So, this might sound crazy, but... · 11:25pm Jun 9th, 2014
Now that I have your attention. Let me actually posit an actually crazy idea for a story. Because truth in advertising.
First off, this would be Human in Equestria. Before you click "Unfollow," please let me explain.
It would be something that I thought up on the way home from work, polished before I actually write it. It would be multiple chapters, be a Lyra Heartstrings x Bonnie Bonafonte fic. Yes. Bon Bon is the human in this.
Premise:
Lyra is heartsick. Every mare or stallion she tries to date just gives her a cool feeling. Not that they're mean or cold to her, of course, but she doesn't feel any kind of passion when she's with them. Afraid that something might be wrong with her, she turns to the help of her friends. Specifically, Pinkie Pie, because she's great at cheering ponies up, and maybe all Lyra needs is to be happy for a little while and then she'll find the one. Exude happiness, attract happiness is her reasoning.
Pinkie, instead of cheering her up right away, gives her a card for Madame Pinkie and Lyra, thinking it'll be a good laugh, actually goes. What she's not expecting is to get an answer from Pinkie's crystal ball. Nor was Pinkie. But when an answer comes nonetheless, both of them listen. The answer to Lyra Heartstrings heart trouble lies on the other side of a mirror.
Pinkie sets up a meeting with Celestia to explain the situation because, well, she knows the princess personally and has helped save Equestria multiple times, why wouldn't she be granted an audience? After explaining the situation, Celestia, for reasons of her own, agrees to give Lyra a pass into the human world and gives her a locket, but warns her that it's not for her and sends her through the mirror to Earth. Not Equestria Girls earth. Plain, boring Earth.
On the other side of the mirror, Bonnie Bonafonte is getting tired of her life. All day, she listens to customers for Solarium Satellite TV complain about the quality of reception. At night, she goes home and tries to forget that she has to go back to work tomorrow. Her friends try to cheer her up and even a couple of times set her up with dates with some guys, but when she shows little interest and asks them to stop, they try to set her up with girls instead. But, even there the selection of bisexual or lesbian women her age in a college town is rather limited.
Still not feeling it, she wonders if maybe that's the issue. She just doesn't know anyone close by who she can really connect with. So, a dating website it is. SeekYourSoulMate.com seemed like such a cheesy name, but it seemed to promise the world, that it could match any person with their soul mate just by answering a few questions, and it was free. That was especially enticing, but also worrying.
A few questions later, just as promised, a profile pops up. Elyra Heart. Her profile picture is pretty. A pale skinned woman about Bonnie's age, with a crazy sea blue and platinum blonde hairstyle. That alone was enough to catch her attention, but the most amazing thing was that she was actually online right then.
Commence romance.
And the story would proceed from there, with Lyra and Bon Bon developing a connection to each other online at first, and then enough to risk meeting in person. Lyra is, of course, rather quirky and says some odd things, but she's not that odd, and she comes across as the same person she talked to for hours and hours online. For the first time Bon Bon actually feels something for the person she's holding hands with.
Months down the road when Elyra says she has wants Bon Bon to move back home with her, Bon Bon is, at first, a little iffy. Her job, her friends... But, the love of her life just asked her to move in with them. Could she really say no to that?
When she says yes, Elyra gives her a locket as a gift, and they make their way to a small clearing in the woods, where there's a solid cliff face rising up out of the ground, with a mirrored face. Before she can ask what's going on, Elyra pulls her through. And she's elsewhere.
-Begin HiE section of story. Roughly 4-5 chapters in, and another 10 to go. Or so.
The rest of the story is Bon Bon adjusting to the fact that the love of her life, the woman she would do almost anything for, is a mare. She wants to stay with Lyra, and she's growing to like the ponies who look at her as something of a curiosity, but nothing more. Stranger creatures than humans live in Equestria, after all, what's one more oddity? Of course, staying has its own price, and the locket that Celestia lent to Lyra must be given back.
