Stability

Chapters

One Moment, Please
Lyra's Secret
Batmare
Tears
Liars, Lyras and Lyres
Celebrating the Lyra and Bon Bon Way
Lyra's Tiny Horn
Invitation
House of Horrors
The Auditions: Part One
The Auditions: Part Two
Batmare Returns
Breaking and Entering
Butt Touching
Batmare Doesn't Need Therapy
Good Versus Evil
Couch Forts
A Secret Mission
The Auditions: The Results

One Moment, Please

Lyra blankly stared at the grey mare who continued to pour over her menu. She wished she had taken that break.

“Yes? Do I know- Lyra? Lyra Heartstrings?”

The unicorn could but gaze in disbelief. A sudden fear washed over her as she questioned how her former marefriend would react to seeing her again.

To her surprise, Octavia stood up and hugged her. “How long has it been, Lyra? Two, three years?”

The mint mare’s brain slowly began to click as she processed the wall behind the booth that she was staring at. “Yeah.”

The classical musician released her giving her a disheartening look at the slow response. “It’s so great to see you again. And you’re doing well for yourself I see. We should catch up and swap musical adventures.”

Lyra couldn’t help but detect a hint of snarky sarcasm in the mare’s voice. “Well, I’m on break soon.” She looked at where she could be spending it. Her boss was not her favorite option. “That actually sounds like a great idea-”

“Hey waiter lady! My colt needs another juicebox!”

The unicorn almost groaned. “I’ll be right back. I’ve got a few more tables to get sorted out. Can I get you anything to drink?” She remembered Octavia’s love of finer beverages.

“Water would be fine, thanks.”

“Coming right up.” She was glad she wouldn’t have to bring out another wine glass. She had learned the hard way that those stains don’t come out.

After dropping off a juicebox, she grabbed a pitcher of water and poured it into a glass, excitedly trying to make her way back to where her high school sweetheart was seated. She was stopped one booth short of Octavia’s.

“Excuse me, waitress?”

“One moment, please.” She considered brushing this new intrusion off, but thought of how the pony had asked nicely. “Yes? How may I help you?”

The water glass shattered as it slipped from Lyra’s magical grasp.

“Oh, um, hi Bon Bon.”

Unknowingly back to back with Octavia sat the earth pony, a smile on her face.

“Did I surprise you? You sure look surprised.”

Lyra quickly found her breath to be ragged. “A- a little bit,” she wheezed.

“I decided that it would be a good idea to come visit you so you’re less lonely on break.”

The unicorn tripped over her words. “That- that’s cool. One moment, please.”

She quickly trotted over to Octavia’s booth, setting a broken glass on her table.

The musician giggled. It was that proper giggle that upscale ponies rarely did in public. “I don’t think there’s any water in there.”

She stared at the shattered glassware. “Right. One moment, please.”

Magically multitasking, she levitated a mop, broom and dustpan, making short work of the mess. Running on false urgency, she quickly grabbed another glass of water, setting it down on the table with a thud.

“I didn’t ask for any water.”

It was the voice of Bon Bon. Lyra looked up to gaze upon her marefried, quickly turning once more. “One moment, please.”

She found herself to be stopped by Bon Bon’s hoof. “Oh no you don’t. You need this break more than I thought. Those other tables can wait. Your sanity is much more important.” The earth pony directed her to sit in a seat, taking a sip of the water that had been set out for her.

“But... Oct-” She quickly caught herself. “Other tables.”

“No. No other tables. Sit down and relax.”

Lyra let her rear fall into the seat for a moment, contemplating. She looked at the smiling yet concerned face of her marefriend. She took a slow breath, almost pretending to relax. “One moment, please.”

She darted up from the seat once more, heading for the bathroom. “This is bad,” she muttered to herself as she entered it, this time positive that it was the mare’s. “Real bad.” The unicorn splashed some water on her face. “On the one hoof, Bon Bon is here. On the other, Octavia’s water.” She thought for a moment. “Octavia’s water!”

Seeing the dire emergency, she rushed out of the bathroom, quick to fill a glass. She barely stopped herself from running past Bon Bon’s table once more. In a split second decision, she snuck around the other end of the restaurant to where a gray earth pony was seated.

“Your water, Octavia,” she said proudly as she sat in the booth. She watched as the mare examined the glass-bound fluid.

“This isn’t water,” Octavia said. “It looks like,” she took a quick sip, “diet Sparkle Cola.”

Lyra looked at her, taking another deep breath. “One moment, please.”

“Actually, it’s fine. I was just about to head to the little filly’s room to freshen up a bit. Rest assured, I’ll be right back.”

The unicorn watched as she left, breathing a sigh of relief. She stood up and trotted one booth over to where Bon Bon was seated, to find that her marefriend was nowhere to be found. Panic shot the her, worrying if she scared her marefriend off. She spun around, frantically searching for where the pony could be, even going as as far as scanning the underside of the table.

“There you are, Lyra.”

“Bon Bon! Where’d you run off to?” she almost shouted nervously.

“Just the restroom.”

“Oh no,” the mare muttered to herself.

“It’s funny, really,” Bon Bon asserted as she strode over to seat herself. “I met a mare that looks surprisingly like your Octavia.”

Lyra looked side to side, trying to find some sort of escape. “Yeah, heh. It’s always interesting how mares can look alike.”

She was pulled into a seat by the candy maker, the pony glaring at her.

“Well, I had a nice chat with this mare. She told me a lot about you, Lyra.”

“I think I hear my boss calling,” the unicorn stammered quickly.

“She can wait.” Bon Bon’s stare bore down on her. She could almost feel herself sweating.

“She told me...” the earth pony moved closer, her stern look continuing to intensify. Lyra’s eyes shot open in surprise when Bon Bon’s lips came to hers. “She told me that you are a very nice mare, and that I’m lucky to have you.”

She felt like her breath had been taken away by a vacuum cleaner.

“Wait, what?”

“She told me that she’s glad that you found somepony that works for both of you.”

Lyra sat dumbstruck. There was no way that Bon Bon was telling the truth. Octavia had to have told her every last embarrassing little detail about their old relationship, and her current marefriend had to have done the same. It was the only logical turn of events.

“Lyra, are you alright?”

“Huh?” The mare shook her head, snapping out of her trance. “Oh, fine, fine. Is it really warm in here? It feels really warm.”

Regardless of the mare staring at her, Lyra released a sigh of relief. The worst of her conversation was over.

“It was very interesting meeting you here, Bon Bon.”

Or not.

“Likewise, Miss Octavia.”

The unicorn slowly turned to see that the earth pony had crept up on them.

“I’d love to chat more, but I really need to head out. A musician needs her practice. Treat that crazy unicorn well, Miss Bon Bon.”

Lyra emptily opened her mouth, about to beg for a moment to chat with Octavia, but quickly decided that was not in her best interests. She watched as the grey mare began to walk away, only to see her spin around and move close to Bon Bon.

“And don’t forget about Lyra’s little secret that I told you about,” the mare whispered to her earth pony, causing her to giggle.

She was positive that she wasn’t supposed to hear that.

Little secret? What could that mean? Lyra’s mind quickly ran through every little thing she had done in the past that Octavia had caught wind of.

Let’s see, she thought. There was the string-tension-projectile incident, although that’s not really a secret. There was that time that I switched the playlist to Metallicolt and Dream Pasture while the Princesses were visiting. Again, not a secret. What could it be?

Her eyes widened while her face flushed. Oh no... She didn’t tell her about that with truth or dare when I admitted that did she? The mare found herself sinking into her seat. There were some things that not even Bon Bon should know.

“I’ll see you this Saturday!” the gray mare called as she slowly trotted out of the restaurant.

Once again, the unicorn’s ears perked up. “Saturday? What happens Saturday?”

“Octavia is going to bring a friend or two over to help keep the sweet shop open. You’re not working then, are you?”

“No...” Lyra was worried that if she sunk into the seat any more, she would become attached to it.

Great. Not only did the love of her life meet her past marefriend, but they had become best friends in the five minutes they had known each other

“Good,” Bon Bon replied, only to stare at the mare inquiringly. “Lyra, are you feeling alright? You’re looking a little pale.”

“What? No, I’m doing fine. Just I...” She quickly scanned the room for some sort of excuse to escape the questioning look of her marefriend. “I forgot Octavia’s water!”

She made an attempted at running out the door of the restaurant to find herself running in place, her tail caught in Bon Bon’s muzzle.

“I honestly don’t know what has gotten into you, Lyra. It’s almost like you are keeping a nice little secret.” She watched the earth pony smirk. She had to be toying with her.

The unicorn’s eyes jumped around the room, landing on everything except for Bon Bon. She was about to make up another fake excuse, when a real one came.

"Heartstrungs! Get in here!"

The one thing she didn't want to do: have a chat with her boss that didn't even know her name.

“Bon Bon, I’m going to have to head in there. Y’know, so I don’t get fired.”

The cream colored mare smiled. “Of course. I’ll see you later tonight; make sure you hurry home.” The pony quickly kissed her on the cheek, trotting out into the street. Lyra questioned what she was so excited about.

“Lee-ra! Hurry it up!”

There was no point in not quitting if she didn’t at least try to not get fired. Hurriedly, she trotted into the office of her boss.

“Yes, Miss Swirl?”

“Have a seat, I wanted to update you on your hours.”

Lyra quickly complied, plopping into a wooden chair.

“Now, I know you’ve only been working here a couple of days and are still learning the ropes, but you really need to step it up. Better service means better tips, which means I don’t have to feel bad for giving you minimum wage.”

Because her boss must just feel devastated.

“That being said, I’m going to have to ask you to come in on Saturday. Spring Skies is having a baby or something stupid like that, and won’t be able to make it. I thought she was just fat.”

Lyra thought she hated this mare before, but apparently hadn’t learned what hate meant.

“Are we understood?”

At this point, the unicorn considered that it may be worth it to get fired. Her thoughts quickly floated to those of the mare she had back home, and how she couldn’t disappoint the one pony who trusted her. “Yes ma’am.”

“Good, now get out of my sight.”

The mint green pony quickly trotted out of her chair, wanting to leave the presence of her boss as fast as she possibly could. She found her body running on autopilot as she resumed waiting tables. Her thoughts drifted to her dilemma; on the one hoof, she has a job that brings her money, however little it is. On the other hoof, she has a mare that brings her multiple forms of love, and it seemed like either way, she was going to disappoint her.

This will be a fun conversation when she gets back home.

*** *** ***

“That monster! She can’t just expect you to drop everything and come in this weekend!”

“Apparently she had expected an eleven-month pregnant mare to do it instead.”

Lyra had danced around the subject as long as she could, but there was no way that she could just not tell Bon Bon. Her marefriend’s reaction was worse than she had expected; she had hoped for her to just push it aside, but nothing was going right for the unicorn this day.

“I have half a mind to march on over than and punch her lights out for this!”

Lyra had to kiss her for that. “I’m sure we could get an angry mob going with the way she treats both her employees and her customers.”

Bon Bon’s gaze softened. “I still wonder why you took that job.”

“For you, of course. That, and to infiltrate the establishment and find out what all these waiters are up to.” Lyra was glad to see the mare laugh, the tension being released.

The unicorn hopped onto the couch and reclined back, quickly followed by Bon Bon. She let out an exhausted sigh. This day had been better than her first, and the customers seemed to get a bit better about tipping, but she was absolutely worn out. She much worry and stress had been put on her mind ever since Octavia showed up. The things that she told her marefriend still lingered in her mind.

“Hey, Bon Bon,” she started, receiving a ‘hmm?’ in return. “What else did you and Octavia talk about in those few minutes?”

“Oh, this and that. She confirmed that you never saved her from a dragon.”

“Alright, so I stretched the truth a bit with that one, but really. What did she tell you?”

Bon Bon laughed. “Just some of her hopes and dreams. Innermost desires and things like that.”

The unicorn sat up. “Really, what did she say?”

“Nothing important.”

Letting out a heavy exhale, Lyra moved closer to her. “Look, if she told you about that time during freshman year at college that replaced all the textbooks with Playpony magazines, the professors totally deserved that.”

“Oh, it’s nothing like tha- wait. That was you? I failed my biology final because of that!”

“Whoops.” She wished she hadn’t let that one slip.

“Where did you even get all thos- nevermind. I don’t want to know.”

“Well you see, there was a store down by the-”

“I don’t want to know!” the earth pony interrupted.

“Alright, alright. Well if that’s not my secret, then what is?”

Bon Bon shook her head, putting on her best pout. “I’m not telling you.”

The unicorn searched her brain, finding it far too exhausting to run through everything she had done in the past. She eventually landed on the notion that if she couldn’t get the information out of Bon Bon, she could at least make her squirm.

“Say, since I told you one of my secrets, how about you tell me one of yours?”

“I’m not sure I want to.”

“Come on! It’s only fair.”

The mare sighed. “Fine, but only because you ask ever so nicely.” She inhaled before she began her story. “You remember back during freshmen year when they didn’t have enough carrot cake for everypony that one week?”

“Yes?” Lyra replied, her word dripping with anticipation.

“And you remember how they said you can only have one slice?”

“Yes, and?”

“Even though they said that, I took two.”

Lyra drew back in mock shock. “Oh my Celestia, that is groundbreaking and devastating. I can’t even stand to look at you. You: the great carrot cake thief.” She dropped her act and frowned. “Really, do you have a secret that isn’t lame? Turning on the sprinklers? Throwing a smoke bomb? Clogging all the toilets? Because I’ve seen what you can do and-”

“Lyra!”

“Sorry.” The unicorn figured out that it was best not to take it down that road. “But really, do you have any really big secrets? Go back to your rebellious days. Y’know, back when you’d stay out until 9:01 or use the oven when your parents weren’t home.”

Bon Bon couldn’t help but laugh. “Well, there is one thing.”

The mint pony found herself scooting closer. “Well don’t just leave me in suspense. Spill the beans!”

“Well, it was some years ago. I was going about my college life like a normal pony, but then I decided to do something crazy.”

“And that was?”

“I decided to run off with this wacky mare, and we went on all sorts of adventures. There was dinner, dancing, and all sorts of fun. We went to clubs and shows. We had a really good time together.”

Lyra was visibly surprised. “Really? I never expected you to live a bit on the wild side. Must have taken quite the mare to do that. Who was she?”

“It was you, Lyra Heartstrings.”

The unicorn’s face contorted as she realized that she had her own love story recited back to her, but she found herself laughing it off. “Kind of funny. I remember sitting in the back of a nightclub with a reserved earth pony who didn’t want to interact with the crowd. Took a while to get her to dance, but with my unicorn charm, anything is possible.”

She felt Bon Bon’s lips come to hers. “Well I’m glad you remember and still cherish that.”

“Yeah, Octavia was a nice mare.” Her comment was met with a swift jab to her shoulder. “Yeah, I deserved that.”

Despite the abrasiveness of the pony, Bon Bon laughed. “You’re really something, you know that?”

“Apparently there’s a lot of things that I don’t know, but that’s not one of them.”

She watched as Bon Bon yawned and hopped off the couch. The mare made her way to the stairs.

“Well, I’m going to head to bed. Hopefully I won’t be alone for long, because I hear that somepony has a little secret, and I want to find out about it.”

“Oh,” Lyra said, surprised, her face losing all of it’s color. “So it’s one of those secrets.”

Lyra's Secret

It was one of those secrets.

Lyra awoke, still completely dumbfounded by the events of the previous night. She looked to her left to see that the space Bon Bon would normally occupy was empty. The mare shook her head as she began to talk to herself.

“Of all the things that Octavia had to tell her, she had to tell her that? I mean, not that I’m complaining... That was... Different...” The unicorn let out a lengthy sigh. “I’m going to have to have a word with that pony. Spreading those things around about ponies is not cool. Well... It was nice...”

Lyra groggily hopped out of bed, her weighted eyelids urging her to fall back over; last night had completely worn her out. Her eyes half closed, she scanned the room for a clock, finding it in its usual place. The numbers that stared back at her forced her eyes open with a start.

“Twelve-thirty!? Cinnamon Swirl will have my head!”

Her horn glowed and her magical aura enveloped her work uniform. She hurriedly trotted down the stairs, running into Bon Bon as she turned the corner. The mare found herself in a tangled pile of limbs; she suddenly didn’t mind the delay.

“Well aren’t you in a hurry. I’m surprised you have so much energy after last night.”

Lyra could tell that her marefriend could see her blushing. She shook her head vigorously. “Sorry, Bon Bon. I’m late for work and need really need to get going.” The unicorn hopped to her hooves and helped the other mare up, grasping her uniform with her magic once more.

Before she could sprint out the door, the earth pony restrained her with a loving hoof, drawing her in close. Their lips passionately locked for a little longer than Lyra expected; nothing to complain about. It felt like time stopped for a moment before her marefriend halted her assault, releasing her imprisoned lips.

Lyra stood dazed for a moment before shaking her head once more. She couldn’t afford any more beautiful distractions, no matter how much she wanted them. Her hooves started back up again as she resumed her rush. “Love you, bye!” she shouted while she exited the sweet shop.

Immediately, the pony entered deep-thought-mode as she found herself slowly trotting down the road

She really did love that mare she lived with, which made it that much harder to decide what she was going to do about her job. She searched her brain for an answer that would satisfy both her boss and her marefriend. Without that job, there goes an almost good amount of income, but this upcoming saturday seemed really important to Bon Bon, and if it was important to her lover, it was important to herself.

The unicorn almost entered full gallop down the road leading to her workplace as a sudden realization hit her: she was still late. She occasionally tripped when she attempted to put on her uniform while running. Her shirt mostly buttoned, the café peeked over the horizon.

She barreled through the front door, tripping and then clambering back to her hooves as she tried to make her way to the back of the restaurant. Her back was soon met with the ground, her body flipping over in her rush the moment she entered her boss’ office.

“Tartstrings? Do you realize how long I’ve been waiting for you to show up?”

Lyra cowered on the floor, preparing herself to be fired on the spot.

“Celestia, look at you. You look like you just came from a wild mare’s bedroom.”

The unicorn nervously tried to chuckle, but it came out as more of a squeak; she knew that wasn’t far from the truth at all. She slowly picked herself up to her hooves trying to look natural by dusting herself off and running a hoof through her mane. “Well, you see, I was just-”

“I don’t care about your life. Now get to work. You have one strike.”

“Yes ma’am. It won-”

“And fix your Luna-dang shirt already! Honestly, how hard is it to hire some skank to dress you up in the morning?”

Lyra looked down to see that she had missed a couple, or six, buttons putting it on. Although she absolutely hated her marefriend having any relation to the word “skank”, she grumbled and complied. Lucky for her boss’ safety, she let the accidental reference slide.

With a sigh, she turned and trotted out of the office. She was greeted with a very loud and obnoxious Everfree Café.

“Oh, Celestia,” she muttered to herself. “The lunch rush.”

“Where the hay are my hay fries?”

Lyra looked at the floor as she trotted over, hardly ready to begin to tend to the needs of the customers. “And it begins.”

*** *** ***

The mint green unicorn’s hooves scraped against the dirt. Her head hung low as she wobbled on the path to Bon Bon’s sweet shop. Today, however shortened her work day was, was absolutely exhausting for her. The customers only seemed to become more and more irritating as the day went on, and her boss’ manure-like attitude helped push her to her breaking point. Her decision was definitely made; there was no way that she would be coming in on Saturday just to serve these subpony monsters. It was much, much more attractive to spend the day with the mare she loved.

The door creaked open slowly when the mare pushed it open. Bon Bon was right about business being slow, although it was rather late for customers. She slowly walked through the house, removing her dirty work uniform and calling out to her marefriend with a classic “Honey, I’m home!”

She turned a corner into the kitchen and soon found herself trapped in the loving embrace of a cream colored more. Instantly, she returned the hug, adding a small kiss to go with it.

“Listen,” the earth pony told her as she broke away. “I thought about the whole ordeal with your boss wanting you to come in on Saturday, and I decided that I don’t mind if you work that day. I realized that the only reason you took that job was for me, and it was one of the kindest things anypony has ever done for me.”

Lyra felt her gaze softening. She snickered a little before breaking out into full laughter.

“What is it?” Bon Bon questioned, looking her body over and fluffing her mane. “Do I have something in my teeth? Did I use the wrong conditioner again?”

The unicorn slowed down her laughter. “Oh, no. It’s nothing like that. It’s just that I made a choice too, and I don’t think we’re on the same page here”

“What? Are you going to finally cancel your subscription to Fillyfooler magazine?”

“Well, no, but- Hey! They have good articles!”

The earth pony rolled her eyes. “Right. So what is this choice?”

Lyra draped a caring hoof around the mare’s shoulder. “I decided that you’re far more important to me than some crappy job and a crappy boss.”

“Wait, so you’re quitting?”

“More of preparing to get fired, but all the same, it’s for our own good.”

Lyra watched her marefriend look down and shake her head. The pony looked up to reveal one of the most beautiful smiles that the unicorn had ever seen. She felt her body hit the floor as she was tacked by the mare, her torso tightly squeezed by Bon Bon’s hooves.

“Hey! Bon! We don’t have a couch fort under us this time!”

The cold of the kitchen floor was cancelled by the warmth of the pony on top of her. Her lips were pecked with small, loving kisses from the earth pony. Lyra questioned how long this would last before it escalated, the lack of oxygen she was getting under the weight of the pony worrying her.

“You know what, Bon Bon?” the unicorn wheezed.

“What’s that?”

“You do have something in your teeth.”

The mare hopped off of her, a horrified expression on her face. Lyra took a deep gulp of air while she hopped to her hooves.

“Gotcha. I just needed to breath.”

Bon Bon shook her head. “You... You really know how to kill the mood. My weight has never been a problem before...”

Lyra immediately saw the cause for alarm, rushing over to the pony and not as forcefully wrapping her in her hooves. “No, no. Don’t you ever think that.” She kissed her deeply. “It’s just that usually we’re covered in pillows, or on something soft. Kitchen floors are rough on the back; you and I both know that.”

The earth pony smirked, reminded of past adventures. “But really? My teeth? If I had wings, they’d be drooping right now.”

“I’m just saying that a nice warm bed is a lot more comfortable than a cold hard floor.” Lyra searched her brain, trying to find something, anything that could give her another shot tonight. Her eyes brightened as they came up with something. “And about your teeth...”

“Yeah? What about them?”

The mare leaned up to the earth pony’s ear. “I could help clean them for you.”

“Well, there we go. My imaginary wings are back up again.”

Bingo.

*** *** ***

The pair laid together, Bon Bon resting her head on Lyra’s lap and idly examining her hooves while the unicorn flipped through the ironic weekly issue of Equestria Today. The mint pony heard her marefriend let out a sigh while she turned another page, but pinned it on satisfaction as opposed to attention needing.

“Lyra?” the mare said, slightly shifting.

