The Familiar of the Lyre

by Jason Hawke

First published 7th of October, 2014

Lyra was just an ordinary unicorn mare who attended CMA (Canterlot Magic Academy). On the day of the finals for the Sophomore Year, all Unicorns were to summon their own familiars, who would aid them the rest of their lives.

Lyra was just an ordinary unicorn mare who attended CMA (Canterlot Magic Academy). On the day of the finals for the Sophomore Year, all unicorns were to summon their own familiars, who would aid them the rest of their lives.

---

When Lyra ended up summoning a human from another world, however, things quickly got out of hoof, as they would say. To top it all off, her former obsessions with humans already left her with a bad reputation, which only worsened when she realized that the human had no special talents, unlike what her books claimed.

---

Justin was a simple jobless man in America, who often had, what one would call, "relationship troubles". Now, after being dragged into a world filled with anthropomorphic ponies and other mythological creatures, how can he cope with the fact that he is no longer able to return to his home world? And with a mare who treats him like dirt, how will he be able to defend himself or her, when he happens to be weaker than even the children of this world?

And for so long, I haven't even realized that I forgot to put in the credits!

This story is highly inspired by the Anime Series, "Zero no Tsukaima" (A.K.A., "The Familiar of Zero"), which is a product of "Media Factory", written by Noboru Yamaguchi, and illustrated by "Eiji Usatsuka". It was also temporarily translated in English by "Seven Seas Entertainment", but only up to the end of Season 1, and a small portion of Season 2.

Due to the closeness of the anime, I've also added the "Crossover" tag.

As a quick reminder, I've put this story on TEMPORARY hiatus, until I've cleaned my plate of stories I'm working on. Note that it will still receive chapters, but only occasionally, until I can safely update frequently.

In the mean time, my primary targeted stories to update will be "Journey to Equestria: Homeward Bound", "Journey of the Breeze", and "From Beyond the Badlands: Tales of a Monster Hunter". If you are into adventures, I would recommend the three of them! If you're a fan of Zelda, I'd recommend "Journey of the Breeze". If you're a fan of "Monster Hunter", I'm sure you can figure out which one I'd recommend!

As a note to the moderators, I will delete this last portion once either I change the status back to "Incomplete", or when told to do so!

Episode 1: The Magic Exams!

EPISODE ONE

THE MAGIC EXAMS!

LYRA'S DORM ROOM

Slowly, the sun started to rise from just outside the massive white-bricked building that rested in the center of Canterlot, the capital of Equestria. From the inside of one of the rooms of the Eastern half of the mare's dorm of that building, the sun caused a mare to stir around inside the green bed that sat in the central left-handed side of the window's entrance. When the mare managed to pull her head from below the blankets, her appearance was clear as crystal.

She was a unicorn mare with a mint-green coat, a light blue and white-striped mane and tail combination (with a medium-length mane styled in short spikes in the front that slightly fluffed over her forehead, and lowered to directly in front of her eyes), and golden yellow eyes. On the outer corners of her hands, she had markings of golden lyre instruments that matched her eye color. Though her chest was covered in the green blankets, she wore a light blue pajama shirt and pants combination.

When she was out of the blankets completely, she rubbed her half-lidded eyes with her hands, and shifted herself to the point where her hooves were hanging loosely over the floor. Then she stretched her arms out and yawned, before standing from her bed, and walking up to her dresser on the opposite end of the bed, leaning at the center of the wall on the right-hand sided of the window.

Once there, she checked her mane on the mirror that rested over the green dresser, before sighing at the mess that her mane was in. With her magic, she levitated her brush behind her back while dragging her hooves across the floor, until she made it to the bathroom. Then, once inside, she brushed her mane with her magic, and brushed her teeth with a toothbrush that she pulled from the mirror cabinet that hung over the sink with her hands. As one would guess, she was brushing her teeth with mint-flavored toothpaste.

When her teeth and mane was brushed, she gently glided the utensils back in their proper places, before stepping out of the bathroom, and into her bedroom again, where she quickly undressed out of her sleepwear, revealing a pair of lyre marks on the sides of her flank as well. Then she went through her drawers and sorted through the clothes to wear. When finding the right uniform for the day, she quickly slipped it on, and checked herself in her mirror.

She was wearing a white button-up shirt with a large red ribbon over the center of her (somewhat small) chest, a black skirt that lowered down to just below her knees, and a pair of black shoes with long white stockings that rose over her legs halfway.

With a smile, she took a deep breath and told herself in her casual high-pitched feminine voice, "Alright, Lyra! Today's the day!"

DEFENSIVE MAGIC CLASS

"Good morning, class! Today, we will be studying a 'Basic Ward Spell'! Before we begin, though, can anypony tell me what a 'Basic Ward Spell' is?" a blue-coated unicorn stallion with a brown mane and a white five-sided star for a cutie mark asked the class of twenty students.

After raising her hand, a lavender-coated unicorn mare with a long, neatly combed dark indigo-colored mane with purple and pink stripes spoke. "A 'Basic Ward Spell' is, according to the books, a spell that conjures a shield that can protect the users from another spell, so long as the spell used against it isn't above a basic level. Is that correct, Mr. Water Hooves?" As she asked that question, however, she had her eyes focused on a book.

Mr. Water Hooves nodded his head and replied with an impressed smile, "Yet again, you are correct, Misses Twilight Sparkle! Keep this up, and you may end up becoming a princess one of these days!"

Twilight didn't seem fazed by his compliment, though. She merely nodded her head and continued reading through the book that was on her desk, while Lyra sat on the seat next to her, drawing a picture on a sheet of paper.

"You know you'll get in trouble doing that, don't you?" Twilight whispered to Lyra without even looking away from her book.

Lyra didn't react to her comment, but rather, continued to draw. That is, until Mr. Water Hooves called her out. "Misses Heartstrings, would you care to demonstrate the spell for us?"

Lyra then looked up at him, and then around her seat; just now realizing that all attention was turned to her. As usual, Blueblood, the young, blonde, well groomed, white-coated stallion that sat towards her left side, was weakly laughing at her, while hiding his mouth from the teacher good enough to avoid being heard and caught. A few of his "friends" were also doing the same, which made Lyra deadpan at them, before standing from her seat, and stepping out of her seat.

"It isn't a good idea to try the spell without knowing what to do, Lyra." Twilight whispered again, only for Lyra to grunt as if she was ignoring her.

"Alright then, Mr. Water Hooves! Stand aside, please, so that I can achieve full concentration!" Lyra stated once she was in front of the whole class.

"Um... Miss Heartstrings? What are you-" Before Mr. Water Hooves could finish his sentence, Lyra's mane started to flow freely, and the ground below her started to shake.

"I've got this! One... two... THREE!"

THE PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE

A tall, dark blue-coated alicorn mare with a light blue mane that sparkled like the stars in the night sat on a chair that rested in front of a large table. She wore a black secretary-like uniform with a red bow tie around her neck.

In front of her were two other alicorns; one pure white with a multicolored mane, wearing a regal white and golden dress, and another that slightly resembled the one sitting down on the table, only her colors appeared to be reversed, and she was wearing a dark blue regal dress that sparkled the same way her mane did. All of their manes were flowing in the room loosely, despite the lack of wind.

"It's good to see that you are taking your reformation quite well, Nightmare Moon. After hearing about what happened when the Elements of Harmony were used on the two of you, I was worried the dark side of the moon would be a problem." the white alicorn mare said to the one who sat on the desk.

The alicorn on the desk replied with a chuckle, before turning to the white one. "'Tis no trouble at all, our sisters. We are just glad you didn't banish us once more, Celestia... and we're sure Luna is doing well with her moon-raising duties, correct?" She turned to the other blue alicorn, who smiled at her in response.

"Indeed we are, Sister Nightmare Moon. We come today, however, to aid you on your students'... Familiar Exam, we believe." Luna turned to Celestia, who smiled and nodded her head.

"And I'm eager to see what my faithful student has for a familiar, too. Having Spike alone will do her no good when it comes to protection." Celestia added.

Nightmare Moon nodded her head and stood from her desk. "Oh, we would be more than happy to have you both be there! We can already see it! So many students have been doing quite well... there may be no problems this year, since our students are considerably the most talented to step into these yards!"

As soon as she said that, the sound of a loud explosion echoed through the entire campus, which caused all three alicorns to jump in shock, before turning to the window that revealed most of the schoolyard. Then, when they saw that there was smoke coming from the "Defensive Magic Class", they sighed in unison, while Luna looked at Nightmare Moon.

"Lyra?"

"Lyra..."