When she takes it off for the first time, Bon Bon is shocked to find herself in the body of a pony! Instincts begin to well up from new parts of her mind, ones that she fights. Lyra puts the locket back on her, terrified that Bon Bon is in such distress. Lyra begs her to go back to Earth, because she couldn't bear to keep Bon Bon there in that much panic. But Lyra was never happy on Earth. She's a pony, and she was born a pony. She doesn't know if she can be happy there, but she will try, if Bon Bon asks her to.
Bon Bon, remembering the life she left behind, the job, just a few friends, no long term prospects. She thinks of the friends she's made in Equestria, the genuinely happy atmosphere of Ponyville, despite the daily chaos. Maybe she was meant to be there. She knows that she loves Lyra, and that where ever they live, they'll find a way to be happy, but to her, it just seems like it would be easier on Lyra's side of the mirror.
In the end, she gives up the locket and resolves to learn how to be a pony. Because with Lyra is where she feels like she belongs.
Please understand that this is a rough outline. Very rough. It doesn't cover any of the drama, any of the misunderstandings between Lyra and Bon Bon that are certain to happen. This is the fluffy version. Of course, the real version isn't going to be much less fluffy. Because I like fluff. It's fun and heartwarming.
I... Don't know what to think of this idea. I've never done HiE before. And it becomes not HiE by the end of it, but still HiE because Bon Bon was still born human, even if she does end up a pony.
Questions to be answered later:
What about Bon Bon's cutie mark? She learned how to make sweets when she was a youngster from her grandmother. She still makes them and sells them on the side of her day job, but she doesn't make enough money to quit the day job.
What about the amulet? Star Swirl's Alternate Universe Exploration Amulet. It's what he called it. Capital letters and all. Because Star Swirl was a bit nutty.
Where on Earth does Bonnie Bonafonte live (Suburban part of West Texas. Because not naming places yet.)
Is this our earth? Nope. Not our earth. Close, but not quite.
D'aww! This idea has potential. I don't dislike HiE fics; I dislike uninspired stories of all kinds, and that just happens to include a lot of HiE fics.
It all depends on how the author handles the idea - whether the story needs to be HiE or if it could survive and even be improved as pure pone, for example, or whether the story comes off as a blatant self-insert written for no better reason than to let the author dream a little more vividly. Unlike those stories, you have some good material to work with for this one. If it feels right, go for it.
This might sound sadistic, but I'm looking forward to that moment of panic as much as the romance. One can learn a lot about a character when their id overtakes their ego... Speaking of Bon Bon's adjustment, I just had a little thought of Pone Bon waking up in the middle of the night, heading toward the bathroom on two legs and falling flat on her face.
Is it mean to laugh? It feels mean.
So, um... So how many stories are you writing now? A dozen?
I think the key to this story would lie in the drama. I haven't read much HiE, so I don't know how cliche this outline may or may not be, but it feels...bland. It sounds like the cure for that would be the interaction between Lyra and Bon Bon, and I don't think it's possible to know how good that might be until you actually think about it, write it, and read it back.
2192718
I've kind of lost track...
2192737
It kinda does. This is what a story looks like when it's prototyped in my head in an hour, and rushed from idea to written bits in about the same length of time.
I need to do a character study of Bonnie and Lyra before I actually seriously consider writing this.
2192718
I feel like I should take my own advice, but I agree with what Adda says about your number of stories. You're so close on so many of them. Let this one digest for a bit.
OH. MY. GOD! Write it! doitdoitdoitdoitdotidoitdoit!
It's been soooo long since I read a good LyraBon, and that sounds utterly fantastic!
Lol. Utterly fantastic= Utter + Fantastic. I feel like Doctor Moo!
Puns for the win! Speaking of puns, I finished the first comic saga! Soooooo many references! 
2192758
I know. And this one will. I just had to get it out of my head before it began to crawl around more and demand attention.
2192760
Mind and Adda are right, though. I need to let this one digest for a bit. The list of things on my user page "todo" hasn't been updated in a while. I need to get the three stories done first that are closest to done. That is Mother of the Moon (closest), Ghost of a Rose (next), and Mare in the Moon and Silver Spoon (next).
