Bonafideby Sharp SparkChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4EpilogueChapter 1“That pony is going to be my marefriend,” Lyra Heartstrings proclaimed. At her side, she heard a clatter of plastic and Lyra turned, one eyebrow raised. The pegasus behind her in the cafeteria line had dropped her tray, but thankfully it hadn’t yet been loaded with food. “M-m-m-marefriend?” Windy said, her face blushing a hot red. Lyra grinned widely and floated the tray back up to the counter. “Yep!” “But she’s… you’re… mares!” “The flower that blossoms in the hearts of two pure maidens is the sweetest love of all,” Lyra said. “Or at least that’s what it says in some of those Neighponese comic books that Moondancer let me borrow.” Windy stared at Lyra with big round eyes for a long moment before focusing her attention on the mare Lyra had pointed out. “But… Her?” Across the room and seated alone at a long table, an earth pony with a curly pink and blue mane was glaring down at a half of a daisy sandwich. With one final grimace, she took a big bite, chomping the poor sandwich with much more force than necessary. “Just look at her!” Lyra said. Windy tilted her head sideways, trying to see what Lyra saw. The pony wasn’t unattractive. She was a little on the round side, perhaps. Her mane was striking but mainly because it was a little old-fashioned in style. But why somepony – why Lyra – would be head over hoof for her… Windy bit her lip. “Isn’t she just dreamy?” The earth pony had devoured the sandwich and locked her eyes onto a cup of pudding. Her eyes darted furtively, not noticing Lyra and Windy, before her muzzle dipped down and she went straight for the kill. “Um…” Windy said. Lyra turned to her and threw a foreleg across her shoulders, pulling her in close. Windy froze at the physical contact. “I’m gonna need help though. I’m gonna need a wingmare.” “W-what?” As quickly as she had initiated the contact, Lyra let go and started walking forward, grasping both her tray and Windy’s with her magic. A few small plates floated up to land on the trays as she passed, a small salad and some sort of apple casserole. Windy shook her head and trotted to catch up. “What? But! I don’t know what to do?” “Just talk me up!” Lyra said, tossing some bits to the cashier. She marched off into the dining area, Windy trailing behind. “Anypony sitting here?” The earth pony looked up, her eyes narrowed as she sized up Lyra. They flickered for a moment to Windy, desperately trying to hide behind Lyra, but wrote her off and returned to the unicorn with the cocky grin. “Mph,” she said. Lyra sat their trays on the table and plopped down. “Lyra Heartstrings, nice to meetcha!” Windy hesitated before sitting too. “And this is Windy Wander, my roommate.” The pony ignored Windy’s wan smile and frowned at Lyra. “Bon Bon.” “Let me guess, you go to the Sun Princess Institute for Culinary Excellence?” Lyra said, unfazed. Bon Bon rolled her eyes. “How’d you figure that one out? The lack of a horn, or the absence of wings?” “I-I know an earth pony in Fleetfeather Academy who’s taking the Weather track,” Windy chimed in. Bon Bon shifted her fierce glare to the pegasus and Windy wilted, her eyes dropping as she poked at the salad in front of her. Suddenly a hoof jabbed into her side and she let out an “Eep!” Bon Bon’s glare had faded slightly, and her brow was furrowed in confusion. Windy’s eyes shot sideways to see Lyra surreptitiously nodding at her. “Um. Uh. Lyra, did you do something new with your mane?” Lyra blinked, but then rallied and proudly threw her head back, tossing her spiky cyan mane. “I’m trying a new kind of gel,” she said. “A mane that short makes you look like a fillyfooler,” Bon Bon said. Lyra froze, the huge smile plastered on her face looking suddenly fragile. Windy jumped in again in desperation. “What about your band? When are you guys playing next?” “Band?” Bon Bon said sharply. For the first time, her eyes sparkled with something other than annoyance. “Yes, Lyra’s in— I mean, is the frontmare for My Chemical Romanticore. They play, um, experimental lo-fi synthwave noisepop. And it’s really really good!” Bon Bon relaxed a little, sensing the earnestness radiating from Windy. “R-right, and we’re playing this Friday,” Lyra said, finally recovering. “At the Blue Brew Coffeehouse a few blocks from campus,” Windy chimed in. Bon Bon leaned forward, the faintest hint of a smile on her face. “It’s going to be awesome.” Lyra grinned. “You know, if you’re not doing anything.” Bon Bon groaned softly into her pillow. She had been having worrying dreams. Again. Her legs kicked out, groping for a familiar source of warmth but finding only cold blankets. “Lyra?” she mumbled. Had she fallen out of bed again? It wouldn’t be the first time. But Bon Bon couldn’t even hear Lyra snoring, the sound that she had grown so used to that she found it hard to sleep without. She groaned again and scooched over to peek onto the floor on the other side of the bed. Empty. “Lyra?” she called out again, louder. It definitely wasn’t normal for Lyra to be the first one up. Which meant something might be wrong. Alarming images swirled through her head, the worries that she had worked so hard to suppress, but which still lurked in the corners of her mind. Lyra had left her, because she had grown bored, because of something Bon Bon had done, because Lyra had found out— Bon Bon squeezed her eyes shut, forcing herself to take deep breaths and remember what her doctor said about handling anxiety. Then her nose caught a whiff of something burning, and she realized the house was probably on fire. She made a dash for the door, but the blankets still tangled around her legs caused her to tumble right off the bed to land on her muzzle. With a whimper, she kicked them away and bolted, through the door and down the stairs, the smell intensifying as she headed straight for the source, ready to leap into the fire and save her Lyra— Her Lyra who was standing in the messier-than-normal kitchen, chopping up carrots as a frying pan behind her let out a plume of dark smoke. Lyra grinned sheepishly as she saw Bon Bon. “Aw, this was supposed to be a surprise,” she said. “I was gonna make you breakfast in bed. Only it’s a lot harder than I expected.” Bon Bon exhaled, her beating heart slowing down. “Lyra, dear, you need to flip the pancakes.” Lyra’s eyes widened and she turned around, a spatula floating up in her magic to deal with the now-charred pancakes. “Oh, right. I was working on them but then I had this brilliant idea for carrot hashbrowns, because I know you like carrots, and they’re basically the same thing as potatoes, right? Hey, since you’re up now, do we have any maple syrup?” Bon Bon trotted forward to sit down at the kitchen table. “No, I think I used it all up when working on my new maplemint lollipop recipe last week.” She looked askance at Lyra. “What’s going on? Is there some special occasion that I’m unaware of?” Lyra grinned and bounced slightly on her back hooves. “What makes you think that? Does it have to be a special occasion to make breakfast for the most beautiful mare in the world?” Bon Bon felt her cheeks grow hot. Lyra was not the most sneaky of ponies, but she had a particularly well-honed ability to throw Bon Bon off with unexpected flattery and attention. “I…” Bon Bon looked down, as a pile of papers and envelopes slid across the table in Lyra’s magic aura. “Check the mail for me, sweetie?” Lyra sang out, turning back to chopping carrots. Bon Bon blinked. “Ditsy never gets to our house this early in the morning.” She flipped through the first few pieces of mail. “And all of these are actually addressed to us.” “I went out for a jog this morning and passed by the post office,” Lyra said. “And figured, hey, why not?” Bon Bon narrowed her eyes, carefully studying Lyra. Her expression radiated sincere innocence. Cautiously, Bon Bon looked at the mail in more depth. Junk. Bills. Junk. A postcard from Lyra’s parents. And then at the bottom, a particularly large envelope. Manehattan Media & Publishing. Not a particularly familiar sender. Bon Bon peeked up one last time at Lyra, only to see her back turned. Carefully, Bon Bon opened the envelope and slid the contents out. Her jaw dropped open as she saw a huge picture of Lyra adorning the cover of Sound & Stable, one of the biggest music magazines in the business. Big block letters along the bottom spelled out HEARTSTRINGS - Exclusive Interview! “Lyra! Y-you… Sound & Stable!” Bon Bon leapt up, and flew over to her marefriend. Lyra happily grabbed her hooves and they twirled in a circle across the kitchen. “When— How—” Lyra grinned. “Well, I might have lied a tiny bit about needing to go to Manehattan last month for family business. Turns out my agent sent a copy of my latest album to someone she knew, and they loved it! They’re calling me best new artist of the year.” “No way!” Bon Bon let out a high-pitched squee. “Finally, you’re getting some recognition! I always knew it!” “Take a look at the article,” Lyra said, winking. Bon Bon hastily returned to her seat, and stared at the cover image one last time before flipping the magazine open. Her eyes flittered across the text and images of Lyra being interviewed, so overjoyed that she was unable to process more than one tiny flash at a time. Here Lyra explained her creative process in just as poetic and enigmatic terms as always. There she touched on formative bands that had influenced her work – names that Bon Bon knew and had heard many times over. Across one side ran a greyscale image of Lyra on a park bench with her lyre cradled in her forelegs, eyes closed as her hoof rested on the strings. It was perfect. And then Bon Bon turned the page and froze. The last page of the article held a photo of the two of them standing side by side in the back kitchen of Canter Candies, Bon Bon wearing an apron stained with chocolate, and Lyra’s arm draped across her shoulder. Bon Bon knew it all too well, a picture from the one-month anniversary of the opening of her shop. She had a copy of it herself, hanging on the wall behind the store’s counter. Her eyes moved to the text below the photo. So Miss Heartstrings, are you still an eligible bachelorette, or is there a special somepony in your life? I’m afraid this heart is taken! By the loveliest of ponies, my marefriend ever since college. Bon Bon is my love, my muse, my source of strength throughout everything. She’s the reason I’m here today. I had a very particular pony in mind when I wrote ‘Song for Sweetie Drops’, my first single off the new album, you know. I don’t know what I would do without her. Bon Bon looked up, the color draining from her face. Lyra looked up from the carrots, but the smile dropped off her face at Bon Bon’s expression. “Bonnie? What’s—” “You have to call them,” Bon Bon said. “Cancel it. Back out.” “What?!” Lyra shook her head vigorously. “No, I can’t. Do you know what kind of chance this is? And as far as I know, they’ve been out for a few days now in the major cities. I was supposed to get an early copy, but you know how mail can be around here.” Bon Bon’s hoof jabbed down at the magazine. “Why did you have to tell them about me?” “Is that what this is about?” Lyra said, the words coming out sharply. “Look, I know you can be shy, but that’s a good picture of us.” “It’s not about the picture! Why did you have to bring me up at all?” “What, am I not supposed to talk about you?” “Yes!” Bon Bon shouted. “I’ve told you, that’s what I want! A quiet life in a quiet town! Not— Not this! Never this!” “So you don’t want me to make it big,” Lyra said bitterly. “That’s always been your dream, not mine,” Bon Bon snapped. As soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted them. Her face turned down, ashen. “I thought we were in this together.” Bon Bon felt tears forming in her eyes. “You’re the one who never wants to get serious. Every time we talk about actually getting mar—” “I’m going out,” Lyra said, her own eyes tightly closed. She used her magic to jerk a slip of paper off the fridge, the magnet holding it up clattering to the floor. “Did you write maple syrup on the grocery list?” Bon Bon swallowed. “No,” she said, in a small, weak voice. “I’ll remember it,” Lyra said, marching past Bon Bon. A moment later, Bon Bon heard the front door slam shut. Tears trickled down her face and plopped onto the magazine’s glossy pages. She mechanically rose and trudged over to turn off the stove, grabbing the frying pan in her teeth and carrying it back to the table. The charred pancakes crunched in her teeth. They even had chocolate chips in them. Her very favorite. On the other side of town, the Friendship Express pulled into the station, the first train of the morning coming from Canterlot. Ponies stepped off, mostly day-trippers from the city wanting to spend some time poking around in Ponyville’s quaint market square. Several stallions and mares dressed in ties headed to board the train, ready for their commute into the city. “Out of my way!” a voice barked out. A cream-colored mare shoved a grey stallion back and stormed out onto the platform, sizing up Ponyville with one baleful eye and disapproving of what she saw. “A small, dirty town filled with small, dirty ponies,” she said out loud, ignoring the offended look a passing pony gave her. She glanced around, and then stomped over to a pony in a uniform, currently busy speaking with a middle-aged mare and her foal. “You!” she said. “I’m from out of town, and looking for a pony named Lyra Heartstrings.” He turned from the two ponies and then did a double-take. “A-aren’t you…?” She rolled her eyes. “My name is Bon Bon. Now take me to Lyra.” Chapter 2The sounds echoed through the coffeehouse, the reverberating baseline matched with scintillating synth melodies. Over the top of the music, Lyra’s slightly scratchy voice shouted out free-associated nonsense, flowing from one idea to the next in a staccato rhythm that counterbalanced the beat. Windy Wander stood at the back wall, bobbing up and down in time with the music. Next to her, Bon Bon watched the musicians with a pensive frown. The song came to a close and Lyra took a bow, to scattered applause and cheers from the ponies watching. Windy pounded her hooves against the floor enthusiastically. “And for our next number, we’re gonna go with something slower. Something for a special pony out there!” Lyra winked at the two ponies standing along the back wall and raised a hoof to signal her bandmates. The drummer’s sticks clicked together to count off and the music started again, this time more subdued. Lyra’s lyre floated up, a cord running from it to an amplifier, and a twisting melody rang out. “Oh gosh,” Windy said. “She’s been working on this one for ages. I think this is the first time they’ve tried it live.” “Do they ever do anything less… noisy?” Bon Bon asked. Lyra