The Mask

Lyra jumped up on the couch, turning her whole body to face the clueless human. She inhaled deeply, shutting her eyes tight before shouting.

“I LOVE YOU!!”

Chris sat there in shocked silence trying to reboot his brain.

‘Did she just say... She LOVES me?’ He thought to himself. ‘She really was trying to confess her feelings for me… But she’s a horse… She can't… I can't.’ The demonic Lyra horse from his dream flashed before his eyes. ‘No she’s an animal, I’m a human, I would never… There is no way it would work.’ His thoughts came to him at a mile a minute. ‘How can she love me? I’m just a strange gross alien thing that’s only meant to have sympathetic friends in this crazy world, just like Alf, or E.T. right? Do I feel that way about her? Is she just some weird alien thing to me?’

The stunned human thought about that a little more. ‘It doesn’t feel like she is an alien. Wait what am I saying? She is an alien right? She has hooves, I have hands. She has fur, I have bare skin. She walks on four legs, I walk on two. So why doesn’t it feel like that?’ His head started to hurt as his thoughts continued to conflict with each other.

Chris looked back at Lyra who was now looking down and away from him. Her eyes were shut tight while her whole body trembled. He’s never seen her like this before. This must really be a big deal to the mare. She was whimpering slightly. It sounded like she was trying to say more, but couldn’t get the words out.

His thoughts booted up again. He remembered back to what he thought about after waking up from that nightmare. He recalled how he thought he might have been grossed out if a foreign creature started to show any romantic interest in him. ‘Am I disgusted like I thought I would be?’ The answer came quickly, much to his surprise. ‘No… No?... No I’m not.’ He thought to himself. He should be sickened right? What's the deal?

Chris’s thoughts were broken when he noticed Lyra crying. A single tear trailed down the side of her cheek, causing a line of black eyeliner to appear. The sight caused a pain in his chest that he had not felt in a long time. He HATED seeing the unicorn like this, and it was his fault. He needed to say something, but before he could open his mouth Lyra spoke again.

“I-I’ve... A-always had f-feelings... For... For you.” She stuttered, still keeping her eyes shut and head tilted away from him. “E-Ever since... we first met... e-everypony feared you… B-but I could tell you were just... Just as a-afraid... I saw the good in your eyes and I-I knew... I knew you were something special.”

Memory of that fateful day when he first met Lyra flashed before his eyes.

Chris was wandering around the edge of the Everfree Forest when Lyra spotted him frightened and confused, but she never shied away from him, or ran in fear like he wanted to run from her. No, she instead called out to him, using some kind of baby talk. Once she knew that he could speak the same language, she immediately galloped over to help him. She didn’t quite know how to help the creature by herself, so she took him to meet a certain purple alicorn. What happened next he would never forget.

“Lyra! What in Equestria are you doing bringing that creature here! It could be dangerous” Twilight shrieked.

Lyra took a step in front of the confused and worried human. “It’s okay Twilight. He’s just scared and lost. He can talk too! His name is Crust.”

“Umm… I-it’s Chris, actually…” Chris corrected softly, not wanting to upset the new slightly taller horse with wings and sharp pointy horn. He didn’t know why, but this new purple horse felt like she could be extremely dangerous.

“IT CAN TALK!” Twilight shouted. It almost sounded like she was excited. She looked up at the creature with a more curious expression. “So you said you just found him wandering the forest?” Twilight asked, looking back at Lyra.

“Yes, he needs help. He said he doesn’t know where he is or how he even got here.” Lyra explained, still standing between Twilight and the human.

Twilight stood there for a moment staring up at the bipedal creature. Finally she gave out a soft sigh before looking back to Lyra. “I have never seen anything like him before… I’m just not sure if we can trust him yet. You said he was on the edge of the Everfree Forest, and that worries me. I will have to ward him away somewhere until I can inform the other princesses. We still don’t know what he is capable of, so we need to run a few tests. I can’t risk the lives of every pony in Ponyville until we can determine for sure what he is and where he came from.”

Chris stood there in silence as the purple horse talked about him, as if he wasn’t in the room. He wasn’t sure if he should say something or not. He understood the horse creature's logic, and thought it would just be better to be as cooperative as possible. Lyra on the other hoof didn’t seem to like the idea of locking him away somewhere all alone. “If you have to keep him somewhere, then let me go with him.” The unicorn offered.

