Well, I figured that, by numerous requests, I'd make a continuation of this story! Hope you all like the first chapter! Credit for pony sprites on cover art goes to "generalzoi", and credit for background on cover art goes to "charli3brav0".

Lyra Heartstrings was awake. It was dark. She had been absently staring at the ceiling for hours, laying in her bed. For months now, she had been thinking of nothing other than her human companion.

He raised her...

He was her friend...

They did everything together...

Their friendship eventually evolved into something bigger...

...up until she had to return to her homeworld.

Lyra was given false memories to compensate for the missing time, so that she would be familiar with how the Kingdom of Equestria, where she came from, worked... but they had not erased her real memories. Her true memories were dormant for days upon returning home, but after examining some human artifacts that had been given to her, as well as identifying the picture of her human lover... Lyra came to realize that it was all real.

In truth, ever since this discovery, Lyra had wanted nothing more than to have him back. She had her friends in Ponyville, sure, especially Bon Bon and Noteworthy, who had been her friends since they all hung out with each other at the orphanage when they were younger. But still, not even her friends could replace... him.

He had shown her true kindness and compassion, as well as friendship and love... and this was something that most ponies thought was impossible for humans to fully comprehend. Equestrian legends depicted humans as savage creatures who would do anything to have what they wanted. They had been the only beings capable of using magic before they went extinct, and ponies inhabited Equestria.

He was truly the kindest human Lyra had ever met... perhaps even the kindest living being. And this was surprising even more so, since he had been bullied and abused nearly all his life. He also cared about her greatly, and did anything he could for her.

The Unicorn mare rolled onto her side, staring out at the starry, Equestrian sky. She knew he was out there... somewhere. In another world. In another universe.

"One day..." Lyra spoke aloud. "...I'll fulfill my promise to come back. I will find a way to do it."

(XXXX)

Kyle was working on yet another painting. However, he was not currently working on anything for monetary gain. It was something personal that he wanted to keep for himself.

He was painting a portrait of Lyra Heartstrings. She was his favorite pony from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic... and she also happened to be his greatest friend ever. His lover, even.

The fact that true friendship and love can be shared by two of different species... was something that neither he, nor his lover, could ever doubt.

Regardless, he poured every ounce of effort... more than he had ever given... into this piece. It was his secret masterpiece. His most favored out of the hundreds of other paintings he had ever made in his life.

Kyle Schaeffer was the human friend and lover of Lyra Heartstrings.

He always stopped at stared at his work. Even though anyone would say it looked finished... but by the touch-ups he was making, he might never consider it to be finished. Not unless it was perfect. He was hard-pressed to catch the mare's beauty. Sure, she was simplistic in the show's art style... but her true, internal beauty was far greater.

At that moment, the door opened. Kyle quickly placed another canvas in front of the one with Lyra. He looked back to see that it was his mother.

"Hey, Kyle." she said. "What are you doing?"

Kyle briefly glanced at the canvas. "...I was just about to paint something. A commission piece."

"Oh, okay." his mother said. "Listen... I've been thinking, Kyle... I really think I'm ready to move out."

"Oh, that's good!" Kyle said. "I'll be sure to visit you when I can!"

His mother sighed. "It's not like that, Kyle... see..." she trailed off.

"What is it?" Kyle asked.

"...I want to move out to a different part of the country." she said.

Kyle nearly let go of his paintbrush. "Wait... what?"

"It's true." his mother said. "I want to start over... have a clean slate... live a better life."

"But..." Kyle stammered. "...but you've only been around for about a month! Why would you leave so soon?"

"I know it's hard, Kyle, but I just can't bring myself to keep living in the same region where all our problems started. Plus, I don't want to be living off your livelihood..." she said.

"What do you mean? You've got a job! You help out around the house! If anything, you're more than welcome to stay for as long as you'd like!" Kyle said.

"Thank you, Kyle." his mother said. "But I need to do this. I won't be heading out for a couple of months, though, since I would need to find housing available, as well as lease a moving van, and book a flight."

Kyle sighed. "Well... if that's what you really want..."

His mother smiled. "Kyle... don't take this like I don't love you, because I love you more than anything... I just can't cope with staying here... just knowing what... they did to you..."

"Mom..." Kyle began. "...it's okay, I—"

"No, it's not okay." his mother cut him off. "I left you behind... I did that..."

"...And that's because the court wouldn't—" Kyle said, just before getting cut off again.

"It's nothing to do with the legal stuff!" she said, lowering her head. "...I did not do the right thing. I should've risked prison time just to have you with me..."

"Mom..." Kyle began. "...you are not a bad mother! You did everything you could! I am grateful that you tried! And you know... everyday since you were gone, I always thought about you... but never in a negative light..."

This seemed to help her lighten up a bit, since she did not look so guilty anymore.

