> Tugging at Her Heartstrings
>  by neutralmilk
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> 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.

> Chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

You wake up slowly, welcoming the golden rays of Celestia’s sun and feeling them warm your entire body. You stretch automatically and bring a hand to your face, rubbing your eyes free of sleep-sand. As you fumble with your pants and a belt, you can hear Bon-Bon and Lyra talking over breakfast.

“I know, I know. But I’ll be off tomorrow, I promise. I have a massive order of piñatas to fill for the preschool graduation.” Bon-Bon explains to Lyra. You hear the latter groan loudly, if somewhat overdramatically, and childishly stomp her hooves on the floor.

“Lyra, stop that!” Bon-Bon whispers harshly. “You don’t want to piss off Mr. Waddles again! He hates us enough as it is.”

You stop moving and stand silently, hoping that Mr. Waddles forgets about the noise coming from the apartment above his long enough to report you all to the landlord again. The crotchety old pony has already gotten Lyra and Bon-Bon in enough trouble since you first moved in. Meanwhile in the dining room, Lyra stifles a giggle, clearly enjoying the newfound power she has over Bon-Bon.

“You wouldn’t dare…” Bon-Bon warns Lyra. You quickly finish tossing on clothes and quietly open your bedroom door to watch the scene unfold. Lyra, the troublesome mare that she was, was holding her forehooves high above the wooden table she and Bon-Bon sat around, a sinister smile on her face.

“Oh, wouldn’t I?” she responds playfully. She thrusts a hoof down, stopping mere inches above the tabletop. Bon-Bon cringes at the sight and sighs in relief. You watch, wondering what could have possibly led to this.

“Fine…” Bon-Bon says finally, rising from her chair. She trots into the living room and remains there for a minute while Lyra crosses her forelegs in victory, a smug smile crossing her lips. Bon-Bon returns with a small bag of bits and plops it on the dining room table. “I hope you choke on it.”

“Gladly.” Lyra chirps, pulling the money closer to her.

“I hate you sometimes.” Bon-Bon says while tossing her saddlebags fit with a lyre clip on her back. She trotted to the door and opened it, a wicked smile on her face. “Sometimes I think I should have stayed living with Octavia instead.” She dashed into the hall and slammed the door shut behind her.

“Hey! You love me!” Lyra called after the cream coloured mare, but she was already long gone.

“What was that?” you ask, leaving the sanctity of your room and joining her at the dining room table. You grasp a box of wheat cereal and Lyra’s empty bowl and begin preparing your breakfast. “Lovers quarrel?”

Lyra crosses her forelegs and sticks her tongue out at you. “Nothing. Oh, and you’re an ass.”  

“Guilty…” you put a spoonful of cereal in your mouth and begin chewing; Lyra waiting for you to continue. “As charged.”

“Gimme some.” Lyra says lowly, reaching across the table for your bowl. 

You recoil and hold the bowl far back from her. “Oh no, you’re getting this over my dead body.” 

“That can be arranged.” 

You put the bowl back on the table and raise a hand to your chin, stroking it as if deep in thought. “Well… When you put it that way…”

“Hey, this is pretty good.” Lyra says, chomping down on your cereal.

“Wait what?” You glance down at the table, only to find that your bowl was gone and instead was parked in front of the aquamarine mare. “What the hell! I was eating that!”

“Fine.” She responds with her mouth full, milk dribbling down her face. “Have it back.” Lyra opens her mouth revealing half-chewed mush. 

“Ugh, gross.” You cover your eyes. “Never mind. I’ll just starve.” You rise from the table and begin walking into the living room.

“You’ll live, fatty.” Lyra calls out, scooping another spoonful of your breakfast into her mouth. 

You sit down on the couch in your usual spot, remote in hand. The TV flickers to life and after a minute of channel surfing stops on the Equestria News. You watch intently as the news-stallion explains an incident in Appleoosa. 

“So anyway…” Lyra calls from the kitchen. 

You try to ignore her interruption and focus on the news. 

“I was thinking…” She begins again. You notice that her usually confident demeanor has vanished and she, in fact, sounds nervous. You think nothing of it and turn up the volume slightly.

“Maybe we should, I don’t know… Go into town today?” 

Your heart skips a beat and your full attention turns to the beautiful golden-eyed mare sitting in the other room.

“You, know. Just you and me?”

The feelings from the night before flood back. You love her. There’s no way around it. No amount of jokes will cover this fact. And now you and she are going to spend a day together on a… date? The idea stuns you, but you quickly shake it from your mind.

I’m overthinking this. She’s with Bon-Bon! There’s no way that she can even be remotely interested with me, a human no less… 

“Sure, I’ll get my coat.” You reply coolly, pushing the images of Lyra out of your head. You sigh lightly and walk into your bedroom. By the time you manage to find your coat (which somehow managed to find its way inside the kitchen refrigerator), Lyra was all ready, wearing an incredibly fashionable saddle adorned with gems that glittered in the sunlight that shone through a window. Little rays of red and blue from the gems sparkled and danced on a nearby wall with each movement that Lyra made.

When you see her, your jaw goes slack. She’s absolutely stunning. Never before have you seen such beauty, on a human or a pony. She winks one of her golden eyes at you and turns around slowly, giving you a full view of the saddle and her slim body. 

“You like?” she asks playfully, waggling her eyebrows.

You nod, feeling your mouth dry and heart race.

“Good.” She flicks her tail at you and opens the front door with her magic. “Let’s go before it gets dark.”

> Chapter 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Elements of Coherence? What are you talking about?” Lyra asks, confused.

“You know, those ponies with the magic jewelry?” you reply, waving your arms in the air, desperately trying to mimic a tiara and a necklace. “They made those weird noises like bloop bloop bloop and bzzzzzz?” Lyra looks at you even more confused than before. You facepalm and look to Roseluck for help.

“… Oh! You mean the Elements of Harmony!” she cries joyfully, as if she had just solved a million-dollar question on a game show.

You clap your hands together. “Yeah, them!” 

“Ok, what about them?” Lyra asks, the puzzled look still on her face.

“Oh, I just saw the pink one walk by a second ago.” 

“Who, Pinkie Pie?”

“Uh, yeah. I think that’s her name.”

“Wow, cool story.” Lyra says, turning back to Roseluck who stood behind a vendors stall, various flower displays adorning every inch. “So anyway, I was all-“

“Wait, I thought you’d be impressed or something that I’m starting to really get my bearings around here! I almost recognized Pinkles Pie!”

“Well, first off it’s Pinkie Pie, not Pinkles. Secondly, you’re bound to see her pop up pretty much everywhere. “

“What do you me…” Your voice trails off as you notice Pinkie Pie in the distance hopping happily, moving along the exact same path that she had traveled down only a minute prior. She disappears behind a building and reappears at the head of the path, hopping down it once again. “What the hell…?”

Roseluck turns to watch the pink mare hop around happily, humming a song. She shrugs and returns to watering her flowers. “She’s Pinkie Pie. Ignore it and it won’t bother you.”

Lyra laughs. “I think we’ll let you get back to work, Rose. I'm pretty sure he’s had enough breaking of the laws of physics for one day.”

“Ok! You guys have a great day! Oh, and tell Bon-Bon I said hi!” Roseluck waves a hoof at you; you respond with a smile.

“Sure thing!” Lyra calls back, trotting alongside you and into town. “So let’s see, we saw Rose, Carrot Top and Daisy.”

“Hey, don’t forget Derpy!” you add.

Lyra laughs. “How could I? Especially after what happened with you guys today!”

“That mare really loves those muffins…” 

“Hey, speaking of food, I’m starving! Let’s get something to eat.”

“Hmmm…” You stroke your chin as if deep in thought. “Fine. But you’re buying!”

“Wow, lazy and cheap! You’re every mare’s dream!” Lyra snipes back jokingly. 

You recoil overdramatically and pretend to sob into your hands. “Oh boo hoo! My life is a misery! I’m so alone and misunderstood! Woe is me!”

“Hey, it’s ok.” Lyra grins back at you. “I’m sure you’ll find somepony that’ll want to date your sorry ass. So what do you say? This place has great food.”

“Hoity Toity’s Fine Equestrian Cuisine?” you read off a banner hanging above the restaurant. “Uh, yeah. Sure. Sounds cool.” You smile and walk inside with Lyra by your side.

An earth pony wearing a black vest appears before the two of you and seats you almost immediately, dropping a plastic menu directly in front of each of you before darting to help another couple. You revel in the brilliance of the high-class restaurant, noting that normally you and Lyra opt to order out and sit in front of the television.

You scan the restaurant curiously, examining each aspect of the lavishly decorated interior. Paintings and portraits of important ponies hang on the wall, an elegant chandelier shining rays of dim, gold light upon each of them. The remainder of the restaurant seems especially dim, save the individual candles standing in the center of each table and illuminating everypony’s faces.

You turn to face Lyra and your heart flutters. The candlelight shines brightly in her golden eyes as if giving them a life of their own. She smiles at you softly, delicately, her aquamarine coat standing out brightly from the ambient lighting. 

She’s absolutely beautiful… You tell yourself, wondering how come it took so long for you to notice. It takes all your strength to keep yourself from confessing to her how you feel; how much she really does mean to you. How you love her.

You wish Lyra could be yours instead of Bon-Bon’s.

Oblivious to your inner turmoil, Lyra picks up her menu and begins skimming it. You notice her tongue sticking out of the side of her mouth and stifle a chuckle.

“Awwwww, you look so cute!” you coo, breaking the silence. You proceed to make baby noises at her, Lyra responding with a blush. 

“Shut up and pick something to eat.” She reaches across the table to hit you but you push your chair back enough for her to miss you. You laugh and pick up your menu off the table.

“Hayburgers, grits, salads…” You mumble while reading over the myriad examples of entrees offered. “Daffodil sandwiches?”  You grimace and sigh, putting the menu back on the table. 

“Best one’s in town, I swear. Gustave’s has got nothing on this place. ” Lyra responds, unaware of your distaste.  

You frown; Lyra’s attention is devoted to the menu rather than you. Hoping to catch her attention, you scrunch up your face and waggle your fingers at her, but to no avail. Shortly after you puff up your cheeks and pull your ears forward, moving closer toward her until your nose is inches away from her menu.  

You suddenly notice the complete silence that envelops the restaurant. You realize that pretty much the entire restaurant is presently staring at you, your fingers contorting your face into as bizarre an expression as any yet seen by humanity or ponykind. You smile, embarrassed, and shrink back in your chair, waiting for the ponies’ prying eyes to turn back to their own tables. 

Lyra, in the meantime, sits before you, flipping through her menu. You twiddle your fingers rapidly as if trying to beat a high score to some made up game.

Where’s the damn waiter in this place? You think to yourself, boredom setting in.

Striving not to be outdone by a plastic menu, you quickly hatch a fiendish plot to ensure Lyra’s attention, good or bad.

“Sigh…” You begin. “What I wouldn’t do for a hamburger…”

You see Lyra’s ears perk up from behind her menu. You smile. You’ve got her in the palm of your hand.

“Or maybe a nice cheesy-beefy-oober-melt burrito from Taco Shell; with extra beef…” You smack your lips loudly and begin rubbing your stomach. You can see Lyra begin to lower her menu, her eyes peering over it and straight at you.

“Is there something wrong?” you ask innocently, fluttering your eyelashes at her.

“You know what you’re doing. Stop it.” She replies menacingly, her eyebrows crossed at you.

“Stop what? Talking about how much I’d love a big juicy steak right about now? Or maybe some… bacon?”

“Stop-“

“Hell! Even a Shepard’s Pie would do right about now! Or even haggis! Just something nice and bloody.” You sit back and fold your arms, staring at Lyra. By this time the entire restaurant was watching your exchange, engrossed. 

“Look, you’ve got my attention, now please stop. Please?” Lyra whispers, a blush growing on her cheek from the unwanted attention.

“Fine.” You reply, clearly the victor. “Waiter?” Your voice practically echoes throughout the presently silent restaurant. The earth pony from before dashes before you, a pencil and pad of paper in his hooves. 

“Can I, uh, take your orders?”

“Why certainly, my good stallion. The lady will have the daffodil sandwich, extra lettuce and tomatoes.” You order, speaking in your fanciest tone possible. Lyra rolls her eyes at you and sits back. The remaining ponies turn back to their own meals, your spectacle finished. 

“And for you sir?”

“Hmmmm… Do you guys have anything with meat?”  

Lyra instantly blushes and drops her head to the table, sighing heavily while the waiter looks at you nervously. You let out a reassuring laugh. 

“Scratch that. I’ll take a salad.” 





“You really suck.” Lyra says to you as the two of you walk out of Hoity Toity’s Fine Equestrian Cuisine. “You almost got me banned from my favorite restaurant!” She punches you in the arm and trots ahead of you, leaving you standing there smiling widely.

“Aw c’mon, wait up!” You shout, running to catch up with the mare.  “You’re just pissed that I embarrassed you before you got a chance to humiliate me.”

“Yeah, yeah. You know how everypony freaks out about the mention of meat! You cheated and you know it.” 

“Cheated? No, my dear, that’s simply not true.” You mock curl an invisible moustache and continue your walk beside the aquamarine mare who looks up at you, smiling wryly. “As a human, I’m destined to excel at everything.” You smile back smugly, walking with your chest puffed out. “It’s clear that ponies are inferior beings! While you may be peaceful and happy, humans are strong, enduring, incredibly smart, and very percepti- whoa!

Surprised, you trip and fall to the ground face first landing with a thud. You look up to find Lyra, her hind leg sticking out in front of where you were just walking. She brings her face close to yours and smiles.

“Perceptive, huh? How’s that working for you?” 





“A sunset by the lake? How cliché.” You say jokingly, nudging the musical mare sitting beside you on a park bench.

“You just have to ruin everything, don’t you?” Lyra retaliates with a punch, slumping back in the bench. You laugh and grab your arm, rubbing away the dull pain.

The two of you sit alone, enjoying the soft breeze that wafts by. You sigh and lean back. A small flock of ducklings waddle nearby, quaking at each other quietly. 

“This is beautiful…” Lyra says softly, entranced by the scenery.

You nod in agreement. Everything had gone perfectly. Your day with Lyra went by flawlessly, and now you and the mare you love are spending a sunset together by a lake. Even with the picturesque landscape stretching around you, your thoughts are focused on Lyra. You silently wish that this moment spent with her was one in which you two were together, not just as friends. 

Almost as if on cue, Lyra leans into you and sighs peacefully. Your heart races and you nervously wrap an arm around her, pulling her closer into an embrace. 

I don’t how I was so lucky as to come here and meet you. You think at her, wishing you could say these words aloud. Wishing she would say something back.  God knows I could’ve appeared anywhere! Or met anypony. I couldn’t have been luckier to have met you so quickly. You’ve been amazing. You’ve housed me, fed me, hell, even befriended. You’re the most amazing pers- uh, pony I’ve ever met. I want to tell you how thankful I am and how much everything you’ve done has meant to me. Even if I could go home, I wouldn’t. My home is with you now. 

“What are you thinking about?” Lyra asks, looking up at you. Strands of her white hair from her mane  dangle over her eyes. She blows at them, sending them back into formation.

“N-nothing.” You reply shakily.

“What? C’mon, don’t lie to me.”

“Well, Lyra… I… well, I loooo,” you begin, suddenly deciding against your confession and developing a hasty lie. “ooove this…lake? Yeah! This place is niiiiice.” Smooth, man. Real smooth. You think to yourself begrudgingly. 

“That’s crap and you know it.” She says matter-of-factly, pushing up off of you and looking into your eyes. Her demeanor instantly softens. “Now tell me the truth, please?”

Oh God, what do I say?! I mean, now’s my chance and all…

Lyra looks into your eyes, almost as if staring into your soul. A soft, yet firm gaze.

I don’t know if I should do this… She’s with Bon-Bon! It’ll ruin everything! Do this and you can kiss your friendship goodbye…

Her mane blows gently in the breeze. She wears a light smile on her face as she calmly awaits your answer. 

But… I love her! Why should I care if she doesn’t back? I gotta at least tell her. If not for her sake, but my own. I’m sure we can work it out… 

“I’m not getting any younger, you know.” She says playfully.

I-I-I… I can’t do it. 

“Lyra, you’re… you’ve been a great friend.” You say to her, clenching your teeth in self-disappointment. Her smile slowly begins to drop.

I wish you could be mine.

“You’ve been way too nice to me since I wound up in Equestria.” 

And I love you so much.

“You’re the best friend I think I could ever have.” You look up at Lyra, her eyes tearing and confusion on her face. “Lyra? What’s wrong?”

“N-nothing. Just-just gimme a minute.” Lyra’s voice falters as she turns away from you and toward the deep blue lake. You hear her sniffle lightly. 

“What’s wrong?” you repeat, confused. “Did I say something?” you reach an arm out to her but it gets slapped away. She drops from the bench and begins to trot away. “Lyra?” you call after her.

She turns to face you, her eyes tear-stained and her face wet from crying. “Screw off! Just- just leave me alone. I’m done. Go find yourself a new friend.”

She turns back to the road and gallops away back into town, sobbing heavily.


> Chapter 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Bon-Bon!” you call into the seemingly empty sweet shop. You look around and walk inside, ignoring the “Closed” sign hanging in the window. “Bon-Bon, I know you’re here! I need your help!” 

Just then the cream coloured mare comes trotting out from the back room, a frown imprinted on her face. “This had better be important. If I don’t finish these damn piñatas for tomorrow, I’ll-“

“It’s Lyra!” you interrupt, your heart racing from earlier. The run into Ponyville definitely didn’t help much either.

“Lyra?! What happened? Is she ok? I swear to Celestia if you-“

“I didn’t do anything!” You say defensively, taken aback by Bon-Bon’s uncharacteristic assertiveness. 

“Ok, ok. I’m sorry.” Bon-Bon replies, sensing your unease. “I’m sure you know how much she means to me. Now come in and tell me what happened. I’ll help you if I can.” She turns around and trots back into the backroom waving you to follow.

You walk into the room and take a seat, Bon-Bon sitting before you. “Ok, now tell me from the beginning. Don’t spare the details.”

“Lyra and I were at the lake watching the sun set and everything when she just freaked out and left.” 

Bon-Bon looks at you, confused. “That is the biggest load of crap I think I’ve ever heard. That is unless someone provoked her.”

“What? No! We were just talking.”

