle got an idea for something that she did to him a little over a month ago.

Kyle smirked, and leaned over to grab Lyra's horn. She was caught off guard by this.

“Hey, Kyle!” Lyra said, just as her horn began to glow Kyle's green color. “What are... you... do... ing...”

The mare slowed her speech as her eyes began to glow a green color. Kyle had successfully hypnotized her.

“Payback.” Kyle said, smugly. “Now Lyra... just listen to my words... and... SLEEP.”

He lightly jabbed his index finger at the middle of her forehead, and immediately, she closed her eyes and slumped over. He closed her laptop (well, his old laptop), and put it away. Then, he tucked the mare, who was already in a deep sleep, under the covers, and climbed into them himself. Within half of an hour after turning the lights out, Kyle was soon sound asleep. A some point in the night, a faint yellow light appeared at the very tip of Lyra's horn while she was still sleeping.

Lyra's magic began to react in a bizarre way that merged their consciousness states together while they slept...

(XXXX)

Kyle opened his eyes to find that it was morning. Slowly, he stood from his bed, being careful not to awaken Lyra, who was still asleep, and he left the room to get something to eat.

"Huh... out of sausage again. Really, Danny?" Kyle called out.

He expected to hear Danny's annoyed footsteps coming down the stairs... but they never came.

"Hm... 'bout time he gained some self-restraint... or he has his headphones on." Kyle said.

He settled for some stale cereal and a banana. After finishing, he decided to go and peek on Danny to see what he had been up to. He had been immersing himself in nothing but video games for quite a long time now; Gretchen had stopped seeing him after two weeks, because it apparently wasn't working out so well between them. The only way he could drown his grief was through some well-placed headshots on some overrated first-person shooter titles.

"And behind door number one..." Kyle said as he swung open the door.

But Danny was nowhere to be found.

"...nobody." Kyle finished. "Probably talkin' to his dad about something?"

He checked Ed's room... but it was empty, too.

"I guess they're at work and school." Kyle said.

He went to check the garage, but both of their cars were still there.

"Their cars are still here... they couldn't have gone anywhere." Kyle said to himself.

He continued searching the house.

“Hello?” Kyle called out. “Danny? Dad? Is this some weird kind of joke? 'Cause it's not funny!”

Lyra had come up the stairs, Kyle noticed.

"Hey, Lyra." Kyle said.

"Morning, Kyle." Lyra responded.

"You haven't heard Ed or Danny, have you?" Kyle asked.

The Unicorn shook her head. "Nope, why?"

"Well... it seems like they're not here." Kyle said.

"Why would that be weird? Maybe Ed went to work and Danny went to school?" Lyra asked.

"That's what I thought at first." Kyle said. "But their cars are still here. Plus, I know that they hate going for any walks."

"So, where could they be?" Lyra asked.

Kyle decided he would look around outside. Initially, when he got outside, his first glance was at the main road that could be seen from the vantage point that the house was at. It was literally ALWAYS busy with cars... but today, no cars were on it. Not one.

"Weird..." Kyle said to himself just before resuming his search.

He walked up and down the street... and saw no sign of any human activity. There were always some sounds near and far away... but today, everything was quiet. Too quiet. Even the air was unnaturally still. The usual sound of birds chirping was absent as well. Kyle's own footsteps were literally the only sound he could hear.

"Hm..." Kyle said, examining the surrounding area. "...there's something really weird going on here. Not one living thing on the entire block."

Kyle got back to the house, and explain to Lyra that the entire area appeared to be devoid of human life... and any life for that matter.

"What could be going on?" Lyra asked.

"Well, either everyone's on a vacation I didn't know about... there's a BIG glitch in the Matrix... or..." Kyle trailed off.

Lyra got to thinking herself.

“Do you think...” she began.

“...Yeah.” Kyle said. “We made everyone disappear!”

He was surprised for a moment, but was quickly overcome with pleasure at the thought of everyone who ever gave him a hard time being gone from the world. A smile spread over his face as he had flashbacks of the bad times that would never repeat...

(Flashback)

“You are such a waste of life in this world, Schaeffer!” a bully said in elementary school.

(XXXX)

“You don't apply yourself, and I cannot tolerate your constant tuning out! I'm gonna have to send you to the principal's office again!” his fourth-grade teacher scolded.

(XXXX)

“Schaeffer, you are such a DISEASE!”

(XXXX)

“You're such a helpless weirdo... I wouldn't wanna date you, ever!”

(XXXX)

“Hello, everyone! My name is Cassandra, and today I'm gonna talk to you about green energy!”

(XXXX)

“I'm gonna feed you to my dog, Schaeffer!”

(XXXX)

“Kyle, I am Mira, the guardian of your psyche. You are not well. Something has gone terribly wrong; the trauma of your abusive lifestyle has . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . in terms of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . irreversible if left unchecked . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . you do understand, do you not?”

(XXXX)

“You can't ever stand up for yourself! I'll kick your ass to China and back!”

(XXXX)

“Look what you did, you shithead!”

(XXXX)

“...zzzzzzz... zzzzzzz... gah! Wha...?”

(End Flashback)

Kyle smiled at Lyra.

“We made everyone disappear!” he said. “Now we can do anything we want, and nobody can stop us!”

Lyra smirked. "So... where should we start?"

"Hmm..." Kyle pondered.

(XXXX)

Kyle had unplugged Danny's XBOX One and LCD TV, set them in the front yard, and took his air rifle. He then loaded the rifle, and started getting in a bit of target practice.

"Put your diodes where I can see 'em!" he shouted at the TV, just before firing.

He put several holes in the LCD screen, and dented the surface of the XBOX, but it did not achieve the desired effect that he wanted. So, he went to Ed's garage, grabbed two sledgehammers, and gave one to Lyra.

"Let's take turns!" Kyle said. "Mares first..."

"With pleasure!" Lyra said.

With that, she brought the hammer straight down one the XBOX, which was standing vertical, squashing its structure.

"Ha ha ha!" Kyle laughed. "Nice one!"

With that, Kyle stepped up... or stepped back, rather.

"Fore!" he shouted, just before he ran up, and swung the sledgehammer like a golf club, striking the console Happy Gilmore-style.

Pieces flew out, including the motherboard as the casing broke open.

"Well, you know what everyone says about all those violent video games..." Kyle said.

(XXXX)

The two went on a rampage through Ed's bedroom, knocking over everything, and up-ending anything already on the floor.

"No more watching your sports channels!" Kyle said, hurling a lamp at the television, breaking it.

"And no more comfortable nights rests!" Lyra said, using her magic to bend and break one of the legs of the bed, making it sit fairly lopsided.

"Wish I could just let it slide..." Kyle said, just before smashing Ed's softball trophies on the floor. "...but rules are rules. You strike me, I strike back!"

(XXXX)

The two decided that they had their fun, destroying everything that belong to the two lazy bastards, and just decided to have some down time. They decided to head off to the open space in the woods, just to get away from the disaster they had created.

They were laying on the grass, looking up at the sky and clouds. While they were laying, Kyle could not push the thought out of his mind that his friendship with Lyra was evolving into something even bigger than he could have ever imagined. He felt like he was becoming more and more attached to her. He started to think that he loved her. Maybe he did... but maybe he was going crazy. Either way, he decided that it was probably best for him to get this off of his chest as soon as possible. He could not cope with concealing his feelings forever.

Just before Kyle prepared himself to sit up, Lyra had done so first. She turned to face him.

“Kyle... listen...” Lyra began, hesitantly. “...I've got something to... um... to tell you...”

“Oh yeah?” Kyle said. “ 'Cause... well... I've wanted to tell you something... for... a while now, too...”

"I'll let you go first." Lyra said.

Not wanting to be pushy for Lyra to go first, Kyle cleared his throat and readied himself for what he was about to say.

"Lyra..." he began. "...ever since the first day that we met, and after all the fun times we've had together... I feel like... like we can take our whole relationship... even further..."

Lyra was looking somewhat surprised, but not in a bad way.

"I can't help but feel like... like I'm just becoming attached to you more and more with each day that goes by. What I'm trying to say here... i-is that I feel l-like I... lo... l-lo..."

No matter how hard he tried, he could not get the words to come out of his mouth. But, it seemed like Lyra had gotten the message; she put a hoof over his mouth. She smiled and blushed, just before she pulled him into a deep hug. Kyle himself was now quite surprised, but he managed to lift him arms to return the hug.

"Kyle..." Lyra said. "...thank you for telling me how you feel. And, as a matter of fact..." she looked up at him. "...that's how I feel about you, too."

Though the two were oblivious to it, the landscape around them was becoming brightly-lit with gold light, looking almost Heavenlike. They both closed their eyes and began to lean in towards each other.

"Lyra..."

"Kyle..."

They were about to touch their lips together... about to have their first kiss...

(XXXX)

Slowly, Kyle woke up. He saw light streaming from in-between the blackout curtains. At the exact same time, Lyra awoke. It was not a drastic awakening, like they both often experience after a dream; this time, it was very peaceful.

Lyra had a look of deep bliss on her face.

"Ah... I had a wonderful dream..." Lyra said.

"Yeah, me too..." Kyle acknowledged.

"Yeah... you and I were the only ones there... everyone was gone... we destroyed those two lazy bastards' stuff..." Lyra trailed off.

"Wait..." Kyle said. "...you had that dream, too?"

Lyra raised a brow. "What do you mean, 'too'? You're saying you had that dream...?"

Kyle nodded. "Yeah... and, near the end... you told me... that you..." he trailed off.

"And... you told me..." Lyra said, trailing off herself.

Both of their eyes widened. They did indeed have a shared dream... and they did INDEED confess their feelings to each other in an astral state.

Both of them looked quite flustered for a moment... and then they smiled at each other, and hugged. They held on to one another for a long time, not wanting to ever let go...

14. The Start of a New Era

Several months following Kyle and Lyra sharing the same dream, it came time for the two to move out. Yes, it was moving day, because Kyle had finally graduated from school with an Associates' Degree in Fine Arts, and a Bachelors' Degree in Computer Science (Kyle was really good with computers as well as artistic painting), paid off his student loans, and had managed to save up more than enough money to move out. Of course, Ed was totally against the idea, repeatedly demanding that he "think about what [he's] doing! It's damn brutal out there!", but did nothing to try and stop him. His mind was most definitely made up.

Kyle and Lyra were so glad to have finally gotten away from the Richardsons, now that Kyle had saved enough money to both take out a loan for a new car as well as move out. After a little while, he got a new job as an entry-level web programmer, which paid over twice as much as his old minimum-wage job at Kroger. He figured it would be sufficient until his commission artwork started taking off, now that he was accepting them on DeviantArt, as well as other sites.

It took a little while, but Kyle began to make quite a lot of money from his artwork. So many people requested commissions from him (even to the point that he had to periodically halt the requests, just because he got too many). He became quite a famous artist on the internet, and his username even made it into the autocomplete of the Google, Yahoo!, and Bing search engines. His internet persona had been known by quite a large number of people before he met Lyra, but along with a bit of advertising investment, his networking expanded exponentially, especially with people recommending his artwork to other people and online communities forming about him.

He even began to sell actual physical paintings on eBay, and given how famous he was on the internet, the auctions were quite intense, with snipers putting in ridiculously higher bids right at the last second, making for several thousands of dollars for each piece. Kyle couldn't help but find it quite funny that he could make thousands of dollars by painting a simple picture and putting it up for auction.

I admit art would be worth a lot, given it's straight from a famous artist. Kyle thought. But why would people spend thousands of dollars on a painting?

A while ago, Kyle put his two-weeks notice in for his programming job after spending roughly a year with the company, and kept the benefits under COBRA rights until he bought his own insurance. For a few months, he had gotten emails from the Kroger grocery store, and later the programming company, requesting him to return if he was interested. But of course, he declined, because artwork was his true passion.

Kyle decided to rent a flat for a good amount of time, which he would need to save up for a permanent residence. With the amount of artwork he was putting out via commissions and auctions, it was not too long before he was essentially earning six-figure income and was able to save enough to afford a mortgage on a fairly large mansion (sixteen-thousand square-feet) just on the outskirts of the city, with a fairly large amount of lawn, a huge garden, gargoyle statues at the entrance of the driveway, and a fountain in front of the house itself. He decided to have it furnished as well, with a lot of modern-looking furniture and decorative objects.

Another plus was that the massive house was fairly isolated; there was not another house for a couple of miles, and there was a large, stone wall surrounding the two-acre estate, with a gate leading into the driveway, and a security system linked to all the doors in the house. Kyle decided to purchase some security cameras from Best Buy and install them, linking them to a DVR capable of holding up to two weeks of footage from all of the cameras, just for a bit of added security. No one would be bothering them uninvited. It was just him and Lyra.

Also, in the event of possible monetary theft from his bank account, Kyle decided to invest in a large, heavy safe, which he put into a space in the basement that used to be a small cupboard, withdraw small amounts of cash from his banking account at a time, and put them into the safe. The best part was that the safe was equipped with a password-protection lock, and biometric-access denial system. Kyle was literally the only person who could unlock it. Also, he moved a small bookcase in front of it; it covered it so well that it was impossible to tell that it was there.

And of course, Kyle finally shelled out some money to get the watch his mother gave him repaired. He took it to a jeweler, and despite them repeatedly saying "You might as well get a new one, since it would be the same price as gettin' this one fixed.", Kyle insisted that they repair this particular one. They were able to quickly swap the broken crystal for a brand-new one, along with some minor tuning on the hands and bezel, buffing out some scratches, and installing a new battery, as the old one was already dead. The watch worked perfectly once more; in fact, it was just like new. Kyle felt tremendously better.

All in all, it felt great for Kyle to be doing what he wanted to do. For the first time in his life, he truly felt like a happy man. Being self-employed was absolutely wonderful, Kyle thought. It felt great to not be bossed around by any managers, and especially Ed. Even with the debt he was in, his income outweighed it immensely, and it would only be a few years before he would be a multi-millionaire, according to his math.

Speaking of money, Lyra had also asked if she could possibly have a job. Since she could not get an actual job, given that she's a pony, Kyle decided she could help him around the house, with things like household chores and yardwork. He would even pay her for it, so it would seem like a job. He could not pay her with actual cash, since she would not be able to use it, so instead, he paid her via a reloadable prepaid Visa debit card, so that she could buy her own stuff off the internet if she wanted. He had already gotten her a new Alienware laptop for her birthday, as well as a powerful desktop for himself, complete with dual monitors to increase his productivity with his art.

Even though all was well and they were far away from where they originally lived two years ago, they still missed their little sanctuary in the woods. And what made them feel even more of a pang of sadness was that they would never see it again. It was gone now; all of the land had been bought by a building company for the construction of real estate, and was now begin cleared out.

But this was not an issue for either of them for very long, since they now had a bigger, better sanctuary where they actually lived.

Aside from all being well and good, there was something strange that came to Kyle's attention...

He noticed that his body was taking on a few pony characteristics. The auricles of his ears were slowly turning fairly plain-looking and became rounded points, slightly resembling pony ears. His hair started growing on the back of his neck. The soles of his feet became fairly padded and firm. Whenever he sighed, he would always make raspberries with his lips even though he does not consciously intend to. Whenever he would run, he had a tendency to do it in a gallop by instinct rather than normally like he always would. He also found the aroma of hay to be quite appetizing (he even tried it to find that it actually tasted quite good).

He also happened to notice that, on both of his thighs, his skin was darkening in a shape and pattern that, if you look hard enough, resembles a paintbrush.

Wonder if this is supposed to be a cutie mark...? Kyle thought. If it is, then wow... a human with a cutie mark. Sounds kinda weird, if you ask me. But, since painting is my special talent, I guess it would make sense.

He wasn't sure if constant exposure to Lyra's magic was causing it, or if it was just from him simply being around Lyra all the time. No people appear to have noted any of his changes yet, which was a good thing, Kyle thought.

Kyle could not feel any actual change happening; he only merely noticed via visual examination. But... the one thing he did feel was a strange tingling and pressure at the base of his spine... he could almost swear he was growing a tail, even though nothing was visible yet.

Huh... this is pretty weird. he thought. I wonder how I would explain this to anyone who notices? What if I keep changing? Am I gonna turn into some sort of human-pony hybrid? Maybe a sort of satyr? Or will I end up changing into a full pony...?

He was not sure, but it did not bother him. How he ended up, he did not care. All that matter to him right now was that, for the first time in a long time, things were finally going right for him. He finally had turned his life around for the better, and was truly happy. The same could most definitely be said for Lyra as well.

Author's Note

You'll want to loop the OST for this chapter. XD

15. Cold Recollection

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.

16. Always be Here

Lyra flew through the air, but it was very cold. She had little to be able to retain heat. Maybe she should have gone back to grab a coat or something, but right now that did not matter to her. All she wanted to be sure that Kyle could be gotten to safety... at least, if her vision was real.

"Can't be far now..." Lyra said to herself, noticing that her horn was getting a bit twitchy.

Eventually, she began to get close to the ground, alongside a road with a large patch of trees. And then, her horn let her down and the light at the tip went out. Shivering a bit, she began to search the surrounding area, and in less than a minute, saw what looked like Kyle's car. In fact, upon approaching for a closer inspection, realized that it was his car.

"D-dear Celest-tia..." Lyra said.

She rushed over to the car, and opened the driver-side door. Inside, she saw Kyle, but he looked unconscious.

"K-Kyle...!" the mare said, nudging him. "...Wake up... p-please... w-w-wake up...!"

He did not stir. Lyra felt that his skin was cold as ice. Just as she began to panic, she immediately levitated him out of the car.

"Okay... now for the t-tricky part..." she said.

Lyra began to heavily focus, and after a few second, enveloped herself in the same glow as her horn; the Unicorn had successfully performed self-levitation.

"O-okay... let's g-get home... and f-f-fast...!" she said, as she and Kyle began to fly back through the air in the direction Lyra came from.

After a little while, they made it back to the estate, which was a much shorter distance than if traveled via road. The levitation fields protected them from the wind-chill, but not the temperature itself. She got both of themselves inside the mansion, and closed the door. In the light, she saw that Kyle's skin was white as a sheet, his fingertips were blue, and his hair was full of ice crystals.

"Kyle...!" Lyra said again. "Please wake up! Please!"

She put an ear to Kyle's chest, trying to listen for a heartbeat. She did hear something of a pulse... but it was extremely faint and slow.

"Oh no... he's dying!" Lyra said. "Please don't die, Kyle! PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME!"

She began to rapidly pace around in a panic.

"What am I gonna do!? What am I gonna do!?" the mare questioned herself.

And then, a thought popped into her head. She remembered something about healing spells, some of which could reverse the effects of hypothermia... but she only had a vague idea of how to do it. But to save Kyle...

"Okay... I've got no choice here." she said, and then she closed her eyes and her horn began to glow.

Kyle was covered in the same glow as he levitated in an upward laying position. Lyra focused as best as she could to perform the spell, channeling the energy required to do it.

"C'mon..." Lyra said, starting to tear up when she saw that it did not appear to be working. "...c'mon... please work..."

After she exhausted her horn of its power, Kyle set back down on the floor. Lyra could not get her horn to use any more power; it required recovery time... but from how Kyle looked, it would take too long.

"N-no..." Lyra said. "...no... no... Kyle..."

She tried to nudge her human friend to get him to awaken, but he was still very cold, and his pulse was still weak. Lyra slowly started crying... she could not save him... there was nothing to do...

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" Lyra sobbed.

She then started to fully let off the waterworks on Kyle's chest.

"Kyle... please come back... please don't die... I don't want you to die!" she said, sniffling. "...I-I love you, Kyle... more than anything... I don't wanna lose you!"

Her tears fell onto the front of his shirt... but the mare did not realize through her closed eyes what was happening. Her tears were glowing a faint gold color... and they sank through his shirt, straight through the skin on his chest, and into the middle where his heart was. After crying for a couple more minutes, something had finally caught the Unicorn's attention.

A golden halo had appeared around Kyle, outlining him. The glow made Lyra open her eyes and step backwards in surprise. She watched as it became brighter, and at the same time... his skin was starting to regain its color. The blue coloring on his fingertips was vanishing as well. And slowly, his breath rate was returning to normal. Lyra's eyes were as wide as hotcakes now.

After a few moments of this, the glow went out, and then Kyle began to slowly flicker his eyelids, letting out a weak hum.

"...A...ah..." Kyle said, becoming aware of his surroundings.

He glanced over at the shocked Lyra sitting a little ways away from him.

"...L-Ly...ra..." he said, smiling slightly.

A massive smile spread over Lyra's face.

"KYLE!" she said, lunging over and hugging him tightly. "Oh Celestia, I was so scared! I thought you would die!"

"...How... d-did you... know...?" Kyle asked, still fairly weak.

"I don't know; I just saw a vision of you coming home and crashing. So, I made my horn carry me to you, I brought you back, and did... something to heal you." Lyra said.

Kyle sighed. "...Sounds... kinda crazy..."

"But... I was afraid that my spell wouldn't work! It didn't seem to do anything when I was trying to heal you!" Lyra said.

"...Well... I know... how you saved... m-me..." Kyle said. "...You warmed... my... frozen heart... just like... you always... h-have..."

Little did either of them know that he had just accurately described what had just happened. Regardless, Lyra blushed and smiled.

"Oh, Kyle... you're such a sweetie!" she said. "But I'm just glad that you're okay!"

"...Yeah... same..." Kyle said.

"Don't ever scare me like that again!" Lyra said, latching onto him once again. "If I lost you, I don't know what I'd do!"

"Well... what about... car...?" Kyle asked.

Lyra shook her head. "It's totaled. The front end was totally smashed up. I don't think you can get it to work anymore..."

"...Looks like... I'll need to... call... my insurance... agent..." Kyle said. "...They won't... be happy... about this..."

Both of them laughed; Kyle managed to muster the strength to do so.

"Well... I need... warm shower..." Kyle said, slowly-but-surely standing up.

He had taken a shower to warm himself back up, and get his blood flowing a little better, and then he fixed himself up a dinner with what little they had left, and just decided to hit bed for the night. They would return to the car with his second car in order to get the rest of the groceries (the cold temperature should keep everything fresh) before contacting the insurance company. Hopefully he could get good coverage for the damage.

Kyle had climbed into bed with Lyra, both of them watching television for a while before it got late and they were getting tired. He switched off the TV, and pulled himself under the covers.

"Thank you, Lyra. You saved me." Kyle said. "I owe you my life."

Lyra smiled at him. "You don't have to owe me anything. I'm sure you'd do the same for me."

"Well, I'm glad that you truly do care about me... because I care about you." Kyle said, hugging the mare underneath the covers.

She returned it to him before they separated again, and laid to go to sleep.

"I'll always be here for you, Kyle..." Lyra said. "...always."

Author's Note

Hey, everyone! Sorry I haven't uploaded in a while; it's been Tax Season here in the US, so I've been pretty busy lately with that, as well as prepping for the final exams in school. Plus, I've been REALLY hooked on "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild". AWESOME game! It's a must-have if you've got a Nintendo Switch (or Wii U, in my case; I'm waiting before getting a Switch to see if they get any better). So, hope you all can bear with me through these wait times, because I will not abandon this fic!

Yeah, short chapter, I know. The fic might seem a little light for right now, but I assure you it will get better as it progresses, so stay tuned for more to come!

17. A Bridge Burned

Days had passed since Kyle crashed his car and nearly died. He did retrieve the groceries from the totaled vehicle and call his insurance company to file a claim, which they provided a decent level of coverage for. But overall, Kyle managed to achieve a full recovery from the incident. However... the same could not be said for Lyra.

