Tugging at Her Heartstrings

by neutralmilk

First published 9th of June, 2012

You are a human in Equestria that lives with your best friend, Lyra. But what happens when you begin to develop more romantic feelings for the musical mare? Will you face rejection and ridicule? Or does Lyra have some secret feelings of her own?

[Second-person romance fic starring "you" and Lyra] Months have passed since you, a human, have appeared in Equestria and were taken in by a pony by the name of Lyra Heartstrings. Now, you and her are the best of friends, being nearly inseparable.

But what happens when you begin to develop more romantic feelings for the musical mare? Will you face rejection and ridicule? Or does Lyra have some secret feelings of her own?

NEW! Internet Reading!

Chapter 1

And there she was.

The most beautiful mare you’ve ever seen, right before you. Her eyes meet yours and she smiles widely. Her pastel coat is shimmering in the sunlight as she slowly trots closer to you, her eyes fixated on your own. You can see that she is deliberately swinging her flank with each step.

She stops and quickly brushes her mane out of her beautiful golden eyes. Your heart begins to race.

“Hey…” she says, her voice sultry and her eyes keeping in touch with your own. You want to reply, but instead you find your words stuck in your throat.

Suddenly, the TV turns off.

“What!?” you cry at the blank set. You swing your head to find Lyra Heartstrings, your “caretaker” and friend, leaning against the back of the couch, a remote control hanging before her in a soft golden aura. She gives you a disapproving glance.

“So even humans like Mareilyn Maneroe, huh?”

“N-n-no! I was watching for the plot!” you respond quickly.

“Yeah sure. Maybe her plot.” Lyra lets out a small laugh and hops over the back of the couch, landing on the cushion next to yours.

“Ha ha. Very funny.” You can feel your cheeks redden as you swat at the air for the remote control. She swings it away from your hands expertly and sticks her tongue out.

“Gasp! Is that how it’s gonna to be? I’m a human stuck alone in ‘magic pony land’ and you won’t even let me watch a television show? You should be ashamed!” You mock sulk and cross your arms, fighting back a smile.

Lyra laughs. “First off, it’s Equestria. Get it straight.” She playfully punches your arm with a hoof and readjusts herself, mimicking your style of sitting. “Damn, how do humans find this comfortable?” she mutters to herself, losing her train of thought.

“Maybe if you weren’t on your tail?” you offer, reaching toward her. You give the end of her tail a slight tug, freeing it from under her flank.

“Whoa, back off!” Lyra shouts, surprised and pushing you back to your corner of the couch. You look at her and notice a blush forming on her otherwise aquamarine face. She shies away, covering her reddened cheeks.

“You’ve made me lose my train of thought!” she begins again, trying to recover from the blush. “Second of all, you are a guest at Casa de Lyra and therefore you must obey my rules.”

“Casa de Lyra? Isn’t this Bon-Bon’s apartment?” you ask playfully.

“Ah shut up. She’s just paying for it until I get another gig with the orchestra. Ever since Octavia sprained her hoof we’ve been unable to land a show anywhere. And since I’m the pony that’s here while Bon-Bon is at work, I make the rules. And I say no TV until you’ve helped me clean this place up.”

The remote control vanishes with a small flash and reappears across the room on a table. You sigh melodramatically and slide off the couch into a pile on the floor. Lyra giggles and carefully climbs off the couch next to you, on all fours. You stare up at her, pouting, waiting for her to cave. It fails.

“If you really don’t want to help clean you could always move in with somepony else.” She says, walking towards the kitchen.

“Yeah? Well maybe I should. At least they’ll appreciate me!” you cry out, maneuvering yourself to peek over the side of the couch. You watch Lyra magically lift a plate and rinse it under the sink.

She snorts. “Yeah, sure. With all that you do, how could they not!” The dish clangs lightly against several others. She picks up another one and begins rinsing it.

“Ooooh, I just love your sarcasm. Easily the greatest thing about you.” You stand up and stretch, walking into the kitchen. You approach Lyra by the sink and pick up a lone sponge from the counter. With a quick grab, you pull the floating plate free from her telekinesis and begin scrubbing it clean.

“Really?” she asked, grabbing the clean plate in her magical grasp and placing in the drying rack. “I could’ve sworn it was my amazing flank.” She cracks her tail at you, causing you to blush slightly and turn away. She notices and gives you a smug smile in return.

You can’t help but notice her bright golden eyes glancing at you softly. You feel your heart begin to race as your eyes trace over her slender body, stopping at the lyre cutie mark adorning her flank. She quickly swings her head to knock back her mane from her eyes. The fact that she’s a pony no longer seems to bother you; after all, you’ve been living in Equestria for several months already. Lyra Heartstrings is your closest (and seemingly only) friend, and you spend the majority of your time with her…

But she’s still a friend! You tell yourself, trying to free your mind of Lyra’s figure. Besides, she’s with Bon-Bon…

She notices the direction of your gaze and makes a noise, breaking your concentration.

“Enjoying the scenery?” she asks, splashing some of the sink water at you. She watches as some lands in a precarious spot on your pants, right by your crotch. She tries to stifle a giggle, failing miserably. The water drips down your pant leg, only adding to the mock urine stain. The sight makes Lyra begin to laugh even harder.

“Oh, you think this is funny?” you say, glaring back at the aquamarine mare. You quickly splash water back at her in retaliation. She lets out a shriek in surprise as the water soaks her mane. Lyra raises her hooves in defense and screams for you to stop. Laughing maniacally, you continue to practically toss handfuls of water at the mare until the sink is nearly halfway empty.

“Had enough?” you ask, a smug grin on your face.

Lyra lowers her hooves and drops back onto all fours, her striking mane glistening in the sunlight that shines through a nearby window. You can’t help but appreciate her body, seeing her pastel mane cascade down her neck and cling to her frame. A feeling of desire begins to pass through you when suddenly you notice Lyra’s eyes begin to water.

“Why d-d-did you h-have to t-t-take it so far?” she asks feebly, tears flowing down her already soaked cheeks and onto the floor.

You rush to her side, feeling terrible, but surprised, nonetheless. You had never expected Lyra to respond so negatively to anything, especially something so minor. She recoils and pushes you back, turning away from you, sobbing lightly. You stand by her awkwardly, wanting to wrap your arms around her comfortingly, but not sure whether you actually should.

“Lyra… I…” you try to think of something to say, but find that your mind is blank. “I’m really sorry.” You say this sincerely and close the gap between you and her. Slowly, you inch your arms around the aquamarine mare. When she doesn’t flinch, you take it as a sign to continue.

“I didn’t mean to upset you, I promise.” She turns her face to yours, revealing her tearstained eyes. You hurriedly try to put on an uplifting smile, but instead wind up grinning foolishly; she giggles between her lightening sobs, a hiccup escaping her mouth. She laughs again and covers her mouth.

“You-you mean it?” she asks, returning the hug and pulling you to her as closely as possible. You can feel how soft her coat is, a smile crossing your lips.

“I mean it.”

“Good.”

You hear a small splash from behind you and attempt to turn around, only to be shoved back by Lyra, who is now grinning mischievously. You see a large glass full of water floating before you, encased in her golden magical aura.

“No!” You try to scramble to your feet, but fail to do so in time. The glass is now upside-down and empty, its contents on your pants and the stain reaching massive proportions. You sigh heavily and turn to Lyra who is rolling on the floor, clutching her sides in laughter. You can’t help but grin as you rise to your feet and leave the room.

Later that evening, you find yourself tossing and turning in your bed, entirely unable to fall asleep. Each time you begin to drift off, images of Lyra swim across your mind. Your pulse begins to quicken and your eyes shoot open yet again. You quickly judge by the lack of moonlight that the night is practically over; you haven’t been able to catch a single moment of rest without being awoken by Lyra’s golden eyes. The ones that seem to stare directly through you.

You grumble loudly and snatch a pillow out from under your head, throwing it to the floor in a rage. The image of Lyra sitting on the couch beside you comes flooding back, regardless of all attempts to keep it submerged in your subconscious. Finally giving in, you begin to fantasize about her; her soft mane brushing against your bare skin as you hold her in your arms. You feel your soul soar.

God! What… what is this? You think to yourself, butterfly’s in your stomach. Am… Am I falling for Lyra? The possibility seems remote to you. You expect to be horrified at the thought, but instead find yourself completely unsurprised.

“No.” You say aloud, as if trying to still the incessant stream of images and fantasies through your head. There’s no way. She’s my friend. And she’s with Bon-Bon, for crying out loud! They’ve lived here for like three years…

You sigh heavily and continue staring at the ceiling.

Maybe… You find yourself thinking, grasping at straws for any suitable excuse for your feelings, however feeble. Maybe… A smile suddenly plasters its way on your face as your eyes begin to close and accept sleep. Maybe it’s just gas.

You suddenly sit up and let out a deep belch that seems to echo throughout the quiet apartment.

“Awww nasty!” You can hear Lyra yell from her and Bon-Bon’s room across the hall.

You chuckle to yourself and lay back down, your eyes closing slowly. Yeah. Definitely gas.

Chapter 2

You wake up slowly, welcoming the golden rays of Celestia’s sun and feeling them warm your entire body. You stretch automatically and bring a hand to your face, rubbing your eyes free of sleep-sand. As you fumble with your pants and a belt, you can hear Bon-Bon and Lyra talking over breakfast.

“I know, I know. But I’ll be off tomorrow, I promise. I have a massive order of piñatas to fill for the preschool graduation.” Bon-Bon explains to Lyra. You hear the latter groan loudly, if somewhat overdramatically, and childishly stomp her hooves on the floor.

“Lyra, stop that!” Bon-Bon whispers harshly. “You don’t want to piss off Mr. Waddles again! He hates us enough as it is.”

You stop moving and stand silently, hoping that Mr. Waddles forgets about the noise coming from the apartment above his long enough to report you all to the landlord again. The crotchety old pony has already gotten Lyra and Bon-Bon in enough trouble since you first moved in. Meanwhile in the dining room, Lyra stifles a giggle, clearly enjoying the newfound power she has over Bon-Bon.

“You wouldn’t dare…” Bon-Bon warns Lyra. You quickly finish tossing on clothes and quietly open your bedroom door to watch the scene unfold. Lyra, the troublesome mare that she was, was holding her forehooves high above the wooden table she and Bon-Bon sat around, a sinister smile on her face.

“Oh, wouldn’t I?” she responds playfully. She thrusts a hoof down, stopping mere inches above the tabletop. Bon-Bon cringes at the sight and sighs in relief. You watch, wondering what could have possibly led to this.

“Fine…” Bon-Bon says finally, rising from her chair. She trots into the living room and remains there for a minute while Lyra crosses her forelegs in victory, a smug smile crossing her lips. Bon-Bon returns with a small bag of bits and plops it on the dining room table. “I hope you choke on it.”

“Gladly.” Lyra chirps, pulling the money closer to her.

“I hate you sometimes.” Bon-Bon says while tossing her saddlebags fit with a lyre clip on her back. She trotted to the door and opened it, a wicked smile on her face. “Sometimes I think I should have stayed living with Octavia instead.” She dashed into the hall and slammed the door shut behind her.

“Hey! You love me!” Lyra called after the cream coloured mare, but she was already long gone.

“What was that?” you ask, leaving the sanctity of your room and joining her at the dining room table. You grasp a box of wheat cereal and Lyra’s empty bowl and begin preparing your breakfast. “Lovers quarrel?”

Lyra crosses her forelegs and sticks her tongue out at you. “Nothing. Oh, and you’re an ass.”

“Guilty…” you put a spoonful of cereal in your mouth and begin chewing; Lyra waiting for you to continue. “As charged.”

“Gimme some.” Lyra says lowly, reaching across the table for your bowl.

You recoil and hold the bowl far back from her. “Oh no, you’re getting this over my dead body.”

