Her Locked Doorby DuskAndDawnChaptersA Not-So-Average DayMissing Mare Mystery SolvedFriday Night and Saturday MorningUnimaginable TruthConspiracyA Not-So-Average DayLyra’s house was a three room job. One room was dedicated to sleeping, one was dedicated to eating, and the third room, locked permanently, seemed a mystery. Lyra often had her marefriend, Bon-Bon, over to stay. Every once in a while, Bon-Bon would question what laid behind the door. Every time, Lyra would simply shake her head. She always responded the same way: "I have no idea! I lost the key ages ago!” punctuated with a nervous chuckle. It was an average Tuesday morning in Ponyville. Bon-Bon and Lyra were contentedly sitting together drinking their morning coffee. Lyra looked like she hadn’t been to sleep in ages. Her mane was messier than usual. Bon-bon glanced at the locked door, curiosity written on her face “Really Lyra, we’ve been together for, like, ever! Why can’t you tell me what’s in that room huh?” Asked Bon-Bon “I told ya it’s nothing! Just a dusty room. You know, one of those spare rooms. I found it locked when I moved in.” replied Lyra, twirling her hair playfully with her right hoof. “Oh, oh well. Hey, I’m going to go to the market, I kinda need some perfume. This stuff I got is just awful" she said, a look of disgust crossing her face. Bon-Bon got up and stretched herself. “Aah…I should have gone to sleep earlier last night!” “Yeah, maybe. Although I went to bed at like, two in the morning so I can't talk. Anyway, I’ll come with you, I need some more milk and stuff!” Said Lyra excitedly, bounding up with her regularly crazy grin. The two ponies walked out of Lyra’s house and down the street towards the market, Lyra considerably more enthusiastic than Bon-Bon. Lyra and Bon-Bon had been together for five years now, and their relationship had never been better. Bon-Bon was practically living in Lyra’s house, which was just as well, Bon-Bon had forgotten to pay her rent and was under the threat of being kicked out of her own house. Lyra had promised herself never to leave Bon-Bon’s side and to always be there for her. She was a kind and helpful mare with a heart of gold and a self confidence that almost matches that of Pinkie Pie. She brightened up everypony’s day even just by sitting on a bench and idily smiling. Almost everypony was happy to see her. She was Ponyville’s sunshine and Bon-Bon’s life. Lyra, lost in thought, accidentally turned away from the market. Bon-Bon giggled in response and said, “Lyra, the market’s uh, this way?” “Oh, is it? Ugh. I can’t tell my left from my right!” Replied Lyra, bounding after Bon-Bon “We’re here, anyway!” Bon-Bon picked up the nearest perfume bottle and sniffed it. “Hmm…this is much better than what I have. I’ll take it! How much?” she said “That’ll be 20 bits.” Said the pony at the stall. “Wh..WHAT? I don’t even have that much on me!” said Bon-Bon, shocked. The pony at the stall frowned. He had the sort of look you just knew meant ‘cheat’. “No bits, no sale. Come back next time when you’re richer!” “Hey, Bon-Bon, don’t worry, I have some spare bits!” Said Lyra, jumping up behind her. Lyra counted up 20 bits from her own money and handed it to the pony at the stall. Bon-Bon took the bottle in her teeth and looked up at her partner. “You didn’t have to do that, really. Now you wont have enough for food today!” Said Bon-Bon, sadly. “Hey, cheer up! I don't mind. Let’s go to the library, I’ve been meaning to get the seventh book in the Daring Do series: Daring Do and the Secret City! I can’t wait! Eeep!” said Lyra, a smile still on her face despite her rumbling stomach. “Uh, oh, okay Lyra!” Said Bon-Bon. The couple galloped off in the direction of Twilight Sparkle’s library, which had every book in the popular Daring-Do series, a series of books depicting a daring and adventurous pegasus mare solving mysteries, escaping dangers and experiencing near-deaths in order to gain priceless relics and other artifacts. They were Lyra’s favourite book. Lyra and Bon-Bon reached the front door of the library and Lyra knocked loudly and enthusiasticly. Twilight opened the door and smiled. “Come for book seven then Lyra? I have it just over here!” she said. Lyra’s eyes were wide and her smile crazier than normal as Twilight brought her the book from the shelf at the back of the library. Lyra took it in her mouth and galloped off, too excited to say goodbye. Bon-Bon galloped after her. Twilight just stood in the door with a bemused look on her face, before shaking her head and walking back into the library, closing the door behind her. Lyra and Bon-Bon stopped outside Lyra's house. Bon-Bon turned to her. “Hey, Lyra, I’m going to go back home. I have things to do, okay? Have fun with your book!” she said. Lyra nodded and galloped inside her house, lept on her sofa and opened the book. It was an enthralling tale, with everything one could expect from a Daring-Do story. Lyra put the book down finally and giggled to herself. She pressed her hoof to the table beside her sofa and revealed a secret compartment. She reached in, retrieving a key in the process, and promptly shut it again. She trotted to the locked door and put the key in it, twisting it in the lock with her teeth. After unlocking the mysterious room, she took the key out and replaced it back within its resting place, opening it again to do so. She entered through the door and closed it behind her. “Good morning, Bon-Bon!” yelled Lyra from the front of Bon-Bon’s bed. “AAHHH!” yelled Bon-Bon and lept out of her bed, terrified. When she realised who was in her room she calmed down a bit. “Oh, it’s you Lyra! Please, stop scaring me like that! I feel like I have a heart attack every time I wake up now!” “Oh, sorry! Heh.” Said Lyra, letting a fit of giggles overcome her. “It’s fine. Love you!” “I love ya too Bonny, now come on, back to my house, we’ll chat, maybe have some coffee and I could put on some music! I heard Vinyl has released her new album, I wonder if it’s for sale at the market!” The happy couple wandered out of Bon-Bon’s house and trotted down the street to Lyra’s house. Lyra was starting to get black patches under her eyes. “Lyra, have you been sleeping well lately?” Bon-Bon asked her, worry working it's way onto her usually content face. “Huh, uh…oh, yeah, I have, Bonny. Why d’you ask?” replied Lyra absent-mindedly. “Oh, it’s nothing.” They walked inside Lyra’s house, Bon-Bon had a concerned look as she sat down on Lyra’s sofa. Lyra poured her a glass of Sweet Apple Cider, left-over from last year. Bon-Bon took the drink and almost downed it in one. “Bon-Bon, are you okay?” Asked Lyra “No, no I’m not. I’m worried. You look like you’re not doing too good, you know? And you’re not telling me what’s wrong. I love you, Lyra, and I care for you, and I want to know what’s wrong. You can tell me anything at all, I wont think any less of you. Just please tell me what’s wrong darling!” pressed a now very worried Bon-Bon, who hiccuped slightly as a result of the cider she had just drank. “It’s nothing. Really, Bonny. It’s nothing to worry about. Just relax and I’ll try and make myself look a little, uh, appealing?” said Lyra, trying to quell her partner's worries and glancing back to her bedroom. Bon-Bon nodded. Lyra trotted to her bedroom and returned after around ten minutes. She had combed her hair and cleaned herself up a little. The black patches under her eyes had dissapeared a little too. “Better?” she said “Heh, yeah.” Replied Bon-Bon. “C’mere you!” Giggled Lyra as she dive-bombed onto the sofa beside Bon-Bon and began kissing her. They broke apart after a while and giggled together. Lyra glanced momentarily at the locked door, before returning her gaze back to her lover. Missing Mare Mystery SolvedIt was a beautiful sunny Thursday morning in Ponyville and almost everypony was outside basking in the warm glow of the sun. Lyra and Bon-Bon were lying together outside Lyra’s house happily, holding eachother’s hoof. Lyra had sunglasses on, but Bon-Bon hadn’t bothered and preffered to just shut her eyes to block the sun from them. Bon-Bon turned to Lyra; “Hey, why don’t we go back inside? You’ve not eaten today. We should go and get some breakfast.” She proposed. “Oh Bonny, I’d rather be with you than inside eating.” Replied Lyra, quite matter-of-factly. “No, Lyra, you need to eat. Come inside, I’ll get you something.” Said Bon-Bon, getting up and trotting inside. Lyra reluctantly followed. Lyra slumped down on the sofa, her eyes glancing franticly to the table beside it and then back to Bon-Bon, who was in the kitchen making pancakes for them both. Bon-Bon entered and handed a pancake to Lyra, who began taking tiny bites of it. Bon-Bon looked at her, concern back on her pretty features, before turning her attention back to her pancake. After they had finished eating (Lyra