Since she had been in the icy weather for too long, Lyra woke up with a cold on the following morning. She had a fever of roughly one-hundred and one degrees Fahrenheit. Kyle gave her the bed, and got her some extra blankets since she said she was having chills. Given how high her temperature was, it was recommended in these scenarios to give an anti-fever medication, but he could not do so. For one thing, the medicine he had was made for human consumption, which meant that there was the risk of having it do more harm than good for Lyra.

Really, all he could do was give her cool water to drink, as well as healthy foods and tea, and just hope for the best.

Lyra lay in the bed sleeping, her face flushed and her eyes closed as she let out periodic whimpers. For Kyle, it was like a shard of glass through his heart to see her so sick, to see her suffering the way she was. He felt like he was going to cry.

"Just try and hold on, Lyra..." Kyle said in a quiet tone, placing a hand on her forehead. "...you'll be okay..."

Not sure about what else to do, Kyle decided he would head to the drugstore to purchase something that could help her get better more quickly. He figured aromatherapy could work. He just hoped Lyra could be alright without him, since she was going to be on her own for about an hour.

Kyle drove off to the drugstore, and picked up some Eucalyptus oil and a small vaporizer to set on the end table next to the bed. As always, he was grateful that his internet artist persona was anonymous, so he would not have to worry about being swarmed by fans whenever he went out in public.

He began his drive back to the house, but decided to take a scenic route since he had not been gone for even thirty minutes, and since it has been a few days since he really drove anywhere. While he was driving, something entered his mind that he had not thought about for a long while.

Kyle happened to recall that he had not seen MLP ever since he found Lyra. Granted, he did not see every single episode there was at the time, but it has still been a long time since he actually sat down to watch it. From what he knew, the series ended back in 2019 with nine seasons and a movie released in 2017, but the show was still being aired in reruns, as well as the movie on TV. However, the reruns were set to end soon. Overall, though, the fandom has pretty much died down. There were not very many bronies left on the internet, from what he could observe. It seems that the fourth-generation MLP has reached the end of its life. He had also happened to read rumors about a Spike the Dragon spinoff show that would be coming soon, but he was not exactly sure what it was called. Still, it hyped him sufficiently to be interested; Spike has been one of his favorite non-pony characters.

In any case, he continued his drive back to his house in order to help Lyra get better. On the drive back, he happened to pass by the Kroger store that he used to work at. It was still there... and of course, still as nightmarishly busy as it has always been. He figured that he had some unfinished business to settle...

Out of sheer impulse, he pulled into the Kroger parking lot, and spend a bit of time searching for a parking place. Eventually, he did find one, and proceeded to head inside of the store, not to buy anything, but to get something off his chest... something he wanted to tell all of these irrational people since day one...

He found the inside to be swarming with customers, and began to have flashbacks about his time working there. He was still annoyed with people who felt entitled, or who assumed that the clerks like to work there (often with comments like "Hey, it's busy, so it's fun and makes the time go by faster!" or "You won't find other jobs better than this one!" Kyle found these people to be an absolute joke).

"Kyle! Hey, how are ya!?" said Brad, his supervisor who always had a stupid smile and overly-pleasant attitude.

Shit... not Brat. Kyle thought. But... I suppose I'll give him a piece of my mind. Besides, he's pissed me off on various occasions.

"Where've you been? It's been less exciting with you gone since you quit!" Brad said.

Kyle paused for a moment. "...I've gotten a new job." He said.

Brad looked a little disappointed. "Oh... well, that's good, I suppose."

Damn straight, it's good. Kyle thought.

"Hey, have you heard? I'm getting married!" Brad said.

Kyle raised a brow. "...Why should I care, exactly?" he asked.

Brad frowned. "Aren't ya gonna congratulate me?"

"I don't see why I should..." Kyle said.

"Well..." Brad began. "...that's not very nice."

Kyle folded his arms. "I've been going through... some tough times. Do you expect me to be all fine-and-dandy?"

Brad nodded. "Yeah! I mean, really, when is there ever a reason not to smile and be happy?" he asked.

Oh, I don't know... maybe when you are EXPLOITED FOR WHAT PEOPLE BELIEVE TO BE YOUR STRENGTHS! Kyle thought.

"Well, never mind." Kyle said. "Subject change?"

"Well, anyways, have you thought about coming back to work with us again?" Brad asked. "We would really appreciate it. Besides, weren't you happy working here?"

Now that he no longer worked here, Kyle did not have to keep his act up.

"Honestly... no. I did not enjoy this place." he said.

Brad looked dumbstruck. "Why not? This is a great place full of great people! Why wouldn't you wanna work here?"

“My days here are over.” Kyle said. “I'm now a commission artist, and I paint for a living. I'm basically retired.”

“Kyle, c'mon...” Brad said. “...we really need you to come back. From what it sounds like, you aren't that busy, and clearly need something to do. I'll arrange for you to have a job as a front-end clerk, like how it was before you quit.”

“I quit for a reason!” Kyle said. “I wanted to pursue what I believe in! Isn't that what you want?”

“It's what I'm doing! I like making people smile by giving them the best shopping experience! What could be better than that?” Brad said.

Kyle narrowed his eyes in an unamused way. "...Drowning... starving... bleeding... anything of that sort, really." he said. "See, all these ignorant people... they don't deserve good service in return for bad conduct. I personally won't continue commission work if the client is irate with me!"

"What!?" Brad said. "Ignorant? Why would you say that? Do you know what you're even saying? These people are the ones making your paycheck possible."

"...At my detriment, and everyone else's, too!" Kyle retaliated. "Forcing a smile... taking a bunch of shit from people... you have NO IDEA how stressful it was for me..."

"What's going on over here?" Rosa, the front-end manager said as she came over to see what was up.

Brad turned towards her. "Kyle's back, and he's bad-mouthing our company."

"Really?" Rosa asked Kyle. "Why would you do this? We gave you a great career opportunity, and now you're just throwing it all away like it was nothing?"

Kyle glared. "Because I never WANTED to work here! My stepfather forced me to get a job, and I applied to several places before I could land this job! It's not something I was taking seriously!"

Several customers began to stop and watch what was happening with Kyle making his speech.

"I even offered a chance for him to come back..." Brad said. "...but he's just throwing away another great opportunity."

“I'd rather bathe in a septic tank than work in this shithole again!” Kyle proclaimed.

“You keep this up, and you can consider this bridge burned!” Rosa said. “You are ruining our company image in front of customers!”

“I don't care!” Kyle retaliated. “I don't need this bridge, because I've made more money in less than a year than you have ever paid me, and it's still coming in! And you think I give any damns about Kroger!? I am a famous internet artist! I bet I have more money than any of you! I'm fed up with the fact that you, and everyone else around here, have taken advantage of me for far too long!”

"Take advantage of you...? What are you even talking about? We just ask you to do your job." Rosa said.

Kyle shook his head. "No... you were giving unrealistic demands that could not be completed in the time provided." he said.

"It's not unrealistic! If it was, how else would I have been working here for the past twenty years?" Rosa asked.

Kyle stopped, rubbed his chin while examining Rosa... and formed an evil smile.

“I can see it now... it's all very clear to me...” Kyle began. “...you had no choice but to take this job. You had no chance of rising any higher, which is why you have been here for nearly the past twenty years. You were born with nothing, so you've had to struggle your way to where you are now, just barely clinging on to what little you have..."

Whispering started among the surrounding customers, who were all very confused.

"KYLE!" Brad shouted, now very furious. "Enough of this!"

Rosa raised her voice, like she usually did: "You get out of my sight right this instant!"

“Fuck off! All of you!” Kyle said.

Rosa glared. “How would you like to be shown to the door!?” she said, angrily.

Kyle glared back. “How would you like to blow my cock!?”

Everyone listening gasped.

“WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME!?” Rosa shouted.

“Did I stutter? I said...” Kyle began, before completely losing it. “...HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO BLOW MY COCK, YOU OLD CUNT!?”

Rosa stood there with her ever-angry glare, and her jaw hung low.

“...Get out, NOW!” Rosa said, pointing to the front entrance. “If you were still working here, you'd be fired!”

“Good!” Kyle said. “I hate this place! I hate Kroger! I HATE ALL OF YOU SHITHEAD SUPERVISORS!”

Despite angry lectures from the managers and observing customers, Kyle stormed out of the store, and rushed back to his car, started it up, and drove out of the parking lot as quickly as he could. On the way back, his mind was racing, but he eventually regained his rational thinking.

Okay... MAYBE I got a little carried away... Kyle thought. ...scratch that; a LOT carried away. But... it was totally worth it! Serves them right for abusing and exploiting me!

It would definitely make sense from as astrological standpoint. Kyle's Zodiac Sign was Scorpio; it makes sense that he was creative, but expected absolute fairness. A popular phrase from this standpoint that's been floating around on the internet was "Don't mess with the Scorpio," and Kyle found that the statement couldn't be any more true.

In any case, he returned home in order to give the aromatherapy to Lyra. She was still asleep, just like how she was before he left. He pour some of the Eucalyptus oil into the vaporizer, turned it on, and set it next to Lyra. In about a minute, a pleasant but sharp aroma filled the air. Hopefully, it would help her to feel a little bit better.

Even though he has always been glad Lyra was around to comfort him... he just couldn't shake a strange feeling that he had. It felt as if his time with her was running out...

Author's Note

Again, sorry with the waiting, but it's finals week in school and I have a boatload of projects and exams. But always remember that I do care about all you loyal fans, and I want to continue to provide stories for you. So, that's it for now!

18. Regrets

Christmas Day came soon enough, and by then, Lyra had managed to get better. She was completely healthy and back on her hooves once more. Both of them were happy to spend Christmas together, especially since it had been a long time since Kyle got to celebrate any holidays with his previous work schedule.

Kyle was not exactly sure what to get for Lyra, nor was she sure what to get for him, since they both had pretty much everything that they wanted. But... he decided to order something off of the Etsy website for her.

When it came time to open her present, she rattled the small box around for a second.

"What is it?" Lyra asked.

"Open it up and see!" Kyle said.

With that, Lyra opened up the wrapping paper on the box, and pulled the lid off to reveal what was inside. It was a turquoise crystal pendant with a silver setting and imitation leather band. The stone itself was glowing bright enough to notice in the indirect snowy-weather sunlight; the crystal was synthetic and infused with phosphorescent polymers, but still felt and weighed like the real thing.

Lyra's eyes went wide an a huge smile filled her face.

“Oh, Kyle!” she said in awe. “It's beautiful!”

Kyle smiled at the young mare. “Merry Christmas, Lyra.” he said.

Lyra sprang upwards and latched onto Kyle in a tight embrace. He hugged her back.

"I hope you like what I got for you, too." Lyra said.

Kyle opened up his own present to reveal...

"...A golden paintbrush!" Kyle said in awe as he looked upon the dazzling tool.

It had a metallic golden handle roughly twelve inches in length, along with angled bristles that were also gold. Picking in up and holding it, he got a feel for it whilst holding it as if he were going to paint something.

"It's got a nice weight to it." Kyle commented. "Thank you, Lyra! It's look nice on my desk once I get a stand for it!"

The Unicorn smiled at him. "I knew you'd like it."

Even though they did not have a lot of presents, they still enjoyed spending Christmas together. They spent their day baking Christmas cookies and watching movies like The Polar Express and the uncut version of Jim Carrey's How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (two movies that Kyle absolutely loved).

But still, absolutely nothing could beat the cold, snowy evenings when he would cuddle with Lyra next to the fire, both of them drinking chilled vanilla spice eggnog. He always loved when she would fall asleep in his lap as he sat gently stroking her mane.

(XXXX)

A good portion of time had passed since that Christmas, and by the time it was April, most of the snow outside had melted. Kyle was outside, painting the landscape of the open fields that surrounded his home, omitting the few buildings and houses that there were in the distance. Every now and then, he stopped for a sip of wine, since he decided to bring a glass and a bottle of rosé wine out with him. Of course, he was careful to limit himself to two glasses per day.

While he was painting, he happened to see a car pull over right next to the gate. This made him a bit curious, and somewhat paranoid. He was not expecting any company. He had a pocketknife on him just in case anything could happen, though...

With his hand on the knife in his pocket, he slowly walked down to the car that was outside of the gate. There were some guys who were getting out of the car, and all of them gained a satisfied expression upon seeing Kyle.

"Told ya he lived here!" one of the guys said.

A surprised look appeared over Kyle's face as he recognized the one who just spoke.

"Derek...?" Kyle said, recognizing his old high school classmate, as well as a few others who were in the car. "...What are you doing here?"

"We heard that you became a famous artist on the internet. And from what we can see..." Derek trailed off, looking at Kyle's mansion. "...you really got the lifestyle here, don't ya?"

"Yeah, we were just on our way to E3 in the next city over..." another of Kyle's old classmates, Chris, said. "...but we figured we'd stop and see if that stuff you posted on Facebook was legit!"

"Well... yep, it's true!" Kyle said. "I've made a living for myself off of artwork."

Lyra happened to hear Kyle talking to someone through the open window upstairs. She peeked outside to see what was up, and saw Kyle speaking to some guys on the other side of the driveway gate.

"Hm... who are they?" Lyra asked herself. "Think I'll go and have a look at this..."

With that, she teleported. She intended to reappear behind a bush, but miscalculated her positioning and ended up slightly off to the side of it... right in the line of sight of Kyle's friends.

"Eek!" Lyra uttered, just before she jumped behind the bush.

Chris looked over at the spot Lyra had been in.

"Dude... I think I just saw somethin'." he said.

"Saw what?" Kyle asked.

"Don't know... but it was sorta teal-colored, and looked like some sort of animal." Chris said.

Kyle walked over to the bush, and was surprised to see that Lyra was spying on him. But, he was able to keep a passive look on his face.

"Yeah, there's nothing here." Kyle said to his old schoolmates.

"What did you see?" Derek asked.

"Didn't get a good look at it..." Chris said. "...but I could swear it looked like... a cartoon pony or something."

"Eh, man, you're prob'ly seein' shit." another old classmate, Gunther, said. "That's what happens when ya pull an all-nighter on nothin' but XBOX One and Mountain Dew!"

“Well, speaking of which, that reminds me of something; there are rumors that a lot of guys at the old high school liked to watch My Little Pony when it was still a thing.” Derek said to Kyle as he walked back towards the group. “Are you one of them? It seems like people have heard you mention things about ponies.”

“What? No! Don't be ridiculous!” Kyle said. "I'm not a brony. I'm not into all that sissy stuff!"

Derek nodded, pursing his lips. "So, you're... alright in the head? Not into the gay brony fandom and stuff?"

“No way!” Kyle said. “I think that ponies are stupid!”

Lyra gasped as she heard this. Kyle had mentioned to her that he always liked to be honest with his friends. Could what he is saying right now be true...?

Kyle continued: “They're just to entertain little girls until they learn to grow up and accept that life is not all rainbows-and-sunshine. I think that bronies have problems, and anything involving ponies just sucks! I wish the concept of them never even existed!”

Lyra could hardly believe her ears. From the level of sincerity in his voice, she assumed that he was telling the truth, and that this entire thing with him taking her in was just an act of manipulation.

"Hm..." Derek hummed, just before regaining his friendly smile. "...okay! Anyways, we're gonna head off to E3 now! Wanna come with us? I assume you could afford a pass, right?"

Kyle rubbed his head. "Actually... I've got... things planned for later."

"Oh, sorry man." Chris said. "Well, hope we can see you again soon!"

"Yeah, see ya!" Kyle said. "Thanks for stopping by!"

"Word, man!" Gunther said. "See ya 'round!"

Kyle waved at his old schoolmates as they drove off. Once they were out of view, he went back over to the bush where Lyra was hidden... but now she was gone.

"Lyra?" Kyle called, looking around. "Hm, maybe she teleported back inside the house."

Kyle then went back up to where he was painting, and took the canvas, chair, and small folding table-for-one into the garage for temporary storage. And then, he went inside to find Lyra sitting on the stairwell.

"Hey, Lyra!" Kyle said, smiling at her. "What were you doing out there? Did you want to see my old classmates or something?"

Lyra shook her head as she held a shocked expression over her face. Kyle's smile vanished upon processing her emotion.

"What's wrong, Lyra?" he asked.

Lyra shook her head. “You said... you wished that ponies wouldn't exist... that you think we're stupid!”

“L-Lyra, listen...” Kyle said. “...it's not like that at all! It's just that, in this world—”

“HOW COULD YOU SAY THOSE THINGS!?” Lyra shouted, tears streaming down her face. “I thought you really loved me! But you told me that you hate lying to your friends! You hate me, don't you!? You were just trying to trick me!”

“Lyra, please!” Kyle begged. “I didn't mean any of that! It's just embarrassing for someone like me—”

“Oh, you're EMBARRASSED to have me as a marefriend!?” Lyra said, sniffling.

“Lyra...” Kyle uttered.

He held out his hand, but Lyra smacked it with her hoof.

“If that is how you really feel...” Lyra said, turning away. “...then I guess you don't want me here! I'm leaving!”

Lyra pulled the crystal pendant he gave her off her neck and threw it to the floor. She then made a break for the back door, opening it with her magic, and slamming it shut as Kyle tried to rush after her. Kyle rushed out the door after getting it open again, but Lyra was already out of sight.

“Lyra, come back!” Kyle called out.

He ran down the stairs from the balcony and began to search around the property for any sign of the Unicorn mare. But she was gone.

“Lyra, where are you!?” Kyle called. “LYRA!”

It was only in that instant when Kyle felt his heart shatter into a thousand pieces.

"Oh, no..." Kyle said. "...no, no, no... what have I done...? I can't believe this... I fucked up... BIG time!"

Not willing to bring himself to go after her after what he just did, and in front of her, no less, Kyle trudged back into the mansion, over to the staircase. He picked up her pendant, looking into the glowing crystal. It was the same color as Lyra's hide... and now he could see nothing but her anger manifesting inside of it. He wanted to throw it away... but he could not get rid of the thing she had left behind. Given how angry she was, she probably would not come back for a while. There would be no point in searching for her. But it was going to be dark soon. If she was serious about leaving for good...

Kyle sat at the base of the stairs, burying his face into his hands with his elbows on his knees. This absolutely hurt him unlike anything else that had ever happened to him in his life. It was even worse than his mother leaving him. Even Ed's abusive parenting seemed more pleasant than this right now.

"I'm sorry, Lyra..." Kyle said. "...I'm so sorry..."

19. Just Like Before

In the days after Lyra ran off, Kyle had lost any level of positivity that he had left, and sank into unshakable depression. He became lethargic, apathetic, lifeless, and overall, unproductive. The quality of the artwork he was working on at the time was declining a bit. At one point, he stopped it altogether, because he was too depressed to be inspired.

He blamed nobody but himself, since he knew what he had said, and he knew that she was there to hear it. He desperately wished that this was just a nightmare he could simply wake up from. But he eventually had to let go of his denial, and realize that he had not been thinking straight when he said those things to his friends in front of Lyra.

Now she was gone. Kyle had been wandering around the streets, searching for her, but could find no sign of her. Eventually, he gave up and simply stayed shut up in his house. Just knowing that she was out there, just knowing the possibility of her being hurt or sick, or worse, made him feel absolutely hopeless.

Kyle had stopped caring about everything, period. He simply felt like life was not worth living without his Lyra. For a couple of days after trying to find her, he did nothing but sit in his big, empty house, praying for her to come back...

(XXXX)

Lyra was walking through a dense, grassy field, crunching the dry, pale yellow grass beneath her hooves as she walked. The light wind she was walking into blew her mane and tail at an upward angle, making the mare look somewhat majestic.

For the first day, she was angered beyond belief, and tried to get as far away from Kyle as possible, since she assumed that he was merely lying to her when he claimed to really care about her. But then she got to wondering... which of them was he lying to? It took a moment for Lyra to recall that My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, the TV show she was in, was targeted towards an audience of little girls. After thinking about the overall satire that ponies seem to have created in this world... she understood what Kyle meant by "embarrassed".

Immediately after this realization, she began to feel extremely terrible. She felt as if she was the one at fault for taking it the wrong way.

“...I need to go back.” Lyra said to herself. "I need to make things right."

Remembering how desperate he sounded as he tried to explain himself, she realized that he was sincere. She had just been too angry at the time to let the message get to her. She had begun to turn back and retrace her steps... but then she stopped and thought for a moment; how would he react upon her arriving home? She assumed that he was probably badly hurt when she ran off... would he be angry at her for that? Was it possible that he might not want to see her again?

Lyra fell to the ground, tears rolling down her face. She could not handle the agonizing thoughts that bombarded her mind.

“W-what if... what if he doesn't l-love me any-m-more...?” she sobbed.

The mare sat with her lower lip quivering as she clenched her teeth, trying to fight back her tears by squeezing her eyes shut with her head down. She could hardly even bear the thought of his reaction if he were to see her come back after running off, refusing to forgive him...

Lyra! Why did you come back!? You have the gall to set hoof in my life again after running out like that!? You hurt me... you didn't care about me... so I don't care about YOU anymore! GET OUT OF HERE, YOU STUPID, DUMB ANIMAL!

She could not hold back any longer, and broke down. Lyra laid with her face in the grass, crying her eyes out. The guilt she was feeling was almost like a bomb going off inside of her endlessly.

"...You lost?" a voice said.

Lyra looked up to see a tall, brown horse. He sounded somewhat middle-aged, possibly elderly.

"...W-what...?" Lyra asked.

"I said are you lost?" the horse repeated. "Ya know it's not safe to be wanderin' around the fields alone, right? Dangerous world, this is."

Lyra shook her head. "N-no... I ran away..." she said.

The horse opened his eyes fairly wide.

"Well, you sure got some guts, kid..." he said. "...running off from the people who took good care of you?"

"He... didn't want me there anymore." Lyra said.

The horse did not ask anything about why she ran off. "Anyways, haven't seen you 'round here before. Who are you?"

"My name is Lyra." the Unicorn introduced herself.

"Name's Romeo." the horse said. "Also... did you happen to hit your head or somethin'?"

"Why?" Lyra asked, confused.

Romeo bent his head downward to get a better look at the mare. "Well... you got yourself quite a bump there on your noggin."

"Oh, this?" Lyra asked, touching her horn. "No, it's not a bump; it's my horn. I'm a Unicorn."

"Unicorn?" Romeo asked, before bursting into laughterlike whinnies. "Wow... talk about delusions of grandeur... you musta hit your head pretty hard, kid!"

Lyra glared and gritted her teeth. "You watch, old-timer! I'll prove it!"

Immediately, she saw a rock, and levitated it front in front of Romeo's face. The horse stopped laughing, and stared in awe.

"Well, now..." Romeo uttered. "...that right there is sure somethin'."

"Hmph." Lyra said, smirking. "Believe me now?"

Romeo bowed his head once. "Yes, I believe you now, kid." he said.

"Good." Lyra said, setting the rock back down.

Romeo then lowered his head to examine her. "So... you're a Unicorn... and you're pretty short for an equine. What are you, exactly?"

"I-I'm a pony..." Lyra said. "...but, I'm not from this world. I'm from a place called 'Equestria,' and I was teleported to this world somehow. Then, a human found me and took me under his care, and..." she trailed off as tears began to flow from her eyes. "...h-he became... m-m-my best friend... and I... r-ran off... because I m-misunderstood... something he... c-c-claimed..."

"Well now..." Romeo said. "...I'm guessin' you wanna make it up to him, then?"

"M-more than anything..." Lyra said. "...b-but I'm worried that he'll be m-m-mad at me! That he doesn't... c-care about me... anymore..."