“That can be arranged.”

You put the bowl back on the table and raise a hand to your chin, stroking it as if deep in thought. “Well… When you put it that way…”

“Hey, this is pretty good.” Lyra says, chomping down on your cereal.

“Wait what?” You glance down at the table, only to find that your bowl was gone and instead was parked in front of the aquamarine mare. “What the hell! I was eating that!”

“Fine.” She responds with her mouth full, milk dribbling down her face. “Have it back.” Lyra opens her mouth revealing half-chewed mush.

“Ugh, gross.” You cover your eyes. “Never mind. I’ll just starve.” You rise from the table and begin walking into the living room.

“You’ll live, fatty.” Lyra calls out, scooping another spoonful of your breakfast into her mouth.

You sit down on the couch in your usual spot, remote in hand. The TV flickers to life and after a minute of channel surfing stops on the Equestria News. You watch intently as the news-stallion explains an incident in Appleoosa.

“So anyway…” Lyra calls from the kitchen.

You try to ignore her interruption and focus on the news.

“I was thinking…” She begins again. You notice that her usually confident demeanor has vanished and she, in fact, sounds nervous. You think nothing of it and turn up the volume slightly.

“Maybe we should, I don’t know… Go into town today?”

Your heart skips a beat and your full attention turns to the beautiful golden-eyed mare sitting in the other room.

“You, know. Just you and me?”

The feelings from the night before flood back. You love her. There’s no way around it. No amount of jokes will cover this fact. And now you and she are going to spend a day together on a… date? The idea stuns you, but you quickly shake it from your mind.

I’m overthinking this. She’s with Bon-Bon! There’s no way that she can even be remotely interested with me, a human no less…

“Sure, I’ll get my coat.” You reply coolly, pushing the images of Lyra out of your head. You sigh lightly and walk into your bedroom. By the time you manage to find your coat (which somehow managed to find its way inside the kitchen refrigerator), Lyra was all ready, wearing an incredibly fashionable saddle adorned with gems that glittered in the sunlight that shone through a window. Little rays of red and blue from the gems sparkled and danced on a nearby wall with each movement that Lyra made.

When you see her, your jaw goes slack. She’s absolutely stunning. Never before have you seen such beauty, on a human or a pony. She winks one of her golden eyes at you and turns around slowly, giving you a full view of the saddle and her slim body.

“You like?” she asks playfully, waggling her eyebrows.

You nod, feeling your mouth dry and heart race.

“Good.” She flicks her tail at you and opens the front door with her magic. “Let’s go before it gets dark.”

Chapter 3

“Elements of Coherence? What are you talking about?” Lyra asks, confused.

“You know, those ponies with the magic jewelry?” you reply, waving your arms in the air, desperately trying to mimic a tiara and a necklace. “They made those weird noises like bloop bloop bloop and bzzzzzz?” Lyra looks at you even more confused than before. You facepalm and look to Roseluck for help.

“… Oh! You mean the Elements of Harmony!” she cries joyfully, as if she had just solved a million-dollar question on a game show.

You clap your hands together. “Yeah, them!”

“Ok, what about them?” Lyra asks, the puzzled look still on her face.

“Oh, I just saw the pink one walk by a second ago.”

“Who, Pinkie Pie?”

“Uh, yeah. I think that’s her name.”

“Wow, cool story.” Lyra says, turning back to Roseluck who stood behind a vendors stall, various flower displays adorning every inch. “So anyway, I was all-“

“Wait, I thought you’d be impressed or something that I’m starting to really get my bearings around here! I almost recognized Pinkles Pie!”

“Well, first off it’s Pinkie Pie, not Pinkles. Secondly, you’re bound to see her pop up pretty much everywhere. “

“What do you me…” Your voice trails off as you notice Pinkie Pie in the distance hopping happily, moving along the exact same path that she had traveled down only a minute prior. She disappears behind a building and reappears at the head of the path, hopping down it once again. “What the hell…?”

Roseluck turns to watch the pink mare hop around happily, humming a song. She shrugs and returns to watering her flowers. “She’s Pinkie Pie. Ignore it and it won’t bother you.”

Lyra laughs. “I think we’ll let you get back to work, Rose. I'm pretty sure he’s had enough breaking of the laws of physics for one day.”

“Ok! You guys have a great day! Oh, and tell Bon-Bon I said hi!” Roseluck waves a hoof at you; you respond with a smile.

“Sure thing!” Lyra calls back, trotting alongside you and into town. “So let’s see, we saw Rose, Carrot Top and Daisy.”

“Hey, don’t forget Derpy!” you add.

Lyra laughs. “How could I? Especially after what happened with you guys today!”

“That mare really loves those muffins…”

“Hey, speaking of food, I’m starving! Let’s get something to eat.”

“Hmmm…” You stroke your chin as if deep in thought. “Fine. But you’re buying!”

“Wow, lazy and cheap! You’re every mare’s dream!” Lyra snipes back jokingly.

You recoil overdramatically and pretend to sob into your hands. “Oh boo hoo! My life is a misery! I’m so alone and misunderstood! Woe is me!”

“Hey, it’s ok.” Lyra grins back at you. “I’m sure you’ll find somepony that’ll want to date your sorry ass. So what do you say? This place has great food.”

“Hoity Toity’s Fine Equestrian Cuisine?” you read off a banner hanging above the restaurant. “Uh, yeah. Sure. Sounds cool.” You smile and walk inside with Lyra by your side.

An earth pony wearing a black vest appears before the two of you and seats you almost immediately, dropping a plastic menu directly in front of each of you before darting to help another couple. You revel in the brilliance of the high-class restaurant, noting that normally you and Lyra opt to order out and sit in front of the television.

You scan the restaurant curiously, examining each aspect of the lavishly decorated interior. Paintings and portraits of important ponies hang on the wall, an elegant chandelier shining rays of dim, gold light upon each of them. The remainder of the restaurant seems especially dim, save the individual candles standing in the center of each table and illuminating everypony’s faces.

You turn to face Lyra and your heart flutters. The candlelight shines brightly in her golden eyes as if giving them a life of their own. She smiles at you softly, delicately, her aquamarine coat standing out brightly from the ambient lighting.

She’s absolutely beautiful… You tell yourself, wondering how come it took so long for you to notice. It takes all your strength to keep yourself from confessing to her how you feel; how much she really does mean to you. How you love her.

You wish Lyra could be yours instead of Bon-Bon’s.

Oblivious to your inner turmoil, Lyra picks up her menu and begins skimming it. You notice her tongue sticking out of the side of her mouth and stifle a chuckle.

“Awwwww, you look so cute!” you coo, breaking the silence. You proceed to make baby noises at her, Lyra responding with a blush.

“Shut up and pick something to eat.” She reaches across the table to hit you but you push your chair back enough for her to miss you. You laugh and pick up your menu off the table.

“Hayburgers, grits, salads…” You mumble while reading over the myriad examples of entrees offered. “Daffodil sandwiches?” You grimace and sigh, putting the menu back on the table.

“Best one’s in town, I swear. Gustave’s has got nothing on this place. ” Lyra responds, unaware of your distaste.

You frown; Lyra’s attention is devoted to the menu rather than you. Hoping to catch her attention, you scrunch up your face and waggle your fingers at her, but to no avail. Shortly after you puff up your cheeks and pull your ears forward, moving closer toward her until your nose is inches away from her menu.

You suddenly notice the complete silence that envelops the restaurant. You realize that pretty much the entire restaurant is presently staring at you, your fingers contorting your face into as bizarre an expression as any yet seen by humanity or ponykind. You smile, embarrassed, and shrink back in your chair, waiting for the ponies’ prying eyes to turn back to their own tables.

Lyra, in the meantime, sits before you, flipping through her menu. You twiddle your fingers rapidly as if trying to beat a high score to some made up game.

Where’s the damn waiter in this place? You think to yourself, boredom setting in.

Striving not to be outdone by a plastic menu, you quickly hatch a fiendish plot to ensure Lyra’s attention, good or bad.

“Sigh…” You begin. “What I wouldn’t do for a hamburger…”

You see Lyra’s ears perk up from behind her menu. You smile. You’ve got her in the palm of your hand.

“Or maybe a nice cheesy-beefy-oober-melt burrito from Taco Shell; with extra beef…” You smack your lips loudly and begin rubbing your stomach. You can see Lyra begin to lower her menu, her eyes peering over it and straight at you.

“Is there something wrong?” you ask innocently, fluttering your eyelashes at her.

“You know what you’re doing. Stop it.” She replies menacingly, her eyebrows crossed at you.

“Stop what? Talking about how much I’d love a big juicy steak right about now? Or maybe some… bacon?”

“Stop-“

“Hell! Even a Shepard’s Pie would do right about now! Or even haggis! Just something nice and bloody.” You sit back and fold your arms, staring at Lyra. By this time the entire restaurant was watching your exchange, engrossed.

“Look, you’ve got my attention, now please stop. Please?” Lyra whispers, a blush growing on her cheek from the unwanted attention.

“Fine.” You reply, clearly the victor. “Waiter?” Your voice practically echoes throughout the presently silent restaurant. The earth pony from before dashes before you, a pencil and pad of paper in his hooves.

“Can I, uh, take your orders?”

“Why certainly, my good stallion. The lady will have the daffodil sandwich, extra lettuce and tomatoes.” You order, speaking in your fanciest tone possible. Lyra rolls her eyes at you and sits back. The remaining ponies turn back to their own meals, your spectacle finished.

“And for you sir?”

“Hmmmm… Do you guys have anything with meat?”

Lyra instantly blushes and drops her head to the table, sighing heavily while the waiter looks at you nervously. You let out a reassuring laugh.

“Scratch that. I’ll take a salad.”

“You really suck.” Lyra says to you as the two of you walk out of Hoity Toity’s Fine Equestrian Cuisine. “You almost got me banned from my favorite restaurant!” She punches you in the arm and trots ahead of you, leaving you standing there smiling widely.

“Aw c’mon, wait up!” You shout, running to catch up with the mare. “You’re just pissed that I embarrassed you before you got a chance to humiliate me.”

“Yeah, yeah. You know how everypony freaks out about the mention of meat! You cheated and you know it.”

“Cheated? No, my dear, that’s simply not true.” You mock curl an invisible moustache and continue your walk beside the aquamarine mare who looks up at you, smiling wryly. “As a human, I’m destined to excel at everything.” You smile back smugly, walking with your chest puffed out. “It’s clear that ponies are inferior beings! While you may be peaceful and happy, humans are strong, enduring, incredibly smart, and very percepti- whoa!

Surprised, you trip and fall to the ground face first landing with a thud. You look up to find Lyra, her hind leg sticking out in front of where you were just walking. She brings her face close to yours and smiles.

“Perceptive, huh? How’s that working for you?”

“A sunset by the lake? How cliché.” You say jokingly, nudging the musical mare sitting beside you on a park bench.

“You just have to ruin everything, don’t you?” Lyra retaliates with a punch, slumping back in the bench. You laugh and grab your arm, rubbing away the dull pain.

The two of you sit alone, enjoying the soft breeze that wafts by. You sigh and lean back. A small flock of ducklings waddle nearby, quaking at each other quietly.

“This is beautiful…” Lyra says softly, entranced by the scenery.

You nod in agreement. Everything had gone perfectly. Your day with Lyra went by flawlessly, and now you and the mare you love are spending a sunset together by a lake. Even with the picturesque landscape stretching around you, your thoughts are focused on Lyra. You silently wish that this moment spent with her was one in which you two were together, not just as friends.

Almost as if on cue, Lyra leans into you and sighs peacefully. Your heart races and you nervously wrap an arm around her, pulling her closer into an embrace.

