The Taffy Tale

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10

Chapter 1

A yellow earth pony with blue and pink curls looked down at the order she just received; five boxes of Horshey bars that were to be delivered to the address of 2152 Neighway lane. Bon Bon recognized the address as Berry Punch's house.

“She must be hosting another one of her drinking parties” Bon Bon thought to herself as she started to package the treats. Whatever the reason though, Bon Bon was happy that she had received the order. Business had been really slow for Bon Bon lately ever since the local dentist Colgate moved into town. Ponies were becoming much more aware of the harmful effects that candies had on their teeth and as a result, less and less ponies visited Bon Bon’s shop. Bon Bon gave out a sigh as she picked up the package and walked out the door. In the old days, Bon Bon could afford to hire delivery ponies and keep a few ponies at the shop as well to help customers choose from a variety of different candies. Nowadays, Bon Bon was lucky to have one pony come through her shop doors. Having employees was useless as Bon Bon now did everything in her shop herself. She didn’t even need somepony to watch the shop while she delivered Berry her order as there probably wouldn’t be any customers anyway.

Bon Bon knocked on the door of Berry Punch’s house. As the door started to open, Bon Bon heard loud distorted sounds that seemed to her like Disco music. She looked up and noticed that the party had apparently already started at Berry Punch’s house.

“What up Bons?” said Berry in a tone clearly indicating that she was no longer sober. “Glad you could make the Paaaaaarty!”

“Uhhh... actually Berry, I’m only here to deliver you the treats you ordered.”

“Ohhhhhh yeeaaahhhh. Now I remember. How much do I owe ya again?”

“20 bits Berry.” Bon Bon replied smelling the apple cider in Berry’s speech.

“Welp alrighty then, here ya go Bons”

“Uhh Berry, that’s 30 bits.” said Bon Bon handing 10 bits back, “There, that’s 10 bits back.”

“Why thaaaaaank you.” said Berry looking as if she was about to pass out. She closed the door as Bon Bon turned around to go back to her shop. Bon Bon took only one step however before she heard a loud thump coming from inside Berry’s house. As Bon Bon continued to walk back home, she started to think about what she had just done. The extra 10 bits would have helped pay her debts tremendously if she had decided to take advantage of Berry’s mistake. Bon Bon had always been a pony of integrity since she was a little filly. Still though, Bon Bon wondered how far integrity could actually take her in life; it definitely didn’t help her pay the bills. At this point in fact, Bon Bon had often thought about changing professions and giving up becoming a successful candy seller to pursue a career that was more stable.

Bon Bon had to consider this for another time though as her thoughts were broken up by the notes of what sounded like a harp. Throughout her whole lifetime, Bon Bon didn't hear many musical instruments as small towns like Ponyville didn’t have many musicians. There simply wasn’t a need for them as citizens weren’t as upper crust so to speak like the ponies of Canterlot. The music sounded rather nice to her, although it was played in a minor key.

“Must be a touring musician,” thought Bon Bon not giving it another thought. She finally made it back to her shop where she went back to sitting at her counter. Aside from the financial stress she was in, the other unfortunately thing that a lack of customers brought for Bon Bon is that it made her incredibly lonely. Often she would sit there for hours by herself doing nothing else aside from watching the front door hoping that somepony would enter. The music that had been playing before was loud enough that Bon Bon could hear it from within her shop. It made Bon Bon feel slightly better in a way to know that even in the most desperate of times, there were small comforts in the world for somepony such as herself to enjoy.

Chapter 2

Bon Bon woke up the next day to the sound of somepony ringing her shop’s door bell. It was 8 A.M., an hour before Bon Bon opened her shop. As Bon Bon looked up at her calendar, she realized exactly who was at the door. It was the 15th day of the month which meant one thing: debt collectors.

“I know you’re in there Miss. Taffy!”
Bon Bon groaned recognizing the voice and slowly trotted to open the door.

“Hi there Golden Tate, what brings you here today?” Bon Bon asked sarcastically

“Don’t you play funny games with me Miss Taffy; you know exactly why I’m here. Now fork over the bits.”

Bon Bon sighed and handed Golden Tate the bag that had all her earnings in it.

“That’s only 500 bits.” Golden Tate said angrily, “You owe 1000 bits for this month alone and 5000 bits compounded in total.”

“Yeah yeah I know I know. It’s just business has been...”

“Business has been slow ever since that dentist moved in blah blah blah,” interrupted Golden Tate mockingly, “Look, you can make all the dumb excuses you want but I’ll just cut the chase. You have one more week to get me at least 2000 of the 5000 bits you owe the Tate bank or I’m taking away your whole shop. Now then, good day to you, I have more important business to attend to.”

“But...”

“I said good day!” yelled Golden Tate shutting the door in Bon Bon’s face.

“Sheesh,” Bon Bon thought to herself, “Nice stallion he is.” Still though, Bon Bon knew she had no other choice; she had to think of some way to come up with 2000 bits within a week’s time or else she might already be considered homeless.

It was 6:50 in the evening; 10 minutes before Bon Bon would be closing her shop for the day. As much as she wanted to keep the shop open as long as possible hoping for some customers, new Ponyville law required all local shops to close at 7 O’clock in order for the Ponyville government to obtain maximum profits from the new Central Ponyville Mall which opens each day at 7 O’clock. Bon Bon hadn’t seen any pony in her shop all-day aside from a lost Pegasus looking for directions, a pink earth pony who really needed to use the bathroom, and a little colt who was quickly pulled away by his mother after just entering the shop. Bon Bon went over to the door sign and changed it from open to closed. At the thoughts of how desperate her situation was, she let out a small tear of sadness which she quickly sucked back in her eye.

“No, I’m not giving up that easy,” Bon Bon thought to herself. She started to trot to her kitchen where she began making herself a cup of ramen noodles when she heard something come from outside her store. It sounded like...a Harp? Bon Bon was sure of it now; it sounded exactly like the same instrument that had been playing the day before. There was something different about it today though; the chords sounded major, optimistic even. Bon Bon wasn’t quite sure why, but she walked outside her shop and towards where the music was. It sounded as if it was calling her.

As Bon Bon started to walk towards to source of the music, she noticed she was starting to enter the Celestia park area. She continued walking as the music grew louder and louder until she eventually reached a small crowd of ponies gathered around something. As she came closer to the ponies, she realized the source of the music was from a green unicorn pony with a mint colored mane playing on a park bench. As Bon Bon watched the unicorn strum each chord, she noticed the elegancy that the unicorn was playing at. Each chord was played with care, each one unique in its volume and length. She glared at the unicorn playing her instrument for a good 5 minutes before the unicorn played her last chord and received a warm applaud from the small crowd.

“Thank you, Thank you!” said the green unicorn mare, “Name’s Lyra Heartstrings. No need for bits. I do this because it’s fun and not for the money.” The crowd slowly started to disseminate leaving only Lyra on the bench and Bon Bon still staring at the unicorn with eyes wide open.

“Do I have dust on my horn or something?” asked Lyra puzzled at Bon Bon’s intense gaze.

“Huh? Oh sorry.” Said Bon Bon snapping out of her dazzled state, “That music you were playing, it was incredible!”

“uhh... thanks,” said Lyra as she started to pack her instrument into her lyre case. Bon Bon continued to stand in her place as Lyra.

“You gonna stand there all day or something?” asked Lyra. Bon Bon was starting to get a few crazy ideas in her head.

“So you play here often? Or did you just move in? Are you rich and that’s why you don’t need any bits? What was that song you were playing? I’ve never seen you before and I was thinking that maybe if you don’t mind, if you could...”

“Hold on a moment please,” interrupted Lyra, “You’re beginning to sound like the pony I met at Sugar Cube corner yesterday. I’ll answer one question at a time thank you very much. I’m a traveler from Canterlot going from town to town. Yes, I am rich because I use to be a high class musician in Canterlot.”

“Use to?” asked Bon Bon, “What happened?”

“I’d rather not discuss it...” said Lyra looking at the ground. Bon Bon felt kind of guilty for bringing up the subject.

“Well that’s alright, we won’t discuss it then.” Bon Bon said trying her best to change the subject.

“So then,” said Lyra suddenly shooting her head back up, “what was that last question you were going to ask me?”
Bon Bon retraced her thoughts to remember what she had previously said.

“Well now that I think about it, maybe it’s not such a great idea.”

“No No please, you can say it. I won’t be offended I promise.” Lyra gave Bon Bon a reassuring smile that made Bon Bon feel comfortable enough to ask her question.

“Well I was wondering, if you aren’t busy, if you could play at my candy shop to drive in some customers. I really need a way to get some bits to appease my debt collectors. But now that I think about it, there’s no way that I would be able to pay you so I don’t know, I guess we can just forget...”

“Say no more.” said Lyra placing her hoof on Bon Bon’s mouth before she continued further. “Like I said before, I play for the fun, not for the bits. Of course I’ll help you out in your time of trouble.”

“Really! You will!?” Bon Bon squeaked as she gave the green unicorn a hug. “Oh my god, I don’t know how to thank you.”

“Yeah... sure thing” said Lyra weakly. “Now can you let go? You’re beginning to choke me to death.”

“Heehee, sorry about that,” said Bon Bon red from embarrassment, “Guess I got kind of carried away there.”

“It’s alright; I get carried away a lot too. There is a favor I would like to ask you for though Miss...”

“Taffy” replied Bon Bon finishing the unicorn’s sentence for her, “You can just call me Bon Bon though. And yes, I’ll do any favor for you.”

“Are you sure? It’s a pretty big favor” said Lyra. Bon Bon was beginning to get worried at what Lyra might ask but she nodded her head anyway.

“Alright then,” continued Lyra, “It’s this. Like I said before, I am a traveling pony. So far every town I’ve visited I either had a friend there, or there were hotels where I could stay in. When I arrived at Ponyville I had expected the same but to my surprise, and I’m sure you already know this, there are no hotels here. Yesterday I slept on this bench here inside this park. It’s not that it’s not comfortable here; I’ve slept in beds far lumpier. The problem is this.” Lyra pointed to the instrument case next to her.

“Your harp?” asked Bon Bon causing Lyra rolled her eyes.

“My Lyre. I’m always afraid that somepony's going to steal it when I’m fast asleep out here. I was wondering therefore, if you have room, if I could perhaps live with you for a while?”

Bon Bon considered the prospect. She did have an extra bedroom in her shop that roomed her sister before she moved out. It might be a little trouble helping Lyra adjust to being in Ponyville, but considering the desperation of her situation, it would be the last thing on her mind she thought.

“You’re a very lucky mare then.” Bon Bon replied, “I just so happen to have an extra room available at my shop.

