As I finished setting the table for breakfast, I called out to Lyra from the bottom of the stairs.
“C’mon Lyra! It’s time to wake up!”
I shuffled the hashbrowns and eggs onto our plates before and refocusing my gaze toward the base of the stairs. Nothing, why wasn’t she getting up? I chuckled to myself as I made my way upstairs; mornings hit Lyra almost as hard as Vinyl.
As I approached the door frame of our bedroom, I immediately broke into a fit of giggles, Lyra was sprawled across the bed, her mane disheveled and a bit of drool seeping into the pillow.
My antics caused her to stir from her sleep, “What’s so funny, Bon Bon?” she murmured. She shifted the covers and pulled herself up, exposing the rest of her frazzled mane. She gave me a small glare as I broke into another fit of laughter.
Lyra combed her mane as I served the two of us some glasses of orange juice.
“Can you run the plan by me one more time, Lyra?” I asked.
She took her time swallowing a portion of her breakfast before answering, “Tomorrow morning, me and Octi-”
“Octavia and I.” I corrected, earning a huff of frustration from Lyra.
“Whatever, Octavia and I are going to board the train to Canterlot in the morning. When we get there, we’ll pick out a hotel near the concert hall, and then we’ll practice for most of the week until we perform on Friday.”
“What's the name of the group you’re performing in?” I inquired.
She took a moment to stand on her hind legs and puff out her chest, “The Canterlot Strings Ensemble!” she said proudly.
I chuckled a bit as she smiled at me. Sure, I was going to miss her for a while, but at least she’ll have a good time with Octavia.
It was a Sunday morning. The sun was shimmering through the windows of the shop as a gentle warmth permeated through the air. Fillies and colts laughed and played as their gazes locked onto the the vast array of candy that was placed on display. The exasperated parents who tried to catch their children soon found their efforts pointless, and simply waited for them to calm down and make up their minds.
I made myself busy restocking some of the shelves near the back of the store when I noticed a stallion nearby staring at me. He had a calm look on his face and appeared fixated on something, almost as if he was waiting for something to happen. I didn’t know why, but the way he stared at me made me feel uneasy. His expression didn’t seem genuine at all; it was uncanny to say the least.
I shook myself back into reality, He’s just a customer in a candy shop, Bon Bon! He’s probably just too nervous to ask you something, so stop jumping to conclusions and help the poor stallion!
As I made my way toward the stallion, a young mare appeared in front of me from my blindside, startling me slightly.
“Sorry to trouble you Ma’am, but do you know where the taffy is?” she asked sweetly.
Without thinking, I turned to face one of the shelves near the register, “We’re out of grape and orange-flavored taffy right now, but we still have plenty of apple and cherry taffy if you’d like.”
She grinned, “Thank you!”
When I looked back where the stallion had been, he was still staring at me.
And then he smiled.
It wasn’t natural, it was a sick and twisted façade. Every bone in my body shook as my joints locked in place. I stood still, frozen in fear, afraid that he might kill me if I moved. The grin stretched across his face to the point where I was afraid his mouth would split open and bleed. After what felt like an eternity, he turned around with that maniacal grin never leaving his face, and walked out the door.
Ding ding!
It felt as if a massive weight had been taken off my body. It took a considerable amount of effort not to stumble and fall right then and there, but I managed. I spent the rest of the day attending to the rest of my customers, silently hoping to myself that the mysterious stallion wouldn’t come back again.
It was late in the afternoon by the time I had finally arrived home. I could barely keep my legs from shaking, still envisioning that wicked smile. It was as if it was carved onto his face, cracked and broken like some kind of porcelain doll. When I stepped inside the foyer, I saw Lyra tinkering with some sort of mechanical contraption.
“Lyra, what is that?” I asked her.
She stood up and grinned at me. “Oh hey Bon Bon, Muffins stopped by and helped me set it up a while ago. Isn’t it neat?”
I gave her a deadpan expression, “Lyra, what is it? How much did this cost?”
She looked at me sheepishly, “Oh you know, only a couple hundred bits.”
“What?!”
Lyra raised her hooves in defense, “It’s a message machine! I can use it to record messages with my magic and send them to you! Just like how Spike uses his fire to send letters to Princess Celestia!”
