Find Her, Stay With Her

by midnightwolfGX

Rating: mature
Tags: Profanity, Violence, Princess Celestia, Slice of Life, Human, Main 6, Lyra, Drama, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Romance, Bon-Bon
Length: 61184

After finding his mother shortly following Lyra's departure, Kyle begins questioning how she could come to accept telling her about the time he spent with Lyra. However, things could ultimately turn out for the better sooner than expected.

Kyle Schaeffer is finally reunited with his long-lost mother. Both of them come to try and atone for what they feel were mistakes made in the past, and to reconcile their relationship. When strange things begin to happen, all of which seem to have some connection with Lyra Heartstrings, Kyle wonders how his mother would come to accept such a thing, and whether or not she would ostracize him for doing so. However, through astronomical odds, things could end up turning out even better than before, especially when Kyle may have a chance to be back with the love of his life...

Yes, this story has humans, and it will take place in Equestria at some points. Don't like? Don't read. And especially, don't dislike without reading JUST because it's a human-related fic...

(Rated "Mature" for explicit content, including language, nudity, and drug/alcohol use)
(Credit for pony sprites on cover art goes to "generalzoi", and credit for background on cover art goes to "charli3brav0".)

Music guide: green text indicates when song begins (clicking provides a link to the song), red text indicates when song ends. I OWN NONE OF THE MUSIC TRACKS FEATURED IN THIS FIC, NOR AM I AFFILIATED WITH THE COMPOSERS IN ANY WAY. NONE OF THIS IS MONETIZED IN ANY WAY.

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

Published 2017-10-17 01:30:05 UTC
Last updated 2018-04-25 07:21:12 UTC

2. Subconscious Demons

It was later in the evening, and Kyle and Jan were both simply laying around, watching television. They had been silent, watching anything interesting that was on... up until Kyle decided to break the silence.

"Mom..." Kyle began.

"Yes, honey?" Jan responded.

"Listen..." Kyle said. "...even if I was into some... strange things... you wouldn't care about me any less, would you?"

Jan looked shocked. "No! I wouldn't ever! Why? What sort of strange things are you into?"

On the spot, Kyle came up with the first thing in his head.

"...Steamships." he said.

At first, Jan looked suspicious... but she quickly passed it off.

"There's nothing wrong with that." she said.

"Well..." Kyle said, standing. "...I'm gonna go to bed."

"Me too." Jan said, switching off the television with the remote. "Y'know, I still can't tell you how proud I am that you're able to afford a place like this."

"Yeah, well... this is where being an artist really pays off!" Kyle said.

"Well, goodnight! Love you!" Jan said.

"Love you too." Kyle said, just before he went upstairs.

He pulled himself under his sheets and remotely switched the light off. Within a reasonable period of time... he was fully asleep. But...

Little did Kyle know that his dream tonight would take him deep into the planes of his subconscious fears and torments... tonight, he was in for one hell of a ride...

Kyle opened his eyes, but he was not in his bedroom. Instead, the environment around him appeared to have been replaced with gray brick. He sat up, feeling fairly achy, to look around. He was laying on a very shoddy bed, and there was a sink with a mirror, as well as a toilet, in the small room. A fluorescent light lit the small small room, as well as the faint dusk light coming in through a barred window. There was one metal door on the wall opposite of the window.

Slowly, Kyle stood, but he felt very lethargic. The air smelled strongly of stone, as was expected, but also a hint of sweet scent was in the air as well. He noticed in the mirror that his regular clothing had vanished, and was replaced with a patient gown of the kind used in hospitals.

“Wh... what the...?” Kyle uttered.

He made his way over to the door to leave, but it would not open.

“...What's going on here...?” Kyle said.

Right as he turned around to try and stand on his bed to peer through the window... he noticed that one of the bricks was sliding out of the wall. He froze as it slowly made its way through, until it fell forward, exposing an opening in the wall. Something was then dropped in through it, just before the sound of footsteps came, rushing away.

Kyle hastily peered through the opening, trying to spot whomever just did that, but they were long gone. Giving up on figuring out who it was, he instead took a look at what they left for him. It was a multi-tool with a piece of paper taped to it. Kyle picked it up, pulled off the paper, and unfolded it, revealing it to be a message.

-It's now or never. Hurry and escape, you idiot!-

“Well... that's quite rude.” Kyle said, discarding the note.

He then opened up the multi-tool to reveal various tools... some of which he could use to pick the door open from this side. With that, he got to work on the door, and in a short time, was able to open it. He then began to make his way out, opening up the knife blade on the multi-tool, and closing everything else. He held it in front of him as he walked out.

“Where am I?” Kyle asked out loud.

He could not think straight, given how drowsy he was feeling. He did not think he could bring himself to even jog at a light pace.

Regardless, Kyle decided to close the door behind him... but noticed that there was a piece of laminated paper held to the door by a magnet.

-PATIENT INFO-

Name: Kyle J. Schaeffer

Gender: M

DOB: 11/26/1998

Case Description: An unhealthily-obsessed brony claiming that ponies and unicorns are real creatures, and that he raised one, had a relationship with it, and even had sex with it. Potentially severe mental disorder has been concluded from the official diagnosis. The patient is now being exposed constantly to air laced with a sedative to prevent any violent outbursts, like before.

Kyle stared in utter shock at what he was reading. He was locked away in this place? It was because of his involvement in the MLP fandom? Was he in an asylum? This could not be... but he happened to recall what had been the greatest thing in his life previously. Now, it seemed like it was all turned against him...

“What is this!?” he said. “They locked me away because... because they found out I had Lyra?”

It seemed like Kyle had been declared by... whoever it was who put him here... to be insane. But, this got him wondering... what was so bad about being a brony? There were millions of bronies during MLP:FiM's prime, and they were not ever locked up for something like that! And that coupled with the fact that they had been sedating him in his cell for supposed “violent outbursts”...

“This is so beans!” Kyle remarked. “I'm not a violent person! Not unless I have to defend myself!”

So, he set off down the hall, fairly slowly and carefully, the knife pointed in front of him the whole time. He noticed that the hall was filled with doors identical to the one he emerged from, and they were all numbered. The fluorescent lighting flickered in some parts of the hallway, with sparks falling from them.

“...Ah...” Kyle moaned, feeling weak. “...I need to find some sort of medicine or something to negate the sedative they were giving me.”

Soon enough, he came across an open door. He looked at the door's sign.

-Infirmary-

Kyle made his way into the infirmary, where he found a long room of vacant beds with privacy curtain sets around them. Right across from the door was a sink with a medicine cabinet mirror that was partially open. He walked over and opened it up to see what there was. There was not much inside; a comedone extractor, a couple of unused syringes and vaccine containers, some forceps, some gauze and band-aids, some clear plastic cups, a Zippo lighter, and a bottle of pills.

Kyle picked up the bottle of pills, and identified from the label that they were modafinil pills. He had heard of them before, mainly in his chemistry class at school, and that they were sometimes called “wake-up pills”... that gave him an idea. It might be a little risky, but with how weak and tired he felt, he hoped it would work.

He took one of the plastic cups and filled it with water from the sink. He then took two modafinil pills from the bottle, and popped them into his mouth. He then took a sip of water, swallowing the pills with it, and continued until the glass was drained. It took a little bit... but he soon began to feel more and more alert and energized.

“Wow... that's good stuff!” Kyle said to himself. “Might buy some from Walgreens, just in case I ever need to get up early... and maybe some ZzzQuil if I end up with insomnia... actually, never mind. I don't need pills.”

Suddenly, he thought that he heard footsteps coming from the hallway. Hastily, he looked around to see if there was a way he could escape. Hiding in one of the beds wouldn't do, since the people here would know that the infirmary was vacant. Instead... he spotted an air duct that had its grate on the floor.

Okay... Vent ex Machina... Kyle thought to himself.

He grabbed the lighter from the cabinet and ran as quietly as he could on his bare feet against the tile floor, and jumped at the open vent, grabbing onto the bottom rim. He pulled himself onto his upper arms, and managed to haul himself in... just before someone came into the room.

Kyle carefully looked out the vent to see that a security guard appeared to have entered. He was looked around and underneath the beds in the room.

“Thought I heard something...” he mumbled.

I'd better move before he notices I'm in here... Kyle thought.

With that, he began scooting himself through the duct, and once he got far away enough, he flicked open the lighter, and struck it. It did help him to see where he was going, thankfully. He continued to crawl through until he noticed another grate up ahead. He put the lighter out, and made his way forward, quietly.

He eventually found the duct to turn at a ninety-degree angle, which revealed a set of grates. Peering through the first one, Kyle saw some sort of cafeteria, and there were various security guards standing and sitting around the place, with trays of food.

After watching them for a moment, a school bell-style alarm began to ring as a red light came on in the cafeteria. All of the guards in the room immediately stood from their seats and began rushing out of the room, grabbing their batons. The server at the cafeteria counter immediately closed the counter's shutter.

Uh-oh... Kyle thought. ...I think they've just discovered that the prisoner, AKA me, is out of his cell.

Kyle pushed the grate out, using the multi-tool knife to pry it loose. The grate came off... but the knife broke, and the blade leveraged the rest of the tools on its side to break as well.

“Well, there goes my tool.” Kyle thought.

So, still holding the metal grate, Kyle put his legs through the open vent first, and hopped out, setting the grate down once he was on the floor. Then, he took a look at his surroundings. There was a closet in the cafeteria. Curious, he decided to take a look inside. Thankfully, the area was clear from security guards.

He found it to be unlocked, and inside were various janitorial equipment, as well as toolboxes. Sitting on a shelf right near the door to the closet was...

“Sweet, a crowbar!” Kyle said, picking up the tool. “I love crowbars. This'll definitely come in handy.”

And he may have very well found it just in the nick of time, because he heard footsteps behind him, and looked back to see a guard rushing for him with his baton in hand. He realized that he had no other option here.

“Okay... this is where playing Half-Life really pays off!” Kyle said, swinging the crowbar at the guard.

It struck the guard in the head, caving his skull in from the hook being driven into it. The guard immediately dropped his baton, and slumped over on the floor, dead as a doornail. It was only after he pulled the tool out of the guard's head that Kyle had fully comprehended what had just happened.

“Oh my God...” Kyle said, completely stunned at what he just did. “...I... I just murdered someone...”

He was utterly horrified at the death by his hands, worried that he has just condemned his soul. However... it seemed like they would have no problem killing him. This coupled with the fact that they had him locked in a room, sedating him no less...

...Kyle quickly became angry after piecing everything together.

“Y'know what? After what they did... locking me up just for my personal interest... and after everything this world has put me through... they deserve to die!” Kyle said.

With that, he stole the guard's shoes and made his way out of the cafeteria, walking quickly and quietly, crowbar in hand all the while.

If I can't find a clean pair of socks... these shoes'll give me blisters on the back of my heels. Kyle thought.

He set off down the hallway, trying to see if he could find a way out. Of course, he had to keep his guard up in case any security officers were to find him. He had to stealth it as best as he could. The alarm was covering the noise he made, thankfully... but it was definitely still alerting security.

Eventually, he made it to a stretch of hallway that seemed to be the main one of the building, as it was the tallest and widest one he had been in as of yet. And sure enough, he saw what appeared to be the front doors right at the end of the hallway. There were windows on either side of it, so he was certain it was a way out.

He was running out towards the doors... but he shuddered upon seeing red and blue flashes outside of the windows. Making it to the window, Kyle could make out police vehicles approaching the building, surrounding the fence. There were so many coming in, you would think the entire police force had been alerted to his escape. He checked his back, and saw, to his horror, that there were more guards approaching rapidly, shouting at him. Cops were coming in through the gate in the front fence of the building, too.

“Ngh... I have to rush it!” Kyle said to himself. “They'll surround me in no time if I just sand still!”

In a bold move, Kyle opened the door, and he began to sprint at breakneck speed across the side of the building. Without warning, the police opened gunfire at him. Nine-millimeter shells ricocheted off the walls of the asylum... but miraculously, none of them were hitting Kyle. The police officers' aim was about as good as that of stormtroopers. Regardless, he continued to run away, the crowbar swinging in his hand.

This is SO VERY ridiculous! Kyle thought. Without any practical way to fight back, I'm just fucking cannon fodder!

He was regretting the decision he made... but he was certain that this regretful decision was the right decision. Still... he wished he had a gun.

"Note to self: never bring a crowbar to a gun fight." Kyle said to himself.

More police pulled up to the side of the fence on the stretch Kyle was running down, and they took aim with rifles, which did not fair much better for hitting him... but then came a series of scattering shots after single bangs went off.

"SHIT! That's a shotgun!" Kyle thought.

The buckshot definitely had a higher chance of hitting him, and at a close range... it would be a devastating death. He was getting fatigued, but adrenaline kept him going. His heart was pumping fast and hard, and the shoes were wearing on his feet. He really could not wear them properly without socks.

Just then, when he began to feel that he was merely prolonging the inevitable... Kyle spotted an open manhole in the grass. Without giving even a second thought, he jumped into the hole to avoid the gunfire, landing in what appeared to be a round, cement tunnel, channeling clear water. There was lighting, but it was very old, shoddy incandescent lights fixed to the sides of the round tunnel.

Before the guards could have a chance to catch him, Kyle stood up, grabbed his dropped crowbar, and made a break down the tunnel, searching for any sign of a way out.

"There's gotta be some way out of this tunnel..." Kyle muttered. "...where else would all this water be going?"

Kyle continued to move quickly down the tunnel, repeatedly checking his back to see if he had any pursuers in the flickering light, but as he was running, a grate broke underneath him, making him fall for less than a second to a different area.

"Agh...!" Kyle strained, standing albeit injured. "Shit! Why has fate forsaken me...?"

This time, the tunnel was dark. There was no lighting. Kyle was not sure how he was going to be able to navigate without light. He wished he had a flashlight or a lighter or--the lighter! Kyle remembered that he still had it. He immediately flicked it open, and lit it. Sure the glow was faint, but it at least allowed him to see something. Lighter in his left hand, and crowbar in his right, he set off down the tunnel. As he was wandering... he could not help but think...

Why did this all have to happen in the first place? Does my mom know about this? Was SHE the one who did this? But... why me? Why not any of the disgusting... disgraceful... CLOPPERS? Kyle thought.

After wandering downstream for what felt like an hour, he eventually saw the dull, night lighting from a grate in front of him, and also indicated by the sound of a small waterfall. Looking outside, he could tell that it was already dark out, and the moon was high in the sky. Kyle immediately put out the lighter, and tried to move the grate... but it was stuck.

"Shit..." Kyle muttered. "...how can I get out?"

He happened to look at the crowbar in his hand... and also happened to see and feel that the grate was quite ancient, rusty, and bent-up. He raised a brow, smirking.

"Well, in the words of Fluttershy and Iron Will... when somepony tries to block..." he said, raising the tool over his head.

He brought it down hard against the grate, smacking out a piece of the bars with each hit. It took a bit of work, but he eventually made a hole in the rusty metal large enough for him to squeeze through.

"...ya show 'em that you rock!" Kyle finished, twirling the crowbar in triumph.

With that, he pulled himself out of the water duct, and found himself on some sort of oceanside, with the water spewing into the ocean itself.

"Okay, let's see if I can't figure out where I am... and maybe find someone who can help me, maybe..." Kyle said as he started to climb...

3. Determination

For days, Lyra had been pondering what she should do about her whole memory situation. It was clear that her false memories were made for the purpose of overwriting her real ones... but clearly, that intended effect failed. She was not sure if she should tell her friends about it, or maybe write a letter to Princess Celestia. Still, she had no idea how they would react if they found out, so she decided to lay low for a little while.

"Lyra..." Bon Bon spoke up. "...are you okay?"

Lyra suddenly returned to reality. She was sitting at a cafe in Ponyville, having lunch with Bon Bon and Noteworthy.

"Huh?" Lyra asked.

Noteworthy raised a brow and tilted his head.

"Lyra... you've been acting a bit strange lately. Are you sure everything's alright?" he asked.

Realizing that she needed to keep a low profile regarding her situation, Lyra decided to put on a fake smile.

"Yep, everything's good! I've just been a bit lacking in sleep lately..." she said.

"Oh, sorry to hear that, Lyra." Bon Bon said.

"It's fine..." Lyra said. "...I'm sure I'll have it all sorted out soon..."

"Okay, we just wanted to make sure." Bon Bon said.

"And if you ever need anything, we're here for you, Lyra." Noteworthy said. "We're your friends, after all."

"Thanks." Lyra said.

The trio continued to eat their meals... but behind her casual expression, Lyra was still lost in thought. How would she mention this to her friends and Celestia, and more importantly... would she ever see Kyle again?

Kyle, still in his dream and unaware that it was a dream, made it up to the top of the ocean cliffside, where he immediately saw a road behind a steel highway barrier. He climbed over it and began to walk down the road to a spot that looked like it yielded to civilization. Sure enough, when he arrived, he spotted a small, oceanside town.

"Great," Kyle said. "now maybe I can figure out something after I get some things I need."

Kyle made his way into the town, which surprisingly took less time than he was expecting. He really hoped nobody would see him, since it would look really suspicious for a guy wearing a hospital gown to be walking around in the dead of night with a crowbar. After a bit of time, he spotted a conveniently-placed Kohl's on the street he was on.

“Maybe I can get some actual clothing from there.” he said.

With that, he set off towards the high-end clothing store. The doors were locked, so Kyle simply used his crowbar to pry them open. It took a bit of effort, but he managed to break the lock that kept the sliding doors closed. He was not going to risk breaking glass, which could set off a burglar alarm.

Inside, the lights were out, so he lit his lighter once again, and started to look around. There were no employees or watchmen, as far as he could see. The building (and in fact, the entire block) was deserted. At least he could stop fleeing for now and get himself together to come up with a plan.

Off the shelves, he took a pair of jeans, a black T-shirt, a black cardigan, a belt, and a pair of black leather cowboy-style dress boots, and he ripped open some packs of socks and underwear to take what he needed. (And, because he was feeling a bit frisky, he decided to take an ankh necklace, a watch, and a bracelet as well, wearing the watch on his left-hand wrist, and the bracelet on his right.)

After spending a bit of time in the fitting room, he emerged with all of his new garments adorned. He decided to throw the gown in the trash, and put the security guard's shoes on one of the shelves in the shoe section, since they were not his size.

"Okay, this is much better." Kyle said, glad he was back in real clothes.

With that, he grabbed his crowbar, and tucked it into his belt, allowing it to hang on his left hip by the hook. He left the store, and started to try and head to higher ground to see if he could get a vantage point of the surrounding region, to see if he could identify which coastal area he was in. Hopefully, he might even see a highway sign that would tell him the name of the city.

He was about to climb up the fire escape on the side of a tall building he saw... but then came the sound of emergency vehicle sirens. Kyle looked in the direction it was coming from, and saw an entire fleet of police cars coming his way. He stopped dead in his tracks, staring at the law enforcement vehicles in the distance as his heart rate picked up again.

“Shit! They found me!” Kyle whispered. “They know where I am! They're gonna take me and lock me in a maximum security cell!”

Wasting no time, he made a break for the sea, rushing through the alleyways of the small skyscrapers, the police drawing near the whole time. Eventually, he managed to spot a harbor where there were some recreational boats. As much as he despised stealing, and crimes in general... he really did not think it mattered at this point.

Kyle had to move quickly, too; a police helicopter was airborne, pointing a bright, spotted light around in an attempt to locate him. He rushed for the pier shelter, only to find that it was chained and locked. Nervously glancing up at the chopper, he manifested strength via adrenaline, and pried the gate with the crowbar to bend it and create an opening.

Fortunately, Kyle managed to squeeze through the gate and hide under the shelter before the light could pass over him.

"Okay... now to get myself a vessel." Kyle said. "I gotta get the fuck outta Dodge... wherever I am right now."

Kyle took a sailboat, which was the closest one to the shelter exit.

"There'd better be a manual... and I'd better not need wind just to operate it." Kyle muttered.

He was able to get the engine started, and start to turn the ship out of the docking space. He hastily untied the rope tether before it would get too tight from the ship moving away from the peg and bind his fingers.

The police were scouting the area on foot to see if they could spot anything... and one of them happened to see the sailboat moving away from the pier, out of harbor.

"BOAT!" a cop shouted, just before discharging a rubber bullet from his shotgun.

"STOP!" a superior officer said, just before snatching the shotgun. "What's the matter with you!? A good cop never shoots first!"

"But... what about that boat? It wasn't off-dock a moment ago!" the cop who shot said.

“Prob'ly just a stray.” another cop said.

“Should we call to have it recovered?” another one asked.

The first cop shook his head. “Nah... serves 'em right for not tying it on properly! So, let's keep looking for our mentally-ill escapee!”

With that, the police left the scene, and continued searching on land... but they had not left Kyle unharmed.

The discharged rubber bullet hit the water in a way that it rebounded, deflected off the mast of the sailboat, and hit Kyle in the forehead. It knocked him backwards, making him hit the back of his head against the rail on the starboard edge of the boat. The nonlethal ammo hit combined with the rail knocked him unconscious.

After he came to some time later, Kyle noticed that he was in a different area, but luckily, still near the coast. The waves and wind had carried the sailboat fairly far from the dock he took it from. It was nearing dawn, from the look of it. Now, he was at a gigantic boardwalk, and on it, he could make out some lit-up shapes. As he recovered from the double-knock on his head, he made it out to be an amusement park on the boardwalk itself. He sat up, recovering from his disorientation near-instantly, and examined the landmark.

“What is this place? Coney Island?” Kyle said to himself. “Ah, hell... I wouldn't mind a ride on a crazy roller coaster and nice, tall Ferris wheel, and maybe getting myself some cotton candy and fried dough... but goddammit, I'm on the run from the asylum...”

He carefully pulled the boat over to a steel ladder that stretched down from the boardwalk platform into the ocean, and then abandoned ship by jumping onto the ladder. With that, he climbed up to the top, not paying any more mind to the boat.

When he made it to the top, the first thing he noticed about the concession and attraction booths were posters of mugshots on them. Looking a bit closer... Kyle happened to notice that they were of him.

-WANTED-

Kyle Schaeffer
-Mentally-ill brony
-Escaped from Richardson Asylum
-Considered dangerous due to violent outbursts

If you have any information, please report to the local police immediately.

“What the actual hell...?” Kyle whispered. “How did this spread so quickly!?”

In an instant, he snatched the poster off the wall, crumpled it up, and through it into a trash can nearby. But only then did he realize that there were too many for him to get, and he could not afford to waste any time.

“Nevermind... I just still need to be careful.” Kyle said to himself.

He pulled his crowbar off of his hip, and slowly began to creep his way behind the concession booths. He found a ladder behind one of them, and climbed onto the top of one. Crouching, he spotted some people in the park... but they were not patrons. They were all cops for some reason.

"Goddamn..." Kyle whispered. "...they don't know when to quit. And all this effort for one guy? Seriously? I thought I had it bad with being bullied back in grade school..."

Kyle began to creep his way through the hidden spots of the park, trying to see what was going on. If the cops were here, putting up signs of his mugshot... they could no doubt be on the lookout for him. He happened to come across two cops who were standing with each other on the stoop of a ringtoss booth. They were both chuckling at something. Carefully getting a bit closer, Kyle noticed that they were distracted by something on an iPad one of them was holding.

“Hey, Granny Mabel's Garden game is sick!” the cop holding the iPad said, just before doing something on it. “See how I dig this little hole... and I drop in the seeds!”

“Ha! Look at the little seeds!” the other cop said in a high-pitched, joyful tone, pointing at the screen.

They both seemed quite overly-enthusiastic about some random mobile game... but this gave Kyle an idea. He could use some of their equipment to help him...

He readied his crowbar, carefully creeping up behind the two officers with their backs turned, heavily distracted by the iPad game. Once he got close enough, he stood at a particular angle behind the cops; he struck one cop over the head directly, and got the other one via the rebound. He had essentially gotten them both in one hit.

The cops fell to the ground as blood splattered the ground and steel bludgeon. Kyle wiped the blood off his weapon on one of the cops' clothes. From there, he took one of their handguns, ejected the magazine out of the other, and took the remainder of their handgun magazines, which he stuffed into his pockets. He tucked the handgun itself into the back of his pants, supported by his belt, and picked up the dropped iPad. He closed out of the game, and began searching through the device's widgets.

“There's gotta be Google Maps or something on here... I need to find out where I am, and how I can get home...” Kyle said to himself.

He loaded up the GPS app, and after a few minutes of waiting, managed to spot his location. He was going to zoom out to see where he was... but something else caught his eye. It appeared that there was a train station just outside of the amusement park.

"Okay, but... with all these cops roaming about, how am I gonna get past them unnoticed?" Kyle pondered.

He glanced down at the dead cops, and noticed that one did not have blood on his uniform...

(Moments later)

Kyle, adorned in a police uniform over his clothes, along with a fake beard and mustache he took from the prizes of one of the game booths, made his way through the park, trying not to draw attention to himself. He hoped the crowbar in place of the nightstick baton would not be too noticeable.

Stop being so tense. Act natural, you fool... Kyle thought to himself.

Sure enough, some cops did look at him, but fortunately, not twice. He made it out of the park, and spotted the stairs that led down into the train station. There were several police and S.W.A.T. vehicles parked all around the park entrance, which put him on edge even more so.

Once he made it down to the train station, he abandoned his disguise, and took a look at the train schedule. It seemed that luck was now starting to shift to his side, because he saw that the transit was...

"Amtrak... perfect!" Kyle said to himself. "A long-distance railway transit is just what I need to get home. But... how will I buy a ticket without drawing attention?"

The station, appeared to be abandoned. There was nobody at the ticket booth... no security guards... no passengers. It was deserted. So, Kyle simply stepped through the turnstile, and made his way to the platform. He checked the schedule board to see when the next train would be arriving. From the look of it, it would be in a few minutes.

"Next train to Atlanta... PERFECT! Now, I can make it home... and then I'll be able to find a way to go to Equestria, and I'll be back with Lyra. We'll live together... forever!" Kyle said in triumph.

Atlanta was the city closest to where Kyle's mansion was, as well as his mother's apartment. It was not too close, it was at least a half-hour away... but still, he had to get there somehow. Even with the exhilarating thought of returning home... he was not without his doubts.

What if things took a turn for the worst? What if Murphy's Law would set in like it always did for him? What would his mother think off all this? Would she come to accept him, still? The consequences could be worse than they would be now... that coupled with the fact that no good deed goes unpunished...

"I could turn back now..." Kyle said, glancing behind himself.

"Now arriving." the PA announced as the train approached the station, slowing down. "Destination: Atlanta, Georgia. Estimated time of arrival: twelve hours following departure."

Kyle stared at the lights of the approaching train... like a beacon of hope, beckoning him ever so subtly...

"...no!" he decided. "It's too late to change my mind. I can't go back; I have to go to Equestria! It's the only way..."

Shortly, the train arrived, and Kyle stepped on board.

"Step back to allow passengers to enter. When boarding, please move to the center of the car. And please stand clear of the closing doors." the PA instructed.

Kyle took a seat as the doors of the train closed, and fastened his seatbelt. From the look of it, he was the only one on the train. The train lurched forward... and as it departed from the station, Kyle could see several police and S.W.A.T. officers rushing into the station, trying to catch the train. It seemed he made it out in the nick of time.

After moving through the tunnel for a while, the train made it outside. It was already well into the morning, and it was very light out. Even though it was daytime... Kyle felt immensely tired. He decided to lay down on the seat, and get some sleep.

It was going to be a long trip back to Atlanta...

5. A Savior in the Night

After his vision of rapid flashbacks faded to red, and the Shepard Tone dissipated to silence... Kyle found himself in a lounge-style area, but it was filled with holes in the wall and floor that yielded to some sort of fiery abyss. There were also several people in the room with him. All of them looked very angry, and were slowly making their way towards him. They were just regular men and women... but just like people in the real world, they seemed very menacing to an introvert like Kyle.

He realized that he had a pump-action, pistol-grip shotgun in his hands... and he was absolutely certain that he would make good use of it... his emotional turmoil was overbearing. He had shortly reunited with his mother... but has now lost her. And now, Lyra, whom had left him, was now gone for good.

“...I DON'T EVEN FUCKING CARE ANYMORE!” Kyle shouted, tears streaming down his face as he pumped the shotgun.

He opened fire on the people, causing large bursts of blood, organs, and brain matter. Regardless, they seemed unfazed by being shot at. Eventually, he mowed them all down... and the door to the building he was in opened, which revealed that the area he was in consisted of floating buildings with crude bridges composed of objects like cars, furniture, other, smaller buildings, wooden boards, et cetera. The space in the area was a massive vortex of flame.

Kyle made a break out the door, and started running to the next area. Right now... he wanted nothing less than to destroy everything.

“Everything I've ever loved... IT'S GONE!” he shouted. “Dad... Mom... L-Lyra...”

At that moment... a very mangled-looking, chupacabra-like version of himself came running at Kyle, which he immediately shot down as it lunged through the air towards him.

“...I understand now... I am my own worst enemy!” Kyle said.

He made it into the next hovering building, where there were cops who opened fire at the mere sight of him. He continued to put more people down with the shotgun, pumping it with each shot. Surprisingly, it was not running dry. There were even some animals, such as wolves, bears, and cougars that were rushing to attack him, so of course, he blew them away as well.

“Everything is gonna DIE!” Kyle proclaimed. “DO YOU HEAR ME!? THIS is what you people do to me!”

After clearing out some more hostile beings, Kyle happened to spot a revolver on the wall, as well as additional speedloaders of magnum ammunition. He took it without hesitation, since the shotgun had now run out of shells.

“Okay, so I admit it! I'm a brony! Ya hear me!? Ya happy I'm finally comin' out with the truth here!? I said it once, and I'll say it again... I AM A BRONY!” Kyle shouted.

He spotted more twisted clones of himself rushing at him, and opened fire on them with the revolver.

“If anyone has a problem with that...” Kyle said, finishing off his foes. “...then FUCK YOU!”

He made it to the next floating building, trying to get through the S.W.A.T. that had arrived at the scene, and he picked up an assault rifle from one of them. It was miraculous that he was not getting hit by a single bullet. He made it to an elevator, and made it ascend to the area he was going to next. As he was going up, he let himself down with his back to the wall. Sitting on the elevator floor, panting, he was squeezing the rifle out of his intense emotions so hard, his hands were hurting... but he was not focused on the pain...

“...I wanna go home...” Kyle said. “...I just want everything to be good again! I want things to go back to the way they were! Before all this shit went down! No more killing... no more suffering... no more death... no more prejudice...”

The elevator finally arrived, opening out onto yet another comically-crude bridge, and Kyle happened to spot something at the very bright end of the spiraling inferno.

“LYRA!” Kyle called out, recognizing the mare floating at the end of the hellish vortex. “I'm coming! Just hang on!”

In the distance, he could make out his pony companion. It looked like she was laying on some sort of white mat, and he could see that her eyes were closed. She was rolling a bit, so he assumed that she was sleeping, not dead.

Kyle began to rush across the random objects, having to jump at some parts in good faith. He was going all out to get back to her...

He happened to hear some buzzing coming from behind him, and he looked back to see some floating spheres with saw blades on them, coming right for him... and they had the Kroger logo on them.

Kyle took aim with the rifle, and shot them down before they could slice him up like a wooden board.

“DIE, CORPORATE DEATH MACHINES!” Kyle shouted over automatic gunfire. “I DEFY YOU!”

After finishing off the first wave, he continued across the objects... which got fewer the closer to Lyra he made it... but it was still possible to get to her, he could see. It was just going to be a matter of skill and precision.

“I'm almost there, Lyra! I'm coming for you!” He called out.

He continued to be bothered by the floating saw-spheres, and had to stop just to shoot them down. The rifle ran dry... all he had left was the police handgun in the back of his pants... and only a few bullets left. He rushed it long and hard, not even taking time for caution. After he finished the last wave of flying enemies... he discarded his empty weapons and jumped for his pony lover.

“I'm here, Lyra! I've got you!” he said.

It seemed like his jump was in slow motion, and as he approached her... everything faded to white, and fell dead silent...

Kyle opened his eyes to see that he was standing in the middle of a very peaceful-looking void. There were patterns of green and purple light dancing across the sky. The floor on which he stood was sleek and flat, stretching out farther than the eye could see.

For whatever reason, he felt fully rejuvenated immediately, as if nothing happened. He did not even feel upset anymore. But... he was still confused.

“Now what?” he asked aloud.

“...Now is the time for you to evaluate what has happened.” came a very pleasant female voice.

Kyle could swear he heard the voice before...

“Who was that?” he asked, looking around. “Show yourself!”

At that moment, a bright shape began to materialize right in front of him, and the light faded to reveal a dark-blue equine with an outstretch Pegasus wingspan, a long horn, and a majestic, flowing mane and tail. Kyle stared, completely awestruck.

“Princess Luna!” he said, kneeling and bowing his head.

The Princess of the Night smiled at him.

“So, we meet at last, Kyle Schaeffer...” Luna asked.

“How do you know my name...?” Kyle asked.

“My sister has told me much about you.” Luna said.

Kyle suddenly remembered Twilight not having her wings when they retrieved Lyra, which meant they were at a point in time before the MLP: FiM series began when it happened... but it was only a few months ago!

“Wait, Princess...” Kyle began. “...I thought you were still banished to the moon, and... and you were Nightmare Moon, and...”

“Yes, I am aware that the current time must confuse you...” Luna said. “...but I, the ruler of the dream world, am not bound my the mere flow of spacetime.”

“So... this is all a dream?” Kyle asked.

To his relief, the Alicorn nodded.

“And... you can travel through time?” Kyle asked.

Luna nodded. “Yes, and no. I can only go through different time periods in my astral state. I can see the dreams of beings from all time periods, and with enough power... even across dimensions as well. If I am abruptly awoken, I instantly return to my physical body in the present, as ones astral body is always tethered to their physical body by a sort of umbilical cord consistent of life energy, which breaks upon death.” she said.

“Uh-huh...” Kyle acknowledged.

“Now for the real matter...” Luna said. “...that was indeed one of the most intense nightmares I have witnessed. I don't suppose there is anything you are particularly afraid of?”

Kyle sighed. “Well... I've always been worried about what everyone would think of me if they found out that I like ponies.”

Luna pursed her lips. “I have heard about such a thing from my sister and her protege Twilight Sparkle... in your world, it's taboo for any but little human girls to be interest in ponies, correct?”

“Yes.” Kyle answered. “And... I especially worry about how my mother would feel. I think she would worry that I have problems.”

“Tell me...” Luna said. “...if you had a child of your own, and so long as it did not interfere with their relations with you, or their life in general, would you care if they did anything that seemed unusual?”

Kyle pondered for a moment. “Well, everyone has their own personal needs, so... probably not.” he said.

Luna smiled and bowed her head. “So, as long as you carry on with your life like normal, and your mother were to find out, do you believe it would matter?”

“No,” Kyle said. “she wouldn't make a big deal out of it. That's definitely not the kind of person my Mom is.”

“So, now that you know how to face your fear... are you certain that you will be prepared to do so in the event she were to discover your interests?” Luna asked.

Kyle nodded. He would never consciously tell her... but if something concerning it ever came up, and there was no way around it, he would come clean.

“Very good.” Luna said, turning around. “And now I must leave you, Kyle Schaeffer, for you shall imminently awaken.”

Kyle smiled and waved. “Thanks a lot, Princess!” he said.

Luna waved back. “Fare thee well, human!” she said, just before walking away and disappearing.

Kyle woke up, seeing that it was already daylight outside.

“Ah, jeez... what a dream...” he said, sitting up.

He went downstairs to start the day, and found that his mother was already preparing breakfast.

“Good morning, Kyle!” she said upon seeing him.

“Morning, Mom.” Kyle responded.

He was genuinely thankful to see her alive and well... of course, she might find it silly to tell her about the intense dream he had, so he decided to keep it a little secret.

“Thanks for breakfast!” Kyle said, grabbing some steak and eggs she had prepared, and added a bit of parsley as a garnish.

They both sat at the table as they ate. Kyle was glancing up repeatedly at his mother; he just could not get his dream off his mind. Soon enough, Jan noticed.

“Something wrong, honey?” she asked.

“Mom, listen...” Kyle began. “...I haven't been coming off to you as... strange, right?”

“No.” Jan said. “Why?”

Kyle stared at his plate for a moment.

“Just wanted to make sure that you were comfortable living here... until, well... you know...” he said.

“I know it's hard, Kyle...” Jan said. “...but I really feel like I need a new start. I think a new place will mean a better life for me. You've found your place, and I need to find mine.”

They continued eating... up until Kyle had yet another question.