“Great,” Lyra said picking up her lyre case. “Let’s getting going then.”

Chapter 3

Bon Bon led Lyra to her shop,

“Whelp, this is it.” the Earth pony said, “It’s not as fancy as places I’m sure you’ve stayed at before, but for me it’s what I call home. Help yourself to some treats if you wish.”

“Dandy place you have here,” Lyra replied popping a horshey in her mouth, “It’s pretty well organized and such. So uhh... tell me, how did a place like this start going downward in sales?” Bon Bon was a bit surprised at the green unicorn. Lyra had been talking while chewing the chocolate piece in her mouth the whole time. For a Canterlot pony, she certainly didn’t seem to have very Canterlotian manners. Nevertheless, Bon Bon proceeded to tell her story.

"It all started about six months ago when the local dentist moved into Ponyville. Before then, the store prospered quite well with customers lining up to the end of the block to receive some of my candies. I employed quite a few ponies back then to help customers out, deliver orders, and run the cash registers. Since Colgate... that’s the dentist’s name, moved in 6 months ago, ponies began to think that candies were horrible for their teeth because of their high sugar content. I tried to minimize the use of sugar in my candies but that barely did anything. Ponies just assumed that all my candies were bad for them and ignored the shop all together. Slowly, I had to fire each of my employees until eventually nopony was left except me. These days I’ve fallen into debt because I still have to pay the rent for this store. I’ll be lucky if I get maybe 2 sales a day even. If I don’t have another 2000 bits by next week I’ll...” tears were beginning to fill Bon Bon’s eyes as she was finishing the sentence. Lyra at the time was eating her 5th horsheys bar when she noticed the droplets that were about to fall from the earth pony’s eyes. She put down her candy and put a forehoof on Bon Bon’s shoulder.

“Hey now, don’t do that, we’ll make those 2000 bits together, I promise.” With that the green unicorn gave the yellow earth pony a hug

“Well, it’s an optimistic thought,” Bon Bon began, “But optimism can only get you so far in life. I guess we’ll just have to see what happens.” She gave out a long sigh...

“You know, I’m not exactly sure why I brought you here in the first. When I first heard your music a day ago, I don’t know why, it just sort of...called to me in a way. I’ve never seen you before but yet I still trusted you enough to allow you to live with me for a while. I don’t really think a little music can save a dead shop like mine but yet I still asked. I don’t know, maybe I’m just tired.”

“Maybe it was because of my dashing good looks.” The unicorn said flipping her mane upward in an obvious attempt to lighten the mood.

“Please don’t do that,” The yellow earth pony said trying to hold back her laughter at how funny the unicorn looked. Bon Bon was beginning to seriously doubt that the unicorn was actually from Canterlot. “You look pretty silly. Now then, it’s getting pretty late, let’s get you to bed.” With that the yellow earth pony showed the green unicorn her room. The unicorn opened her lyre case and revealed several hidden pockets within it. Lyra opened one of the pockets and pulled out a small toy about the size of a hoof. Lyra then used the magic her horn produced and made the toy expand in size until it was about a foot tall. Bon Bon noticed that the toy was in fact a teddy bear causing her to raise an eyebrow.

“What?” the unicorn asked noticing the look on Bon Bon’s face, “I call him George. I hold him while I sleep. Is that weird to you or something?”

“Yeah just a little,” the earth pony responded, “Considering you’re a grown mare. What kind of name is George anyways? It doesn’t sound pony at all.’

“That’s because he’s named after a human.” Lyra explained, “And for your information, I think that teddy bears should be enjoyed by everypony, not just little fillies.”

“Mhmmm...” Bon Bon said rolling her eyes. Yeah, this unicorn is defiantly not from Canterlot. “I’ll go ahead and leave you two alone then. Nighty night.” Bon Bon turned off the light and closed the door. She then proceeded to trot to her own room where she immediately went to bed.

“Oh dear Celestia,” Bon Bon thought to herself, “I hope I didn’t just make a huge mistake.”

Lyra awoke the next mourning when she felt a hoof shaking her body.

“Huh, what?” The unicorn looked around still half asleep, “uggghhh it’s too early to be waking up.”

“It’s 8:30 dear.” Bon Bon said clearly annoyed at the unicorn, “If you’re going to sleep and work with me than you’re going to have to work on my schedule.”

“But Boooon Booooon,” the green unicorn whined, “Just 10 more minutes please?” The yellow earth pony gave out a long sigh.

“Alright little filly... you get 10 more minutes.” The unicorn gave out a weak “Yeah” and proceeded to go back to sleep. 10 minutes later, the earth pony came back to the room. This time, she noticed not only that the unicorn was still asleep, but also that throughout the night she had drooled all over her bed. Bon Bon walked over to remove the covers that Lyra had been using.

“This is just like raising a little foal...” Bon Bon thought. Lyra's eyes suddenly shot open when the warmth of her blanket was removed.

“Hey! What gives?”

“You’ve slept quite long enough little filly...” Bon Bon said even more irritated than before, “Now get out of bed. I prepared a tooth brush for you in the bathroom first door to your right. When you are finished, come with me to the table behind the shop counter. I hope you like waffles because that’s what I made.

“Alrighty then, will do” responded the green unicorn. She did as she was told and proceeded to go to the table behind the counter not wanting to piss off her host any longer.

“So then,” asked Lyra while chewing a waffle, “where do you want me to play my lyre at?”

“You see that stool over there?” Bon Bon responded pointing to a stool that was left of all the candy shelves. The unicorn nodded her head. “You’ll be playing your melodies on that stool because it is closest to the door. Ponies can hear you much better that way.” The two ponies finished their waffles. Lyra went to her bedroom and came back with her lyre in hoof.

“Alrighty then, I suppose we should get started.” said Lyra. Bon Bon nodded in agreement. She flipped her door sign from closed to open and went back to the counter.

“So... what song do you want me to play first?” Lyra asked. Bon Bon was surprised at the question. She’d assumed Lyra had some sort of routine she always followed.

“Play whatever you like I guess, as long as it sounds good.”

“Alright, Branhoofberg Concerto number 3 movement 2 it is then.” The unicorn decided.

For the next 2 hours, Lyra played away on her lyre once again captivating Bon Bon’s attention. The music however did not seem to yield many customers as most of the ponies who noticed the music simply took a look from the window of the shop and then left abruptly. It was 11:30 when Bon Bon spoke again.

“Well I guess the music didn’t make much of a difference despite how nice...” her sentence was broken up however by the door suddenly springing open. A white unicorn with a purple curly mane entered the store.

“That music! I’ve heard that song somewhere. I just know I have. Yes I remember now I heard it while at Canterlot. Hmm... I’ve never been here before; I usually walk on the other side of the road in this neighborhood because this end seems rather dirty. But today I heard this music and just had to see what was inside that was making such nice sounds.”

“This is my candy shop” answered Bon Bon walking up to Rarity shaking her hoof. “The lovely music comes from the unicorn over there named Lyra.” Bon Bon pointed her hoof at Lyra causing her to blush

“Oh my, well you certainly are the talented one darling,” Rarity said giving the unicorn a wink, “Candy shop huh? I’ve never had candy before in my entire life though I heard rumors that it decays your teeth and makes you lose your form; is that true?”

“That’s what everypony thinks, but the candies I make are different,” the earth pony explained, “I make sure to limit the amount of sugars used and use pure dark chocolate instead of fatty milk chocolate to make my candies keep its taste but be perfectly healthy for a pony’s diet. Do you wish to have a sample?”

“Well I suppose one piece couldn’t hurt.” Bon Bon handed Rarity one of her mini Mares Bars and the unicorn took a bite.

“Dear Luna this was delicious!” Rarity said eyes opening wide open. “Where have I been all my life to never try this stuff before. Ehh...what is this stuff called again?”

“Candy,” Bon Bon answered, “Or more specifically chocolate, or more specifically a mares bar.”

“Well I say; it certainly is tasty. How much is it for a bag of mares bars?”

“5 bits,” Bon Bon responded

“Here’s 10, and keep the change.” Rarity said tossing Bon Bon a bag of bits. “If this is really as healthy as you say it is then I will certainly be coming back here with some friends.”

Bon Bon quickly went to her room and took out the recipe book she created herself to make the treats.

“Oh I assure you it is, you can see what I used yourself right here.” Rarity didn’t even bother to look inside the book and instead giggled at the earth pony.

“Don’t worry darling, I believe you. Now then, I’ll be on my way then. I have to make a few dresses for some important clients of mine.” As Rarity was beginning to exit, she suddenly turned her attention to the green unicorn who had been sitting patiently on her stool.

“O yeah, by the way, I just remembered where I had heard that song you were playing on your lyre. An earth pony by the name of Octavia was playing that very same tune on her cello while I was at Canterlot last week. Do you know who she is?” Lyra’s face suddenly turned pale at the mention of the name. She began to shake her head violently.

“Nope, no idea who this Octavia pony is, I’m sure she’s a nice pony though, haha....”
Rarity raised an eyebrow at the unicorn’s response but shrugged and exited the door.

“That was great!” Bon Bon cried in excitement not noticing that Lyra was pale and breathing heavily. “We finally made a first sale of the day and not only that, we also managed...” Bon Bon stopped as she noticed Lyra’s changed expression.

“Are...are you alright Lyra?” Bon Bon asked. Lyra suddenly stopped her heavy breathing and looked at Bon Bon.

“Yeah... everything is fine,” the unicorn said, her face starting to turn back to its natural green color. “Huh? Yeah, first sale of the day, great. What else did you say we gained?”
Bon Bon gave Lyra a weird look but continued where she left off.

“We also gained a reoccurring customer that is likely to lead to more customers. Now then, let’s continue where we left off after lunch.”

“Yeah...after lunch,” Lyra said as she was looking outside the window of the shop. She eventually just gave out a sigh though and followed Bon Bon back to the table behind the counter to chow down on some hay fries.

Chapter 4

The rest of the afternoon turned out great for the pair. A few more ponies came in hearing the music and all of them left with candy after hearing Bon Bon tell what makes her candy healthy. Rarity also returned later with Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie to make more purchases. When Pinkie noticed Lyra playing her lyre she immediately jumped in excitement and insisted that the group throw a party for the green unicorn. Lyra politely declined this request saying that she wasn’t going to be a permanent resident of Ponyville and was staying there for no more than a few weeks, or until Bon Bon could get back on her hooves again. The three ponies spent a combined 50 bits on the candy (40 of the bits were from Pinkie) and said that they were going to for sure come back again next week. By days end, Bon Bon and Lyra had made a total of 150 bits in all.