Romeo pondered for a moment. "Well, I've got to wonderin'... was he sorry about what he did?" he asked.

Lyra recalled that Kyle was practically begging for her to forgive him.

"...Y-yes... he was..." Lyra said.

"Well then, I imagine he'd forgive you." Romeo said. "Besides, it's better to try and fail than to never try at all. That's what my caretakers have taught me all my life. But I reckon that you won't fail this, from how you describe it."

"Okay..." Lyra said, collecting herself. "...I'll do it. But, first thing's first... where am I right now?"

"Why, you're in the Zebulon Range. It's a large, enclosed grass plain that stretches for miles." Romeo said.

Lyra recalled that Kyle showed her the area of the same name when they were driving up to their new home.

"So, you know this area..." Lyra said. "...could you help me find my way back?"

"Depends..." Romeo said. "...where are you from?"

Lyra rubbed her chin. "Well... my human lives in a mansion on Hawthorn Drive... yes, that was the street for his address. Do you know where that is?"

"I do indeed." Romeo said. "But to get there, we're gonna have to pass through a narrow gap between two suburban regions. You're gonna need to do well to stay hidden. If the humans find some exotic equine such as yourself... I reckon they won't be too friendly with you."

"I would go to any trouble to go back." Lyra said. "I wanna make it up to him."

"Well, you got guts, kid, I'll give you that." Romeo said. "And you got a heart like my former mate, Aphrodite."

"Thanks." Lyra said. "Alright, so... you lead the way."

Romeo nodded. "Will do."

With that, the horse and pony were both off back in the direction Lyra had come from, the young pony determined to reconcile with her human love...

20. Caught!

Kyle decided to do something that he had not done for a long time. He left his house to find a spot that would make him feel better. Even though he moved away from the Richardsons, finding a place "away from it all" was what he was accustomed to. He happened to find an area with a tall tree, giving plenty of shade next to a large pond. He figured it was the best he was going to get in this area. It did have a good view of the skyline of the neighboring city, and some nearby neighborhoods.

He sat on a large rock under the tree, but the shade was not so much different from the rest of the outside, given how cloudy it was. Had it been raining, it would have perfectly fit Kyle's mood right now. Even though it has been a couple of days, he still could not let go of the fact that Lyra had ultimately rejected him.

He looked at Lyra's turquoise pendant in his hand, which he had carried with him everywhere since she left. Memories flooded his head about all of the great times he had with the Unicorn...

(Flashback)

"Woah, I'm gonna get you!" Lyra said as she was playing Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for the Nintendo Switch.

"You gotta catch me first!" Kyle responded.

Both of them were on the edge of their seat as they raced through the game's track, Rainbow Road. Eventually, when they were on the home stretch, they were both neck-and-neck, having left the CPU players in the dust. It was so close... but Lyra (playing as Rosalina) managed to get ahead a few feet by pulling behind Kyle's player (Bowser), and blocking air resistance while behind him for a speed boost, which put her into first place before crossing the finish line.

"Wow!" Kyle said. "Beat me fair and square!"

Lyra nodded. "...That's how I roll." she said, enthusiastically.

(XXXX)

"Are you sure about this, Lyra?" Kyle asked. "I'm a bit nervous..."

"Just trust me! It'll be fine..." Lyra responded.

Kyle was sitting blindfolded on the railing of the upper floor, about to drop backwards into the living room. They were playing Truth-or-Dare, and well... you could imagine Lyra's creativity.

"Just do it, Kyle! I promise I'll catch you!" Lyra said.

Kyle took a breath. "Okay..." he said, leaning backwards, and letting gravity take hold of him.

Just as he was about to hit the floor, Lyra levitated him, which removed all momentum. Kyle then removed his blindfold and looked at the mare, who smirked at him.

"Thought I would let you get hurt?" she asked.

Both of them laughed for a moment, before Kyle looked at the floor; Lyra was still levitating him.

"Okay, Lyra... you can put me down now." he said.

(XXXX)

"I'm glad that you truly do care about me... because I care about you." Kyle said, hugging the mare underneath the covers.

She returned it to him before they separated again, and laid to go to sleep.

"I'll always be here for you, Kyle..." Lyra said. "...always."

(End Flashback)

Tears filled Kyle's eyes as he reminisced, staring at the pendant. He closed his hand around it, and held said hand up against the bridge of his nose as he slowly began to release his tears.

"...P-please come back...L-Lyra..." he said. "...please come... h-h-home..."

(XXXX)

Romeo had escorted Lyra across Zebulon Range, up to the point where they made it to a stretch of unoccupied range that went right in between two residential areas. Some house fences made up a portion of it, but most of it was a simple, open stretch of sidewalk and sod next to the outermost roads of the region.

"We're gonna wanna move quickly." Romeo said.

"Okay..." Lyra said.

They both stopped right at the point before they came into visibility of the roads. After a countdown from "three," Romeo and Lyra started to briskly rush across. The road was mostly abandoned, from what it looked like, but Romeo could make out something that looked like a pickup truck parked on the side of the road. At first, it seemed like it might be an ordinary truck... but when the rear end came into view, he saw that there were a bunch of cages strapped onto the back, as well as some sort of logo on the doors. Realizing what this meant, Romeo gasped and stepped back, hiding in a box-shaped nook in the fence.

"Kid, get back over here!" he whispered.

Lyra looked back. "What?" she asked, having not heard him clearly.

"Get over here and hide! Hurry!" Romeo said.

Lyra started to walk briskly back over to where Romeo was hiding, but something happened that she could not prepare for. She was hit by something and fell to the ground. Only after a moment did she realize that the thing that hit her was an animal net, which now encased her. She looked over in the direction of where it came from, and saw two human men wearing strange-looking apparel and equipment. Both of them were in total shock as they looked at Lyra.

"What is it!?" one of the men asked.

"I dunno... but it'll catch us some good dough, that's for sure!" the other said.

Lyra struggled to escape from the net. "No, please... let me go!"

Both of the catchers stopped and stared for a moment.

"No... it TALKS!?" the first one said. "Oh-ho-ho-hoooo! We're in the money, now!"

"We gonna be rich!" the second one said. "Findin' a new specimen to walk Motha Earth!"

They both picked Lyra up, and started to carry her towards the truck. She was fighting back all she could with limited motion, but it did not do much. If anything, it made them hold her much tighter.

"Let me go, let me GO!" Lyra shouted.

"We takin' you for a li'l ride, Miss Million-Dolla Uni!" one of the men said.

"NO!" Lyra shouted, charging up her magic. "Don't make me use my magic!"

Noticing the glow, one of the men grasped her horn, cutting off the flow of magic.

"Don't you try nothin', now!" the man said.

They dragged her to the pickup truck holding several cages in its trunk. It turns out that it was an animal control truck, out on patrol to try and locate a stray dog that had been reported several times in the area. Immediately, they wrapped her horn with duct tape put her in the cage closest to the front, locking the cage, and releasing the net to pull it out between the bars. One of the catchers banged the cage twice.

"Alright! Let's take her on back, get our biggest reward ever, and retire as famous millionaire discoverers!" he said.

As they got into the truck and started it up, Lyra desperately tried to peel the tape off of her horn. However, her hooves could not get the required precision to do so. She started panicking, trying in vain to buck at the steel bars.

"Help me! Please! SOMEPONY HELP!" she shouted.

As the truck started to move, Romeo emerged from his hiding spot, having quietly watched the whole thing. Despite not having known Lyra for very long, he still felt determined to help a fellow equine.

"Ngh..." Romeo uttered as he watched the truck drive off. "...hang on, kid! I'm comin' for ya!"

With that, he started galloping in the direction of the truck alongside the perimeter fence of Zebulon Range.

(XXXX)

Kyle was slowly walking back to his house after sitting in his "new special area". Unlike before, it did not help him to feel better in the least. If anything, it made him feel even more alone. At this point, he felt as if the entire world was against him... even more so than his time as a closet brony in G4 MLP's prime.

As he was walking back, Kyle happened to notice a discarded bottle of Rolling Rock beer among the tall grass. It still had the cap on it, which made him a bit curious. Picking it up, he saw that it had been unopened, and the drink was still sealed inside.

“Heh... looks like God has given me some partial relief...” Kyle said, somberly. “...well, if it can make Ed happy... I guess I could start drinking my problems away...”

Kyle pulled out his pocketknife to pry off the cap. The bottle decompressed as the cap came off. He raised the bottle, as if for a toast.

“To my lost hopes and crushed dreams...” Kyle said. “...and... to you, Lyra... in the slim hope that you come back...”

Kyle brought the bottle back down, preparing to take a sip, but a vehicle was coming up from behind him, and he quickly lowered it just so the driver and possible passengers would not see it. But, after the vehicle was in front of him, which turned out to be an animal control truck, Kyle heard a voice that, at first he thought was just in his head, but turned out to be quite clear.

“HELP ME! SOMEPONY! ANYPONY! PLEASE, HEEEEEEEELP!” came the voice... one that Kyle knew all too well...

In that instant, Kyle's depressed face became one of pure shock just before the Rolling Rock bottle shattered on the ground after he let it go.

“Oh my God... Lyra!” Kyle called.

Hastily looking around, Kyle saw a bike rack with a couple of bikes parked in it. He ran over to it as fast as he could and pulled out the first bike he saw that was not locked to the rack.

“Hate to steal your bike...” Kyle said. “...but I've got a truck to catch!”

22. A More Fun Life

With some time, the two came to settle down after the incident that drove off Lyra in the first place, and were able to continue on with their lives as before, almost as if nothing happened.

Feeling absolutely ready to make the next step with Lyra, Kyle confronted her one day on a bent knee, asking her a very important question... and she, most happily, accepted.

Both Kyle and Lyra decided that they were ready to commit to each other for life (...or at least until Lyra somehow ends up returning to Equestria). Since they could not be legally married without the possibility of Lyra being taken by the government for research, all they did was make a video recording of their wedding. Kyle put a painting he made of Princess Celestia in the background, typically where the priest or pastor would stand during the wedding ceremony.

“Lyra Viridian Heartstrings...” Kyle began. “...ever since I met you, when you were lost near my special area, you have given me the glimmer of hope that I needed to push through with my bad ordeals, and your comfort has helped me to cope with my stress and anxiety. I love you, Lyra.”

Lyra smiled and blushed. “And Kyle Jonathan Schaeffer... you have given me the greatest experience that I could ever ask for, and that's saying something given how relentless and unforgiving this world is. You have taught me the level of compassion that humans can have. The legends of humans in Equestria, of all the war, havoc, and destruction they cause... I now understand that not all humans are like that. I'm so happy to have met you and to call you my friend. I love you, Kyle.”

Kyle smiled at the Unicorn. After listening to her finish, Kyle held up the diamond ring in his hand, and slipped it onto Lyra's horn. “I take you, Lyra Heartstrings, as my wife... now and forever.” he said.

Lyra levitated the golden band in front of her, as well as Kyle's left hand, and slipped the ring onto his fourth finger. “And I take you, Kyle Schaeffer, as my husband... now and forever.” she replied.

The two stared at each other's eyes for a long while, and they both leaned in and kissed.

Kyle has finally done it. He has finally managed to emerge from the shell he has hid inside for all these years since his father died and his mother left. He let a beautiful, sweet, little pony into his life... and she has purified him from the darkness he had been trapped in for far too long.

Having difficulty cooperating with people all his life had turned Kyle into a full-on paranoid introvert prior to meeting Lyra. He always tried his best to stay out of trouble, but luck was almost never in his favor, and he took the heat for a lot of things over the years; half of them were not even his fault. Being scolded and bullied had become his number-one fear, all because people took nearly everything he said the wrong way, and whenever the same thing came out of someone else's mouth, everyone was okay with it. It made zero-sense to Kyle over the years. He could not handle being yelled at, especially after the bullies, teachers, and stepfamily in his life had done it quite excessively.

Because of this, he trusted nobody, and became extremely nervous and shy around people out of his fear of doing the wrong thing, and he created the “No Interaction = No Risk of Getting in Trouble” self-preservation instinct. In the inevitable situations when he did need to interact with people, he always felt it best to hold his tongue unless absolutely necessary.

However... his fear may well be locked deep in the archives of his mind now. Lyra was definitely someone who had his full trust, and she hardly ever took things the wrong way now, but whenever Kyle would explain himself, she would be willing to listen, and they would always make up.

He now had a fantastic place of his own, a job he enjoyed, all the time in the world, and now, something that he literally thought he would never have in his lifetime... a wife.

My love life has started a bit late for my liking... Kyle thought. ...but, better late than never, right?

Even though Kyle was always tempted to put “Married” on every document he was asked to fill out, he was legally required to say that he was “Single,” because according to the courts, he was not married. But, this did not change that fact that he would tell people in casual situations that he was married, and he always wore his wedding ring.

There were a few young woman he would meet at art shows, apparently attempting to ask him for a lunch or even downright seduce him. Had he never met Lyra, Kyle would have probably accepted one of his choosing... but since he was “married,” Kyle took no hesitation to show his wedding ring and decline these woman (politely, of course). Besides, he was absolutely not polygamous.

Sure, they might be nice, good-looking girls... Kyle thought. ...but all of my heart belongs to Lyra.

(XXXX)

A couple of days following his "marriage" with Lyra, Kyle had retrieved his mail on one particular afternoon. It was the usual; a couple of utility bills, some advertisements and junk mail... but something else caught his eye. It was a letter notifying Kyle about his high school reunion, five years after his graduation, and it was coming up in a few months.

He frowned upon looking at the envelope.

"Hey!" Lyra said, walking into the room. "Anything addressed from Equestria in there?"

She laughed after saying this.

"No..." Kyle said, picking up the invitation. "...it's my high school reunion invitation."

"Really?" Lyra asked.

Kyle nodded. "It's common in this world for there to be a class reunion after a certain number of years."

“Aren't you gonna go to it?” Lyra asked.

“Hell NO.” Kyle said. “I hated high school; I don't want to be reminded of it.”

Lyra pursed her lips and rubbed her chin. "So, you're just gonna skip it?"

Kyle nodded. "It's what I have planned." he said.

He sat, staring at the envelope for a few moments... before an idea popped into his head. He opened up the letter to see the address.

"What are you doing?" Lyra asked.

"Just checking the address..." Kyle said. "...I think I might actually go... but not in the way anyone might suspect. And with that in mind... you wanna come with me?"

Lyra raised a brow. "What do you have in mind...?" she asked.

Kyle bent down to her level, and whispered something into her ear. Her face became surprised for a moment... but then she smiled in an amused way, and then laughed a little bit. After a short amount of time, Kyle stood back up.

"So... what do you think?" he asked.

Lyra nodded, her lips quivering in laughter. "I think we should do it!"

"Okay!" Kyle said, clapping his hands together. "I'll just head down to the Home Depot and Walmart to pick up some things we'll need, and we'll be good to go!"

(XXXX)

Later that evening, when the sun was setting, the two arrived just outside of the park where the reunion was going take place, but the park was a pretty long drive away. Kyle's SUV was filled with some 2x4 planks, screws, rubber tubing, a large funnel, and a couple of coolers filled with balloons... only they were not filled with water. Instead, they held an assortment of foul-smelling liquids, such as paint, rubbing alcohol, shaving cream, sour cream, etc.

"You think it was worth all the money you spent on this?" Lyra asked.

"Trust me, Ly..." Kyle said. "...it's worth every dime. And I make more than enough money as it is!"

Ever since they got married, Kyle had taken to calling Lyra by his pet name he created, "Ly," but she did not mind. She also sometimes called him "Ky" or "Ky-Ky" if she was in a good mood, and he also did not mind.

As for what they had in mind, they were going to build a slingshot on the vantage point of a hill just outside of the park. It was an ideal location for launching a surprise attack on the students, since the trees and other shrubbery on the apex of the hill made it difficult to see if anyone was up there.

After a good hour of measure, drilling, sawing, and leveling, they had finished building the slingshot, and by then, night had fallen and the party had started down in the park. They turned it away from the park to fire off some test shots, and found its performance to be adequate.

"Okay, I think it's ready! See any targets?" Kyle asked.

After looking through a pair of binoculars that Kyle brought for a few moments, Lyra caught sight of a group of students, laughing and having a good time.

"Oh yeah! Target in sight!" Lyra said.

"Whereabouts?" Kyle asked.

"Right there." Lyra said, raising her hoof to point in the direction she was referring to.

Kyle took the binoculars and looked at the group. It just so happened that he spotted two people in particular... one of which was Mikayla, one of his many crushes in high school, and Jacob, his rival who stole Mikayla from him before he even had a fair chance.

"Well... look at that." Kyle said.

"What?" Lyra asked.

"...It's my former crush and her boyfriend." Kyle responded.

"Oh, really?" Lyra said. "How'd everything go down with her?"

"Well..." Kyle began. "...we spent a lot of classtime together in our Geometry class. She was literally the only reason I would look forward to that class. After spending time to build some rapport... I bought two tickets to a movie, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part II... but then, she laughed at me. She called me a desperate shoelicker... I assume because I was always willing to carry out whatever she requested..."

Lyra's jaw dropped. "That idiot! Does she have any idea she turned away such an amazing, handsome person?" she asked.

Kyle hung his head down as he smiled and blushed at Lyra's comment. "Well... I guess I wasn't really acting like myself at the time."

"Well... her loss!" Lyra said. "She doesn't deserve such a sweet guy like you if she's gonna leave you in the dust! I'd say we need to punish her!"

Kyle nodded, looking through the binoculars at the party. "...And let's be sure to punish everyone else who gave me a hard time!"

He looked through the binoculars again.

"Weird... doesn't look like my few friends from high school showed up for the reunion." Kyle said.

"Well... at least they won't hate you after this." Lyra added.

"You're right." Kyle said. "I don't wanna make a bad impression on the people who trust me."

"Well, enough waiting around..." Lyra said, eagerly. "...let's do this!"

“Okay, so Lyra, hand me one of the balloons...” Kyle said.

Lyra levitated a balloon filled with paint over to him.

“...and I'll load the slingshot...” Kyle said as he put the balloon in the funnel.

He stepped back to draw the slingshot.

“...and Lyra, what does a match create when you strike it?” Kyle asked.

“Um...” Lyra pondered for a moment. “...well, the friction of the match against the rough phosphorus surface—”

“Don't overthink it.” Kyle said, smirking.

“Uh... fire?” Lyra guessed.

“As you wish!” Kyle said, releasing the slingshot.

The balloon lobbed through the air, and landed somewhere in the grassy area where the reunion party was taking place. It caused several people to scatter away from it, but others thought it was part of the reunion... something that would be most definitely a false assumption.

“SWEET!” Kyle said, triumphantly. “This thing is more powerful than I thought!”

Lyra was laughing. “Ha ha ha ha! Let's do it again!”

“Okay, load me up!” Kyle said.

One after another, they went through their ammo, some hitting the ground and splattering nearby people, and others hitting people directly and ruining their nice clothing. They lobbed the balloons through the air instead of shooting straight, as it would help to make them harder to detect.

“Ah-hah-hah...!” Mikayla screamed, almost sounding like fake crying. “Stop it!”

Kyle and Lyra could not help but snigger at the helpless cries of the alumni below, with one of their coolers having been used up on all of them.

“Yep... now the real party's gettin' started!” Kyle said.

“Shall we deploy another barrage of projectiles, sire?” Lyra asked in a British accent.

“Indeed, we shall!” Kyle answered in a British accent as well.

With that, they continued their nonlethal assault on the reunion, rapid-firing their repulsive bombs at the former students in the park, creating many arcs through the air, and hitting people over the head, which basically covered their entire person in substances.

“AAAAAAAAAH! STOP IT!” Mikayla shrieked at the sky.

“YOU'RE IN FUCKING DEAD MEAT!” Jacob shouted at the sky as well.

"You wish..." Kyle said, taking aim with the slingshot straight at Jacob as he continued to shout off insults at nothing, but this time making it a straight shot.

With absolutely remarkable (and lucky) precision, Jacob was silenced as the balloon filled with shaving cream collided with him squarely in the chest, knocking him over. A massive smile spread over Kyle's face.

“Got him!” Kyle said, doing a fist-pump. “Bull's-eye!”

"Now for the mutt who turned you down..." Lyra said, taking her own aim with the slingshot this time.

She was able to magically predict where the path of the slingshot would be, and released it with the same incredible, sniper-like precision. The balloon collided with Mikayla, covering her entire front with vinegar, and permanently ruining her dress.

Both Kyle and Lyra gasped in shock... and then slowly looked at each other...

...and they both started laughing, falling to the ground and rolling after a brief moment. Eventually, they stood up and looked at the damage they had caused.

"Wow... it worked even better than I was hoping!" Kyle said.

"I can't believe how powerful this slingshot is!" Lyra said. "Could you imagine what would happen if it fell into the wrong hands?"

"I could only imagine... but we have definitely proven a point here!" Kyle stated loudly in the direction of the reunion party. "You hear that!? Nobody messes with us! We declare ourselves King and Queen of this park! Any who defy us face our wrath!"

"Hey, up there!" one of the former students said, pointing straight at Kyle.

"Get that guy!" another said.

Kyle stopped smiling and his eyes widened. "Uh-oh... let's bail!"

"Ditto!" Lyra said, both of them abandoning the slingshot and rushing back down the hill towards the car.

"Gotta find the keys... where are my keys!?" Kyle said.

"C'mon, hurry!" Lyra said. "They're getting closer!"

"My keys are buried pretty deep in my pocket!" Kyle said. "I feel them... but... can't... pull 'em out...!"

"C'mon, don't let him get away!" an alumni shouted as the group got closer to Kyle and Lyra.

Both of them made a run for it. It was dark out, so they could not be made out easily from a distance. They happened to spot a Target building just across the street from the park. The lights were still on, but the place was going to close in roughly ten minutes. They just needed a diversion to keep the former students occupied so that they could escape in the car. The two ran across the street and rushed into the building, Kyle pulling his jacket hood over his head and his shirt over the lower half of his face to prevent the cameras from identifying him, and they caught the sight from an employee.

"Hey!" the employee shouted. "We're about to close up!"

"Sorry, got my own things to lock up!" Kyle said as he ran, Lyra obscured from his vision by the checkout counter.

Lyra would be seen on camera, but with Kyle covering most of his face, nobody would be able to trace her back to him, as long as they were extremely careful about it. Plus, they lived over a half-hour away from the location.

They rushed for the back of the store, several former classmates hot on their trail, but Lyra was right in front of Kyle, obscuring their view of her. The two made it to a broom closet near the back of the store.

"In here, hurry!" Kyle said, pointing to the closet.

He opened it, and Lyra rushed inside, but right when Kyle was going to follow her, the group saw him.

"There he is, get him!" the former students shouted.

"Stay here!" Kyle said before shutting the door.

He made a break down the closest aisle, ran around the perimeter of the store, and made it to the front. He happened to spot another door. Checking to make sure that no one was watching, Kyle entered the door, closing it behind him. He immediately saw that there were multiple monitors on the wall, all linked to the surveillance system.

Meanwhile, the former class was all looking about the store, several employees urging them to leave the building before closing.

"Hey, maybe he's in here!" one of the students called out... as he stood right outside of the broom closet where Lyra was.

The mare happened to hear his voice, realizing that the door he was talking about was the one she was behind. They were about to open the door... about to see Lyra... about to inevitably capture her...

“...Frère Jacques, frère Jacques,
Dormez-vous? Dormez-vous?
Sonnez les matines! Sonnez les matines!
Ding, dang, dong. Ding, dang, dong...”

