"C'mon sis!" begged Applebloom, turning to Applejack with her biggest, most glistening doe-eyed look. "Ya promised that if we behaved well all mornin' that ya'd tell me and the rest of the Crusaders a story!" Beside her, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle both nodded in agreement.
Applejack sighed. "How kin anypony say no to a trio of young'uns as cute as you three?" She looked out the window of the homestead at the wild storm that the Pegasus ponies had brought to Ponyville. "And seein' how it's so stormy out an' all, it seems like a fine way ta pass the time. Now what kinda story should I tell y'all?" She brought a hoof to her chin in thought. "Oh! Ah know! How's about a story about cuties marks, you bein' the Cutie Mark Crusaders an' all."
"Sounds boooring," complained Scootaloo. Applebloom glowered at her.
"Cutie marks ain't never borin'," she said in a huff, "Go ahead with yer story sis!"
Sweetie Belle nodded her horned head in agreement. "Whose cutie mark story are we going to hear, ma'am?"
Applejack laughed. "I done told ya before, Sweetie Belle. Jus' call me Applejack - we don't rest on no ceremony here on Sweet Apple Acres." She sat down on the floor, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders sat in a semi-circle in front of her. "So this is the story of how Lyra an' Bon-Bon got their cutie marks."
*****************
It was a long, long time ago... nah, wait a sec. I ain't THAT old! It was, well, let's jus' say it was in the past. Ah was jus' a little filly, no bigger'n any o' you three, still goin' ta school...
"Was Miss Cherilee the teacher then as well?" interrupted Sweetie Belle.
"Don' be silly," Applejack laughed. "Cherilee ain't THAT old! Naw, we had another teacher back then. But she was an earth pony just like Miss Cherilee," Applejack scratched her head. "Ah can't seem ta remember her name, though. Oh well... she don't really come inta the story much anyways, and Ah reckon y'all much more interested in hearin' about ponies yah know about rather than some original character..."
Scootaloo nodded enthusiastically. "You got THAT right!"
Applejack continued: "So one day, a new student came ta the school. Her name was Lyra. Ah remember it jus' like yesterday - she was real small, even fer a little filly, with a mint-coloured coat and a light blue mane with a streak o' white in it. We were all interested in her 'cause she was a unicorn pony. Now, back in those days there weren't so many unicorn ponies in Ponyville. We had two in our class, but even spite that, unicorn ponies seemed extra-special to us earth ponies..."
"We ARE special!" Sweetie Belle said, bobbing her little horn in the air and setting it aglow with a sputtering light. She started to lift Applebloom with her magic, but she only managed to get her around two inches off the floor before the magic gave out and Applebloom fell to the ground.
"Hey!" she cried in surprise. "Quit that! Earth ponies are jus' as special as unicorn ponies. We've got extra powerful muscles!" To demonstrate, she flexed her own tiny muscles.
Scootaloo snorted. "Huh. It's us Pegasus ponies who're the special ones!" She flapped her wings. "Can either of you two do that?"
Applejack cut in. "Alright, alright. Can we all jus' agree that EVERY type o' pony is special in their own way? Then Ah'll just go on with the story..."
We all thought that Lyra would end up being friends with the other two unicorn ponies, so we didn't really try to make friends with her or nothin'. Lookin' back, it was the wrong thing ta do, but we were jus' fillies and colts back then and didn't know much o' nothin' about life. Besides, those other two unicorn ponies had always kept ta themselves, practising their magic, and never tried to be friends with us other ponies, so Ah guess what we did was unerstandable. And anyway, when we saw Lyra and those other unicorn ponies in the playground together day afta day, we decided we'd guessed right. So we went on playin' our own games, an' paid 'em no heed.
Then one day, afta recess, Lyra didn't come back to class. The teacher got all concerned, so she sent one of us out ta look for her. And that somepony she sent was a real tearaway of an earth pony called Bon-Bon...
"What's a tear-away?" asked Scootaloo.
Applejack thought for a moment. "Well, a tearaway is a pony with jus' so much energy it kinda all spills outa her, usually in the WRONG direction."
Sweetie Belle was awe-struck. "So... just like Scootaloo?"
Scootaloo flapped her wings in excitement. "So I'M a tearaway?"
Applejack laughed. "Naw, yer jus' a feisty lil Pegasus filly. What Ah'm thinkin' of is a pony who's mad at the whole world for some reason 'r other, an' wants to take it out on other ponies."
"What was Bon-Bon angry at?" asked Applebloom. She couldn't imagine Bon-Bon being angry at anypony. Mind you, she HAD been really annoyed when Applebloom had sneaked those apples into her saddlebags that time...