I don’t how I was so lucky as to come here and meet you. You think at her, wishing you could say these words aloud. Wishing she would say something back. God knows I could’ve appeared anywhere! Or met anypony. I couldn’t have been luckier to have met you so quickly. You’ve been amazing. You’ve housed me, fed me, hell, even befriended. You’re the most amazing pers- uh, pony I’ve ever met. I want to tell you how thankful I am and how much everything you’ve done has meant to me. Even if I could go home, I wouldn’t. My home is with you now.

“What are you thinking about?” Lyra asks, looking up at you. Strands of her white hair from her mane dangle over her eyes. She blows at them, sending them back into formation.

“N-nothing.” You reply shakily.

“What? C’mon, don’t lie to me.”

“Well, Lyra… I… well, I loooo,” you begin, suddenly deciding against your confession and developing a hasty lie. “ooove this…lake? Yeah! This place is niiiiice.” Smooth, man. Real smooth. You think to yourself begrudgingly.

“That’s crap and you know it.” She says matter-of-factly, pushing up off of you and looking into your eyes. Her demeanor instantly softens. “Now tell me the truth, please?”

Oh God, what do I say?! I mean, now’s my chance and all…

Lyra looks into your eyes, almost as if staring into your soul. A soft, yet firm gaze.

I don’t know if I should do this… She’s with Bon-Bon! It’ll ruin everything! Do this and you can kiss your friendship goodbye…

Her mane blows gently in the breeze. She wears a light smile on her face as she calmly awaits your answer.

But… I love her! Why should I care if she doesn’t back? I gotta at least tell her. If not for her sake, but my own. I’m sure we can work it out…

“I’m not getting any younger, you know.” She says playfully.

I-I-I… I can’t do it.

“Lyra, you’re… you’ve been a great friend.” You say to her, clenching your teeth in self-disappointment. Her smile slowly begins to drop.

I wish you could be mine.

“You’ve been way too nice to me since I wound up in Equestria.”

And I love you so much.

“You’re the best friend I think I could ever have.” You look up at Lyra, her eyes tearing and confusion on her face. “Lyra? What’s wrong?”

“N-nothing. Just-just gimme a minute.” Lyra’s voice falters as she turns away from you and toward the deep blue lake. You hear her sniffle lightly.

“What’s wrong?” you repeat, confused. “Did I say something?” you reach an arm out to her but it gets slapped away. She drops from the bench and begins to trot away. “Lyra?” you call after her.

She turns to face you, her eyes tear-stained and her face wet from crying. “Screw off! Just- just leave me alone. I’m done. Go find yourself a new friend.”

She turns back to the road and gallops away back into town, sobbing heavily.

Chapter 4

“Bon-Bon!” you call into the seemingly empty sweet shop. You look around and walk inside, ignoring the “Closed” sign hanging in the window. “Bon-Bon, I know you’re here! I need your help!”

Just then the cream coloured mare comes trotting out from the back room, a frown imprinted on her face. “This had better be important. If I don’t finish these damn piñatas for tomorrow, I’ll-“

“It’s Lyra!” you interrupt, your heart racing from earlier. The run into Ponyville definitely didn’t help much either.

“Lyra?! What happened? Is she ok? I swear to Celestia if you-“

“I didn’t do anything!” You say defensively, taken aback by Bon-Bon’s uncharacteristic assertiveness.

“Ok, ok. I’m sorry.” Bon-Bon replies, sensing your unease. “I’m sure you know how much she means to me. Now come in and tell me what happened. I’ll help you if I can.” She turns around and trots back into the backroom waving you to follow.

You walk into the room and take a seat, Bon-Bon sitting before you. “Ok, now tell me from the beginning. Don’t spare the details.”

“Lyra and I were at the lake watching the sun set and everything when she just freaked out and left.”

Bon-Bon looks at you, confused. “That is the biggest load of crap I think I’ve ever heard. That is unless someone provoked her.”

“What? No! We were just talking.”

“About…?” Bon-Bon leans in eagerly.

You gulp and feel sweat forming on your brow. “Well… Bon-Bon, I think I’m in love with your marefriend.”

The cream coloured mare looks at you angrily and groans. “Seriously? Not you too! Out of everypony, I expected you to be different.” She rises from her chair and begins to walk away.

“Wait, what?! Other ponies love Lyra too?” You ask, confused.

Bon-Bon stops in her tracks. “What are you…? No! She isn’t my marefriend, you moron!”

You sit, still trying to comprehend what Bon-Bon just told you. Nothing seems to make sense, and yet, everything does. Lyra and Bon-Bon living together for three years and sharing a bedroom, Bon-Bon’s lyre saddlebag clips, their constant quarreling over trivial things…

“But… but…” You stutter, trying desperately to form a coherent question.

“Look, Lyra and I have been friends since college. We live together because it’s a lot cheaper to share an apartment than to get our own places. I used to live with my friend Octavia, but after she got pregnant, I kinda decided to move out.” She explains, almost as if she predicted what you’re feeling.

“But you sleep in the same room…”

Bon-Bon sighs. “That’s because you took Lyra’s old one. She needs to sleep somewhere. And I think you know how uncomfortable that couch is.”

You nod your head, feeling like a total idiot.

“But, that still doesn’t explain why Lyra ran off…” Bon-Bon continues, trotting toward you. “What exactly did you tell her?”

“I… well… I told her she was a great friend…”

Bon-Bon facehoofs. “Are you serious? After everything you decided to not tell her the truth?”

“I thought she was with you!” you shout in defense.

“Ok, ok, calm down.” Bon-Bon says, placing a hoof on your shoulder. “This may come as a surprise to you, being stupid and all, but you Lyra actually has some feelings back for you.”

“R-really?” You perk up almost instantly; however return to your previously brooding demeanor as you remember ruining your chances only short time prior.

“Yeah, for quite a while, actually. You’re the kind of pon- er person that she’s been waiting for. I still have no clue what she sees in you though…” Bon-Bon trails off, a hoof on her chin as if in thought.

“So all this time, Lyra and I were just too caught up in not wanting to be rejected to tell each other the truth? That’s pretty lame, actually.”

“I’d say it’s more stupidity on your part and pride on hers. But take it any way you want.” Bon-Bon smiles at you and pulls you up to your feet. “Now go find her and tell her the truth. I don’t want to come home to any tear stains on my bed.”

You rise off your chair and turn to the door. “Wait… I don’t know where she went. She could be anywhere!” A sense of panic fills your voice.

“Have you tried back at the apartment?” Bon-Bon asks, a smug smile on her face.

“I… Well…” you search your head for a clever response but come up with nothing.

“Seriously, are all humans this stupid?” Bon-Bon taunts as you rise from your seat and head for the door.

“No!” You snap, pausing suddenly as you realize you’ve just burned yourself. “Screw you, Bon-Bon.” In a flash you open the door and sprint back to your apartment, leaving Bon-Bon laughing on the floor of the sweetshop.

“Lyra, I-I should have told you this before. You’ve been amazing to me since I showed up here and, well, I can’t thank you enough. You mean so much to me and every time I see you, I just want to tell you how I really feel. Lyra, I love you.” You say, your heart thumping inside of your chest.

“Dude that’s never gonna work. That’s too melodramatic. Just go in there and tell her how you feel. Just Bam!” You look around and notice a blue stallion standing next to you in the hallway outside your apartment.

“Uh, yeah. Thanks.” You fumble with your key and place it in the lock, your heart still racing.

“No problem, brah.” He replies, walking away from you. “Weirdo.”

“L-Lyra?” you call into the dimly lit apartment, softly. Walking inside, you stumble over Lyra’s saddlebags. If Lyra didn’t know you were at the apartment before, she definitely did now.

“Lyra? Are you here? I just wanna talk to you.” You call again, this time louder. You walk into the living room and then the kitchen, hoping to find Lyra relaxing and happy instead of how she was when she stormed away from you at the lake.

“J-just go away. Go hang out with Berry Punch or somepony if you want a friend.” The musical mare’s voice answers from your nearby bedroom.

You knock on the door softly. “Lyra, I know you’re in there. C’mon out. I need to talk with you.”

“Leave me alone.” She says flatly.

You frown at the closed door and knock again. “You know I’m not gonna stop until you let me in.”

“I said leave me alone!” Lyra shouts back. You hear a loud bang from the bedroom as she undoubtedly throws one of your possessions against the door. “Besides,” she mumbles. “The door’s unlocked.”

You walk into the room, half expecting to find Lyra sobbing into your pillows. She instead sits in her unusual manner at the edge of your bed, her hindhooves kicking in the air.

“What do you want?”

You stand before the beautiful aquamarine mare and smile at her softly. “I just thought we should talk is all.” You take a seat beside her; she shifts over away from you, her eyes fixated on the wall opposite her. The two of you stare at the wall silently for what seems like an hour.

“Maybe I should call the police; tell them there’s an intruder in my room.” You say, breaking the silence.

Lyra laughs lightly. “Shut up. You know this is technically my room.” She punches your arm.

“Yeah, but who are the police gonna believe? Rough and tough Lyra, or little ol’ me?” You flutter your eyelashes at her. Lyra tries unsuccessfully to hide her smile and punches you again.

“Didn’t I tell you to leave me al-“

“Officer Valor here.” You say with the gruffest voice you can mock up. “What seems to be the trouble here, sir?”

Lyra laughs harder.

“Oh Officer! There’s a crazed mare in my bedroom! Heeeeeeeeeelp!” Your voice becomes instantly higher, as if you were a damsel in distress.

“S-stop! Hahaha,” Lyra laughs even harder, a hiccup escaping her mouth. She squeaks and swings her hoof back, preparing to punch you again.

Anticipating the strike, you reel yourself back, only to watch Lyra’s hoof to fly past you. Excepting to hit you instead of air, Lyra topples forward and onto your lap, the both of you laughing wildly, tears forming in your eyes.

Time passes and the laughter dies down, but Lyra still lies on your lap. You feel her warmth against your body and smile down at her, looking into her striking golden eyes.

“Lyra…” you begin, wishing this moment could last forever. “Before I came into the apartment, I had this whole thing planned that I wanted to say to you. I really should have told you all of this before. You’ve been so amazing to me since I showed up here and, well, I can’t thank you enough for everyth-“

“Howbout you cut to the chase? This is way too melodramatic for me.” Lyra says, stifling a giggle.

“I love you. I don’t want to be just friends.”

This is it! you tell yourself happily. You’ve put your heart on the line and now she says yes!

Moments pass as you wait for Lyra say something, anything in response. Her smile grows wider as yours decreases in size.

“No.”

“What?!” You practically throw Lyra off of you as you reel back in shock. She stays on your lap and looks up at you, laughing.

“I’m kidding! Jeez, lighten up.”

Chapter 5 [Epilogue]

And there she is.

The most beautiful mare you’ve ever seen, right before you. Her eyes meet yours and she smiles widely. Her pastel coat shimmers in the moonlight coming through a nearby window as she slowly trots closer to you, her eyes fixated on your own. You can see that she is deliberately swinging her flank with each step.

She stops and quickly brushes her mane out of her beautiful golden eyes. Your heart begins to race.

“Hey, howbout you stop gaping at me and help me with these lights?” She asks unexpectedly.

You suddenly snap back to reality. “Wait what?” You notice Lyra holding a strand of multicolored lights before you in her magical aura. You snatch them from mid-air and walk to a bare window. “You’re a real mood killer, you know that?”

“Yeah, yeah, so I’ve been told. Now hang those lights and we’ll start decorating the tree. This place has gotta be perfect for the Hearth’s Warming Eve party tomorrow.”

Your face drops as you remember one crucial thing: you forgot to buy Lyra a gift. “Oh, y-yeah when’s that party again?”

Lyra looks over at you, puzzled. “It’s at 5:30. Didn’t you write out the invitations…?”

You freeze again. Oh shit. “Um yeah! Of course I did! What kind of boyfriend wouldn’t?” You let out a nervous chuckle as you remember the unsent invitations sitting in a desk by your and Lyra’s bed.

