Lyra's Human

by pjabrony

Chapter 9 - Resolution

“You did wonderful!” Lyra said to me. “I tried to make a speech like that but I just couldn’t get it out.”

“You did just fine. We’re here together, aren’t we? That’s all that matters.”

“Yes, and finally we can go back in and talk without being frightened to death.”

Most of the crowd had gone completely, though it caught my eye that one pony hadn’t moved, and then it occurred to me why not: because she was standing in front of her own house. It was Bon-bon, and she wasn’t wearing a smile.

“Er, perhaps it would be a good idea to send me home for a bit,” I said. “I’m sure you’d like to catch up with your roommate, and I should probably get some stuff done at home before I forget how to be human, and then I’m no good to you.”

Lyra caught Bon-bon’s expression. “Yes, that sounds good.” She looked up at the town clock. “It’s coming up on eight o’clock now, how about I bring you back in twelve hours.”

“That’ll be fine, gives me a whole day at home.”

“OK, hold still.”

I felt the magic take hold of me and saw Ponyville start to switch point by point back to my room. As the last of the world changed I heard a distorted voice say, “I hope you didn’t let it sleep in my bed!”

Back home I decided that my first step was to call in sick from work. The next twelve hours were too important to waste on a job that I no longer felt held primacy in my life. What I did want to do was gather materials that I would try to bring back with me to Equestria. I didn’t know if that was possible as I hadn’t tried either time I’d gone, but it would be worth the effort.

I drove to the library. I wanted a careful selection of books to take with me. My speech to the princess still resonated in my head. I really didn’t want to humanize Equestria. So some eliminations were easy. Nothing on guns, of course, or bombs or any weapons. In fact, no science whatsoever. If ponies wanted to know how they made plastic or whether string theory made any sense, let some bright pony figure it out.

As I went from the computerized card catalog to the shelves and back, I noticed an emptiness I had never felt. More than once, I picked up a book and turned with it, a half-formed, “Lyra, check this out,” dying in my throat. In one sense, she was fairly close, only an hour behind and only a few more ahead. But in others, she was as far away from me as possible. I couldn’t call her if I wanted, or go see her ahead of time. I felt impotent, and I felt, for the first time in my life, lonely.

Forget about it, back to the shelves. History? No, more lies in those books than truths, and dull at that. Tell her stories, and if they happened to draw on history so much the better. Religion? What for, when they know who their immortal ruler is? Sports? Would she really want to hear about baseball or table tennis, and lament not being able to play them? There was soccer of course, but I could hear her now: “What do you mean you can’t use your hands?! If I had hands I’d use them all the time for things I could do easier with magic anyway!”

My planned prime directive of non-interference in Equestrian society had given way to a greater question: “Will Lyra like this?” She’s just one pony, you fool! You’ve got all of Equestria to see! But I couldn’t convince myself. I had gone beyond being a brony. I was a Lyra-y.

Cookbooks, make sure they’re vegetarian, but go with it. Humor, yes. Memorize some anecdotes to tell her if I can’t get the books through. They can be conversation starters and will give her more of an insight into our society. Hey, Lyra, what about--I did it again.

I had been like it was described in the theme song. I didn’t use to wonder what friendship could be. But now she shared its magic with me, and I felt loss I had always tried to cut myself off from feeling. It hurt like hell. I wouldn’t have given it up for anything.

Music! Get some stuff on theory, but get plenty of sheet music too. Go home and print some out, the good stuff, songs that could be adapted to the lyre. Or in case of no carrying, get some tunes in my head to sing back to her, maybe she can write them down. I’d heard of some composers who worked that way.

That might be an avenue to solving another problem, that of Bon-bon. She might not want me living with them. Well, maybe with some human tunes Lyra could be a big star and make enough bits to pay for Bon-bon’s expenses if she—or we—had to move out. Money smoothes out a lot of wrinkles.

Something on a shelf caught my eye. There’s something I hadn’t thought of. Get it, and start learning what it had to teach. If I could bring it, fine, if not, well then, even rudimentary technique should impress. Well, that’s enough for now. I’ll be back here soon enough, and I can get more, the next time I’m not with her.

As the hours wore on my malaise lessened, and I knew it was because I was getting closer to seeing her again. I worked hard at memorization and practice. Eight o'clock approached. I climbed into bed with some of the more important sheet music and the last book I’d found clasped tight in my hands.

No fear this time, just faith. Lyra wouldn’t leave me here, not when she’d outfought the forces that would have had me be a stone statue. Right on time the world faded and Equestria came into being all around me. I landed, empty-handed after all.

“Welcome back,” she said.

“You don’t know how I’ve missed you.”

“Oh, I think I do.”

“How are things with Bon-bon?”

