• Published 9th Jun 2012
  • 18,580 Views, 604 Comments

Tugging at Her Heartstrings - neutralmilk



You are a human in Equestria that lives with your best friend, Lyra. But what happens when you begin to develop more romantic feelings for the musical mare? Will you face rejection and ridicule? Or does Lyra have some secret feelings of her own?

  • ...
53
 604
 18,580

Chapter 1

And there she was.

The most beautiful mare you’ve ever seen, right before you. Her eyes meet yours and she smiles widely. Her pastel coat is shimmering in the sunlight as she slowly trots closer to you, her eyes fixated on your own. You can see that she is deliberately swinging her flank with each step.

She stops and quickly brushes her mane out of her beautiful golden eyes. Your heart begins to race.

“Hey…” she says, her voice sultry and her eyes keeping in touch with your own. You want to reply, but instead you find your words stuck in your throat.


Suddenly, the TV turns off.

“What!?” you cry at the blank set. You swing your head to find Lyra Heartstrings, your “caretaker” and friend, leaning against the back of the couch, a remote control hanging before her in a soft golden aura. She gives you a disapproving glance.

“So even humans like Mareilyn Maneroe, huh?”

“N-n-no! I was watching for the plot!” you respond quickly.

“Yeah sure. Maybe her plot.” Lyra lets out a small laugh and hops over the back of the couch, landing on the cushion next to yours.

“Ha ha. Very funny.” You can feel your cheeks redden as you swat at the air for the remote control. She swings it away from your hands expertly and sticks her tongue out.

“Gasp! Is that how it’s gonna to be? I’m a human stuck alone in ‘magic pony land’ and you won’t even let me watch a television show? You should be ashamed!” You mock sulk and cross your arms, fighting back a smile.

Lyra laughs. “First off, it’s Equestria. Get it straight.” She playfully punches your arm with a hoof and readjusts herself, mimicking your style of sitting. “Damn, how do humans find this comfortable?” she mutters to herself, losing her train of thought.

“Maybe if you weren’t on your tail?” you offer, reaching toward her. You give the end of her tail a slight tug, freeing it from under her flank.

“Whoa, back off!” Lyra shouts, surprised and pushing you back to your corner of the couch. You look at her and notice a blush forming on her otherwise aquamarine face. She shies away, covering her reddened cheeks.

“You’ve made me lose my train of thought!” she begins again, trying to recover from the blush. “Second of all, you are a guest at Casa de Lyra and therefore you must obey my rules.”

“Casa de Lyra? Isn’t this Bon-Bon’s apartment?” you ask playfully.

“Ah shut up. She’s just paying for it until I get another gig with the orchestra. Ever since Octavia sprained her hoof we’ve been unable to land a show anywhere. And since I’m the pony that’s here while Bon-Bon is at work, I make the rules. And I say no TV until you’ve helped me clean this place up.”

The remote control vanishes with a small flash and reappears across the room on a table. You sigh melodramatically and slide off the couch into a pile on the floor. Lyra giggles and carefully climbs off the couch next to you, on all fours. You stare up at her, pouting, waiting for her to cave. It fails.

“If you really don’t want to help clean you could always move in with somepony else.” She says, walking towards the kitchen.

“Yeah? Well maybe I should. At least they’ll appreciate me!” you cry out, maneuvering yourself to peek over the side of the couch. You watch Lyra magically lift a plate and rinse it under the sink.

She snorts. “Yeah, sure. With all that you do, how could they not!” The dish clangs lightly against several others. She picks up another one and begins rinsing it.

“Ooooh, I just love your sarcasm. Easily the greatest thing about you.” You stand up and stretch, walking into the kitchen. You approach Lyra by the sink and pick up a lone sponge from the counter. With a quick grab, you pull the floating plate free from her telekinesis and begin scrubbing it clean.

“Really?” she asked, grabbing the clean plate in her magical grasp and placing in the drying rack. “I could’ve sworn it was my amazing flank.” She cracks her tail at you, causing you to blush slightly and turn away. She notices and gives you a smug smile in return.

You can’t help but notice her bright golden eyes glancing at you softly. You feel your heart begin to race as your eyes trace over her slender body, stopping at the lyre cutie mark adorning her flank. She quickly swings her head to knock back her mane from her eyes. The fact that she’s a pony no longer seems to bother you; after all, you’ve been living in Equestria for several months already. Lyra Heartstrings is your closest (and seemingly only) friend, and you spend the majority of your time with her…

But she’s still a friend! You tell yourself, trying to free your mind of Lyra’s figure. Besides, she’s with Bon-Bon…

She notices the direction of your gaze and makes a noise, breaking your concentration.