“And, Mom...” Kyle began. “...was I... ever adopted from someone else?”

Jan looked confused. “No! You're my biological son, and your father's as well! What ever gave you the idea that you were adopted?” she asked.

Kyle passed it off with a shrug.

“...Just curious.” he said.

And with that, Kyle officially decided to stop asking suspicious questions, and the two more or less discussed what they would be doing today. Jan was going to go shopping for a dress she would be wearing to a formal wine tasting group. Kyle was going to catch a movie, and go out for some Italian food.

The two left the mansion (Kyle arming the security system before they went out; he gave his mother the code, just in case she arrived back before he did), and while Kyle was driving, he could not help but feel a major sense of relief.

Phew... I may have dodged some bullets back there... he thought. ...both in conversation, and my dream...

6. Contact From Afar

Lyra and Bon Bon had both made it to Canterlot, and decided to rent a room at a hotel. Fortunately, it was not very expensive for them to stay at this time of the year, since tourists usually came in a different season, and it was a fairly low-end hotel for the city (which, compared to what Ponyville offered, was still fairly nice and luxurious).

Bon Bon was just sitting in the room watching television that evening, while Lyra was just finishing up a shower.

"Ah..." Lyra said, wiping out her mane with a towel after using the hair dryer. "...that was refreshing."

She then picked up a comb from her travel bag, and took the hand-mirror off of a hook on the wall, since the mirror above the sink was too cloudy with condensation. The Unicorn started to comb her hair back into its regular shape, simultaneously levitating the mirror and comb.

She always made this process a fairly lengthy one...

Later that evening, following the night he had his intense dream, Kyle was working on some digital artwork for a client on DeviantArt. He had spent hours staring at the dual computer monitors (but fortunately, he keeps all his screens fairly dim so as to avoid eyestrain), and he was becoming a bit hungry, since he did not eat dinner at the time he usually does. And he was especially so after spending a long, hard day having to make some physical adjustments to the photovoltaic solar panels on the roof of his mansion, as he noticed they had been misaligned due to loose bolts. He also had to get some new cables to link to the backup batteries, as the old ones snapped due to the weight of the loose panels.

No wonder my electric bill's been a few bucks higher recently... Kyle thought.

He stood from his desk to get something to eat from the kitchen. There were probably some leftovers that he would just throw in the microwave. As he was making his way past a decorative mirror on a support beam, however... he happened to notice something strange. He could swear that he saw a faint light in it, but looking at where the reflection was in the real world, there was nothing from where it could be coming from. It was fairly dim, so it was easy to make out the light in the mirror, but still, there was something not right about it.

Curious, Kyle grabbed an opaque blanket from the living room, draped it over the mirror, and stood under it to see if his theory was correct... and to his surprise, it was. The light was still there, ominously faint and lingering...

"Oh, jeez... did I buy a haunted mirror by mistake...?" Kyle asked out loud.

He tried shifting his head around to see if it would move, and it appeared to be two feet away relative to the mirror pane, yet there was absolutely nothing in the real world. Kyle looked at the general area where it seemed the light would be coming from if there was something on his side of the mirror.

"Listen, demon... I didn't do anything to you... so don't do anything to me!" Kyle said to the air in front of the mirror.

Staring at it a bit closer, and right as he was about to take it off the wall... Kyle was able to make out the glowing shape... a Unicorn horn. And the color... it was one he was quite familiar with...

...Lyra! he thought, his jaw dropping and his eyes wide.

It was almost like he was looking through one-way glass. There was no doubt in his mind. That horn most definitely belonged to Lyra. As the realization hit him, he realized that this might be his only chance to try and communicate with her. He tried tapping the mirror, but it did not appear to signal anything to her. The glow was still stationary. Even shaking the mirror around did not do anything, as the glow still sat in the same spot.

Nothing appeared to be working. It seemed like Lyra was not getting the message.

"I have to communicate with her somehow!" Kyle said. "I have to let her know about this link between Earth and Equestria, and fast, before she leaves the mirror!"

Realizing that, if he could see light, she might also, he rushed into his bedroom and pulled a flashlight out of his end table. He then rushed back over to the mirror, and began to flash the light on and off, hoping it would grab her attention.

While Lyra was in the process of brushing her mane, and just about to finish up... she happened to notice something strange in the mirror. There was a very faint, flashing light. Curiously, she glanced around, looking for anything in the restroom that might be blinking... but there was nothing. She even switched off the bathroom lights, and still saw it.

"Hm... I wonder..." Lyra said.

With that, she lit up the tip of her horn with a light, and started flashing it on and off in sync with what she was seeing in the mirror.

"Bon Bon!" Lyra called. "Come in here! You won't believe what I'm seeing!"

Kyle assumed that it was working, because Lyra appeared to be flashing her horn back at him through the mirror. In the meantime, he had loaded up an International Morse Code chart on his phone (sitting on the small table below the mirror) while flashing the light continuously.

"I have to let her know that it's me. She might think it's some sort of specter or ghost or something..." Kyle said to himself.

So, he simply settled on telling her his name in the code. He began to flash the light according to International Morse Code chart that he was looking at.

"Let's see... dash-dot-dash..." he mumbled to himself, flashing the light in said pattern. "...dash-dot-dash-dash... dot-dash-dot-dot... dot..."

He repeated the pattern, leaving a bit of room in between each one.

Bon Bon happened to take note of the flashing light by turning off the bathroom light and holding the mirror close to her face.

"Lyra... what's going on?" Bon Bon asked. "What do you think this is?"

"I don't know... and that's why I want to find out!" Lyra answered.

Soon enough, they happened to notice the light flickering in a repeating pattern. They observed for a few moments, and Lyra realized, very slowly, what was going on...

"It's Horse Code!" Lyra said.

"Yeah, but... do you understand it?" Bon Bon asked.

"Let's just say... Celestia put some useful memories in my head when I returned to Equestria." Lyra responded.

"Let's see..." Lyra said. "...one long, one short, one long... that's a 'K'..."

Bon Bon just watched silently while Lyra deciphered what it was.

"...Y... L... E..." Lyra said. "...and after a pause, it repeats--WAIT!"

She put the letters together to realize the name they spelled.

"...Kyle..." Lyra uttered in surprise.

Bon Bon's eyes opened immensely.

"No..." the Earth Pony said. "...you don't think..."

"He's communicating with me... through this mirror!" Lyra said.

"But... what if it's not him? What if that mirror's... haunted, or something?" Bon Bon said.

Lyra stared blankly. "...I know Kyle. He is extremely resourceful! He's a genius! It HAS to be him!" she said.

"Well, okay..." Bon Bon said. "...assuming it's Kyle... how is he even able to do this? I thought he lived in a dimension where magic doesn't exist!"

"Who cares? We can communicate!" Lyra said. "And I'm going to let him know that I received his message. Gimme the mirror..."

Lyra took the mirror, and flashed her horn in Horse/Morse Code to spell out her own name.

Kyle watched as Lyra's horn started flashing in a pattern. He made note of the pattern with the chart he had on his phone... and after a few repeats, realized that it spelled "L-Y-R-A".

...I knew it was her. he thought blissfully.

He stopped flashing his light, and stared at the mirror. He put his hand against it, hoping he could fall right through and into Equestria...

"I hope he understood my message..." Lyra said. "...oh, who am I kidding? Of course he understood!"

Lyra then took the mirror out of the bathroom, and tucked it into her saddlebag. Bon Bon looked a bit uncertain by what she was doing.

"Lyra..." Bon Bon said. "...that mirror is hotel property. You can't take it!"

"But..." Lyra said, looking at it. "...it might be the only thing I can talk to Kyle with while I'm here, and he's there!"

Bon Bon shook her head. "I really don't know about this... you're gonna get us into trouble!"

"You're not gonna tell on me, are you, Bonnie?" Lyra asked.

"No, but..." Bon Bon trailed off. "...this still isn't right. Stealing is stealing, simple as that."

"Well, I'll leave some extra Bits to replace it! I'll even leave a note for all I care! I just want to be able to communicate with Kyle!" Lyra said.

The two mares just stared at each other, each one having thoughts that conflicted with the other's.

"Now that we can communicate... we have to see Princess Celestia! She needs to know that we still know about each other, and about this link we've found!" Lyra said.

"Well... we didn't come all this way for nothing, so... I guess so." Bon Bon said.

Lyra looked back at her saddlebag.

I might just have a chance to be back with my true love... she thought in immense delight and excitement.

Kyle stood at the mirror with his hand against it for a long while, a pleasant smile on his face... however, someone who was entering the room happened to notice...

"Kyle...?" Jan asked. "What are you doing?"

"Hm?" Kyle said, just before looking at his mother, his smile fading. "Oh, Mom! Well... there was a..." he tried to think fast. "...a spot on this mirror, and I... just cleaned it off! I'm pleased that it looks like new again!"

Jan looked a bit confused.

"Kyle... you've been acting a bit strange." she said. "Are you sure everything's okay?"

Kyle nodded promptly. "Yep! All's fine and well!"

"Okay, but Kyle..." Jan spoke. "...I understand if everything recently has been stressful for you. If you have a problem, you know you can tell me, okay?"

"Okay." Kyle responded.

"Well, I just came out here to get some water. So, goodnight Kyle." Jan said.

"Night, Mom!" Kyle said, just before heading back to his office.

He then closed out of his artwork, shut off his computer, and went to his neighboring bedroom, where he laid on his bed, so lost in thought. He was not hungry anymore; his thoughts were more filling right now than food. For the past couple of months, he had come to grips with the reality that he would never see Lyra again, but with what just happened...

Kyle felt, just felt that he could finally be back with the mare of his dreams, and hopefully have her back for life. Even though he blocked it out of his mind, he could not remove the desire from his heart to have her back. And the fact that she could be doing what she could on her end made him ever more excited.

"Wow, this is getting me even more hyped than I was for Code Lyoko: Project Eradication before it came out!" Kyle said to himself. "But..."

The one thing he could not get off his mind was how his mother would take it. She might think that he is crazy for talking to some entity through a mirror. The worst part was that he hated lying to her. Sometimes, he had to just to avoid coming off as bad or strange. This made him start to wonder how everything could go down if Lyra did come back to this world...

If she saw that Lyra was real... Kyle thought. ...would it be better or worse than telling her that I am a brony?

7. Forthcoming

Meanwhile, at a prison in the outskirts of Atlanta... there were some prisoners working out in the prison's gym, yet there were two in particular who tied strongly to our human hero and pony heroine...

"I tell you, Dad..." the younger one said, doing bench-presses. "...I'm on the verge of going off the rail."

"I hear ya, son..." the older one said, doing deadlifts. "...this is some supreme bullshit, alright..."

These two individuals, who were now in their rightful place... they had been a major part of Kyle Schaeffer's life. They tormented him, and went out of their way to make his life utterly miserable. The younger one did it for enjoyment, and the older one did it out of the misinterpretation that it would prepare him for a career of hard, physical labor, which is what he wanted Kyle to do, and not let him follow what he wanted to do himself.

They are father and son... and their names are Edward and Daniel Richardson, Kyle's stepfather and stepbrother.

Ed and Danny had both, coincidentally, ended up at the same prison, as well as the same wing. Both of them spent as much of their free time as they could with each other. Danny had served one year of his four-year sentence for assault with a deadly weapon, and Ed had served one of ten years for vandalism, attempted burglary, and intent to murder. These crimes involved Kyle as the victim, but despite being badly hurt and even hospitalized on one occasion, he nonetheless managed to avoid any permanent harm.

Now, the two of the Richardson household were imprisoned... but sadly, neither of them felt like they deserved their retribution.

"I swear, when I get out of here..." Danny began. "...I'm gonna give that Kyle-queer a long, slow, painful lesson about fucking around with ME!"

Ed nodded. "Yeah, and I'm gonna do the same myself! Granted it might be a long time to do so, but he has ROYALLY pissed me off... gettin' me in this big iron box where his skinny ass should be! And he's just slackin' off and just tryin' to cruise through life on his shitty portraits, not makin' something of himself..."

"Well, who says we have to just sit around?" Danny asked.

"Whaddya mean?" Ed asked.

"What if..." Danny said, pausing and looking around just before dropping his voice to a whisper. "...what if we figure out a way to escape?"

Ed looked completely dumbstruck by such an idea.

"And how the hell would we do somethin' like that?" he asked.

Danny leaned close to his father's ear.

"Some of my good buddies outside slipped me some titanium lockpicks, which the metal detectors couldn't find on them! So, if we can open up some doors, and get some equipment we need, we might be able to get out!" Danny said.

Ed pursed his lips. "Well... we only got one shot at this. So, you'd better make it count, son! We gotta find that little lazy cunt and give what's comin' to him for fucking our lives up forever!"

"Oh, it will count... and he is gonna get it and get it GOOD!" Danny added.

Danny set the barbell on the rack, and sat up, smirking evilly.

"And I've got a couple of the other prisoners in on an escape plan... so, with a bit of planning and luck, we might just be able to pull it off!" he said.

Ed looked a bit uncertain, but it changed to an expression of admiration.

"Good work, son." he said. "Glad you've still got your smarts after all this time in this shit hole."

Back in Canterlot on the following morning, Lyra woke up with a letter right in front of her face on the end table. It had not been there the night before, and seeing her name on it, felt a bit curious.

She opened it up to start reading what it said:

Dear Lyra Heartstrings,

I have taken into consideration your request. It was a bit unexpected, as I had assumed your memories had been completely replaced by the false ones... but it seems you have retained them.

Given that this is a matter I have had to deal with personally concerning your safe return to Equestria, I will allow for an audience in my spare time of the upcoming afternoon. If you are unable to make it, please send another letter to inform me, and I could come up with an alternate time slot.

I hope to get everything cleared up for you, and have all your questions answered!

Your benevolent ruler,
Princess Celestia.

Lyra was quite surprised that the Princess so willingly accepted her request.

Must've been a little difficult to consider, given how busy ruling over a kingdom must keep her... Lyra thought.

Regardless, the Unicorn stood from her rented bed, and made her way over to the other one, where her best friend was sleeping.

"Bon Bon! Wake up!" Lyra said.

Slowly, Bon Bon opened her eyes, flickering her eyelids a bit as she shifted her gaze to Lyra.

"...Ugh... what is it, Ly...?" she asked.

Lyra levitated the letter in front of her friend's face.

"The Princess wrote back to me! We can go and speak with her!" she said.

"Well... can't we wait until later...?" Bon Bon said, sleepily.

"No!" Lyra said. "C'mon! We can't keep Celestia waiting! And we especially can't keep ME waiting!"

Lyra practically dragged her friend out of bed and carried her on her back until she was willing to start the day. With that, the two checked out of the hotel, grabbed their saddlebags, and made their way to Canterlot Castle, since they had overslept, and it was already noon.

They made their way up to the castle, and stopped upon reaching one of two guards blocking the entrance.

"...State your business, citizens." the guard spoke.

"We are here to see Her Highness, Princess Celestia." Lyra said.

"I'm afraid we cannot allow you to see the Princess." the guard said. "She is too busy, and you are definitely not worth her time."

"Hey!" Bon Bon said. "Don't you go saying that we're not worth anyone's time! She sent us a letter requesting to meet us!"

"Yeah! Here it is..." Lyra said, pulling said letter out.

Despite showing the guard the letter with Celestia's signature, the guard was still not convinced.

"How can we confirm that you did not forge this? We were never informed of any audience with Her Highness. Now, if you do not leave the castle grounds immediately, we will be forced to--" the guard was suddenly cut off.

"Hold on!" came a voice directly above them.

All of them looked up to see Princess Celestia gliding down towards them. Once she touched down, she turned her attention to the castle guard.

"It is alright." Celestia said. "I have requested to see them."

The guard suddenly looked worried. "O-oh, yes... of course... forgive me, Your Highness..."

"Now then," Celestia said, turning to Lyra and Bon Bon. "let us head to my private quarters to discuss this matter."

With that, the Princess charged her horn, and teleported the three of them into the castle to a fairly large hall with a fireplace, a desk, and some general lounge furniture. There were two guards on either side of the door, whom Celestia turned her attention to immediately.

"Leave us." she said to them.

The guards nodded and promptly left the room, closing the door behind them. Celestia then stood in front of the two lesser ponies.

"Now, Lyra..." Celestia began. "...you wish to discuss... your true past, correct?"

Lyra nodded. "Yes. I remember Kyle. I remember everything that really happened. Granted, I'm still familiar with Equestria, thanks to the memories you gave me, but... I just want to know if it is real, and I'm not imagining it."

Celestia hung her head down.

"...It is true." she said. "You were raised by a human who befriended you, and became your lover... while I personally have no problem with it... I feel it is best that you keep this a secret from anypony else, since they might not agree, especially with how native Equestrian humans were before they went extinct..."

"But... you wouldn't let anypony do anything to me, would you?" Lyra asked.

Celestia looked up. "...I'm afraid I cannot say anything that could change their minds. All I can do is enact the laws of Equestria, not tell everypony what to believe. Equestria is, after all, meant to be a free kingdom."

Lyra hung her head to the floor. Bon Bon pursed her lips together.

"...Shame that not everypony sees eye-to-eye." Bon Bon said.

"Indeed..." Celestia acknowledged.

Lyra looked back up again.

"So... I remember Kyle..." she said. "...and I've been able to contact him through this mirror!"

The Unicorn opened her saddlebag, and pulled out the handheld mirror. Celestia looked a bit intrigued.

"Through a mirror, you say?" the Princess asked. "That's interesting... how is this communication possible? Do you speak to each other directly?"

Lyra shook her head. "No. We happen to notice very faint light from the mirror. I assume Kyle was using a flashlight, and he was flashing it to create a message in Horse Code to let me know that it was him!"

"It's true! I saw it for myself!" Bon Bon said.

"Hmmm..." Celestia said, examining the mirror. "...strange. This is just a regular mirror with no enchantments. And I know that the universe that Kyle Schaeffer resides within has no magic. I wonder how communication from either end is possible. By all available means, it shouldn't be possible!"

"So..." Lyra began. "...is it possible... to return to his world?"

Celestia looked a bit on-the-spot by the question.

"You wish to return to his world?" she said. "Hm, tricky..."

Lyra looked discouraged. "Would it be too difficult...?"

"Likely not; I have spent years with my student creating a ritual circle that can transport any who use it to any dimension. I can easily send you to the human world, but..." Celestia trailed off.

"But, but, but, but... but what?" Lyra asked.

"...We are not certain of what sort of paradox you staying in the other world might create. It is not a universe in which ponies are supposed to exist. You know from your prior visit that your very existence in that universe was unstable, as indicated by your accelerated aging." Celestia said.

"I don't care!" Lyra said. "I just want to be back with Kyle! Even if just for a short time..."

Bon Bon looked a little bit uncertain about the whole situation.

"Lyra, I don't know... I think you should listen to the Princess." she said.

"Well..." Celestia spoke. "...I believe there is something that could be done to make this work out..."

She trailed off briefly, looking around at nothing in particular. The Unicorn and Earth Pony were both anxiously awaiting her answer.

"Lyra..." Celestia began. "...are you absolutely certain that you want to make one final visit to the human world?"

Lyra nodded without hesitation. "Yes! I just want to see Kyle again... and make the most of it... before I have to come back..."

"Very well..." Celestia said. "...follow me."

With that, the two ponies followed the Princess to another wing of the castle, and when they came to a bookcase, she pulled one of the books, revealing it to be a lever. The bookcase slid out of the way to reveal another chamber. The floor was glowing, with what looked like a golden, circular crescent with an eight-pointed silver star in the middle. There were various runes surrounding it.

"Woah..." Bon Bon said. "...looks like a demonic summoning circle..."

"Don't let its appearance offset you, Bon Bon. It is actually a portal." Celestia said.

Lyra stared in awe. "So... this is what we'll use... to get to his world...?"

Celestia nodded. "But only if you are absolutely certain you are ready, Lyra."

"I am!" Lyra said. "I want to go back, and see him one last time..."

"Alright, then." Celestia said. "Please step forward, then."

Lyra looked back at her best friend, who smiled and nodded at her.

"...Good luck, Ly." she said.

"See you soon, Bonnie..." Lyra responded.

With that, Lyra stepped into the portal circle, and Celestia began to charge her horn. As she did this, the floor began to glow, the symbols slowly illuminating, one by one, in a clockwise pattern.

"...It has taken a few years to perfect this transportation spell..." Celestia said. "...but I know how to do it flawlessly now."

The glow started to get brighter... it became blinding... everything went white...

Lyra closed her eyes as she felt the sensation that she was being pulled somewhere by an invisible force...

Kyle was just laying on the couch with a laptop, browsing around the web in his spare time. His mother had gone shopping for some food and cooking supplies. As he was browsing, however... a faint, glowing light appeared in mid-air, giving off a faint hum.

"Huh?" Kyle uttered, closing the laptop and setting it off to the side. "What's going on, now?"

The light became very bright and blinding, up to the point where it flashed with a bang. Kyle looked at it as it was fading away, and what he saw was something that he would never have been able to ready himself for...

8. Reluctant Revelation

The glow faded, and Kyle was able to get a look at what had materialized in its place... and he was immobilized in both shock and surprise...

...standing in front of him were a tall, white equine with a green-and-pink mane and tail, perpetually rippling... and a mint-green Unicorn pony who he recognized all too well...

"...L-Lyra..." Kyle was barely able to even whisper out.

Lyra looked straight back at him, her pupils having grown tiny, and her jaw hanging from the initial shock of seeing her human lover once more.

"...Kyle..." she said.

They had stared at each other for several moments, Celestia standing by silently all the while. And then, huge grins appeared on both of their faces as Kyle stood from the sofa, and Lyra rushed and leapt at him. She latched onto him in a tight hug, and he hugged her back. Both of them were squeezing each other so hard, they could barely breathe... but they did not care.

"You came back..." Kyle said, tears flowing from his eyes.

"You waited..." Lyra responded, her own eyes becoming watery.

The two separated to look at each other.

"...I thought I would..." Kyle spoke, trailing off.

"...never see you again..." Lyra finished.

"But..." Kyle began. "...I thought your memories of me were erased! I thought you wouldn't remember me!"

"Kyle..." Lyra said, smiling with tears running down her face. "...my love for you will always let me remember you."

Celestia stepped forward, smiling at the two.

"Greetings once again, Kyle Schaeffer." she said.

Kyle looked up at Celestia.

"Princess Celestia... it's an honor to see you again." he said.

"Oh, I'm so happy to see you again, Kyle! You don't know how much I missed you..." Lyra said.

"I think I do know... because I missed you just as much." Kyle said.

The two of them finally separated, and Kyle set Lyra back on the floor.

"How have you been?" Lyra asked.

"Well..." Kyle began. "...things have been okay, but... not anywhere close to being as good since you left."

"Yeah," Lyra responded. "I felt like I was going about my life as usual... but, once I remembered you... I was desperate to come back to see you, Ky."

Kyle knelt down to be at eye-level with her. "...I'm really glad you didn't forget about me. Because I could never forget about you."

Lyra nodded. "And I promised to come back... and I never break a promise that I make." she said.

They both smiled warmly at each other, Kyle taking Lyra's hoof in his hands. However, their moment of happiness lasted only a few seconds... because the front door to the house suddenly opened, they heard. The human and two ponies looked startled.

"Kyle! I'm back!" Jan called out. "Could you come and help me unload the groceries, please?"

Lyra was frozen in fear. "Kyle... who was that?"

Kyle darted his eyes around for a moment, pondering the response he would give to his wife.

"...You'll see." he said, standing. "I just gotta go talk to her real quick."

"You're not... seeing anyone else, are you...?" Lyra asked, looking worried.

"No, Lyra!" Kyle responded, quickly. "She's... a family member."

With that, he quickly walked off to the foyer, where he found his mother walking in through the open door, a bunch of grocery bags in her arms.

"Hi, Kyle!" she said. "So, there's a few more bags in my car. If you could get them for me, I'd appreciate it."

"Yeah... um... l-listen, Mom..." Kyle stammered.

Jan frowned. "What's the matter?" she asked.

Kyle sighed. He knew that he had to come clean on this. Trying to hide it would prove to be futile...

"...There's something, or rather... someone, that I need to show you..." he said.

"Sweetie, what's going on?" Jan asked, setting the bags on the floor, and following her son into the living room.

The moment her eyes met Celestia and Lyra... she stopped in her tracks, staring wide-eyed at the two cartoon-y equines. Her mouth hung slightly open. She was as still as a statue, staring at the two Equestrians.

"...Kyle...?" she uttered. "...What are they...?"

"Mom..." Kyle began. "...can you keep a secret?"

Jan said nothing. Kyle sighed again.

"Mom... this is Princess Celestia." Kyle said, walking over to the Alicorn, and motioning his arm to her. "She is the ruler of the kingdom of Equestria, in an alternate universe inhabited by ponies, and the controller of their sun."

At this point, Jan was looking really lost.

Kyle then knelt next to Lyra, placing a hand on the back of the Unicorn's neck.

"...And this is Lyra Heartstrings." Kyle said. "About six years after you left... I found her lost in the woods where you used to take me... so I took her under my care at our old house... and kept her hidden from Ed and Danny... eventually taking her with me when I moved out... and we... we became..."

Lyra sighed. "...We are lovers." she confessed.

Jan's eyebrows came down over her wide eyes.

"Now, Mom..." Kyle began. "...please don't think that I have any problems. I promise that I am not some sort of zoophilic freak!"

"Yeah!" Lyra acknowledged. "Kyle's just about the greatest living thing I've ever met in my life! He's done so much to take care of me... and he's shown me how capable of love he is... just as I have shown him."

"You mean... all the time I was gone..." Jan finally spoke. "...you've been raising... a pony from an alternate universe?"

Kyle nodded. "And it just so happens, this universe is from the TV show My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, which, believe it or not, had a large male fanbase at the time of its run. The male fans are called 'bronies'. And they were a lot more common than you would think. Plus... I was one."

Jan was darting her eyes back and forth between Kyle and the ponies.

"Well, Kyle... I don't have any problem with you watching whatever you like on television, granted it's not anything really bad, but..." she trailed off. "...how is something from a cartoon real?"

Kyle shrugged. "I have no idea. I've just tried not to question it, and make the best of my time with Lyra when she first visited."

"First visited?" Jan asked.

"She's come back." Kyle responded. "Only days before I found you, she was brought back to Equestria by Princess Celestia here, and her student, a Unicorn named Twilight Sparkle."

Celestia stepped forward towards Jan, which made the latter look a bit uncomfortable.

"If you'll pardon me, Miss..." the Alicorn said, angling her horn downward. "...I merely wish to give you a better understanding."

With that, Celestia touched the tip of her glowing horn onto Jan's forehead. Immediately, Jan's eyes were forced closed while Celestia channeled some sort of energy into her mind. All the while this was happening, Lyra decided to speak to Kyle concerning the current matter.

"So... that's her?" Lyra asked. "That's your... mother?"

Kyle nodded. "And you wouldn't believe how we found each other... we just happened to bump into each other on a walk."

"Wow..." Lyra said, looking back at Kyle's mother. "...I never thought I would ever get a chance to meet her."

After a few more seconds, Celestia's horn stopped glowing, and she tilted her head back upright. Jan opened her eyes, which now seemed more enlightened rather than surprised.

"So..." Jan spoke. "...you are real! You come from... another world..."

"Correct." Celestia said. "However, our existence within this universe is not one that could sustain the life of our species, as we are magically tethered to Equestria, and the time passage in this dimension is slower than in our own, which also causes us to age faster in this world."

"Yes, see... Lyra here was just a little filly when I found her. I raised her, and she grew up far quicker than I was expecting, and our friendship became..." Kyle trailed off.

Lyra picked up for him: "Kyle was my best friend, and we did so many fun things together, especially when we were living alone together. And like I said before... I really came to love him later on."

"Now, Lyra." Celestia spoke. "I mentioned that there is a way you can remain stable in this world for the time being. For this to work... I must force you to adapt to the quantum fabrication of this universe."

Lyra tilted her head, narrowing her eyes. "How will that work...?" she asked.

"I must perform a spell on you that will temporarily alter your form, and make you unaffected by your link to our native universe. Will you agree to this?" Celestia asked.

"Yes!" Lyra said without hesitation. "Yes, yes, yes! I want to do it! I want to spend more time with my husband!"

"...Husband?" Jan asked, more confused than before.

"...Long story." Kyle responded.

"Now... let us not delay any longer." Celestia spoke. "I will perform the spell, and then I must return to Equestria as soon as possible, to minimize the alterations our presence could make on this universe's foundation."

"Yes, Princess! Please do it!" Lyra said, grinning ever so wide.

Celestia charged her horn once again, and closed her eyes. After a moment, Lyra began to levitate as a golden halo outlined her body. She was glancing all around herself, the glow gradually getting brighter. She was staring at her hooves, smiling immensely in anticipation as she awaiting whatever form she would have for her visit. And then there was a flash of white light, which forced Kyle and Jan to shield their eyes briefly. The light dimmed to reveal a glowing sphere, about two meters across, which slowly set onto the floor to become a dome of light.

After the glow went out, in the place of Lyra... was a very thin-figured girl with light skin, and pure white hair laying on the floor, unconscious. Kyle gasped as his eyes went wide. His mother was just as surprised as he was, if not more so.

"There." Celestia said. "She can maintain stability so long as she is in this form in your world."

Kyle knelt down next to the white-haired girl, and then she began to stir. She looked up at him as she slowly lifted her head and opened her eyes.

“...Lyra?” Kyle asked.

“...Angh... K-Kyle...” the girl sleepily responded in Lyra's voice, opening her amber-colored eyes. “...aah... I-I feel kinda funny...”

Kyle stood up, looking around the living room, just before walking to a mirror.

"...Kyle... where are you going...?" Lyra asked.

Kyle pulled the mirror off the wall, walking back over to the realistic, humanized Lyra, and holding it in front of her.

"...Take a look." he said.

After gazing with her eyes half-open, they became wide open. She let out her breath in utter surprise at what she was seeing in the reflection. She looked at her hands, curling her fingers to test their motion. And she looked in the mirror, subtly touching her face, her shoulders, her hair...

“...I...” Lyra stammered. “...I-I'm a... h-h-human...”

"You know..." Jan said, calmed down from her previously-stunned demeanor. "...she's actually very beautiful."

“I'd say platinum-blonde fits you perfectly!” Kyle commented.

Tears filled Lyra's eyes as a victory smile spread over her face. She looked up at Celestia.

"Oh, thank you, Your Highness!" she said. "Thank you so much! You have no idea how badly I've always wanted this!"

"You're quite welcome, Lyra." Celestia said with a warm smile. "I hope you enjoy your stay with your human companion, Lyra. And I hope you make it worthwhile for yourself."

"Oh, I will!" Lyra said.

"And now, I will depart to Equestria for fourteen days... exactly the time in which the spell will wear off, and you will turn back into a pony. I bid you farewell for now, Lyra Heartstrings." Celestia said.

"Goodbye, Princess!" Lyra said.

"Bye, and thanks!" Kyle said.

Celestia nodded, just before she charged her horn... and disappeared in a flash of blinding light. Kyle looked back down at Lyra, who was still laying on the floor... and finally managed to process that she was naked.

Holy shit, she's hot... Kyle thought. ...got some nice, subtle curves... a good, D-size bust...

He began to get lost in thought, until he snapped himself right out of it.

Focus, you pervert... get her something to cover up! he thought.

"Hang on, Ly..." Kyle said, putting the mirror back up. "...I'll get you something to wrap yourself in."

With that, he pulled a blanket from a chest at the end of one of the sofas, which he handed to Lyra.

"Here you go." Kyle said.

Lyra looked down at her humanized body. "Meh... I'm comfortable this way!" she said.

"Um... Lyra, is it?" Jan said. "You know we have... laws, here. They say you can't walk around naked around other people."

"Oh, fine..." Lyra said, taking the blanket, standing, and wrapping herself in it.

She wore it very much like a toga to cover herself up. She was about five-foot-eight, roughly six inches shorter than Kyle.

"Okay, first thing's first... we gotta get you something to wear." Kyle said.

Jan pondered for a moment. "...I've got some old things I don't wear anymore. I was gonna donate them, but... I suppose Lyra could have them for now."

"Yeah..." Kyle said, nodding. "...and how about, Lyra, I take you shopping for some clothes?"

Lyra smiled at the idea. "I'd love that! I've never been in a human shop before!"

Kyle gave a crooked smile. "I'm sure it'll be quite an experience..." he said.

9. Human Relations

Kyle was standing outside of his the guest bedroom where his mother was staying for now. Jan and Lyra were both inside, the former helping the latter get into some clothes.

"So... it just goes on... like that." Jan's voice came.

"...Huh..." Lyra's voice said. "...wait... uh... ugh! Ngh!"

"What's the matter?" Jan asked.

"I don't like this! I'm not wearing it!" Lyra said.

"But you need undergarments for hygiene purposes! And to keep your... assets... supported." Jan said, struggling a bit at the end.

"This isn't garments!" Lyra complained. "This is... bondage!"

Jan sighed in impatience. "Do you want to wear clothes properly, or not?"

"Okay, fine..." Lyra said. "...if this is what humans do, I'll just go along with it."

Kyle was chuckling a bit in silence. He found it amusing that Lyra supposedly always wanted to be human, but now that she is, she is having some problems trying to adapt. Soon enough, Lyra emerged from the room, accompanied by Jan. She was adorned in a white, sleeveless tank top, khaki trousers that went halfway down her calves, and some tan sandals.

"Well..." Lyra said, looking at Kyle. "...how do I look?"

He examined her from head to toe, taking in every fine detail of her gorgeous body. The clothing surprisingly looked fairly good on her.

"You look pretty good!" Kyle said. "How does it feel?"

Lyra tugged at the clothing subtly. "Well... it feels kinda restrictive." she remarked.

"Yeah, clothing can feel that way. Sucks, but that's unfortunately how it is around here." Kyle said.

"But... I guess the one good thing about it is that I'm not so cold anymore." Lyra said.

"Well, let's take you shopping, so you can have some clothes that fit you better, and aren't so binding or loose." Kyle offered.

Lyra immediately looked excited at the idea.

"Oh yeah! Let's go!" she said.

Some time later that day, Kyle decided to take Lyra to Kohl's, the latter still been adorned in Jan's old clothing, which fit her alright, but was nothing special. She was absolutely awestruck by the appearance of the clothing store. Since she was now in a human form, and would be so for the next week, she did not have to stay hidden at the mansion all the time.

"So... this is a human shop?" Lyra asked.

"Yep." Kyle said.

She continued to look around, spinning while she did so.

"This place is so big...!" she commented. "Not even the really fancy shops in Canterlot hold a candle to this place!"

"Well, let's not dawdle, and we'll get you some sets of clothing." Kyle said.

"Right!" Lyra said, taking her eyes off... everything.

With that, the two set out to the women's section of the store... which was a little awkward for Kyle, but he had to help be Lyra's guide in the human world.

Wonderful... I get to go shoe-shopping with Lyra Heartstrings from the My Little Pony cartoon. Kyle thought, If other people ever heard me say that... they would probably think I'm a big, metrosexual pussy...

He let her pick out some tops, trousers and shorts, shoes, socks, panties, bras, and then he escorted her to the fitting rooms in order for her to try them on. She went in and out a few times, handing Kyle some things that weren't her size. There were some men, women, and children who were giving Kyle strange looks because he was holding female garments, but he tried his best to just ignore their glimpses of him. Still, it was a bit embarrassing.

Eventually, Lyra determined her size, and they went back through the clothing floor to get the same things she handed back to Kyle in her size. And just for the hell of it, Kyle decide to get Lyra some jewelry, too. She chose a necklace, a cuff bracelet, and she wanted to get a ring to symbolize their relationship.

The jeweler sized her left-hand fourth finger, and settled on a lab-grown colorless topaz with a silver band. She consciously chose the synthetic stone, as she did not want him to be pressured into buying anything outrageously expensive, despite his insistence that he would be willing to get her a real diamond.

Kyle had also decided to start wearing his original golden wedding band once again, now that Lyra was back, and in human form, no less.

"So, is that everything you want?" Kyle asked.

Lyra nodded. "It should get me by for the week."

"Okay," Kyle said. "I think we're ready to check out then!"

So, the two waited in line at the checkout, and Lyra continued to look around, admiring the place.

"Wow..." she said. "...most humans around here seem kinda... decent. From how you were treated, Kyle... I always thought you were some sort of renegade or something... that all humans were selfish."

"No. We're not all like that." Kyle said. "I was just unfortunate enough to become associated with the wrong people."

"Well, either way... it makes me look forward to exploring the human world even more!" Lyra said, excited.