“This is great!” Bon Bon said jumping with joy after she finally turned the shop sign from open to closed. “I haven’t made this many bits in ages. Why, by the end of the week we’ll have, hmm... let’s see, we’ll have...”

“We’ll only have 1050 bits.” Lyra said unenthusiastically.

“Well, at least it’s a good start isn’t it?” Bon Bon said trying probably to motivate herself more than the green unicorn. The unicorn smiled at the question.

“Now that’s the attitude I like to hear.” Lyra replied, “I knew you had an optimist in you somewhere.” At the reply Bon Bon smiled as well. The two ponies said no more as Bon Bon made two cups of ramen noodles for the pair. The pair chowed down quietly at the noodles.

“Well I’m going to buy some food at the Central Ponyville mall for tomorrow’s meals,” Bon Bon said as Lyra wiped her mouth with her hoof. “Do you want to join me?” The green unicorn had begun to lick the inside of her bowl when Bon Bon asked the question.

“Sure,” she replied, “I’ll be able to see what Ponyville shops are like.”

Three hours later, the pair returned with Bon Bon carrying a bruised Lyra Heartstrings on her back.

“Dear Celestia Lyra, are you always this hostile around new people?”

“I really wanted that toy alright; it’s a limited edition My Little Human collectable.” Lyra responded weakly.

“You wanted it so much that you got into a fight with a little filly and her mother over it?”

“She was asking for it alright. I was just about to grab it when the little devil bit my back hoof. After I called her a runt, she ran to her mother who is apparently a lot stronger than she looks and knows karate.” Bon Bon gave out a long sigh.

“Stay here while I go grab some ice from my fridge.” Bon Bon did as she said and grabbed Lyra some ice. “Your injuries are rather minor actually; you just got the wind knocked out of you. You should be fine by morning.” Lyra grabbed the ice.

“Thank you Bon Bon, it means a lot,” Lyra said quietly

“O don’t mention it, I have plenty of ice that I keep....”

“No no really,” The unicorn interrupted quietly with a smile, “Thank you for being a great host and taking care of me so I didn’t get hurt further at the mall. You’re... you’re a great friend Bon Bon.”
Bon Bon was taken aback by the statement. She didn’t remember the last time somepony had called her a friend. Even back in the day when she had employees, she didn’t really consider them friends. They were merely her companions. It must have been back when she was still in high school that she felt that she truly had a “friend”. It felt nice to Bon Bon knowing that Lyra considered her a friend and she smiled back warmly at the green unicorn.

“Well little filly,” Bon Bon finally said with a smirk, “Your antics are going to force me to make an early morning trip to pick up groceries; we’ve been banned from going inside the Ponyville mall for the next month.”

“Yeah... my bad,” Lyra replied still smiling, “I’ll make it up to you somehow.”

“O don’t worry about it, it’s fine really, I wake up in the mornings to take a walk through the park each day anyways. Now then, let’s get some sleep shall we? We’ve got to make even more bits than we did today if we want to reach our 2000 bit goal by next week.” Bon Bon gave Lyra a hug and turned off the lights. As she was going back to her own bedroom, Bon Bon could swear she heard a “good night friend” from Lyra’s room which made Bon Bon giggle followed by a “Good night George” which made Bon Bon roll her eyes. She turned off her own lights and feel fast asleep.

Chapter 5

“Bon Bon, Bon Bon! Wake up!"

“Wha.. what is it?” Bon Bon was still half asleep when she heard her name being called. It can’t be time to wake up already can it?

“Boooon Boooon, Boooon Boooon!” the voice calling her was getting closer. Bon Bon was just about to get out of bed to see what was going on when suddenly her door slammed open as a hysterical Lyra Heartstrings ran inside her room eyes wide open with fear.

“Are you alright Lyra? What happened? Did somepony come inside your room?” Bon Bon asked concerned at the green unicorn’s terrified expression.

“Oh Bon Bon, it was terrible! I can’t begin to tell you and Oh my god Oh my god! It was harry, and big and Oh my gosh Bon Bon I’m so scared!” The green unicorn looked as if she were going to cry as she grabbed Bon Bon’s hoof.

“Alright let’s just calm down for a second please.” Bon Bon said trying to make some sense of what Lyra saw, “Now tell me exactly what the thing is that you saw.” Bon Bon wiped a tear from Lyra’s face with her hoof and grabbed a tissue box. After several more whimpers, Lyra finally stopped crying and began to speak intelligibly.

“Oh it was horrible Bon Bon. I was just coming back from using the bathroom when out of nowhere a huge gigantic normous spider crawled from under my bed!”

“Really? Really...” was all Bon Bon could say, “Did you really just wake me up in the middle of the night because of some dumb spider?”

“But Bon Bon! It was a huge gigantic normous spider!”

“Sigh... alright Lyra wait here I’ll be right back.”
Bon Bon left the room. Moments later, Lyra heard what sounded like the slams of a broomstick followed by the flushing of the bathroom toilet. Bon Bon returned to the room with a broom in hand.

“Is it gone Bon Bon? Is it really gone?

“Lyra... I got rid of your little spider problem. Now for Celestia’s sake please go back to bed. I’ve got only a couple hours now until I have to wake up and buy groceries so please allow me to catch some shut eye until then.”

Lyra still seemed skeptical that the foe had actually been terminated. She cautiously walked back to her bedroom as Bon Bon closed the door slowly shaking her head before going back to sleep.

The next morning was very similar to the morning before that except this time, instead of removing the covers from Lyra’s bed, Bon Bon choose the method of whacking the unicorn with a large breadstick in order to wake up the mare. The day went on in much the same way as the previous one except this time, the customers started to come much earlier. By the end of the day, the two mares had earned 200 bits. The next few days followed this same routine as the store began to rise in popularity.

“Bon Bon, wake up, wake up.” Bon Bon awoke with a gentle hoof shaking her shoulder.

“What is it this time Lyra? Another spider crawl from under your bed?”

“Ha ha, not this time Bon Bon,” the unicorn responded, “I’ve just been feeling kind of...lonely lately. I was wondering if maybe, if it’s alright with you... if I could sleep here tonight.”
Bon Bon gave the unicorn a look due to the odd request but then thought about the situation that Lyra was in; she was probably far away from home be that Canterlot or not and she didn’t know many other ponies in Ponyville. It makes sense that she would feel quite lonely at times.”

“Did you bring your own blanket?” Bon Bon asked. Lyra nodded.

“Alright then little filly, hop in and try not to drool on my bed,” Bon Bon said with a smile. Lyra smiled back and jumped in next to the earth pony.

“I guess that nickname’s sticking then?” Lyra whispered quietly

“What, little filly?” Bon Bon whispered back "Of course it is, now go to sleep, we’ve got another long day tomorrow ahead of us. Lyra nodded in agreement as the pair put their heads down falling fast to sleep.

“Huh what, whose that?” Bon Bon woke up to a sound that dinged in her ear. “Ding Dong.” Upon the second time Bon Bon heard the sound, she realized it was in fact the doorbell. But it's only 8; the store didn’t open for another hour. Bon Bon looked down at the sleeping unicorn next to her.

“Nope, it definitely wasn’t Lyra getting herself locked out of the shop. Hmm... that means it has to be...Oh Horseapples!” Bon Bon sprang up out of bed as she realized who was at the door. Bon Bon ran to her dressing cabinet and grabbed the bag of bits that she had earned in the past week. The doorbell continued to spam noises as a familiar voice from outside shouted, “I know you’re in there Ms. Taffy!” Bon Bon ran as quickly as she could and opened the door to greet the less than humble businesspony.

“Oh uhh... howdy Mr. Tate, has it really been one week already? Oh time goes by so fast nowadays doesn’t it ol’ buddy ol’ pal. Now then...”

“Cut the crap Bonnie and hand me that bag of bits your holding.”
Bon Bon handed over the bag to Golden Tate.

“Oh please Celestia,” Bon Bon prayed silently, “Let there please be at least 2000 bits in that bag.”
After a few minutes of counting, Golden Tate finally looked up at Bon Bon with an evil smile on his face.

“That’s only 1500 bits, you know what that means don’t you Miss Taffy?”
Bon Bon gulped.

“Well, this is the end I guess,” she thought.

“Hold your horses there,” a voice from behind Bon Bon said startling both Bon Bon and Golden Tate,

“Here’s 500 bits for you.”
Golden Tate caught the bag that the green unicorn that appeared behind Bon Bon tossed to him.

“Who? Who are you supposed to be exactly?”

“Not relevant,” replied Lyra, “What’s important is that I have 500 bits to pay you. You can count yourself if you don’t believe me.”
As Golden Tate began to count the bits, Bon Bon looked at Lyra worriedly.

“Lyra when did you wake...”

“I heard the spamming of the doorbell.”

“Where did you keep your 500...”

“Lyre case, holds all my valuables.”
At this point, Golden Tate finished his counting and looked back up at the pair.

“You’re still not Bon Bon and are not authorized to pay for her.”
Lyra rolled her eyes at the response

“Okay then wiseflank, I’ll give these 500 bits to Bon Bon then. Now they’re hers and “she” paid you”
Golden Tate raised a hoof about to speak again but then decided against it and started to turn his back to leave.

“Well fine, you win this round,” the businesspony said gruntingly, “But Miss Taffy better have at least 1000 bits for me next week.”

“Oh yeah, about that, that won’t be necessary either. How much in total does Bon Bon owe you now?”

“Uhh... 3000 more bits why?”
Lyra grabbed her lyre case which was apparetly lying right next to her and started searching the case. Bon Bon quickly stuck out a hoof to object.

“Wait Lyra, you can’t seriously...”
It was too late though, the unicorn pony pulled out another bits bag and tossed it to Golden Tate who opened the bag and began counting the bits.

“Don’t worry about it Bon Bon, I know what I’m doing.”

“What! You can’t be serious right now Lyra, 3000 bits is a lot of money even for a pony like...”

“That is 3000 bits,” Golden Tate interrupted shocked at the money he just recieved, “But how could...”

“Great, now that you have your money, I bid you farewell sir!” Lyra said angrily. With that she slammed the door in Golden Tate’s face. Bon Bon stood there in shock trying to process what had occurred. Finally after several minutes, she was finally able to find words.

“Lyra, why...why the hay did you do that! I know you’re rich and all but 3000 bits? That’s got to be at least a quarter of your total...”
Bon Bon paused noticing that the Lyra had been even more stunned at the actions she herself was.

“Lyra? Are...are you okay?”
Lyra looked up at the earth pony as she tried to search for words.

