Broken Strings and Bucked Apples

Chapter 5: Beside the Limelight

After a night of dancing to some great songs that didn't completely annoy you, you decide to make your way through the crowd of dancing ponies as another song flips on, causing the lights in the room to dim slightly, only small laser-lights shining through a thin layer of smoke that coats the floor of Sugar Cube Corner. It's poppy, but not to the extent in which you want to gouge your eyes out with a rusty spork. It's a steady beat, with a smooth bassline and spacey keyboards. Soothing, actually. Making your way to the edge of the crowd, you approach the front counter of the bakery, where Pinkie Pie is bouncing back and forth to the rhythm of the song, her eyes shut tightly as her mane sways back and forth.

"Hey!" you shout over the pounding beat, causing the bubbly mare to open her eyes and look to you with a bright smile.

"Well what's up, rock star?!" she says, placing both hooves on the counter. "What can I getcha?" she asks, nearly yelling over the loud music blaring from the speakers.

You pause for a moment, looking to the display case behind her at the delectable cupcakes, cookies, and cakes lining the small glass case. After a few seconds, you point to the case and retrieve a few bits to pay for the treat.

"Uhh, the pink cupcake." you say, counting the bits in your hoof.

Pinkie retrieves the cupcake with split-second speed, and places it on the counter. Looking to your hoof, she gently pushes it away, shaking her head back and forth. You raise an eyebrow but put the bits away nonetheless, your expression clearly confused.

"Don't even worry about it! You play here, it's on the house!" she says, her bubbly voice slightly quieter as she moves closer over the counter.

"Oh, well thanks Pinkie!" you say happily, caught off guard by the generous gift.

She nods once and smiles as you walk away in the direction of several folding chairs and lightly-decorated tables. You can feel the chair squeak slightly as you set yourself in it, and turn to set your treat on the table in front of you. It had taken about an hour until your adrenaline rush from being on stage died down, reminding you how hungry you were. Your stomach groans and grumbles slightly as you raise the delectable baked good to your maw, savoring the taste of the fluffy pink frosting as it coats the inside of your mouth. If you hadn't just rocked your first show, you would place this at the top of your list for epic things that had happened this evening. The cupcake is pretty much bliss, just like all of Pinkie's other desserts, but even more blissful, is the sight you see when pulling the cupcake out of view. Sitting in front of you is your guitarist, Lyra. Her smile isn't the biggest you've ever seen, but it's definitely happy, her body swaying back and forth to the music as she looks to you, lights reflecting off of her eyes as they bounce throughout the room.

"Hey!" she says happily, resting one of her elbows on the table, still gently rocking to the rhythm.

You smile in return, swallowing your large bite of moist, delicious cupcake.

"Hey, when did you get here?!" you ask, setting the small treat back on the table.

"I snuck over when you were digging into that." she says with a giggle, pointing to the pink pastry on the table.

You chuckle in reply and shrug.

"I was hungry." you say with a smirk.

Lyra giggles again and points to it with a raised eyebrow.

"May I?" she asks quietly, almost inaudible over the blaring music.

You shake your head once quickly and push the cupcake towards her slightly.

"Oh, no, no problem, go right ahead." you say, your voice stuttering slightly.

You chide yourself silently in your mind, wondering why you seemed so jumpy just then. It's then you start to feel it again, the damned flutter. It intensifies as she picks the cupcake off of the table and takes a small nibble from it, a small spec of frosting sticking to her sea-grin lips as she pulls it away, smiling shyly. She looks adorable, a small spec of pink on her muzzle as she blinks, her two golden irises glowing against the neon lights of the room as she looks to you. You slowly raise a shaky hoof and point to her muzzle.

"Oh, hey, you've got a little-" you say, cutting yourself off, looking to your hoof.

It's shaking...

Why is it shaking?

Jeez, you're acting like you would around a school yard crush.

After a moment, you shrug and continue pointing your hoof to her, Lyra beginning to cross her eyes and look quizzically at her muzzle.

"I what?" she asks, slightly confused.

You lower your hoof and slide a few chairs down around the table, until you're sitting next to her, within hoof's reach of her muzzle, and the spec of frosting.

"Here..." you say gently, reaching your hoof to her once more.

She watches your hoof as it moves, your eyes locked with hers as you gently wipe away the frosting from her muzzle, her skin twitching slightly under your hoof's touch. You bring it back, eyes still trapped willingly within hers, and lick your hoof shyly with a nervous chuckle.

"Y-You had a little... Frosting... Heh..." you say, cursing yourself for stuttering like an idiot just then, and looking down in shame.

She giggles awkwardly and flashes a smile.

"Well thank you..." she says, looking downwards, a slight crimson coming over her face.

Before tonight, you would have never seen her in this sort of light. You'd just been seeing her as the kind-of-cute mare just starting out on guitar, trying to learn your band's songs before the first gig. But now, you'd seen how fun and crazy she could be. The full extent of her happiness and smile.