"You might wanna lower your voice when you talk like that, Ly..." Kyle said, dropping his own voice. "...people might think you're weird!"

The two promptly checked out, Kyle not bothering to nitpick anything "bad" that the clerk might be doing, as he knows from personal experience that the clerk would not appreciate it. But he managed to get everything paid for, and the two left the store.

On the drive back... they happened to pass by a Kroger store. Kyle groaned in anger at the mere sight of the place, with, somehow, was still up and running.

"What's wrong?" Lyra asked.

"...It's the grocery store I used to work at." Kyle said, pointing to it. "Over there, the Kroger."

Lyra looked at the place. She was a little confused.

"It doesn't look so bad. Looks kinda similar to that Kohl's shop." she said.

"Don't let appearances fool you." Kyle said. "The clerks might act all bright-and-cheery... but inside, they are in agony. The customers expect to be treated like royalty, and lack any measurable level of common sense."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that..." Lyra said. "...so, have you wanted to give 'em a piece of your mind?"

"Oh, I have..." Kyle said. "...but... I think some more punishment might be in order!"

Lyra smirked while narrowing her eyes. "So... want me to join the fun?" she asked.

Kyle nodded. "Sure... we just gotta head back to the house so I can pick up some things I'll need. And you can get into some new clothes while we're there, too." he said.

Shortly after they arrived at the mansion, Lyra got into her new clothes (which she commented felt much better), Kyle grabbed a laptop computer from his office, and the two were headed out again.

"Where you two going this time?" Jan asked.

"Oh, there's just something I wanna show Lyra." Kyle said.

"Okay, you two have fun!" Jan said, waving.

"Oh, we will..." Kyle whispered to Lyra.

Both of them started silently chuckling.

They drove back to the Kroger store, and both decided to sit in the Starbucks area of the store. Kyle decided to get them both some coffee, just so they would not seem suspicious. Kyle got himself a cappuccino, and Lyra decided to have an iced vanilla frappuccino. From there, the two took a seat at a table in the corner, away from the other patrons, and Kyle pulled out his laptop, which he connected to the free, public Wandering Wi-Fi that the store offered.

Using some third-party software, Kyle was able to make Skype achieve screen and audio capture of his laptop, which would help with the prank they would pull on the store. He also made a special call that would make his IP address over Skype, and encrypted it altogether on the connection to the router he was linked to.

"So..." Lyra spoke up. "...what exactly are you doing?"

"You'll see." Kyle answered. "Let's just say... we're gonna be broadcasting a meme."

"What's a... 'meme'?" Lyra asked.

"A meme is a phrase, image, song, or other thing that is catchy and easy to remember, which has gained widespread, sometimes even viral, attention. Personally, I'm not much for memes... but that doesn't mean I won't find one I like from time to time." Kyle said.

Kyle was able to finish everything up on the computer, and prepared to initiate the Skype call.

"I hope they haven't changed the intercom number..." Kyle said.

So, he clicked the call button, and after a moment, it was able to connect to the line. To see if it was working, Kyle pressed “play” on his laptop... and “Do Your Best” from Good Manners Songs For Children began to play on the intercom.

It took effect near-immediately. Many customers and employees started glancing at the speakers, confused. Kyle and Lyra were both struggling to hold their laughter; Kyle was snorting and pounding the table, and Lyra was clutching her stomach and flailing her legs while hyperventilating.

“Wh-what...” Lyra said, trying to stop laughing. “...what is this song?”

“I don't know, exactly... but, I mean... you just gotta do your best.” Kyle answered, shrugging at the last part.

With that, both of them resumed laughing at their little prank. Nobody would be able to use the PA to make any pages, since Kyle was using it via his laptop, and it could not be overrided. They let the song play through the entire first verse, and the instrumental bridge, which went on for quite a while. Kyle was certain that some people needed to make intercom pages, but he did not care.

"Second verse, same as the first!" he said, right as the song was about to start the lyrics back up again.

Soon, Kyle and Lyra each wrapped one arm around the other's shoulder and started rocking side to side in sync with the beat, silently singing along. Despite the song being very stupid, they just felt compelled to swing to the music in triumph.

After they felt that it had gone on long enough, Kyle decided to end the Skype call, and the intercom returned to the normal playlist.

"Well..." Kyle began, a look of satisfaction on his face as he gazed over the confused customers and employees. "...that was fun!"

After a few moments of the two laughing, there was a strange page over the PA.

"Attention everyone in this Kroger store." came a female voice. "Whoever took over the intercom to play their own music, please report to the service desk at this time. You have delayed some important pages, and we have the right to know who you are. So, once again, come to the service desk at this time to receive your penalty for misconduct."

"C'mon," Kyle said, standing. "let's blow this joint before they catch us!"

"Gotcha!" Lyra said, as she stood and quickly began to follow behind her human lover.

The two were able to make their way out by acting casual under the cover of the crowd of customers. Nobody happened to spot them, and they were able to make it out of the store.

"Sweet! That's twice I've successfully given this sweat-hole a piece of my mind! And this time, they didn't even know it!" Kyle said.

"And I got to enjoy it with you!" Lyra said.

So, the two made their way back over to Kyle's car, and they hastily drove out of the parking lot to make their way back over to the house. As they were driving, Kyle watching the road while Lyra got a nice, clear look at the human world, the former could not help but be constantly distracted, yet satisfied by the earworm that the song back in the store created.

“Y'know Lyra, people from your fandom are always wanting to let you know to do your best... but, I'm sure you already try your hardest.” Kyle said.

“Oh, I always try my hardest, sometimes.” Lyra responded.

Upon their arrival at home, they just decided to laze around for the remainder of the evening, more or less browsing the internet, watching some movies, playing video games, cooking dinner with Jan, and just unwinding for the night.

It was later that same evening when Ed and Danny, back at the prison, had managed to make it outside of the building, both adorned in guard uniforms. Danny successfully picked the lock to his cell through the bars, knowing the timing in which the guards would pass by his cell to do so without being caught, and came to his father's cell to get him out.

Both of them knocked out a pair of guards from behind, and stole their uniforms and equipment, using some soap and a pocketknife that one of the guards had to shave off their beards, so as to blend in a little better.

"He should've come by and clipped the fences after blinding the cameras..." Danny said.

They quickly rushed over to the inner fence in a blind spot from security cameras.

"Let's see..." Danny said, pressing the fence.

The chainlink bent outward on the bottom corner of one of the metal posts. A look of triumph spread over his face as he looked back at his father.

"Well look at that! My friends don't screw me over!" he said.

"Gotta hand it to ya, son..." Ed began. "...you got some damn good friends!"

At that moment, an alarm began to sound in the prison. Both of them jumped at the sound of it.

"C'mon, move!" Ed said.

With that, the two pushed their way through the openings made in the fence, and sure enough, they managed to get beyond the perimeter of the prison. They had run for some distance across a long stretch of field before they found a freeway bridge to hide under and catch their breath.

"Nicely done, son... it's because of you that we're gonna put that little shit in his rightful place!"

"Yep!" Danny said. "That little pussy-bitch is finally gonna get his share of payback!"

"And I think I remember where he lives..." Ed said. "...but my memory's a little fuzzy. Hope it doesn't take too long to find that big-ass house that's too fucking big for some scrawny-ass like him..."

"We'll find him!" Danny said, confidently.

With that, the two decided to head off to Atlanta, which was close by, and bust into a clothing shop to steal some garments to blend in better and not be so conspicuous...

10. Out and About

For the next three days, Kyle had taken Lyra out to do some fun things that she had previously been unable to do as a pony. Under the guise of her human form, however, she was able to join him on these little adventures fairly flawlessly.

For instance, he decided to take her to an amusement park, and they rode on a variety of different rides, such as the Ferris wheel, boat tunnel, skydiver, scrambler, and anything else that seemed like fun. But Lyra really enjoyed the roller coaster, as did Kyle. Ironically, Kyle was absolutely terrified of roller coasters when he was younger, but after his mother urged him to ride one time, he came to like them. The best part of the trip: Kyle decided to pay extra to get Platinum Passes for himself and Lyra, so they did not have to wait in the line of regular-paying patrons (who all gave the two a cold glare as they walked through the empty Platinum lanes, which they thought was pretty funny).

Later on, the two decided to head to the movie theater, where they decided to settle on something playing that looked exciting. They settled on an action-thriller, which really had them on the edge of their seats throughout the film, given the level of mystery and suspense it had. Lyra often found herself clinging onto Kyle when it got intense... and he thoroughly enjoyed having her all over him.

On another day, he took her to Dave & Buster's, an all-ages oriented arcade that he had not been to in years. The place had so many game cabinets, you would think every one in existence was there. Lyra definitely enjoyed herself, racing against Kyle on the car and motorcycle games, getting really competitive in the shoot-em-ups, shooting hoops in the basketball game, and catching prizes from the crane machines. They had pizza for lunch from the D&B restaurant, and they both most definitely felt that it was all too good to go to waste.

Later, he took her to the mall to do a bit of shopping around, and she was awestruck by the sheer size of the building (comparing it to Canterlot Castle), and wanting to check out nearly every shop that stood out to her. Kyle definitely enjoyed it, not just because of the shopping, but because he could finally have the chance to do some "human" things with his wife. They both visited a variety of clothing, home decor, tea, and electronics stores, and they ate lunch in the mall's food court.

As they ate, Kyle decided to draw up a real conversation with her. They had been going back-and-forth over the past few days... but they had yet to really talk about their time apart.

“So...” Kyle began. “...how do you like being a human, Ly?”

“I love how my new body feels... especially my hands!” she said. “It's so nice to be able to grasp things instead of balancing them on your hoof.”

“Now that I think about it... it kinda reminds me of this one old movie I saw a while back, called The Last Unicorn.” Kyle said.

“Really?” Lyra asked. “Was this before several men in your world became... 'bronies' as you call them?”

Kyle shrugged. “Let's just say, when you're a guy who has a nextdoor female friend roughly your age... she tends to make you do some bizarre things when you visit. But, in the movie, the Unicorn protagonist gets turned into a human, very much like how you are now, Lyra. Plus, she ends up falling in love with a human prince. So... yeah, just something that you reminded me of.”

"Hmm... that's interesting." Lyra said.

“Plus, now that I really think about it, especially with my newfound interest for ponies... it was actually a pretty good movie! I think you should watch it sometime, Lyra!” Kyle said.

“Sounds like it would be a good movie!” she said.

The two continued to eat for a little while longer, up until Lyra once again decided to break the silence.

"So... I've been wondering, Kyle..." she began.

Kyle looked up from his fried chicken. "What's up?"

"...How exactly were we able to communicate through the mirror?" Lyra asked. "There's no magic in your world, so... what do you think happened?"

After thinking for a bit, Kyle's eyes opened fairly wide as he came to the realization that ruled out all logical possibilities.

“It's our love...” he said. “...our love for each other is what's allowing us to communicate across the dimensions!”

"You sure?" Lyra asked.

"Absolutely! I know for a fact... love is something capable of transcending space and time... it has no limits, no boundaries..." Kyle said.

"So... that's how that one link was formed?" Lyra said. "I guess that would make sense... I probably shouldn't have stolen that hotel mirror, then..."

"Wait... you did what?" Kyle asked.

"Never mind..." Lyra said in an attempt to diffuse the situation. "...anyways, yeah! I'm still really happy that we were able to be back with each other again!"

"I know, right?" Kyle said.

"And I don't even care if I can't use my Unicorn magic!" Lyra said. "I mean, it's not like I could just... levitate my silverware and--"

She stopped speaking abruptly as she saw that the plastic fork she had been looking at... actually did just what she described. Kyle happened to take note as well, since her eyes appeared to glow along with the fork as it happened.

"Woah...!" Kyle uttered. "...What was that?"

Lyra narrowed her eyes. "Let's see if I can do that again..."

Once more, she focused on the fork, and levitated it effortlessly, her eyes glowing, possibly in the absence of her horn.

"No way..." Kyle said. "...you can still levitate things as a human?"

“...It looks like I can still use my Unicorn magic... even though I'm a human...” Lyra said.

The two sat facing in each in surprise at this revelation... up until they decided to finish up their food and proceed about their business. Besides, Lyra using magic was nothing new; since she came from a magical universe, it was definitely to be expected. But...

...Lyra would probably have never suspected what was going to happen next.

It turned out that Kyle had brought her to the mall for a secondary reason; a few months ago, he entered into a drawing to win a limited-edition, 14k gold-plated Macbook, just for the hell of it. Kyle did not use Mac computers, having grown up with Windows, but he just entered for some thrill-seeking.

There were various people crowding around the announcer, who had a single, sealed envelope in his hand. He had just finished announcing the overview of the sweepstakes, and that the deadline was mere moments ago.

"So... you think you might've won?" Lyra asked.

Kyle shrugged. "...Wouldn't be surprised if I didn't."

Both of them continued to listen for the name to be announced.

Although... maybe I could use a special trick I've got up my sleeve to increase my odds... Kyle thought.

With that, he closed his eyes, and began to redirect his mere instinct, his sixth sense, onto the card that the announcer was holding.

This power has done so much for me... Kyle thought. ...yet it also led to my downfall.

"And the winner of this limited-edition, gold-plated, brand-new-generation Macbook is..." the announcer said, opening the envelope. "...Mr. Kyle Schaeffer!"

Kyle opened his eyes, breaking out of a mild trance he had placed himself into, and a satisfied grin grew over his face.

Knew it... he thought.

He began to make his way up to the podium, moving somewhat sluggish, as if he were fatigued, to claim his prize. Once he made it up, he took the computer, safely sealed in a computer carrying case, with the AC adapter and external CD drive, and stuck around for a moment while the announcer made his closing statements. Once he finished, everyone disbanded from the area, and Kyle met back up with Lyra.

"Wow! Sweet score, Ky!" she said.

"Totally!" Kyle said.

"But..." Lyra began. "...I noticed that you were closing your eyes and hanging your head down just before your name was called. What were you doing?"

"Well..." Kyle spoke. "...I was... invoking, so to speak..."

"What do you mean?" Lyra asked.

“Well...” Kyle began. “...it's a special power that I have. When I use it, it alters situational probability in my favor. And it never fails.”

“So, why don't you use it all the time?” Lyra asked.

Kyle sighed. “...Because it actually takes a lot of spiritual energy to invoke...” he slightly leaned forward. “...especially just now, since I haven't used it for so many years. I already feel tired...”

"When did you first find out you had it?" Lyra asked.

Kyle cleared his throat. "It was sometime when I was in the third grade, since that was a point when things started going downhill for me. I was being bullied, and my grades were slipping. I felt totally worthless, and I tried to tell my parents that I couldn't keep going, because I wasn't good enough. But, they were able to give me the encouragement I needed when they had long conversations with me, telling me that failure is not the end, but an opportunity to learn.

"From that point on, I dedicated myself to try harder... and yet, I started to get this instinctive feeling that I would have to focus my positive energy on the object or situation that I want to go my way. And not with any of my five senses, but with my mind, and nothing more. Once I began this intensive channeling of my energy... I found that it was actually working! I managed to achieve streaks with this power... even though it always left me feeling exhausted from using it too much."

"But... why haven't you used it for so long?" Lyra asked.

"With the suffering I endured from my abuse and bullying... I effectively lost the will to manifest the power necessary to use my ability. It doesn't work if I have too much negative energy, which comes from emotions like sadness, anger, jealousy, et cetera. Apparently, it relies on the positive energy of hope." Kyle said.

"Oh..." Lyra acknowledged.

"Hope is the one thing in this world that motivates someone to keep going. And it is essentially the driving force of my special power." Kyle said.

“So... humans in this world... have magic of their own?” Lyra asked.

Kyle shrugged. “In a way... but it's nothing like the 'magic' you would think of, and it works completely different than pony magic. In fact, it's probably different than 'real' magic altogether.”

“...Why did you never tell me about it?” Lyra asked.

Kyle sighed. “I've never told anyone... because I always thought nobody would believe me. Plus, with you around, Ly... I never felt any need to use it. Just your presence alone was enough to make me happy.”

Lyra's eyes fell to the floor as she smiled and blushed. "Oh, Ky..." she said.

Kyle came back to reality and looked at the computer bag he was still holding on his shoulder. He took it off and held it towards his humanized pony wife.

"...Why don't you take the prize, Lyra?" Kyle said, handing her the Apple laptop.

Lyra took it, looking at it. "Kyle... it's your prize!"

"I want you to have it." Kyle said. "It's plated with real gold! Plus... I hate Macs."

"Well..." Lyra said, slipping the strap of the case on his own shoulder. "...if you really want me to have it, I guess I'll take it."

"Yeah... just figured you'd want a nice computer for your stay here in my world." Kyle said.

Without warning, Lyra wrapped her fingers behind his neck and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

"Thank you, Kyle." Lyra said. "In fact, thank you for everything you've done for me. It means the world to finally get to have fun like humans do."

"...Aw, that's okay." Kyle said, turning away while smirking and blushing while making nervous leg movements.

Despite how much he has changed... Kyle Schaeffer was obviously still fairly shy.

11. Among the Stars

Kyle had decided to take Lyra to a nice restaurant one evening. It was somewhat of a nicer place than usual, but not formal. The place was a bit crowded, so they had to wait a bit before they were seated. Either way, the place was very nice, both of them thought. Even with her fabricated memories of Equestria, Lyra still enjoyed the place.

"I'm still amazed that, even without magic... humans have still gotten very far in this world." Lyra said.

"Yeah," Kyle said over his pasta pesto. "we've become accustomed to what we have access to, and learned how to make the most of it."

"But, either way..." Lyra said. "...I'm still gonna miss you when I have to go back!"

Kyle fidgeted with his fork a bit. "I know..." he said.

Just the thought of her leaving again was making Kyle heavily reminisce of the time when Lyra had to go back to Equestria. He truly thought that he would never have the chance to see her again... and as of right now, that seemed to be the case here, too.

Soon enough, the two decided to pay leave the restaurant after finishing their meal, and saw, in the plaza, that there was an event happening.

"Wonder what this is all about...?" Kyle said.

"Let's go check it out!" Lyra said.

The two got closer and saw that it appeared to be a formal dance in the plaza of the promenade they were in. There were some people dressed in formal attire all gathered in the square with a classical band playing the music.

"Well, this looks like fun!" Lyra commented.

"I agree..." Kyle said. "...too bad we aren't dressed for it."

Lyra rubbed her chin whilst raising a brow and smirking as she looked at Kyle's attire.

"I can change that right up..." she said.

Before Kyle could even ask what she meant, her eyes began to glow her trademark gold color, and he happened to see patterns of light the same color appearing on his clothing. Though they were in a fairly dim spot, he could still make out some subtle alterations that were being made.

Kyle could feel the fabric of his T-shirt, his jacket, and his jeans were changing. His jeans were becoming a little more smooth and thin. His shirt was becoming a bit more firm, and he felt the short sleeves lengthening down his arms under his jacket, which felt like it was getting weight added to it. Plus, he could feel his shirt creeping up on his neck and slightly squeezing. He tugged at it... and found that his shirt had been transformed into a button-up dress shirt with a collar.

The flat sensation he felt from the jacket on his shoulders prompted him to feel his changing outerwear in the dim light... and he realized it was now a dress jacket the same color as his slacks, which used to be his jeans. Even his tennis shoes had been turned into sleek, polished, black dress shoes.

Lyra had turned Kyle's entire set of clothing into a jet-black tuxedo with a red bow tie. He checked himself out as best as he could in the dim lighting.

"Now that suits you pretty good!" Lyra said. "How do you like it?"

Kyle held out his arms, and made various poses to get a feel for his newly-transformed attire. He pursed his lips and nodded.

“Not bad, but..." Kyle began. "...I'm not really one for bow ties."

Lyra narrowed her eyes and smiled.

“Well I think it makes you look quite handsome.” she said. "And now for my getup..."

Lyra channeled her Unicorn magic once more, and she enveloped herself in pockets of light. Her magenta tank-top faded to black, and began to merge with her jeans, which also turned the same color. Even the fabric became the same. The legs of her jeans were merging, creating a single "leg"... which spread out into a dress. The sandals Lyra was wearing became a pair of fancy high-heels.

Lyra had magically adorned herself in a beautiful, all-black evening dress.

She looked up after she finished (literally) changing her clothes. "Well... how do I look?" she asked.

Kyle smiled at her. "...Like an angel of the night." he said.

Lyra tilted her head down while still look at him as she blushed, but smiled back at him.

"Even though your white hair contrasts your dress strongly... I'd say that turquoise pendant I gave you really gives it the right touch." Kyle remarked.

Lyra still wore the same pendant Kyle had given her as a Christmas present from her first stay in the human world... and it was phosphorescent, making it very radiant even in the dark.

"Now, for my hair..." Lyra said, using her magic to pull her hair into a ponytail with a band she conjured, leaving two strands hanging off her temples. "...and your hair, too..."

She pulled Kyle's semi-messy hair into a combover, which felt like it was being shifted by an underwater current. He subtly touched it to feel that she even instantly gelled it.

"Good touchup." Kyle said.

"Now, let's go and dance!" Lyra said.

The two simply walked into the crowd of people in the plaza. Fortunately, it was an event that anyone could attend, and no admission was required. They mingled with the group of people and started dancing to the music. It was an upbeat tune, so they would definitely not choose a slow-dance until a more appropriate song for it would come up.

However... something came up that neither of the two were expecting...

"Kyle!" came the voice of a man.

Kyle looked in the direction of where it came from... and to his surprise, he saw...

"...Mr. Depois? What are you doing here?" Kyle asked.

"I'm here to spend the night with my wife!" Mr. Depois said.

Mr. Alvin Depois was Kyle's former art teacher back in high school... and truth be told, Kyle was a sort of "teacher's pet" when it came to him. Still he was Kyle's favorite teacher, and with the amount of unforgiving teachers he had over his primary school years... that was saying quite a lot.

"It's great to see you again, sir!" Kyle said.

"I know! What's it been... almost ten years?" Mr. Depois asked. "Didn't see you at the reunion! But, I think it might've been for the better!"

"Why's that...?" Kyle asked, trying to appear oblivious.

"Well, some crazy kid went and shot a bunch of disgusting water balloons filled with really smelly liquid at all the former students!" Mr. Depois said.

Kyle chuckled a bit. He happened to know all about the incident in question... and so did Lyra. However, they decided to keep this a secret.

“Anyways, who is this fine young lady?” Mr. Depois asked.

“Oh! Mr. Depois, this is Lyra Heart... um...” Kyle trailed off. “...Lyra Hart.”

“Lyra Hart, huh?” Mr. Depois responded.

“Yes.” Kyle answered. “She's my... um...”

“...Wife.” Lyra finished for him.

Mr. Depois' jaw dropped.

“Wife? Aren't you two a little... young to be married?” he asked.

"Well..." Lyra began. "...that's what we thought originally, but..."

"...We realized that we were perfect for each other." Kyle said.

Mr. Depois pursed his lips, darting his eyes between the two of them.

"Well, okay... if that's what millennials like to do nowadays..." he said.

With that, the two went on their way and continued dancing.

"Well, this is pretty awesome!" Lyra said. "I guess it wasn't a total loss to be here at this time!"

"I know, right?" Kyle said.

At that moment, however... yet another person called him out.

"Yo, Kyle!" came the voice of a young adult.

Kyle, again, looked to see who it was. He happened to make out one of his peers from high school, coincidentally.

"Ryan?" he asked. "Hey, how ya doing?"

"Pretty good, pretty good!" Ryan responded.

With Ryan was a girl in a red cocktail dress, whom Kyle instantly recognized as his girlfriend, Britney.

"Haven't seen you for a while either, Britney!" Kyle said.

"I know, right?" Britney responded. "So, who's the silver-crown, there?"

"Oh, this is Lyra... my wife.” Kyle said.

"WIFE?" Ryan asked, exasperated. "Hoo-hooooooo! Kyle, you sly dog! Way to go, man!"

"Wow... I'm impressed!" Britney added, just before turning to Lyra. "How'd a quiet, mysterious guy like him sweep you off your feet?"

Lyra pondered for a moment, thinking.

"Well... he just asked." she responded.

"Gotta say, though... you look pretty nice with white hair!" Britney said. "I've thought about dying my hair platinum-blonde myself! I don't get why people stress over it as they get older..."

"Oh... well, thank you!" Lyra said.

"Well, not to be mean or anything, but..." Kyle said, noticing a slow song coming on. "...I'd like to dance with my wife, now."

"Sure, sure." Ryan said, nodding. "Anyways, see ya 'round, dude!"

The remaining two took off, leaving Kyle and Lyra "alone" in the crowd. Kyle wrapped his hands around Lyra's waist, while the latter wrapped her own hands behind the former's neck. They allowed the rhythm of the music to control them, kyle taking the lead. They went step-by-step in a circular motion, being careful to avoid bumping anyone around them.

"To think, seven years ago... I thought I would never have the opportunity to dance with a pony..." Kyle said. "...even if not in the way I thought I would..."

“What can I say...” Lyra said in a whisper, leaning closer to him, her mouth near his ear. “...you had it coming, Mr. Brony.”

Kyle chuckled a bit. "You always know how to make me laugh, Lyra. I like that."

The two continued to slowly spin and sway... both of them looked up at the cloudless, night sky... slowly dancing among the stars...

Author's Note

I was recently rejected by a girl I was hoping to win over for a long while :applecry:, so writing this chapter was a bit painful for me. But I still care about all of you, my loyal fans! So, I will continue to provide! (...*Sigh*, when will a beautiful pony come into my life and take me away from this cruel world...? Lol)

12. Last Adventure Together?

"Well, all these days of going at it night-and-day without sleep is really making me tired..." Danny said.

"I know, son." Ed said. "But were gonna get there! I know for a fact that he lived in this rural area just outside the city somewhere..."

"So, does he have a little shack out in the middle of nowhere or something?" Danny asked.

Ed sighed. "No, that li'l cunt's got a house that's bigger than any one man needs in his life! And he's got a big metal lockbox o' cash stashed away in his basement!"

Danny's eyes went wide.

"You mean... he's making a lot of money with his art!?" He asked. "That's messed up! I should be getting money like that from a career in sports! How does he even do it!?"

"You tell me!" Ed said. "I'm guessin' he just rips off people who are too stupid to understand fair pricing!"

In truth, the real reason Kyle made a lot was because he basically devoted full-time hours to painting, and was able to breeze through them fairly quickly thanks to the years of practice he has had with Photoshop and Paint.NET over the years.

"But no matter what... that little bitch is gonna get his end of the gun!" Ed said.

"Yeah!" Danny acknowledged. "So, how far now?"

"Not far..." Ed responded, getting a careful look at the layout of the area.

"Okay, got your suitcase packed up, Lyra?" Kyle asked.

Lyra nodded. "Uh-huh, but remind me... what is it we're doing again?"

“We're gonna be driving out to Cape Canaveral to watch the Shuttle launch!” Kyle said.

"Uh..." Lyra uttered, looking lost. "...what does that mean? Sorry, you humans have some things I don't know about..."

Kyle explained that the Space Shuttle was a spacecraft, a vehicle capable of launching from the ground with enough thrust to exit the atmosphere and enter the circular gravitational loop around the planet, called the orbit.

Space Shuttle Arbiter was going to be lifting off from the Kennedy Space Center on the following day to begin the mission STS-173, to deliver a crew and cargo to the International Space Station. The Shuttle was fitted with two modules in its payload bay; one would serve as an orbital habitat module for the crew, containing life support systems, secondary computer systems, additional rest and recreation space, and a second toilet, and the other was a cargo logistics module that stored additional consumables, water, science equipment, ThinkPad laptops, and other necessary cargo to deliver to the ISS.

After the retirement of the outdated Shuttles Atlantis, Discovery, and Endeavor back in 2011, newer models, which were to be designed for beyond-orbit travel to Mars one day, were commissioned by NASA for the Space Transportation System program, and these comprised of Carthage, Pursuer, Vanguard, and the one that would be launched the next day, Arbiter.

"So... they go up into the sky, and go around the world?" Lyra asked. "How does that work? Isn't the world... a flat plate or something?"

Kyle chuckled. "Sadly, that's what a lot of people still believe even today. But actually, Earth, the planet we are on, is a sphere; a huge ball. If you just kept going in one direction nonstop, you would eventually come back to where you started, from the other direction. It's just so big that you can't tell it's spherical, and gravity pulls everything to the center of the planet, which is its center of mass."

"Oh, right..." Lyra said in realization. "...I remember being taught something like that in Kindergarten back in Equestria... something about Equestria being a continent on the planet 'Equus' or something..."

They continued to pack, Jan rushing into and out of the house to the van to pack the suitcases, two coolers of food and drinks, chairs, umbrellas, sunscreen, and anything else they would need.

"Make sure you two bring water with you on the ride as well!" Jan said.

"Okay, Mom!" Kyle responded.

Kyle continued to gather his belongings that he would bring for the trip... but he noticed Lyra moving a bit sluggish with a gloomy expression.

"What's the matter, Ly?" he asked.

Lyra sighed. "In just three days... I have to go back to Equestria..." she said.

Kyle frowned as he listened.

"And then, our time together will really be over!" Lyra said. "I don't know about this, Kyle... I don't know if I can live without you!"

"I know..." Kyle said, getting saddened at the idea as well. "...but what can we do? How can we have a stable relationship with unstable dimensional rules?"

"What if..." Lyra began, pondering. "...what if I could convince Celestia that I want to stay as a human and stay here with you forever?"

Kyle bit his lower lip. "...I don't know how that could work out. It might not be a good idea, because in this world, you've got no parents... no driver's license... no Social Security number... no birth certificate... no school transcripts... I mean, all that together means you basically don't exist."

"So? What's the big deal about that?" Lyra asked.

"Well, you can't lie about any anything in your life to people hiring you for something like a job, because they run background checks. And, in your particular case, you can't tell them the truth, either! Nobody would take you seriously if you went 'Hi, I'm Lyra Heartstrings, a Unicorn pony from the magical kingdom of Equestria!' That's definitely a one-way ticket to the nut house! And finding out that you're just a Jane Doe will be a bigger problem!" Kyle said.

"He's right." Jan said. "There's no feasible way you could live here without the government giving us a lot of trouble. They would know that you had ties with us, and then they would be asking us a ton of questions that would be impossible for us to answer..."

While they continued to discuss this, they had not bothered to look at the television in the living room, which was still on. The channel was FOX News, and was covering a very peculiar story...

"Police in the Atlanta region are warning civilians to be on the lookout for two escaped inmates." the female reporter said. "They are Edward and Daniel Richardson, who, coincidentally, are father and son who have both recently escaped from a penitentiary in the outskirt of Atlanta, where the son, Daniel, was serving a four-year sentence for felony assault with a deadly weapon, and the father, Edward, for a number of felony charges, including breaking and entering, attempted murder, attempted burglary, and resisting arrest.

"Police have had no leads as of yet on the two escapees, but urge civilians and Neighborhood Watch to be on the lookout, and to keep their families and homes safe, as these two men have been declared 'short-tempered and prone to violence with little provocation'. For your FOX News Alert, this is Penny Shepherd."

In the foyer, the three occupants of the house had decided to dispel the matter for now, and carry on with their trip.

"Okay, I've already made a reservation at the hotel for later tonight. If we leave soon, we should be there on time..." Kyle said.

"We should be set to go here real quick..." Jan said.

"Sounds like this is gonna be pretty awesome!" Lyra said. "I've never seen a spacecraft launch before!"

Meanwhile... Ed and Danny had finally found Kyle's Mansion.

"So, that's it?" Danny asked, shocked. "Jeez... he lives like a douche!"

"Yep. But that's gonna change real fast... because he's gonna see what happens when you disrespect me, disregard my heavenly advise, and make up some bullshit to land me in jail!" Ed said.

Danny nodded, smirking.

"I say we build a jail from an old cement building, lock him up, and only give him a little food and water at a time, so he suffers for the rest of his stupid-ass life!" he said.

They started to approach the house, being careful to avoid being spotted, up until they were in the blind spot behind the wall of the place. The cameras might have seen them, but Kyle and the others were too busy to check them. However, they happened to take note of something right as Kyle and some thin, white-haired girl came out with him and left some more items in the car.

"This is gonna be exciting!" Kyle said. "Been awhile since we last had a trip, huh baby?"

"Oh, I'm looking forward to it, honey." Lyra responded.

The two kissed for a moment, just before going back inside to grab the remainder of their items.

Danny's jaw dropped at the sight of this.

"How that shitbag get a hoe!?" he asked, shaking his head. "Bet twenty dollars he date-raped her, and she was okay with it or something!"

"And... that other woman... that was Jan!" Ed said, furiously biting his lip. "Bitch thinks she can walk out on an awesome man of a man like me... leaving me without enough income... and leaving her runt with me, which was sorta nice since he would do work for me... but still..."

"It looks like they're going on a trip. Why don't we... tag along with them?" Danny suggested.

Ed pondered for a moment, but then smiled evilly. "...Good, son. That'll catch them outside of the comfort of their little-ass home!"

The two then hopped the gate and made a break up the driveway to the vehicle, quickly opening the trunk before the Schaeffers or Lyra would return and see them. The trunk was effectively clear, since Jan loaded all of the luggage into the far-back seat of the van, as well as two in the middle row, leaving the remaining seat for Lyra. They simply jumped right in, and closed the door.

At that moment, the three house occupants emerged, Kyle closing and locking the door behind him. He had enabled the security system to alert him on his phone if there were any intruders, just in case. With that, the three got into the car and Kyle revved up the engine.

"Alright, who's ready to watch a giant, airtight plane shoot up into space?" he asked enthusiastically.

"I am!" Jan responded.

"Ditto!" Lyra added.

Without anymore delay, the trio took off... but not alone. Ed and Danny remained laying in the trunk... all with the three up front unaware that they were even there...

Author's Note

I was recently contacted on Skype by a Wattpad user by the name of "NathanIgoJr", who has written a series of stories that are pretty interesting, and some are kinda funny! I want more stories like these to be brought to people's attention, so... SHOUTOUT TO "NATHANIGOJR"!

13. To The Skies

Kyle, Lyra, and Jan all spent the next eight hours on a road trip to Florida, where they made several rest stops to get food and drinks, use the restroom, and generally stretch their legs. They chatted every so often, which made the time fly by... but in the back, the two hidden escapees were getting quite restless.

Ed and Danny were both fairly hungry, thirsty, and had to go to the bathroom, fairly badly towards the end of the trip. Their legs were stiff and cramping, and their backs hurt from having to lay in a tight space for hours.

Eventually, they made it to the hotel. After Kyle parked his car in an available space, all of them immediately pulled out their suitcases from the rear seats of the van, and started wheeling them towards the front lobby to get checked in.

"Well, this place looks nice!" Lyra said.

"Yep!" Kyle acknowledged. "Best Western is a fairly popular chain, so they try to do what they can to make it appealing and stand out against competitors."

Back in the van, Ed and Danny were trying to locate the latch to the trunk in the dim, evening light. They had been feeling around for a little while, but could not find it right away.

"Where is it? I have to piss really bad!" Danny said.

"Hang on... here it is, son!" Ed said.

As soon as he pulled on it, the door opened... but they both jumped at the sound of the car's alarm going off.

"Huh?" Kyle uttered, stopping looking back after hearing his car alarm going off outside.

"C'mon, let's GO!" Ed said, hastily opening the trunk and pulling Danny upright.

Disoriented, the two did their best to quickly shut the trunk and get out of sight behind the shrubbery surrounding the area. And they hid just in time before Kyle came back outside to notice his van's alarm going off.

After switching off the alarm, he began to inspect the vehicle, checking the exterior, and peering inside through all the windows.

"Hm... False alarm, I guess. Maybe someone accidentally bumped it while pulling out or something..." Kyle said to himself.

Passing off any possibilities due to lack of evidence, he just decided to roll his suitcase back inside and get them all checked in. Meanwhile, Ed and Danny were watching from behind a neatly-trimmed bush.

"So, what are we gonna do with him?" Danny asked.

"Well..." Ed said. "...once we get a good chance, we'll get some weapons from somewhere, and put all three of them out for GOOD!"

"Um, great, but..." Danny said, clutching his crotch. "...before we do anything... I really need to piss..."

"Me too." Ed added.

They were both peering around to find a good spot where no one would see their faces.

"Oh, that trench over there looks good enough!" Danny said, pointing to it, which was just outside of the hotel property, and was deep enough to create a blind spot.

"Well, better than nothing." Ed said.

So, the two got up, and made a mad dash over to the trench a short ways away to relieve themselves.

After the check-in process, Kyle received the key to the room, and all of them proceeded up to the floor that it was on. And he went the extra mile and rented them a room that was quite a bit nicer than the regular rooms. One with a master bedroom that had its own second bathroom, a living room, and a kitchen.