I gave her a perplexed look as I inspected the machine. She continued, “It’s just... I’m away for a lot of concerts, so I thought you might like to know how I’m doing .”
I smiled at her. “Well, that’s very sweet of you. Still, it’s not like I can use it.” I pointed at my forehead, where my horn could have been.
“I promise I’ll put it to use every day that I’m away.”
I walked over and embraced her, “Thank you, Lyra.”
Lyra and I were laying in bed together, our forelegs locked in a tight embrace, my muzzle buried within her pasty mint-green mane.
“Lyra, I don’t want you to leave tomorrow.”
She stirred from her sleep in confusion, “Bon Bon? What’s wrong? I thought you wanted me to perform in Canterlot?”
I sighed. “I do, but I just don’t feel safe here without you.”
Her expression immediately started to show concern, “Safe? Why don’t you feel safe Bon Bon? Did something bad happen today?”
I swear she’s too smart for her own good sometimes. I guess I have no choice now, I’ll have to tell her about that stallion. I gulped, “I saw this stallion today in my shop; there was something really wrong with him.”
Lyra leaned in closer, urging me to continue. “He walked in and just stared at me Lyra, it w-was s-so creepy. He didn’t even s-say anything! He just stared me down f-for a few s-seconds and t-then left!”
I couldn’t speak after that... how could I? I had broken into a fit of hysteria. I was sobbing and my speech had slurred to the point where she couldn’t understand what I was saying anymore. But she was still there for me like always. “Bon Bon, I don’t know who this stallion was, but I’m sure it was all just a misunderstanding.” she cooed softly.
I looked up at her, tears in my eyes. “N-No, you d-don’t understand Lyra-”
“I’m sure that whoever it was didn’t mean any harm by it, he was probably just trying to be nice. Heck, with all the sugar in your shop, he probably already had a ton of it. Take Pinkie Pie for example, you know how she acts when she eats too much sugar.”
I shuddered at the mention of the resident party pony, “Sometimes she looks like she harvests organs in her downtime, Lyra.”
She gave an uneasy chuckle and a comforting smile, “It sounds like you had a bad day, and some of the stress got to you.”
I sniffled. “I guess so.”
She moved the covers around a bit, then settled back down into her pillow. “Just relax Bon Bon, everypony in town is harmless. And it won’t be that long before I’m back home again. You won’t even notice I’m gone, I swear!”
I smiled at her attempts to comfort me. She wasn’t doing a very good job, but at least she was trying.
I sighed softly and laid my head across the pillow next to hers. “Good night, Lyra.”
She looked over at me and smiled. “Good night Bon Bon, I love you.”
My heart filled with warmth, “I love you too, Lyra.”
And with that, I was sound asleep.
I sat with Lyra on one of the benches near the train station. Once again, she sat with her back against the bench and her hind legs dangling off the side. I never understood why she did that.
“Are you sure you’re going to be okay by yourself, Bon Bon? I can stay if you want, the ensemble won’t miss one lyre player,” Lyra offered.
I shook my head in defiance. “No, no. You should go, it’ll be fun! I’ll be fine,” I said uncertainly.
She must have sensed my hesitation, I could see it on her face. “Okay, if you say so. Just... try to stay safe, Bon Bon.”
I wanted to promise her that everything would be fine. I almost did, until I remembered that stallion in my head again. “Lyra! Make haste! Our train will be arriving soon!” Octavia called out. She had been talking to Vinyl for a while now, but it seemed like she was getting a little impatient.
“Don’t worry Octi, I’m coming!” Lyra answered back. She gave me a peck on the cheek. “I’ll see you when I get back.”
I watched her as she boarded the train, feeling panic slowly rise. I can't ask her to stay with me, that would be selfish. She deserves to go. That’s what I told myself as I watched the train depart, slowly approaching the sunset.
…
Stupid.
The rest of the morning was going well. I hadn’t seen the mysterious stallion anywhere, which was a blessing. It was quiet; most Monday mornings were since all the fillies and colts were at school, but I had learned to love the silence of the shop.
Ding ding!
Celestia, please don’t let that be him!
