Edited by JimboTex

“I'm sorry for um...you know...” Kye trailed off.

Lyra watched him ride his contraption as she trotted along beside him at a brisk pace, Fluttershy following slightly behind them. They had left Froggy Bottom Bog after convincing Kye to follow them back to Ponyville. She’d asked him about the strange machine he rode and he'd explained it. She still thought it was an odd way of getting around, but from the look on his face he seemed to rather enjoy it. He said he used to race other humans on other motorcycles, which was exactly what he was doing before he ended up in the bog, in fact.

“Don't worry about it.” She flashed him another grin as she recalled the dirt facial. He had been scared at the time so she understood. His face went red and he looked away, idly fiddling with something on the motorcycle. He’d done that a few times now and Lyra couldn't quite figure out why. She felt a slight surge of satisfaction every time she was able to get him to do it though, which was odd because she wasn't usually so deviously flirtatious. (Assuming, of course, that she was flirting with him—she really had no idea.)

She’d had offers from stallions in the past, which was unusual since the mare was expected to make the first move. She’d known straight away the real reason they were “interested” in her though: almost every single one of the hopeful colts that had approached her were… well, pathetic. Weakling stallions seeking protection, mainly from other stallions. She always rejected them kindly, though.

She was well known throughout Ponyville to be able to completely destroy any opponent if it came to a street fight. Alicorn gods aside, the only pony that would have her seriously worried was Twilight Sparkle. Of course, that would never be an issue though, since she and Twilight were good friends.

“So er...whats with the butt tattoos?”

Lyra was pulled from her thoughts by Kye’s question. She looked up at the human as he failed to suppress a snicker. She rolled her eyes and answered.

“They’re cutie marks. Everypony gets one when entering adolescence. Mine is a lyre, symbolising music, while Fluttershy’s is butterflies because she’s good with animals.”

The pegasus gave him a small smile, which for some reason he only halfheartedly returned.

“What are those weird appendages on your forelegs?” Lyra asked, genuinely curious.

“I don't have forelegs—” He began, before pausing and bursting out laughing. Fluttershy gave him a confused look. Lyra didn't get it either.

Still chuckling slightly, he continued. “These are arms,” he said, shaking one in her direction. He then waved a peculiar appendage at the end of his “arms,” saying, “This is a hand.” Finally, he took hold of what appeared to be an oddly shaped black sock for his “hand” and slipped it off. “And these are fingers,” he concluded, wriggling the delicate-looking fleshy digits. They were similar to a griffin’s talons, but nowhere near as sharp.

“Oh and I also have opposable thumbs,” he added with a smile, holding up the smaller digit whilst curling the others.

Lyra was impressed. She thought of how much easier life would be if she had hands. Of course, she had her magic, so she wasn't complaining.

“Why is it so quiet now? Fluttershy asked, gesturing a delicate feathered wing tip towards the motorcycle.

“The engine isn't running,” was Kye’s reply. “The bike has two power sources, an internal combustion engine and a battery connected to an electric motor. The engine makes the loud noise you heard before, whereas the motor is relatively quiet. They can either run together for maximum power, hybrid mode for recharging capabilities or electric only, like now.”

“Oh, um...okay.”

Lyra had the distinct impression the pegasus hadn't understood a word he’d said. She herself certainly didn't understand what he was rambling on about, but she much preferred it not making that awful racket like it was before.

“Aren't you hot in that cow costume?” Lyra asked.

The human gave her a rather worried look and she immediately felt a little guilty. She’d intended it as a joke but it was clear to her that he was still a little scared of her—she half expected him to flee again. Fluttershy let out a gasp of horror and stopped walking. Kye looked mortified and both the wheels of his motorcycle instantly locked. It fell over as he hopped off, turning to face Fluttershy.

“Fluttershy, its not what you think!” Kye blurted out.