"Wow!" Lyra said, looking around the suite. "This place is super nice!"

Jan smiled. "It's so nice of you to go all out just for us, Kyle."

"Hey," Kyle said, shrugging. "it's nothing. I feel I've spared no expense."

All of them got settled in, and were looking up some local restaurants in the area to find a decent place for dinner.

Danny and Ed, finally having gotten themselves back on track with what they were doing, decided to camp out in an aqueduct pipe that did not have water running through it.

"We have to sleep here?" Danny complained.

Ed sighed. "Hate to say it, son, but this is the best we've got." he said.

They found several old, damaged blankets and pillows that had been thrown out by the hotel, which they salvaged from the dumpsters. They were mostly clean, having been sealed in trash bags, and were adequate enough to create makeshift beds.

"I'm sure nobody would wanna be lookin' down here late at night. No one will be botherin' us." Ed said.

Danny sighed as he pulled some blankets over himself, sandwiching himself between two sets in his shabby clothing that the two stole from a donation station.

"And why do we have to go to bed so early?" Danny asked.

"Because, son," Ed said. "early to bed, early to rise. We gotta be up before that little shit and his family are up themselves."

Without saying to much more, the two lay in their crude bedrolls with the white noise of traffic in the distance. Needless to say, it was not the best way to sleep...

Jan had decided to go and lay in the hotel's hot tubs, leaving Kyle and Lyra alone. They had just decided to more or less try and see if there was anything good on television, but mainly, the two were surfing the web on their laptops (using the free lobby wi-fi, just so they would not have to pay for internet usage).

After a while, Lyra closed her laptop and stretched her arms and legs while still laying on the bed.

"Y'know... after being cooped up in that car all day... I really feel like I need a shower..." she said.

Kyle looked over at her. "Okay, go right ahead. I can wait."

Lyra's face fell a bit.

"But, y'know..." she said. "...why should we waste water on two separate shower sessions, hm? We could get it over with quite a bit faster... together..."

Kyle's eyebrows jumped that instant he knew what his wife had in mind... and his eyes went narrow as a smile spread over his face.

"Let's do it, then..." he said.

Within the next five minutes, the two were in the room's shower together... the room was quite steamy... and the two were getting quite intimate...

They both took turns using the bar of soap to clean each other, and using the shampoo to scrub each other's hair. This continued for quite a while... up until they quit use of the toiletries and just take advantage of the moment.

Kyle and Lyra both wrapped their arms around each other as they were still under the spray of warm, soothing water. They pressed their naked persons against each other, looking dreamily into each other's eyes all the while.

"...How are you liking your first stay in a human hotel?" Kyle asked, quietly but clearly.

Lyra slowly started to bring her face closer to his.

"...I love that we finally have the opportunity to be away from it all... and alone, no less..." she said.

And then they started kissing for a prolonged period of time, rubbing their hands all over each other the whole time. Their necking session could've lasted anywhere from five minutes to fifteen minutes. Neither of them knew for sure... but one thing they were both sure of: they enjoyed every waking moment of it. Nothing else in the world mattered right now... they had not a care in the world...

...Or so they thought.

On the following morning, Ed and Danny, having woke up extra early, were able to get a head-start on their plan to get back at Kyle. They had found a small sledgehammer and a hatchet near the hotel's air conditioning unit, which they stole and decided to carry with them to their hiding spot.

From what they heard, there was a bus transport coming for people who wanted to travel to the Kennedy Space Center. That would be their best bet for catching Kyle, his wife, and his mother.

"Are you sure about this, Dad?" Danny asked. "What if we get caught?"

"There probably won't be a lot of people out here who will recognize us, what with our beards making us look a bit different from our mugshots. Just make sure you keep that axe well-hidden." Ed said.

Soon enough, Kyle, Lyra, and Jan were all on the bus to the Kennedy Space Center, and after a quick ride, they had made it to said location at the Visitor Complex. They got off the bus, and made their way to the entrance to purchase tickets. The Shuttle was not going to launch for a little while, so they decided to check the place out a bit.

Their first stop was in the gift shop. Kyle was decided what to give to Lyra as a memento of the trip when she would have to return to Equestria. There were several things, such as hoodies, T-shirts, coffee mugs, travel bags, and other items that were NASA-themed. There were also models of various spacecrafts like Gemini, Mercury, Apollo, and the first-generation Shuttle. Of course, there were also the newer ones like Orion, Dragon, Dream Chaser, CST-100 Starliner, and the modern Shuttle.

As Kyle was examining the souvenirs that intrigued him, he heard a bit of objects scuffling on the other side of the aisle he was facing.

"Hey!" came a lady's voice. "Stop that! You'll break something!"

Kyle looked over the short aisle to see what appeared to be a mother and her son. The adolescent boy rasped in response to what his mother just said.

"Whatever..." he muttered.

"That's enough back-talk, young man!" the mother said. "You can forget about going to that concert next week!"

The son got a shocked look on his face. "What!? You can't do that to me!"

"I can," the mother said, folding her arms. "and I just did! So you'd better watch your manners!"

"Gnrgh! I can't BELIEVE you!" the son said as he stormed out of the building.

His mother angrily pursued him, demanding that he stop and come back.

Kyle's eyes went wide in utter shock at what had just unfolded in front of him. He could not ever imagine being on bad terms with his own mother. She was one of the nicest people in his life... and it was a real suckerpunch when she was forced to leave him so as to avoid domestic abuse.

In any case, Kyle decided to get Lyra a handbag and a keychain with the NASA logo on one side, and the Shuttle program seal on the other. He gave it to her immediately after he bought it, though he had to look around the store a bit to find her.

"Wow, thanks Kyle!" she said. "It's a nice bag... and I really like the keychain!"

She clipped it onto the side of her new handbag.

"Just a little something... to remember me... and this vacation..." Kyle said.

Lyra looked saddened. "Ky... even after I go back... I will always remember you! Even without these things!"

"Thanks, Ly." Kyle said, managing to smile.

Once they met back up with Jan, the three of them decided to check out the museum for the remainder of the time before the launch.

Ed and Danny both made it to the Kennedy Center, miraculously not being recognized by anyone. However, they figured that they would sneak their way in. Being careful not to be spotted by any security officers, the two hopped the fence. It was getting close to the launch time, so they had to move quickly to find their prey...

"Where is he?" Danny asked. "Where's the asswipe?"

"He's here... we'll find him..." Ed said.

People were starting to gather at the site where the spectators would watch Arbiter takeoff. Kyle, Lyra, and Jan were running a bit behind everyone else, and they were cut off from the main crowd.

"Alright!" Kyle said as he walked with his family. "I've waited my whole life to watch this for real!"

"It's really exciting!" Lyra said.

"I still remember watching Columbia's first flight on TV when I was in high school." Jan said. "It's still really sad to know what happened to her..."

Suddenly, the voice of the announcer came over the loudspeakers.

"T-minus three minutes." he said.

"Well, we'd better hurry if we wanna get a good view!" Kyle said.

"Oh, that ain't gonna happen!" came a voice behind them... one they were all too familiar with.

Hesitantly, the trio turned around, and what they saw nearly made their hearts stop... it was Ed and Danny, dressed in very dirty-looking hoodies and sweatpants. Kyle, Lyra, and Jan's eyes all went wide as their jaws dropped.

"...N-no..." Kyle said.

"...way...." Lyra finished.

"Ed?" Jan asked. "What are you doing here!?"

Ed snarled. "I'm here to teach you and you worthless, sack-of-shit son a lesson!"

Kyle shook his head while still holding a shocked expression.

"I thought you were still in jail!" he said.

"Jail?" Jan asked.

"Long story..." Kyle said. "...and now's not a good time to tell it!"

"Hey, ass!" Danny said. "I am gonna beat your face into your ass, and make you lick it!"

"And I'm gonna make you..." Ed said to Jan. "...I'm gonna make you learn... you don't EVER walk out on Edward Richardson! I'm the perfect man for you, and you throw me out of your life like that!? You've got hell to pay, bitch..."

"T-minus two minutes." the announcer said.

Ed pulled a hammer out of his trousers that he had concealed, and Danny pulled out a hatchet. This immensely terrified the trio.

"Shit..." Kyle said. "...GO!"

The three of them immediately took off, and Ed and Danny followed right on their tails.

"AH!" Jan shrieked. "We gotta get help from the police!"

"We can't!" Kyle said.

"Why not?" Lyra asked.

"Because!" Kyle said. "If they find we're involved in attempted assault and/or murder, they're gonna want to question us! And if you turn back into a pony, Lyra, that's gonna spell hell for us!"

They continued to run, mainly to isolated parts of the Visitor Complex of the Space Center, running as fast as they possibly could to lose their pursuers, but they were only getting closer.

"I can't... I can't keep running..." Jan said, losing her breath.

"C'mon, Mom! Keep up!" Kyle said.

"...I... I can't..." Jan said, slowing down.

"Hang on..." Lyra said, charging her magic as her eyes glowed brightly. "...I'm gonna teleport us... and it's gonna be pretty far away, just for good measure!"

As they continued to run from the two madmen right behind them, they started to get enveloped in a golden aura. It was becoming brighter... and with a flash, the trio vanished, leaving two very confused and enraged escapees.

"What just happened!?" Danny asked.

"How the fuck do I know?" Ed said, looking around. "People don't just vanish like that!"

"T-minus one minute..." the announcer said over the loudspeakers.

Kyle, Lyra, and Jan found themselves in a cylindrical structure. It was all white inside, and the cylinder was vertical, only about two meters in diameter. There were several firm pouches mounted to the walls, and they were even standing on a few of them. The ceiling appeared to have a closed hatched, extending roughly three meters in height.

“Wait... Lyra?” Kyle asked, nervous. “Where did you teleport us?”

"I'm... not sure." Lyra said.

They took a careful look at their surroundings.

"Maybe we're in one of those mockups in the museum?" Jan suggested.

Kyle decided to open one of the pouches on the wall to take a look inside.

"T-minus thirty seconds, we have handoff of the countdown to the Shuttle's computer."

Inside of the pouch Kyle opened were various things, such as laptop computers, some sorts of circuit boards, power inverters, dehydrated food in sealed bags, and pouches of liquid. Lyra and Jan peered over his shoulder to examine it. They immediately knew that the stuff on board was real. There was no way that any of it would be for a museum prop.

They were all stiffened when it hit them...

“We're on the SHUTTLE!?” Kyle asked.

Indeed, the live lighting and real supplies told them that they were in Space Shuttle Arbiter cargo module that was fitted into the spaceplane's payload bay, just behind the habitation-laboratory module.

"...T-minus ten, nine, eight, seven, six--main engines start--four, three, two, one..."

The solid rocket boosters ignited six-and-a-half seconds after the Shuttle's engine did, taking Arbiter off of the launch system, and it began to ascend.

"...and liftoff! We have liftoff of Arbiter in its mission to carry a crew and equipment to continue research on the International Space Station."

Kyle, Lyra, and Jan were forced into a laying position on the hatch, the extreme vibrations of the engines cascading through their bodies, and the roar of the engine sounding through the hull.

"Oh my God... we're TAKING OFF!" Kyle shouted.

They fell onto their backs, not able to do anything other than stare up at the hatch as the force of Arbiter's momentum kept them down. Lyra did not want to risk teleporting them out to where they would fall to their deaths.

They were going up... they were going into space...

Author's Note

For the record, I've never been to the Kennedy Space Center before, so I have no idea what it is really like. I also know that the Shuttle is retired; keep in mind, this is a fictional setting in which NASA has a much larger budget. Anyways, I hope you all still like how the story's going!

14. STS-173

Arbiter had lifted off from the launch pad, and was now ascending into the Eastward roll.

"Houston now controlling the roll of Arbiter on its course heading Northeast from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral toward a two-hundred-and-thirty mile rendezvous with the space station." the announcer said.

Everyone watching applauded in triumph... unaware of what was going on inside of the Shuttle's payload bay...

The extreme vibration and roar of the Shuttle's engine was putting Kyle, Lyra, and Jan all on edge, given that they had no restraining harnesses, and were forced to lay on the aft side of the cargo module as they ascended.

"Wh-what's gonna happen...!?" Lyra asked.

"We're launched up by a controlled explosion, and are currently accelerating to seventeen-thousand miles per hours, where we will be two-hundred-and-thirty miles above the planet's surface!" Kyle said.

The three exchanged nervous glances with each other after processing what Kyle just said, all before looking up at the closed hatch forward relative to them.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH...!” all three shouted.

The crew of Arbiter were all anticipating getting into orbit. They had been training their entire lives for this mission, and were eager to be the crew for the next Expedition. They assumed everything was normal... up until they received a transmission from Mission Control.

"Arbiter, this is Houston." came the voice of the Flight Director.

The Mission Commander enabled his in-suit transceiver.

"Copy, Houston. Go ahead." he said.

"Uh..." the Flight Director said. "...we appear to have detected a miscalculation in the weight capacity of the habitat payload. The roll is off-kilter by a fraction of a degree."

"Copy, Houston. Should we abort flight?" the Mission Commander asked.

"Negative, Arbiter." the Flight Director said. "We're gonna boost the engine output by roughly five percent to compensate, and you should stay on course for the ISS."

"Copy, Houston. Over and out." The Mission Commander said, cutting off his transceiver just before he sighed. "Just leave it to those new boys in engineering to overlook a weight issue..."

“I'M GONNA DIE! I'M GONNA DIE!” Kyle shouted.

“Kyle, settle down!” Jan shouted over the roar of the Arbiter's engine.

Kyle was fighting back strong nausea due to the heavy G-forces he was experiencing.

“I'm gonna throw up, and then I'm gonna DIE!” Kyle shouted again.

“What are you, some kind of nut?” Lyra asked.

“Technically, an astro-nut!” Kyle answered.

"Kyle, we are NOT going to die!" Jan said.

“WHAT IF THIS IS CHALLENGER ALL OVER AGAIN!?” Kyle shouted.

“KYLE! Listen to me!” Jan said. “Arbiter is not going to suffer the same fate as Challenger! Just calm down!”

"Okay... okay..." Kyle said.

"Just breathe!" Jan said.

Kyle took some deep breaths... but then he stopped and covered his mouth as his eyes went wide.

"What am I doing!? I'm using up all the oxygen!" he said.

At T-plus two-and-a-quarter minutes, the SRBs separated from the Shuttle, falling into the ocean as they burned out, leaving Arbiter to reach orbital velocity by its main engines. At T-plus eight-and-three-quarter minutes, the external fuel tank was depleted, and was detached to simply burn up in the atmosphere upon reentry. After a final course adjustment, the Shuttle was in low-earth orbit.

Still, it was going to take them quite a while to make it to the space station. Several hours in fact.

Kyle, Lyra, and Jan were no longer bound by the force of gravity, and were floating about the cargo module... but they were not going to open the hatch.

"We can't let the astronauts find us!" Kyle said.

"Why not?" Lyra asked.

“I don't know about you two, but I do not want us to go down in history as the first stowaways on a space mission!” Kyle said.

He could not even begin to imagine what sort of penalty would be given for trespassing onto the Shuttle and the International Space Station. However, he did happen to know something that could be done about it... something Lyra had done a little while ago...

"Lyra! Do you think you could..." Kyle trailed off.

"What?" Lyra asked, tilting her head.

"...could you turn us invisible? And possibly jump time ahead?" Kyle finished.

"...Why would I do that?" Lyra asked.

Kyle sighed. "Do I really need to spell it out? Invisible so they don't catch us, and speed time because... it's gonna take six hours for us to make it to the ISS, and that doesn't include the time it'll take to dock to the damn thing..."

Lyra sighed herself.

"Okay... I can do this..." she said.

With that, her eyes began to glow amber as she charged her magic. She hoped that she would not make the same mistakes over again, like with her first attempt. With a bright flash... they all became transparent with a purplish aura surrounding them.

"Did it work?" Jan asked, looking at herself. "I can still see myself... and you two..."

Kyle looked around the cargo for a mirror, and he was lucky enough to find one. He peered into it... but his reflection did not.

"It's worked!" he said. "Nice one, Lyra!"

"Alright!" Lyra said triumphantly. "Now... just fast-forward to six hours from now..."

She performed yet another spell... and they were all forced into the side of the module, feeling themselves being pulled to the back yet again.

"...Are we spinning?" Lyra asked.

"Yeah." Kyle said. "For some reason, they like to spin the Shuttle around pitchwise while it's up here..."

They waited around for a little bit. It was about ten minutes to the three in the cargo bay, but eventually, the rolling stopped, and they heard something bump the Shuttle. Time had slowed back down to normal by then.

"I think it's been six hours." Lyra said.

"We've docked! We need to wait for the new crew to board now." Kyle said.

After a little while... the hatch began to open from the other side. All three invisible stowaways went quiet as mice. A NASA astronaut was preparing to enter the cargo bay to begin transferring equipment and supplies into the space station. Kyle was motioning to Jan and Lyra to move around and avoid him, which was difficult in a microgravity environment.

Despite the astronaut hearing some strange movement, he just brushed it off as him hearing things, and the three made their way into the Shuttle's main crew quarters.

"Okay, once we're on the station, we'll be in the Harmony module, commonly known as Node II." Kyle whispered over the onboard fans.

He knew the layout of the ISS quite well after having learned about it in Astronomy class back in high school. They made it through the docking airlock onto the space station, where they were in Node II right away.

"Okay, now what?" Jan asked.

"Let's see..." Kyle said, looking around the station. "...on the port side is Kibo, the JAXA laboratory... starboard is Columbus the ESA lab... zenith is the Centrifuge Accommodations Module... and nadir is the secondary logistic module..."

"So... where do we go?" Lyra asked.

"We need to go aft, into the station." Kyle said. "We'll make our way through the US lab, Destiny, and head for Tranquility, or Node III on the starboard side of the station. From there, we can look through the Cupola window to see what our options are to get out of here."

With that, the three of them made their way through the Destiny module, being careful to avoid bumping any equipment, especially around the astronauts who were working on science experiments in the area. But they were able to get by unnoticed. They made it to Unity and Kyle led the way into Node III. On the way to the Cupola, Lyra and Jan both stopped to look at something in a large white box to their right.

"What's this thing? Is it some kind of toilet?" Jan asked.

"Yeah." Kyle said. "The toilets up here, and the one on the Shuttle, work a little differently than ones on Earth; they use fan-powered suction to... keep things going in the right direction."

Lyra pursed her lips. "...That's disgusting."

"Okay, let's get to the Cupola." Kyle said. "We can't waste any time up here."

They made their way to the end of the module, and Kyle led them directly nadir into the seven-pane window module. Through it was the view of Earth directly nadir to the station, as well as the many modules and four of the eight ITS solar arrays on the main truss structure, which provided electrical power to the station.

"Wow!" Jan said. "It's like a glass-bottom boat!"

All of them were inverted relative to the space station so they could get a look through the Cupola at the spacecrafts docked to the ISS.

“We'll need to find a spacecraft that can withstand atmospheric reentry and get us back to the ground.” Kyle said, looking around the nadir side of the space station.

“So, how can we get back home?” Lyra asked.

Just as she asked... Kyle happened to spot a solution.

“Right there.” Kyle said, pointing to a docked spacecraft. “We need to take that Russian spacecraft, the Soyuz, to get back to Earth. Conveniently enough, it can hold up to three cosmonauts.”

"Oh." Lyra said, looking. "What about that other one?"

Kyle looked to see that she was pointing to another spacecraft docked further back. He shook his head.

"That's a Progress. It's used to bring cargo to the space station, and is filled with trash to burn up in the atmosphere. It has no heat shield like the Soyuz." Kyle said.

"Have you ever even operated a Soyuz?" Jan asked.

"Well... just simulators." Kyle said.

"How did you do?" Lyra asked.

Kyle flattened his lips against each other. "...Nine times out of ten, I crashed it."

Lyra's eyes went "down" into Node III. "That's not very reassuring..."

"But," Kyle began. "that was before I learned the math behind it. If I remember the angle of descent, as well as the roll capability of the Soyuz... I think I can get us back down to Florida!"

"You sure about this, Kyle?" Jan asked. "Wouldn't we be stranding other astronauts up here by taking that thing?"

“There's another Soyuz docked to the aft side of the Zvezda module, and the one we will be taking is berthed to the Rassvet laboratory on the nadir port of the Zarya FGB. The Progress cargo spacecraft is berthed to Multipurpose Laboratory Module Nauka, nadir to Zvezda and the Science Power Platform.” Kyle said.

"Okay..." Lyra said. "...we're gonna do this?"

Kyle narrowed his eyes at his invisible wife with a confident smile.

"...We're gonna do this!" he said.

So, the three of them quickly left the Cupola to go back the way they were going. The Habitation Module, berthed on the aft side of Node III, had a few astronauts in it, so they had to keep quiet.

“The Soyuz we'll take is the one we saw from the Cupola, berthed to Rassvet. It will be the quickest one to take down to Earth. I'm sure NASA will agree to let the cosmonauts come down on either Arbiter, Orion, or the Dream Chaser lifeboat currently docked to the station.” Kyle whispered as they made their way from Unity into Zarya.

There was a single cosmonaut in the first Russian module, inspecting some cargo from the looks of it, but he paid no mind to them... since they were invisible. They descended into Rassvet and into the Soyuz orbital module. There were various cables and air hoses in the spacecraft. They would have to be disconnected to close the hatch and detach from the station.

"Well... let's get to work detaching everything." Kyle said. "And let's hope none of the crew notices everything disconnecting 'by itself'..."

So, they all started to pull out the wires from the Soyuz, and some had to be disconnected from the ISS itself, since they were hardwired into the Orbital Module of the spacecraft. A couple of crew members passed by above them on the other side of Rassvet, but none of them noticed what was going on nadir to them. After a good fifteen minutes, they had detached all peripherals from the Soyuz, and were ready to began their descent.

"We're gonna need to fire off an engine burn at the one-eighty mark of the planet where Florida would be. Lucky for us, the station is currently in that rough path. All we need to do is adjust our course slightly to end up where we need." Kyle said.

"Won't NASA notice us? Will they detect us or something?" Jan asked.

"Well..." Kyle began. "...upon the initial descent, we'll go into a temporary 'blackout period', where Mission Control and the ISS will lose telemetry with us. It's probably nighttime in America now, so even if Houston did dispatch helicopters, it would be a while before they could locate us. And by then, Lyra will use her magic to destroy the inside of this thing to erase all evidence of our existence, and we'll be long gone."

"Okay... sounds like this is gonna be pretty tricky." Lyra said.

"Better tricky than impossible, right?" Kyle responded. "Okay, now we need to close the hatch on both the station and the spacecraft... and we'll need to put on the Sokol space suits in this thing to protect us during reentry from anything that could happen during our descent."

With that, Kyle himself stuck his upper half outside of the Soyuz one final time to close the hatch to the International Space Station, separating the orbital structure from the spacecraft. Lyra then used her psychic ability to visualize the hatch's locking mechanism, and used her telekinesis to close it off from the other side. Then, Kyle got to work on closing the Soyuz's own respective hatch, making sure to fully seal it in order to avoid accidental decompression.

Despite the space they were in being very confined and claustrophobic, they managed to slip into the space suits. To each other, they looked like ghosts in fully-solid suits, and they knew that, to anyone else, they would just look like space suits moving around on their own. The suits were not a perfect fit, but it was adequate enough. Then, one by one, they all got into the Descent Module, but it took a bit of time for them to do so.

"Geez... this is as cramped as my first car's back seats!" Jan remarked through her helmet's comlink.

It took a while, but they all somehow managed to get in. Jan and Lyra were on the two peripheral seats, while Kyle took the middle seat. He closed and sealed the hatch to the Orbital Module, and though difficult due to his gloved fingers, he pulled out the manual for the Soyuz, turning to the English section on how to operate it. The control panel had Russian text on it, so without the manual, they would likely not be able to operate it.

"Okay... manual undocking, manual undocking..." Kyle muttered to himself, looking through the English table of contents.

He pressed the red button on the upper corner of the panel, which started up the Soyuz, and then, looking carefully at the procedure for a manually-controlled descent procedure, began to press the buttons in a specific pattern.

"Okay... let's hope this works..." Kyle said, pressing the final button.

On the screen in front of him, a countdown of ninety seconds began, and according to the instruction manual, that means he did it right, and it was now counting down to separation.

"Good, good..." Kyle said. "...we're outta here!"

"Good job, Kyle!" Jan said.

An ESA astronaut was going about the space station and heading aft to get some equipment from the Russian segment of the station. But, as she was heading into Zarya... she happened to look nadir and notice that the Soyuz hatch was shut.

Author's Note

Below is a link to what the ISS looks like in the universe of this story; NASA and the world space agencies have a larger budget in this universe.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/ISS_solar_arrays.jpg

15. Down to Earth

That night, Ed and Danny were waiting in the general area of the hotel for Kyle and his family to come back. They were still not sure, however, about what happened earlier that day.

"I don't know why they vanished after that blinding strobe..." Ed said.

"...Maybe they were taken by aliens?" Danny suggested.

"Don't go stupid on me like Kyle, son..." Ed said. "...ain't so such thing as aliens!"

"Maybe they suddenly disintegrated! Or maybe they passed into another dimension! Or maybe--" Danny said before getting cut off.

"Give it a rest, Danny." Ed said. "Whatever that was, it was probably some weird trick or somethin' for them to get away from us. I'm sure they'll be back soon..."

Danny yawned. "...Can't we do it in the morning? I'm tired..."

Ed sighed. "...Fine. We'll get up bright and early tomorrow, wait for them to check out, and then we'll give 'em what's coming to 'em!"

With that, the two made their way back to their temporary shelter in the aqueduct.

The Soyuz had undocked from the ISS, and was now slowly making a descent towards Earth. Once they had gotten far away enough from the station, Kyle assumed manual control of the spacecraft and used the cold gas thrusters that surrounded the exterior of the Soyuz to orient themselves in the proper trajectory for reentry; the spacecraft was essentially "flying" backwards.

"From the look of the GPS... we are right at the one-eighty mark on the other side of the planet from Florida. We're gonna need to eject the Orbital and Service Modules in order to achieve stable aerodynamics when we enter the atmosphere. From there, we'll be running on just the batteries in the Descent Module." Kyle said over his helmet radio.

"But will we make it to the ground in one piece?" Jan asked.

Kyle sighed. "Depends on the heat shield..." he said.

At that moment, they were picking up an emergency frequency on the Soyuz radio. Curious, Kyle adjusted the dial to get a clearer link and make out the voice a little better.

"...ISS to Soyuz, do you copy...?" came a man's voice.

"We're not gonna answer them." Kyle said. "We can't let them hear our voices. All this will be heard by NASA, ESA, Roscosmos, and JAXA, and they could trace it back to us."

"...Repeat, ISS to Soyuz, respond immediately...!" came the voice again.

Kyle continued to make adjustments to their course, running the burn that would slow them down and reduce their altitude, putting them far behind the space station, eventually losing radio communication. After which, he began to adjust their course in a way that would make the descent ideal for landing in the general vicinity of Florida.

"What are we gonna do once we get down there? How will we get back to the hotel?" Lyra asked.

"First, we run." Kyle said. "We destroy this space-lemon and get the hell outta Dodge! After that, we'll need to head for any nearby city or town... and I guess we'll just have to call an Uber driver or something (and I'll be sure to give the driver five stars, because we're decent people)."

The Service Module was depleted, and the burn had concluded. They were now at an ideal reentry velocity.

"Okay... beginning separation." Kyle said, looking through the manual and pressing buttons on the panel.

After a few moments, there came a few loud bangs just outside of the spacecraft, as if someone struck the upper hatch with a sledgehammer. The two outermost module of the Soyuz separated, as well as the periscope, leaving only the middle Descent Module.

"Now... we are going to do something that has, to my knowledge, never been done before." Kyle said.

"What's that?" Jan and Lyra both asked.

"We're gonna hope that we touchdown... without any help from Mission Control. We're going to attempt reentry all on our own." Kyle responded.

"I just hope this thing stays together... something tells me it's not gonna be a smooth ride back down." Lyra said.

At that moment, they all heard something strike of the Soyuz with a loud ping. Lyra briefly took off her restraining harness to look out of it.

"Uh, Kyle..." she said. "...wh-what are all those... dots in the distance? They're getting closer--woah! One just passed, and it looked like a piece of metal!"

Kyle's eyes went wide. "Shit... Kessler Syndrome."

"What Syndrome?" Jan asked.

"Kessler Syndrome..." Kyle said. "...it's from collision of meteoroids or artificial satellites in Earth's orbit, which creates more debris with each object they hit in a chain reaction, traveling many times faster than a high-speed bullet relative to the velocity of the ISS or the Chinese station, Tiangong."

"Is it gonna hit us?" Lyra asked.

Kyle sighed. "...We'd better pray we can get under it before it catches us!"

After contemplating for a moment, Kyle pressed a button on the Soyuz control panel, which uplinked his helmet radio to the spacecraft's computer, and another button which looked like a red circle amidst other recording options like the ones on a DVD player.

“This is Kyle Schaeffer, recording from the Soyuz Descent Module in the event of death upon reentry.” Kyle began. “I am a stowaway aboard the Space Shuttle Arbiter on the mission STS-173, as is my mother, Jan Rhodes-Schaeffer, and my wife, Lyra Heartstrings-Schaeffer. Yes, her name is Heartstrings, because she is a Unicorn, in human form, from Equestria. As it turns out, the universe of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, is in fact, real. And that contact with this other world is possible through both advanced quantum and magic means.

"She is only to be here for one week, after which time, she will revert back into her pony form. Once that happens, the ruler of Equestria, Princess Celestia, will come to retrieve her... and I intend to be there to truly bid her farewell. But whether or not we live or die... it doesn't matter. As long as I'm with the two people who I care about most in this world... I'll be happy either way."

Kyle stopped the recording, and Jan and Lyra both looked very confused.

"What are you doing, Kyle?" Jan asked.

"Are you trying to give us away?" Lyra asked.

"It's just in case... anything happens." Kyle said. "If we touch down safely, we'll destroy it all."

The Soyuz was beginning to shake a bit, and they were starting to feel themselves being pulled backwards into their seats as the drag was slowing the capsule down. There was a visible conical air stream surrounding the Descent Module as it was entering the exosphere. It continued for several minutes, and the light outside was starting to slowly turn orange, and the shaking was getting more intense, as well as the G-forces they were experiencing.

"Okay..." Kyle began. "...get ready. This is gonna be a bumpy ride on the way down! We'll either be alive or dead in the next ten minutes by the time we make it to the ground. From our trajectory on the GPS... we'll be right around Florida when we either touchdown or splashdown."

A field of plasma began to form around the heat shield of the capsule as its temperature had reached a sufficient point. A trail of fire began to follow soon after, surrounding the Soyuz. The three inside all had their hearts pounding, and were still under the gradually-amplifying force that was pulling them back into their seats.

They began to lose altitude at a quickening rate, and soon enough, they began to pass over America.

Some kids were having a sleepover and playing games in their back yard that evening. They were being quite energetic and rampant... up until they saw something in the sky.

"Hey, look at that!" a girl said, pointing up at the sky.

All of them looked up to see a bright streak shooting across the sky... it was the Soyuz capsule containing Kyle, Jan, and Lyra, making its descent. But to the children, it was something else...

"A shooting star!" a boy said, turning to the girl. "You get to make a wish!"

The controls were becoming a bit unresponsive. Kyle was trying to control the roll of the Soyuz, but it was not working in the way it was supposed to, and it was very slow to respond. Plus... the entire panel was flickering, the screens were glitching, and there were sparks flying out of the machine. A rapid beeping noise was also coming from it.

"It's no good! The computer's overheating!" Kyle said.

"What are we gonna do!?" Lyra asked.

The three of them sat anxiously, Kyle fiddling with the unresponsive controls, trying to correct their roll, but it was not working.

Wait... Kyle thought. ...maybe my... ability... can get us down safely. Instead of the controls... I'll use the very thing that has gotten me out of SO MUCH shit before...

Immediately, Kyle closed his eyes and tried his best to achieve concentration, despite the immense turbulence of the Soyuz. It took quite a bit of tuning out, but he was able to put himself into a hypnotic state, invoking his power, and focusing on the capsule, as well as his mother and his wife, using his psychic eye.

The heat shield was burning off of the Soyuz reentry capsule, and it was at a temperature higher than it was designed for, given how fast and steep they were coming into the atmosphere. The plasma was now so hot that it was creating a white-hot dome at the front of the heat shield that was too bright to look at up close... but no doubt created some amazing spectacle down below.

A man was driving home from work in the city back to the suburban region that he lived in after working a late shift. It was just a typical drive, as usual...

...But then he saw a streak of light in the sky as he was driving. He sat forward in his car a bit to look at it more clearly as it passed.

The G-forces were becoming overbearing at this point. All three of the spacecraft's occupants could hardly do so much as lift their heads. However, one of them was not phased by the situation.

Kyle was still focusing with instinct on Jan, Lyra, and the Soyuz... but his intense concentration was making him clench his teeth and squint his closed eyes. Veins began to pulse in the side of his head.

Regardless, he was still invoking his power... and it slowly began to guide the Soyuz towards the desired location...

Lyra happened to glance over at him, and became curious as to why he had his eyes closed and stopped using the controls... but, using her magic, she was able to sense strong energy he was giving off.

Ah... he must be using his 'human power' again... she thought.

There were some people having a nighttime barbecue in a park just outside of a downtown city area. They were all drinking, talking, laughing, and listening to music. Generally, they were having a good time. But...

...Their joy turned into a mixture of awe and shock at what they saw next. One by one, the party members spotted the blinding light with a trail in the sky heading straight towards the point zenith to them, at an incredibly high speed.

"Woah..."

"What is that...?"

"Holy crap...!"

They kept their eyes on the Soyuz as it flew overhead, creating a subtle, but sudden bang moments after passing them due to it going far beyond the speed of sound.

They were losing speed, as well as altitude, and now they would simply arc into the general Florida area. With a little luck, they would be back near Cape Canaveral.

Kyle was still in a meditative state, his eyes closed, immensely focusing with his sixth sense... but he got a sudden nosebleed, two crimson streams running down either side of his face inside of the helmet.

Suddenly, they all began to get a sensation of weightlessness; their descent had equated to Earth's gravitational acceleration, and the heat shield was now cooling.

Kyle sensed this, and opening his eyes, he reached for the flashing button that would open the chute, but it was difficult, because even in freefall, his arm felt like a lead weight. He was however, able to push the button. Each stage of parachute opened one after the other, usually with several seconds in between each stage. Eventually though, the main chutes opened, and the capsule descent slowed immensely.

Two pilots were flying a commercial airplane through the night sky above the Eastern Seaboard, heading West. They had been absently staring at the sky ahead of them, monitoring their route and the radar... up until they noticed something moving towards them on the radar. They were looking around, but could not see it.

Eventually though, they managed to spot something descending right ahead of them; the Soyuz with the parachute deployed.

"What the...?" one pilot uttered.

They did not have time to turn away from it, and were forced to hope that it would descend past them.

"Jesus fuck!" one copilot shouted as he feared they were going to get tangled in the parachute.

Fortunately, it passed them, and they continued on their course as normal.

"Shit!" both pilots said simultaneously, exasperated that they narrowly avoided a collision.

Jan and Lyra, despite being completely shocked, were both relieved that they were able to survive atmospheric reentry. Regardless, the Soyuz computer was still glitching and making warning beeps, as well as sparking.

"...I... I think we made it..." Jan said.

"Yeah..." Lyra said. "...good job, Kyle!"

"...Ahh..." Kyle sighed, just before he tipped his head backwards as he fainted.

Jan sat more upright, still bound by her harness in a laying position.

"Kyle? Honey, are you okay?" she asked.

Lyra knew what had happened, but she was afraid that Jan would not believe her if she told her.

"...I think he'll be okay." Lyra said.

"Uh... there's blood running out of his nose!" Jan said, somewhat squeamish.

"It'll be fine! I'm sure he just had a panic attack or something..." Lyra said.

She realized how much it probably took for him to ensure that they would be alright.

He's probably never had to invoke that much energy before... Lyra thought. ...and all for your mother and me. Oh, Kyle, sweetie... you're the best a mare could ever ask for!

"...Soyuz in the Blind, this is Houston..." came a voice on the spacecraft's radio. "...We have confirmed your location on radar, and we are dispatching helicopters to your location right now... Soyuz in the Blind, please confirm identity..."

Lyra and Jan's hearts skipped a beat at the sound of the radio over their helmets' PA.

"Well... we need to wake up Kyle before we touch down!" Lyra said. "And then we gotta run!"