had put her pancake underneath the sofa when Bon-Bon wasn’t looking), the couple went outside again, only to find Golden Harvest was just about to knock on their door. She was panicking, and hopping from one set of hooves to the other. Lyra avoided eye contact with her. “Golden? What’s up?” Asked Bon-Bon. “I can’t find my friend Colgate anywhere! She hasn’t been here yesterday, or today! Her house is locked. I’ve tried everywhere!” Said Golden Harvest quickly. “Colgate’s gone?” Bon-Bon exclaimed. “Yes! Have you seen her at all?” Golden inquired. “No, I haven’t, but this is terrible news! Please, tell us if you find her okay? We’re worried for her too.” Replied Bon-Bon, before walking back into Lyra’s house. Lyra followed without saying anything. Bon-Bon turned to Lyra. “Do you know anything about this? It’s terrible isn’t it!” She said. “No, I don’t…yeah, it’s terrible, definitely.” Replied Lyra. “I hope Golden is alright, d’you think we should go and see her and try to cheer her up?” “Maybe we shouldn’t, she might be out looking for her or she might be too upset to talk to anypony.” “That’s no reason why we, as her friends, should not attempt to give her some sympathy!” “Didn’t we give her enough sympathy when she was at my door?” “You said ‘my’” “Yeah, what’s wrong with that?” “It’s our door, Lyra. It always has been. It’s our house.” “Oh, yeah, I’m sorry Bonny. I’ve been preoccupied with other things.” “Like what, Lyra? You’ve been distant all day yesterday and today. Do you know something about this?” “NO! Uh, I mean, no, of course not Bonny. Hang on, I’ll get us both a cup of coffee. We haven’t had any this morning.” Lyra got up quickly and trotted to the kitchen, leaving Bon-Bon to sit there and ponder. She returned with two mugs of hot coffee and handed Bon-Bon one. Bon-Bon relaxed a little and smiled at Lyra. “I’m sorry I was so fustrated, it’s just Colgate’s a friendly mare and to hear that she was missing was awful! I hope they find her…” Said Bon-Bon. Lyra smiled and snuggled up to her. They were both happy and content again to be with eachother, and Bon-Bon leant in to kiss her aquamarine partner. She tustled her hair playfully and Lyra giggled. There was a bump. Both Lyra and Bon-Bon jumped out of the sofa and Bon-Bon looked around her frantically. “Wh- What was that?!” Shouted Bon-Bon. “Uh, nothing! Must have come from outside, maybe we should go look.” Replied Lyra, trying to calm her marefriend down. “Uh, yeah, it probably did.” Said Bon-Bon, who followed Lyra outside the house. Lyra looked around her and Bon-Bon stood next to her. There was nothing outside, no commotion or anything, that could have contributed to the noise. Bon-Bon turned to Lyra. “Are you SURE the bump didn’t come from your house? Let’s go back inside and see, something might have just fallen down or something.” She said. Bon-Bon galloped back into the house before Lyra could say anything, and Lyra just followed her slowly. “Bon-Bon, we’re probably wasting our time. Let’s just get back to snuggling shall we?” Lyra exasperated. “Oh Lyra, you know how curious I can be, I’m not going to rest until this mystery is solved!” Replied Bon-Bon. Lyra was almost sweating as Bon-Bon looked around the kitchen, the bit where Lyra slept, the sofa and then tripped and fell. Lyra’s eyes widened as Bon-Bon fell, almost in slow motion it seemed, towards the table beside the sofa. Lyra tried to catch her, but she was too late. Bon-Bon’s head hit the table right where Lyra had placed her hoof Tuesday night, and the secret compartment opened. “OW! Owowowowowow…hey…what’s this?” Exclaimed Bon-Bon after recovering from her fall. Lyra was standing and shaking. “N-Nothing, let’s just get you something to help with your head, that was a nasty fall!” Muttered Lyra. Bon-Bon shook her head and looked inside the compartment that had opened from the table. She noticed there was a key in it, took it and frowned at Lyra. “Lyra, what is this? Why is it hidden? Is this for that locked door?” Said Bon-Bon quietly, the fact slowly making it’s way into her mind that her partner for five years had lied to her. Bon-Bon took the key to the locked door and put it in. Lyra stood helpless, sweat dripping off her and her eyes looking from side to side franticly. Bon-Bon turned the key and the door opened. She went inside and immedietly let out a defeaning shriek. “AAAHHH! LYRA! WHAT THE BUCK IS COLGATE DOING IN HERE?! And is that…the guy from the market stall who sold me that perfume? Oh my god…OH MY GOD, HE’S DEAD!” Lyra backed away from Bon-Bon as she emerged from the room, her breath heavy and her eye twitching. “You…lied to me…you…I can’t believe it…why did you kill the market pony? Why is Colgate tied up and gagged? I’m going to the police, I’m sorry, I have to.” Bon-Bon said. She spoke harshly while trying to get past Lyra and out of the house as quickly as possible. “But, Bon-Bon…you don’t want to get your marefriend locked up for the rest of her life, do you?” Lyra said, her voice spookily calm and that crazy grin back on her face. Bon-Bon’s heart was racing as she tried to think of a reply. Lyra was right. She was too attached to her partner to do anything like that to her. “You’re…you’re right, Lyra…I…I don’t…” She said. “Good…now, close that door please?” “O-Okay…” Bon-Bon, without even blinking, closed the door to Lyra’s spare room, placed the key in it and turned it around. She took the key back to the secret compartment on the table and put the key back where she found it, closing the compartment. She went to the sofa and slumped down on it. Lyra sat next to her. Neither of them spoke. There were no more bumps coming from the locked room. Friday Night and Saturday MorningFriday night. Everypony in Ponyville was asleep in their beds. Everypony except Bon-bon, who had not been to sleep since the night before. She could not even think at times, and she had given up crying. She did not have any will to even try to reason with her lover, who was now a murderer and a kidnapper. Why did Lyra do it? She pondered, pacing back and forth, up and down her bedroom. What should she do? Should she betray her partner, who she had been in love with for five years, to the police? What would happen to Lyra? She had to do something, before Lyra kidnapped or murdered another pony. She just could not stand by and do nothing, she was a Ponyville civillian and had a duty to protect the rest of Ponyville. She stretched herself, took a few deep breaths, and trotted out of her house and galloped down the street towards Lyra’s house. The lights in Lyra’s house were all off except for one, which seemed to flicker momentarily as she approached. She heard a bang and a muffed scream, and galloped fast as she could, smashed down the door and ran into the spare room which was now open. There, in front of her eyes, was Lyra. She was holding a knife and there was a bright yellow pony with orange hair struggling to get away from her. She had blood coming from her head, where she must have been hit or something. “Lyra! What the buck are you doing to Golden Harvest!? Get away from her!” Bon-bon screamed. “Bonny, you…were meant to be awake…” Mumbled Lyra as she backed away from Golden. Golden was frozen in fear and didn’t move. She looked like she was unconscious. “Lyra. I haven’t been to sleep. This has been driving me insane…oh god…it stinks in here!” “Bonny, please understand, I am doing this for you! It’s all for you Bonny, nopony will get between us. Together, forever!” Said Lyra, calmly. Bon-bon backed away as Lyra started coming towards her. She finally managed to catch a glimpse of the room around her as she edged further away from it. She retched as she saw even more dead ponies, about three of them, lined up against the left wall. She noticed one of them was her cousin, who had suggested to come and visit Bon-bon and Lyra yesterday. One of them was just a filly, who had passed remark about Bon-bon’s hair, saying it was messy and dirty. Lyra started to bring up her knife just as Bon-bon caught a glimpse of the third dead pony, who was a stallion that had flirted with her a week ago. She was suddenly very, very angry. “Lyra. You’ve been killing these ponies because you think they are a threat to us, haven’t you? Colgate didn’t mean to trip me two weeks ago. It was an accident! That pony at the market place was trying to make a living! These ponies are innocent, and you killed them!” She yelled louder than she had ever yelled before. “Bonny, I couldn’t help it. I love you, and nopony will get in the way of that. And since I can’t stop that from happening in this world, I figured that if we were both in heaven, we could be together forever, and nopony could stop that, NOPONY” Lyra lunged at Bon-bon, screaming that final word, striking terror and shock into Bon-bon. “NO!” Screamed Bon-bon. She smacked Lyra across