“About…?” Bon-Bon leans in eagerly.

You gulp and feel sweat forming on your brow. “Well… Bon-Bon, I think I’m in love with your marefriend.”

The cream coloured mare looks at you angrily and groans. “Seriously? Not you too! Out of everypony, I expected you to be different.” She rises from her chair and begins to walk away.

“Wait, what?! Other ponies love Lyra too?” You ask, confused. 

Bon-Bon stops in her tracks. “What are you…? No! She isn’t my marefriend, you moron!”

You sit, still trying to comprehend what Bon-Bon just told you. Nothing seems to make sense, and yet, everything does. Lyra and Bon-Bon living together for three years and sharing a bedroom, Bon-Bon’s lyre saddlebag clips, their constant quarreling over trivial things…

“But… but…” You stutter, trying desperately to form a coherent question.

“Look, Lyra and I have been friends since college. We live together because it’s a lot cheaper to share an apartment than to get our own places. I used to live with my friend Octavia, but after she got pregnant, I kinda decided to move out.” She explains, almost as if she predicted what you’re feeling.

“But you sleep in the same room…”

Bon-Bon sighs. “That’s because you took Lyra’s old one. She needs to sleep somewhere. And I think you know how uncomfortable that couch is.”

You nod your head, feeling like a total idiot. 

“But, that still doesn’t explain why Lyra ran off…” Bon-Bon continues, trotting toward you. “What exactly did you tell her?”

“I… well… I told her she was a great friend…”

Bon-Bon facehoofs. “Are you serious? After everything you decided to not tell her the truth?”

“I thought she was with you!” you shout in defense. 

“Ok, ok, calm down.” Bon-Bon says, placing a hoof on your shoulder. “This may come as a surprise to you, being stupid and all, but you Lyra actually has some feelings back for you.”

“R-really?” You perk up almost instantly; however return to your previously brooding demeanor as you remember ruining your chances only short time prior.

“Yeah, for quite a while, actually. You’re the kind of pon- er person that she’s been waiting for. I still have no clue what she sees in you though…” Bon-Bon trails off, a hoof on her chin as if in thought.

“So all this time, Lyra and I were just too caught up in not wanting to be rejected to tell each other the truth? That’s pretty lame, actually.”

“I’d say it’s more stupidity on your part and pride on hers. But take it any way you want.” Bon-Bon smiles at you and pulls you up to your feet. “Now go find her and tell her the truth. I don’t want to come home to any tear stains on my bed.”

You rise off your chair and turn to the door. “Wait… I don’t know where she went. She could be anywhere!” A sense of panic fills your voice. 

“Have you tried back at the apartment?” Bon-Bon asks, a smug smile on her face.

“I… Well…” you search your head for a clever response but come up with nothing.

“Seriously, are all humans this stupid?” Bon-Bon taunts as you rise from your seat and head for the door.

“No!” You snap, pausing suddenly as you realize you’ve just burned yourself. “Screw you, Bon-Bon.” In a flash you open the door and sprint back to your apartment, leaving Bon-Bon laughing on the floor of the sweetshop.





“Lyra, I-I should have told you this before. You’ve been amazing to me since I showed up here and, well, I can’t thank you enough. You mean so much to me and every time I see you, I just want to tell you how I really feel. Lyra, I love you.” You say, your heart thumping inside of your chest.  

“Dude that’s never gonna work. That’s too melodramatic. Just go in there and tell her how you feel. Just Bam!” You look around and notice a blue stallion standing next to you in the hallway outside your apartment. 

“Uh, yeah. Thanks.” You fumble with your key and place it in the lock, your heart still racing.

“No problem, brah.” He replies, walking away from you. “Weirdo.” 

“L-Lyra?” you call into the dimly lit apartment, softly. Walking inside, you stumble over Lyra’s saddlebags. If Lyra didn’t know you were at the apartment before, she definitely did now.

“Lyra? Are you here? I just wanna talk to you.” You call again, this time louder. You walk into the living room and then the kitchen, hoping to find Lyra relaxing and happy instead of how she was when she stormed away from you at the lake. 

“J-just go away. Go hang out with Berry Punch or somepony if you want a friend.” The musical mare’s voice answers from your nearby bedroom. 

You knock on the door softly. “Lyra, I know you’re in there. C’mon out. I need to talk with you.”

“Leave me alone.” She says flatly. 

You frown at the closed door and knock again. “You know I’m not gonna stop until you let me in.”

“I said leave me alone!” Lyra shouts back. You hear a loud bang from the bedroom as she undoubtedly throws one of your possessions against the door. “Besides,” she mumbles. “The door’s unlocked.”

You walk into the room, half expecting to find Lyra sobbing into your pillows. She instead sits in her unusual manner at the edge of your bed, her hindhooves kicking in the air. 

“What do you want?” 

You stand before the beautiful aquamarine mare and smile at her softly. “I just thought we should talk is all.” You take a seat beside her; she shifts over away from you, her eyes fixated on the wall opposite her. The two of you stare at the wall silently for what seems like an hour.

“Maybe I should call the police; tell them there’s an intruder in my room.” You say, breaking the silence.

Lyra laughs lightly. “Shut up. You know this is technically my room.” She punches your arm.

“Yeah, but who are the police gonna believe? Rough and tough Lyra, or little ol’ me?” You flutter your eyelashes at her. Lyra tries unsuccessfully to hide her smile and punches you again.

“Didn’t I tell you to leave me al-“

“Officer Valor here.” You say with the gruffest voice you can mock up. “What seems to be the trouble here, sir?” 

Lyra laughs harder.

“Oh Officer! There’s a crazed mare in my bedroom! Heeeeeeeeeelp!” Your voice becomes instantly higher, as if you were a damsel in distress.

“S-stop! Hahaha,” Lyra laughs even harder, a hiccup escaping her mouth. She squeaks and swings her hoof back, preparing to punch you again. 

Anticipating the strike, you reel yourself back, only to watch Lyra’s hoof to fly past you. Excepting to hit you instead of air, Lyra topples forward and onto your lap, the both of you laughing wildly, tears forming in your eyes.

Time passes and the laughter dies down, but Lyra still lies on your lap. You feel her warmth against your body and smile down at her, looking into her striking golden eyes. 

“Lyra…” you begin, wishing this moment could last forever. “Before I came into the apartment, I had this whole thing planned that I wanted to say to you. I really should have told you all of this before. You’ve been so amazing to me since I showed up here and, well, I can’t thank you enough for everyth-“

“Howbout you cut to the chase? This is way too melodramatic for me.” Lyra says, stifling a giggle. 

“I love you. I don’t want to be just friends.”

This is it! you tell yourself happily. You’ve put your heart on the line and now she says yes!

Moments pass as you wait for Lyra say something, anything in response. Her smile grows wider as yours decreases in size. 

“No.”

“What?!” You practically throw Lyra off of you as you reel back in shock. She stays on your lap and looks up at you, laughing.

“I’m kidding! Jeez, lighten up.”	


> Chapter 5 [Epilogue]
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

And there she is.

The most beautiful mare you’ve ever seen, right before you. Her eyes meet yours and she smiles widely. Her pastel coat shimmers in the moonlight coming through a nearby window 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, howbout you stop gaping at me and help me with these lights?” She asks unexpectedly.

You suddenly snap back to reality. “Wait what?” You notice Lyra holding a strand of multicolored lights before you in her magical aura. You snatch them from mid-air and walk to a bare window. “You’re a real mood killer, you know that?”

“Yeah, yeah, so I’ve been told. Now hang those lights and we’ll start decorating the tree. This place has gotta be perfect for the Hearth’s Warming Eve party tomorrow.” 

Your face drops as you remember one crucial thing: you forgot to buy Lyra a gift. “Oh, y-yeah when’s that party again?”

Lyra looks over at you, puzzled. “It’s at 5:30. Didn’t you write out the invitations…?” 

You freeze again. Oh shit. “Um yeah! Of course I did! What kind of boyfriend wouldn’t?” You let out a nervous chuckle as you remember the unsent invitations sitting in a desk by your and Lyra’s bed. 

“Y’know what?” you begin, starting to your bedroom. You quickly toss on your coat and tuck the invitations into your pants pocket. “I gotta go see a man about a horse.” You run to the door. 

“I mean, somepony about a… a… never mind! I forgot that I had a dentist appointment! Yeah, this filling is killing me, owwww.” You cup your jaw with your hand and overdramatically wince. Lyra looks at you, a smug smile on her face. 

“I’ll be sure to call Colgate and let her know that you’re coming by then.”

“What? No, don’t bother. She’s probably busy! Yeah, see you later!” You slam the door behind you and sprint into Ponyville.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
*The Next Night*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

You slump into onto the couch and watch Lyra and Bon-Bon escort the final party-goer to the door. The three mares speak almost incessantly about everything from their manes to plans for the next day, but you barely pay any mind. The smile on your face says it all; you successfully managed to invite everypony and pick up Lyra’s gift all without any actual trouble. 

Even better, the party was a massive success! You look into a far corner of the living room and notice Lyra’s lyre sitting on a stool where she had left it. You remember the amazing melodies she played throughout the evening, so soothing and yet, entirely captivating. 

“Well anyway, I think I’m gonna get going.” Bon-Bon announces to you and Lyra, the latter trotting into the kitchen, more than likely to snack off the remaining appetizers. 

“What? Where to?” you ask, confusion tinting your voice.

“I got a hot date tonight with Doctor Whooves.” Bon-Bon replies, smiling and winking. “Besides, I think you two deserve to spend your first Hearths Warming Eve together. Consider it my gift to both of you.”

“Are you sure?” Lyra calls from the kitchen. “We won’t mi-“

“Really, it’s ok. We’ve had enough Hearth’s Warming Eve’s together. I’m sure we’ll live being separated.” With that, she opened the door and stepped out, leaving you alone with the mare of your dreams. 

Almost as if on cue, Lyra gallops into the living room and dives onto your lap, gracelessly. You laugh and catch her, pulling her close. You look into her golden eyes and feel your heart flutter. Before you know it, Lyra wraps her hooves around your neck and pulls you forward, lovingly. 

“I got you something…” she whispers into your ear, her breath hot against your face. Your heart skips a beat. “But first!” Lyra shoves herself off of you. “You give me my gift.” 

“W-what? Are you kidding?!” you cry, your hopes and dreams of a romantic moment fleeting before your eyes with each passing second. 

“Hey, I got all night. Maybe I can catch up with Bon-Bon. I’m sure Doctor Whooves has a single friend…”

“Fine, fine. I get it.” You reply coolly, reaching under the sofa for Lyra’s well-hidden gift.  “But if you’re looking to date me for my money, then you’ll be severely disappointed when you find out that I’m flat broke.”

Lyra chuckles and moves closer to you. “Well, I guess I can stay with you at least a little after I bleed your wallet dry.”

You hand the gift to Lyra who takes it eagerly in her golden aura. “Now, I know this definitely isn’t what you want to hear, but I didn’t really know what to get you. Shopping for ponies is a lot harder than it looks…”

Lyra dives into the hastily wrapped present and smiles at the large book of sheet music sitting on her lap. “All of Buch’s symphonies for the lyre? How did you even find this?! This is- this is awesome!” she says excitedly. “I mean, I love it, thanks.” She leans over and kisses you on the cheek.

“Yeah, I guess I did pretty good.” You lean back and put your arms behind your head. “I mean I also got you this necklace, but whatever, man.” Smiling, you nonchalantly drop a jewelry box onto her lap.

She opens it and squeals excitedly. “It’s beautiful! This… this is amazing! Oh thank you so much!” 

“I knew you’d love it.” You say, pulling Lyra toward you. “So, was this a perfect Hearth’s Warming Eve, then?” you ask, happy with yourself. 

“Well… I guess…”

“W-what? What do you mean?! The party and the presents and, well, everything!”

“Well yeah, they are all great, but there’s one thing …”

“What is it?!” 

“Nah, it’s nothing. You can get it for me next year.” Lyra waves a hoof and turns to walk away.

You reach an arm out and pull her back toward you. She tries not to smile but fails miserably. “What is it? You name it and I’ll get it for you.”

“You’re too sweet, you know that?” Lyra leans in and nuzzles your neck, unexpectedly. 

“So what do you want?”

Lyra leans in once more and kisses you. “Kids!”


THE END


> Chapter the Next
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Don’t you just wish this moment could last forever?”

You open your eyes, breathing in deep the crisp autumn air and smile in response. Around you the leaves have already begun to change, most of them bright red or orange, their colours matching the sunset off in the distance. 

“This?” you ask, casually draping your arm around Lyra Heartstrings, your caretaker, friend and now longtime girlfriend. “Hmmm, yeah. I think I could live with this.”

It was the eve of the Running of the Leaves, and you and Lyra decided to spend the day together enjoying the scenery as much as possible before the competitors turned the forest barren. Tomorrow you’d be around to cheer her on to victory, or at least something better than the last time she ran. Rumor had it Rainbow Dash and Applejack were coming back to settle an old score…

You quickly shake your thoughts back to the present, admiring the beautiful scenery. You and Lyra sit on a park bench, the unicorn leaning against you lovingly. Before you stretches a pond, calm and placid an ocean of brown, red and yellow leaved trees surround you both and climbing up into the equally colorful sky.

You sigh. The same pond where you made a complete fool of yourself almost two years prior… 

Eh, I’m only human. You think to yourself. And she… Your eyes turn to look at Lyra resting on you. She’s a pony. But she’s mine. And I couldn’t be happier.

A smile crawls on your face as you take in another deep breath. The wind picks up briefly, picking up and carrying several leaves past you and Lyra. You glance down at her, watching the wind ruffle her aquamarine and white mane. An overwhelming urge to kiss the mare comes over you, but you fight it back, instead choosing to tell her how you feel.

“Lyra, I-”

“Shhh.” She responds lovingly, delicately placing a hoof over your lips. “Let’s just enjoy this moment together.” 

You look into her golden eyes and see the dimming sunlight reflect from them into your own. Your soul soars. You think about all the good times the two of you have had in the past two years. You think about your first Hearth’s Warming Eve together. Your first Hearts and Hooves day. Hell, even your first fight. You smile. You think about how you wouldn’t give those memories up for anything.

You don’t want to leave Equestria anymore. 

Your home is Ponyville.

Your home is with Lyra.

“Lyra, I lo-”

“I know you do.” The mare answers, turning to face you. She smiles at you sweetly and squeezes you tightly. “Let’s just enjoy this sunset, alright? It’s absolutely beautiful out here.”

You sigh and smile back, repositioning yourself on the park bench. You look at the way Lyra sits and fight back a chuckle, still finding it funny to see a pony sitting the way a human does. But yet, it seems to suit her. Lyra always was different from the other ponies you met. She seemed almost as human as you were.

A small brightly coloured cardinal flies before you and the mare of your dreams, perching itself on the branch of a nearby tree. Its song is melodic and sweet and only seems to add to the perfection of the day. Your own personal soundtrack.

You reach your hand out and touch the musical mare’s face, gently turning it towards yours. Her golden eyes stare into yours, a smile adorning both of your faces. 

“Lyra, I want to spend the rest of my life here with you.” You tell her, feeling your heart surging with each word. “I love you.”

You close your eyes slowly and lean towards her, lips puckered slightly. You wait for the feeling of her lips pressing against yours, her breath warm and her aquamarine coat brushing against your skin.

But it doesn’t come. 

“Hey, idiot, wake up!”





Your eyes shoot open. “Wha-huh?” you ask sleepily, sitting up. You suddenly realize that you’re at home in yours and Lyra’s bed.  “What happened?” You rub your hands against your eyes, breaking away bits of sleep sand that were forming.

“You were snoring.” Lyra responds angrily, her hooves on her hips. “Now cut it out and go back to bed.”

You groan and flop back down on the bed. Lyra lightly punches your arm, signaling you to shut up and tugs on the covers until you’re lying on the bed, completely exposed. 

You sigh. Your “perfect day” had turned out be nothing but a dream. I should have known. You tell yourself, annoyance washing over you. I mean, I know that Lyra would never be that romantic. What the hell was I thinking, trying to have a nice day with her? God knows even in my dreams that’s impossible.

Angrily, you turn on your side, facing away from Lyra. Tiredness begins to set it instantly as you start drifting back to sleep.

“Oh, and hot stuff?” 

You open your eyes and lay still, waiting for her to continue.

“I love you too.”

You smile and close your eyes.

Yeah, I guess I can live with this.

> Unreleased Bonus: Original Ending
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now before you can read the actual chapter, you have to understand a few things about this story. As I wrote it originally, it was meant to be a trolling clop-fic. The story was supposed to build up a romance and end with clop, similar to the way Crowley writes his stories. However, I was going to end on a stupid/ silly note (as I did with every story before this). 

However, I quickly fell in love with the story, the characters and everything about it and dropped this ending, instead choosing to write the (mildly) controversial/ heartwarming/ loved ending you see today. I wrote this a long time ago along with another troll ending but only this one was truly finished, the other only half way done and discarded on a thumb-drive appropriately named: "Shit I didn't finish yet." 

But it is very important for you all to note that what you are about to read is NOT CANON IN ANYWAY TO THE STORY. It does not affect the original story, nor does it impact the sequel which is under way. I have received several requests to post it and think it would be only appropriate for fans to see how it would have ended had various things not happened. Keep in mind it IS unedited and everything. So this is as uncut as humanly possible.

On that note, enjoy.




(This takes place after Chapter 4. Yes, the transition would have been MUCH better had I chosen to do this.)
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“You know, it took you long enough to tell me.” Lyra says, nudging you gently. 

“Well excuse me! You could have at least tried to make it seem like you and Bon-Bon weren’t dating.”  

Lyra turns away and crosses her forelegs at her chest, mocking hurt. “Humph. You tell me you love and two minutes later you’re already breaking my heart. You’re off to a great start, really.”

You sigh and roll your eyes, taking the opportunity to shimmy closer and wrap your arm around her. The aquamarine mare willingly leans into your side and looks up at you lovingly, her eyes locked onto your own.  Her glance, however, didn’t seem so wholly innocent. 

“I gotta say,” she began wrapping her forelegs around your neck. “There’s something I’ve wanted to do for quite a while now…” 

Your heart begins to race as Lyra fixes herself on the couch so that she’s sitting directly next to you, her gaze fixed on you. You know exactly what’s coming, but your heart still starts racing. Almost instinctively you gently place your hand on her cheek and begin inching your face closer to hers. 