The Soyuz was making its final descent towards an open, grassy area. At this point, the overheated computer had sparked sufficiently to ignite a fire inside of the capsule, and it began to fill with smoke. When the craft was three meters above the ground, it fired the soft-landing jets, concealed by the heat shield that jettisoned before the parachute opened, creating a strong jolt that pulled the three back into their seats... and this was enough to wake up Kyle.

"...Uh... unnnnggggh..." Kyle groaned, blinking his bloodshot eyes.

"Kyle!" Lyra said. "Oh, good! You're up! C'mon! We've landed! Let's get out of here!"

Lyra turned the lever for the hatch on the side of the capsule, but then she stopped.

"Wait, what am I doing? I still have MAGIC!" she said.

Immediately, she teleported them outside of the Soyuz, leaving behind the spacesuits inside, and they were visible once again. Kyle was struggling to stay upright, swaying uncontrollably. Right as he was about to fall, Jan and Lyra caught him.

"Kyle, are you okay?" Jan asked.

"...Y-yeah..." Kyle responded, wiping the blood off of his face. "...just... just the G-force..."

"Well... we're finally back on the ground!" Lyra said. "Now let's get back to the hotel!"

"Wait..." Kyle said, lifting his head up at the Soyuz, which was becoming smoky in the crimson-flickering portholes.

He narrowed his eyes at the spacecraft, which had its parachutes subtly tugging it as they were blowing in the wind.

"...send that space-lemon to oblivion, Ly! Leave no trace of us...!" Kyle said.

Lyra shrugged. "I thought the fire would do it just fine... but okay!"

Her eyes glowed amber for a moment, as did the Soyuz... and then it disintegrated into ash.

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

"You don't have to tell me twice!" Lyra said, her eyes glowing once again.

In an instant, all of them vanished in a flash of light. Lyra had teleported them back to the hotel, leaving literally nothing for the NASA helicopters that were closing in the location right at that very moment...

16. Served Cold

Shortly after returning from their accidental space trip, Kyle, Lyra, and Jan were all trying to settle down for the night, especially after having been shaken up by the events from earlier. They were exhausted, however, and ended up falling asleep fairly well into the night.

On the following morning, all three had gotten up fairly early to get a nice complimentary breakfast in before they would have to checkout. Kyle had finished his plate, but he was still a bit hungry, primarily because the three had not eaten dinner last night.

"I'm gonna go back for seconds." Kyle said, standing with his plate.

He went to get some more hotcakes, as well as some melon and a cup of juice, since he already had his morning coffee. As he was about to grab what he came up for... something grabbed his attention. He happened to see a girl who was waving at him from an isolated corner of the hotel's breakfast hall. After examining her from a distance, his eyes widened.

“Megan...?” Kyle uttered in realization.

The girl motioned him to come over... and he did indeed recognize her. It was most definitely Megan, one of his crushes from back in his early high school years. Obviously, she had turned him down, given that Lyra was the very first girl (or, well... mare) to accept his love and reciprocate it.

"Kyle! Hey, how are you?" Megan said, happily. "It's been so many years, hasn't it?"

"Yeah, it has..." Kyle said, still a bit put off by seeing her so randomly.

"Small world, huh?" Megan said. "So, did you come to watch the Shuttle launch, too?"

Kyle shrugged. "You could say that..."

Not to mention that we accidentally wound up ON that thing when trying to escape from two sociopathic prison escapees... he thought.

"And, just curious... are you still living in Atlanta?" Megan asked.

"Yes..." Kyle answered.

Right about now, he just wanted to get the hell away from Megan. She had rejected him in a very brutal manner... one that always pained him to think about, and just made him want to avoid her so as not to be reminded of it. Even then, she was not dating anybody, but after rejecting him, started going out with a strange guy named Craig, who was slightly overweight and did not shave his face properly. All of their peers agreed that they were a "cute couple"... and it was something that Kyle was disgusted about.

Kyle despised having everyone disagree with him and his desires. He always wanted to fit in while being himself, but it seemingly never worked out well, or if it did, never for the long-term. It did not help that Megan and Craig were some of the popular kids during their school years. Hell, Kyle was surprised that she even remembered him after all these years...

"So, anyways... I figured that, since you're here... I want to..." Megan briefly trailed off. "...to tell you something that I've wanted to say... for a while, now..."

Kyle sighed. "I really don't know if I'm in the mood to listen to you... especially out of the blue like this..."

He might be coming off as rude, but after what she did, he didn't care.

"Kyle, look..." Megan began. "...I understand if you just want to leave me. I know what I did all those years ago was wrong... but I've matured! I finally know right from wrong! When I was just a teenager... I didn't know any better!"

"Okay..." Kyle said. "...but what does that have to do with anything now?"

“Well... see... I know that I turned you down over Craig...” Megan began. “...and, yeah, we actually got married a couple years after graduating high school... but, things have changed! Our relationship was strained pretty badly, so I went to the court, and after sifting through some paperwork, I got a divorce!”

“So... what is it you're trying to tell me?” Kyle asked.

“Kyle... see... I hadn't realized my true feelings about you... until now...” Megan said.

Kyle had a feeling of where this might be going... but he was not even going to consider following through mutually.

“...would you like to go out and... do something with me sometime back in Atlanta?” Megan asked.

Being a master of psychological manipulation, Kyle decided to feign surprise. He was also not going to mention anything about his current relationship with Lyra, since he wanted Megan to utterly suffer. When she rejected him back in early high school... it was utterly humiliating for Kyle, since she started gossiping about how he tried to ask her, and he became the laughing stock of the school, and a major target for bullying. That was something he could never let go.

“Hold on a minute!” Kyle said. “When I asked you out back in freshman year, you turned me down!”

“Well, that was before!” Megan said.

“Before what?” Kyle asked.

Megan fiddled with her hair a little bit.

“...Before I found out you were a famous artist.” Megan said. “I looked at your Facebook page, and saw your posts. You're 'xXx_Abstraction_xXx' on DeviantArt, and you've got hundreds of thousands of fans around the world. So, I figured... y'know... I actually like guys who can draw and paint... plus, with the money you make, I figured... I could have a decent lifestyle... and with a guy I misjudged at first, but... I'm really sorry about everything I did, Kyle!

“I was young and immature and naive! I didn't know how I really felt at the time, but now I do! So, I know it's, like, ten years late, but... would you... would you please be my boyfriend...?”

Kyle narrowed his eyes.

“Megan...” he began. “...to be completely honest...”

Megan folded her hands in hopeful anticipation, a smile appearing on her face.

“...I'm sorry, but...” he began, causing Megan's smile to start fading. “...I'm afraid I've changed my mind. You had your opportunity back in grade school... and you just let it slip right by. Plus... I don't think we're really... right... for each other...”

“...W... wh...” Megan struggled to speak. “...WHAT...!? Is this... is it... because of what I did? All the gossiping... and making fun of you...?”

“It's not just that...” Kyle responded. “...it's... more than that...”

He was only being vague, since he was not going to mention he was already taken by Lyra, but making it seem like he was rejecting her out of pure choice.

“I-I can... I can change! I-I'll make it up to you...! I'll—” Megan pleaded before she was cut off.

“Megan... please, don't.” Kyle said.

“Kyle... why are you doing this to me? Don't you... don't you know... you can't reject a nice girl!?” Megan said as her eyes started tearing up.

“I'm sorry, Megan, but I'm afraid that ship has long sailed.” Kyle stated firmly.

“Give me... a second ch-chance...!” Megan sobbed.

Kyle shook his head while pressing his lips together.

“Honestly, I must've given you a thousand of chances all those years ago... I've moved on.” he said.

“Kyle!” Megan scolded. “Give me a s-second chance, or I'll c-c-cry...!”

Kyle shrugged. “...Then I guess you're gonna cry. There's nothing I can do about it.”

“Yes, y-you can...!” Megan said.

“Once again, Megan...” Kyle began. “...I'm sorry, but... it's just... not going to work."

Kyle turned to begin walking away.

"Goodbye...” he said for the final time.

Megan kept one hand on her chest, held out the other towards Kyle as he was walking away.

“...Kyle... no...! Please, wait...!” she begged. “...Please don't leave me single...!”

Kyle did not acknowledge her existence any longer, and simply left the area without looking back. Megan brought her hands up to her face as she tipped her head down, silently crying in self-pity. He continued to get his second portion of breakfast... and she made no attempt to get up and try to beg or demand that he change his mind.

Briefly setting down his plate and glancing back at the now-depressed Megan... Kyle silently chuckled to himself with a satisfied grin on his face, pressing his five fingertips on both hands together in a devious manner.

Payback's a bitch, huh Megan? Kyle thought. Now she knows the pain she caused me ten years ago! Maybe I'm a bit evil for doing that... but right now, I don't care! All I care about concerning my love life is Lyra! And as said by the Klingon... revenge is a dish best served COLD!

Ed and Danny had woken up and decided to check back at the hotel. They were lucky enough to find a window from which they heard Kyle, Lyra, and Jan's voices from, and figured out that they would be heading home on that day. After waiting for a little while, the Schaeffers got their luggage loaded into the SUV, and Lyra and Jan waited outside while Kyle got them checked out at the front desk, and handed in the room keycards. Fortunately, they managed to do so before noon, because after that, they would be charged double.

The two escapees took advantage of this opportunity to climb into the back of Kyle's car once again while Jan and Lyra were distracted. This time, they made sure to go to the bathroom and brought some food and water that they stole from a convenient store last night while the clerk was briefly away from the counter. They also got some good exercise in so as to not be so uncomfortable while traveling for eight hours.

Once again, the back of the SUV was devoid of any luggage, as they had been put into the second row of back seats. This left Ed and Danny with enough room to hide once again.

"Wonder how he doesn't notice our added weight?" Danny said.

Ed shrugged. "I'm guessin' that idiot doesn't know how cars work."

In a way, it was true. Kyle did not know a whole lot about automobiles, since he always opted to have his vehicle tuned up and maintained by the mechanics at Discount Tire.

In any case, the Schaeffers were soon back in their car, and Kyle pulled out of the parking lot.

"Okay, time to hit the road before the traffic piles up... not that we'll be going anywhere near it." Kyle said.

Kyle never liked to take freeways and interstates, and usually preferred to take unorthodox routes on the lesser highways, away from the main freeways.

"Let's just hope we can get the hell away from Ed and Danny!" Lyra said.

Oh, you fucking wish... both of the stowaways thought.

It was going to be a long drive back to Atlanta... and sadly, it would only leave one final day with him and Lyra, before she would have to leave him for good...

...but what else could happen...?

17. Premature Change

The drive back was, more or less, uneventful. Jan had decided to recline her seat and take a nap, and Lyra was listening to music on her burner phone. Kyle was just driving, and blocking out everything. He drove absently, lost in thought.

Kyle was absolutely loathing the time that was to come soon. Lyra would change back into a pony, and Celestia would come to take her back to Equestria. After that... he could not even bring himself to think about what was to come. He did not want to think about being alone once again. Lyra would be gone, and then his mother. He would just be left with a big empty house and no one to share it with.

Wanting to drown out these thoughts for now, he decided to put on some music. After turning it on, he immediately heard "El Mañana" by Gorillaz playing on the radio.

Good choice of music for once... unlike the modernized crap they air these days. Kyle thought.

Ed and Danny had fallen asleep in the back. Neither of them wanted to stay awake the whole way, like last time, which really took a toll on their sanity at the time. They had to quietly shift around in order to find a comfortable position in which to sleep.

While driving, Kyle could not help but picture his life before Lyra showed up. He was emotionless... hollow... and practically lifeless. He needed someone who would save him... fix him... COMPLETE him. Lyra was, right now, his only source of true happiness and hope. Sure, his mother was adequate to get him through his tough times... but with her planning on leaving, too... everything would just like before.

Kyle would just be painting day in and day out for his clients. While he did have enough imagination to produce hundreds of thousands of pictures over the course of his life... it would all feel fruitless without anyone to share his success with. Maybe he could join some clubs or make friends at art shows. But still, Lyra was the one thing in his life who brought him real, genuine fulfillment in his life. He did not want to lose her forever.

There was a bit of static on the radio, causing the song to fade to nothing a while before it was finished. Kyle immediately snapped back to reality when he noticed the song go off the air.

"What? No!" Kyle said, trying to readjust the frequency of the radio. "I wanna hear Gorillaz! I love that song!"

After fiddling with the knob a bit, Kyle was unable to get the song back up. In fact, every station was out of range from where they were. He simply shut off the radio. Needless to say, it really pissed him off that he could not even have any distractions from reality.

Eventually, after making it back into the Atlanta area, Kyle pulled into a gas station to refuel, and everybody (except for Ed and Danny) got out to stretch their legs. While fueling, Kyle decided to use a trick he learned online; squeezing the handle to release the gas slower, which would fill the tank with only gas instead of a mixture of vapor and gas, which would save him money.

"I'm gonna try to go to the bathroom before we take off." Lyra said.

"Okay." Kyle said. "No hurry."

Lyra walked into the Seven-Eleven and made her way into the unoccupied bathroom. Even though she did not have to use the restroom very badly, she figured it would be better than trying to hold it in on the way back. However... once she shut the door, something began to happen.

"...O-ooh..." Lyra moaned, putting a hand to her head. "...I-I feel weird..."

Lyra fell onto her knees as she felt herself losing balance, and then onto her hands. A churning, gurgling noise was emanating from her stomach. Her muscles felt like they were filled with squirming nightcrawlers. It took a moment for her to notice a green color appearing in patches on her skin, spreading across her entire body. She subtly felt it to recognize it as the texture of... pony fur.

The spell Celestia put on Lyra was wearing off. She was changing back to her original form.

"...H-huh...? I'm shrinking...!" she said.

Lyra saw the ground slowly moving towards her face even though she sat in the same pose. Her clothes were getting looser, aside from the back of her shorts, where her tail was rapidly sprouting from the base of her spine. She felt her nose and mouth being pushed outward from her face, as well as her ears creeping up either side of her head as they became rounded points once again. Her eyes increased in size relative to her skull, becoming her trademark pony eyes. The immense tingling and firm sensation on her forehead told Lyra that her horn was growing back quite fast, like a spear emerging from her head.

The only thing she actually saw, though, were her fingers merging together as her entire hand was becoming more stiff.

"No! Not my hands!" Lyra said, her eyes slightly tearing up. "Not my beautiful, human hands! I don't wanna have my hooves back! This is so unfair..."

The same thing was happening with her feet, causing her shoes to slip off as they became hooves again. Soon, all of the changes had concluded, leaving Lyra in her original Unicorn form. She inspected herself, anxious and saddened.

"No..." she uttered. "...th-this can't be happening...! I'M A HUMAN! I DON'T WANT TO GO BACK TO EQUESTRIA! I DON'T WANT TO LEAVE MY KYLE!"

There was a knocking on the door.

"Hey, you alright in there?" came a woman's voice.

Lyra gasped.

Uh-oh... she thought. ...I can't be seen like THIS! I... I gotta get out of here!

Lyra hastily unlocked the door, and teleported away. Meanwhile, the woman who was on the other side of the door opened it to see nothing but an abandoned set on clothing on the floor.

"The hell...? Was someone in here?" she asked nobody in particular.

In Canterlot, Celestia was taking a break in her private quarters after having attended a meeting session of the Equestrian Royal Council. Needless to say, her royal duties left her with little energy for anything else, and her face was killing her from having to put on a smile all the time and come off as a benevolent ruler.

She was simply lounging for the time being, snacking on a slice of cake. Suddenly, however, her horn gave a subtle glow, and she gained a more alert expression. She was familiar with the kind of magic that was causing this reaction in her horn... and it appears that it happened too soon.

It was because Lyra had reverted back into a human, which her magic informed her of.

"Oh no..." Celestia said. "...her form-altering spell has worn off too quickly!"

She immediately set down her cake on the end table, stood from her sofa, and rushed over to the portal chamber. She was going to head back to their world immediately to get Lyra, so that she would be out of any potential danger from other humans who were... not as understanding as Kyle or Jan.

She charged her horn with magic, powering up the portal. The large image on the floor began to glow a heavenly light with a mystic-sounding hum... but it stopped suddenly, even though Celestia was still channeling magic.

Celestia gasped. "...The portal doesn't have enough energy!"

The Princess of Equestria paced anxiously, trying to think quickly about what to do. Luna's assistance alone would probably not be enough, because Luna did not create the portal, nor did she even understand how interdimensional travel worked.

"I need to get Twilight over here immediately!" she said to herself.

She made a break back to her quarters, flying rapidly, and with great agility, through Canterlot Castle in order to send an urgent letter to her pupil. She had strong faith in Twilight, particularly with how powerful she was in magic.

Lyra had teleported outside of the Seven-Eleven, just behind the back... but she was going to need to be extremely careful to avoid being caught by anyone.

"Just need to get a clear look at Kyle's car... and I'll just teleport my way in!" Lyra said to herself.

She knew that she would have to explain to Kyle and Jan what happened, being that the spell had worn off prematurely. She assumed that it had to do with her using her Unicorn magic in human form, but had no way to know for sure. It did not matter at the moment, however, since she had to get hidden as soon as possible.

Lyra began to sneak around one side of the building, but she met with an unfortunate fate right away. There was a police car parked at the side of the building she was heading for, and the two cops were outside of their car. One of them looked straight at her as she rounded the corner. He stood up from leaning on his car.

"What the...?" he uttered.

"Eek!" Lyra squealed as she rushed back the other way.

The cop drew his taser as the other one followed behind, both chasing Lyra. Once they rounded the corner, the leading cop pointed his taser at the escaping Unicorn, and fired. The two barbed cables stuck into Lyra's flank, and she started convulsing uncontrollably as the taser made a rapid, loud clicking sound.

"D-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d...!" Lyra stammered as high voltage surged through her.

After a long series of shocks, she was unconscious. The two cops stood over her, trying to make out what she was.

"What the hell is this thing?" one of the cops asked.

"I don't know..." the other answered. "...but I have a feeling we'll get a big reward from the government if we hand it over to their laboratories!"

"Hm, good idea!" the first cop said.

Kyle decided to investigate what he had just heard on the other side of the convenient store.

"Could've sworn I heard a taser or something..." he said to himself.

He would likely not want to be involved in anything involving a taser... but with what he was to find, he most definitely would want to get involved. Kyle happened to round the corner to see one of two cops carrying Lyra, who was now a pony again, as well as unconscious. Both of them looked at Kyle.

"Hey!" the cop not carrying Lyra said, putting a hand on his service pistol. "Stay where you are!"

Kyle held up his hands as the cop approached him, threatening to draw his weapon.

"W-wait...! I'm not armed! Please don't shoot me!" he said.

"Put your hands behind your back!" the cop said, pulling out his handcuffs.

"What?" Kyle asked.

"Put your hands behind your back! You're under arrest!" the cop said.

Kyle felt like his organs turned to mush upon hearing this.

"But... what did I do?" he asked.

"Put your hands behind your back! Now!" the cop repeated.

Kyle assumed that the cops wanted to keep him from telling the world about their "discovery". However, he was not going to let himself be taken so easily.

Okay, power... don't fail me now! Kyle thought.

He briefly closed his eyes and focused his energy as he heard the cop getting closer. Once he was sure he had invoked it, he opened his eyes, and grabbed the cop by the wrist as he reached for Kyle's own wrist. And then, with the sudden strength that would better suit a larger individual, he pulled the cop over his back, flipping him onto his own back, stunning him. Kyle further incapacitated him with a swift kick to the skull.

Though he looked quite scrawny, Kyle was actually a lot stronger than he looked.

The other cop wasted no time, dropping the unconscious Lyra, and reaching for his gun. However, Kyle darted at the cop, taking his gun from him, and punching him square in the jaw. The cop fell to the ground, and Kyle took advantage of this extra bit of time he had given himself to pick up Lyra, and tuck the nine-millimeter Glock pistol into the back of his pants.

He threw Lyra into the car, pulled the fuel nozzle out of his car, and quickly confirmed his credit card payment.

"Sweetheart, what's going on? Why is Lyra back to her pony self?" Jan asked.

"We gotta go!" Kyle said. "Some cops found her, and I had to... beat them up to get her back."

"You did WHAT!?" Jan asked, shocked.

"No time to explain! We gotta get outta here!" Kyle said.

He quickly started up his car, and sped out of the gas station just in the nick of time, as the two cops, albeit injured, stood back up and made their way over to the front of the station to see the car speed away. One of them spoke into his radio.

"Officers assaulted!" he said. "This is 331! We need immediate backup! Perp is in a silver Toyota RAV4, heading north on Union!"

"Copy, 331, dispatching backup on Union." the dispatcher responded.

The cops quickly made their way back to their vehicle, despite still being disoriented, and started it up to pursue the Schaeffers and Lyra...

It would now take nothing short of a miracle for the three to get to safety now...

19. Meet the Mane Six

Kyle, Lyra, and Jan had all exited the car, which was emitting smoke and steam from under the hood due to Kyle flooring the engine for several minutes during the pursuit, and the two humans took a good, long look at their surroundings.

"Wow, this is such a beautiful place!" Jan said.

"Totally!" Kyle said. "It looks even better than on the show!"

"Thank you." Celestia said. "It is always nice to hear compliments about my residence."

At that moment, another pony came forward out of the corner, and Kyle recognized her instantly.

"Twilight! It's good to see you again!" Kyle said.

"Oh! Hello, Kyle!" Twilight said. "Um, so... who is this woman with you?"

"This is Kyle's mother, Jan Rhodes-Schaeffer, Twilight." Celestia said.

"It's nice to meet you!" Twilight said.

Suddenly, a voice came from the corridor outside of the portal chamber.

"Twilight? Twilight? Where are you?" they said right as they were walking up to the door.

The voice, as it just so happened, belonged to Spike the dragon. He stopped and stared upon reaching the entry to the room.

"Uh... Twilight...?" Spike began. "...Wh-what are they...?"

"Don't worry, Spike. They're harmless." Twilight said. "This is Kyle Schaeffer and his mother. They are both humans."

Kyle walked right up to Spike and knelt down in front of him. The young dragon was slightly on-the-spot, given that he was only one-quarter of the human's full height.

"Well, it's good to finally meet you, Spike!" he said.

"...What do you mean 'finally'?" Spike asked.

Kyle shrugged. "I guess you could say... we've been watching your lives play out without being here."

Spike darted his eyes for a moment.

"I don't know what that means, but... I guess I'm glad to meet you. You don't seem so bad." he said.

"So then..." Celestia said. "...shall we continue?"

With that, the Princess led Equestria's new visitors, along with Lyra, out to the balcony not far from where the portal chamber was... leaving only the two Richardsons in the trunk, which they, once again, struggled to open due to the confined space.

"C'mon, I could get the latch just fine at the hotel!" Danny said.

"Don't push, son..." Ed said as he continued to try and open the door.

Eventually, they opened it up, and were able to get out. Once they clumsily rolled onto the floor... they were surprised by the scenery that had manifested around the car, including the front half of a police car.

"Where the hell are we?" Danny asked.

"I've haven't any clue!" Ed responded.

They glanced around the large chamber, confused as all hell.

"What is this Mickey Mouse shit!?" Ed questioned.

"Looks like a fairytale castle!" Danny said.

"Well, let's find out where that little shit went off to with his bitch mother and his brain-dead girl!" Ed said, standing up and making his way through the castle.

Out on the balcony of Canterlot Castle, Celestia led the three to the edge to get a view of a large chunk of Equestria. All three were captivated by the view.

"Wow...!" Jan said.

"Equestria..." Kyle spoke. "...it's way more beautiful than I could've ever imagined...!"

Princess Celestia smiled. "Everypony does their part to keep our kingdom alive and as beautiful as ever."

"So... I was wondering..." Kyle began. "...would it be alright if we went to Ponyville? I've always wanted to visit that place!"

"Of course." Celestia said, nodding just before turning to Lyra. "I assume you have some business with your friends back home?"

"Yes, your Highness." Lyra said. "And I'd love for them to meet Kyle!"

Celestia nodded. "I shall prepare my carriage to take us there at once."

"Oh, um... well, Princess Celestia..." Twilight began, suddenly nervous. "...I was actually hoping to... get back to my studies..."

"If you wish to stay here in Canterlot, it is perfectly alright, Twilight." Celestia said.

Kyle smirked a bit at Twilight's response.

Wow... she's apprehensive at meeting other ponies... just like at the beginning of the show! he thought.

Without saying too much more, Celestia escorted Kyle, Lyra, and Jan to Ponyville in her carriage. Along the way, Jan looked both thrilled and anxious.

"You alright, Mom?" Kyle asked.

"Well..." Jan began. "...I'm not really sure how to feel about all of this right now."

"Don't you think this place is amazing, though?" Kyle said.

Jan looked around. "Well, to be honest, I don't know why this place even exists... but, I'm actually starting to like it."

Kyle smiled. "Oh, I'm positive that you're going to love it here in Equestria!"

After a bit more traveling, they made it to Ponyville, where Lyra stepped out first.

"C'mon, we're here!" the Unicorn mare said.

So, they made their way into the ever-busy streets of Ponyville, and sure enough... many of the ponies began to direct their attention towards the two humans accompanying Celestia and Lyra. Most of them were background ponies, and no major ponies were around to be seen, from what Kyle could tell. They were all forming a crowd around them, the Unicorns and Earth Ponies shuffling around each other, while the Pegasi simply hovered above them.

"What... are they?"

"Are they... humans?"

"You mean, like... from the legends?"

"Humans are savages in the legends, though!"

"But... why would Princess Celestia bring them here!?"

"...Are we being punished by her or something...?"

Princess Celestia cleared her throat. "Please, everypony settle down!"

The murmuring among the crowd of Ponyvillians immediately ceased. Celestia then continued her speech.

"Now, I am sure many of you are concerned simply by the presence of these humans. But I wish to reassure you, they mean Equestria no harm. If anything, they are actually very good humans. This young, male one, Kyle Schaeffer, is the one responsible for raising Lyra Heartstrings to adulthood." the Princess said.

Whispering ensued once again.

"Who's Lyra Heartstrings, again?"

"I guess she's the green Unicorn up with them."

"Wasn't she the filly from Canterlot who went missing, like, fifteen years ago or something?"

"He actually took care of her?"

"Why would humans show mercy to ponies?"

This time, Kyle stepped forward to speak to all the background ponies.

"What Princess Celestia is saying is true." he said. "I took Lyra under my care, and went out of my way to keep her safe from the dangers of my world. And... she really came to be one of the best friends I've ever had in my life."

All of the ponies stared in awe. However, this was very brief, because somepony was pushing their way through the crowd.

"Outta my way! OUTTA MY WAY, EVERYPONY!" came a high-pitched, energetic voice.

Kyle happened to recognize it, even after so many years. And sure enough, he was right; the voice belonged to Pinkie Pie, who was making her way up to the front of the crowd. Once she got to the front, she stood up on her hind legs with her forelegs spread out wide and a big smile on her face.

"Oh... Pinkie Pie..." Kyle uttered.

"Welcome to Ponyville!" she said. "I'm Pinkie Pie, the bestest party-thrower you'll ever meet! And it looks like I get to have the honor of throwing the first 'Welcome-to-Equestria' party for HUMAAAAAAAAANS!"

With that, Pinkie pulled her Party Cannon literally out of nowhere, and fired off a blast of confetti from it.

"It's gonna be the best 'Welcoming-humans-to-Equestria' party EVER!" she said, ever-so-enthusiastic.

Jan was quite surprised by the pink, party-animal of a pony.

"Uh... what's up with her?" she asked her son.

Kyle pursed his lips. "That's just how she is... just play along, because she doesn't take 'no' for an answer."

Immediately, Pinkie began to hop around the two humans.

"So, Iwasthinkingthatmaybewecouldstartoffwithanicebigbuffetofcakeandicecream, andafterthatwecouldhavesomecoolpartygames..." Pinkie started her relentless rambling.

Kyle, Jan, and Lyra all started to walk away while Celestia hastily returned to her carriage; though she was a benevolent leader, her patience did have its limits, so she wanted to get away from Pinkie herself. Meanwhile, for the next several minutes, Pinkie continued hopping in circles around Kyle, Lyra, and Jan. The three of them were becoming increasingly annoyed, especially since Pinkie did not appear to stop even to draw breath. Even the ponies of Ponyville had scattered to avoid her.

"...andafterthatwecouldhaveagreatbigslumberpartyatSugarcubeCorner, andwe'llstayuplatetellingscarystories..."

He now understood why so many people hated Pinkie. There was no way he could put up with this any longer.

Gritting his teeth, Kyle grabbed Pinkie Pie out of the air while she was in mid-hop, and brought her right up into his face.

“SHUT UP ALREADY!” he shouted, making Pinkie close her eyes as her mane rippled briefly, as if in a heavy wind.

This, however, did not phase Pinkie in the slightest.

“Ooh! You can scream reeeeeeally loud!” she said.

Kyle sighed, and he set Pinkie back on the ground.

"Listen, Pinkie Pie... I really appreciate your enthusiasm, but..." he briefly trailed off. "...I think this welcome party should wait until a little later. Y'know, maybe after we've settled in?"

Pinkie Pie pondered for a moment, just before she returned her gaze and smile at Kyle.

"Okie-dokie-lokie!" the pink mare said.

With that, Pinkie started hopping away, back to Sugarcube Corner. Lyra let out a relieved sigh.

"Glad that's all over..." she said.

"Right, so... where to now?" Jan asked.

After walking for some distance, the two humans and Unicorn ended up at Sweet Apple Acres. Kyle was immediately looking around for any of the familiar ponies who lived on the property.

Wonder where the Apples are... he thought.

Soon enough, however, they happened to spot an Earth Pony mare with orange hide, light yellow mane and tail, as well as a cowgirl hat. She was quite occupied at the moment with shifting bushels around and bucking the trees to make apples fall from them... but she stopped briefly upon seeing the three.

"Well now... what do we got here...?" Applejack said, making her way over.

Kyle smiled a bit at seeing yet another one of the Mane Six.

"Applejack!" he said. "It's great to finally meet you!"

Applejack raised a brow. "How in tarnation d'ya know mah handle?"

"He's seen us on television!" Lyra said.

The farmgirl pony was a bit confused, but did not push the matter any further.

"So, if y'all can pardon me fer askin'... what are ya?" Applejack asked.

"We are humans, from a different dimension." Kyle answered.

"Well, ah'll be!" Applejack said in surprise. "Y'all are quite some tall critters!"

"Applejack?" Came the voice of a filly. "Where are ya?"

All of them look in the direction the voice came from, and saw that it was Apple Bloom who called out, and she was being followed by Big Macintosh. Both the approaching filly and stallion both looked fairly surprised when they saw the two humans.

"Uh... Applejack?" Apple Bloom said. "Who are they?"

"I'm Kyle. Kyle Schaeffer." Kyle introduced himself. "And this is my mother, Jan."

"We're humans." Jan said.

"But don't worry! They're very nice!" Lyra said.

"Well... ah never woulda thought humans were actually real!" Apple Bloom said.

"Eeyup." Big Mac said.

"Maybe y'all could be willin' ta reach up and pick the apples from the branches to help us out?" Applejack asked.

"Sorry, Applejack, but we can't right now." Lyra said. "I'm showing them around Ponyville!"

"Alright then!" Applejack said. "See ya round!"

"Wait! Aren't ya gonna stay for brunch?" Apple Bloom asked, making sad eyes at Kyle.

This made the latter feel extremely guilty about leaving. He did not like seeing any sad fillies (well... save for any of the "bad" ones from the show). So, he simply knelt down in front of Apple Bloom.

"How about this: I'll have brunch with you all sometime within the week. Okay?" Kyle offered.

Apple Bloom smiled and nodded. "Okay!"

"Well, we're off!" Kyle said, standing.

"See ya 'round, pardner!" Applejack said.

Kyle, Lyra, and Jan all continued their little tour of Ponyville... and just so happened to pass by the Carousel Boutique.

"Hm..." Kyle hummed, eying the building. "...wonder if Rarity's around?"

"Rarity? Who's that?" Jan asked.

"You'll see... she happens to work there." Kyle said, pointing at the boutique.

They went inside, Lyra leading the way. Immediately, they saw the back side of a pure white Unicorn mare with an indigo mane and tail that were elegantly curled.

"Let's see here... no, that would be hideous... oh, absolutely not that texture..." she muttered to herself.

"Excuse me." Lyra spoke up.

Rarity sighed impatiently, just before turning around and putting on a false smile. "Yes? Can I help you?"

"Well, actually..." Lyra trailed off. "...there's someone who I want to introduce you to. One of them has been hoping to meet you for a while, Ms. Rarity."

With that, Kyle and Jan had both come into the open. Rarity's eyes went wide, her pupils shrunk, and her jaw dropped.

"Wh-what are these... creatures whom you brought into my boutique...?" the fashionista pony asked, nervously.

"It's alright, Rarity. We're not going to hurt you. In fact, I've looked forward to meeting you for a long time!" Kyle said.

"And, you are...?" Rarity asked.

"Oh!" Kyle realized. "Of course, how rude of me... my name is Kyle Schaeffer."

"I'm Jan, Kyle's mother." Jan introduced herself.

"Well..." Rarity said, somewhat relieved. "...I'm glad that otherworldly beings still have decency."

"Don't worry about it. I don't blame you for being nervous around us." Kyle said.

Rarity stepped forward, examining Kyle from head to foot. The latter simply stood where he was, confused at what she was looking for.

"What exactly are you doing?" Kyle asked.

"Um... if you don't mind, darling... would you be willing to let me take a few... measurements?" Rarity asked.

"Why?" Kyle asked, assuming she wanted to possibly make some garments based on his physique.

"You've just given me some ideas for a whole new line of garments!" Rarity said.

"Uh... maybe later?" Kyle said.

"Yeah," Jan added. "we're just checking this place out. And my son just wanted to say hello."

"Oh... well, alright then." Rarity said, briefly disappointed before she smiled and waved. "I do hope to see you again soon!"

"Bye, Rara!" Kyle said.

Rarity looked confused. "What did you just call me...?"

Kyle had forgotten that nopony in the show actually called her "Rara"; only people on the internet back in his world did so.

"...My tongue slipped." Kyle said.

So, the three were continuing their journey through Ponyville, occasionally getting glances from curious bystanders.

"Well, so far, so good." Kyle said.

"Yeah." Jan said. "True, this world seems a bit... cartoony. But, I think I like it already!"

"Well, look what landed its way in Ponyville!" came a voice from above them.

Out of the sky, landing right in front of them was a sky-blue Pegasus mare with a mane consistent of all six colors of the rainbow. Kyle, like any brony, knew all too well who she was.

"Ah, Rainbow Dash." Kyle said.

Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes with a confident smirk.

"Well, how 'bout that?" she said. "Even in other worlds, I'm still awesome, and everypony knows who I am!"

Oh, you have NO idea how popular you are where I come from, Dash... Kyle thought.

"So, like, where'd you come from, of all places?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Kyle took a breath. "Well, believe it or not... we're actually humans, from a different universe."

"Really!?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Are you, like, from the future or something? Did you evolve from regular ponies? Do we have robots that do our work for us in the future?"

"Um... no. It's nothing like that." Kyle said.

"We just live in a regular community, like you do." Jan said.

"Aw... that's boring." Dash said. "But, I know how to fix that part of you!"

"What do you mean?" Kyle asked.

"You wanna learn how to be cool around here, you should hang with me!" Rainbow Dash said.

With that, the rainbow-colored Pegasus started to hover, flying directly behind Kyle, and lifting him by his shoulders.

"C'mon! I'll show you my home in Cloudsdale! It's a good place to start!" Dash said.

Kyle gasped as he felt his feet leave the ground as Rainbow Dash began to lift him up. It stunned him that a meter-tall mare had the physical capacity to lift him, despite him being just above underweight for his size.

"W-wait...! Rainbow Dash...!" Kyle exclaimed. "L-let me down...! Let me down!"

They landed back on the ground, and Dash panted a few times.

"Jeez, you're heavy! What do you humans even eat!?" she asked.

"Trust me, Dash..." Kyle began. "...you don't wanna know what we eat."

Rainbow Dash simply shrugged.

"Well, I'm off." she said. "I've got a lot of clouds to take care of! But hey... see you 'round sometime, right?"

Kyle nodded with a smile. "Right!" he said.

"Cool!" Dash said, just before she took off like a bullet into the sky.

Jan was quite bewildered by what had just happened.

"Well... she was definitely... something." she said.

"She just thinks highly of herself, and wants others to think the same." Kyle said.

They just stood around for a moment to get over what had just happened with the overconfident Pegasus, up until Lyra decided to break the silence.

"So..." Lyra began. "...whats say we head back to my place for now?"