“Calmed down. She had her long weekend at a resort cut off because she left one of her bags here, and decided to pack more and go back for even longer. Some of it is time for us, more of it I think is to get her head around the situation.”

“We’ll have to do something nice for her. I had some ideas about how we might come to an arrangement.”

“And I’d love to hear them. I’d love to hear anything you have to say right now.”

“Well, I’d hoped to have some things to give you, but it seems you can only teleport me. Still, I can hold things in my head, and I found a book that taught me something I’ve been practicing for the past few hours. We’ve plenty to talk about, but I’d like to do something first.”

“Oh? Have you now? What a coincidence. You see, I've thought of something similar."

"OK, you go first."

She crossed her hooves and gave me a sly look.

"Well, you said there's no magic in your world, right? That must mean you've never levitated. Normally around here it's something that only little unicorn foals do before getting bored as they grow older, but it occurs to me that if you can't do it at all you might find it enticing."

"For real? You can do that?"

"Well, only a bit off the ground and not for very long, it's not like we could go to Cloudsdale."

"Never mind, it's enough!"

"And you said you had something for me?"

"Yes, though it probably pales in comparison to levitation."

"Let me be the judge of that."

I took a deep breath. I was banking on this being a distinctly human invention, since hooves are, I think, too hard for the purpose.

“Tell me, Lyra, do you know what a massage is?”

She cocked her head in confusion. I held up my hands.

It was the best night ever.

Comments

[Primordial Deomontus]

lol awesome

[WorldWalker128]

But...they DO have massages, don't they? isn't that part of what they do at Spas? I mean, i suppose they could not get ones they way Humanity can do them given our different appendages, but even so...

[nemryn]

Okay, he can't carry anything between dimensions; but presumably, his clothes came with him the previous time, right? What about the stuff in his pockets? What's the cut-off point?

[Sib]

Why just music, cook-books and storybooks? Why not history or sport of religion? The latter three are far more culturally important, and the protagonist's reasons for leaving them out seem very... selfish. Like he wants to censor something that he's actively trying to educate.

[ForlanceAbice]

1637432 Agreed. And it makes for a very dull story.
The excitement to be had within our own culture, our history, our inventions?
Was the age of Enlightenment for naught?

[Lunias]

1637432 He doesn't have anything against bringing sports over, except for the fact that most sports would be difficult to play without hands. As for religion, like he said, they already have a deific figure and probably wouldn't take well to the insinuation that there might be something else. And history? Sure, let's just tell the (mostly) pacifist race of the humans' culture of theft, murder, war and greed. That topic would at best confirm all of Celestia's statements and get him sent back to Earth. At worst, he might get banished to a dungeon on the moon for 1000 years. None of those subjects are particularly good ones for this situation.

[World Theory]

I was a Lyra-y.

[ArtichokeLust]

Okay... If my roommate did what bon-bon did, even if they were a best friend, they would find themselves pressed up against the wall as I pick them up by the neck and give them a very harsh warning. If they acted like that a second time, then on earth, I would get a restraining order at the very least, and in equestria...

Well, if I was in equestria, and was subject to Bon-bon's and Celestia's prejudice, I would easily use it to show everypony else just how corrupt those two were by acting completely innocent and making friends with many of the citizens.

Further, as someone who makes a lot of that technology, I find it supremely annoying when some person comes out saying how the world would be so much better without technology. The world would be better without pollution and without over-hunting, both of which we found out about and started doing things to prevent because of technology... WWWRRRRAAAAAUUUGH!!!

[Lucky424]

So, Bon Bon left? Good, if that was my place, I'd kick her out for being a bitch.

Oh look, a massage. Called it.

[Shadow-Dancer]

2469900 Yes but they still are are apart of human culture, as for history what better way to tear away the rumors of humans than with facts, the world is not perfect sure but history still shows that in many disasters and even conflicts we can show compassion as much as aggression, I don't trust this dudes "True history"

[Thunder--Clash]

I had gone beyond being a brony. I was a Lyra-y.
LOL

[CyberDragon89ponies]

I loved this story up until this part this guy is actually going out of his way to keep equestria and earth separatethere is so much both our worlds could learn from each other he should be trying to convince a Celestia and the ponies to have more contact with humans and bring our worlds together and now his denying pony Society our knowledge on string theory and plastic and withhold our history if I had this chance him I'd make a killing by reinventing all of our great technology for the ponies and show them everything we've learned they haven't and if possible I'd use that fortune to build an inter-dimensional subway between our lands I now I shouldn't fault a character or author for not doing what I would and I hope I'm not it just bothers me that the protagonist is preventing to cultures from learning and benefiting from each other benefiting from each other and PS: WHAT was that Rarity said about being CURSED to be a human!?

[CorvusGhost]

3227098
We all know you wouldn't do shit as you'd be too busy shitting youself.