Your lips press against hers softly at first, but you eventually give in to the sensation and press your face forward a little harder. Shockingly, the feeling is almost equal to that of kissing another human; however her soft coat provides a warm feeling on your face as you press your lips against hers.

You and Lyra break your kiss, a small strand of saliva dangling from her lips. She wipes a hoof against her face and smiles at you lovingly. You feel that all too familiar feeling of passionate love and lean in again, savoring the feeling of her moist lips against your own. 

You feel her tongue press against your teeth and you allow it entry into your mouth. It playfully beckons yours forward and they begin a dance inside your mouths. You pull her as close to you as you possibly can, longing to hold her tighter, closer. Your hands wander around her body, one finally clasping against her flank. She shudders and lets out a soft moan. 

You both stop kissing and look at each other. “That’s nice and all,” she whispers into your ear, her hot breath sending shivers down your spine. “But that isn’t exactly what I was talking about…”  She motions her head to your bedroom down the hall. You smile and nod, standing up. You both walk into the room, your arm resting over the aquamarine mare. The door is instantly encased in her golden aura and slams shut. Lyra smiles.

You pull the mare in and press your lips against hers sweetly, but quickly get pushed back onto your bed. You look up, your heart beating faster. Lyra’s smile grows wider.

“Sorry lover boy, I’ve been waiting for this for way too long.” Her horn begins to glow and you watch the golden aura envelop your shirt. It gets tugged from your body effortlessly and sails to the other side of the room. Lyra jumps onto you, wrapping her forelegs around your neck and her horn still glowing.

In an instant she’s back to kissing you, her tongue playfully dancing in your mouth. She gently bites down on your lip and pulls back a bit, sending shivers down your spine. You lustfully pull her back down on top of you and slowly move your hands down her back until you reach plot. You instinctively squeeze, eliciting a pleasured moan from your new-found lover.

The feeling of her body on yours gives you a warm feeling and sends your heart racing faster. Lyra begins rhythmically, lustfully grinding her hips against yours, her breath short and fast paced. You don’t think you can hold back anymore. You love her. And not only that. 

You want her.

At that moment she stops and looks at you, desire in her eyes and a seductive smirk on her lips. Before you know it you feel a tingle all around your legs as they too are enveloped in her golden aura. Your pants join your shirt on the other side of the room. 

Her golden eyes look over your now naked body, stopping suddenly between your legs.

“Is that…”

You look down at yourself and look back up at the pony that only seconds ago was tearing your clothes off. The smile on her face changes from excitement and lust to laughter, as she raises a hoof to prevent herself from chuckling.

“Is that seriously it? Bahahaha!” she busts out laughing and falls to the floor, clutching her sides. “It’s so- it’s so- bahahaha…” she continues laughing as you grab a pillow from the head of your bed and cover your pathetic manhood. “It’s so cute!” 

You blush furiously, entirely unsure of what to do. Still laughing, Lyra rises to her hooves, tears pouring down her cheeks. “Oh Celestia, that was priceless.” She rubs a hoof against her eyes and heads to the door. 

“But-but…” You begin, flustered and confused. Lyra turns to face you. “Weren’t we, you know, gonna… do it?”

The musical mare, your one and only love, shoots her head back and begins laughing again as she opens the door to leave. “Not on your life, short-stop.” 


 
> Tugging at Her Heartstrings 2 - Chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tugging At Her Heartstrings 2
-neutralmilk




You open your eyes. Still half asleep, your vision is partially blurry, but before long everything begins to become clear.

Small streaks of sunlight shines in through your mostly-blinded window, giving your bed the illusion that it’s glowing in your otherwise darkened bedroom. From outside the window, a bird chirps its sweet song; and although muffled, the tune resounds in your ears. You can’t help but smile lightly at the fresh feeling of morning. A few minutes of a relaxing bout of absolutely nothing pass before you begin to wonder – how late was it? Hell, what day even was it, again? Most importantly, what type of cereal was there in the kitchen? 

Outside your somewhat-dirty-but-you’ll-get-to-cleaning-it-eventually apartment, the world was undoubtedly awake and in full swing. Off in Canterlot the Princesses of the Sun and the Moon had probably been hard at work for hours at this point – planning various ways to keep life in Equestria as peaceful as possible. Meanwhile, all the little colts and fillies were probably at school while their parents, brothers, sisters, etc. worked at the various shops up and down the dirt roads of beautiful Ponyville – your home for the better part of two years. And yet, while the waking world went about its business, you were still in your bed, dressed in some of the most bizarrely ill-fitting pajamas Rarity could have made. Human proportions, after-all, are still of a tricky subject for her.  

Eventually, your eyes begin to scan the darkened room: a pile of dirty laundry sitting in corner of the room, a pile of clean laundry sitting in the other (or had you forgotten which was which?), various trinkets representing your new life here in Ponyville. They finally stop at a pony-shaped bump in your sheets. There, Lyra Heartstrings, your best friend turned the absolute love of your life was sleeping comfortably in what was definitely more than her fair share of the bed. The sheets rose and fell gently, dancing to an almost silent beat. You sit up and stretch haphazardly, yawning loudly, your eyes refusing to leave the sleeping mare. Slowly, carefully, you slide closer to Lyra, inching your face ever closer to her ears.

“Good morning,” you whisper softly, purposefully, playfully blowing air into her ear. Besides a slight twitch, she remains still. You decide to gently blow again into her ear. Still no movement, only a slight, annoyed groan emanating from the lump in your sheet.

“Lyra, I think it’s time we got up.” You say, a little louder this time. Her body moves slightly, inching backwards toward you. You can feel the warmth of her back pressed against your chest, her bed-head mane tickling your face with each breath she took. A smile crosses your lips as you reach your arms out to wrap them around her in an embrace.

“Touch me and I sock you.” 

You freeze, arms outstretched in a half-superman pose a dumbfounded look stuck on your face. If history had proven one thing, it was that her threats were to be taken seriously. Your arms rocket back to your sides, as far away from Lyra as you can manage, given the space restrictions. 

“Seriously,” you start again, risking further threats. “It’s late. It’s already past…” You search the room for the glare of your alarm clock standing out against the darkness – and fail. The memory hits you: just the month before, Bon-Bon threw the clock out. Apparently, she 
wasn’t too fond of turning the alarm off every morning while Lyra and you slept through it. A quick nod justifies your decision to sleep in. Totally worth it. 

A sigh escapes your lips. Unfortunately, the time for formalities had passed. It was time to go nuclear, especially with threats already uttered. “It’s half past get up or you feed yourself today.”

Almost instantaneously the musical mare turns to face you, a wide, sleepy grin on her face. “And a lovely good morning to you too, hot stuff.” She leans in and hugs you, using a free hoof to wipe sleep from her eyes. “I’ll have toast, thank you.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

“I’m literally never sleeping through breakfast again.” Lyra states matter-of-factly, forelegs akimbo. On a floral pattern plate (Bon-Bon’s) sits a half-eaten sandwich which you, so lovingly, put together for her. “If it means no toast, that is.” The mare leans back in her chair, sitting in the human-like way you’ve grown to love. “Heck, for toast, I’d even consider the possibility of turning in early. I’d say, like midnight.”

You snort, holding back a laugh. “Hey, I said I’d make you toast! It’s not just for breakfast.” 

She scoffed, her golden eyes looking at you like you had just uttered the most insane comment imaginable. “Not a chance. Lunch is no time for toast. I know it may shock you…” she pauses to let out an impressive belch. “But I’m not exactly the most hoity-toity pony. A working-class mare like myself needs a meal to get through the middle of the day.”

“Work, huh?” you take a bite out of your peanut butter sandwich. One of the few meals that translated perfectly from the human world to Equestria. “Is that where you’ve been going then?” 

A concerned look crosses Lyra’s brow for what seems like a split-second then disappears without a trace. “What do you mean?” she asks, innocently. 

“Well, every Thursday for, like, two months you go out for pretty much the whole day.” You interrupt yourself and take another bite of your sandwich. “Mat mmfirs-” you take a swig from the glass of milk in front of you and swish your mouth clear of the dangerously sticky peanut butter. “At first I thought you were just ‘working’ with Bon-Bon at the sweet-”

“Well, yeah, that’s it!” Lyra shoots in, at the same time reaching for your glass of milk. “Her and I need some time for just us mares.”

Realizing the battle for your glass was already lost, you step away from the kitchen table and go to grab yourself another. Nothing left in the fridge – so you settle for pouring a glass of water instead. “It’s just that she’s been on vacation now for, like, two weeks, remember?” 

From behind you at the table you can hear Lyra choke on the milk that only a minute prior had belonged to you. “Uh, ummmmm,” she starts, clearing her throat. “She left me in charge while she’s gone, for sure. Bon-Bon knows I so totally care about sweets.”

“Hmmh, that’s weird.” You finally land with a thud back in your chair, watching the musical mare devour that last bit of your sandwich – hers still sitting unfinished across the table. “I thought she told me that Sweetie Belle and the other crusaders were taking over with Pinkie Pie’s help. Remember? We all went with her to get more insurance!” 

Lyra opened her mouth to speak, but stopped. Silence pervaded the kitchen for what seemed like (and actually was) a few minutes. You suffered through the remains of her daffodil sandwich while Lyra sat still, her eyes just refusing to meet yours. “Is everything o-” 

“Ok, so, your plans today?” she asks, stepping up from the table. The plates and glasses on the table are engulfed in a soft golden aura and fly toward the sink. The water turns on, drowning out what would be your response.

Finished with your “meal,” you step to the mare and run your fingers through her aquamarine mane. “Some more of Twilight’s tests for now. She’s still oddly fascinated as to why humans have butt-cheeks.” You chuckle quickly to yourself. “And to be honest, I guess I’m more than a little bit curious, myself.”

With Lyra’s methodical magical cleaning of the dishes mostly done, you lean forward, wrapping your arms around her. “I’ll see you later this afternoon, ok?” Your voice is soft, hoping to build a romantic mood. “Maybe we can take a walk by the pond? Go grab some dinner at Gustave’s? You know, we can make a day of it.” 

She turns to face you, the last few dishes still magically washing themselves in the air behind her. A small smile sits on her lips. “It sounds like a nice evening.” Her body is warm; you feel your heart beating faster. “You really know how to turn on the charm, you know that?” 

You can feel your cheeks turning red. “Well, hey, what can I say? I wouldn’t do this for just anypony.”

“I would love to join you,” she starts, her body pushing closer to yours. “But tonight’s just not going to work.” 

Startled by her response, your heart sinks. “W-wait, what?”

“It’s Thursday.” Her smile slowly turns downward. “I’m busy tonight.” 

Your efforts to formulate a sentence are met with confusion, leaving you silent. Not a single word can come to mind. Finally, you manage to scrounge a miserable sounding “B-b-but-”

At that, she leans forward, planting a kiss on your lips. “I love you. Now, please, go to Twilight’s. I’ll see you later tonight.”

Still in a haze of confusion, you make your way out of the front door of your apartment. Before you shut the door behind you, you look back quickly, catching a glimpse of Lyra’s golden eyes staring straight back into yours. The door shuts, leaving you feeling more alone than when you first arrived in Equestria.
> Tugging at Her Heartstrings 2 - Chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hiya, Roseluck!" you start, casually making your way over to the aforementioned mare's stall of flowers. The scent of her numerous daisies, lilacs, carnations, and roses (her totally appropriate namesake) filled the air with a sweet bouquet. This was an opportunity you just couldn't pass up - how nice it would be for your marefriend to return home to an arrangement of her favorite flowers decorating your bedroom. It would definitely give her something to enjoy. Or, you jibe to yourself, something to eat.

Oh, those crazy pony customs...

As you chuckle to yourself, you can make out Roseluck giving you a look. "Sorry," you mumble, attempting to break the increasingly awkward silence. "I, uh, I'll take a large bouquet of the usual."

Roseluck nods in approval and lightly cracks her neck, her green eyes closed in anticipation. And then, as if on autopilot, she begins to work her magic in the stand. "What'd you do this time?" her voice betrays no surprise. You glance up at her, shocked to find her attention isn't on the flowers, but instead it's upon you; her face saying she was waiting for you to give another ridiculous (if not entirely true) story of your short sightedness.

You reel back, mocking shock. "Why, Rose! I'm hurt!" You've done this song and dance many times.

"Wounded, even?" she quips back, smirking. A formidable adversary.

“Yes,” a smile crosses your lips. “Mortally.” You fish into your pocket and pull out a few bits - the last remnants of Princess Celestia's allowance - and drop them onto the counter. "You know, one of these I'm just gonna have to shop at somepony elses shop. Somepony who, you know, cares about their customer service."

At that Roseluck let out an embarrassingly loud laugh and reaches for your bits. "That'll be the day Princess Luna raises the sun!" she pauses momentarily to count your meager tip. With a quick flick of her hoof, the money disappears into saddlebags hidden below the counter. "You've single handedly kept me in business with your hijinks. I swear, I've gotta set up a gold membership or something for you!" Roseluck expertly sets your bouquet and finishes with an aquamarine bow - a special order she placed for you after your tenth flower order. So far, her investment seems to have paid off.

Roseluck leans forward so that her red-violet mane was almost pressed against your forehead. "So, not gonna tell me what happened this time?" she asks once more. Her voice is subdued, more genuinely concerned than prying.

"Seriously, Rose," you flash a convincing smile at the mare. "Nothing's happened."

She scoffs in response. "You know," she starts, running a hoof through her mane. "You said the exact same thing that time with the two boats-"

"T-that time was an accident!" you interject, hurriedly. You eye your surroundings, a cold sweat starting on your brow. You hope nopony overheard. Half of Ponyville still has night terrors about your accident with the boats...

A wicked grin slowly splays across her face. "And what about that time that you and Pinkie Pie baked all those éclairs?"

"I have no clue how concrete got into the mix!"

"And that time with the mariachi band?"

"I was never proven guilty by a jury of my peers!" You snatch at the bouquet defensively and give a shrug. "Judge couldn't find any other humans."

Roseluck burst into laughter and held a hoof up, clearly asking you to wait while she caught her breath. She wiped a tear from her eye and finally settled down, smiling back at you. "Man, you're a strange one."

"I prefer the term: Exotic."

She snorted in response and waved you away. "Go on, get out of here. You've got a mare to woo, doncha'?"





Your apartment absolutely reeks with the scent of fresh flowers, giving you a pulsing headache. And yet, you suffer through it - a small sacrifice for the mare you love. You'd long since given up on doing anything, anyway. For a few hours you "watched" muted static on the television - the only channel available on Lyra's new "I-forgot-to-pay-the-bill-so-sue-me" payment plan with the cable company, but now you remain still on the couch.

From your recumbent position you strain to check the nearest clock, failing in the process. After a brief attempt to combat laziness and walk to the kitchen and check, you resign yourself to using ancient human instincts and attempt to tell time using the sky. What remained of the sun sat listlessly on the horizon, deep purples and oranges melded around the disappearing ball, with blackness forming at the farther end of the sky.

"Ah, yes." You snipe, not even trying to guess the exact time. "Late o' clock." It wouldn't be long until the moon had risen and the myriad stars took their assigned positions in the heavens. It had been nearly the whole day since you had seen Lyra, and worst of all you had no clue as to where she had been. These past few months, she'd disappear for almost the entirety of every Thursday. And with every attempt to pry, your questions were met with snarky responses - or more and more recently (and more worryingly), complete silence.

In fact, it seemed that for the past few months, Lyra had been growing increasingly quiet and cautious around you - the warmth of your conversations and interactions slowly becoming more and more foreign. It wasn't very often that you had a chance to think about it, but times such as tonight left you with nothing to do but wonder.

You glance casually out the window once more, witnessing the final view of the sun for the day. Equestria was now lit under the namesake of Princess Luna. A sigh escapes your lips as you push the thoughts from your head. The day was done, and it was time to embrace it. Lyra would be able to enjoy the flowers when she got home - what were you even waiting around for?

CLICK

The apartment's door unlocked and swished open. "Sweet Celestia, home at last!" The voice was unmistakably Lyra's. "I swear... Tonight was insane." She yawns loudly and steps further into the apartment. Meanwhile, you lay silently on the couch, your brain refusing to register your desire to stand up and snatch her into an embrace. Some part of you needed to stay here and listen.

The sound of running water starts abruptly, and you can make out Lyra fiddling with a glass from a cupboard.  Just a few seconds later, the water stops and the kitchen chair drags on the floor. A minute of silence passes before you hear anything more. "Huh... guess no one else is back yet."

Your heart drops at the prospect of spying, yet you remain still - fighting the urge to reveal your presence. If Lyra wanted to talk to you about where she was, she would, your heart screams. Yet it fails to woo your curiosity.

"Oh. My. Celestia. These flowers are..." Lyra breaks to audibly sniff the flowers you'd purchased this morning and left on the table in a vase (also special ordered from Roseluck). "Mmmm, these flowers are delicious." A small crunching sound breaks the silence.

This is so wrong. I can't just lie here all night. You're feeling unmistakably guilty at this point. The prospect of listening any further, heck, the possibility that you would be caught makes your heart race uncomfortably. There's gotta be a reason she's not telling you where she was.  I trust her! you reason, panicking. Right?

You stand up abruptly from the couch as Lyra continues to munch on your romantic gesture, her eyes closed in delight. "Good." A small burp breaks her speech. "But the one's Showstopper got me were better."

Her eyes open, and her gaze falls upon you.

You're frozen in your spot. Showstopper? You rack your mind for any memories of the name, but come up empty

Lyra's face briefly displays panic, but quickly drops its emotion - her golden eyes, however, seemed to miss the memo. They guiltily refuse to meet your own, and instead fix themselves upon the mostly eaten bouquet sitting on the table. Suddenly the bouquet wrapper seems like the most interesting thing in the whole world. "Woah, this ribbon is gorgeous!" she offers.

You ignore her. "W-who..." you manage to squeak out, but no other words follow.

The mare sighs deeply and puts on a weary smile. She slowly steps toward you and falls into your all too willing arms. Instinctively you return with an embrace. Your mind is racing with questions. Where was she? What was she doing? Why isn't she telling you anything? And most importantly, who the hell is Showstopper?! You open your mouth to begin asking, but find your mouth dry and stomach tied in knots. An unsettling burn starts in your stomach - and the feeling of guilt you had for eavesdropping earlier shifts to fear, jealousy, and other emotions you don't quite understand.