Kyle, however, had other intentions.

"You go on ahead with my Mom, Lyra." he said. "There's... something... I want to check on."

"Like what?" Lyra asked.

"Nothing big. It shouldn't take more than a few minutes, at best." Kyle said.

Lyra and Jan looked at each other for a moment.

"Okay," Lyra finally said. "my house is No. 6 on Pinto Way."

Kyle then went quickly on his way. He hoped he knew the way, according to the information he learned on the internet. He met five of the six famous mares of MLP... and he was thankful that fate had saved his favorite of them for last.

"C'mon, Angel... please?" Fluttershy pleaded.

The bunny stubbornly shook his head after eying the mixed vegetables in front of him.

"It'll make you big and strong!" Fluttershy encouraged.

Just as Angel was about to give another denial, there was a knocking at the door to Fluttershy's cottage.

"Oh! Who could that be?" Fluttershy asked nopony in particular. "I'll get it!"

With that, the cream-yellow Pegasus made her way into the foyer of her cottage. Angel pushed the plate forward on the table, away from him, and quickly got up to leave.

Fluttershy opened the door... only to cower at the towering creature that stood before her.

"...O-oh... my..." Fluttershy stammered. "...Who... who are you...?"

Kyle smiled immensely. To meet his favorite of the Mane Six... and second-favorite pony next to Lyra... it felt like when he first found Lyra in the old park back at his old home all over again.

"Fluttershy..." Kyle began. "...hi! Oh, you don't know how long I've wanted to meet you!"

Fluttershy nervously shuffled her legs.

"H-how do you know... my n-name...?" she asked quietly, hiding half of her face beneath her mane.

"I've... heard a lot about you. And I've really wanted to meet you!" Kyle said.

The timid Pegasus was making some very closed-off body language, and Kyle was beginning to feel a bit discouraged.

Ngh... she's already shying from me. he thought. I have to do something to make her trust me.

He tried to think of something to help ease her nerves.

"Hey..." Kyle said calmly, kneeling down with an outstretched hand. "...it's okay. I'm not instantly judgmental."

This did not yield a great deal of result. If she did let her guard down by it bit, it was not very detectable. However...

...he had an excellent idea... something that he fantasized doing before Lyra became his favorite pony...

“Y'know...” Kyle said. “...I think you're a very beautiful Pegasus, Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy made some nervous hoof motions and blushed, but she smiled while looking up at him with her head angled down, her full face exposed.

“...Y-you really think so...?” she asked.

"Absolutely." Kyle said. "Why do you feel so down right now?"

"W-well..." Fluttershy began. "...I've always had problems socializing... because... I was always bullied when I was a little filly... they called me a weak flyer..."

"And is what they said true?" Kyle asked.

"W-well... kinda, but..." the Pegasus trailed off. "...I can exert some good wing power when I need to..."

Kyle brought his hand to brush her mane back out of her face, as she was beginning to let it fall back in front of her face. He gently stroked her cheek, and the side of her face, making her eyes widen as she blushed again.

"...Don't ever believe anypony, when you know that what they say isn't true..." Kyle said with a warm smile.

He then brought his other hand up to the crown of Fluttershy's head, and started gently rubbing. This made her close her eyes and smile as she let out a pleasured hum. She leaned her head into his hand as he continued to pet her.

The next few minutes consisted of nothing but this petting session. It surprised Kyle that Fluttershy was enjoying it, very much like a dog would. He gradually began to recede from it, however, since he knew that his mother and wife were both probably wondering what was taking him so long.

"Well, it was nice to meet you, Flutters." Kyle said, standing back up. "I hope to see you again really soon!"

“You mean... you're leaving?” Fluttershy asked, suddenly discouraged.

“Yeah,” Kyle said. “I have to meet back up with Lyra Heartstrings in Ponyville.”

“Aww...” Fluttershy uttered, a sad look spreading over her face as her gaze fell to the ground.

This was one of Kyle's key weaknesses; seeing Fluttershy upset or distraught. On a screen, it was one thing, but in real life... it was like a knife in his heart. He just could not stand to see Fluttershy so sad.

Kyle knelt down and spread his arms out, smiling.

“...Hug?” he asked.

Fluttershy sat upright, now smiling herself. She then walked over to Kyle, and wrapped her forelegs around him in a gentle, but caring embrace. He returned it to her, but not so forceful on a pony as delicate as Flutters. As he held onto her... all that entered his mind were impulsive thoughts... some that could potentially destroy his current love life if he was not careful...

After partially separating, Kyle nervously glanced around to see if Lyra was anywhere nearby. Fortunately, she wasn't, so he turned back to Fluttershy.

“Now, Fluttershy...” he said. “...promise you won't overthink what I'm about to do, and that you won't tell anypony.”

“...Okay.” she whispered.

He then, despite a bit of hesitation, brought his face close to the Pegasus' own face... and kissed her. At first, Fluttershy was surprised, but then she fell into a deep trance as she started to kiss him back. The two had their lips locked, frequently adjusting suction, for a short while, before they eventually separated, their eyes now being the only things locked.

“I'm sorry I can't be with you, Flutters... I really am...” he said. “...but just know that, even though I'm already with Lyra... I will love you deep down like I love her.”

He ran his fingers through her soft, silk-like mane.

“You're a very sweet pony, Fluttershy.” Kyle finished.

Fluttershy smiled as tears fell from her eyes. She placed a hoof on the hand he was using to pet her.

“Th-thank you, Kyle...” she said. “...nopony's... e-ever been so... nice to m-m-me...”

"Chin up, Flutters. There's no need to cry." Kyle said.

"...I-I'm... just so... h-happy..." she said.

"Just know that Lyra's taking good care of me, as I am for her... and I hope that the stallion you end up with one day takes extra special care of you, as well." Kyle said.

It had become fairly late in the evening, and Kyle and Jan had just finished setting up improvised beds in the spare bedrooms of Lyra's house. Kyle got the one upstairs, next to the master bedroom, which was Lyra's, while Jan took the downstairs one.

Kyle had been reading some books that happened to be in the house and listening, through the wall, to Lyra playing a very lovely melody on her lyre.

"Like I said years ago... she's like the ultimate lyrist." Kyle said to himself.

In any case, he was getting fairly tired, and decided to stop reading for the night. he switched off the light, and simply laid in his firm but cozy improvised bedroll. Lyra was continuing to play her calm, pleasant lyre music.

It was like a lullaby to Kyle, as it helped him to put his previously-excited nerves at ease from entering Equestria, and allow him to calm down enough to start to drift off. Soon, after Kyle was asleep, Lyra stopped playing, and decided to crawl into bed for the night as well. All three of the house's occupants were sound asleep before midnight.

Unbeknownst to Kyle, however... he had gotten the attention of several of the young mares of Ponyville, who had stalked them throughout the day. And Jan had gotten quite a bit of attention from several older stallions, who did the same. And when it was late enough in the night... many of them began to crowd around Lyra's house, the Unicorns telekinetically opening the locked windows and doors, and all of them sneaking in...

20. Of Mares and Men

"What if we went that way?" Danny suggested.

"How would you know?" Ed asked.

Danny shrugged. "Just thinking... I don't know. Maybe we could use the sky to navigate or something?"

Ed looked up. "Let's see... the sun, stars, and moon move from East to West. I'm sure that should give us some direction out of this shithole."

Ed and Danny had managed to climb down the mountain from Canterlot... but unfortunately for the two, they ended up in Everfree Forest. They had been walking around for hours, being forced to drink river water just to quench their thirst. Danny was repeatedly vaping with his stolen JUUL, thinking it would make him feel better... but this was not the case. If anything, it was dehydrating him faster, and besides, his pods were nearly depleted, as was the battery.

After walking for a fairly long time, when it was nearing dawn... the two caught wind of something that made them stop in their tracks. They grabbed their noses in disgust.

"Ugh... what is that smell!?" Danny asked in a nasally voice due to holding his nose.

"I got no clue..." Ed said.

They heard some rustling in the shrubbery around them... and out came a pack of timberwolves. They were snarling at the two with their ominous glowing eyes locked on the two humans, who simply stared for a moment in utter shock.

"What are those things!?" Ed asked.

"I don't know..." Danny said, just before turning and breaking into a sprint. "...but LET'S RUN FOR IT!"

Ed himself wasted no time and began to run along with his son. The two were quickly trying to get away from the carnivorous woodland creatures, managing to sprint for a long while, despite their hours of walking. However, they were not sure how much longer they could keep going.

"Dad... look...!" Danny panting, raising his arm to point. "...I see... an open area...!"

The two were quick to try and make their way over to it, the timberwolves hot on their tails.

Kyle slowly began to awaken, but he felt somewhat... encumbered. Opening his eyes, the first thing that he saw was the face of Berryshine. He had narrowly avoided gasping... but this did not matter, because he saw something that made him quite speechless in that moment. There were several background ponies, all female, piled up on top of him, still fast asleep despite his stirring. He was quite literally underneath a blanket of sleeping mares.

Kyle hastily pulled himself out from under them, making them topple a little bit, and causing them all to wake up.

"Where did all of you come from!?" Kyle asked, still overcome with surprise.

"Well..." Golden Harvest began. "...we sort've... um... let ourselves in?"

"And... why, exactly?" Kyle asked.

"Because, we all think you're awesome!" Daisy said.

Kyle was a bit flabbergasted, but tried to keep his cool.

"Can I be your marefriend?" Shoeshine asked.

Amethyst Star pushed her out of the way.

"No, I want to be his marefriend!" she said.

"Hey, pick me!" Flitter said. "I promise I'll treat you better than anypony else!"

"No, pick me, and your life will never be boring!" Cloud Kicker said.

Kyle was getting really uncomfortable with all of the attention he was getting from the mares of Ponyville.

"Let me have a look at your human teeth!" Colgate Minuette said.

"Wanna go for a flight with me?" Sunshower Raindrops asked.

"Mix some wubs with me?" Vinyl Scratch asked. "I'll give you my glasses if you say yes!"

"Oh, come now. None of that wubbish-rubbish..." Octavia Melody said, before turning to Kyle. "...surely you're into more traditional melodies, darling?"

Many of the mares continued to try and talk him into courting one of them... but he needed to explain.

"Listen, ladies..." Kyle spoke up. "...I appreciate the attention, but... Lyra Heartstrings is my wife."

"Aww..." the female ponies all groaned, hanging their heads sadly.

Almost immediately, they began to leave in disappointment. The Earth Ponies and Unicorns climbed out through the window, while the Pegasi flew out above them. But... one of them stayed behind for a moment.

"Hey, c'mon Kyle!" Derpy Hooves said. "If you think hard enough, you might just change your mind!"

Kyle pursed his lips. "...I'll consider it, Derpy."

Derpy gasped and smiled.

"He knows my name! HE KNOWS MY NAME! He's MINE!" she said, lunging at Kyle and hugging him.

Kyle pried his arms out of her firm hold. "Sorry, Derpy... but... I'm already with Lyra."

Derpy looked up at him (as best as she could with her wall-eyes), still smiling.

"...I'll give you a muffin if you choose me instead!" she said.

"Um..." Kyle pondered. "...I'd have to think on it."

Derpy sighed. "Okay..." she said, slowly flying out from the open window.

With that, Kyle got up and decided to start his day, still a bit weirded out by what had just happened. Lyra was also awake.

"Hey, Ky-Ky." she said with a yawn upon stepping out of her room. "How are you this morning?"

"I'm doing alright..." Kyle said.

Lyra narrowed her eyes and tilted her head. "What's the matter? You look a little... shaken up."

Kyle shrugged. "Just... had a weird dream." he lied.

Lyra looked suspicious for a moment, but then her expression became fairly casual.

"Okay!" she said, heading downstairs to make breakfast.

The incident that had just took place was still heavily on Kyle's mind as he went to help his wife make breakfast and eat with both her and his mother after she woke up.

Kinda figures... I'm not so much a "ladies'-man" where I come from, but more of a "mares'-man" in Equestra... Kyle thought.

This was definitely the case when he traveled through Ponyville later that day, and came across all the mares who were decent enough not to break-and-enter into Lyra's house...

"Kyle Schaeffer! Yoo-hoo!" Junebug said. "Hey! You wanna go out for lunch with me, and maybe... sit by the fountain together?"

"Hi, Kyle!" Lemon Hearts said, waving while holding a cookie sheet in her free hoof. "I just spent my morning baking cookies! Would you, um... like some?"

"Oh, Kyle!" Roseluck said. "Would you like to pick some flowers with me? I saved only the best for a... special occasion."

"Oh, Mr. Schaeffer..." Nurse Redheart said. "...your face is all red! Do you have a fever? Well, if you do, you're always welcome to make an... appointment with me, and I'll take REALLY good care of you!"

Kyle was a bit unsure about the whole situation. Back in his early teen years, he could only dream of receiving so much attention from females. Now that this was the case, long after he fully dedicated himself to Lyra (well... save for the one kiss he had with Fluttershy), it really did not seem as great as he thought it would be. If anything, he felt under pressure.

No doubt, Jan felt the same way when she decided to meet back up with him and Lyra nearing midday.

"You would not believe how many male ponies were coming up to me and sweet-talking me..." she said.

Kyle shrugged. "I just don't know what they suddenly see in us, given that humans that lived here eons ago were apparently savages."

"Humans used to live here?" Jan asked.

"Yes," Lyra said. "but they went extinct during the Great Human War."

Kyle, once again, wanted to take in the scenery around him, as it all still felt new and fresh to him as an experience.

"Still... to think that you and I have the privilege of visiting a place like this, Mom. Isn't it just the greatest thing?" he asked.

Jan also looked around. "...It sure is. Equestria really is a beautiful place."

As Kyle was looking off in the distance from the second-floor balcony of Lyra's house... he could swear that he could make out two figures in the distant forest on the other side of a stretch of field. They were definitely not ponies... or any creature that looked like it belonged in the MLP universe. Peering into the distance...

...Kyle's jaw dropped as he realized that it was Ed and Danny.

"Oh... my... God..." Kyle uttered.

"What?" Lyra asked.

Kyle pointed. "It's those two scumbags... they ended up here somehow!"

"Oh, no..." Jan said. "...if they find us here, we're in deep trouble!"

"How...?" Kyle said, shaking his head. "...Just... just how!? HOW did they end up in a world they are hardly worthy of!? Unless..."

Thinking for a moment, his eyes suddenly went wide.

"...They were in my car the whole time!" Kyle said in realization.

The three of them started to panic a bit as they went straight back inside with the other two approaching from Everfree Forest.

"What are we gonna do!? They're gonna find us!" Kyle said.

Lyra pondered for a moment, and then her eyes lit up as an idea struck her brain.

"I've got it! I'll just need to send a letter to Princess Celestia..." the Unicorn said.

"What's this village?" Danny asked as they approached Ponyville.

"Never mind that... what's this world?" Ed asked himself. "Looks like some shit made up by a three-year-old!"

They made their way fairly slowly towards the Earth Pony community, quite fatigued due to their running from the timberwolves. The place appeared to be abandoned, but that is exactly what the ponies wanted them to think.

As of now, Ponyville was on a lockdown; word had gotten out over the approaching humans, whom Kyle, Lyra, and Jan had claimed were two dangerous ones. The three had to quickly rush through Ponyville to warn everypony to stay inside with the doors and windows locked, and the curtains and blinds closed. Luckily, the Ponyvillians were required to practice lockdown drills once per month.

The two Richardsons had entered Ponyville, and by then, Lyra went straight back to her house in order to hide and send a message to Princess Celestia, which she would teleport to Canterlot Castle. She was grateful to be proficiently skilled with magic, but did not want all of the responsibility of being a student for Celestia herself.

Celestia had received Lyra's message, and knowing the threat that the two could pose, hastily prepared her carriage to take her to Ponyville in order to address the threat. Her magic would be sufficient for stopping two lesser humans, even if they were aggressive.

"We have no time to waste!" Celestia said to her escort guards. "We must get to Ponyville to ensure the safety of the residents from two rogue humans!"

Kyle had climbed a ladder through the gear mechanisms of the Ponyville clock tower, awaiting Ed and Danny in order to create a distraction that would hopefully buy them some time. He was peering around the small community through the belfry, keeping an eye out for his stepfamily. Eventually, he saw them wandering around, looking for any sign of activity.

"Well, this place is like a ghost town! There's no one here!" Danny said.

Kyle had blocked the door to the clock tower's maintenance entrance by placing the wooden board in place on the two hooks placed on either side of the door. A Unicorn could easily remove it if it had fallen without anypony inside... but Ed and Danny were not Unicorns.

This was the perfect chance, Kyle assumed. He stood up from his hiding place, and started hitting a steel rod he picked up against the bell. This made Ed and Danny look straight at the belfry, and they saw Kyle.

"Up here, ya two big fatass retards!" Kyle called.

The Richardsons eyes went wide and their jaws dropped upon the young man in the tower insulting them.

"Oh, you're a dead man! YOU'RE FUCKING DEAD!" Danny said.

"Get down from there so we can kick your ass!" Ed called up at Kyle.

"Nope!" Kyle said. "Why would I come down there when I'm quite comfortable up here? And it's quite symbolic, don't you think? I've moved UP in the world, while you two have become the shit people don't want in their lives! Why else would you end up in jail?"

Ed's eyes became scarily wide as he scrunched his lips in anger.

"Boy... you'd better get your skinny ass down here right now!" the overweight alcoholic man shouted.

Kyle raised a brow, smirking in a cocky manner. "...And just what are you gonna do about it if I don't?"

Without saying another word, Ed and Danny both rushed for the door to the clock tower in the back of the structure. They tried opeing it, but found that it was blocked. They both pounded on it, kicked it, and even slammed into it simultaneously... but even their combined weight at full speed did not achieve enough Newtons of force needed to break the wooden board that barricaded the door.

Kyle laughed as he watched this, especially when they grabbed their shoulders in pain from ramming the door. However, when he diverted his gaze from the two fools momentarily... he happened to notice a pile of steel pipes sitting on the belfry's platform. This gave him an idea...

He picked up a pipe and stood back upright to get another look at the two failing to open the door.

"Hey, jackasses!" Kyle called down, holding up the pipe for them to see. "Check this out! I got a present for you!"

With that, just as Ed and Danny looked up, Kyle hurled down the pipe with great force. The two jumped as it missed them and hit the ground.

"SHIT!" Ed shouted, looking at the area of the ground that the pipe struck, and then back up at Kyle. "YOU TRYING TO KILL ME, BOY!? HUH!?"

"Kinda, yeah!" Kyle said.

Ed glared. "Okay, y'know what!? Go ahead and toss your damn pipes down!"

Kyle, for once, was willing to comply with this order Ed gave him, and wasted no time to pick up another pipe and hurl it down. Once again, the two dodged, and were now more angry than ever.

"C'mon, queer! Throw another pipe at me!" Danny shouted.

Kyle happily obliged and threw another pipe at them.

This continued for a while, Kyle being unable to hit either of the two... and it bought enough time for the plan to work perfectly. Princess Celestia was arriving in her carriage right at that moment...

21. Salvation

Princess Celestia had made it to Ponyville, just like Kyle and Lyra had planned. Once the latter spotted the ruler of Equestria arrive in the small community, she signaled to Jan that it was effectively safe for them to come out.

"Let's head into the square, where the Princess is!" Lyra said.

"Okay... but I really hope those two haven't done anything to Kyle..." Jan said.

With that, the two made their way out of the sanctuary of Lyra's locked-up house and over to Celestia, who was busy examining the area.

"Your Highness!" Lyra said as she rushed up with Jan. "You got my letter?"

"I did. Where are they?" Celestia asked.

All of them sat silent for a moment... and began to hear some shouting in the distance.

"That's gotta be them!" Lyra said, heading off in the direction of the noise.

"Then let us make haste!" Celestia said.

Celestia, Lyra, and Jan all went in the direction of the Ponyville Clock Tower, where the sound was coming from, and all saw Ed and Danny pounding on the locked service door while shouting up at Kyle, who was in the belfry hurling steel pipes down at them without verbal retaliation.

"Well now..." Celestia said. "...it appears we have two unwelcome stowaways who decided to set foot in our world. I'll make short work of this."

The Princess stepped forward.

"CEASE THIS BALDERDASH AT ONCE!" Celestia said in her Royal Canterlot voice, which she had not used in a long time.

Immediately, the three at the clock tower stopped at looked straight at the Alicorn who had spoken. The two on the ground looked with immense shock at the majestic pony.

"Hey!" Ed shouted. "You don't go shoutin' at me like that!"

"Silence!" Celestia snapped.

The overweight, middle-aged man immediately went quiet. Lyra and Jan quickly came up from behind Celestia.

"I knew I'd find you here too!" Ed said upon seeing his former fiancée.

Jan glared. "You have no business following us! Just learn to let go of the past already!"

"I'll never let it go!" Ed shouted. "You up and leave me, and force me to feed and shelter your little mutant!?"

Jan gritted her teeth.

"One, my son is not a 'mutant'! Two, let's not forget that you were paying some crooked lawyer to prevent me from assuming sole custody, and with MY money, no less!" she said.

"That's not the issue here!" Ed said.

"The faggot deserved to be away from you!" Danny added.

"ENOUGH ALREADY!" Lyra raised her voice.

Everyone went silent staring at the mint-green Unicorn, who walked straight up to Ed and Danny. The two madmen assumed a boxing-stance, but Lyra was able to throw them several meters out of the way with a telekinetic blast. She then stood at the base of the clock tower. That's when her human lover in the tower noticed her below.

"I'm coming down!" Kyle called.

With that, he jumped from the belfry.

"I gotcha!" Lyra said, using her magic to levitate Kyle down.

It removed all of his momentum and she brought him safely to the ground on his feet.

"So, this is what it all comes to..." Kyle began. "...me and my mother escape to the world that the love of my life came from, and of all people to come, it's you two!"

"Because you need to learn a lesson! I've had it with your disrespectin' me!" Ed shouted.

"I disrespect you? You disrespect me all the time!" Kyle retaliated.

"How?" Ed asked.

Kyle's jaw dropped at his ignorance.

" 'How'?" he asked. "Because you don't listen to me! You don't let me do what I want to do!"

"Because that's the real world!" Ed said. "You don't get to do any of the things you want to do! You need to WORK! That's the whole point of living in the first place! You spend your life helping the world by working!"

"Alright, I believe we have heard enough!" Celestia said.

The Princess took a breath to calm herself from losing her temper.

"Now..." she spoke again. "...given the circumstances that have arose out of this dilemma... and knowing what happened fourteen days prior, which equates to seven days in the human universe... I believe there could be a solution that will benefit us all."

Everyone present listened curiously.

"What it is, Princess?" Lyra asked.

"Well..." Celestia began. "...I know that you and your mother wanted to come to this world, Kyle. However, what I have in mind will involve... you having to permanently leave behind your old life. Would you be willing to go through with this?"

Kyle had a feeling of what Celestia was speaking of... and it was something he had been fantasizing about ever since he became a brony.

"Absolutely!" he said just before looking to his mother. "What do you think, Mom?"

Jan looked at the ground, darting her eyes about horizontally. She seemed fairly uncertain about the proposal... but there was also a glimmer of... hope, in her eyes...

"Well, to be honest..." she began. "...I can already tell that I would love to live here... not to mention that I've wanted to leave my old life behind for the past ten years..."

"So, is that a 'yes'...?" Celestia asked.

After a moment, Jan looked up at the Alicorn and nodded.

"Yes, I want to go through with it." she said.

"Alright..." Celestia said. "...and Lyra, I would like your help to do this."

Lyra tilted her head. "You want me to help?"

"Of course. I can sense the immense magical power that you hold inside your horn. It will be of great help to me in what I'll do to our four human visitors. For two of them, it will be a blessing, and for the other two... it will be potentially a great punishment!" Celestia said.

"Okay, so..." Lyra began. "...what is it?"

Celestia bent down and whispered something into Lyra's ear. The latter looked surprised at first, but then a great smile appeared on her face. Once Celestia stood back straight up, Lyra looked at her with this expression.

"Your Highness... that's perfect!" Lyra said.

"So, are you ready?" Celestia said.

Danny rasped. "Fuck this... I'm outta here!" he said.

"Oh no you don't!" Lyra said, charging magic in her horn, pointing it straight at him.

"What are you gonna do, Lyra?" Kyle asked.

Lyra's lip curled upward on one side. "You'll see, sweetie..."

With that, both Celestia and Lyra powered up their horns, both of them glowing gold, except Celestia's was a lighter shade than Lyra's. A golden glow appeared around Kyle, Jan, Danny, and Ed as all four of them began to levitate upward.

"Huh?" Jan uttered, looking down.

"Hey, what's up with this shit?" Danny asked.

Kyle, realizing what was about to happen, began to chuckle.

"Oh-hoh-hoooooh...!" Kyle laughed. "Looks like you two are in for a big change...!"

"What?" Both Ed and Danny asked simultaneously.

Small jets of light were rapidly swirling around the four, slowly converging on them, the light getting brighter all the while. Kyle looked excited, Jan looked anxious (in both a good and bad way), and Ed and Danny both looked annoyed. Eventually, the light became too bright to look at, forcing Celestia and Lyra to close their eyes.

While this happened, a strange sensation was spreading through Kyle's body... it was not like anything he ever felt before, but it was not unpleasant, either... he could feel his level of awareness to the surrounding environment rapidly dropping... it felt like he was quickly falling asleep...

Eventually, the light went out, and what Lyra saw upon opening her eyes made her intake a massive gasp. Levitating where the four humans had once been... were three stallions and one mare. It seemed that what Celestia had said to her actually came true...

...They had been successfully turned into ponies! All four of them had their eyes closed, as the intense magic of the transformation had rendered them unconscious. They slowly drifted back to the ground, where the glow around them went out and they laid gently on the grass.

Borderline ecstatic, Lyra made her way over to the stallion whom she knew, from the general appearance and his cutie mark, was Kyle. She gently nudged him, and he let out a groan as his eyelids flickered.

"...A-aah..." the stallion uttered in Kyle's voice, just before looking up at the Unicorn above him. "...L-Lyra..."

"Kyle..." Lyra said, smiling as tears filled her eyes, and then hugging the stallion. "...oh, that was so beautiful!"

"Huh...?" Kyle asked, looking around to see three other ponies whom he had not seen before.

Standing up, he immediately recalled what happened mere seconds ago as the three other newly-transformed ponies woke up and stood. He looked at where his hand should be... and saw that it was replaced with a pony hoof. His eyes went wide and a big smile appeared on his face.

"Oh, wow!" Kyle said, staring in awe at his new form. "It worked! We're ponies now!"

The four continued to examine their new bodies. Kyle was the most enthusiastic about it.

"Let's see here... got hooves... got a tail... oh, even a paintbrush cutie mark! Neat!" he remarked.

He reached for his back, but felt no wings. This confirmed that he was not a Pegasus. However, when he reached up to his forehead and felt the solid cranial appendage...

"...Even more neat! I'm a Unicorn!" Kyle said.

Jan was examining herself in a mixture of joy and confusion. She was now a Unicorn with a light gray hide that had a hint of blue, a henna mane and tail, and a frying pan cutie mark.

"Well... I have always liked horses... but, I never thought I would one day become a horse..." she said.

"What the fuck...?" Danny said, staring in horror at his ponified form. "...What the actual fuck...?"

Ed was gritting his teeth as his cartoonish eyes constricted.

"You all think this is funny!?" he thundered. "You like makin' me look like a literal jackass! Change me back RIGHT NOW!"

Ed and Danny were both Earth Ponies... and very bulky ones at that. Danny had yellow hide, periwinkle mane and tail, and a video game controller for a cutie mark. Ed was brick-red with a gray mane and tail, and a beer bottle cutie mark. Kyle could not help but chuckle at their embarrassing "special talents".

"Well, well..." Kyle said. "...looks like this is what your mistreatment of both me and my mother has culminated to!"

"Seriously... why are we girly pony horses now!? WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS ABOUT!?" Danny asked.

Kyle gave an evil smile. "...Retribution!" he said.

"Yes," Celestia said. "like I said before... it is a blessing for you two, Janet and Kyle... and it is a punishment for the other two."

"NO!" Ed shouted. "You'd better change us back right now!"

With that, he tried to dart for Celestia to attack her... but the Princess was quick to react and conjured a forcefield prison that trapped him. She had made one for Danny as well.

"Now..." Celestia said. "...what are we going to do with you two?"

Kyle was pondering for a moment... and then the perfect idea hit him.

"Ah, I got it!" he said. "Princess... do you think you could have your guards keep an eye on these two, and then escort them into Ponyville Square after I make some... preparations?"

Celestia nodded. "That will certainly not be an issue for me."

"Great! I'll be right back!" Kyle said, rushing into Ponyville.

It seemed like the ponies were now spreading the word that the lockdown was now over, since Princess Celestia had arrived. Kyle hoped he could find just the pony he was looking for... and after a bit of searching, he did.

“Pinkie Pie!” Kyle said.

The pink Earth Pony looked up as he approached.

“Don't worry, Kyle... I won't bother you anymore...” she said.

Kyle raised a brow. "How did you know it was me...?"

"I'm Pinkie Pie." Pinkie said. "I know practically everything that goes on around here!"

Oh, right... I forgot about that part of her character. Kyle thought.

Ponyville's party animal was about to walk away when he stopped her.

“Actually...” Kyle began. “...I could use your help with something!”

“Ooh! Like what?” Pinkie asked.

Kyle whispered something in her ear, and eventually, a very wide, big grin appeared on Pinkie's face.

“So... think you can do it?” Kyle asked.

“Consider it done five minutes ago!” Pinkie said.

With that, the pink party pony quickly dashed off to Sugarcube Corner to get what she would require. Kyle smirked in a smug manner.

"This is gonna be quite a feat for them to remember..." he said to himself, chuckling afterwards.

Author's Note

Credit for the OC pony sprites goes to the Pony Creator flash game on DeviantArt made by "generalzoi". And yes, the pony with Lyra in the title card is Kyle, so in a way, the title card was a spoiler. XD

22. Retribution

Ed and Danny were being escorted by the Royal Guard into the square of Ponyville, just as Celestia had instructed of them. The four guards surrounded the two prisoners for their impending doom. Once they had made it to the square, they had found that there were a couple of ponies joining a outdoor party that appeared to have been rapidly set up. Several more in the distance were noticing and deciding to join in on the potential fun... and the doom of the two former humans.

At that moment, Pinkie Pie bounced over to the two prisoners being escorted by the guards.

"You can stand behind them now!" Pinkie said to the guards.

They complied and let Pinkie take it from there. Ed and Danny were both completely dumbstruck at what was going on, and thoroughly creeped out by that wide grin the pink pony had.

"Who the hell are you?" Ed asked.

"My name's Pinkie Pie!" Pinkie introduced herself. "I love to throw parties and give everypony a fun time!"

" 'Everypony'?" Danny asked. "You mean 'everybody'..."

But Pinkie was not listening.

“Are you ready to have the most awesomest, funnest, bestest 'Hello-and-Goodbye' party ever!?” Pinkie said, enthusiastically.

“NO!” Ed shouted.

“Get out of here, you little pink punching-bag!” Danny said.

Pinkie's eyes went wide. “Ooh, we got some party-poopers here! Let's fix that right up and put some smiles on those faces!”

Ed and Danny were both about to make a break for it, but the crowd of ponies blocked any conceivable path that they could take out.

"HIT IT!" Pinkie shouted to the hired band.

They did as she asked and began to play an upbeat tune. The ponies attending the party all began to subtly dance to the rhythm, while Pinkie herself bounced to it, and started singing.

"We welcome you to Ponyville,
where friends hang out all day!
I'm sure that you both will,
have the best time, I say!"

With remarkable speed and precision, Pinkie dashed back and forth out of sight, passing by the two "victims" each time and adding an article of silly apparel to them. Ed got a party hat, glasses with fake eyebrows, nose, and mustache, and a large, colorful bow-tie on his neck. Danny ended up getting a clown wig, a ruffle collar, and a pair of neon-colored cowboy-style boots on his hooves.

Numerous ponies were chuckling silently at the ridiculous sight of the two. Kyle and Lyra snorted and snickered in delight as they watched the utter humiliation of the cruel stepfamily. Pinkie started doing cartwheels around them as she continued to sing.

"All you need are some good friends,
who will help you all they can!
If you fight, you make amends,
so you, they will not ban!"

Ed and Danny were trying to pull off the party garments that Pinkie had adorned them in... but for some reason, they were unable to remove them. They were struggling, almost like they had been attached to their skin. All they could do was watch as the ponies all laughed at them... and they happened to hear the familiar laugh of their stepfamily member and his wife...

"SHUT UP!" Danny shouted at Kyle.

"I swear, boy... when I get my hands on you..." Ed muttered.

“C'mon!” Pinkie said. “Turn those frownsies upside-downsies!”

"You just shut your face! You're gonna pay for super-gluing this shit on me!" Danny said.

"That's right!" Ed shouted. "You better stay the hell back!"

“Aw... they're not having fun!” Pinkie said, still enthusiastic as ever. “They're not happy, which means they're so sad!”

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UUUUUUUUUUUP!" Danny shouted. "I'm done with this stupid, fucking party! I'm done with this crap getup! I'm done listening to this horrible bubblegum pop garbage-y badness!"

“You know what...?” Pinkie said, approaching Ed and Danny on her hind legs, her forelegs spread wide. “...I think you both just need a big hug to feel all better!”

“STOP!” Danny shouted. “GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME, YOU PUSSY-PINK PISSBOWL!”

The two Richardsons tried to make a break by pushing their way through the crowd of ponies... and were immediately apprehended by the guards whom they forgot about. They wrestled the two to the ground and shackled their hooves, forcing them away from the area. Pinkie stood by watching as this happened.

"Boy... what a couple of sadsacks! I didn't even get to finish my song!" she remarked. "Oh well! Their loss! That just means MORE FUN FOR THE REST OF US!"

With that, the rest of the ponies continued the party, despite it having no more actual purpose. Jan decided to stick around, since she was in the mood for some social interaction... but Kyle and Lyra decided to slip away and see what was to become of their enemies...

The guards roughly threw the two prisoners down in front of Princess Celestia, who gave both of them a cold glare as they sat with their faces pressed against the ground, their forelegs bound behind their backs.

"So..." she began. "...now you know what happens when you try to ruin the peace and friendship that keeps Equestria in perfect balance! Have you learned your lesson...?"

Ed snarled. "Don't give us that whole 'peace and friendship' hippy bullshit..."

Celestia bit the inside of her lips for a moment... but dispelled her anger momentarily.

"Now... what shall we do with the both of you?" she asked.

"...Get the hell away from us!" Danny shouted.

Just as the Princess was about to raise her voice at them, she happened to spot Kyle and Lyra approaching.

"Oh, there you are!" she said. "So, how did your little welcoming committee handle the situation?"

"Well, they definitely got some good Pinkie Pie Punishment! But... it wasn't enough, I regret to say." Lyra said.

"So... what do you plan to do with them now?" Kyle asked.

The Alicorn pondered for a moment... and then she narrowed her eyes while smiling at Kyle.

“Well... since you are now able to use magic, Kyle...” Celestia said, smirking and raising a brow in Ed and Danny's direction. “...I'll let you and Lyra deal with these two impudent foals.”

"Really? Hm..." Kyle trailed off briefly. "...I wonder..."

"What do you have in mind, sweetie?" Lyra asked.

Kyle was deep in thought for a moment, Celestia stepping back and ordering her guards to do the same, so that he could have his way with the two who abused him for far too long. They were repeatedly yelling insults at all of them, but none of them paid any mind to the two captives. Finally, Kyle's eyes lit up with an idea.

"I know exactly what to do with them! Especially now that they're like this!" he said.

"What is it?" Lyra asked.

"Well, I think we should..." Kyle said, just before he leaned close to Lyra and whispered something in her ear.

At first, Lyra's eyes went wide, and then she smiled greatly as her eyes gained an evil expression. Kyle leaned away after he finished telling her what he wanted to do with his stepfamily.

“Together?” Lyra asked.

Kyle nodded.

“Together.” he said. “Let's send these two bastards to their rightful place, shall we?”

So, the two of them closed their eyes, and touched their glowing horns at the tips.

“Okay, y'know what? Fuck this shit!” Ed shouted.

He tried to rush for Kyle and Lyra... but he was stopped short as a spherical shield appeared him. With their eyes still closed and their horns touching, a light blue glow outlined Kyle and Lyra's bodies as they slowly began to levitate upward. The point where their horns made contact began to glow brighter, a ball of white light.

Ed and Danny were trapped in their own forcefields. They tried hitting and kicking at them to no avail.