DEFENSIVE MAGIC CLASS

As soon as the smoke cleared out of the room, the entirety of the class was covered in burnt-up debris. Everypony that was inside the room was, at this point, covered in chunks of ash that were once considered paper and books... save for one pony, who was surrounded by a lavender colored shield bubble... Twilight Sparkle. She still wore her reading glasses, and merely flipped through another page, unfazed by the chaos that was surrounding the entire room.

Mr. Water Hooves was lying on the ground, dazed at the results of Lyra's attempted 'Basic Ward Spell'. Then, in a wobbly voice, he said, "Class dismissed..."

Lyra stood there with her shoulders over her jawbones, as she stared at nothing in particular; her face appearing to be deadpanned and annoyed. Her cheeks were also burning red, as she heard several of the students start to laugh at her.

Then, a mare with a light pink mane and a cream colored coat commented, "Wow, Lyra! You sure did do a 'Ward Spell', alright! You just warded off your passing grade for this assignment!" She and a few other mares that she was walking with started to laugh even more, before stepping out of the room.

Lyra, on the other hand, merely mocked them with her lips, before retorting, "Ooh, one of these days, Quartz Brush... I'll show you who the better unicorn is!"

"Anger won't solve your problems, Lyra." Twilight commented as she walked past her, and out the room, leaving just Lyra and Mr. Water Hooves alone in the room.

Lyra merely sighed before walking towards the exit, only for Mr. Water Hooves to call her out. "Just a second, Misses Heartstrings."

With a sigh, Lyra turned to him and said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Water Hooves... I promise, I didn't mean to do that!"

Mr. Water Hooves silenced her by merely raising his right hand and smiling weakly. "Don't worry about that, Misses Heartstrings. This isn't about the room. I just wanted to ask you something important."

Lyra raised an eyebrow out of confusion. "Wait... you aren't angry about the room? Why not? This level of damage could take weeks to fix, though!"

After Mr. Water Hooves snapped his right fingers, the entire room straightened itself back in orderly shape, while the formerly damaged and burnt books turned from ash to books once again. In mere seconds, the entire room appeared to be the exact same as how it was before, minus the students.

"Wow... you're gonna have to teach me that one someday!" Lyra complimented, as she looked around the entire room with a wide smile.

Mr. Water Hooves nodded his head. "It's really a simple 'Time Shift' spell. It makes inanimate objects turn back into the shape they were at a given time... in this case, five minutes ago. It's really quite a handy spell, once you get used to it... but anyways, I wanted to talk to you about how concerned I am about your future."

Lyra gulped at that statement, as she noticed him walking up to her desk. There, he lifted the sketch that she was drawing, and sighed, before turning it to where she could see her sketch.

It was a sketch of a strong bipedal creature that didn't have a snout, but rather, a straight face. Instead of hooves, the bottoms of his legs had two large appendages that, according to what she said, is considered "feet".

"Lyra... when will you grow out of this fantasy?" Mr. Water Hooves asked, as he levitated the drawing to Lyra.

Lyra sighed before unzipping her backpack, and slipping it directly in; next to her other sketches that had similar shaped figures in the contents of it. "What does my beliefs on humans have to do with my grades?" Lyra asked as she looked up at Mr. Water Hooves.

With a sigh, Mr. Water Hooves replied, "Lyra, wake up, already! You know that the possibility of creatures that existed that didn't have magic or wings, yet still managed to fly and do crazy, farfetched junk like go to the moon and back freely, is highly impossible... it's just an old pony's tale! Not reality!" Then he placed his hands on her shoulders, while his expression showed concern. "Lyra, it's not healthy for you to skip studies on important subjects, just to read those old pony's tales... you're seventeen years old now! You need to focus on the more important things that could very well save your life one day!"

Lyra closed her eyes and looked down, before slowly nodding her head. "I... I understand, Mr. Water Hooves..." As soon as she finished saying that, a few tears started to fall from her eyes, which made Mr. Water Hooves sigh and wrap her in a hug.

"I know it isn't easy to let go of a firm belief... trust me, I know how you feel... but it's time to move on, now." Then he smiled at her, and spoke in a more cheerful tone. "Besides! Isn't your next exam the 'Familiars Exam'? Maybe you can change your focus from that human nonsense to whatever fate chooses to be your familiar!"

At that statement, Lyra gasped. "Th-that's right! My sister Bon-Bon told me that the finals of second-year students would be the one that allows the students to summon their familiars!"

Mr. Water Hooves tilted his head in confusion. "Bon-Bon? Isn't that the earth pony from Ponyville, though?"

Lyra nodded her head with a smile. "Well, yeah! I mean, she's technically my sister-in-law, because she's married to my older brother, Doctor Horse, but that's okay. She and I get along very well! My friend Minuette also likes to hang out with her occasionally, and she's a unicorn, too!"

Mr. Water Hooves hummed to himself before nodding his head with a smile. "Well, at least you have friends and family who care about you... anyways, I should let you get back to class now." He quickly picked up a piece of paper and wrote an excuse on it with his quill, before placing a stamp on it; verifying who the sender was. "Please show this to Professor Lance, and he'll excuse you for your tardiness. Thank you for allowing me to speak with you, and... I hope you'll be okay, after this."

Lyra took the slip and nodded her head with a weak smile. The tears were still on her cheeks, though. "It'll be fine, Mr. Water Hooves... thank you for your guidance." With that, she turned and ran back to the hallway; headed towards the center of the outdoor area, where the 'Familiar Exam' was to be held.

CMA OUTDOOR RESTING AREA

A tall, white-coated stallion with a black, spiked mane and red eyes (the left one closed shut by a scar) stood tall, wearing the usual Canterlot Knight armor, and held a large spear made of a magic white-colored metal called Titanite. The armor he wore was made of the same material, but with the addition of gold trimming that was hardened with iron inside it.

When he looked around, he hummed to himself. "Why do I get the feeling we're still missing somepony?" he asked in a low-pitched, gruff voice.

After the students looked among their peers, a white unicorn mare with a purple mane and tail combed neatly over her right eye asked in a posh voice, "Has anypony seen Lyra anywhere? It would be a shame for the poor dear to miss this class!"

Twilight, who was standing next to her, replied, "It's alright, Rarity. I'm sure she'll be here soon."

From a short distance away, but still within ears' reach, Quartz Brush shrugged her shoulders before scoffing, "Knowing her, it wouldn't surprise me if she just gave up, ran to her dorm, and started crying in front of a mirror." More of her friends started laughing alongside her, until Twilight looked up and glared at them.

"At least she wouldn't have to put up with your ugly snout..." Twilight commented, causing the laughter to die down, and Quartz to stare at Twilight in shock.

"Oh, no you didn't! Look here, bookworm! Just because you've aced, like, every single class you go to doesn't give you the right to tell me that I'm ugly!" Quartz then walked closer to Twilight, while Twilight merely stood there with a smile on her face.

"You're right. You don't need me to point that out, when it's quite obvious!" That statement caused the crowd to gasp, and stare at Twilight in shock, before laughing at her comment.

Quartz glared intensely at Twilight, until a ball of water materialized next to her. Then, in the blink of an eye, she sent the ball of water directly towards Twilight, who merely went back to reading her book.

Before the water could reach Twilight, however, the water was engulfed in a yellow aura, and deflected back to Quartz, who gasped before getting completely soaked in water from head to hoof. That caused the entire class to laugh, while Lance merely stood there unimpressed.

"W-who did that?! WHO HAS THE NERVE TO... to..." Quartz froze in place when she saw none other than Princess Celestia and Princess Luna gently glide down, and stand next to Twilight, who smiled when she saw Celestia, and gave her a gentle hug, which Celestia returned.

"Is everything okay, my faithful student?" Celestia asked Twilight in a concerned voice, which only made the class gasp even louder.

"F-faithful... s-student?!" Quartz stuttered, before falling on her face in a bow.

Twilight took that as a lesson learned and merely smiled back at Celestia. "Everything's fine, Princess Celestia... but mind if I ask what you're doing here?"

Celestia turned towards the class, who were all bowing down at her at that point. "I've heard rumors that the 'Familiars Exam' is today, so I wanted to see what everypony could come up with. After all, this event only happens once in a unicorn's lifetime, so it's very sacred." She then turned towards Professor Lance and asked, "Is everypony ready for the exams to begin?"

Lance sighed before shaking his head left and right. "Unfortunately, there's a student who's tardy... and I'm concerned that she might end up failing this year, if she doesn't at least pass this exam."

"WAIT! PLEASE WAIT FOR JUST ONE SECOND! I HAVE AN EXCUSE FROM MR. WATER HOOVES!" Lyra shouted from the distance, which caused the entire class and the princesses to turn towards the source of the voice.