“Y’know what?” you begin, starting to your bedroom. You quickly toss on your coat and tuck the invitations into your pants pocket. “I gotta go see a man about a horse.” You run to the door.

“I mean, somepony about a… a… never mind! I forgot that I had a dentist appointment! Yeah, this filling is killing me, owwww.” You cup your jaw with your hand and overdramatically wince. Lyra looks at you, a smug smile on her face.

“I’ll be sure to call Colgate and let her know that you’re coming by then.”

“What? No, don’t bother. She’s probably busy! Yeah, see you later!” You slam the door behind you and sprint into Ponyville.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
*The Next Night*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

You slump into onto the couch and watch Lyra and Bon-Bon escort the final party-goer to the door. The three mares speak almost incessantly about everything from their manes to plans for the next day, but you barely pay any mind. The smile on your face says it all; you successfully managed to invite everypony and pick up Lyra’s gift all without any actual trouble.

Even better, the party was a massive success! You look into a far corner of the living room and notice Lyra’s lyre sitting on a stool where she had left it. You remember the amazing melodies she played throughout the evening, so soothing and yet, entirely captivating.

“Well anyway, I think I’m gonna get going.” Bon-Bon announces to you and Lyra, the latter trotting into the kitchen, more than likely to snack off the remaining appetizers.

“What? Where to?” you ask, confusion tinting your voice.

“I got a hot date tonight with Doctor Whooves.” Bon-Bon replies, smiling and winking. “Besides, I think you two deserve to spend your first Hearths Warming Eve together. Consider it my gift to both of you.”

“Are you sure?” Lyra calls from the kitchen. “We won’t mi-“

“Really, it’s ok. We’ve had enough Hearth’s Warming Eve’s together. I’m sure we’ll live being separated.” With that, she opened the door and stepped out, leaving you alone with the mare of your dreams.

Almost as if on cue, Lyra gallops into the living room and dives onto your lap, gracelessly. You laugh and catch her, pulling her close. You look into her golden eyes and feel your heart flutter. Before you know it, Lyra wraps her hooves around your neck and pulls you forward, lovingly.

“I got you something…” she whispers into your ear, her breath hot against your face. Your heart skips a beat. “But first!” Lyra shoves herself off of you. “You give me my gift.”

“W-what? Are you kidding?!” you cry, your hopes and dreams of a romantic moment fleeting before your eyes with each passing second.

“Hey, I got all night. Maybe I can catch up with Bon-Bon. I’m sure Doctor Whooves has a single friend…”

“Fine, fine. I get it.” You reply coolly, reaching under the sofa for Lyra’s well-hidden gift. “But if you’re looking to date me for my money, then you’ll be severely disappointed when you find out that I’m flat broke.”

Lyra chuckles and moves closer to you. “Well, I guess I can stay with you at least a little after I bleed your wallet dry.”

You hand the gift to Lyra who takes it eagerly in her golden aura. “Now, I know this definitely isn’t what you want to hear, but I didn’t really know what to get you. Shopping for ponies is a lot harder than it looks…”

Lyra dives into the hastily wrapped present and smiles at the large book of sheet music sitting on her lap. “All of Buch’s symphonies for the lyre? How did you even find this?! This is- this is awesome!” she says excitedly. “I mean, I love it, thanks.” She leans over and kisses you on the cheek.

“Yeah, I guess I did pretty good.” You lean back and put your arms behind your head. “I mean I also got you this necklace, but whatever, man.” Smiling, you nonchalantly drop a jewelry box onto her lap.

She opens it and squeals excitedly. “It’s beautiful! This… this is amazing! Oh thank you so much!”

“I knew you’d love it.” You say, pulling Lyra toward you. “So, was this a perfect Hearth’s Warming Eve, then?” you ask, happy with yourself.

“Well… I guess…”

“W-what? What do you mean?! The party and the presents and, well, everything!”

“Well yeah, they are all great, but there’s one thing …”

“What is it?!”

“Nah, it’s nothing. You can get it for me next year.” Lyra waves a hoof and turns to walk away.

You reach an arm out and pull her back toward you. She tries not to smile but fails miserably. “What is it? You name it and I’ll get it for you.”

“You’re too sweet, you know that?” Lyra leans in and nuzzles your neck, unexpectedly.

“So what do you want?”

Lyra leans in once more and kisses you. “Kids!”

Chapter the Next

“Don’t you just wish this moment could last forever?”

You open your eyes, breathing in deep the crisp autumn air and smile in response. Around you the leaves have already begun to change, most of them bright red or orange, their colours matching the sunset off in the distance.

“This?” you ask, casually draping your arm around Lyra Heartstrings, your caretaker, friend and now longtime girlfriend. “Hmmm, yeah. I think I could live with this.”

It was the eve of the Running of the Leaves, and you and Lyra decided to spend the day together enjoying the scenery as much as possible before the competitors turned the forest barren. Tomorrow you’d be around to cheer her on to victory, or at least something better than the last time she ran. Rumor had it Rainbow Dash and Applejack were coming back to settle an old score…

You quickly shake your thoughts back to the present, admiring the beautiful scenery. You and Lyra sit on a park bench, the unicorn leaning against you lovingly. Before you stretches a pond, calm and placid an ocean of brown, red and yellow leaved trees surround you both and climbing up into the equally colorful sky.

You sigh. The same pond where you made a complete fool of yourself almost two years prior…

Eh, I’m only human. You think to yourself. And she… Your eyes turn to look at Lyra resting on you. She’s a pony. But she’s mine. And I couldn’t be happier.

A smile crawls on your face as you take in another deep breath. The wind picks up briefly, picking up and carrying several leaves past you and Lyra. You glance down at her, watching the wind ruffle her aquamarine and white mane. An overwhelming urge to kiss the mare comes over you, but you fight it back, instead choosing to tell her how you feel.

“Lyra, I-”

“Shhh.” She responds lovingly, delicately placing a hoof over your lips. “Let’s just enjoy this moment together.”

You look into her golden eyes and see the dimming sunlight reflect from them into your own. Your soul soars. You think about all the good times the two of you have had in the past two years. You think about your first Hearth’s Warming Eve together. Your first Hearts and Hooves day. Hell, even your first fight. You smile. You think about how you wouldn’t give those memories up for anything.

You don’t want to leave Equestria anymore.

Your home is Ponyville.

Your home is with Lyra.

“Lyra, I lo-”

“I know you do.” The mare answers, turning to face you. She smiles at you sweetly and squeezes you tightly. “Let’s just enjoy this sunset, alright? It’s absolutely beautiful out here.”

You sigh and smile back, repositioning yourself on the park bench. You look at the way Lyra sits and fight back a chuckle, still finding it funny to see a pony sitting the way a human does. But yet, it seems to suit her. Lyra always was different from the other ponies you met. She seemed almost as human as you were.

A small brightly coloured cardinal flies before you and the mare of your dreams, perching itself on the branch of a nearby tree. Its song is melodic and sweet and only seems to add to the perfection of the day. Your own personal soundtrack.

You reach your hand out and touch the musical mare’s face, gently turning it towards yours. Her golden eyes stare into yours, a smile adorning both of your faces.

“Lyra, I want to spend the rest of my life here with you.” You tell her, feeling your heart surging with each word. “I love you.”

You close your eyes slowly and lean towards her, lips puckered slightly. You wait for the feeling of her lips pressing against yours, her breath warm and her aquamarine coat brushing against your skin.

But it doesn’t come.

“Hey, idiot, wake up!”

Your eyes shoot open. “Wha-huh?” you ask sleepily, sitting up. You suddenly realize that you’re at home in yours and Lyra’s bed. “What happened?” You rub your hands against your eyes, breaking away bits of sleep sand that were forming.

“You were snoring.” Lyra responds angrily, her hooves on her hips. “Now cut it out and go back to bed.”

You groan and flop back down on the bed. Lyra lightly punches your arm, signaling you to shut up and tugs on the covers until you’re lying on the bed, completely exposed.

You sigh. Your “perfect day” had turned out be nothing but a dream. I should have known. You tell yourself, annoyance washing over you. I mean, I know that Lyra would never be that romantic. What the hell was I thinking, trying to have a nice day with her? God knows even in my dreams that’s impossible.

Angrily, you turn on your side, facing away from Lyra. Tiredness begins to set it instantly as you start drifting back to sleep.

“Oh, and hot stuff?”

You open your eyes and lay still, waiting for her to continue.

“I love you too.”

You smile and close your eyes.

Yeah, I guess I can live with this.

Unreleased Bonus: Original Ending

Now before you can read the actual chapter, you have to understand a few things about this story. As I wrote it originally, it was meant to be a trolling clop-fic. The story was supposed to build up a romance and end with clop, similar to the way Crowley writes his stories. However, I was going to end on a stupid/ silly note (as I did with every story before this).

However, I quickly fell in love with the story, the characters and everything about it and dropped this ending, instead choosing to write the (mildly) controversial/ heartwarming/ loved ending you see today. I wrote this a long time ago along with another troll ending but only this one was truly finished, the other only half way done and discarded on a thumb-drive appropriately named: "Shit I didn't finish yet."

But it is very important for you all to note that what you are about to read is NOT CANON IN ANYWAY TO THE STORY. It does not affect the original story, nor does it impact the sequel which is under way. I have received several requests to post it and think it would be only appropriate for fans to see how it would have ended had various things not happened. Keep in mind it IS unedited and everything. So this is as uncut as humanly possible.

On that note, enjoy.

(This takes place after Chapter 4. Yes, the transition would have been MUCH better had I chosen to do this.)
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“You know, it took you long enough to tell me.” Lyra says, nudging you gently.

“Well excuse me! You could have at least tried to make it seem like you and Bon-Bon weren’t dating.”

Lyra turns away and crosses her forelegs at her chest, mocking hurt. “Humph. You tell me you love and two minutes later you’re already breaking my heart. You’re off to a great start, really.”

You sigh and roll your eyes, taking the opportunity to shimmy closer and wrap your arm around her. The aquamarine mare willingly leans into your side and looks up at you lovingly, her eyes locked onto your own. Her glance, however, didn’t seem so wholly innocent.

“I gotta say,” she began wrapping her forelegs around your neck. “There’s something I’ve wanted to do for quite a while now…”

Your heart begins to race as Lyra fixes herself on the couch so that she’s sitting directly next to you, her gaze fixed on you. You know exactly what’s coming, but your heart still starts racing. Almost instinctively you gently place your hand on her cheek and begin inching your face closer to hers.

Your lips press against hers softly at first, but you eventually give in to the sensation and press your face forward a little harder. Shockingly, the feeling is almost equal to that of kissing another human; however her soft coat provides a warm feeling on your face as you press your lips against hers.

You and Lyra break your kiss, a small strand of saliva dangling from her lips. She wipes a hoof against her face and smiles at you lovingly. You feel that all too familiar feeling of passionate love and lean in again, savoring the feeling of her moist lips against your own.

You feel her tongue press against your teeth and you allow it entry into your mouth. It playfully beckons yours forward and they begin a dance inside your mouths. You pull her as close to you as you possibly can, longing to hold her tighter, closer. Your hands wander around her body, one finally clasping against her flank. She shudders and lets out a soft moan.

You both stop kissing and look at each other. “That’s nice and all,” she whispers into your ear, her hot breath sending shivers down your spine. “But that isn’t exactly what I was talking about…” She motions her head to your bedroom down the hall. You smile and nod, standing up. You both walk into the room, your arm resting over the aquamarine mare. The door is instantly encased in her golden aura and slams shut. Lyra smiles.

You pull the mare in and press your lips against hers sweetly, but quickly get pushed back onto your bed. You look up, your heart beating faster. Lyra’s smile grows wider.