The unicorn turned another page, completely engrossed in whatever she was reading.

“Lyra,” the pony said a little more forcefully.

Luckily, that got her attention, the golden-eyed pony answering with a “Hmm?”

“I know you’re reading Fillyfooler magazine.”

Lyra looked up from the pages. “Pfft. Am not.” The earth pony tore away the fake cover, revealing the posing mares on the front. “Okay, I am. What’s it matter?”

“Well, I mean, you never let me read.” The cream mare put on her best pout.

Her eyes lighting up, the unicorn put down the magazine. “Oh, really? I didn’t think you liked this sort of stuff. Here.” She hoofed the suggestive pages over to her. “Sapphire Shores did a big, and I mean big, reveal, and Photo Fini-”

She was interrupted by the sound of the magazine hitting the wall. Before she could protest, her marefriend spoke up.

“Listen, something has been bothering you, and you need to tell me what it is.”

“What? No, nothing is bothering me. I’m perfectly fine. I’m not anxious or anything,” the unicorn stammered.

“I never said you were anxious.”

“Oh. Well, you implied it.”

“Lyra, tell me what it is.”

The mare took a breath. “Fine, I’ll tell you.” Her eyes frantically scanned the room for some sort of device she could use as an excuse. “Could I get that magazine back?”

“No.”

“Alright, fine.” She looked upon her current marefriend. “It’s Octavia.”

“What about her?”

“Don’t you find it kind of weird that she would tell you about... me?”

“You aren’t exactly normal yourself, dear.”

“Everypony’s laughing,” Lyra scoffed. “But really, why would she tell you about that? I’m kind of worried that she may want to...”

“Want to what, Lyra?”

“That she may want to take me away from you.”

Bon Bon almost laughed. “I suppose you’ll get to ask her tomorrow. I don’t know where you get your reasoning sometimes, Lyra. If anything we’re much closer since she let that secret of yours slip.”

“Well... yeah.” Lyra blushed. “But still, it’s strange.”

The earth pony climbed up the body of her marefriend, planting a firm and, from Lyra’s perspective, delicious kiss on her lips. “Don’t worry about a thing. I’m not letting you out of my hooves. Ever.”

The unicorn smiled at that. She was happy to have such a caring marefriend.

“And besides, I’m positive that I’m the only mare that would take you.”

It was Lyra’s turn to roll her eyes. “Thanks, Bon Bon. You always make me feel so much better.” She stuck her tongue out at the mare to further her point, but quickly drew it back in fear that it would end up in Bon Bon’s mouth. It was hard to be cute with her.

“Anyway, I think it’s about time for this foolish filly to go to bed.” Bon Bon kissed the mare, rolling back over to her side of the mattress. “Goodnight.”

“Yeah,” the unicorn replied, turning out the lights with her magic. “Goodnight.”

Silence enveloped the room quickly. Lyra took it as an invitation to shuffle over and open the drawer to her magazine stash. She immediately grabbed the old issue on top.

“Put it back.”

The unicorn grumbled, loudly shutting the drawer.

*** *** ***

Dawn broke upon Lyra. She stretched, sat up, yawned and licked her lips to force her mind awake. To her delight, they still tasted like Bon Bon. The mare hopped out of bed, scratching her hindquarters and making her way to the bathroom for her morning shower. She could hear her marefriend downstairs making preparations for Octavia and her company that would be arriving soon.

The sound of the water flowing forth instantly began to calm her nerves; it had been a stressful past few days for her, and she really needed some relaxation, however brief it may be. She stepped into the artificial downpour, stretching once more.

The soothing water flowed through her mane, her mind immediately drifting into contemplation mode, as it had done so many times before. Images of the gray mare that had re-entered her life almost haunted her. She stared at the situation at hand. Was it really alright for her current lover to be best buddies with her ex-marefriend? It just screamed problems for her.

Worse; what if she wasn’t trying to take her away from Bon Bon, but Bon Bon away from her? No doubt that the cream earth pony she loved was an unbelievably attractive mare, and Octavia was as well. What’s to stop them from getting together? It continued to solidify in Lyra’s mind how lucky she was to have her and how tentative that seemed.

She let out a deep and almost depressed sigh, levitating some shampoo to her mane and reaching up with her hooves to wash it. The warm water’s ability to provoke thoughts was a double edged sword, bringing as many questions as it did answers. She felt like she could contemplate indefinitely if it wasn’t for a knock on the door.

“Lyra? When are you going to be out? Other ponies need to shower too.”

Back to reality.

“Well come on in; there’s room for two!” She was testing the waters, trying to gauge Bon Bon’s chance of leaving her.

To her disappointment, it wasn’t a yes or even a laugh. “Lyra, this is serious. Octavia will be here any minute with some friends. I need to make sure they help out the shop, and I can’t do that if I smell like... You know exactly what I smell like.”

She did have a point. “Alright, alright. I’m getting out,” the unicorn grumbled, opening the shower door and levitating a towel. She magicked open the bathroom door, wrapping and drying her mane. With a smile, she turned to her marefriend who was impatiently waiting on the other side.

“Y’know, I like the way you smell.”

She received a kiss in return. “I know you do, Lyra. I know you do.” The earth pony smiled. “Now if they arrive early, let them in and tell them I’ll be down in a minute. I don’t know how exactly they’ll be helping out, but Octavia seemed pretty sure she could help us. Oh, and one more thing.” She stared at her marefriend. “Please be nice to our guests. They’re doing us a massive favor, and we don’t want to scare them off.”

Lyra continued to dry herself off with the towel. “Yeah, they’re probably these snobby Canterlot types. Octavia always did like to surround herself with them. Don’t worry, I know how to deal with their kind.” With a wink, she tossed the towel into the trash bin and trotted down the stairs, watching just long enough to see Bon Bon rolling her eyes.

The kitchen happily greeted her and vice-versa, her magic reaching out and grabbing various breakfast items and stuffing her face with them as fast as she could. No sooner had she seated herself upon a nearby chair that the doorbell rang.

Grumbling and continuing to eat her food, she trotted over to the door. Running on autopilot, she reached out to the door, stopping when she remembered what Bon Bon told her. The piece of toast hanging from the corner of her mouth was quickly gobbled up along with the rest of the breakfast Lyra was levitating. She cleared her throat and opened the door.

“I have a package for you!”

Lyra almost jumped back in surprise at the sight of the grey pegasus. She quickly recovered, looking around to make sure nopony else saw her surprise. Regaining her bearings, she trotted towards the door with a smile, always glad to see the perpetually happy pony. “Thanks, Derpy,” she said as she received her thin package.

“No problem Miss Heartstrings! Have a nice day!” The mare flew off, accidentally gyrating in the air before gliding on a steady plane. Lyra laughed at her antics. She always wondered how a featherbrain like her could be so happy all the time.

She shrugged, shutting the door and levitating the package in front of her. “Oh!” the unicorn exclaimed, looking over where it’s from. “It must be my new issue of Batmare. I’ll have to read it tonight.” Her gaze narrowed. “Especially if Bon Bon really wants to get rid of all my copies of Fillyfooler.

Her magic enveloped nearby scissors and hovered them above the package before she heard another knock at the door. With an irritated sigh, she dropped them, lethargically trotting over to the front of the candy shop. She sometimes wondered why people didn’t just walk in. It was a store, after all.

The door opened with a creak, revealing a white unicorn idly standing on the other side of it. Again, Lyra was surprised, but this time for a different reason. Her eyes slowly scanned the mare in front of her; she didn’t look like some sort of snobbish Canterlot nobility that Octavia would hang out with. Not that Lyra had been around high-class elite recently, but she was positive they didn’t wildly spike their manes. This pony looked like an absolute party animal.

“Hello? Can I help you?” There was no way this could be a member of Octavia’s company. The pearl-white unicorn opened her mouth respond, but slowly shut it awkwardly. Lyra questioned if the mare was mute. In a flash, the mare’s eyes, or what could be seen of them through her glasses, lit up, her horn glowing and levitating out a piece of paper.

“Oh yeah, ‘Tavi said I should read this note so I don’t embarrass her or something.” This only perplexed Lyra more, but the pony continued on, clearing her throat and beginning to recite the words on the paper.

“Miss Lyra Heartstrings and Miss Bon Bon-- can you believe she wrote ‘Miss’?-- My name is Vinyl Scratch, and I will be providing entertainment this evening outside of the store. I will be playing the filth that young colts and fillies enjoy entitled ‘dubstep’-- her uneducated opinion, not mine-- in hopes that such noise will draw ponies to Miss Bon Bon’s sweet shop here.”

Lyra stood, baffled. Who was this mare that apparently Octavia, of all ponies, had sent? Definitely couldn’t be one of her friends, that was for sure. “Excuse me, Miss, uh, Vinyl. Is-”

“Drop the ‘Miss’.”

“Right, Vinyl. So Octavia sent you here to do what exac-”

“Keep your panties on. There’s more in the note.” She coughed once more and started again. “Octavia will be arriving momentarily to assist me in my endeavors-- I don’t even know what that means-- to draw customers and blah blah blah. Whatever.” The pony tossed the note behind her. “Anyway, you must be Lyra. Nice to meet you.” The green unicorn felt her arm shake as it was vigorously shaken by one called Vinyl.

Lyra raised her eyebrow, thoroughly confused as to why, of all ponies, Octavia sent her. That note didn’t help her at all. “So, Octavia hired a DJ?”

“Pfft. No. I came here because it was in my best interests. And she asked nicely. Who can say no to that sexy bowtie toting mare?”

Yeah, and Bon Bon was worried about Lyra embarrassing her.

“Anyway, where do I set up?”

The sudden host looked past the mare, immediately intimidated by the piles of music equipment. “Um, anywhere is fine, I guess. Let me go get Bon Bon.”

“Cool. It will be up in a jiff.”

Lyra nodded, slowly walking backwards away from the mare. She didn’t know if she should be impressed with or scared of the DJ. Once she was out of sight, she turned and almost galloped up the stairs, heading up to where Bon Bon was readying herself for the day.

“Hey, uh, Bon. Octavia’s friend is here.”

“Friend? Like, singular?”

“Yeah.”

Bon Bon looked at her, visibly confused. “I was under the impression that she was bringing an orchestra or something.”

“Well we may still have more than we bargained for. Take a look.” Lyra led her to the window where they could see that pony called Vinyl fumbling with some tangled cables leading up to massive speakers.

“Oh... My... Are those lights?”

“Looks like it.”

Bon Bon shrugged. “Well I Octavia said that she would help bring business. I suppose police may count.”

Lyra had to snicker. “You haven’t even met her yet. Come on, let’s go.”

The earth pony ran a brush through her mane a couple more times before following her marefriend out of their bathroom and back down the stairs. Lyra questioned why she put so much time into her appearance when it was just going to get messed up by making and selling candies all day.

The door opened just in time for the pair to be blasted with a wave of sound from the massive amplifiers. Vinyl looked over at them. Lyra was sure she saw the perplexed look on her and Bon Bon’s faces, as the white unicorn quickly shouted “Sound check!”

Lyra could tell that her marefriend was fighting the urge to facehoof.

“I don’t believe we’ve met. My name is Bon Bon.” Despite the situation, the earth pony still introduced herself as she would any other pony.

“Vinyl!” The mare responded, shouting over her headphones. Lyra wasn’t sure that the Vinyl even heard Bon Bon.

“Well it’s nice to meet yo-” Bon Bon was interrupted by another wave of sound tearing through the speakers.

The DJ slowly removed her headphones, placing them on the soundboard in front of her. With them she placed her glasses and shook her mane. Lyra was impressed; the unicorn had already set up everything she needed. That magic works wonders. She was about to open her mouth to address the pony, but she was cut off by a familiar and welcome voice.

“There you are, Vinyl. Glad to see that you’re all ready and set up. I hope you at least had the decency to greet our gracious hosts.” The gray mare approached, a bagged cello slung across her back

“Of course I have. That’s Tauntaun and that’s Skyra.” Closer than Lyra’s boss ever got. Octavia shot the DJ a heavy gaze. “Just messin’ with you, ‘Tavi.”

The earth pony sighed. “Well, you haven’t destroyed everything in your path yet, so that’s a good sign.”

Lyra heard the white unicorn grumble something along the lines of “That was one time.” Octavia approached her and her marefriend.

“I’m terribly sorry about her. She’s... She’s something else. But she’s good at drawing ponies, nevertheless, and I know how much young fillies and colts like her hip new music.” The pony sighed, looking at the cello on her back.

“Oh, cheer up, ‘Tavi. No need to be a Debbie downer all the time.” Vinyl had dismounted from her position on top of her makeshift stage.

Octavia turned from Lyra and Bon Bon. “I’d be much, much more cheerful if you didn’t go around embarrassing me everywhere we visit. Honestly, I don’t know why I drag you around sometimes.” The classical musician let out a startled “eep!” as Vinyl’s hoof made contact with her flank.

“Because you know I make it worth your while.”

My... That’s... Inappropriate, Lyra thought to herself. A smile quickly broke across her face. I think me and her are going to get along just fine.

Octavia made several attempts at responding, but was too flustered to address the unicorn. The deep red hue of her face confirmed so.

“Wait...” Lyra observed. “You two are together?”

The gray mare still couldn’t speak, so Vinyl took over. “Yep! She’ll never admit it, but she just can’t get enough of me. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve-”

“You can stop there, Vinyl!” Octavia finally broke through her embarrassment. “You don’t need to tell everypony we meet about that.”

The DJ quickly wrapped her hooves around the mare, pecking her on the cheek and whispering something that Lyra couldn’t quite make out. It was obviously a doozy based off the intensity to which Octavia’s blush returned.

Bon Bon found this to be an optimal time to cough. “Well, I guess if you’re all ready, we can start... whatever it is you’re here to do.”

Vinyl’s eyes lit up. “On it!” She quickly darted up to her DJ plat form, throwing her glasses back upon her face. She quickly levitated out a record and tossed it upon her turntables. Lyra looked over to see Octavia covering her ears with her hooves. The green unicorn assumed that it was because she disliked the music.

She was wrong.

Her hooves almost slipped out from under her at the blast from the massive speakers. Her hooves found her way to her own ears, covering them with as much force as she could. It was just so... loud. She quickly realized that it wasn’t headphones seated upon the DJ’s ears; it was ear protection.

Lyra assumed that Vinyl got the hint to turn it down from seeing all the ponies covering their ears on the floor. “Too loud?” she inquired.

Not that any of the other ponies would have heard her over their ringing ear drums.

Seeing Bon Bon, laying on the ground, Lyra quickly dedicated the next passing moments to helping the candy maker to her hooves.

“Oh Celestia. I think we’ll draw as many noise complaints as we will customers.”

Good, she was still alive after that blast.

“Yeah, but even complaining people like candy,” the unicorn responded. “So either way, perfect for business. If anyone asks, we don’t know her.”

Bon Bon smiled in return.

Lyra turned around to see what damage the wave had done to the delicate ears of Octavia, but was surprised to see that Octavia had not only recovered, but was trotting towards them. She supposed that the grey mare was already so used to the sounds of Vinyl’s bass. Closer inspection revealed that she was carrying some papers in her muzzle.

“What are these?” she questioned.

“Noise permits.”

“Ah.” She levitated them out of Octavia’s grasp. “I could see how we would need those.” Bon Bon eagerly snatched them, taking them inside. “I can tell that this isn’t your first time with...” Lyra looked at the pony balancing a record on her nose. “Her.”

Octavia nodded, not feeling the need to respond.

“How long have you two been together?”

“About three or so years.”

Three years? Lyra’s thoughts began to spin. That’s about as long as long as me and Bon Bon have been together. She cleared her throat. “So about after we...”

“Broke it off? Yes.”

The unicorn subconsciously decided that now would be a good time to stare at the ground and idly dig at it with her hoof. Silence engulfed them. She wasn’t sure if Octavia was even still there, but decided to ask a question anyway. “How... How did you two meet?”

“Oh, well I was walk-”

Their conversation, if it was even deserving of the term, was interrupted by another wave of bass from the speakers. Vinyl had a mic levitated in front of her face. “Alright, are we going to start this thing or what?”

“You sure this will work?” Lyra questioned how effective blasting music would be to attract customers.

“Not sure, but, if anything, it will give Bon Bon’s store more publicity. Where is she, anyway? I’d like to have a quick word with her.”

“Probably doing some last minute preparations inside. Go on in, it’s just about time for the store to open.”

Octavia nodded. “Could you tell Vinyl that we’re ready to start.”

“Sure thing. She sure looks ready.” The DJ looked almost bored. “Well, ready enough.” Lyra had actually be wanting an opportunity to talk with that mare. It seemed to her that they had the potential to share a few jokes together.

She excitedly trotted over to the unicorn. The white pony jumped up upon seeing her. “We gonna start this? Can I finally spin some records. Lyra nodded. “Alright! Let’s do this!”

Lyra could have sworn that the next wave of bass woke Luna up.

*** *** ***

“...then I told her ‘You’re my little candy-ass,’ and I think that’s what really won her over.”

“Nice, nice.” Vinyl took another sip of her cider.

Octavia’s idea to attract customers had gone perfectly. Better than perfect. It got to the point where Bon Bon had to bring Lyra and Octavia inside to help with all the customers. Even better for them, the police only showed up once, and, after seeing the appropriate permits, bought some candy and pledged to return. It was only when the candy maker’s stock, including her emergency supply, had run out that they had to call it quits late in the afternoon.

Lyra and Vinyl found themselves sitting in the living room, drinking cider and sharing past stories while their marefriends were off in the kitchen doing something or other. The green unicorn was having so much fun that she had almost completely forced out of her mind that she would be fired on monday for skipping the day she was asked to come in. It just didn’t matter to her.

“Wait ‘till you hear this one,” the DJ said to her, looking to her left and right to make sure the gray mare wasn’t listening in. “This one time, back when we were in the ‘let’s try this dating thing out for a bit’ stage, I took her to Dream Pasture concert. I don’t think she got the memo for what to wear, because when I go to pick her up, she comes out in a dress and with a fan in the cleft of her hoof.”

“No way! Really?” Lyra was surprised at how some of the white unicorn’s musical tastes ran parallel to her own. Despite being raised on classical, she still enjoyed nice progressive tracks.

“Yup. So I tell her to go change because it’s not one of those symphonic performances that she likes so much. She didn’t let me help her out of the dress, so I had to sit outside the door. She comes out, and she still has that dinky little bowtie on.”

“Wow, so she really didn’t get the message?”

“That’s not all.” Vinyl took another sip of her cider. “When we get there, I take her to the bar, because, y’know, she really needs to loosen up a bit, so we’re at the bar, and she asks the barcolt-” she cleared her throat and put on her best Octavia-voice, “Excuse me, sir, but may I have a glass of your finest champagne?”

Lyra couldn’t contain her laughter; not because of the story, but because Vinyl’s impression of the mare was spot on. She narrowly prevented herself from spilling the cider all over the rug in front of the couch. “That’s good. Now I’m going to have to try to top it.”

“Yeah, good luck.” Vinyl smirked. “All though you’d probably have some good ‘Tavi stories as well. Lay one of them on me.”

The mint unicorn searched her brain for a moment, landing upon something. “Alright, prepare yourself, because this is a good one.” Instead of clearing her throat, she took a deep swig of cider. “So me and her are in high school heading to-”

She was cut off by a polite cough. “I hate to interrupt,” came the proper voice of Octavia. “But Lyra, may I have a word with you?”

“If you don’t want me to tell the story, I won’t.”

“Story?”

Vinyl snickered. Lyra was caught. The unicorn quickly dodged. “Oh, nothing. Let’s have that word.”

She emptied the cup of cider and followed the mare into the kitchen. She was surprised when it was empty except for her and Octavia. Her false assumption had been that she had wanted to make idle conversation with both her and Bon Bon.

“We haven’t had a real chat since... you know. That time at the restaurant doesn’t count as a chat by any stretch of the imagination.”

“You’re right.” Lyra saw an opportunity to jump on something that had been eating at her. “Actually, there was something I wanted to ask you about. About you and Bon Bon.”

“Go on.”

“How could you tell her... that?” The unicorn didn’t know exactly what to say.

Octavia returned a genuinely perplexed look. “Tell her what, exactly?”

Lyra lowered her voice. “You know... that.”

“I still don’t follow.”

The mint mare sighed audibly, an embarrassed look flowing across her face. I’m going to have to say it out loud, aren’t I? She drew the grey classical musician in close and lowered her voice to almost a whisper. “How could you tell her that I like to get my belly rubbed?”

Octavia couldn’t help but laugh. “Quite frankly, I’m baffled that you kept that a secret. If it wasn’t for that crazy truth-or-dare game that one night, I don’t think the world would have ever found out.”

“It’s embarrassing!”

“But you enjoyed it when Bon Bon did it, right?”

“Well, yeah, but-”

“Then there’s no problem with it. I’m not normally one to discuss bedroom adventures, but I feel like this was important enough for her to know.”

Octavia was acting strange to Lyra. At any other time, the classical musician wouldn’t dare speak of such things. Maybe she snuck off and raided their wine cellar when they had their backs turned.

“It was my job to pass that knowledge on, of course.”

Lyra found another question knocking on the back of her mind. “Why?”

The grey mare looked visibly surprised by the question. “Well, because you deserve to be happy, of course.”

The unicorn still found her behavior to be rather strange. “But that’s not your job anymore. Ever since we, you know...” She searched her mind for the proper term. “Chose to see other ponies, you don’t need to make me happy anymore.”

Octavia looked deep in contemplation, silence surrounding the pair. Lyra stared at her inquiringly. At least a minute passed before the proper pony decided to open her mouth once more.

“Maybe...” Lyra raised an eyebrow. “Maybe I miss that job.” The unicorn’s eyes opened in shock as the mare in front of her leaned forward.

Oh my Luna! Lyra’s thoughts were racing at a thousand miles per hour. Those are Octavia’s lips! And they’re against mine!

Batmare

The world faded away. The only object in Lyra’s consciousness was the mouth of Octavia pressed against hers. She felt as if the grey mare was sucking her breath away with each second that passed by. Her mind continued to reminder her how wrong it was and that she should break away and slap the pony in front of her.

But why were her eyes closing?

She felt herself slowly relaxing and leaning into the kiss. If Octavia hadn’t broken away, she didn’t know how far she would have taken it.

The classical musician only stared at her, Lyra finding herself gazing back into her pretty eyes. This feeling was all too familiar for the unicorn; it reminded her of their high school days when they would spend afternoons doing nothing but lying in each other’s arms. Despite her blatant throwback to her high school days, her mind still nagged her on the underlying issue:

This was wrong.

How could she let herself enjoy reliving such experiences when she already has a loving marefriend? How could she look upon the mare in front of her with anything but disgust? She had a marefriend too, after all. Slowly, her mouth opened to speak.