“I’m sorry Lyra, but I can’t risk your life as well. He will have to stay here where I can keep an eye on him.” Twilight countered, ruffling her wings a little.

Lyra’s expression turned somber. “Twilight I have been with him all this time and he has shown me nothing but kindness. Let me stay with him. I know he’s not a danger, and he just needs a friend right now.”

Twilight smiled a little. It made her happy to see her fellow ponies using the magic of friendship when they could. “Okay Lyra, I will allow you to stay with him if that is what you wish, but only if you take a few guards with you. I will have to ward both of you up here. Are you sure you are okay being locked away with him until the other princesses arrive?”

Lyra nodded, then turned back to the tall creature. “Don’t worry Kiss, the princesses are really nice. They will help you, and I’ll be with you every step of the way.” She gave the human a radiant smile. It was comforting to him to know that the mint colored unicorn was going to be with him. Even if she got his name wrong again, he was really starting to like her.

“It’s Chris, but thank you.” He responded with his own gentle smile.

Chris beamed at the memory. She kept her word and stayed with him the whole day. She was even with him when the princesses interviewed him. In fact if it wasn’t for her confidence in him, the princesses might not have been so kind and willing to help at first.

Chris was jerked back to the real world, when he heard Lyra continue to talk.

“Th-then we started to spend more time together, and I got to know you more. W-we just seemed to click.” Lyra said composing herself more.

He couldn’t deny that she was right. They hit it off pretty well from the start.

“You always turn a bad situation into something fun. You always try to help others and make friends, even when no pony else would even give you the time of day. You're so caring and kind, but know how to be strong when the time calls for it. That’s something I really admire about you… You’re a stronger stallion then most ponies I know.” Lyra added, sniffling a little.

‘She really thinks that about me?’ Chris thought to himself, listening intently to her words.

Lyra continued. Her voice sounding cracked and shaky as she spoke. “B-but most of all… Y-you make me feel co-complete… L-like a hole in my chest has been filled. I-I just-” She paused for some reason.

‘I make her feel complete?’ The words she spoke rang through his head like an endless echo. His thoughts drifted once more as he started to realize something he should have a long time ago. ‘An animal wouldn’t be saying these things to me. In fact an animal wouldn’t be having these feelings at all… No… She wasn’t an animal, She wasn’t that demonic horse from my dreams. She was so much more than that. It's unfair to Lyra to think of her as something from my old world. She's a beautiful mare with a mind just like mine, a heart just like mine... I'm a fool... I let my past world's prejudices get the better of me' He thought to himself, frowning a little.

More visions flooded his mind. He was hit with memories of all the times he was with the unicorn.

Lyra tackled Chris to the ground, under a nice shady tree, in fact it was almost like she planned the chase would end there.

“Okay you caught me… Again… Now can you get off of me?” Chris requested politely.

The mare wouldn’t budge an inch. Instead she stayed laying on top of him, pinning him down with her body. She shook her head in response.

Chris sighed in defeat. “I know what you want…” He admitted.

“So, whats keepin’ ya hot stuff?” Lyra cooed, giving him a seductive look.

The way she called him ‘hot stuff’ made Chris blush a little, but he ignored the comment and proceeded to scratch behind the unicorn’s ear like he thought she wanted him to do. But when he looked at her, her expression changed to a gloomier one, like he did something wrong, or she thought he would have reacted differently.

He pinched her ear between his fingers and rubbed them together, causing the mare’s eyes to roll back into her head and a smile to return to her face.

What was it that he missed? He wasn’t sure what she wanted him to do. Did he do something wrong? Did she want him to act on the ‘hot stuff” comment? No she was just playing around like she always did. It couldn’t have meant more.

Another memory flashed before him.

Chris was carrying a few boxes of what little he owned into his brand new, freshly constructed, home. Lyra was behind him, carrying a box of pots and pans with her magic. They both entered his new dwelling setting the boxes down wherever they could. Chris turned to Lyra who was now inspecting the empty room.

“Not too shabby.” Lyra admitted. “It’s a little bigger than I’m used to seeing, but seems okay for somepony who always has his head stuck in the clouds.” She teased playfully.