looked across the room at her with a smile and Bon Bon raised a hoof slightly in acknowledgment. “Oh, it does take a bit to get used to.” Windy’s wings fluffed up and out. “But the harmonies they use are really rather sophisticated, and technically speaking, they’re all really good. I mean, listen to the unconventional syncopation of the drums. And Lyra, gosh, Lyra…” Bon Bon rolled her eyes. “Yes, it’s hipster music, I get that. Do they normally have this many ponies show up?” “I-I guess. They’re getting a bit of a reputation in certain circles, I think.” Bon Bon nodded. “Not bad.” Her eyes drifted to the stallion wearing shades behind the keyboard. “Not bad at all.” “Did I mention Lyra writes most of the music herself?” Windy asked, shifting back and forth on her hooves. “She’s in the musical program at PCGSU.” “Only like thirty times,” Bon Bon griped. “Oh…” “You know, I think you’re right, though.” Bon Bon raised a hoof to her chin. “I think they could be pretty popular, if they’d drop all this avant-garde nonsense and go mainstream.” “What do you mean?” Windy asked. Bon Bon didn’t say a word, but a small smile flitted across her face. Bon Bon marched straight down the streets of Ponyville, headed for the market square. She ignored the other ponies milling around, only pausing to glare at any that stepped in her way. A pony mowing his lawn raised one hoof in a wave as she stalked by, but she didn’t spare him a glance. She frowned as she finally arrived in the market square, looking around at the various carts and stalls set up throughout the open space. On one corner, a building that looked like a giant gingerbread house rose up, a line of ponies extending out the door and around the corner. Across the way, dresses hung in the windows of a well-decorated round boutique. Bon Bon ignored those too, doubting anything in this town would compare with the offerings in Canterlot or Manehattan. There was only one thing she was looking for, one pony and— Her eyes lasered in on a green pony dragging her hooves as she trudged through the square. Bon Bon gritted her teeth, but forced her mouth into an artificial smile as she trotted forward to intercept the other pony. “Hi,” she said, lifting her head and waiting carefully for Lyra’s reaction. Lyra glanced up and then away, picking up her pace as she trotted away. “Not now, Bon Bon,” she said. Bon Bon blinked. She had to canter forward to catch up with Lyra. “Hold on, you can’t just run off!” Lyra stopped, causing Bon Bon to bump into her from behind. “Not now. Look, I know, I said some things that I regret, but we can talk about it later.” “Well, I certainly hope that— Wait. Later when?” “Later tonight,” Lyra said. “Just give me some time, okay? I’ll see you at home.” Bon Bon shook her head, as Lyra walked off, vanishing into a crowd of ponies clustered around a stand. “But…” She frowned. “Where do you live?” Bon Bon sat curled up on the couch, her head buried under a pillow. She should have been at work by now, of course. But at this point she had already missed the early morning crowd. It wouldn’t hurt to stay closed until the afternoon. At the moment, she didn’t feel like doing anything, other than lying there with her stomach tied in knots. She cursed Lyra for causing the problem to begin with, then veered into an overwhelming guilt for her resentment of her marefriend’s perfectly justifiable actions. That morphed into disgust at herself and anxiety about her future in the short and long-term. Surely Lyra couldn’t love someone like her. But it was Lyra’s fault to begin with… A sharp rapping broke her mind out of the failure spiral and she sat up, staring at the door. “Go away,” she called out. The knocking redoubled, the pounding insistent and shaking the door. Bon Bon unsteadily rose to her hooves and made her way to the door, swaying back and forth. She lowered one eye to the peephole to see who was on the other side and her mouth ran dry. The mare currently knocking on the door had a familiar cream-colored coat, a familiar blue and pink swirled mane, and an unfortunately familiar scowl on her face. “I heard you in there, now open up!” the other Bon Bon shouted. Bon Bon took several steps back, head reeling as all of the very worst case scenarios of her deepest anxieties caught up with her. She closed her eyes and forced one deep breath, then another, as her heart pounded with enough force to leap out of her chest. She was screwed. Strangely, that gave her a certain sense of calm. She had imagined this day would come, after all, and now that it was here, it felt like those nightmares she had grown unfortunately accustomed to. Sure, she wouldn’t wake up from this one, wouldn’t have Lyra comfortingly snoring away in bed next to her. But… Lyra… Bon Bon swallowed and steeled herself. She was almost certainly not going to get out of this. But if there was a way – any way – to keep Lyra, she would fight for it. And she had an idea. A green light flashed in the foyer of Lyra and Bon Bon’s house. Bon Bon ceased knocking, narrowing her eyes. If Lyra thought she would wait outside all day for her, that mare had another thing coming. She turned and lifted one rear hoof, ready to buck the door right down if she had to. She was just about to let loose when she heard the creak of the door swinging open. She smiled smugly to herself and turned to see… Lyra. Bon Bon blinked. “I thought you were at the market,” she said. Lyra rubbed the back of her head with one hoof. “Yeeesss…?” “Well then. I don’t see why I couldn’t have followed you back.” Bon Bon sniffed. “After you ran off I had to ask three whole ponies before I found a mailmare who knew where you lived.” She paused for a moment, frowning. “Incidentally, I can’t believe they let ponies like that deliver letters.” Lyra jaw clenched. “She’s not… I mean.” Her eyes darted back and forth. “Come in!” Lyra reached out to pull insistently on Bon Bon’s foreleg, dragging her inside and slamming the door shut. “Can I get you anything? Coffee? Tea? Some homemade sweets?” Bon Bon scrunched up her nose. “I’ll have a water. Surely, Ponyville can’t manage to screw that much up at least.” “Nope!” Lyra said. “Water, yes! We have wonderful water.” She trotted away to the kitchen, hastily filling up a glass and balancing it on her back. When she arrived in the living room again, Bon Bon had already taken a seat on the couch and was looking down her nose at the knickknacks on their fireplace. Lyra stepped forward, before Bon Bon could notice the heart-framed portrait of Lyra and Bon Bon from their first Hearts and Hooves Day in Ponyville. She smiled brightly, as Bon Bon looked at her with narrowed eyes. “Well?” Bon Bon said. Lyra blinked, and then awkwardly turned her head to lightly grip the glass in her teeth and set it in front of Bon Bon. “Ew,” she said. “Use your magic. Why do you always have to be so weird?” Lyra flushed red and dragged one hoof in a circle on the ground. “Anyways. It’s so good to see you again, Bon Bon. It’s been great catching up! But I’ve got to be somewhere right...” her eyes flitted over to a clock. “Right now, so if you’ll excuse—” “Nope, I’m not going anywhere until we talk,” Bon Bon said firmly. Lyra nodded rapidly. “Sure, yes. Let’s talk. About—” “About the magazine article.” Lyra winced. “Of course. I’m sure you have questions.” “What the buck are you thinking?” Bon Bon exclaimed. “Where did you even get that picture?” “I—” Bon Bon rose to her hooves and poked Lyra hard in the chest. “You still have a crush on me, is that it? After all this time, you’re still pining after me?” “That—” “Not that I blame you, of course. It’s just awfully pathetic, I hope you realize that. Being hopelessly in love with a pony who doesn’t even realize you still exist.” Lyra’s head hung low. Bon Bon paused and Lyra looked up before quietly speaking. “Yes, I know. That’s what it is, I’m really sorry. It won’t happen again. Just… just leave me alone, and I’ll leave you alone. We’ll forget all about this and move on.” Bon Bon rolled her eyes. “Did you lose your backbone too?” She smirked. “And I never said we had to leave one another alone.” “What?” Lyra said, feeling a sinking feeling. “Maybe I was wrong about you,” Bon Bon said airily. “Maybe you are going places. Maybe this could work after all. Things haven’t been going so well for me in Canterlot, primarily because of an insidious and completely unjust conspiracy of confectioners refusing to hire me, and—” Lyra was shaking her head violently. “No. No no no no no no no.” “Excuse me?” “No!” Lyra cried out. “In retrospect I don’t think it will work. Maybe I prefer stallions after all? Ha ha. My mistake. “ Bon Bon’s face darkened. “You don’t truly expect for me to believe—” Lyra yanked her forward, shoving her towards the door. “Actually, maybe I’m already seeing somepony. You know how it is. But it’s been a pleasure. I would invite you back but I’m moving tomorrow. To Vanhoover. Maybe you should look me up there!” “Wha—” Bon Bon cried out. Lyra yanked the door open and made to push the other mare out when she saw a familiar figure turning the corner on the other end of the street. She slammed the door shut again, barely missing Bon Bon’s muzzle in the process. “On second thought! You should go out the back door. I have a lovely garden!” Bon Bon stamped her hoof. “Stop it this instant!” she yelled out. Lyra froze, a fake smile plastered on her face. Bon Bon trotted to the center of the room and stood with her hooves planted firmly. She glared at Lyra. “I am not leaving until you knock it off and we discuss this like reasonable mares.” Sweat poured down Lyra’s forehead as her mouth opened and closed. She swore she could hear hoofsteps through the door behind her as a pony walked up the path to the house. Lyra’s eyes flickered between the front door and an angry Bon Bon, back and forth. Then she heard the creak of the door starting to open and leapt forward as green flames flashed. Lyra opened the door to her home, her head hanging down. “Look Bon Bon, I wanted to say—” As her eyes came up, she saw two identical ponies waiting for her in the middle of the room, mirror images of one another save for their expressions. The rightmost pony’s face was contorted into an expression of open-mouthed shock, while the leftmost pony drew heaving breaths, on the verge of bursting into tears. Both of them were Bon Bon. Chapter 3Windy’s hoof tapped gently against the doorframe. When she heard no response, she gently nudged the door open and stepped inside, pushing the door back to almost shut again. Lyra’s room was dimly lit, the only light coming from the edges of the windows, where the sun peeked through the tightly-drawn shades. Clothes were scattered across the floor, and Windy carefully made her way over to the bed. There, in a curled up ball of blankets, Lyra laid. She wasn’t crying. She had already cried and cried, until the tears had stopped coming, but even so, the blanket twitched and moved as Lyra restlessly shook. The bed shifted as Windy sat down on the other end. “Lyra?” she softly called out. “Go away,” Lyra hoarsely whispered. Windy reached over to pull the blanket back, revealing the green unicorn, her long swirly mane all tangled and knotted from its wavy style, her eyes red and bloodshot. Lyra slapped at Windy’s hoof and her magic pulled the blanket back over her head. “Go away,” she muttered again. “Lyra, I know it’s hard, but you’ve got to push through. You’ve missed classes for three days now. I think your professors are getting worried.” “I don’t care,” Lyra said. “It doesn’t matter. I’m quitting school.” “What?” Windy gasped. “But—” “It’s all pointless. I’m going back to Ponyville. I’m nopony.” “Don’t say that!” Windy said sharply. “You’re… you’re amazing, Lyra.” She took a deep breath. “This is all because of her, isn’t it?” Lyra’s face peeked out from beneath the blanket, wearing a snarl. “Don’t talk about her.” “She’s bad for you. In the past six months, she’s strung you along while she did everything in her power to change you. First the hair, then the clothes, then the music. She doesn’t care about you, Lyra. She just wants some sort of… of… fashion accessory to parade around for her own benefit.” “Shut up! You don’t know anything about her! Or me!” “Can’t you see that she’s wrong for you? I just want you to be happy!” “Then go away!” Lyra screamed. Windy pulled back, her mouth open and closing wordlessly. “Only Bon Bon can make me happy,” Lyra murmured. Windy stood up and backed away to the door. “Only Bon Bon,” Lyra whispered to herself. Windy’s hooves sounded like thunder in her ears as she walked out of the bedroom. She made her way down the hall, pausing for a moment to look in her own room. It was nearly bare, only a paltry collection of trinkets that made up all of her possessions. And then shaking her head, Windy Wander walked onwards, out of the house and out of Lyra’s life. Lyra stared at the two identical Bon Bons standing in her living room, her eyes as wide as dinnerplates. She closed them and raised one hoof to rub her face, but a second glance revealed the situation unchanged. “Okay,” Lyra said weakly, “Normally when I have this dream there are less bad vibes and it is more…” Her hoof drew a lazy circle in the air. “Bedroom-adjacent.” “Changeling!” the Bon Bon on the right shouted out. The left Bon Bon gasped and raised a hoof in accusation. “Yes! She’s a changeling!” “No, you’re a changeling!” Right flailed her hooves out to push the other mare away, her face twisted in a scowl. “Get your filthy bug hooves away from me!” “Lyra, you have to believe me! She’s an evil changeling trying to impersonate me!” Left stumbled back and crouched down, looking up at Lyra with her big blue eyes. Right leaned forward as she hurled insults at the other pony. “Liar! Scum! Vermin!” “Am not!” Left shouted back, rising back to her hooves to stand muzzle to muzzle with her duplicate. “You’re the liar!” Right’s eyes narrowed. “That’s just what a changeling would say!” “I’m not a changeling!” “Said the liar!” “Hold it!” Lyra shouted out, causing both to freeze. She plopped on the wood floor, holding her head between her hooves. “Okay. What. Okay. Let’s… Let’s calm down and approach this rationally?” “But… but you have to get rid of her,” Left said. “I’m scared, Lyra.” Lyra’s eye twitched as a slightly manic grin bloomed on her face. “Don’t worry. I’ve seen a movie like this, I think we can handle it.” “Lyra…” Left bit her lip and raised one hoof. “Are you okay? I—” “A movie?” Right said. “You’re kidding, right?” Lyra shook her head, a little harder than necessary. “No. No, this should be easy. I just have to ask you something only the real Bon Bon would know. No problem!” “Fine,” Right said. “Get on with it.” Left shivered. “O-okay.” Lyra’s face fell blank and she raised a hoof to her chin as she thought. After a moment of pensive silence, her eye