“I’m sorry.”

The words didn’t come from her mouth, but from Octavia’s.

“That was... wrong of me. I shouldn’t have done that.”

Lyra’s gaze softened. She continued to stare at the mare seated in front of her. A brick wall of thoughts and emotions slammed into her; she just didn’t know what she could say. She let the pony continue.

“I’m so sorry. I...”

She could tell that Octavia was mentally torturing herself. She watched the mare’s eyes close tightly, fighting back tears. The unicorn couldn’t bare to see her old marefriend in pain. Slowly opening her hooves, she beckoned the pony forward. “It’s... it’s okay. Please, don’t cry.” It was but an invitation for the pony open her eyes’ floodgates.

The two sat for a moment, locked in each other's platonic embrace. Lyra felt Octavia’s tears run down her coat, staining her mint fur. Her arms only tightened around the pony; it felt strange for your to be wrapped around somepony who was not her lover, but she felt that the mare desperately needed her comforting hooves. Despite her actions, a single question poked at her consciousness.

“Why?”

The mare pulled away from her. “Wha- what?”

“Why did you do that?” She saw the distress in the pony’s eyes.

“I- I don’t know...”

Lyra’s gaze sharpened. “Yes you do. Now tell me why.”

Octavia looked away from her. The unicorn could see her trying to find some excuse or escape. She almost opened her mouth to speak and ask once more, but was stopped by the sound of an exhale from the other pony.

“I’ve missed you.”

Lyra was unsatisfied by this answer. “Of course. Everypony misses somepony they haven’t seen in awhile. Especially when it’s someone they used to love. But we can’t do that.”

“I know, I know. I’m so stupid. So terribly, awfully stupid.” Octavia shook her head, staring at the ground.

“You’re not.” The unicorn searched her mind for how she could respond. She knew that the classical musician was never the best with emotions, but her actions perplexed her greatly. “Can’t we... Can’t we both be happy? We’re not together for a reason, and we’ve both find our own mares. We shouldn’t have to deal with this.”

Lyra could tell that the earth pony was fighting back tears once more. “I just... I saw how happy you were with Bon Bon... I saw how she smiled talking about you and how you two fit together so well... It’s just...” She swallowed audibly. “It’s everything that I was never able to do.”

“I don’t understand. You have Vinyl and she loves you.”

“Does she really? I see her type everywhere I go. Who’s to say that she won’t drop me for some other mare or stallion at a moment’s notice?” She looked on the verge of a absolute collapse, shaking her head at everything she said.

The mint unicorn found herself sitting up taller. “Get a hold of yourself! Don’t you see what you already have? You don’t need me anymore.” She could feel the words burn as they left her mouth. “I’m sorry, but you can’t try to hold on to me. I’m not the same pony from high school.”

She watched the mare move forward, her body instinctively flinching at the movement but soon finding itself in a tight hug. “Th- Thank you...”

“What for?”

The pony pulled away from her. “For reminding me of where I stand. I really needed that.” She looked down one final time, taking a breath. “I should go.”

“I didn’t mean it like that. I mean, Octavia, I love seeing you, but we just can’t be together romantically.”

“I know. It’s getting late. I really need to go home. Tell Vinyl to meet me there. I’ve... I’ve a lot to think about.”

Lyra found herself scanning the mare’s face, taking in all the familiarities one last time. “I understand.” She hugged her one last time. “And thank you for doing this. All of this. If you ever need anything, anything at all, let me know.”

Octavia only nodded. She looked like she may be on the verge of tears once more. The unicorn could only watch as she stood up and left the room, listening for the front door to finally close. She released a held breath when she finally heard it click. Her mind slowly returned to her; reality moved back into her consciousness. She was sitting in the kitchen, alone.

Reluctantly, she slowly shifted to her hooves, feeling her body heavily weigh upon them. If Bon Bon wanted to skip any sort of bedroom celebration for a successful business day, that would be okay with her. She trotted into the living room, wanting to say goodbye to the DJ that was still probably sitting there.

To her surprise, it was not Vinyl seated on her couch, but Bon Bon with a serious look on her face. “Hey Bon,” she found herself saying, trying to casually grasp what the mare was thinking. “Where’s Vinyl?”

“Home. She left.”

“Oh.” Lyra was slightly disappointed that she wouldn’t get to say goodbye to her new friend. She had hoped that they would get to meet up once more so they could exchange more embarrassing stories about their partners. Still, it felt like there was something that Bon Bon was holding from her. “Some day, huh?”

“Sure, sure. You sure enjoyed it more than I did.”

Now she was just acting strange. “What’s wrong, Bon Bon? We had a great day of sales and just may have saved the business. Be happy!” She tried to put a cheerful spin in her voice.

She received a scowl in return. “Because everything is just so chipper when you’re whoring yourself out!”

Lyra felt as if she had just been smacked. “Wha- what? What are you talking about?”

The unicorn was both confused and wounded by her words. “I don’t know what you’re saying.”

Bon Bon looked about to burst. “You know exactly what I’m talking about! I saw how easy it was for you to plant your lips on that pony!”

The breath was completely knocked out of Lyra. If she died right there, it would be fine with her. By the looks of it, that may happen sooner than she thinks. “I- That wasn’t my fault!” She found her shock turning into retaliation and anger. “She leaned in and kissed me! You don’t know what happened!”

“Oh I saw exactly what happened, Lyra Heartstrings! I saw how she suddenly became your seductress the moment she opened her mouth!”

“Listen to me, please. We were just talking and-”

“Just talking? Just talking?! I suppose this is ‘just talking’.” Her confusion only furthering, Lyra suddenly felt her lips attacked by Bon Bon’s. It wasn’t a loving kiss. It was an angry, loathing kiss; she could feel the pony’s rage resonating from her mouth.

The earth pony broke, or more so pushed her, away. Lyra was dumbfounded; she had no idea what just happened or how to react to it. Before she could say anything, her marefriend stood up and stomped towards the stairs.

“I hope you enjoyed that, because that is the last damn kiss you’re going to get for a long time! Goodnight, Lyra Heartstrings!”

“Bon, wait! I need you!”

“No. Go spend time with your other marefriend.” The pony was at the top of the stairs by now. “And don’t even bother coming up here unless you want to fall down a floor!”

The door slammed. When the echos finally stopped, a creeping loneliness surrounded Lyra. She could but stare at the ground in front of her. Of course, this wasn’t the first time she had been exiled, but this time felt different. This time felt truly empty, as if she had no chance of redemption. She sat for a moment, hoping that it was some sort of cruel, twisted joke and Bon Bon would hop down the stairs and surprise her with a loving hug.

Hopelessness surrounded her. The one pony that she loved with all her heart had kicked her out of their room once more. She searched for a clock, finding it upon the wall. Her vision was too blurred for her to read it, but she could tell that it was late. Groaning, she threw herself upon her back.

Lyra curled up, trying her best to pretend there was a pony resting in her forelimbs as there should be. She attempted to shut her eyes, mentally begging for some sort of relief and the embrace of sleep. Something was missing for her, however. Something extremely important.

“Oh, yes,” she said to herself, stretching out. “I forgot the couch fort.”

Knowing that it would be a long night of construction, she hopped up, trotting into the kitchen. With her magic, she poured and levitated another cup of cider to her muzzle. As she drank, she glanced at the package laying on the counter. Lyra realized that she had never actually opened it.

With her magic, she easily opened the package, levitating out the contents. She knew that it was most likely an issue of Batmare, but she secretly hoped that it was a copy of Fillyfooler or Playpony. Her collection was back in their room. She gave a slight empty and painful chuckle at the thought of Bon Bon reading them in her absence.

The unicorn finished off her cider and tossed the cup into the sink, promising to actually clean it tomorrow. She grabbed the comic book in her muzzle, bringing it into the living room and tossing it on a coffee table. Like a machine, she began constructing her fort once more, placing her pillows in the perfect arrangement. Her years of practice had taught her how to throw one together with precision, formulating the most efficient design for the greatest enjoyment to time ratio. That, or it was just fun.

It was always somewhat of a disappointment to her to walk in and see that Bon Bon was not to be in the fort with her. They had spent many nights locked in each other’s forelimbs within her creations; she didn’t always build them for solitude.

She sighed, levitating Batmare and diving into her fort. “Why can’t I be like Batmare?” she asked herself. “She always knows what to do or what to say. She always does what’s right and helps ponies.” She frowned. “Not like I can help anyone at all.”

Her eyes wandered the cover of the comic book, a triumphant hero staring back at her. “What’s it like to do good for somepony?”

Sighing once more, she opened the book, diving into the pages.

*** *** ***

Dawn broke. Or was it afternoon? It didn’t matter. It was Sunday.

Lyra’s eyes opened to see nothing but darkness. She frantically thrashed about, trying to find a reason for her sudden blindness. It didn’t take long for the comic book to fall off of her face.

The unicorn felt exhausted. She picked up the book, wanting to see what part she had fallen asleep in the middle of. “Oh yeah. Right when Batmare saves the...” she dropped the book. “Saves the damsel in distress.”

Memories of Bon Bon drifted back to her. She still had a relationship to mend.

Pillows flew away from her the moment her body exited the fort. She promised herself that she would clean it up later. The mare quickly and very loudly scrambled up the stairs, nearly diving for the door to their-- her-- room. Her hoof rapidly tapped the wood.

“Bon Bon. Are you awake?”

“Go away.” Lyra was hoping that her marefriend somehow forgot.

“Please. I just want to talk.”

“We both already know that you can’t keep your tongue in your mouth!”

That hurt. “Just come out, Bon Bon. You can’t stay in there forever.”

“I can and I will. Have a nice day.”

Before Lyra could respond, she was interrupted by the sound of something heavy moving across the carpet. It sounded like... their dresser? This is worse than I thought.

She concluded that it would be futile to keep trying to pry at her. It didn’t matter when the pony refused to listen. It felt like nothing mattered anymore.

A realization struck her; they didn’t keep any food in their bedroom. Well, except for special occasions, but otherwise they had nothing. Bon Bon must not have eaten anything for a long time. Lyra jumped, entering full gallop down the stairs and into the kitchen.

Her magic lashed out everywhere. It didn’t matter what she was grabbing-- hay fries, pancakes, waffles, veggie burgers-- she just needed to feed Bon Bon. She was almost positive that she poured orange juice into the oatmeal. Very soon, she was levitating what looked like a three-course mish-mash of second breakfast, lunch and dinner. Good enough.

She carried her plethora of plates and platters up the stairs, stopping abruptly when she stopped in front of the bedroom.

The mare cleared her throat, knowing that she would have to choose her words carefully. “Listen, Bon Bon. I... um, I know that you don’t want to talk to me or see me, but you need to eat something. I brought you some food. I’m just going to leave it here, outside the door. If you want it, grab it. I’ll be elsewhere. You won’t have to see me.”

She heard a sound, hoping that it was the door opening. To her dismay, it was the sound of the toilet flushing. Lyra frowned, hearing Bon Bon’s voice from the other side.

“Did you say something?”

Sighing, she repeated her monologue, this time less enthusiastically, adding a “bye,” to the end. Knowing that the pony wouldn’t respond with anything positive, she trotted down the stairs. This left her with an entire evening, because it turned out that it was evening, to herself with no plans. She supposed that she could prepare to get fired tomorrow, but decided that she had dealt with enough sadness for one day.

It didn’t take long after looking at all the food for her to figure out that she herself was hungry. She exited the kitchen as quick as she had entered, grabbing random food items and a cup of coffee. Her body plopped on the couch as she munched on what was probably a biscuit. Her comic book floated up to her.

“Well,” she muttered to herself. “Might as well see how Batmare saves a damsel in distress.”

*** *** ***

Early Monday morning and Bon Bon had still not left her room. Lyra stared at the closed door. She was happy to see, however, that the food she had left was gone. She was glad that her marefriend had enough sense to eat something and not starve. Not that Lyra’s cooking put in a good word for her.

“Bye, Bon Bon. I’m going to go get fired.” She didn’t care if the mare heard her. She was altogether dreading finally facing her boss, but knew she couldn’t just not show up. She had to go down with dignity. It was for that reason that she was still arriving early.

The unicorn didn’t even bother with making herself breakfast. She knew that she would probably come right back home the moment she was fired and make herself a nice warm whatever-was-in-the-pantry.

She held her head high, trotting down the street. Higher than it would be if she was just going to work on any other day. This was her time to prove that she could go down with dignity. Her magic carried her uniform in front of her, neatly folded with her nametag on top. Her boss never did learn her name; maybe this would be a nice reminder.

Despite her confidence, there was still apprehension in her mind. She dispelled this immediately, asking herself what Batmare would do in a situation like this. She would be brave and ready to face any opposition in her path. She would swing in and be a champion of the common pony. Lyra smiled at the thought.

The Everfree Café peeked over the horizon. She always had hated how it looked. If it wasn’t the only place that was hiring, she never would have even thought of working there.

At the same time she was thinking this, however, she thought of the money itself. What was she to do? Sure, Bon Bon had a good business day yesterday, but even if the pony accepted her back, they, or she, still wouldn’t have enough money to pay the bills. If nothing else, Lyra had to bring home something to show for herself, if for no other reason than to prove to her marefriend that she still loved her.

It worried Lyra that Bon Bon would be mad at her for this long. As every couple will, they had their arguments, but none of them had been as earth shattering as their current spat. Without the feeling of the pony in her arms, the unicorn felt empty. It almost seemed like they would never kiss and make up.

Lost in thought, Lyra was surprised when her muzzle smacked into the door of the Everfree Café. “Oh yeah,” she muttered to herself. “Pull.”

It was an hour before the restaurant would open, but she was sure that her boss, for however much longer she could call her that, would be seated lazily in her office. She walked through the building, eyeing the empty chairs and all the spots she had to clean messes up. That definitely would not be missed.

Entering the office, she was greeted by the sight of Cinnamon Swirl leaning back in her chair, reading an adventure trilogy. Lyra didn’t want to interrupt her, but thought of how she was going to be fired anyway. With a subtle cough, she announced her presence.

“Huh? What?” The classic comically flew from the mare’s hooves. “Oh, it’s you, Heartthings. Guess you finally decided to show up.”

Lyra saw an opportunity to set things right. Quieter than she expected, she said, “It’s Heartstrings.”

“What?”

“My name is Lyra Heartstrings.” She felt her voice pick up. “Not Skyra Smartstrings, not Myra Cartrings, and definitely not Guyra Fartstrings.” Against her will, her mouth turned into a smirk. She felt like Batmare. “I hope you remember that.”

Her boss looked altogether bored. “Well, what did you want, Lyra?”

The unicorn trotted forward, levitating her folded uniform to the desk. “I’m ready.”

Cinnamon Swirl but raised an eyebrow. “For what? Want me to wash it for you?” As entertaining of a thought that was to Lyra, she shook her head. “Then why are you wasting my time?”

“I’m ready to be fired,” she replied confidently.

“What are you talking about,” she paused for a moment, deciding what to say. “Heartstrings?”

Now Lyra was just confused. “But, aren’t you going to fire me? I mean, I didn’t show up on Saturday and didn’t even tell you. I’ve done an absolutely terrible job with each and every one of our customers and I’ve hated your guts since I started working here. Why wouldn’t you fire me?”

The pegasus stared at her for a moment, a completely blank expression on her face. Without warning, she broke into laughter. It was more of a cackle; the shrill, soccer-mom type of cackle.

“Why are you laughing?”

“You thought-” she was interrupted by more of her own laughter. Slowly, she began to collect herself. She almost wiped a tear from her eye; Lyra didn’t see what was so funny. “Tell the truth, this is your first real job, isn’t it?”

“Well, I mean-”

“Yeah. I thought so. First of all, that Saturday I thought you’d like some extra pay, so I asked you to come in. Not like I told you that you had to, right?”

“Well, you kind of did.”

“‘Kind of’ being the key. I can’t require workers to come in on weekends. The royal police would have my head. That’s overtime. Y’know, getting paid to work when you aren’t supposed to.”

Lyra was dumbfounded. She didn’t think anything like that existed in the restaurant business. In fact, she was positive that it didn’t and that her boss was just making it up on the spot. Then again, her aversion to waiters had never led her to research the job.

“And secondly,” the mare interrupted her train of thought. “I can’t fire you. Even if I wanted to.”

“What?” This was too much to take in for the unicorn. “Sure you can! Just sign the paper and let me go!” She had counted on getting fired.

“Take a look around. How many ponies are working here? Do you know how hard it is to find people to work in an awful restaurant like this?” At least it was no secret that the place was horrible. “I was relieved when you came along. Without you, we would have gone right out of business. As a benefit, you’re probably the best waitress I’ve ever hired.”

Lyra almost fell backwards. The words “best” and “waitress” just didn’t compute for her. All this time, she had thought that her boss was being mean to her because she was doing a terrible job. Apparently, that was just her personality. The mint mare suddenly felt sympathy for her boss, having to live with an eternal annoyed outlook.

“We done here? You need to get to work soon.”

“Y-yeah...” Lyra wheezed. This whole ordeal had knocked the wind out of her. Lethargically, she levitated her uniform and nametag. As she trotted out of the room, a low grumbling resonated from her stomach. She realized how much she had relied on getting fired to make her day work. Now she was starving, at a crappy job and wasn’t going to get home to try to talk to Bon Bon for a long, long time. But at least she was getting paid for it.

She promised herself that she would actually eat at her next lunch break. For now, she had work to do. The store was about to open and the breakfast crowd would arrive soon, and that meant irritable parents and screaming kids.

“Fine, son, we’ll get you hay fries for breakfast!”

And it began.

*** *** ***

She hadn’t counted on being absolutely and wholly exhausted. Her entire work day was completely unexpected. Lyra had been completely unprepared for working morning and afternoon, only a meager lunch to fuel her. She almost hated her boss for not firing her.

The unicorn regretted each and every time that she mistreated her waiters and waitresses. She realized how awful it was for her to mouth off to them or refuse to tip. A new respect for the people who bring food was truly born for her. It was almost disappointing. She hadn’t wanted to stop hating food service personnel.

Her exhaustion was only intensified upon the realization that she didn’t have anypony to hold in her hooves when she went home. Provided she would have the energy to make it home at all, that is.

She was asked by her boss to lock up for the night. It made her happy to hear that because it meant that Cinnamon trusted her. A hateful respect was growing for that pegasus, but a respect nonetheless. Lyra decided to do something nice and do some last-minute cleaning before she closed the store.

While she wiped one last table, another wave of exhaustion washed over her. She felt her hooves wobble as she stood. I don’t think I’ll make the walk home, she thought to herself. This... this table looks nice and comfortable. She allowed gravity to take her; she was snoring by the time her body made contact with the wood.

Tears

Waking up in strange places never was a good feeling for Lyra. Especially when she was awoken by the voice of a mare who was not her marefriend.

“Lyra? What in Luna’s name are you doing here so early? I thought I told you to lock up last night.”

The only response the mare could muster was falling off of the table she had been sleeping on. She felt the cleaning towel she had been using as a pillow fall on her face. Groggily, she threw it off of her, her eyes being met with the sight of Cinnamon Swirl towering over her body.

“Well?” she said. “This isn’t a hotel for you to just waltz in and out at your own desire.”

“I... I never left last night. I couldn’t. I-” she thought of making up some sort of excuse, but decided that if she was ever going to enjoy working for this mare, she would have to open up sometime. “I don’t have any other place to go.”

Cinnamon seemed indifferent, but still surprised Lyra with a response. “Well I can’t have you sleeping on the job, can I? What happened?”

The unicorn sighed. She really didn’t want to have this conversation, but felt that it was necessary. “My mare-” she still didn’t know how much of a bigot her boss was. The last thing she needed was being randomly fired for being a ‘fillyfooler’. “My significant other kind of kicked me out. We had a fight, and I haven’t been able to-”

“I don’t care.”

That illusion didn’t last long. “But I thought-”

“I don’t care about your life. I do care if you can get the job done, however. Go home.”

“What?”

“Go home. You need some real rest. You can’t make me money like this.”

“No, no. I’m fine.” To prove her point, Lyra jumped to her hooves, only to wobble and topple over. She muttered some curses on gravity under her breath.

The pegasus’ gaze narrowed. “Get out of here. I can’t be paying employee medical bills.”

Slowly, the unicorn brought herself back to her hooves, using a table for support. Despite her boss being absolutely selfish, she was right. After her utter exhaustion and lack of real sleep, be it in a couch fort or otherwise, there was no way she could work today. “I gotcha. I’m going.”

“Good. Be back when you’re useful.”

Those words hurt Lyra more than she would have at any other time. Considering how her entire relationship was falling apart, she did feel useless. It seemed like no matter what she did, everything just fell apart. She wondered why she should even try. Everything was just wrong.

She exited the building, tears welling up in her eyes.

As soon as she stepped out into the open air, her hooves stopped in their tracks. She knew that she had to go home, but how much of a home was the place she lived? It felt as if she was no longer welcome anywhere she went. She lifted a hoof, wiping her eyes clean. The unicorn forced her legs to move forward.

It didn’t matter where she was going at this point. Bon Bon was always good at dealing with situations like this, except for when she was directly involved, of course. She was Lyra’s map, and without her, Lyra was lost in the wilderness.

Her hooves had carried her to Ponyville’s market. Celestia’s sun was just beginning to rise above the horizon, and with it, shopkeepers were just setting up. Florists, potters, salesponies and the like were all preparing for a day of sales.

Seeing all the businesses made Lyra worry. Bon Bon didn’t seem like she was in any position to work today, and despite the boom of customers they had on Saturday, she wouldn’t be able to make enough profit. Lyra’s ears drooped. It’s not like it mattered anymore, anyway. She found that her biggest challenge was not caring. Everywhere she turned was a reminder of the pony she used to share a bed with.

The mare continued to trot through the market, stopping only whenever she saw something interesting. She was halfway through the square when something really caught her eye. The price tag was a little much, but it was something Bon Bon loved. Without second thought, she put her bits on the table.

*** *** ***

A massive lump was in Lyra’s throat. She was standing silently in front of Bon Bon’s bedroom, her hoof pausing just outside of knocking distance. With her magic, she clutched a bouquet of the most beautiful roses she could find as well as a large box of imported chocolates; Bon Bon’s favorite.

The unicorn figured that it was worth one last shot to try to get her mare back. This was the worst she had ever seen her, and for the sake of at least her own sanity she had to at least try. She took a gulp of air and slowly tapped the door.

Immediately, she heard a startled yelp from the other side. At least she wasn’t told to go away yet. Silence soon followed, the only sound being the pounding of Lyra’s heart. She tapped the door once more. “Bon? Can I come in?”

The response scared her. A painful whine came from the other side, soon accompanied by a loud sob. She couldn’t tell, but she was relatively sure that she heard “please come in.”

