> A Man Amongst Mares > by luigilink32 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Prologue > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Come on Bonnie, it's time to wake up!" I groaned and rolled over. "Five more minutes Lyra...." "You PROMISED we would go see Twilight today, you KNOW how she is about keeping appointments," "Ugh, fine...just give me a moment...." Lyra grinned and rolled off my bed. I sat up and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. I trotted into the living room, freshened up and ready to go. Lyra grinned, sitting on the couch in her trademark position, and chided, "This brunch is gonna be GREAT!"  I just smiled and and we headed for the door. We headed to the marketplace to pick up a few food items before heading over to the library. Lyra ran around, picking up a fruit and squeezing it between her hooves a little, testing for firmness, testing the freshness of the vegetables and generally tried to find the best in the market. I let her do her thing and soon we were strolling back down the street towards Twilight's house. "Oh boy, I haven't had a picnic in awhile, this'll be SO much fun!" "Sure thing Lyra. Did Twilight say she was inviting anypony else over?" "No, thats why I only picked up three carrots. Though I'm sure we could've eaten four or five if we had to," We both giggled and stopped in front of the giant tree. Lyra knocked and we waited. And waited. And waited. "What is that mare doing? She knew we were coming didn't she?" I asked. "Pretty sure," Lyra replied. I pushed on the door and it opened. Lavender light poured out and revealed a frightening scene. Twilight was standing to our right, magic gushing from her horn into an spherical mass floating in the center of the room. She turned and we saw the frightened expression on her face. Something was seriously wrong. > Chapter 1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Stop! Get out of here!" Twilight screamed at us. Unaccustomed to being yelled at, albeit by Twilight, AND with a giant ball of magic in the room, we stood frozen in the door. The mass shimmered and convulsed. Twilight turned... ...and got a full blast of magical energy to her face. She was knocked down, stunned. We ran in to help her. "Twilight!" Lyra called. "What the buck is going on?!" Twilight groaned and got to her hooves. "Portal...magical field...too powerful...in over my head..." she collapsed again, and Lyra and I exchanged glances. We looked again to the magic orb which began to glow and writhe again. Suddenly it exploded, and me and Lyra were knocked back to the wall. I blacked out for a couple seconds, and when I came to, the orb was gone. In its place was a floating figure. Twilight groggily got to her feet. "Oh no...." "What?" I tried getting up. "This is bad, this is really bad!" she ran over to the figure which had collapsed on the floor. I helped Lyra up and we hurried over. "Wait...is that?" Lyra gaped. "I think it is!" Left in the dark, I dumbfoundedly followed. Twilight rolled the figure off of its stomach, revealing a strange face with a pushed in nose and no obvious fur. "Lyra...is that a...?" "It is!" she bounced up and down excitedly. "A human! A real human! I bucking love you Twilight!" Twilight stared down at the huddled figure, eyes full of an emotion I couldn't place. "Twilight? What's the matter?" I inquired curiously. "This isn't what was supposed to happen..." "Then what was?" "The spell was supposed to-" "Look! It's waking up!" Lyra interrupted. We all looked down upon the creature as it slowly opened its eyes. It slowly looked around at us, its mouth agape. "...am I dreaming again?" > Chapter 2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- After we had settled down and gotten the human sitting on the couch (with Lyra close beside), we had Twilight explain what had happened. "I was trying...to make a portal to their world," Twilight explained. "I guess I didn't...do it quite right...I think I may have reversed the portal? So instead of it going to there, it led to here. I guess it's just bad luck the human fell through," "Excuse me?" the human piped up. "I have a name. I don't like being referred to as "the human"," "Oh. Sorry. What is that name?" "Dean. Dean Smith," Meanwhile Lyra was muttering to herself and examining every inch of the huma- er, Dean's- anatomy. "So, are you male or female?" she inquired after the conversation had died down. "I'm sorry what?" "Are you a colt or a filly?" she giggled. "I'm...male, and in my world they call them guys or girls, or whatever," "Interesting...tell me more about your world," "That's quite enough Lyra," I said. "I'm sure Dean's very confused about what's going on and just needs a little while to rest," "Actually, I'm quite aware of what's going on," "You do?" Twilight inquired curiously. "Yeah, uh, you see...in my world, we sorta, uh...hehe...." he chuckled nervously. "Well, spit it out!" Lyra leaned in so as not to miss a single word. "We sort of...watch you guys," "I KNEW IT!" Lyra exclaimed, throwing her hooves into the air. "So, is it like a crystal ball, or staring into a mirror, or what?" "Actually...we have these uh...t.v.s. And, well, there's a screen on them, and we just watch your antics