[This chapter will soon be changed to third person perspective once Nethelli stops being lazy. Until then, enjoy it as it is. You're one of the last people to see it like this.]

"I am so getting thrown out when Bon-bon wakes up. I can't believe she came home so early. The whole reason I waited until today to try casting that spell was because I figured she would be gone all day, or at least long enough for me to come up with a plan."

"Consider for a moment that you're speaking to someone who might be imprisoned forever if Celestia finds out about this. That's a best-case scenario, by the way. Other possibilities include getting turned to stone or banished to the moon."

Perhaps even banished to the next season, like Luna was.

You notice Lyra's head sink lower and lower as you continue your rant. With a heavy sigh, you decide it's better to just let it go. "Don't worry about it for now. We need to brainstorm. Got any plans on how to deal with this?" You gesture to the unconscious pony on the floor, as if the question needed emphasis.

Lyra shakes her head, looking up at you with the most guilty eyes you've ever seen. She looks like she's on the verge of tears.

"Well, all I've got is something along the lines of putting her in bed and hoping she thinks it was a weird dream or something. Not really an airtight plan." Running a hand through your hair, you breathe another heavy sigh. Before you can fix this situation, you're going to have to get Lyra in better spirits. You try your best to reassure her. "Look, I know you didn't want this to happen, I know you're sorry, and I didn't mean to rub salt in the wound. We're in this together, so we need to come up with a plan together." You extend your hand to her, assuming she's familiar with the concept of a handshake.

Rubbing her misty eyes with her foreleg, she tries her best to muster a smile. Her horn begins to glow, and her hoof rapidly morphs into a perfect human hand, the same color as her coat.

That was simultaneously impressive and horrifying and I hope I never see it again.

You grasp her 'hand' and give it a firm shake. "Alright, now that we've cleared that up, I think phase one of our grand master plan should be to get your roomie off the floor." You carefully hoist Bon-bon onto your shoulder, depositing her in the nearest bed. Hearing the familiar ringing of Lyra's magic, a wave of relief washes over you, knowing that you won't have to look at that creepy hoofhand again for a while.

"I had a thought," Lyra started, "but I'm not sure it will work. I know some unicorns can use memory spells, so maybe I could try... you know..." she trails off. Your eyes are focused intently on the floor as you consider Lyra's proposal. It sounds dangerous, and the last thing you want to do is add another reason for the princess to fire you out of a cannon into space, but magic seems to be this world's duct tape, so it might be worth the risk.

"If you're bringing that up, I assume you know the spell?" You bite your lip - a nervous habit since childhood - waiting for the answer. Lyra levitates a nearby book in front of her, flipping through pages until she finds what she's looking for. "Twilight gave this to me for my birthday, a copy of one of Starswirl the Bearded's spellbooks. Who knew it would actually come in handy?" Her sudden upbeat attitude brings you untold relief.

"Okay, you have the spell. I'm afraid to ask, but if something goes wrong, what are we looking at exactly? Spell backlash? Complete memory loss? Summoning some kind of mutant fishdog from another dimension?"

And just like that, the upbeat smile vanishes, replaced by an unamused stare that could melt stone. "I'll shut up and let you concentrate, then."

Lyra huffs and moves over to her roommate's bed, quietly reciting the spell, memorizing it to the best of her ability. After several minutes, she takes a deep breath, and her horn begins to glow brightly. A similar glow appears around Bon-bon's head. Without warning, blue sparks erupt from Lyra's horn, filling the room with light. The display ends as quickly as it began, and you decide it's safe enough to stop cowering in the next room.

Just a precaution, I wasn't scared. Much.

"This might be a stupid question, but did it work?" You approach with caution, just in case things aren't over yet.

"No way to know yet. When she wakes up, we'll see just how much trouble we're actually in. If I did it right, she shouldn't be afraid of you anymore, at least."

You notice her legs are shaking and her breathing is labored. That spell must have taken a lot out of her. "While we wait for that, how would you like to relax and listen to a story or two from my world? We can go back to the Q and A tomorrow."