Breaking through her hesitation, she opened the door, the flowers and candies in tow. Entering the room revealed an absolute mess. Tissues, paper and plates were strewn about, Bon Bon sitting on her bed and crying loudly. If there was anytime Lyra felt needed, it was now. Quickly, she sat next to the mare, opening her hooves. Her offer for a hug was accepted, and the earth pony was soon crying into her coat.

Lyra didn’t need to know what was wrong. All she needed was to let Bon Bon know that she was there for her. She found her hoof running through the pony’s mane, doing whatever she could to comfort her. It may have been an hour or it may have been a minute, but Bon Bon’s tears eventually subsided. Soon Lyra was just holding her in her hooves.

“Bon Bon,” she decided to start. “Are you...” It was fairly obvious that she was not alright. Lyra let out a breath. “What can I do?”

Bon Bon looked up at her, the sight of the mare’s irritated eyes wounding the unicorn. Slowly, she looked back down. “Just... please hold me.”

Lyra tightened her grip on the earth pony. “Of course.” She knew what the answer most likely was, but she still decided to ask. “Only, please tell me what’s wrong.”

She couldn’t see her face, but she could feel the mare’s tears return and run across her coat. Before she could apologize, Bon Bon spoke. “It’s me. I’m an awful, awful pony.”

“What?” Of all things, the unicorn hadn’t expected this. “You’re not. You’re a wonderful mare who I don’t deserve. What would make you say that?”

Bon Bon broke away from her. “I did something terrible. Just terrible.” She could see the terror and sadness in her eyes.

“Please, tell me what it is.”

“I...” Bon Bon began. She tried to continue, but was overcome with tears once more. Lyra wrapped her hooves back around her, wanting to comfort the pony in any way she can. She didn’t deserve this.

“I’m here for you, Bon Bon.”

Breaking away once more, the earth pony took a deep breath. And another. Slowly, she began again. “I thought you were gone... I thought Octavia took you...” Lyra wiped the pony’s face with a tissue. “I didn’t see you on the couch and just-” She collapsed onto the unicorn. “Oh Lyra! It’s just terrible!”

Lyra could but tighten her grip around the pony. “Please, tell me what’s so terrible.”

Slowly, the mare reached out a hoof and pointed towards the pile of crumpled papers. They littered the floor and filled the trash bin. “I... I couldn’t stop myself. When I saw that you were gone I wrote the nastiest, most awful letter I could to Octavia... I... I’m horrible.” She collapsed into Lyra’s hooves once more. “She’ll hate us.”

The unicorn silently lost herself in her own thoughts. Octavia wouldn’t hate them over a small letter, would she? Who’s to guarantee she would even read it? Lyra took less stock in the power of words than Bon Bon did. “Are you sure she would? I know that I still love you.”

The cream mare looked up at her, her teary eyes shining as she spoke. “How could you still love me? I don’t deserve you.”

This, as well as the whole situation, was unexpected to Lyra. She was positive that Bon Bon would remain mad at her for a long, long time; possibly eternity. Sometimes, she was glad when she was wrong. “Of course I love you. You’re a beautiful mare who always tries to do the right thing. As far as I’m concerned, you’ve done nothing wrong at all.” It was painful to say that her marefriend was right despite all she had been through, but she felt that it would help their relationship’s healing.

“It’s all wrong and it’s all my fault. I probably hurt Octavia and I definitely hurt you. Please, please forgive me. I...” Another wave of tears overcame her. “I need you.”

Lyra slowly began to run her hooves up the pony’s back. “I forgive you. I will always, always be here for you.” She smiled and decided to test the water. “If not just for the sex.”

The moment she said it, she questioned if it was the right time to make a joke like that. Relief washed over her when Bon Bon returned a grin through her tears. “That’s alright with me.” Lyra was soon met with the kiss that she had so missed. It wholly made her feel better.

Moments slowly passed after the mare broke away. The unicorn continued to stare into her eyes, searching to find any way to comfort her. She decided to just ask. “What can I do for you? How can I help?”

She watched the mare close her eyes. “Just... please hold me.”

Without hesitation, she tightly wrapped her hooves around her marefriend. Lyra could feel her ragged breath against her fur, the mare’s breathing slowly returning to normal as her crying subsided. Before she became too comfortable on her fur, the unicorn decided to interrupt their cuddling, her horn glowing.

“I almost forgot,” she said quietly, levitating over the flowers and box of chocolate. “I picked these up for you. I know it’s expensive, but I also know it’s your favorite.” She opened the box to reveal splendid candies of different fillings and coatings, each one a piece of art within itself. At the same time, she brought up the flowers and presented them to Bon Bon.

The earth pony sniffed the flowers deeply. “They’re beautiful, Lyra. I... I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t need to say anything. Seeing your smile is enough for me.” The mint colored pony dropped the bouquet into what was probably a half-drank water glass, picking out the prettiest rose of the bundle and offering it to her marefriend.

“Thank you, thank you so much. It means the world that you would do this for me.” She wrapped her hooves around the box of chocolate, returning the flower to Lyra and falling to her back on the bed with an exhausted thump.

The unicorn placed the flower with the others and quickly let herself fall beside the mare, tightly embracing her and staring into her eyes. She watched as those beautiful blue eyes slowly closed, Bon Bon’s cute snoring soon following. It always made Lyra smile to see how beautifully adorable her mare, because she was her mare once more, could be.

Overall, she was just happy to be back. She was glad to see that her long term relationship wouldn’t crumble and fall away. Although she may never be able to look Octavia in the eye again, at least the pony she truly loved returned her affection still. Despite the turbulence, she felt like she belonged.

Her eyes danced across the face of the sleeping mare, taking in her beauty one more time. You know what? she thought to herself. Sleep sounds fantastic right now. She was too tired for it to matter if it was day or night. She was just happy that the last thing she gazed upon before she slept was the face of her marefriend.

*** *** ***

“Why do we have to?”

“I need to make things right, and this may be my only chance.”

“But why do I have to?” Lyra’s pleading was met by a stern glare from Bon Bon.

“Because I love you enough and you’re as much a part of this as I am.” Bon Bon was preparing to visit Octavia and Vinyl’s apartment. She had found their address when she had mailed the letter, and figured that visiting and apologizing was the only way to make things right. Lyra disagreed, but also didn’t want to risk upsetting Bon Bon once more.

“Can’t we eat more or something? How about that chocolate? Still need to eat that chocolate. Are you feeling sexy? Because I’m feeling pretty darn sexy.” Lyra was saying everything she could to keep herself from going, or at least to slow her down.

Her marefriend kissed her on the cheek. “No.”

The unicorn had expected this. Redeeming herself had been all Bon Bon had talked about all morning and through lunch, which they had eaten laying in each other’s arms not long before. Lyra still didn’t think it was too big of a deal. Sure, they wouldn’t be able to talk to those ponies again, but that was a relatively small sacrifice compared to the embarrassment of actually visiting their apartment and apologizing.

“Don’t worry, Lyra. I’ll make it worth your while afterwards, but for now we definitely have more important matters.” Lyra smiled, thinking of all the possibilities, many of them being belly rubs.

“I suppose I could be convinced to go along.”

“Good. Are you ready to go?”

The unicorn thought for a moment. “Hold on. You need one more thing.” She levitated up the pretty rose she had set aside, checking it for thorns. Deeming it safe, she gently tucked it behind Bon Bon’s ear. “There. Now we’re ready.”

She watched the mare smile, internally boasting at how thoughtful and romantic she always was. As a reward, she received a nice little kiss. The pair trotted down the stairs, heading for their home’s exit. They were greeted with clear and pretty skies on a warm day and began to trot down the street.

Her flank rubbing against Bon Bon’s as they walked, Lyra spoke up. “Where do they live anyway?” She realized that she had no idea where they were going.

“The apartments on eastern Ponyville. I was actually surprised when I found that out. I was positive that Octavia would live somewhere in Canterlot with a bunch of...” Lyra was sure she was trying to stop herself from calling her a cheating mare-stealer. “With a bunch of her Canterlot types.”

The gravel path crunched as they walked. “Well I’d guess that she’s probably staying at Vinyl’s place. Like a bachelorette pad or something.” The unicorn thought of all that Vinyl had told her about Octavia and her relationship. “Although it being a bachelorette pad wouldn’t be the case.”

“Yeah,” Bon Bon agreed. “She was a strange mare.” She seemed to chew on the words.

“Who, Vinyl?” Bon Bon nodded. “She seemed pretty cool to me. Party all night and sleep all day. Sounds like my kind of time.” Lyra wasn’t surprised when the earth pony rolled her eyes. She knew that that wasn’t her kind of time at all. “It was nice talking with her, though.”

“I’m glad it stopped at talking.” The unicorn was reminded that she still wasn’t in completely safe territory yet; she still didn’t want to risk upsetting Bon Bon by saying something absolutely stupid.

Lyra coughed, searching for some reason to change the subject from other mares. Now was not the time to risk undoing all the comforting she had done the previous night. She looked at the mare next to her, scanning her familiar and comfortable features that she so loved. “You know, you look very pretty today.”

To the unicorn’s relief, the pony’s gaze softened. “Thanks.”

The mint pony wished she had said more, but just continued to stare at her. She really did look rather beautiful; more so than she would on another afternoon. It may have been the flower behind her ear, or it may just be the determined look on her face. Lyra always thought she looked cute when she set her mind to something. She felt like she could just lean up and kiss that mare right at that moment, and she probably would have if Bon Bon didn’t stop abruptly.

“We’re here.”

They came upon a medium-sized apartment complex, somewhat less elegant than Lyra expected. They didn’t travel to this area of Ponyville very often, as they had no business there. Of course, the building wasn’t as large as one would be in a city like Canterlot, but it was still the biggest in their town. Lyra looked to Bon Bon to see that she was standing still, just staring at the building. “Are we going in?”

The mare snapped out of her trance. “Yes, of course.” Lyra could hear the mare swallow hard.

Of course she’s nervous, Lyra thought. Apparently she wrote the nastiest, meanest, most dream crushing letter feasible and she’s about to see the mare who she wrote it to. She stared at the pony. Of course, this is Bon Bon. Her level of nasty is probably calling Octavia a glue stick. Her eyes continued to trace the outline of the pony.

She almost shrugged, trotting forward and planting a deep, comforting and passionate kiss on the lips of her marefriend. However short it was, it was no less meaningful. She broke away, looking into her eyes. “Come on,” she told her. “Let’s go in.”

Without hesitation, the pair moved forward, entering the apartment complex with confidence. Not speaking a word to any of the ponies inside as to where they were going, they trotted to the elevator, immediately hopping inside. It didn’t take long for them to arrive at the fourth floor.

“Well, here we are,” Bon Bon muttered nervously. Lyra could tell that her nerves were back. “Might as well get it over with.”

“Don’t worry about a thing. She’ll accept your apology and we’ll all be friends again.” If anypony knew about Bon Bon’s apology, it was Lyra. She had been practicing it all morning until she could speak every word with poise and dignity. It was apparent the the unicorn that she took this rather seriously. “Which room are they in?”

“That one,” the earth pony said immediately, gesturing to a door at the end of the hall. Lyra assumed that she had spent a considerable amount of time trying to find their exact place of residence. Sending an insulting letter to the wrong house by mistake would not have ended well, especially when there was such a thing as a return address.

Lyra began to lead the pony to the door, her front hoof purposely placed on her flank to push her forward. It took longer than the unicorn would have thought to get to the end of the hall because of the lethargic pace of her marefriend, but they made it all the same. Bon Bon just stared at the door.

Slowly, the earth pony lifted her hoof, hesitating and mentally debating. She gave the door some quick successive taps and waited. Nothing. Time seemed to stand still as absolute silence engulfed them. Lyra mentally joked that Octavia was sharpening her assassination weapons.

Again, Bon Bon tapped on the door, and again she was met with silence. The unicorn suddenly worried for her; if the couple wasn’t home, that would be absolutely devastating. It was by the third succession, however, that the door swung open.

“Octavia, I’m so, so sorry about that letter I sent,” Bon Bon began to sputter. This wasn’t as graceful as she had practiced at all. “Please forgive me for all the pain I must have caused you and-”

She was interrupted by the yawning of a white unicorn. It wasn’t Octavia on the other side of the door, but Vinyl. The mare smacked her lips, looking exhausted. “What?”

Lyra watched a deep red glow on Bon Bon’s face. “Oh, I’m sorry. I was hoping Octavia would answer the door.”

Vinyl stared at her for a moment. “Well, if you’re here for a foursome, I’m the one to see.”

The mint pony laughed, only to receive a disapprove glare from her marefriend, reminding her why they were there in the first place. Of course, the unicorn wasn’t opposed to the idea.

“No,” Bon Bon spoke up, not wanting to delay any longer. “We’re here to see Octavia.”

The DJ responded by dozing off while standing. Her head started to fall, jolting her awake. “What?” She shook her head, her beadhead mane falling over her face. “Oh, I’m sorry. I just got out of bed.” The mare yawned and stretched. “That knocking was loud.”

“At two in the afternoon?” The earth pony looked visibly concerned.

“Is it that early? Dang. I could have gotten a few more hours.” She looked like she could collapse at any moment. Her eyes, lacking both their glasses and possibly coffee-fueled perkiness, just aimlessly wandered the doorway. “You said you wanted Octavia, right?”

“That’s right.”

“No can do. She’s been in her room crying all night and,” she looked back at the clock on the back wall. “And apparently morning.”

Lyra watched Bon Bon’s expression turn to one of shock. “What? Is she alright?”

The white unicorn shook her head. “No idea. I’m the one who’s really been suffering here, though.” The mare yawned once more. “I had a cool thing planned out. Got some lingerie, some fancy booze that she likes and all that good stuff. That all went to the moon the moment she checked her mail.”

The candy maker’s face lost all of it’s color. “Oh... that’s not good at all...”

“It’s alright. I have a refrigerator.”

“No, I mean about Octavia. It’s all my fault...”

Vinyl shrugged. “Pretty much, yeah.” If there was anything that the DJ was, it was blunt.

Seeing the sorrow in Bon Bon’s eyes, Lyra silently wrapped her hooves around her. She hated seeing her marefriend like this. Especially when she almost felt like it was her fault. The mare looked as if she could break down in tears again.

No tears came, however. The earth pony spoke up. “I need to see her.”

“Go on ahead. Good luck getting her out, though. The only time I’ve even gotten to talk to her was when she asked for another box of tissues.” Lyra cringed at how painfully familiar the situation was. Slowly, she followed Bon Bon inside.

It was a medium, two bedroom room apartment, although Lyra assumed that only one of the rooms was usually used. There were three pizza boxes piled up in front of the couch, assumed to be Vinyl’s dinner from the previous night. The unicorn doubted Octavia would stand for such things. The room itself was rather modest, save for a couple corners, one of them solely dedicated to classical instruments and composition. Papers were strewn all about, dotted with unfinished musical pieces. It reminded Lyra of back when she had a dream of becoming a concert lyrist.

In another corner, large speakers towered over the ponies, almost touching the ceiling. Turntables and stacks of vinyl records as well as a mixing board and old radio were all piled up in front of them. A keyboard along with an electric drum kit were also found, somewhat hiding behind the turntables. The piles of electronics made the apartment feel cramped, and made Lyra feel jealous. Bon Bon never would let her buy something so awesome. It was blatantly obvious which side of the apartment belonged to who.

The unicorn probably would have asked to play with the equipment if Bon Bon hadn’t started tapping the door that Octavia was presumably in. She was sure that she could hear light sobbing from the other side. It looked like it could be awhile before her marefriend could coax the pony out. In this time, she decided to trot over to Vinyl, curious as to how she was taking it all.

She found the pony levitating an energy drink and was impressed with how fast she could chug it. That type of speed takes practice. Seeing the pony come up for air, she decided to ask what was on her mind. “So I’m guessing Octavia told you what happened between... us?”

“Kinda.” The mare sipped out the last little bit of liquid from the can, crushing it and throwing it behind her. “She was really depressed for the past couple of days. I eventually got out of her that she had some ‘unresolved issues’, as she called them. It wasn’t until I read that letter ‘Tavi was crying over that I really found out.”

“Oh...” It made Lyra curious as to what exactly was in the letter.

“Yeah. That marefriend of yours has some colorful vocabulary.”

Lyra smiled. “Believe me, that’s not a bad thing.” She shot the mare her best ‘if you know what I mean face’. The pair shared a good laugh.

“I gotcha. Octavia says some crazy things as well.” She smiled. “It lets me know that I’m doing something right.”

Vinyl seemed to have a way of making a foursome not only desirable, but seemingly possible. Lyra chuckled once more. She looked over to see that Bon Bon was still trying to get Octavia out of her room.

“Although she has requested some weird things,” the DJ continued. “This one time, she asked if she could rub my tummy. That was pretty unexpected. I mean, I was up for it and all, but it was kind of weird for ‘Tavi to say that, y’know?”

Luckily the DJ seemed too distracted by opening another can of an energy drink to notice the light blush that appeared on the mint unicorn’s face. She decided to steer the conversation away from uncomfortable territory. “Uh, yeah.” She quickly found a new subject that was another question that had been bugging her. “So you’re alright with... with what happened?”

She watched the mare shrug. “It’s whatever. I mean, I’ve kissed my fair share of mares. And stallions. I never did learn some of their names...” Vinyl seemed lost in thought for a moment. “Anyway, yeah, it’s cool. I’m just mad that she didn’t share.”

It wasn’t until she caught the wink that Lyra suddenly felt genuinely uncomfortable. She didn’t think that the DJ was that... promiscuous was the nicest word she could think of. “I... uh...”

Vinyl bust out in laughter. “I’m just messing with you. ‘Tavi’s the mare for me.”

The flustered unicorn breathed a sigh of relief. Before she could think of a response that wouldn’t make her look like a fool, she heard the click of a bedroom door.

Octavia emerged from the depths of her room. Tears stained her coat, and her eyes inflamed an irritated red. Her eyes followed the room, immediately welling up once more when they came upon Bon Bon. The air was thick with discomfort.

“Listen, Octavia...” Bon Bon started, wanting to get her apology over with. “I wanted to-”

She was interrupted by the gray mare wrapping her hooves around her, almost falling upon her. Lyra watched the mare dig her face into her marefriend’s coat, sobbing loudly. “I’m so sorry,” Octavia said, looking up at her before plunging back into her fur.

Recovering from her shock, Bon Bon patted her on the back. “It’s okay. I think we’ve both done things that we regret.”

“But it’s not okay!” The classical musician pushed her away, raising her voice. “There’s nothing okay about anything I did! I just ruined everything!” She let her rump fall to the ground, hanging her head low.

Bon Bon just stared at the mare, seemingly unsure of what to say to her. “You- you didn’t ruin everything.”

“But I did! I acted like a stupid schoolfilly with her first crush! I felt so much remorse the moment I did it, and your letter brought it to life for me. I’m an awful, awful pony.”

The similarities were eerie to Lyra. This was something she did not like reliving twice. She watched Bon Bon just stand motionless. She herself felt no desire to move as she watched the mare’s breakdown.

“A terrible pony like me doesn’t deserve anything I have,” Octavia continued. “I don’t deserve the cello; I don’t deserve music; and I definitely don’t deserve Vinyl. Vinyl...” she looked up at the white unicorn. “I know I’ve hurt you. I’m sorry.”

The DJ didn’t look all that hurt. From what she said, she seemed to be more surprised than anything else. She didn’t seem like the type who would hold a grudge over a silly mistake that a pony made.

"I... I'm not helping anypony am I? I must look like an utter fool..." Octavia just fell to the ground, flat on her stomach. She buried her head in her hooves. It hurt Lyra to see her like this; it hurt her to the point where she trotted over to her, laying on the ground next to the pony.

"Listen, Octavia. You don't have to be sorry. It's okay."

The musician looked back up at her. “But I must have hurt you most of all! I drove a spike into your relationship without even thinking. I’m... I’m so sorry.”

Lyra found herself leaning into the mare, tightly hugging her, not letting up until she felt Octavia relax in her arms. “Listen to me, Octavia,” she said quietly to her, almost whispering into her ear. “It’s alright. You’re not a horrible pony or anything like that. You did one thing wrong and that’s all. Me and Bon Bon are fine. We’re still together.”

“But it’s not alright!” It was clear to Lyra that the mare wasn’t going to give up on her self-hate. “I owe you a dinner- a thousand dinners! Anything! I just want to fix all the damage I’ve caused.”

It was Vinyl’s turn to speak up. She used a more serious tone than anypony would have expected. “‘Tavi, that’s enough.”

“I just need to-”

“No. You don’t. They forgive you.” She trotted over to her marefriend. “I forgive you. Everypony forgives you. Don’t tell yourself what you don’t deserve. Sure, you made a mistake. Whatever. You’ve apologized, she’s apoligized, blah blah blah. This whole room is a big cesspool of pointless apologies that leave us running in circles. You can stop.” Lyra was surprised that Vinyl was actually being the voice of reason.

“But...”

In a quick motion, the white unicorn picked her up from the floor. “Shut up. I love you.” She planted her lips upon the mare. Lyra was glad she wasn’t a pegasus, because this was really hot.

Slowly, they broke away from each other. Octavia began to gather herself. Her tears subsided and her expression crawled back to its neutral state. She took a deep breath, and then jumped upon Vinyl with a hug. “I... thank you.”

“Your mouth is salty.”

Even Octavia laughed. It made Lyra happy to see that somepony could get through to her. She trotted over to Bon Bon’s side, turning to her. “Well, it looks like we did what we came here to do.”

“I suppose.” The pair watched the couple in front of them sharing their loving embrace. It seemed like everything was finally falling into line, however crooked the line may be.

Lyra watched Octavia slowly break away from Vinyl. She trotted over to their kitchen, returning with a tear-stained piece of paper in her muzzle. “Here,” she offered to Bon Bon. “You can have this back.”

Now the mint unicorn was started to get excited. She may finally get to read the letter and all the nasty things that Bon Bon had put in it. For that reason, she felt like she had just been stabbed when her marefriend ripped it up. “Thank you,” was the earth pony’s reply.

The gray mare stuck out her hoof. “Friends?”

It was accepted, Bon Bon shaking it lightly. “Friends.”

They stared at each other, both earth ponies with comfortable smiles on their faces. “I need to thank you for stopping by,” Octavia said, sniffling on last time. “If you didn’t come here... I don’t know where I would be.”

“Oh, it’s no problem. I was in a pretty bad place as well. If it wasn’t for Lyra, I’d probably be lost in a sea of tissues.” She turned to her marefriend, nuzzling her.

“I just did what anypony would do. Plus, I wanted to sleep in your bed again,” came the unicorn’s reply.

“Well don’t worry. You’ll get to soon enough.” She shot her a loving smile. “Maybe very soon.” She kissed the mare on the cheek.

