I figured that, if this is a story about an otherworldly being in the real world, people gotta start to catch on at some point, right? Might seem a bit small, but still, I think it should give context to the story. So, let's see how it all turns out...

Years ago, when his life took a turn for the worst, Kyle decided to start making an audio logbook as a means of helping him to cope, as well as looking back to see if things are getting better or worse. It really helped him to cope when he could get his thoughts out.

Of course, since he found Lyra and after spending a bit of time with her, he decided to make a positive entry for once. It would be nice to finally have an entry that was not very morose or disheartening. One night, after another typical bullcrap day at work, and after Lyra was asleep, he went into the basement den with his laptop, which he logged on to and made an entry into his audio logbook using Audacity and his laptop's built-in microphone. While the entries were infrequent, he still made up for it with elaboration.

"October 14th, 2016." Kyle opened the entry. "Throughout the time I've spent since my last entry, things have surprisingly taken a turn for the absolute better, I am glad to say. Sure, it was mundane and tedious as always over the course of most of it, but something that should very much be unreal has happened.

"I have mentioned in previous logs about my interest in MLP, and it turns out that my fantasy of meeting Lyra Heartstrings has become a reality. Roughly two months ago, I found her near my sanctuary from life, and I took her in to take care of her. Since then, she has helped to open me up immensely to positive emotions! I cannot remember a time in which I have felt any happier, at least before my mother left.

"I do not know how she came to be in this world, let alone that she is quite a lot younger, a filly, but she mentioned something about an experiment that went wrong, which I assume sent her here to this world. But I have been helping her to make the best of it, and even though I can do very little, what with work and school, and being limited to where I can take her, she has still been fairly happy lately; I would know if she were unhappy, because she always tells me when she's getting bored, which is rare given that I have been figuring out things that we can do, such as walking through deserted paths in the forest, playing games, surfing the web, watching movies, playing video games, and other things. Especially after learning how to use magic."

Danny happened to have come downstairs to grab a soda from the fridge in the basement, but he heard Kyle speaking, and decided to listen without revealing himself.

"No doubt, Lyra Heartstrings is the real deal. She has really helped to make me feel a lot happier. Just knowing that she trusts me the way she does, that she listens to me when I have problems, and the way she comforts me when I'm sad... I could never have remotely imagined that such a good thing would ever happen to me. No doubt, I will want to have her around a while longer... but I will have to eventually find a way to send her back to where she came. It is inevitable. But until then, I will enjoy the time I have with her. Recording end."

As Kyle was closing and saving everything, Danny went back upstairs without his soda, pondering what his older stepbrother had just recorded in his audio logbook.

Who's 'Lyra Heartstrings'? Danny thought. A girl he's seeing, maybe? Well, I can't let him be happy! I will find out who this girl is, and make sure she HATES the douchebag! Heh heh... but, seriously, what is with her name? Really, 'Heartstrings'? I dunno, maybe he just likes to call her that. A pet name, maybe...

(XXXX)

The following day, Kyle was fortunate enough to have the day off from work. So, he decided to play a board game with Lyra. She was becoming accustomed to using her magic to move things instead of using her mouth or hoof, and this has helped her eating habit be a bit more clean. She could even handle a video game controller with her magic, primarily the Wii-mote, and she really liked playing games like Mario Party 10 and Nintendo Land with him.

Lyra was definitely getting into the game, and really enjoying herself, and the same could be said for Kyle. The competition was playfully fierce.

"Okay, my move..." Kyle said.

He was about to move his piece, when he heard Ed's footstomps pounding down the stairs. It was clear that he was angry. It was sure enough to get Lyra's attention; the filly immediately ran into the closet and shut the door using her magic. Literally a second later, Ed barged into his room.

"I thought I made myself clear when I asked you to unload and fold the laundry!" Ed shouted. "WHY THE FUCK IS IT NOT DONE!"

Kyle flinched; he was always afraid that Ed was going to strike him. He did it a lot, especially when Kyle was younger, but even to this day, he still received an occasional smack over the head or belt to the thigh.

The worst part: Ed did not tell him to do such a thing. It just seemed like it had become a blind expectation of him.

"I-I'm sorry...!" But I-" Kyle started before being cut off.

"DON'T SAY YOU'RE SORRY!" Ed bellowed. "YOU'RE NOT SORRY!"

"Okay... I'll get it done...!" Kyle said, rushing past Ed and up the stairs.

He did the tedious task of folding the laundry from the dryer, and the worst part was always the socks. It seemed next to impossible to match them up right away, and he had to look through the entire load just to be able to do it. It took a while, but he was fortunate enough to find all of the socks. Any time there was a sock missing its pair, Ed would get angry at him, even though it was not his fault.

"And since you were so defiant with me by not doing it..." Ed started. "...you are going to wash my truck! I had to tow some soil and rock from the rock yard, and now the thing needs her cleanin'! Scrub the outside, vacuum the inside, and spray the windows! I want it SPOTLESS!"

"What?" Kyle asked, totally shocked.

He did not believe that he deserved this; Ed never told him to do anything, so now he is being punished for something he did not know about. Plus, Ed's pickup truck was huge, and all the nooks and crannies on the fenders and doors made it tough to clean out all the find corners.

"Get to work, NOW!" Ed thundered.

"Okay, okay..." Kyle said, trying to stay calm and not cry. "...I'll go get a bucket and some soap."

(XXXX)

Kyle was put to work cleaning Ed's absolutely filthy pickup truck. While Ed was lounging in a portable reclining chair and drinking Coca-Cola, Kyle was repeatedly trying to scrub the grime off the vehicle, dip and wring the sponge in the bucket of soapy water, and repeat.