“I...I don’t know why I just did that. I’ve only known you for about a week and already I... Oh Bon Bon, I’ve got a confession to make.”
The unicorn seemed to be on the verge of tears. Bon Bon noticed this and placed a forehoof on the mare’s shoulder.

“There there, don’t cry, you can tell me.”

“Oh Bon Bon, I don’t really have any friends in other cities either. Everypony I’ve tried to ever get close to they always... they always hated me because I was a sloppy pony, because I had weird obsessions, because I had all these fears, because of all the shenanigans that I get involved in but yet you... you cared for me. You don’t want me to change and just let me…well, you just let me be me. Oh Bon Bon, I didn’t want to tell you this but you’re really the only friend I have in this world so I just... I just felt like I owed you.”
The green unicorn could barely finish her sentence as she fell onto the earth pony’s shoulder in a full sob. The two ponies stayed in this position for several minutes as Bon Bon gently rubbed Lyra’s back. Finally, Lyra’s last tear dried and Bon Bon broke the silence.

“Oh Lyra, you’re my only friend in this world too. But together we aren’t lonely anymore now are we?”
She smiled at Lyra who smiled warmly back at her.

“And plus, I’m sure someone as rich as you can...”

“It’s another lie,” the green unicorn blurted, “I’m not really rich, those 3000 bits were the last I had!”
The unicorn cringed up into a ball. She was half expecting the earth pony to slap her across the face. Instead however, she was greeted with a kind hoof and a continued smile from the earth pony.

“Well then,” the earth pony said laughingly, “it looks like you’ll be spending more time here than you originally intended.”

Chapter 6

Octavia put down her cello and stomped her fore hoof at the ground in frustration.

“Come on Octavia,” the grey earth pony said to herself, “you can do this. Just remember Octavia, what you need right now is focus. Clear your mind and…whaaaaaaa!”
Octavia’s concentration was broken when a white unicorn pony with two eighth notes as a cutie mark tackled the cellist to the floor landing right on top of her.

“Hey there hot stuff,” the unicorn said with a grin, “this is certainly a nice position we…”

“Vinyl, get off me please…”

“But sweetie, I thought maybe....”

“I said get off dammit!”
The white unicorn groaned and got off of the earth pony. Octavia began to brush off the dust that had gotten on her while she was on the ground.

“Seriously Vinyl, how many times do I have to tell you not to disturb me while I’m practicing? The way you’ve been acting lately, you’re beginning to remind me of what Lyra Heartstrings use to be like.”
Vinyl stopped her grin and put on a much more serious expression.

“It’s funny that you mention Lyra actually. Just three days ago, I was wandering around Ponyville after finishing the fashion gig I told you about when I heard the familiar music of a lyre playing. Sure enough, as I followed the music to its source, I saw the green unicorn sitting on a stool inside of a candy shop. I turned and left before she noticed me but it seems to me that Lyra found herself a new job.”

“Candy shop huh?” responded the earth pony, “Well whatever… it’s not like I care anymore anyways. As long as that numskull never shows her face here in Canterlot again, she can do whatever the hay she wants.”

“Oh come on now Tavi; was it really that bad?”

“It was Vinyl… I’ve never been more humiliated in my life. After the incident, I personally kicked Lyra out of my orchestra making sure that she would never be allowed to reenter again. I can never forgive that mare Vinyl. Not after what she did.”
Vinyl shrugged at the earth pony’s anguish remarks.

“I don’t know Tavi, she seemed like a cool pony to hang out with”

“That’s because you don’t know the real Lyra. When you really get to know her, the real her, you’d be crazy to want to have anything to do with that mare.”
Octavia grabbed her cello and bow.

“Now then Vinyl, if you’ll excuse me I have some very important practicing to do for next week’s concert. I’ll be available after eight O’clock if you want some ‘fun’”

“Oh don’t you worry Tavi, I’ll be sure to be back later for some ‘fun’.” Vinyl responded once again expressing a wide grin on his face causing Octavia to blush. The white unicorn turned and left the room as Octavia resumed her practice session.

Lyra awoke, much to her surprise, by her own power and not from the earth pony she had been living with. She looked up at the wall clock that had been hanging in her room.

“Oh look at that,” Lyra whispered to herself, “Bon Bon must have not woken me yet because it’s only 11. Yep, now then, time to go back to…wait a sec… Oh son of a…!”
The unicorn immediately jumped out of her bed and sprinted to the counter of the candy shop where she saw Bon Bon cleaning the counter with a towel.

“Bon Bon! I’m sorry! Why didn’t you wake me…”

“Well actually Lyra…”

“I mean, I know you’ve been telling that I need to go to sleep earlier…”

“Lyra…”

“It’s just that I just loooooove watching My Little Human and it only goes on at twelve O’clock each…

“LYRA!”
The green unicorn stopped her babbling and looked at the shouting earth pony.

“Alright then, now that I have your attention, I can continue where I left off. It’s actually quite alright that you were up late today because I’ve decided to give both of us the day off.”
Lyra looked at the earth pony with a puzzled expression. Ever since Lyra gave away all her bits to pay off Bon Bon’s debts, Bon Bon had been splitting one third of the profits to Lyra, one third of the profits to herself, and one third of the profits to pay for the monthly rent and store supplies. Lyra had been working at the shop for one month and Bon Bon has yet to give either of them a break.

“Why? What’s the occasion?” the unicorn asked

“Well two reasons actually. First off, this morning I had some stallions come in and put up a couple new shelves over there.”
Bon Bon pointed to the two brand new shelves on the right side of the store that Lyra had apparently not noticed.

“And second, we’ve already earned enough for this month’s rent cost so I decided that we should do something non-work related today for a change.”

“Where are you planning to take us?” the unicorn asked with a smile.

“Well first we’ll go to outback hayhouse to grab some lunch, my treat. Next...well actually I’m not sure. You want to decide after we get something to eat?”
Lyra's stomach growled at the comment.

“I’m going to take that as a yes,” the earth pony said giggling.

Lyra hit the pavement of the road face first. As she began to dust herself off, she saw that a projectile Bon Bon landed right next to her also hitting the pavement face first.

“And stay out!” a voice from behind them called. Bon Bon got up and looked at Lyra with a more than annoyed expression.

“Well Lyra, I hope you're proud of yourself. This is the second establishment you’ve managed to get me kicked out of, which is two more than I ever hoped for.”
Lyra looked up at Bon Bon and gave a weak smile trying to look as innocent as possible.

“Yeah… sorry about that. It’s just… It’s just I got bored while waiting for you to get back from the bathroom so I started to stack the glass cups and plates on top of each other, which is surprisingly amusing.”
Bon Bon gave out a sigh and shook her head, “I know Lyra…I heard the sound of glass breaking while I was walking back from the bathroom and the next thing I knew the restaurant manager was grabbing my back.”

“Haha yeah…” the green unicorn said still trying to sound innocent. The earth pony finished brushing dust off her coat.

“Well anyways, it doesn’t really matter since we already ate the food. Now then, let’s discuss where we’re planning to go to this afternoon, any suggestions?”

“Hmm…” the unicorn said, “I remember overhearing a few fillies at the Celestia park area the other day saying that there was a hidden zip lining spot just north of Sweet Apple Acres. Apparently there are a few zip lines set up there due to some old amusement park that was too lazy to get rid of their zip lines after they shut down years ago.
Bon Bon raised an eyebrow at Lyra’s odd suggestion, “Are you sure it’s safe? If the ropes have just been hanging there for all these years, don’t you think that they are easier to break?”
“Don't worry about that” replied the unicorn, “trust me on this one. When I was a filly, I became an expert zip liner after zip lining every Sunday with my grandpa.”

Bon Bon gave Lyra a look only half believing the statement. She decided to save her breath though and cautiously followed Lyra to their destination.

“Are you ready Bon Bon?”

“No Lyra, I’ve been telling you that for the past…”

“Well too bad! YOLO!”

“Wait! Lyraaaaaa…!”
It was too late though as the green unicorn pushed the yellow earth pony with all her strength down the zip line. Lyra then shouted a loud “Woo Hoo!” and jumped off the platform herself following the yellow earth pony down the zip line.
A few seconds after Bon Bon was pushed off the platform, she opened her eyes to see if she had died yet. Instead, she was greeted by the wind flowing straight through her body. It was an exhilarating feeling for Bon Bon as she had never done anything this extreme. She closed her eyes and embraced the feeling for a full minute.
“You know,” the earth pony said to herself, “This is actually really nice!”
“I know right!”
Bon Bon turned around and to her horror, noticed that Lyra was only a few yards behind her.
“Lyra! Are you blind or something? The sign on the platform clearly stated that there should only be one rider at a time!”
“Did it? Oh, I must have been too excited to noti…”
Lyra was cut off however as suddenly both ponies heard a “crack” sound as the line they were hanging from suddenly snapped into two. The two ponies gave out loud screams as they started to fall and hit the tree branches that were directly under the zip line. After several seconds of tumbling and rolling, the two ponies finally hit the bottom surface.

Lyra opened her eyes and began to dust herself off. She was very surprised that she did not sustain any injuries from the fall aside from parts of her being covered in cuts, bruises, and tree sap.

“Hmm… well that was really quite fortunate,” the unicorn thought to herself, “Hopefully Bon Bon…wait a sec.” The green unicorn looked around to see any sign of the earth pony and found that she was lying twenty feet to her right. The green unicorn ran to the Bon Bon and began panicking when she noticed that the earth pony was unconscious.

“Bon Bon wake up! Wake up!” Lyra cried shaking Bon Bon trying to get her to regain consciousness.

“Oh, this is all my fault. Stay here Bon Bon while I go get some help.”
The unicorn had only taken one step however when the earth pony suddenly shot up to a sitting position.

“Bon Bon? Are you alright?”

“That…that was…the best thing ever!”
The earth pony suddenly jumped back onto all four hooves.

“The wind hitting my body, my mane flowing through the air, being so...so free, it was all so amazing. Oh my Celestia, Lyra, thank you so much for taking me here. That was without a doubt the most fun I’ve ever had in my life.” The earth pony ran to the unicorn and placed her lips onto the unicorns for a few seconds before letting go. The unicorn looked at the ground face flushing red due to the unexpected embrace of the earth pony. After several seconds, the adrenaline wore off of Bon Bon and she suddenly realized what she had just done. The earth pony too suddenly turned red in the cheeks and looked down at the ground in embarrassment. The two ponies stayed in this position for several minutes; neither one making a sound. It was Lyra who finally broke the silence.

“Well then… I suppose… we should get back to the shop then. It’s getting rather late isn’t it?”