When Lyra was there, she completely missed the presence of the princesses due to her worry, and skipped on to Lance, who looked at her with a raised eyebrow. Then she offered him the slip that Mr. Water Hooves gave her, and walked to her place, which would be next to Twilight Sparkle, only to stop in place when she noticed the princesses for the first time.

"P-Princess... Princess Celestia?! Princess Luna?!" Lyra stuttered, until she fell flat on her face.

Celestia, however, giggled at the mare before asking, "I take it you must be Misses Heartstrings?"

Lyra gasped at that statement before looking up at Celestia. "H-how did you know that?!"

With a wink, Celestia replied, "My faithful student has told me a lot about you... and I saw her stand up for you just recently... but I'll explain more about that later. For now, you have a class to attend." Then she looked at Lance and asked, "Professor Lance, I want Lyra to go last, so that she can have a clearer grasp on what to do, and how to summon her familiar."

Lance nodded his head with a smile. "Of course, your majesty! Very well, then! Quartz Brush, I would like you to go first, since you're so confident about your skills!"

With a sly smile, Quartz nodded her head and replied, "Of course, Professor Lance!" Then she walked up to the center of the area, where a white chalky circle was drawn, and held her right hand up. With her fingers spread out, she said, "Familiar of this world, hear my plea! Arise from the ashes, and follow me!"

As soon as she finished her sentence, the ground started to shake. Suddenly, from the center of the circle, a large Cragadile, a Crocodile with rock-solid scales, dug its way out of the ground, and stood there in front of Quartz, who stared at it wide-eyed. Then, after a moment of silence, it walked up to her, and nuzzled her with its scalp, which made her smile.

"Wow... a Cragadile! Talk about an amazing beginning!" Lance stated with an impressed smile. The class clapped their hands at the creature, while Quartz took a bow, followed by her cragadile. Then, with a smug grin, Quartz rode the cragadile to the back of the line, while giving Lyra and Twilight a quick glance.

"Try not to blow anything up, Lyra! You only get one chance at this, after all!"

Lyra's eyes widened at that statement, and at once, her hands started to shake. Twilight, however, wrapped her right arm over her shoulders and said, "Don't let her get you down, Lyra... I know you can do better than that!"

Lyra gulped before nodding her head and giving Twilight a nervous smile. "Y-yeah... a-after all, it's not like this spell has ever been failed before, right?"

That statement caused Twilight's eyes to widen, while she moved her gaze away from Lyra, who's eyes widened at the reaction. "Oh, no... s-so... I could fail this class?!"

Twilight sighed before turning back to Lyra. "Not only that, Lyra... y-you have to pass this class, if you expect to proceed to the next grade! And since this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance, if you fail... then you won't be able to graduate, and will have to go elsewhere..."

Lyra gasped at that statement. "W-WHAT?! WHY DIDN'T THEY SAY ANYTHING ABOUT THAT?!"

"It was written in the books... didn't you study last night?"

"Well... n-not exactly?"

"You were reading about humans again, weren't you?"

"Um... y-yes?"

"Well, pay close attention! You have to do things correctly, and say the same thing that everyone else says! Any mistakes could lead to unintended results! Okay?"

Lyra gulped, before nodding her head. Little did they know that the two of them were the last ones who needed to summon their familiars.

"Next up... Misses Twilight Sparkle!" Lance called out, which got both of their attention.

Twilight turned to Lyra and said, "Just repeat after me, and you'll do fine. Okay?"

Lyra nodded her head, and watched Twilight closely. As she watched, however, her mind began to drift back to the talk that she and Mr. Water Hooves had recently.

"Familiar of this world, hear my plea! Arise from the ashes, and follow me!" As soon as Twilight finished her statement, the circle around her began to glow like the last few students' turns. Then, from the center of the circle, an iron horse-shaped helmet appeared... followed by the rest of the armor. Twilight smiled at the sight of the creature, while the rest of the class oohed in amazement.

"Another 'Iron Golem'! Like Prince Blueblood's, these are considered a rarity to appear in the form of a familiar, yet the powers that they have are more stronger than an average conjured one! Congratulations, Misses Sparkle!" The class then clapped their hands while Quartz Brush looked away, slightly annoyed at Twilight's familiar. Her annoyance was short-lived when Professor Lance called out, "And now, that leaves Misses Lyra Heartstrings!"

The class all looked at Lyra in unison, which made her shrink down nervously. Then, a few snickers could be heard coming from Quartz and Blueblood, who stood next to his familiar... an Iron Golem similar to Twilight's, only colored white and gold, unlike Twilight's lavender and blue one.

After hearing the snickering, Lyra's nervousness was quickly replaced with annoyance... which only worried Twilight. "E-excuse me, Professor Lance... is she able to study some more real quick? J-just in case she forgot something?"

Lance shook his head and replied, "I'm sorry, but that is not allowed. If she failed to study, then she'll have to deal with her failure head-on. Now, then... you may begin when ready, Misses Heartstrings."

Lyra grunted once more, before stepping up to the circle. Then, after taking a few deep breaths, she thought to herself, "(Please may this work...)"

Finally, with a serious expression, she raised her right hand over the circle and said in a loud, authoritative tone, "Familiar of Earth, hear my plea! Arise from the ashes, and follow me!" As soon as she realized the mistake she made, she whispered to herself, "Oh, crap!"

>{BOOM}<

From several meters across the entire field, the grass was scorched a black charred color... but nopony could see that, for the entirety of the field was covered in dirt and chunks of grass that was uprooted by the massive power of Lyra's spell.

After wheezing for air, Blueblood slowly rose up from the ground, and looked at Quartz Brush, who was staring wide-eyed at the center of the circle. "Ugh! What a terrible failure! I had a feeling she would fail this one!" Then, he noticed Quartz wasn't responding to his complaint. "Quartz? What's wrong?"

Quartz merely pointed towards the center of the circle, which Blueblood's eyes followed. Then, as soon as he saw the shadow of a figure lying on the ground, his eyes widened, and he gasped. "B-but, she... h-how did she... the spell! H-how did it work?! She didn't even say the words correctly!"

Lyra, on the other hand, stood there speechlessly, until the dust died down, revealing just what, or who, her familiar was.

There, lying in the center of the circle sleeping peacefully (and snoring loudly), was a bipedal creature that could stand eye-to-eye with an average stallion. The creature had a flat face with a small bit of brown stubble that covered its chin and rose above its mouth. It had a short-cut mane and pale white skin. Its chest was almost completely covered in hair, but only in a "T" shape. Its forearms and hands were covered in hair up to the fingers and inner sections. It didn't wear a shirt, or any shoes, but was wearing blue denim pants over its legs. Instead of hooves, it had, as Lyra pointed out from her drawing, feet. From the sound of its voice as it snored, it was clear that it was a male... and as for what he was, Lyra couldn't even believe her eyes.

"I-it's a... a... a... h-hum... a HUMAN?!" Then her worried expression turned into a cheerful expression, until the human slowly opened his blue-green eyes. Once she saw him, she raised her right hand, and slowly said, "How..."

The human merely sat there for a moment, trying to wake up. After rubbing his eyes with his hands, his eyes instantly shot open when he realized he was no longer inside a building. Looking around, he began to speak to himself, but to everypony else, it sounded like he was merely grunting and making odd noises. "*Grunt grunt?! Gruh gro granah?!*(W-what the Hell?! WHERE AM I?!)"

The human started to shift around nervously, until his eyes rested on the nearest pony... Lyra. She stared at him confusedly, before asking, "What's wrong? Can't you understand what I'm saying?"

"*Grah?! Gro Vranna Go Glashka, Ge Gronnah Givashka Gleyna Groshkavan?!*(Huh?! What in the Hell are you, and why can't I understand what you're saying?!)"

Lyra sighed, before standing up again. "Well... at least I passed the test, right?"

Professor Lance nodded his head after removing his helmet; where a thick horizontal line of ash covered his eyes. "Indeed... and I'll go on ahead and tell you all your next assignments. You are all to bond with your familiars today, and the following week. Then, after that, I want you all to prepare them for the 'Grand Familiar Show', where you are all to show off your familiars and their special talents. Understood?"

The class all shouted their consent with "Yes sir"s and "Understood, sir"s. Lyra, on the other hand, merely stood there, staring at her familiar, trying to communicate with him.

"Very well, then. Class dismissed!" With that, the class started heading their own ways, save for Lyra, Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Twilight's familiar, and the human, who was looking around nervously.

"Okay, then... I have a familiar, and it's a human... but... I don't see any wings, or horns! Is he even able to speak at all?!"

Twilight shrugged her shoulders at Lyra's question. "I've never really seen a human before, so I wouldn't know. What are your thoughts, Princess Celestia?"