"I loved the flowers."

Her voice breaks through, setting your mind at immediate ease. Lyra picks her head up slightly, and stares directly into your eyes. Her smile refuses to falter.

"And, I love you."

You swallow what feels like a rock in your throat. "Then... then can you tell me what's been going on?"

Slowly, apologetically, she shakes her head, "I can't. But, please believe me." She grips your cheeks, forcing you to look her in the eyes. You can barely make out the concern and fear she was skillfully concealing up until that moment. "You have nothing to worry about."

You can't find any words, and instead take to holding her tighter and burying your face into her mane.

"Now, let's go to bed." She pulls her head back and smiles weakly. "Today has been absolutely insane."

Slowly, you shamble behind Lyra into your shared bedroom and close the door behind you.
> Tugging at Her Heartstrings 2 - Chapter 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Somehow, this day is possibly the most absolutely perfect day imaginable. The sun hangs lazily in the sky, showering tender warmth upon the land. The sporadic clouds wandering by dare not to eclipse the sun’s magnificence with their dreary shadows. You don’t really remember why, but you find yourself strolling down Main Street, Ponyville; a large, goofy grin adorns your face as you wave in salutation to all of the pony passerby’s.

“Top o’ the mornin’ to ya!” you practically chirp to a young mare shopping one of the many local stalls lining the road. She turns and flips the bangs of her golden mane out of her eyes, smiling in response before returning to her routine. Briefly, you stop to ponder your sudden British accent. You don’t recall having one, but shrug it off anyway. These things happen, after all.

The marketplace in Ponyville is bustling with business, the shops and stalls all filled with incredible variety. As you step down the lane, you can’t help but notice some of the myriad wares: vegetables, furniture, flowers (“maybe I should try here instead of Roseluck’s next time…”), and even an out of place lap-top computer. This last one gives you pause seeing as modern human technologies are relatively hard to come by in Equestria– but again, these ponies have surprised you before. Who knows what sort of mystical technologies they have?

Just as that thought crosses your mind, so does a car cross your path! You bow heartily to the driver, making sure to take off the top hat you were apparently wearing. The driver smiles at you greatly, twirling a large moustache with a free hoof and honking the old-timey horn with his other. You let out a loud belly-laugh and wave a farewell to the driver as the car disappears down the lane.

At last, your aimless walk seems to come to an end when you find yourself standing in front of what can only be described as a Wild-West style saloon – straight out of old-Appleoosa. Much like the aged panels of wood that make up the structure, the sky above this building is dark and grey. The warmth of the sun you had enjoyed just moments before had seemingly vanished, hidden behind menacing clouds. The sight of the structure fills you with an unexplainable dread. Sweat forms on your brow as you take a wary step toward the entrance, almost as if some invisible force was drawing you near.

A low, menacing growl echoes from inside the building, freezing you in your spot. From within the darkened frame of the doorway you can barely make out fiery eyes, seemingly floating in the nothingness. Your heart begins to beat faster, unsure of what to expect.

“Yooooouuuuuuuuuu….” A deep voice snarls.

The hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. Your brain urges you to flee, but you can’t move from your spot.

“Yoooooouuuuuuuuu…” the voice starts again. A thick, overly large smile appears in the doorframe hovering just a little too low from the glowering eyes. The myriad teeth are yellowed and jagged, almost fake in appearance. There are far too many of them, all jutting at random angles. “You really think you’re good enough?”

A lump in your throat prevents you from talking. Several awkward swallows later, you manage to force out a meager reply. “W-what do y-”

The voice roars in laughter, shaking the rickety wooden building it’s hiding in – and seemingly the whole world with it. “You’re absolutely pathetic!” The red eyes refuse to blink, instead burning holes into your very being.

“I – I don’t understand…” you start, attempting to avert your eyes from the terrifying gaze. “What do you even mean?”

The eyes of your unknown assailant faded into the black of the unlit entrance, leaving the sickening grin hovering in the blackness. “If you have to ask, you’re even worse than I thought.”






SLAM!

You roll headfirst out of your bed and onto the floor in a heap. The sound of the apartment door slamming shut shakes you from your stupor and reverberates in your mind. You feel the rising tremors of a headache pulse from your forehead.

“Ooooooh, crap.” You groan, rubbing at the soon-to-be bruise. Your eyes survey the bed room, half expecting the monstrous grin and flaming eyes to still be suspended in thin air. Finally, your gaze falls upon the now empty bed. Gone was not only the bizarre dream, but your companion as well – the usual lump in the sheets that represented Lyra was missing.

Not good enough… the voice from your dream taunted. But what did it mean?

You shake your head back to reality and take to starting your day, grinding through the usual mundanities of showering, dressing and haphazardly attempting to straighten up the bedroom. This last one always proves difficult when you’d much rather be doing anything than cleaning up Lyra’s messes.

After what feels like an eternity, you’re finally free to continue with the most important morning ritual of them all: devouring your breakfast. You step into the kitchen, pausing only to stretch.

“Morning, Bon-Bon.” You manage, lumbering over toward the counter. The cupboards are filled to the brim with opened bags of snacks (all long since expired) and trash. You sigh, digging your hand in the mess to fish out a box of Raisin Bran – unfortunately the only thing from the human world that seemed to exist in Equestria; a cereal that transcends dimensions in both physicality and in its own mediocrity.

The cream-coloured mare grunts in response as she grabs her cup of coffee and puts it to her mouth, sipping loudly. In stark contrast, she then gently, noiselessly lowers the cup back to the table.

You sit at the chair across from your roommate and pour a bowl full of the unimpressive cereal. The clinking sound of the bran flakes briefly cuts through the increasingly awkward silence. Your mouth opens as if you have something to say, but your hand prevents you with a spoonful of mushy raisins.

Briefly you look up from the bowl to find Bon-Bon’s turquoise drill-bit eyes burrowing into your skull; the heat emanating from her gaze is enough to make you choke on your current mouthful of cereal. You cough loudly, desperately attempting to hack up a stray flake that lodged itself in your throat. Tears stream down your face as your lungs fight for each breath.

“Serves you right.” The mare practically hisses, crossing her forelegs. Her brows are furrowed, only slightly hidden by her pink and dark blue mane.

“W-what do-” The coughing starts up again, stopping you mid sentence. Your hand shoots up, signaling the mare to pause while you attempt to regain your composure. But this serves no purpose but to give Bon-Bon an opening.

“You know damn well what I’m talking about!” She smacks a hoof on the table, knocking her coffee mug uncomfortably close to the edge. “Lyra hasn’t talked to me in a week! Every morning she wakes up and gallops out of here without a single word! And at night…” her voice trails off as she leans back into her seat. “Every night she comes home and goes straight to bed. It’s like I don’t exist anymore…”

A frown crosses the mare’s face; she looks hurt, wounded even. Her eyes scan your face, sizing you up while waiting for your retort. You open your mouth to speak, but before you have a chance Bon-Bon rockets forward in her chair once more on the attack. “What did you do to her?! You’d better not have hurt her…” Tears are forming around the corners of her eyes. “You’d better not have broken my trust… Or her trust…”

You pause before speaking, watching the mare sitting before you shiver in a mix of rage and distress. “Bon-Bon…” you start softly. “I love Lyra. I’m not doing anything to hurt her that I know of. In fact,” you pause and reach your hand out to the mare comfortingly. Bon-Bon reels back as if you had just stabbed her, her teeth are bared in a sharp grimace.

“Touch me and you’re dead!” her voice is shrill now. “We take you into our home and this how you repay us?!” she barks, pointing her hoof at you accusingly. “I have half a mi-”

“I think Lyra’s cheating on me!” you shout, interrupting the frenzied mare.

Silence fills the room as the two of you sit entirely frozen waiting for someone to make the first move. It seems like hours before Bon-Bon haphazardly reaches for her coffee mug and misses it, sending it tumbling to the floor. Pieces of porcelain shrapnel skitter across the tiles and a small puddle grows by your feet.

Finally, she speaks. “W-w-what? H-how do you know?” Her voice betrays her confusion and shock. Clearly Bon-Bon was none the wiser to Lyra’s mysterious whereabouts. She leans in close, and glances about the room as if looking for secret cameras. Before long Bon-Bon motions for you to do the same. “Are you sure?” she whispers.

You can smell the coffee on her breath, just barely masking the sweet aroma of seemingly candied breath – undoubtedly a byproduct of working at the town’s local candy store.

You sigh and lean back in your chair. “I… think I may have caught her.” Your voice is weak, tired. Memories of the night before flash just behind your eyes. The flowers. And the name…. Showstopper…

“You think you caught her?” Bon-Bon asks, confusion in her face. “With who? Where?”

“Ok, maybe not exactly…? I don’t know.” You throw your hands up in defeat and bolt from your chair, sending it falling backwards. Immediately your feet take to pacing about the kitchen, Bon-Bon’s blue eyes follow your every movement. “She came home last night and started talking about somepony named Showstopper. And-and this is just-” your voice starts cracking, shaking beneath the weight of your words. Your roommate watches calmly.

“Dammit! She’s been acting so weird lately!” you continue, waving your hands around frantically. “And then there’s that freaky dream with the red eyes! And those-those teeth!” You unconsciously mash your fingers together, mimicking the crooked grin from your nightmare. Your parading around the kitchen has become more and more frenetic, and tears start spilling down your cheeks as you ramble on.

Finally you collapse onto the floor, inches away from the coffee puddle and toppled chair. Slowly you rearrange yourself onto the seat and allow your eyes to lose themselves in the now almost entirely dissolved bowl of Raisin Bran. “I don’t know what to do.” You mutter to yourself.

A gentle touch falls upon your shoulder. Instinctively you turn your gaze to the cream-coloured mare standing beside you. “Listen,” Bon-Bon starts. “I’m sorry for accusing you of anything.” Her face is sincere, her eyes incredibly kind. “I want to help you out.”

“N-no!” you start to panic, pulling back from Bon-Bon’s touch. “I don’t want her to know that you know! O-o-or even that I know! This has to be secret!”

Bon-Bon’s grabs your face and pulls it close to hers. “I swear this will stay between us. This is your problem, and I will not butt in. Cross my heart and hope to fly.”

You breathe a sigh of relief.

“But,” she starts, a sly grin growing on her face. “I do have some ideas for you to try….”
> Tugging at Her Heartstrings 2 - Chapter 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“You’re kidding…” You find yourself staring at the cream-coloured mare blankly, mouth agape. “There’s no way that would work! This isn’t some cheesy 80’s movie!” Your arms flail wildly as you emphasize the incredulity of Bon-Bon’s master plan, darting about the kitchen as you do so. You stagger over to your downed chair and sit it back upright before plopping down on the seat, facing Bon-Bon. 

“An 80’s movie?” The mare stares back at you, confusion printed in her expression. She waves her hoof dismissively. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” (You sigh internally. She really didn’t…) “I think this plan is perfect, if I do say so myself!” A satisfied smirk crosses her face as she leans back in her seat victoriously.

“Well of course you would!” You practically bark, folding your arms on the kitchen table.

Bon-Bon furrows her brow and shoots up from her seat. “What in the hay is that supposed to mean?”

You open your mouth to retaliate but before venom pours out, you pause. Your sudden rage leaves you feeling scared and more than a bit alone. “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by that…” Your voice trails off, suddenly weak and sounding extremely tired. Defeated, you say the only words that come to mind: “I don’t know what to do.”

Bon-Bon’s expression immediately lightens up. She slowly trots to your side and places a hoof on your shoulder. “As I expected. Follow my plan, please. Let me help you.” Her voice is soothing. “Besides…” a wry smile slowly crosses her face. “My plan’s the only one you got.”

You sigh, clearly defeated. “So…” you begin, taking a brief pause to think over Bon-Bon’s plan once more. “You want me to pretend to go out with other ponies?”

“Not exactly. Pony, not ponies. Singular.” She corrects, matter-of-factly.

You sigh. “Ok, so you expect me to ‘date’ another pony.” You state plainly with massive airquotes.

“Yup.” She nods, smiling.

“And you think that… well, this will make her incredibly jealous.” You continue, parroting her earlier reasonings.

Another nod. “Most likely.”

“And finally,” your voice gains the slight tone of mocking. “In the most cliché way imaginable, she will come galloping back to me and we will go off into the sunset to live happily ever after.”

“Totally!” She pumps a hoof victoriously and winks all while sticking out her tongue in some bizarre anime-esque pose. She sits there frozen for what seems like eternity.

Your fingers instinctively work their way to your temples. Slowly, methodically, you begin to massage them. “I like your enthusiasm.” You deadpan.

She breaks free from the pose and flashes a million-dollar grin. “Thanks!”

You sigh. “But, I have one question.”

“Shoot.” Bon-Bon leans in, curiosity splayed across her face.

“Who the hell would want to go out with me?!” Your shouting practically bowls Bon-Bon over. “Even if it’s all fake, I don’t exactly fit in around here anyway. I mean, humans and ponies aren’t exactly the most common couple! I don’t think anypony besides Lyra would even be able to fake it!” You start to groan, sliding down in your seat until you can practically be defined a liquid. Your body rests in this position for a minute before sharp pains bring you back upright, much against your will.

Bon-Bon opens her mouth to respond, but pauses. You can feel her eyes meet yours and slowly move away to glance over your body inch-by-inch. Her gaze starts at your legs before slowly, surely moving upwards caressing each curve of your frame. You can feel your body warm over as Bon-Bon’s eyes finally once again meet yours. Her mouth is still wide-open, as if she had forgotten she was going to speak to at all.

“Um…. Bon-Bon?” you start slowly. “Is everything ok?”

The mare quickly shakes her head, seemingly knocking herself back into reality. As she does this her long, flowing mane flips in the air luxuriously, barely grazing your face. Your nose twitches instinctively, eliciting a surprising giggle from Bon-Bon. Sweat begin to form on your brow.

“You know…” she starts, one of her eyebrows raised seductively. “I can’t believe that I’ve never noticed this before…”

A lump in your throat prevents you from speaking, but you aren’t sure what words would have come out regardless. Your feet are made of lead, holding you in place before the swooning mare.

Bon-Bon giggles once more, cantering closer towards you. The sudden movement frees your feet and sends you toppling backwards onto the floor. You instinctively claw yourself backwards as she continues forward, finally stopping when your back is pressed against the wall. The candy-coated mare does not cease her delicate advance. She stops with her face mere inches away from yours. There is no escaping her blue eyes.

“I never noticed how…” her voice starts again, practically purring. Her sweet breath is warm on your neck; shivers shoot up your spine. “How…”

You gulp audibly as she traces a hoof up and down your chest. The sweat on your brow is pouring down your face now. “How…” Bon-Bon is wearing a soft smile as she gradually leans in closer to your face.

“How ugly my roommate is! Count me out for this.” Bon-Bon drops her hoof and trots away back to the kitchen table. Your eyes and mouth are agape in disbelief.

“I-I… uh…. Um-I…” you stutter in confusion. The mare stares back at you and nods.

“If Lyra had seen that display she’d have killed me.” She states flatly, turning away. You nod in agreement, slowly regaining your composure. It takes a moment before you are comfortably back on your feet. “Plus,” Bob-Bon continues, “there’s no doubt in my mind she would have kicked your butt clear out of Ponyville.”

You brush your pants clear of whatever dirt and debris they acquired from the kitchen floor and turn to the cream-coloured mare. “Then what’s the point in even trying? If we’d both be d-”

“Let me finish.” Bon-Bon interrupted matter-of-factly. “First of, what do you mean ‘we’? This isn’t my show here. I was just giving a demonstration. Second, even though she would go totally berserk, that would be a victory for you.”

You raise an eyebrow, clearly confused. “What do you mean?”

“Do I really need to spell it out for you? If she gets like that, you’ve succeeded in making her jealous!”

The wheels finally seem to start turning in your brain. This makes sense. Bon-Bon notices this newfound understanding and continues speaking. “If she gets jealous of you and some other mare, she’s bound to try and snatch you back. You know how possessive she is.”

You nod reluctantly. The logic seemed sound, to be honest, but it left you uneasy. The idea of pursuing a relationship –even a fake one – with another mare made you immensely uncomfortable. And to make matters worse, it could have the opposite effect and push Lyra away even more. This thought was enough to send your heart racing in distress.

Bon-Bon seemed to read your mind and clopped her hoof on the table to get your attention. “Look, it will work.”  Her soft voice was enough to calm you for now. Reluctantly, you agree. A sigh escapes your lips unbeknownst to you. However flawed the plan was it beat doing nothing at all.

“But who-”

“Anypony.” Bon-Bon interjected immediately. “You just saw how easy it can be. Even I was able to fake it. Just pick a friend of yours. One that isn’t too close to Lyra that she would suspect anything.”

You take a moment to think of the many ponies you’ve met since your arrival, but come up short of anypony who would be up for this monumentally uncomfortable task.

“Take some time, get some air.” Bon-Bon offers, stepping toward the apartment door. It opens without any resistance and a cool breeze rushes in from the hallway beckoning you to step outside. Your body moves without any input from your brain and soon you find yourself strolling the streets of Ponyville, deep in thought.

Pinkie Pie? Your mind brightens instantly with her name. No… too random… Perhaps Twilight? You grit your teeth remembering the many bizarre experiments she’s performed on you in the past (and the many more that would certainly come with spending more time with her).

Your body continues to wind you through the many streets and alleys of the town, roaming on autopilot. I guess I could ask Applejack…  A smile crosses your face at the thought of spending some time hanging around with the Apple family. The thought lasted only moments however. Except she’s the Element of Honesty, of course… Deep down you feel relieved knowing that you’ve avoided having to then work on the farm. A life with Lyra hadn’t exactly prepared you for performing hard physical labor day-in, day-out…

You close your eyes and sigh, dejected. Lost in the march-like rhythm of your feet on the ground, your mind continues to list a slew of names of ponies you’ve encountered: Derpy? I do love muffins… No, how about Octavia? Hmm, too close to Lyra… Fleur delis –who am I kidding, she would laugh me down the streets of Ponyville… Princess – nope already… I suppose that maybe I could ask-
 
THUD!

Your body slams into an unseen object, sending you sprawling onto the ground. Your eyes shoot open, greeted by the sight of a humble wooden cart – one that you’ve seen innumerable times since your arrival in Equestria.

“Didn’t I just sell you flowers yesterday?” a voice calls from behind the counter. “What in the hay did you to this time?”