“Yeah…” Bon Bon responded awkwardly, “That’s probably a good idea…”
The two ponies trotted back to Bon Bon’s shop neither one speaking a word to each other about the incident or anything else.

Chapter 7

Vinyl Scratch was watching “How I met Your Mare” when she heard a knock on the door. Not bothering to turn off the television, Vinyl went to open the door with her remote still in hoof where she was greeted by an ecstatic grey earth pony who was jumping up and down in excitement.

“Pack your bags Vinyl, we’re going to…”

“Suit up!”
Octavia and Vinyl both turned to the television that had interrupted Octavia mid-sentence. Vinyl gave out a weak grin and turned off the T.V.

“I’m going to ignore that…” said Octavia rolling her eyes, “Anyways, as I was saying… pack your bags Vinyl, we’re going to Manehatten!”

“So I assume this means the orchestra was accepted then,” said Vinyl smiling as the grey earth pony gave her a warm hug.

“Yeah, it’s going to be great. We haven’t had a gig this big since Phillydelphia. And that was over a year ago!” Octavia planted a quick kiss on Vinyl’s muzzle and then laid her head on the unicorn’s fur.

“Yeah…this is great Vinyl. Nothing could possibly go wrong.”

Lyra laid in her bed unable to catch any shut eye. She was thinking, thinking about what had happened that day when she and Bon Bon went zip lining together. Another month had passed since then and Lyra was still experiencing many nights like this one. She was wondering about the direction in which her life was going. She wondered when, if ever, she would leave Ponyville and try once again to become a successful musician. But most of all, she wondered about the yellow earth pony that was in the room across the hall from her. That kiss the earth pony gave her a month ago was just so…Lyra couldn’t find words to describe it. She was very conflicted about her situation. It wasn’t even because she wasn’t sure what her sexual orientation was. It was different from that because throughout her life, Lyra never had any deep feelings for anypony. She had always been the goofball at her school who was fun to hang out with but never invited to anything formal like the school prom. Never had Lyra even considered a relationship with anypony but yet Bon Bon just made her so…so happy. Lyra gave out a sigh and put her head down on her pillow.

“Time will tell I suppose,” she thought to herself. It was the same line that she uttered to herself almost every night that she had been awake thinking about Bon Bon. Lyra was beginning to wonder exactly how much longer she could wait for time to determine her destiny before she would put destiny into her own hooves.

Bon Bon opened the door of Lyra’s room holding a luggage bag.

“Lyra! Lyra! Wake up!”
The earth pony was surprised when she saw that the green unicorn was already sitting up in her bed.

“Oh Lyra, you’re awake.”

“Yeah… I couldn’t sleep well last night.”
Bon Bon gave Lyra a worried look, Lyra had been acting rather reserved lately.

“What’s wrong Lyra?”
Lyra gave out a long sigh and looked down at the ground.

“Nothing Bon Bon, I'm fine.”
Bon Bon could tell that Lyra was holding back something. She felt however that this was not the right time to ask so instead she continued with what she was going to say.

“Well anyways little filly, start filling this bag because we’re going on vacation!” said Bon Bon throwing the luggage bag she was holding at Lyra who juggled the bag a few times before stabilizing it with her hooves.

“Vacation?” asked the confused unicorn, “Where? What? Why?”

“I’ve booked us a hotel already!” said the earth pony enthusiastically, “You’ve seemed troubled recently so I thought that we should take some time off from the shop and explore somewhere else together.”
Lyra blushed at the mention of the word “together” but turned away just in time so that the earth pony would not see it. She gave a small smile when she finally calmed herself and looked at the earth pony.

“That sounds lovely Bon Bon, but how are we going to pay…”

“We’re currently 3000 bits ahead of this month’s rent.”

“But who’s going to watch the shop while we’re…”

“I hired a few mares to take care of the shop and run daily errands while we’re gone.”
Lyra looked into the earth pony’s eyes and could see that there was no way to change Bon Bon’s mind.

“I guess I have no other choice then,” Lyra said with a smirk.
Bon Bon smiled back at Lyra and the two embraced with a hug.

“So then,” said Lyra, “Where exactly are you planning to drag me to?”

“Oh you’ll love it, the place we’re going to has some of the most beautiful lights at night in all of Equestria. There’s a river side view that’s more than spectacular. And this place is also supposed to have some of the top notch musicians performing from all over the world.”

“Alright Bon Bon, stop pulling my tail and tell me where we’re going.”

“We are going Lyra, to the wonderful city of Manehatten.”

Sorry this chapter is so short and took so long to write. I was at a summer camp for a few days and couldn’t get any writing down. I’ve already written parts of the next chapter which is planned to be rather long. This chapter was sort of just a preview for the events to come :). Comment, like, favorite, and tell your friends if you like the story! Have a nice day.

Chapter 8

Bon Bon got off the train at the southern train station in Manehatten and the first thing that she saw was a brown, hourglass stallion running with a grey mare with a bubbles cutie mark.

“Hurry, Derpy! We need to get to the TARDIS now!” the stallion said to the mare as they ran past the train stop. Bon Bon was very confused by what she just saw. She knew Derpy as the local mailmare from Ponyville but couldn’t imagine what she was doing in Manehatten. Plus, she noticed a couple of pegasus statues on the ledges of nearby buildings. She was pretty sure that they weren’t there before…

“Lyra, did you just see that?”

“Huh, what?” said Lyra not paying attention. The green unicorn somehow got her lyre case stuck in the doors of the train when it was closing and was now using all her strength to yank the case free. After several seconds of pulling, Lyra finally managed to extricate her case from the doors, but stumbled and fell over onto the ground while doing so.

“Ehhh… nevermind,” said Bon Bon helping her friend up, “We’re here!”

Lyra looked to see where exactly “here” referred to and soon realized that right in front of her were blocks and blocks of skyscrapers. Each one stood mightily above the ground blocking the light of Celestia’s sun from the ground around it. Beneath the skyscrapers were the streets of Manehatten that were crowded with ponies. Most of them had on fancy clothes and had somewhere to be.

“Here we are,” a concierge pony said to Bon Bon and Lyra welcoming the guests to their new room. The hotel the two were staying in was called the Swirly Tail Inn and featured a water park on floor one, casinos on floor two, restaurants on floor three, and guest rooms on the floors above that. The two unpacked their bags and began to settle down in their new rooms.

“Ahhh, finally some rest,” Lyra said jumping onto one of the beds in the room and levitating a remote to turn on the T.V., “The chairs on the train are waaaay too lumpy to sleep on. I’ve found rose bushes more comfortable than those menaces.”

“Well I’m glad you’re comfy Lyra, We’ll be staying here for six days,” Bon Bon said as she began unpacking her bags. The room had a kitchen and a refrigerator in it and Bon Bon made sure to bring necessary cooking utensils and spices.

“Six days? That’s like…longer than five days!”

“Reeeeeaally?!?” Bon Bon said, her voice positively dripping with sarcasm, “I had no idea… Anyways, I created a schedule for what we’ll be doing during our stay.”

The earth pony took out a small sheet of paper from her luggage bag and tossed it to Lyra.

Day 1: Visit Pony Art museum
Day 2: Go see the Statue of Marity
Day 3: Ocean boat tour
Day 4: Ice skating, (symphony performance at night)
Day 5: Visit Science museum (Dance party at night!)
Day 6: Go into city for last time and catch 2:00 train home.

“Any extra time we have in between we can visit the city and do some shopping,” said Bon Bon as she finished unpacking her bags. “Now get up little filly. Let’s go to floor three and grab some dinner.”

Octavia, along with the rest of her orchestra, was practicing on the stage of the Central Hoof stage. The orchestra had just finished the third movement when suddenly the stage door opened and an utterly disoriented white unicorn burst in. The bright stage lights blinded Vinyl’s already blurred vision, and she managed to knock a startled pony’s double bass out of his hooves. The poor fellow’s instrument was deftly caught by his fellow musician right before it hit the floor. By now, the entire orchestra had stopped playing, and some were glaring at the bemused DJ.

“Wooaaahh, why’d y’all stop playing? That was some pretty *hic* sweet music, Tavi. What’s that song *hic* called?”

“Oh for Celestia’s sake Vinyl, how many times do I have to tell you not to interrupt the rehearsal?”

Octavia set down her cello and briskly walked up to Vinyl. As she approached her, Octavia, as well as everypony on that half of the stage, caught a whiff of alcohol in Vinyl’s breath. Octavia sighed and brought a hoof to her face.

“You’re drunk again, aren’t you Vinyl…”

“Looooooooks like it sweetheart *hic*,” said Vinyl, swaying on two hooves.

“I’m very sorry, everypony,” Octavia said to everypony in the room. “It appears that I have to escort my marefriend out before she breaks something—or somepony.”

“Who’s the old dude, Tavi?” Vinyl asked pointing (with a very shaky hoof) to the grey-maned brown stallion on the podium in front of the orchestra.

“I’m very sorry, Mr. Marehler,” Octavia said looking apologetically at the stallion. “Vinyl really doesn’t know what she’s talking about.”

Octavia turned her attention back to Vinyl.

“He, Vinyl, is our symphony guest conductor, the distinguished Mr. Gustav Marehler. Now, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t insult his age.”

“It’s quite alright,” Marehler said to the pair, “I am getting up there in age after all. I remember when I was still a young colt and love was still young in my life. You two seem real cute together you know that?”

“You hear that Tavi?” Vinyl practically shouted. Octavia, standing right next to her, winced. “I think he’s saying we should go have se…”

“That’s enough, Vinyl!” Octavia said a little too quickly, stuffing a hoof in the unicorn's mouth. “We’re getting you out of here before you do something that we’ll all regret. Again, sorry everypony, I’ll be back soon.”

With that, Octavia dragged the drunken unicorn out the door as the rest of the orchestra continued playing without her.

“I’ll have the legumes dish, s’il vous plaît,” Lyra decided looking up from her menu.

“Ah, a fine choice,” the waiter said writing down her order, “Et tu, mademoiselle?”

“Huh?” Bon Bon asked puzzled

“That means ‘and for you miss’,” Lyra whispered to Bon Bon.

“Oh,” Bon Bon said blushing from her lack of fluency in Fancy, “I’ll take the chowder and hay soup please.”

“Excellent choice as well, your order will be ready in 20 minutes.” The waiter left and Bon Bon turned her attention back at Lyra.

“Lyra…? Since when did you learn to speak Fancy?”

“Well you didn’t expect me to be from Canterlot without learning some Fancy, did you Bon Bon?”

“Hmm… I suppose that’s true.”

“And plus, before I came to Ponyville I just so happened to pass by a region north of Equestria that spoke Fancy.”