"Well," Applejack said, "Y'know how some ponies've got more money than other ponies?" The three fillies nodded. "Well, Bon-Bon's family didn't have nearly no money at all. An' she used to get teased an awful lot about it. 'Specially come lunch time." Applejack frowned at the memory. "The rest of us'd have snacks our parents had packed for us - but Bon-Bon never had anything, and some of the other foals would rib her, doin' mean things like throwing sweets at her an' stuff like that. So she jus' stopped tryin' to be make friends and sat by herself, and if anypony tried to do anythin' to her, she'd grab 'em and threaten to stomp 'em inta the ground....
So Bon-Bon went looking fer Lyra. Truth was, she was real happy to be outa class and in the sunshine, away from those bullies. So she took her time lookin' around the school - under the main building, behind the gymnasium, in the auditorium - but she couldn't find Lyra nowhere. She was about to give up when she remembered the big ol' oak tree in the playground. And sure enough, she found Lyra sittin' behind it, crying her lil eyes out.
Now Bon-Bon mighta been a tearaway, but she wasn't a bad pony - she had a big heart, and seein' Lyra like that made it melt. She trotted up to her and looked her in the face. Lyra's eyes were all red from cryin' so hard, and her cheeks were soppin' wet, but she stopped cryin' and looked up at Bon-Bon.
"What's the matter?" asked Bon-Bon. Lyra didn't reply, but jus' looked down and started cryin' again.
Bon-Bon stamped a hoof in frustration. "Ok, so don't tell me! It's not like I care anyway," She grabbed Lyra by the fore-hooves and pulled her to her feet. "The teacher says I was supposed to come get you, and that's what I'm gonna do!"
Lyra was so surprised by Bon-Bon grabbin' her that she quit her cryin' and sniffed away her tears. But when Bon-Bon tried to lead her back to the schoolroom, she dug in her hooves and wouldn't budge.
Bon-Bon rolled her eyes. "NOW what is it?"
Lyra pointed up into the tree, and Bon-Bon looked up. Somethin' was glittering high in the branches. Lyra finally spoke, in a voice so soft it barely more 'n a whisper. "It's my lyre," she explained. "I can't get it!"
Bon-Bon frowned. "Your lyre?" Oh, she musta meant that lil music instrument she always seemed ta have with her! "How did you get it so far up there?" Lyra's eyes grew moist, an' Bon-Bon was worried that the water-works were gonna start up afresh.
"The other unicorn pony girls used their magic to put it up there!" she explained.
Bon-Bon clicked her tongue. "So YOU use YOUR unicorn power to get it down, then!" She tapped the lil filly right on her horn as she said it.
Lyra started ta cry. "I caaaan't!" she sobbed. "I keep trying and trying, but my magic isn't strong enough yet!"
Bon-Bon suddenly felt bad fer tappin' her on the horn, and she decided she was gonna do somethin' to make her feel better. "Just wait here," she said, climbing onto the bottom branches of the tree. "Let me show you some earth pony magic!"
Lyra watched as Bon-Bon, puffin' and pantin' and stretchin' an' pullin' climbed her way up to where the lyre was hanging. Close up, Bon-Bon marvelled at how beautiful it looked. It musta cost a fortune! An' that thought brought back those ice-cubes that had jus' started to thaw aroun' her heart, and she snatched up the instrument angrily an' climbed quickly back down.
Lyra was canterin' in little circles, her face all lit up with joy. "Oh, my lyre! My lyre!" she sang out brightly. "Thank you, oh thank you!"
Bon-Bon tossed it to her. "Here you go," she said, without a smile. "Now come back to class. You're gonna get me in trouble with the teacher if we stay out here too long."
Lyra was taken aback by the sudden change in Bon-Bon's demeanour, but she was so happy to have her lyre back that nothin' coulda busted-up her good mood.
Bon-Bon didn't say anythin' fer a long while as they walked back ta class, but finally her curiosity got the better of her. "I thought those unicorn ponies were your friends," she said.
Lyra shook her head. "They're always bullying me 'cause I'm so bad at magic."
Bon-Bon's face dropped a little, and she could feel those ice-cubes startin' to melt away again. There was jus' somethin' about this little filly that made her feel different from usual. She didn't feel so angry anymore, an' part of her wanted to hug the lil unicorn filly and tell her that everythin' was gonna be alright. But of course she didn't.
"Can you play that thing?" asked Bon-Bon.
"My lyre?" Lyra nodded. "Yeah, but I'm not so good at it."
Bon-Bon stopped and looked at her. "Can I... hear you play it?"
Lyra looked around. "Right here?" she asked nervously. "Isn't the teacher going to get angry if we don't go straight back?"
Bon-Bon laughed. "Let her get angry! I just want to hear you play it."