Princess Celestia wasn't focusing on the conversations. Rather, she was more concerned about the two red horizontal lines that crossed the human's hands. When the human followed her gaze, his eyes widened as he, too, started to grunt in confusion. "*GRUNT GRUNT?! GRUH GRO GRANDA GRA VA NALGA GRA FEIS?!*(WHAT THE HELL?! WHAT'S GOING ON WITH MY HANDS?!)"

Then, once he stood back up, he turned around, only to come face-to-face with Twilight's iron golem, who raised its right hand up and waved. The human, on the other hand, froze in place, before screaming, and turning around to run away... only to get caught in a levitation spell, and lifted in the air. As he was floating, he continued to scream and flail his arms and legs around nervously.

"It seems to me that you're going to have your hands full tonight, Lyra... why don't you take a break, and introduce your familiar to the academy?" Princess Celestia asked, as she levitated the screaming human closer to her. Then, when he was close enough for her to get a better glimpse, he looked up, only to notice her super-sized chest.

After that, his jaw dropped, while he grunted, "*Gruh Grah! Grunna Grel Grunt?!*(Holy crap! Are those even real?!)"

Celestia, on the other hand, could see where his eyes were focused, and glared at him. "H-HEY!" With that, she slapped him in the face, which instead of merely teach him a lesson, completely rendered him unconscious. "Oops... I think I hit him too hard..."

LYRA'S DORM ROOM

It was late at night when the human slowly started to regain consciousness. As soon as he sat up, he looked around, only to find that he was lying in a pile of hay, which was lying next to a large, green-sheeted bed with a frame made of gold. Sitting on top of it, staring at him was none other than Lyra herself.

"Oh, good... you're awake..." she said in an annoyed tone. "And here, I was starting to worry that you would be useful for nothing more than sleeping all the time!" Out of annoyance, she threw a pillow at the human, who jumped back at the clear anger that Lyra was expressing.

As she expected, he started grunting once more. "*GRA! Gro Gratta Grei La?!*(H-hey! What did I do?!)"

Ignoring his comments, Lyra sighed before unbuttoning her shirt... which made the human's entire face turn red. Then he began screaming, while covering his eyes and speaking more gibberish to her, which caused her to cover her ears and groan. "UGH! Why are you making so much noise?! Please, for the love of Celestia, SHUT UP, YOU STUPID MONKEY!" Despite her requests, he only got louder as she stepped closer to him.

With an annoyed sigh, Lyra snapped her right fingers, as an idea came to her mind. "Of course! I'll use that 'Mind Control' spell that Mr. Water Hooves taught us last year!" Then she deadpanned at the screaming human, before placing her right pointing finger over her lips and shushing the human. This time, however, he stopped screaming, and stared at her confusedly.

Slowly, she lifted her right hand, and pressed her middle finger on the human's forehead. Then her golden eyes began to glow brightly, which made the human's eyes widen in fear. Seconds later, the two of them were blasted away from each other by a small but loud explosion. The human landed upside down, completely dazed, while Lyra landed on her flank on the opposite wall.

"Ow... what the Hell was that for, lady?!" the human asked, which caused Lyra to gasp, and her eyes to widen.

"W-wait! Did you just speak Equestrian?!" Lyra asked before quickly jumping up to her hooves.

The human also gasped and flipped himself back right-side-up, before standing up, pointing at Lyra, and stuttering, "HOLY CRAP! DID YOU JUST SPEAK ENGLISH?!"

"I don't know what kingdom this 'English' comes from, but no! You're speaking Equestrian right now!" Suddenly, her eyes lit with excitement, which made the human a little more nervous. "Hey, wait a second! You can speak Equestrian now, so you can tell me what your talented in, and confirm a theory that I had!" The human simply tilted his head in confusion. "Okay, so first off! What species are you, because I'm sure you aren't some random monkey that I pulled from a strange place."

The human scratched the back of his head, as he thought to himself, "(Okay, this has to be some bizarre dream.)" He stretched his right hand out, and slapped himself across the face, which caused Lyra to raise an eyebrow out of confusion. Then, with a frightened expression, the human murmured, "This isn't a dream."

"H-hey! Are you going to answer my question?!"

"Not until you answer mine, first! How did I get here, and how can I go back home?!"

"I summoned you! You're my familiar, as in, my life-long guardian, so you can't go back!"

The human's eyes widened at that statement. "W-wait, so... I'm stuck here?!"

Lyra nodded her head and started lifting her undershirt off, which caused the human to raise both eyes out of confusion. "It shouldn't be much of a bother, since you're just a familiar. If anything, I'm sure that whatever you're calling 'home' is just an old pony's tail, and that you've just simply been created from my imagination." When she finished her sentence, she threw her undershirt at the human, who didn't catch it with his hands, but rather, his face. "But according to the 'Examination Spell' that Princess Celestia used on all familiars, you're considered the weakest of all familiars... in fact, even a foal could beat you in a fight!" When he removed the shirt from his face, his eyes widened at the next piece of clothing that landed on him... her bra.

As soon as he looked back at her, he squealed and covered his eyes, while a small stream of blood fell from his nostrils. "H-HEY! What the- WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" He asked, only for Lyra to tilt her head in confusion.

"Well, duh! I'm undressing, so I can put my night gown on! And since you don't have any special talents, I might as well let you do my laundry." Then the human felt an additional weight land on his hair. When he lifted the clothing piece out of his hair, his mind froze, as he noticed that it was her panties.

While focusing on the panties, he held the corners and started stretching them in a playful manner. "Um... I'm not entirely sure to be angry or aroused about this..." Then he felt an unknown force lift him up by his ear and drag him next to Lyra, who still had yet to put her night gown on. Instantly, the human's face turned red at his close proximity to the nude mare, while he closed his eyes and attempted to look away. "OW! H-HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

With an annoyed grunt, Lyra replied, "You should know better than to treat my property like that! You won't be angry, or aroused! You'll just be my familiar; emotionless, and willing to comply!" Then she released him from her grip and slipped a light blue night dress over her chest, and allowed it to fall freely down to her knees. After that, she ignored the human next to her and walked straight to her bed. "The rest of my laundry is in the basket near the dresser. I expect them to be done no later than six o' clock!"

At that statement, the human glared at her and asked, "And if I say 'no'?!"

Lyra yawned before replying, "You're my familiar, so you can't say 'no'. Besides, who do you think will feed you tomorrow morning?"

"Huh?"

With a sigh, Lyra sat up and looked at him once more with a deadpanned, yet exhausted expression. "Wow, you really are dense, aren't you? You're my familiar, which means you have to guard me with your life, and in exchange, I have to take care of you. It's a fair trade." Then she rested her head on her pillow once again, and closed her eyes. "Oh, and you'll address me as Misses Lyra Heartstrings. Anyways, the laundry won't do itself, so hurry it up."

With a sigh, the human gave a false salute, before mumbling insults beneath his breath, and picking the clothes up from the floor where he dropped them. Then he took them to a short, circular clothes basket that was filled to the rim with clothing, and carefully placed the additional clothes on top of the pile. After that, he cautiously walked out the hall, and looked both ways, before checking out the window. He was on the third floor, and could see a distant well with water in it... along with a mare in the shadows that appeared to be doing laundry in it. With her as proof, he nodded to himself, and smiled. "Yep! That must be my destination! Nothing to it!" Then he slowly walked down the circular staircase, where he was greeted by another hallway that he had to walk through.

When he was merely halfway down the hall, he heard a snobby nobleman's voice call him out. "Hold it right there, monkey!" As soon as the human heard the word 'monkey', he instantly disliked the owner of the voice with a passion. Turning around, he saw Blueblood walking his way with a stern expression on his face. "You have five seconds to explain what you're doing out of your bed!"

The human looked between him and a buttery yellow-coated mare with a blue mane that was tied in a noblewoman's high-rising style. "Oh, hold on, Blueblood. I do believe that monkey is just merely a familiar... and from the looks of it, I believe it is Lyra's."

After Blueblood examined the human once more, he chuckled before turning around. "Oh, silly me! Of course it is! And from the looks of it, its special talent would be laundry! I expected nothing less of Lyra's familiar!" Then the human gasped when he saw a basket twice the size of the one he was carrying levitate in-between his chest and the smaller basket in his hands. "I expect the laundry to be done by six o' clock in the morning, and not a second later! Chop-chop! Maybe if you get it done, I'll put in a good word to Lyra for you!"

With a sigh, the human continued to walk down the hallway with the additional laundry, while muttering to himself, "Jackass..."