2192737
I might be biased... I've had a soft spot for LyraBon since I first read 'Bon Bon Bon Bon Bon Bon' by shortskirtsandexplosions, and I'm sure you know how much I like seeing new and interesting twists on common subjects. Lyra likes humans. Lyra likes Bon Bon. I'm amazed that nopony has combined the two before, but here we are!
2192755
Minds Eye has a good point. I'd like to see this one, but there's no reason to hurry. You can revisit it once your preliminary work is done and your work load is whittled down a bit.
2192777 Well yes, I agree with them wholeheartedly as well, but still do please write it eventually.
It's a brilliant idea, and I can see it for what it will be after the outline is flushed out in your unique style. 
Interesting idea.
I'd read it.
2192760
The first four comics? Just wait until the Shining Armor/Cadance comics. Oh boy. References like a Wikipedia entry on elementary particle physics.
2192987
Interesting bad, interesting good, or interesting "This looks promising, but the outline is kind of unpolished?"
2192866
2192796
I am going to take my time with it. It's HiE, of course. I'll need to read a good one, read a few bad ones, and learn from the experiences.
2193186 There were soooooo many Wizard of Oz and pop culture references though. It was at least one a page.
Lol. Koalifications. Still makes me chuckle.
2193190
Interesting interesting. It has potential but I don't know where it could lead.
2193501
It will lead places. Definitely places. But first, I need to finish chapter 3 of Secret Lives and then move on to other stories for a while, get a few finished, start earnestly working on a few that've been percolating for a while.
...I like it.
I couldn't ever write something like that, simply because you actually planned out an outline. Organic writing forever!
2193782
The outline was grown organically. Only natural, wholesome caffeine was used in its production. You too can grow an outline organically. It's like writing a story, but fast forwarding through it, touching on only the basic parts of each section. From the outline, you get a plan, from the plan, you get an arc, and from the arc you get growth, conflict, and a story.
2193801 I guess I'm weird then. I don't consume caffeine except rarely. Not in tea, not coffee, nor sodas. I drink lemonade, non-caffinated beverages (cause of the taste, caffeine has nothing to do with it), and apple juice and Powerade are my two writing drinks :P And while I get the whole fast forwarding thing, part of me also limits myself from writing an outline. Why? I'd write all the fun parts out immediately and leave it to die cause I didn't want to slog through the boring stuff. I usually have a beginning and end, just nothing in the middle.
2193889
Ahah. I see. Have you heard of a storytelling technique called Cut and jab? It's where you have an idea for a scene, you know what the character's supposed to be doing, but it's boring up until a certain point. Cut the boring part, jab to the interesting part. If the boring part is necessary for the interesting part to be understandable, it's not boring.
Story Engineering
Also, this book. By Celestia, this book. It's changed so much of how I look at the different parts of a story. It's not as dry as it sounds. It's fascinating. I don't agree with everything the author says in it, but that's the wonder of writing. Make it yours. I took the parts that worked better than what I was doing and incorporated, am still incorporating, them into my efforts.
I really like this, and I'd certainly read it. Never let it be said I'm not a sucker for a good sappy romance story.
*coughcoughstillcoolcough* Anyway, I'd give it an avid read if you wrote it. I'm picturing a lot of really good scenes. It would be really cool if it could start from Bonnie's perspective, with her meeting "Elyria" as the beginning. Only problem: I'm not sure that Fimfiction's guidelines allow the story to be human-centric like that at first, so you might have to have the first mention of Equestria take place in Chapter 1.
2194088
I've actually been trying an odd thing lately... I've been trying to write bits and pieces of story first. I was actually planning it much the way its laid out in the rough outline - Lyra first. Third person close perspective. The 'hook' is Madame Pinkie. The crossing over happens, then we land first person perspective into Bonnie Bonafonte's head and stay there the rest of the story.