the face with her hoof in desperation as Lyra brought the knife down. It all happened too fast for Bon-bon to comprehend clearly. As she hit Lyra, Lyra dropped the knife and Bon-bon swooped it up. Just as Lyra recovered, Bon-bon panicked and before either of them knew it, Lyra was lying on the ground with a knife stuck deep in her forehead. “Oh…oh Celestia…oh buck….buck buck buck….” She said over and over again, before noticing Golden Harvest was still slumped unconcious. Golden was not breathing. Bon-bon shed a tear, she must have died from her wound. Bon-bon looked around her and wondered desperately what to do. She had given up trying to see a good side to any of this, she had given up crying and given up feeling upset. She felt emotionless as she grabbed Lyra’s lifeless body and dragged it outside. She felt nothing as she grabbed a spade that was lying near the back of the house and she only felt her muscles tingle as she started digging. A few hours later, Bon-bon had buried both Golden Harvest and Lyra. It was almost dawn and there was blood everywhere. She didn’t have enough time to clean up behind herself and just sat down, resigned completely. It was all too much for her. “Is that…Bon-bon? And she’s sitting with a spade and…oh…OH GOD, THERE’S BLOOD! HELP! POLICE! HEELLPP! MUURRDDEERRR!” Came a scream from behind her. This attracted more screaming ponies to the scene and soon Bon-bon was surrounded by ponies insulting her, screaming, and some ran to the police. Bon-bon shed a single tear at last as she was grabbed by four stallions wearing police badges. She did not resit as she was taken to the police-station for questioning. “The time is twenty four hundred hours. Subject Bon-bon ready for interviewing. So, Bon-bon. You were found outside Lyra’s house with a spade and blood on the ground. This doesn’t look good for you. Do you have any form of explanation that could make your sentence less…hm…harsh?” “Yes. I can give you exact details of what has happened in the past two weeks. Will that do? I want out. I didn’t do any of this.” “I’m waiting for the proof of this.” “I did it in self defense, Lyra was holding a knife to m-“ “Wow wow. You said you would give me details of everything that happened. When did this ‘Lyra’ come into it? How long have you known her and why was she holding a knife to you? This is an interview, missy, I need the details and I need them now.” “Okay, okay. I’ll tell you exactly what happened starting with two weeks ago.Me and Lyra had gone out for five years and she was starting to get more clingy than usual. Lyra was constantly asking me to come over, she always came with me to the market, she kept glowering at everypony who so much as looked at me. A pony called Colgate walked past me one day and she wasn’t paying attention to where she was going. She accidently bumped past me and tripped me. I think that was what caused Lyra to go after her, but I don’t actually know why she did it…she showed no signs of hatred towards Colgate before that. And about a week after that, this stallion at the market place tried to cheat me out of 20 bits. Lyra gave him 20 bits but a day after that I stumbled across her spare room. It was usually locked but I…found a way to get in. I discovered Colgate tied up and the stallion from the market dead. I’m not sure if Colgate is dead or not, I didn’t see her tonight when I went back. When I went back, Lyra was there about to kill Golden Harvest because she was at her door the other day asking where Colgate went. When she saw me she backed away from Golden and started to come after me, and I still have no idea what came over her…it scared me so much I stopped being myself for a moment. I got really angry and I noticed she had killed three other ponies, but I left them alone because I hardly knew them.Lyra came at me with the knife, like I said before, but I lost control of myself and hit her, took the knife and stabbed her in the head with it. It was purely because she was going to kill me anyway, I swear! I buried both Golden and Lyra because they were both dear to me. I said a quick prayer to Celestia and just sat there, I don’t know why…I felt a sadness so great that it overwhelmed me. And you took me here. That’s my story, okay?” “I see…well, we’ll think it over. We’ll escort you back to your cell and inform you when we come to a decision. Good day.” And Bon-bon was taken back to her cell. Unimaginable Truth“I’m sorry, Bon-bon. It just wont wash over. We can’t believe you because we have no evidence suggesting that it WASN’T you. I’m afraid you’re going to be in here for a very, very long time, missy.” Said the prison warden. He had an emotionless look on him, like he has never cared about the fact that he condemns ponies almost every day. Bon-Bon looked at him in hatred. She was dressed in an orange suit that was too tight for her. She felt miserable as the prison warden locked the door to her cell and went on his way, almost cheerful. Like he was happy to have locked up another ‘dangerous pony’. They knew nothing of justice, she didn’t get a fair trial like every other pony, even those with more serious charges than her. Why? Why was she the exception? Perhaps she was only being held until there was time enough for her to have a trial. The court must be busy. Many ponies stole and commited thievery these days, she thought. But why would they see those ponies and not an innocent mare charged with the murder of around five ponies that were actually commited by her marefriend? It didn’t make sense. It just did not make sense to her. It was five days after her seemingly final sentence and there was no sign of a trial, or anything. Bon-bon was pacing up and down, up and down, up and down faster and faster as time went by. She always stepped on the exact same floor tiles each time, stopping at the same time each time and moved her tail in a swishing motion each time. After a while it seemed the isolation had caused her to develop OCD. “Here’s your lunch, missy.” Were the only words she would hear every afternoon for the rest of her life. She was a killer after all, and she was not permitted to be outside with the other inmates, or even look at them. She knew being in prison was a bad thing, but this was mind-destroying. She had stopped eating and lined the plates full of food in a line against the left cell wall. She would sit in front of them and stare at them, and they would remind her of Lyra, who was an amazing cook. She would shed a tear every time she was reminded of the pancakes Lyra made, or the coffee she made, or the times when they were at school where they would food-fight playfully. Her marefriend, a killer…just like that. There had to be more to it. There had to, and she would be the one to figure it out. She retraced the exact sequence of events that had led up to the day she found Lyra had killed. It was a sunny Tuesday morning. Lyra and Bon-bon were trotting with eachother across the field, where the beautiful sun shined down on them. Lyra was wearing ridiculous looking shades and Bon-bon laughed whenever she looked at them. The couple saw Colgate trotting at a leisurely pace. Bon-bon saw out of the corner of her eye that Lyra was not right beside her any more. She waved to Colgate and Colgate replied with a friendly “hello!” But Lyra said nothing. Bon-bon blinked for a moment and before she knew it Colgate tripped her and she fell face first onto the ground. “Ow, Colgate, what was that for?” She yelled as she got up and dusted herself down. “I’m sorry, Bon, it was an accident, I swear! Somepony pushed me, either that or I just tripped…” Replied Colgate apologeticly. “Yeah, you must have tripped, nopony’s here.” Said Lyra, who had re-appeared next to Bon-bon. “Yeah…silly me. I’m sorry. Anyway, have a nice day!” Said Colgate cheerfully, and she went on her way. Bon-bon suddenly had a brainwave. She gasped and put her hoof over her mouth. “Lyra…pushed Colgate into me!” She said to herself. “But if she did that, then why did she kill her anyway? Did she want to kill Colgate before that?” Bon-bon suddenly felt something she’d never felt before, hatred. Hatred for Lyra. Paranoid thoughts started to seep into her head, about Lyra betraying her, about the possibility of Lyra never loving her in the first place. Had she been leading her on this whole time, lying to her? Perhaps Lyra had been born a murderer. Perhaps she had a plan, and Bon-bon had endangered it, and perhaps that was the reason Lyra came at her with the knife. Her thoughts were interrupted before they could get worse by the opening of her cell door. “Missy, come with me. I think you ought to see this. And quickly, before they notice. Don’t ask questions. Don’t speak. Just follow me, very very quickly without a noise. Come on. NOW!” Said the prison warden who usually brought her food. Bon-bon just