“Oh, ha-ha” Chris mocked, looking around the room as well. It was amazingly well crafted. Surprisingly so, considering ponies without opposable thumbs made it. He was really starting to like his new home. Also it was nice to know he didn’t have to live in that crystal castle with Twilight anymore. The bright colors in that place hurt his eyes.

Chris continued to look around the empty room until his gaze was met by Lyra’s backside. She was still looking over everything in the room, not noticing he was staring at her. His sights started to drift a little lower, until his eyes met with her flank. She always had a nice flank, and he particularly liked her cutie mark. The idea that a tattoo just appeared on her ass once she knew what she was talented in still blew his mind, and her cutie mark wasn’t a lyre for nothing. She was amazing at it. She could play a bunch of other instruments as well, but that one was always her favorite. His gaze lingered there as he admired her backside. Then he notice her tail started to flick back and forth lightly. Soon her rump started to sway back and forth as well. It was mesmerizing. Something of true beauty he had to admit. He wanted to keep staring, but he noticed something. Lyra was looking back at him now, with a wide smile, and half lidded eyes.“See something you like, handsome?” She teased with an inviting tone, giving him a come-hither look.

He didn’t even hesitate to respond. “Yeah, real funny.” He said turning out the door to grab more of his things, but before he turned around he noticed Lyra’s expression change to a more discouraged one, almost like she felt offended. He shrugged it off and walked out the door. She was just messing with him like she always did.

Chris mentally face palmed, as more memories of the unicorn flirting with him entered his mind. He shot her down every time. He didn’t even realize he was doing it. At least not at the time. How could he be such an idiot? The more he thought about it the more obvious it became. She had been flirting with him all this time, trying to get him to notice her. His stubborn mind blocked out all her advances.

His thoughts came crashing back to present time, and only now did he see why Lyra had come by with the roses, looking like she did. She was trying to do what he did all those years ago back in his home world when he was trying to woo a girl. She did all of this for him… She even put on all that make-up… She hates make-up.

More tears started to pour from the unicorn's eyes, spreading more eye liner over her beautiful minty green cheeks. She looked terrible now. It felt like a hole was forming in the middle of his chest. He didn’t want to see Lyra hurt like this anymore, and he had the power to make her happy. To stop the pain she was feeling, but could he love her back like she wanted? Did he love her like she loved him?

Chris fell back into his mind thinking about his own feelings for the mare. Visions of that dream came back when she was about to kiss him. He wanted it, but did he want that outside the dreamscape?

A small smile started to form on the enlightened human's face. He really did want her, he had been wanting her for a while now, but only now could he realize how deep his feelings went. Now that he thought about it, he couldn’t picture his life without the unicorn. He even wanted to become more intimate with her… He… loved her. He loved her?... He loved her! HE LOVED LYRA HEARTSTRINGS!!!

Chris’s heart pounded with joy as he finally came to terms with the love he felt for the pony. It felt like a weight he didn’t know he was carrying had been lifted, and he was overcome with joy. He just wanted to embrace Lyra and tell her he felt the same.

He was brought out of his thoughts by Lyra saying something that he almost missed. “I-I’m so sorry… This was a bad idea.” She whimpered.

‘No!’ Chris mentally yelled to himself, dropping the dozen roses he was still holding onto. Without thinking he reached his hand out and gently held the side of her face, feeling the wet eyeliner that was trailing down her cheeks. He felt her lean into his hand a little, but she kept her eyes shut. She wouldn’t look at him.

“I should go.” Lyra said in a cracked whisper he could barely hear. She was about to get up and leave, but he wasn’t about to let her go. He tightened his hold on her cheek, turning her head to face him. She stopped her movements to leave, but she was still keeping her eyes shut. Chris leaned his head closer to the unicorn, thinking back to that wonderful dream when he was about to kiss her. He wanted that part of the dream to come true, and this time she wouldn’t turn into a monster. She would stay the bright beautiful mare he'd come to love.

He pressed his lips to hers, closing his eyes, petting the side of her wet cheek with his thumb. The kiss wasn’t as foreign as he thought it would feel. It felt amazing. He wanted to embrace her more, but her lips pulled away and his hand was left feeling empty. He opened his eyes to see Lyra’s beautiful golden orbs staring back at him in shock.

“Wh-what are you doing?” Lyra cried, confused.

“Kissing you.” Chris replied softly, beaming at the alarmed mare.

“But I thought… Y-You were… Y-You didn’t…” Lyra stammered.