The pegasus recoiled a little, her wings fluttering. She looked like she was about to cry. Seeing the look on her face, Lyra thought Kye wasn't too far off an episode of the waterworks himself. He dropped to his knees and tried to explain his odd clothing—he’d obviously figured out she was a nutjob for animals and was seriously regretting his choice of attire.

Even aliens fall under her unintentional spell. It was always the same—ponies, griffins, manticores, an occasional diamond dog. They were all powerless to stop themselves from falling in love with the pretty little pegasus.

Of course Kye would be no different. Lyra knew Fluttershy couldn't turn off her charm and was mostly terrified of the attention she received, but the unicorn was still a little miffed for some reason, especially considering said pegasus didn't seem to mind Kye’s attentions. She was being subtle about it, but Lyra knew her beautiful friend well enough to tell.

“I’m okay,” Fluttershy quietly began, calming down slightly. “I understand you do things differently where you're from.”

Kye looked miserable as he made a movement towards Fluttershy, probably intent on giving her a hug. He stopped when she flinched slightly, deciding instead to pick his bike back up.

Kye gave Lyra a slight accusatory glance as they set off again and she momentarily flattened her ears and looked away. Fuck. Lyra should have known Fluttershy would flip her lid, but the thought hadn't crossed her mind. She returned him a look of what she hoped was polite indifference.

The unusual trio eventually passed by Sweet Apple Acres. The big red barn rose up in the distance overlooking the corn fields, eventually giving way to the neat little hills full of apple trees they were currently trekking through. Lyra had always liked to meditate and teach in the remote fields, and the Apple family was always more than happy to accommodate her and her students.

Something colourful shot overhead at blinding speed. It changed direction as quick as a housefly and headed back towards them. Lyra looked up and recognised the head of the weather team, Rainbow Dash.

Instead of landing, she zoomed off in the direction she came from, leaving the signature rainbow trail in her wake.

“What was that?” Kye sounded worried.

“Oh, just Dashie,” Fluttershy answered first, stretching her wings and smiling at the human. He seemed to visibly relax a little.

They were nearly at the edge of town and Lyra had a bad feeling. She could have prolonged the inevitable and told Bon Bon to keep quiet and her timid friend wouldn't have said a word to anypony. But she knew ponies would have found out about Kye eventually.

It didn't look like he was holding up too well—he kept twitching on his bike and Lyra thought it was going to fall over again. She considered giving him a little magical assistance but decided against it—it would probably freak him out.

Ponies stared at the three of them as they made their way through the busy market, Fluttershy trotting alongside the motorcycle on the left and Lyra on the right. Haggling transactions came to a halt as all equine eyes descended upon them. Then the gasps, cries, and whispers started. Lyra thought she heard somepony actually say “the horror... the horror,” but she couldn't be sure.

Lyra saw the blast coming from a mile off and inwardly sighed as she lazily cast her shield spell around the three of them. The magical projectile struck the barely visible dome, causing a bright amber ring to ripple out across its shimmery surface from the point of impact. The projectile was effortlessly deflected up into the atmosphere.

Kye let out a yelp and his bike began to fall over again. Lyra quickly bit down on a small peg sticking out from the side of it and managed to help him stay upright, lightly brushing against his leg as she did so. She still didn't want to use too much magic around him. When he finally got his bearings she let go.

“I’m not gonna let them hurt you Kye.” She smiled up at him as he gave her an appreciative look blended with a slight blush.

Lyra glanced in the direction the attack had originated from and saw a very irate Rainbow Dash yelling at Coco Drop, a brown unicorn mare who was a known troublemaker.

They rounded a corner and passed by Pony Fountain, the stone mare smiling as usual and the twinkling glint of the occasional bit glimmering beneath the waters surface. The town square was up ahead and Lyra had quite a good idea of who they'd find waiting for them there. Sure enough, she felt the familiar hum of power penetrate the air, lightly accented as always by the underlying prospect of nuclear fire.