tilted her head at him. This was not the same prison warden who locked her up. This one was actually nice to her. “Don’t sit there! I’m putting my flank on the line for you. Come. Now.” Bon-bon got up quickly. Perhaps he was trying to set her free. Maybe he knew something about all this. She followed the warden who galloped silently out. She trotted after him quickly, trying not to make a sound. They both exited the facility and ran down the street. The warden seemed to be going to Lyra’s house. Bon-bon was still following him when he went inside the house. It was locked but he seemed to have a key. They both went inside. The warden stopped outside the spare room. “What you are about to see may shock you.” He said as he opened the door. He went inside and bon-bon followed. The room was seemingly empty, but her eyes widened as the warden pulled open a trap door on the wooden floor and descended into the secret room below. Bon-bon followed, her entire body shaking. Nothing could have prepared her for what she saw next. Pictures. Everywhere. Of her, and of Colgate, and of Golden Harvest, and of loads of fillies and other mares she had never even seen. Not only that, there were chains hanging from the wall and something that was more disturbing than ever. The warden moved a painting that was so dusty you couldn’t see the picture, and behind the painting was a list of names, and just over two thirds of them were crossed out. Braeburn Holly Sunset Peachy Noteworthy Honey Bunch Solar Polaris Colgate Dollar Mack Golden Harvest “Dollar Mack was the stallion at the market place.” Explained the warden. Bon-bon stood, shocked beyond belief. Lyra had been away on holiday by herself the week Braeburn had been found dead. Peachy and Noteworthy both dissapeared at the same time when Lyra went down to the market. How could she not have noticed anything strange about all that? But for Lyra to actually have a list made all these murders cold and calculated. But above everything, the biggest shock is that every single pony here was a childhood friend. She didn’t recognise the stallion at the market and he didn’t recognise her, because they had not seen eachother since elementary school. “That’s not the only thing I wanted to show you. Lyra had another secret compartment, but this one was full of cash. The only reason you didn’t get a trial and the only reason you were not believed when you told them your story, was because Lyra tipped them off with a vast amount of bits. Five hundred thousand, to be exact. Inherited from her grandfather.” “Why did she wanted to murder my fillyhood friends and why did she want to frame me” Spoke Bon-bon very quickly. “I don’t know. None of us know. I don’t agree with anything that’s been done here. It’s horrible. I can’t do anything other than show you what’s left of the truth and let you escape.” There came a crash at the door, and both ponies turned to face the four prison guards that had just appeared. Bon-bon screamed, but the warden who had helped her to find this said nothing and just backed away. The guards said nothing, their cold and calculated approach seemed spooky to Bon-bon who just kept screaming as the guards grabbed her and took her off. She was helpless. She never found out what happened to the prison warden. Her fate was to die in prison, never speaking to anypony. Only herself. Why would Lyra do this? ConspiracyBon-bon did not know what day it was, she could only see black clouds and rain out from the tiny barred window of her cell. She was absolutely starving as she had refused to eat since she was dragged back into her cell. She was considerably more miserable than before. She knew what was more or less the only truth she was getting, and it nearly destroyed her each time to think of it. “Psst, Bon-bon.” Came a voice from seemingly nowhere. “Huh?” Came Bon-bon’s reply. “Up here, at the window. We’re going to cut you out. Don’t react.” Bon-bon’s eyes widened as a tiny, spinning contraption started to cut silently through the bars. “Wh- what is that?” Bon-bon asked in confusion and almost panic. “Something Twilight built. Don’t ask. Some technical sciency stuff. Catch the bar as it falls. If it crashes against th- Guard!” The contraption dissapeared as a guard patrol came past Bon-bon’s cell, checking if everything was in order. One of them looked suspiciously at Bon-bon who was still staring at the bars of the window, but the patrol eventually passed and whoever was at the barred window started cutting again. The bar fell finally and Bon-bon only jusy managed to catch it. The removal of the bar had allowed Bon-bon to fit through the window, but only just. She closed her eyes as she was picked up and pulled through the tiny gap, and collapsed to the ground. “Hey Bon, how are you doing?” “I’ve been locked up for a month, how do you th- wait…COLGATE?” “Yeah it’s me.” Said Colgate, who had an eye-patch and next to her were Twilight Sparkle and Vinyl Scratch. “Twilight helped get you out with that weirdo science thing, and Vinyl was going to be Lyra’s next target so she wanted to come along.” “But…Lyra killed you…” Mumbled Bon-bon. “No, she kidnapped me. Come with me, I have a lot to explain. Twilight, take Vinyl and go back. I need to talk with Bonny alone.” “Are you sure?” Said Twilight. “Yeah.” Replied Colgate sternly. Twilight and Vinyl went off in their separate directions and Bon-bon followed Colgate. It looked like they were going back to Lyra’s. “I’d be careful, in case you’re caught. We’re going to sort out this whole thing and clear your name in the morning. We should lie low until then.” Said Colgate, talking as they trotted. “In the meantime, I should explain a few things. Lyra was sick and twisted from the start, Bon-bon. I’m sure you’ve seen the hidden part of her spare room now. Those pictures are there simply to scare you. Lyra predicted that you would see that room and she also planned out her own death. It was quite tragic as a whole, really. You see, Lyra first murdered by complete accident and it drove her a little bit more insane each day until she felt she had to murder more. Her relationship with you was purely to fill in the gap in her heart that had been left by all the merciless, pointless killing she had commited.” “I don’t get it…that’s all very well but, why did she plan her death and why did it have to be me?” “I’ll explain that when we get to Lyra’s spare room.” Bon-bon followed Colgate into Lyra’s spare room. She seemed to be following ponies a lot lately. But that was not a bad thing; she had no idea what was going on herself. Colgate stopped in the middle of the room. “Me and Lyra made a deal that she would kidnap me to shock you enough into almost hating Lyra. Because only then could you actually have the will to kill her. Lyra wanted to commit suicide, but she was too scared to do it herself. I agreed to everything that she told me, and I thought she had told me the whole plan. But when I heard she had bribed the police force to arrest you, which was after she had died, I was shocked and decided to try and figure it out. And from what I could figure out, she thought she was helping you. When she first killed, she got herself into a specific murderer’s mindset, for want of a better term. She thought you would have the same, so she had you locked up to, in theory, prevent you from killing others.” “Wh-what? That’s mad! That’s crazy! I don’t want to kill, ever! Ever ever ever!” Said Bon-bon, shocked beyond relief. “Lyra didn’t think that. But she actually loved you and she didn’t want you to become a murderer so much she was willing to do anything. That money wasn’t from her grand-parents as the Prison Warden who helped you escape momentarilty said, she stole it from Vinyl and was planning to kill her in case she found out. She had planned everything. It even surprised me…” “You mean…Lyra did it because…she loved me? Not because she hated me or because she was a psychopath?” “Well, she was a pychopath. I helped her because she was dangerous and she genuinely wanted all of this to stop. She was almost in tears as she spoke to me, and I just had to agree. I’m sorry, Bon-bon. I know it was wrong of me, wrong of us all, to put you through all of this.” “You…pretended…it’s a conspiracy…” Bon-bon closed her eyes and started to shake. “Yes…I’m sorry…are you okay? Do you need to rest?” “No. I am not okay. You all lied to me. I was a chess piece, wasn’t I? You all used me just so a psychopath could kill herself in the most cowardly way possible. You’re all horrible. I hate you…I hate you…” Bon-bon started to advance on Colgate, re-opening her eyes with a malicious glint in them. “Now, Bon-bon…please…you have to try and understand…don’t do anything rash, please!” Colgate started to gallop off, but Bon-bon was on her, grabbing her head and with a cold and calculated movement, snapped it with a sickening crunch. Lyra was right in trying to protect Bon-bon.