“Sorry lover boy, I’ve been waiting for this for way too long.” Her horn begins to glow and you watch the golden aura envelop your shirt. It gets tugged from your body effortlessly and sails to the other side of the room. Lyra jumps onto you, wrapping her forelegs around your neck and her horn still glowing.

In an instant she’s back to kissing you, her tongue playfully dancing in your mouth. She gently bites down on your lip and pulls back a bit, sending shivers down your spine. You lustfully pull her back down on top of you and slowly move your hands down her back until you reach plot. You instinctively squeeze, eliciting a pleasured moan from your new-found lover.

The feeling of her body on yours gives you a warm feeling and sends your heart racing faster. Lyra begins rhythmically, lustfully grinding her hips against yours, her breath short and fast paced. You don’t think you can hold back anymore. You love her. And not only that.

You want her.

At that moment she stops and looks at you, desire in her eyes and a seductive smirk on her lips. Before you know it you feel a tingle all around your legs as they too are enveloped in her golden aura. Your pants join your shirt on the other side of the room.

Her golden eyes look over your now naked body, stopping suddenly between your legs.

“Is that…”

You look down at yourself and look back up at the pony that only seconds ago was tearing your clothes off. The smile on her face changes from excitement and lust to laughter, as she raises a hoof to prevent herself from chuckling.

“Is that seriously it? Bahahaha!” she busts out laughing and falls to the floor, clutching her sides. “It’s so- it’s so- bahahaha…” she continues laughing as you grab a pillow from the head of your bed and cover your pathetic manhood. “It’s so cute!”

You blush furiously, entirely unsure of what to do. Still laughing, Lyra rises to her hooves, tears pouring down her cheeks. “Oh Celestia, that was priceless.” She rubs a hoof against her eyes and heads to the door.

“But-but…” You begin, flustered and confused. Lyra turns to face you. “Weren’t we, you know, gonna… do it?”

The musical mare, your one and only love, shoots her head back and begins laughing again as she opens the door to leave. “Not on your life, short-stop.”

Author's Notes:

Good God I'm so sorry you all had to read this. Now you can see why I didn't keep this. Twas funny (in its own way) but it really would've been a bad way to end the story.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed seeing what might have been, and I certainly hope it didn't turn you against this story! Trust me when I say this:

The next chapter and the sequel will keep in line with the REAL story, none of this crap.

Thanks for reading, and I can't wait to see you for TAHH 2!
-neutralmilk

Tugging at Her Heartstrings 2 - Chapter 1

Tugging At Her Heartstrings 2
-neutralmilk

You open your eyes. Still half asleep, your vision is partially blurry, but before long everything begins to become clear.

Small streaks of sunlight shines in through your mostly-blinded window, giving your bed the illusion that it’s glowing in your otherwise darkened bedroom. From outside the window, a bird chirps its sweet song; and although muffled, the tune resounds in your ears. You can’t help but smile lightly at the fresh feeling of morning. A few minutes of a relaxing bout of absolutely nothing pass before you begin to wonder – how late was it? Hell, what day even was it, again? Most importantly, what type of cereal was there in the kitchen?

Outside your somewhat-dirty-but-you’ll-get-to-cleaning-it-eventually apartment, the world was undoubtedly awake and in full swing. Off in Canterlot the Princesses of the Sun and the Moon had probably been hard at work for hours at this point – planning various ways to keep life in Equestria as peaceful as possible. Meanwhile, all the little colts and fillies were probably at school while their parents, brothers, sisters, etc. worked at the various shops up and down the dirt roads of beautiful Ponyville – your home for the better part of two years. And yet, while the waking world went about its business, you were still in your bed, dressed in some of the most bizarrely ill-fitting pajamas Rarity could have made. Human proportions, after-all, are still of a tricky subject for her.

Eventually, your eyes begin to scan the darkened room: a pile of dirty laundry sitting in corner of the room, a pile of clean laundry sitting in the other (or had you forgotten which was which?), various trinkets representing your new life here in Ponyville. They finally stop at a pony-shaped bump in your sheets. There, Lyra Heartstrings, your best friend turned the absolute love of your life was sleeping comfortably in what was definitely more than her fair share of the bed. The sheets rose and fell gently, dancing to an almost silent beat. You sit up and stretch haphazardly, yawning loudly, your eyes refusing to leave the sleeping mare. Slowly, carefully, you slide closer to Lyra, inching your face ever closer to her ears.

“Good morning,” you whisper softly, purposefully, playfully blowing air into her ear. Besides a slight twitch, she remains still. You decide to gently blow again into her ear. Still no movement, only a slight, annoyed groan emanating from the lump in your sheet.

“Lyra, I think it’s time we got up.” You say, a little louder this time. Her body moves slightly, inching backwards toward you. You can feel the warmth of her back pressed against your chest, her bed-head mane tickling your face with each breath she took. A smile crosses your lips as you reach your arms out to wrap them around her in an embrace.

“Touch me and I sock you.”

You freeze, arms outstretched in a half-superman pose a dumbfounded look stuck on your face. If history had proven one thing, it was that her threats were to be taken seriously. Your arms rocket back to your sides, as far away from Lyra as you can manage, given the space restrictions.

“Seriously,” you start again, risking further threats. “It’s late. It’s already past…” You search the room for the glare of your alarm clock standing out against the darkness – and fail. The memory hits you: just the month before, Bon-Bon threw the clock out. Apparently, she
wasn’t too fond of turning the alarm off every morning while Lyra and you slept through it. A quick nod justifies your decision to sleep in. Totally worth it.

A sigh escapes your lips. Unfortunately, the time for formalities had passed. It was time to go nuclear, especially with threats already uttered. “It’s half past get up or you feed yourself today.”

Almost instantaneously the musical mare turns to face you, a wide, sleepy grin on her face. “And a lovely good morning to you too, hot stuff.” She leans in and hugs you, using a free hoof to wipe sleep from her eyes. “I’ll have toast, thank you.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

“I’m literally never sleeping through breakfast again.” Lyra states matter-of-factly, forelegs akimbo. On a floral pattern plate (Bon-Bon’s) sits a half-eaten sandwich which you, so lovingly, put together for her. “If it means no toast, that is.” The mare leans back in her chair, sitting in the human-like way you’ve grown to love. “Heck, for toast, I’d even consider the possibility of turning in early. I’d say, like midnight.”

You snort, holding back a laugh. “Hey, I said I’d make you toast! It’s not just for breakfast.”

She scoffed, her golden eyes looking at you like you had just uttered the most insane comment imaginable. “Not a chance. Lunch is no time for toast. I know it may shock you…” she pauses to let out an impressive belch. “But I’m not exactly the most hoity-toity pony. A working-class mare like myself needs a meal to get through the middle of the day.”

“Work, huh?” you take a bite out of your peanut butter sandwich. One of the few meals that translated perfectly from the human world to Equestria. “Is that where you’ve been going then?”

A concerned look crosses Lyra’s brow for what seems like a split-second then disappears without a trace. “What do you mean?” she asks, innocently.

“Well, every Thursday for, like, two months you go out for pretty much the whole day.” You interrupt yourself and take another bite of your sandwich. “Mat mmfirs-” you take a swig from the glass of milk in front of you and swish your mouth clear of the dangerously sticky peanut butter. “At first I thought you were just ‘working’ with Bon-Bon at the sweet-”

“Well, yeah, that’s it!” Lyra shoots in, at the same time reaching for your glass of milk. “Her and I need some time for just us mares.”

Realizing the battle for your glass was already lost, you step away from the kitchen table and go to grab yourself another. Nothing left in the fridge – so you settle for pouring a glass of water instead. “It’s just that she’s been on vacation now for, like, two weeks, remember?”

From behind you at the table you can hear Lyra choke on the milk that only a minute prior had belonged to you. “Uh, ummmmm,” she starts, clearing her throat. “She left me in charge while she’s gone, for sure. Bon-Bon knows I so totally care about sweets.”

“Hmmh, that’s weird.” You finally land with a thud back in your chair, watching the musical mare devour that last bit of your sandwich – hers still sitting unfinished across the table. “I thought she told me that Sweetie Belle and the other crusaders were taking over with Pinkie Pie’s help. Remember? We all went with her to get more insurance!”

Lyra opened her mouth to speak, but stopped. Silence pervaded the kitchen for what seemed like (and actually was) a few minutes. You suffered through the remains of her daffodil sandwich while Lyra sat still, her eyes just refusing to meet yours. “Is everything o-”

“Ok, so, your plans today?” she asks, stepping up from the table. The plates and glasses on the table are engulfed in a soft golden aura and fly toward the sink. The water turns on, drowning out what would be your response.

Finished with your “meal,” you step to the mare and run your fingers through her aquamarine mane. “Some more of Twilight’s tests for now. She’s still oddly fascinated as to why humans have butt-cheeks.” You chuckle quickly to yourself. “And to be honest, I guess I’m more than a little bit curious, myself.”

With Lyra’s methodical magical cleaning of the dishes mostly done, you lean forward, wrapping your arms around her. “I’ll see you later this afternoon, ok?” Your voice is soft, hoping to build a romantic mood. “Maybe we can take a walk by the pond? Go grab some dinner at Gustave’s? You know, we can make a day of it.”

She turns to face you, the last few dishes still magically washing themselves in the air behind her. A small smile sits on her lips. “It sounds like a nice evening.” Her body is warm; you feel your heart beating faster. “You really know how to turn on the charm, you know that?”

You can feel your cheeks turning red. “Well, hey, what can I say? I wouldn’t do this for just anypony.”

“I would love to join you,” she starts, her body pushing closer to yours. “But tonight’s just not going to work.”

Startled by her response, your heart sinks. “W-wait, what?”

“It’s Thursday.” Her smile slowly turns downward. “I’m busy tonight.”

Your efforts to formulate a sentence are met with confusion, leaving you silent. Not a single word can come to mind. Finally, you manage to scrounge a miserable sounding “B-b-but-”

At that, she leans forward, planting a kiss on your lips. “I love you. Now, please, go to Twilight’s. I’ll see you later tonight.”

Still in a haze of confusion, you make your way out of the front door of your apartment. Before you shut the door behind you, you look back quickly, catching a glimpse of Lyra’s golden eyes staring straight back into yours. The door shuts, leaving you feeling more alone than when you first arrived in Equestria.

Author's Notes:

At last, years overdue, here it is. The intro chapter to the long awaited sequel. Posted in a semi-unpolished state. I hope the few of you followers still online enjoy it!

And to all the newer-comers: Be happy you didn't have to wait almost five years for this!

Hopefully I do get around to finishing the sequel before too long - it's mostly planned and jotted down. But (hopefully) good things come to those who wait!
Thanks for reading!
-neutralmilk

Tugging at Her Heartstrings 2 - Chapter 2

"Hiya, Roseluck!" you start, casually making your way over to the aforementioned mare's stall of flowers. The scent of her numerous daisies, lilacs, carnations, and roses (her totally appropriate namesake) filled the air with a sweet bouquet. This was an opportunity you just couldn't pass up - how nice it would be for your marefriend to return home to an arrangement of her favorite flowers decorating your bedroom. It would definitely give her something to enjoy. Or, you jibe to yourself, something to eat.

Oh, those crazy pony customs...

As you chuckle to yourself, you can make out Roseluck giving you a look. "Sorry," you mumble, attempting to break the increasingly awkward silence. "I, uh, I'll take a large bouquet of the usual."

Roseluck nods in approval and lightly cracks her neck, her green eyes closed in anticipation. And then, as if on autopilot, she begins to work her magic in the stand. "What'd you do this time?" her voice betrays no surprise. You glance up at her, shocked to find her attention isn't on the flowers, but instead it's upon you; her face saying she was waiting for you to give another ridiculous (if not entirely true) story of your short sightedness.

You reel back, mocking shock. "Why, Rose! I'm hurt!" You've done this song and dance many times.

"Wounded, even?" she quips back, smirking. A formidable adversary.