“Enjoying the scenery?” she asks, splashing some of the sink water at you. She watches as some lands in a precarious spot on your pants, right by your crotch. She tries to stifle a giggle, failing miserably. The water drips down your pant leg, only adding to the mock urine stain. The sight makes Lyra begin to laugh even harder.

“Oh, you think this is funny?” you say, glaring back at the aquamarine mare. You quickly splash water back at her in retaliation. She lets out a shriek in surprise as the water soaks her mane. Lyra raises her hooves in defense and screams for you to stop. Laughing maniacally, you continue to practically toss handfuls of water at the mare until the sink is nearly halfway empty.

“Had enough?” you ask, a smug grin on your face.

Lyra lowers her hooves and drops back onto all fours, her striking mane glistening in the sunlight that shines through a nearby window. You can’t help but appreciate her body, seeing her pastel mane cascade down her neck and cling to her frame. A feeling of desire begins to pass through you when suddenly you notice Lyra’s eyes begin to water.

“Why d-d-did you h-have to t-t-take it so far?” she asks feebly, tears flowing down her already soaked cheeks and onto the floor.

You rush to her side, feeling terrible, but surprised, nonetheless. You had never expected Lyra to respond so negatively to anything, especially something so minor. She recoils and pushes you back, turning away from you, sobbing lightly. You stand by her awkwardly, wanting to wrap your arms around her comfortingly, but not sure whether you actually should.

“Lyra… I…” you try to think of something to say, but find that your mind is blank. “I’m really sorry.” You say this sincerely and close the gap between you and her. Slowly, you inch your arms around the aquamarine mare. When she doesn’t flinch, you take it as a sign to continue.

“I didn’t mean to upset you, I promise.” She turns her face to yours, revealing her tearstained eyes. You hurriedly try to put on an uplifting smile, but instead wind up grinning foolishly; she giggles between her lightening sobs, a hiccup escaping her mouth. She laughs again and covers her mouth.

“You-you mean it?” she asks, returning the hug and pulling you to her as closely as possible. You can feel how soft her coat is, a smile crossing your lips.

“I mean it.”

“Good.”

You hear a small splash from behind you and attempt to turn around, only to be shoved back by Lyra, who is now grinning mischievously. You see a large glass full of water floating before you, encased in her golden magical aura.

“No!” You try to scramble to your feet, but fail to do so in time. The glass is now upside-down and empty, its contents on your pants and the stain reaching massive proportions. You sigh heavily and turn to Lyra who is rolling on the floor, clutching her sides in laughter. You can’t help but grin as you rise to your feet and leave the room.


Later that evening, you find yourself tossing and turning in your bed, entirely unable to fall asleep. Each time you begin to drift off, images of Lyra swim across your mind. Your pulse begins to quicken and your eyes shoot open yet again. You quickly judge by the lack of moonlight that the night is practically over; you haven’t been able to catch a single moment of rest without being awoken by Lyra’s golden eyes. The ones that seem to stare directly through you.

You grumble loudly and snatch a pillow out from under your head, throwing it to the floor in a rage. The image of Lyra sitting on the couch beside you comes flooding back, regardless of all attempts to keep it submerged in your subconscious. Finally giving in, you begin to fantasize about her; her soft mane brushing against your bare skin as you hold her in your arms. You feel your soul soar.

God! What… what is this? You think to yourself, butterfly’s in your stomach. Am… Am I falling for Lyra? The possibility seems remote to you. You expect to be horrified at the thought, but instead find yourself completely unsurprised.

“No.” You say aloud, as if trying to still the incessant stream of images and fantasies through your head. There’s no way. She’s my friend. And she’s with Bon-Bon, for crying out loud! They’ve lived here for like three years…

You sigh heavily and continue staring at the ceiling.

Maybe… You find yourself thinking, grasping at straws for any suitable excuse for your feelings, however feeble. Maybe… A smile suddenly plasters its way on your face as your eyes begin to close and accept sleep. Maybe it’s just gas.

You suddenly sit up and let out a deep belch that seems to echo throughout the quiet apartment.

“Awww nasty!” You can hear Lyra yell from her and Bon-Bon’s room across the hall.

You chuckle to yourself and lay back down, your eyes closing slowly. Yeah. Definitely gas.