You elicit a small grunt as you rise from the ground and brush dirt off your clothes. A green-eyed mare stands before you, leaning her head on her hoof. Her eyes betray no surprise at your arrival and subsequent oblivious tumble. She wears a small smile on her face just the same.

“Roseluck!” you exclaim excitedly, rushing to the counter. “I gotta talk to you!”
> Tugging at Her Heartstrings 2 - Chapter 5
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tugging at Her Heartstrings 2 – Chapter 5
-neutralmilk


“Sweet Celestia, are you alright?” She starts to step from behind the flower cart but stops short of actually helping you up. Roseluck’s green eyes slowly trace your body before they finally meeting yours. Her face is filled with concern, a tight frown on her lips. “You look crazy…” she mutters under her breath – but still loud enough for you to hear.

You’re so overwhelmed with excitement that you ignore her comment and rush at her, dropping on to your knees so you were at eye level with the cream-coloured mare causing her to instinctively recoil. A wide Cheshire grin crosses your face. You wipe sweat and dirt from your brow before leaning in towards her, your nose practically touching hers.

You briefly entertain the idea that you probably do look insane at the moment – a sweaty, dirt covered maniac let loose on Ponyville – but push it from your thoughts. You have much bigger priorities than your public appearance. After all, the solution to your problem is staring you straight in the eyes!

“Roseluck…” you start, your voice practically oozing with exhilaration. The mare is gaping at you, her face betraying a look of sudden apprehension. She doesn’t move a muscle – waiting for you to act first. This reticence catches you off guard. How can she not be excited too?! “Rose!” you suddenly shout, accidentally sending small bits of spittle on her face. 

She jumps, emitting a surprised squeak as she does so. “Uh-uhm… yeah?” She timidly responds. “Is everyth-”

Your arms wrap around the mare’s neck and pull her into a hug. A laugh escapes your throat. “Yeah!” your voice is still several notches above normal. Excitedly, you rock Roseluck back and forth in your embrace, feeling joyous tears well up in your eyes. “Yeah, Rose. Everything’s ok now.” 

The surprise hug lasts longer than it probably should have, and before you know it you’ve calmed down enough to realize this. Feeling your overzealous joy subside, you slowly release Roseluck and fall back. You can see her eyes are wide and unblinking; they stare straight at the marketplace yet seeing nothing. Tucked above her small yet unmistakable smile you think you make out spots of pink on her cheeks but brush it aside as a trick of the light.

You stand up and attempt (and fail) to casually brush your pants clear of debris in a desperate attempt to look less like a maniac. By this point you’ve finally calmed down enough to properly speak to Roseluck who, for some reason, is still standing in a daze. You clear your throat loudly, attempting to break the overlong awkward silence – one of what would surely be many to come considering the circumstance.

“Uhm, hey….” you start, continuing to fix your appearance. You run a hand through your hair and drag out a surprising amount of dust considering your head was nowhere near the ground earlier. “You alright?”

It took a few seconds for Roseluck to comprehend you had spoken and shook herself back to reality. She scowled and furrowed her brow. “What the hay are you asking me for?!” Roseluck took to flailing her forelegs wildly in the air. “You’re the one who came at me and… uh…” the intensity in her voice immediately vanished as she looked at her hooves. “Well… you know. Hugged… me…” Those last words were practically inaudible. 

“Heh, yeah, I, uh, I guess you’re right.” You admit, trying to mask your embarrassment. “Listen, Rose…” your voice trails off as you desperately try to find a way to explain the bizarre favor you hoped to ask her. “I’m sorry about earlier. It’s just that, well, I was excited to see you.” 

Her ears perk up, and her emerald eyes suddenly become fixed on your own once more. You notice that she is getting somewhat restless, her front hooves lightly tap the dirt creating tiny marks. “…Yeah?” her voice seems suddenly eager.

“I’ve got something I gotta ask you. But before I do…” You sigh loudly and choose a spot in the dirt to sit down on, once again dirtying your pants. The pants, however, were the least of your worries – despite Rarity’s failed attempts to master making clothing for entirely new human anatomy. Your mind drifted over the past few days and the sudden revelation of Lyra with… Showstopper. The very thought of the name twists your stomach and you feel physically ill. “Ok,” you admit. “I honestly have no idea how to start.”

While you attempt to find a suitable way to broach the subject with your closest non-Lyra friend, you watch Roseluck obliviously continue her subtle dance. Once again an awkward silence fills the air in the surprisingly empty marketplace. After what seems like (and totally was) five minutes, you finally push past the bile rising in your stomach and relay your sorry tale. 

Roseluck’s eyes widen, shocked at the story of Lyra disappearing for months every Thursday without a word. She frowned at the mention of the failed flower gift. She shook her head solemnly at the mention of the “confrontation” you had just the night prior. She gasped with disbelief at the fact that Lyra hadn’t even been spending time with Bon-Bon – her closest friend for years. And as soon as the story had started, it was finished. Roseluck refused to meet your eyes – instead looking at the dirt and the many spots she had made in her previous excitement.

“H-hey. I’m really sorry.” She offered quietly, clearly unsure of how to approach the situation. You’re stuck on the ground, unmoving. It hurt thinking about it – but surprisingly, talking about it made it hurt even more. The pain was different though. You didn’t feel as alone in it now that Roseluck was in the know. The painkiller of silence had worn off, but now you could treat the root cause with someone at hand. 

Tears welled in your eyes, betrayal and rage tore at your heart preventing you from doing much else but feel your body seemingly break down. Never in your wildest dreams did you imagine you’d find love with a pony. Never in your wildest nightmares did you expect it to end in the way it was now.

Your inner turmoil must have been obvious as suddenly you felt a hoof on your shoulder, startling you from your thoughts. You look up and blink away the forming tears to see Roseluck with a weak smile on her face. Strands of her red-violet mane hung over one of her eyes. The mare took her hoof off your shoulder only to brush back her mane before returning it, firmer than before.

“You know I’m here for you, right?” Her voice was soft, comforting. Hearing this, you nod in response. Though your chest was still tight with panic and despair at your situation, you found it was time to get off your emotional rollercoaster. “I’m happy you felt comfortable enough to tell me all of this.”

You sigh and drop your head for a minute before finally rising from the ground for one of the far too many times in the past few days. “Yeah…” you mutter. “So, yeah. I think Lyra’s cheating on me.”

Roseluck frowns and nods in response.

Silence again fills the air while Roseluck kicks at the ground gently. Her movements are far less enthusiastic than her “dance” from when you hugged her in excitement.

Seriously, this is cringeworthy… you think, before finally forcing yourself to speak. “Rose…” you start.

Her kicking stops, and she looks up at you, waiting for you to continue.

One of your hands finds its way to the back of your head as the words slowly come out of your mouth. “All this crap going on with Lyra is… well… hard. It hurts too much right now.”

Roseluck’s eyes begin to widen.

“It’s been tearing me up now for a couple of days. I know it doesn’t sound like a long time but it’s seriously…. Just, you know, been a nightmare.”

The excited stepping she had been doing earlier starts again, slowly.

“And walking through town like this – like a total lunatic has been terrifying! Lyra, well, she’s messed my mind up. Honestly, I’m happy I found you. I-I trust you. I know we’re always goofing around but, real talk, I know you care about me.” You make direct eye contact with the mare in front of you. “I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for caring.”

Her cheeks seem to glow a light pink, offsetting her pale-yellow coat.

“So, I guess, I gotta ask you a really weird question.”

You can see she’s fighting back the urge to smile.

“Seriously, it’s weird.” You say, cautiously. “I mean, if you want to say ‘no’ I don’t blame you. I mean, I’m a human and you’re a pony so I get that it doesn’t exactly follow what one might call the ‘laws of nature’” you do air quotes to further your point, “but Pinkles- I mean Pinkie – defies them daily so, you know, I don’t know. I mean, how the heck does she teleport around Ponyville like that?!”

The point you were originally trying to make seems to have become derailed, so you make a concerted effort to right the ship. “Regardless, what I’m trying to say is I don’t want to pressure you into this position. I’m a loyal customer of your flower stand and don’t want to strain any-”

“Will you get on with it?!” Roseluck’s voice, loud and impatient breaks your pointless ramblings. You look, confused by her outburst, and notice she was practically jumping up and down in her spot, her mane bouncing just slightly off-beat with her hoof movements. Confused by this reaction, you chalk up the jumping around to her needing to use the restroom. 

You sigh. You had wasted enough of Roseluck’s time. It was now or never. You had to ask her to join in on Bon-Bon’s master plan of making Lyra jealous. It would be awkward, but she seemed to genuinely want to help you…

“Roseluck, I-I had this idea about you and me…. what I mean to say is, I want, no, I need you to-”

“I accept!” Roseluck practically shrieked. She did a quick spin in her spot, a huge grin on her face before calming down seemingly immediately. “I totally know what you’re going to say, and I think it’s a good idea.” Her voice was now flat, normal. As if the favor you were asking of her was nothing special.

“Are you sure?” 

She nods. “I want to help you.”

You don’t know what to say. The dread weighing you down became dramatically lighter with this – possibly the most uncomfortable conversation you’ve ever held – over with, and with exactly the result you hoped for. You had an urge to rush at Roseluck once more and hug her, but fought it back, instead choosing to smile a large, toothy grin. “Thank you, Rose.”

She returns the smile, her eyes positively radiant. “No, thank you!” she chirps.

“I guess I’ll be in touch then about what we’re going to do, huh?”

“I look forward to it.”

Success at last! You fist pump half-heartedly and turn to walk back to your apartment to tell Bon-Bon the good news. Now that you had a co-conspirator, you had to come up with a genius plan to make Lyra jealous! And, hopefully, something that wouldn’t bore you and Roseluck to tears.

 I can’t believe how excited she seemed about Bon-Bon’s plan! You think to yourself. She’s way too nice, helping me out like this… Maybe it’s because I’m her only customer?

As you walk home, lost in your thoughts, you remain oblivious to Roseluck, now full-on dancing in place with a large, elated smile from ear to ear. “I can’t believe it… we’re actually dating!”
> Tugging at Her Heartstrings 2 - Chapter 6
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tugging at Her Heartstrings 2  -   Chapter 6
-neutralmilk


“Bon-Bon, you’re not going to believe it!” Your voice is brimming with delight as you step through the front door of your apartment. You casually attempt to toss your keys onto the end table in the living room, but they miss horribly and fall on the couch. Eh, you’ll get them later.

You walk into the kitchenette and go for a glass of water, your throat and lips parched from your fit in the street and your excited dash back home. “Bon-Bon?” you call, waiting for a response before turning on the sink. 

Nothing. You pour your glass and down it, your throat slightly sore from the sensation. You’re surprised you haven’t seen or heard bon-Bon yet – especially since she was the one who set you out on town for this mission. Scanning the apartment, you find her keys and favorite saddle sitting by the front door in their usual spot.

Huh… so she’s not out, I guess… you think to yourself. The clock ticking above the kitchen table is the only sound you hear in the apartment. You walk towards the hallway to check her room but stop when you notice a slight mist pouring out from the cracks around the bathroom door. It is only then you become aware of the slight sound of the shower running.

“Bon-Bon?” you ask aloud, feeling slightly awkward to be speaking to a door and not the pony in question. A minute passes – no response. Well… This is awkward… Unsure of how to proceed, you raise your fist and gently knock it on the bathroom door. 

Silence.

You lean towards the door and hear what sounds like a muffled voice amongst the pitter patter of the water. It only takes you a second to realize that Bon-Bon was singing in the shower. Horribly out of tune, at that. A sheepish grin crosses your face as you contemplate standing out there, hidden from her existence, and listening to whatever may come. Several off-key notes from some made-up Bon-Bon ditty later, you change your mind. How can she live with Lyra for all this time and not even carry a tune?!

“Bon-Bon?” you try her name again, this time a bit louder. Her response is more oblivious singing. Your hand instinctively clenches into a fist and you bring it to the door, rapping on it a few times to get her attention.

“SWEET CELESTIA!” her voice shrieks from behind the door followed by what sounds like somepony slipping in the tub. Clearly, you knock on the door harder than you intended.

“Uhm, sorry!” you call out, making an apologetic face to the empty hallway. If only she could see it, maybe she’d forgive you… “I tried calling your name but, you know, no response!”

“Oh, it’s you.” Her voice did not sound pleased to hear from you. “You scared the crap out me!” Her voice is loud from the shower, even then barely rising past the sound of the water. “Give me a few minutes. Bathroom means privacy.”

You’re still excited about how the plan has turned out so far. You have no intention of waiting however long for Bon-Bon to finish showering, get dried, do up her mane, etc. etc. etc. “But Bon-Bonnnnn…” you draw out her name as long as your voice can last. The last bit of air in your lungs pushes itself out forcing you to take a slightly gasping breath and prepare for more whining if she doesn’t respond in an appropriate manner.

You can barely make out her sighing from over the ambient noise. “Oh, great. I’m a captive audience. Ok, tell me the what happened. Don’t spare the details, alright?”

You crouch by the bathroom door and attempt to get comfortable. You can’t help but be momentarily transfixed by the steam coming from underneath the door. Finally, you relay your tale.





“And you’re sure she understood the plan?” You can still hear the shower in the background as Bon-Bon finally speaks up. Then, lower, you barely make out “I never would of thought of Roseluck… Of all ponies…” 

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” you shout, mockingly offended, before slamming your hand on the bathroom door.

“Whoa, whoa, hey – it’s just, you know, it’s gotta be strange to be into a different species – even pretend.” The sound of the shower stopped suddenly. You could hear Bon-Bon step onto the floor, the sound echoing slightly in the small bathroom. “So,” she starts after a pause, “I’m gonna repeat myself: she understood the plan?” She repeated it slowly and deliberately. 

Your reply was quick – matter-of-fact. “Yeah, she got it right off the bat.”

“She… didn’t have any questions? Any concerns? Nothing but a ‘Yeah totally’?” Bon-Bon’s voice was betraying her surprise – and what sounded like concern.

You do your best to recall the conversation with Roseluck in its entirety, but the memory is clouded from the adrenaline pumping through your veins earlier. “I mean, she didn’t even let me finish. She just kinda sorta… understood everything?”

Silence. The steam slowly stops pouring from beneath the door and the sounds of Bon-Bon moving around the bathroom stop entirely. Suddenly, the door blows open, revealing a drenched Bon-Bon standing before you, her wet mane plastered to her face. She stares down at you, inches away. It is only then you realize that she’s buck naked.

“Oh, my Lord, where is your towel?!” you scream, shielding your eyes. “Keep it PG-13!”

Bon-Bon smacks the top of your head with a hoof and makes her way to her room, trailing wet marks on the floor behind her. “Do you have to do that every time we take a shower? We’re always ‘naked,’ moron!” With that, she disappears behind her door, leaving you sitting in the hallway once more. To be fair, she did have point.

“Anyway,” her voice continues, “That whole situation sounds, well, sketchy to say the least. No questions or anything?”

“Yeah, like I said: she just got it.”

The sound of drawers opening and closing breaks up your conversation momentarily. “Where the hay did I put that brush…” Bon-Bon’s voice mumbles barely audibly. “Did Lyra borrow it again… Oh. There it is.” Your legs are starting to cramp from sitting in the hallway for so long, so you slowly rise, cracking your back a bit as you do so. 

“Anyway,” the mare’s voice starts up again – clearly directed at you once more. “If you’re so certain that she gets the plan and you didn’t screw it up, then it’s time to act.” The bedroom door opened to reveal Bon-Bon fully made up as normal, her blue-and-pink mane back to its trademark poofed manner – albeit damp. She eyes you as you continue to stretch. “So, what’s the plan?”

Your eyes widen in confusion as a frown slowly crosses your face. “What do you mean?”

The cream-coloured mare rolls here eyes and brushes by you towards the living room. “Are you joking? Your plan! You know, your date?” She turns to stare at you, waiting for your response, but your mind is blank. “So let me get this straight.” She starts, clearly frustrated. “You went through all that trouble and you haven’t even come up with, you know, a fake date yet? How are you gonna make Lyra jealous if you don’t go somewhere and do something?!”

You open your mouth to counter, but she made perfect sense. It’s true, you needed a second-step to make Bon-Bon’s plan truly come to fruition. Furthermore, a secret fake relationship would kind of defeat the whole purpose. You needed to draw Lyra into the open and win her back – not sneak around like: well, like she’d been doing to me. 

That last thought makes your stomach drop.

You suddenly find yourself deflated, your energy and confidence from earlier long gone. You hardly remember where it had come from in the first place. “You know,” your voice is timid, perhaps more than you cared to admit “You’re right.” Your eyes stared at the floor and refused to leave their spot. “But, I’m calling it before it gets out of hand. Don’t you think that maybe this plan is a bit, well, much?”

Bon-Bon’s eyes refused to leave you, waiting for you to continue. Her face was blank, showing neither surprise nor disappointment with your sudden change of heart.

Sighing, you start again. “I mean, look at me. Running around and lying to win back Lyra dishonestly. I…  don’t even understand what I’m doing. I’m scared this won’t work. I’m terrified this will backfire. I’m flat-out petrified to follow through. I love Lyra and want her back. But…” your voice trails off as tears begin to well in your eyes. “Maybe I can’t do this. Maybe I’m not supposed to, you know? I… don’t know.”

Bon-Bon nods and runs her hoof through her mane. “Listen, I get it.” Her voice is low, soothing – entirely unlike her usual sarcastic persona. “I’m not a huge fan of this either. This isn’t some stupid sitcom we’re talking about. This is your life. She’s your marefriend – and I know how much she means to you. She’s my best friend and means the world to me too.” Her icy blue eyes are locked on yours. “You love her. And while I support her whole-heartedly, even I have to admit what she’s doing to you is dead wrong. If she doesn’t want to be with you that’s one thing. But to be so… so… deceitful about it. I won’t stand for it. You need to try. If this plan isn’t going to work, then what other ideas do you have?”

She waits for your response. The apartment is dead silent as you desperately attempt to fight back the tears. You refuse to meet the mare’s eyes and stare at anywhere and everywhere in the hallway all at once. Your face is on fire. Finally, Bon-Bon breaks the stillness.

“Then let me help. How about you take Roseluck to see a concert?”

You clear your throat. “What do you mean?”

She arches an eyebrow. “I mean a concert. You know, with bands and music and instruments and-”

“Ok, smartass, I know what a concert is. But, like, tell me about it.”