twitched once again and she rose to her hooves, raising one foreleg high. “Okay! It’s on! Super Bon Bon Identity Quiz round one! Drumroll, please…?” Both of the ponies stared back at her. “You guys need to lighten up,” said Lyra. She paused for a moment, the grin returning to her face, still slightly too toothy to be natural. “Good job, one point to both teams!” “Lyra…” Left said. “Right, sorry,” she said. “Okay. Round one: What’s my favorite color?” “Green,” Right said firmly. “Blue,” Left whispered. Right shot her a dark glance. “One point to Left,” Lyra said. “Ha!” Right said. “My Left.” “But… but you’re green!” Right said. Lyra raised an eyebrow. “So?” “So it’s a stupid question,” Right huffed. “Your objection has been noted. Question number two! What’s my birthday?” “October 14th, 979” Left said. “How am I supposed to know…” Right’s eyes narrowed as she glanced sideways at the other pony. “October 14th, 979.” “Hm,” Lyra said. “Correct! One point to both. Question number—” “These are stupid questions,” Right said. “I thought it was supposed to be something that I would know, not something about you.” “Well fine,” Lyra said. “But it has to be something that I know too or else I wouldn’t know it. You know?” Right raised her hoof to her head, wincing. “I am beginning to regret this trip.” “Okay! Question number… fifteen! How did we first meet?” Right threw up her hooves in disgust. “That was ages ago! Nopony can remember—” “In the joint tri-university cafeteria at Canterlot,” Left said. Right glared at her fiercely. “How did you…” A calculating light bloomed in her eyes. “Oh. How long have you been spying on me, bug?” “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Left whispered. Right’s eyes narrowed, and then she smirked. ”Fine, then I do have something that only the real Bon Bon knows. Because only Lyra and I were there.” Right Bon Bon turned to Lyra and nodded. “Ask what I said when you finally asked me out on a real date.” Lyra’s hoof fell, as her cheerful expression melted away. Her face turned stony, and she gazed out into middle distance for a long moment. “Fine,” Lyra said, closing her eyes. “Answer the question, please.” Left inhaled sharply. “Uhm. That— That I didn’t like mares? But I was wrong, I changed my mind, and—” “Nope!” Right said triumphantly. “Wrong, faker.” “Then you say it,” Lyra said, her voice weary. Right rolled her eyes. “That’s hardly necessary. It was a fit of pique, and I’ve had time to reflect and re-evaluate, and—” “Say it.” Right shifted on her hooves. “Ahem. That is... I said you were going nowhere and you didn’t deserve to be loved. That nopony loves a loser.” A flurry of emotions crossed the Left Bon Bon’s face at hearing the words. Shock, anger, and then a sort of stricken look as her eyes met those of Lyra. “Okay, that’s enough,” Lyra said, her voice still heavy. “I know who’s who.” She trotted forward, as Right grinned in victory. Up until Lyra pushed past her to embrace the other Bon Bon, nuzzling her head against her neck. “You idiot!” Right shouted out. “She’s the changeling!” Lyra looked up, her eyes so fierce that Bon Bon took a step back. “I know. Get the hell out of my house, Bon Bon.” “But…” “I’m not going to ask again nicely.” Bon Bon bared her teeth. “I thought you had made something of yourself, but you’re the same trashy waste of space you always were, Lyra Heartstrings.” Lyra let go of the other mare and took a menacing step forward, causing Bon Bon to hastily canter to the house’s door. She opened it and trotted outside, turning to haughtily glare back. “You’ve not heard the last of—” The door glowed green with magic and slammed shut in her face. Lyra’s entire body sagged, and she turned, falling forward. The remaining Bon Bon leapt forward to catch her. “No!” Lyra shouted. Bon Bon froze, one foreleg still raised and hanging, stricken, in the air. Lyra laid limp on the floor, a puppet whose strings had been cut. “You… I don’t even know who you are.” “I—” The words caught in Bon Bon’s mouth as Lyra looked up at her, those luminous golden eyes full of hurt. Bon Bon took one step back, then another. As Lyra continued to watch her, Bon Bon fled the room, tears welling up in her eyes. Lyra’s head dropped back down, and she hugged her forelegs to herself tightly as she curled up in a ball, her body shivering but face still locked in a blank stare. Chapter 4Bon Bon checked her reflection in the compact mirror for what had to have been the thirtieth time. Everything was right, not one lock of her swirled mane out of place, but the face still felt like a stranger to her. Her lips pursed in a grumpy frown that looked all too familiar, then brightened up into a big, genuine smile, a sight she figured not many ponies had ever had the opportunity to see. With a snap, she closed the mirror shut and put it back into her saddlebags, taking care not to crush the sealed roll of parchment tucked away there. It had been difficult – difficult and time consuming – to convince her hive to let her abandon her duties as junior-ambassador-in-training to the ponies. In fact, if it weren’t for the rather surprising backing of Princess Celestia herself, she doubted they would have allowed it at all. Even so, it had taken months and months of argument and legal wrangling before she had secured a writ of emancipation. She was a changeling without a hive now, a situation that would be terrifying for just about anyone else, but for her… it gave her a flicker of hope. Hope that either her plan would work out, and all of it, every bit of trouble, would be worthwhile. And if it didn’t… Bon Bon shivered. Then alone and unloved, she wouldn’t be around to suffer for too long. Bon Bon steeled herself and stepped forward into Ponyville, the pleasant thatch-roofed cottages lining the narrow streets putting a smile on her face. A pony watering flowers in his yard called out a greeting to her, and she waved back. The path led all the way into the market square at the center of town, at least according to the map she had bought. And from there she would be able to— Bon Bon froze. Ahead, and coming right towards her, a familiar green unicorn dragged her hooves as she trudged down the street. Her mouth opened, her mind running through the planned conversations she had thought out over and over again. It was then that Lyra happened to look up and catch sight of her, and the unicorn’s eyes grew as wide as saucers. She stared as she kept walking, headed for— “Lyra!” Bon Bon called out in alarm. With a clang, Lyra walked muzzle-first into a streetlamp. Bon Bon rushed over, worry written all over her face. Lyra had fallen back, sitting on the dusty ground of the street with both front hooves covering her bruised nose. She stared at Bon Bon, still unspeaking. “Are you—” Bon Bon caught herself, and her face shifted into a smirk that only quavered slightly. “Uh. I mean. Jeez! How dumb do you have to be to walk right into a post?” “Bon Bon?” Lyra said. Bon Bon rolled her eyes. “Of course, it’s me. Who else would it be?” “What are you doing here?” Lyra’s eyes narrowed. “How did you find me?” Bon Bon shrugged lightly. “Oh, I talked with Windy and she said that you had—” “When? Where did you see her?” Bon Bon blinked, her assuredness slipping for a moment at the unexpected probing. “It was a while back, she was… was headed overseas, I believe. Moving far away.” Lyra kept watching her, eyes narrowed. “You know how she could be, very flighty. I don’t know how you put up with her for—” “Shut up,” Lyra snapped. Bon Bon’s mouth swung shut. She took a step back, wilting under the anger flashing in Lyra’s eyes. “I never want to hear you talk about her again,” Lyra said. “Never. Are we clear?” “Y-yes,” Bon Bon said. “Then why are you here?” “I changed my mind,” Bon Bon proclaimed, returning to the script in her head. “I figure, I’m breathtaking. You’re… well. Let’s call it satisfactory. Averaging it out, we would indeed make a pretty good pair.” “With a few changes, I’m sure,” Lyra said. “Well, if necessary, there might be a few things that would improve—” “Forget it.” Bon Bon’s heart seemed to stop beating. Lyra got to her hooves, her muzzle still red from colliding with the lamppost. “We may not have ever officially dated, but I’ve already spent enough time with you, Bon Bon. There’s always something.” She shook her head. “I hate myself when you’re around.” “But—” “No. Go away, Bon Bon.” Lyra turned and started walking in the opposite direction, her hoofsteps sounding as loud as thunder in Bon Bon’s ears. “Please…” Bon Bon’s words came out as a whisper, but somehow Lyra heard. She halted, and looked back, still expressionless. Bon Bon stood in the middle of the street, head hanging low, the sorrow and vulnerability on her face a side that Lyra had never before seen. “Then let me change,” Bon Bon said. “For you?” The first sound that startled Lyra out of her reverie was a muffled clatter of metal against metal. A moment later, a bell quietly dinged, and she could hear something creak open. She stood up, almost falling down again as one of her back legs had fallen asleep entirely. It had been… her eyes moved to the clock on the mantlepiece before she realized that she didn’t even have a frame of reference. It had been too long of her sitting on the floor, not moving, not even thinking. She kicked out her leg, working feeling back into it while wincing at the pinpricks and odd tingling. More soft sounds echoed in the quiet house. Familiar sounds. Normal sounds. Lyra walked into the kitchen to see Bon Bon pulling a metal tray out of the oven. Perched on top of her head was that poofy white hat Lyra had given her as a joke years ago, the one she was wearing when she made her first batch of really good chocolate, and which she subsequently refused to do any baking without. Bon Bon paused as she saw Lyra standing in the doorway, before her eyes slid away and she turned back to stirring the gloopy contents of a mixing bowl. Lyra watched for a moment longer, her expression unreadable, before trotting out of the room. She returned a moment later, a small black case on her back. It lifted in her magic and landed on the kitchen table as Lyra pulled a chair out to take a seat. In a practiced motion, she flipped the clasp open and took out her lyre. The melody Lyra plucked out started out awkwardly, a handful of notes hesitantly strung together without much in the way of forethought. She pressed on, the disconnected sounds slowly flowing together into music as she played the first things that popped into her head. It was only when she looked up to see Bon Bon had stopped and turned to watch, tears flowing down her cheeks, that Lyra realized she had been playing ‘Song for Sweetie Drops’. Her hooves fell still, the last notes still ringing out. “Sorry,” Lyra said quietly. “N-no…” Bon Bon said, wiping her eyes. The awkward silence stretched out between the two. “Remember the night before my parents visited the first time?” Lyra said, “I think you were up the whole night making… was it peanut brittle?” “Yes, because you said your father liked peanuts,” Bon Bon said. “And you stayed up, playing music for me, the whole time.” A fleeting smile crossed Lyra’s face. “Yeah. And we both fell asleep on the couch the next afternoon and missed picking up Mom and Dad at the train station. They loved you though. Couldn’t believe that someone as responsible and professional as you would put up with a mare like their daughter.” Bon Bon looked down at her hooves. “You always bake when you’re nervous or upset about something,” Lyra said. “It’s stupid, isn’t it?” Bon Bon’s eyes strayed to her flank. “It’s not like it’s my real cutie mark or anything.” “That doesn’t mean you’re not good at it.” Bon Bon’s face flushed red. “When you ate my first batch of chocolates, you were sick for a week!” “More like a day, tops,” Lyra said, smiling again. “And look at you now!” “Yeah.” Bon Bon breathed out slowly, her voice draining away into melancholy. “Look at me now.” Lyra’s smile slipped away, and she stared off in a corner of the room as silence once again stretched out. “Can I ask a question?” she said. Bon Bon looked up sharply, biting her lip. “Y-yes…” Lyra closed her eyes. “Why?” “Why what?” “Why her? Why me? Why… everything? I don’t know much about changelings but… I mean, surely there are plenty of other ponies out there to feed on that’d be easier and with less chance of being caught.” Bon Bon didn’t reply. Lyra opened her eyes to see Bon Bon’s pained expression as tears began to fall again. “W-why would you—” Bon Bon gasped out. “Is that what you think?” Lyra blinked. “No, I—” “I love you, Lyra!” Lyra felt her own eyes grow wet and she blinked furiously, trying to stay calm and ignore the twisting pain she felt in her gut at seeing Bon Bon so hurt. “And I thought you loved me,” Bon Bon said, her words barely audible. “I… I…” Lyra’s head drooped. “I don’t even know who you are.” Bon Bon took one last long look at Lyra. “I’m sorry. I should leave.” “No!” Lyra cried out, surprising even herself with the intensity. She paused and collected herself. Her lyre floated up in her magic and she got to her hooves, crossing over to stand right in front of Bon Bon. “I—” Lyra took a deep breath, squeezing her eyes shut and then opening them to meet Bon Bon’s own, a deep intensity shining. “I want to know who you are. You. Not Bon Bon.” Lyra raised one wavering hoof, extending it towards the other pony. “Hi,” she said. “I’m Lyra Heartstrings. It’s nice to meet you.” “I…” Bon Bon looked down at the hoof, then back up at Lyra. “I’m so sorry, Lyra.” Lyra forced a grin. “That’s a silly name for—” In a flicker of green flames, Bon Bon was gone. In her place stood a white pegasus, her cutie mark a cumulus cloud trailing a small swirl. “Windy,” Lyra breathed out. Bon Bon heard a thunk sound, as the lyre Lyra had been levitating fell to bounce off the floor. Her eyes widened. “Your—” And then Lyra lost it. She started bawling, and Windy found herself locked in her embrace as Lyra hung on tightly, shaking like a leaf but clinging to the pegasus with all her might. Windy could feel the hot tears on her coat, and not knowing what else to do, she raised one hoof to gently smooth down the back of Lyra’s mane. “Hey,” she said quietly. “It’s okay.” Lyra kept sobbing, her shoulders heaving as they held one another. Finally, her tears slowed, and Lyra caught her breath, still refusing to let go. “It’s you? It’s really really you?” “Yes,” Windy said. Her mouth twisted into a troubled frown. “I thought you hated me.” “What?” Lyra gasped, squeezing her again. “Why?” “You never wanted to talk about her. I mean. Me.” “Because out of everything, losing Windy was the one thing I could never fully forgive you—" Lyra winced. "Bon Bon – for. And… I could never forgive myself either.” Lyra pulled back slightly, her hooves on Windy’s shoulders as she looked into