Lyra almost jumped with excitement, turning to the other couple in the room. “I think that means we have to go.” She didn’t normally want to take a hasty leave, but this seemed to be an important enough reason. Besides, Octavia was all better now. Hopefully.

Luckily, the gray mare seemed to catch what she was implying. “Ah, yes. I understand. I must thank you, both of you, again for stopping by. It really means a lot to me.” She thought for a moment. “And I am serious about that dinner. I owe you big time. More than I could ever hope to repay.”

The two couples said their goodbyes to each other. Lyra and Bon Bon, both emotionally exhausted, made their way to the door of the apartment. They were stopped just short by Vinyl’s voice.

“So... is that a no to the foursome?”

Liars, Lyras and Lyres

“C’mon, Bon Bon. You know you wanted to.”

“No.”

“You totally were up for it.”

“No. I wasn’t.”

Lyra looked at her slyly. “You mean you weren’t eyeing that DJ’s round and toned flank each time she turned away from you?”

“No, I... I mean-”

“You mean that you had absolutely no desire to reach out and feel her soft, velvety fur?”

“Well... Just... I...” Although Bon Bon couldn’t speak coherently, the deep blush on her face said it all.

“I knew it.”

“Whatever!” The flustered earth pony just couldn’t seem to find the words. Lyra just smiled at her success at calling her out. It was the simple victories that she enjoyed.

Of course, she totally would have been down with it. Hopping in the sack with three other ponies would make her dreams, literally, come true. It was just a matter of pushing Bon Bon’s buttons enough for her to agree. It’s not like there was anything wrong with that.

Given the recent happenings, now was probably not the best time to do so, however. Her marefriend was still recovering from the events of the past few nights. Besides, getting the proper Octavia to agree would be even more difficult, especially in her current state. Although, Vinyl seemed charming enough to be able to pull off such a feat. Regardless, Lyra decided to abandon the notion, if just for the time being.

The pair hopped on their couch. It had been a quiet, yet comfortable walk home, both of them wanting to finally return to relaxation. They held each other in their forelimbs; a long desired feeling of normality somewhat returned to them. It felt good for Lyra to have the furnace of Bon Bon’s body against her once more. A question floated in her mind. “What do you think of Octavia’s offer?”

“What? The foursome?”

“No, that was Vinyl’s. I mean the dinner. Should we take her up on that?”

“Well, I don’t see why we shouldn’t.” Bon Bon shrugged. “Besides, we don’t treat ourselves to nice dinners, well, at all.”

“Because we haven’t had the money,” Lyra reminded. “I’m sure that’s to change, however. I mean, I still have a job and you have your business. Plus that boost that Octavia and Vinyl gave you helps too.”

“Well... that kind of doesn’t matter anymore...”

The unicorn sat up and looked at her. “What do you mean?”

“I sort of had to close the store of the past couple of days to gather myself and, well, fix myself. Or try to, at least. So we’re back to barely scraping by.”

“Oh...” This was disheartening news for Lyra. Maybe she should take up prostitution after all. She perked up and grinned. “We’ll make it up, I’m sure. I know you, and you don’t quit when something means so much to you.”

Bon Bon smiled back at her. “Thank you, Lyra.”

Upon hearing her name, she looked to the side of the room. “Oh yeah, that reminds me,” she said as her horn glowed. “I wanted to try something.” Soon, an instrument of beautiful metal levitated into her lap.

“Your lyre? But you’ve hardly touched that in ages.” It was somewhat of a harsh reminder of Lyra’s own decline.

“Yeah, but I’m thinking that I should pick it back up again. After seeing all the musical equipment at Octavia’s, it reminded me of what I used to love doing.” She had unfortunately drifted away from what was supposed to be her special talent in the recent weeks. All she really needed was a little reminder.

She ran a hoof across the instrument, producing a sound comparable to the whine of a timberwolf. “Heh,” Lyra said, quickly adjusting the string. “It’s just a little bit sharp.” Years of practice had trained her ears to be able to tune into the proper pitch. It didn’t take long at all until she was able to strum the lyre and produce a light, pleasing sound.

Her hooves danced across the instrument. Despite being out of practice, her muscle memory was still sharp; soon, she was playing the most beautiful rendition of Smoke on the Water that anypony had ever heard. Bon Bon laughed as Lyra smiled. I’ve still got it, she thought to herself.

“Yep. You’re still good with your hooves, I see.”

“Oh, you know it. I think I’ve proven that more than once.” She played one last scale before setting down the instrument and looking at Bon Bon with a sly smile. “I could prove it again if you want.”

The earth pony leaned into her. “I don’t know if you can prove anything. I now know your weakness, after all.”

“Weakness? And what would that be?”

Bon Bon answered by slowly running a hoof up the mare’s stomach, resting it gently on her body. She traced it back down, circling her soft tummy. The unicorn could only respond with a gasp and a shudder at the feeling of her deepest secret being acted upon.

The candy maker was right; Batmare did have a weakness.

*** *** ***

An exhausted Lyra was buttoning her work uniform, looking at herself in the mirror in the early hours of the morning. She heard yawning behind her and looked in the corner of the mirror to see the reflection of Bon Bon. “What are you doing up so early, my little seductress?” she asked her.

“I should be asking you the same thing. And that’s Miss Seductress to you.”

“Just getting ready for work. It’s Thursday, and I can’t risk being fired all over again.” She knew that chances were that that wouldn’t happen under these circumstances. Her boss did say to come in when she was in a condition to work, after all.

“Well, do you want me to at least make you breakfast? You know, as payment for last night’s under-the-covers performance.”

Even though it had only been a couple of days, Lyra had so missed Bon Bon’s bedroom etiquette. Still, she frowned at herself in the mirror and turned and kissed her marefriend. “No time. I really need to get going. Don’t worry, I’ll let you make me whatever type of food you want when I get back.”

“I suppose I should open up the shop as well. Some ponies are probably lost without their weekly fix of candy.”

“That, and we just need more money. How long do we have until rent is due?”

“Two weeks or so.” Two weeks was too close for Lyra’s comfort.

“Dang. I’ll be extra nice at work today, then. Need to soak up some tips. I may even bring people the correct drinks this time.”

Bon Bon giggled and hugged her. “I’m sure you’ll be tipped fantastically. You have a way of making ponies smile.”

“Glad you think so.” She pecked her with one more kiss before she levitated a case and began to make her way down the stairs. Bon Bon followed her closely.

“What’s that?” she inquired, gesturing to the case.

“Oh, just my lyre. I figured that it would give me something nice to do on break.”

The earth pony smiled. It was apparent to Lyra that she enjoyed that she was picking the instrument back up again. “Well have fun! I can’t wait to hear what beautiful songs you create.”

“I don’t think ‘fun’ and this job go together all too well, but I’ll try my best. Anything to bring us home more money.” She smiled. “And, you know, bedroom points.” Bon Bon kissed her and she set off on her merry way.

She was rather merry, in fact. Going to work not to avoid her marefriend and instead to make more bits was a good feeling to her. Maybe she would have to start being nice to her customers after all. She found herself with a spring in her step, nodding and smiling to the ponies that passed her by on the way. An early morning trip that would normally feel grueling, her walk to the restaurant didn’t take long at all.

The doors were unlocked and her boss was already inside. She figured that it would be a good time to let her know that she would be working today. Lyra happily, or as happily as a pony with an awful boss could be, trotted into the mare’s office. Cinnamon looked up from her newspaper. “Are you going to make me money today?”

“Yes,” came her reply. “I’m ready to get to work.” She glanced at her lyre case. The real reason she wanted to get to work was so she could get to her break and play some.

“Good, because Spring Skies still hasn’t been able to come in. Apparently she needs some ‘time to spend with the baby’. I can’t believe she thinks that’s a valid excuse.”

Lyra and Bon Bon probably wouldn’t be having that problem. “You don’t date much, do you?” the unicorn asked her flatly. Receiving a stern glare in return.

“Get to work.”

*** *** ***

Through whiney foals and non-tipping customers, the time had finally come: her break. It was time for her to let loose on her instrument and let some emotions flow for a bit.

Of course, there was a matter of where she would play the thing. She could have played it right outside the restaurant, but that made her worry that she would look like a bum begging for money. She could hide somewhere in the corner of the kitchen, but with cooks, if they were even deserving of the title, running in and out, it could be a rather troublesome place.

She continued to scan the restaurant until her eyes came upon one of the corners. It was a small little area with one chair and a small table; nopony ever sat there. The unicorn figured that if there was a good place to play, it would be there, in the corner that everypony always avoided. One seat can’t hold a whining family.

Lyra trotted over to it, levitating her lyre by her side. She plopped down on the chair and magically opened her bag, her eyes taking a survey of the area to make sure she hadn’t drawn attention to herself. The instrument in her hooves, she prepared to play. A quick pluck of each of the strings confirmed that she was in tune and ready.

Slowly and quietly at first, her forelimbs ran across the instrument, soft notes sounding out where only she could hear them. She relaxed, allowing herself to be taken away by the music she played. Her eyes began to close. It wasn’t until the awful twang of a missed note that she snapped out of her trance.

The unicorn looked down at what she held in her hooves. She knew that nopony was listening, but she still felt a small amount of embarrassment at the mistake; she felt like a failed performer. The mare looked around the restaurant, seeing ponies eating and going about their own business. None of them were paying her any mind, luckily. Slowly, she took a breath and positioned her hooves to begin again.

The plucked notes rang true this time, her comfortable trance returning. She allowed herself to melt into her improv once more, and as she did so, her confidence rose. The notes became louder and brighter. Her pretty song resonated throughout the restaurant. She danced up and down a tapestry of scales, bringing her improvised tune into a final crescendo before she plucked the final note. She relaxed, preparing herself for the deafening silence that would enclose her.

The silence never came. Instead, she was greeted with what sounded applause.

Immediately, Lyra looked up to find herself surrounded by ponies; she looked upon the faces of the customers that she had just served. Each of them was cheering. Not just cheering, but cheering for her. She was left speechless, her eyes drifting across each of their faces.

It took a shrill voice to break their applause. “Alright. What’s going on over here?” Lyra did not need her boss to butt in right now. This was her time. The pegasus cut right through the crowd. “Lyra? What are you doing to my customers?”

“Nothing, Cinnamon. I was just playing my lyre.”

“‘Just playing’? See me in my office.”

“But-”

“Now.”

Lyra sighed. Maybe it really was the time for her to get fired, although she didn’t realize that playing an instrument and accidentally entertaining ponies was a crime. She levitated the lyre into its bag and followed her boss into the room in the back of the building.

By the time she had reached it, the mare had already hopped behind her desk. “So. You’re a little performer, are you? Decided to do something else on your break?”

The unicorn didn’t want to deal with this. “Look. If this is about what I do on my break, then-”

“No, you look.” Lyra caught her boss’ stern gaze, watching the pony lean over her desk for further emphasis. “I’m not paying you to play the lyre.” The mare shifted back down into her seat, relaxing back to her neutral posture. “But I could be.”

Lyra had expected some sort of harsh reprimand. “I’m sorry, what was that?”

“You saw how all those ponies flocked to your playing. How would you like to make that a regular thing?”

“I... I don’t know.” The unicorn fidgeted with her bag. “I’m pretty rusty.”

“Who cares? You could play the instrument with your bum and people would still listen to it. Music sells, no matter how awful it is.”

Lyra stared at her quizzically. “Um. Thanks, I guess?”

“Don’t mention it. Now when does your shift usually end? Five? Six? Ten?”

Shouldn’t her boss already know this? “Five. Well, I think it’s supposed to end at that time.” The unicorn realized how often she had stayed later than that. Working sucked.

“Perfect. It ends at nine now.”

“Wait. What?” This was one of the most ridiculous ideas she had ever heard.

“Your shift is now from whenever-the-hell-you-get-here to nine, the latter part for your playing. I’m just thinking about it now. I can totally jack up my food prices and send them through the roof!”

“Is that really the bes-”

“Your pay will increase too.”

“I’ll do it.”

Celebrating the Lyra and Bon Bon Way

Surprisingly, Bon Bon had taken the fact that she wouldn’t see her marefriend until late in the night rather well. At first, she was wholly against the idea, but that was before Lyra told her about how much more she would be paid. After she released that little detail, the earth pony’s eyes widened and she was tackled in an encouraging hug.

Cinnamon Swirl had given the unicorn until Monday to prepare and write a lyre piece to perform that night. She opted for playing an extended improv; one where she could just let her emotions flow from the strings. The mare spent the entire weekend practicing her scales, shifting between minors and majors and weaving an intricate quilt of notes. Bon Bon seemed to enjoy listening to her play through all those times, even if it was just improv.

This was no exception.

Lyra felt relatively nervous as she looked at the restaurant she would be playing in. What was normally a disgusting building had been cleaned up quite well. Elegant lighting was set up around a makeshift stage in the corner, the tables shined with a glossy glow and the foal’s high-chairs were moved out of sight. All this sudden elegance was probably a distraction from the mediocre food, of course.

Mares and stallions were seated in their fancy attire. Cinnamon must have really been wanting to establish the Everfree Café as an upscale eating establishment, even if it was only so for later in the day. All weekend she must have been working to get the word out that her restaurant would be hosting some live, proper entertainment. Even the food was fluffed up to look better, even though it was still the same stuff that they always served.

A knot twisted itself in Lyra’s stomach. Her nerves reached the point where she was glad that she hadn’t eaten anything in the past few hours. This would be her first live solo performance. She had played with the orchestra in high school, but never anything more than that.

She stared at herself in the bathroom mirror, splashing her face with water. Her eyes traced down the simple dress she was wearing. The simple, yet effective gown hugged her flanks tightly. In the back of her mind, she was glad that Bon Bon would get to see her wearing it.

The fact that her marefriend would be watching her play her instrument was the largest reason her stomach was doing backflips. The setting was less intimate, but far more intimidating. The times she had played for her at home was just practice; she wasn’t doing it to entertain anypony, just to sharpen her skills with a pseudo-audience.

This, however, was very real. All those other ponies didn’t matter. Most of them were probably only going to dismiss her playing as ambient background noise, just as Lyra thought they should. Still, the idea of Bon Bon’s eyes glued to her as she walked on the makeshift stage was a daunting concept.

She took a deep breath and turned off the sink. The unicorn couldn’t procrastinate any longer; it was time for her step out and let herself be known.

The bathroom door creaked open and she stepped through it. She carried herself with pride, walking into the restaurant, her lyre levitating by her side. Most ponies didn’t pay her any mind as she walked to the secluded area she would be playing in. It wasn’t until the mare seated closest to the stage started stomping her hooves on the ground in applause that the rest of the restaurant joined in. That mare was Bon Bon.

Lyra smiled at her. She really looked beautiful this evening. Maybe I’ll receive another type of reward for this performance as well, she thought to herself. The prospects of some sort of post-performance bedroom adventure excited her to no end.

The time had come; it was time for her to stop procrastinating and get down to business. She sat down in her chair and positioned herself to play, taking numerous deep breaths.

At the first note, the world around her stopped. Any idle chatter faded away. Lyra’s eyes locked themselves upon her instrument, not wanting to see all the eyes that would be upon her. She focused on each note, creating all the beauty that she knew she could.

It didn’t take too long for idle chatter through the room to resume. It calmed her nerves slightly to know that she was no longer the center of attention; it was just the initial note that drew everypony’s eyes. She would have to get used to this if she would be doing this nightly, after all.

The unicorn began to feel something that she hadn’t thought she’d ever feel on the stage: comfortable. She felt herself relax, despite where she was. Her relaxation reached the point where she felt confident enough to look up from her instrument.

Immediately, she caught the eyes of Bon Bon, those blue marbles taking in her every move. She couldn’t help but smile as she played, continuing to stare into her eyes. Her attention could not break from her marefriend; she just looked so beautiful watching her. The mare was giving her her full attention, dispelling all of her fears. There was nopony else in the room; there was only Lyra playing a song for Bon Bon.

Before she knew it, it was over; the song was done. All the ponies in the room applauded, but Lyra didn’t care. All that mattered was her marefriend’s happiness. Running purely on instinct, she dropped her instrument and hopped off of the stage.

Her hooves carried her to the cream colored pony that had so grabbed her attention. Without hesitation, she embraced her, throwing her lips upon her in a passionate kiss. She allowed the mare to dangle from her forelimbs, the pony fully trusting her to keep her safe. Gasps of shock sounded throughout the room, but Lyra continued to kiss her marefriend. Slowly, applause erupted through the restaurant, ponies cheering for the couple.

Lyra’s ears perked at the sound of her boss’ door opening. “Alright, Lyra, what’s going on here?”

The unicorn squeaked in surprise, accidentally dropping Bon Bon to the floor. That would be the last time she would be trusted with that type of kiss. She quickly picked the mare off of the floor. “Um, nothing, Cinnamon. I just finished playing.”

“Looked more like you were doing some early celebrating. I won’t be having any of that in my restaurant.”

“Why? Because we’re both mares?” That had to be the reason. Her boss was as intolerant as they come.

“What? No, because I’m not paying you to suck face with your marefriend. Seriously, this is not that kind of restaurant.”

Lyra still didn’t like the answer. She had finished playing her show; why shouldn’t she be able to celebrate? “Well, what do you want me to do?”

“I want you to save that stuff for when you aren’t on the clock.” She gestured to a clock upon the wall. Sure enough, it read 8:58.

The unicorn was baffled. Did two minutes really matter? As much as she wanted to protest, she knew that she couldn’t argue with such a stubborn pegasus. It was absolutely ridiculous, but she supposed that she would just have to deal with the stupidity. “Fine,” she muttered, trotting back to the stage. She looked to the clock once more, seeing 8:59.

She sighed, levitating her lyre and placing it in her lap. She looked out across the restaurant, noticing that most of the ponies had returned to their food. There were a few, however, who remained watching, no doubt curious because of the spectacle she and her boss had made. Her eyes eventually found Cinnamon and shifted between her and the clock. Using her last ten seconds, she mockingly played four notes, staring at her boss. She then hopped off of the stage, ironic applause echoing through the room.

“See? Isn’t it so much better to finish your shift? Now you can go home and do whatever it is you fillyfoolers do.”

Lyra didn’t know exactly why, but that made her mad. It took all of her self restraint to not reach out and smack the mare right then. That, and the pay was good. Wordlessly, she wrapped a hoof around Bon Bon, levitating her lyre and case as she led her out of the restaurant. She was sure that ponies were watching them as they walked, but she didn’t care at this point. It was time to get out of there.

They walked in silence, side by side, until the pair came upon a park bench. Lyra let herself plop down upon it, reclining and relaxing her back against it. The earth pony curled up next to her, being the first to speak.

“You know, you did a fantastic show.”

“Yeah? Well sorry it had to be ruined.”

“Ruined?”

Lyra adjusted herself. “Yeah. If it wasn’t for my stupid boss rearing her ugly head, it could have been the perfect evening for you.” The unicorn crossed her forelimbs.

She found herself in the embrace of the mare. “But it was, Lyra. It was beautiful and amazing. I didn’t know you could play so well.”

Still unconvinced, she continued. “Well, yeah. Even I can admit that I played well tonight, but two minutes? Seriously? Are the two final minutes really so Luna-damn important that I can’t celebrate just a little bit?”

“Well, Lyra-”

“I bet it’s because you’re a mare. That’s it. If you were some strapping young colt she would have pulled up a chair and some popcorn. Celestia, I can’t believe that ignorance.”

“Lyra, listen to-”

“I mean, nopony else had a problem with it! Just that stupid bigot that I’m supposed to call my boss. I can’t believe I’m working for her. If I wasn’t-”

“Lyra!” Bon Bon almost yelled before silencing her with a deep, passionate kiss. The unicorn was disappointed when she released her lips from her grasp so soon. “Lyra, listen to me. It’s not that big of a deal. I still know you did it all for me and I love you for that.”

“Really? Despite the fact that it was ruined?”

Bon Bon looked at her with forgiving eyes. “No evening with you could ever be ruined. You know that.”

“Well... maybe if Cinnamon didn’t have such a rod up her-”

“Lyra! Stop with that!” She kissed her once more. “No matter what, I will still love you. You did amazing up there.”

This time, Lyra had to kiss her back, smiling. She drew away, wanting to linger. “I know you do. I just... this whole job thing is so stressful. I don’t know how much longer I can take working for this boss. And that’s excluding all of the awful, awful customers.”

“Are you thinking of quitting?”

“No! Never! I took this job for you and I’m going to finish this job for you. Until we get back on our feet, I’m going to keep working.”

“You don’t have to-”

“Yes I do. Bon Bon, I love you, and dammit if I won’t prove that.” Once more, she kissed her, advancing and putting more pressure on the mare’s lips. She continued to move forward until she had her marefriend pinned to the park bench. Through her lips, she could feel Bon Bon moving with her, responding to each of her subtle actions. She was disappointed when the other mare broke away.

“Then we have a problem,” the earth pony said to her, gazing into her eyes. “I won’t let you work for that awful boss, no matter how much it pays.”

Lyra could but watch those eyes as the moved, taking in every feature of their deep aquamarine hue. “Are you saying that you would like to be my awful boss?” She gave her a quick peck on the lips. “Because I would be alright with that.”

Bon Bon giggled. “Oh Lyra, you know that I already am.” The unicorn felt her warm hooves running up and down her back. “But no. I can’t let you work for that Cinnamon Swirl anymore. She’s not a nice pony.”

The mint pony gave her a pouty look. “But I thought you liked bad ponies.” She fluttered her eyes.

“Well, I guess... but your boss- will you stop that? I can’t focus with you looking at me like I’m some sort of fiery vixen.” All was going according to plan.

“That’s because I’m looking at a fiery vixen.”

“Oh... Oh my.” Lyra watched Bon Bon frantically look around, no doubt to find that they were still out in the open on a park bench. The unicorn enjoyed watching her blush.

“What do you say we head back home and continue our private celebration?”

“Um. Yay?”

*** *** ***

It might as well have been Lyra’s birthday, minus the party hats. Those tend to get in the way. She knew that her back, among other things, would definitely be sore the next day.

The couple lay next to each other in their bed. Bon Bon tightly cuddled up to her marefriend as she liked to do. Lyra was laying back in a reclined position, her hooves behind her head, allowing the earth pony to gently run her hooves over her body. The unicorn was staring off into space lost in thought.

“Bon Bon,” she spoke up. “I was thinking...”

“Really? Sounded to me like you were doing a lot more than thinking.” The mare winked at her.

“Well, yeah, but really. I was thinking about that job and how much it means to me to make you happy.”

“Oh, you definitely know what to do to make me happy.” The candy maker was clearly still lost in bliss.

Lyra smiled. “Of course. But I’m willing to propose a compromise. I’ll quit my waitress job.”

Bon Bon seemed to snap out of her trance. “Really? You’d do that for me.” She looked away for a moment. “But how will you earn any money?”