“Really? And where might that be? “

“Canada.”

“Canada?”

“Yep, Canada.”

“I’ve never heard of Canada.”

“Figures, nobody’s heard of Canada. Oh, and did I tell you that when I was in Baltimare a couple years ago and…”

The two ponies chatted for 20 minutes until their food arrived. Much to Bon Bon’s surprise, Lyra didn’t act in her usual eccentric way from the last time the two had gone out to eat. In fact, Bon Bon seemed to feel out of place not knowing how to act properly in a high class restaurant.

“Uhh Bon Bon…”

“Yes, Lyra?”

“Elbows off the tables, please.”

“Oh, uhh… sorry.”
The two finished eating and got on the elevator back to their room.

“Wow Lyra, since when did you grasp the idea of manners?”

“There are many things you still don’t know about me, Bon Bon,” Lyra replied slyly. “I can be prime and proper when I need to be.”

To that, Bon Bon had no response, and so she just frowned a bit in confusion. Her expression quickly changed when the two reached their floor. “Well, I’m going to go to the balcony. From our floor, we should have one of the best views of the cityscape. You gonna come with me?”

“Uhh…,sure…yeah, why not?” the green unicorn said slowly. She had planned to check out some of the water parks but decided that the slides could wait.

The two ponies trotted over to the balcony and true to Bon Bon’s words, the view from the balcony was spectacular. Instead of normal street lights, the architect had opted for colored lightbulbs to line the streets. It took much more planning and effort but was well worth it. Apart from helping lost children find their way home, the view from high above was simply breathtaking. Above the city, Luna’s full moon was out for all of Equestria to see.

“Wow, this is even better than I originally thought it would be. Isn’t it beautiful Lyra?” said a dazzled Bon Bon, still staring down at the city in front of her. The green unicorn watched the city for a while and then shifted her focus to the yellow earth pony right next to her. The moonlight seemed to shine brightly on her mane and coat. Lyra stared at the earth pony in awe for several moments. She watched the wind blowing through Bon Bon’s mane gently. She saw Bon Bon’s gentle smile as she enjoyed her aesthetic moment. Most of all, Lyra admired the earth pony’s gleaming blue eyes. Despite the intensity of the city lights below, none seemed to come close to the radiance of Bon Bon’s turquoise eyes.

“Lyra?” Bon Bon asked, still staring at the city, “Are you going to answer my question?”
Lyra broke her gaze and looked down at the ground blushing red. A small smile appeared on the unicorn’s face.

“Yeah,” Lyra said finally, “It is beautiful.”

Vinyl awoke when she felt her face, along with the rest of her body, smack against a hard wooden floor.

“You’ve napped straight through dinner Vinyl; it’s time to get up.”

“Oww, Tavi, was tipping over my mattress really necessary?”

“Yes, it was. I already wasted five minutes slapping and shouting at you, and there was no alternative.”

“Blehh…” Vinyl groggily got on her hooves, “What the hay happened? And what time is it?”

“I’ll tell you after you grab some takeout food from the restaurant. Go quickly though, it’s on the second floor and closes in about fifteen minutes. Run along now unless you want to starve, because I already ate. And grab me a banana from the fruit bar while you’re there. I like bananas. They’re great for potassium.”

Vinyl groaned, donned her trademark shades, and began to slowly walk down to the Fancy restaurant.

On the way back, Vinyl noticed that at her floor had a balcony at the end of the hall. The white unicorn had heard some ponies in the lobby earlier that day talking about some cool Manehatten lights that shown at night.

“Well, couldn’t hurt to see, could it?” she thought to herself and walked onto the balcony. Apparently there were two ponies already there. One of them looked shockingly familiar to Vinyl.

That’s not Lyra is it?, Vinyl thought to herself. Nah, it couldn’t be, she’s still in Ponyville in some candy shop.
As the white unicorn approached closer however, the mane of the unicorn appeared to be a mint color. It can’t be, can it?

Vinyl took a few more steps closer and saw that the cutie mark was a lyre. Vinyl’s jaw fell, dropping the bag containing the food she was holding with her mouth. Her shades fell off her face and fell neatly into the bag. She then quickly sprinted back to her room to tell Octavia who she found. In her haste, she forgot both her belongings.

Lyra turned around when she heard the sound of somepony running down the hotel halls.

“Bon Bon? Did you hear that?”

“What’s that, little filly?” Bon Bon replied not paying attention. Lyra noticed a small bag at the door to the balcony.

“Hey, who left this here?”

Bon Bon turned around and looked at the bag with confusion. “Lyra, did you notice anypony step into the balcony?”

“Well, I heard somepony running through the halls. Maybe they left this in a hurry?” Lyra started rummaging through the bag.

“Lyra, you can’t just look through somepony’s stuff!”

“Relax, Bon Bon, its somepony’s takeout food, probably from the restaurant we ate at. Hang on, what’s this?” She pulled out Vinyl’s shades. The food inside was wrapped in more packaging, keeping the glasses clean.

“Hmmm, these shades seem really familiar…” Lyra flipped them around in her magic. “Actually, these look a lot like the shades Vin–” Lyra paused, her eyes widening. “Oh no.”

Hey all, again sorry for taking so long this time around. I don't really have an excuse except that my editor and I were playing league of lege...I mean uhhh going to summer school ^ ^. My editor did a real nice job this time around though so I hope you all enjoy :). Comment, like and tell your friends! Have a nice day!

Chapter 9

“Tavi! Tavi!”

Octavia was watching T.V. when a very flustered and exhausted DJ burst into their hotel room.

“Vinyl, where are your shades and food? And did you get me that banana I asked for?”

Vinyl didn’t bother to answer. She had just sprinted pass about 200 doors and turned at 4 corners to get to their room at a speed that Rainbow Dash would be proud of.

“Balco-…ponies…Lyr…”

Deciding that the defibrillator down the hall wasn’t necessary, Octavia patiently waited for Vinyl to regain her ability to speak coherently. After a minute or two, Vinyl was finally able to form intelligible sentences.

“She’s here Octavia, I saw her in the balcony. Lyra Heartstrings is staying in this hotel.”

“Lyra Heartstrings? As in Thee Lyra Heartstrings? The one that I want to strangle to death? Are you sure it was her and not somepony else?”

“No Tavi… the other mint-green unicorn with a lyre cutie mark…”

“Ugh, I can’t believe she had to come here. Right before my concert too! I’m gonna give her a piece of my mind…” And with that ominous note, she walked out the door with a scowl on her face.

“Lyra, are…are you alright?” Bon Bon asked, concerned that Lyra’s face had suddenly turned pale, staring into the distance…

Calm down Lyra, it’s just a coincidence. It is a coincidence, right?

“Hello, Lyra? You still in there?” Bon Bon waved a hoof in front of the unicorn’s face, still no reply.

These shades are probably from some die-hard DJ Pon-3 fan. What would Vinyl be doing here anyway? Unless Octavia…

“Bon Bon,” Lyra asked, suddenly snapping her head up at the earth pony, “what orchestra are we going to see next evening?” Bon Bon looked confused at the seemingly irrelevant question.

“Uhhh…, I have the concert tickets for it right here.” Bon Bon responded, pulling out two tickets from her saddlebags. “This concert will be featuring the Canterlot Symphony Orchestra. Huh, now that I think about it, didn’t you say something about playing in Can-…”

Bon Bon was interrupted however when Lyra abruptly snatched the tickets from her hooves, threw them in her mouth, and swallowed them. She shuddered a bit and then was still. The tickets ceased to exist.

“Hey what was that for?”

“Bon Bon, we have to get back to our room right now.”

“Not until I get an explanation for what you just, hey…!”

“No time!” The mint-green unicorn grabbed the earth pony and anxiously tried to drag her back to their room. She had only exited the balcony however, when she came face-to-face with an intimidating-looking cellist and her marefriend, both waiting outside the balcony for them.

“Going somewhere, Lyra?” Octavia said with a smirk on her face. Others may have found Octavia’s expression playful, but Lyra, backing up nervously, found it absolutely terrifying.

“Oh uhh… hi Octavia,” Lyra said. She noticed a certain DJ unicorn step out from behind Octavia with a frightened, somewhat guilty expression.

“Oh, uhh, Vinyl, fancy seeing you here. You know, it’s strange really, how you’re not wearing your shades right now because just a few seconds ago I…”

Lyra was interrupted mid-sentence however when the back of Octavia’s hoof connected with her face. Lyra was sent sprawling on the ground.

“Ow…I guess I deserved that.”

“Oh you definitely deserved that one!” Octavia yelled furiously. “I told you last time that if I ever saw your face again, I would do much worse than just kick you out my orchestra! In fact, you do deserve a lot worse. And you want to know why…? I said do you want to why, Lyra Heartstrings!?”

Lyra was too scared to say anything.

“It’s because Lyra heartstrings… You’re a PATHETIC, GOOD-FOR-NOTHING, FAILURE!” All traces of Octavia’s well-mannered self were gone, leaving behind a rage-filled soul eager to vent its anger on the cowering mint-green unicorn.

“HEY!” the cream-colored earth pony shouted from behind Lyra, suddenly reaching out and blocking Octavia’s hoof before she could strike her again.

“Look, I don’t care what the hay your problem is or what kind of grudge you have against Lyra, but at least act with some civility.” Bon Bon’s voice seemed calm enough, but the look in her eyes said otherwise. “Now please calm down and back off.”

“Yeah, seriously Tavi, I’ve never seen you this angry before. It’s so unlike you.”

“You stay the hell out of this, Vinyl!” Octavia said, still fuming with rage. “You don’t know what happened that night. You both don’t know what happened that night! If you did, then both of you would never talk to this worthless slob again!”
Octavia turned around, walking back to her room. Without turning around, she said, “I’m gonna make you regret coming here. If I catch even a glimpse of your shadow again Lyra Heartstrings, especially at my concert, I’m gonna give your face a pasting so hard that the sound will echo back to Canterlot! Vinyl, let’s go.”

And with that, Octavia walked back to her room with a humph.

“Err…sorry ’bout that,” Vinyl said awkwardly. “I’m not sure what got into her. She’s usually not that…agitated.”

“Agitated? Apoplectic is a better way to describe what I saw,” Bon Bon replied.

Lyra was looking down at the ground, tears filling her eyes. With all her strength, she wiped away the tears in her eyes to mutter out a few words.

“No…I’m…I’m sorry. She’s right, I’m a horrible pony and deserved all of that. It’s good to see you again Vinyl, but you should be getting back to your room now. Octavia will be wondering what took you so long. And Bon Bon, I’ve been enough of a burden at your house. I…I don’t deserve anypony as kind as you. Once we get back, I’ll pack my stuff and—”

“Stop,” Bon Bon said gently. She put a hoof on the lyrist’s shoulder. “Look, whatever happened between you and Octavia isn’t my concern. It doesn’t matter what you once did, but what you’ve done now.”