“I said 'fuck this shit'! Let us out RIGHT NOW!” Ed shouted.

“C'mon, pussies!” Danny added. “Let us out of these things and fight like real people! Otherwise, you're just pussies!”

The young stallion and mare, both locked in a trance by their powerful magic, did not hear the insults of the former's stepfamily... but Kyle opened his eyes briefly and gave an evil smile at the Richardsons.

"...Cheers, motherfuckers!" he whispered, his voice magically amplified within the forcefields.

There was a bright flash of light... and the two relentless Earth Ponies were gone. Kyle and Lyra slowly drifted back to the ground, where their glow went out. They opened their eyes and separated their horns. They looked at the scene... and became very joyful to see nothing left.

"It worked!" Kyle said, triumphantly. "It actually worked! THEY'RE GONE FOR GOOD!"

“Wow!” Celestia remarked. “That was impressive! You two combined your magic to create a spell powerful enough to transport them back to where they came?”

"Yes." Lyra said. "I know that I'm quite skilled with magic on my own... but only with Kyle's help was I ever even remotely able to do something like that!"

"Well, all's well that ends well." Kyle said.

"So... where did you send them?" Celestia asked.

Kyle pursed his lips. "Well... let's just say, they're gonna have to be running away for the rest of their lives! But it's absolutely no concern of mine! Heheheh..."

"Ugh..." Danny said, disoriented. "...why do I feel like... like I just got off a crazy rollercoaster...?"

"I dunno... agh, why's it so dark!?" Ed said.

Kyle and Lyra had teleported Ed and Danny back to the human world, and in a random location. However... they were still in pony form. If that wasn't bad enough... the area they were in was cramped and dark, but not for long. A light came on, revealing the area to be the inside of an RV in the dead of night, and the light was turned on by a young man in a shabby shirt and faded denim overalls.

“Hey, Pa!” the teen said in a heavy Southern accent over his shoulder. “We got sum alien mules what got in the house!”

In just a moment, a man with a plaid shirt and camo pants, as well as an overgrown beard, entered the room to see the two humans-turned-ponies.

“Alien mules?” the bearded man said. “Hand me dat shovel, sonnie!”

The son did just that as the man began to rush Ed and Danny, swinging the shovel and striking the floor and walls as he missed, but managing to land a few blows.

"Yeah, get 'em, Pa! Get 'em!" the teen cheered on.

"Agh!" Ed shouted as he got struck in the flank.

"OWWWW...!" Danny screamed upon getting hit over the back.

This beating continued for quite a while... until the two miraculously managed to escape through the screen door by breaking through it.

Later that evening, Kyle, Lyra, and Jan all decided to head out to the local cafe for dinner. They were all so happy that the people who tormented them for so long were now truly out of their lives.

"And, you combined your magic to send them back as ponies?" Jan asked.

"Yeah!" Lyra said. "I could only imagine the hell that's happening to them as we speak..."

All three of them laughed.

"So, Mom..." Kyle began. "...you know that we could go back too, if you want. Celestia could turn us back into humans... and we could continue our old lives... is that what you want?"

Jan looked around for a moment... but shook her head.

"Absolutely not!" she said. "I've changed my mind completely! Equestria... Equestria is the perfect place to live! I will stay here until the day I die."

Kyle smiled. "Well, I'm glad to see that you're finally comfortable here."

They had finished paying for their meal, and decided to head off back to Lyra's house... but Kyle decided to stay out for a bit to get some air.

Kyle was walking around the outskirts of the small town, just taking in the peaceful atmosphere of the night. The air was cool and crisp, and the light of the stars made everything look mysterious, yet beautiful. It was a nice, warm night, and there was little to no wind, which made his walk all the more pleasant.

He still had not fully grasped the fact that his old, mundane, and torturous life was now over... however, he was slowly allowing that fact to sink in. Kyle was absolutely thrilled at the idea of finally beginning a new, happy life with his family. They could all finally be at peace.

"So glad to finally get away from that horrible world I was born into..." he said to himself.

He thought he could not be any happier... but there was something that would definitely break that scale in a few moments time...

There was a glowing cyan light in the sky, and when Kyle looked up at it... he saw that it faded into the large form of a pony. It was a Pegasus stallion with a briefcase cutie mark, cyan hide, and a short blue mane and tail. His eyes, however... they were the exact same color as Kyle's.

The stallion smiled down at him, briefly closing his eyes and nodding once. At this point, smiling himself with tears filling his eyes, Kyle had finally realized who it was...

"...Dad." he said out loud, quietly but clearly.

Kyle had come to fully realize that his father was never truly gone, even when his death came about. He had been watching over him this whole time... even across dimensions...

...and there was no doubt that the spirit of the deceased stallion was so proud of how far his son had come.

A little while later, Kyle decided to head on back to Lyra's place. After seeing his father for the first time in fifteen years... he was saddened after recalling that he was gone, but also happy that he was also still around. His physical body was dead... but his spirit, his ego, would live on forever and always be with his son.

Kyle opened the door to Lyra's house, and both of the mares inside happened to notice the tears streaming down his face, but also appearing simultaneously happy.

"Kyle?" Lyra asked. "Are you okay?"

"Well... while I was out walking... there was a glowing light field in the sky, and..." Kyle trailed off, looking at the ground.

Jan tilted her head. "...Yes?"

Kyle looked back up at her, smiling again despite tears in his eyes.

"...I saw Dad." he said.

Jan's eyes went wide. "You... you saw William?"

"His spirit, yes..." Kyle said. "...he was a Pegasus pony... but I know it was him."

Jan stood up and walked over to her son. She placed a hoof on his shoulder.

"...I'm glad you know that he'll always be with us." she said, just before hugging him.

Kyle hugged his mother back. Lyra had decided to come over and join for a group-hug, wrapping her forelegs around both of them. All of their years of misery were behind them, and they all had high hopes for a better future...

23. Old World, New World

Shortly after Ed and Danny had been banished back to the human world, Kyle and Jan went through the process of being sworn into Equestria as official citizens. There was a bit of paperwork that they had to fill out at Canterlot, but after watching the show a few years back, Kyle was quite familiar with the customs of Equestria, and he was able to fill everything in perfectly. His mother, however, needed a bit of his help when it came to studying the answers for the Equestrian Citizenship Questionnaire.

They also both decided to settle on getting new names that would better fit the world they were in, Jan especially agreeing to do so after hearing so many... exotic names of the ponies. Kyle decided to use his internet alias, xXx_Abstraction_xXx, as his new name, omitting the additional characters, and simply going by Abstraction. Jan, noting that her cutie mark was a frying pan, simply settled for the name Pan Fry.

"Now, you are certain that you are ready to be fully committed into serving as Equestrian civilians until the day you die?" Celestia asked both of them.

"Yes." Kyle, now Abstraction, responded.

"Yes." Jan, now Pan Fry, also replied.

Celestia smiled, closed her eyes, and nodded a single time.

"Then, it is from this day forward that you, Kyle Jonathan Schaeffer, are now Abstraction, Unicorn citizen of Equestria, and you, Janet Allison Rhodes-Schaeffer, are now Pan Fry, Unicorn citizen of Equestria. So, consider this your official welcome to our kingdom." Celestia said, smiling warmly.

Abstraction had finally gotten the sense of closure he had been yearning for all this time; to finally become a citizen of Equestria. There was no doubt in his mind that he was ready to leave everything in his old world behind. Well... almost everything...

"Um... Princess..." Abstraction spoke up.

"Yes?" Celestia asked.

"See..." he began. "...I made quite a living for myself back where I came from... and have saved up quite a fortune. So... I would really hate for it all to go to waste, so... is it possible to, maybe... convert American Dollars into Equestrian Bits?"

The Princess of Equestria pondered for a moment... but she eventually nodded.

"...I think it could be done." Celestia said.

"Great!" Abstraction said. "I'll just give you my account and routing number for my bank, and let you take it from there."

Shortly after he gave Celestia the information she would need, she proceeded to the portal room, where she sat in a meditation pose, charging her horn as the portal platform itself began to glow.

"This shouldn't take long..." she said to herself.

An accountant in an Atlanta location of Wells Fargo was busy running some checkups on the accounts of their clients. They would move subtly up or down as clients withdrew and deposited cash. Everything looked normal... except...

She happened to notice that one of the few millionaire they had was having their account depleted of cash.

"Oh my...!" she said, looking closely at the number as it continued to plummet.

The account, from what she could observe, belonged to Kyle Schaeffer.

"...Wh-what in the name of...?" the accountant said, pulling her glasses up away from her face as she saw the rapidly-falling number in Kyle Schaeffer's checking and savings accounts.

She immediately dropped everything she was doing and rushed to inform her supervisor of the apparent problem. Little did any of them know that it was all intended for good purposes. Abstraction would get his money in Equestria, and it would help to slightly reduce inflation in the area.

However, the humans, oblivious to the existence of Equestria, regarded this as one of the worst cases of identity theft that had occurred at the bank. As such, they rushed a letter over to Kyle Schaeffer's former address.

Mr. Schaeffer,

We are sending you this notice via rush mail to report an extreme emergency; your bank account appears to have been hacked and wiped clean of all money.

A report has been filed to the local police, and we have submitted this information to special investigators who will look into the matter. In the meantime, we are going to attempt to find a way to partially reimburse you. A full refund is impractical, given the amount you had saved up.

We recommend you change any saved passwords you have and encrypt them, and start putting together an emergency budget, since we don't know how long it could take to track down the hacker who breached our system. We will be taking steps to drastically increase our security and login measures and make sure that nothing like this happens again.

We are praying for you,

Linda Howell,
Wells Fargo Teller.

It was, however, a note that would never reach its intended recipient...

Despite a great deal of effort being put into the forensic investigation... the ethical hackers, special investigators, and other authorities involved found no sign of a data breach. It was as if all of the electronic currency had been deleted by code in the bank's server system that never existed, which proved very puzzling...

...but what was even more puzzling was the fact that nobody could make contact with Kyle Schaeffer himself...

Abstraction was continuing his freelance artist career in Equestria, which really took off much faster than it did in his native world. Through the Equestrian equivalent of the internet, known as the PonyNet, he joined several art communities, showing off his work, and having numerous ponies around Equestria and beyond requesting commissions from him. Soon enough, he began making quite a lot of income once more, adding to what he already had in the millions. He also bought himself a lavish property in Canterlot, one that looked remarkably similar to the mansion he had back in the human world.

Eventually, he and Lyra decided to get married for real. It did not take long to make preparations, because their wedding had no ceremony and was very small; they were only doing it in the Canterlot Courthouse in front of a few witnesses, since neither of them felt like going all out and becoming the center of attention. The pastor recited the usual lines, and the witnesses consisted of Bon Bon, Noteworthy, and a few other ponies whom Lyra was acquainted with.

However... both of them could definitely agree that tying the knot for real... was the best decision they ever made in their lives.

Abstraction donated a portion of his money to his mother, who wanted to start her own chain of gourmet restaurants. With the money, along with an additional loan from the Equestrian National Bank, she started off by opening up a single restaurant in Canterlot, with her serving as the head chef. Her business was proving to be quite successful, as she had gotten many regulars, and her restaurant got excellent reviews. It got to the point where she decided to start a chain across Equestria, with the main location being in Canterlot, where she helped out with the cooking a lot, and caused many tourists to stop by her restaurant when visiting Canterlot; to have a dish made by Pan Fry, the owner of the chain, herself.

Of course, Lyra had really wanted for Abstraction to stay at her house... but he tried to explain that being in Canterlot was the only way he could continue making six-figure income; it was far more appealing to art enthusiasts than Ponyville was, he reluctantly had to admit. However, he came up with a compromise.

Abstraction decided to start putting all the money he earned into a joint account that Lyra could access, since they were married. And he also said that she could live in their Canterlot house to visit him, and live in their Ponyville house when she wanted to visit her friends. Plus, he would come to visit her whenever he got the chance while she was in Ponyville.

However... Lyra had been experimenting with her magic, and had made quite a big discovery, which made one of her first visits to Abstraction's home in Canterlot all the more important. The first thing that signaled her presence to him was the frantic knocking on the door.

"Woah, Ly... what's up with you today? I'm trying to spend some time with my mother!" Abstraction said after he opened the door for her.

"There's something I need to show you!" Lyra said, pushing her way in.

Abstraction narrowed his eyes. "What is it?"

"Well... see..." Lyra spoke up. "...I figured out a way to see beyond dimensions... and into the future... and, what I saw back in your world... it is huge...!"

"Oh, really?" Abstraction asked, tilting his head.

Lyra nodded. "...And it's all about you, Abby!"

The stallion internally cringed, because "Abby" was, of course, a female name where he came from, but Lyra had taken to calling him it as a nickname, and he just couldn't say no to her. However, he was also instantly curious as to what she meant by it.

At that moment, Pan Fry came into the room.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Well, apparently, Lyra has big news for us." Abstraction said.

Lyra nodded eagerly. "Yeah, and it's all about your son!"

"Oh, is that so?" Jan asked.

"So... what is it about me that's so important?" Abstraction asked.

"I'll show you..." Lyra said, just before she began to perform a spell.

She conjured a Viewing Portal that allowed them to view any point in spacetime, and sent its perspective to the human world, showing different locations, as well as points in the near-future. What was to come next would really blow the two former humans' minds.

It turned out even though Abstraction was gone from his native world... he had not left without leaving a mark. And quite a big one, too...

For weeks after his disappearance, his online fanbase had been messaging the accounts that would never be logged into again, requesting him for commissions. After months, they had began to get worried, posting things like “hey u still around” or “u gonna paint somethin 4 me”. After years, everyone gave up hope of reaching him, and posts consisted of “hes been offline for 2 years now” or “i think he might be dead” or “rip abstraction”.

The fans were so upset over his disappearance, they began to scour to find information about him, and through various sources from art shows, they discovered that Kyle Schaeffer was the real identity of “xXx_Abstraction_xXx”. They learned that he had been declared legally missing after utility and mortgage payments were not being made, and no one was able to contact him.

Eventually, after seven years, Kyle, as well as his mother, were both declared legally dead. Through Reddit and other social media platforms, the fanbase decided to hold a funeral at an art show in Georgia. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people attended the fan-made funeral. It was even being televised on international TV.

There were various artists and commission clients who all stepped to the podium to offer their respects to Kyle. Even some art university professors attended and gave their speeches on behalf of Kyle's “demise”.

Following the funeral, he was absolutely everywhere on the media. On television, in the papers, on the radio, various websites, billboard ads, and even biographical movies and books, all of which had information from... unorthodox sources. But of course, they all left out one major thing... and that was the existence of Lyra Heartstrings.

There were many celebrities, news reporters, and talk-show hosts who always liked to pay tribute to Kyle through televised programming about events that were the result of inspiration by his art, and the people with whom he was involved.

“It was through his new, abstract, artistic style that new architecture designs have been created, movies are taking on new art, as well as video games, even fiction bookwriters have been immensely inspired by the new art style that had been conceived by freelance artist, Kyle Schaeffer. Though he is now presumed to be gone, his legacy will not be forgotten by the massive, international fanbase he had created and captivated for years. Millions of new artists, writers, and composers from around the world, all inspired by the work of Kyle Schaeffer, have began publishing their work on a scale so massive, it repeatedly caused servers worldwide to crash from an overloaded client.”

“Yeah, I was a big fan of his work, and apparently lots of other students from my university were as well. His work inspired me to enter into an art program and start an art club at my old school, and from what I hear, it's now a fairly major organization at the school. Also, this seems to be happening a lot at other schools as well. It sounds like millions of people around the world are hearing about him and being inspired by his unique art style.”

“Engineering students from the University of Harvard have created a new method of building construction, based on a circular line pattern in a painting made by internet artist xXx_Abstraction_xXx, otherwise known as the now-supposedly-deceased Kyle Schaeffer. The design of structure supports, although unorthodox, has demonstrated the ability to be more effective than current building designs. Many construction companies have come to see the beams' stress demonstration comparison, and are looking at getting this style widespread in modern construction. This could, in turn, lead to reduced unemployment rates and boosted local economies on a nationwide level. Perhaps even worldwide, one day. A majority of future architecture for new buildings, from skyscrapers to small houses, could benefit from this new engineering design. They have decided to name this building method the 'Schaeffer Arch Beam' layout.”

“No doubt, people from all over the world have been inspired by his art. He has influenced so much change in, not just the world of modern art, but the modern world as a whole. His interactions and acceptance of artwork commissions from citizens of various nations, including China, Russia, and even Middle East countries, has demonstrated a lasting effect on the people of the internet. Friendships are being made worldwide through the communities he has spawned, foreign pen pals numbers have increased by one-hundred and seventy percent, sanctions from world nations are dropping, and even ongoing wars have been stopped via ceasefire.”

“These human relationships that his commission art platform started has helped to dissolve diplomatic tensions of nations with whom America has had previously icy relations. The President himself was astonished to know that Kyle Schaeffer was able to peacefully bring the people of the internet together in a way that would take a gigantic leap towards world peace. For all anyone could know, Schaeffer may have indirectly prevented future wars, and created a path towards future peace agreements that could unite the world as a whole one day.”

“We can see that these connections Schaeffer has created among online communities has spread the word among non-internet users, and it ultimately forced the people of the world nations to speak out to their governments, and to try and put forth the effort to stop conflict with other countries. Ambassadors have been sent from various countries to foreign nations, and it has all been mostly successful. World conflict rates have dropped immensely, unlike anything seen in history. The most noteworthy exception is North Korea, whom many nations have ordered sanctions against after Kim Jong-un made threats against their world leaders for allying with the United States, and he even went so far as to call Schaeffer 'The Devil's Paintbrush'.”

“I really regret that Schaeffer could not live to see how his small actions set off the Butterfly Effect for one of the best changes we've seen in world nations, all through the powerful tool that is the worldwide web. He seemed like a good young man, and he had a bright future. Even though world leaders can change things at will, sometimes it's the little people who make the BIGGEST impacts on the world, as they are often not forseen. Without his efforts on the internet... our world might still be heavily fragmented.”

“Kyle Schaeffer can only be described as an internet artist who was able to transform the world! And it's truly a shame that he will never be able to live life to the fullest...”

“He was just an artist behind a computer screen... working in the shadows... who single-handedly took our world one GIGANTIC step closer towards an international utopia, and greater use of artistic sense in construction, music, electronic media, and other things on which society sets its focus. He will be missed.”

To think they all thought he was dead. And, in a way, he is. The life of Kyle Schaeffer is over, and he has been reborn into the Unicorn pony, Abstraction. He really felt like he was betraying the world by disappearing... but came to grips that he could not go back. A matter that he could wholeheartedly accept. Despite all the praise the world was giving him... there were the few who did not believe he deserved it. Mainly, it was people from his past...

“He has created a bad image for our company. He could've changed the world in the same way if he stayed working with us, and maybe even better than how is currently is. Because he would've helped to provide excellent service to millions of customers over the course of his career with Kroger, but he just gave it all up, and went about humiliating us with it all.” Kyle's former manager from Kroger said in an interview.

“Granted, he was different from all the other kids, but that did not excuse his poor level of attention and concentration. He always had his head in the clouds, he never seemed enthusiastic about school, and he was just a slacker. I don't see why he should be getting praise just for painting. That's not a skill that applies in the real world!” one of Kyle's former teachers said.

“Oh, I remember him when I was trying to do my regular shopping at Kroger! He was such a nuisance, and I can't believe they would hire someone who doesn't even show the LEAST bit of concern about the customers! He was making my life difficult by not accepting my coupon because it was 'already used by another coupon I had'! He needed to learn more respect and courtesy for the people who shopped there! He should've been fired and blacklisted! He should NOT HAVE BECOME FAMOUS FOR GETTING AWAY WITH THIS KIND OF S[BEEP]T! He lived and died as a bad person, and he will suffer in Hell for all eternity for it!” a Kroger regular said to a reporter, just before the feed cut off.

“He SUCKS! He didn't 'create world peace' or 'become the internet art-god'! It's someone else, not him! Schaeffer was a piece of S[BEEP]T who didn't have the right to come out of his mom's p[BEEP]! And y'know what? I'm GLAD that piece of s[BEEP]t is dead! He was a—” one of Kyle's middle-school bullies said in a televised interview, before the feed again cut off.

The Viewing Portal simply dissolved into a blank vortex as Lyra stopped having it perceive, leaving the young stallion and his mother in total surprise and awe at what they had just witnessed.

"See what I told you?" Lyra asked. "I meant it when I said it was big!"

“So... everything I did... it set off the Butterfly Effect... and it led to greater international cooperation, and civilization improvements...” Abstraction said, still staring at the magical energy field in awe.

He lowered his plot to the floor, and sat as his eyes fell in the same direction, where they stared at his pondering forehooves.

“...I never even thought any of this could happen... hell, I never even intended for it to happen...” Abstraction said.

It was so much for him to take in; he did not believe that he had the capacity to change the world in such a way. However... his mother felt different. She was no longer shocked by the revelation, but rather... impressed. She placed a hoof on her son's shoulder, and he looked up at her.

“You see how much you changed the world? Remember those times when you were younger when you felt bad about yourself every time you failed something, claiming you were worthless?” Pan Fry asked. “Well... just look at what your calling has done for our world! I can't even begin to express how proud I am of you!”

Abstraction smiled. "Thanks, Mom."

“So... do you want to go back now?” Lyra asked. “Do you want all the fame and glory you worked so hard to create? You want a hero's welcome?”

Abstraction pondered for a moment, but shrugged.

“Meh, our world's got enough heroes...” he said. “...one less wouldn't hurt. I'm just happy to know what my work and connections have done.”

Lyra closed the Viewing Portal, and then she walked over to Abstraction and placed a hoof on his shoulder.

"Well, I think it goes to show that, if you can do something like that in your original world, just imagine what you could do here in Equestria!" she said.

Abstraction would not, of course, consciously try to "save the world" or "become the god of a new world". All he wanted was to live a modest lifestyle with his beautiful wife. However, no matter what would happen as a result of his passion, he would ultimately embrace it and accept it as it came. In any case, he hoped that he could become extremely iconic throughout the world of Equus.

"Well, in any case, since you're here, Lyra... you wanna head out and do something? I'm not working on any commission pieces at the moment." Abstraction said.

Lyra pondered. "Well... maybe we could have a quick cup of tea, and maybe go window-shopping and see a movie later?"

"That sounds good!" Pan Fry said.

With that, the three went off on their way, living their lives to the fullest, and would continue to do so for years to come, no longer was there a care from their old world that had followed them to Equestria...

24. Home

Life had proceeded very well for the two newcomers to Equestria. Abstraction had made quite a name for himself across the kingdom, and many artist enthusiast ponies traveled from far and wide to Canterlot in order to get a chance to meet him. Once again, he was getting so many commission requests on the PonyNet, he had to periodically halt them, and take an occasional vacation. Of course, his vacations were always spent either in Ponyville with Lyra, or she would come up to visit him in Canterlot. Sometimes, though, the two would travel around Equestria to some nice tourist spots.

Pan Fry had also started dating for the first time in this new world. She met another culinary enthusiast in her age group, a Pegasus stallion named Medium Rare, who had a reddish-brown hide the same color as her hair, and a dark brown mane and tail, as well as a small goatee. He was fairly mild-mannered and kind, but his sense of humor, especially about food, was always able to make her laugh.

Truth be told, Pan Fry had become somewhat paranoid about males after her horrendous experience with Ed, but was able to clear up her fear by telling Medium about what happened, but never mentioning that she was a human. Medium was shocked about what happened to her, and, while holding her in a caring hug, promised that he would never try to hurt her.

Soon, the two got engaged... but it seemed like it would be years before they could ever be willing to absolutely tie the knot. It was mostly on Pan Fry's part, due to her uncertainty... but Medium Rare was able to warm up to her fairly quickly, and he was absolutely nothing like Ed.

To this day, it is not clear what ever happened to Edward and Daniel Richardson. No one from either dimension knew if they were alive or dead... not that anypony from Equestria really cared, nor did very many people on Earth.

All that mattered was that Abstraction and his mother, Pan Fry, could finally live the happiest life they could ever have, after nearly a decade of despair and lost hope...

One morning, Abstraction woke up at the crack of dawn after a good night's sleep. It was quite rare for him to be up this early, given that he was still a natural night owl... yet he did not feel the need to go back to sleep. If anything, the light of the morning sun was beckoning him... inviting him...

He walked over to the front door, opening it... and taking in the beauty of the world around him. If there was anything Abstraction liked to do, particularly after life in the human world, it was rooting himself in the present moment of bliss. He began his walk across Canterlot, waving to the occasional pony that he passed by who greeted him casually.

Soon enough, Abstraction made it to the edge of the Equestrian capitol, and set off on the mountainous terrain on the exterior. He made sure to put on his special hiking horseshoes for this special walk he liked to take every now and then, despite it being infrequent. This just made it that much more special.

The young Unicorn stallion climbed the winding path that circled around Canterlot Mountain, the sun slowly beginning to peek over the Eastern horizon. It was like a beacon of hope... peace... happiness... the warm orange glow helping him to feel at total ease. The ascent up the path felt like an incredible journey that would all be worth it in the end... and as it just happened, the instant he set foot in Equestria was when he finished his metaphorical journey that his cruel life had offered him.

Abstraction made it to the very summit of the mountain, with only his own soul for company as he watched the sun finally reveal itself in whole. As the brisk, yet calm breeze blew through his mane and tail, the freelance artist pony took a long breath, a lungful, of the cool, crisp, pure Equestrian morning air through his nose. He held it in for a moment, and exhaled slowly through his mouth as blissful tears welled up in his eyes.

“...I'm home.” He said.

Even to this day, Abstraction still could not believe that he may very well be one of the only two humans to have the privilege to live in Equestria with a bunch of cheery ponies who were infinitely better than the sleazy people of the human world. He was almost certain he would spend the remainder of his life "capturing the moment"... the true beauty that the world of Equus held.

Originally a human, Kyle Schaeffer began as a massively-introverted adolescent who always felt depressed and like, as he put it, “the most useless person to ever live”, but his depression was never real. In truth, he was estranged, lonely, and angry at the world. It was through the sympathy and love given to him by Lyra that he was finally able to regain a sense of trust in others.

His facing constant bullying and abuse, typically due to abstaining from cultural norms or accidentally breaking rules he did not know about, made him very fearful of social settings, especially around authority figures. His fear of being emotionally and physically tormented made him fearful of his peers, who could easily take advantage of him...

...But now, though he would never forget about it... Abstraction could finally leave his old life behind. Were there things he could have done differently? Absolutely. If he had it all to do over again, would he change everything that transpired? Surprisingly... he would not.

If things did not happen in the manner that they did... if Kyle Schaeffer was never left behind by his mother... he would never have met the love of his life... he would never have transformed his personality... and he would not be standing here. So, Kyle Schaeffer, now Abstraction, would not change a thing about the past. That's all it is now: the past.

If I didn't find Lyra... then who would've? Abstraction always thought. That's just it; there's no one else! I had to find her... and I had to keep her... and now, I get to STAY WITH HER! In fact... it was my destiny to take care of her, right from the beginning! This was my DESTINY all along! To become a pony and live in Equestria for the rest of my life with the pony I truly love with all my heart...

Abstraction stood on the mountaintop for a long while, perhaps twenty minutes... perhaps an hour... before he eventually decided to head back down and into Canterlot... his new home... his rightful home.

The End?

Author's Note

Credit for background with the image of Pan Fry and Medium Rare goes to "csillaghullo".
Credit for background with the image of Abstraction on the mountaintop goes to "BonesWolbach".

Would've posted this chapter soon... but I just had wisdom teeth surgery and have been sleep deprived to take my pain meds every 4 hours. Wish me luck in my recovery!

Epilogue: Ten Years Later

A decade has passed since Abstraction and Pan Fry were indoctrinated into Equestria. Within that time, Pan Fry and Medium Rare had both gotten married, and they all started spending a lot of time with each other. Abstraction and Lyra really enjoyed Medium's company, as well as the dishes he and Pan would cook up whenever they visited... especially after what Abstraction and Lyra had gone through back in the human world. Things could not be going any better for the two... but, there was something that had been able to offset such a claim...

Pan Fry and Medium Rare had decided to visit Pan's daughter-in-law, given that she had not done so for a while. She arrived at Lyra's house in Ponyville one afternoon, just when she happened to know that her son would be there with her. After knocking on the door, she opened it to see the mint-green mare.

"Oh, hello Pan!" Lyra said.

"Hi, Lyra." Pan Fry said with a smile.

Medium Rare spoke next. "How have you been doing?"

"Oh, just fine." Lyra responded.

She invited her parents-in-law into the house... and that's when Pan Fry happened to notice a bit of distension in Lyra's lower abdomen.

"Oh, Lyra..." Pan spoke. "...what's up with your belly? Have you been binging on cake like Celestia or something?"

Both she and Medium chuckled. Lyra weakly smiled as she nervously crossed her forelegs.

"Well..." Lyra began. "...see... Abstraction and I... we've been... meaning to tell you..."

The Unicorn mare trailed off. Just by the tone of her voice... Pan Fry and Medium Rare could tell that something was up.

"You mean..." Medium said. "...it... had nothing to do with eating?"

Lyra shook her head.

"So... y-you're...!" Pan Fry said with her eyes wide.

Lyra nodded, and gently rubbed to bulge in her stomach.

"...Abby's... gonna be a daddy." Lyra said.

It was blatantly obvious now...

...Lyra was pregnant.

At that moment, Abstraction happened to walk into the room to see his mother and new stepfather.

"Hi, Mom! Hey, Medium!" he said.

The two did not respond, and simply stared in surprise at the Unicorn stallion.

"What?" Abstraction asked.

"...You and Lyra... are gonna have a baby?" Pan Fry asked.

Abstraction was put on the spot by the question. He turned to his wife.

"You told them?" he asked.

Lyra nodded. "Yeah. It's definitely in their right to know that I'm two months in."

Pan and Medium both still said nothing. It took them by surprise, since neither of them had been expecting it after so long. Still, they were quite happy that this was happening.

"Yes, mom..." Abstraction said. "...me and Lyra have finally decided to have a child."

"To think... I'm gonna be a grandmother..." Pan Fry said, her eyes at the floor as she smiled weakly. "...I feel so old."

"Well, I sure look forward to having a new member of the family!" Medium Rare added.

Seven months later, Abstraction was sitting in the Ponyville Hospital waiting room with Pan Fry and Medium Rare, anxiously wrapping his forelegs around himself, and tapping the floor with his hind legs as he sat in the chair. It made him worried that something could end up going wrong, or if it didn't, simply knowing what sort of pain Lyra was in throughout her childbirth.

After a couple of uneasy hours, the door to the hallway opened, and a doctor pony with a clipboard stepped into the waiting room.

"Abstraction...?" he said, looking at the clipboard.

With that, the stallion in question quickly stood up and rushed straight over to the doctor.

"How is she!?" Abstraction asked him. "How did it go!?"

"Take it easy, Mr. Abstraction." he said, looking at the clipboard. "All went well with no complications; your wife has given birth to a healthy baby filly."

Abstraction felt his heart melt in that moment.

"...C-can I see her...?" he asked.

The doctor nodded, motion with his hoof the way to the recovery room.

"Right this way..." he said.

The doctor escorted Abstraction to the recovery room that Lyra was taken to post-childbirth. Once they arrived, the first thing Abstraction saw was a very tired, but happy-looking Lyra was laying in the bed, cradling a bundle to her chest. He gasped the moment he saw it. Lyra looked up at him, a warm smile filling her face.

"...A-Abby..." she managed to utter, right before she turned the bundle around to face her husband.

Abstraction could feel his eyes welling with tears as the corners of his mouth rose up on his face, just looking at his new child. The newborn filly was a Unicorn with a mint-green hide like her mother's, but her mane and tail were both the same color as her father's hide. She even had Abstraction's eye color.

"...So..." Lyra said, sleepily. "...what... should we name her...?"

After pondering for a moment... Abstraction thought of a perfect name.

"How about... Art Strings?" he suggested.

Lyra smiled. "...That's... an excellent name...!"

"Well, if I may..." the doctor spoke. "...congratulations, you two. I hope you take good care of your new daughter."

Pan Fry and Medium Rare came into the recovery room a little while later, and all of them were just as surprised and happy as Abstraction was. They were all very happy to have Art Strings as part of their new family. Once Lyra had recovered a few hours later, they left the hospital and went straight back to Lyra's house.

It was finally decided that Lyra wanted move to Canterlot with Abstraction, so as to raise their child together. Neither of them had ever thought that they could ever be blessed with an offspring... but the multiverse has finally granted them the relief from their hardships that they had desired for a long time. For one of them, though... this was the absolute pinnacle of the impossible that he thought would never occur for a loser like him... but his thoughts had changed entirely after ten long years.

Having his own daughter was the greatest thing Abstraction could have ever asked for. There was absolutely nothing that could've made the stallion any happier in his entire life.

One late night, after Art Strings, now a few months old, had fallen asleep while watching a movie with her parents, they took her to their bedroom and laid her in the crib... but instead of leaving her alone like they usually did, they stopped and stared at her for a little bit while she slept.

"She's absolutely beautiful, isn't she?" Lyra asked.

"Yeah..." Abstraction said.

He leaned over the crib briefly, looking at Art Strings as she took slow, calm breaths... her eyes closed...

"...and I know she'll grow up to be a fine mare." Abstraction said.

Lyra placed her hoof on his shoulder, turning him towards her.

"And it's because of you that we finally get to live such a happy life." Lyra said. "I can't ever thank you enough for all that you've done for me, Abby."

Abstraction blushed. "...If there's anypony I should thank, Ly... it's you. You helped to turn my life around... and it ultimately led to us finally getting to have our own daughter."

With that, the two hugged and kissed each other very passionately for a little while, until they decided to separate so as not to wake Art up.

"In fact, we should be in bed ourselves." Lyra said.

"Yeah, you're right." Abstraction said.

The stallion and mare both climbed into their bed, tucking themselves in and facing each other as they readied themselves for a good night's sleep.

"Goodnight, my love." Lyra said.

"Goodnight, my angel." Abstraction said.

The two shared one final kiss, before they turned out the lights, and shortly afterwards, fell asleep.

Author's Note

Hey, everyone! Just thought I'd throw in a final piece to the story, showing the events that happened after the story... in fact, after the TV show (according to my personal headcanon). So, I hope this satisfied a lot of you! I may come back to this saga someday... but for now, I'll be focusing on other stories. So, once again, thank you all so much for your continued support, and I'll be back real soon!

1. New Beginnings

Lyra Heartstrings was awake. It was dark. She had been absently staring at the ceiling for hours, laying in her bed. For months now, she had been thinking of nothing other than her human companion.

He raised her...

He was her friend...

They did everything together...

Their friendship eventually evolved into something bigger...

...up until she had to return to her homeworld.

Lyra was given false memories to compensate for the missing time, so that she would be familiar with how the Kingdom of Equestria, where she came from, worked... but they had not erased her real memories. Her true memories were dormant for days upon returning home, but after examining some human artifacts that had been given to her, as well as identifying the picture of her human lover... Lyra came to realize that it was all real.

In truth, ever since this discovery, Lyra had wanted nothing more than to have him back. She had her friends in Ponyville, sure, especially Bon Bon and Noteworthy, who had been her friends since they all hung out with each other at the orphanage when they were younger. But still, not even her friends could replace... him.

He had shown her true kindness and compassion, as well as friendship and love... and this was something that most ponies thought was impossible for humans to fully comprehend. Equestrian legends depicted humans as savage creatures who would do anything to have what they wanted. They had been the only beings capable of using magic before they went extinct, and ponies inhabited Equestria.

He was truly the kindest human Lyra had ever met... perhaps even the kindest living being. And this was surprising even more so, since he had been bullied and abused nearly all his life. He also cared about her greatly, and did anything he could for her.

The Unicorn mare rolled onto her side, staring out at the starry, Equestrian sky. She knew he was out there... somewhere. In another world. In another universe.

“One day...” Lyra spoke aloud. “...I'll fulfill my promise to come back. I will find a way to do it.”

Kyle was working on yet another painting. However, he was not currently working on anything for monetary gain. It was something personal that he wanted to keep for himself.

He was painting a portrait of Lyra Heartstrings. She was his favorite pony from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic... and she also happened to be his greatest friend ever. His lover, even.

The fact that true friendship and love can be shared by two of different species... was something that neither he, nor his lover, could ever doubt.

Regardless, he poured every ounce of effort... more than he had ever given... into this piece. It was his secret masterpiece. His most favored out of the hundreds of other paintings he had ever made in his life.

Kyle Schaeffer was the human friend and lover of Lyra Heartstrings.