2194098 I don't know. The way I imagine that going, it feels almost like it "gives away the twist". Still far be it from me to tell you what to do if you've got a plan that works.
2193920 It's usually that it's necessary, but not fun to write. It can be interesting without being fun to write. And with my level of self-discipline (It's under -9000!!!!!), I can't let myself skip things except rarely.
2194132
I suppose I've never been much of one for twists. I've had some bad experiences with twists getting on the bad side of my emotions and leaving me destitute for longer than I like.
Honestly, I think the 'twist' would be Lyra wanting to bring Bon Bon back to Equestria rather than staying on Earth. It goes against her fanon persona of being human crazy, but I think would fit a born pony better. So her soulmate is human. As for Bon Bon... That's going to be harder. I'm going to need to examine her pretty closely. Giving up your homeworld is going to take some pretty serious burnt bridges. Maybe the website is a last grasp at finding something that feels missing from her life.
I've always been a fan of the saying, and I can't remember where I heard it first, that two soul mates is nothing more than one soul living in two bodies. Both feel like something is missing, but can't explain it. Lyra, at least, has a great support network. Bonnie lives in West Texas (or someplace. I used to live in West Texas, so I feel like I can properly give it a bleak, sunbaked, desolate treatment for why she'd want to leave,) has only a few quirky friends she sometimes hangs out with when she's not trying to scrape together a few more bucks for the latest bill to come up. Did I mention she and Lyra are almost thirty? Yep. Older person fic! Because emotional baggage is full of character. I think she also doesn't have a lot of ties left in the world. Only daughter, parents divorced. She still has dreams, though. She wants to go to culinary school and continue to learn what her grandmother taught her.
Good grief, I'm writing a bio for her in my comments section.
This is still pretty rough. I'll need to think it over and see where I want to go with it. I definitely want to do it, though.
2194276 That's good! Use us to fuel your own ideas!
I like the idea that Bonnie has always wanted to be a candy-maker/baker/what have you, but couldn't make it work for money reasons. It could be a motivation to go to Equestria—she can make it work there.
2194339
My ideas are people! People!
-Soylent Green Ideas.
2194132
I don't think it needs that kind of twist. That would be a bit too much. After all, a lot of the opportunity for character growth would be lost if Noble starts it halfway through, and we'd miss out on Lyra's uncertainty and the glory of Madame Pinkie. Besides, I think it would be more fun to watch and giggle behind our hooves as Bon Bon falls in love with a horse.
i support this idea 100 percent
The idea is interesting. As for unfollowing, why in the wide world of Equestria would I do that?
2195211
Woo! People who don't follow me read my blogs? That's awesome!
2195234
Issa joke. A played out joke, too. HiE isn't the most loved subgenre of the fandom.
2195248 actually i DO follow you, otherwise i wouldnt have been able to see the blog, but even if i didnt this would still be a great idea
2195968
Oh! I need to look closer at my list soon... thank you!
2195025 True, but I sort of thought of it being given in a sort of retrospective, with Elyra explaining all this to an incredulous Bonnie, who doesn't believe her, leading to more drama...
I feel I may have used the word "twist" improperly: I meant more that he'd be missing an opportunity to have the reader question whose account is true. Less of a twist, and more of an uncertainty.
Anyway, it's ultimately up to him how he executes things.
Well I'm certainly not going to unfollow you. In fact, I'm quite excited about this - there is nothing inherently wrong with the idea behind HiE, it's just that it has been done so badly so often. I'll be looking forward to this!
2197209
The way that I ended up executing Mother of the Moon gives away the biggest twist right in the title. The tension comes from they why of Celestia keeping the secret from Luna and the rest of the world and what she's does about what it's doing to her and could do to Luna.
Edit: I should clarify. This is the kind of story I like for longer runners. I could do it the other way, but I like the lingering tension for dramatic type or emotional stories. It let's me root for one of the characters for longer and get invested in them.
Bon Bon will face her dilemma, and have to decide whether to stay with Lyra despite the revelation that she 'thinks' she's a pony.