and stuff," "Cool!" "That's actually kinda creepy Lyra..." I said, but she was too excited to listen. I sighed and asked Twilight, "Is there any way you can figure out how to fix the spell and get him back before anypony finds out and causes a huge ruckus?" "Actually...I'm ok with being here for a little while..." Twilight glanced at him. "He is taking this surprisingly well. And you'd better be prepared to stay for awhile, because that spell can only be cast once a month," "WHAT?!" both Lyra and I screamed at the same time, me in frustration and Lyra out of joy. "Guess I'm stuck with you guys for a bit, huh?" > Chapter 3 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Oh Twilight please please PUH-LEASE let him stay with us?!" Lyra begged for the billionth time over brunch. "I told you, he has to go back as soon as I can perform the spell again," "But he has to have SOMEWHERE to stay until then, right?" She sighed and said, "okay...fine, but you CANNOT let him wander around Ponyville unsupervised, okay?" Lyra nodded in affirmation. "Yes ma'am!" "Excuse me?" Dean piped up. "Why would I need supervision? I think I can handle walking around by myself..." "It's not that, Dean...it's just...I think that..." "That somepony would freak out or something? It's ok, I understand." "So when are we taking him to our house?" Lyra chimed in excitedly. Twilight sighed. "I would like to look him over a little more, you know, write down the anatomy and stuff, but I guess that can wait til tomorrow." "YES!" Lyra pushed Dean off the couch and towards the door. "Whoa!" he stumbled and Lyra followed, beckoning me to leave also. I nodded at Twi and she began clearing the dishes. I followed Lyra and Dean back home, the former still chattering like an excited school-filly. Dean was polite enough to nod and smile at appropriate moments, but for all Lyra cared he could've been looking the other way. When we arrived home, Lyra sat him down on the couch and told him to "Wait right here!" He did as he was told, admiring the interior decoration. I realized that I hadn't cleaned up the house in awhile and it was quite messy. Lyra returned with the camera, waved me over, and she took a picture of all three of us. "Alright! So, where do you want to sleep Dean?" she asked while subtly motioning to her room. "I think I'll just sleep wherever you girls feel like putting me," he smiled. "How about my room?!" she asked, extremely eager. "Uh, actually, maybe somewhere else..." "Bonnie's room then?" she still had the look she got when she was extremely excited. I suddenly became extremely self-conscious, and blushed deeply. "u-u-uh...." "Actually I think I'll just sleep on the couch," I gave an internal sigh of relief and relaxed a little. This was just a temporary arrangement after all, Twilight would be sending him back to his world at the end of the month, right? Right? > Chapter 4, part 1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I awoke to the sounds and smells of breakfast. "Oh no. Oh no no no no no!" I thought to myself, fearing the worst, and jumped out of bed and ran towards the kitchen to find- Dean, cooking breakfast. I sighed in relief and and leaned against the wall. He gave me a quizzical look. "Is something wrong?" "No, I just thought that maybe Lyra...never mind," "That Lyra what?" "Maybe you can ask her to tell you later," He shrugged and went back to cooking. After a few minutes, Lyra came out, her bed-mane making her look almost comical. "Morning Dean!" "Good morning Lyra," he chuckled. "So what am I, chopped asparagus?" "Good morning too, Bonbon," she giggled. "Whatcha making there Dean?" "Oh, just some eggs and toast. Nothing much really," "You shoulda seen the last time I tried to make breakfast. Not a pretty sight," she laughed a little. Dean laughed and served each of us a plate. I noticed Lyra was watching his hands (I think she said thats what they're called) gripping the platters as he passed them out. "So, what's it like in your world, Dean?" Lyra inquired. "It's...pretty different. I mean, for one, there aren't cute ponies like you two everywhere," he chuckled. For some reason I could feel my cheeks heat up, but neither Lyra or Dean seemed to notice. "So, you've got a bunch of humans in your world?" she seemed excited about the idea. "Yeah, but, some of them are pretty nasty," "A nasty human? I can't think of a human that wouldn't be nice," "Well, some of them are...I guess it's kinda lucky I fell through the portal, and not some mean guy that wouldn't appreciate you like I would," "You appreciate us? Aww, thanks!" she seemed overly pleased by the meager statement. He chuckled and took a bite of toast. After we had finished eating, he cleared the dishes. "Thanks Dean, that was wonderful," Lyra said. "It's not a problem, I mean you guys are letting me stay here," She grinned and asked, "So you wanna go see the town?" "I'd love to," * * * After cleaning ourselves up, we exited out the front door. "So, where do you wanna go first?" Lyra said with a bright smile. "Actually, I was wondering if we could go to Fluttershy's?" Lyra giggled. "Why would you want to go there?" He shuffled his hooves- I mean, feet- nervously. "Well, um, on the uh...show I told you I watch, she's