They came to a stop, Lyra abandoning pretense and supporting the motorcycle with telekinesis. Kye seemed unable to function properly at the sight which greeted his eyes. Fluttershy had the good sense to flick the metal rod down with her hoof and sink to a low bow as Lyra gently tilted the bike to its leaning position with her magic, then promptly bowed herself.

Kye's eyes grew wide. He had no idea what the fuck he was looking at or why it felt like the air was vibrating or why he had a strong taste of iron in his mouth or why he was still alive, for in that moment he realised he wasn't dead. Whatever this place was, it certainly wasn't an afterlife.

They’d made their way through the quaint little village full of bizarrely proportioned wooden houses and cottages with external support beams and straw roofs. There were no roads or cars, only wide open spaces between the buildings full of slightly patchy grass. A solitary dirt path had spanned the length of what appeared to be a market, ponies selling their wares on little wooden stalls.

They’d just arrived at what looked like a town square. The creature that now stood before him was the size of a fully grown horse, she had a brilliant white coat, a horn twice the size of any unicorn he had seen and large majestic wings that currently rose up above her head, making her appear all the more intimidating.

Her mane and tail seemed to visibly twinkle, magically flowing with a shimmering hue of green, pink and blue. She wore a gold crown and yoke each housing a perfectly cut diamond shaped amethyst, and she also sported a set of golden horseshoes. Her cutie mark was an image of the sun. He had to stifle down a laugh as he had a bizarre vision of the sun shining from her backside, quite ill befitting his current state of panic.

The iron taste in his mouth intensified as the godly creature approached. He was vaguely aware of Lyra and Fluttershy bowing on either side of him as a certain song by the Imagine Dragons popped into his head accompanied by a documentary he’d once seen on the Discovery Channel about the Chernobyl disaster. He thought of the abandoned city of Pripyat.

“R-Radioactive…r-r-radioactive.....AAARRRGGGHHH!!!”

Kye launched himself backwards, rolling off the tail end of his bike. He never hit the ground. Instead, a peculiar feeling of weightlessness overtook him and a light shimmery yellow haze covered his vision as he floated up over ten feet in the air, gazing at the bizarre image of his beloved ride sitting on its side stand between the beautiful pegasus and the equally beautiful unicorn.

The latter shot him a worried look then glanced at the godly creature. He vaguely noted the luminescent yellow glow around her freakishly long white horn as she turned to walk towards a circular three storey building. It had traditional arched windows and two wooden balconies running around its entire circumference, supported by thick wooden beams. Several flags adorned the roof, which tapered to a point.

Kye felt strangely passive as he floated along in the creature’s wake. He glanced at Lyra and Fluttershy—they hadn't moved from either side of his ride but they didn't look happy either. Considering he was pretty sure he was about to expire from radiation poisoning within a few minutes, he was faring pretty well.

He noticed a lavender unicorn gazing up at him with polite interest and the rainbow pony from before, the latter of which seemed to be comparing her cyan coat and multicolored mane and tail to the decal adorned blue and white livery of of his motorcycle. Kye chuckled at the striking resemblance between the two.

He idly floated through the doors of the building after the big scary nuclear horse, which quietly closed as his feet touched the wooden floor and gravity was restored. The room was rather dark, as all the curtains were drawn. The sudden change in G-force took him by surprise and he fell on his ass. He was really getting sick of falling on his ass.

With the return of his weight came the panic from before—how the fuck was he still alive? He should have well and truly done a Marie Curie by now. The creature seemed to realise something and blinked. A solitary yellow flash from her horn briefly illuminated the darkened room as the iron taste vanished.

Kye suddenly felt great, even better than when he was floating along outside. He recalled the strange birds eye view of his ride sitting between Fluttershy and Lyra, and his face lit up in a shit-eating grin. He had no idea why he was so ridiculously content, but he certainly wasn't complaining.

“That better?” The creature spoke in a powerfully regal but feminine, soothing voice.