“I heard word recently that Equestria’s only 100% Angus Beef rock band, Eversteer, is going to be playing at the Sugar Shack. I got a friend named Ticketmaster who works the door. He still totally owes me and can get you two in for nothing.”

You nod, appreciating the idea. “I mean that’s cool and all, but how exactly does that help with Lyra?”

A smug smile crosses your roommate’s face. “You’ve dated Lyra for how long and not noticed the name of one of her favorite bands? Dude, I’m gonna tell her about the show when she gets home! There’s no way she’d miss a show – especially when it’s on me! And when she gets there, she’ll see you having a good time with Roseluck. Then BAM!” she stomped on the floor to emphasize her point. “She’ll grab you and never let you go again.”

“Whoa.” The simplicity of the plan caught you off guard. It was so easy it couldn’t possibly fail. Unless, of course, it did. But that contingency didn’t even cross your mind. “So, when’s the concert? How long do I have to prepare for this?”

She looked at the clock on the wall. “Let’s see…” her voice trailed off. “I’d say about three hours. The show’s tonight.”
> Tugging at Her Heartstrings 2 - Chapter 7
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tugging at Her Heartstrings 2  -  Chapter 7
-neutralmilk


“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Tonight?!” your voice is several notches above what it should be considering the size of your apartment. Despite this, you still feel you should be screaming louder. “You expect me to be ready for this whole thing in a few hours?!”

Bon-Bon steps to the living room and plops onto the couch. Finally, she twists her head to face you. A frown is plastered on her face, her eyes showing no remorse. “Listen. It’s now or never. If you didn’t do this tonight, you’d just try to back out at some other point.”

“But… But…” you can’t help but stutter – trying to formulate some sort of counter. Your mind races, nothing coherent can even form in your rattled brain.

She turns back away from you and flips on the television. “Hurry up and go get dressed or whatever. You gotta pick up Roseluck, remember?” She waves a hoof dismissingly at you as she flips through the channels mindlessly.

With that, the argument was over as fast as it had begun. Any possible response would be ignored outright, so you sigh and slink to yours and Lyra’s bedroom to find something appropriate to wear to a concert. As you fumble through your closet looking for something to wear to your mock date, you briefly consider just not following through. 

How hard could it be to not go get Rose? You muse to yourself. This, as you finally find your outfit, throw it on, tie your shoes, and look in the mirror. Despite your hesitation, you’re fully dressed and prepared to go. At least on some level, you agree with Bon-Bon and ultimately decide it was time to follow through.

You step into the living room once more, though for some reason you feel different. Almost as if this were the final time you were seeing this room before some dangerous mission. Though, to be fair, this was most certainly a dangerous task.

“How do I look?” you ask, striking a pose for Bon-Bon to give a final appraisal. One of Rarity’s less awkward fitting outfits would ultimately have to do as your more standard dating clothing didn’t exactly follow you to Equestria. If only, if only…

She slowly turns from the television and peers over the couch, her icy blue eyes scanning your physique. She purses her lips in thought and finally nods in agreement. “For you, you look pretty good.”

A relieved smile crosses your face from the back-handed compliment. From Bon-Bon, this was premium praise. “Well then… I guess I’m off.” Before you leave, you take the time to rummage around the couch for your keys – remembering that they landed somewhere in the vicinity earlier. 

“Hey, before you do,” your roommate started. “I got some of advice for you.” Her voice was tinged with a surprising amount of concern.

“Yeah? What’s that?” Fumbling around behind the couch cushions your hand finally grasps something metallic. A victorious look on your face, you pull your keys from the ominous abyss that resides within your living room furniture. 

“Whatever you do, make sure that everypony thinks that your ‘date’ is real, ok?”

You give the earth pony a bewildered look. “What do you mean?”

“Well it kinda just came to me. But you gotta keep it realistic. Keep the plan between you and Rose. If somepony asks you what’s up, say you’re out with her for real. You don’t have to make it all gooshy-gooshy romantic but make it real. A lot of us ponies are friends here. It’s a small town. If ponies start finding out that you’re just faking it as part of some larger crazy plan to get Lyra back, then somepony might tell her.”

You nod in agreement. “I gotcha. Cause then the plan wouldn’t work.”

Bon-Bon looked you straight in the eyes, frowning. “Well, yeah. But there’s more. At least with the plan the way it is, she’ll see you having fun with another mare and do everything in her power to make you hers again. You know, reignite the flame or something?”

“Ok, I get it.” Rising from the floor, you place your keys in your pocket.

“But if she caught wind of something sinister like this she’d be totally pissed. If she heard that you were conspiring to win her back through lies and deception… She’d drop you like a hot rock. All of this?” Bon-Bon motioned around the apartment. “All of it would be over.”





The walk through Ponyville is ultimately unexciting, yet you’re still full of panic. Bon-Bon’s words rung in your mind. The threat of ponies seeing you and questioning you made your head spin, but the plan was so far along it was seemingly impossible to stop now. Your eyes trace the buildings and a perpetual sweat is on your brow, despite the cool air and your meandering pace. As you approach the square where Roseluck’s flower stall usually stands you cannot help but slow your pace even further – dragging on every second and resisting the inevitable. 

Despite your best efforts, you do manage to arrive and apparently just in time. Hidden from her line of sight you watch Roseluck move her flowers off the top of the counter and slide them underneath – presumably into some sort of locked cupboard. Despite living in Ponyville for some time now, it’s still mildly amusing to watch earth ponies move things with their teeth. 

One of Rose’s potted hyacinths tips awkwardly in her grip, sending a handful of dirt onto her face and otherwise pristine raspberry mane. In surprise she drops the pot onto the ground, breaking the clay and scattering the dirt amongst the, well, other not previously potted dirt. She coughs quickly and spits a bit of dirt onto the ground then averts her gaze to the mess. Sighing, she bends down to pick up the broken bits with her teeth. 

You can’t help but pity her situation and step in to help.

“Hey Rose.”

Clearly surprised, she jumps in her spot, a small squeak escaping her lips. Her eyes rocket up to meet yours, and suddenly a small blush appears on her face. “W-what are you doing here?” 

“Well, it’s a bit of a story…” you start, bending down beside her. You grab the first piece of the pot you notice and stop, feeling Rose’s gaze on you. You turn to find her off-green eyes looking deeply into your own.

“Ok, hotshot.” Her voice is warm, sweet. “I’m waiting.” 

You sigh. It was now or never – and never really wasn’t much of an option. “So, remember when I came here earlier today?”

A wide smile crosses Roseluck’s still slightly dirtied face. “How could I ever forget?”

“Well…” your voice trails off. In the meantime, you pick up another piece of the pot in a desperate attempt to steady your shaking hands. “I was thinking tonight would be a great time to… well…”

“Say no more.” Rose continues to smile. She closes her eyes for a second and takes a deep breath. “Tonight will be perfect. I just need to finish closing the stand. And,” she pauses, rubbing a hoof through her mane and sending a clod of dirt to the ground. “And I guess I need to stop by my place and get cleaned up a bit.”

She laughs momentarily before lowering her face to the ground once more to a grab a shard. Her teeth clasp around a piece which she raises expertly to the counter. It drops with a soft “plink.”

“Hey, let me take care of this.” You cover the ground before her with your arms. “I don’t want you cutting yourself on these. Plus,” you hold your hands up and wiggle your fingers maniacally. “These make it muuuuuch easier.” Carefully you pick up the larger pieces of the pot before starting to scour the dirt for small shards and fragments you may have missed. 

Rose rolls her eyes and rises to her hooves. She casually attempts to wipe the dirt from her face and mane. “Well aren’t you my hero?” She turns back to her stand and picks up another potted plant, carefully lowering it to underneath the counter.

“I mean, I could put these back down on the ground if you want.” Slowly you place a piece of the pot on the ground in front of her. “Since you’re going to be rude and all…”

A small chuckle escapes her teeth, shaking the plant in her mouth. “Do that and you’re going on the date yourself.” She gently nudges you with her forehoof and smiles gently. “Speaking of which, where are you taking me?”

“Well there’s a concert tonight at the Sugar Shack… Some band called “Eversteer” or someth-”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” She interrupts you, putting a hoof in front of your face. “The Eversteer? ‘Equestria’s Only 100% Angus Beef Rock Band?’ The legends themselves are here in Ponyville?!” Her face is filled with awe, eyes wide with excitement.

You raise an eyebrow. “So, you’ve heard of them too?”

Rose’s jaw drops noticeably. “Heard of them? I live by them! Oh my Luna, don’t tell me you aren’t a fan!

“Well, to be totally honest. I haven’t heard of them until today.”

“You can’t be serious. You don’t know any of their songs!?”

You attempt to think back to any music discussions you’ve had with Lyra in the past. As far as you can remember, they never came up once. Your elongated silence signals this clearly to Roseluck. She sighs heavily.

“You don’t know ‘Farmer of Mine’? Or, maybe, ‘I Will Bovine You a New Life’?” Her eyes are pleading you to recognize the titles, but your mind draws nothing but blanks. 

“’Santa Mona-curd’?!” she looks manic now. You shake your head, the names mean nothing to you – except for being mildly amusing puns. “No. No, no, no…” her voice trails off, despondent. “You can’t tell me you’ve been in in Equestria this long and never listened to ‘Wond-herd-ful!’ I refuse to let this happen!”

Roseluck hurriedly grabs the last plant off the counter and practically throws it underneath and somehow locks the cupboard underneath with her teeth in the same beat. She turns to face you, still kneeling on the ground with a handful of pieces of the broken pot. “Ok, we’re done here. Now follow me home. I refuse to go on a date with somepo – I mean some... human that doesn’t know what real music is.”

She turns away from the stand and starts off, leaving you behind with a dumb look on your face. “Well then. This is definitely going to be interesting…” you mumble to the open plaza.  

“Hey, you coming or not?” Roseluck’s voice calls from a surprising distance away. She flips her raspberry mane out of her eyes and makes a face, urging you to hurry. 

“Oh, yeah, sorry!” You jog to catch up to her and walk (at a surprisingly brisk pace) alongside the earth pony all the way to her home.





“Ok, so before we go in, I want you to know that I do have a roommate.” Roseluck sighs at this.

“Seems like a lot of ponies have roommates around here.” You state bluntly.

“Well excuuuuse me for not having enough bits to have my own place.” Rose raps her hoof on the door quickly, sticking her tongue out at you as she does so. She waits for a minute, her ear pressed to the door. “Ok good, it doesn’t sound like she’s home.” Finally, she goes for the doorknob and opens the door.

“She’s that bad, huh?” Remembering Bon-Bon’s ominous warning from earlier, you fight to avoid showing your immense relief.

“Huh? Oh, no, no, no.” Roseluck smiles. “Colgate and I have been friends for years! It’s just that… well… If she knew I was bringing over company in, you know, this capacity, then she’d never let us live it down.” 

She shakes her head slightly. You can barely make out a blush on the mare’s face. “Anyway, we won’t be that long. I just gotta clean myself up, really. Don’t want to look all dirty for our big date.” With that she winks at you playfully. You find it impossible not to blush back as you desperately try not to look at soft smile.

The door opens wide, revealing a lovely home – far larger than your apartment. The entrance is small, though it leads to many different rooms and a staircase – for some reason strategically blocked off by plastic chains. Roseluck catches you looking at the stairs and sighs. “Yeah, don’t ask. Colgate’s room is up there.” Suddenly, in a louder voice she shouts: “Hey Colgate, you home?”

The only response was from the slight echo in the lofted second-floor. Other than that, silence.

Rose’s eyes meet yours. “Can’t blame me for being too careful.” She says matter-of-factly. “Ok, here, come with me.”

She turns right and leads you to a large living space adorned with a floral print couch and several small end tables with floral arrangements on them. The room smelled lovely – as if it were perpetually Spring and the rest of the world didn’t realize. “It’s beautiful! I’m guessing your design?” You ask, stepping into the center of the room.

Roseluck is beaming with pride. “I’m not just a flower salespony, you know. I got some serious skills.” She puffs up her chest sarcastically.

“Yeah, no joke!” You walk to the end of the room towards a closed door. “What’s back here?” you ask, reaching for the doorknob.

“Hey! Whoa, slow down there!” Her voice is panicked. Surprised, your hand shoots back to your side.

“That’s, well…” Her voice trails off. “My bedroom…” An immediate tension fills the air, knocking whatever normalcy in the room out entirely. Awkwardness seems to be the new norm. It feels like forever passes before you finally can force yourself to step over to the couch and plop down. She edges by you and opens the door. 

“I won’t be long, promise.” She flashes you a smile, telling you all is forgiven and closes the door behind her – though doesn’t last for long. She quickly opens it a crack and pokes her head out. “Oh, and no peeking.” Her face is full of mocking.

You fail in your attempt to hold back a laugh. “Well I mean now you put the thought in my head. Great.”

Roseluck rolls her green eyes. “Creep!” She winks and shuts the door with an audible click.

Your time on the couch is peaceful, yet still entirely unnerving. The sound of movement from behind Roseluck’s door is entirely expected though you cannot stop your heart from racing. What was once an abstract plot hatched by Bon-Bon was now your reality. You were not only in her home but were waiting to take her on date. A fake one, granted, but the reality was sinking in. If this failed…

Your mind tried to wander, but the surprise sound of a door opening and closing from upstairs made you jump in your seat. Your mind becomes blank. Though Roseluck was still maneuvering in her bedroom, murmuring occasionally to herself, there was something stepping down the stairs. Or, more realistically, somepony. It was only then that you remembered that Rose had a roommate.

Colgate.
> Tugging at Her Heartstrings 2 - Chapter 8
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tugging at Her Heartstrings 2 – Chapter 8
- neutralmilk


It couldn’t be anything – no – anypony but Colgate. 

Though surprisingly soft on the hardwood stairs, the unmistakable sound of hoofsteps could be heard lightly echoing through Colgate’s upstairs loft. Your eyes are plastered on the entrance of the living room and you hope that out of every room in the home, Colgate would choose not to enter this one. Despite sitting frozen in your seat, sweat forms on your brow and you wonder if the sound of your nervous breathing is truly as loud as you think it is.

A thought continuously plays in your head as Colgate’s steps on the stairs grow closer to the first floor. Bon-Bon had warned you to play your date as real in front of anypony you saw – but you had so far lucked out. And if Rose’s roommate would just turn away from the living room, your luck would continue.

Unfortunately, it appeared that your luck had run out. The tip of an ice-white mane with a dark blue streak slowly begins to appear in the doorway, though the mare it belonged to was still missing from view. You hold your breath in a final act of desperation, praying to Celestia, Luna, Zeus, Thor, Mr. Rogers, and any other celestial being that popped into your head that they would grant you this single mercy. 

Alas they did not.

“Rose, you home?” Colgate steps into the room, her voice surprisingly soft. “I thought I heard you call my na-” Her eyes meet yours and she immediately becomes stone. Her deep blue eyes grow wide in surprise. Clearly, she had not expected to see someone sitting in her living room – pony or human.

The silence is deafening. Perhaps in part due to the perspiration dripping down your back, you find that your mouth and throat are sandpaper. Your heart begins to race and you cough hoarsely in your first attempt to speak. You desperately try again to come up with something to say and fight off the urge to flee the house entirely.

“Um… hi… Colgate?” you offer, your voice cracking slightly under the immense weight of awkwardness. 

Success! 

Colgate still stands, petrified. Somehow, it appears Colgate replaced herself with a statue, as you cannot discern that she has taken a single taken a breath or blinked since she entered the room. No other words come to your mind – in fact, your mind is completely blank. Panic begins to set in. Finally, she gulps audibly and opens her mouth slowly. “W-what are you doing in my house…?” Her voice is full of fear. And, honestly, you can relate.

The tension now is absolutely unbearable. You want so badly to bear your tribulations to her, despite this being your first real meeting. There is nothing more in the world you want more right now to quell Colgate’s fears and reveal the entire truth: Lyra’s coldness, Bon-Bn’s plan, everything. But you’re too far gone to give up now. Carefully, you consider your words before speaking.

“Well…” You begin, adjusting yourself in the couch. You find it immensely difficult to meet her eyes so you instead settle on glancing about the room as if looking for a hidden escape route. “I’m the human that lives with Lyra and Bon-Bon. I’m friends with-”

“I know who you are,” Colgate interrupts. It’s becoming clear her immediate anxiety is beginning to be replaced with anger. Despite the softness of her voice, there was a distinct strength of will behind it. “But why. Are. You. Here.” Her voice punctuated this perfectly, and with each word her face grew more and more into a snarl.

You put your hands up instinctively, cluelessly, as if this would somehow show your innocent intentions. “I’m here with Roseluck!” Your voice betrays your fear, which seems to lighten Colgate’s trepidation. She takes a deep breath and blinks a few times, as if she had suddenly realized that her eyes were unblinking this entire time.

Her mouth opens for a few seconds before she finally speaks again. “Rose never said anything about you coming over…” Colgate’s voice is noticeably less agitated now, though she is clearly hesitant. 

“Well,” you admit, rubbing the back of your head. “Truth be told, this really kinda sorta just… happened. I don’t think either of us thought this was in the cards today…”

Colgate takes a cautious step into the living room, although still distant from you. Her eyes remain locked onto yours. Her gaze is as icy as the dark blue in her eyes. “What exactly are you two up to?” she asks.

You can hear Bon-Bon’s voice in your head, urging you to stick to the plan – to keep it real. This was your first true roadblock, and it was time to hit it head on. 

“It’s gonna sound kind of crazy, but we’re,” you sigh, defeated. “On a date.” Those last words tasted toxic as they came out of your mouth. You feel an overwhelming urge to stand up and leave, but you know that you’ll follow through with the plan regardless. It’s not like you could come up with any better ideas. Besides, Rose was already committed to the date.

Colgate’s eyes widen to a point that is almost comedic. Her shock is palpable. “Are you telling me that…” Her voice fades as she look you in the eyes. “That you and her are… well…”

“Yeah. This is our first date.” You nod slowly and try to force a smile to your face and not a grimace.

Colgate stands frozen once more, her mouth slowly opening to an almost comedic degree. After what feels like several minutes, hours, or years (you really can’t be sure) she finally explodes.

“ROOOOOOOOOOOOSE!” her voice is like a gunshot, breaking the silence.