They were next ta the auditorium by this stage, so Lyra sat down against the concrete and restin' the lyre against one hoof she brought her other hoof to the strings - but hesitated. "Are you SURE you want to hear me play? I've never..."
"Just play the darn thing!" Bon-Bon snapped at her. Lyra almost leapt outa her hide in surprise, but then she touched her hoof to the strings and started t' play.
And the music that came outa that lyre was so beautiful that no matter how many times Ah try ta describe it, no words can do it justice. We even heard it way over in the schoolroom. It wasn't that it was loud, exactly, it was jus' that the music seemed so light an' angelic that the air itself seemed to pick it up and waft it along.
Bon-Bon's shoulders had slumped, and all the tension and anger in her body seemed ta have been wafted away on those golden notes of Lyra's lyre. As soon as the music stopped, she came over and put a hoof on Lyra's shoulder and asked her "Where did you learn to play like that?"
Lyra smiled. "My mom taught me. She always says that unicorn ponies shouldn't just be about magic - they need other skills as well." She looked up at Bon-Bon shyly. "Especially when you're as bad at magic as I am."
Bon-Bon nodded. "Your mom sounds like a wise mare," she said. "Just like mine."
As they continued walking back ta the schoolroom, Lyra told Bon-Bon all about herself, about her mom and dad, about her love o' music, and about the trouble with the other unicorn ponies in the class.
When she mentioned the unicorn ponies, Bon-Bon looked at her fiercely. "If you get any more trouble out of those two, you just come and tell me. I'll stomp them BOTH into the ground!"
Lyra's eyes bugged out wide, an' she nodded.
"Ah thought this story was about how they got their cutie marks!" complained Applebloom, "All yer've been talkin' about is how they met an' how Lyra can play the lyre an'..."
"Just hold yer ponies there, lil sister!" said Applejack in annoyance. "If'n ya keep interruptin' so much, we'll never get ta the end of the story!"
"Yeah, just be patient!" agreed Sweetie Belle.
"I like Bon-Bon," added Scootaloo. "I didn't know she was such a tear-up, threatening to stomp other ponies into the ground all the time!"
Applejack chuckled. "That's tear-AWAY," she said "And she's not like that so much these days, on account of what's gonna happen next in th' story...."
****************
Later that day at lunchtime, Bon-Bon was sittin' on her own as usual, kickin' rocks up against the auditorium wall, when Lyra came running up ta her.
"Bon-Bon! Bon-Bon!" she cried. It was difficult fer her to talk on account of she was carryin' a lil box with a ribbon on it in her mouth. She dropped the package at Bon-Bon's feet an' looked down at her own hooves shyly.
Bon-Bon eyed at the package suspiciously. "What is it?" she asked.
Lyra didn't look up, and a blush reddened her cheeks. "It's a present... for you," she explained. "To thank you for rescuing my lyre!"
Bon-Bon took one end of the ribbon in her mouth and pulled it. The box fell open, revealing a lil pile o' sweets, each o' them wrapped in different coloured cellophane.
"Do you like them? Do you like them?" chirped Lyra excitedly. "I made them in baking class! We were making chocolates for Valentine's day - which is tomorrow - and then I remembered how you never seem to have any snacks and I thought that maybe you'd like some sweets and I thought that you'd ...."
Bon-Bon turned on the little unicorn pony, a furious look on her face. "You thought? You THOUGHT? Do I seem that pathetic to you? That I need to beg for food off you?" She kicked dirt onto the little pile of sweets. "HERE'S what I think of your charity!"
Lyra's face was distraught. She couldn't speak, she was so shocked by what Bon-Bon had gone and done. "But I thought... I thought you were my.. friend..." she sobbed.
Bon-Bon smiled grimly. "Aw, her come the tears again!" She went to go, but then turned back. "I DON'T need any charity, and I DON'T need any weakling unicorn pony friends like you!"
As Bon-Bon galloped away, Lyra looked at the sweets. She knelt down and, brushin' the dirt from them, she carefully put 'em back in the box and picked up the ribbon in her mouth. But her lips were trembling so much that she couldn't tie it properly, and eventually she just gave up an' sat there, cryin' her lil eyes out.
Eventually, it was time for class again, and Lyra had to get up and go. So she didn't see what happened next - though old Applejack did! Ah'd been in the gym, as usual, practising my high jump (Ah was the class champion, don't ya know!). This one time at the Annual Athletics meet Ah jumped over ....
"Hey!" said Scootaloo, annoyed. "Isn't this story supposed to be about Lyra and Bon-Bon?"
"AND cutie marks!" added Applebloom.
Applejack looked chagrined. "Hehe. Sorry 'bout that! It's jus' that when Ah get ta reminiscing..."