Bon Bon wrapped her arms around Lyra’s neck.

“Before you moved in with me, Lyra, I had no one. I hadn’t had a friend since high school. I was a hopeless candy shop owner about to go bankrupt. Hope in fact, seemed only a distant memory. But then you…you came into my life, Lyra. You and your lyre brought hope back into my life, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. The earth pony let go of the unicorn and stared into her golden eyes.

“You know why I started a candy shop in the first place?”
Lyra shook her head.

“When I was a filly, my parents didn’t have much, but they always valued my well-being over themselves. Every Saturday, they would buy me a bonbon as a reward for doing my chores and doing well in school. It wasn’t much, but I was grateful. They wanted me to go into engineering, but when I got a candy cutie mark instead, they didn’t complain. They loved me all the same. When I finished high school, my parents sold their house and used the money to pay my college tuition. They had to leave town in order to try to find work elsewhere. I…still don’t know where they are. They left me a note the day before they left telling me to follow my dreams. Life has been rough at times, but ever since I met you, I’ve felt a sense of accomplishment with my work. I feel as if everything my parents and I have done has finally paid off.”

Vinyl’s eyes were slightly teary. Her expression was both awestruck and happy. Lyra was crying out of gratitude for Bon Bon’s acceptance of her.

Lyra composed herself and then said, “Vinyl, Bon Bon, I think you both deserve to know what happened between Octavia and me that night.”

Well, if you haven't noticed already, this fanfic hasn't been updated in quite a while. Don't you worry though, I have at least 5000 words planned for the next chapter with a whole flashback of Octavia and Lyra's past. Once I finish up all my college apps, chapters will be updated with much more consistency. Until then, hold tight everyone.

Chapter 10

“In order to truly understand why Octavia is holding such a grudge on me, I have to start by telling the story of how Octavia and I first met. You see, we were both born into wealthy, noble families of Canterlot. Wealthy enough in fact, that we both attended the Royal Canterlot elementary school run by Princess Celestia herself. Oh, I remember the first day of school so clearly. There I was, a tiny unicorn filly who hardly ever left her house. I didn’t have many friends when I walked into the classroom, in fact, I don’t think I had any friends. The only people I knew were other rich kids that I knew from parties with family friends. They didn’t like me though because I was so… strange to them. They all seemed so snobby, bragging about the wealth of their family and such while I preferred to just keep to myself. I liked playing board games and cards but all the other fillies were too preoccupied with doing things that were considered more “proper” such as having tea parties and playing dress up that I never had much interest in. They just all seemed so eager… so eager to grow up and acquire wealth when all I cared for at the time was having fun and enjoying myself. But anyway…so there I was, first day of school, the teacher told us we could sit anywhere we liked. Every time I tried to sit somewhere, it seemed that it was “saved” for somepony else. But then there was the grey earth pony who was sitting in the back corner of the class. She was looking outside the class window, right elbow on table, head on hoof, with an expression I can only describe as “bored out of her mind.” There was an empty seat next to her so I tried my luck and walked towards it.

“Excuse me?” I asked her as politely as possible, “May I sit here?”

She turned her head to glance at me.

“Sure” she said turning her attention back at the window

I sat down awkwardly.

“So… what’s your name?”

“Octavia,” the filly told me not adjusting her posture.

“Oh cool, mine’s Lyra,” I said. I leaned over and tried to see what Octavia was staring at..

“So… what’s out there?”

Octavia glanced at me again and raised an eyebrow. She then turned back to the window.

“Freedom,” she whispered softly. That was the last we said to each other until lunch as the teacher introduced us to the basics of school. Emergency drills and such, you know, the boring stuff. Anyhow, before I knew it, it was lunchtime. Again, I didn’t know what to do because I didn’t have any friends I could sit next to. I noticed that Octavia had the same problem in that she sat alone at her own table. So after I received my food I levitated my trey and sat down next to her. She didn’t seem to mind and continued to chew her food.

“Hi there,” I said to her smiling awkwardly trying to strike some sort of conversation

“Howdy…”

“So… how about these apples huh? Pretty tasty!”

Octavia stopped eating her food and gave out a sigh, she looked up at me.

“Look Lyra… don’t you have any prissy, girlier friends to hang out with? Why do you insist on bothering me?”

“Well actually… no, I don’t really have any other friends here.”

Octavia was surprised at my response; I could tell that she regretted her last statement.

“Well I’m sorry for that but you really shouldn’t be hanging around a pony like me.”

“Why?”

“Well… I guess if you like pranking people then…”

“Pranking people?” I interrupted, a mischievous grin forming on my face.
“Umm… yeah pulling pranks,”
My grin continued to grow
“Why Octavia, just last week, I spray-painted Mr. Fancy Pants ‘s carriage pink!”

“No way,” Octavia said in disbelief, “Fancy Pants as in thee Mr. Fancy Pants, one of the most important ponies in all of Ponyville?”

“Yup,” I said, “you should of seen the look on his face. Priceless.”

Octavia seemed impressed by my feat.

“Hmm… I guess that’s not bad…for a beginner. Tell you what Lyra, you’re alright. After school though, meet me at the donut shop south of the Castle. I’ll show you how a professional does a prank.”

I continued my devious smile

“That’d be lovely”

Alright so, after the boring classes ended I walked to the Donut shop and sure enough…”

“Woah Woah Woah Woah Woah” Vinyl said interrupting Lyra’s story. “Let me get this straight. Octavia, as in the cello player Octavia, one of the most uppercrust ponies I know, invited you for some pranks!?”

“Oh you’d be surprised Vinyl, Octavia was quite the tomboy back then.”

“But… what made her change then? How come she’s so different now?”

“Hold your humans there Vinyl. I’m getting to that.” Lyra said continuing her story.

“So where was I, ah yes…”

“I trotted over to the donut shop after school to meet Octavia for some pranking. When I got there, she had with her a hot glue gun and a whoppy cushion. As I approached her, Octavia turned her head side to side to make sure that staff members were around.

“Alright Lyra, here’s the plan. Our teacher has two chairs that he sits in and we’re gonna make him regret sitting in both tomorrow. Before school starts, meet up at seven O’clock at the school park got it?”
I nodded my head,
“We’ll then sneak inside our classroom.” She continued, “Place this whoppy cushion on our teacher’s rolly chair. I’ll place hot glue onto his sitting stool so that he gets his flank stuck there!”

“Oh… this outta be good.” I said smirking in anticipation. We hoofbumped each other and exited the shop with our weapons eagerly awaiting for the next day to come.

The next day I arrived at the school park as planned to see Octavia waiting under the big slide. She motioned me to come to her and I did.

“Alright you remember the plan?”

I nodded

“Okay good,” She handed me the whoppy cushion from yesterday. “Alright, let’s do this.”

We sneaked through the back door of the school and began Tiphoofing through the halls when Octavia suddenly put a hoof against my mouth and pulled me behind some lockers.

“Shhhh....”

We stayed motionless as we heard the whistling of a janitor pony trotting across the hallway. After a few minutes, we heard the whistling disappear out of range as we continued at fast pace towards our target. After turning a few more corners we arrived at the correct room. Octavia peaked through the door window to see if anypony was inside. After she confirmed our safety she took out a lock pick and picked the door open. We went inside and did as we planned. After we giggled at each other’s mischievous deeds, we quickly escaped out once again through the back door maneuvering pass the school janitors.

We hid at the school park until school started at 8:30 and went eagerly in class to see the results of our prank.

“Alright class,” the teacher said trotting in with a stack of papers, “Is everypony ready for a pop quiz?”

Everypony groaned at the remark. Octavia and I however, were just sitting in the back eyeing to see if our teacher would notice the “surprises” that was left for him.

“Now I know what you all are thinking and I know I just gave a pop quiz last week. But the truth is, some of you have really fallen behind on your studies as of late and…”

The teacher had just sat onto his rolly chair when suddenly a loud farting noise came from her flank as Octavia and I high hooved each other in our first success. The whole class burst out in laughter as the now red faced teacher grabbed the object that had caused his embarrassment.

“Hahaha, very funny… You know what? When I find out who did this, they are getting sent straight to the principal’s office. Anyways… as I was saying, we are going to have a pop quiz today due to the lack of effort from some of you.”

The teacher got up and began trotting towards his other chair.

“Now, Moondancer, please pass out these… wait what the?”

Octavia hoof pumped whispering a quiet “yes” to herself as I giggled watching our teacher suffer from our prank. Despite his best efforts, he could not get off his chair.

“What in Equestria is this!? I’m…I’m stuck!”

The whole class again burst out into hysterical laughter as we saw the teacher get back on his hoofs as he tried fruitlessly to shake his high stool off his rear knocking over several papers on his desk in doing so. Finally, the teacher gave up and began walking awkwardly out the door to the school nurse chair still stuck onto his flank.

“This isn’t over I tell you! When I come back, you’ll be sorry. Oh… you’ll all be sorry! Whoever did this isn’t just getting a detention. They’re getting at least a suspension you hear!”
After the teacher left, the class started to chatter amongst each other.

“That… was awesome!” I said as Octavia nodded in approval.

“Yeah I have to say I’m impressed.” Octavia said with a smirk, “You executed that prank much better than I expected. You know… for a first timer.”

After about 15 minutes, the school principal walked in and informed us that the teacher would be taking the day off. She gave the whole lecture about discipline and how our behavior has to change and all that boring stuff. After that, she said that we were off for the day, but that if any more shenanigans occurred, the whole class would be serving detention.”

Lyra gave out a long sigh.

“And that, Vinyl and Bon Bon, is how Octavia and I first became friends. It was the first real friendship I ever had. Oh how I wish it could have lasted forever…”
Lyra began to break down in tears again. Bon Bon wrapped her arms around Lyra gently whispering a soft, “There there little filly.”

“I don’t get it though,” Vinyl Scratch said after Lyra composed herself, “If back in the day, Octavia was so… so… so much like me! Why did she change into such a…you know…formal pony? It’s like she was a completely different person than she was back then.”