A Not-So-Average DayLyra’s house was a three room job. One room was dedicated to sleeping, one was dedicated to eating, and the third room, locked permanently, seemed a mystery. Lyra often had her marefriend, Bon-Bon, over to stay. Every once in a while, Bon-Bon would question what laid behind the door. Every time, Lyra would simply shake her head. She always responded the same way: "I have no idea! I lost the key ages ago!” punctuated with a nervous chuckle. It was an average Tuesday morning in Ponyville. Bon-Bon and Lyra were contentedly sitting together drinking their morning coffee. Lyra looked like she hadn’t been to sleep in ages. Her mane was messier than usual. Bon-bon glanced at the locked door, curiosity written on her face “Really Lyra, we’ve been together for, like, ever! Why can’t you tell me what’s in that room huh?” Asked Bon-Bon “I told ya it’s nothing! Just a dusty room. You know, one of those spare rooms. I found it locked when I moved in.” replied Lyra, twirling her hair playfully with her right hoof. “Oh, oh well. Hey, I’m going to go to the market, I kinda need some perfume. This stuff I got is just awful" she said, a look of disgust crossing her face. Bon-Bon got up and stretched herself. “Aah…I should have gone to sleep earlier last night!” “Yeah, maybe. Although I went to bed at like, two in the morning so I can't talk. Anyway, I’ll come with you, I need some more milk and stuff!” Said Lyra excitedly, bounding up with her regularly crazy grin. The two ponies walked out of Lyra’s house and down the street towards the market, Lyra considerably more enthusiastic than Bon-Bon. Lyra and Bon-Bon had been together for five years now, and their relationship had never been better. Bon-Bon was practically living in Lyra’s house, which was just as well, Bon-Bon had forgotten to pay her rent and was under the threat of being kicked out of her own house. Lyra had promised herself never to leave Bon-Bon’s side and to always be there for her. She was a kind and helpful mare with a heart of gold and a self confidence that almost matches that of Pinkie Pie. She brightened up everypony’s day even just by sitting on a bench and idily smiling. Almost everypony was happy to see her. She was Ponyville’s sunshine and Bon-Bon’s life. Lyra, lost in thought, accidentally turned away from the market. Bon-Bon giggled in response and said, “Lyra, the market’s uh, this way?” “Oh, is it? Ugh. I can’t tell my left from my right!” Replied Lyra, bounding after Bon-Bon “We’re here, anyway!” Bon-Bon picked up the nearest perfume bottle and sniffed it. “Hmm…this is much better than what I have. I’ll take it! How much?” she said “That’ll be 20 bits.” Said the pony at the stall. “Wh..WHAT? I don’t even have that much on me!” said Bon-Bon, shocked. The pony at the stall frowned. He had the sort of look you just knew meant ‘cheat’. “No bits, no sale. Come back next time when you’re richer!” “Hey, Bon-Bon, don’t worry, I have some spare bits!” Said Lyra, jumping up behind her. Lyra counted up 20 bits from her own money and handed it to the pony at the stall. Bon-Bon took the bottle in her teeth and looked up at her partner. “You didn’t have to do that, really. Now you wont have enough for food today!” Said Bon-Bon, sadly. “Hey, cheer up! I don't mind. Let’s go to the library, I’ve been meaning to get the seventh book in the Daring Do series: Daring Do and the Secret City! I can’t wait! Eeep!” said Lyra, a smile still on her face despite her rumbling stomach. “Uh, oh, okay Lyra!” Said Bon-Bon. The couple galloped off in the direction of Twilight Sparkle’s library, which had every book in the popular Daring-Do series, a series of books depicting a daring and adventurous pegasus mare solving mysteries, escaping dangers and experiencing near-deaths in order to gain priceless relics and other artifacts. They were Lyra’s favourite book. Lyra and Bon-Bon reached the front door of the library and Lyra knocked loudly and enthusiasticly. Twilight opened the door and smiled. “Come for book seven then Lyra? I have it just over here!” she said. Lyra’s eyes were wide and her smile crazier than normal as Twilight brought her the book from the shelf at the back of the library. Lyra took it in her mouth and galloped off, too excited to say goodbye. Bon-Bon galloped after her. Twilight just stood in the door with a bemused look on her face, before shaking her head and walking back into the library, closing the door behind her. Lyra and Bon-Bon stopped outside Lyra's house. Bon-Bon turned to her. “Hey, Lyra, I’m going to go back home. I have things to do, okay? Have fun with your book!” she said. Lyra nodded and galloped inside her house, lept on her sofa and opened the book. It was an enthralling tale, with everything one could expect from a Daring-Do story. Lyra put the book down finally and giggled to herself. She pressed her hoof to the table beside her sofa and revealed a secret compartment. She reached in, retrieving a key in the process, and promptly shut it again. She trotted to the locked door and put the key in it, twisting it in the lock with her teeth. After unlocking the mysterious room, she took the key out and replaced it back within its resting place, opening it again to do so. She entered through the door and closed it behind her. “Good morning, Bon-Bon!” yelled Lyra from the front of Bon-Bon’s bed. “AAHHH!” yelled Bon-Bon and lept out of her bed, terrified. When she realised who was in her room she calmed down a bit. “Oh, it’s you Lyra! Please, stop scaring me like that! I feel like I have a heart attack every time I wake up now!” “Oh, sorry! Heh.” Said Lyra, letting a fit of giggles overcome her. “It’s fine. Love you!” “I love ya too Bonny, now come on, back to my house, we’ll chat, maybe have some coffee and I could put on some music! I heard Vinyl has released her new album, I wonder if it’s for sale at the market!” The happy couple wandered out of Bon-Bon’s house and trotted down the street to Lyra’s house. Lyra was starting to get black patches under her eyes. “Lyra, have you been sleeping well lately?” Bon-Bon asked her, worry working it's way onto her usually content face. “Huh, uh…oh, yeah, I have, Bonny. Why d’you ask?” replied Lyra absent-mindedly. “Oh, it’s nothing.” They walked inside Lyra’s house, Bon-Bon had a concerned look as she sat down on Lyra’s sofa. Lyra poured her a glass of Sweet Apple Cider, left-over from last year. Bon-Bon took the drink and almost downed it in one. “Bon-Bon, are you okay?” Asked Lyra “No, no I’m not. I’m worried. You look like you’re not doing too good, you know? And you’re not telling me what’s wrong. I love you, Lyra, and I care for you, and I want to know what’s wrong. You can tell me anything at all, I wont think any less of you. Just please tell me what’s wrong darling!” pressed a now very worried Bon-Bon, who hiccuped slightly as a result of the cider she had just drank. “It’s nothing. Really, Bonny. It’s nothing to worry about. Just relax and I’ll try and make myself look a little, uh, appealing?” said Lyra, trying to quell her partner's worries and glancing back to her bedroom. Bon-Bon nodded. Lyra trotted to her bedroom and returned after around ten minutes. She had combed her hair and cleaned herself up a little. The black patches under her eyes had dissapeared a little too. “Better?” she said “Heh, yeah.” Replied Bon-Bon. “C’mere you!” Giggled Lyra as she dive-bombed onto the sofa beside Bon-Bon and began kissing her. They broke apart after a while and giggled together. Lyra glanced momentarily at the locked door, before returning her gaze back to her lover.