“Much,” replied Kye with a grin. “What did you just do?” he gleefully blurted out before he could stop himself.

“Two things, an isotope suppression spell and a simple pacification spell.” She kindly replied. “It seems you have a similar reaction to other individuals unfamiliar with my presence. I assure you that you have nothing to fear from the radiation that bonds my soul to the sun.”

“Bahahaha, Sunnybutt!” Kye chuckled as he recalled another vision. He didn't seem to grasp the fact that his inner monologue was spilling out of his mouth. “G-Geiger counters must d-do your head in, eh?” he managed to say before rolling on the floor, laughing his ass off.

“I fear I may have slightly overdid it with the pacification spell.” The regal creature rolled her eyes slightly but smiled at the still chuckling human.

“My name is Princess Celestia and you will address me as such,” she said as Kye regained control and sat up, a big sloppy grin still plastered on his face.

“I’m Kye Lawson. It certainly is a pleasure to meet you. So…What’s your deal?” he quickly asked, wildly flailing his arms in the general direction of her horn and wings. “Are you a unicorn or a pegasus?” He felt giddy, but happy—truly happy—for the first time since appearing in this strange new world.

“I am an alicorn,” she replied as her horn flashed again and several oil lamps that lined the circular wall flickered to life, revealing a large room with several internal balconies. Every surface seemed to consist of polished wood, the light from the oil lamps casting a warm welcoming glow over everything it touched. A rather comfortable looking couch appeared out of thin air and she gracefully climbed onto one end of it, gesturing with a hoof to the other.

“An alicorn is the combination of a unicorn and a pegasus, or in myself and my sister’s case, all three of the pony races,” she explained as Kye sat on the couch, leaning back and relaxing.

“My most faithful student informed me of your arrival in Equestria and suggested I personally welcome you myself.” She looked at him with large purple eyes.

He was suddenly reminded of precise intensity of Lyra’s amber eyes and allowed his mind to wander...quite a lot. He visibly shuddered when he realised just what he’d been thinking. He put it down to the influence of the pacification spell and tried to reign in his thoughts.

“Kye?”

The Princess gave a confused look as she said his name, she was clearly under the impression that his fear had retur-

Holy fucking donkey dick what if she can read my mind? Kye paled in sheer terror as he looked at her and tried to gauge her reaction. Her horn flashed once more as he felt himself relax a little. She had probably just reinforced the pacification spell—which means she probably didn't know about his naughty thoughts involving the unicorn. He fought to compose himself.

“My apologies, Princess. I'm still finding it difficult to get used to this place. There's no magic where I come from,” he said with a weak smile.

She contemplated him for a moment, tilting her head slightly.

“I see you've already acquainted yourself with two of my faithful subjects.” She gave him a wry smile.

Kye blanched. Whether she could read his mind or not, she fucking knew his train of thought had plowed straight into the gutter. Kye waited for a reaction. She just continued to smile at him. He shifted, feeling rather uncomfortable despite the plush couch.

“Y-Yea,” he croaked, barely more than a whisper. “Nice ponies…” Unconsciously, he lifted a hand to scratch behind his head.

Wow. Real smooth, Kye. Real fuckin’ smooth. He wanted to sink into the couch and hide away for an eternity, but he forced himself to change the subject.

“Do you know how I got here?” he asked somewhat hopefully. This Princess/Nuclear Goddess was obviously an extremely powerful entity in this realm, and he was sure if there was any way to send him back, she would know about it.

“I'm afraid I do not,” she replied, finally giving him a serious look. “I was actually hoping you could tell me.”

Kye looked a little crestfallen as he began to explain. He told her about his motorcycle, explaining that he was competing in a race when he flew into a fireball at high speed. He mentioned the peculiar falling sensation, the bang, the flash, and the odd chlorine-like smell and then finding himself in the swamp. He tried to remember what Fluttershy had called the snake-headed monster.

“Oh, yeah. Then a hydra tried to eat me,” he finished, going for a nonchalance he didn't feel. The memory of the foul beast still gave him the creeps.