Before you have a chance to react, Roseluck bursts through her bedroom door in a panic, her mane disheveled and damp from a shower. “Sweet Celestia, what’s wrong?!” Her eyes quickly settle on her roommate – her mouth still open wide from her previous outburst. Hurriedly, Colgate shuts her mouth and turns her full attention to Roseluck.

“Colgate… I thought you weren’t home…” Roseluck pauses, trying to think of something else to add but is clearly at a loss for words. She looks to you for guidance, but you can do nothing but stare back at her. It quickly becomes clear to Rose that she missed something.

Seemingly oblivious to Roseluck’s discomfort, Colgate starts. “Imagine my surprise when I come downstairs only to find a complete stranger sitting in our living room.” 

Roseluck sighs. “I called your name when I came in. If I had known you were here, I wouldn’t have invited them in… I’m sorry if it made you uncomfor-”

“Don’t worry about that, we talked it out.” Colgate interrupted. She took a large step towards you and the cream-coloured mare. Roseluck tries to avoid Colgate’s gaze, but it appears to fail as if her glare is hypnotic. You never expected this sort of quiet intensity from somepony who lives with Rose. “What I really want to know is what the hay is going on?” 

Oh crap! 

Your brain is practically screaming at this. You never had a chance to tell Roseluck the plan! Yeah, she seemed fine with the fake-date, but you never had the chance to tell her about the need to keep it REAL. And since this was her best friend and roommate asking, what’s to stop her from telling the truth?! With one slip of the tongue, Roseluck could jeopardize the entire mission! If Colgate knows it’s a fraud, she could tell so-and-so who tells somepony else who incredulously tells the Mayor of Ponyville who makes a major announcement to the Princess who writes in the entire sky that you tried to manipulate Lyra into falling back in love with you!

Ok, perhaps it wouldn’t be that dramatic. But the point still stood that if Roseluck told the truth now, the entire plan would be at the mercy of the hot-tempered, yet icy-maned mare.

It’s impossible to relax while you wait for Rose’s response. You eye her for any sort of bluff while Colgate does the same. Slowly, your “date” starts to blush as she fiddles with her still-wet mane. 

“Well, I guess you caught us.” Her voice is soft, almost embarrassed. It’s an entirely different side from the Rose that you spoke to almost daily. “I really was going to tell you, but it happened really fast today.” Colgate’s face is still, anticipating the answer to her question.

Roseluck smiles, finally. “We’re going on a date tonight!”
> Tugging at Her Heartstrings 2 - Chapter 9
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tugging at Her Heartstrings 2 - Chapter 9
-neutralmilk


Wait, what? 

Did you just hear that correctly?  Were all of your fears and apprehensions just… poofed out of existence with a single sentence? Had Roseluck truly read your mind and perfectly calculated what needed to be said to keep the façade up in perpetuity?

“We’re going on a date tonight.”

Those were her exact words – the ones that flowed from her lips smooth and sweet as honey. Go ahead and check it again, I’ll wait right here. You satisfied? Well, you should be! She, entirely unaided, calmed the storm with no prompt, concern, or thought.

You cannot help but breathe a massive sigh, as if you had been running a marathon in molasses and not sitting in a comfortable (albeit tacky) seat for the past twenty minutes. Roseluck still wore her towel askew, but it was the bright blush on her face that matched the hue of her mane flawlessly that stood out. There was no attempt to hide it, she bore it almost proudly.

Meanwhile on Colgate’s face sat a bemused, if somewhat shocked look. It was as if her best friend had just said the most patently ridiculous thing she’d heard in her entire life. Her near sapphire eyes flicker back and forth between you and her roommate. It takes a full minute before she finally manages a brief, “Huh,” followed by a contemplating silence.

You sink into your seat, feeling deflated. Yeah, I guess that makes sense, you find yourself thinking. The lie only matters if someone is willing to believe it. Who cares if we have the same story if it’s so beyond the pale that…

“…congrats…” a voice squeaks suddenly.

The sound perks your and Rose’s ears – though hers in a more literal sense. Twice in the past two-odd minutes you found yourself startled into disbelief by what you had heard. 

Roseluck, who was undoubtedly more surprised than you, spoke. “I-I’m sorry, Colgate, I don’t think I heard y-”

“I said congratulations!” Colgate’s voice is startingly loud considering her cool yet fierce presence earlier, although she does not sound discontent. “Congratulations on your date!” On her light-blue face you can make out some pink forming on her cheeks. She bows her head in a humorous attempt to hide herself despite the stairs to her loft bedroom – a real escape – standing no more than five feet behind her.

Though shocked for a second, Roseluck’s face grows a wide smile, and she rushes her roommate, throwing her front legs around her neck in an embrace. “Aww, Minty! Seriously, thank you! I’m so happy you understand!”

“Don’t call me that!” the suddenly even more embarrassed mare whines. Colgate tries to escape the hug by flailing but fails. You watch her body go limp in a last-ditch effort to break free, to which Roseluck responds by letting her fall into a pile on the floor.

The cream-coloured mare laughs loudly. “Alright, I’m sorry I embarrassed you in front of my hot date.” She playfully throws you a wink and turns towards her bedroom door. “I’m just gonna finish freshening up and we’ll let you be, I promise! But, when I’m back tonight we’ll talk, just us mares.” At that your co-conspirator kneels and offers Colgate another quick hug before darting to the bedroom.

In an instant, it was you and Colgate once more – though the air was noticeably different. Gone was the abject discomfort – the fear of being caught in a lie, or considered some strange villain, or whatever Colgate thought you may be upon her entry into the living room. Suddenly, your presence was vindicated, and the mare that still lay on the floor before you (hiding her still noticeably red face) was the one in an awkward position.

Part of you wanted to avoid any more interaction, wait for Roseluck and go on your way. But something about her earnestness wore away at you. Slowly you stand from your seat and take the few steps towards her side. “Hey,” you start, rubbing the back of your head with a hand. “You doing alright?”

“Mm mmph mm mmmm mmm mmph…” Was about all you could make out with her voice muffled by the floor and her forelegs.

Sighing, you kneel by her side. “What did you say?”

Her voice is quiet. “Yes. I like laying on my living room floor.”

Her response sends you falling onto your butt, and you cannot help but laugh from the seriousness of her tone. Colgate was nothing to be afraid of – especially now that she had been so utterly embarrassed by her friend. You reach out a hand to her, a mischievous smile on your face.

“Can I help you up… Minty?”

She groans at the nickname and burrows her head deeper under her forelegs. “I HATE THAT NAME!” You start to enjoy this newfound power you have over the defeated mare; the very one that just a few minutes prior had struck you with complete and utter terror. Suddenly a light-blue hoof juts out at you, seemingly accepting your offer for aid. You humbly take it and pull her up from the floor. 

Once on four legs she continues her tormented repudiation of her nickname. “You could be Princess Luna for all I care – I HATE ‘Minty’! I mean, what’s so minty about the colour blue?!” Colgate starts to pace around the room, seemingly ignoring your presence. “I-I mean what about all the green ponies out there for Celestia’s sake? Like Bittersweet, or – or Clover, or all those greenish ponies like Lyr…”

She pauses – though not fast enough to stop you from finishing the name yourself. “Lyra…” 

Despite your best efforts to hide it, you’re wearing a pained look upon your face. Colgate lets out a sigh and chooses the nearest chair. “Hey, sorry to bring her up. I guess I should have been a bit more careful since, well…” It was clear she was searching for the words, but without the background story of you and Lyra, there wouldn’t been anymore to follow.

You force a smile and return to your previous seat, nearly across from the cornflower mare. “Hey, it’s ok. I mean, like, it isn’t, I guess? But you didn’t mean anything by it. Besides, I’m here with Rose, remember?”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Her voice is somber, and she is staring at the floor. “Hey, listen… Can you please do me a favor?” Suddenly, with a flip of her mane her head is up, and her eyes are locked directly onto yours. The cool beauty of them had you absolutely transfixed – you dare not even attempt to look away.

“Uh, yeah,” you manage. You’re taken aback by the sincere nature of her voice. “What d’ya need?”

It takes her a minute to think of the words; her gaze slips from yours and she turns her attention to Rose’s closed bedroom door. From beyond some slight sounds of rustling could be heard as well as an occasional sound of approval. Rose appeared to be finishing up. Finally, her eyes return to their original position and you’re locked all over again.

“I-I know you don’t owe me anything, I mean you don’t even really know me! And I was…” her voice trails off as she finds the right words. “I was pretty defensive when we first met…” You nod your head in agreement instinctively, but immediately hope she hasn’t noticed. It doesn’t seem to give the unicorn any pause. “Just… can you please take care of Rose tonight?”

A pain stabs at your heart as a wave of guilt passes over you. Here Colgate is standing before you, genuinely pleading for the benefit of her friend. But she didn’t know anything about the reality of your upcoming “date.” You wish more than anything that you could just unveil the plot here and now; calm the discomfort welling inside of the mare, but you cannot. For the sake of everything you had to continue as planned. Especially now that Roseluck went out on a limb and played up to Colgate. You must keep a straight face and keep. It. Real.

You realize that you hadn’t yet lessened the mare’s concerns, instead keeping her waiting on edge for your response. It takes some effort, but you hazard a small smile. “Listen, I know this whole thing is kind of… weird. And it may be hard to take my word for it, but I promise I’m not that much of an asshole.” You raise your hand solemnly. “I swear upon my hands that I will be respectful to Roseluck. If I don’t,” you wriggle your fingers wildly, trying to lighten the mood. “May I lose these dexterous puppies!” Colgate seems to sigh with relief.

On the plus side, you think, grasping for anything that can assuage your guilt-ridden conscience, this will all be over soon. And after tonight, I’m sure Rose will tell her everything. I mean, once we’re done with this what’s the point in keeping the lie up to everyone?

“Thanks.” She says, seemingly reassured. “I know it sounds kind of cheesy, but she’s been looking forward to something like for this for a while now. I-I don’t know what happened between you and Lyra and… well, I don’t really think I need to know.” Once again, her gaze meets yours. “But, whatever happened between you two, please don’t let it get in the way tonight. Rose talks about you so much and she – well I guess me too – she never thought this day would come. Rose really likes you. And I’m so happy you finally saw that. I’m sure she is too.”

Your smile falters, finally dropping from your face entirely . R-Rose really likes me? But… Our date is…

Fake…..
> Tugging at Her Heartstrings 2 - Chapter 10
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tugging at Her Heartstrings 2 – Chapter 10
-neutralmilk


As if on cue, Roseluck opens her bedroom door. Although she is dressed for your date (complete with her namesake placed delicately in her red-violet mane), the one thing she is wearing that you cannot take your eyes off of is her smile – earnest, excited, and absolutely real. “How do I look, hotshot?” She spins, showing off her outfit. She’s wearing a decorative saddle that matches the light-raspberry coloured streaks in her mane. “If you say anything less than a million bits, you’ll not only be buying everything tonight, but you’ll be walking home alone.” 

Normally you’d respond with a wisecrack – something probably about how a million bits converts to like five bucks where you’re from, or about how she’d better get ready to dine-and-dash because you weren’t going to pay no matter what. But, unsurprisingly… you weren’t quite in the joking mood.

“Yeah,” You manage to smile as you stand up, unconsciously stretching as you do. “You look good Rose.”

Roseluck’s smile twists and contorts into a look of concern. “Hey, are you alright?” she asks, her green eyes searching your own for any giveaway. “You’ve been acting a bit off since you came by the stall today.” 

Damn, she’s good! You cannot help but think to yourself. You try to wrack your brain for a response but fall about a mile short. There’s no way you can explain the misunderstanding now that it’s gone so far. Especially after Colgate told you about how Rose felt…

A blue aura suddenly envelops Roseluck’s bedroom door and slams it abruptly. You jump back to reality and find Colgate shifting her eyes back and forth between you and Roseluck. She points her head in your general direction. “I don’t know, Rose, they seem about as weird as you made them out to be,” she offers in a calm voice. She takes a moment to flip her mane from her eyes and takes a deep breath. “Honestly, I’m probably to blame a little bit. When I came downstairs, I was a little…”

“Bit of an ass?” Roseluck offered playfully, trying (and failing) to hide a smirk.

Colgate sticks out her tongue at her roommate and continues. “I kinda jumped all over them. But I guess I didn’t notice anything weird.” Colgate’s eyes grew dark as she narrowed her vision on Roseluck. A menacing look crossed her face. “That is until I, well… told them all about you, Rose.”

Roseluck’s eyes widened in alarm. “Wait, you what?!” She takes a panicked step towards the sapphire unicorn. “What did you say to them?! Aw, c’mon, don’t tell me you told them-”

The malice in Colgate’s face was gone, replaced by a smug smile. “I said eeeeeeeeverything.” Her voice was smooth and she drew out every last syllable as if it was syrupy sweet. She clearly enjoyed this newfound power.

A deep red blush formed on Roseluck’s face. “Augh!” She screamed at the top of her lungs and turned back towards her bedroom door. She desperately pulled at it, but Colgate’s aura was still clearly forcing it shut. You watch, a passive observer, as Roseluck smacks her head into the door, desperately trying to hide her embarrassment.

“Is that anyway to act in front of your date?” Colgate says almost cruelly.

Your friend freezes and sighs. “It’s time to go.” She states flatly. You both step through the front door which magically opens for you.

“Don’t let the door hit you on the way out!” Colgate calls out before laughing. The sound of her cackling can be heard up until the moment she shuts the front door, leaving Rose and you to begin your march towards the venue.






Holy crap! The volume in your head is almost painful. This is so awkward!

Despite walking nearly lockstep for about ten minutes, Roseluck and you hadn’t exchanged a single word since Colgate exiled you from the house. Even when Pinkie Pie raced past you in a cake cart singing wildly, the two of you could barely manage to share a quick, confused glance before returning to your separate worlds.

Each step you take towards your date feels like a step closer to your own oblivion. At least if you and Rose could make jokes (if history had shown, they would mostly be at your expense) it would be somewhat enjoyable. But now she won’t even meet your eye, nonetheless speak to you.

You quickly take note of the street name and realize that you’re more than halfway to your destination. And it is now that you finally, truly, start to panic. 

I can’t do this... The thought starts off as a simple statement of fact. I can’t do this... You feel your forehead getting uncomfortably warm and the slight tingling sensation of sweat forming crosses your brow. Still, you step onward. I. CANNOT. DO. THIS. Your thoughts are so loud you’re surprised Rose isn’t asking you to keep down. But then again, she hasn’t spoken to you since you left her apartment, why would she start now?

PANIC BUTTON! You feel yourself screaming and repress the urge to run away as the roof of the venue comes into sight at last. I GOTT GET OUT OF HERE! ABORT! CELESTIA, BUDDHA, MR. ROGERS SAVE ME! You suddenly stop in the street and take a deep breath. Slowly, you exhale. Your feet start working again, followed by your brain.

Ok, ok… I just need to think of a plan. What if… your mind trails off as your eyes work to take inventory of your surroundings and combine them into some semblance of an escape plan.

Buildings... A few shopping stalls... Surprisingly few ponies (all strangers)…. A pile of rocks….

Rocks! It’s as if you discovered a pile of gold and not gravel. That’s it! I pretend to trip on them and fall. Bam! If I twist my ankle there’s no way I can go on a date. You’re ready to sprint headlong onto this small mound of pebbles when it dawns on you that your hastily made plan was just that. Hastily made. You picture Roseluck standing over you, her emerald eyes looking piteously at your “injured” leg. 

“Want me to call a ‘whaaaa-mbulance?” you can just about hear her mocking contemptuously. In your vision, she shakes her head, disappointed, and walks away never to see you again. Then in the hospital, the ponies would probably actually injure you when they realized that human anatomy and pony anatomy don’t exactly match up…

Yeah, ok, maybe not the best plan. Sighing, you steer your body away from the rocks. Besides, the last time I went to see somepony about something like that…

Your mind brings up carefully vaulted memories of Twilight Sparkle haphazardly poking and prodding you with various scientific implements. You can remember the lightness in her voice as she laughs to herself after each and every mistake she makes. Session after horrible research session. How many times had you heard her say “Well, I didn’t expect that to be there!”? More than you care to admit, even to yourself…

You shudder at the thought and return to reality – though you regret that decision almost immediately. While lost in your recollections, the venue, once on the horizon, had grown twice its size. You were just a couple of blocks away, and nowhere near closer to an escape. Your mind is blank; there is nothing, no way you can get out of your date. And even worse, something’s up with Roseluck.

Roseluck? Her name crosses your mind. You scan your surroundings and notice the mare is still walking beside you – albeit a surprising distance to the side of you. You realize you hadn’t even considered her for the past few minutes. And now, you were going to have to spend your evening with a mare – a dear friend, granted – who would seemingly just as soon ignore your existence. Your mind races, playing out the inevitable scene that would take place in a few minutes: you two would walk in through the doors, grab a table, sit face-to-face, and once the situation called for any form of interaction, you two would stare blankly at your surroundings waiting for the concert to begin. Then, you’d wish for yourself to explode.

There’s no stopping it. Your stride continues towards an inevitable awkward apocalypse.

“Oh, my Luna!” You hear Roseluck shout louder than she probably intended. You turn immediately, surprised, and find her standing rigidly. A small cloud of dust billows around her hooves from her abrupt stop. She suddenly lifts her right foreleg and glances down at it quickly. “Is it Tuesday?! I-I can’t believe I forgot!”

“Uh, forgot what?” you manage. It takes no more than a quick glance to see that your date is in full-blown panic. Her eyes, normally open in a soft gaze, are wide to an almost comic degree. Her face, usually showing off a welcoming smile, is twisted into a bizarre attempt to both look concerned and conceal her anxiety at the same time, however all she succeeds at is looking constipated.

“Ooooooooooh!” Her voice starts loud and immediately quiets, but her speech picks up speed. She begins to pace back and forth as she wracks her brain. “You are going to kill me, you know? I totally forgot that on Tuesdays I help Daisy at her stall! We… uh, we… you know! Do… flower stuff? Yeah, it’s the day we trade flower… samples.” She looks at you, clearly desperate for you to buy her obvious lie.

You almost feel bad for wanting to laugh at the absurdity of the situation. Roseluck was trying to backout on your date – entirely unknowing that you were just hoping for a way to do the same. “Flower samples, huh?”

“Yeah, you know, today is flower sample day! Like, tiny flowers to give away for free.” She stops pacing and tries to read your poker face.