... And you like it.

As the song continues, you look back up to her, her eyes still glued to the floor and the blush still swelling in her cheeks.

"You look great tonight... Did I tell you that..?" you ask her, quietly.

The blush instantly deepens tenfold, and she looks back up to you. Well, the wall behind you to be exact. She's obviously avoiding eye-contact.

"N-No... At least I don't think so." she says, smiling shyly and looking into your eyes. "I think I'd remember if I'd gotten a compliment from you."

The flutter peaks in your chest, more intense than you'd ever felt it, nearly causing you to place a hoof on your chest for assurance that your entire being wasn't floating away.

For a moment, the two of you sit there in silence, music continually echoing throughout the walls of Sugar Cube Corner as ponies dance happily to the music. The bass from the song keeps thumping you in the chest, along with your heart beating fast, your mind running circles around itself over the mare next to you. Maybe you're into her? Maybe she's into you? No... She's your guitarist, why would she like you? She just wants to be in the band... That's it... Nothing here. You've never been too good with mares, you know? She'd probably friendzone you anywa-

Then you feel it. A hoof on your right leg. Specifically a brightly colored sea-green hoof, placed gently on your thigh as the mare beside you scoots closer.

Smoke seems to fill the rest of the building, and your head, as all of the ponies begin to disappear from the room. One-by-one poofing away until just the mare beside you is left, and she's scooting closer. The music becomes distant as the song ends, like you're hearing it from outside, but instantly fills your ears as another synth-y beat starts up.

You open your mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. Your beating heart has left you with a dry mouth and itchy pipes, along with a small bead of sweat beginning to form on your brow. Lyra continues sliding closer to you, nearly sitting on the same chair as you now, the side of her body almost rubbing against yours. Out of the corner of your eye, you see her look up, your head instinctively moving upwards as well to meet hers.

Her face is a lot closer than you thought.

"Thanks... For you know.. Pushing me into that solo up there..." she says nervously.

You quickly notice her blush as deep as it can be, a bead of nervous sweat sliding down her face as her body nearly trembles next to yours.

"It was... Really... Fun..." she says, giggling lightly, her voice becoming more quiet.

Something inside your mind and heart click. As if pieces just fell into play, and something really right or really wrong is going to happen. You lose complete control, the click in your mind taking over as your neck moves forward, not too fast, not too slow. Your eyes shut, body still not under your control, and you feel your lips touch against hers. You immediately expect her to pull away, and see stars as she slaps you silly with her hoof, but you don't feel it...

... You feel her push back.

Your lips are locked together as both parties push into the kiss, the sensitive skin of both your maws pressing against each other, warmth balling around your two muzzles as they meet in perfect harmony. Your eyes are still shut, but you can feel a hoof reach up and rest itself on your face as the two of you sit, lips together as the music spurs your rapidly beating heart.

It feels as though it lasts forever. A moment that won't stop for anything...

It feels so surreal...

You're kissing Lyra Heartstrings...

After a few more year-long seconds, you pull away from the tender kiss, nearly in-sync. Your eyes open groggily, instantly meeting hers as she looks to you, nearly pouting that the moment she had also treasured is now over. Your mind is moving so fast, you need to think of something to say... Should you talk? Or bask in the glory? Think fast-

"Sh-Should we do that again...?" you ask, your mind in a complete haze.

After a few seconds, she nods slowly, and leans in for another kiss, her lips pursing only slightly. You openly oblige, your body halfway back under your control.

The second kiss is just as blissful, her hoof coming to rest on your face once again as she presses her lips against yours, kissing you tenderly as the neon laser-lights scan across your faces. Almost as if scanning your faces and saying; "Holy shit, they're making out? Well then..."

Almost a minute later, the second kiss ends, and she pulls away, her eyes fluttering as a haze begins to take her as well.

She yawns gently and smiles shyly again, swirling a hoof in circles around your chest as she licks her lips.

"Well that was..." she says with a giggle, trailing off.

Horrible? Awful? Vomit-enducing?! You eagerly await her answer.

But you don't get one. Instead, she works her way under your limp foreleg, and rests her head against your chest, her horn facing outwards as she closes her eyes and sighs contentedly. It takes a quick moment for you to realize what she's trying to initiate, and you instinctively pull her a little bit closer with your foreleg, holding her tightly against your side as she runs her hoof up and down your stomach. You thought she might be a little into you from your late-night practice sessions, but you never honestly expected her to act on the little quirks and sly movements she made towards you.

It's no matter, at least you finally know what the flutter in your chest means, and that pony-aids is out of the question!

As you stroke her side and cuddle with her though, you start to remember another pony you felt the exact same flutter around... Somepony else who you'd been getting close to recently... Somepony beautiful...

Oh yeah...

Applejack.