Celestia had listened intently throughout the recital of his recollections and didn't immediately speak after he stopped talking. She appeared to be preoccupied for a moment before blinking.

“I am fairly certain you cannot return home, if I am correct in my assumptions,” she began rather cryptically. “What you have just described is a phenomenon in atomic transcendence with such low odds of occurring it is almost certain to never happen again. I’m quite amazed that you’re sitting next to me at all, in fact.”

Kye looked at her, dumbfounded. He had no idea what that meant, but he believed her when she said he was stuck here. She was obviously just as intelligent as she was powerful.

He thought of his family. He never saw his parents these days. They had divorced when he was just a kid, going their separate ways and pretending they didn't have children anymore. His aunt and uncle had brought him up, treating him as one of their own. He had always looked up to his uncle, following in his footsteps and becoming a biker.

He thought of all the motorcycle rallies, getting high and wasted in a field with his cousins. His dumbass older brother playing pranks on him, his dumbass older brother’s unbearably annoying girlfriend cackling away to said pranks with that horrendous excuse for a laugh of hers. He remembered getting lost on the M62 with his sister riding pillion… He was never going to see any of them again.

Kye's eyes burned. He tried to fight the feeling, but he couldn't hold the emotion back. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees whilst bringing a hand up to his face. He would have managed to pull himself together if the alicorn hadn't draped a large, soft wing over his back, gently yet firmly pulling him into her side. His resolve broke. He quietly wept into his heated gloves with reckless abandon. The Princess was silent through the episode, hugging him close and giving him all the time he needed.

After he finally managed to sort himself out, Celestia released him and spoke.

“Given your predicament, I am more than willing to forgo the immigration process and grant you immediate Equestrian citizenship. Should you choose to accept, I can access a royal grant on the grounds of special circumstances to create accommodations specific to your requirements here in Ponyville. You will, however, have to find somewhere to stay until such accommodations can be built.” She flashed him the wry smile again. “I’m sure your friend Lyra will be more than happy to take you in.”

Kye looked at the goddess through watery eyes. When he’d first approached her, he thought his death was imminent. Now, he was experiencing one of the most blatant acts of kindness he’d ever witnessed.

“Thank you Princess,” he choked out with heartfelt sincerity. “You have no idea how much this means to me.”

“You’re quite welcome my little...human, is it?”

Kye chuckled and nodded, instantly cheering up.

“Any last words before I depart?” the goddess asked, placing a friendly gold horseshoe-clad hoof on his shoulder.

“Yea,” he said, thinking back to Fluttershy’s look of horror when she learned he was wearing leather.

“Any place round here I can find a change of clothes?”

“Ah,” she replied, her eyes lighting up. “You may want to pay a visit to Rarity at Carousel Boutique.”

Kye gave a satisfactory nod, only to remember he didn't have any money. He didn't even know what the currency was in Equestria. Celestia seemed to sense the direction of his thoughts though and spoke up again:

“I wouldn't be too worried Kye, I think you’ll find she’s rather generous,” the goddess said with another kind smile.

“What the hell is that thing?”

“The alien was riding it.”

“It kinda looks like a thin cart, but with the wheels on the wrong way.”

“Get away from it, Scootaloo, it could be dangerous!”

Lyra scanned the growing crowd of ponies that had gathered around Kye’s motorcycle. Princess Celestia had dragged him off for what Twilight said was “necessary questioning.” She knew he would be ok if he just kept his cool and didn't do anything incredibly stupid, like attack or insult the goddess. Still, she couldn't help feeling a little uneasy.

Fluttershy hadn't said anything since he disappeared. She still sat next to the bike. A few stallions had gathered round and were gawking at her just as much as the odd two wheeled contraption. Lyra thought she looked a little lost.

“It doesn't look dangerous, it looks… awesome!”