Missing Mare Mystery SolvedIt was a beautiful sunny Thursday morning in Ponyville and almost everypony was outside basking in the warm glow of the sun. Lyra and Bon-Bon were lying together outside Lyra’s house happily, holding eachother’s hoof. Lyra had sunglasses on, but Bon-Bon hadn’t bothered and preffered to just shut her eyes to block the sun from them. Bon-Bon turned to Lyra; “Hey, why don’t we go back inside? You’ve not eaten today. We should go and get some breakfast.” She proposed. “Oh Bonny, I’d rather be with you than inside eating.” Replied Lyra, quite matter-of-factly. “No, Lyra, you need to eat. Come inside, I’ll get you something.” Said Bon-Bon, getting up and trotting inside. Lyra reluctantly followed. Lyra slumped down on the sofa, her eyes glancing franticly to the table beside it and then back to Bon-Bon, who was in the kitchen making pancakes for them both. Bon-Bon entered and handed a pancake to Lyra, who began taking tiny bites of it. Bon-Bon looked at her, concern back on her pretty features, before turning her attention back to her pancake. After they had finished eating (Lyra had put her pancake underneath the sofa when Bon-Bon wasn’t looking), the couple went outside again, only to find Golden Harvest was just about to knock on their door. She was panicking, and hopping from one set of hooves to the other. Lyra avoided eye contact with her. “Golden? What’s up?” Asked Bon-Bon. “I can’t find my friend Colgate anywhere! She hasn’t been here yesterday, or today! Her house is locked. I’ve tried everywhere!” Said Golden Harvest quickly. “Colgate’s gone?” Bon-Bon exclaimed. “Yes! Have you seen her at all?” Golden inquired. “No, I haven’t, but this is terrible news! Please, tell us if you find her okay? We’re worried for her too.” Replied Bon-Bon, before walking back into Lyra’s house. Lyra followed without saying anything. Bon-Bon turned to Lyra. “Do you know anything about this? It’s terrible isn’t it!” She said. “No, I don’t…yeah, it’s terrible, definitely.” Replied Lyra. “I hope Golden is alright, d’you think we should go and see her and try to cheer her up?” “Maybe we shouldn’t, she might be out looking for her or she might be too upset to talk to anypony.” “That’s no reason why we, as her friends, should not attempt to give her some sympathy!” “Didn’t we give her enough sympathy when she was at my door?” “You said ‘my’” “Yeah, what’s wrong with that?” “It’s our door, Lyra. It always has been. It’s our house.” “Oh, yeah, I’m sorry Bonny. I’ve been preoccupied with other things.” “Like what, Lyra? You’ve been distant all day yesterday and today. Do you know something about this?” “NO! Uh, I mean, no, of course not Bonny. Hang on, I’ll get us both a cup of coffee. We haven’t had any this morning.” Lyra got up quickly and trotted to the kitchen, leaving Bon-Bon to sit there and ponder. She returned with two mugs of hot coffee and handed Bon-Bon one. Bon-Bon relaxed a little and smiled at Lyra. “I’m sorry I was so fustrated, it’s just Colgate’s a friendly mare and to hear that she was missing was awful! I hope they find her…” Said Bon-Bon. Lyra smiled and snuggled up to her. They were both happy and content again to be with eachother, and Bon-Bon leant in to kiss her aquamarine partner. She tustled her hair playfully and Lyra giggled. There was a bump. Both Lyra and Bon-Bon jumped out of the sofa and Bon-Bon looked around her frantically. “Wh- What was that?!” Shouted Bon-Bon. “Uh, nothing! Must have come from outside, maybe we should go look.” Replied Lyra, trying to calm her marefriend down. “Uh, yeah, it probably did.” Said Bon-Bon, who followed Lyra outside the house. Lyra looked around her and Bon-Bon stood next to her. There was nothing outside, no commotion or anything, that could have contributed to the noise. Bon-Bon turned to Lyra. “Are you SURE the bump didn’t come from your house? Let’s go back inside and see, something might have just fallen down or something.” She said. Bon-Bon galloped back into the house before Lyra could say anything, and Lyra just followed her slowly. “Bon-Bon, we’re probably wasting our time. Let’s just get back to snuggling shall we?” Lyra exasperated. “Oh Lyra, you know how curious I can be, I’m not going to rest until this mystery is solved!” Replied Bon-Bon. Lyra was almost sweating as Bon-Bon looked around the kitchen, the bit where Lyra slept, the sofa and then tripped and fell. Lyra’s eyes widened as Bon-Bon fell, almost in slow motion it seemed, towards the table beside the sofa. Lyra tried to catch her, but she was too late. Bon-Bon’s head hit the table right where Lyra had placed her hoof Tuesday night, and the secret compartment opened. “OW! Owowowowowow…hey…what’s this?” Exclaimed Bon-Bon after recovering from her fall. Lyra was standing and shaking. “N-Nothing, let’s just get you something to help with your head, that was a nasty fall!” Muttered Lyra. Bon-Bon shook her head and looked inside the compartment that had opened from the table. She noticed there was a key in it, took it and frowned at Lyra. “Lyra, what is this? Why is it hidden? Is this for that locked door?” Said Bon-Bon quietly, the fact slowly making it’s way into her mind that her partner for five years had lied to her. Bon-Bon took the key to the locked door and put it in. Lyra stood helpless, sweat dripping off her and her eyes looking from side to side franticly. Bon-Bon turned the key and the door opened. She went inside and immedietly let out a defeaning shriek. “AAAHHH! LYRA! WHAT THE BUCK IS COLGATE DOING IN HERE?! And is that…the guy from the market stall who sold me that perfume? Oh my god…OH MY GOD, HE’S DEAD!” Lyra backed away from Bon-Bon as she emerged from the room, her breath heavy and her eye twitching. “You…lied to me…you…I can’t believe it…why did you kill the market pony? Why is Colgate tied up and gagged? I’m going to the police, I’m sorry, I have to.” Bon-Bon said. She spoke harshly while trying to get past Lyra and out of the house as quickly as possible. “But, Bon-Bon…you don’t want to get your marefriend locked up for the rest of her life, do you?” Lyra said, her voice spookily calm and that crazy grin back on her face. Bon-Bon’s heart was racing as she tried to think of a reply. Lyra was right. She was too attached to her partner to do anything like that to her. “You’re…you’re right, Lyra…I…I don’t…” She said. “Good…now, close that door please?” “O-Okay…” Bon-Bon, without even blinking, closed the door to Lyra’s spare room, placed the key in it and turned it around. She took the key back to the secret compartment on the table and put the key back where she found it, closing the compartment. She went to the sofa and slumped down on it. Lyra sat next to her. Neither of them spoke. There were no more bumps coming from the locked room.
Friday Night and Saturday MorningFriday night. Everypony in Ponyville was asleep in their beds. Everypony except Bon-bon, who had not been to sleep since the night before. She could not even think at times, and she had given up crying. She did not have any will to even try to reason with her lover, who was now a murderer and a kidnapper. Why did Lyra do it? She pondered, pacing back and forth, up and down her bedroom. What should she do? Should she betray her partner, who she had been in love with for five years, to the police? What would happen to Lyra? She had to do something, before Lyra kidnapped or murdered another pony. She just could not stand by and do nothing, she was a Ponyville civillian and had a duty to protect the rest of Ponyville. She stretched herself, took a few deep breaths, and trotted out of her house and galloped down the street towards Lyra’s house. The lights in Lyra’s house were all off except for one, which seemed to flicker momentarily as she approached. She heard a bang and a muffed scream, and galloped fast as she could, smashed down the door and ran into the spare room which was now open. There, in front of her eyes, was Lyra. She was holding a knife and there was a bright yellow pony with orange hair struggling to get away from her. She had blood coming from her head, where she must have been hit or something. “Lyra! What the buck are you doing to Golden Harvest!? Get away from her!” Bon-bon screamed. “Bonny, you…were meant to be awake…” Mumbled Lyra as she backed away from Golden. Golden was frozen in fear and didn’t move. She looked like she was unconscious. “Lyra. I haven’t been to sleep. This has been driving me insane…oh god…it stinks in here!” “Bonny, please understand, I am doing this for you! It’s all for you Bonny, nopony will get between us. Together, forever!” Said Lyra, calmly. Bon-bon backed away as Lyra started coming towards her. She finally managed to catch a glimpse of the room around her as she edged further away from it. She retched as she saw even more dead ponies, about three of them, lined up against the left wall. She noticed one of them was her cousin, who had suggested to come and visit Bon-bon and Lyra yesterday. One of them was just a filly, who had passed remark about Bon-bon’s hair, saying it was messy and dirty. Lyra started to bring up her knife just as Bon-bon caught a glimpse of the third dead pony, who was a stallion that had flirted with her a week ago. She was suddenly very, very angry. “Lyra. You’ve been killing these ponies because you think they are a threat to us, haven’t you? Colgate didn’t mean to trip me two weeks ago. It was an accident! That pony at the market place was trying to make a living! These ponies are innocent, and you killed them!” She yelled louder than she had ever yelled before. “Bonny, I couldn’t help it. I love you, and nopony will get in the way of that. And since I can’t stop that from happening in this world, I figured that if we were both in heaven, we could be together forever, and nopony could stop that, NOPONY” Lyra lunged at Bon-bon, screaming that final word, striking terror and shock into Bon-bon. “NO!” Screamed Bon-bon. She smacked Lyra across the face with her hoof in desperation as Lyra brought the knife down. It