her eyes. “It took me a while to get over it when Bon Bon rejected me, you know? Weeks. But then… you were gone.” Windy nodded slightly but couldn’t look away from Lyra’s golden eyes. “It took me a whole lot longer to get over you being gone. You were my best friend! I didn’t even realize how important you were to me until… until it was too late. Every time something good happened, I’d glance back over my shoulder, expecting to see you there with that huge smile on your face. Every time things were bad and I felt lost, it hurt even more not having you there to talk with, to make me feel better, to cheer me up and make me feel like I could conquer the world again.” Lyra sighed, her face clouded. “I asked everyone, tried everything, but no one knew where you had gone. Windy Wander had just vanished off of the face of Equestria. That… That’s why I went through with dropping out and moving back to Ponyville. I couldn’t handle it. I couldn’t do anything without you.” “Lyra…” Windy whispered. “And then Bon Bon showed up, and things were different. She said she had changed, and slowly, painstakingly, I began to believe it. I started to feel like life was worth living again. I had you again, I just didn’t know it. All I knew was that I was happy.” Lyra took a shaky breath before continuing. “And then today, and nothing was right anymore. Bon Bon, the real Bon Bon, had to show up and ruin everything. And I don’t know anymore! I’m just so confused. I don’t know what was a lie or the truth, and I feel so empty and I don’t know what to believe in. I just want—” Windy moved forward and Lyra’s words were cut off as their lips met. Lyra’s eyes slipped closed as they kissed and she drifted off into the one sensation that felt fully right, and in every possible way, solid and familiar. After a moment that was both an eternity and far, far too short, Windy pulled back gently. Lyra leaned forward, not wanting the kiss to end, but their lips pulled apart. “I love you,” Windy said, her breath warm against Lyra’s lips. “And I love you too,” Lyra whispered back. “You. So much.” “Then that’s the only truth that matters.” Lyra didn’t have any words for the perfect certainty of the agreement in her heart. But as she leaned forward and they kissed deeply again, embracing one another in the quiet stillness of the kitchen, Windy heard her answer just fine. “So, you don’t feed on me?” Lyra frowned. “I don’t get it.” Windy looked over at the mare sitting next to her, one of Windy’s wings protectively draped across her back. “Lyra, your love is too important to me to just be food,” she said with the faintest hint of reproach. “I wouldn’t mind if you did...” “When I left the hive, the second time, they told me I’d come crawling back once I got sick of you and your love. And so I told myself never.” She shook her head vigorously. “Never ever.” “Then, you can eat pony food and be okay?” “Well... No.” Windy bit her lip. “But I learned how to make something that other ponies like. And ponies here are so friendly and giving with their love that I’ve always had far more than I even needed.” “You mean, at the shop? It doesn't... hurt, does it?” “Some ponies may feel a little more tired, and that’s why I’m always sure nopony leaves without a free sample of something sweet and sugary for a pick-me-up.” Windy closed her eyes. “I-I can stop though. Figure out something else, though I’m not sure what. I’ll do it for you.” “No.” Lyra pursed her lips. “There’s one thing. One thing I want you to promise me.” “Anything.” “I don’t want you to be Bon Bon for me.” Lyra frowned. “I don’t even want you to be Windy for me.” Windy blinked. “I just want you to be you.” Windy’s head dipped down. “But I don’t know who that is, anymore.” “Don’t be silly.” Lyra leaned her head in to nuzzle against Windy’s neck. “You’re the same pony you’ve always been. The mare that I fell in love with.” Windy smiled as she felt the warmth of Lyra against her side. “Can… Can I still make candy?” she whispered. “Of course,” Lyra said. “And…” Windy’s eye drifted to her sides. “Maybe keep the wings?” Lyra wiggled, snuggling herself closer underneath the warm blanket of feathers. “I like the wings.” Windy fell quiet for a moment as she chewed on her lip. The room lit up in green light as flames lit up across Windy’s body, casting a pale light even though a rather surprised Lyra could feel no heat. The wing draped across her was now cream in hue, and Lyra looked up to see a swirled pink and blue mane. “Y-you don’t have to do that for me,” she said. Windy smiled. “I know. But I’m so used to seeing this face in the mirror now, it feels a little odd otherwise.” “I guess it’ll be easier for everypony else too.” As soon as the words were out of Lyra’s mouth, she could sense a change in mood. Windy had stiffened, turning her head away to stare at an empty corner of the room. “Windy...” Lyra frowned. The pegasus wouldn’t meet her eyes. “You can’t keep hiding forever. Eventually the other shoe is going to drop.” “I can’t just tell everypony that I’m a changeling! They’ll run me out of town!” “I doubt that,” Lyra said. “Ponies here are nice. Everyone likes you!” “What if you’re wrong? What if I’m exiled?” “Then we’ll find somewhere else to live. It doesn’t matter, as long as we’re together.” “I just… I love everything here so much. I’m so lucky to have friends here, and a job that I love, and the best marefriend ever. I don’t want that to change a single bit.” Lyra hesitated for a moment. “Changes aren’t all bad,” she said, slowly. Windy looked back at her, head tilted slightly. “What if…” Lyra took a deep breath. “What if you had the best wife ever?” Windy’s face turned beet red. “A-a-are you asking m-me—?” “You deserve better, I know. But after all this... After losing you once, and feeling like I almost lost you a second time, I don’t ever want that to happen again. I want to be with you forever, no matter what. So yeah. I guess I’m saying… Will you marry me?” Windy’s lips met hers softly as the pegasus turned, wrapping both forehooves around Lyra and pulling her close. When they pulled apart, Windy’s lips were curled back into a smile of perfect contentment. “I take it that’s a yes?” Lyra said. EpilogueIt was an idyllic day at Canter Candies. A mother and her energetic young colt wandered around, browsing the jars of hard candies, peppermints, and lollipops, while a contemplative stallion sized up the heart-shaped boxes of chocolates. Lyra sat on a stool by the window, plucking out a simple, sprightly melody that put a bounce in Bon Bon’s step. “I can’t thank you enough,” Cheerilee said. She nudged the filly at her side. “Yeth, Mith Bon Bon,” Twist said. “I promith I’ll be a big help.” “Oh, of course!” Bon Bon said. “I was just saying to Lyra that I could really use another set of hooves around here.” She sighed. “She offered to help, of course, but she always forgets to not use magic and the candies come out tasting horrible.” “I-I’m not very good at anything other than pepperminth,” Twist admitted. Bon Bon reached over with a hoof to fluff Twist’s mane. “Don’t worry about that. It just takes practice! It took me an embarrassingly long time to make something that anypony other than Lyra would try.” Twist’s eyes grew large. “Really? But your cutie mark…” A wan smile crossed Bon Bon’s face. “Er. Yes. You would be surprised. The important thing is being willing to work hard and keep trying.” Cheerilee frowned very slightly, her sharp eyes picking up on something. “Are you sure this is a good time, Bon Bon? Is everything okay?” “Oh, yes! I’ve just had… a stressful couple of days. Life is full of surprises, you know?” Bon Bon’s eyes drifted over to Lyra. “Sometimes big decisions come your way and it’s hard to know how exactly to handle them.” “Like wedding planning?” Cheerilee raised a hoof to stifle a giggle as Bon Bon’s mouth fell open. “I overheard a little songbird talking about you and Lyra meeting with Rarity yesterday, looking at white dresses.” Bon Bon blushed. “That… too. We haven’t exactly made it public yet.” Cheerilee nodded. “Well, your secret is safe with—” The door to the shop slammed open, causing Lyra’s hooves to fumble and the melody suddenly fall short. Everypony turned to the door to see the intruder. A second Bon Bon smirked as she marched in, her eyes sweeping across the room. After a moment, her head jerked to look back outside. She growled and trotted out, returning to shove a very miffed Twilight Sparkle through the door, with Spike following close behind. “I’m going, I’m going!” Twilight said. She frowned sternly as she looked at the impatient Bon Bon. “I still don’t think this is necessary. I’m sure you’re mistaken.” “Uh… Twilight…” Spike piped up, pointing one claw forward. Twilight turned and saw the other Bon Bon, still behind the counter next to Twist and Cheerilee. She was standing as rigid as a statue, her face pale white. “Aha!” Bon Bon said. “You may have been able to fool these village simpletons, but now you will receive your comeuppance, imposter!” She strode forward dramatically, pausing to knock a lollipop out of the hoof of the young colt who was staring at her open-mouthed. His mother gave her a dirty look. “This changeling scum has infiltrated your town and even now is probably plotting to poison you and your children. Your thanks are not necessary, citizen.” Lyra finally found her mouth working again. “Get out!” she shouted, rising to her hooves and shaking with anger. “Nuh uh uh,” Bon Bon said. “Not until the Princess here has taken care of the changeling.” Twilight Sparkle blinked. “T-this is highly unconventional. Normally we need a written request filed for any claims of identity theft and—” “Who cares?” Bon Bon said. “Paperwork’s stupid. Get on with it, Princess.” Twilight’s eyes flared, but she took a deep breath. “Fine. I do know a spell for such an occasion.” The intruding Bon Bon just smirked. As Twilight’s horn lit up, Twist and Cheerilee both stepped in front of the original Bon Bon. “You can’t!” Twist said. “Twilight,” Cheerilee chimed in, “hold on a moment. Let’s not do anything rash.” Twilight’s eyes widened. “Oh, no, I’m not going to hurt her. I promise! I know a spell that reveals whether a pony is a changeling or not. That’s all.” “And when she is shown to be a fraud, then we can talk about whether to throw her into a dungeon or just exile her on the spot,” Bon Bon said, grinning. “Shush you,” Twilight said. She motioned with her head and Twist and Cheerilee very hesitantly stepped away. A beam of light burst forth from Twilight’s horn, wrapping around the Bon Bon behind the counter and enveloping her in a shroud of white. The dazzling light slowly changed colors to become a pale green. “See? Now—” The smirking Bon Bon stopped, noticing Twilight’s horn still glowing. “What are you doing? Stop it.” Twilight shot a second beam of light, striking the other Bon Bon squarely in the chest. Another field of white blossomed around her, before sharpening into a bright, blazing red. A few murmurs broke out from the other ponies in the store as they stared at the furious Bon Bon enveloped in a menacing red aura. The mother grabbed the colt and interposed herself between that Bon Bon and her son. “What kind of trick are you trying to pull?” Bon Bon snapped. Twilight’s eyes narrowed. “I think that you should leave.” “What!?” “I think you should leave Ponyville,” Twilight said. “And I would appreciate it if you would refrain from returning.” “You can’t be serious! This is an outrage! I am outraged!” Bon Bon’s eyes widened as she looked around the room for support. Lyra was practically vibrating with anger. Cheerilee and Twist had once again stepped in front of the other Bon Bon. The lone stallion stepped forward, a serious frown on his face as he towered menacingly over her. “F-fine! I’ve had enough of this stupid town and you stupid ponies!” Bon Bon screamed, turning to gallop out of the shop. Twilight sighed. She looked up with a smile as Lyra rushed over to give Bon Bon a tight hug. “I’m terribly sorry about all that, Bon Bon. She burst into the library and wouldn’t take no for an answer.” Bon Bon still looked pale. “T-thank you, your majesty.” “Um.” Twilight looked down to see Spike frowning. “Twilight, isn’t… isn’t your changeling detection spell normally green for changeling and red for pony?” Twilight’s eyes narrowed as they moved to meet Lyra’s, looking for something. Lyra just squeezed Bon Bon tighter, glaring back fiercely. Twilight nodded slightly. “Yes, Spike. However, she was also quite possibly the rudest pony I’ve ever met.” She smiled at Bon Bon. “Whereas I’ve known Bon Bon for years, and she’s a good pony who can always be counted on to be friendly and willing to help out others.” Twilight’s brow eyebrows furrowed as a thought of the other Bon Bon crossed her mind. “Besides, she called Form 247-D9 stupid! The nerve.” Everypony in the shop seemed to be staring at Bon Bon while also trying not to meet her eyes. “I do have a question for you, though, Bon—” Twilight paused, looking a little guilty. “Well, I suppose I should ask. Is it Bon Bon? Or would you prefer something else?” “...W-windy is fine…” “Windy, then.” Twilight smiled. “Do you have any sugar-glazed daisies?” Windy blinked. “Um. Yes! I’ve been working on a new recipe with strawberry flavoring. If that’s okay?” Stars lit up in Twilight’s eyes. “I love strawberries! I’ll take a dozen.” Windy stiffly nodded and backed up, heading for the kitchen. Lyra followed closely behind. Everypony could heard the loud whispering even through the door. When they reappeared, Windy carried a small paper bag on her back. Right between the new pair of wings she was wearing. Twilight lifted the bag with her magic and floated some bits over to a red-faced Windy. “Thank you so much! I’m terribly sorry about all the bother.” “No,” Windy said. “T-thank you…” “C’mon Spike!” Twilight called out as she turned and trotted away. She peeked in the bag. “Oh, I think she put in an extra honeycrisp quartz for you!” “Really?” Spike jogged after her as they left the shop. The bell on the door rung as it swung shut, leaving Windy still standing there, everypony staring at her. Lyra laid one hoof on her shoulder in reassurement, and Windy took a deep, shuddering breath. The first pony to break the silence was Twist. “That. Ith. Tho cool.” The colt ran to tug at Windy’s foreleg. “Can you turn into anypony? Can you be Daring Do? Or Mistress Mare-velous?” The stallion sidled up, looking away from them. “Uh, do you happen to have any… special magic changeling chocolates? With… extra-love or something?” “I cannot believe it,” Cheerilee said. “Why didn’t you tell me? We talked about Changelings in class just last week! But still – can you come to a show and tell? The kids would love it!” “Mith Windy?” Twist said. “Ith everything okay? You’re crying…” “Yes,” Windy said, a disbelieving smile on her face. “Everything is just perfect.”