Lyra rolled her eyes. Rainbow Dash had a serious objectophile vibe going on for Kye’s ride. The cyan pegasus hadn't stopped admiring it since the Princess had disappeared into the town hall.

Scootaloo, an adorable little orange filly pegasus with a purple mane and tail and blank flanks jumped up, bouncing off Rainbow’s extended wingspan and landing on the bike. She let out a cute little laugh as she fiddled with various buttons and switches.

A bright white light on the front of the it came on as a couple of smaller amber ones one the side began to flash, startling a group of nearby mares.

“Hey Scoots, maybe you should-” Lyra began, before an odd chugging noise came from the motorcycle and it began to growl rather loudly at everypony. Scootaloo gave a yelp of surprise and fell to the ground as several ponies, including the stallions competing for Fluttershy’s attention, screamed and thundered away leaving behind a large plume of dust. Even Twilight jumped and backed away a little. Fluttershy gave no reaction other than to look up and smile.

Rainbow Dash quickly snatched Scootaloo up with her forelegs and rose to a hover, wearily looking down at the rumbling machine for a moment, before deciding it was safe and slowly descending again.

"Whats with the growling?" the pegasus asked, setting the curious little filly on the ground. Scootaloo immediately ran excitedly around the bike a few times, listening to the strange new noise the machine made, a look of innocent joy on her face.

“It does that sometimes.” Lyra reached up with a hoof, groping around for the red switch Kye often used to make the machine go quiet. She quickly found it. The growling stopped with a mechanical click. Several ponies still observing from a distance stared at her in awe, some cautiously approaching to have another look at the odd contraption. Lyra rolled her eyes again.

The doors of the town hall lit up with a yellow glow and swung inwards to reveal the goddess and the human. They walked out into the sunlight together as Lyra let out a sigh of relief. Kye was smiling as he stood next to Princess Celestia; he was slightly taller than her if you didn't take her horn into consideration.

Lyra noticed how imposing he looked towering over the small crowd of ponies, most of which were bowing to their ruler. He seemed to bask in the pure energy radiating from the alicorn, his broad masculine shoulders flexing a little as his eyes shone with a menacingly seductive glow.

He looked at the goddess, regarding her with the same reverence as her most faithful of subjects. She had evidently been more than successful in banishing his fears, considering his initial reaction to her.

He then smiled down at Lyra, causing her ears to twitch in response. She barely suppressed a shudder. She couldn't work out why he had such an effect on her—ever since she had met the alien she had been fascinated by him, especially his hands. She tried not to think about what those hands could do to a mare if put to certain uses.

“Er, Lyra?” said a smooth, discreetly powerful voice.

It took her a few moments to acknowledge Celestia had been speaking to her.

“Huh?” the unicorn clumsily replied.

The Princess raised her eyebrows the tiniest fraction. It was more than enough to make Lyra recoil. She had to keep her thoughts in check, it was unwise to pay the goddess anything other than one’s full attention.

“Sorry, Princess. Got a little distracted…” She trailed off slightly, pawing at the ground with a hoof.

Celestia gave a solitary nod, and then spoke:

“Kye has decided to stay here in Ponyville. I will be making arrangements to create a permanent place of residence in due course, but until such time I would prefer that he stays with you. You are not obliged to accept, but I do feel he would be more comfortable with you as opposed to an inn, considering your accepting disposition toward him.”

Lyra took a moment to process the alicorn's words. Kye…staying…with me? She looked at him. He was pointedly staring at the sky, his face shining like a baboon’s backside. She inwardly chuckled as she had a vision of them sitting at her table having a cup of tea and complaining about the weather schedule to each other.

She wanted to say yes, she really did. The only problem was her roommate. Judging by the Earth pony’s earlier reaction to the human, Lyra was pretty sure Bon Bon would tell her to go stick her horn someplace Celestia's sun don’t shine.

Kye glanced down at her after a few moments, failing to hide a crestfallen look. Lyra felt a devastating surge of guilt for making him wait so long.