…
“Hi, Bon Bon! How are you today?” Twilight Sparkle asked me as she made her way toward the register.
Thank Celestia. “Hi Twilight, I’m doing well. Not a whole lot of customers in the morning, but that’s understandable. What do you need?”
She started looking around the shop. “I wanted to surprise Spike by getting him some of his favorite rock candy. They aren’t gemstones, but he doesn’t seem to mind that.”
I sighed in relief at the situation. No need to get worked up, it’s just Twilight, I reassured myself. “Rock candy, of course. He’s a fan of strawberry, right?” I guessed.
“Cherry, actually,” she corrected.
I clicked my tongue in slight annoyance. “So close! Oh well, all the flavors are in the same place anyways. Follow me to the front.”
From there, she snagged a few sticks of cherry-flavored rock candy from its stand and handed me six bits. “There you go, two bits apiece,” she recited.
I smiled at her, “Have a nice day, Twilight!”
“You too!”
…
Well that was short-lived. Still a nice change of pace though, cleaning sure gets boring, I thought to myself. My calm demeanor started to wane as I returned to the register.
Somepony had left a note sitting on the desk.
How did that get here? I asked myself. I cautiously walked toward the note, as if it would attack me if I moved too fast. I couldn’t tell what it said; it was flipped over, like somepony wanted me to turn it around. I obliged.
YOu’Re NoT hER
I dropped the note as my body froze. That thing was behind me, staring straight at me. I couldn’t see it, but I could tell. It was probably smiling too.
I heard shuffling from behind me, which confirmed my suspicions. What I didn’t anticipate, however, was that he started to shuffle toward me, the noise of hoofsteps growing louder by the second. If I moved, it was going to kill me.
I could feel its breath on my neck. It was cold as ice.
“Heh... heh... heh”
It was raspy and demented. It sounded like it had its vocal cords ripped out and was attempting to breathe. Then, ever so slowly, it backed away from me and left the shop.
Ding ding!
“Hiya Bon Bon! Just letting you know that we are still about an hour away from Canterlot. But don’t worry! Octavia and I got some pretty good seats near the front of the train, they even paid for the tickets! We’re going to start practicing on Wednesday. Tomorrow, we’re going to look for a nice hotel. I think Octavia’s already got one in mind, but I haven’t asked yet. I’ll see you soon! Love you!”
I sighed as I looked away from the message machine. Even though it brought me comfort to hear Lyra’s voice, the contraption itself still creeped me out for some reason.
The machine crackled as another voice resonated from the machine; it wasn't Lyra, this one was deep and animalistic.
“You think you’re so safe in your Ivory Tower, don’t you? I’ll make sure to make it quick. Even though you’re not the one I’m looking for, I’m sure I’ll get what I need once I’m done with you.”
The voice died off abruptly as the message ended. My eyes started to water as I wept silently, realizing that the locks on the house weren't as effective as I’d hoped they’d be.
I took extra precautions today. I made sure that the front and back of the house were locked, windows and all. When I got to the store, I locked and bolted the back door, which was already unlocked from last time. I must have left it open at some point, I rationalized. That was how it must have gotten in last time. Lastly, I made sure I was the only one in the store when I finally decided to flip the sign from ‘CLOSED’ to ‘OPEN’.
…
“Bon Bon? Hello? Anypony home?” Muffins said as she waved her hooves in front of my face.
“Wha- What? What is it, Muffins?” I said as I was shaken from my stupor,
“Are you feeling alright today? You seem a little out of it,” she said.
I gave her a reassuring smile; a fake one, but she believed it nonetheless. “Don’t worry about me Muffins, just thinking about some things,” I explained.
“Oh I see, I think about things all the time!” she said enthusiastically.
I giggled at her response. “Say Muffins, is it possible to call anypony you want with that message machine you gave Lyra?”
She shook her head, “Well, you have to be a unicorn for starters. But you also have to know the five-digit number of the machine. Which is on the bottom of it, if you didn’t know.”
I gulped. On the bottom of the machine? That means it must have known the number before it sent the message! Has it been in my house before? That might be why it got into the back of my shop too! I didn’t forget to lock the door, it unlocked the door from the outside!