Kyle's voice appeared on the PA, singing Frère Jacques in a French accent over and over, attempting to create a distraction for Lyra to escape. He was, in fact, laying in the security office chair, looking at the monitors to see if it was working, holding the microphone to his mouth as he sang.

And it worked; they did not open the door, and all began to make a break for the front of the store. Kyle took this chance, and left the security office, covering his face and head again. He quickly but stealthily ran around the outermost edge of the store back over to where Lyra was, and got her out of the closet.

"Are they gone?" Lyra asked.

"I don't know..." Kyle said, looking around. "...but we gotta get the hell outta here, now! I don't wanna get in trouble for our fun time..."

"How about through there? Is there a way out that way?" Lyra asked, pointing at a door to the back room.

After entering and exploring for less than a minute, Kyle and Lyra were able to locate a back door to the building.

"Okay, once I open the door, there might be an alarm, so we gotta book it if that happens. Okay?" Kyle asked.

Lyra nodded. "Got it."

Kyle opened the door... but there was no alarm. This was good, since it did not signal their escape.

"Alright, let's get back to the car!" Kyle said.

With that, they took off. They made a rush back to the car in the park, checking their six constantly. But nobody was following them, from what they could tell. After running on adrenaline and pounding hearts for several minutes, they got back to the car, where Kyle dug his keys out of his pocket, fired up the car, and they were off, heading back home.

"Okay... that was crazy..." Kyle said.

"Tell me about it." Lyra said. "Come to think of it... I think we're a bit crazy!"

Kyle nodded, pursing his lips. "I think you're right about that."

They both looked at each other.

"Worth it!" they said simultaneously, laughing afterwards.

With their fun all over for the night, the two eventually made it back home, and took some time to settle down and cool off from their intensive enjoyment.

23. A Critical Situation

Kyle had decided to go to the mall one day for a bit of window-shopping, and to buy anything that would capture his interest.

Wonder if I should buy something for Lyra...? he wondered. I haven't bought her a gift in a while...

He was walking through one of the main branches of the building, when he happened to hear a voice from behind him.

"Hey, assface!" came a voice that Kyle could recognize anywhere.

Shocked by the recognition, he turned around to see none other than...

"...Danny?" Kyle asked. "What are you doing here?"

"I think the question is what are you doing here?" Danny asked in a condescending tone. "Don't you know that nobody wants to see your ugly face?"

"...I'm just window-shopping." Kyle said.

"Oh... and you got no bitch with you?" Danny asked.

Kyle raised a brow. "What are you even talking about...?"

Danny stepped aside to reveal a girl standing behind him. "See, unlike any girl you would ever get, Monica here is NOT a bitch." he said.

"He's right." the girl, Monica, said.

Apparently, Danny now had a new girlfriend, much to Kyle's distaste and disgust.

"Danny's told me about you, and how you made him miserable all the time, forcing him to clean up all your messes while you sat in your cave just drawing shitty pictures!" Monica said.

Kyle scowled. "Telling lies... that's just like you, Danny..." he said.

"You are the one who lies!" Danny said.

"At least I'm not arrogant!" Kyle said. "You all thought I couldn't make it as an artist, but I now have a mansion, a sports car and an SUV, a 4K curved LED flatscreen, and I'm thinking about having a pool built in my backyard. Plus, I'm still making even more money, because I'm famous on the internet, and everyone is recommending me!"

"Well, you're still gonna be an old hermit who sits inside all day, staring at a screen." Danny said. "My sports career has taken off, and now I'm the center of attention with my university!"

Kyle folded his arms. "How so...?" he asked.

“I've made it into the nationals!” Danny said. “What's so good about being an artist who doesn't even reveal himself? In fact, what's so good about art? Sports are what people like! No wonder you're doomed to be single the rest of your life!”

"Let's not push it..." Kyle said.

"Wow..." Monica said. "...he's even worse than you said!"

Kyle stepped up to Monica.

"I would watch my words, if I were you!" he said to her.

Danny shoved Kyle hard. "Don't you EVER talk to her like that!" he said.

"Or what?" Kyle asked, his anger shutting off his rational thought to simply remove himself from the situation.

"Or you'll be in dead meat!" Danny said, grabbing Kyle's sleeve and holding a fist up to his face.

Kyle narrowed his eyes. "...Do you really think I'm scared of you?"

Without warning, Danny pounded Kyle in the stomach, causing him to fall over, clutching his front as he struggled to regain his breath.

"Monica, help me teach him a lesson!" Danny said.

"Oh, will do..." Monica said as she cracked her neck.

With that, Danny started wrestling Kyle around, while Monica kicked him. Several people in the area were all stopping and watching the fight, some of them pulling out their phones to film it. Kyle tried to escape from Danny's constant pinning and seizing, but he was just not strong enough... but then, something came to his mind after he recalled what he had seen in a few action movies.

Kyle headbutted Danny against the forehead and quickly rolled away from him. However, Danny quickly got back up on his feet and rammed him into a wall, pinning and clobbering him against it. Kyle tried to hit back, but he needed his arms to protect his torso from the blows of Danny's much-larger arms. He could not knee him in the groin, because Danny was standing at an angle, and Monica stood beyond his reach, continuing to kick him.

"You're a piece of shit who nobody gives a shit about, and you are doing nothing but ruining what could be a good life for me!" Danny shouted.

After stunning Kyle long enough, Danny pulled out a gravity knife and whipped it open. Without hesitation, he plunged it to the hilt into Kyle's stomach.

The pain that overcame Kyle in that moment was unlike anything he had ever felt in his life. It felt like getting stabbed with a tack... multiplied fifty-fold. It was the worst pain he ever felt, even worse than he imagined it would feel. He fell to the ground, unable to even scream, clutching the stab wound in both hands.

“STOP! STOP!” a bystander shouted as they tackled Danny to the ground.

Several others joined and pinned Danny down, as well as Monica. The two tried to break free, but too many people held them down to do so.

Buzzing filled Kyle's ears; he could not hear anything. All he could focus on was the literal stabbing pain in his lower-left stomach as tears streamed down his face and he breathed erratically. He brought his hands away from the wound briefly to see them thoroughly soaked with his blood. Several people knelt next to him in order to see what was wrong.

“Get the hell off me!” Danny shouted, trying to break loose.

“Call 911!” one of the people who was holding down Danny shouted. “Get the police over here! These two are psycho!”

“Get an ambulance down here, too!” one of the people looking at Kyle's wound said. “This guy is hurt BAD!”

“Just try to calm down...” a nervous-looking woman said to Kyle. “...take deep breaths.”

But Kyle could not follow through with her instruction... because the pain in his torso caused him to lose consciousness.

(XXXX)

The next thing he knew, Kyle awoke in a white room, accompanied by the sound of beeping in an even rhythm. He let out a moan upon waking up.

"Ah, Mr. Schaeffer. I see you've come to." came a female voice.

Kyle opened his eyes a little wider. "...U-ugh... who... who are you...? Where... am I...?" he said.

He was feeling extremely weak and disoriented. His body felt numb and heavy.

"I am Sabrina Torres, licensed nurse. And you are at St. Alda hospital." the nurse said. "Gotta say, you need to learn how to stay out of fights a little bit better."

"...Ah... but..." Kyle began, struggling to speak. "...wh-what happened...?"

Nurse Torres cleared her throat. "Well, the paramedics arrived at the scene to find that you were already unconscious, but your heartbeat and breath were still detectable. However, you were losing blood at a rate of 180 milliliters per minute due to a stab wound in your lower abdomen, so they temporarily dressed your wound and rushed you over here. From the prognosis, most of your organs were fine, but your small intestine was punctured, and required surgical repair. The surgery, however, was a success; they sutured your organs and abdomen. All you need to do now is rest and recover."

"...And... my attacker...?" Kyle asked.

Nurse Torres' face became grim. "Both he and the girl he was with have been taken into police custody, the girl for active assault, and the boy for assault with a dangerous weapon. The police have already determined that your attempted retaliation was justified self-defense, so there will be no charges against you. Both of them are going to court, and they'll be sentenced then." she said.

So... Danny's going to jail, huh? Kyle thought with a weak smile on his face. I knew it... he had it coming.

Lyra immediate came to Kyle's mind. How was she doing on her own? Did she know what happened? How long would it be that she would have to live without him?

"...How long... do I... n-need...?" Kyle said.

"Well, even though you lost a large amount of blood..." Nurse Torres said, looking at a clipboard. "...the wound should heal cleanly in just a few days. You'll be able to go home in a little over a week from now, but avoid excessive physical activity for at least another week after that."

"Okay..." Kyle said, reluctantly.

Hopefully, there could be some way he could contact Lyra. If he could use a laptop or tablet or something, he could send her a priority email to get her attention and update her on the situation.

“Agh...!” Kyle gasped upon noticing the IV in his arm.

“What's the matter?” Nurse Torres asked.

“...Needles.” Kyle said, eyeing the IV line.

"Ah, I see..." Nurse Torres said. "...but you need the morphine so that you won't feel any pain."

"Yeah, I know..." Kyle said.

(XXXX)

Lyra had been wondering about what happened to Kyle, since he was taking a really long time once again. It was already nightfall, and he was not back.

"Ngh... please tell me he didn't crash his car again..." Lyra said.

After pacing for a little bit, her eyes glowed a bright white, and she had visions of the incident surrounding Kyle once more. Shocked at what she saw, she rushed out the door, charged her horn, and let it drag her through the air to find where Kyle went.

"I hope he's alright..." Lyra said to herself as she flew through the air. "...I just need to be sure everything's okay.

(XXXX)

Kyle had gotten bored with the few channels that the hospital had, and switched off the television to take a nap. At some point in the evening, after having slept for a couple of hours, he awoke to the sound of some tapping. Pulling off the eye mask Nurse Torres had given to him, he looked around and saw Lyra outside of the window.

"Huh...? Lyra...?" he said.

Lyra teleported into the hospital room.

"Kyle!" she said. "Oh, dear Celestia... I had another vision! I saw that you got stabbed! Are you okay?"

Kyle nodded. "I am. The doctors say that I have to stay here for a little over a week, and then I can come back home, but I need to avoid any strenuous activity that could re-open my surgical and stab scars for a little while." he said.

Lyra sighed in relief. "Oh, that's good... I was even more worried than last time."

"Anyways, you'd better get out before they hear us." Kyle cautioned.

"Good idea!" Lyra said. "But... I'm gonna miss you for a week!"

"Me too. I'll look forward to coming home." Kyle said. "There should be enough food in the fridge and pantry to last you much longer than a week, just in case."

"Okay." Lyra said. "Well, bye Kyle. I'm gonna head back now."

"Bye, Lyra." Kyle said. "See you in a little over a week from now."

With that, Lyra teleported back out of the room onto the balcony of the hospital window, and performed self-levitation as a means of getting back to the mansion much quicker. Kyle, in the meantime, having nothing else to do, fell asleep.

(XXXX)

Kyle was checked out of the hospital about nine days after his surgery. By then, his wound and surgery scars had healed fairly nicely, but he still had to be fairly careful. Nurse Torres was escorting him out on a wheelchair down to the front lobby, all of his clothes back on his body and personal belongings in a bag on his lap.

“Okay, Mr. Schaeffer, just wait in here for your ride.” Nurse Torres said. “You said they'd be here soon, right?”

Kyle nodded. “Yeah, fairly soon...”

He told her that he contacted someone who lives near him to come and pick him up. This was partially true, but not fully. Kyle had, in actuality, contacted Lyra to come to the hospital and bring him back.

After waiting in the front lobby for a little while, Kyle saw Lyra trying to get his attention, just around the corner outside of the hospital. Nurse Torres happened to spot Kyle heading outside on his wheelchair, but nobody was accompanying him.

“Mr. Schaeffer!” Nurse Torres said, rushing after him.

He rounded the corner outside of the building, entering a blind spot.

“Mr. Schaeffer, wait! Where's your escort!?” Nurse Torres said.

She followed where he went, and saw the empty wheelchair... but Kyle was nowhere to be found.

“Where'd he go...?” a confused Nurse Torres asked, looking around.

(XXXX)

Instead of self-levitation, Lyra had simply teleported to the hospital, now that she knew where it was, and teleported Kyle back with her.

"Wow! That was fast!" Kyle said.

"I know, right?" Lyra said. "So, how's it look...?"

Kyle lifted his shirt to reveal the scars of the wound and surgery.

"They don't look too bad... but I need to be careful not to re-open them." Kyle said.

“I'll just speed up the process with a healing spell...” Lyra said.

She held her horn near the site, and it glowed bright yellow, as did the scars themselves. Slowly, the scars dissipated, and the sensation Kyle had been experiencing for a couple of days was fading away. The scars had disappeared completely, as did the numbness and dull pain.

"Wow... gotta hand it to you, Lyra," Kyle began. "you might be the most powerful Unicorn I've seen! Probably even better than Starlight Glimmer!"

"...Who's Starlight Glimmer?" Lyra asked, looking confused.

Oh, right... she doesn't know. Kyle thought.

"Well, never mind." Kyle said. "It's just good to be back home."

"Good to have you back, Ky-Ky." she said, leaning towards him.

The two shared a quick kiss.

"Well, I hope all's gonna be well and good on the way out from here..." Lyra began. "...but I have a feeling your medical bills will be pretty high."

Kyle nodded, pursing his lips.

"Thank God I have insurance." he said.

Author's Note

Sorry if this chapter seemed a bit inaccurate; I've never been admitted to a hospital in my life, nor do I know anyone who has whom I've asked.

24. Returning the Favor

Roughly a year had passed since Kyle had been stabbed, and both he and Lyra were leading yet another stretch of their modest lifestyle together. They would go for long walks together, watch movies, cook new dishes, play video games, and of course, help each other with all the household chores.

They were outside working on the lawn; Kyle was pushing a lawn mower around, while Lyra, with protective eyewear on, was using a weed-whacker to edge the lawn, holding it with her levitation. They were both keeping a steady pace going with the work... until Kyle happened to spot a truck pull up next to the gate, honking its horn. His eyelids jumped open.

"LYRA!" Kyle called out. "Stop and hide!"

Lyra immediately stopped the weed-whacker. "What?" she asked.

"Hide! Someone's here!" Kyle said.

Fortunately, she was already in the blind spot of a large bush, and simply crouched down behind it to conceal herself further.

"Okay... I'm gonna go see what this is all about." Kyle said just before he started walking down.

He happened to recognize the truck, but he could not place where from, exactly. As he approached the driveway gate, someone opened the driver-side door and stepped out... and this, for sure, made Kyle remember whose truck it was.

"Ed..." Kyle whispered to himself. "...shit."

Ed came around his truck to the gate, giving a stern stare at Kyle.

"So..." his stepfather began. "...even after you move out, you still like to give everybody so much bullshit!"

Kyle narrowed his eyes. "What are you even talking about?"

"Don't play dumbass with me! You got my son arrested! You were egging him on! You did this!" Ed thundered.

Kyle's glare became ever more angry as Ed was saying all of this to him.

"Don't you dare give me that look!" Ed warned.

Kyle clenched his fists. "You have the sheer nerve to come to my property and start accusing me of something that I didn't even ASK for!?" he said.

"You wouldn't imagine how much trouble I went to just to find you!" Ed stated. "Open the gate, now!"

Kyle did nothing for a moment.

"Open the fucking gate, or I will bust it down with my truck! NOW!" Ed thundered.

There was no point arguing; it would just keep going on forever. Kyle had tried to retaliate with Ed before, and it never ends well.

"Fine..." Kyle said, pulling the remote for the gate out of his pocket.

He pressed the button, and the gate began to move sideways, out of the way.

"...But you should know, it's a privilege for just anyone to visit my house." Kyle stated.

Ed seemed absolutely astonished by the mere existence of Kyle's mansion.

“This is your house?” Ed asked. “How the HELL do you afford somethin' like this!? Are you just spendin' more than you earn!?”

“Hell no! I spend within my budget, and I've got quite a lot of cabbage in my vault!” Kyle said.

Ed tilted his head. “Vault? What the fuck are you talkin' about?” he asked.

Kyle sighed. “Come with me...” he said as he reluctantly let Ed into his mansion.

Behind them, Lyra followed the two inside, staying hidden all the time...

Kyle took Ed into the basement, and pushed the small bookcase out of the way. Ed's eyes went tremendously wide at the sight of the heavy metal door in the wall.

“You've gotta be fuckin' kiddin' me...” Ed muttered.

Kyle entered the passcode (hiding it from Ed's view with his cardigan), scanned his fingerprint and retina for the biometric lock system, and spun the handle like a wheel. When it stopped, Kyle swung the door open, revealing the several thousands of dollars in cash behind the bulletproof glass barrier that required the key to open. Ed stared in awe and shock for a few moments, just before turning towards his stepson.

“ARE YOU SERIOUS!?” Ed thundered. “You make THAT kind of money!?”

“Damn straight, I do!” Kyle responded smugly.

“From WHAT!?” Ed questioned.

“From ARTWORK!” Kyle thundered back.

“Don't you cop that attitude with me, young man!” Ed threatened.

“This is MY house! I'm over eighteen! I live on my own! I CAN DO WHATEVER THE HELL I WANT!” Kyle said. “You're not the boss of me!”

“I'll deal with this later...” Ed said, returning his attention to the safe. “...but you're tellin' me that you make THIS kind of money by posting shit drawings online!?”

“They're not shit! Everyone thinks they're really good!” Kyle said. “I'm pretty famous on the internet! Did you even know that? Several people request commission artwork from me, which is how I get all this money; people pay me to paint what they want!”

Ed shook his head. “You can't make money like THIS!”

“Yes, I can!” Kyle said. “All my income is reported to the IRS, and I pay my taxes! Plus, I have the best tax preparation agencies file my tax returns for me!”

“NO!” Ed shouted. “You are not doing honest labor! You shouldn't be getting paid money to paint!”

“What are you even saying?” Kyle asked.

Ed gritted his teeth. “I'm saying you need to go ahead and give up on your dreams, because you can't be living in your little fairy-tale! Grow up, get a real job, make a livin'! BE PART OF THE REAL WORLD!” he said.

“Painting IS my job! It's what I want to do! I have thousands of fans depending on me!” Kyle said.

“I don't care! Don't be sittin' on your ass in front of a canvas all day! Work for eight hours, and then come home and screw around with your brushes and paint! Do some VOLUNTEER work! ANYTHING!” Ed retaliated.

Kyle was absolutely enraged. He did not leave Ed's house to still be under his thumb.

“In fact, I think I just might have a job lined up for you.” Ed said. “One of my friends I met at the brewery is gonna need help on his farm. I'm gonna tell him that you have accepted his request to be employed by him. You'll be mowing grass, taking eggs from the chicken coops, building fences, digging trenches for pipes. You'll be doing whatever there is do to.”

Despite his extreme reluctance to the topic, Kyle pressed further: “How much would I be making?” he asked.

“Minimum wage.” Ed said.

Kyle narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips. “Not happening! I'm willing to bet I make more money in a month than that place would ever pay in a year!”

“But you gotta be doin' real work!” Ed said. “You can't be one of those people who just cruise through life takin' everything from people doin' real work!”

“You're just JEALOUS!” Kyle shouted. “All those years, you were doing nothing but inhibiting and hindering my passion! YOU WERE HOLDING ME BACK!”

“I'm not holdin' you back! You're holdin' yourself back!” Ed argued.

“You're doing nothing but ruining my LIFE!” Kyle shouted again.

“I'm not ruinin' your life; the art's ruinin' your life!” Ed claimed. "I was helping you to make you successful before you went on your happy-ass way!"

Kyle decided to put on a smile, dismissing his rage and deciding to kill with kindness.

“Well, it's not like anyone could ask me to be an artist, or ask me to be a carpenter or builder...” Kyle said, walking over to the wine cabinet. “...I just feel that it's best for people to enjoy doing what they do...”

He pulled a bottle of red wine from its place.

“...yes, it is important to have a diverse skill range, so that you know how to maintain your place of living...”

He spun a corkscrew into the cork.

“...but deliberately forcing it is a bit extreme...”

He pried the cork out.

“...some things can seem so epic that one would feel like it is overrated, and like they have it too easy, perhaps becoming a bit envious...?”

Kyle poured some wine into two crystal goblets sitting on the shelf below the wine rack.

“...But, though I am a famous freelance millionaire artist, one thing I can say, I am not cocky or conceited!”

Kyle picked up his own glass, while offering the other to Ed.

“So... as a small token of my appreciating the drive you gave me to follow my dreams, would you care for a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon? Imported from Italy, aged four years...” he said, taking a sip from his glass.

Ed stared at the glass in his hand, before a look of rage filled his eyes. He held the glass up beside his head, and launched it straight at Kyle's head. Fortunately, Kyle was quick to duck, causing the glass to shatter on the wall behind him, staining it red with the wine. Kyle stood up and looked back at the stain on the wall. Once again, he did not resort to anger. He wanted to be the antithesis of Ed just to mock him.

“What a shame...” Kyle said, passively. “...a waste of perfectly good red wine.”

Ed shook his head, veins pulsing in his neck and temples. "You get my son arrested... and now you just cruise through life and disregard all of the good work practices I gave you!? YOU ARE AN ABSOLUTE SON OF A BITCH WHO DOESN'T DESERVE ANY OF IT!" he thundered.

With that, he started going on a rampage, tipping furniture in the basement and smashing the decorative items.

"Hey!" Kyle shouted. "What the hell are you doing!?"

"Teachin' you a lesson!" Ed answered, just before tipping over a decorative onyx obelisk.

"You think you can just destroy everyone's property to get them to do what you want!?" Kyle asked.

"Going back to your previous statement, I am SO the boss of you!" Ed shouted. "I gave you the food on your plate, the roof over your head, and everything else out of my good nature, and you just whine and bitch in silence just 'cause it's not good enough for you! Well, that's the REAL WORLD! SOMETHING THAT YOU ARE TOO SCARED TO EVEN TRY TO GET INTO!"

Ed grabbed the poker from the fireplace, tipped the bookcase over, and started jabbing the safe door with it, as if attempting to pry it open.

“Oh, we got a madman here!” Kyle remarked.

"And I say that all that pretty green stuff in there's mine!" Ed stated. "It's gonna be the price you pay to me for everything I ever did for you, and it's gonna be every cent of it!"

Kyle hastily ran upstairs, where he found Lyra listening in horror at what was happening.

"What the hell is going on!?" Lyra asked.

"My stepdad's trying to rob me, and he's broken a lot of my things already." Kyle said. "So, I need to grab something, and it'll hopefully get him to leave..."

Not more than a few minutes later, Kyle quickly returned from his room to find Ed resuming his attempt to open the safe.

“Stop right now!” he ordered the psychotic middle-aged man.

“SHUT THE HELL—” Ed stopped speaking as he turned to look at Kyle...

...and down the muzzle of a stainless, nine-shot, .22 Magnum revolver.

“I said... stop right now.” Kyle said, changing his shouting tone to a more silent, demanding one.

“Usin' a twenty-two? Don't ya know a damn thing about guns!?” Ed thundered.

“Yes, this is a twenty-two caliber handgun. But, bear in mind, these are Magnum rounds. They will go right through your skull at a close range.” Kyle stated.

“AND DON'T YOU KNOW YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO AIM THEM AT PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY WITH YOUR FINGER ON THE TRIGGER!?” Ed shouted.

Kyle leveled the revolver at Ed's face, pulling back the hammer.

“You wanna raise your voice at me like that again...?” he asked, menacingly.

Ed snarled, his trademark veins returning.

"...Get your fat, drunk ass out my door, and off my estate." Kyle demanded in a threatening tone.

