Strings of Trouble & Sweet Shocker
“This just isn’t working, BonBon. I think… we should go back to being just friends.”
BonBon’s face paled when she heard Lyra’s words. They hadn’t been dating long, sure, but BonBon was a bit surprised. “Lyra! You’re not... serious, are you?”
Lyra nodded with finality. “It just was a little misreading of emotion, BonBon. I don’t… love you. Not romantically. More like… the sister I never had. I realize that now, especially with… recent events.”
Suspicion grew on BonBon’s face. “What do you mean, recent events!? I don’t-!” She then gasped as her eyes widened. “He’s gone and done it, hasn’t he! He’s swindled you into giving up your love for me! Why that Maestro, I oughta-!”
“No!” Lyra held BonBon in the embrace of a sibling. “He’s done nothing of the sort!” She let her go, and then continued to explain. “ I’ve just… had passing thoughts about stallions in our area. Y’know, the… saucy kind. I was a bit confused about it, so I went to Princess Cadence and… she explained it for me. I was confusing what I had with you for love, when clearly I wasn’t attracted to you. It explains a lot, doesn’t it? Why I didn’t ever kiss you, or any of that?”
Now that BonBon thought about it, everything made more sense now. Princess Cadence knew what to look for when it came to love; heck, it was her special talent! If she said that there was confusion there, then who was BonBon to disagree? She nodded, smiling sadly. “It does. It burns me to say it, but it does. If you truly don’t feel that way for me, then I won’t stop you.” She reached out a hoof. “Though, I can always be the sister you never had. Friends?”
Lyra nodded, tears rolling down her cheeks as she accepted the offer hoof. “Of course… Sis.” the two embraced for a while, before breaking off.
Though saddened by this news, BonBon forced a grin. “So. Any stallions you think really might be for you?”
Blushing, Lyra looked away. “Well, I don’t know, really. Maybe Noteworthy? He and I do have a bit in common, but maybe that’s not good? I don’t know if anyone else in town would work, though… I could always date around, see who I connect with best.” She then looked back to BonBon, and caught her frown. “Hey.” BonBon looked up, and saw Lyra smile gently. “You’ll be fine. You’ll find your special somepony.” Lyra placed a hoof on BonBon’s shoulder. “Trust me. And who knows? Maybe we’ll find them at the same time!” She broke off, and went to the door, calling back as she left. “See you later, BonBon!”
BonBon waved, sighing as Lyra shut the door to their shared apartment. Weeks of dating her, just straight down the drain. She supposed that it had been too good to be true after all. Still, now that she considered things, maybe she’d misread her own feelings as well. If that was the case, then she really couldn’t be all that angry at Lyra. Nodding to herself, she went to get some answers from somepony that would know more- Princess Cadence.
Lyra
Lyra wanderend Ponyville aimlessly for a while, looking for a stallion to go out with. She approached a few, but all of them had said in various ways that they had sompony of their own. Even Noteworthy turned her down, though he refused to say who he was with. Just when she was about to give up and go home, she ran into a friend of hers- namely Maestro Spectrum. He was on his own today, but she knew that he had a girlfriend of his own. He took one look at Lyra with his blue-green eyes and understood immediately. “Broke off with BonBon, I take it? Good for you. You’ve come to accept that what you thought you had was not what you did have- I’m proud of you, Strings.” He smiled gently, his dark teal coat rippling slightly. Though he noticed that she wasn’t exactly in the best mood. “Hm? No luck finding a guy for you here in Ponyville, eh? Them’s the breaks sometimes. Maybe you should get out of Ponyville for a bit, go someplace new. Who knows? You might find what you’re looking for there.”
Lyra regarded him in a new light. That perfect reddish brown mane with a single turquoise streak down the center, that lustrous seven colored rainbow tail- she shook her head. No. He was happy with his girlfriend, and she was not going to try and fight that. Maybe getting out of Ponyville was what she needed after all. She smiled, and thanked him before going off to the train station.