Muffins started to look concerned. “Oh no, did you space out again? I just wanted to know if you had any caramel apples!”
I tucked myself in, deciding that I wanted to go to bed early tonight. It was a hard day today. The kids got released from class early, and I guess the entire class decided they wanted to visit the candy store. At least that thing hadn’t shown up today, I hadn’t seen any trace of it since our last altercation.
Crash!
I quickly sprung up, my only source of light being the twilight moon that shone through my window. I knew that thing was here, it had made its presence known. Was it expecting to find me in the living room? I asked myself.
Shortly after the loud noise resonated through the house, I heard a creaking noise just as I realized it was making its way towards my room. I started to panic.
Oh no! No! Please Celestia no! He’s coming up here! He knows I’m here!
I inspected my options. The two hiding spots I could see immediately were under the bed and the closet. I shook my head. No, it will find me there, it’s way too obvious. I looked to my left and saw my dresser. It was old and creaked a lot, but there was a gap that a slim pony could fit behind assuming they were careful enough.
The hoofsteps were coming closer. I slowly made my way towards the dresser and slid in between the gap just as I heard the doorknob click.
I stopped breathing.
…
“Heh... heh... heh”
The covers rustled as they were thrown off my bed. They snagged the lamp next to my bed, causing it to fall to the floor and shatter, making my right ear twitch.
“Heh... heh... heh”
The closet doors were pulled open, creaking against the force.
Silence.
I could hear it slowly shamble closer to my dresser. I had to cover my mouth with my hoof to stop myself from crying out loud. A bit of blood filled my mouth as I sunk my teeth into my hoof.
Silence.
Then I heard the door to my room slowly click shut.
This is a trap. It has to be. What is it playing at? Does it think it’s going to lure me out? Oh Celestia, does it already know where I am? Is it just toying with me? My thoughts were a blur.
Still the silence reigned. The more I waited, the more confident I was that it had left the room. I cautiously emerged from behind the dresser, waiting for it to lunge at me. It didn’t. I wanted to relax and sigh in relief, but then reality came crashing down as I realized that that thing was still in my house somewhere.
I weighed my options: If I cry for help, it will kill me. If I try to make a run for it, it will kill me. If I stay put, there’s a chance it will find me again, and then kill me.
My mind was made up, I need to sneak out of the house and find help.
It took me a solid fifteen seconds to gather enough courage to slowly open the door. Thankfully, the hinges weren’t as old as the stairs, so they didn’t creak when I pushed the door open.
…
I sighed in relief; it wasn’t hiding behind the door or waiting for me on the other side. I slowly put one hoof on the stairs, making sure to move slowly. If I walked slow enough, the stairs wouldn’t creak. But if it saw me while I was walking down the stairs... let’s just hope it’s dark enough.
…
It was nowhere in sight when I'd reached the bottom of the stairs, but that didn’t alleviate any apprehension. The foyer is right there Bon Bon! Just slowly ease your way over there.
It must have read my mind, because to my chagrin, I heard the sounds of hoofsteps coming from within the kitchen.
I quickly sealed myself inside the closet near one of the couches in the living room, thankful that it was already open. As I squinted, looking through the blinds of the closet, my blood ran cold.
Silence.
It was staring straight at me, right through the blinds. Sweet Celestia, there’s no color in its eyes.
Its eyes weren’t black. It was as if there was an absence of space where its eyes should have been, an empty void. It was at this point that I realized that it was not a stallion nor a pony by any definition. This was something that killed for sport, and it was going to kill me.
It wasn’t smiling, but it looked like it wanted to.
Then it slowly started walking toward the closet.
“Heh… heh… heh”
“Hi Bon Bon! We finally got to Canterlot! Me and Octi are so excited! Octavia picked out this really nice hotel called the Swan Song, I wish I could send a picture! Anyways, we’re going to be practicing with the rest of the ensemble tomorrow. I hope you’re having a nice week! Love you!”
For some reason, the creature stopped shambling toward me.
And then it smiled.
…
It turned its back to me and left the house, never losing its sinister grin.
…
A thought came to me rather spontaneously.
It was never after me, and I was never its target.
I sat in the closet, alone in the dark, and wept.