Chapter 1“That pony is going to be my marefriend,” Lyra Heartstrings proclaimed. At her side, she heard a clatter of plastic and Lyra turned, one eyebrow raised. The pegasus behind her in the cafeteria line had dropped her tray, but thankfully it hadn’t yet been loaded with food. “M-m-m-marefriend?” Windy said, her face blushing a hot red. Lyra grinned widely and floated the tray back up to the counter. “Yep!” “But she’s… you’re… mares!” “The flower that blossoms in the hearts of two pure maidens is the sweetest love of all,” Lyra said. “Or at least that’s what it says in some of those Neighponese comic books that Moondancer let me borrow.” Windy stared at Lyra with big round eyes for a long moment before focusing her attention on the mare Lyra had pointed out. “But… Her?” Across the room and seated alone at a long table, an earth pony with a curly pink and blue mane was glaring down at a half of a daisy sandwich. With one final grimace, she took a big bite, chomping the poor sandwich with much more force than necessary. “Just look at her!” Lyra said. Windy tilted her head sideways, trying to see what Lyra saw. The pony wasn’t unattractive. She was a little on the round side, perhaps. Her mane was striking but mainly because it was a little old-fashioned in style. But why somepony – why Lyra – would be head over hoof for her… Windy bit her lip. “Isn’t she just dreamy?” The earth pony had devoured the sandwich and locked her eyes onto a cup of pudding. Her eyes darted furtively, not noticing Lyra and Windy, before her muzzle dipped down and she went straight for the kill. “Um…” Windy said. Lyra turned to her and threw a foreleg across her shoulders, pulling her in close. Windy froze at the physical contact. “I’m gonna need help though. I’m gonna need a wingmare.” “W-what?” As quickly as she had initiated the contact, Lyra let go and started walking forward, grasping both her tray and Windy’s with her magic. A few small plates floated up to land on the trays as she passed, a small salad and some sort of apple casserole. Windy shook her head and trotted to catch up. “What? But! I don’t know what to do?” “Just talk me up!” Lyra said, tossing some bits to the cashier. She marched off into the dining area, Windy trailing behind. “Anypony sitting here?” The earth pony looked up, her eyes narrowed as she sized up Lyra. They flickered for a moment to Windy, desperately trying to hide behind Lyra, but wrote her off and returned to the unicorn with the cocky grin. “Mph,” she said. Lyra sat their trays on the table and plopped down. “Lyra Heartstrings, nice to meetcha!” Windy hesitated before sitting too. “And this is Windy Wander, my roommate.” The pony ignored Windy’s wan smile and frowned at Lyra. “Bon Bon.” “Let me guess, you go to the Sun Princess Institute for Culinary Excellence?” Lyra said, unfazed. Bon Bon rolled her eyes. “How’d you figure that one out? The lack of a horn, or the absence of wings?” “I-I know an earth pony in Fleetfeather Academy who’s taking the Weather track,” Windy chimed in. Bon Bon shifted her fierce glare to the pegasus and Windy wilted, her eyes dropping as she poked at the salad in front of her. Suddenly a hoof jabbed into her side and she let out an “Eep!” Bon Bon’s glare had faded slightly, and her brow was furrowed in confusion. Windy’s eyes shot sideways to see Lyra surreptitiously nodding at her. “Um. Uh. Lyra, did you do something new with your mane?” Lyra blinked, but then rallied and proudly threw her head back, tossing her spiky cyan mane. “I’m trying a new kind of gel,” she said. “A mane that short makes you look like a fillyfooler,” Bon Bon said. Lyra froze, the huge smile plastered on her face looking suddenly fragile. Windy jumped in again in desperation. “What about your band? When are you guys playing next?” “Band?” Bon Bon said sharply. For the first time, her eyes sparkled with something other than annoyance. “Yes, Lyra’s in— I mean, is the frontmare for My Chemical Romanticore. They play, um, experimental lo-fi synthwave noisepop. And it’s really really good!” Bon Bon relaxed a little, sensing the earnestness radiating from Windy. “R-right, and we’re playing this Friday,” Lyra said, finally recovering. “At the Blue Brew Coffeehouse a few blocks from campus,” Windy chimed in. Bon Bon leaned forward, the faintest hint of a smile on her face. “It’s going to be awesome.” Lyra grinned. “You know, if you’re not doing anything.” Bon Bon groaned softly into her pillow. She had been having worrying dreams. Again. Her legs kicked out, groping for a familiar source of warmth but finding only cold blankets. “Lyra?” she mumbled. Had she fallen out of bed again? It wouldn’t be the first time. But Bon Bon couldn’t even hear Lyra snoring, the sound that she had grown so used to that she found it hard to sleep without. She groaned again and scooched over to peek onto the floor on the other side of the bed. Empty. “Lyra?” she called out again, louder. It definitely wasn’t normal for Lyra to be the first one up. Which meant something might be wrong. Alarming images swirled through her head, the worries that she had worked so hard to suppress, but which still lurked in the corners of her mind. Lyra had left her, because she had grown bored, because of something Bon Bon had done, because Lyra had found out— Bon Bon squeezed her eyes shut, forcing herself to take deep breaths and remember what her doctor said about handling anxiety. Then her nose caught a whiff of something burning, and she realized the house was probably on fire. She made a dash for the door, but the blankets still tangled around her legs caused her to tumble right off the bed to land on her muzzle. With a whimper, she kicked them away and bolted, through the door and down the stairs, the smell intensifying as she headed straight for the source, ready to leap into the fire and save her Lyra— Her Lyra who was standing in the messier-than-normal kitchen, chopping up carrots as a frying pan behind her let out a plume of dark smoke. Lyra grinned sheepishly as she saw Bon Bon. “Aw, this was supposed to be a surprise,” she said. “I was gonna make you breakfast in bed. Only it’s a lot harder than I expected.” Bon Bon exhaled, her beating heart slowing down. “Lyra, dear, you need to flip the pancakes.” Lyra’s eyes widened and she turned around, a spatula floating up in her magic to deal with the now-charred pancakes. “Oh, right. I was working on them but then I had this brilliant idea for carrot hashbrowns, because I know you like carrots, and they’re basically the same thing as potatoes, right? Hey, since you’re up now, do we have any maple syrup?” Bon Bon trotted forward to sit down at the kitchen table. “No, I think I used it all up when working on my new maplemint lollipop recipe last week.” She looked askance at Lyra. “What’s going on? Is there some special occasion that I’m unaware of?” Lyra grinned and bounced slightly on her back hooves. “What makes you think that? Does it have to be a special occasion to make breakfast for the most beautiful mare in the world?” Bon Bon felt her cheeks grow hot. Lyra was not the most sneaky of ponies, but she had a particularly well-honed ability to throw Bon Bon off with unexpected flattery and attention. “I…” Bon Bon looked down, as a pile of papers and envelopes slid across the table in Lyra’s magic aura. “Check the mail for me, sweetie?” Lyra sang out, turning back to chopping carrots. Bon Bon blinked. “Ditsy never gets to our house this early in the morning.” She flipped through the first few pieces of mail. “And all of these are actually addressed to us.” “I went out for a jog this morning and passed by the post office,” Lyra said. “And figured, hey, why not?” Bon Bon narrowed her eyes, carefully studying Lyra. Her expression radiated sincere innocence. Cautiously, Bon Bon looked at the mail in more depth. Junk. Bills. Junk. A postcard from Lyra’s parents. And then at the bottom, a particularly large envelope. Manehattan Media & Publishing. Not a particularly familiar sender. Bon Bon peeked up one last time at Lyra, only to see her back turned. Carefully, Bon Bon opened the envelope and slid the contents out. Her jaw dropped open as she saw a huge picture of Lyra adorning the cover of Sound & Stable, one of the biggest music magazines in the business. Big block letters along the bottom spelled out HEARTSTRINGS - Exclusive Interview! “Lyra! Y-you… Sound & Stable!” Bon Bon leapt up, and flew over to her marefriend. Lyra happily grabbed her hooves and they twirled in a circle across the kitchen. “When— How—” Lyra grinned. “Well, I might have lied a tiny bit about needing to go to Manehattan last month for family business. Turns out my agent sent a copy of my latest album to someone she knew, and they loved it! They’re calling me best new artist of the year.” “No way!” Bon Bon let out a high-pitched squee. “Finally, you’re getting some recognition! I always knew it!” “Take a look at the article,” Lyra said, winking. Bon Bon hastily returned to her seat, and stared at the cover image one last time before flipping the magazine open. Her eyes flittered across the text and images of Lyra being interviewed, so overjoyed that she was unable to process more than one tiny flash at a time. Here Lyra explained her creative process in just as poetic and enigmatic terms as always. There she touched on formative bands that had influenced her work – names that Bon Bon knew and had heard many times over. Across one side ran a greyscale image of Lyra on a park bench with her lyre cradled in her forelegs, eyes closed as her hoof rested on the strings. It was perfect. And then Bon Bon turned the page and froze. The last page of the article held a photo of the two of them standing side by side in the back kitchen of Canter Candies, Bon Bon wearing an apron stained with chocolate, and Lyra’s arm draped across her shoulder. Bon Bon knew it all too well, a picture from the one-month anniversary of the opening of her shop. She had a copy of it herself, hanging on the wall behind the store’s counter. Her eyes moved to the text below the photo. So Miss Heartstrings, are you still an eligible bachelorette, or is there a special somepony in your life? I’m afraid this heart is taken! By the loveliest of ponies, my marefriend ever since college. Bon Bon is my love, my muse, my source of strength throughout everything. She’s the reason I’m here today. I had a very particular pony in mind when I wrote ‘Song for Sweetie Drops’, my first single off the new album, you know. I don’t know what I would do without her. Bon Bon looked up, the color draining from her face. Lyra looked up from the carrots, but the smile dropped off her face at Bon Bon’s expression. “Bonnie? What’s—” “You have to call them,” Bon Bon said. “Cancel it. Back out.” “What?!” Lyra shook her head vigorously. “No, I can’t. Do you know what kind of chance this is? And as far as I know, they’ve been out for a few days now in the major cities. I was supposed to get an early copy, but you know how mail can be around here.” Bon Bon’s hoof jabbed down at the magazine. “Why did you have to tell them about me?” “Is that what this is about?” Lyra said, the words coming out sharply. “Look, I know you can be shy, but that’s a good picture of us.” “It’s not about the picture! Why did you have to bring me up at all?” “What, am I not supposed to talk about you?” “Yes!” Bon Bon shouted. “I’ve told you, that’s what I want! A quiet life in a quiet town! Not— Not this! Never this!” “So you don’t want me to make it big,” Lyra said bitterly. “That’s always been your dream, not mine,” Bon Bon snapped. As soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted them. Her face turned down, ashen. “I thought we were in this together.” Bon Bon felt tears forming in her eyes. “You’re the one who never wants to get serious. Every time we talk about actually getting mar—” “I’m going out,” Lyra said, her own eyes tightly closed. She used her magic to jerk a slip of paper off the fridge, the magnet holding it up clattering to the floor. “Did you write maple syrup on the grocery list?” Bon Bon swallowed. “No,” she said, in a small, weak voice. “I’ll remember it,” Lyra said, marching past Bon Bon. A moment later, Bon Bon heard the front door slam shut. Tears trickled down her face and plopped onto the magazine’s glossy pages. She mechanically rose and trudged over to turn off the stove, grabbing the frying pan in her teeth and carrying it back to the table. The charred pancakes crunched in her teeth. They even had chocolate chips in them. Her very favorite. On the other side of town, the Friendship Express pulled into the station, the first train of the morning coming from Canterlot. Ponies stepped off, mostly day-trippers from the city wanting to spend some time poking around in Ponyville’s quaint market square. Several stallions and mares dressed in ties headed to board the train, ready for their commute into the city. “Out of my way!” a voice barked out. A cream-colored mare shoved a grey stallion back and stormed out onto the platform, sizing up Ponyville with one baleful eye and disapproving of what she saw. “A small, dirty town filled with small, dirty ponies,” she said out loud, ignoring the offended look a passing pony gave her. She glanced around, and then stomped over to a pony in a uniform, currently busy speaking with a middle-aged mare and her foal. “You!” she said. “I’m from out of town, and looking for a pony named Lyra Heartstrings.” He turned from the two ponies and then did a double-take. “A-aren’t you…?” She rolled her eyes. “My name is Bon Bon. Now take me to Lyra.”