In a split-second, Ed grabbed the barrel of the gun, pointed it upward, and kicked Kyle in the thigh, sending him backwards. He got hold of Kyle's firearm, and turned it on its owner. Kyle himself stared in utter shock at the weapon pointed at him.

"You put a gun to my head..." Ed said. "...I put some bullets in your skinny-ass torso!"

Ed tried to fire the weapon, but it just clicked.

“Huh?” Ed uttered as he rotated the cylinder.

Again, he tried pulling the trigger, but no discharge occurred. Kyle smirked.

“The hell are you tryin' to pull!?” Ed asked.

Kyle reached into his pocket, and held up a small piece of metal.

“...I took out the firing pin.” Kyle said. “I figured someone, like an intruder, would try to wrestle the weapon away from me... and now that I have it on video...” he pointed to the surveillance camera in the basement living room. “...I can show the police that you tried to murder me on my own property after trashing my place! These cameras record audio as well!”

"YOU LITTLE BITCH, GET OVER HERE!" Ed said, darting for Kyle.

Kyle rolled away as Ed tumbled, and quickly rushed for a decorative-but-functional Japanese sword hanging on his wall. As Ed was standing to make another rush, Kyle grabbed the katana and pulled the saya off, discarding it. Just as Ed came up to him, he stopped short of the sword impaling his massive belly, which Kyle held out in front of him.

"Now this is a weapon that will be very dangerous for you to try and grab from me!" Kyle said.

He held the katana blade to Ed's throat.

"Make any sudden move, and I cut your fucking head off!" Kyle warned.

Ed was growling for breath. "You're gonna get it!" he uttered.

"I don't think so..." Kyle said, smugly. "...Lyra, come down here and help me with him!"

"Coming!" Lyra said, running down the stairs.

Ed was completely in shock upon seeing Lyra.

"What the actual fuck...?" he said.

"Remember me...?" Lyra said, smirking and raising a brow.

"WHAT ARE YOU!?" Ed asked loudly.

Lyra shrugged. "Figures you wouldn't remember me... and you won't remember in a few moments from now!" she said.

"That's right." Kyle said. "So, since you'll forget, I have nothing to lose from explaining it all."

Ed stared in confusion back and forth at the two.

Kyle began: "See, this is Lyra Heartstrings, a Unicorn pony from the land of Equestria, and she somehow ended up being teleported to this world. I found her only a couple of years before moving out of your shitty house, and raised her to the best of my ability, keeping her safe from Danny and you!"

"WHAT?" Ed asked. "You been raising the green horse in my house!? I told you; no pets in my house!"

"Oh, but Lyra's no pet..." Kyle said, before holding up his hand to show his golden ring. "...she's my wife."

Ed's eyes went as wide as tennis balls. "Your what...!?"

"It's true." Lyra said. "Kyle and I got married a little while ago... and might I say, he's the best husband a mare could ever ask for! You're the evil one here! Kyle is a really kind, caring person! You've mistreated him for WAY too long!"

By now, Ed had a very disgusted look. "Married to a HORSE!? You have any idea how wrong that is!? I'm thinkin' you got some sort of mental illness, Kyle... I'm gonna be talking to a few doctors about having you put into an asylum!" he said.

"Oh, that won't happen..." Lyra said, as he her began to glow.

Ed's eyes glowed the same yellow color as his expression became devoid of emotion.

"...because I will make you forget me, and you'll be taking a little nap..." Lyra finished, a wicked grin on her face.

Just after Lyra performed the amnesia spell, Ed's eyelids began to fall as she performed the sleeping spell on him, and then he slumped over on the floor.

"Good job, Ly!" Kyle said.

"So..." Lyra said, returning her gaze to Ed. "...what should we do with him?"

Kyle pondered for a moment. "Well... all we gotta do is make sure he isn't going anywhere..." he said.

So, Lyra levitated the unconscious Ed upstairs, and Kyle was grabbing some nylon cord out of his utility closet...

25. The Deepest Connection (WARNING: CONTAINS CLOP)

Kyle and Lyra had tied up Ed, binding his arms to his torso, and left him on the floor. They then called the non-emergency police number for their region to report the incident, which was now under control, and proceeded to review the footage of the incident.

"I'll just need to get the sample of footage I need to show the police..." Kyle said.

They watched the replay of everything that happened... up to the point where Lyra appeared on-camera.

"Oh... whoops." Kyle said. "I don't think I'll be able to use the footage as evidence like this..."

"So what should we do?" Lyra asked.

Kyle pondered for a moment. After a minute, he remembered

"Lyra, do you think you can alter the footage with your magic?" Kyle suggested. "Try imagining a scenario before you appeared."

"Okay, I'll try..." Lyra said, charging up her horn.

She was focusing with all her might on her imagination of a scenario that would have played out had she not emerged, but still allowed for Kyle to tie up Ed in the end, all while still focusing on the DVR. The television screen glitched like crazy as the glow from Lyra's horn duplicated itself on the DVR, and went to static for a moment.

After a few moments of this, the DVR had rewound to the point where Kyle was holding the katana at Ed.

"Make any sudden move, and I cut your fucking head off!" Kyle said in the recording.

Rather than verbally respond like he did in the real case, in the recording, Ed was simply shocked, darting his eyes back and forth at the sword and Kyle. After a few seconds, he fell to the floor, unconscious.

"Wow!" Kyle said. "Great work, Lyra! Now all I gotta do is burn the camera's footage to a CD, give it to the police, and we're all good!"

When the police arrived, Lyra hid in the spare bedroom in the basement, and Kyle went out to open the gate and speak to them, just after untying Ed, who was still unconscious from Lyra's spell.

"Thank goodness you're here!" Kyle said, putting on a desperate-sounding tone.

"You reported about a property defacer?" the officer said.

"Yes, he's right inside..." Kyle said, showing the cops inside his mansion.

There, the cops found Ed, still not waking up. One of the police officers knelt down next to him.

"Hey, get up!" he said, tapping him sharply on the head.

Ed slowly began to stir. "...Ngh... wh-what...?" he uttered.

"You've got some explaining to do." the cop said. "Stand up!"

Despite being disoriented, Ed complied.

"Where am I right now...?" he asked, just before looking at Kyle. "What are you doing here...?"

"You'd better stop talking!" the cop said. "You're in no position to be asking questions; that's what we do! And you'd better explain your actions right now!"

Ed looked confused. "The hell are you even talkin' about?"

"Don't bullshit us..." the officer warned.

Despite being aware of the amnesia he had due to Lyra's spell, Kyle decided to play along to make it work about better in his favor.

"You entered my home with my permission... but then you went crazy and started destroying my belongings, and attempted to bust open a safe that I own." Kyle stated.

Ed was confused, and immensely angered by the allegations. "I don't have a fuckin' clue what's going on here!"

"Well... see for yourself on the surveillance footage." Kyle said, holding up the disc. "See, there are cameras everywhere in my house, and I caught the footage of you going off the rail in my basement!"

"Alright, do you have something that we could play this on?" the officer asked.

Kyle nodded. "Right this way..."

After hooking up an external optical drive to his laptop, Kyle played the footage in front of the officers and Ed. It played out just like in real life, except it ended at the part with Ed fainting after Kyle pulled the sword on him in defense.

"I assume he was so shocked by the weapon being held at him, he fainted and suffered amnesia." Kyle said.

If there was one thing Kyle was good at, it was lying whenever it was necessary, and making it seem convincing.

"Well, that won't excuse him." the officer said, turning to Ed. "Timestamp on the footage seems consistent, and the footage itself doesn't lie. It couldn't have been tampered with in such a short time. So, you're in for it big time..."

The other officers held Ed's arms behind him as they put the handcuffs on.

"Edward Richardson, you are under arrest for destruction of property, assault and battery, attempted burglary, intention to murder, and general misconduct." the officer said.

"NO! I DIDN'T DO THIS!" Ed shouted. "I HAVE NO CLUE HOW HE GOT FOOTAGE LIKE THAT!"

"I'd stop talking if I was you, tough guy..." the cop said. "...because you're gonna be tellin' it to the judge!"

"NO! I'm not going to jail!" Ed said, angrily. "I pay my taxes! I participate in elections! I AM A GOOD MEMBER OF SOCIETY!"

Ed headbutt the officer escorting him, which knocked him over. The other officers wrestled Ed to the ground.

"Stop resisting! STOP RESISTING!" one of the officers shouted repeatedly.

Soon enough, despite Ed's protests, he was in the back of one of the police cars. One of the police officers came back up to the house to speak to Kyle.

"So, we're gonna be taking him down to the station." the cop said. "We'll try to interrogate him, but I'm not sure if it'll work, since he's acting like he can't remember anything."

"Okay." Kyle said.

"Also, would it be possible for us to use that footage you had on that disc?" the officer asked.

"Yes, of course." Kyle said. "I'll go and grab it."

Kyle pulled the disc out of the optical drive, and put it into a jewel case. He then gave it to the officer.

"Thanks, son." the cop said.

"So, is that it, then?" Kyle asked.

“Almost. We need to take some photographs of the scene to submit as evidence as well.” the officer said.

Kyle became nervous; Lyra was down in the basement. "Y-you do...?"

"Is something wrong?" the cop asked.

"No..." Kyle said. "...everything's alright."

"Okay." the officer said, before switching to his transceiver. "Hey, Mike and Eric, could you bring the camera? We need to snap a few shots of the scene."

"Mike here, I'm bringing it now." another officer said over the radio. "Eric's staying behind to keep an eye on the perp."

After a few moments of Kyle repeatedly trying to peer into the basement, the other officer arrived with the camera, and they began to walk into the basement.

"Would you mind waiting up here for a moment?" the leading officer asked Kyle.

"Okay..." Kyle responded, trying to remain acting normal.

Lyra, who was hiding one of the downstairs bedrooms, could hear the police coming down the stairs, and they were visually scanning the area before taking photographs. Needless to say, she was quite nervous about being caught. She was far too anxious to teleport properly; unless she was calm, she would not end up in the desired area. She tried it before, and it did not work out so great. If she ended up in front of the police... only Celestia knows what could happen. Right now, it was not a risk she could take. Despite being exceptionally skilled with magic, she was not without her flaws.

“Let's see...” Lyra began. “...I know there was a spell for invisibility... but how do I do it...?”

She charged up her horn, closing her eyes and trying to instinctively make herself “unseen”. There was a flash, and Lyra opened her eyes. She was still visible, but...

...she saw in the mirror-door of the closet that she had turned herself into a stallion.

“Dear Celestia...” Guy-ra said in a male voice. “...that wasn't it!”

(S)he used the same spell again, and turned him/herself back into a mare.

“Let's try that again...” Lyra said, attempting another spell.

There was another flash of light, and yet she was still visible, but this time...

...Lyra had conjured a pair of Pegasus wings on her body; she had turned herself into an Alicorn. She raised one of the wings to examine it.

“Ngh... that's not it either!” Lyra said to herself, doing the same spell to make her wings disappear.

She heard the officers getting closer. It sounded like they were opening doors, inspecting the rooms. Again, with intense focus, she charged up her horn once more.

"Please work this time..." Lyra whispered.

Another flash of light happened, and this time... Lyra noticed that her reflection had vanished. She glanced at her hooves to see that they had become translucent to her, but totally gone in the mirror.

"Yes! It worked!" she said to herself.

And it worked just in the nick of time, too; one of the officers opened the door to the room, and started looking around for a brief moment. Lyra remained quiet and still; had she been visible, she would have been directly in his field of vision.

"Clear!" the officer called out, just before closing the door.

Lyra let out a sigh of relief. "That was intense..." she said to herself.

The officers took the photographs from all of the angles they needed, which took several minutes, but they were able to wrap up their investigation and head out. After they were gone, Kyle went into the basement to check on Lyra.

"Hey, Lyra!" Kyle said as he peered into the bedroom. "It's okay; they're gone now."

"Oh, that's good." Lyra voice said.

Confused, Kyle started looking around. "Lyra? Where are you...?"

"Right in front of you!" Lyra's voice said again.

"Um..." Kyle uttered. "...but I can't see you."

"Huh? OH! Right... I'm still invisible." Lyra said.

A hovering golden light appeared, and after a moment, Lyra slowly faded in from nowhere, with her horn appearing right where the light was.

"Wow!" Kyle said. "Invisibility spells? You never cease to amaze me, Lyra!"

Lyra giggled. "Oh, you..." she said.

(XXXX)

Later that evening, the two were just lounging around, both of them feeling as if a heavy weight has just been lifted from them. They were both extremely happy that Ed was now in prison after what he did, and even more so given the fact that he was totally clueless about it. As for the damages, Kyle has already ordered new furniture and other decorations to replace the ones that Ed damaged. As for the safe, no electronics were damaged, but the door was scratched up. This was not a big deal to Kyle, though, since the bookcase would keep it covered, and no one was ever intended to see it.

They had been watching a marathon on Netflix, but then the TV shut off, and the lights shut off. The floor lamps of the house illuminated about one second later.

“What's going on?” Lyra asked.

Kyle looked out the window in the distance to see that a good chunk of the nearby city was without power.

“Looks like a power outage.” Kyle said. “Our backup generator's started up.”

"So... what should we do, now that the TV has to reboot?" Lyra asked.

Kyle shrugged. "I guess we could just stargaze." he suggested.

"Sure." Lyra said. "I always like to look for new things in the sky."

Both of them sat on the balcony outside, looking up at the sky. It was even clearer now that the city's power was out, effectively minimizing light pollution. Both of them saw thousands of new stars that they had not seen before.

"It's so beautiful tonight." Lyra said.

"It sure is." Kyle added.

Lyra happened to spot something moving across the sky, due north. It looked like a star, but something about it seemed... off.

"What's that star?" Lyra asked, pointing.

"Which one?" Kyle asked.

"The moving one." Lyra responded.

After looking for a moment, Kyle saw what she was talking about.

"Oh!" He said upon seeing it. "Actually, that's not a star. It's the International Space Station. It's basically a structure in constant freefall, suspended above the atmosphere by the centripetal force generated from Earth's orbit."

"Really?" Lyra asked. "That's kinda cool! You humans have found a way to go far up into the sky? Have you made it to the stars?"

Kyle laughed. "No... our space transportation is still far from ready to visit other worlds. The space station is used for scientific research purposes." he said.

"Ah..." Lyra said. "...are there others like that one?"

"Yep, in fact..." Kyle said, looking at another moving object in the sky, moving to the east. "...see that? That's Tiangong, the Chinese station. It's the newer, improved version of its predecessor, which burned up in the atmosphere back in late 2017."

"Amazing how humans have gotten along in this world without magic..." Lyra said. "...because humans in Equestria, the original wielders of magic, used it for their own self-gain instead of benefiting everything around them, which ultimately led to their downfall."

This sidetracking had gotten Kyle to wonder... he remembered what Ed said about him being in a relationship with an equine creature. It has been years since he thought about it, but he realized that society considered interspecies romance to be taboo.

"Lyra... even though I haven't mentioned it..." Kyle began. "...I've been wondering... do you think our whole... human-and-pony relationship... is a bit... weird?"

“No, I don't think it's weird.” Lyra said. "Why?"

"Well... it's just that... many people in this world would probably think I have some sort of problem, if they ever found out that we're married." Kyle said.

"Why? What's the problem with it?" Lyra asked.

Kyle sighed. "Lyra, look... I love you. A lot. I really do. But... I just am afraid. I don't know what to think. I feel like people would reject me from humankind... call me insane... probably think I have a mental illness... just because I feel that way for you..."

“Hey...” Lyra said, laying in a sexy pose. “...you and me, babe, we ain't nothin' but mammals!”

Kyle chuckled. "You sure can give me a good laugh to get me back in a good mood, Ly..." he said.

"Well... it's getting kinda late." Lyra said. "Wanna hit the bed for the night?"

Kyle nodded. "Sure. Hopefully, the power's back on tomorrow."

Both of them were off to bed, laying and reading books for a short while before going to sleep. However, Lyra was starting to feel a bit restless...

She did feel this way often growing up, but this time was different...

She could relieve herself from it after Kyle was asleep, in a different room, but it did not always last long...

She felt she needed some genuine relief...

She felt that now was the time...

She set her book down. "Y'know, Kyle... we don't have to go to sleep just yet." she said.

Kyle looked up from his book. "Huh?" he asked.

"I mean..." she leaned herself closer to him, wrapping a foreleg around the back of his neck. "...the night is still young. Why should we waste these precious hours...?"

She started to gently rub her hoof across the front of Kyle's stomach. He began to flush quite deeply.

"L-Lyra..." he stammered. "...what exactly are you--"

"Shh..." she hushed, putting a hoof over his mouth. "...you talk too much."

Immediately, she leaned towards him, and pulled him into a deep kiss. Entranced, Kyle began to kiss the Unicorn back, both of them closing their eyes, and starting to probe around the inside of each other's mouths with their tongues. Kyle was not one for wet kisses... but his mind was being totally overriden by what Lyra was doing.

While still kissing him, Lyra began to use her magic on Kyle's clothing; she performed a phasing spell that made his nightshirt, underwear, and shorts slip right off of him, as if they were the clothes of a ghost. He was now completely naked, but being lost in the deep kiss, did not notice right away. Lyra released both of them from the liplock, and he looked down to see his exposed person and his upright, throbbing cock.

Lyra had her gaze fixed on his male appendage; she smiled immensely and her eyes gleamed, as if she were staring at a priceless treasure that she had just discovered.

He's so lightweight, and yet... it's so big... Lyra said. A human cock... all for myself!

As Lyra brought her lips close to his member, Kyle was beginning to regain some of his willpower.

"Lyra..." he said, softly. "...wh-what exactly... are... you..."

"What?" Lyra asked. "I'm just a young, hungry mare."

Slowly, she began to lick his privates, starting down at his balls. The sensation that surged through Kyle's body was even more intense than anything he had experienced in his life. It was like all of his senses were being redirected only on what Lyra was doing.

Lyra's teats were becoming pink and swollen as she became aroused herself, and her pussy was becoming fairly wet. She slowly worked her tongue around his balls, and finally began to gradually move up his cock. She continued to tease him with light licking for a while until his dick really started pulsing harder and faster. Then, she wrapped her mouth around the head of his member, and starting going all for it.

Kyle clenched his hands into fists, and leaned his head backwards while clenching his teeth as he braced for climax. Within seconds, he let out a loud moan as he blew his load into Lyra's mouth. The thick, white seed filled her mouth and spilled from her lips slightly, but she managed to swallow most of it.

Lyra crawled over to the back of the bed so she could get a look at his face. He was flushed and sweating, but overall very delighted. She smiled at him with narrow eyes, and the remainder of semen dripping down her lips was turning him on again. Despite having came a few seconds ago, he did not require recovery time right away.

"Alright..." Lyra said, leaning closer to him. "...my turn."

Summoning the strength he needed via adrenaline, Kyle pulled Lyra on top of him with her front facing the ceiling. He was not exactly sure how to pleasure a girl, let alone a mare, so he figured he would start slow, like she did with him.

He started gently kneading Lyra's enlarged, sensitive teats around her crotch region. The effect was nearly immediate; Lyra leaned backwards with her eyes closed as she let out pleasured moans. She put ones of her hooves behind his neck in an attempt to be more intimate. Kyle brought his free hand up to her muzzle, and inserted his finger into her mouth, moving it around subtly. She started sucking on his finger quite intensely

After rubbing her teats for what he felt was long enough, Kyle slowly inserted his middle and index fingers into Lyra's pussy, slowly moving them in a circular motion. While he did this, he began lightly rubbing her clit with his thumb.

Lyra was overcome with immense pleasure, her face flushing deeply.

“...A-aah... ooooooh...” Lyra moaned. “...mmm, f-feels good...”

Kyle was still not sure how, in the name of Heaven and Earth, he was able to achieve something as big as this. He thought sex was well beyond his reach... but clearly, not everything is as it seems.

“...W-well... you sure know... aah... how to... be a b-bit... pushy...” Lyra said.

Kyle's heart sank.

Damn it! I fucked up! He thought. I escalated it too quickly... she's definitely not ready.

Kyle began to remove his hand from her crotch, but Lyra used her magic to move his hand back inside of her, causing her to gasp at the sudden penetration.

“...Aah...!” she moaned, just before giving Kyle an annoyed look. “...I-I didn't say stop...! Keep g-going...!”

Kyle continued to fire up Lyra with his hand, and slowly moved her off of his lap while doing so. He brought his head down into her crotch area, brought his hand away, and immediately started using his tongue to stimulate her. He inserted his oral appendage into her slit, and started probing it in and out, not willing to stop due to her very erotic taste.

“...O-ooh...! Ah...!” Lyra moaned. “...G-go deeper...! A-ah...!”

Kyle put his tongue as far inside of her as he could, and spared her no mercy; he rapidly moved his tongue around in the same circular motion, causing more fluid to flush out of her vagina. Soon enough, however, Lyra started hammering one of her forelegs against the bed as she was about to cum. Shortly after, she let out a loud shriek as she absolutely drenched Kyle's face, almost drowning him in her fluids.

After her orgasm of roughly twelve seconds, Kyle withdrew his tongue, and saw that Lyra laid smiling with her tongue out as she was panting, and her eyes were crossed.

Oh, jeez... I think I pushed her a little too hard. Kyle thought. Heh, I've turned her into Derpy!

Lyra had indeed been fucked silly.

“...Haahhh...” Lyra moaned. “...You are... amazing with that... tongue of yours...”

Kyle laughed.

After letting her get a decent recovery time, both were ready for the finisher. Lyra got into a kneeling position with her plot up in the air. Kyle knelt right behind her, his cock hard once again. He decided to warm Lyra up before going at it right away. He started to gently massage her plot, making the young mare sigh in delight at the sensation. He leaned inward until his head was near hers.

“You've got a nice, soft ass.” Kyle whispered in Lyra's ear, just before leaning upright again.

Once he was sure Lyra was ready, as indicated by her blood-engorged teats, Kyle immediately began to press his penis into her rear end, and made it through. She let out a surprised moan as he forced his dick into her butt. He began to move in and outward in a steady rhythm. Lyra was fairly tight, but right now, it was not a problem for him.

He was striking her G-spot repeatedly, and her pussy was leaking onto the bedsheets. Both of them were sweating like crazy, and Kyle was getting exhausted from the thrusting. However, his adrenaline rush kept him going; he did not want to stop.

Lyra was in tears of ecstasy. Her imminent orgasm was even more intense this time, due to it being anal rather than vaginal. The tightness of her ass also made Kyle have a stronger onset of stimulation than Lyra's oral-play. Needless to say, the tension was building up fast for both of them. Kyle tried his best to time their orgasms simultaneously, hammering his pelvic region against her soft plot over and over.

"Ah-AAAH...!" Lyra shrieked. "K-Kyle...! I... I... AAAH...! I'm gonna... C-CUM...!"

Kyle panted heavily. "G-gngh...! L-Lyra... I... AH...! I... c-can't... HOLD IT...! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" he cried upon orgasm.

"AIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Lyra bellowed as she came.

Kyle released the last of his seed into Lyra, her ass squeezing him so hard, it felt like she was going to rip his cock off. But soon enough, after five seconds, his orgasm ended, and Lyra's ended about another five seconds after. Kyle used the last of his strength to remove his penis... and then both of them slumped over, thoroughly exhausted and drenched in sweat.

"...L-Lyra..." Kyle said, weakly.

"...K...Ky...le..." Lyra stammered, her eyelids falling with her unable to hold them up.

Both of them laid in the same position for a moment... and then succumbed to the sleepiness that overcame them both, unable to even sit up before losing consciousness.