“Yes,” a smile crosses your lips. “Mortally.” You fish into your pocket and pull out a few bits - the last remnants of Princess Celestia's allowance - and drop them onto the counter. "You know, one of these I'm just gonna have to shop at somepony elses shop. Somepony who, you know, cares about their customer service."

At that Roseluck let out an embarrassingly loud laugh and reaches for your bits. "That'll be the day Princess Luna raises the sun!" she pauses momentarily to count your meager tip. With a quick flick of her hoof, the money disappears into saddlebags hidden below the counter. "You've single handedly kept me in business with your hijinks. I swear, I've gotta set up a gold membership or something for you!" Roseluck expertly sets your bouquet and finishes with an aquamarine bow - a special order she placed for you after your tenth flower order. So far, her investment seems to have paid off.

Roseluck leans forward so that her red-violet mane was almost pressed against your forehead. "So, not gonna tell me what happened this time?" she asks once more. Her voice is subdued, more genuinely concerned than prying.

"Seriously, Rose," you flash a convincing smile at the mare. "Nothing's happened."

She scoffs in response. "You know," she starts, running a hoof through her mane. "You said the exact same thing that time with the two boats-"

"T-that time was an accident!" you interject, hurriedly. You eye your surroundings, a cold sweat starting on your brow. You hope nopony overheard. Half of Ponyville still has night terrors about your accident with the boats...

A wicked grin slowly splays across her face. "And what about that time that you and Pinkie Pie baked all those éclairs?"

"I have no clue how concrete got into the mix!"

"And that time with the mariachi band?"

"I was never proven guilty by a jury of my peers!" You snatch at the bouquet defensively and give a shrug. "Judge couldn't find any other humans."

Roseluck burst into laughter and held a hoof up, clearly asking you to wait while she caught her breath. She wiped a tear from her eye and finally settled down, smiling back at you. "Man, you're a strange one."

"I prefer the term: Exotic."

She snorted in response and waved you away. "Go on, get out of here. You've got a mare to woo, doncha'?"

Your apartment absolutely reeks with the scent of fresh flowers, giving you a pulsing headache. And yet, you suffer through it - a small sacrifice for the mare you love. You'd long since given up on doing anything, anyway. For a few hours you "watched" muted static on the television - the only channel available on Lyra's new "I-forgot-to-pay-the-bill-so-sue-me" payment plan with the cable company, but now you remain still on the couch.

From your recumbent position you strain to check the nearest clock, failing in the process. After a brief attempt to combat laziness and walk to the kitchen and check, you resign yourself to using ancient human instincts and attempt to tell time using the sky. What remained of the sun sat listlessly on the horizon, deep purples and oranges melded around the disappearing ball, with blackness forming at the farther end of the sky.

"Ah, yes." You snipe, not even trying to guess the exact time. "Late o' clock." It wouldn't be long until the moon had risen and the myriad stars took their assigned positions in the heavens. It had been nearly the whole day since you had seen Lyra, and worst of all you had no clue as to where she had been. These past few months, she'd disappear for almost the entirety of every Thursday. And with every attempt to pry, your questions were met with snarky responses - or more and more recently (and more worryingly), complete silence.

In fact, it seemed that for the past few months, Lyra had been growing increasingly quiet and cautious around you - the warmth of your conversations and interactions slowly becoming more and more foreign. It wasn't very often that you had a chance to think about it, but times such as tonight left you with nothing to do but wonder.

You glance casually out the window once more, witnessing the final view of the sun for the day. Equestria was now lit under the namesake of Princess Luna. A sigh escapes your lips as you push the thoughts from your head. The day was done, and it was time to embrace it. Lyra would be able to enjoy the flowers when she got home - what were you even waiting around for?

CLICK

The apartment's door unlocked and swished open. "Sweet Celestia, home at last!" The voice was unmistakably Lyra's. "I swear... Tonight was insane." She yawns loudly and steps further into the apartment. Meanwhile, you lay silently on the couch, your brain refusing to register your desire to stand up and snatch her into an embrace. Some part of you needed to stay here and listen.

The sound of running water starts abruptly, and you can make out Lyra fiddling with a glass from a cupboard. Just a few seconds later, the water stops and the kitchen chair drags on the floor. A minute of silence passes before you hear anything more. "Huh... guess no one else is back yet."

Your heart drops at the prospect of spying, yet you remain still - fighting the urge to reveal your presence. If Lyra wanted to talk to you about where she was, she would, your heart screams. Yet it fails to woo your curiosity.

"Oh. My. Celestia. These flowers are..." Lyra breaks to audibly sniff the flowers you'd purchased this morning and left on the table in a vase (also special ordered from Roseluck). "Mmmm, these flowers are delicious." A small crunching sound breaks the silence.

This is so wrong. I can't just lie here all night. You're feeling unmistakably guilty at this point. The prospect of listening any further, heck, the possibility that you would be caught makes your heart race uncomfortably. There's gotta be a reason she's not telling you where she was. I trust her! you reason, panicking. Right?

You stand up abruptly from the couch as Lyra continues to munch on your romantic gesture, her eyes closed in delight. "Good." A small burp breaks her speech. "But the one's Showstopper got me were better."

Her eyes open, and her gaze falls upon you.

You're frozen in your spot. Showstopper? You rack your mind for any memories of the name, but come up empty

Lyra's face briefly displays panic, but quickly drops its emotion - her golden eyes, however, seemed to miss the memo. They guiltily refuse to meet your own, and instead fix themselves upon the mostly eaten bouquet sitting on the table. Suddenly the bouquet wrapper seems like the most interesting thing in the whole world. "Woah, this ribbon is gorgeous!" she offers.

You ignore her. "W-who..." you manage to squeak out, but no other words follow.

The mare sighs deeply and puts on a weary smile. She slowly steps toward you and falls into your all too willing arms. Instinctively you return with an embrace. Your mind is racing with questions. Where was she? What was she doing? Why isn't she telling you anything? And most importantly, who the hell is Showstopper?! You open your mouth to begin asking, but find your mouth dry and stomach tied in knots. An unsettling burn starts in your stomach - and the feeling of guilt you had for eavesdropping earlier shifts to fear, jealousy, and other emotions you don't quite understand.

"I loved the flowers."

Her voice breaks through, setting your mind at immediate ease. Lyra picks her head up slightly, and stares directly into your eyes. Her smile refuses to falter.

"And, I love you."

You swallow what feels like a rock in your throat. "Then... then can you tell me what's been going on?"

Slowly, apologetically, she shakes her head, "I can't. But, please believe me." She grips your cheeks, forcing you to look her in the eyes. You can barely make out the concern and fear she was skillfully concealing up until that moment. "You have nothing to worry about."

You can't find any words, and instead take to holding her tighter and burying your face into her mane.

"Now, let's go to bed." She pulls her head back and smiles weakly. "Today has been absolutely insane."

Slowly, you shamble behind Lyra into your shared bedroom and close the door behind you.

Author's Notes:

And the plot thickens...

Tugging at Her Heartstrings 2 - Chapter 3

Somehow, this day is possibly the most absolutely perfect day imaginable. The sun hangs lazily in the sky, showering tender warmth upon the land. The sporadic clouds wandering by dare not to eclipse the sun’s magnificence with their dreary shadows. You don’t really remember why, but you find yourself strolling down Main Street, Ponyville; a large, goofy grin adorns your face as you wave in salutation to all of the pony passerby’s.

“Top o’ the mornin’ to ya!” you practically chirp to a young mare shopping one of the many local stalls lining the road. She turns and flips the bangs of her golden mane out of her eyes, smiling in response before returning to her routine. Briefly, you stop to ponder your sudden British accent. You don’t recall having one, but shrug it off anyway. These things happen, after all.

The marketplace in Ponyville is bustling with business, the shops and stalls all filled with incredible variety. As you step down the lane, you can’t help but notice some of the myriad wares: vegetables, furniture, flowers (“maybe I should try here instead of Roseluck’s next time…”), and even an out of place lap-top computer. This last one gives you pause seeing as modern human technologies are relatively hard to come by in Equestria– but again, these ponies have surprised you before. Who knows what sort of mystical technologies they have?

Just as that thought crosses your mind, so does a car cross your path! You bow heartily to the driver, making sure to take off the top hat you were apparently wearing. The driver smiles at you greatly, twirling a large moustache with a free hoof and honking the old-timey horn with his other. You let out a loud belly-laugh and wave a farewell to the driver as the car disappears down the lane.

At last, your aimless walk seems to come to an end when you find yourself standing in front of what can only be described as a Wild-West style saloon – straight out of old-Appleoosa. Much like the aged panels of wood that make up the structure, the sky above this building is dark and grey. The warmth of the sun you had enjoyed just moments before had seemingly vanished, hidden behind menacing clouds. The sight of the structure fills you with an unexplainable dread. Sweat forms on your brow as you take a wary step toward the entrance, almost as if some invisible force was drawing you near.

A low, menacing growl echoes from inside the building, freezing you in your spot. From within the darkened frame of the doorway you can barely make out fiery eyes, seemingly floating in the nothingness. Your heart begins to beat faster, unsure of what to expect.

“Yooooouuuuuuuuuu….” A deep voice snarls.

The hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. Your brain urges you to flee, but you can’t move from your spot.

“Yoooooouuuuuuuuu…” the voice starts again. A thick, overly large smile appears in the doorframe hovering just a little too low from the glowering eyes. The myriad teeth are yellowed and jagged, almost fake in appearance. There are far too many of them, all jutting at random angles. “You really think you’re good enough?”

A lump in your throat prevents you from talking. Several awkward swallows later, you manage to force out a meager reply. “W-what do y-”

The voice roars in laughter, shaking the rickety wooden building it’s hiding in – and seemingly the whole world with it. “You’re absolutely pathetic!” The red eyes refuse to blink, instead burning holes into your very being.

“I – I don’t understand…” you start, attempting to avert your eyes from the terrifying gaze. “What do you even mean?”

The eyes of your unknown assailant faded into the black of the unlit entrance, leaving the sickening grin hovering in the blackness. “If you have to ask, you’re even worse than I thought.”

SLAM!

You roll headfirst out of your bed and onto the floor in a heap. The sound of the apartment door slamming shut shakes you from your stupor and reverberates in your mind. You feel the rising tremors of a headache pulse from your forehead.

“Ooooooh, crap.” You groan, rubbing at the soon-to-be bruise. Your eyes survey the bed room, half expecting the monstrous grin and flaming eyes to still be suspended in thin air. Finally, your gaze falls upon the now empty bed. Gone was not only the bizarre dream, but your companion as well – the usual lump in the sheets that represented Lyra was missing.

Not good enough… the voice from your dream taunted. But what did it mean?

You shake your head back to reality and take to starting your day, grinding through the usual mundanities of showering, dressing and haphazardly attempting to straighten up the bedroom. This last one always proves difficult when you’d much rather be doing anything than cleaning up Lyra’s messes.

After what feels like an eternity, you’re finally free to continue with the most important morning ritual of them all: devouring your breakfast. You step into the kitchen, pausing only to stretch.

“Morning, Bon-Bon.” You manage, lumbering over toward the counter. The cupboards are filled to the brim with opened bags of snacks (all long since expired) and trash. You sigh, digging your hand in the mess to fish out a box of Raisin Bran – unfortunately the only thing from the human world that seemed to exist in Equestria; a cereal that transcends dimensions in both physicality and in its own mediocrity.

The cream-coloured mare grunts in response as she grabs her cup of coffee and puts it to her mouth, sipping loudly. In stark contrast, she then gently, noiselessly lowers the cup back to the table.

You sit at the chair across from your roommate and pour a bowl full of the unimpressive cereal. The clinking sound of the bran flakes briefly cuts through the increasingly awkward silence. Your mouth opens as if you have something to say, but your hand prevents you with a spoonful of mushy raisins.