“Well... that was a gradual change actually.” Lyra said beginning her story again. “It started though when we were in 4th grade. That was the year that Octavia’s parents forced her to practice cello. I remember those days so very clearly as well. She was a prodigy at the instrument, making first chair at the top local orchestra only three months after she first picked up her bow. Within four, she received the treble clef cutie mark. I too, became an excellent lyrist as my parents hoped for. The difference however… was that unlike Octavia, my personality never changed. I still felt a sort of carefreeness towards the world, hanging on to things other people might deem childish. Meanwhile, Octavia slowly evolved into a much more serious pony, always busy at her craft, never having time for things that were more… fun. In turn, because of my weird attitude towards the world, I began to feel lonely again. Sure I would make a friend here or there that would help me get through the rest of grade school, but I never really felt that special bond that Octavia and I shared when we first met. Because of this, I lacked a lot of motivation throughout the rest of grade school and always needed help on a lot of things. In my loneliness I often times turned to my lyre composing pieces that reflected my emotion. I might even say that my loneliness made me a better musician and helped me earn my cutie mark. Octavia was always sympathetic towards me in my time of need even though she no longer hung out with me. She would take me home from parties that I had gotten too drunk from, or tutor me the day before on tests I had slacked off on. She even offered me my first job as lyrist for the orchestra she had formed. It was good pay, as her concerts were very popular among the ponies. I met a lot of friends in that orchestra, but again, none of them were especially close. Still though, I was contempt as I attended the Canterlot fine arts college. I thought everything in life would be alright after all. Well… that is of course until what happened that night. That night…Bon Bon and Vinyl… at Los Pegasus, where the orchestra was performing an important concert in front of one of the most important music critics, Mr. von Bagel.

It had been five years since I joined Octavia’s orchestra when we went on this trip to please von Bagel. I remember actually Vinyl, that it had only been a week since you and Octavia starting dating. I was so happy for Octavia too, I thought that she would finally start to lighten up a bit again and be like the old Octavia. I thought that maybe… we could become friends again. But of course… I knew that it would take time… which makes the timing of what I did only worse.”

Lyra gave out a long sigh in regret.

“Anyway… as I was saying, it was only hours before our big concert that we were supposed to perform on the Los Pegasus grand Griffinhead Hall. There was a designated practicing room just across the main stage where we would perform. During a particular piece, Tchoovesky’s second symphony, I was given the part of a lyre solo. It was a fantastic solo that was supposed to bring tears to the audience due to its raw emotion. I was nervous but excited about the part. In the room, it was the only thing I was practicing, making sure that I wouldn’t screw up. Sweat dripped out of every part of my body even hitting my lyre, something I would regret much later. Anyway… I was so nervous in fact, that when Octavia told the orchestra we were going to go on stage, I didn’t hear her the first time. I was still practicing my part when everyone else at the orchestra left. Octavia had to go back and get me personally to get onto stage. That’s when I probably made the biggest mistake of my life. I grabbed my lyre and took all of my sheet music as I prepared to leave except… I took all my sheet music except for one page… the solo part”

Lyra paused for a moment as she noticed the looks on Vinyl and Bon Bon as they listened intently to her story.

“So then… what happened next?” Vinyl said after the short delay

“Well you can probably imagine what happened at that part. Throughout the entire song, I couldn’t help but notice that Mr. Von Bagel was staring at us. Just sitting there, staring, judging our every note. Even the slightest off-pitch intonation would cause Von Bagel to write down a comment on the clipboard he was holding. It’s sad really, I was playing my part quite well at the time. It might have even been the best performance of my life in fact until… until I turned to page 3. I couldn’t believe what I saw or rather… what I didn’t see. Page 3, the solo page, was completely missing from my musical binder. At this point, the orchestra had completely stopped playing and the whole audience was staring at me. I flipped rapidly through my binder hoping that I simply misplaced it. It was a fruitless attempt I realized after flipping for a few minutes. The sound of Mr. Von Bagel’s writing only made matters worse. I tried to recall what I learned from memory, a mistake due to two reasons. The first was that it completely failed. I don’t even think I got a single note right let alone any of the other things such as dynamics and rhythm. I could even see it on the faces of the people in the crowd as well as Von Bagel shaking his head as he continued to write notes down. The second reason was that, there was already sweat on my lyre like I previously mentioned. The embarrassment that was gathering within me only added to my lyre being completely drenched. This is a problem because sweat as it just leaves the body is at a very low temperature in order to keep one’s body from overheating. Cold temperature also makes the strings of my lyre very lose. You can probably see where the problem might come in. It all happened so quickly too. I think I was trying to remember a very high part on my lyre when suddenly I heard a loud “Snap” sound. The next thing I knew, my string struck our guess conductor at the time, Mr. Mozre, knocking him not only off balance, but also off his podium and then off the stage. The crowd gasped as the old stallion hit the floor. Some ponies started screaming and already, ponies were leaving the stage. We all had to pack up as the ambulance soon arrived 20 minutes later to assist Mozre into the hospital. At this point, I was already crying hoping that this was a bad nightmare or something. I thought that at any moment, I could just pinch myself and just wake up as if all of this never happened. It didn’t work. What made matters worse was that…the worst part… the worst part was yet to come. As I was exiting the stage, I took a glance at Octavia and noticed she was glaring with the most terrifying look I’ve ever seen. I stood almost motionless until I could finally see her mouth move as I made out the words, “Grab your lyre and, meet me at the west parking lot.”

I did as I was told as I packed my lyre. I’m not sure what I was thinking at that time but it couldn’t have been anything joyful. Time seemed to move in slow motion, but yet went by all too fast as I came to the parking lot. It was quiet there when I went in as the west parking lot was a private parking lot reserved for only the vehicles for those performing in the concert. In this case, the only vehicle was the bus we had taken here. Every other performer was instructed to stay put inside the building. That was probably the worst part, that it was just Octavia and I, alone. I found Octavia sitting behind the bus looking up at the stars. I was almost too scared to approach, but I knew I had to face her. I knew I had to face the worse scolding of my life. I knew that she’d probably even smack me for what I did but I didn’t care. I still considered Octavia my friend. So I put a hoof on her shoulder and began,

“Octavia I’m…I’m…”

She turned around and her expression was not one I expected. It was not an expression of anger, or rage. Oh no, it was much worse than that. When Octavia turned around, her whole front side was wet. Wet, from the tears flooding out of her eyes. I was lost for words. I didn’t know how to even respond to that. I began crying myself as I tried to hug her but she shoved me away. I could have dealt with rage, I’ve been yelled at before. But this… I’ve never seen anyone so broken before. And it was… it was all my fault too. After sitting there for 10 minutes, I had stopped crying, but Octavia had not. Tears were still drenching from her eyes like no other.

“Octavia…” I tried to begin again but this time I met the back of Octavia’s hoof as she knocked me onto the ground. I got up and began to gather myself as I saw Octavia begin to walk away.

“Octavia wait…”

She didn’t stop walking

“Octavia please! Wait…”

Again she didn’t stop walking

“Octavia!!!”

“SHUT UP” she said finally stopping in her tracks.

“Just…Just Shut up!”

She turned around and looked at me again eyes once again filling with tears.

“Just… just leave Lyra Heartstrings, before my anger overcomes my sadness and I hurt you…”

I was too stunned to move a muscle. All at once, all the memories I had with Octavia since we were fillies; pranking teachers, watching movies, even getting our cutie marks. All those memories seemed so clear at that moment.

“Did you hear me Lyra Heartstrings! I said leave!”

“But I…”

“No you dumbflank! Shut up and leave! And… and never come back. No, never come back to Canterlot Lyra Heartstrings. Because…” Octavia was beginning to cry again, “Because if you do… you’ll get much more than just a smack in the face.”

“But…”

“GO!”

I levitated my lyre case and began to trot away. As I had gone just a couple of steps, I turned back for one last look at Octavia. She was gone, closing the door shut behind her. A single tear fell down my cheek as I turned around again to leave. I uttered three words under my breath as I did so.

“Good-bye, old friend”

I went to the nearest bank in Los Pegasus and took out all my bits stuffing them into my Lyre case. That night, I ran further than I ever ran before. I didn’t know where I was going, I just knew I had to get as far away from Los Pegasus as possible. It must have been Four A.M by the time I stopped, dropping to the ground from exhaustion. The next day I woke up and walked for a bit before finding a small town named Hayverstown. I located a pay phone and called my parents. I wanted them to make sure that I was okay. I thought that they might comfort me for what I did… maybe even offer me an apartment somewhere else in Equestria. They didn’t. They too were disappointed that I ruined their good name.

“You outta be ashamed of yourself,” was the only thing I heard from them before they hung up. They didn’t want me back, they too had shunned me from Canterlot. I would later find out that Mr. Mozre had become paralyzed from the waist down because of the incident. I stayed there, in Hayvertown, often going out and getting drunk. I even considered suicide as a possible option those days… but I could never bring myself to do it. I didn’t know what to do with myself. I didn’t have a job, although luckily, I had 50,000 bits saved up from my previous well-paid position. Still though, I spent the days just wasting away in the cheap apartment I was renting. I probably would have stayed there too if not for my salvation that came from a very unlikely source. You see, at the time, a new show began playing on television called My Little Human. It was supposed to be a show for little fillies but for some reason… for some reason it drew my attention. I didn’t know why but… every human on that show just seemed so… so happy. As I began watching this show I soon discovered that there was a whole online community of older ponies who also liked the show. I began to slowly engage in conversations with the ponies on the human websites and soon… I started to once again find meaning in my life. It sounds weird but… online… online I could be who I wanted. Nobody knew that I was Lyra Heartstrings, the unicorn who ruined Octavia’s cello career. No… online I was just another anonymous pony. Sharing the love for humans with everypony else. Finally, after 2 months, I decided something. I decided after a particular episode where the humans discover that everyhuman’s contribution matters no matter how small that I knew… I knew then that I too could once again contribute to society. By that time I only had about 10000 bits but I knew that that was enough to travel for at least a few years. I learned a spell that would allow me to shrink items at will although it was very exhausting and my magic only allowed me to do it twice a day. After about a week of just shrinking all my belongings, I left my apartment and set out into the world. I thought that I could play my Lyre wherever I go, spreading music to the common ponies who couldn’t afford it. I thought I could do the world some good, and maybe even… maybe even make some friends along the way. I traveled everywhere in those couple of years on the road, Fillydelphia, Baltimare, Canada. I was quite lonely those couple of years too, never traveling with anyone or staying anywhere for an extended amount of time. Well… that was of course until destiny took me to the small town of Ponyville. That’s when destiny took me to you Bon Bon Taffy. My life… my life’s never been the same ever since.”

So, here it is. After a one year hiatus, at least 6 months of not doing anything pony related, getting into college. (UIUC if you're wondering), and writing most of a novel. I'm finally back. And hopefully, this time, i'm going to be staying in the fandom for good. So enjoy this long intense chapter. You guys truly deserved it.