26. The Last Goodbye

Seeing Lyra right next to him among the messed-up bedsheets, Kyle became wide awake as he remembered that, last night... he happened to live every super-brony's dream.

Wow, last night was pretty epic... heh, wonder how everyone would react if they found out that I fucked a pony? Kyle thought to himself, laughing a bit.

Soon enough, Lyra began to awaken, and she looked at Kyle with a smile.

"Morning, honey." she said.

"Morning, baby." Kyle responded.

Lyra stretched her legs. "Aah... was last night just the best, or what?" she asked.

"You bet your plot, it was!" Kyle said.

They both laughed for a while, and then eventually decided to start the day. They both decided to take a shower together... and Kyle could not help but want to scrub Lyra's mane with the shampoo. She did not mind; she absolutely enjoyed letting him wash her.

(XXXX)

A few months had passed since Kyle had Lyra had the epic night, and Lyra's eighteenth birthday was coming up... but it seemed like she was already twenty-five. Kyle had planned for the two of them to go on a camping trip in an isolated region of the mountains. Lyra was definitely excited about it. They would be leaving in a few days when her birthday came around, and Kyle had already bought the tent, cooler, small barbecue, food, and other supplies they would need. Kyle also decided to re-install the firing pin on his handgun and bring it, just in case.

They were browsing around the National Forest website to see where a good spot would be for them. It had to be isolated, but Lyra was bringing her wolf costume in the event that they did come across other people.

"I can't wait to go on a trip!" Lyra said. "How long has it been... about a year?"

Kyle nodded. "Sounds about right." he said.

Kyle had taken Lyra on a few trips before, making sure that the places they go would be isolated, be it camping outside of conventional campgrounds or renting a cabin near a resort.

As they were browsing, the doorbell suddenly rang, making them both jump. They looked in the direction of the front door to see some shadows moving.

"Lyra, hide in the bedroom..." Kyle said, promptly. "...this shouldn't take more than a few minutes... hopefully."

"Okay." Lyra said, heading quietly to the room.

Kyle walked over through the door... and could make out a very strange-looking and strange-colored figure through the frosted glass of the front door. And upon opening it...

...he believed his eyes were utterly lying to him...

...he was just as surprised as when he found Lyra, if not more so...

...this had to be a dream...

...but...

...no, it was real. This was really happening.

In front of Kyle was a fairly tall, white equine, with golden apparel accessories including a crown, a very long Unicorn horn, Pegasus wings folded against her body, and a mane of rippling pink-and-green hair...

...Princess Celestia was standing at his door.

"So..." she began after a long silence. "...we meet at last, human."

Kyle remained silent for a moment, still overcome with immense shock. Disregarding why the Princess of Equestria was at his door right now, it puzzled him that he was actually taller than Celestia (not counting her horn, of course).

"I am Celestia, Princess and ruler of the kingdom of Equestria, and controller of the Sun." the Princess declared.

"...Hello, Celestia..." Kyle said, awkwardly raising his hand in a still waving position. "...I am Kyle Schaeffer... denizen of America... and famous freelance artist..."

Celestia narrowed her eyes as she visually examined Kyle.

"If you don't mind me asking..." Kyle began, stepping outside. "...why are you here?"

"I would advise you to keep your distance, human..." Celestia warned, her horn glowing as she glared at him. "...we know what you are capable of, and we will defend ourselves!"

"Who's we?" Kyle asked.

Celestia stepped aside to reveal two other figures behind her. One was Bon Bon, an Earth Pony who is always depicted as Lyra's best friend in the TV show, and the other was none other than Twilight Sparkle herself. The first thing Kyle noticed about Twilight was that she did not have her wings.

Right... Kyle thought. ...we must be at a point in time before the series even began; she's still Celestia's student.

"We have come to take back the Unicorn pony, Lyra Heartstrings." Celestia said. "I can sense her presence in this residence. As the ruler of Equestria, I order you to release her!"

"Release her?" Kyle asked. "What are you talking about? I'm not holding her prisoner..."

"We will only believe you when we see her unharmed, human!" Twilight said, stomping her front hoof.

"Twilight, let me handle this..." Celestia said, turning back to Kyle. "...letting her go should be simple enough, I would imagine."

Kyle pursed his lips. "Why are you talking to me like this? What have I ever done to you?" he asked.

"We know that humans are aggressive creatures who will do anything and everything to get their way... even horrific acts." Celestia claimed.

"Please don't hurt us!" Bon Bon said. "We just want Lyra back!"

To Kyle surprise (and somewhat relief), Bon Bon had her "Green Isn't Your Color" voice.

"Hurt you?" Kyle asked. "Why would I hurt any of you? What would I have to gain from it?"

Celestia's eyes widened a bit in surprise. "A human using logic? That's interesting... I always assumed they went off of pure primal instinct..."

"Well... you can come inside, if you want..." Kyle said, stepping aside. "...and if you're not too paranoid. Trust me, there's no traps inside."

Hesitantly, the ponies all came inside of the mansion. Celestia looked around.

"Quite a well residence you have here." Celestia said. "I always imagine they'd be cluttered like a dragon's den."

"So, um, Mister..." Bon Bon said to Kyle. "...where's Lyra?"

"She's... upstairs. In our bedroom." Kyle said.

Bon Bon raised a brow. "In your bedroom...?"

"Yeah." Kyle said. "Me and Ly share a room together. I offered her a room of her own before I lived here, but she wanted to sleep with me."

" 'Ly'? Are you serious?" Bon Bon said. "You call her by a pet name?"

"Do you care to explain?" Celestia asked.

"Look... just trust me when I say this: I have not harmed Lyra in any way. I would never do such a thing, because I've known about you ponies. You're all from a cartoon that aired on television for almost a decade."

"So you do know... you've seen us..." Celestia said.

It was a bit strange that none of the ponies asked Kyle about the show.

"And, I've had a pretty big question in my mind for several years now..." Kyle said. "...what the hell happened that caused her to end up in this world?"

"Well..." Celestia began. "...it happened in Canterlot a long while ago. My student here, Twilight Sparkle, was there to witness the event firsthand. An Earth Pony from Ponyville, Doctor Whooves, was present at the annual Scientific Exposition unveiling his latest creation: a portal generator, which allows access to various different universes in ways that magic is unable to achieve."

"I see..." Kyle said. "...go on."

Celestia continued: "Lyra was present on a class field trip, along with her orphanage roommate, Bon Bon. They witnessed the Doctor power up his generator to create a portal that opened on one side of the stage, and came out on the other side. He stepped through the portal with no difficulty. However... upon increasing the power, the device began to malfunction; it began to emit random static discharge, and Doctor Whooves was unable to shut it off via the control panel. All he could do was yell desperately for everypony to run away, as the device was on the verge of detonation.

"However, just before it did explode, the device fired a single beam, straight at the filly Lyra. When the beam made contact with her solid body... it heavily distorted spacetime around her, sending her through thousands of dimensions in a split-second, before she wound up here."

"Wow..." Kyle said, recalling what Lyra said years ago as to how she arrived here.

"After that, Doctor Whooves spent years performing extensive research and equations, such as her positioning when she was hit, the angle of the beam, the spot on her body that it hit, all by watching the surveillance footage. I told him personally that we would handle it, but he felt too terrible about the tragedy, and took it upon himself to locate the universe where Lyra ended up. Once he found it, I spent years with my student, practicing a special ritual magic that would allow us to cross into the dimension where Lyra was within the confines of the castle, and only a few moments ago... we performed it in the exact spot where Lyra disappeared."

"So, she didn't end up here by magic..." Kyle said. "...she's here by science!?"

"That is correct." Celestia said.

Just as Kyle was about to ask more questions, Lyra's voice came out of nowhere.

"Kyle?" she called from upstairs. "Honey, is everything alright down there?"

Oh no... Kyle thought, finally piecing together everything in that moment. ...they've come to take her back. How's all of this gonna pan out...?

He stood stiff for a moment, his heart beating fairly anxiously.

"Uh, excuse me... Kyle, is it...? But..." Bon Bon began, now looking even more confused than ever. "...did Lyra just call you... 'honey'?"

"Perhaps you could bring her out so we can ensure she is in good form?" Celestia asked. "There's always the possibility of brainwashing..."

Disgusted, Kyle was just about ready to uppercut the Alicorn... but he kept his cool for the time being, and proceeded up the stairs.

"It'll be a moment..." he said to the ponies waiting downstairs.

"Kyle?" Lyra asked, upon his making it up the stairs.

"Yeah, I'm here, Ly..." he said. "...uh, listen... we... we need to talk..."

"What's going on...?" Lyra asked.

Kyle sat for a moment, and explained the situation to her. After a few minutes of explaining, he brought her down the stairs. Needless to say, she was now just about as anxious as him. When she came into the living room.

"LYRA!" Bon Bon said, smiling big and rushing towards her.

Lyra gasped. "Bonnie!" she said, just as the Earth Pony pulled her into a hug, which she returned.

It brought a slight smile to Kyle's face to have the two meet again after so long... but it was tinged with a bit of sorrow, just knowing what was to come...

"Ah... so she is in good shape." Celestia said. "But... let me make sure she is not enchanted or psychologically altered in any way..."

Lyra and Bon Bon stopped hugging, and were paying attention only to Celestia. The Alicorn charged her horn, making Lyra levitate a few feet in the air. Several rings of light moved up and down her body. This continued for a few moments, until Celestia set her back on the ground.

"...She is fully self-aware. No enchantments, no hypnosis, no stress disorder... she's very much the same pony, mind, heart, and soul."

"But... something still doesn't add up to me." Kyle said.

"And what might that be...?" Celestia asked.

"The thing is... Lyra is much older than she should be relative to this world's time." Kyle said.

"What do you mean by that?" Celestia questioned him further.

Kyle turned to Twilight, who had firsthand witness of the event.

"How long ago did she disappear from Equestria?" he asked the purple Unicorn.

"Um... about fourteen years ago." Twilight answered. "Why?"

Kyle was absolutely confounded at the time that had passed between the two worlds.

"Well..." Kyle began. "...it hasn't been anywhere close to that much time in this world..."

Twilight narrowed her eyes in confusion. "How long has it been...?"

Kyle took a breath. "...Only seven years."

"WHAT?" Twilight asked, her eyes wide. "But then... why is she the same age that she would've been in Equestria?"

Celestia spoke up: "I believe I know the reasoning behind this." she said.

"So... what is it?" Kyle asked.

"Lyra has a sort link... a connection to Equestria, since it is her homeworld. She, and all of us, and chronologically bound to Equestria. And since these are different dimensions, the time slippage is different; for every one second that passes in this universe, two pass in Equestria..."

"So..." Kyle began. "...Lyra got older much faster... because she's linked to Equestria... and time moves slower here than it does there...?"

"It would certainly seem so." Celestia said. "And... what you are telling us... is that you have raised Lyra Heartstrings when she was a filly? And you went out of your way to ensure that she would be alright...?"

"Yeah!" Kyle said. "That's exactly what I did... because... the thing is... Lyra... see... I care about her... a lot..."

"Is that so?" Celestia asked.

"And..." Lyra spoke up. "...I really care about Kyle, too... more than anything else..."

Celestia looked surprised, but did not say anything.

"Um, so..." Twilight said. "...what are we supposed to do now?"

"There is only one thing we can do..." Celestia said. "...we must give her fabricated memories of how her life would have been in Equestria to account for all of the missing time. Only then will she be able to be a civilized mare, adapted to the customs of the kingdom."

Kyle was absolutely shocked at the idea. Tampering with her memory? What would that mean for him regarding what she would remember?

"It is time for us to return..." Celestia said.

"NO! Wait, please!" Kyle said, desperate.

Celestia looked at Kyle.

"Princess, please..." Kyle said, starting to feel his tears kicking in. "...before you take her back... c-could I just have... one final m-m-moment... to say... g-goodbye to her...?"

Celestia nodded after a moment. Immediately, Kyle knelt down in front of a very sad-looking Lyra.

"Lyra..." Kyle began, slowly. "...Lyra Heartstrings... you have made the biggest impact in my life, and have taken me on an unforgettable journey..."

Lyra's eyelids were convulsing, indicating she was going to start crying.

"...you helped me live my life for the better, and gave me feelings I thought I could never have..."

Tears were welling up in the Unicorn's eyes as he continued speaking to her.

"...y-you've shaped me into the m-man I am now, and I c-can't ever thank you enough... f-f-for all you've done for me..."

Lyra's mouth fell open slightly, and the tears began to fall down her face.

"...these seven years w-we've spent... talking... playing... dating... s-settling down for a new l-life... I just want you to know that each and every MINUTE of it was the most special in my entire life. And I also want you to know, Lyra... I love you. With all of my heart. To the ends of all universes. I hope you never forget about me... because I will never forget about you..." he trailed off, wiping Lyra's tears with his thumb.

"...D-do I... h-have to g-g-go... K-Kyle...?" Lyra asked, unable to hold back her sobs.

Kyle closed his eyes and hung his head down. Lyra pulled him into a firm, unbreakable hug of deep love and care... and he returned every ounce of it to the young mare.

“Lyra...” Kyle began. “...this is just as painful for me as it is for you, if not more. But..." he knew he had to say it, no matter how much it killed him inside. "...you need to return to Equestria. I-it's the only way...”

“B-but I don't wanna g-go back to E-Equestria...!” Lyra sobbed. “I-I wanna stay h-here... with you...!”

“I'll outlive you if you stay! Ly... you have to return. It has to be done. I only took you in on that day to care for you until today would come... but I never thought I would have spent this much time with you...” Kyle said.

Bon Bon was starting to sniffle and cry a bit. Twilight, also on the verge of tears, put a hoof on her shoulder to comfort her. Even Princess Celestia herself looked saddened.

Lyra sniffled. “...I-I love you, Kyle...” she uttered.

“And I love you, L-Lyra...” Kyle responded.

“I-I'll come back for you someday...” Lyra said. “...I-I promise.”

Kyle and Lyra separated, and the Unicorn mare looked up at her husband's tearful eyes with her own tearful eyes. They looked at each other for what felt like an eternity. Then, Lyra slowly closed her eyes, and her horn began to glow. She touched the tip of her horn to the center of Kyle's chest, and a warm feeling spread throughout his body from the single point.

The two eventually separated, and Kyle finally noticed how upset all the ponies were after witnessing such a heart-wrenching farewell.

Bon Bon sniffled. "I'm so s-sorry, Lyra...! I-I... I really wish... th-there was another way to do this..." she said.

“C-can't...” Lyra stammered, looking up at Celestia. “...can't he... come with m-me...?”

Celestia closed her eyes with her head down, and shook her head.

"He cannot exist in a stable manner in our world, just as you cannot in this world." Celestia said. "The only way to prevent any sort of paradox is for you to return to our world, and restore things as they were... but, I am truly sorry that you have to leave your human friend, Lyra..."

Lyra nodded in agreement. "I-I understand..." she said.

“I would like to, on behalf of Equestria itself, apologize for this accident.” Celestia said to Kyle.

Kyle raised a brow. “Apologize? Why?” he asked.

Princess Celestia hung her head down. “...You never asked to take up the task of having to raise a filly to adulthood, and you felt compelled to abide just because you did not want her to die. And you developed feelings for her out of the task of caring for her. I will be willing to provide you anything tangible as compensation for this... colossal trouble.”

“Trouble?” Kyle asked. “It's absolutely no trouble! Why would I blame anyone? I am actually happy that this all happened! Before I found Lyra... I was living in a world where I could see nothing but black-and-white; she helped to bring the color back into my life. It was through her that I got my groove... my mojo... my hope back! So, I see no reason to blame anypony. If anything, I want to thank all of you for this happy accident!”

"I believe I understand now... why she called you 'honey'..." Celestia said, looking regretful. "...you truly love her, don't you?"

"Like I said, with all my heart..." Kyle said.

Celestia turned to Lyra. "...And you truly love him too, don't you?"

Lyra sniffled and wiped her tears before answering. "H-he's... even better than... any s-st-stallion that I could... i-imagine..." she answered.

"Indeed..." Celestia said, looking at Kyle again with a spark of admiration in her eyes. "...I never realized that humans could feel the same way in which ponies do..."

Twilight, having lightened up a bit, spoke next: "You might have just helped us open up a new world of study for humanology."

Bon Bon came up to Kyle, and he knelt down in front of her.

"Yes?" Kyle asked.

“I really want to thank you...” Bon Bon said. “...for looking after my best childhood friend.”

And then, she hugged Kyle. He returned the hug to the Earth Pony as well. (He also happened to note that the rumors on the internet were true: her mane did smell like candy). Eventually, she let him go, and he stood back up.

"So... Your Highness... about this memory spell..." Lyra said.

Celestia turned to her. "Yes? What do you want to know?" she asked.

"Well..." Lyra was looking saddened once again. "...will these new memories..." she stopped for a moment. "...r-replace the ones... with K-Kyle...?"

For once, Celestia appeared to be on-the-spot by the question; she looked rather uncertain.

"Hm..." the Princess pondered. "...that, I cannot say. There are no accounted cases of false memories replacing real ones... but at the same time, none for the other way around either. Really, all we can do is perform it, and see what happens."

This was what made Lyra thoroughly worried. What if she lost her memories about Kyle? What if she never remembered anything about what happened? Just thinking of such a thing felt like a lead weight in her heart. She could hardly even bear the thought of it happening...

...but whatever would happen, she was ready for it. At least, as ready as she would possibly be.

Princess Celestia smiled at the human.

“You did the right thing, taking Lyra under your care on that fateful day.” she said. “Upon our discovery years later of where she ended up... we all began fearing the absolute worst. To think that she ended up in a universe where magic does not exist... and inhabited by humans, no less... I feared that she would be dead on the first day... or possibly corrupted and evil by the time we found her...”

The Alicorn trailed off, looking at Lyra, and then back at Kyle.

“...but I can tell for certain... something wonderful has happened. Never could I have imagined that there exist humans who are not fully self-centered or greedy... and that they are capable of true kindness and compassion. You have my full admiration, Kyle Schaeffer... taking care of a lost filly, ensuring that she had a good, healthy lifestyle, and going out of your way to keep her safe.”

Kyle smiled. "It was nothing... I did it, because I care about her... and I just want her to be in good hands... or hooves." he said.

“Consider this...” Celestia said, leaning close to Kyle. “...my personal thanks.”

And then the Alicorn kissed Kyle on the cheek. He immediately brought his hand up to the spot where she kissed him as his face flushed. But he did manage to smile.

However... his happiness would be gone in a matter of split seconds...

"Are you ready, everypony?" Celestia asked, all of the lesser ponies gathered in front of her.

"WAIT!" Lyra said. "Before we go... could I go and get something real quick?"

Slowly, Celestia nodded. "Just don't take too long..." she said.

Lyra ran up to their bedroom, and after a few minutes, came back down with her crystal pendant on... the one Kyle gave her for Christmas. She also had a small box with her, about six cubic inches. Kyle assumed it held her most valuable possessions he had given her. As much as it killed him to think about... he hoped she had a picture of him in there.

"Is it okay if I take this necklace with me, and a few small items...?" Lyra asked.

Celestia hesitated for a moment, but spoke: "...I don't see the harm in bring a few small items." she said.

"Well... I suppose... this is it, then..." Twilight said.

"Yeah..." Bon Bon added.

Lyra started sniffling again, and looked sadder than ever. "G-goodbye... my Kyle..."

Kyle wiped away a tear about to fall. "...Goodbye, L-Lyra..." he said.

Flashbacks surged through the minds of the two of all the happy times they had...

...his taking her into the Richardsons' house...

...watching movies together...

...magic training with her...

...Lyra getting her cutie mark...

...moving out together...

...their epic night of sex...

...Lyra scolding him for insulting her...

...her running off and meeting Romeo...

...getting captured and rescued...

...their tearful reconciliation...

Celestia's horn began to glow as she closed her eyes and angled her head downward at the ponies. A bright light began to fill the room, getting brighter all the while. The last thing Kyle saw before everything faded to white was Lyra looking at him in immense emotional agony, followed by her closing her eyes and hanging her head down as a single tear slipped down her cheek...

Kyle opened his eyes. The light had faded, and all of the ponies were gone.

"It's over..." Kyle whispered to himself, drowning in sorrow. "...she's gone."

He noticed that the photographs of him and her, which lined the walls of the living room, just had him in them. Lyra was completely absent from them. He also noticed in the living room mirror that his subtle pony traits had vanished; he was fully human again. Realizing how everything was disappearing related to her, he quickly went to his room to find the laptop that Kyle had bought for her. He booted it up... only to find the Windows 10 activation screen welcoming him and requesting him to link his account.

It was only then that the realization hit him; Lyra was completely gone, and any trace of her existence, aside from his memories, was now erased. Nobody would ever know, and he would not be able to do anything to prove that she existed... not that anyone would have cared.

Even so, Kyle laid on his bed, staring up at the ceiling for the next several hours, processing the same thing through his head over and over...

...she's really gone.

Epilogue

Kyle was about to head outside and try to walk his sadness off... but he spotted something on his computer's keyboard. It looked like a note, but he did not write it, let alone put it there. He walked over and picked it up to see that it had a line of code written on it in pen. It was a line of ten keyboard characters. He did not know what they meant. He logged onto the computer to see that his email icon had a notification.

Logging into his email, he saw that he had a new message in his primary inbox, as opposed to all of the junk mail he gets in his promotional, social, and update inboxes. The address was masked, so Kyle could not see who it was from... but he was willing to take the chance to see what it was; his antivirus software should hopefully stop any threats. Hesitantly, he opened up the email, and an attached file began to download.

It was a video file, and it prompted Kyle if he wanted to open it now. He clicked on "Yes," which led to a password-entry window. The file was encrypted.

"What? What is this?" Kyle said to himself. "What good is a file if I can't even unlock the... wait..."

The realization struck him in that moment. He looked back at the note he set of to the side.

"Could it be...?" Kyle said.

He began to type each letter, number, and symbol in the order that they appeared on the note. His heart was hammering at this point. Upon pressing the enter key, a loading bar appeared, filling in less than two seconds: the file was decrypted and ready to play.

The computer's media player opened, and...

"...Hi, Kyle..." Lyra said, appearing on the screen.

Kyle stared in utter awe at the sight on his computer screen.

"...Hey, Lyra..." he replied out loud.

It seemed that Lyra recorded herself with his computer's webcam, as noted by the identical office scene directly behind him.

"...so, it's the night after you rescued me from those catchers. You're asleep right now, but... I wanted to make this video, because..." Lyra sighed. "...I just wanted to say that I hated the way I acted. I don't like to scold you... and I really do, from this point, want to make the most of my time with you..."

Kyle rested his chin on his hands, with his elbows on his knees, as he watched the recording.

"...And I especially want to make the most of it, because... well..." Lyra looked around for a moment. "...you once told me that, one day, I might end up returning to Equestria..."

The mentioning of this was making Kyle start to tear up again.

"...and, if that were to happen... that I might have my memory altered upon returning. But Kyle... even if that does happen... even if I don't remember anything about you or this world... I just want you to know this: you have done an awesome job of taking care of me, and you are an awesome person. I am amazed that you've managed to survive everything that you've been through... and still made time for me. So, Kyle..."

Lyra smiled, closed her eyes, and hung her head down.

"...I love you. I really do. Nothing could ever change that. And I can never thank you enough for everything you've done for me. So... whatever happens... just always know that it was not in vain, and I really appreciated every minute of it."

Lyra then reached for the keyboard, pressed a key, and the video ended. By then, Kyle was struggling to hold back his crying again. It did contain sad tears, but also... happy tears.