"Thanks, Kyle..." his mother said. "...I think we should talk about this later, okay?"

Kyle nodded. "Okay."

With that, she closed the door and left.

Kyle's mother, Jan Rhodes-Schaeffer, was his only living biological parent, with Kyle having lost his biological father, William Schaeffer, to a plane crash whilst returning from a business trip. With no other ideas for how to cope, Jan decided to start dating, and became engaged with Edward Richardson, who at first seemed like a fun-loving, spontaneous man... but they found out that he was ruthless and aggressive, beating both her and Kyle.

The worst part... child custody papers had been filed prior to marriage, and because Ed had been using Jan's income to pay a corrupt attorney, she could not assume full custody. In her despair, she was forced to leave her only son behind so as to get away from her relentless lifestyle. This resulted in Kyle suffering the same despair later on... but with effectively no way out. Kyle could not leave because he had nowhere to go, and even when he was able to get a job, it was a minimum-wage position, so he could not afford an apartment, and had to try to cope with it all.

Until one fateful day... he found and took in Lyra Heartstrings, who was mysteriously teleported to the human world, and she turned his life around for the better...

...But that is a story for another time.

Shortly after Lyra's departure to Equestria, Kyle and Jan were reunited while out for a walk, of all things. Kyle could not help but play that scene on repeat in his head each day...

(Flashback)

"Mom...!" Kyle said.

The two stared at each other in immense surprise... and then they both moved towards each other, hugging when they were close enough.

"Kyle... oh my God..." Jan said. "...oh, you have no idea how happy I am to see you!"

After a moment, they separated, and Jan examined Kyle from top to bottom.

"Oh my... you've really grown..." she said, tearing appearing in her eyes.

"I know..." Kyle said. "...it's been almost ten years..."

She glanced at the watch he was wearing.

"If I didn't see that watch... I don't think I would've recognized you." Jan said.

Kyle looked at the watch. "I always held onto it... because you gave it to me."

Jan pressed her lips in an effort to hold back her crying. Kyle himself was on the verge of letting out tears.

"All these years... I never saw any sign of you..." he began. "...but I knew you'd come back."

"How?" Jan asked.

Kyle swallowed as he tried to fight his sobs. "...Because my mom promised me."

This really brought Jan over the edge. Tears began to fall from her eyes. Kyle began to undo the latch on his watch, and took it off. He held it towards his mother.

"Here..." Kyle said. "...this is my way of apologizing."

Jan looked at the watch. "...For what?"

"...For not putting in the effort to actually find you." Kyle said. "You gave this watch to me, twelve years ago... and I want you to have it back, as a gift to compensate for not being a better son..."

He put the watch in Jan's hand. She looked at it for a moment... but then set it on the bridge rail, just before she returned her attention to her son.

"...The greatest gift I could ever ask for..." Jan said. "...is to finally see my son again. And just the fact that you held on to that watch for twelve years... it goes to show you are not a bad son."

Kyle smiled at his mother as a tear streamed down his face, which Jan wiped with her thumb. The two pulled each other into a hug once again... and neither one of them could hold back any longer.

"...I-I missed you, M-Mom..." Kyle said, crying.

"...A-and, I m-missed you too... K-K-Kyle..." Jan stammered.

The two stayed locked in the hug for a long while, crying their eyes out at their long-earned reunion...

(End Flashback)

Kyle sighed. "Things sure have come a long way, from how this whole dilemma started..."

He happened to notice that the blank canvas was still over his Lyra portrait. So, he removed it... only to find that the portrait was now slightly smudged. Kyle's face fell.

"Oh well..." he said. "...I'll just start over. That, or I can try to paint over it when it dries."

Even just looking at the portrait made him yearn to be back with his beloved Unicorn wife. It had been years since he watched the show, and he was sure that just looking at her in the background would make him want to do nothing but smudge his computer screens with handprints as he would press his hands hoping to fall through the monitors into Equestria.

He would give anything and everything to be back with the love of his life... but he had to come to grips with reality.

"I'll never see her again..." Kyle said, tears filling his eyes.

Such a happy time in his life... the greatest seven years he could have ever asked for... and yet, nobody knows about it, because he never told anyone about Lyra.

But this got him thinking... what if his mother found out about Lyra? What would she think about his interests in ponies? Would she find him weird for it? Countless questions filled Kyle's mind, if, by some astronomical chance, Jan happened to stumble across some evidence of Lyra's existence, or even his closet brony fantasies in general.

How would she react to all of this...? Kyle wondered.

Like I said, glad to provide all of you with a sequel! Anyways, I plan to have this story really delve into Kyle's psychology about how he feels as a closet brony, and his fear of people discovering that he is one. If anything, I hope it is something of a relatable experience! XD So, enjoy the story! Keep holding on...