BonBon
Though BonBon had decided that she would see Princess Cadence, that didn’t change the gravity of what she was doing. Buying a ticket to the Crystal Empire to see the Princess of Love was something she didn’t think that she’d ever do- but here she was, having done just that. She got on her train just a bit before it started to leave- and only then did she notice Lyra get onto the Platform. BonBon sighed. She had just avoided something potentially awkward, which was pretty good. Her thoughts went rapidly through her mind as she zoned out to the sound of the train. What was Princess Cadence going to say? What if she was too busy? BonBon shook her head. Princess Cadence had made time for Lyra’s concerns, so perhaps she would for BonBon’s as well. Her nerves almost got the best of her as she exited the train.
BonBon forced herself off the the platform instead of buying into the temptation to get a ticket straight back to Ponyville. She steeled her nerves and went off towards the castle. It wasn’t a long trek, but the anticipation of it all made the time seem longer. She eventually found herself inside the castle, nerves completely shot. It was now or never, and she made sure not to give in to the tempting prospect of turning tail and running as she made her way to the secretary’s desk to make an appointment.
Lyra
Lyra got off the train in Appaloosa. She didn’t know why she came here of all places, but maybe she’d have a bit of luck here. She was about to take a cursory look around town when she bumped into somepony. “Ah!” She fell down, though not really very injured.
She heard a stallion’s voice call out with concern. “Are you alright, Miss?”
She responded without thinking. “Yes, I’m alright.” She then looked up to see who it was, and got a bit lost in his light green eyes. His rugged brown coat with white accents on his nose and hooves, and his darker brown mane and tail were nothing to scoff at either. “Uh…”
The stallion quirked his head slightly as Lyra trailed off. “Miss?” However, Lyra didn’t respond. The stallion was concerned, so he dragged her over to the doctor to get her looked at.
BonBon
On her way to the waiting room for her appointment with Princess Cadence, a blur of dark gray barrelled into her. “Oof!” She fell onto he haunches, and massaged her head a bit. “Hey, watch it!”
The stallion she bumped into helped her up, and had a bit of a sheepish look on his face. “Sorry about that. I hope you’re alright.”
BonBon started to tell him off. “You should look more… closely… where…” but she stopped as she got caught in his amber eyes. His rugged light blue mane and tail with off-white stripes only caused her to fluster a bit more. Frankly, she was a bit lost for words.
Confusion played on the stallion’s face as he waved his hoof in front of her muzzle. “Anypony home…?” However, he couldn’t seem to snap her out of it. Her tried in vain for a while longer, uncertain as to what he should do. Out of concern for her, he took her to the nearest hospital to get her checked out.
Cadence
Cadence saw the two encounters through a scrying orb that she’d borrowed from Aunt Celestia. She was happy that things were working out for those two; after all, what they had before hadn’t exactly been healthy. At least now things might shape for them to have a healthy love life. She nodded in content, eager to see where things went for them from here.
Author's Note
Here it is! Sorry about all the delays, I just had a lot to deal with recently. Anyway, no schedule for this fic as of yet, seeing as I've no clue where to take it from here. If anyone wants to help me with that, let me know via PM.
Strings of Trouble & Sweet Shocker
To Explore the Blossoming Emotions
Lyra
Before she entered the Appaloosa Hospital, Lyra came to her senses and shook off the stallion’s dragging hoof. She looked at him once more, and tried to calm herself down. “Um, thanks for your concern. I’m fine, really.” Her heart was beating faster than normal, but she had to keep her composure. If this truly was what she thought it was, she had to ensure to not go too fast with it. She cleared her throat, and tried to talk to him again. “I’m Lyra Heartstrings. I’m just visiting from Ponyville. Could you please show me around town?”
The concerned look on the stallion’s face had not faded as he stared at Lyra. He clearly was thinking that she was being strange, but after a while he sighed. “If you insist, sure. My name is Troubleshoes, and I’ll show you around.” He turned away from the hospital and started walking. Lyra tried to keep her composure as she followed Troubleshoes through town. He first showed her the Inn, then he showed her around some of the shops. However, she started to tune out what he was saying. How had she gotten this lucky? Her first jaunt into town, and she already found a promising guy. She wasn’t sure exactly why she was drawn to him, but she had to find out more about him. She realized that he was staring at her again as they stood outside a particular restaurant. “Are you sure that you’re quite alright, miss?”
