The Swarm

Bon Bon leaned against the counter of Lyra’s admittedly small kitchen as Liza continued doing the dishes.

“You do this often?” Bon Bon broke the silence and Liza nodded. “Huh.”

“Mom has chores for me to do. In return, I get bits for doing them. It helps her around the house,” Liza answered and gritted her teeth as she started scrubbing a plate harder with her wash cloth held in her hoof.

“No magic?”

“Nope. We use magic in the house a lot, sure but mom taught me to be amb-?” Liza rubbed her muzzle and Bon Bon snorted.

“Ambidextrous?” Bon Bon suggested and Liza nodded.

“Yeah that.”

The two fell silent as Liza kept cleaning the dishes. Bon Bon wasn’t great with kids or how to to talk to ponies in general. Lyra was different than anypony Bon Bon had ever met. It was easy to talk to Lyra, Bon Bon had found out when she first met her.

Hers and Liza’s ears flicked at Lyra’s groan upstairs.

“Are you allowed to go play with Dinky?” Bon Bon asked as Liza shrugged.

“Normally but I got to finish these dishes or mom will be disappointed. I don’t like when she’s disappointed in me. She gets a look on her face.”

“I’ll tell her I told you. And what is that?” Bon Bon asked and pointed a hoof at a pink ball with eyes and a mouth pop out of Liza’s mane.

“Oh, that’s Dusky. He’s my parasprite friend I got from Fluttershy. She has about three hundred or so? Most left to go into the woods but some other ponies adopted some. Cute, right?” Liza grinned as she nuzzled Dusky with a purr. “He’s so cute and nice.”

Bon Bon examined him further and recoiled slightly. He looked off to Bon Bon. Something about him made her feel anxious and uncomfortable.

“Something isn’t right about him. I’m gonna go take your mouth out for something to eat. If you behave when Her Majesty arrives, I’ll bring you something sweet to eat,” Bon Bon winked and rubbed Liza’s mane with a warm smile. Or well, she hoped it was a warm smile.

Bon Bon was widely liked by the kids. Mostly because of her candy store that the fillies and colts almost always dropped by at after school.

The two jumped as Dusky made a gagging sound and continued retching as Liza gave him a confused look. He spit out a brown blob and Liza gave it a disgusted look as Bon Bon simply raised an eyebrow.

“What was that?” Liza asked as the brown blob opened it’s eyes.

“If I had to guess, that’s how they reproduce,” Bon Bon answered and stepped away.

“What’s that mean?”

“You’ll learn when you’re older.”

“Ugh. I hate when I get told that,” Liza grumbled and sat down on her plot to fold her forelegs across her chest. “Do you want the brown one?”

“I think I’ll pass on that offer, thanks. Now go check up on Dinky, Liza. I’ll bring some pie from ugh, that other place,” Bon Bon gagged and resisted the urge to say the name Sugarcube Corner. She felt sick even thinking of that damn place.

She hated everything Sugarcube Corner stood for with how they mass produced their baked goods. Baking was a thing to be enjoyed, not just mass produced to crowds. And Pinkie was fucking nuts. Bon Bon was not prepared for that crazy ball of energy or the Cakes.

But for one of her only friends, Bon Bon was grudgingly willing to go into enemy territory. Even if her friend was crazy and oddly pretty.

“Bon Bon, where are we going?” Lyra gave a tired sigh as she leaned against Bon Bon. The cream colored mare kept trotting with Lyra as the building Bon Bon always dreaded seeing started to appear.

“I know exactly what will make you feel better,” Bon Bon answered and Lyra sighed.

“I don’t see how one of your chocolates will help me, Bonnie.”

Bon Bon gave a smirk and rolled her eyes.

“My candies are god tier, I agree but this is different from what I make. This is your favorite pie from Sugarcube Corner and I have it on very good authority that Mrs. Cake made a new pie this morning and that there is one slice left.”

“You don’t mean-”

“I do. Their strawberry pie with fresh strawberries and strawberry glaze as you like it.”

“You are the best,” Lyra nuzzled Bon Bon before hastily turning away to cough into her hoof. “Or well, second best. Liza is the best at everything.”

“I’m certainly not, but thanks. You go inside. I’m uh not well liked inside there,” Bon Bon shifted anxiously on her hooves and place a bag of bits in front of Lyra. “Go crazy, Lyra. Or well, not like you can get any crazier than you already are.”

“Haha. Very funny.”

Bon Bon gave a dry chuckle and wandered around till she claimed a random table outside, looking around while whistling to herself.

She idly noted Sassaflash flying overhead, pushing some clouds as Bon Bon tapped a hoof against the table surface.

“I’m backkk,” Lyra sang out as she carried a plate on her back. “I got you a muffin. Banana chocolate chip, as your favorite.”

“Thanks LyLy.”

Bon Bon unwrapped the muffin and took a bite. She wasn’t that impressed to be honest. But in her defense, once you had a muffin from Derpy, muffins from anypony else never quite stood up to Derpy’s baking. Not even Bon Bon could rival her.

“Hey, what’s that?” Lyra asked and pointed her hoof at a large cloud of dust coming to town.

“Not sure,” Bon Bon squinted and her eyes widened. “Oh, sweet Celestia. It’s a stampede of those parasprite things Liza had earlier. They must have reproduced enough to create an infestation.”

Lyra ducked as the parasprites descended upon Sugarcube Corner and they watched in stunned silence as they ate the part of the building before two parasprites focused on the table Lyra and Bon Bon sat at.

“Hey!” Bon Bon snarled and swung a hoof at one, slamming it hard against the ground. Tears welled up in Lyra’s eyes as their bought goods were stolen. “That’s my muffin and her pie.”

“I’ve been sick the last three days. My back hurts, my hooves ache and my horn hurts. My nose is runny and I can’t stop vomiting, sneezing and coughing. This was one of the few things I had to look forward to and those fucking parasprites fucked my day up,” Lyra cursed angrily and Bon Bon gave her a shocked look. Lyra almost never cursed unless she was genuinely angry. Lyra barely even got angry unless it was serious enough.

“I’m so sorry Lyra. I’ll steal the recipe and make you one,” Bon Bon leaned over the pat her hoof. “Let’s go find Liza. It’s not safe for her to be around one of those things.”

Lyra nodded and the two galloped for the school house. That was pretty much the main place Liza and Dinky hung out at.

“Talk about a bad day for Celestia to visit, eh?”

Bon Bon cursed internally as she and Lyra skidded around a corner.

“Got that right.”

Bon Bon just hoped most of the houses weren’t damaged.