Briefly you look up from the bowl to find Bon-Bon’s turquoise drill-bit eyes burrowing into your skull; the heat emanating from her gaze is enough to make you choke on your current mouthful of cereal. You cough loudly, desperately attempting to hack up a stray flake that lodged itself in your throat. Tears stream down your face as your lungs fight for each breath.

“Serves you right.” The mare practically hisses, crossing her forelegs. Her brows are furrowed, only slightly hidden by her pink and dark blue mane.

“W-what do-” The coughing starts up again, stopping you mid sentence. Your hand shoots up, signaling the mare to pause while you attempt to regain your composure. But this serves no purpose but to give Bon-Bon an opening.

“You know damn well what I’m talking about!” She smacks a hoof on the table, knocking her coffee mug uncomfortably close to the edge. “Lyra hasn’t talked to me in a week! Every morning she wakes up and gallops out of here without a single word! And at night…” her voice trails off as she leans back into her seat. “Every night she comes home and goes straight to bed. It’s like I don’t exist anymore…”

A frown crosses the mare’s face; she looks hurt, wounded even. Her eyes scan your face, sizing you up while waiting for your retort. You open your mouth to speak, but before you have a chance Bon-Bon rockets forward in her chair once more on the attack. “What did you do to her?! You’d better not have hurt her…” Tears are forming around the corners of her eyes. “You’d better not have broken my trust… Or her trust…”

You pause before speaking, watching the mare sitting before you shiver in a mix of rage and distress. “Bon-Bon…” you start softly. “I love Lyra. I’m not doing anything to hurt her that I know of. In fact,” you pause and reach your hand out to the mare comfortingly. Bon-Bon reels back as if you had just stabbed her, her teeth are bared in a sharp grimace.

“Touch me and you’re dead!” her voice is shrill now. “We take you into our home and this how you repay us?!” she barks, pointing her hoof at you accusingly. “I have half a mi-”

“I think Lyra’s cheating on me!” you shout, interrupting the frenzied mare.

Silence fills the room as the two of you sit entirely frozen waiting for someone to make the first move. It seems like hours before Bon-Bon haphazardly reaches for her coffee mug and misses it, sending it tumbling to the floor. Pieces of porcelain shrapnel skitter across the tiles and a small puddle grows by your feet.

Finally, she speaks. “W-w-what? H-how do you know?” Her voice betrays her confusion and shock. Clearly Bon-Bon was none the wiser to Lyra’s mysterious whereabouts. She leans in close, and glances about the room as if looking for secret cameras. Before long Bon-Bon motions for you to do the same. “Are you sure?” she whispers.

You can smell the coffee on her breath, just barely masking the sweet aroma of seemingly candied breath – undoubtedly a byproduct of working at the town’s local candy store.

You sigh and lean back in your chair. “I… think I may have caught her.” Your voice is weak, tired. Memories of the night before flash just behind your eyes. The flowers. And the name…. Showstopper…

“You think you caught her?” Bon-Bon asks, confusion in her face. “With who? Where?”

“Ok, maybe not exactly…? I don’t know.” You throw your hands up in defeat and bolt from your chair, sending it falling backwards. Immediately your feet take to pacing about the kitchen, Bon-Bon’s blue eyes follow your every movement. “She came home last night and started talking about somepony named Showstopper. And-and this is just-” your voice starts cracking, shaking beneath the weight of your words. Your roommate watches calmly.

“Dammit! She’s been acting so weird lately!” you continue, waving your hands around frantically. “And then there’s that freaky dream with the red eyes! And those-those teeth!” You unconsciously mash your fingers together, mimicking the crooked grin from your nightmare. Your parading around the kitchen has become more and more frenetic, and tears start spilling down your cheeks as you ramble on.

Finally you collapse onto the floor, inches away from the coffee puddle and toppled chair. Slowly you rearrange yourself onto the seat and allow your eyes to lose themselves in the now almost entirely dissolved bowl of Raisin Bran. “I don’t know what to do.” You mutter to yourself.

A gentle touch falls upon your shoulder. Instinctively you turn your gaze to the cream-coloured mare standing beside you. “Listen,” Bon-Bon starts. “I’m sorry for accusing you of anything.” Her face is sincere, her eyes incredibly kind. “I want to help you out.”

“N-no!” you start to panic, pulling back from Bon-Bon’s touch. “I don’t want her to know that you know! O-o-or even that I know! This has to be secret!”

Bon-Bon’s grabs your face and pulls it close to hers. “I swear this will stay between us. This is your problem, and I will not butt in. Cross my heart and hope to fly.”

You breathe a sigh of relief.

“But,” she starts, a sly grin growing on her face. “I do have some ideas for you to try….”

Author's Notes:

Many a moon later and we have a third chapter. The final three are well along and I hope to have them done within a couple of months (or with my luck, another year! )

It's fun returning to these stories after all of these years. Hope you all still enjoy reading them!

-neutralmilk

Tugging at Her Heartstrings 2 - Chapter 4

“You’re kidding…” You find yourself staring at the cream-coloured mare blankly, mouth agape. “There’s no way that would work! This isn’t some cheesy 80’s movie!” Your arms flail wildly as you emphasize the incredulity of Bon-Bon’s master plan, darting about the kitchen as you do so. You stagger over to your downed chair and sit it back upright before plopping down on the seat, facing Bon-Bon.

“An 80’s movie?” The mare stares back at you, confusion printed in her expression. She waves her hoof dismissively. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” (You sigh internally. She really didn’t…) “I think this plan is perfect, if I do say so myself!” A satisfied smirk crosses her face as she leans back in her seat victoriously.

“Well of course you would!” You practically bark, folding your arms on the kitchen table.

Bon-Bon furrows her brow and shoots up from her seat. “What in the hay is that supposed to mean?”

You open your mouth to retaliate but before venom pours out, you pause. Your sudden rage leaves you feeling scared and more than a bit alone. “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by that…” Your voice trails off, suddenly weak and sounding extremely tired. Defeated, you say the only words that come to mind: “I don’t know what to do.”

Bon-Bon’s expression immediately lightens up. She slowly trots to your side and places a hoof on your shoulder. “As I expected. Follow my plan, please. Let me help you.” Her voice is soothing. “Besides…” a wry smile slowly crosses her face. “My plan’s the only one you got.”

You sigh, clearly defeated. “So…” you begin, taking a brief pause to think over Bon-Bon’s plan once more. “You want me to pretend to go out with other ponies?”

“Not exactly. Pony, not ponies. Singular.” She corrects, matter-of-factly.

You sigh. “Ok, so you expect me to ‘date’ another pony.” You state plainly with massive airquotes.

“Yup.” She nods, smiling.

“And you think that… well, this will make her incredibly jealous.” You continue, parroting her earlier reasonings.

Another nod. “Most likely.”

“And finally,” your voice gains the slight tone of mocking. “In the most cliché way imaginable, she will come galloping back to me and we will go off into the sunset to live happily ever after.”

“Totally!” She pumps a hoof victoriously and winks all while sticking out her tongue in some bizarre anime-esque pose. She sits there frozen for what seems like eternity.

Your fingers instinctively work their way to your temples. Slowly, methodically, you begin to massage them. “I like your enthusiasm.” You deadpan.

She breaks free from the pose and flashes a million-dollar grin. “Thanks!”

You sigh. “But, I have one question.”

“Shoot.” Bon-Bon leans in, curiosity splayed across her face.

“Who the hell would want to go out with me?!” Your shouting practically bowls Bon-Bon over. “Even if it’s all fake, I don’t exactly fit in around here anyway. I mean, humans and ponies aren’t exactly the most common couple! I don’t think anypony besides Lyra would even be able to fake it!” You start to groan, sliding down in your seat until you can practically be defined a liquid. Your body rests in this position for a minute before sharp pains bring you back upright, much against your will.

Bon-Bon opens her mouth to respond, but pauses. You can feel her eyes meet yours and slowly move away to glance over your body inch-by-inch. Her gaze starts at your legs before slowly, surely moving upwards caressing each curve of your frame. You can feel your body warm over as Bon-Bon’s eyes finally once again meet yours. Her mouth is still wide-open, as if she had forgotten she was going to speak to at all.

“Um…. Bon-Bon?” you start slowly. “Is everything ok?”

The mare quickly shakes her head, seemingly knocking herself back into reality. As she does this her long, flowing mane flips in the air luxuriously, barely grazing your face. Your nose twitches instinctively, eliciting a surprising giggle from Bon-Bon. Sweat begin to form on your brow.

“You know…” she starts, one of her eyebrows raised seductively. “I can’t believe that I’ve never noticed this before…”

A lump in your throat prevents you from speaking, but you aren’t sure what words would have come out regardless. Your feet are made of lead, holding you in place before the swooning mare.

Bon-Bon giggles once more, cantering closer towards you. The sudden movement frees your feet and sends you toppling backwards onto the floor. You instinctively claw yourself backwards as she continues forward, finally stopping when your back is pressed against the wall. The candy-coated mare does not cease her delicate advance. She stops with her face mere inches away from yours. There is no escaping her blue eyes.

“I never noticed how…” her voice starts again, practically purring. Her sweet breath is warm on your neck; shivers shoot up your spine. “How…”

You gulp audibly as she traces a hoof up and down your chest. The sweat on your brow is pouring down your face now. “How…” Bon-Bon is wearing a soft smile as she gradually leans in closer to your face.

“How ugly my roommate is! Count me out for this.” Bon-Bon drops her hoof and trots away back to the kitchen table. Your eyes and mouth are agape in disbelief.

“I-I… uh…. Um-I…” you stutter in confusion. The mare stares back at you and nods.

“If Lyra had seen that display she’d have killed me.” She states flatly, turning away. You nod in agreement, slowly regaining your composure. It takes a moment before you are comfortably back on your feet. “Plus,” Bob-Bon continues, “there’s no doubt in my mind she would have kicked your butt clear out of Ponyville.”

You brush your pants clear of whatever dirt and debris they acquired from the kitchen floor and turn to the cream-coloured mare. “Then what’s the point in even trying? If we’d both be d-”

“Let me finish.” Bon-Bon interrupted matter-of-factly. “First of, what do you mean ‘we’? This isn’t my show here. I was just giving a demonstration. Second, even though she would go totally berserk, that would be a victory for you.”

You raise an eyebrow, clearly confused. “What do you mean?”

“Do I really need to spell it out for you? If she gets like that, you’ve succeeded in making her jealous!”

The wheels finally seem to start turning in your brain. This makes sense. Bon-Bon notices this newfound understanding and continues speaking. “If she gets jealous of you and some other mare, she’s bound to try and snatch you back. You know how possessive she is.”

You nod reluctantly. The logic seemed sound, to be honest, but it left you uneasy. The idea of pursuing a relationship –even a fake one – with another mare made you immensely uncomfortable. And to make matters worse, it could have the opposite effect and push Lyra away even more. This thought was enough to send your heart racing in distress.

Bon-Bon seemed to read your mind and clopped her hoof on the table to get your attention. “Look, it will work.” Her soft voice was enough to calm you for now. Reluctantly, you agree. A sigh escapes your lips unbeknownst to you. However flawed the plan was it beat doing nothing at all.

“But who-”

“Anypony.” Bon-Bon interjected immediately. “You just saw how easy it can be. Even I was able to fake it. Just pick a friend of yours. One that isn’t too close to Lyra that she would suspect anything.”

You take a moment to think of the many ponies you’ve met since your arrival, but come up short of anypony who would be up for this monumentally uncomfortable task.

“Take some time, get some air.” Bon-Bon offers, stepping toward the apartment door. It opens without any resistance and a cool breeze rushes in from the hallway beckoning you to step outside. Your body moves without any input from your brain and soon you find yourself strolling the streets of Ponyville, deep in thought.