“That’s the compromise part. Just the waitress job. You know how I told you my pay would increase?”

“Yes.”

“Well I think it’s enough to more than make up for those lost hours. And we’ll get to spend more time together. I’ll only work from, what, seven to nine?” Lyra felt rather excited about this. Sure, she wasn’t working long, but the amount of time she actually had worked was just awful. Made her wonder why ponies worked at all.

The unicorn was happy to see her marefriend smile. “That actually sounds like a good idea. I’ve been needing some help out at the store. With Nightmare Night coming up soon enough, we’ll be as busy as ever.”

“Oh yeah. I’ve been meaning to ask you how the store is doing.”

“Cluttered and busy as ever. I sometimes wonder if turning the bottom section of our house into a shop was the best idea. I mean, look at all those booths and buildings down in Ponyville Square. They take home bags of bits every day.”

Lyra frowned. That reminded her of something daunting, yet important. “Another thing. Rent’s due soon. Are we going to make it?”

Bon Bon’s smile faded. “I... I don’t know at this point. We’ve been doing our best, right? That’s all that matters. If we have to move into a smaller home or get an apartment in Manehattan, so be it.”

The unicorn thought for a moment, continuing to frown. “No.”

“What?”

“We’re going to stay in Ponyville and I’m going to help you reach your dreams. Sure, things are rough right now, but you had a goal to have the most successful sweet shop in town, and I’m going to help you reach it.”

The earth pony gave a wide smile before climbing up her body and planting a kiss on her lips. “I love you. Have I ever told you that?”

“Once or twice.” Lyra returned with a forceful kiss. She found her hooves automatically running along the mare’s body. Slowly, she broke away with a hopefuly grin. “Round two?”

“Round two.”

*** *** ***

“What?!” Lyra could only watch Cinnamon slam her hoof on the table. “You can’t do that to me!”

The unicorn looked at her nametag that she had placed on the desk. “Sure I can. I don’t want to work for you as a waitress, so I don’t have to.”

“Now why the hell wouldn’t you want to work for me as a waitress? It’s a great job!”

“Yeah, for you. I’ve had it and I refuse to put up with this anymore.” Lyra couldn’t help but smile.

The pegasus was visibly flustered. “Well... well... you’re fired!”

“Awesome. Severance pay.”

Cinnamon let out a groan. “No! You’re quitting!”

“Fine by me.”

“Ugh!”

Lyra smiled. “I’ll see you tonight, then.”

“What? No! You aren’t working for me anymore!”

“As a waitress. I still would like to play my lyre in the evenings.” She could tell that she was winning. More than winning; she was absolutely destroying everything her boss threw at her.

The mare was almost a deeper shade of red than her coat. “Then you’re fired!”

“Then I guess you’ll find somepony else to play for you,” she said with a smug grin, standing up and heading out the door.

She glanced back to see that Cinnamon looked like she was holding her breath. “Wait! No! You’re not fired! I need that money!” She seemed to be deaf to anything but money.

Lyra circled back and sat down. “Good, good. Now I’ll be working from seven to nine at triple minimum wage.”

“What? No! You’ll be working from six to ten at double minimum!”

“No.”

“Fine! Fine!” The pegasus shoved some papers off of her desk. “Everything is just fine and dandy. Get out of here.”

Lyra complied, finding no reason to push the mare’s buttons any longer. Walking through the door, she turned back for one last look. “See you tonight?”

The mare looked a defeated mess. “See you tonight...”

The unicorn walked away, straight out of the restaurant. As soon as she stepped out into daylight, she stopped; she couldn’t help but let out a giddy cheer.

She finally won. For the first time in what felt like forever, she felt like she had control over her life. She had just absolutely decimated her boss’ tyrannical rule and still would get to play her lyre in the evenings. And for more pay too! She could hardly contain her excitement. She just felt like kissing somepony.

She quickly galloped home to do just that.

*** *** ***

Each of her evenings had been absolutely fantastic. Lyra felt that everything was finally falling into place. She would get to spend all day helping Bon Bon at home, sometimes doing more than simple helping, and spend seven to nine, just as she said she would, playing on the stage. It was a perfect system. She could feel her relationship with Bon Bon grow stronger, and the bits she was making weren’t bad either.

She had just finished another night of playing. It felt nice to know that ponies were enjoying it, even if it was just ambient background music. She was reminded of her high school days, back when she would play with the orchestra. It always made her smile to hear ponies cheering for them. Now it was her time to shine out above the rest.

As she was packing up, a stallion approached her. He was better dressed than most of the ponies in the room and carried himself with a certain poise. “You’re Lyra Heartstrings, correct?” he asked her.

“Um, yes sir.” She really didn’t know how to address him. He looked like one of those fancy-shmancy Canterlot types.

“I must say, you put on a fantastic show.”

“Thanks. I, uh, I did my best.” Sure, ponies applauded but she wasn’t used to being approached directly.

“We’ll be keeping our eyes on you.”

“That’s grea- wait, what?” By the time she had said that, the stallion had already turned flank and left.

Okay... Lyra thought. Now that was weird. She wasn’t too keen on the idea of being watched. Aside from onstage, of course. The only other thing she did that she would consider worth watching was with Bon Bon, and there’s no way she would let anypony watch that.

Well... maybe if they asked really nicely... She giggled to herself. There would be no way her marefriend would be up for that. She still was hoping to ease her up to the idea if hopping in the sack with Vinyl and Octavia.

Vinyl and Octavia... she thought. They would love to see me play. Well, Vinyl, maybe, but Octavia definitely would. The mare finished packing her lyre and trotted out the door. I’ll send them a letter sometime. It would be cool to have them here.

She trotted towards her home, alone on the road. Bon Bon couldn’t make it every time she played, but Lyra was alright with that. She could spend all day with the mare anyway, and she attempted to use every last second of those days.

The house peeked over the horizon. It was Friday evening, so they would have all night and all tomorrow to do whatever it is couples do when they’re alone together.

Walking into the house, she didn’t even bother with a “hello” before locking lips with her marefriend.

*** *** ***

“Um, Lyra? What are you doing?”

Lyra was shuffling around the room, checking every nook and crevice. It seemed a rather strange thing to do; normally they’d be cuddling right now. “I’m searching for cameras,” she replied flatly.

“Oh. I didn’t know you wanted cameras, Lyra. That can be arranged if that’s what you’d like.” The unicorn turned to see the blush on Bon Bon’s face. Her own face’s redness soon matched it. Cameras would be nice.

“Well... I... Uh. We could try that sometime...” She shook her head. “But that’s not what I’m looking for. I’m making sure we aren’t being watched.”

“Watched? Who would want to watch us?”

She continued to shuffle through any items in the room that could contain hidden cameras. “Earlier this evening after I played this stallion came up to me and told me that he’d be watching me. I need to make sure he wasn’t creeping on us.”

“Really?” Lyra watched Bon Bon blink in surprise. “That’s great!”

“Great? Do you want somepony watching us?” Was Bon Bon really that adventurous?

The earth pony laughed. “Not us, Lyra. You.”

“I don’t see how that helps me.”

“Don’t you understand? He’s going to be watching you play your lyre. This could mean great things for you! He could be a talent agent!”

“Oh...” Now that was embarrassing. The fact that her own mind had immediately thought of that somewhat worried Lyra. She considered that she may have sex addiction.

“Congratulations, Lyra! I’m so happy for you!” Bon Bon brought her hooves around her, dragging her back to the bed in a tight hug. She responded with a soft kiss.

“Thanks.” She had never thought that playing the lyre could ever really mean anything. Especially not something big enough for a possible talent agent to seek her out. It was an absolutely fantastic feeling. Again, she felt the urge to kiss somepony. Luckily, she could do that immediately. She always loved feeling how Bon Bon would react to her sudden, passionate kisses.

The mare tightly grasped her. “I would suggest more celebration, but I believe that we just did that.”

“Yeah.” Lyra didn’t want to admit it, but she was completely exhausted. “Think it’s time to call it a night?”

By the time she had finished asking, Bon Bon was already snoring.

*** *** ***

Bon Bon sat anxiously while Lyra paced. The day had come; the day that they’d find out if all their efforts to make money would be in vain. They waited and waited. Both of them knew that their futures would heavily depend on what would come in the mail this day. Lyra even took some sips of a “special drink” to help calm her nerves.

Her mane was an absolute mess, which was partially Bon Bon’s fault. They did anything they could to calm themselves in their desperate times of waiting. The clock ticked. Lyra debated taking a shower and trying to relax, but knew that would be the time that the mailmare would knock on the door. Dammit, Murphy, she thought to herself.

“Maybe the mail isn’t-” Bon Bon began, only to interrupted by a knock on the door. Time suddenly stopped; Lyra just wanted to hide.

She took a deep breath. “I’ll get it.” She stopped her pacing and slowly trotted to the door. Her fear of what could be contained in the bills overcame her.

Anypony but Derpy, she thought. Although she liked the mailmare, there were certain times where letters didn’t seem worth it. Anypony else, please, was all she can think as she approached their front door. Even Cinnamon Swirl coming to fire me. That would be fantastic.

The door creaked open. “I brought you a letter!”

Lyra's Tiny Horn

Lyra found herself stammering, her eyes locked on the gray mare in front of her. The pegasus cocked her head, multiple envelopes in her muzzle. Slowly, the unicorn began to collect herself.

“Yeah. Thanks, Derpy,” was what she finally managed to get out, reaching out with her magic and accepting the letters. “Say hi to Dinky for us,” she added with a smile. Or what she thought was a smile. She was too focused on what was most definitely her and Bon Bon’s bills.

“Will do, Lyra! Have a nice evening!” Derpy said as she left, merrily trotting away. What Lyra would give to be so carefree.

“We’ll try,” Lyra muttered, magically shutting the door. Her eyes were locked on the bills she was levitating, her thoughts focused on the fact that they contained her and Bon Bon’s very future. She drew in a deep breath, turning around and slowly trotting into the kitchen. Her marefriend was nervously tapping her hoof.

“Well,” Bon Bon said quietly. “I guess that we might as well open them.”

Lyra tossed the envelopes on the counter, levitating out the top one. “Yeah,” was all she could reply. Her heart felt like it could burst out of her chest. I could really use a drink right now, she thought.

“Well, here goes nothing,” she said, drawing Bon Bon close to her. She brought her face against hers, silently begging for whatever comfort she could get. With a deep breath, she opened the envelope and began to read its contents.

“Dear Lyra Heartstrings,” she read out loud. Strange way to start a bill. “You have been selected for a free horn enlargement! Details and information are enclosed.”

Bon Bon fell over and Lyra facehooved. The cream mare was rolling on the floor in a fit of laughter while the unicorn just threw the letter over her shoulder. She probably should have checked the letter before she opened it.

“Bon Bon, you can stop laughing right now.”

The earth pony did not let up. “It’s funny,” she said in between giggles, “because your horn is tiny!”

“My horn’s not tiny! It’s average size!” Lyra crossed her hooves. She could feel how red her face was.

Bon Bon finally picked herself up from the floor. “Sure it is, honey. Though, I was sure that you were an earth pony the first time that I met you.”

The unicorn stammered for a moment before simply sticking her tongue out at her marefriend. She waited for Bon Bon to turn away, then grabbed the horn enlargement letter, filing it away for later. In reality, she was glad to have the distraction; it eased the tension. Bon Bon spoke up before she could procrastinate any more.

“Well, we might as well open the actual bills. Hopefully we won’t get any more spam.”

Lyra laughed nervously. “Yeah. Hopefully.” She reached out with her magic and grabbed the nearest letter, deftly opening it. Immediately, she made a disgusted face. “Ew. Numbers.”

“That’s what bills are, Lyra.”

“Have fun.” She began to trot up the stairs, grabbing a beverage with her magic. It didn’t take long for Bon Bon to stop her by grabbing one of her rear hooves and pulling her back into the kitchen.

“Oh no. These are as much your bills as they are mine. We have to find out if we are completely out of money sometime, and that might as well be right now.”

Lyra sighed. “Fine. I’ll help you by looking over your shoulder and offering words of encouragement.”

“That’s all I ask for,” Bon Bon replied with a smile.

The unicorn opened a bottle of cider on her horn. It’s average size! was all she could think.

*** *** ***

“What’s that number mean?”

“That’s our house number.”

“Oh.” Lyra rubbed the back of her neck with her hoof. “I knew that.”

Bon Bon didn’t seem to be paying too much attention. She was speedily writing checks, taking notes and keeping track of their money. Lyra always knew that she was the one who was good at that. The unicorn was much more content with sitting back and drinking yet another bottle of cider. Her attempts to help had resulted in Bon Bon having to clean up the floor. Maybe she was drinking just a little bit too much.

Lyra was idly attempting to balance a bottle on her muzzle, to little success, when Bon Bon spoke up. “Done.”

“Done?”

“Done.”

“Well, what’s the final answer?” Lyra asked sluggishly, attempting to drink out of an already empty bottle.

The earth pony held some paper in front of her in her muzzle. “See for yourself,” she said through the paper.

The inherberated unicorn shakily grasped it in her magic and squinted at it. “Two... Five... Three... S-”

“That’s our house number. Again.”

“Right. I was just testing you.” Her eyes scanned the page. She pointed her hoof at one figure that stood out to her. “What’s that number?”

Bon Bon had a grin as wide as can be. “That’s our balance.”

Lyra squinted harder. “And... and it’s positive?” The earth pony nodded excitedly in response. The unicorn sloppily threw her hooves around her. “I don’t know what that means, but I think it’s a good thing!”

She felt Bon Bon’s lips against hers. “It is! It means that we can keep everything! And more!”

The mint pony, in her clouded state, still didn’t know exactly what it was, but anything that got a fantastic kiss from Bon Bon must be great news. “You know what we should do to celebrate?” she said, continuing to kiss her marefriend.

“What?”

“Drink more cider!”

Bon Bon looked at her with a concerned look; at least it was what Lyra thought was a concerned look. “Don’t you think you’ve had enough? You started ‘celebrating’ before we- I even figured out our finances.”

“I’m an optimist,” she replied as she popped open another bottle. Taking a swig, she added, “you’re probably going to have to re-explain all this stuff to me in the morning anyway.”

Lyra stared at her for a while before the earth pony’s stern gaze relaxed and she laughed. “Well, I guess I can’t argue with that.” She trotted over and grabbed herself a bottle, laughing as she opened it on Lyra’s horn and lifted it. “To us!”
“Sure! Whatever gets to the drunken sex faster!”

*** *** ***

The couple laid back on their bed, doing something that Lyra hadn’t expected; talking. They were discussing either the political implications of the Solar Monarchy or dogs. Lyra couldn’t tell, nor did she care. She just enjoyed being able to have a massive weight removed from her shoulders. She didn’t remember what it was that Bon Bon had told her that had put them both in such a good mood, but whatever it was, it was big news. No use worrying about it now.

“...and then I told her, ‘no, you listen here. I play my lyre when I want, and if you’ve got a problem with that, you’re gonna have a chat with my hooves. Or my marefriend’s hooves. She’s tougher.’ I think that’s what really brought her down.” Lyra stretched while telling the story, nuzzling Bon Bon.

“How heroic,” the earth pony said in a loving tone. “If only I could have been there.”

“Yeah. Well, yeah. I handled it pretty well.” Lyra was surprised at how few bottles of cider Bon Bon was drinking. She always was a lightweight. “What about you, Bonnie? You have any good recent stories, you magnificent mare?”

The unicorn always liked to see her giggle. “Well, nothing compared to yours, of course.” She was the only pony Lyra had ever seen who would take tiny sips of cider. “Same old, same old. Customers and sweet making.”

Lyra stretched once more and wrapped both hooves around her. “You know what, pretty filly? You’re cute. I like you. We should hang out sometime.”

“I think I’d like that,” Bon Bon giggled. “Although, I do have something I want to ask you,” she added.

“What’s that?” Lyra questioned, yawning.

“Do you realize how cute you are when you’re drunk?”

“Well, do you realize how cute you are when you’re not drunk? And I’m alright with that. More cider for me.” The unicorn yawned and stretched one more time before curling up into Bon Bon’s soft fur. “G’night, Bonnie. Hope I learn what those numbers mean in the morning.” The earth pony probably replied, but Lyra wouldn’t have heard her; she was already fast asleep.

*** *** ***

Lyra’s head hurt, but it didn’t matter; the excitement of the news overcame her. She hadn’t realized it during the previous night because of her stupor, but her and Bon Bon had succeeded; they weren’t going to lose the house. In fact, they did better than Lyra could have ever imagined. The two were enjoying a nice breakfast in bed.

“This wouldn’t have been possible without you,” Bon Bon said, laying on Lyra.

“Oh, please. It was all because of your delicious sweets.”

“That had nothing to do with it. It’s all you. You really do care.”

Lyra blushed. “Well, thanks. I guess working for an awful boss paid off in the end.”

The earth pony looked at her. “You’re not going to quit completely, are you?”

“Maybe.” Lyra shrugged. “I mean, if we aren’t broke, there’s no reason to, right?”

“But you were playing your lyre so well. I can’t imagine you stopping already. I love to hear you play; it is your cutie mark after all.”

The unicorn looked back at her flank. “Well, yeah, but Cinnamon Swirl is just such an awful pony. I don’t know how long I can work for her. And stuff.” Yeah, that’s it, she thought.

She received a skeptical look in return. “Well, you’ve already beat her once and received the pay you needed. What’s the problem?”

“Well, um, what about the crowd of ponies? They’re pretty nerve wracking. It’s not easy being the center of attention.”

“But you love the attention.” Bon Bon sat up and looked her in the eyes. “Tell the truth; you just want to sit at home and drink cider all day.”

Lyra passed a glance to the relatively large amount of bottles beside the bed. “Well, um... maybe?”

Bon Bon kissed her. “Well that’s too bad. You’ve started working, and I can’t let you stop just yet. Just because we aren’t completely out of money doesn’t mean we can just give up.”

“But... but working is so hard... It’s not very fun.”

“That’s why they call it ‘work’, Lyra. Don’t worry your pretty little horn about it; the more you play the lyre, the better it will get.”

“Yeah, but how do you kn- hey! It’s not little!”

She received a smile in return. “Fine. Petite. But really, Lyra. You should keep playing. I think it’s what you were born to do.”

The unicorn thought for a moment. On the one hoof, she really did enjoy it; it was a fantastic stress reliever for her. On the other, however, working was work, and Lyra liked the lazy lifestyle she had been accustomed to. With a sigh, she stared at her marefriend. “Now, if I do keep playing the lyre, will you promise to come see me play every time?”

“Of course.”

“Even when it sounds awful and ponies are booing me?”

“Especially when you’re a laughing stock.”

Lyra finally smiled. “Alright.”

“You’ll keep playing?”

“Only for you.”

Bon Bon cheered, tackling Lyra in a hug. “You won’t regret it! I just know you’ll be able to make some fantastic music!”

The unicorn could but clutch her head. “Ow...” There was that hangover she had been ignoring.

The cream mare shrank back with a sheepish smile. “Sorry. I forgot how hard you were hitting the cider last night.”

Lyra rubbed her head with her hoof. “It’s fine, it’s fine. I just need to relax someplace silent. And quiet. With no sound.”

“Alright. I’ll let you sleep. Or pass out. Or whatever.” She looked over to her night stand. “Oh! I almost forgot!” Lyra groaned once more. “Sorry. Anyway, look at this.” She passed over a clipping from Ponyville’s real estate.

“Yeah? It’s just some rundown building.”

“But look at the price.”

She levitated the paper to her eyes and squinted at it. Then she glanced at Bon Bon and squinted at it again. “You’re going to have to give me another math lesson.”

Bon Bon chuckled and then looked at her. “But... but do you think it’s something we could eventually afford? I mean, moving the sweet shop to Ponyville square would just be fantastic.”

Lyra shook her head and then gave the paper back to her with a large smile. “You know what, Bonnie? I think that you’re crazy.” Before she could adopt a disheartening frown, the unicorn wrapped her hooves around her and kissed her. “But it’s the beautiful, brilliant type of crazy that I love. I think that’s a great idea.”

The earth pony replied with a merry laugh. “I love you, Lyra.”

Lyra smiled, laying back on her bed. “I know.”

“Well, goodni- er, morning.”

“Good morning,” she chuckled. With that, she turned off the light and curled up to enter the bliss of silent sleep.

*** *** ***

With each night at the restaurant that passed, Lyra’s confidence grew. She found herself exploring the limitations of her instrument, playing more intricate pieces of improv as well as venturing into different types of scales. Her efforts seemed to pay off; each evening she would see more and more ponies gather to see her play. On multiple occasions, she asked her friends, Carrot Top and Blues, to sing as she played. It all seemed to be paying off, and that goal of buying a new store for Bon Bon seemed attainable.

A Friday evening had gone perfectly; Lyra was just finishing packing up her instrument. She gave one last glance at the audience and noticed a familiar stallion approaching her. “Hey, you’re that Creeper McCreeperson.”

The stallion raised an eyebrow before giving a light-hearted chuckle. “My apologies, Miss Heartstrings. I suppose last time I didn’t bother with a proper introduction.” He bowed low. “Concerto, at your service. I represent Canterlot’s musicians. I believe I told you that we’ll be watching your talent.”

Lyra felt somewhat uneasy. “Are Canterlot’s musicians all creepy? Because I’m pretty sure that you said you’ll be keeping your eyes on me, and I don’t think that’s legal.” She wasn’t ready to admit that her marefriend had been right just yet.

Concerto seemed taken aback at first, but then allowed his expression to ease. “Again, my apologies. What I meant was that we would be checking out-”

“My flank?”

“Not at all, Miss. I mean that we would be observing how you-”

“Sing in the shower?”

“We just want to see-”

“My tail swishing side to side?” At this point Lyra had him blushing a deep shade of crimson. “Sheesh. At least buy me dinner first.”

“That’s not what I meant at all!” he stammered.

She arched her neck to take a look at him. “Yeah, you’re not really my type anyway. You’ve got the wrong machinery.”

The stallion took a breath. “Alright. Now, if you will let me speak, I represent the Canterlot musicians, and I am pleased- well, disgruntled at best, currently- to tell you that we would like you to come up to Canterlot for-”

“Group sex?”

He toppled over. An even deeper blush covered his face and Lyra couldn’t help but laugh. The stallion picked himself off of the floor and rubbed a temple with his hoof. Slowly, he drew out a letter, and hoofed it to the unicorn. “Here- here’s a letter explaining everything. Take it before I change my mind.”

Lyra quickly snatched it up as Concerto turned and left, the embarrassed stallion hanging his head low and hiding his face from any onlookers. She admired the handiwork of the envelope before taking one last look at the escaping pony.

“Geez. What’s his deal?”

Author's Note

I surprised myself by making it all the way through the chapter without making a "horny" joke.