At the end of the video, Lyra kissed her hoof, and blew it at him. Kyle himself caught the kiss in his hand, and put said hand to his lips. He realized that Lyra knew that something like this was bound to happen, and she knew to prepare in advance for something like this.

He was fortunate that she had not left him on bad terms, just like before.

(XXXX)

It was yet another day in Ponyville for Lyra... at least, that's what she perceived. She woke up in the house that had been given to her to convince her that she had moved to Ponyville once of proper age, made herself breakfast, and went off on her own way, since she had the day off from work, at least, that's how everything had been arranged, as well as implanted into her memory.

Lyra stepped outside into the morning sun. "Ah... another beautiful day!" she said, taking a breath of fresh air.

“Lyra!” Bon Bon's voice came.

Lyra turned to see the Earth Pony walking briskly towards her, and then giving her a big hug.

“Oh, morning, Bonnie!” Lyra said, trying to pry her forelegs out of Bon Bon's. “Why so... friendly, today?”

Realizing that Lyra's memories must have been altered just as they planned, Bon Bon responded subtly.

“...I'm just so happy to see you.” Bon Bon said.

Smiling, Lyra hugged her back. "I'm happy to see you too, Bon Bon." she said.

After separating, Bon Bon spoke next.

"Wanna grab some brunch?" she asked.

Lyra nodded. "Sure!" she said.

After the two friends got a bite to eat, Lyra decided to head home for a bit of down time. From what she remembered, she had been quite burned out from her job for the past few weeks, and needed recuperation. She had it back to her home, and went straight to her bedroom with a book to start reading.

Lyra noticed a strange crystal pendant sitting on her nightstand. She had never seen it before in her life. What was it doing here? She walked over to it and picked it up, examining it. Though she never saw it before... something felt vaguely familiar about it.

"Weird necklace..." she said.

After looking at it for a few moments, a flash of light filled her eyes... and she saw... a hand holding it, offering it to her.

Merry Christmas, Lyra. A voice came in her head.

Lyra blinked a few times after the image ended. The creature's face was blurred... but she was sure she just saw a human.

"Strange..." Lyra said to herself. "...I got this necklace... as a gift? But... nopony gave it to me! And... who was that human?"

She happened to see a small box about a quarter the size of a shoebox sitting right under where the necklace was. She had not noticed right away... but she had never seen it before, yet it felt like she had. She opened it up... and inside were a few trinkets that looked like they were from an alien world... and a photograph of a strange creature.

"A human..." Lyra said, picking up the photograph.

She stared at it for a moment. Whoever this human was, he was quite handsome, Lyra thought. His light skin complemented his dark brown hair quite well. And his green eyes resembled emeralds. However, after looking closely enough...

...she remembered him finding her when she was lost...

...he took her into his home...

...he cared for her...

...he taught her about magic...

...he helped her get her cutie mark...

...they went on their own way...

...in a large mansion...

...they fought, but reconciled...

...he declared his ultimate love for her...

...just as she did for him...

...and they even mated, no less...

...Lyra gasped as it all came flooding back to her, in conjunction with her false memories.

“...K-Kyle...” she said. “...I... I remember... I remember everything...”

She looked at the little trinkets she had brought back from the other world.

“So... humans do exist...” she said. “...and a human... was my best friend...”

Lyra held up the necklace, starring deep into the glowing artificial crystal. She could almost swear she could make out patterns of human fingerprints on the metal setting...

She looked out of the window up at the sky, tears filling her eyes. She was saddened for a moment... but narrowed her eyes in rich determination, looking up into the vast blue void above the world.

“One day...” Lyra declared. “...I'll find a way to come back, Kyle. I promised.”

(XXXX)

Kyle slipped his wedding ring off of his finger, and held it up in front of his face.

“I'll never forget about you, Lyra...” he said out loud, just before kissing the golden band. “...never.”

He set the ring on his desk, and stared at it for a long while. Kyle knew that the love of his life was now gone, and there was little to no chance of her coming back... and he knew that he would have to face reality soon enough.

A few days later, Kyle found himself walking through an abandoned old park, the cracking concrete walkway being the only way through all of the overgrown grass. The sky was cloudy and gray, and the light gusts blew his open, slim-fit trench coat around him. Long walks were always something that helped him to think and reflect, which helped him gain a sense of closure when he could come to accept something.

Of course, he was continuing his freelance artist career, and was still making a lot of money off of it... and yet, it felt almost pointless to have everything he had, and no one to share it with. His life felt, not fully sad, but empty without someone he could talk to, hug, and especially, kiss.

Maybe one day, I'll meet a nice young woman who will finally accept me... Kyle thought. ...but still... no girl in the world could ever replace my Lyra...

Though he was now alone, though nobody ever knew of anything that happened between the two, which is now mere memories to him, and though he should have wanted absolutely nothing else more than to have Lyra back... Kyle felt that everything that happened should have been just that. Good things such as these won't last forever, and it just goes to show that one must cherish the good times and not take them for granted. And Kyle definitely cherished every moment with the iconic background pony.

If he had not gone to investigate the crying he heard on that one fateful day... if he was coldhearted enough to the point of not caring... he would still be the same, emotionless nobody that he was prior to meeting Lyra. But now, his sadness has started to diminish, as he has finally begun to move into the acceptance phase.

Kyle knew that Lyra would not want him to cry all of his tears away just because of her. She would want him to be happy and enjoy his life. He has promised himself that he would do so. No doubt, Kyle Schaeffer was indeed a changed man. He was no longer the bitter, reclusive eighteen-year-old that he used to be. He was now a wise, purified twenty-five-year-old with a heart of gold. He was now willing to help people out, having let go of his resentment to the world, and do things for the ultimate better.

After walking some ways, Kyle found himself on a bridge spanning over an actively-flowing creek about thirty feet across. He stood on the middle of the bridge, looking down into the water as it went rushing by. The sound of the flow was soothing to him. It drowned out the faint car noises of the roads in the distance, and helped him to be at peace.

Kyle was absolutely ready to keep moving forward and not look back. He would not think about Lyra... but he would never forget about her, and he will make good use of the positive energy he provided to her over the years. He knew that she was safely back home, in the background of the show where she belonged. They could never kill off any characters in a kids' show, so the thought alone helped him to accept that she was gone, but safe, and leading a normal life. Even so... he still felt like he needed closure... he needed someone to be there for him...

Having been staring into the river, Kyle returned to reality when he heard footsteps passing behind him. He looked back to see a woman with dark brown hair pulled back into a ponytail, sunglasses, and a windbreaker jacket.

"Sorry..." Kyle said, assuming he was in her way.

The woman stopped for a moment, staring at him.

“Wait... that watch...” she said.

She looked closely at the watch Kyle was wearing as his hand rested on the bridge's rail. Though she was wearing sunglasses, Kyle could tell that she was in immense surprise. She looked up at him.

“Kyle...” she said, slipping off her sunglasses. “...it's really you...!”

Kyle's eyes became immensely wide as he realized just who this woman was. She had never worn a ponytail, as far as he knew... but he knew her face... and then her voice... it came back to him all in just a few nanoseconds, forcing him to gasp. There was no doubt whatsoever.

“Mom...!” Kyle said.

Author's Note

Yep, this is it. The end of the story... or is it? Okay, so that wraps up this fic! Thanks for all of your support, fellow bronies and pegasisters! I hope you liked this story! Anyways, I am going to be on a hiatus on this site, since I am planning on writing an "Aliens" fic on FanFiction.net. However, if the fanbase hasn't died down by the time said fic is over, I will keep bringing you more fics! Anyways, thanks again, everyone! This is midnightwolfGX, signing off! Bye for now!

1. Absolute Melancholia

Kyle had just returned from a long, exhausting day at work. He was sore from standing for eight hours with only short breaks, and was looking forward to climbing into bed, and sandwiching himself in the sheets. It was always the time he looked forward to most out of his work day. It was a little after eleven o'clock, with Kyle having been scheduled a closing shift, which only further made him tired and ready to collapse under his own weight. The other household members were clearly already asleep.

Pulling off his uniform, Kyle laid down on his bed, staring up at the ceiling, and contemplating his life, much like he always does, having been questioning his very existence ever since he became a teenager.

Eighteen-year-old Kyle Schaeffer was but a lone soul trying to find purpose, as cliché as it sounds, but it really had strong emphasis in his life. He had been raised in this house ever since he was really little, but things have changed drastically over the years, more so than just anyone could ever relate to.

The other two current inhabitants of the house were Ed Richardson, Kyle's stepfather, who was an overweight, hard-tempered workaholic who believed that every day must involve hard work and had a bad drinking habit, and his son, Danny Richardson, a rude, obnoxious teenager who was younger than Kyle, but was nearly twice his size. This was because he was a wrestler, having been training in athletics all his life, and, Kyle assumed, inheriting Ed's genes.

The lifestyle these two forced upon Kyle was absolutely terrible. Ed was always making him do very unorthodox chores. Simple household ones, Kyle could do well and had little problems with, but when it came to things that Ed was more akin to, such as building, renovating, automobile maintenance, and landscaping, he was terrible and poorly-skilled. He tried to explain to Ed that this is not the kind of thing he is good at, but Ed always scoffs him off, saying that he needed to learn how to do it for later in life. This really annoyed Kyle, because whenever he made even a small, easily-fixable mistake, Ed would go off the rail and shout his head off at him.

Overall, highly-advanced household work was definitely something Kyle would set money aside for to give to some professionals, once he was living on his own.

Not only that, but Kyle appeared to be the one who did the most of the regular housework; Ed would often be sprawled on the couch in the living room watching ESPN SportsCenter when he was not working on any projects at the moment, and Danny would be holed up in his room, playing Call of Duty on his XBOX One in his free time from training, always raging nonstop at the other players through his overpriced headphones. Even when they did do regular cleaning, it was always very minor things. Ed seemed to do more major work, while Danny simply enjoyed his leisure, and was always pestering Kyle.

It seemed that Danny got bored and found joy in Kyle's misery, with anything from forcing him off the television or deliberately blocking his path, to outright beating the crap out of him, and it was always an unfair fight because Kyle was quite scrawny compared to Danny.

Every night, Kyle always thought of his real parents... but he never liked to think about what happened to them. However, one of them, he had strong faith, was still around somewhere...

It was because of this that he felt so alone in this world. Nobody could ever understand the problems he was facing. He did not feel like he truly belonged here. He felt like he had been dropped into this world from outer space or something. His life just felt... empty. Without purpose.

When Kyle was going to grade school and upper school, he did have a few friends, but upon graduating, it seemed as if they disappeared off the face of the earth. Making friends was not something that was second-nature to him; even to this day, he has always been a very quiet, shy boy. Not to mention, he did not do as well in school as he believed he could; if he applied himself, it could have happened, but school really bored him, and his lack of connection to the students or teacher did not help in the least. But he managed to pass with an acceptable GPA in the mid-twos. Now, he is in college, having graduated early, taking both physical and online classes full-time, going for a fine art degree.

His artistic ability was something that Kyle really prided himself on. He may not be good with building and repairs, but he was extremely gifted when it came to drawing and painting. He had been heavily inspired after watching some painting lessons by Bob Ross, and after trying it out for himself, found it to be something he really enjoyed and was really good at. His aspiration was to become a professional artist one day. He even had an account on DeviantArt.com, and has posted several of his paintings and drawings that he created on his tablet, all of which have gotten great feedback.

Kyle truly had an eye for just how beautiful the world is. Whenever he would see anything that was even remotely interesting, he would snap a pic of it on his phone, head home, and paint or draw it to his own interpretation. This allowed him to make even gloomy scenery look very abstract and lively. He could just feel that something such as this would be great for him later in life.

Ed, however, thinks otherwise. He has ordered Kyle to get a real job, and that he will never make a living off of his dreams. This infuriated Kyle, because he wanted to make something of his dreams. This is a different world than what Ed grew up in; the internet has revolutionized just how people can make money. Kyle vowed to himself that, one day, he will start accepting commission requests from people on DeviantArt, requesting prices that are reasonable for the work. However, he will have to hold off on it, since he does not want Ed to get any tax information regarding it.

When it came to his current work... it was something that Kyle really could not care less about.

Kyle worked a part-time job at the local Kroger as a cashier, bagger, janitor, and cart-retriever, depending on what they needed him to do. His coworkers seem like nothing more than acquaintances more so than actual friends, set aside that his managers are quite uptight and stern. He is scheduled entirely at random for any day that he is not in school, and working for minimum wage (a little under nine dollars per hour) was terrible; it just did not feel like it was worth the small amount.

He had been working at this job for well over a year, and Ed made him apply to receive health insurance benefits, which Ed has now made a reason for him to stay at the job, since he does not want to keep paying for Kyle's insurance. This, if anything, made Kyle feel even more under pressure from both the job he was working and Ed.

Plus, the job itself was not very fun (even though the ad on the job site claimed that it was a “fun, fast-paced work environment, operated by a friendly, welcoming staff!” Kyle could not help but scoff at this after experiencing it for real). The customers were very self-centered, lazy, and rude; some of them have been offended by his benign actions, as if seeing them as having hostile intent, and a handful have insisted that he should be fired. Fortunately, the managers have had the decency to agree that such customers are a bit extreme, but it does not make up for the way they work him. When he is working, he has to put up with bullcrap from people and is forced to keep a smile on his face to make them feel welcome.

Forcing a smile was not something that Kyle enjoyed doing. It absolutely killed him inside to be feigning happiness when he was not happy. He could only wonder how long it was before he would snap and go completely insane. Doctors and psychologists say that physically smiling can make a person feel better... but Kyle himself knows that, for him, it's a completely different story.

Working while going to school was very difficult, having to balance assignment due dates with work times, and it did not help that Kyle had a tendency to procrastinate. Adding to the stress was the fact that Ed had volunteered Kyle to mow and edge lawns for the neighbors without his consent, and during winter, to shovel snow from their driveways. The neighbors did pay him for it, but all in all, everything was nearly too much for him to handle. He made it all work, but it left him with little energy for anything else. His real days off, from both school and work, were few and far between. If he was lucky, Ed would be at work for the landscaping company that he works for, giving him a bit of space.

To make himself feel better, Kyle would often spend what little free time he had to visit a secluded area in the woods just outside of his neighborhood; an open patch of grass in the woods with a pond, a gazebo, and the remnants of an old playground. While she was still around, his mother often took him to this place. It was like his own little sanctuary. Whenever he would visit, it always helped him to feel the tiniest bit better, even when he was deep in the blackness of his negative emotions.

Other times, if he did not feel like walking a long ways, and if he had no work to do (typically in the evenings after Ed and Danny were asleep; Kyle was a full-on night owl, since nothing would disturb him in the late hours), he would surf the internet, play video games on his Wii U, or watch My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.

This was definitely something that, to this day, Kyle found to be a surprise. Back when G3 My Little Pony was in its prime, Kyle was in elementary school when he saw the commercials for the MLP toy line on television, and thought that it was the stupidest thing ever. If, at the time, he would find that he, like many other male viewers, would come to enjoy the cartoon of the future generation of the series, he probably would have thought he, or the world, was going crazy.

Kyle has admitted to himself, a long time ago, that he is a brony. Closet brony, to be specific, since no one else knows about his liking for the TV show. The show is fairly good, he believes... but it is both a blessing and a curse. It is a bit relieving to see the cheerful ponies and the colorful world, but it's also a bit hard to watch, just knowing that such a great place full of great living beings will not be somewhere that anyone will ever be able to visit. Never has he told anyone about his interest in the show... mainly because it was quite bizarre to confess that you watch a cartoon that, from first-impressions, is intended for young girls.

Aside from his outlandish interests that made him different from many others around him, he also had a major ambition, aside from his artistic sense.

Ever since he became a teenager, the one thing Kyle wanted, more than anything else in the world, was a girlfriend. He was not like a lot of the obnoxious guys that he always saw at his school or in movies; he did not care about sex, or stereotypical hookups. What Kyle wanted was something deeper: true, genuine love for a girl, just as she would return it to him, no matter what could happen.

Sadly, Kyle has never met any girl like this. He has had many crushes over his middle- and high-school years, but they either already had a boyfriend, or simply did not want to date him. He knew that it was possible to win a girl over, even if she was already dating or lacked interest, as he has heard about it from his few friends, but he did not know exactly what he was doing wrong. Plus, most of the girls who have fallen for him were not quite attractive enough for his taste, were fairly brainless, or just not compatible for someone like him, given their particular interests.

It did not help that a major portion of Kyle's former friends had been in at least one relationship, making him feel extremely alienated and like the black sheep in the herd. This has also taken a major toll on his confidence, knowing that he has graduated high school and has been unsuccessful with love, and just knowing that there are many people in this world experiencing such great, genuine, deep love from another, and he couldn't get it no matter what he tried, just made him feel like a total loser.

Kyle did not believe that he was handsome by any standards, but many people (mainly adult women) did claim that he was so. He was tall, a little over six feet, but a bit on the thin side. He had a fairly plain taste in clothing, basic T-shirts with no graphic art, and simple blue or black jeans. He had dark brown hair that somehow always managed to look neat, even if it were messed up, bright green eyes, was always clean-shaven, and had light skin that lacked flaws, save for a few freckles, moles, and scars that were scarce and spaced out quite broadly. Hopefully, he could make decent first-impressions on a girl he is interested in by that alone.

Not to mention, he hoped that maybe, the girl he one day wins over is perhaps a pegasister, the female equivalent of a brony, just to avoid having to hide the fact that he likes MLP: FiM. Being timid as he was, Kyle immensely feared judgment and ridicule, which is why he is not open about being a brony.

This has resulted in him being immensely paranoid around any other human being, because he simply did not understand what was going through their minds... something that he has always had trouble with, ever since he was born. It did not help that he had been diagnosed with a form of Asperger Syndrome. He could not interpret the intention or desires of others, and people in general have been his life's biggest mystery.

...Perhaps that's why Lyra Heartstrings is Kyle's favorite background pony, he assumed; she, just like him, is trying to understand the human race... according to her fanbase, at least. With that being said, Fluttershy was his personal favorite of the Mane Six, all because he could easily relate to her timid nature (He even sometimes sang Fluttershy's song “So Many Wonders” whenever he was out in his little sanctuary in the woods to make himself feel better; yes, he memorized the lyrics, but altered them slightly to be proper for the real world).

But really, Kyle seemed to like Lyra just a little more. Maybe it was because not much is known about background ponies in general, making them, including Lyra, a little mysterious? Kyle did not know, but still it did not bother him.

In any case, he was getting really tired. He pulled off his uniform, pulled himself under his bedsheets, turned off the light, and drifted off to similar, bizarre dreams that would always weird him out upon awakening, but would fade from his memory completely within a day...

Author's Note

Okay, being the loyal brony that I am, I decided that I will take a little twist with MLP by adding humans. Before you commence the cringe, it will NOT involve the shit Equestria Girls in any way. I know some people might think that this is a bit of a ripoff of My Little Dashie, but I've actually had ideas for this long before I read it, and I plan to make this quite a deeper, more complex story than it (btw, that fic made me cry, no joke).

5. Separated by Responsibility

The next day, Kyle was trying to decide what to do in the event that he would have to go to work. Fortunately, it was a short shift today, only four hours, from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM. So, at least he could spend a major part of the day with Lyra.

For the first part of the morning, he decided to show Lyra Netflix, which was a popular video platform that allowed unlimited movie streaming, provided the user paid a monthly subscription fee. Lyra thought that it was absolutely amazing.

"Wow, you can watch all these movies for just that price for one month!?" Lyra asked.

"Yep!" Kyle said. "And it's not just movies; you got a bunch of TV shows as well!"

"Oh, cool! You humans have invented everything!" Lyra said.

Kyle laughed a bit. "Yes, well..." he trailed off.

Kyle was startled at the sudden sound of music... which came from his phone. It always startled him because it barely ever rang. And because of this, he had a feeling of who was calling...

And it turned out, he was right. He was being called by the Kroger store that he was working at. His heart sank.

“You have got to be fucking kidding me... hold on, Lyra, I gotta take this.” He said just before briefly leaving the room and answering the phone. “...Hello?”

“Hey, is this Kyle?” Came the voice of Brad, one of his managers.

“Yes.” Kyle said.

“Okay.” Brad said. “So, I'm calling 'cause I was wondering if you could come in early today and make your short shift a full one?”

Kyle gritted his teeth in seething anger.

“Yeah, we really need you down here. We're a little short on staff scheduled for today.” Brad said.

So, why don't you actually SCHEDULE people a little better? Kyle thought.

He thought for a brief moment.

“...Alright. I'll do it.” Kyle answered, reluctantly.

“Good!” Brad said. “See you soon!”

“Alright, see ya.” Kyle said, just before hanging up the phone and flipping the bird at it.

No, fuck off! He thought. Fuck you, Brat! You've got some nerve to take away my only short shift I've gotten in a while!

Kyle had a habit of calling Brad by an insulting nickname of "Brat," though never to his face. Also, he found it to be quite difficult to say no to someone of superior status to him.

Lyra noticed his angry expression upon his re-entering of the room.

"Are you okay?" Lyra asked. "What's wrong?"

“I'm sorry, Lyra.” Kyle said. “My craphead manager's called me into work a little early today. I can't stay around for as long as I was hoping.”

“So... where should I stay if either of those two other humans come around?” Lyra asked.

Kyle looked around for a moment. “Under my bed, the closet, inside my dresser. Really, you can hide wherever you feel is safe.” he suggested.

He picked up his tablet off of his bedside table.

“You can play games on my tablet in the meantime!” Kyle said. “All you do is touch the screen, and it will know where you're touching!”

“Ooh...” Lyra said, touching the widgets and making different screens appear. “...this is really high-tech stuff!”

“Yeah, so I'm gonna head off to work, and you can just stay here and do what you want. Just don't get caught, for God—er, Celestia's sake!” Kyle said.

"Yeah, I know how important it is." Lyra said, just before shutting herself in the closet.

Kyle threw on his uniform, grabbed his wallet, phone, and car keys, and headed off to Kroger, leaving Lyra alone, but entertained enough by his Samsung GALAXY Tab A 10". She found the applications to be quite interesting, but her main focus was on the "games" folder.

Lyra really seemed to enjoy the games called Angry Birds, Flow, and Tetris. At first, she did not know what to do, but after reading the instructions, got the hang of it. The tip of her hoof was precise enough to use the tablet.

(XXXX)

Today, Kyle was to work as a checker. So, he had been asked to open up one of the checkstands, and check out any customers who would come up to him. The store was moderately busy today, but it looked like the staff was doing just fine. Why did Brad call him in today?

Must be because they love to exploit their workers... He assumed.

Suddenly, a man pushing a cart full of groceries approached Kyle. He had a stupid, dopey smile on his face.

“Hey, you look bored!” the man remarked. “I'll give you some work so that you stay employed!”

Yes, I'm bored... because I'm STILL HERE. You'd sure do well to not mock me! Kyle thought bitterly. And, if you want to give me work that I'm not bored by... why not give me something to draw or paint? AND I STAY EMPLOYEED BECAUSE I'M PART OF THE UNION! EVEN IF NO CUSTOMERS CAME IN, THEY WOULD PAY ME ANYWAYS AND NEVER FIRE ME!

Of course, he made no remark to the comment verbally. “Did you find everything you were looking for?” he asked.

“And then some!” the customer said happily.

Kyle cleared his throat. “Do you have a Kroger Card?” he asked.

“I sure do!” the man said, handing him the card.

Kyle took it, but instead of scanning it, slid it in the pinpad that the customer would use.

“Oh, you can do that now?” the customer asked.