Fuck it.

“Yes,” she simply said, beaming up at him. “You’ll have to convince Bon Bon you’re not gonna eat her, though.”

Several ponies gasped in horror at her words. She had quite forgotten anypony else was there. Lyra facehoofed—some of these ponies were fucking morons.

Kye looked around rather nervously.

“Oh my goddess, it was a joke! Seriously!” Lyra loudly informed the petrified ponies, before realising said goddess was standing right in front of her. She flashed the Princess what she hoped was an apologetic smile.

Princess Celestia merely cleared her throat and addressed the crowd:

“I can most certainly assure you all that Kye, the human that stands before you, poses no threat to Equestria or any of its inhabitants. He is not a monster, and you would earn my utmost appreciation if you refrain from treating him as such.”

Most of the ponies relaxed at her words, although a small minority looked as if they hadn't understood them at all.

Fucking dumbshit racist hick degenerates. Lyra inwardly cursed at them. She knew she was going to have to keep Kye on a short leash. As strong as he looked, he was still no match for a pony. Even a pegasus, the smallest of the pony races, could do some real damage if one got the drop on him. If it was an Earth pony or a unicorn then he would have no chance.

She knew the town’s resident troublemakers would single him out. She’d just have to do her best not to accidentally kill them in retaliation. As a ninth dan Still Way grandmaster she had a lot of practice in showing restraint, but if her confusing emotions concerning the human got the best of her then it was a very real possibility she could end up facing trial for ponyslaughter.

Princess Celestia’s horn glowed a bright yellow for a few moments and she blinked. She then turned to Kye.

“I'm afraid I'm going to have to relax the isotope suppression spell momentarily in order to carry out my royal duty. Please do not be alarmed; you aren't in any danger.”

Her horn started glowing again as Kye flinched a little, but stayed put. The nuclear undercurrent Lyra hadn't noticed was absent hit her, the familiar taste of power flooding her mouth. She knew what was coming next and was curious as to what Kye’s reaction would be.

The sun started to fall from its position directly above them, rapidly gaining momentum. Lyra had a sneaking suspicion the goddess was showing off a little, as it was moving much faster than it usually did. It quickly sank below the horizon as Celestia’s horn lost its shimmery glow. The darkness crept in abruptly, only to give way to the moonlight from the silver orb slowly rising into the night sky.

“And with that, my little ponies, I bid thee farewell.” Princess Celestia flashed a wink at Kye, spread her wings and gracefully rose into the air, eventually disappearing altogether with a blinding flash of white light.

Kye stood staring at the patch of black twinkling sky she had teleported from with a look of utter disbelief. He eventually blinked, glanced around, and shifted uncomfortably. Quite a few ponies were still shamelessly staring at him like he was a circus freak.

“You coming Twi? Flutters? Rainbow?” She said to her friends as she trotted up to Kye and lightly bit one of his hands. She chuckled as he nearly jumped out of his cowhide suit in shock. She kinda wished he wasn't wearing his weird “hand socks” as he allowed her to lead him away, casually levitating his bike with her horn.

“Sure,” chirped the lavender unicorn as she trotted alongside Lyra. Fluttershy didn't reply but followed suit, happily smiling up at Kye. Rainbow Dash seemed to consider for a moment before declining.

“Nah, I gotta take Scoots’ home,” she said, catching the scampering little orange pegasus in her forelegs. “Maybe some other time.” They took off into the night sky.

“But Rainbowww!” Lyra heard the little filly protest before they drifted out of earshot.

Thankfully, none of the ponies still gawking at Kye as if he was a fairground sideshow decided to follow them.

Nopony had work tomorrow, so Lyra planned on giving Kye a chance to drown his sorrows. She had a barrel of the Apple family’s finest hard cider in the cellar she was saving for a special occasion. This one certainly fit the bill.

Author's Notes:

Just in case you were wondering:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MF2gTqNlFsc