Invitation

Lyra wasted no time in trotting back home. Despite the way she played with Concerto, she was genuinely curious as to what the letter contained and wanted Bon Bon to be there when she opened it. If anything, her marefriend should be able to get a good laugh out of it.

She trotted into her home, immediately found Bon Bon and kissed her on the cheek. The mare was focused on writing some numbers that Lyra didn’t care about; she assumed they probably had to do with sweet sales. “How’s my little candy-ass doing this fine evening?”

“Large,” Bon Bon laughed, briefly looking up from the paper. “And how was your show?”

The unicorn stretched, draping a hoof over her marefriend, who continued to do that horrifying thing called math. “Absolutely exhausting. I’m going to need, like, five types of massages after that.”

“Oh, really? Well I think that can be arranged.” Her focus didn’t break from the paper. “I’ll set up an appointment at the Ponyville Spa.”

Lyra blinked for a moment. “Um, no. I mean special massages.”

“Yeah. They have specials there.”

“I mean ultra-special-when-two-mares-love-each-other-very-much massages,” she said with a wide grin.

Bon Bon looked up from her paper. “Oh? Oh! Sorry. I was a little bit distracted.”

“A little bit? I was about to switch to other methods to get your attention.”

The earth pony frowned and looked at her paper. “But then my muzzle-writing would have gotten all messy.”

“Whatever works,” Lyra laughed. She leaned over to take a peek. “So. Watcha writing?”

“Just some projections on how much-”

She was interrupted by an exaggerated yawn. “Fantastic. Keep up the good work.”

She received a stern look in return. “You know, you could at least pretend to be interested.”

“I do. I’m just not a very good actress.”

Bon Bon could but smile and shake her head. “That you aren’t. Stick with the lyre.” She pushed away the paper and pencil. “Alright. You have my undivided attention.So what’s up? How was your evening?”

Lyra thought for a moment and looked at her envelope. “You remember that creepy stallion I was telling you about? The one who said he would be watching me?”

“The one that is probably a nice stallion who likes to see you play?”

“Pfft. Well, I won’t have to worry about him anymore. Anyway-”

“Won’t have to worry about him anymore?” Bon Bon interrupted. “Lyra, what did you do? You didn’t be yourself, did you?”

This wasn’t a story that the unicorn really wanted to tell her marefriend. “Well, I did sort of tell him that he had the wrong machinery. And accusing him of propositioning for an orgy probably scared him off a bit.”

Bon Bon facehooved. “Oh, Lyra. I’m going to have to put a leash on you or something.”

“Hey. Maybe I’d like that.” She smirked. “Anyway, as I was saying before I was rudely interrupted,” she looked at Bon Bon with a mock scowl, “he gave me this note. Said something about Canterlot musicians. I was too busy finishing his sentences to notice, but it sounded like it was important.” She presented it to the candy maker. “I don’t know why anypony would waste such fancy printing on me.”

Bon Bon eagerly took it and opened it, finding a single letter inside. Lyra arched her neck to take a peek at it, but the earth pony moved it out of the way, not letting her see what was inside.

“Dear Lyra Heartstrings,” Bon Bon began. “Grow your horn by five inches instantly! Call-”

“Gimme that! That’s not what it says!” Bon Bon may have been able to hold it out of the unicorn’s reach, but she couldn’t keep it out of her magical grasp. Lyra’s eyes quickly scanned the letter. “It’s not small...” she muttered under her breath.”

“Dear Lyra Heartstrings,- well, at least you got that part right,” she interjected. “We are proud to tell you that you have impressed us here in Canterlot. It is our great honor to invite you to audition for hundred and second annual Musician’s Ball.” Lyra looked from the paper for a moment. “Wait. Is this an audition to attend the ball or to play at the ball? These fancy ponies are so confusing!”

Bon Bon scooted closer to her, taking a look at the paper. “It looks like both. I’ve heard of it; apparently it’s where all the best musicians get together and talk about their performances and plan future ones. Look here.” She took over the reading. “Provided you prove yourself at the audition, you will be granted entry and a performance spot at the Ball.”

“Sounds like a total snob-fest,” Lyra commented.

“But think of what this means, Lyra. Think of all the musical opportunities you’d have if you get to go to the ball. You’d get to meet so many musicians and learn so many new things.”

“Ew. New things.”

“Hey, now. You usually have no complaints about trying new things.”

The unicorn blushed. “Well... yeah. But still. When are the auditions, anyway?”

Bon Bon looked back at the paper. “In two weeks, it says. They’re up in some concert hall in Canterlot.”

“Nope. Can’t do it. Got important two-weeks-from-now stuff to do.”

“Oh, come on, Lyra! You need to at least try! Even if you don’t make it, it’s still a massive honor to be asked to audition.”

“I guess...” Lyra conceded. “But, I mean, preparing for things is hard work! I don’t like hard work.”

“Well, that’s pretty obvious. Think about it this way, though; if you get picked up by some awesome company in Canterlot, you’ll never have to work for Cinnamon Swirl ever again.”

The unicorn thought for a moment. On the one hoof, never having to work, or even see, Cinnamon again would be absolutely fantastic. On the other, despite how great the idea was, agreeing would mean Bon Bon was right. Lyra couldn’t have that. She thought for a moment longer before hanging her head. “Alright. You’re right. I’ll do it.”

“You will?” Bon Bon jumped up and hugged her. “I promise that you’ll have fun.”

“I have but one condition.”

“Oh? And what would that be?”

“You have to be my hot escort,” she said smugly. “I can’t see these Canterlot types without an attractive mare hanging off of me.”

“Oh...” Bon Bon muttered. “I don’t know if I can do ‘hot’.”

Lyra laughed. “Oh, of course you can. You can do ‘hot’ better than anypony in Ponyville. I can’t tell you how many ponies are jealous of me.”

“Really?”

“Of course.” It wasn’t far from the truth; ponies Lyra would meet would tell her how lucky she is to have such a calm and collected mare like Bon Bon. Some would even ask if they could try a sample of her... candy. That would usually end with Lyra smacking them in the face. “If there’s one thing you excel at, it’s having a hot flank.”

Bon Bon looked back at her rump and opened her mouth to speak, but the unicorn cut her off.

“And don’t even start saying that it’s too large. You know that it’s the absolute perfect size for a mare to have. In fact, I’m jealous.” Lyra smiled at her. She knew too well how insecure her marefriend was about her rear. Being a candy maker, she naturally had to sample her products; unfortunately, that led to Bon Bon’s insecurities. Lyra wasn’t lying, either; she did quite enjoy the earth pony’s rear.

“Oh, well, I guess for you I could tag along. But are you sure they’d accept... this? Us being both mares? You and I both know how stupidly traditional Canterlot ponies can be.”

“Now who’s the one not wanting to go?” Lyra laughed. She pulled the mare in close. “Of course they’ll be fine with it. Not everypony in Canterlot has a stick up their rear; you know that from being there. Take a look at Vinyl and Octavia. Octavia’s from Canterlot, and she’s pretty cool.”

“Yeah, you would know how cool she is,” Bon Bon muttered. Lyra worried that the conversation was going to go down that road again, but her fears were dispelled when her marefriend laughed. “You know what? I need to stop being silly. I’d love to go to that audition with you.

“Great. Glad I could convince you to convince me to go.”

She giggled in reply. “Just don’t embarrass us while we’re there.”

Lyra raised an eyebrow, feigning being hurt by Bon Bon’s words. “Me? Embarrass us? Why, I would never dream of doing such a thing. You must be thinking of somepony else.”

“Oh, am I?” Bon Bon said smugly. “So I guess it wasn’t you who, when on a carriage ride, snatched the reins and yelled ‘Ride, noble stallion! To the mead hall of Valhalla!’?”

“Pfft. No. I would never do something like that.”

“So you’re not the mare that got drunk at a restaurant and asked the waiter what size her pants were?”

“I wasn’t even drunk...” Lyra muttered. “But, no. That’s not something I do.”

“What about the pony who saw Princess Celestia visiting and yelled ‘Look! I see a solar flare!’?”

The unicorn wholeheartedly laughed. “Okay, that one I have to take credit for.”

“You were under watch for a week!”

“Totally worth it.”

Bon Bon sighed. “Lyra, just promise not to try to embarrass us this time.”

“Who says I try?” She received a stern gaze. “Alright, I try. Mainly because you’re extremely cute when you blush, but I suppose I can maybe slightly tone it down a little bit. Possibly. I’ll try to keep any public flank smacks to a minimum.”

“I’m sure you will, Lyra. I don’t know how successful you’ll be, but I’m sure you’ll try.”

Lyra laughed and smiled before giving her marefriend a kiss on the cheek. “You know me too well. And don’t even pretend you don’t like it.”

Bon Bon shook her head. “Do you know what the problem is? I do like it. I just love all of your antics, no matter how... infuriating they can be.”

“Then I guess I’m doing something right.”

“You know what’s weird? Sometimes, when we’re out in public somewhere, I wish you’d do something embarrassing.”

“Well, I could always try harder.”

“No, no. That won’t be necessary. But it’s just... strange.” Bon Bon looked away for a moment. “You definitely make my life more interesting.”

With a smile, the unicorn trotted to her and hugged her tightly. “That’s what I’m here for, Bonnie. I’ll always be here for you.” She allowed herself to lean against the mare. Her eyes looked over Bon Bon’s shoulder and found themselves upon the paper she had pushed aside. “So, what were you writing, anyway?”

“Do you really want to know? Or do you want to get to the part where we passionately make out on the couch already?”

Lyra smiled. She did know her too well. “Well, definitely both. But I am curious to know what you were working on. It seemed pretty important to you.”

The unicorn was glad to see her marefriend return her smile. “Well, I was running through some numbers; I think we may be able to make a down payment on that building soon.”

Knowledge of the building had completely slipped Lyra’s mind. She was surprised to see the numbers. “Oh. So you’re really serious about this, then.”

“Of course I’m serious about it. Ever since I got my cutie mark I’ve wanted to own the greatest sweet shop in Equestria. Selling candy out of our house was a start, but I think that it’s time to go for something bigger. I think that there’s so much more we can do, especially together. I just feel that getting a new building in the middle of Ponyville would be the key.” She paused for a moment. “Also, that would free the house up for... other activities.”

Lyra smirked at the thought of what those ‘other activities’ could be. “You know what? If you think it can be done, then I think so too. I’ll support you no matter what.”

No matter what she had done, she couldn’t have prepared herself to deflect Bon Bon’s tackle-hug and kiss combo. “Thank you so much, Lyra. I love you.”

“And I love you more, but that’s an argument for another time.” She let herself smile while she gathered herself to her hooves and helped her marefriend up. A question crossed her mind. “You said ‘soon’. How soon is ‘soon’?”

“Very.” Bon Bon looked at the paper. “Very, very soon. If I’m running numbers correctly and we keep going the way we’re going, we should have enough to put some money down in two or three weeks.”

Lyra felt wholly surprised. Bon Bon had told her that they were doing better since she had started playing her lyre, but she hadn’t realized that they were doing that much better. If she knew a little bit more about finances, she probably could have checked, but she had always chosen to leave that to her marefriend. She was better at it, anyway. “Really? That’s great!”

“Oh yes! I’m so unbelievably excited. The price is so low that we definitely can’t pass this opportunity up.”

The unicorn had her own doubts as to why the price was low, mainly from seeing a picture of the building, but she decided to hold her tongue. “Well, I’m glad that it makes you happy. It’s so great that you can follow your dreams.”

“Isn’t it? And it’s for that reason that I want to check out the building, first thing tomorrow.” Bon Bon was practically bouncing off the walls with excitement.

Lyra didn’t share her enthusiasm. She was worried that the mare could be getting her hopes up too high, and she didn’t want to see her get crushed. “Are you sure you want to so fast? I mean, you’re awfully excited right now. Don’t you think you should let yourself die down a bit before you jump on in?” She absolutely despised having to play the voice of reason.

“Nonsense! The longer we wait, the more of a chance there is of somepony else running in there and snagging it before us. I don’t think I could stand to wait any more to follow my dreams.”

As much as Lyra wanted her marefriend to follow her dreams, she felt that there was such a thing as diving headfirst too fast. She understood how excited the earth pony was, but she worried that she may be too caught up. Finally, though, she gave up on her internal debate; Bon Bon had her heart set. “Alright. We’ll go, first thing tomorrow. I can’t wait to see you happy.”

She was rewarded with another hug and kiss from Bon Bon. “Thank you so much, Lyra. I’m so lucky to have somepony like you, and I know you’ll like the place.”

Lyra let herself smile. “Of course. As long as the place isn’t a total dump.”

*** *** ***

This place is a total dump! Lyra thought. As soon as they arrived in the center of Ponyville, the pair was greeted with the sight of a dilapidated structure. It was even worse than the picture Lyra had seen. Just the sight of the flaking shingles and peeling walls made her want to turn away. But she couldn’t. She had the mare she loved there and had to make sure to make her happy.

“Well,” Bon Bon said, staring at the small structure with eager eyes. “We might as well head inside and take a tour, right?”

“Right...” The unicorn gulped, preparing for what was in store. If the building was as bad as it was from the outside, she didn’t want to know what was on the inside.

House of Horrors

The door groaned as it opened, a sound that immediately wasn’t a good sign. Lyra worried that it would just fall off, right there. The next thing she noticed was the reeking air; the pungent odor reminded her of her own attempts at cooking for Bon Bon. Dust filled her vision, obscuring the rest of the interior; she assumed that she wasn’t missing much. A distant hum, presumably coming from an old boiler, resonated under the building.

Despite all the horrors, Bon Bon seemed to retain an excited demeanor. “Oh, isn’t this just awesome? I do hope that the owner doesn’t mind that we’re dropping in to take a peek.”

“Yeah...” Lyra muttered, staring at the failing structures and peeling wallpaper. “I know that I wouldn’t mind at all.”

Bon Bon took a deep, energetic breath, making the unicorn wince at the thought of all the dust. “How about we take a look at the other rooms?” The earth pony giddily trotted down a hallway, pushing her way through a cobweb.

Wordlessly, Lyra followed her. In reality, she didn’t want to see any more of the small building, if it was even deserving of the term; she would have been perfectly content with turning flank and never taking a look at the shack again. She supposed that, at the absolute least, she could pretend to be excited for the mare she loved.

“This must be the kitchen,” her marefriend stated as they entered a bare room. Lyra couldn’t tell; it could have very well been an extensive collection of seven different types of dust.

“Yeah. Uh, spacious,” she said with as much enthusiasm as she could muster.

“Isn’t it?” Bon Bon said with a massive smile. “Just look at everything I could do here! I could put a machine there, a candy press here, a wrapping station over there...” She ran around the room like a puppy who just found her legs. “Oh, this is just so exciting!”

There was no way in the unicorn’s mind that her mare could possibly be so excited about such an awful building. Something wasn’t adding up. “Bonnie, are you on drugs?”

“What? No! I just can’t wait to own this place. It’s so... awesome!”

Something had to be wrong. Maybe she had been sampling too much of her own chocolate. With a sigh, Lyra trotted over to her and draped a hoof on her shoulder; she had to support Bon Bon, no matter what. “You know what? If you like this building, then I do too. I’ll help you make this the best damn sweet shop in all of Equestria.”

Bon Bon shifted to quickly return the half-hug. “You really mean that?”

“Of course. I-” She was interrupted by her own coughing from the dust the earth pony had accidently kicked up.

“Oh no! I’m sorry! Are you alright?”

“Yeah- ack! Just give me a moment...” Lyra forced out in between coughs.

“Hold on, let me get you some water.” The mare swiftly searched some cobweb-covered cabinets and pulled out a relatively clean glass. Lyra watched as she deftly brought it to the sink and turned it on. At first there was nothing, but then there was a quiet rumble as a disgusting green sludge spewed from the faucet, causing Bon Bon to drop the glass in fright. “Eep!”

With one final cough, the unicorn trotted over to her. “If it’s alright with you, Bon, I’m not drinking that.”

She just stared at the glass for a moment, a look of shock remaining on her face. Lyra would be laughing hysterically if she didn’t still have some dust in her throat. “It is alright with me. That’s just foul.”

For a moment, Lyra thought, and hoped, that her marefriend would give up on this broken building because of that. To her disappointment, Bon Bon spoke up and her face returned to that strange smile that she had been sporting.

“Oh well. That would only be a minor setback, right? Some bad plumbing can’t stop me from following my dreams!”

Lyra could have facehooved right there. She decided that it would be a good time to say something. “Um, Bon Bon? Don’t you think that this building may not be worth it?”

“May not be worth it?” Bon Bon echoed. “You saw the price! We can’t go wrong with that! It’s just so... perfect!”

“Yeah...” the unicorn muttered. “Perfect.” She shook her head. “But don’t you think that there may be a reason that it’s priced so low? Maybe we should save our bits for a little bit. You know, save up to buy some place nice.”

“There is no place nicer than this,” the earth pony said, clearly trying to retain the excited facade she had adopted. “This is the absolute best place for sale. This is my only chance to do what I was born to do.”

Lyra shook her head once more. “Yeah, I get it. I know that this is your dream, but don’t you think some things can be too good to be true? I mean, look at this place. The entire building is falling apart!”

Bon Bon took a deep breath, looking contemplative. Finally, her features softened. “You know what, Lyra? You’re r-”

Whatever she was about to say was interrupted by the click of a handle turning and the creak of a door opening. Both mares froze in place, staring at each other. Slowly, Lyra motioned for them to take a look at who entered; she may get to meet the owner and get them to talk Bon Bon out of buying the place.

She went into the room first. “Hello, my name is Lyr- oof!” She almost immediately ran into some sort of structure. The unicorn took a step back to find that the structure was actually a walking, breathing skeleton. “Ahh!” she screamed in unison with the creature, both of them cowering away from each other. She hid behind hind her hooves for a moment before taking a peek out and seeing that the skeleton was actually an old stallion.

“Listen t’ me,” the elderly colt spat out. “I don’t know what yer here for, but if you’re thieves, I ain’t got nothin’ to steal, you hear?”

“We- we’re not thieves!” Lyra stammered. “We’re potential buyers!” She immediately covered her mouth with her hoof, realizing the mistake she made.

Bon Bon trotted to her side. “Yeah, we’re just taking a look, sir.”

“What fer? My shack ain’t fer sale!”

“But... but we saw your ad and thought-”

“Ad? What ad? I didn’t put out any ads!”

The earth pony quickly pulled the ad out of her saddle bags and hoofed it to the elderly stallion. “This ad.”

Lyra watched as he pulled out the most comically massive glasses she had ever seen. She made sure to stifle a laugh. “This ain’t mine. This is the one I bought this awful place from.” He shook off his glasses, pulling out a pipe and dropping it into his mouth. Bubbles slowly floated from the end of it.

“So it’s not for sale?” Bon Bon asked sounding disappointed.

“Why in Luna’s name would I want to sell this trash heap? Who wouldn’t want a building that’s going to collapse any moment on their heads?” He, with swiftness that didn’t seem possible for such an old pony, trotted forth and thumped Bon Bon on the back of her head. “Hell, I’m closer to just givin’ the place away to a wrecking ball than selling it.”

“Is it for sale or not?”

The stallion thumped her once more, muttering something about “youngsters” and their “stupidity”. He blew more bubbles out of his pipe. “I’m tryin’ to protect you from this monster of a place. You don’t want this building.” Lyra was glad to see that the stallion had a sense of reason.

Bon Bon looked sad. Horribly sad. Her ears drooped and flopped against her head. “Oh... Well, I guess if you’re not selling it, there’s nothing we can do...” Lyra was mentally doing a victory dance.

“That’s right. Now if you could kindly get off my land before ya hurt yerself, or me, that would make my day.”

Lyra was about to give the stallion a hoof bump right there as they left; he had just done what she had been trying to do all day. Just as they were almost out the door, Bon Bon turned back with a sigh, and looked at the pony. She reach into her saddlebags and pulled out a small sack and presented it to him. “I’ve got one hundred bits. I’ll give you that for the building.”

Immediately, again using his eerie swiftness, the stallion jumped up and snatched the sack from Bon Bon. “You’ve got yerself a deal, filly!” Lyra could but watch with her jaw on the floor as the old pony tossed out a scroll, presumably the deed, and galloped out into the daylight, the bag of bits in his muzzle. He was excitedly skipping and shouting something about being “free from tyranny” and “bingo money.”

“Interesting stallion,” Bon Bon said as she picked up the scroll.

Lyra frantically shook her head. “Wha- what just happened?!”

“I just bought the building. Saved quite a bit of bits too.”

“But... but he was... and you were... and what?”

“I was worried that he really didn’t want to sell. Probably why he was making up all those things about it being a ‘trash heap’.”

The unicorn’s mind was racing. Despite all of her, and the weird old stallion’s, best efforts to deter Bon Bon from buying the building, she had lost. The earth pony must have somehow subconsciously used the prospects of bingo winnings to win the stallion over. Lyra was just baffled. Reality was like a crushing, destructive hammer:

They were now the proud owners of a dumpster.

“Isn’t it just great?” Bon Bon said excitedly. “Now we can turn this building into our own! I’m so excited!”

Lyra just fell over. She had lost. Worse, she was taunted with the prospects of victory before her hopes of winning were completely and utterly annihilated by her marefriend. “That... that’s great, honey...” she muttered from the floor. There was nothing she wanted more than to wake up from whatever horrible dream she was in.

“Lyra? Lyra, are you alright?” a worried Bon Bon said to her.

Whatever she said next wasn’t heard; Lyra passed out.

*** *** ***

The blinding rays of Celestia’s sun peeking through the windows was an utter annoyance if nothing else. The mint unicorn’s heavy eyes barely peeked out from their hiding places before shutting tightly again. There were times when she enjoyed being lightly woken up by the sun; now was not one of those times. There was nothing she would like more than to be back in the embrace of sleep.

Lyra slowly sat up, her eyes still tightly sealed shut. She found her hoof tracing the soft bedding she was seated upon. Wait, she thought. I’m in... my room? Her eyes burst open, quickly taking in the sight of her and Bon Bon’s shared bed and room; the earth pony was nowhere to be found. How did I get here? she pondered, retracing her steps.

The last thing she remembered was falling to the floor in that disgusting building Bon Bon bought. She winced at the thought of her marefriend throwing those one hundred bits at that stallion; she had thought, and hoped, he had convinced her otherwise. I know I’m supposed to be supportive of everything she does, but how am I supposed to do that if she makes awful decisions? I mean, that place was just awful! A blind pony could have seen that! She fell back with a tortured groan.

Maybe it’s my fault, she wondered. Maybe I should have taken a stand and said “No, Bon Bon. We are not getting this building.” She brought pillow above her and buried her face into it with another groan. I should have said something other than “If you like this building, then I do too”. That’s a lie if I’ve ever said one.