She nods her head, following you to the next room where she takes a seat (like a human, of course) and eagerly waits for you to start. You consider taking the seat opposite her, but decide it'll be more fun to play-act some of the scenes.

Like a bolt of lightning, inspiration strikes you. "Alright, I'm going to start with one of my favorites. It all begins in a secret laboratory in the desert, a facility called Black Mesa..."

Minutes turn to hours as you regale Lyra with the fictitious exploits of Dr. Gordon Freeman. You have to stop every once in a while to answer her questions, but for the most part she seems content just to watch you make a complete ass of yourself as you fight off invisible aliens with your invisible crowbar.

Just as you're finishing up the finale, you hear a stirring upstairs.

"Sounds like she's coming to. I really hope this works." Lyra's in good spirits, so you decide to press your luck. "If it doesn't, can you at least have Celestia turn me into marble? If I'm going to become a lawn ornament, I at least want to look like a classy one."

Lyra rolls her eyes at you. "Not a good time for jokes. Besides, I'm positive the spell worked."

The two of you stare at Bon-bon intently as she sleepily makes her way down the stairs, barely even taking notice of you at first. Halfway to the kitchen, she stops abruptly in her tracks, turning her head toward you, wide-eyed in shock.

"Uhhh... Bon-bon? This is Taylor, the human that you might remember from earlier."

"A Human.... but I thought that was just a bad dream."

Maybe we should have stuck with Plan A after all.

"So, Heartstrings... you did this? Brought a Human to Ponyville? To Equestria? Do you have any idea how much trouble you'll be in if people find out about this? Even after the way Princess Luna reacted when you brought this up, you still went ahead and brought one here!?"

"If I can speak in my own defense," you begin "I haven't done anything wrong, aside from the whole 'existing' thing."

"Oh great, and it talks."

Wow, really? "It"? Rude.

"Yes, Taylor talks and writes and does everything else that we do, so what's the big deal?"

"The big deal is that you brought a Human here! To our house! They're dangerous!"

Lyra stomps a hoof on the ground in protest "No, they're not! Taylor has done nothing but try to help me! I've already learned so much more about the other world by talking to him than I could ever have gotten from my books!

Sweet, the author finally gave me a gender! In the same moment, I broke your precious fourth wall.

"Lyra, even if he's not dangerous, having him around is. Someone might find out about this. If word gets back to Celestia before we can either convince everypony he's harmless or send him home, we're all going to be in serious trouble - especially you, for bringing him here in the first place."

"Well, unless Lyra knows how to reverse the spell that brought me here, it looks like my only option is to go out there and prove that I'm not some horrific mythical beast."

"How do you intend to go out in public without scaring everyone away, or worse, attracting the attention of the Canterlot Inquisition?" Bon-bon asked smugly.

"Simple. You're familiar with Lyra's transformation spells, correct?"

Bon-bon's shudder confirms that for you.

"Thought so. If she can change herself into a human, what's to stop her from doing the opposite to me?"

Before you can finish your sentence, Lyra's already bolting up the stairs to get her spellbook.

There is an awkward silence between you. Bon-bon clearly doesn't trust you in the slightest, but she does care enough about Lyra to give this whole thing a shot.

"You'd better be right about this." She turns up her nose at you, but you ignore the gesture.

"I have faith in Lyra. She'll make this work. If she can manage to pull me out of my world into hers, and do that... thing with her hoof, then changing me into one of you guys should be simple, right?"

Lyra had just come back with her spellbook, horn already glowing with magic. "Okay, I've got the spell ready to go."

You give her a confident nod. "Alright then. Magic me."

A bright flash of light.

The nauseating feeling as your organs shift.

Soon, it's over, but it's going to be a while before you adjust to the odd balance of this new body.

You clumsily trot over to a nearby full-length mirror in the corner.

Oh you have GOT to be kidding me.

"Lyra, why am I PINK!?"