“I know Lyra, and I’m so sorry.” Chris interrupted her stammering, frowning a little, looking away slightly. “I see now how much you cared for me... I was blind to it before, and I feel terrible for it...” He paused looking back into Lyra’s eyes again before continuing. “But I see now that I've been having the same feelings for you. My past preconceptions stopped me from seeing how much you cared for me, and how I truly felt for you.”

Lyra stared at him with wide eyes, dumbfounded, blinking a few times. “And what is it that you truly feel for me?” She asked in a flat unwavering tone.

Chris chuckled a bit before answering. “I love you Lyra. I've loved you for as long as I have known you… It just took me this long to finally see the truth.”

The dumbfounded unicorn kept staring at him. Soon her expression turned into an angry glare. She wanted to hit him. After everything she did, and after all this time, NOW he says he loves her! He let her cry her eyes out in front of him while he sat there like a moron saying nothing. That jerk! That idiot! Lyra scowled, throwing a cupped hoof into the air, ready to strike. She wanted to punch that handsome face of his.

Chris noticed what she wanted to do, and pretty much agreed he deserved it. He winced, closing his eyes, bracing for the impact.

Lyra wanted to hit him so hard and just smack the pretty right out of him. ‘How could he have ignored all my advances until now, how could he have not known! Then all of the sudden he comes out and say’s he LOVES me just like that!’ She mentally fumed, ready to strike, but she didn’t. She kept her shaky hoof held in the air. Her expression melting into one of love and delight as she thought more about what he said. He just said he loved her. He admitted he felt the same way she did about him, her dreams were coming true in the best possible way. The stallion of her obsession loved her! It was all too good to be true. Her nightmare was turning into a pleasant dream.

Chris never felt the impact of a hard hoof to his face, instead he felt two hooves being placed on the sides of his cheeks, holding him in place. He opened his eyes to see Lyra glowing at him through her smeared make-up. “You're such an idiot...” She whispered before leaning into him, placing her lips on his. She closed her eyes, kissing him deeply, taking a moment to actually enjoy the contact this time. It felt better than she could have ever dreamed of.

The human ran his hand through her mane, holding the back of her head as he embraced the kiss. The added sensation of his fingers running through her hair sent shivers of pleasure down the unicorn's spine. Her insides burned with anticipation. She wanted him at that moment so badly. All her fantasies were coming true, and she wanted to experience every single one with him, but she knew that probably wasn’t a reality. Most stallions were not that ambitious, but she didn’t care. As long as she could finally embrace her love and make him her stallion, she would be happy.

Finally they broke the kiss panting slightly, looking into each other's eyes for a moment. Chris managed to catch his breath first. He still felt he deserved a punch in the face, but maybe an apology would suffice. “Lyra, I’m so sorry I put you through so much. Can you forgive me?” He asked, almost pleading with her.

Lyra thought for a moment, smirking a little at her soon to be coltfriend. “Well… I don’t know… You're going to have to make it up to me.” She said in a sensual and playful manner. She laid a hoof on his shoulder, then used the other one to draw little hearts into his chest, that still had that silly white shirt on. She wanted him out of that bothersome outfit so she could see all of him. She never could understand why he always wanted to wear those tantalizing things.

Chris’s cheeks burned with a bright blush. He could see where this was going, and he wanted it too, but not like this... “Lyra wait.” He said abruptly.

“Wh-what?!” Lyra half shouted, sounding confused. She has been waiting for this moment for so long. She just wanted to finally embrace him like she always dreamed. “W-Why? Chris please… Don’t make me beg.” She whined, giving him pleading eyes.

As much as the thought of having her beg him pleased the human, it wasn’t what he wanted. “I just have to do this first, I’m not going to go anywhere I promise.” Chris explained, wrapping his hand around the heart drawing hoof, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

Lyra looked at him puzzled, but before she could protest more, Chris stood up and quickly jumped into the kitchen. Lyra sat there whimpering to herself. “Chris, you're really killing the mood here.” She called back to him as the sound of running water could be heard.

“Just be patient!” He called back to her. Lyra just grunted to herself, puffing up her cheeks. ‘Be patient! I’ve been patient enough!’ Lyra mentally fumed. This was ridiculous. What could he possibly need to do? She had been waiting for this moment for so long and he just leaves right when it was getting good! Couldn’t they just finally become lovers? Why couldn’t he just embrace the moment? Lyra’s whole body ached with desire that was taken away from her so abruptly.