all happened too fast for Bon-bon to comprehend clearly. As she hit Lyra, Lyra dropped the knife and Bon-bon swooped it up. Just as Lyra recovered, Bon-bon panicked and before either of them knew it, Lyra was lying on the ground with a knife stuck deep in her forehead. “Oh…oh Celestia…oh buck….buck buck buck….” She said over and over again, before noticing Golden Harvest was still slumped unconcious. Golden was not breathing. Bon-bon shed a tear, she must have died from her wound. Bon-bon looked around her and wondered desperately what to do. She had given up trying to see a good side to any of this, she had given up crying and given up feeling upset. She felt emotionless as she grabbed Lyra’s lifeless body and dragged it outside. She felt nothing as she grabbed a spade that was lying near the back of the house and she only felt her muscles tingle as she started digging. A few hours later, Bon-bon had buried both Golden Harvest and Lyra. It was almost dawn and there was blood everywhere. She didn’t have enough time to clean up behind herself and just sat down, resigned completely. It was all too much for her. “Is that…Bon-bon? And she’s sitting with a spade and…oh…OH GOD, THERE’S BLOOD! HELP! POLICE! HEELLPP! MUURRDDEERRR!” Came a scream from behind her. This attracted more screaming ponies to the scene and soon Bon-bon was surrounded by ponies insulting her, screaming, and some ran to the police. Bon-bon shed a single tear at last as she was grabbed by four stallions wearing police badges. She did not resit as she was taken to the police-station for questioning. “The time is twenty four hundred hours. Subject Bon-bon ready for interviewing. So, Bon-bon. You were found outside Lyra’s house with a spade and blood on the ground. This doesn’t look good for you. Do you have any form of explanation that could make your sentence less…hm…harsh?” “Yes. I can give you exact details of what has happened in the past two weeks. Will that do? I want out. I didn’t do any of this.” “I’m waiting for the proof of this.” “I did it in self defense, Lyra was holding a knife to m-“ “Wow wow. You said you would give me details of everything that happened. When did this ‘Lyra’ come into it? How long have you known her and why was she holding a knife to you? This is an interview, missy, I need the details and I need them now.” “Okay, okay. I’ll tell you exactly what happened starting with two weeks ago.Me and Lyra had gone out for five years and she was starting to get more clingy than usual. Lyra was constantly asking me to come over, she always came with me to the market, she kept glowering at everypony who so much as looked at me. A pony called Colgate walked past me one day and she wasn’t paying attention to where she was going. She accidently bumped past me and tripped me. I think that was what caused Lyra to go after her, but I don’t actually know why she did it…she showed no signs of hatred towards Colgate before that. And about a week after that, this stallion at the market place tried to cheat me out of 20 bits. Lyra gave him 20 bits but a day after that I stumbled across her spare room. It was usually locked but I…found a way to get in. I discovered Colgate tied up and the stallion from the market dead. I’m not sure if Colgate is dead or not, I didn’t see her tonight when I went back. When I went back, Lyra was there about to kill Golden Harvest because she was at her door the other day asking where Colgate went. When she saw me she backed away from Golden and started to come after me, and I still have no idea what came over her…it scared me so much I stopped being myself for a moment. I got really angry and I noticed she had killed three other ponies, but I left them alone because I hardly knew them.Lyra came at me with the knife, like I said before, but I lost control of myself and hit her, took the knife and stabbed her in the head with it. It was purely because she was going to kill me anyway, I swear! I buried both Golden and Lyra because they were both dear to me. I said a quick prayer to Celestia and just sat there, I don’t know why…I felt a sadness so great that it overwhelmed me. And you took me here. That’s my story, okay?” “I see…well, we’ll think it over. We’ll escort you back to your cell and inform you when we come to a decision. Good day.” And Bon-bon was taken back to her cell.
Unimaginable Truth“I’m sorry, Bon-bon. It just wont wash over. We can’t believe you because we have no evidence suggesting that it WASN’T you. I’m afraid you’re going to be in here for a very, very long time, missy.” Said the prison warden. He had an emotionless look on him, like he has never cared about the fact that he condemns ponies almost every day. Bon-Bon looked at him in hatred. She was dressed in an orange suit that was too tight for her. She felt miserable as the prison warden locked the door to her cell and went on his way, almost cheerful. Like he was happy to have locked up another ‘dangerous pony’. They knew nothing of justice, she didn’t get a fair trial like every other pony, even those with more serious charges than her. Why? Why was she the exception? Perhaps she was only being held until there was time enough for her to have a trial. The court must be busy. Many ponies stole and commited thievery these days, she thought. But why would they see those ponies and not an innocent mare charged with the murder of around five ponies that were actually commited by her marefriend? It didn’t make sense. It just did not make sense to her. It was five days after her seemingly final sentence and there was no sign of a trial, or anything. Bon-bon was pacing up and down, up and down, up and down faster and faster as time went by. She always stepped on the exact same floor tiles each time, stopping at the same time each time and moved her tail in a swishing motion each time. After a while it seemed the isolation had caused her to develop OCD. “Here’s your lunch, missy.” Were the only words she would hear every afternoon for the rest of her life. She was a killer after all, and she was not permitted to be outside with the other inmates, or even look at them. She knew being in prison was a bad thing, but this was mind-destroying. She had stopped eating and lined the plates full of food in a line against the left cell wall. She would sit in front of them and stare at them, and they would remind her of Lyra, who was an amazing cook. She would shed a tear every time she was reminded of the pancakes Lyra made, or the coffee she made, or the times when they were at school where they would food-fight playfully. Her marefriend, a killer…just like that. There had to be more to it. There had to, and she would be the one to figure it out. She retraced the exact sequence of events that had led up to the day she found Lyra had killed. It was a sunny Tuesday morning. Lyra and Bon-bon were trotting with eachother across the field, where the beautiful sun shined down on them. Lyra was wearing ridiculous looking shades and Bon-bon laughed whenever she looked at them. The couple saw Colgate trotting at a leisurely pace. Bon-bon saw out of the corner of her eye that Lyra was not right beside her any more. She waved to Colgate and Colgate replied with a friendly “hello!” But Lyra said nothing. Bon-bon blinked for a moment and before she knew it Colgate tripped her and she fell face first onto the ground. “Ow, Colgate, what was that for?” She yelled as she got up and dusted herself down. “I’m sorry, Bon, it was an accident, I swear! Somepony pushed me, either that or I just tripped…” Replied Colgate apologeticly. “Yeah, you must have tripped, nopony’s here.” Said Lyra, who had re-appeared next to Bon-bon. “Yeah…silly me. I’m sorry. Anyway, have a nice day!” Said Colgate cheerfully, and she went on her way. Bon-bon suddenly had a brainwave. She gasped and put her hoof over her mouth. “Lyra…pushed Colgate into me!” She said to herself. “But if she did that, then why did she kill her anyway? Did she want to kill Colgate before that?” Bon-bon suddenly felt something she’d never felt before, hatred. Hatred for Lyra. Paranoid thoughts started to seep into her head, about Lyra betraying her, about the possibility of Lyra never loving her in the first place. Had she been leading her on this whole time, lying to her? Perhaps Lyra had been born a murderer. Perhaps she had a plan, and Bon-bon had endangered it, and perhaps that was the reason Lyra came at her with the knife. Her thoughts were interrupted before they could get worse by the opening of her cell door. “Missy, come with me. I think you ought to see this. And quickly, before they notice. Don’t ask questions. Don’t speak. Just follow me, very very quickly without a noise. Come on. NOW!” Said the prison warden who usually brought her food. Bon-bon just tilted her head at him. This was not the same prison warden who locked her