This is a story about a “debatably” mentally ill person who thinks she’s a pony named Lyra. It chronicles her journey to accepting her ponyhood and the hardships she faced along the way. It’s also about her girlfriend who she calls Mark Hoof and their relationship, hence the title.

I tried really hard to write a mentally ill person who was very sympathetic and relatable. I also tried to focus a lot on framing the illness as something to just live with instead of being cured. On top of that, I framed the narrative from Lyra’s point of view, so I could write the story in a non-conventional way, which really helps since I’m so bad at writing conventionally.

Update: I really hate this story. I tried attacking a lot of topics I wasn’t prepared to handle. I wasn’t merely writing a bad fanfic, but one that could potentially do more harm than good. I really only leave this up just because I have some desire to preserve it, though I may change my mind

Warning: this story contains themes of child abuse, implied rape, and mental illness