As soon as he made it to the next hallway; the first floor, he sighed with relief, knowing that this would be the last hallway. Then, the expected happened. Quartz Brush was standing there with a basket about the size of the one Lyra had in her arms. "Oh, there you are! I was beginning to wonder when the servants would send somepony here! And don't be late! I expect my laundry to be done by six o' clock! Now get to work!"

As soon as the human felt the additional weight added to the basket in his hands, his knees began to lower, as the weight began to pile against him. Then he heard Quartz gasp and ask, "Hey, hold on! You're that monkey that Lyra conjured up as a familiar, aren't you?"

The human deadpanned at her choice of word, but his deadpanned expression changed to a wide-eyed one, as he noticed the mare's unbelievably large chest, which lowered with her giving him a half-bow. "Or is the proper term 'human'? Well, perhaps I can give you a... 'special tour' if you can get it done quick enough!"

The human's entire face turned red at that statement, and instinctively, he merely nodded his head and continued on his way; ignoring the building pain in his arms... and his pants.

CMA SERVANTS' QUARTERS

He grunted and continued to slide the laundry up and down the board in the bucket filled with water with all his might. Then he sighed to himself and rubbed the sweat from his forehead when he placed the next piece of clothing on the edge of the well to dry... leaving him with hundreds of sheets, shirts, pants, and other clothing pieces remaining. With a sigh, he grumbled to himself, "I'll never be done, at this rate!"

Suddenly, he heard a soft feminine voice speak to him from behind his back. "Um, excuse me... are you alright, sir?"

When he heard the voice, his eyes widened and at once, he turned around; expecting to find another pile of laundry. Instead, his eyes spotted a yellow-coated mare with a long, pink mane styled over her left eye with a curl at the lower tip of her mane. Her tail was fashioned similarly as far as the protruding tip was, but what caught the human off guard was the fact that she had no horn... but she didhave wings. Her eyes were as blue as the morning sky, and her chest was lengthy enough to make hands start reaching forward when given the chance. She was wearing a black maiden's outfit, which only made it harder for the human to look away.

"U-um... h-hey! S-sorry i-if I'm taking up too much space for you! Um... s-should I move elsewhere?"

The mare gasped and placed her hands over her snout. "Oh, goodness! Are you having to do all of that by yourself?!" The human nodded his head, which made the mare's expression show true, genuine concern... something the human didn't expect to see. "If it's alright with you, may I please help?"

The human's eyes widened at that statement. "Um... s-sure, b-but... why are you offering to help me, though? We just met."

"Oh, it's no problem at all... I like helping others... and animals. Speaking of which..." She placed her fingers on the corners of her lips and began to blow a very silent whistle... so silent, in fact, that the human couldn't even hear it.

Suddenly, from around the outer regions of the walls that surrounded the academy, a huge swarm of animals began running up to them, which made the human gasp and back away nervously. Then, the next thing caught him off guard... they lined up in a neat, multiple sectioned line. What's more, the human even spotted a bear in the back of the lines.

Finally, the mare gently spoke to the animals, which made the human's jaw drop after seeing them nod their heads in response. "This poor individual needs our help. He can't do all this laundry by himself. If any of you are free, may you please help him complete the laundry quickly? Of course, if you're too busy, you can feel free to finish what you need first." Instantly, the animals ran up to the laundry, which was behind the human; giving him the feeling that they were about to trample over him. After flinching and closing his eyes, he heard the movement around him, but didn't feel anything. When he opened his eyes, he gasped when he saw the birds flying the clothes up to the water; dipping them in, and pulling them out, the beavers and other woodland critters scrubbing the clothes up and down on the boards, and the bear fanning the clothes dry (which, surprisingly, worked like a charm) and folding them neatly, before separating them in different piles for each individual.

The human stared wide-eyed and slack-jawed at the miracle before his eyes. "H-how did... how did you do that?! Are you magic, too?!"

When he looked at the mare, she giggled at his expression before shaking her head. "Not really. It's just my special talent. It's what my cutie mark stands for!" She showed him her hands, which had pictures of butterflies flying upwards, with dotted lines representing their movement. "I'm just naturally capable of talking to animals." Suddenly, she gasped. "Oh my goodness! I was so carried away in getting help for you, that I completely forgot to tell you my name! I hope you aren't mad at me..."

Her gently kindness caught the human by surprise even more. "(Man, if everyone were like her, I'd freakin' love this place!)" Then he realized that she was flinching nervously, which made him raise an eyebrow out of confusion. "What?! How could I be mad at you? You practically saved my life here!" Then he took her right hand and gently kissed it, which made her blush at the sudden contact. "I'm forever in your debt, Misses, um..."

"F-Fluttershy. M-my name is Fluttershy. It's nice to meet you, Mr. um..."

The human pointed his left hand at his chest and replied, "My name's Justin Daniels, but please just call me 'Justin'... no need for formalities." He smiled and bowed his head respectfully. "I honestly can't thank you enough... or your... 'friends' here. Please let them know I'm forever grateful for this kind gesture."

Fluttershy nodded her head and smiled warmly at him. "Of course!" Then she turned around, and gasped. "Uh oh! I think I hear a small critter in trouble! I'm so sorry, but I have to go. My friends will understand what you say, so please feel free to let them know if you need anything."

Justin nodded his head and chuckled in response. "Of course! Please, don't let me get in your way! Thank you again for this kind favor! I'll pay you back someday!"

Fluttershy giggled before shaking her head. "Oh, you don't have to go through all that trouble just for little ol' me... but thank you for talking with me... I hope to see you again soon! Bye-bye!" With that, she flew off in the distance, leaving Justin there with perhaps the biggest smile he could form at the time.

Then he looked up at the moon, and hummed to himself, before commenting. "Wow... with her around... maybe this place isn't so bad, after all!"

Episode 2: Talent Hunt!

EPISODE TWO

TALENT HUNT!

LYRA'S DORM ROOM

The sun was just starting to rise when Lyra's eyes slowly started to drift open. Letting out a long, drawn-out yawn, she looked to her right, and kicked her hooves out of her bed, only to freeze in place, and raise her ears up. She didn't remember a creature that growled the same way as the creature she was hearing.

Then, once she looked down at the source of the growling, she sighed heavily at the sight before her.

The growling was none other than Justin's loud snoring, as he slept on the pile of hay spread out for him on the floor. Lyra's basket of neatly folded clothes was next to him on the floor, rested between his left arm and his stomach. His right hand was lying on his stomach, and his mouth was wide open, as each passing snore that he made surrounded the entire room in a similar growling manner.

Shortly after staring at the sight before her for another few seconds, Lyra looked at the doorway, and noticed that a letter was lying at the doorway. Without hesitation, she levitated it up to her, and began reading the contents of the letter. Then, with a loud gasp, she turned to Justin, and lightly (yet painfully) kicked him on the side. "Get up, Monkey! You have to get me ready for a personal visit to Principal Nightmare Moon!"

"Ugh... good morning to you too, Horse." Justin grumbled, which caused Lyra's eyes to widen, and a glare to form on her face.

"W-WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!" Lyra finally managed to speak, which caused Justin's eyes to open.

"Well, you called me 'Monkey', so I called you 'Horse'. I have a name, you know... and it's Justin."

THE PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE

Nightmare Moon was sorting through the files in her cabinets, when the door to her office gently creaked open; catching her attention. When she turned around to see who her visitor was, she smiled widely as the student that she summoned stepped in. "Ah! We welcome you, Misses Heartstrings!" Then she raised an eyebrow out of confusion. "We hate to ask, but... where is your familiar at?"

Lyra turned around and replied, "I sent him out to socialize with the other familiars... and recover from a few wounds that he received."

"Wounds?! What, pray tell, happened to your familiar?"

"I... might've punished him for insulting me... a little too much for him to handle."

CMA INFIRMARY

Justin was lying in a medical bed with countless scorch marks and bruises all over his body. Despite the injuries, though, he was nervously smiling while telling himself, "Note to self... calling a pony a 'horse' is a bad thing to do..."

Suddenly, the door to the room that he was in swung open, and in ran Fluttershy with a worried look on her face. "Oh my goodness! Justin, are you okay?! A little birdie told me that she saw you resting in the infirmary, so I came as quick as I could!"

With a light chuckle (knowing that, when she says 'a little birdie told her', it is more than likely literal), Justin replied, "Huh? Oh, hey Fluttershy! Yeah, I'm fine! Just a couple burns, bruises, cuts, and possible fractures in my bones... perhaps even a few punctures in my lungs... but nothing too serious for me to handle, though!"

Fluttershy sighed before closing her eyes and shaking her head. "Ooh, why would Lyra even do such a thing to you?!"

Justin shrugged his shoulders before replying, "Eh, I kinda had it coming since I did call her a horse... even though she called me a monkey first."