So what Lyra didn't see was Bon-Bon come back a while later, to where them sweets were still lying in th' dirt. And she knelt down and picked up every single one of 'em, and as she did, these big ol' tears fell from her face and down ta the ground like it was pourin' with rain.
None of us saw Bon-Bon the whole rest o' the day. But after school was out, and Lyra was on her way home, her eyes still red and her hooves still dirty from trying to dust off them sweets, Bon-Bon was waiting for her.
"Lyra," she started, but the unicorn pony jus' kept walking, faster an' faster, an' Bon-Bon had ta break inta a trot to keep up with her. "Lyra, I...."
"Leave me alone!" Lyra shouted at her, and started to gallop. Bon-Bon just stopped dead in the street and watched her go. She took some of the sweets from her saddlebag and clutched 'em in her hoof.
"I'm the one who should have dirt kicked all over me," she whispered.
The next day came, and things seemed ta have got back ta usual. It was before class, an' Bon-Bon was back kickin' rocks at the auditorium wall. She always got ta school earlier than th' others so she could avoid havin' to meet anypony at the gates.
But when Lyra arrived, Bon-Bon stopped kickin' the stones and looked at her. She still seemed upset from the day before - but somethin' about her was different. Bon-Bon couldn't work it out at first, but then it slowly dawned on her. And as it did, a huge smile, the first smile she'd had in years, spread all across her face.
"Lyra! Lyra!" she cried, gallopin' up ta her. Lyra shied away, but Bon-Bon was too quick fer her this time. She grabbed the unicorn pony around the shoulders, laughin'. "Something wonderful has happened!"
"What's... what's happened?" Lyra asked. She was still mighty hurt at everythin' that had happened the day before, but the joyful look on Bon-Bon's face was so unexpected that she forgot about it fer jus' a while.
"Your cutie mark!" Bon-Bon cried, pointin' at Lyra's flank. "You got your cutie mark!"
Lyra's eyes went wide. "My... cutie mark?" She looked around and there it was! Plain as day! A lil golden lyre had appeared on what had been a blank flank jus' the day before.
Bon-Bon whooped in joy. "A lyre! I just knew it would be a lyre!"
Lyra smiled. "But... I've been playing the lyre forever! Why did it come all of a sudden?"
Bon-Bon shook her head. "I don't know, but maybe when you played for me yesterday, something happened... but why yesterday?"
Lyra's eyes went wide. "You're the first person I ever played my lyre to!" she realised. "Before that, I only ever played for myself or for my mom!"
"Me?" Bon-Bon pointed to her chest. "I... never knew I was the first pony you ever played for..." She dropped her gaze. At that moment Bon-Bon's heart was more full o' more emotions than she had names fer - guilt an' joy an' sadness an' hope -an' she didn't know which one ta feel first.
But more was ta come! Lyra suddenly let out a gasp. "Bon-Bon! Bon-Bon!" she yelped. "There's something on YOUR flank as well!"
Bon-Bon turned around in shock. Now maybe she was expectin' to see some kinda terrible cutie mark, like a skull n' crossbones or somethin' like that - 'cause deep down she felt that it was the kinda mark she deserved. But when she looked and saw those three lil sweets, all wrapped up in cellophane like Lyra's present, she finally knew how she felt.
She felt happy, an' happier than she ever had in a long, long time.
***************
"Wow!" the three fillies said in unison. Applejack nodded, and smiled to herself. There sure was nopony could tell a story better 'n her!
"So Lyra got her cutie mark because of Bon-Bon, and Bon-Bon got hers because of Lyra?" Sweetie Belle gushed. "That's sooooooo cute!"
Scootaloo was unconvinced. "But don't you think it's a bit convenient that Bon-Bon's name is Bon-Bon, and that the cutie mark she got was a bunch of sweets?"
Applejack shrugged. "Aw, Ah dunno. Ah mean, Rose an' Lily an' Daisy all have cutie marks, and they jus' happen to coincide with their names as well. So Ah guess it must happen sometimes, right?"
Applebloom nodded. "Ah don't care about all that. Ah'm jus' happy that the two of them got to be friends."
"Yeah, that's true," agreed Scootaloo.
"Uh, ma'am... I mean, Applejack?" asked Sweetie Belle.
"Yeah, sugarcube?"
"Do you think Lyra and Bon-Bon will ever get married?"
Scootaloo burst out giggling. "Sweetie Belle! You big dummy! They're both mares! Mares can't get married with other mares!"
Applebloom laughed. "Yeah - mares get married ta STALLIONS!"
But Applejack just smiled, and said "Ah dunno, Sweetie Belle, Ah dunno. Anythin' could happen, 'cause somethin' tells me that Lyra an' Bon-Bon's story ain't finished yet. Not by a long shot."
THE END