She shook herself out of her thoughts and replied, a little embarrassed. “Ah! Yes, I’m just a bit famished. Do you want to grab a bite to eat together?” Just as the words left her mouth, she panicked, and tried to come up with a reasonable excuse. “Just, so I can, you know, thank you for showing me around!”
Troubleshoes shrugged and didn’t really question it. He followed Lyra into the restaurant. The two of them took a seat and waited for the waiter. Lyra felt butterflies in her stomach, but this is what she needed right now. A new experience with somebody, to see if they clicked. Her nerves were shot as the waiter approached the table. “So, what can I get for you two today?”
Lyra barely gave a consideration to the menu as she chose. “I’ll have some Apple Juice and an order of your Double Hayburger.”
Trouble Shoes chuckled, and spoke to the waiter. “I’ll have the usual, a Cider and Double Cheeseburger.”
BonBon
BonBon came back to reality before she was about to be set up with an appointment with a doctor. She pried herself away from the stallion, trying to hide her blush with anger. “I-I’m fine, thank you. This is just blowing things out of proportion.” However as she looked back she just couldn’t bring herself to look into his eyes full of concern. Why was she feeling this way towards somebody that she had only just met? To top it off, it was a stallion. She’d never had feelings for one before outside of friendship, so this was new territory for her. She shook herself off as she focused on the situation at hoof- making sure this guy wasn’t too weirded out by her. She gingerly outstretched a hoof. “I’m BonBon. I came from Ponyville in order to see Princess Cadence.”
Tring to push aside his wariness, the pegasus stallion decided to shake her hoof. “Thunderlane. I think I’ve seen you around before, actually. Always with your BFF Lyra, right? You two were so inseparable.” He looked over her shoulder, then back to her. “I see you’re here alone, though. May I ask why?”
BonBon was sweating bullets. How was she supposed to broach that question? She could just brush it off, she supposed. “I don’t see how that’s relevant to you. Lyra and I aren’t always together, you know. We do have our own lives, after all.”
For what seemed like forever, she felt his eyes judging her as he analyzed her answer. But just as quickly as it started, it stopped when he chuckled lightly. “Alright, I suppose you’re right. It isn’t really my business.” He shook his head. “You do seem better than when I barreled into you earlier, thank goodness. So that’s good.”
BonBon let out a quiet sigh. She wasn’t sure why this was happening, but she had come this far. The question though, was what to do about it. She was still a bit addled and confused about what was going on. Should she still go to see Cadence? Was it better for her to go along with Thunderlane and figure out these feelings of hers? She took a moment to think about it, then made her choice. “Well, it was nice seeing you here, but…”
She was then betrayed by her stomach rumbling. Thunderlane chuckled somewhat as a blush spread upon Bon Bon’s face. “Hey, I know a great place to eat around here. Do you mind coming along?” Defeated, BonBon shook her head. Thunderlane motioned his right wing to beckon as he started moving. “Well, let’s get going then! I promise, it’ll be the best food you’ve had in a while.”
Muttering about her stomach’s betrayal, she started to follow. She didn’t want to feel too awkward, so she soon caught up to walk in tandem. She may have feelings for the guy, but she didn’t want to be caught staring. It wasn’t very long before they arrived. They sat at the table to wait, and BonBon’s nerves went through the roof. Should she really be doing this? Shouldn’t she have gone to consult with Cadence first? She was knocked out of her worries when the waiter asked for her order. She perused the menu for a bit before coming to a decision. “I’ll have the Crystal Guava Juice and an order of Caesar Salad.”
Thunderlane nodded at the waiter. “I’ll have the same, thanks. Hold the onions.”
To be continued in the next chapter…
Author's Note
Well, it's set up for the next chapter. Sorry to cut it abruptly at that part, though. I'll continue right from where it left off next chapter.