Pinkie Pie? Your mind brightens instantly with her name. No… too random… Perhaps Twilight? You grit your teeth remembering the many bizarre experiments she’s performed on you in the past (and the many more that would certainly come with spending more time with her).

Your body continues to wind you through the many streets and alleys of the town, roaming on autopilot. I guess I could ask Applejack… A smile crosses your face at the thought of spending some time hanging around with the Apple family. The thought lasted only moments however. Except she’s the Element of Honesty, of course… Deep down you feel relieved knowing that you’ve avoided having to then work on the farm. A life with Lyra hadn’t exactly prepared you for performing hard physical labor day-in, day-out…

You close your eyes and sigh, dejected. Lost in the march-like rhythm of your feet on the ground, your mind continues to list a slew of names of ponies you’ve encountered: Derpy? I do love muffins… No, how about Octavia? Hmm, too close to Lyra… Fleur delis –who am I kidding, she would laugh me down the streets of Ponyville… Princess – nope already… I suppose that maybe I could ask-

THUD!

Your body slams into an unseen object, sending you sprawling onto the ground. Your eyes shoot open, greeted by the sight of a humble wooden cart – one that you’ve seen innumerable times since your arrival in Equestria.

“Didn’t I just sell you flowers yesterday?” a voice calls from behind the counter. “What in the hay did you to this time?”

You elicit a small grunt as you rise from the ground and brush dirt off your clothes. A green-eyed mare stands before you, leaning her head on her hoof. Her eyes betray no surprise at your arrival and subsequent oblivious tumble. She wears a small smile on her face just the same.

“Roseluck!” you exclaim excitedly, rushing to the counter. “I gotta talk to you!”

Author's Notes:

This may be the last individual chapter I post. I really want to finish it and post the remaining ones in one big fell swoop. No more of these intermittent chapters.

Thanks again to everyone for reading! Leave a comment and let me know what you think of it all so far!

-neutralmilk

Tugging at Her Heartstrings 2 - Chapter 5

Tugging at Her Heartstrings 2 – Chapter 5
-neutralmilk

“Sweet Celestia, are you alright?” She starts to step from behind the flower cart but stops short of actually helping you up. Roseluck’s green eyes slowly trace your body before they finally meeting yours. Her face is filled with concern, a tight frown on her lips. “You look crazy…” she mutters under her breath – but still loud enough for you to hear.

You’re so overwhelmed with excitement that you ignore her comment and rush at her, dropping on to your knees so you were at eye level with the cream-coloured mare causing her to instinctively recoil. A wide Cheshire grin crosses your face. You wipe sweat and dirt from your brow before leaning in towards her, your nose practically touching hers.

You briefly entertain the idea that you probably do look insane at the moment – a sweaty, dirt covered maniac let loose on Ponyville – but push it from your thoughts. You have much bigger priorities than your public appearance. After all, the solution to your problem is staring you straight in the eyes!

“Roseluck…” you start, your voice practically oozing with exhilaration. The mare is gaping at you, her face betraying a look of sudden apprehension. She doesn’t move a muscle – waiting for you to act first. This reticence catches you off guard. How can she not be excited too?! “Rose!” you suddenly shout, accidentally sending small bits of spittle on her face.

She jumps, emitting a surprised squeak as she does so. “Uh-uhm… yeah?” She timidly responds. “Is everyth-”

Your arms wrap around the mare’s neck and pull her into a hug. A laugh escapes your throat. “Yeah!” your voice is still several notches above normal. Excitedly, you rock Roseluck back and forth in your embrace, feeling joyous tears well up in your eyes. “Yeah, Rose. Everything’s ok now.”

The surprise hug lasts longer than it probably should have, and before you know it you’ve calmed down enough to realize this. Feeling your overzealous joy subside, you slowly release Roseluck and fall back. You can see her eyes are wide and unblinking; they stare straight at the marketplace yet seeing nothing. Tucked above her small yet unmistakable smile you think you make out spots of pink on her cheeks but brush it aside as a trick of the light.

You stand up and attempt (and fail) to casually brush your pants clear of debris in a desperate attempt to look less like a maniac. By this point you’ve finally calmed down enough to properly speak to Roseluck who, for some reason, is still standing in a daze. You clear your throat loudly, attempting to break the overlong awkward silence – one of what would surely be many to come considering the circumstance.

“Uhm, hey….” you start, continuing to fix your appearance. You run a hand through your hair and drag out a surprising amount of dust considering your head was nowhere near the ground earlier. “You alright?”

It took a few seconds for Roseluck to comprehend you had spoken and shook herself back to reality. She scowled and furrowed her brow. “What the hay are you asking me for?!” Roseluck took to flailing her forelegs wildly in the air. “You’re the one who came at me and… uh…” the intensity in her voice immediately vanished as she looked at her hooves. “Well… you know. Hugged… me…” Those last words were practically inaudible.

“Heh, yeah, I, uh, I guess you’re right.” You admit, trying to mask your embarrassment. “Listen, Rose…” your voice trails off as you desperately try to find a way to explain the bizarre favor you hoped to ask her. “I’m sorry about earlier. It’s just that, well, I was excited to see you.”

Her ears perk up, and her emerald eyes suddenly become fixed on your own once more. You notice that she is getting somewhat restless, her front hooves lightly tap the dirt creating tiny marks. “…Yeah?” her voice seems suddenly eager.

“I’ve got something I gotta ask you. But before I do…” You sigh loudly and choose a spot in the dirt to sit down on, once again dirtying your pants. The pants, however, were the least of your worries – despite Rarity’s failed attempts to master making clothing for entirely new human anatomy. Your mind drifted over the past few days and the sudden revelation of Lyra with… Showstopper. The very thought of the name twists your stomach and you feel physically ill. “Ok,” you admit. “I honestly have no idea how to start.”

While you attempt to find a suitable way to broach the subject with your closest non-Lyra friend, you watch Roseluck obliviously continue her subtle dance. Once again an awkward silence fills the air in the surprisingly empty marketplace. After what seems like (and totally was) five minutes, you finally push past the bile rising in your stomach and relay your sorry tale.

Roseluck’s eyes widen, shocked at the story of Lyra disappearing for months every Thursday without a word. She frowned at the mention of the failed flower gift. She shook her head solemnly at the mention of the “confrontation” you had just the night prior. She gasped with disbelief at the fact that Lyra hadn’t even been spending time with Bon-Bon – her closest friend for years. And as soon as the story had started, it was finished. Roseluck refused to meet your eyes – instead looking at the dirt and the many spots she had made in her previous excitement.

“H-hey. I’m really sorry.” She offered quietly, clearly unsure of how to approach the situation. You’re stuck on the ground, unmoving. It hurt thinking about it – but surprisingly, talking about it made it hurt even more. The pain was different though. You didn’t feel as alone in it now that Roseluck was in the know. The painkiller of silence had worn off, but now you could treat the root cause with someone at hand.

Tears welled in your eyes, betrayal and rage tore at your heart preventing you from doing much else but feel your body seemingly break down. Never in your wildest dreams did you imagine you’d find love with a pony. Never in your wildest nightmares did you expect it to end in the way it was now.

Your inner turmoil must have been obvious as suddenly you felt a hoof on your shoulder, startling you from your thoughts. You look up and blink away the forming tears to see Roseluck with a weak smile on her face. Strands of her red-violet mane hung over one of her eyes. The mare took her hoof off your shoulder only to brush back her mane before returning it, firmer than before.

“You know I’m here for you, right?” Her voice was soft, comforting. Hearing this, you nod in response. Though your chest was still tight with panic and despair at your situation, you found it was time to get off your emotional rollercoaster. “I’m happy you felt comfortable enough to tell me all of this.”

You sigh and drop your head for a minute before finally rising from the ground for one of the far too many times in the past few days. “Yeah…” you mutter. “So, yeah. I think Lyra’s cheating on me.”

Roseluck frowns and nods in response.

Silence again fills the air while Roseluck kicks at the ground gently. Her movements are far less enthusiastic than her “dance” from when you hugged her in excitement.

Seriously, this is cringeworthy… you think, before finally forcing yourself to speak. “Rose…” you start.

Her kicking stops, and she looks up at you, waiting for you to continue.

One of your hands finds its way to the back of your head as the words slowly come out of your mouth. “All this crap going on with Lyra is… well… hard. It hurts too much right now.”

Roseluck’s eyes begin to widen.

“It’s been tearing me up now for a couple of days. I know it doesn’t sound like a long time but it’s seriously…. Just, you know, been a nightmare.”

The excited stepping she had been doing earlier starts again, slowly.

“And walking through town like this – like a total lunatic has been terrifying! Lyra, well, she’s messed my mind up. Honestly, I’m happy I found you. I-I trust you. I know we’re always goofing around but, real talk, I know you care about me.” You make direct eye contact with the mare in front of you. “I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for caring.”

Her cheeks seem to glow a light pink, offsetting her pale-yellow coat.

“So, I guess, I gotta ask you a really weird question.”

You can see she’s fighting back the urge to smile.

“Seriously, it’s weird.” You say, cautiously. “I mean, if you want to say ‘no’ I don’t blame you. I mean, I’m a human and you’re a pony so I get that it doesn’t exactly follow what one might call the ‘laws of nature’” you do air quotes to further your point, “but Pinkles- I mean Pinkie – defies them daily so, you know, I don’t know. I mean, how the heck does she teleport around Ponyville like that?!”

The point you were originally trying to make seems to have become derailed, so you make a concerted effort to right the ship. “Regardless, what I’m trying to say is I don’t want to pressure you into this position. I’m a loyal customer of your flower stand and don’t want to strain any-”

“Will you get on with it?!” Roseluck’s voice, loud and impatient breaks your pointless ramblings. You look, confused by her outburst, and notice she was practically jumping up and down in her spot, her mane bouncing just slightly off-beat with her hoof movements. Confused by this reaction, you chalk up the jumping around to her needing to use the restroom.

You sigh. You had wasted enough of Roseluck’s time. It was now or never. You had to ask her to join in on Bon-Bon’s master plan of making Lyra jealous. It would be awkward, but she seemed to genuinely want to help you…

“Roseluck, I-I had this idea about you and me…. what I mean to say is, I want, no, I need you to-”

“I accept!” Roseluck practically shrieked. She did a quick spin in her spot, a huge grin on her face before calming down seemingly immediately. “I totally know what you’re going to say, and I think it’s a good idea.” Her voice was now flat, normal. As if the favor you were asking of her was nothing special.

“Are you sure?”

She nods. “I want to help you.”

You don’t know what to say. The dread weighing you down became dramatically lighter with this – possibly the most uncomfortable conversation you’ve ever held – over with, and with exactly the result you hoped for. You had an urge to rush at Roseluck once more and hug her, but fought it back, instead choosing to smile a large, toothy grin. “Thank you, Rose.”

She returns the smile, her eyes positively radiant. “No, thank you!” she chirps.

“I guess I’ll be in touch then about what we’re going to do, huh?”

“I look forward to it.”

Success at last! You fist pump half-heartedly and turn to walk back to your apartment to tell Bon-Bon the good news. Now that you had a co-conspirator, you had to come up with a genius plan to make Lyra jealous! And, hopefully, something that wouldn’t bore you and Roseluck to tears.

I can’t believe how excited she seemed about Bon-Bon’s plan! You think to yourself. She’s way too nice, helping me out like this… Maybe it’s because I’m her only customer?

As you walk home, lost in your thoughts, you remain oblivious to Roseluck, now full-on dancing in place with a large, elated smile from ear to ear. “I can’t believe it… we’re actually dating!”

Author's Notes:

Whoa another year, another chapter. No promises anymore on timelines - I always seem to break them. But I will finish this story eventually. For my own sake - if not the few people who read this.

I hope you enjoy!

Also, #DRAMABOMBOHMYGODICANTBELEIVETHISPLOTOMGMGMGMGMGMG

More light-hearted chapters incoming!

-neutralmilk