He always stopped at stared at his work. Even though anyone would say it looked finished... but by the touch-ups he was making, he might never consider it to be finished. Not unless it was perfect. He was hard-pressed to catch the mare's beauty. Sure, she was simplistic in the show's art style... but her true, internal beauty was far greater.

At that moment, the door opened. Kyle quickly placed another canvas in front of the one with Lyra. He looked back to see that it was his mother.

“Hey, Kyle.” she said. “What are you doing?”

Kyle briefly glanced at the canvas. “...I was just about to paint something. A commission piece.”

“Oh, okay.” his mother said. “Listen... I've been thinking, Kyle... I really think I'm ready to move out.”

“Oh, that's good!” Kyle said. “I'll be sure to visit you when I can!”

His mother sighed. “It's not like that, Kyle... see...” she trailed off.

“What is it?” Kyle asked.

“...I want to move out to a different part of the country.” she said.

Kyle nearly let go of his paintbrush. “Wait... what?”

“It's true.” his mother said. “I want to start over... have a clean slate... live a better life.”

“But...” Kyle stammered. “...but you've only been around for about a month! Why would you leave so soon?”

“I know it's hard, Kyle, but I just can't bring myself to keep living in the same region where all our problems started. Plus, I don't want to be living off your livelihood...” she said.

“What do you mean? You've got a job! You help out around the house! If anything, you're more than welcome to stay for as long as you'd like!” Kyle said.

“Thank you, Kyle.” his mother said. “But I need to do this. I won't be heading out for a couple of months, though, since I would need to find housing available, as well as lease a moving van, and book a flight.”

Kyle sighed. “Well... if that's what you really want...”

His mother smiled. “Kyle... don't take this like I don't love you, because I love you more than anything... I just can't cope with staying here... just knowing what... they did to you...”

“Mom...” Kyle began. “...it's okay, I—”

“No, it's not okay.” his mother cut him off. “I left you behind... I did that...”

“...And that's because the court wouldn't—” Kyle said, just before getting cut off again.

“It's nothing to do with the legal stuff!” she said, lowering her head. “...I did not do the right thing. I should've risked prison time just to have you with me...”

“Mom...” Kyle began. “...you are not a bad mother! You did everything you could! I am grateful that you tried! And you know... everyday since you were gone, I always thought about you... but never in a negative light...”

This seemed to help her lighten up a bit, since she did not look so guilty anymore.

“Thanks, Kyle...” his mother said. “...I think we should talk about this later, okay?”

Kyle nodded. “Okay.”

With that, she closed the door and left.

Kyle's mother, Jan Rhodes-Schaeffer, was his only living biological parent, with Kyle having lost his biological father, William Schaeffer, to a plane crash whilst returning from a business trip. With no other ideas for how to cope, Jan decided to start dating, and became engaged with Edward Richardson, who at first seemed like a fun-loving, spontaneous man... but they found out that he was ruthless and aggressive, beating both her and Kyle.

The worst part... child custody papers had been filed prior to marriage, and because Ed had been using Jan's income to pay a corrupt attorney, she could not assume full custody. In her despair, she was forced to leave her only son behind so as to get away from her relentless lifestyle. This resulted in Kyle suffering the same despair later on... but with effectively no way out. Kyle could not leave because he had nowhere to go, and even when he was able to get a job, it was a minimum-wage position, so he could not afford an apartment, and had to try to cope with it all.

Until one fateful day... he found and took in Lyra Heartstrings, who was mysteriously teleported to the human world, and she turned his life around for the better...

...But that is a story for another time.

Shortly after Lyra's departure to Equestria, Kyle and Jan were reunited while out for a walk, of all things. Kyle could not help but play that scene on repeat in his head each day...

(Flashback)

“Mom...!” Kyle said.

The two stared at each other in immense surprise... and then they both moved towards each other, hugging when they were close enough.

“Kyle... oh my God...” Jan said. “...oh, you have no idea how happy I am to see you!”

After a moment, they separated, and Jan examined Kyle from top to bottom.

“Oh my... you've really grown...” she said, tearing appearing in her eyes.

“I know...” Kyle said. “...it's been almost ten years...”

She glanced at the watch he was wearing.

“If I didn't see that watch... I don't think I would've recognized you.” Jan said.

Kyle looked at the watch. “I always held onto it... because you gave it to me.”

Jan pressed her lips in an effort to hold back her crying. Kyle himself was on the verge of letting out tears.

“All these years... I never saw any sign of you...” he began. “...but I knew you'd come back.”

“How?” Jan asked.

Kyle swallowed as he tried to fight his sobs. “...Because my mom promised me.”

This really brought Jan over the edge. Tears began to fall from her eyes. Kyle began to undo the latch on his watch, and took it off. He held it towards his mother.

“Here...” Kyle said. “...this is my way of apologizing.”

Jan looked at the watch. “...For what?”

“...For not putting in the effort to actually find you.” Kyle said. “You gave this watch to me, twelve years ago... and I want you to have it back, as a gift to compensate for not being a better son...”

He put the watch in Jan's hand. She looked at it for a moment... but then set it on the bridge rail, just before she returned her attention to her son.

“...The greatest gift I could ever ask for...” Jan said. “...is to finally see my son again. And just the fact that you held on to that watch for twelve years... it goes to show you are not a bad son.”

Kyle smiled at his mother as a tear streamed down his face, which Jan wiped with her thumb. The two pulled each other into a hug once again... and neither one of them could hold back any longer.

“...I-I missed you, M-Mom...” Kyle said, crying.

“...A-and, I m-missed you too... K-K-Kyle...” Jan stammered.

The two stayed locked in the hug for a long while, crying their eyes out at their long-earned reunion...

(End Flashback)

Kyle sighed. “Things sure have come a long way, from how this whole dilemma started...”

He happened to notice that the blank canvas was still over his Lyra portrait. So, he removed it... only to find that the portrait was now slightly smudged. Kyle's face fell.

“Oh well...” he said. “...I'll just start over. That, or I can try to paint over it when it dries.”

Even just looking at the portrait made him yearn to be back with his beloved Unicorn wife. It had been years since he watched the show, and he was sure that just looking at her in the background would make him want to do nothing but smudge his computer screens with handprints as he would press his hands hoping to fall through the monitors into Equestria.

He would give anything and everything to be back with the love of his life... but he had to come to grips with reality.

“I'll never see her again...” Kyle said, tears filling his eyes.

Such a happy time in his life... the greatest seven years he could have ever asked for... and yet, nobody knows about it, because he never told anyone about Lyra.

But this got him thinking... what if his mother found out about Lyra? What would she think about his interests in ponies? Would she find him weird for it? Countless questions filled Kyle's mind, if, by some astronomical chance, Jan happened to stumble across some evidence of Lyra's existence, or even his closet brony fantasies in general.

How would she react to all of this...? Kyle wondered.

Author's Note

Glad to provide all of you with a sequel! Anyways, I plan to have this story really delve into Kyle's psychology about how he feels as a closet brony, and his fear of people discovering that he is one. If anything, I hope it is something of a relatable experience! XD So, enjoy the story!

4. Two with One Purpose

Lyra had spent a good portion of her current afternoon at home, laying on her couch, absently playing the lyre. She was so good at it, she could play it flawlessly without even paying attention. Even though she was trying to play music just to block out her thoughts... her mind at this point was louder than her ears. She wanted to see Kyle again... she was desperate at this point.

Soon enough, she set down her lyre, and began to pack some things she needed for a trip. She could not stand waiting around any longer; she was going to Canterlot to request an audience with Princess Celestia.

“I hope she understands.” Lyra said to herself. “Kyle just means... so much to me.”

In the process of packing, Lyra took a piece of paper, and a pen, and began to write a message.

Your Highness,

I wish to request an audience with you concerning some questions I have had about my true past. I feel like I have lived in Ponyville nearly all my life, and I am very much familiar with how the kingdom of Equestria works... but I can't help but feel like there are memories of another life I've lived that keep coming to my mind.

They center around a human... a very kind human... one who raised me and took extra special care of me. We were best friends... and we even came to love one another. Rest assured, I am not angry or upset; I am merely curious.

If it is okay with you, I would like to ask you about what you know. I will be traveling to Canterlot, and if you have the time, may I respectfully request that you would arrange for an audience with me? I would be both honored and grateful if you are capable of doing so.

Your loyal subject,
Lyra Heartstrings.

With that, Lyra finished the letter by putting it into an envelope, and using a special teleportation spell to put it into Canterlot Castle's mailbox. It took a lot of energy to invoke the magic to do so, but Lyra could sense that it was successful.

So, Lyra took her saddlebags filled with her travel gear, and set off out of her house to catch a train to Canterlot... but Bon Bon happened to spot her.

“Lyra? What's going on?” she asked, walking up.

Lyra was put on the spot by the sudden appearance of her best (pony) friend. But... she had to be blunt at this point. She could not keep this charade up any longer.

“...I'm going to Canterlot.” Lyra answered. “I need to speak to Princess Celestia.”

Bon Bon looked both anxious and confused. “About what?”

Lyra pressed her lips together and raised a brow at her friend, which made her look even more worried.

“Lyra... why are you looking at me like that?” Bon Bon asked.

“...You know something about this, don't you?” Lyra said.

Bon Bon just stared.

“DON'T YOU?” Lyra repeated louder. “I remember what happened in the human world! I remember Kyle Schaeffer! And you all are trying to keep it away from me!”

“...W-well...” Bon Bon stammered. “...we just felt... it would be best... if you didn't know about it...”

Lyra's jaw dropped. “HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT? He was my husband! Why would you want me to forget?”

Bon Bon hung her head down. “...Because we don't want you to be sad, thinking about Kyle Schaeffer all the time...” she said.

Lyra's eyes widened in realization.

“Oh...” she said. “...you... didn't want me... to worry?”

Bon Bon shook her head.

“We just wouldn't be able to stand seeing you so depressed over him... we just tried to act natural, so you wouldn't be reminded of him...” she said.

“Oh, Bon Bon...” Lyra said, hanging her head down in shame. “...I'm sorry. I totally misunderstood...”

“It's okay...” Bon Bon responded. “...so, you said something about wanting to talk to the Princess about it?”

Lyra nodded.

“Well, if I'm not too much of a burden... I'd like to tag along with you.” Bon Bon said.

Lyra smiled. “Okay! Totally!” she said.

With that, Lyra followed Bon Bon back to her place, where she would take some things of her own for the trip to Equestria's capitol city.

Kyle woke up to see that it was already nighttime, and from the looks of it... he was already in a fairly large city.

“This has gotta be it...” he said to himself.

He stood, and walked around, between the cars of the train. Of course, there were no passengers... and strangely, no train operators or staff. The train was abandoned; he was the only one on the vehicle. Soon enough, the train entered another underground tunnel, and the PA spoke up once more.

“Now arriving in Atlanta, Georgia.” it said.

“...Yep, definitely it!” Kyle said.

The train shortly arrived at the station, and Kyle stepped off to find yet another abandoned station.

Jeez... where have all the people in this world gone? Kyle wondered. Maybe there's a BIG glitch in the Matrix... or everyone's on some sort of nationwide vacation...

Regardless, he made his way up the stairs out of the train station, and found that he was in a very run-down and depressing part of the city. There were cars passing at even intervals on the streets... but no one was driving them. They were even ignoring the stop signs, yet they drove in a pattern that managed to avoid having them collide. It was like something in a video game.

In the distance, Kyle happened to see some more police officers and S.W.A.T., and around him were more wanted posters with his face on them. This was getting pretty nuts at this point.

They clearly aren't getting bored of me... Kyle thought. ...this is not Metal Gear Solid, this is real life; they don't “reset” themselves.

Kyle made his way into an alleyway that was nearby, just to stay out of sight. From there, he took out the iPad to see which part of the city he was in. After the GPS loaded and locked onto his location, he saw that the way out would require him to travel West. He put the iPad away... and began to think about how he was going to get out without getting blown away by the law enforcement patrolling the area.

“Glad I have myself...” Kyle spoke, drawing his crowbar and stolen handgun. “...some lovely tools of death!”

He snickered quietly, checking the handgun chamber to see that there was already a round in it. He decided to tuck the crowbar back away for now, and just kept the gun out. He hoped that the five additional magazines of ammo he had in his pockets was enough. Each one held fifteen rounds. Hopefully, he would not need to use all of it.

Regardless, he would definitely need to stealth it if he was going to avoid causing alert among the cops.

This sure will be one crazy story to tell people... Kyle thought. ...I escaped from some sort of asylum, where I was put for supposed “unhealthy brony obsessions,” and escaped through an underground aqueduct, where I wound up at an oceanside town, broke into a clothing store, stole some apparel, then took a sailboat out to sea, ended up at Coney Island, disguised myself as a cop, and took an abandoned Amtrak transit system back to Atlanta, where I had to reenact MGS to avoid the police... I don't know if anyone will believe me.

So, he set off out of the alley, and right away, was confronted by some strange-looking people in very urban-style clothing. They immediately pulled out guns and opened fire on him, forcing him to duck behind a parked car.

The hell? Are they gang members or something? Kyle thought.

He peeked under the car to see them quickly moving over to the car. Taking aim under the vehicle, he returned fire, deafening sounds of nine-millimeter ammunition ringing out. He managed to hit the people in the legs, and then finish them with shots to the head or chest.

“Okay... that's that...” Kyle said, trying to shake off the feeling of taking multiple lives.

He continued West, keeping his handgun pointed in front of him all the while. He already used up one of his magazines, but fortunately, he salvaged some more compatible bullets for his handgun from the dead gang, but only a few, since they had different caliber pistols, as well as revolvers.

Soon enough, he spotted some police officers... and they spotted him running towards them. Without hesitation, they drew their guns and opened fire on him. Kyle performed a serpentine maneuver, and shot back, hitting them in the head. He continued to run after they were dead; he did not bother stopping to get more ammo from them, since he barely used any bullets from the second magazine.

Regardless, Kyle continued to run, shooting at anyone who fired at him, which happened to be a lot of cops, and a few gang members. This was getting monotonous, and he had no sense of direction in a city he was not completely familiar with, especially in the dead of night. He tried to look for something that could hopefully serve as a vantage point, since he could not run around holding both an iPad and a gun; the iPad would probably fall out of his hand and break, and then he would really be lost.

He spotted a multi-level parking garage that reached up several stories. It seemed like it could see beyond the lower buildings at the edge of the downtown region that he was in. So, he climbed up the structure, having to kill a few cops who shot at him upon sight, and taking their ammo to compensate for what he was using on them.

Killing felt like a drug to him; giving him an adrenaline rush, and he absolutely felt like he needed it at this point.

He made it to the top of the parking garage, and managed to peer out into the distance to the West. There were a cluster of light which, from his childhood, indicated where his neighborhood was. He was eager to get back home, but...

...Kyle could not escape the feeling that his mother could potentially reject him, given what has transpired. He did not know if she would still be willing to accept him after what he had to do just to get home. Plus... what would she think about his interest in MLP? He tried to imagine a scenario of how he would explain this to his mother...

“Mom, you wouldn't believe it...” Kyle began. “...I was on the run! I escaped! I couldn't take it anymore, Mom. I just couldn't stay there anymore... I had to leave!”

Jan just stared at him in a mixture of shock and blank.

“Kyle... I-I don't really know if you remember what you did, but... you were doing some very unhealthy things.” she said.

Kyle opened his eyes wider as he listened.

“You had to go away.” his mother continued. “And now you're telling me you ESCAPED? I... I don't know, Kyle. Y-your a fugitive... I don't know if I can keep you here...”

Kyle's jaw dropped.

“...You disappoint me, Kyle. I mean... I love you like a son, but... you just couldn't stop have sexual fantasies about... ponies... unicorns...” Jan finished.

Kyle was in utter shock at her disapproval of him. He knew that she told him she would always be there for him, no matter what... but something was definitely wrong about this whole imaginary scenario, even though it felt like something that WOULD play out in real life.

“Wait, Mom...” Kyle spoke. “...what do you mean you love me like a son? Are you saying I was... adopted?”

Jan sighed in regret, closing her eyes and hanging her head.

“...I was hoping you would never need to be told this, but...” she said. “...I've never been pregnant. And it turns out, your biological mother... is Stephanie Culver.”

“Wait... Culver...” Kyle gasped. “...no, you don't mean...”

His mother nodded. “Yes, she's the mother of your biological brother... Andrew Culver.”

This was beyond absurdity. Andrew Culver was one of Kyle's biggest childhood bullies, who always constantly singled him out and made fun of him for being weak and scrawny, particularly since he was a football player.

“Aw, no! Not HIM!” Kyle protested. “He smells like garlic and... locker room!”

“Kyle, listen...” Jan said. “...I tried my best to raise you, but... you just couldn't stop masturbating to all that... pony porn...”

He was thoroughly disgusted by the allegations she was making against him.

“I escape, and I go to such extreme lengths and methods to get home... and then you're telling me you don't WANT ME HERE?” Kyle shouted. “That's just unacceptable, Mom! It's unacceptable! I just... I... I can't let that be! You're my Mom! I have nowhere else to go! I CAN'T LIVE LIKE THIS, MOM!”

In his anger... he pulled out his handgun, and slowly began to level it...

“Woah, Kyle...! What are you doing... w-where are you pointing that thing, Kyle...?” Jan stammered as Kyle leveled the gun on her. “...Kyle, this is—hey, hey! Listen to me! LISTEN TO ME! Your real mother wouldn't want this!”

“You go and you get a DNA test RIGHT THIS INSTANT!” Kyle shouted. “I DON'T BELIEVE YOU! YOU GO! YOU GET A DNA TEST!”

Tears of fright and heartbreak streamed down Jan's face.

“Kyle, please... don't do this! It won't do either of us any good!” she said.

“DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MANY PEOPLE I HAD TO KILL JUST TO GET HOME!?” Kyle bellowed. “I KILLED SO MANY COPS! COPS JUST TRYING TO DO THEIR JOB! THEY ALL PROBABLY HAD FAMILIES OF THEIR OWN! THEY WERE GOOD PEOPLE, MOM!”

He stood there, seemingly for hours on end, with a gun pointed at his own mother, who stood motionless... helpless...

The thought of not being welcomed back made Kyle all the more fearful... but regardless, he was going to press on. After staring absently at the distant neighborhood and being completely lost in thought, he eventually decided to head back down to the street, and keep going. Fortunately, by passing through alleyways, he managed to remain undetected by the cops and other people who would otherwise be a threat to him.

Kyle had continued along the side of the highway back to his neighborhood, not a single car passing by the entire time. He assumed he blacked out nearly the whole way back, because he made it sooner than expected. Arriving on the porch of his childhood home, he saw his mother's car. Given that it was a dream, he did not think about his real mansion, and he was still not lucid at this point. Regardless, he quickly opened the door, stepped inside, and turned on the light, closing the door behind him.

“Ah,” Kyle sighed. “feels good to be back home. Now... where's Mom?”

He began to look around the house.

“Mom?” he called out. “It's me! Kyle! I made it back!”

He came to the door of his mother's bedroom, and tried turning the knob, but...

“Mom's room is... locked?” he thought out loud.

Kyle went into the kitchen, where he saw a folded piece of paper on the fridge, held by a magnet, with his name written in big letters on it. Curious, he pulled it off, and unfolded it, revealing a message, written in his mother's handwriting.

Bringing it into the light of the table chandelier, he began to read it silently to himself.

Kyle,

I understand what happened. I know I shouldn't have gone that far, but I had to. You know I had to after the things you were doing.

I understand more than anyone that you couldn't help it, and I'm sorry.

I'm going out on a limb to assume you're the first one to find this note. I watched the story about your escape on the news, and I could barely believe it.

There should be enough food in the fridge, the freezer, and the pantry. I know we were going to be visiting the Harrisons for a barbeque after you were to be released in a month, but there's been a change in plans. You were supposed to get better, and you clearly haven't.

I want you to promise me one thing: don't do anything to harm yourself or others, and follow the house rules like normal, like before. One exception: if anyone knocks on the door or the phone rings, promise me you'll answer either of them. I'm going on a business trip, and you'll need all the help you can get. Finally, don't EVER go into my room.

Take care. I'll be home soon enough. I love you so much.

-Mom.

“Huh?” Kyle said. “But her car's still here...”

He also happened to note that the letter had some dried spots on it, as if a few raindrops had fallen on it... or perhaps they were tears. This made him really worried.

Oh, no... I've upset my mother! Kyle thought. Dammit! I KNEW this would happen!

He set down the note, and made his way to the front door. But right as he put his hand on the knob, he stopped...

...If push comes to shove... Kyle thought.

He then let go of the knob, and made his way back to his mother's bedroom. Using the key (which he knew his mother kept above the door frame), he entered... but it was replaced by a hallway stretching into darkness. Slowly, he began to walk down the horizontal abyss...

“...M-Mom...?” Kyle called out. “...Mom, where are you? Please, don't do this... I'm scared, Mom...”

He continued walking forward, repeatedly glancing back at the light of the door behind him. Eventually, he saw a light at the end of the long stretch, and he could make out his mother's bedroom at the end. He even saw his mother, on her bed.

Was she sleeping? If so, he did not want to disturb her... but what he would see next, he would never be prepared for...

Kyle saw something clear and shiny over Jan's head and face... it looked like a plastic bag.

He gasped. “Oh, no... i-is that... wh-what I think it is...?”

Once he got close enough, he broke into a run over to his mother, right as he was able to make out what his worst fear (besides losing Lyra) was... and it was right in front of him.

“Oh my God...! Mom, no!” Kyle bellowed upon seeing the horrific sight. “NO! MOM, NOOOOO...!”

Jan Rhodes-Schaeffer was laying in her bed, a plastic bag over her head, sealed around her neck. She was motionless and pale, and her eyes dark red in the sclerae. A laptop computer was sitting slumped over on her lap.

Kyle collapsed to his knees, and onto all fours, staring at the floor as tears fell out of his eyes. He sobbed silently as he lamented the death of his mother.

N-no... this can't be... this wasn't supposed to happen... he thought.

After a good fifteen minutes of crying, Kyle stood up, and woke up her computer to see that there was a regular OpenOffice document open on it, with plain text:

My name is Jan Rhodes-Schaeffer, widow of the late William Schaeffer, and mother of Kyle Schaeffer.

I am a caterer. Or I should say, I WAS a caterer, because I am now most certainly dead. My son might hopefully still be alive by the time anyone reads this. If you are a concerned citizen, or very stubborn mailman, I apologize about the inevitable therapy following the discovery of my corpse. If you are Kyle's “caretakers” or police or S.W.A.T. or anyone who is out to get my son for his mental disorder, FUCK YOU.

The hollow shell once known as my son... God bless him. He escaped from the asylum you were supposed to keep him locked into for a month, giving him fair, ethical, psychiatric treatment. As if your mistreatment and neglect of him wasn't enough, I am DISGUSTED with the sheer fact that he needed to even be LOCKED UP in the first place!

You corrupt, corporate people have time and time again fucked with me and my family. It's gotten so bad, you've robbed my poor son of his future! I don't know if he will ever be able to forgive me, especially with everything I put him through... I've been a horrible mother.

I cannot, and will not, deal with the torture of never being there for Kyle when he needed me, and having nobody who can help me help him. Wherever he is now... I will love him forever. He is my only son, and nothing less. The system will pay for his wellbeing from now on, no one else.

Goodbye, world.

Kyle, once again, was really brought down hard by this nightmare (literally, but he doesn't know that yet). As he sat on the floor in despair... staticy visions began to flash in his eyesight. They were of him and his family... all of the happy times they had... very torturous visions to him...

Kyle assumed that he blacked out, because the next thing he knew, he was driving in his car through a snowy, forested region. He was not sure where he was going... but he did not care.

“I'm not sure what else to do... not sure where else to go...” Kyle muttered to himself. “...I need to go to Equestria... I need to be back with Lyra... I need her...”

He had been driving for a while... up until he lost control of the car, and crashed into a tree. The airbag and seatbelt stopped him, but it still hurt. Once he came to, he opened up the door, and rolled out into the snow. He stood to take a look at the damage.

“Shit... well, I'm just gonna have to hoof it.” he said.

With that, he set off down the road, occasionally coming across some slippery ice that he had to be careful walking across, but he did not slip once. It was cold out, and he only had a thin cardigan for warmth. Eventually, however, he thinks fate has dealt him a good hand for once in this... dilemma.

In the distance... he spotted something that looked like a village. He began to make his way through the snow into the clearing, so he could get a better look at the location...

...It was Ponyville.

Kyle sighed in relief. “I... I made it...! It... it's gonna be okay.”

He began to make his way towards the Equestrian community.

“I'm gonna make everything right! Just you watch!” Kyle said to himself.

He approached the town... but as he did, it began to fade away. Once it was gone... all that was left was a small, abandoned house in the center-part of where Ponyville was. Kyle stopped and stared in shock.

“Oh, no!” Kyle said. “Lyra... please...! I thought it was a town...”

He made his way over to the shack, and opened up the ancient door. He began to search around the inside, which smelled of stale wood and mildew. It was nearly empty, at least from what he could tell in the first room.

“Lyra!” Kyle called out.

He started searching through the small structure, opening the doors to what would be a kitchen, living room, dining room, and bedroom.

“Where are you, Lyra?” he said. “Lyra, I've got terrible news! My mother's dead!”

He continued to look through the rooms, trying to find Lyra, but he was not prepared for the signs he would see in this creepy, old house...

...There was a bloodstain on the foot of the door he was about to open.

“Oh, no...” Kyle said, fearful at the mere sight of the stain.

There was furniture in the place, but it was very old, worn, and rotten. Mold and mildew had decimated the wood, and the fabric looked as if moths had made quite a meal of it.

“This isn't Ponyville...” Kyle said, frustrated, just before raising his voice. “...WHAT IS THIS!? THIS ISN'T PONYVILLE!”

He opened up the door to the last room of the small house. The master bedroom... and inside, there was a skeleton of a pony. Kyle fell to his knees once more.

“No... please...” he barely uttered. “...please tell me that's not you, Lyra...”

He began to hyperventilate, looking around.

“I... I don't understand...” Kyle uttered to himself. “...who did this...?”

There was not a sign of a struggle, or any human presence.

“Did... did I do this...? Kyle pondered. “I don't even know...”

Immediately, staticy images filled his eyesight once again. This time, they were of Lyra... and then, he began to have visions of all his memories of the past... as if his entire life's memory was being accelerated as an extreme pace, and being played back via his vision.

The whole time this happened, there was an eerie, suspenseful Shepard Tone playing in his ears, constantly ascending... Kyle truly felt like he was descending into madness... his emotional turmoil at this point in time was one of the most intense he had ever experienced...

18. Threshold of Destiny

Celestia had managed to summon Twilight over to Canterlot Castle fairly quickly, and with their combined power, the two were able to give enough power to the portal to make it functional once again. She promptly entered, but before doing so, looked back at her student.

"Be sure to stand back, in the event anything dangerous comes back with me." Celestia said.

"Okay." Twilight said.

With that, Celestia proceeded through the portal, and after passing through an exotic realm of gold light briefly, she found herself in Kyle's mansion. However, the three inhabitants were nowhere to be scene.

"Kyle Schaeffer, are you here?" Celestia called out.

There was no response.

"Oh, dear... what if they are all in peril, now that Lyra is back to her original form?" Celestia asked herself.

She knew that Kyle and Jan were nice humans, and did not want to do anything malevolent towards any ponies... but she was still uncertain about other humans. There had to be a way to contact them... and it just so happened, there was.

Celestia happened to spot Kyle's backup cell phone sitting on the counter, plugged into a USB adapter. She knew that human phones looked like that... but she never understood how they worked. Regardless, she had to give it a try.

“Hopefully, these work something like the landline phones in Equestria...” Celestia said.

Kyle was flooring his vehicle, which he found was not accelerating quite as fast, almost as if there has been some added weight to the vehicle. By now, there were several police cars a couple hundred meters behind them.

Lyra had woken back up, feeling fairly achy, as well as confused.

"...Agh... K-Kyle..." the Unicorn mare began. "...What's... going on...?"

"Right now, we need to get the hell outta here! The cops are on our tail!" Kyle said, urgently.

"Driver, pull your car to the side of the road, shut off the engine, and hold your hands out the window!" the vanguard police car shouted over the intercom.

Kyle did not listen, and kept driving fast, swerving around the other cars who were pulling off to the side of the road upon hearing the sirens and seeing the flashing lights of the police cars. Lyra happened to recall the brief run-in she had with the cops, but did not remember anything else.

"What happened?" Lyra asked.

"I had to beat them up to get you back, because they were trying to kidnap you!" Kyle said.

At that moment, Kyle's phone, linked to the Bluetooth of his car, began to ring.

"What the hell? Who's calling me?" Kyle asked, answering. "Hello? Kyle Schaeffer here!"

“Hello? Hello-hello?” came a female voice. “Is this working? Do you hear me?”

Kyle recognized the voice.

“Princess Celestia!?” he said.

"Ah, yes! Kyle Schaeffer!" Celestia responded. "May I ask where you are right now?"

"Well... we're close to home... however... we've got a bit of a problem." Kyle said.

"Why is that?" Celestia asked.

"Because..." Kyle began. "...we have the law enforcement of our community chasing us because they were about to take Lyra away, and I stopped them."

"What!?" Celestia asked. "But then... if they are after you, there is no guarantee that I can bring Lyra back to Equestria safely! If the human guards end up harming me... I don't think I would have the strength to invoke the magic needed to return!"

Kyle was trying to think fast about what to do. And then... the perfect thing came to his mind.

"Princess, what if..." he briefly trailed off. "...what if you brought all of us to Equestria with you?"

The cops were gaining on them. Ed and Danny, having woken up, were both trying to sit silently, both of them anxious about being caught by the police once again... but both of them were also confused as to what the hell Kyle was even talking about.

"What are they saying? Who's 'Princess Celestia'? And what's 'Equestria'?" Ed asked quietly.

"How am I supposed to know?" Danny whispered back.

Up front, the conversation between Kyle and Princess Celestia continued.

"You? Come to Equestria?" Celestia said, confused. "I really don't know... we have no way of knowing the consequences that would result from humans merely existing in a universe they did not originate from."

"It could be just the thing we need to get away from the police, and this world, forever!" Kyle said.

Lyra was next to speak.

“Your Highness, please...” Lyra said. “...he's too pure for this world. I've seen how humans are... and Kyle and his mother are both too kind to deserve any more unfairness from other humans.”

"Hmm..." Celestia hummed. "Perhaps... alright. I'll do it. I'll bring Kyle and his mother back with us once you arrive. From there, we'll work out what to do."

"Okay! Thank you, Princess! We'll be there in a few moments!" Kyle said.

"Alright then, please hurry!" Celestia said.

Kyle hung up his phone with the button command on the steering wheel, and looked in the back seat at his mother, who looked a bit bewildered.

"Kyle, honey..." she began. "...what's going on? Where are we going?"

"Let's just say... we're gonna be going to the best kind of world you could imagine." Kyle said.

"Isn't it what you want?" Lyra asked. "Wouldn't you like to come to my world and see what it's like?"

“W-well... I don't really know...” Jan said.

Kyle looked at her again.

“Mom...” he began. “...don't you remember telling me that you would give anything to have a fresh start? A new beginning? A chance to go somewhere else and live a new life?”

Jan nodded. “Yes...”

“Well, this might be our only chance to have just that! In the best way possible! We won't just be in a different state; we'll be in a different world! And it will be inhabited by creatures who are far nicer than most people in the world we've wasted our lives in!” Kyle said.

Jan darted her eyes around, and then looked back at the gradually-growing number of police vehicles pursuing them. She realized that they effectively had no alternative; even if they did escape the police by a miracle. There's no doubt that they had gotten Kyle's license plate number, so they would get a warrant to arrest him on his property. The only way to avoid facing any kind of trouble would be to go to Equestria, where nobody from this world could ever get them.

"O-okay... I think it's our best option at this point..." Jan said, slightly nervous.

“Alright...” Kyle said, moving his hands higher up on the wheel. “...let's do this!”

He floored the car.

The speed he reached was well beyond the grade of the tires he was using on his SUV. Fortunately, however, if things went according to plan, there would be no need to ever use his car again. They were speeding along the freeway at nearly one-hundred-and-twenty miles per hour, the cops following several hundred meters behind them all the while. Kyle had to have a very fast reaction time to swerve around the cars in his path. Fortunately, with a bit of concentration, he was able to use his special ability to aid in his aversion of the traffic.

A police helicopter was now airborne, following directly above the squad of cars and armored trucks that were pursuing the three. By now, there would be no way out of several years in prison, as well as several high fines, if there was no way for them to go to Equestria. However, knowing that Celestia would be waiting for them, that would hopefully not be the case. Still, he had to keep the speed up if they were not going to be apprehended.

Kyle pulled off of the freeway onto the exit needed to reach his mansion, still going nearly double the speed limit and risking sending his car into a rollover. The cops were still hot on their trail, gradually getting closer.

Kyle looked over at Lyra in the passenger seat, and the young mare looked extremely worried. She happened to glance over at him... and he held out his hand towards her with a rich look of determination on his face. It was clear that he wanted her to trust him. Slowly but surely, she brought her hoof into his hand, and he closed his fingers around it, holding onto it while he continued to drive using his free hand and knee. They were about to arrive at his house any moment now, where Celestia would be awaiting them.

This was it...

This was what twenty-five years of Kyle Schaeffer's life had culminated to...

He was finally going to leave the world that chewed him up and spat him out...

He would get to escape with his lover into a better world where they would be eternally happy...

And he was going to do it with his long-lost mother...

They made a sharp turn into the driveway, plowing down the gate, and causing one of the front tires to go flat. All of them saw an alarmed Princess Celestia standing right at the edge of the stoop. Kyle rolled down the window and stuck his head out.

"LET'S GO NOW!" he shouted.

Celestia immediately charged her horn as Kyle slammed on the brakes just short of hitting his porch, and right as the first police car was about to ram into Kyle's car from the back side... there was a flash of bright light...

The next thing the three knew, they were in a fairly large, cartoonish-looking chamber that seemed fairly archaic in design. The car stopped just short of hitting a wall at the edge of the large room, and there was a scraping of metal behind them.

They looked back to see the front of a police car; it appeared to have been separated just short of the passenger cabin, with the cut-off portion white-hot as a result of the molecular separation that occurred during the teleportation process.

Kyle, Jan, and Lyra all let out relieved sighs.

"We... we made it..." Lyra said as she looked around.

As Kyle himself examined the location, he made it out to be something that would indeed appear in MLP. There was not an ounce of doubt in his mind that they were now in Equestria.

...I... I can't believe it... we made it! We ACTUALLY MADE IT! WE'RE IN EQUESTRIA! Kyle thought, triumphantly.

Something that, he knew deep down could never happen, has just been made possible by a miracle. No chance he could ever die upset over anything anymore.

A few seconds later, Princess Celestia came over to the side of the vehicle, and Kyle rolled down the window.

"Well..." Celestia began. "...I bid you welcome to Canterlot Castle, Kyle Schaeffer."

Soundtrack Guide

A list of scores that I feel would be appropriate for the story.

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!

-"Sovereign Quarter" (Kevin MacLeod)
-"Best Friends (Red)" (Craig Conner - Manhunt II)
-"King of Chinatown (Action)" (Thomas Bartschi, Peter Kyed, Peter Peter, Dynamedion - Hitman: Absolution)
-"Funfair 03 (B)" (Unknown composer - C.R.U.S.H.)
-"I Have a Plan to Put an End to All of This" (Krister Linder - Metropia)
-"City 01 (B)" (Unknown composer - C.R.U.S.H.)
-"Assassination (Yellow)" (Craig Conner - Manhunt II)
-"The Cypress Watcher" (Arktau Eos)
-"Exploring the Coves" (Stuart Chatwood - Darkest Dungeon)
-"Combat in the Ruins" (Stuart Chatwood - Darkest Dungeon)
-"Cornfield Chase" (Hans Zimmer - Interstellar)
-"Healing Ceremony" (James Horner - Avatar)
-"Do Your Best" (Good Manners Songs For Children)
-"You Make Me Smile" (basspartout)
-"Mournful Memories" (Atsushi Kitajoh - Trauma Team)
-"The Falcon" (John Williams - Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens)
-"Sleight of Hand" (Brian Tyler - Now You See Me II)
-"No Time for Caution" (Hans Zimmer - Interstellar)
-"El Mañana" (Gorillaz)
-"Shenzhou" (Steven Price - Gravity)
-"Solar Sailer" (Daft Punk - Tron: Legacy)
-"Ending Theme" (Steven Price - Gravity)
-"Always Know Where You Are" (John Rzeznik - Treasure Planet)