Chapter 2The sounds echoed through the coffeehouse, the reverberating baseline matched with scintillating synth melodies. Over the top of the music, Lyra’s slightly scratchy voice shouted out free-associated nonsense, flowing from one idea to the next in a staccato rhythm that counterbalanced the beat. Windy Wander stood at the back wall, bobbing up and down in time with the music. Next to her, Bon Bon watched the musicians with a pensive frown. The song came to a close and Lyra took a bow, to scattered applause and cheers from the ponies watching. Windy pounded her hooves against the floor enthusiastically. “And for our next number, we’re gonna go with something slower. Something for a special pony out there!” Lyra winked at the two ponies standing along the back wall and raised a hoof to signal her bandmates. The drummer’s sticks clicked together to count off and the music started again, this time more subdued. Lyra’s lyre floated up, a cord running from it to an amplifier, and a twisting melody rang out. “Oh gosh,” Windy said. “She’s been working on this one for ages. I think this is the first time they’ve tried it live.” “Do they ever do anything less… noisy?” Bon Bon asked. Lyra looked across the room at her with a smile and Bon Bon raised a hoof slightly in acknowledgment. “Oh, it does take a bit to get used to.” Windy’s wings fluffed up and out. “But the harmonies they use are really rather sophisticated, and technically speaking, they’re all really good. I mean, listen to the unconventional syncopation of the drums. And Lyra, gosh, Lyra…” Bon Bon rolled her eyes. “Yes, it’s hipster music, I get that. Do they normally have this many ponies show up?” “I-I guess. They’re getting a bit of a reputation in certain circles, I think.” Bon Bon nodded. “Not bad.” Her eyes drifted to the stallion wearing shades behind the keyboard. “Not bad at all.” “Did I mention Lyra writes most of the music herself?” Windy asked, shifting back and forth on her hooves. “She’s in the musical program at PCGSU.” “Only like thirty times,” Bon Bon griped. “Oh…” “You know, I think you’re right, though.” Bon Bon raised a hoof to her chin. “I think they could be pretty popular, if they’d drop all this avant-garde nonsense and go mainstream.” “What do you mean?” Windy asked. Bon Bon didn’t say a word, but a small smile flitted across her face. Bon Bon marched straight down the streets of Ponyville, headed for the market square. She ignored the other ponies milling around, only pausing to glare at any that stepped in her way. A pony mowing his lawn raised one hoof in a wave as she stalked by, but she didn’t spare him a glance. She frowned as she finally arrived in the market square, looking around at the various carts and stalls set up throughout the open space. On one corner, a building that looked like a giant gingerbread house rose up, a line of ponies extending out the door and around the corner. Across the way, dresses hung in the windows of a well-decorated round boutique. Bon Bon ignored those too, doubting anything in this town would compare with the offerings in Canterlot or Manehattan. There was only one thing she was looking for, one pony and— Her eyes lasered in on a green pony dragging her hooves as she trudged through the square. Bon Bon gritted her teeth, but forced her mouth into an artificial smile as she trotted forward to intercept the other pony. “Hi,” she said, lifting her head and waiting carefully for Lyra’s reaction. Lyra glanced up and then away, picking up her pace as she trotted away. “Not now, Bon Bon,” she said. Bon Bon blinked. She had to canter forward to catch up with Lyra. “Hold on, you can’t just run off!” Lyra stopped, causing Bon Bon to bump into her from behind. “Not now. Look, I know, I said some things that I regret, but we can talk about it later.” “Well, I certainly hope that— Wait. Later when?” “Later tonight,” Lyra said. “Just give me some time, okay? I’ll see you at home.” Bon Bon shook her head, as Lyra walked off, vanishing into a crowd of ponies clustered around a stand. “But…” She frowned. “Where do you live?” Bon Bon sat curled up on the couch, her head buried under a pillow. She should have been at work by now, of course. But at this point she had already missed the early morning crowd. It wouldn’t hurt to stay closed until the afternoon. At the moment, she didn’t feel like doing anything, other than lying there with her stomach tied in knots. She cursed Lyra for causing the problem to begin with, then veered into an overwhelming guilt for her resentment of her marefriend’s perfectly justifiable actions. That morphed into disgust at herself and anxiety about her future in the short and long-term. Surely Lyra couldn’t love someone like her. But it was Lyra’s fault to begin with… A sharp rapping broke her mind out of the failure spiral and she sat up, staring at the door. “Go away,” she called out. The knocking redoubled, the pounding insistent and shaking the door. Bon Bon unsteadily rose to her hooves and made her way to the door, swaying back and forth. She lowered one eye to the peephole to see who was on the other side and her mouth ran dry. The mare currently knocking on the door had a familiar cream-colored coat, a familiar blue and pink swirled mane, and an unfortunately familiar scowl on her face. “I heard you in there, now open up!” the other Bon Bon shouted. Bon Bon took several steps back, head reeling as all of the very worst case scenarios of her deepest anxieties caught up with her. She closed her eyes and forced one deep breath, then another, as her heart pounded with enough force to leap out of her chest. She was screwed. Strangely, that gave her a certain sense of calm. She had imagined this day would come, after all, and now that it was here, it felt like those nightmares she had grown unfortunately accustomed to. Sure, she wouldn’t wake up from this one, wouldn’t have Lyra comfortingly snoring away in bed next to her. But… Lyra… Bon Bon swallowed and steeled herself. She was almost certainly not going to get out of this. But if there was a way – any way – to keep Lyra, she would fight for it. And she had an idea. A green light flashed in the foyer of Lyra and Bon Bon’s house. Bon Bon ceased knocking, narrowing her eyes. If Lyra thought she would wait outside all day for her, that mare had another thing coming. She turned and lifted one rear hoof, ready to buck the door right down if she had to. She was just about to let loose when she heard the creak of the door swinging open. She smiled smugly to herself and turned to see… Lyra. Bon Bon blinked. “I thought you were at the market,” she said. Lyra rubbed the back of her head with one hoof. “Yeeesss…?” “Well then. I don’t see why I couldn’t have followed you back.” Bon Bon sniffed. “After you ran off I had to ask three whole ponies before I found a mailmare who knew where you lived.” She paused for a moment, frowning. “Incidentally, I can’t believe they let ponies like that deliver letters.” Lyra jaw clenched. “She’s not… I mean.” Her eyes darted back and forth. “Come in!” Lyra reached out to pull insistently on Bon Bon’s foreleg, dragging her inside and slamming the door shut. “Can I get you anything? Coffee? Tea? Some homemade sweets?” Bon Bon scrunched up her nose. “I’ll have a water. Surely, Ponyville can’t manage to screw that much up at least.” “Nope!” Lyra said. “Water, yes! We have wonderful water.” She trotted away to the kitchen, hastily filling up a glass and balancing it on her back. When she arrived in the living room again, Bon Bon had already taken a seat on the couch and was looking down her nose at the knickknacks on their fireplace. Lyra stepped forward, before Bon Bon could notice the heart-framed portrait of Lyra and Bon Bon from their first Hearts and Hooves Day in Ponyville. She smiled brightly, as Bon Bon looked at her with narrowed eyes. “Well?” Bon Bon said. Lyra blinked, and then awkwardly turned her head to lightly grip the glass in her teeth and set it in front of Bon Bon. “Ew,” she said. “Use your magic. Why do you always have to be so weird?” Lyra flushed red and dragged one hoof in a circle on the ground. “Anyways. It’s so good to see you again, Bon Bon. It’s been great catching up! But I’ve got to be somewhere right...” her eyes flitted over to a clock. “Right now, so if you’ll excuse—” “Nope, I’m not going anywhere until we talk,” Bon Bon said firmly. Lyra nodded rapidly. “Sure, yes. Let’s talk. About—” “About the magazine article.” Lyra winced. “Of course. I’m sure you have questions.” “What the buck are you thinking?” Bon Bon exclaimed. “Where did you even get that picture?” “I—” Bon Bon rose to her hooves and poked Lyra hard in the chest. “You still have a crush on me, is that it? After all this time, you’re still pining after me?” “That—” “Not that I blame you, of course. It’s just awfully pathetic, I hope you realize that. Being hopelessly in love with a pony who doesn’t even realize you still exist.” Lyra’s head hung low. Bon Bon paused and Lyra looked up before quietly speaking. “Yes, I know. That’s what it is, I’m really sorry. It won’t happen again. Just… just leave me alone, and I’ll leave you alone. We’ll forget all about this and move on.” Bon Bon rolled her eyes. “Did you lose your backbone too?” She smirked. “And I never said we had to leave one another alone.” “What?” Lyra said, feeling a sinking feeling. “Maybe I was wrong about you,” Bon Bon said airily. “Maybe you are going places. Maybe this could work after all. Things haven’t been going so well for me in Canterlot, primarily because of an insidious and completely unjust conspiracy of confectioners refusing to hire me, and—” Lyra was shaking her head violently. “No. No no no no no no no.” “Excuse me?” “No!” Lyra cried out. “In retrospect I don’t think it will work. Maybe I prefer stallions after all? Ha ha. My mistake. “ Bon Bon’s face darkened. “You don’t truly expect for me to believe—” Lyra yanked her forward, shoving her towards the door. “Actually, maybe I’m already seeing somepony. You know how it is. But it’s been a pleasure. I would invite you back but I’m moving tomorrow. To Vanhoover. Maybe you should look me up there!” “Wha—” Bon Bon cried out. Lyra yanked the door open and made to push the other mare out when she saw a familiar figure turning the corner on the other end of the street. She slammed the door shut again, barely missing Bon Bon’s muzzle in the process. “On second thought! You should go out the back door. I have a lovely garden!” Bon Bon stamped her hoof. “Stop it this instant!” she yelled out. Lyra froze, a fake smile plastered on her face. Bon Bon trotted to the center of the room and stood with her hooves planted firmly. She glared at Lyra. “I am not leaving until you knock it off and we discuss this like reasonable mares.” Sweat poured down Lyra’s forehead as her mouth opened and closed. She swore she could hear hoofsteps through the door behind her as a pony walked up the path to the house. Lyra’s eyes flickered between the front door and an angry Bon Bon, back and forth. Then she heard the creak of the door starting to open and leapt forward as green flames flashed. Lyra opened the door to her home, her head hanging down. “Look Bon Bon, I wanted to say—” As her eyes came up, she saw two identical ponies waiting for her in the middle of the room, mirror images of one another save for their expressions. The rightmost pony’s face was contorted into an expression of open-mouthed shock, while the leftmost pony drew heaving breaths, on the verge of bursting into tears. Both of them were Bon Bon.
Chapter 3Windy’s hoof tapped gently against the doorframe. When she heard no response, she gently nudged the door open and stepped inside, pushing the door back to almost shut again. Lyra’s room was dimly lit, the only light coming from the edges of the windows, where the sun peeked through the tightly-drawn shades. Clothes were scattered across the floor, and Windy carefully made her way over to the bed. There, in a curled up ball of blankets, Lyra laid. She wasn’t crying. She had already cried and cried, until the tears had stopped coming, but even so, the blanket twitched and moved as Lyra restlessly shook. The bed shifted as Windy sat down on the other end. “Lyra?” she softly called out. “Go away,” Lyra hoarsely whispered. Windy reached over to pull the blanket back, revealing the green unicorn, her long swirly mane all tangled and knotted from its wavy style, her eyes red and bloodshot. Lyra slapped at Windy’s hoof and her magic pulled the blanket back over her head. “Go away,” she muttered again. “Lyra, I know it’s hard, but you’ve got to push through. You’ve missed classes for three days now. I think your professors are getting worried.” “I don’t care,” Lyra said. “It doesn’t matter. I’m quitting school.” “What?” Windy gasped. “But—” “It’s all pointless. I’m going back to Ponyville. I’m nopony.” “Don’t say that!” Windy said sharply. “You’re… you’re amazing, Lyra.” She took a deep breath. “This is all because of her, isn’t it?” Lyra’s face peeked out from beneath the blanket, wearing a snarl. “Don’t talk about her.” “She’s bad for you. In the past six months, she’s strung you along while she did everything in her power to change you. First the hair, then the clothes, then the music. She doesn’t care about you, Lyra. She just wants some sort of… of… fashion accessory to parade around for her own benefit.” “Shut up! You don’t know anything about her! Or me!” “Can’t you see that she’s wrong for you? I just want you to be happy!” “Then go away!” Lyra screamed. Windy pulled back, her mouth open and closing wordlessly. “Only Bon Bon can make me happy,” Lyra murmured. Windy stood up and backed away to the door. “Only Bon Bon,” Lyra whispered to herself. Windy’s hooves sounded like thunder in her ears as she walked out of the bedroom. She made her way down the hall, pausing for a moment to look in her own room. It was nearly bare, only a paltry collection of trinkets that made up all of her possessions. And then shaking her head, Windy Wander walked onwards, out of the house and out of Lyra’s life. Lyra stared at the two identical Bon Bons standing in her living room, her eyes as wide as dinnerplates. She closed them and raised one hoof to rub her face, but a second glance revealed the situation unchanged. “Okay,” Lyra said weakly, “Normally when I have this dream there are less bad vibes and it is more…” Her hoof drew a lazy circle in the air. “Bedroom-adjacent.” “Changeling!” the Bon Bon on the right shouted out. The left Bon Bon gasped and raised a hoof in accusation. “Yes! She’s a changeling!” “No, you’re a changeling!” Right flailed her hooves out to push the other mare away, her face twisted in a scowl. “Get your filthy bug hooves away from me!” “Lyra, you have to believe me! She’s an evil changeling trying to impersonate me!” Left stumbled back and crouched down, looking up at Lyra with her big blue eyes. Right leaned forward as she hurled insults at the other pony. “Liar! Scum! Vermin!” “Am not!” Left shouted back, rising back to her hooves to stand muzzle to muzzle with her duplicate. “You’re the liar!” Right’s eyes narrowed. “That’s just what a changeling would say!” “I’m not a changeling!” “Said the liar!” “Hold it!” Lyra shouted out, causing both to freeze. She plopped on the wood floor, holding her head between her hooves. “Okay. What. Okay. Let’s… Let’s calm down and approach this rationally?” “But… but you have to get rid of her,” Left said. “I’m scared, Lyra.” Lyra’s eye twitched as a slightly manic grin bloomed on her face. “Don’t worry. I’ve seen a movie like this, I think we can handle it.” “Lyra…” Left bit her lip and raised one hoof. “Are you okay? I—” “A movie?” Right said. “You’re kidding, right?” Lyra shook her head, a little harder than necessary. “No. No, this should be easy. I just have to ask you something only the real Bon Bon would know. No problem!” “Fine,” Right said. “Get on with it.” Left shivered. “O-okay.” Lyra’s face fell blank and she raised a hoof to her chin as she thought. After a moment of pensive silence, her eye twitched once again and she rose to her