That statement caused Fluttershy's eyes to widen. "W-wait... you called her a... a horse?!"

"In my defense, I'm not really sure about the customs of this world yet. I mean, it's obvious I'm no longer in my world, since it has, according to what my people would've called, anthropomorphic h-err... ponies, and what-not... and that doesn't even exist in my world. It's completely run by humans like me."

With a nod, Fluttershy replied, "Well... as long as you didn't mean anything cruel by calling her a 'horse', then it's okay. You see, horses are considered the ponies that lived in caves hundreds of thousands of years ago."

"(Ah, so horses are cavemen to ponies... but there has to be a reason why Lyra acted as rough as she did on me just now...)" Justin thought to himself, until Fluttershy continued, almost as if she read his mind.

"Ever since she was just a little filly, Lyra has always shown a fascination with humans... which pretty much gave her a bad reputation. In fact, it became so bad, that the other ponies actually started calling her a 'horse', referring to the fact that she is always obsessed with legends, and ancient writings from the caves that the horses once lived in... only a few ponies actually chose to associate with her and become her friends; namely her current sister-in-law, Bon-Bon, and her friend Minuette."

When Fluttershy finished, Justin's smile was already a serious expression. "So she was bullied when she was little?" Fluttershy nodded her head, which made Justin sigh. "Well, now I feel like a jerk for insulting her like that... even if she did insult me first."

"If there's anything I know about Lyra, it's that her history of being constantly bullied has given her a sense of pride... so don't expect her to react positively to an apology in public... but please, do understand that she will accept it, regardless... even if she doesn't show it."

Justin nodded his head and slowly stood up... only to fall back down and grunt in pain. "Ow! Well, I don't think I'll be moving around much today... or for the next few weeks..."

"Hm? OH, RIGHT! I almost forgot!" Fluttershy quickly reached into the nearest cabinet in the room and pulled out a small brown cloth bag with a thin string tied on top. "I have an herbal remedy that should make your wounds go away in no time!"

As she opened the bag and started to sprinkle the contents (green and golden powder) over Justin, he lightly chuckled and said, "Really, Fluttershy... it's fine! Besides, I'm not even sure the powder can... huh?!" As soon as he felt the powder make contact with his wounds, he felt significantly healthier... almost instantly refreshed from any pain. Then, once he looked down, his eyes widened at the sight before him... his wounds were completely gone!

"H-how did you..." Justin began, before turning to Fluttershy, and smiling. "Th-thank you!"

Fluttershy smiled warmly before turning around. "Oh, it's alright... I couldn't stand watching a friend hurting, after all..."

"Wait... friend?"

"But of course!" She tilted her head in confusion. "We are friends, aren't we?"

Justin merely popped his forehead and smiled. "Oh, sorry! That was rude of me... of course, we're friends! It's just... I haven't really had much friends back in my world, so I'm still new to this sort of thing."

Fluttershy nodded her head and smiled once again. "I understand. I haven't really made any friends besides the woodland critters before Twilight moved to Ponyville a couple months ago."

The name of the place caused Justin to tilt his head in confusion. "Ponyville? Can't say I've heard of that place before... but then again, I've just gotten here yesterday, so I guess that's to be expected." Then he looked around and lightly chuckled. "In fact, I can't say that I know where I am now, come to think of it."

With a nod, Fluttershy offered, "Really?! Well, if you want, I can tell you... and show you around. That is, if you want me to."

Justin then stood from the bed and nodded his head once more. "I'd love that! Thank you, Fluttershy!"

With that, the two of them walked out of the room, and into the halls of the academy, while Fluttershy spoke of the major events that she and her friends she made from Ponyville went through, all the way up to their latest achievement for their 'Friendship Reports' (which were the main goals for each event)... the 'Nightmare Night' incident, where their academy's new principal, Nightmare Moon, visited Ponyville for the first time, after a month of being reformed, which began shortly after her separation from Princess Luna's body (an unexpected side-effect from the elements of Harmony being used on her).

CMA OUTDOOR RESTING AREA

As soon as Fluttershy finished telling Justin the story of her friends' trials and triumphs, the two of them were already in the outdoor resting area, sitting at a formerly unoccupied table.

"So you're saying that when these 'Elements of Harmony' were used on Princess Luna, the force that made her evil was separated from her body, and returned in the form of a completely new person?" Justin asked before taking a sip of water from a glass that rested on the table.

Fluttershy nodded her head. "Yes, and after a month of convincing her to join the good side, she decided to accept. If it wasn't for us showing her how much we appreciate the night, though, I doubt if any of it would've been possible."

Justin nodded his head in understanding. "And now, that very same person happens to run this academy?"

Again, Fluttershy nodded her head. "That's right."

At that statement, Justin hummed to himself, and rested his face on his hand. Then he let out a long, drawn-out sigh, which caught Fluttershy's attention. Before she could even ask what was wrong, however, Justin already decided to change the subject. "Sorry, I've just been thinking about Lyra again. I mean, I know that she's been bullied all her life because of her beliefs on humanity, but... I don't know, shouldn't she be more happy that I'm real, and not... I don't know... angry?"

Fluttershy shrugged her shoulders before replying, "Well... sometimes, you have to put yourself in the other's shoes to truly understand."

For a short moment, Justin looked up, and considered her words, while clicking everything together. Finally, the realization hit him. "She's been confident that humans were real since she was little... but last night, she..."

("But according to the 'Examination Spell' that Princess Celestia used on all familiars, you're considered the weakest of all familiars... in fact, even a foal could beat you in a fight!") Lyra's voice echoed through his mind.

"Knowing that her childhood idol turned out to be weaker than she believed... must've taken a toll on her, huh?" Justin looked at Fluttershy for confirmation.

She nodded her head and smiled. Then she was about to speak, but before she can, Lyra's voice boomed through the yard.

"THERE YOU ARE! WHERE THE HAY HAVE YOU BEEN?! I'VE BEEN LOOKING EVERYWHERE FOR YOU!" As soon as the two of them noticed Lyra, Justin smiled and waved at her.

Unfortunately, though, the two of them had different ideas in mind with how they would greet each other. For starters, Lyra wasn't looking even the slightest bit happy... which led to Justin getting lifted off of his seat, and levitated over Lyra, who began walking towards the training grounds of the academy. "Whoa, Lyra! What're you doing?!"

With an annoyed grunt, Lyra retorted, "That's 'Misses Lyra Heartstrings' to you, bub! And we're going to figure out your talent, so we can actually stand a chance next week! Understood?"

With a sigh, Justin nodded his head and replied, "Alright, alright! Sheesh!"

As the two headed away, Fluttershy couldn't help but giggle at the sight, before continuing to drink her drink that rested on the table.

CMA TRAINING AREA

Lyra groaned and complained, as she and Justin stood in the back of the line of students with their familiars. Directly in front of them was none other than Blueblood, who continuously poked fun at Lyra for having such a pathetic excuse for a familiar... something that Justin was pretending not to understand. He continued focusing on Lyra's reactions which were, surprisingly, calmer than Justin felt like he would've been able to feel.

Finally, Blueblood's turn came up. As he walked away, Lyra looked away from him, and towards Justin. "Listen, Justin... I don't expect to win, anyways... so when we're called up there, just... just bow your head and walk on. Please..."

As she asked that, Justin noticed tears starting to fall from her eyes. At once, he had flashbacks of his childhood, and all the times that he had been bullied. Feeling helpless in the situation, however, he weakly nodded his head and looked on towards the wooden stage beyond the curtain at their direct left. To their right was a stone wall that led to the gates outside the academy.

When Blueblood was finished, however, a hint of rage built up in Justin's mind, as he heard him say in a microphone, "Up next, I do hope you all brought popcorn... and blast-protective equipment! I'm sure you all know who I'm talking about!" Then, he only felt even more disgusted when he heard loud laughter coming from outside.

"What an idiot... we'll show 'em! Won't we, Lyra?" Justin asked, before turning to her. Then, his eyes widened as he realized that Lyra was now curled up on the ground, crying in her knees in a fetal position. That... was the final straw.

As soon as Blueblood walked back in, he was still lightly chuckling... and he even gave a sly smile as he walked past Lyra. When he made it to Justin, however, he stopped as soon as Justin grabbed his shirt's left sleeve with his left arm, and said in a surprisingly calmed manner, "Apologize to her..."

"Huh?! HEY! UNHAND ME, YOU FILTHY MONKEY!" Blueblood shouted, only for Justin to look him in the eyes, and reveal his angered expression.

In a more aggressive tone, Justin repeated, "I said... APOLOGIZE to her!"

