A Mysterious Present
"One. Two. Three. This is it."
The green pony hesitated in front of the heavy door. Looking both ways down the crystal hallway, she confirmed again that nopony was in sight.
Grumbling under her breath, she again checked the note held floating in her golden aura. The note that had inexplicably been left stuck to the front door of Princess Twilight's castle to greet her, instead of the pony herself...
Dear Lyra,
I'm so sorry I'm not there to greet you in person. Princess Celestia called me away to Canterlot unexpectedly. Nothing bad, it sounds like, but the letter was marked "urgent", and you know me: when the Princess calls, off I go!
The guest I wanted to introduce you to is in the library, and I've asked Spike to deliver your favorite for lunch to make up for me not being there in person. The Archduke really wanted to meet you, so please, just walk right in! Make yourself at home.
Your friend,
Twilight Sparkle
"'The Archduke' eh? ...this had better not be another of mom's crazy attempts at fixing me up with a noblestallion. Twilight should know how I feel about those..."
P. S. It's the third library East from the stairway exit, fourth floor.
Please don't freak out.I promise you'll like him.
-Spike
"But Spike does, too, so it can't be that. She'd really be lost without that little dragon," Lyra chuckled to herself as she reached for the doorknob and swung it open.
"Hi there, L—"
SLAM!
And promptly swung it shut as soon as she saw the occupant of the room.
"Nope!"
"Nope, you did not just see that, Lyra. You are not hallucinating. You are not seeing mythical creatures that don't exist again. It's just like Bon Bon always said, you just have a vivid, overactive imagination." Turning mechanically, she started stiffly walking back the way she had come.
"You don't need therapy again. No more visits to Doctor Clear Head. Nope, nope, nope, nope. That was not a hu—"
SLAM!
The door behind her bounced off the wall.
"Ms. Lyra, wait!" The voice that called from behind her was deep, rumbling like an avalanche from mountain heights, yet still oddly nasal, as if the pony calling out to her had far too small a snout for their size.
"Nope, nope, nope!" Lyra's ears folded back as her stride hesitated. Something dripped beside her forehooves.
"Please, wait! When Pinkie told me about a pony who already knew all about my kind, I knew it could only be one pony. I asked Twilight to help me meet you because I thought you'd be excited!"
Enough! Spinning on her hooves, Lyra snarled, "I am not excited. Either I am imagining you and am going crazy—again!—or everypony that doubted me was wrong, I wasn't crazy, and my best friend who convinced me I had a problem and needed help is going to get a whole heaping bucket of salt mysteriously mixed in to her next batch of candy when she's not looking and—" Lyra's tirade cut off as she was pulled into a sudden hug.
"You're not crazy, Lyra. You may have been a bit obsessed—and that's okay, as long as it doesn't take over your whole life—but never crazy."
Lyra pulled away and looked up at the being crouched before her. "You're... solid!"
"Well, that's not the first word that ponies usually use to describe me, but it's true." The impossible creature raised a hand—Omigoshomigosh! Fingers!—and gently scratched under her chin. Lyra's expression turned from distress to one of bliss. "See? Imaginary beings from the ancient past can't do that. Wait, what are you—"
Lyra blushed bright red as she forced her hind hoof to stop kicking the air. "I—I can't help it. Fingers just feel soooo amazing!"
"Never change, Lyra." The human smiled and scooped her up under one arm. "Now, how about you and I go find Spike? He should be back with lunch by now, and Twilight told me what your favorite was, so I know you'll be able to... rub it in when she gets here." The smile turned to a knowing smirk.
Lyra turned bright red again. "It's not like that. She's my best friend. She just makes really, really good fudge pies! And with Pinkie out to get one to reverse engineer the recipe, she insists on delivering in person!" Lyra perked up. "But I do get to rub it in, don't I?! Humans are real!"
"Eeyup."
"One question, though."
"Only one, Lyra?"
"Why do none of the legends about humans mention how warm you guys are?!"
"There it is."
"There what is?"
"That word. Warm."
"What? You are! It's like being carried by a hot water bottle after being outside in wintertime!"
"Have you ever pet a sphinx cat?"
"Why would I do that? Sphinxes eat ponies!"
"No, not a sphinx. A sphinx cat. They're housecats without fur. No fur makes them feel warmer than other cats."
"So it's the lack of fur. You radiate heat because it's not trapped?"
"That's my theory and I'm sticking to it."
"Still warm."
"This is impossible."
"She'll be like this for a few minutes." Lyra grinned from her position snuggled up against one side of the gargantuan human.
"Impossible."
"Big guy?"
"Chocolate..." The human didn't seem to notice either pony, trapped in some kind of spellbound daze.
The smug green pony reached across their mutual support and poked her best friend's shoulder with a hoof. "Hay, Bonnie? Snap out of it!"
"Impossi—buh, what?" A very flustered earth pony couldn't decide whether to settle her gaze on her friend, or on the sheer impossibility snuggled up between them.
"I owe Twilight one of your 'thank you' boxes for giving me the chance to see this, Bons."
The earth pony flushed and pouted slightly. "Noted. I'll make one when we get home."
"Thanks."
"And I assume you'd like your 'I told you so' special after dinner?"
The green pony turned bright red. "Bonnie!"
"You're cute when you blush, dear."
"Quit it! He's going to hear you!" Lyra pouted.
"Mm. Consider it revenge for not telling me how warm these human creatures are."