hooves, raising one foreleg high. “Okay! It’s on! Super Bon Bon Identity Quiz round one! Drumroll, please…?” Both of the ponies stared back at her. “You guys need to lighten up,” said Lyra. She paused for a moment, the grin returning to her face, still slightly too toothy to be natural. “Good job, one point to both teams!” “Lyra…” Left said. “Right, sorry,” she said. “Okay. Round one: What’s my favorite color?” “Green,” Right said firmly. “Blue,” Left whispered. Right shot her a dark glance. “One point to Left,” Lyra said. “Ha!” Right said. “My Left.” “But… but you’re green!” Right said. Lyra raised an eyebrow. “So?” “So it’s a stupid question,” Right huffed. “Your objection has been noted. Question number two! What’s my birthday?” “October 14th, 979” Left said. “How am I supposed to know…” Right’s eyes narrowed as she glanced sideways at the other pony. “October 14th, 979.” “Hm,” Lyra said. “Correct! One point to both. Question number—” “These are stupid questions,” Right said. “I thought it was supposed to be something that I would know, not something about you.” “Well fine,” Lyra said. “But it has to be something that I know too or else I wouldn’t know it. You know?” Right raised her hoof to her head, wincing. “I am beginning to regret this trip.” “Okay! Question number… fifteen! How did we first meet?” Right threw up her hooves in disgust. “That was ages ago! Nopony can remember—” “In the joint tri-university cafeteria at Canterlot,” Left said. Right glared at her fiercely. “How did you…” A calculating light bloomed in her eyes. “Oh. How long have you been spying on me, bug?” “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Left whispered. Right’s eyes narrowed, and then she smirked. ”Fine, then I do have something that only the real Bon Bon knows. Because only Lyra and I were there.” Right Bon Bon turned to Lyra and nodded. “Ask what I said when you finally asked me out on a real date.” Lyra’s hoof fell, as her cheerful expression melted away. Her face turned stony, and she gazed out into middle distance for a long moment. “Fine,” Lyra said, closing her eyes. “Answer the question, please.” Left inhaled sharply. “Uhm. That— That I didn’t like mares? But I was wrong, I changed my mind, and—” “Nope!” Right said triumphantly. “Wrong, faker.” “Then you say it,” Lyra said, her voice weary. Right rolled her eyes. “That’s hardly necessary. It was a fit of pique, and I’ve had time to reflect and re-evaluate, and—” “Say it.” Right shifted on her hooves. “Ahem. That is... I said you were going nowhere and you didn’t deserve to be loved. That nopony loves a loser.” A flurry of emotions crossed the Left Bon Bon’s face at hearing the words. Shock, anger, and then a sort of stricken look as her eyes met those of Lyra. “Okay, that’s enough,” Lyra said, her voice still heavy. “I know who’s who.” She trotted forward, as Right grinned in victory. Up until Lyra pushed past her to embrace the other Bon Bon, nuzzling her head against her neck. “You idiot!” Right shouted out. “She’s the changeling!” Lyra looked up, her eyes so fierce that Bon Bon took a step back. “I know. Get the hell out of my house, Bon Bon.” “But…” “I’m not going to ask again nicely.” Bon Bon bared her teeth. “I thought you had made something of yourself, but you’re the same trashy waste of space you always were, Lyra Heartstrings.” Lyra let go of the other mare and took a menacing step forward, causing Bon Bon to hastily canter to the house’s door. She opened it and trotted outside, turning to haughtily glare back. “You’ve not heard the last of—” The door glowed green with magic and slammed shut in her face. Lyra’s entire body sagged, and she turned, falling forward. The remaining Bon Bon leapt forward to catch her. “No!” Lyra shouted. Bon Bon froze, one foreleg still raised and hanging, stricken, in the air. Lyra laid limp on the floor, a puppet whose strings had been cut. “You… I don’t even know who you are.” “I—” The words caught in Bon Bon’s mouth as Lyra looked up at her, those luminous golden eyes full of hurt. Bon Bon took one step back, then another. As Lyra continued to watch her, Bon Bon fled the room, tears welling up in her eyes. Lyra’s head dropped back down, and she hugged her forelegs to herself tightly as she curled up in a ball, her body shivering but face still locked in a blank stare.
Chapter 4Bon Bon checked her reflection in the compact mirror for what had to have been the thirtieth time. Everything was right, not one lock of her swirled mane out of place, but the face still felt like a stranger to her. Her lips pursed in a grumpy frown that looked all too familiar, then brightened up into a big, genuine smile, a sight she figured not many ponies had ever had the opportunity to see. With a snap, she closed the mirror shut and put it back into her saddlebags, taking care not to crush the sealed roll of parchment tucked away there. It had been difficult – difficult and time consuming – to convince her hive to let her abandon her duties as junior-ambassador-in-training to the ponies. In fact, if it weren’t for the rather surprising backing of Princess Celestia herself, she doubted they would have allowed it at all. Even so, it had taken months and months of argument and legal wrangling before she had secured a writ of emancipation. She was a changeling without a hive now, a situation that would be terrifying for just about anyone else, but for her… it gave her a flicker of hope. Hope that either her plan would work out, and all of it, every bit of trouble, would be worthwhile. And if it didn’t… Bon Bon shivered. Then alone and unloved, she wouldn’t be around to suffer for too long. Bon Bon steeled herself and stepped forward into Ponyville, the pleasant thatch-roofed cottages lining the narrow streets putting a smile on her face. A pony watering flowers in his yard called out a greeting to her, and she waved back. The path led all the way into the market square at the center of town, at least according to the map she had bought. And from there she would be able to— Bon Bon froze. Ahead, and coming right towards her, a familiar green unicorn dragged her hooves as she trudged down the street. Her mouth opened, her mind running through the planned conversations she had thought out over and over again. It was then that Lyra happened to look up and catch sight of her, and the unicorn’s eyes grew as wide as saucers. She stared as she kept walking, headed for— “Lyra!” Bon Bon called out in alarm. With a clang, Lyra walked muzzle-first into a streetlamp. Bon Bon rushed over, worry written all over her face. Lyra had fallen back, sitting on the dusty ground of the street with both front hooves covering her bruised nose. She stared at Bon Bon, still unspeaking. “Are you—” Bon Bon caught herself, and her face shifted into a smirk that only quavered slightly. “Uh. I mean. Jeez! How dumb do you have to be to walk right into a post?” “Bon Bon?” Lyra said. Bon Bon rolled her eyes. “Of course, it’s me. Who else would it be?” “What are you doing here?” Lyra’s eyes narrowed. “How did you find me?” Bon Bon shrugged lightly. “Oh, I talked with Windy and she said that you had—” “When? Where did you see her?” Bon Bon blinked, her assuredness slipping for a moment at the unexpected probing. “It was a while back, she was… was headed overseas, I believe. Moving far away.” Lyra kept watching her, eyes narrowed. “You know how she could be, very flighty. I don’t know how you put up with her for—” “Shut up,” Lyra snapped. Bon Bon’s mouth swung shut. She took a step back, wilting under the anger flashing in Lyra’s eyes. “I never want to hear you talk about her again,” Lyra said. “Never. Are we clear?” “Y-yes,” Bon Bon said. “Then why are you here?” “I changed my mind,” Bon Bon proclaimed, returning to the script in her head. “I figure, I’m breathtaking. You’re… well. Let’s call it satisfactory. Averaging it out, we would indeed make a pretty good pair.” “With a few changes, I’m sure,” Lyra said. “Well, if necessary, there might be a few things that would improve—” “Forget it.” Bon Bon’s heart seemed to stop beating. Lyra got to her hooves, her muzzle still red from colliding with the lamppost. “We may not have ever officially dated, but I’ve already spent enough time with you, Bon Bon. There’s always something.” She shook her head. “I hate myself when you’re around.” “But—” “No. Go away, Bon Bon.” Lyra turned and started walking in the opposite direction, her hoofsteps sounding as loud as thunder in Bon Bon’s ears. “Please…” Bon Bon’s words came out as a whisper, but somehow Lyra heard. She halted, and looked back, still expressionless. Bon Bon stood in the middle of the street, head hanging low, the sorrow and vulnerability on her face a side that Lyra had never before seen. “Then let me change,” Bon Bon said. “For you?” The first sound that startled Lyra out of her reverie was a muffled clatter of metal against metal. A moment later, a bell quietly dinged, and she could hear something creak open. She stood up, almost falling down again as one of her back legs had fallen asleep entirely. It had been… her eyes moved to the clock on the mantlepiece before she realized that she didn’t even have a frame of reference. It had been too long of her sitting on the floor, not moving, not even thinking. She kicked out her leg, working feeling back into it while wincing at the pinpricks and odd tingling. More soft sounds echoed in the quiet house. Familiar sounds. Normal sounds. Lyra walked into the kitchen to see Bon Bon pulling a metal tray out of the oven. Perched on top of her head was that poofy white hat Lyra had given her as a joke years ago, the one she was wearing when she made her first batch of really good chocolate, and which she subsequently refused to do any baking without. Bon Bon paused as she saw Lyra standing in the doorway, before her eyes slid away and she turned back to stirring the gloopy contents of a mixing bowl. Lyra watched for a moment longer, her expression unreadable, before trotting out of the room. She returned a moment later, a small black case on her back. It lifted in her magic and landed on the kitchen table as Lyra pulled a chair out to take a seat. In a practiced motion, she flipped the clasp open and took out her lyre. The melody Lyra plucked out started out awkwardly, a handful of notes hesitantly strung together without much in the way of forethought. She pressed on, the disconnected sounds slowly flowing together into music as she played the first things that popped into her head. It was only when she looked up to see Bon Bon had stopped and turned to watch, tears flowing down her cheeks, that Lyra realized she had been playing ‘Song for Sweetie Drops’. Her hooves fell still, the last notes still ringing out. “Sorry,” Lyra said quietly. “N-no…” Bon Bon said, wiping her eyes. The awkward silence stretched out between the two. “Remember the night before my parents visited the first time?” Lyra said, “I think you were up the whole night making… was it peanut brittle?” “Yes, because you said your father liked peanuts,” Bon Bon said. “And you stayed up, playing music for me, the whole time.” A fleeting smile crossed Lyra’s face. “Yeah. And we both fell asleep on the couch the next afternoon and missed picking up Mom and Dad at the train station. They loved you though. Couldn’t believe that someone as responsible and professional as you would put up with a mare like their daughter.” Bon Bon looked down at her hooves. “You always bake when you’re nervous or upset about something,” Lyra said. “It’s stupid, isn’t it?” Bon Bon’s eyes strayed to her flank. “It’s not like it’s my real cutie mark or anything.” “That doesn’t mean you’re not good at it.” Bon Bon’s face flushed red. “When you ate my first batch of chocolates, you were sick for a week!” “More like a day, tops,” Lyra said, smiling again. “And look at you now!” “Yeah.” Bon Bon breathed out slowly, her voice draining away into melancholy. “Look at me now.” Lyra’s smile slipped away, and she stared off in a corner of the room as silence once again stretched out. “Can I ask a question?” she said. Bon Bon looked up sharply, biting her lip. “Y-yes…” Lyra closed her eyes. “Why?” “Why what?” “Why her? Why me? Why… everything? I don’t know much about changelings but… I mean, surely there are plenty of other ponies out there to feed on that’d be easier and with less chance of being caught.” Bon Bon didn’t reply. Lyra opened her eyes to see Bon Bon’s pained expression as tears began to fall again. “W-why would you—” Bon Bon gasped out. “Is that what you think?” Lyra blinked. “No, I—” “I love you, Lyra!” Lyra felt her own eyes grow wet and she blinked furiously, trying to stay calm and ignore the twisting pain she felt in her gut at seeing Bon Bon so hurt. “And I thought you loved me,” Bon Bon said, her words barely audible. “I… I…” Lyra’s head drooped. “I don’t even know who you are.” Bon Bon took one last long look at Lyra. “I’m sorry. I should leave.” “No!” Lyra cried out, surprising even herself with the intensity. She paused and collected herself. Her lyre floated up in her magic and she got to her hooves, crossing over to stand right in front of Bon Bon. “I—” Lyra took a deep breath, squeezing her eyes shut and then opening them to meet Bon Bon’s own, a deep intensity shining. “I want to know who you are. You. Not Bon Bon.” Lyra raised one wavering hoof, extending it towards the other pony. “Hi,” she said. “I’m Lyra Heartstrings. It’s nice to meet you.” “I…” Bon Bon looked down at the hoof, then back up at Lyra. “I’m so sorry, Lyra.” Lyra forced a grin. “That’s a silly name for—” In a flicker of green flames, Bon Bon was gone. In her place stood a white pegasus, her cutie mark a cumulus cloud trailing a small swirl. “Windy,” Lyra breathed out. Bon Bon heard a thunk sound, as the lyre Lyra had been levitating fell to bounce off the floor. Her eyes widened. “Your—” And then Lyra lost it. She started bawling, and Windy found herself locked in her embrace as Lyra hung on tightly, shaking like a leaf but clinging to the pegasus with all her might. Windy could feel the hot tears on her coat, and not knowing what else to do, she raised one hoof to gently smooth down the back of Lyra’s mane. “Hey,” she said quietly. “It’s okay.” Lyra kept sobbing, her shoulders heaving as they held one another. Finally, her tears slowed, and Lyra caught her breath, still refusing to let go. “It’s you? It’s really really you?” “Yes,” Windy said. Her mouth twisted into a troubled frown. “I thought you hated me.” “What?” Lyra gasped, squeezing her again. “Why?” “You never wanted to talk about her. I mean. Me.” “Because out of everything, losing Windy was the one thing I could never fully forgive you—" Lyra winced. "Bon Bon – for. And… I could never forgive myself either.” Lyra pulled back slightly, her hooves on Windy’s shoulders as she looked into her eyes. “It took me a while to get over