"C'mon, keep scrubbing!" Ed said. "Don't be a lazy ass! Work fast and good!"

"Ngh..." Kyle groaned quietly, wiping sweat off his forehead.

"Scrub harder! A little more elbow-grease! You can do better than that!" Ed commanded.

After about an hour of cleaning the truck, Danny came outside, and Ed saw him approaching.

"Hey, dad." Danny said.

"Ah, Danny, my boy!" Ed responded. "How's your training coming along?"

Danny nodded. "Pretty good. I've been able to learn all the moves. I know I'll make it into the finals! Coach Hoffer has good faith in me!"

Liar! You've just been playing video games all night and day! Kyle thought.

"Good! Good!" Ed said. "That's my boy; one who knows how to really do things right... unlike some others."

Kyle pressed his lips together. Yeah, I just love the way you look straight at me when you say that... thank God for inner monologue. he thought to himself.

"Anyways, I figured I'd take a little break." Danny said. "Maybe I could give Kyle a little help? The scrubbing will help me build up more strength!"

Kyle became a bit suspicious. Why did Danny want to help him?

Ed nodded. "Okay, if that's what you want, I'll go and grab you a sponge."

With that, he got up out of the chair and walked inside of the house. Immediately, Danny confronted Kyle.

"So, you seem a lot happier than you have been before." Danny said. "I guess you've finally woken up to see all the good things we've been trying to do for you; prepare you for what's really important. I'm gonna get a good career in athletics, while you're just gonna starve in a ditch, because you won't get anything good in life by just drawing shit!"

Kyle sighed. "Whatever..." he said.

"So, tell me. Have you been holed up in your room all this time that I haven't seen you..." Danny began. "...or have you been heading off to see this 'Lyra Heartstrings'? Huh?"

Kyle's eyes widened. "Uh... what?" he asked, trying to seem ignorant.

Danny smirked. "I heard you say something about Lyra Heartstrings when you were making your little voice-diary. Who is she? You got a crush on her or something? No girl would ever date you! And why is her name 'Heartstrings'? Is that some kind of weird nickname you gave her or something?" he questioned.

Clearly, Danny knew nothing about My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, nor the fact that Kyle was a closet brony... and thankfully, nothing about Lyra, who was likely taking a nap in the closet right now, since he never let her back out.

"Erm..." Kyle began, thinking quickly. "...Lyra Heartstrings... is the stage name of a musician. She's a singer and she plays the lyre, hence the stage name. Her real name is..." he just decided to bullshit it, knowing that Danny knew nothing about MLP. "...Lauren Faust."

Danny laughed. "What, you listen to girly music by a girly singer?" he asked.

"No..." Kyle replied. "...her music is pretty gender-neutral. She has a large male fanbase, as well."

"Hm, what do you think I am? An idiot, or something?" Danny asked, folding his arms.

"Uh, you said it. Not me." Kyle answered, handing the sponge to Danny. "Here, since you volunteered to help me. It's time I took a break!"

Danny sighed and started scrubbing the truck, while Kyle laid in Ed's recliner chair, putting his hands behind his head.

"A little more elbow-grease!" Kyle said, smirking and making his voice sound hardy, like Ed's. "Keep scrubbing! You can do it! C'mon, you can do better than that!"

"...Hhm-mmm-mmmmmmm..." came the deep sound of throat-clearing right behind Kyle.

Kyle looked behind him to see Ed glaring angrily at him. Standing from the seat, Kyle smiled, closing his eyes and holding up a "peace" sign.

(XXXX)

Later that night, Kyle woke Lyra and got her out of the closet.

"Sorry about leaving you alone most of the day." Kyle said. "I really wish that shitbrain Ed would learn to just cut me some slack..."

"It's not your fault, you know." Lyra said. "They just like to take out frustrations on others when they feel powerless."

"Well, either way, I do wanna spend more time with you." Kyle said. "I've been thinking about maybe taking you to some places... given that we can find you a good disguise. Are you okay with maybe... wearing a costume or something if I take you out with me?"

Lyra nodded. "Sure! It'll be like Nightmare Night everyday! It's my favorite holiday!"

Kyle smiled at the filly.

"And Kyle..." Lyra said. "...thank you. For everything."

"And I wanna thank you, Lyra, for helping me get through all of this." Kyle said. "You've made it so much easier for me."

(XXXX)

" 'Lyra Heartstrings'?" Danny's friend asked over the phone. "I dunno, man. Sounds like the username of a desperate, horny chick on a free dating site or somethin'."

"Well, I just gotta make sure that, if he is seeing a girl, I'm gonna break it all up!" Danny proclaimed.

His friend rasped over the phone. "Yeah, I mean he is a total moron, but really, is it really worth it at all?"

"Well, I know that my stupid stepbrother's been up to something lately." Danny said.

"Yeah? Like what?" his friend asked.

"I don't know, but that queer's up to something, I know it!" Danny said. "And I'm pretty sure this Lyra Heartstrings is in on it! So, this is gonna be the start of a big investigation! I'm gonna play super-spy, and watch his every move!"

"But, don't you have school?" his friend asked.

"Man, fuck school!" Danny said. "I'll just not go, it's doesn't matter!"

The friend was silent on the line for a moment. "Okay, you do you..." he said, just before hanging up.

Danny set his phone down. "Okay, Schaeffer... I'm gonna figure out what you're all on about lately..." he said to himself as he lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling until he switched on his XBOX a few minutes later.

Well... this doesn't look too good. Wonder if the evil stepbrother will figure it all out, huh? Oh, the suspense must be killing you! Well, it is for me, too. But, we'll have to deal with it until I am able to get the next chapter out there! Keep holding on...