“You've always been able to...” Kyle said, subtly so as to avoid coming off as rude. He always tried his best to stay out of trouble.

“Oh, I didn't know that! HA HA HA!” the man laughed.

Kyle gritted his teeth inside his closed mouth. Okay, this guy's REALLY pissing me off... but, you know what they say; it's better to be pissed off then to be pissed on.

The minor joke he made to himself did not help him to crack a smile at all.

Kyle spent the next five minutes ringing up the order, but there was no bagger helping him, and all of the items were piling up. It came as no surprise to him that the man was just standing there watching. After finishing, he returned his attention to the customer.

“Would you like a book of stamps or a bag of ice?” Kyle asked.

“Sorry, what was that?” the man asked.

It annoyed Kyle how many customers asked him to repeat himself; his voice was hoarse from talking all day, and it hurt his throat to speak loudly. So, he repeated the question.

“Ooh, ice! Give me a bag of ice!” the man said.

“Ten or twenty pounds?” Kyle asked.

“The regular size.” the man said.

This confused Kyle. “So... ten pounds?” he asked.

“Yes, sir! Ten pounds.” the man said.

“Okay...” Kyle said, scanning the barcode for a ten-pound bag of Reddy Ice. He then told the customer the total.

“So, do I chip or slide?” the customer asked.

“You'll need to use the chip reader.” Kyle instructed.

"Okey dokey!" the man said as he put his card inside the machine.

It took a moment for the card to read, but it did. Next came up the PIN input screen.

"How do I do credit?" the man asked.

"Is your card a Visa?" Kyle asked.

"Nope, it's MasterCard," the man said. "but I don't have a PIN, so how do I run it as credit?"

"Unfortunately, at this location, only Visa cards are allowed to be run as credit." Kyle stated. "It's a security measure."

"But I want to run it as credit!" the man said, now appearing to get angry.

Quickly, Kyle picked up the phone and hit the PA button. "Could I get a head clerk to register 13, please? Head clerk, register 13." he announced before hanging up.

After about a minute of listening to the irritated man call him all kinds of slurs, a head clerk, Rosa, came over to see what was up.

"What do you need, Kyle?" Rosa asked.

"Could you help me explain to this customer that MasterCard cannot be run as credit?" Kyle asked.

Rosa then went on to try and explain how it worked, but it was only egging the ignorant customer on further. Eventually, things escalated into an all-out argument.

"I'll take it from here." Rosa said. "You should just bag for now."

Kyle went off to bag people's groceries, which was not as bad, given that he did not have to scan everything and input numbers for produce items, as well as less interaction with the rude customers. But still, the job was not very appealing, to say the least. Especially when he had to put up with shit like that.

Later in the evening, he had to mop the floors, replace the paper towel- and toilet paper-rolls in the dispensers of the bathrooms, clean the bathrooms, collect garbage from the waste baskets, and so on. Eventually, he made it through his shift, alone with two fifteen-minute, on-the-clock breaks, and one half-hour, off-the-clock lunch during the day.

(XXXX)

Kyle had made it back to the house, heading into the basement through the basement door instead of taking the front door; he did not want Ed or Danny to disturb him. Kyle pulled off his uniform, took a warm shower, dried and dressed, and returned to his room, where he collapsed on his bed.

"Ah..." He said as he laid on his bed, opening his laptop. "Okay... so, continuing with this painting... I'll fill this area with the paint bucket tool, and..." he put emphasis on the following: "...Increase Tolerance."

Lyra had emerged from behind a bunch of jackets in the closet, the tablet on her back.

"Hey, Lyra." Kyle said. "How was today?"

Lyra sighed. "Okay, I guess... I was taking a nap just before you came in. But the day just wasn't as fun without you. I wish you didn't have to work."

"Yeah, me too..." Kyle said.

"Anyways... here's your tablink." Lyra said.

Kyle laughed. "It's a tablet."

"Heh... my bad." Lyra said.

Kyle took the tablet, and noticed some marks on the plastic screen protector.

“Well... looks like the screen protector on my tablet's been scratched up.” He said, looking over at Lyra with a slight smile, high eyebrows, and half-closed eyes. “Looks like it was done by a pony hoof...”

Lyra looked up at him with innocent eyes. “You're not mad at me, are you?” she asked.

Kyle chuckled. “Oh, of course not, you silly filly!” he said.

He rubbed Lyra's head, making her giggle.

"I can get the protector replaced with a tempered-glass one, which is resistant to scratching." Kyle said.

The two stayed up late into the night browsing through Netflix to find any shows or movies that were interesting...

Author's Note

Yeah, might start off a little weak, but I am positive that the chapters will have more substance as the story progresses.

21. Rescue and Reconciliation

Kyle was peddling hard and fast on the bike to try and catch up with the truck. Fortunately, they were staying under the speed limit of 25 MPH, but even so, he still had to peddle hard in order to keep up.

"Come back here, you heartless snatchers!" Kyle shouted.

The two catchers could not hear what he said, but the passenger noticed Kyle peddling directly behind them in the rear-view mirror, noticing that he was trying to catch up.

“ 'Ey, Louie! There's some weirdo chasin' us on his bike!” the passenger animal catcher said.

“Meh... prob'ly just some hotheaded teen.” the driver said. “Y'know how they are... ragin' hormones; testosterone 'n stuff... prob'ly drugs, too...”

"Yeah..." the passenger said. "...prob'ly wants to try and take our precious li'l princess in her cage! Put yo' foot on it!"

The driver sped up a bit, and Kyle was getting left in the dusty wake.

"Damn... they noticed me." Kyle said to himself. "Well, time to power through..."

As luck would have it, they came to a downhill stretch, and it greatly helped Kyle to pick up a bit of momentum. It did so for the catchers' truck as well, but they could not risk creating too large of a buffer above the speed limit. He was slowly catching back up to them, but he had to be extremely careful; he had no helmet or padding on, and the road was not in great shape, being full of potholes and cracks. Still, his adrenaline rush was sufficient to keep him going.

Kyle kept the momentum going downhill in order to keep up with the truck, but the bike was now moving at a very dangerous speed. He had to keep a firm grip on the handlebars; if he veered too far on either side by even a fraction of a degree, it would make him lose control and crash. He was able to get directly behind the truck, and then Lyra noticed him.

"Oh, Kyle!" she said. "You're here!"

"Don't worry, Lyra! I'm gonna get you outta there!" Kyle said.

Immediately, he put his feet on the frame of the bike between the seat and the handlebars, and slowly began to stand. He would have to let go of the bike completely for the next part. In less than a heartbeat, he jumped his hands from the handlebars to the rim of the truck's trunk, and hauled himself onto his elbows to hang off of it. At that point, the bike lost all control and fell from under him. He looked back to see it ride on its own for a few seconds, veering towards the curb, and colliding with the sidewalk, flipping over.

Kyle put his feet on the bumper, and stood up to climb into the truck. He flipped himself inside, and stayed low to the floor of the vehicle, crawling over to Lyra's cage.

"Kyle..." Lyra said, smiling with tears in her eyes. "...you came to save me!"

Kyle nodded. "Yep! I just gotta figure out how to open this lock..." he said, examining the padlock.

Meanwhile, inside of the cabin of the truck, the catchers tried to get another observation of their posterior surroundings.

"Hey..." the passenger said, looking in the rear-views and behind them. "...where'd he go?"

"Prob'ly gave up or somethin'..." the driver said.

"Wait..." the passenger said, looking back to see something crouching in the truck. "...THAT ASSHOLE'S TRYIN' TO STEAL OUR UNICORN!"

"WHAT!?" the driver exclaimed. "Well, don't just sit there! Get 'im off the truck!"

"With pleasure..." the passenger said, powering up a dog-control stun baton.

With that, he leaned out the window after rolling it down, and held the stun baton to thrust at Kyle, who was removing the duct tape from Lyra's horn so that her magic would not be blocked. Kyle happened to notice him, and gasped as he saw the baton being jabbed in his direction. He dodged it, but the passenger catcher brought it back to try again, all repeating in quick succession.

"GET THE HELL OFF THE TRUCK, YOU COCKSUCKER!" the catcher shouted.

"NOT HAPPENING!" Kyle shouted back.

The passenger catcher managed to nick Kyle's hand with the baton.

"OW!" Kyle shouted as a sharp pain stemmed from his shocked hand.

After several more seconds of jabbing and dodging, Kyle managed to grab a non-electrified part of the baton and pull it away. He started swatting the passenger with it. The catcher pulled himself back inside of the vehicle and rolled the window up. Kyle then got up onto the roof of the truck's cabin, setting himself on his stomach, and started hitting the windshield with the baton in hopes of creating cracks that would obscure their visibility and force them to pull over.

“God, what is dis fucker's probl'm!?” the passenger said.

“I dunno... but he ain't gonna be walkin' outta here with his life!” the driver said. “I can shake him off, and he'll crash to the pavement 'n die! Then we can retire in glory and riches fit for a hundred kings!”

Immediately, he put the accelerator to the floor, and the truck shot forward, Kyle almost losing his grip, but not quite. He held onto the rims of the truck's top firmly, as they swerved like crazy.

Lyra was occupied trying to hastily pick the lock with her magical telekinesis, but it was not working out so great; she could not see inside of the lock, and the swerving was throwing her off badly. She wanted to help Kyle, but was not exactly sure what to do. It was too risky for her to try and use her magic as a means of attacking; she might accidentally hit Kyle. She was pondering heavily about what to do in order to help Kyle and escape...

...and then she happened to spot a ditch filled with water off to the side of the road up ahead.

I know what I need to do... Lyra thought.

All she wanted was for Kyle to be alright. He might be a little banged up, but it was better than more serious injuries, Lyra assumed. With the two men still heavily distracted, she took hold of the wheel with her magic, veered the truck more towards the watery ditch as the driving catcher swerved towards it, and closed her eyes for impact...

SPLASH.

Kyle was flung off the top of the truck, but landed in a puddle of water that was just deep enough to break his fall. Regardless, the impact still hurt him a bit, and knocked the breath out of him.

Under the water for a brief moment, Kyle flailed his arms about before he stood up in the waist-deep water.

He looked at the truck, which was now stuck in the ditch, it's engine sputtering to a halt. The windshield was now cracked all over and had bloodstains on it from where the two snatchers hit their heads against it, and they now lay unconscious from the impact.

“Lyra...!” Kyle uttered, rushing his way through the water to get to the truck.

Peering into the trunk, he saw the cage that had been holding Lyra was now busted open. Lyra was laying half-inside of it, but she was out-cold, covered in bruises and cuts from the crash.

“Oh no... Lyra!” Kyle said, quickly climbing into the truck and kneeling beside his beloved Unicorn friend. “Lyra, please wake up! Get up!”
He tried to nudge her, tap her muzzle, and even pull her mane, but she was far too deeply unconscious to awaken... in fact, it seemed like she was...

“Please, Lyra...” Kyle said softly, tears filling his eyes. “...please don't be dead! Please, give me something! Anything...! Lyra...!”

Kyle began to hyperventilate. He had no clue what to do to save his pony friend.

No, no, no... Kyle thought. ...why did she have to do this!? Why couldn't she wait for me to get her? Ngh, I need to do something! I NEED to save her...! But... how do you do CPR on a pony? Where is the heart even located!?

Succumbing to defeat, Kyle laid his head on Lyra's chest, and cried softly.

“...P-please come back, L-Lyra...” he cried. “...you mean... m-more to me than... anything e-else... in the whole world...”

He sat there, crying for several minutes. The hide on Lyra's chest became saturated with his drying tears.

“I-I never... got the... ch-chance...” Kyle began. “...t-t-to say... I'm s-sorry...” he sniffled. “...I'm so... sooooo sorry... Lyra...”

If Lyra was truly going to die, especially after the event that transpired only a few days ago... there was absolutely no way he would ever be able to forgive himself. He knew that he had hurt her, and for her to die with that pain still inside of her...

...he felt like a horrible monster. He felt like he did not deserve to have her in his life.

He sat hugging the unresponsive Lyra, crying his eyes out. He could not get her to a veterinarian, because she could not risk being exposed to humankind, and he was not a doctor, let alone a surgeon. There was absolutely nothing he could do. But...

Wait... Kyle thought as something popped into his head. ...what if... what if I could use Lyra's magic, just like before?

Willing to do anything to save Lyra's life, Kyle took the chance. He held Lyra's horn in his hand, and attempted to focus his energy into it. He closed his eyes, did the best he could to calm himself, and focus. It took a little bit of time, but Lyra's horn started to glow the same green color as Kyle's eyes.

Glowing strands of light began to stem from the tip of Lyra's horn, and spread all over her body. It appeared to be working; the bruises were slowly shrinking and dissipating, the cuts were slowly sealing themselves, and Lyra's dull color was becoming more saturated and normal-looking again. After a few moments of heavy focusing, Lyra looked completely healed, and sure enough, she let out a few moans and slowly opened her eyes.

Kyle's heart leapt as tears filled his eyes.

"Lyra...!" he whispered.

"...N-ngh..." Lyra uttered, weakly. "...Kyle... you saved me."

"Thank God..." Kyle said. "...I thought I was gonna lose you!"

Lyra sat up, and looked around at the scene.

"You didn't get hurt... right?" Lyra asked, clearly concerned for her human friend.

Kyle shook his head. "I hit the water pretty hard, but I'm alright." he said.

Both of them sat for a few minutes, having first spoken to each other after several days. Both of their minds were flooded with all of the sadness, frustration, and pain that each one of them believed they had caused themselves. A sad look filled Lyra's eyes. She sat looking at the ground for a few seconds before she managed to glance up at Kyle.

“Listen... Kyle... I... I'm really sorry... about what happened... a few days ago.” she said.

“What?” Kyle asked, looking up at her.

Lyra sighed. “I overreacted... and I'm sorry.”

“Lyra... you don't need to apologize.” Kyle said, tears filling his eyes. “I shouldn't have said those things about you. I broke my promise to do what was best for you, so I should be the one to apologize.”

"But still, I shouldn't have taken it the way I did! It took me a while to notice..." Lyra briefly trailed off. "...that you really didn't mean it."

"Lyra..." Kyle began. "...anything bad about you that I would say... I would never genuinely mean it. But... I felt like a complete ass when I told off your species the way I did. Those words came out of my mouth, and I wasn't thinking about what I was saying..."

Once again, they both sat silent for a moment, thinking. Both of them were almost very much certain that the other was angry at them.

“Kyle...” Lyra finally said, looking down and pausing for a moment as tears filled her eyes, before she looked up at him. “...do you still love me?”

Without hesitation, Kyle lifted Lyra in his arms and held her in a firm hug, closing his eyes as tears ran down his face.

“Of course I still love you, Lyra!” Kyle said as the Unicorn mare hugged him back. “I will always love you, no matter what happens! If I didn't love you... I wouldn't have come to save you!”

“G-gngh...!” Lyra strained.

Kyle loosened his hold on her a bit. “Oh, I'm sorry... still hurting from the crash?” he asked.

“Y-yes...” Lyra said, but she just hugged him tighter. “...but, y'know what they say... l-love hurts...”

“Oh, Lyra... you silly filly.” Kyle said, lightening up a bit and managing to smile.

“And, Kyle... thank you. You saved my life... in more ways than one.” Lyra said.

Kyle smiled. “Guess my life-debt is repaid, then?” he said.

Lyra looked up at him, smiling despite tears in her eyes. "...You never owed me anything." she said.

"But it's just what I would do for you..." Kyle responded.

After having come to forgive each other for what happened on that unfortunate day, they both stood up and readied themselves to head back. Kyle pulled his mobile phone out of his pocket and checked it.

“Well... looks like my phone's toast.” Kyle said, chuckling a bit. “When we get back home, I'll stick it in some rice.”

Both of them got off of the truck to head out, but then Lyra happened to hear something approaching them from behind.

“...Glad to see you're still in one piece, kid.” came a voice very familiar to Lyra.

“Oh, Romeo!” Lyra said upon seeing the horse.

"Huh?" Kyle asked, looking back. "That horse...?"

Lyra was not listening to Kyle, and went straight up to the brown stallion.

"You came for me?" Lyra asked.

"Yep." Romeo said. "I was readyin' myself to jump the fence... but I see you got yourself a nice human rescuer who did the job for me."

Since Kyle could not understand “horse language,” being a human, Lyra's voice was the only thing his ears could pick up from their conversation.

"Um, Lyra... who is this?" Kyle asked.

Lyra looked back at Kyle. "Oh, Kyle! This is Romeo. I met him when I was wandering around Zebulon Range... and he offered to help me back to your house." she said.

Kyle's eyes widened. "You wanted to come back? I thought you hated me after what happened..." he said.

"Like I said..." Lyra began. "...I felt really bad, and wanted to make it up to you. But, as I was coming back, we came to a gap between two neighborhoods, and I was spotted by those catchers, and they took me."

"Well..." Kyle began. "...I'm glad that I was wandering around aimlessly in despair at that time. If I wasn't... I would've never seen you again... and then I would've thought that you..." he trailed off.

"And... it seems like Romeo was trying to come and rescue me as well." Lyra said.

Romeo nodded once. "Yep. I woulda bucked my way through those truck doors to stop them." he said.

"Let me get this straight..." Kyle began. "...this horse was helping you get back... and tried to rescue you?"

Lyra nodded.

Kyle stepped forward, and rubbed Romeo's mane. “Thank you, Romeo. Thank you for helping Lyra to come and find me.” he said.

Romeo nuzzled Kyle's hand. "Gotta say, kid... your human's got a nice hand-touch."

"I know..." Lyra said. "...he's the best anypony could ever ask for."

"Wish I could stick around..." Romeo said. "...but I gotta be headin' back towards the Eastern side of the range. My herd is gonna be rounded up for relocation, and we gotta be altogether when we're retrieved."

Lyra looked saddened. "You're leaving?" she asked.

"That's right." Romeo said.

"I hope we can meet again someday!" Lyra said.

Romeo looked to ground for a moment. "Well... even if we don't..." he said, looking back up at Lyra. "...I'll never forget about you, kid."

Kyle chimed in: "Well... once again, Romeo... even if you can't understand what I'm saying... I can't tell you enough how thankful I am that you helped Lyra." he said.

"Well... I best be off." Romeo said. "Gotta head back and be rested for the long journey.

"Bye, Romeo!" Lyra said.

"So long, kid!" Romeo said. "You stay outta trouble now, y'hear?"

"Gotcha!" Lyra replied.

With that, they watched as the elderly stallion galloped off into the distance and out of sight. Just as the two were about to head on their way, they happened to re-spot the scene of the crash truck with the unconscious catchers still inside.

“I should probably do an amnesia spell on these two scumbags...” Lyra said. “...can't have them telling everyone about me.”

“Ah, right...” Kyle said. “...good call. Make sure they don't remember me, either. I don't want to have the police knocking at my door about this.”

With that, Lyra performed the spell on the two men, rings of yellow light enveloping their heads for a brief moment. Now with the catchers' memories of Lyra and Kyle wiped, all the two had to do was leave the area. Kyle decided to carry Lyra in his arms, seeing as to how she was still a bit sore from the crash; Kyle hadn't fully healed all the fine details of her body. He did not mind. If anything, it made him feel all the more attached to her, as well as making him feel like her guardian... her protector... he would never let anything happen to her again.

“Alright, let's go home.” Kyle said. “We've got quite a hike back... and I'll fix us up some cocoa when we get back.”

“Home... that sounds so good right now.” Lyra commented. “It's been real lonely the past few nights, sleeping without you, Kyle...”

They asked occasional questions on the way back, but were more or less quiet the whole time. Kyle decided to take a route through the fields back, just so that they would avoid the roads and Lyra would not be spotted. Once they made it back, Lyra immediately jumped into the shower while Kyle prepared a nice dinner of homemade spinach-and-cheese ravioli, assorted vegetables, and wine for both of them.

Lyra had finished washing just in time as Kyle finished cooking and preparing the meal for them. They ate their dinner in peace, without much talking. They both had enough drama for the past couple of days, and just wanted an evening of recovery.

“You want anything else to eat?” Kyle asked upon Lyra finishing.

Lyra shook her head. “No thanks. I just want to sleep.”

"Okay." Kyle said. "You must be exhausted."

"Believe me, I am." Lyra said.

“By the way...” Kyle said, reaching into his pocket and pulling something out. “...here's your necklace.”

"Oh...! You saved it!" Lyra said, just before looking guilty. "...I still can't believe I discarded your gift the way I did."

"It's okay, Lyra..." Kyle said, placing it over the mare's head, around her neck. "...I've already forgiven you. And I promise that I would never discard anything that belongs to you."

They both had a final cup of hot chocolate before settling into bed to go to sleep. For the first time in several days, they were finally able to experience the comfort of snuggling with each other under the covers once more, and it really helped to help them start falling asleep after nights of insomnia.

"I missed the bed." Lyra said. "And especially... I missed you, Kyle."

"I really missed you too, Lyra." Kyle said.

Kyle wrapped his arms around Lyra, just as she wrapped her forelegs around him.

"I promise that I'll never run out on you like that again!" Lyra said.

"And I promise never to consciously say anything to hurt you again." Kyle said.

Both of them had finally found the reconciliation they had been looking for, and made the promise that they wanted to each other.

"...I love you, Lyra..." Kyle said.

He had just said one of the most powerful phrases any intelligent being could ever hope to hear, and one of the hardest to say... and what she said in return had an even greater effect on him in return...

"...I love you too, Kyle..."

Soundtrack Guide (Text Color Coding)

A list of scores that I feel would be appropriate for the story.

Green text indicates when song begins (clicking it provides a link).
Red text indicates when song ends.

Don't interpret this as me not having the skill to manifest emotion; think of it as a bit of additional atmosphere. Anyways, hope you all like my selection of music! I know it could be better, but still... this is what I decided on. XD

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE MUSIC NOR AM I AFFILIATED WITH ANY OF THE ARTISTS/COMPOSERS. NONE OF THIS MATERIAL IS MONETIZED FOR ME, AND I AM USING IT UNDER FAIR USE!

Score Credits:

-“Lone Wolf” (Martin O'Donnell - Halo)
-“Milo Meets Kida” (James Newton Howard – Atlantis: The Lost Empire)
-“Revali's Theme” (Manaka Kataoka, Yasuaki Iwata, and Hajime Wakai – The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild)
-“Get Master Sword” (Manaka Kataoka, Yasuaki Iwata, and Hajime Wakai – The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild)
-“Kevin Beak'n” (Michael Giacchino – Up)
-“Despair” (Atlus – Trauma Center: Second Opinion)
-“Hopes” (Atlus – Trauma Center: New Blood)
-“Weather Channel - Globe (Day)” (Nintendo Wii)
-“Beautiful World” (Noam Kaniel – Code Lyoko)
-“Prince Sidon” (Manaka Kataoka, Yasuaki Iwata, and Hajime Wakai – The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild)
-“A Promise Kept (Movie Vers.)” (James Horner - Titantic)
-“Tower Theme” (Unknown Composer – Code Lyoko: Evolution)
-“Reminiscence: The Fire Carves Scars” (Naoto Tanaka – Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Justice for All, arranged version by Dissonata)
-“Lonely Man” (Joe Harnell – The Incredible Hulk)
-“Uncontrollable (Instrumental)” (Hiroyuki Sawano – Xenoblade Chronicles X)
-“Emotional” (Unknown Composer – Code Lyoko: Evolution)
-“Sabotage (Instrumental)” (Beastie Boys)
-“Arrival” (Daft Punk – Tron: Legacy)
-“My Immortal (Instrumental)” (Evanescence)
-“Where We're Going” (Hans Zimmer - Interstellar)