sorta...well, my favorite I guess..." Lyra grabbed his arm and pulled him in the direction to Fluttershy's cottage. "Why didn't you just say so then? C'mon!" As we approached the house we saw Fluttershy tending to her chickens and other various adorable animals. "Hey Fluttershy!" Lyra called to her. She dropped the bucket of feed she had in her mouth and squeaked. "eep! O-o-oh, it's just you Lyra. Hello. Hi Bonbon..." "Hi Fluttershy," I responded politely. "Um, did you get a new pet or something?" Fluttershy inspected Dean. "I don't think I've seen anything like this before, is it a breed of ape?" "Actually...I'm a human," Dean told her. Fluttershy almost fell over in surprise. "I-i-it TALKS?! Oh...oh my goodness...don't scare me like that!" "Sorry, I didn't mean to..." "U-u-um...it's fine..." "May we come inside? We're showing him around Ponyville," I explained. "O-o-of course. Um, please, follow me..." She led us inside and offered us something to eat. We politely declined, telling her we recently ate breakfast. "So, how are you Fluttershy?" Dean asked. "U-um, I'm fine..." "Great..." There was an awkward silence for about a minute. "So..." Lyra tried to break said silence. "U-um, I think I...hear a, um, my um...things that I'm cooking are done..." she left leaving us in an uneasy silence. We all glanced at each other. "So, want to just leave?" Lyra asked. "Yes," I said. "Where to next then?" Dean thought for a second, then said, "To...Sugarcube Corner I guess." * * * "HIYA!" We were greeted by Pinkie, who was currently running the bakery. "Who's this? He kinda looks familiar," "I'm Dean," he offered his hand politely, which she took in both hooves and shook vigorously. "I'm Pinkie Pie! It's SO nice to meet you! Are you a human? Lyra talks SO much about humans! Oh hi Lyra!" Pinkie chattered away incessantly while Dean and I browsed the baked biscuits and breads. "So, whatcha lookin' for?" Pinkie leaned over the counter to see what we were observing. "Actually...what are we here for Dean?" I asked him curiously. "Well, I just wanted to, check the place out I guess," "Oh! Well that's alright! Here, try a cupcake! I made them fresh!" She hoofed us each a cupcake. We thanked her and munched on the cupcakes. "So, where you going next? You're touring Ponyville right?" "Yeah, I was thinking about going to Dash's house after this," Dean told her. "How would you get up there, silly?" she giggled. "Besides, no one has seen Dash for awhile now," she turned and stared, fixated on a seemingly random point in space. "Nope, not for a little while," "Pinkie, what are you looking at?" Lyra asked, trying to figure out what she was looking at. "Oh, nothing," she grinned and turned back to us. We glanced at each other, then said goodbye to Pinkie and left. > Chapter 4, part 2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- As we left the bakery, Dean suggested we head to the boutique, to get some clothes. "Why do you need new clothes, silly," I teased him. "Well...humans don't really have too much fur, so we wear clothes to stay warm and cover up," "Yeah Bonbon, haven't I told you that?" "Must've forgot..." I muttered. We entered the boutique, and a small bell rang softly. "Just a minute!" Rarity chimed from behind a wall of fabric. "I'll be right with you," We waited by the counter and soon Rarity rounded the corner and greeted us with a smile. "Hello dears! How can I help you?" She glanced at Dean. "Oh, so you must be the human Twilight was talking about! It's a pleasure to meet you," "And you as well," "My my my, so polite," she giggled. "Is there anything I can help you with, darlings?" "Yeah, Dean needs some clothes? Do you think you can make some for him?" Lyra asked. "Hmm, I think I may be able to, I'll just have to take some measurements and..." she trailed off and started mumbling, picking up a measuring tape, lengths of fabric, and other such tailoring tools with her magic. She took some measurements and shooed us out, telling us to "be back in an hour or so, darlings," so we decided to visit Sweet Apple Acres in the meantime. "Howdy!" Applejack greeted us over the fence around the property. "Can Ah do somethin' for ya?" "Uh, sure, I think..." I said awkwardly. "Can you show me around the place?" Dean inquired, politely. "Course! Ya must be the human Twilight was talkin' about! Righ'?" "Yeah, that's me," "Come round through the fence and follow me, then!" Applejack paraded us around the farm, showing us every step of farming apples, from planting apple seeds to the way to pour a cider properly. After the exhausting tour, we piled out the door of the farmhouse. "Y'all come back now, ya hear?" Applejack waved as we departed. "Yeah...sure..." even Lyra was tuckered out, which is unusual. Dean was the only one who seemed unaffected by the long hard day. When we finally made it back to our house, we were to exhausted to even eat anything. We lazily made our way to bed, and bid each other goodnight. But before we settled down, I heard Dean stop by Lyra's room and say something. "Today was fun. We should...we should do something like that again," he then left and headed for the living room. The last thing I heard before I fell asleep was some quiet giggling from Lyra's room.