"H-HEY! GET YOUR FILTHY, WRETCHED, SWEAT-COVERED HAND OFF OF ME THIS INSTANT!" Blueblood continued to struggle, until Lyra ran up between the two, and pulled Justin off of him.

"JUSTIN! WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?! DO YOU NOT REALIZE WHO THIS IS?!" Lyra shouted, before turning to Blueblood and bowing her head down. "I'm so sorry, P-"

"ENOUGH OF THIS! GUARDS, GET IN HERE, NOW!" Blueblood shouted in a loud, booming voice. At once, the curtains fell, and at once, several ponies clad in white and gold armor ran up to the scene, and grabbed both Justin and Lyra by the arms, while Blueblood glared at Justin. "Take them both to the prison at once! I want the hairless monkey executed, and its master thrown in the darkest dungeon at once!"

The guards nodded their heads and saluted him, before they began to drag both Lyra and Justin away...

...That is, until Justin decided to speak up. "What's the matter? Are you too afraid to fight me yourself?!"

That statement made Blueblood's eyes widen, and the large crowd that was once hidden by the curtains to gasp in shock. "HOLD YOUR POSITIONS!" Blueblood shouted to the guards, and at once, they stopped escorting their two prisoners, and turned to their leader. "You think I'm scared of you, money?"

With a smug grin on his face, Justin nodded his head and replied, "Yep! In fact, I doubt if you even have the courage to make a little wager!"

Blueblood stood there silently for a moment, before bursting into laughter... followed by his snobby friends that were gathered behind him. "Oh, Lyra! Where did you pick this thing up from, exactly?!" Then he stopped his laughing, but still had an amused expression on his face. "Very well, then... humor me!"

"First of all, Lyra had nothing to do with my actions, so she doesn't deserve to go to prison... so I wager her freedom and my life, and in exchange, you wager your attitude towards her!"

Blueblood raised an eyebrow. "My attitude? Please, do explain!"

With a serious expression, Justin clarified, while Lyra looked up at him with as much shock and confusion in her expression as everyone else. "As long as you live, you are not to insult her anymore! In fact, you will treat her more nicely, and start off by apologizing to her, right after I kick your ass!" Then the entirety of the crowd gasped as his use of profanity.

"Ugh, what an uncouth and vulgar mouth you have! Very well, then... but... to add to your wager for if I win... you will both be executed!" That statement caused the entire crowd to gasp in shock. From within the crowd, Twilight's eyes shot open at that statement, as she and five of her friends started heading towards the feud.

Instantly, Lyra shook her head and shouted, "N-no, NO! JUSTIN! I ORDER YOU TO NOT ACCEPT THAT REQUEST!"

As if he hadn't heard her, Justin merely grinned mischievously before pointing his right finger at Blueblood and replying, "Deal! Where, and when?!"

After returning the mischievous expression, Blueblood replied, "The stage, and now!"

With a nod, the two of them headed towards the stage, while the crowd started to cheer... though mostly for Blueblood. Meanwhile, Lyra was being comforted by six of her friends from Ponyville; two fellow unicorns, two pegasi, and two earth ponies.

CMA FAMILIAR SHOW : STAGE

Tension was high, and the crowd quickly grew silent. From the center of the stage, a guard stood with a spear and a shield held up, with the spear pointed outward as a dividing line between the two combatants, despite their far distance from each other.

After clearing his throat, the guard began speaking the rules. "Alright, then! This will be a no-holds duel! The two combatants are to either fight until the other one dies, or until the other one yields! If the combatant yields, then he or she is no longer able to attack the other! Doing so will result in severe punishment by Principal Nightmare Moon, or Princess Celestia, should the case be severe!" Then he looked both ways and asked, "Are both combatants ready?!"

"I'm ready!"

"To kick this clown's ass? I was born ready!"

The guard winced at the human's choice of words. "(Ugh, where did this creature come from? The Badlands?!) Alright, then! Three... two... one..." Then he raised his spear up and shouted, "BEGIN!"

As soon as he finished his statement, Justin charged head-on, while Blueblood merely stood there with his arms crossed over his chest. Then, Justin raised his right fist, aimed at socking Blueblood right square in the mouth.

Suddenly, when he was just a few meters away, Justin failed to notice the floor beneath him crack, until it was too late. When he was within range, Blueblood's iron golem broke from the ground, and landed a strong punch directly in Justin's stomach, which caused him to stop in place, and fall to his knees in agony. Then, without even sparing a second, the golem picked up up off the ground, and threw him back to the opposite end of the stage, where he rolled a few times, and lied there on the ground, wheezing for air.

"JUSTIN!" Lyra shouted, before running up to his side, and checking his health. After sighing with relief that he was still alive, and even somehow still conscious, she stated, "Now do you understand?! He's Prince Blueblood! In other words, he's the adopted nephew of none other than Princess Celestia, herself!"

"G... get out of the way, Lyra... I'm fine..." Justin stated between breaths, before slowly rising back up to his feet... something that took the entire crowd by surprise. "B-besides... I wouldn't even care if he were the king of some country!"

Blueblood smirked at the human, before humming to himself. "Well, you seem to show quite an astounding amount of endurance! Very well, then... I'm feeling merciful, so how about another wager?"

Lyra looked at him and asked, "W-what? What is it?!"

"If the monkey can bow his head and apologize for assaulting me, I shall forgive both of you, and void all charges... yet if he refuses, then I'll just have to go full-force on him!"

"O-okay! I'll do it!" Lyra pleaded, only for Justin to weakly smile and chuckle.

"You must be out of your mind, Blue-balls! I'd rather die before I would even think of bowing to a coward like you!" Justin's statement caused the entire crowd's jaws to drop... surprisingly, even Blueblood's.

"You... are perhaps the biggest fool in the world!" Then he pointed at his iron golem and yelled, "FULL SPEED! I WANT HIM BROKEN, AND BEGGING FOR MERCY!" In a blur, the golem was in front of Justin once more. Before anyone could react, the golem lifted Justin up over its head and jumped up high in the air. Then, in the center of the stage, it hurled Justin downward at a fast speed, causing the wood to crack beneath him... along with several of his bones.

In a loud grunt of pain, Justin yelped, before the golem landed directly over his shoulders and lifted him up off the ground once more. Then it punched him in the stomach with its left fist, which sent him flying back towards his side of the battleground, which left Lyra and her friends wide-eyed and slack-jawed. The crowd, however, was enjoying the show, and cheering for "Steel", who happened to be Blueblood's Familiar.

As soon as Justin stopped rolling, he merely lied there motionless, while Steel stood there, awaiting Blueblood's orders. Blueblood merely chuckled, before turning around. "Such a waste of time... come on, Steel. Let's-"

"W-where d-do you think.. you're going?!" Justin weakly interrupted, causing Blueblood's eyes to widen once more, and him to stop in place, along with his familiar.

As soon as Blueblood turned around, he noticed Justin slowly stood back up, even though his entire body was practically covered in scrapes, bruises, and large amounts of blood. "H-how... how are you still standing?!" he finally asked, only for Lyra to run to Justin's side, and grab his left hand.

"NO, JUSTIN! It isn't worth it, anymore! Just give up already! You fought well, but this is going way too far!" She pleaded.

Without even looking at her, Justin merely replied, "You know... I was in the same boat as you once, before..."

"Huh?" Lyra looked at him confusedly, before opening her mouth to speak. Instead, though, Justin merely looked at her, revealing the tears in his eyes.

"It's true, I'm physically weak... it's true, I don't have any special talents... it's true that I'm practically throwing my life away by merely accepting this duel... but you know what? I was bullied, too!" That statement caused Lyra to gasp, and back up a couple steps. Then Justin looked back at Blueblood, and continued. "Yes, I can't cast magic... yes, I can't fly... yes, I can easily be overpowered by a mere child... but even against those odds, I'm gonna still refuse to bow to you... and I'm still gonna protect Lyra from punks like you... because that's what a familiar is supposed to do, isn't it?!" From behind Lyra, Twilight and her friends seemed to have small tears forming in their eyes, as they watched the underpowered human standing up to Prince Blueblood.

Blueblood stood there, still with a shocked expression on his face. Silence then filled the entire area, while Justin stood there; clearly final on his decision. Then, Blueblood's expression turned into a smile. "Very well, then... Steel!" At once, the iron golem rushed up to Justin. In-between the rush, however, it materialized a thick metal mace in its right hand, and lifted it up high, ready to pummel Justin into a bloody pulp.

"Stand down!"

At once, the iron golem stopped mid-swing (directly over Justin's forehead by mere inches), and quickly flew backwards, and to Blueblood's left. Then Blueblood raised his right hand and said, "I yield." The entire crowd gasped at that statement.