Soon the teasing human came back into the room, interrupting her thoughts. It looked like he was holding a wet wash cloth in his hand when he came back. Lyra watched the cloth with a curious expression while Chris sat back down on the couch. He then turned to Lyra smiling a little.

“Why do you have that wet cloth?” Lyra asked, pointing to his hand that held the damp fabric.

“Well…” Chris took a small pause to gather his thoughts a little more before speaking again. “I feel like if we are going to do this, then I want to do it with the real Lyra.”

Lyra cocked her head to the side in confusion. “But I am the real Lyra…” She said quite baffled.

Chris chuckled a little before responding. “Yes I know you are, but I want to see your real face under all that make-up. I know it sounds silly, but I don’t want my first time with you to be behind a mask… Plus it’s kind of smearing a little now.”

Lyra’s eyes went wide, and her mouth fell open as a light shade of red appeared on her cheeks. She couldn’t believe what she had just heard. His words couldn’t have been more perfect. They really hit home with her emotions, and just made her love him all the more. “C-Chris…” She muttered softly, not sure what to really say to that.

“Yeah I know it’s stupid and silly, and I know you did all this to impress me. I mean, I’m not saying you looked bad wearing it, you looked really nice. You can keep on if you--“

Lyra interrupted him by placing her hoof on the hand that was holding the wet cloth. Chris looked into her now joyous face. She was smiling and looking up at him. She giggled a little before finally speaking. “You may clean my make-up off if that’s what you would like.” She said in a gentle loving tone, reassuring the human that his actions were welcomed.

Chris smiled and nodded. Lyra closed her eyes and bent her head slightly closer to him, giving him easier access. He gently placed the wet fabric over her eye lids, clearing away the light eye shadow she was wearing. It came off easy enough. He then moved to her eye lashes, wiping away the liner that still remained. After that he placed the cloth on her now rosy cheeks that still had the black lines from her tears. Before he could move his hand to clear the black lines away, a hoof gently placed itself on the top of his forearm that was holding the wet cloth. Chris looked up at Lyra who was now looking at him through her natural, but beautiful eyes. “Thank you.” She whispered softly to him, before letting his arm go. He responded with a smile, kissing the tip of her nose lightly before continued to wipe away the rest of her mask.

As soon as he was done, he tossed the now dirty fabric to the floor, not caring where it landed. Lyra beamed at him still blushing. “Better?” she asked.

“Much.” He responded happily, giving her a delighted gaze, taking a moment to enjoy her natural beauty.

Lyra giggled playfully then lunged at him, wrapping her hooves around his neck kissing him deeply again, but Chris quickly broke the kiss. “Lyra wait.”

“WHAT! No!” Lyra shouted. She was done with all the interruptions. What more could he want to do now? “Please Chris, I need this. Don’t do this to me. I just want to finally become one with you.” She begged, with a slight whine in her voice.

“And I want the same.” He countered, quickly placing both his hands on her flanks. Lyra enjoyed the feeling of his hands there, but before she could relish in the pleasure of those wonderful digits cupping her backside, she was suddenly lifted into the air. Lyra squeed in surprise, wrapping her hooves around the human's neck tightly. “Whaaa?” is all she could say. She'd never been lifted up like that before.

Chris was now standing up with Lyra in his arms. The unicorn took a moment to look around. “So this is what it feels like to be so tall.” She whispered softly to herself.

Chris chuckled a little at her reaction. “We are taking this to the bedroom, and I am going to make love to you.” He stated, taking charge of the situation.

Lyra jerked her head to look into her lover's eyes. Her whole face burned in a blush as her heart rate shot up with those words. He sounded so determined. It only helped to excite her more. She said nothing as he started to walk forward, carrying her to his bed.

She finally started to relax in his grasp, nuzzling her head between his chin and chest. She held him tightly enjoying the ride and closeness. She had to ask why he had to carry her there though. She could have just walked. Not that she was complaining or anything. “So is this a human custom or something?” She asked curiously.

Chris chuckled, as he entered the door to his room with his beautiful lover. “Sure, let’s go with that.” He responded, trying to hide the nervousness in his voice. He had never done something like this with a girl quite like her, but he was going to do this, and do it right. She deserved that much.