it when Bon Bon rejected me, you know? Weeks. But then… you were gone.” Windy nodded slightly but couldn’t look away from Lyra’s golden eyes. “It took me a whole lot longer to get over you being gone. You were my best friend! I didn’t even realize how important you were to me until… until it was too late. Every time something good happened, I’d glance back over my shoulder, expecting to see you there with that huge smile on your face. Every time things were bad and I felt lost, it hurt even more not having you there to talk with, to make me feel better, to cheer me up and make me feel like I could conquer the world again.” Lyra sighed, her face clouded. “I asked everyone, tried everything, but no one knew where you had gone. Windy Wander had just vanished off of the face of Equestria. That… That’s why I went through with dropping out and moving back to Ponyville. I couldn’t handle it. I couldn’t do anything without you.” “Lyra…” Windy whispered. “And then Bon Bon showed up, and things were different. She said she had changed, and slowly, painstakingly, I began to believe it. I started to feel like life was worth living again. I had you again, I just didn’t know it. All I knew was that I was happy.” Lyra took a shaky breath before continuing. “And then today, and nothing was right anymore. Bon Bon, the real Bon Bon, had to show up and ruin everything. And I don’t know anymore! I’m just so confused. I don’t know what was a lie or the truth, and I feel so empty and I don’t know what to believe in. I just want—” Windy moved forward and Lyra’s words were cut off as their lips met. Lyra’s eyes slipped closed as they kissed and she drifted off into the one sensation that felt fully right, and in every possible way, solid and familiar. After a moment that was both an eternity and far, far too short, Windy pulled back gently. Lyra leaned forward, not wanting the kiss to end, but their lips pulled apart. “I love you,” Windy said, her breath warm against Lyra’s lips. “And I love you too,” Lyra whispered back. “You. So much.” “Then that’s the only truth that matters.” Lyra didn’t have any words for the perfect certainty of the agreement in her heart. But as she leaned forward and they kissed deeply again, embracing one another in the quiet stillness of the kitchen, Windy heard her answer just fine. “So, you don’t feed on me?” Lyra frowned. “I don’t get it.” Windy looked over at the mare sitting next to her, one of Windy’s wings protectively draped across her back. “Lyra, your love is too important to me to just be food,” she said with the faintest hint of reproach. “I wouldn’t mind if you did...” “When I left the hive, the second time, they told me I’d come crawling back once I got sick of you and your love. And so I told myself never.” She shook her head vigorously. “Never ever.” “Then, you can eat pony food and be okay?” “Well... No.” Windy bit her lip. “But I learned how to make something that other ponies like. And ponies here are so friendly and giving with their love that I’ve always had far more than I even needed.” “You mean, at the shop? It doesn't... hurt, does it?” “Some ponies may feel a little more tired, and that’s why I’m always sure nopony leaves without a free sample of something sweet and sugary for a pick-me-up.” Windy closed her eyes. “I-I can stop though. Figure out something else, though I’m not sure what. I’ll do it for you.” “No.” Lyra pursed her lips. “There’s one thing. One thing I want you to promise me.” “Anything.” “I don’t want you to be Bon Bon for me.” Lyra frowned. “I don’t even want you to be Windy for me.” Windy blinked. “I just want you to be you.” Windy’s head dipped down. “But I don’t know who that is, anymore.” “Don’t be silly.” Lyra leaned her head in to nuzzle against Windy’s neck. “You’re the same pony you’ve always been. The mare that I fell in love with.” Windy smiled as she felt the warmth of Lyra against her side. “Can… Can I still make candy?” she whispered. “Of course,” Lyra said. “And…” Windy’s eye drifted to her sides. “Maybe keep the wings?” Lyra wiggled, snuggling herself closer underneath the warm blanket of feathers. “I like the wings.” Windy fell quiet for a moment as she chewed on her lip. The room lit up in green light as flames lit up across Windy’s body, casting a pale light even though a rather surprised Lyra could feel no heat. The wing draped across her was now cream in hue, and Lyra looked up to see a swirled pink and blue mane. “Y-you don’t have to do that for me,” she said. Windy smiled. “I know. But I’m so used to seeing this face in the mirror now, it feels a little odd otherwise.” “I guess it’ll be easier for everypony else too.” As soon as the words were out of Lyra’s mouth, she could sense a change in mood. Windy had stiffened, turning her head away to stare at an empty corner of the room. “Windy...” Lyra frowned. The pegasus wouldn’t meet her eyes. “You can’t keep hiding forever. Eventually the other shoe is going to drop.” “I can’t just tell everypony that I’m a changeling! They’ll run me out of town!” “I doubt that,” Lyra said. “Ponies here are nice. Everyone likes you!” “What if you’re wrong? What if I’m exiled?” “Then we’ll find somewhere else to live. It doesn’t matter, as long as we’re together.” “I just… I love everything here so much. I’m so lucky to have friends here, and a job that I love, and the best marefriend ever. I don’t want that to change a single bit.” Lyra hesitated for a moment. “Changes aren’t all bad,” she said, slowly. Windy looked back at her, head tilted slightly. “What if…” Lyra took a deep breath. “What if you had the best wife ever?” Windy’s face turned beet red. “A-a-are you asking m-me—?” “You deserve better, I know. But after all this... After losing you once, and feeling like I almost lost you a second time, I don’t ever want that to happen again. I want to be with you forever, no matter what. So yeah. I guess I’m saying… Will you marry me?” Windy’s lips met hers softly as the pegasus turned, wrapping both forehooves around Lyra and pulling her close. When they pulled apart, Windy’s lips were curled back into a smile of perfect contentment. “I take it that’s a yes?” Lyra said.
EpilogueIt was an idyllic day at Canter Candies. A mother and her energetic young colt wandered around, browsing the jars of hard candies, peppermints, and lollipops, while a contemplative stallion sized up the heart-shaped boxes of chocolates. Lyra sat on a stool by the window, plucking out a simple, sprightly melody that put a bounce in Bon Bon’s step. “I can’t thank you enough,” Cheerilee said. She nudged the filly at her side. “Yeth, Mith Bon Bon,” Twist said. “I promith I’ll be a big help.” “Oh, of course!” Bon Bon said. “I was just saying to Lyra that I could really use another set of hooves around here.” She sighed. “She offered to help, of course, but she always forgets to not use magic and the candies come out tasting horrible.” “I-I’m not very good at anything other than pepperminth,” Twist admitted. Bon Bon reached over with a hoof to fluff Twist’s mane. “Don’t worry about that. It just takes practice! It took me an embarrassingly long time to make something that anypony other than Lyra would try.” Twist’s eyes grew large. “Really? But your cutie mark…” A wan smile crossed Bon Bon’s face. “Er. Yes. You would be surprised. The important thing is being willing to work hard and keep trying.” Cheerilee frowned very slightly, her sharp eyes picking up on something. “Are you sure this is a good time, Bon Bon? Is everything okay?” “Oh, yes! I’ve just had… a stressful couple of days. Life is full of surprises, you know?” Bon Bon’s eyes drifted over to Lyra. “Sometimes big decisions come your way and it’s hard to know how exactly to handle them.” “Like wedding planning?” Cheerilee raised a hoof to stifle a giggle as Bon Bon’s mouth fell open. “I overheard a little songbird talking about you and Lyra meeting with Rarity yesterday, looking at white dresses.” Bon Bon blushed. “That… too. We haven’t exactly made it public yet.” Cheerilee nodded. “Well, your secret is safe with—” The door to the shop slammed open, causing Lyra’s hooves to fumble and the melody suddenly fall short. Everypony turned to the door to see the intruder. A second Bon Bon smirked as she marched in, her eyes sweeping across the room. After a moment, her head jerked to look back outside. She growled and trotted out, returning to shove a very miffed Twilight Sparkle through the door, with Spike following close behind. “I’m going, I’m going!” Twilight said. She frowned sternly as she looked at the impatient Bon Bon. “I still don’t think this is necessary. I’m sure you’re mistaken.” “Uh… Twilight…” Spike piped up, pointing one claw forward. Twilight turned and saw the other Bon Bon, still behind the counter next to Twist and Cheerilee. She was standing as rigid as a statue, her face pale white. “Aha!” Bon Bon said. “You may have been able to fool these village simpletons, but now you will receive your comeuppance, imposter!” She strode forward dramatically, pausing to knock a lollipop out of the hoof of the young colt who was staring at her open-mouthed. His mother gave her a dirty look. “This changeling scum has infiltrated your town and even now is probably plotting to poison you and your children. Your thanks are not necessary, citizen.” Lyra finally found her mouth working again. “Get out!” she shouted, rising to her hooves and shaking with anger. “Nuh uh uh,” Bon Bon said. “Not until the Princess here has taken care of the changeling.” Twilight Sparkle blinked. “T-this is highly unconventional. Normally we need a written request filed for any claims of identity theft and—” “Who cares?” Bon Bon said. “Paperwork’s stupid. Get on with it, Princess.” Twilight’s eyes flared, but she took a deep breath. “Fine. I do know a spell for such an occasion.” The intruding Bon Bon just smirked. As Twilight’s horn lit up, Twist and Cheerilee both stepped in front of the original Bon Bon. “You can’t!” Twist said. “Twilight,” Cheerilee chimed in, “hold on a moment. Let’s not do anything rash.” Twilight’s eyes widened. “Oh, no, I’m not going to hurt her. I promise! I know a spell that reveals whether a pony is a changeling or not. That’s all.” “And when she is shown to be a fraud, then we can talk about whether to throw her into a dungeon or just exile her on the spot,” Bon Bon said, grinning. “Shush you,” Twilight said. She motioned with her head and Twist and Cheerilee very hesitantly stepped away. A beam of light burst forth from Twilight’s horn, wrapping around the Bon Bon behind the counter and enveloping her in a shroud of white. The dazzling light slowly changed colors to become a pale green. “See? Now—” The smirking Bon Bon stopped, noticing Twilight’s horn still glowing. “What are you doing? Stop it.” Twilight shot a second beam of light, striking the other Bon Bon squarely in the chest. Another field of white blossomed around her, before sharpening into a bright, blazing red. A few murmurs broke out from the other ponies in the store as they stared at the furious Bon Bon enveloped in a menacing red aura. The mother grabbed the colt and interposed herself between that Bon Bon and her son. “What kind of trick are you trying to pull?” Bon Bon snapped. Twilight’s eyes narrowed. “I think that you should leave.” “What!?” “I think you should leave Ponyville,” Twilight said. “And I would appreciate it if you would refrain from returning.” “You can’t be serious! This is an outrage! I am outraged!” Bon Bon’s eyes widened as she looked around the room for support. Lyra was practically vibrating with anger. Cheerilee and Twist had once again stepped in front of the other Bon Bon. The lone stallion stepped forward, a serious frown on his face as he towered menacingly over her. “F-fine! I’ve had enough of this stupid town and you stupid ponies!” Bon Bon screamed, turning to gallop out of the shop. Twilight sighed. She looked up with a smile as Lyra rushed over to give Bon Bon a tight hug. “I’m terribly sorry about all that, Bon Bon. She burst into the library and wouldn’t take no for an answer.” Bon Bon still looked pale. “T-thank you, your majesty.” “Um.” Twilight looked down to see Spike frowning. “Twilight, isn’t… isn’t your changeling detection spell normally green for changeling and red for pony?” Twilight’s eyes narrowed as they moved to meet Lyra’s, looking for something. Lyra just squeezed Bon Bon tighter, glaring back fiercely. Twilight nodded slightly. “Yes, Spike. However, she was also quite possibly the rudest pony I’ve ever met.” She smiled at Bon Bon. “Whereas I’ve known Bon Bon for years, and she’s a good pony who can always be counted on to be friendly and willing to help out others.” Twilight’s brow eyebrows furrowed as a thought of the other Bon Bon crossed her mind. “Besides, she called Form 247-D9 stupid! The nerve.” Everypony in the shop seemed to be staring at Bon Bon while also trying not to meet her eyes. “I do have a question for you, though, Bon—” Twilight paused, looking a little guilty. “Well, I suppose I should ask. Is it Bon Bon? Or would you prefer something else?” “...W-windy is fine…” “Windy, then.” Twilight smiled. “Do you have any sugar-glazed daisies?” Windy blinked. “Um. Yes! I’ve been working on a new recipe with strawberry flavoring. If that’s okay?” Stars lit up in Twilight’s eyes. “I love strawberries! I’ll take a dozen.” Windy stiffly nodded and backed up, heading for the kitchen. Lyra followed closely behind. Everypony could heard the loud whispering even through the door. When they reappeared, Windy carried a small paper bag on her back. Right between the new pair of wings she was wearing. Twilight lifted the bag with her magic and floated some bits over to a red-faced Windy. “Thank you so much! I’m terribly sorry about all the bother.” “No,” Windy said. “T-thank you…” “C’mon Spike!” Twilight called out as she turned and trotted away. She peeked in the bag. “Oh, I think she put in an extra honeycrisp quartz for you!” “Really?” Spike jogged after her as they left the shop. The bell on the door rung as it swung shut, leaving Windy still standing there, everypony staring at her. Lyra laid one hoof on her shoulder in reassurement, and Windy took a deep, shuddering breath. The first pony to break the silence was Twist. “That. Ith. Tho cool.” The colt ran to tug at Windy’s foreleg. “Can you turn into anypony? Can you be Daring Do? Or Mistress Mare-velous?” The stallion sidled up, looking away from them. “Uh, do you happen to have any… special magic changeling chocolates? With… extra-love or something?” “I cannot believe it,” Cheerilee said. “Why didn’t you tell me? We talked about Changelings in class just last week! But still – can you come to a show and tell? The kids would love it!” “Mith Windy?” Twist said. “Ith everything okay? You’re crying…” “Yes,” Windy said, a disbelieving smile on her face. “Everything is just perfect.”