The guard that stood as the referee looked at him confusedly before asking, "P-Prince Blueblood! Are you serious?!"

Blueblood merely nodded his head and turned to Lyra. "Lyra... please do accept my apologies for insulting you. As a prince, I vow never to do so again." Then he turned to Justin, who also looked at him confusedly. "Monk-err... I mean... Justin. If there's anything that I know about strength in one's familiar... it's that the ones like you... the ones who have the freedom of choice... are a rarity. Even so, though, you still stood firm in protecting your master, regardless of the odds being stacked against you... and for that, you have shown true strength that far exceeds even my own!" Then he walked up to Justin, and held his right hand out, which Justin stared at blankly and confusedly. "Perhaps next time we meet, it can be on better terms... and perhaps we can spar together, so that next time we duel, you might stand a chance!"

Justin looked at his hand once more, before weakly smiling and nodding his head. Before he could lift his right hand, however, he felt the world around him spinning, and blurring out. Before he could even say a single word, he fell to the floor, right as everything went dark.

CMA INFIRMARY

Slowly, Justin's vision began to come back to him. When his eyes were fully opened, he found himself lying in a familiar hospital bed. The only difference, however, is that there was already a guest in the room waiting to see him... Lyra. She was sitting on a seat pulled up close to his bed, and lying on the foot of the bed, more than likely asleep.

"Lyra? What're you doing here?" Justin weakly asked, which caused Lyra's ears to twitch at the sudden sound.

Before a full second could pass after her ears' twitch, she raised up from the spot, and looked at Justin, revealing her wide, red, and tear-filled eyes. "J-Justin?!" Then, her saddened expression quickly turned to anger, before she stood back up, raised her right hand, and slapped Justin across the face, yelling, "YOU STUPID LITTLE MONKEY!"

"OW! LYRA, WHAT THE HELL?!" Justin complained before rubbing his left cheek, which now had a red hand-print marked on it.

"DON'T YOU EVER WORRY ME LIKE THAT AGAIN! UNDERSTOOD?!"

With his eyes closed and his eyebrows half-lowered out of pain, replied, "G-got it..." Then, his eyes opened widely. "Wait, you were worried about me?!" That earned him a lighter slap on the forehead, which was still painful to him, nonetheless. "OW!"

"Well, duh! You're my familiar, which means I have to take care of you! It's considered a complete disgrace for a master to ignore its familiar's needs, after all! Add to that the fact that you've been unconscious for three whole days!"

"Wait... three days?!" Justin asked confusedly.

Before any more words could be spoken, the door to the room started to knock. Lyra stood from her seat and answered it, only for a yellow and pink blur to shoot right past her, and right next to Justin. The next thing Justin knew, he was being suffocated by the chest of none other than Fluttershy, herself.

"Oh my goodness! I saw the whole thing! Are you feeling alright? Did the herbal powder do enough for you, or do you need more?"

"(I think I found the Pearly Gates of Heaven...)" Justin thought to himself, as his face was completely covered to hide his wide grin.

Suddenly, another pegasus mare flew in, and asked in a tomboyish accent, "Well well! Looks like Fluttershy's found herself a possible love candidate!"

At that statement, Fluttershy's eyes widened, as she realized the position that Justin was in. Then she quickly pulled him away from her chest, and turned towards the source of the voice with her cheeks as red as tomatoes. Lyra, on the other hand, was staring at Justin's wide grin with a glint of mayhem in her eyes. "O-oh! H-hello there, Rainbow Dash! N-no, it's... it isn't what you think!"

When his senses finally came back to him, Justin looked to his left, towards the source that's now known as "Rainbow Dash".

Rainbow Dash was a pegasus mare with purplish magenta eyes, a light blue/cyan coat and, as her name may suggest, a rainbow-colored mane that looked frazzled and loose, along with her tail. She wore a light blue tracksuit and a sleeveless white v-neck shirt that, if positioned correctly, could risk revealing a little too much of her chest to anyone she would choose. Her chest, of course, wasn't as big as Fluttershy's, but even so, it wasn't anything to take lightly, either.

Justin felt his heart race as he noticed her chest. Sure, it wasn't as big as Fluttershy's, but even so, it was still close to being exposed... something Rainbow Dash noticed right away. Rather than appear embarrassed, however, she merely caught Justin off guard by asking in a seductive voice, "Ooh, you like what you see, big guy?"

That statement caused Justin's eyes to widen before he closed his eyes and shook his head. "S-SORRY! I'M NOT TRYING TO BE RUDE, OR ANYTHING, BUT YOU LOOK... KINDA HOT, NO OFFENSE!" He, of course, was sweating bullets at that point, and avoiding eye contact.

Rainbow Dash, on the other hand, tilted her head, before a mischievous smile formed on her face. "Hey, Fluttershy! Your friend looks nervous! I think he needs another hug!"

When Fluttershy looked from Rainbow Dash to Justin, her eyes widened at the sight of him being in fear. "Goodness, you are nervous! Shh..." At once, she hugged him once more, only this time, she was more considerate of where her breasts were... much to Rainbow Dash's disappointment, as it was against her plan. "It's alright... there's nothing to be afraid of!"

"No, Fluttershy, not like that!" Then, Rainbow Dash flew on the opposite end of Fluttershy's side (which was at Justin's left shoulder) and grabbed a hold of his head. After that, she pulled his head up to her chest, and wrapped her arms around his left shoulder. "Like this! Now you try!" With a nod, Fluttershy complied, completely unaware of what kind of action she was doing, due to her not being used to communicating with anyone other than mares or occasional stallions like Big McIntosh... but even then, she wasn't familiar with hugging stallions. Since she was familiar with "group hugs", however, she was more than willing to listen to Rainbow Dash.

Justin, on the other hand, found his head caught between four obstacles.

"(Looks like the Pearly Gates really are next to the sky!)" Justin thought to himself, as his stupefied smile was plastered on his face. (One would even assume it was even twenty percent wider at that point in time).

"So... just kinda hot, huh?" Rainbow teased, which only made Justin's nose start to bleed.

"M-maybe I... cut out a little of the details by mistake?"

Suddenly, a light blue aura covered Rainbow Dash's left ear, which made her raise an eyebrow out of confusion. Then, without warning, she was pulled off of the bed, and towards the doorway, where the white-coated unicorn, Rarity, stood there... much to her disapproval. "Ow! Rarity, that hurts!"

Rarity, on the other hand, deadpanned at her before replying, "Oh hush now, darling! Couldn't you at least be more considerate of our new friend here? I'm quite positive that he's already going through enough trouble adapting to this place as is! Am I right?" When she looked at Justin, however, her expression turned blank when she saw what Justin was staring at... her "Fluttershy Sized" breasts.

"(Looks like the sky has a huge cloud infestation... holy crap!)"

Rarity nervously chuckled before bringing her right hand in-between his view, pointing upwards, and saying, "He he he... um... eyes up here, darling." That seemed to snap Justin out of his stupor.

Now sweating profusely, he blurted out, "S-SORRY!"

Rarity nodded her head and smiled at him. "Oh, don't worry, darling. You wouldn't be the only one who's eyes were misguided." Then she walked up to him and stretched her right hand out. "My name is Rarity... it is a pleasure to meet you in person, Mr. Justin."

That statement caused Justin's eyes to widen. "W-wait, how do you know my name?"

Rainbow Dash butted in and answered for them. "Well, duh! You're, like, considered the hottest topic right now! Standing up to Princess Celestia's nephew like that without any special powers?! I gotta say you've got guts, kid!"

"Kid?! I'm twenty five years old!" Justin retorted, which caused all mares to gasp... especially Lyra.

Before anyone else could say anything, Lyra groaned before levitating Justin out of his bed, much to his disapproval. "H-hey! What the- Lyra?! What's going on?!"

"No familiar of mine is going to be a fully grown adult incapable of taking on at least a foal! Come on, we're gonna go find your real talent, now!"

"But Lyraaaaaa! I was in the middle of something!"

"Don't you 'but Lyra' me! If you're gonna be my familiar, you've gotta start somewhere!" Then she deadpanned at him. "Good gosh, it's like talking to a child! And you're sure you're a fully grown adult?!"

With a chuckle, Justin replied, "Hey! Growing up is only optional!"

At that statement, Lyra groaned before replying in a sarcastic tone, "Oh, great! Twenty five, going on two! I'm looking forward to finding your talent now!"

After letting out a yawn, Justin turned around and noticed his new friends standing outside his hospital room with looks of confusion on their faces. With a nervous smile, Justin shrugged his shoulders before waving goodbye at them, while they, in turn, waved back at him. "(Well... I guess I'll just have to roll with it... and since it's just searching for my talents, how hard could it be?)"