“Whoa, you think a frequent shopper like me would snag one or two of those, yeah?”

She opens her mouth to respond but freezes, clearly weighing her potential responses. A soft breeze wafts by, gently blowing a strand of Rose’s raspberry mane into her face. She quickly fumbles to right to right it and continues. “It’s for my diamond tier rewards program?” Her voice is pitiful as she throws whatever response out there that seems the least absurd.

“Wait, are you asking me what tier that would be? And what tier am I in then, huh?” You can no longer fight a smile from forming on your face. Despite the dread in your gut from the “plan”, you can’t help but enjoy the irony of your situation.

“Well, you’re in the, uh, gold tier!” She smiles smugly and takes a step away from you, clearly preparing to leave. “Guess you gotta keep stopping by! Now, if you’ll excuse me, it’s been fun, but Daisy will be so mad if-”

You sigh audibly. It was time to stop the charade. “You sure you’re not just… nervous?” 

Roseluck’s face immediately derps. “What, me?” Her voice is incredibly loud again. “That’s hilarious!” She belts out an overly enthusiastic laugh and practically sends herself into a coughing fit. “No, I’m not ‘nervous’,” she emphasizes the seeming ridiculousness of your question with air-hooves. “It’s just, my plans! I’m so busy!  You must think I’m, a real idiot for messing the time up like that!”

“Time, huh?” You point to her foreleg. “Nice watch.”

She freezes and looks down at her bare leg. Slowly, she looks up and meets your face, her eyes full of panic. “Uh, internal body clock?” The two of you look at each other for a minute while she slowly, surely, breaks. Roseluck sighs finally and drops her head. “You’re not buying it, are you.” Her voice is suddenly weak, defeated. “I guess I kind of suck at this lying thing, don’t I?”

A pang of guilt hits you when you realize that you had no intention of coming clean about your own lie You vow to make it up to her somehow…

“If it helps,” your voice trails off momentarily. You find yourself rubbing the back of your head timidly. “I’m nervous about tonight too.” I have no idea what my life will be like after this whole thing, you add on silently.

She looks into your eyes; her emerald gaze is captivating and her eyes almost glow in the dimming sunlight. An all too familiar warmth fills your heart. Her mane ripples gently in a breeze that casually drifts by. “I’m sorry I lied to you.” 

Any words you could offer to her wouldn’t be fair or do justice so you instead opt to listen. The streets of Ponyville are empty it seems, save for you two. You’ve never been so aware of Roseluck as you are now: her confident stance despite her current anxieties, the way the light-raspberry streaks in her mane sit above her eyes, even the timbre of her voice all seem new to you.

“Y-you know how much…” The flowerpony seems to be struggling with her words. “How much I want this.” 

You nod. I’m sorry I lied to you about the date, Rose. I swear I’ll make this right.

“You…” her voice trails off. Roseluck looks away, blinking back tears. You can see her body shuddering in resistance. “You know that I like you a lot.”

You nod again. “I do.” You expect to be battered by a wave of guilt, but instead you feel a warmth and comfort that you hadn’t expected from her confession. Despite the seemingly endless stretch of road around you two, her presence seems to provide a sense of company and ease. As if her presence was enough for you.

“Listen,” The cream-coloured mare sniffles audibly and takes an opportunity to wipe a tea from her cheek. “I guess I was just surprised that this,” she waves her foreleg back and forth between you and herself. “That this is really happening. It, well, feels kind of… surreal?

A laugh escapes your lips automatically. “Yeah, I guess I can see what you mean.” You smile at the mare, one of your only friends in Equestria. Soempony you’ve trusted with everything, including (apparently, even if unwittingly) the fate of your relationship with Lyra. You begin to feel terrible for putting her in a position where you’re manipulating her feelings for you, but the thought fades, replaced instead by echoes of her confession “You know I like you a lot…” her voice carries on almost musically.

“What do you say we just, you know, have some fun tonight?” You reach out and put your hand on the mare’s shoulder. “Eat some food, watch a concert. You know, just enjoy ourselves? And if it any point you feel unc0omforatble, you can ditch me. I promise I won’t judge.”

Roseluck scans your face and drops her head. “And let you skip out on paying for my dinner, dessert, and additional later double-dessert post-concert?!” She looks up at you mischievously. “Fat chance!” She laughs loudly and joins your side. You feel the warmth of her body as she presses herself against you. You both exchange a look and you quickly turn your head to hide a blush. “Now let’s get inside already! I’m starving!”

As you finish your walk to the venue you pause just outside the door and, in a dramatic showing, you pull out your wallet, peering inside. “Well, based on my meager funds, your meal will need to be limited to some stale bread crusts and somepony’s leftover lettuce. And, of course, all the complimentary water you can drink.” You lean down to the mare and cup your hand around her ear, whispering: “Just make sure you take as many napkins you can. I ran out back at my place!”

At that, the flowerpony laughs heartily and elbows you. “Sooooooo dreamy!” She coos sarcastically as she grabs the door and opens it. As you move to step inside, Roseluck shifts her weight to block your path once more. She beams at you warmly. “Thanks for earlier.”

“It’s my pleasure.” You bow dramatically. “Shall we?”

Your date stifles a giggle and wraps her forelegs around you. Your heart swells – a feeling you hadn’t expected to have with Roseluck, and you find yourself fighting the urge to embrace the mare.

“I’m so I could be here with you.” The affection in her voice is undeniable and continues to carry you higher. Her confession plays back in your head again and again. 

You expect to be wracked with guilt about the fake date but aren’t. You immediately try to feel guilty about the feelings you have for Rose while trying to win back Lyra but fail. Instead, you cannot get this image of Roseluck smiling and looking lovingly into your eyes out of your mind.

You both step into the venue, side-by-side.
> Tugging at Her Heartstrings 2 - Chapter 11
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tugging at Her Heartstrings 2 – Chapter 11
-neutralmilk


The interior of the Sugar Shack was surprisingly tame – especially considering this was supposed to house one of Equestria’s biggest (only) Angus Beef Band. The pit was empty, save for a few members of sound crew setting up last minute rigging and the band was nowhere to be seen. The back half of the venue still remained decked out as a fairly classy restaurant – mood lighting, embroidered napkins, the works. Despite the odd dichotomy, the overall setting was pleasant. Fantastic for a first date.

The cream-coloured mare looks around excitedly and upon zeroing on her perfect seat, practically drags you over. Before long the booth of you were seated and admiring the venue up close. “I really can’t believe this place is so empty!” Her voice was incredulous as she scanned the meager crowd for ponies she recognized. You joined in mindlessly scanning the rather meager turnout for familiar faces when you spotted somepony you hadn’t expected. A chill cuts across your spine.

“Wait, is that…” Rose’s voice fades momentarily. IT seems your date had noticed her too, her eyes locked on target.

“Bon-Bon?” You both say in unison – though a tinge of anxiety edges into your voice alone. True enough, your roommate is sitting alone at a table in the far back, wearing a pair of comically oversized sunglasses. If she was attempting to disguise herself, she had failed miserably. She is dimly lit by a tea candle flickering with its last breath – adding to a ridiculous sense of mystery around the mare. Although she is pretending not to notice you or Roseluck, you can’t help but notice the quick sideways glances she continuously tosses your table from the side of her lenses.

“I, uh, guess she’s a fan?” You genuinely offer Roseluck. You have no idea what she could be doing here, so it wasn’t exactly a lie, you tell yourself. Isn’t she supposed to tell Lyra that the concert is going on? You think to yourself. Why is she here?! Images of worst-case scenarios start to leak into your already overworked brain, but you push them out.

“Hm... Guess so.” She chirps, satisfied, turning her attention back to the table. She flips over her menu and begins to study it, gently humming a tune as she does so. You try to place it, but figure it’s one of the Evesteer songs that Roseluck was trying so desperately to hype you up about earlier.

Stealthily, you begin looking over at the candy pony, hoping to understand her presence. It takes a moment, but once the candy-coated mare discerns that the coast is now clear she nods her head knowingly at you. After a dramatic glance behind her back (what the hell is she looking out for?! You think) she starts motioning her forelegs at you wildly. 

The look of confusion on your face says it all: “I have no idea what you are doing.”

Though you can’t hear it, you can clearly see the beige mare sigh dramatically. She repeats her bizarre attempt at communication, only slower – a sort of drunken form of jazz-hands. Somehow this only manages to leave you more confused. You attempt to maneuver yourself so that you can comfortably look at Bon-Bon, just secretly enough not to draw Rose’s attention. When you finally feel secure, you shrug at your coconspirator. What? You mouth at her.

She smacks a hoof to her head, frustrated, and succeeds in knocking her sunglasses off her face. Bon-Bon fumbles desperately for a moment and hurriedly places them on her face, albeit crooked. It takes some serious effort not to laugh, but you manage to win the battle. You watch her reach into her saddlebags, desperately searching for something.

What in the world…? You find yourself thinking. You can’t help but grin as your frequent tormentor struggles with her bag. Her face grows increasingly twisted with frustration at each passing second until she finally flips the bag upside down and dumps its contents on the table in front of her, random bits-and-bobs tumbling onto the floor. Out of the random pile, she pulls a single pen, holding aloft as if a diamond stuck among filth.

“Been looking at this menu. Pretty crazy stuff.” Roseluck interrupts. You hurriedly pivot and adjust your body to a more natural sitting position. No way you were going to alert your “date” to your (poorly hidden) attempts to communicate with the mysterious Bon-Bon. “What are you thinking about getting?”  

“Oh, uh, a hamburger probably.” You say absently, grabbing at your menu for the first time. Your eyes scan the selections of salads, sandwiches and other pony-fare. Suddenly, you realize your slip. Your eyes slowly drift up from the menu and land upon your date’s disgusted face. “Uhhh, I was joking?” You offer, smiling awkwardly.

“EverSTEER.” Her tone is unamused. “Equestria’s only 100% angus beef rock band.” She points a hoof at the stage where a group of cows and steer are awkwardly working at setting up the stage – a task dramatically complicated by the lack of apposable thumbs or magic. A young steer from the soundcrew shakes his head at you disapprovingly.

“Not cool man, not cool.” His voice cracks, and so does your heart.

You wave apologetically and bury your head into the menu further, but not before making sure Roseluck’s attention is off you and back on the menu. 

You slowly peer away from your table and see Bon-Bon holding up a napkin. Written in big bold letters you can make out: “Meet me in the B-” The rest of the napkin appears too faded to read as if her pen had died halfway through. 

Shit. 

You shrug considerably, causing the candy pony to look at you dumbfounded. Desperate to relay your message, you mimic her pose and point wildly at your hand where the napkin should be. A lightbulb seems to go off for the mare as she takes a look and groans audibly – probably louder than intended as you see her cover her face, embarrassed. 

“What was that?!” Rose drops her menu and begins to search for the source of the sound.

“Vocal exercises maybe?” You offer immediately. You can’t have Roseluck noticing Bon-Bon’s efforts to communicate.

The mare sitting before you laughs. “That’s some voice then, huh?” She smiles at you warmly and you feel you’re a thumping in your chest. Not nervousness, something far more concerning considering your situation: contentment. Your eyes are drawn into hers. They seem to bare her pure intentions to you. She was there for and only you. The roof of your mouth is noticeably drier than before…

“Um, excuse me.” A soft voice cracks. You and Rose immediately turn, breaking the spell, only to find Bon-Bon standing before you both. On her face she wears a deep blush of embarrassment. And her still crooked sunglasses.

A scream rushes to tear itself from your lungs, but you swallow it down alongside bile. “Oh, why hello-” your voice breaks for a moment, as you realize you’re shouting. “Hello Bon-Bon!” You try your best to cover up your dread with a plasticine smile.

“May I, uh…” Her voice trails. Shye looks sheepishly towards the floor. “…borrow a pen?” 

Rose looks taken aback by the odd request. “Um, yeah. Sure.” She darts a hoof into her saddlebags and fumbles around aimlessly, the air growing increasingly toxic. You fight the urge to make eye-contact with Bon-Bon and wonder why this desire for apparent self-destruction has come over you. Finally, after what feels like ten hours Roseluck successfully pulls out a single pen. In your mind it looks like salvation. “Found it!”

She sticks the pen towards your unwanted guest. “Here you…”

The candy pony snatches it expertly and gallops back to her table before anything else can be said. Once back she slams her head onto the tabletop with an audible THUNK.

“…go?” Roseluck sounds confused and turns a worried gaze to you, as If asking you for some sort of explanation. Your plastic grin from earlier is waning, but with serious effort you force it to remain as you shrug nonchalantly. 

“Guess she’s having a hard day.” 

Leaning in, Roseluck whispers, “Don’t you think we should talk to her? She seems really-”

“Nah, she’ll be fine! She’s always like this on…” Your voice trails as you realize your brain is entirely empty. No clever excuse is coming to mind and every attempt to come up with some sort of lie makes your heart begin to hurt. Your date is staring back at you concernedly, her emerald eyes captivating you even as your body twitches in panic. You feel both drawn in and repelled by her compassion.

From the corner of your eye, you spot Bon-Bon waving her hoof furiously in the air. A quick glance reveals she has finally finished her note:

Meet me in the Batrooon!!!!! Though misspelled, the word is clear; bolded, underlined, and (perhaps due to the pen change) mostly in a different color.

“You alright? You’ve been acting a bit off today.” Rose’s voice is silken. “Though I guess I was acting a bit weird earlier too…” She looks away. You can feel her adoration swelling behind each word. It’s almost unbearable. “If you feel like you need to talk to me about anything, I’m here for you. I’m a pretty good listener when I want to be. And you just so happened to catch me in a listening mood!” She smiles playfully at you. “Normally I charge extra for that.” She winks.

“I…” your stomach begins to hurt. “I…”

Her gaze is soft, yet penetrating.

“Whoa, nelly!” You shove your seat back from the table, the chair screeching against the floor. “I gotta GO!” The flowerpony gives you a puzzled look, no doubt from your sudden outburst. “I’ll be back in a minute!” With that you practically leap from your seat and sprint to the bathrooms. Though you don’t turn around, you feel Roseluck’s eyes follow your every step. 

Once you’re out of eyesight you collapse against the wall, gasping for air to calm your racing heart. “I can’t… keep… this up…” you say to yourself between breaths. The lying, and deceit of the plan was getting to you. And to make matters worse, it had all but exploded into sheer chaos with Roseluck’s confession. This was nothing like how you had imagined this going earlier in the afternoon…

“What the hay is happening out there?!” The unmistakable sound of hooves stomping towards you rings violently in the small bathroom hallway. “I left a note for Lyra and figured: ‘Oh! I should see how everything is going with your end of the plan!’ And what do I see on my way to the Sugar Shack?!” The familiar voice of Bon-Bon is pricked with rage. “The two of you looking like a pair of perfect strangers! I just knew you’d find a way to screw it…” Her tirade stops. You look up and see Bon-Bon staring at you, her sunglasses finally removed from her face. Her voice is suddenly softer. “You look like you got ran over by Mr. Waddles’ cart.” She eyes you over again. “And then got Sonic Rainboomed.”

“Yeah?” You slowly rise to your feet, forcing Bon-Bon to look up at you with her icy gaze. “Well, I’m happy you’re here, because your plan? It’s gone to shit!” The panic in your voice is palpable; you throw your arms defeatedly in the air and take to pacing around. Anything to help bring your racing mind under control.

The beige mare stares at you, a deep frown forming on her face. “What do you mean?”

“Roseluck…” you take a deep breath and release it slowly, feeling your buddy shuddering from the stress. “She thinks the date is real.”

You can make out Bon Bon’s brain trying to process this surprise. Suddenly it must have clicked because her eyes widen in absolute shock. “W-what?!” is all she can manage.

A sigh escapes your lips, and you return to sitting against the wall. “Rose thinks this is a real date. Has this entire time.”

“WHAT?!” She repeats, significantly louder. “But you said she understood!” Suddenly she takes to pacing in your place. “You said that she was fine with the plan! That she understood it immediately! I just don’t…” her voice trails off. You can tell she’s wracking her brain for anything more. She freezes and thrusts her head towards yours so her eyes are mere inches away from your own. “HOW?!”

“I guess I wasn’t as clear as I thought I was. I mean, she seemed to totally get it! I guess… I didn’t really say it was fake exactly when I tried to bring it up to her…” 

“Are you kidding me?! Lyra’s going to be here soon! If Roseluck thinks this is real then things…” You watch Bon-Bon’s face scrunch up in dread. 

“Ok!” She bursts forth suddenly. “We need to escape! What if we… uh, say that you need to go home because I…” she pauses, bringing a hoof to her face deep in thought. “Well, I guess I can’t pretend to be dying if I’m here, huh? You think Rose recognized me in the sunglasses?”

“Bon-Bon,” you say softly.

“Maybe if I break my leg…” she continues, oblivious. She wobbles her foreleg lamely, mimicking some sort of damage. “Nah, I’m too built for that to work…”

“Bon-Bon, I appreciate it, but-”

“No! I break YOUR leg! Right here! Say you fell in the bathroom and you need-”

“Bon-Bon!” you practically shout at the mare next to you. She pauses, mouth still half open from her ramblings. “I-I think everything’s worse than you might think....”

“How. Can this. Be any worse.” Her voice is matter-of-fact; she’s not asking, she’s saying that this was the worst possible outcome. “Your fake date is apparently real to Roseluck. Your real marefriend is coming soon to see a show and is going to find you on a date. A REAL date. And me? I’m stuck here watching it all when both mares absolutely murder you. And if you survive? Guess who’s going to be responsible for at least some of this?! I’m not getting out of this unscathed either!”  

She wasn’t wrong in the slightest. Every wors of what she said was true. But little did she know how far from the whole truth she truly was. Yes, the date was real to Roseluck, but that was only half the problem. The other half lay squarely on you and how you were feeling about the date.

You can’t bring yourself to make eye-contact with your roommate. Your coconspirator. Your support system. Truly, the only friend you have who you hadn’t screwed everything up with. “I, well…”

“Yes?” Her voice is cold.

“I think… I might…”

“Spit it out!” She smacks a hoof against the wall, angrily. “We have to get this thing sorted out before Lyra sees us! Unless you wanna tell Rose you’re sorry for taking so long but had to swim in the toilet!” She leans forward towards you again. “Believe me, that one would get you out of this stupid situation.”

You grit your teeth and force the words out, bittersweet though they are. 

“I think… I maybe kinda like… Roseluck?”