up. This one was actually nice to her. “Don’t sit there! I’m putting my flank on the line for you. Come. Now.” Bon-bon got up quickly. Perhaps he was trying to set her free. Maybe he knew something about all this. She followed the warden who galloped silently out. She trotted after him quickly, trying not to make a sound. They both exited the facility and ran down the street. The warden seemed to be going to Lyra’s house. Bon-bon was still following him when he went inside the house. It was locked but he seemed to have a key. They both went inside. The warden stopped outside the spare room. “What you are about to see may shock you.” He said as he opened the door. He went inside and bon-bon followed. The room was seemingly empty, but her eyes widened as the warden pulled open a trap door on the wooden floor and descended into the secret room below. Bon-bon followed, her entire body shaking. Nothing could have prepared her for what she saw next. Pictures. Everywhere. Of her, and of Colgate, and of Golden Harvest, and of loads of fillies and other mares she had never even seen. Not only that, there were chains hanging from the wall and something that was more disturbing than ever. The warden moved a painting that was so dusty you couldn’t see the picture, and behind the painting was a list of names, and just over two thirds of them were crossed out. Braeburn Holly Sunset Peachy Noteworthy Honey Bunch Solar Polaris Colgate Dollar Mack Golden Harvest “Dollar Mack was the stallion at the market place.” Explained the warden. Bon-bon stood, shocked beyond belief. Lyra had been away on holiday by herself the week Braeburn had been found dead. Peachy and Noteworthy both dissapeared at the same time when Lyra went down to the market. How could she not have noticed anything strange about all that? But for Lyra to actually have a list made all these murders cold and calculated. But above everything, the biggest shock is that every single pony here was a childhood friend. She didn’t recognise the stallion at the market and he didn’t recognise her, because they had not seen eachother since elementary school. “That’s not the only thing I wanted to show you. Lyra had another secret compartment, but this one was full of cash. The only reason you didn’t get a trial and the only reason you were not believed when you told them your story, was because Lyra tipped them off with a vast amount of bits. Five hundred thousand, to be exact. Inherited from her grandfather.” “Why did she wanted to murder my fillyhood friends and why did she want to frame me” Spoke Bon-bon very quickly. “I don’t know. None of us know. I don’t agree with anything that’s been done here. It’s horrible. I can’t do anything other than show you what’s left of the truth and let you escape.” There came a crash at the door, and both ponies turned to face the four prison guards that had just appeared. Bon-bon screamed, but the warden who had helped her to find this said nothing and just backed away. The guards said nothing, their cold and calculated approach seemed spooky to Bon-bon who just kept screaming as the guards grabbed her and took her off. She was helpless. She never found out what happened to the prison warden. Her fate was to die in prison, never speaking to anypony. Only herself. Why would Lyra do this?
ConspiracyBon-bon did not know what day it was, she could only see black clouds and rain out from the tiny barred window of her cell. She was absolutely starving as she had refused to eat since she was dragged back into her cell. She was considerably more miserable than before. She knew what was more or less the only truth she was getting, and it nearly destroyed her each time to think of it. “Psst, Bon-bon.” Came a voice from seemingly nowhere. “Huh?” Came Bon-bon’s reply. “Up here, at the window. We’re going to cut you out. Don’t react.” Bon-bon’s eyes widened as a tiny, spinning contraption started to cut silently through the bars. “Wh- what is that?” Bon-bon asked in confusion and almost panic. “Something Twilight built. Don’t ask. Some technical sciency stuff. Catch the bar as it falls. If it crashes against th- Guard!” The contraption dissapeared as a guard patrol came past Bon-bon’s cell, checking if everything was in order. One of them looked suspiciously at Bon-bon who was still staring at the bars of the window, but the patrol eventually passed and whoever was at the barred window started cutting again. The bar fell finally and Bon-bon only jusy managed to catch it. The removal of the bar had allowed Bon-bon to fit through the window, but only just. She closed her eyes as she was picked up and pulled through the tiny gap, and collapsed to the ground. “Hey Bon, how are you doing?” “I’ve been locked up for a month, how do you th- wait…COLGATE?” “Yeah it’s me.” Said Colgate, who had an eye-patch and next to her were Twilight Sparkle and Vinyl Scratch. “Twilight helped get you out with that weirdo science thing, and Vinyl was going to be Lyra’s next target so she wanted to come along.” “But…Lyra killed you…” Mumbled Bon-bon. “No, she kidnapped me. Come with me, I have a lot to explain. Twilight, take Vinyl and go back. I need to talk with Bonny alone.” “Are you sure?” Said Twilight. “Yeah.” Replied Colgate sternly. Twilight and Vinyl went off in their separate directions and Bon-bon followed Colgate. It looked like they were going back to Lyra’s. “I’d be careful, in case you’re caught. We’re going to sort out this whole thing and clear your name in the morning. We should lie low until then.” Said Colgate, talking as they trotted. “In the meantime, I should explain a few things. Lyra was sick and twisted from the start, Bon-bon. I’m sure you’ve seen the hidden part of her spare room now. Those pictures are there simply to scare you. Lyra predicted that you would see that room and she also planned out her own death. It was quite tragic as a whole, really. You see, Lyra first murdered by complete accident and it drove her a little bit more insane each day until she felt she had to murder more. Her relationship with you was purely to fill in the gap in her heart that had been left by all the merciless, pointless killing she had commited.” “I don’t get it…that’s all very well but, why did she plan her death and why did it have to be me?” “I’ll explain that when we get to Lyra’s spare room.” Bon-bon followed Colgate into Lyra’s spare room. She seemed to be following ponies a lot lately. But that was not a bad thing; she had no idea what was going on herself. Colgate stopped in the middle of the room. “Me and Lyra made a deal that she would kidnap me to shock you enough into almost hating Lyra. Because only then could you actually have the will to kill her. Lyra wanted to commit suicide, but she was too scared to do it herself. I agreed to everything that she told me, and I thought she had told me the whole plan. But when I heard she had bribed the police force to arrest you, which was after she had died, I was shocked and decided to try and figure it out. And from what I could figure out, she thought she was helping you. When she first killed, she got herself into a specific murderer’s mindset, for want of a better term. She thought you would have the same, so she had you locked up to, in theory, prevent you from killing others.” “Wh-what? That’s mad! That’s crazy! I don’t want to kill, ever! Ever ever ever!” Said Bon-bon, shocked beyond relief. “Lyra didn’t think that. But she actually loved you and she didn’t want you to become a murderer so much she was willing to do anything. That money wasn’t from her grand-parents as the Prison Warden who helped you escape momentarilty said, she stole it from Vinyl and was planning to kill her in case she found out. She had planned everything. It even surprised me…” “You mean…Lyra did it because…she loved me? Not because she hated me or because she was a psychopath?” “Well, she was a pychopath. I helped her because she was dangerous and she genuinely wanted all of this to stop. She was almost in tears as she spoke to me, and I just had to agree. I’m sorry, Bon-bon. I know it was wrong of me, wrong of us all, to put you through all of this.” “You…pretended…it’s a conspiracy…” Bon-bon closed her eyes and started to shake. “Yes…I’m sorry…are you okay? Do you need to rest?” “No. I am not okay. You all lied to me. I was a chess piece, wasn’t I? You all used me just so a psychopath could kill herself in the most cowardly way possible. You’re all horrible. I hate you…I hate you…” Bon-bon started to advance on Colgate, re-opening her eyes with a malicious glint in them. “Now, Bon-bon…please…you have to try and understand…don’t do anything rash, please!” Colgate started to gallop off, but Bon-bon was on her, grabbing her head and with a cold and calculated movement, snapped it with a sickening crunch. Lyra was right in trying to protect Bon-bon.