“Why does being a good marefriend have to be so damn difficult!” she nearly shouted, not caring who heard. I shouldn’t have to lie to make her happy. I should have told her everything I really thought, no matter how much it would have hurt. Oh Bon Bon... She rubbed her temple with a hoof. She definitely would have hurt, knowing her. I mean, how would I feel if somepony suddenly told me that what I believed in was stupid?

She thrust her hoof into a nearby pillow. “Celestia damn it! There is no right answer!” She turned over on the bed. Suddenly, her eyes widened. What if Bon Bon heard that? Her gaze softened. If she hears, good. If yelling to myself is the only way I can get the truth out, so be it.

Lyra shifted her body so that her hind hooves were hanging off the bed. Her gaze found the clock on the wall. Two o’clock, she thought. So Bon Bon is probably downstairs selling candies. Great. I’ll just have to avoid her until I can find a way to talk to her.

Her eyes scanned the wall while her mind attempted to recall all of the events of yesterday. She found them to be hazy and blurred. The unicorn looked at her bed; she didn’t even remember how she got there. In her morning mentality, it all pointed to one answer:

“It was a dream,” she laughed to herself. “It was all an awful, awful dream.” She fell back, giggling. “It never happened. We never looked at the building and Bon Bon never wasted a hundred bits on an oversized trash can. I woke up, I’m going to go downstairs, and everything will be normal. The world will be absolutely perfect.” Almost in a daze, she stood up to test that theory.

She stumbled out of the room, tripping over her hooves just at the top of the stairs. Cursing herself for being so clumsy, she stared at the steps she almost fell down. Mornings suck, she thought to herself. Getting up felt like the last thing she wanted to do; she searched her brain for a reason to just lay there for the rest of her life.

The reason came. Her ears perked at the sound of familiar voices coming from the downstairs living room. “...I just wish that I wasn’t so impulsive sometimes, you know?” There was no mistaking it; even in Lyra’s tired state, she knew that was the voice of Bon Bon. “It seems like I can’t make a right decision to save my life.”

“Do what I always do,” came another voice. It sounded shaky to Lyra.

“And what would that be?”

She heard the crack of a can opening. “Nothing. Don’t worry ‘bout your problems. They’ll go away eventually.” The words slurred a bit; it sounded like it could be Berry Punch. The sound of a pony gulping down a can soon followed, followed by a satisfied release of breath. “That’s good. Where does Lyra keep the rest of her cider?” Yes. Definitely Berry Punch.

“You drank it all,” came Bon Bon’s reply, making Lyra wince at the thought of her reserves running dry. “But I don’t know, Berry. I... I thought I was so sure. I feel like I made a big mistake.” She sounded like she was choking on those last words.

“Take it from somepony who’s made a few mistakes in her time: this one’s not a big one. You could have gotten busted for public intoxication or knocked up.” Lyra could tell that Bon Bon wasn’t taking the joke too well. She could hear choking sobs echoing in the room. “Oh, c’mere. Tell Auntie Berry what’s wrong.”

She heard Bon Bon cry for a moment before she spoke once more. “I just- I just don’t know what I did! Now I’m stuck with this disgusting building that’s falling apart!” Lyra’s attention was immediately grabbed as she eavesdropped; there went her dream theory. “I mean, I really didn’t even want it that much! I just... I just...” She broke down once more, crying loudly.

“Shh... shh...” Berry comforted, interrupted by a hiccup. “Take your time. I charge by the hour.” At least that got a pained laugh out of her.

“Lyra was just so supportive... I felt like... like I couldn’t let her down. I just had to buy it. I just had to.” Thorough confusion washed over Lyra. What? she thought. “She wants me to follow my dreams and... and it’s like I can’t live up to it. She’s too good for me. And now I’ve got an ugly building that will only disappoint her.”

Berry paused for a moment before responding, letting out a barely audible burp. “Listen. I know Lyra, and there’s nothing you could ever do that would disappoint her. She loves you. You know that, right?”

“I just don’t want to let her down. I mean she wants to see me be successful more than I do! I’m just a big disappointment.”

“No. Don’t say that. And please don’t cry anymore. You’re getting my coat all wet.”

Bon Bon replied with another pained chuckle. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t worry you with my problems.”

“Damn right you shouldn’t,” Berry laughed. “Listen, all I know is that she supports you because she loves you and believes in you. Nothing will change that for you two. You’re the best couple I’ve ever seen, and I don’t just sexually wise.”

Lyra heard Bon Bon sigh, her tears subsiding. “Thanks, Berry. You’re a good friend.”

“It’s the least I can do; you let me drink Lyra’s cider.”

Bon Bon laughed once more. Lyra continued to listen at the top of the steps, hearing a long moment of silence coupled with shuffling movement. Her marefriend had stopped crying and Berry was probably making herself comfortable on their sofa. Lyra began to slowly take steps down the stairs, halting as soon as she heard Bon Bon speak up once more. “So how is Pinchy?” she asked, a hint of sadness still in her voice.

“A little bundle of joy, as always. Although, I do wish she wouldn’t go snooping around in momma’s refrigerator.”

“It must be difficult, having a filly and all.” Bon Bon was audibly trying to sound as normal as possible. “I couldn’t imagine the responsibility it must take.”

“Oh, it’s not too bad. Just feed her and walk her and she’s happy. It feels good to see her smiling face at the end of the day though.” She paused for a moment. “You sure that you don’t have any more cider?”

“Positive.”

“Darn. Oh well.” There was another pause. Lyra began sneaking down the stairs once more, stopping again when Berry spoke up. “What about you two? Have you ever thought about having a foal?”

“Oh... no- I mean, yes. Well, sort of,” Bon Bon stammered. Lyra knew that stammering; it was the stammering her marefriend did whenever they talked about a topic she was really uncomfortable with. “Um, maybe. I guess... I guess I’ve always thought about it being nice.” The unicorn imagined she was blushing up a storm.

“Well, why don’t you?”

“Well, um, first there’s the, uh, mechanics of it... Lyra’s kind of a mare.”

Kind of? Lyra thought. I’ll have her know that I’m one hundred percent mare! She almost wanted to trot down the stairs immediately and clear that up, but she decided that it would be in her best interests to continue to listen; she had occasionally breached the topic with Bon Bon, but every time she mentioned foals her mare turned red and shied away from the topic.

“Pfft. That’s not a problem,” Berry countered. “There’s that artificial insemination thing that’s real big now. Or you could just get with any stallion that catches your eye.” She snickered a bit. “And also adoption is always an option if you really want one. Hell, there’s even unicorn magic to give Lyra a-”

“I’m well aware. Thank you, Berry.” Lyra really, really wanted to see what shade of red Bon Bon was.

“No problem. But really, you two should think about it. I mean, look at you. You’ve got an excellent foal-bearing figure.”

Silence followed. Lyra recognized the silence. It was the somepony-commented-on-Bon-Bon’s-weight silence; the one that the unicorn always dreaded. Luckily, Bon Bon broke it before things got too tense.

“That... that’s a good thing?” Her tone wasn’t one if irritation but one of curiosity.

“Oh yeah,” Berry responded casually. “Nice and wide hips. I’m pretty sure that I’m not the only pony who’s jealous of your curves.”

“But... I thought...”

“Thought what? Not everypony can be scrawny like Lyra. You’ve got the goods.”

I’m not scrawny! the unicorn retorted in her head. I’m... petite!

Bon Bon sighed. “It’s just that... ever since I started making sweets I’ve gained some pounds from... sampling. I mean, I know that Lyra has noticed. I haven’t been to the beach in so long because of it.”

“Sounds like you need Lyra to make you feel like a desirable mare again.”

I do that all the time! She’s definitely desirable! She knows that, right?

Bon Bon paused once more. “I guess... I guess you’re right. I’m just being silly. I need to stop worrying about silly things.” Lyra’s jaw dropped; Berry had just done what she was never able to do, which was calm Bon Bon down about her figure.

“That’s right. Just know that I would trade bodies with you any day of the week.” There was an audible pat on the back. “Where is Lyra, anyway?”

“Sleeping. She just collapsed yesterday when I bought that building. I had to carry her back home. It made me realize how big of a mistake I had made.”

Lyra heard the sound of a pony moving. “Yeah. That’ll do it. It’s been nice, Bon Bon, but I’ve got to head home. Pinchy’s got a playdate with Derpy’s kid, and there’s some potential in that mare for me. I’ll see you later.”

“Goodbye, Berry. You have fun.” The sound of a door opening and closing soon followed. Then there was silence. Lyra sat midway down the stairs, contemplating her next move. She couldn’t just walk down the stairs and say ‘Hey Bon Bon, I was listening in on your conversation,’ could she?

Oh wait, yes she could.

“Hey Bon Bon, I was listening in on your conversation,” she said as she hopped down the final steps. The mare jumped in surprise, almost hiding behind the couch. Lyra’s gaze scanned the room, falling upon tissues strewn about and some empty bottles of cider.

“You... you were?”

“Yeah,” the unicorn confirmed lamely. She slowly walked over to the couch and seated herself next to her marefriend. Time seemed to halt as they stared at each other, Lyra putting on a rather awkward smile. She didn’t know what to say next; she had not thought this plan all the way though.

Luckily, Bon Bon was the first to speak. “I’m sorry!” she said as she hopped on top of Lyra with a tight embrace. “I’m so sorry. I should have to you the truth. But you were... We just...” Tears began to well up in her eyes once more.

“Shh...” the unicorn said, putting a hoof to her lips. “It’s okay. I’m not mad, or sad, or anything. It’s alright.”

The earth pony relaxed slightly. “It’s just... I should have told you the truth from the beginning. I should have said that I didn’t really want the building instead just getting it on a whim. I mean, it just looks awful!”

“That it does, Bon Bon.”

“I just didn’t want to disappoint you. You were so supportive of me and it felt like I would only mess what you wanted up.”

“I only want you to follow your dreams, Bon Bon. That means you doing what you want. I hated that building the first time I saw it. I only supported you because it was what you wanted.”

Bon Bon snuggled up to her. “Well, I guess neither of us got what we wanted.”

Lyra thought for a moment, hoping that she could think of some response that would result in some sort of bedroom activity. Landing on the first thing she could think of, she spoke. “As long as I have you, I will always have what I want.”

Her marefriend giggled and held her tighter. “Oh, Lyra. That’s so sweet. And corny.”

She responded with a laugh. “You know it. That’s just who I am. And you know what, Bon Bon? I’m going to help you reach your dreams.”

“Oh? How so?”

“We have the building. We just need to do something with it. I’ll do whatever it takes to make it the best damn sweet shop in all of Equestria.”

“You’d do that? For me?”

Lyra nodded ever so slightly. “Of course, and that’s just the bare minimum. I’ll put in whatever time we need to turn that dump into a beautiful, working building. Whatever it takes to make you the happiest mare on the planet.”

The earth pony seemed to try to look concerned, but still had a smile spread across her face. “You really think we can do it? I mean, it will be really expensive.”

“Of course we can. It’s not too much. We just need to fix the plumbing, repair the walls, put a new roof on it, paint, probably buy a new kitchen, move your candy making supplies, hang a sign, put in new furniture for the customers, and put in a bed.”

“A bed?”

“A bed.”

Bon Bon smirked, catching on to what Lyra was saying. “Well, that sounds fantastic. Do you really think it’s doable?”

“I don’t think so, I know so. I know how you get when you’re determined, and I’m just as determined to help you.”

With a beautiful smile and glistening eyes, Bon Bon snuggled up to her. “I love you. I just love you so much.”

The unicorn wordlessly relaxed in the mare’s embrace, perfectly content to let her words settle in and run a hoof through her mane. She was very glad to have a little bit of honesty back between them. Despite her earlier rest, she would be perfectly happy with drifting to sleep right there. Unfortunately, Bon Bon spoke to her before she could drift into dream land.

“Lyra... am I fat?”

She mentally groaned. She had thought that Berry had cleared this up with her. “Of course not. You’re absolutely beautiful.”

“But I’m... big...”

“Well, I always like something to hold on to,” Lyra chuckled. From the look on Bon Bon’s face, her joke wasn’t well received. She quickly remedied her mistake with a peck on the cheek. “You’re not fat, Bon Bon. You’re curvy and stunning.”

“Curvy?” Bon Bon said with a frown. “That’s what fat mares call themselves.”

Lyra pressed a hoof to her marefriends lips. “Stop it, okay? You are perfect. Absolutely perfect. Don’t you ever, ever think otherwise.” She drove her point home with a loving kiss. It wasn’t a particularly fervid kiss, but there was a certain force behind it that brought a smile to Bon Bon’s face when she pulled away.

“Thanks. I... I needed that.” She shifted her body, her hooves still wrapped around the mare in front of her. “It’s just been so hectic lately. With the sweet shop, and your auditions and all. It was only luck that Berry came by asking for cider. I let her have some on the condition that she just talk to me.”

“She didn’t drink all my cider, did she?” Lyra said quickly, staring in a no-nonsense fashion.

“Oh, of course not. I would never let her clean out your stash. I just told her that was all we had to make sure she didn’t.”

Lyra pecked her on the cheek in an ‘I love you for that’ sort of way. “Thanks. Berry... she’s definitely an interesting pony. She’s fun to go out on the town with.”

“Well, it’s not fun for me. I usually have to clean up the mess you make.”

“Yeah...” the unicorn replied sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck with her hoof. Another silence soon followed, the pair just staring into each other’s eyes for a spell. Lyra would be perfectly content with sitting there and observing her marefriend’s familiar features all day. She always loved the color of her coat and how her beautiful blue eyes accented it; she loved how her mane curled and rested upon her head. How this mare could be insecure about her looks, she would never know.

Still, a thought wiggled in the back of her mind. As beautiful as the mare in front of her was, she still felt a need to address the distracting question. “Bon Bon, have you ever really thought about... it?”

“It?”

“You know... it? Umm...” Even knowing how uncomfortable Bon Bon was with her question, she decided it would be best to come out with her inquiry. “Foals, I mean.”

“Oh...” The earth pony blushed heavily. “Well... I mean... h- have you?”

Lyra expected that she would try to dodge. “Of course. I’ve always wondered what it would be like to have another set of feet running around the house. But I want to know what you think of it.”

The shade of red she turned made her look too adorable to Lyra. “Well... I- I guess... M- maybe in the future? If we have the money?”

This was the biggest answer Lyra had ever gotten from Bon Bon. She guessed it just took a lot of coaxing. “Well, yeah, not now of course, but it’s always something to think about, y’know?” The earth pony just squeaked and nodded. “Plus, I’ve always wondered what it would be like to have a-”

“That’s enough,” her marefriend said sternly, pushing through her embarrassment. “Now I don’t want to think about... that... You’re a mare for a reason.” Bon Bon looked away for a moment, visibly trying to hide her facial expression.

“You’re thinking about it, aren’t you?” Lyra teased.

“No!” The unicorn raised an eyebrow. “Maybe...” Bon Bon sighed. “A bit...” Lyra responded with a good-hearted laugh. The mare continued to blush furiously. She seemed to want nothing more than to hide behind her hooves. “I mean... what if the magic wasn’t reversible?”

“Then I guess I’d be your stallion marefriend,” Lyra chuckled.

“Oh no. Gross. Let’s... let’s not think about that.”

“Heheh. You’ve got yourself a deal. For now,” she replied with another chuckle. She let her hooves tighten around her mare. Once again, she found herself lost in the calm blue sea that was the mare’s eyes; it felt good to go swimming. She was almost disappointed when those pretty eyes began to close. Slowly, the mare turned, releasing a large and exhausted yawn. It didn’t take long at all for the pony to curl up, a soft, cute snore escaping her lips with every breath. Lyra smiled at that.

As creepy as it may or may not be, Lyra loved watching her lover and marefriend sleep. There was something about the way her ear twitched while balled up as she snoozed that just made the unicorn’s heart melt. Wrapped around her, she could feel the mare’s steady heartbeat as her chest rose and fell with her breath. She just wanted to hug her as tight as possible and never let go.

Lyra felt her own yawn break out of her muzzle. As much as she didn’t need sleep, it would still be completely fine with her to drift off with her last feeling being that of her marefriend’s soft coat. Slowly, she closed her own eyes and took one last sniff of the air, taking in the candy maker’s sweet scent. Content with the arrangement, she allowed herself to slowly disappear, the only thing in her consciousness the mare in her hooves.

The Auditions: Part One

The coming days were some of the busiest Lyra had seen in a long time. With the audition swiftly approaching, she had to write a lyre piece astounding enough to impress ponies who judge musicians for a living. And, of course, every mistake possible was being made. Her lyre was out of tune, her timing was off, and every note she struck sounded sour. Despite playing at the Everfree daily, she felt like she just couldn’t improve. Worse yet, she only had one more day to get it all straightened out before her audition. She groaned in disgust at her instrument.

“No! Nothing works!” She felt like she was about to toss the lyre across the room, but luckily, she restrained herself. “Every single note is awful!” Before she caused any damage, she lightly tossed her instrument upon the couch beside her, folding her arms across her chest. “‘Special talent’ my flank!” She wanted to scream.

“Maybe you should take a break, Lyra,” came Bon Bon’s voice in a soft tone from a chair beside her. “You’ve been practicing for days.”

“A break? Nopony succeeds at an audition by taking breaks, Bon Bon! I can’t afford to rest for even a minute, especially with how bad I am right now!”

“Working yourself into the ground isn’t going to help anypony, Lyra!” Bon Bon snapped, causing the unicorn to recoil. She took a breath and gathered her normal, calming voice back. “Look, Lyra. You’ve been on edge all week. Maybe if you take a breather, you can gather yourself.”

Lyra wanted to lash out at her, but she knew that she was right; exhausting herself wouldn’t make her chances at the audition any better. “Fine, fine. I’ll stop, but just for a little bit.”

“That’s all I ask for,” the earth pony said with a warm smile. She then turned her head down to the papers in front of her. Without the twang of the mint pony’s out-of-tune lyre, silence engulfed the pair.

The silence was making Lyra far too uncomfortable. Her heart was racing at the thought of the audition while her eyes darted around the room, looking for something to distract herself. Her legs constantly shifted positions, crossing awkwardly while she tried to find something to do. Finally, she looked to Bon Bon. “So, what are you looking at?” she asked with an uncomfortable grin.

“Some plans,” came her flat reply, her attention not breaking from the papers.

“For?”

The earth pony scribbled some lines on her paper before looking up at Lyra. “The plans for my sweet shop? The ones I told you about days ago? Don’t you remember?”

She thought for a moment. Upon searching her brain, she found that really none of it rang a bell. “Yes, of course,” she lied, not wanting to invoke her marefriend’s wrath. “I meant, uh, what are you working on specifically?”

Bon Bon’s eyes lit up. She shuffled some papers around before lifting one up. “This,” she said, her voice full of pride.

Upon the paper was what looked like the front of a building. Slightly to the left was a large window with a cover overhead, the glass display all sorts of delectable and pretty treats. ‘Bon Bon’s’ was written in large letters on the pane, announcing the business for all to see. Above the window was a simple sign in the shape of a wrapped candy, the title of the shop repeated upon it in more pretty lettering. “Wow,” Lyra said to her, her eyes growing wide while she forgot about all of her troubles and took in the sight of what her marefriend had drawn. “That’s really, really good. You could have easily had a pencil for a cutie mark.”

“So you like it?”

“Oh, I love it. I think that will be absolutely perfect for the shop.”

“Thank you, Lyra,” Bon Bon happily chirped before looking away, her expression falling. “Do you... do you think we’ll be able to afford a sign and window that nice? I mean, I know I got a deal on the building, but all this work is going to be expensive.”

Lyra put on her most reassuring smile. “I wouldn’t worry about that. The way things are going, I see us having plenty of money for the building. And if I do this audition right, that could open many more doors for me, as you’ve been telling me. Speaking of which, I need to get back to practicing.” Like an obsessive junkie, she longingly reached for her instrument, only to be stopped by Bon Bon, who had left her seat.

“No, Lyra. Five minutes does not equal a break.” The earth pony pushed her back to the couch and pushed the lyre away. “You really need to relax; you’re really stressed out.”

“I’m not stressed out!” the unicorn retorted, just a tad louder than she anticipated. She stared into Bon Bon’s worried eyes for a moment before dropping her gaze. “Okay, fine. I’m stressed out! I’m freaking out because my entire future could depend on that audition tomorrow!” She groaned. “Why is trying to make something of myself so damn difficult?!”

“Lyra, dear, please relax. I’m here for you.”

She felt her marefriend’s soft hooves wrap around her and was already going stir crazy in her embrace. “Relax? How can I relax?” Her aggression slowly began to turn to sadness; there was no way she could be mad at Bon Bon for no reason. “It’s just... everything goes wrong at once, you know? It’s like the world is out to get me...” She slowly snuggled into the mare’s forehooves, shutting her eyes tight. Slowly, she began to choke out quiet sobs.

“Shh, shh...” Bon Bon comforted. “It’s okay, honey. Just try not to think about it, alright?”

Lyra slowly nodded, still tight in her hug. She began to question what was wrong with her. She didn’t usually get such violent mood swings. Was it the stress? Something else? She wanted to apologize. She wanted to hug Bon Bon tighter. She wanted to do a million things, but all she did was cry. Her tears slowly ran down her face, creating a wet spot on Bon Bon’s coat.

The earth pony wordlessly ran a soft hoof through her mane. Lyra continued to cry softly as she felt her marefriend’s gentle touch run along her neck. In between sobs, she allowed herself to breath once more, feeling her own warm breath reflected back at her by Bon Bon’s fur. Slowly, she wiped her face on the mare’s coat, allowing one last tear to roll down her muzzle before pulling away and kissing her marefriend.

“There,” Bon Bon said, “feel better?”

Lyra nodded, clinging to Bon Bon like her life depended on it. She could feel the indents her hooves were making on her back, but she didn’t let up; she feared she would just float away if she let go for even a moment. Her marefriend moved her hoof from her mane to her back, slowly caressing the tense muscles of the lyrist.

Suddenly, another wave of panic overtook Lyra. She quickly broke away, reaching out with her magic for her lyre. “But I just need to-”

“No.” Bon Bon hopped on top of her, pinning her to the couch and breaking her magical focus. She used her superior weight to her advantage, immobilizing the unicorn. “You are going to relax, even if I have to chain you to the bed to do so.”

Lyra really wanted to laugh at the irony, but decided it was not the best time to. Instead, she just exhaled heavily, staring into her marefriend’s beautiful blue eyes. Her mind processed her options. Of course, Bon Bon could restrain her body, but she could just as easily reach out with her magic and grab the lyre. However, she decided that would not be the best course of action considering how worried it would make Bon Bon. She quickly shut her eyes tight, averting them from the mare.

“I know, I know,” the unicorn said with a sigh. “I’m just so damn worried. This is the future we’re talking about, here.”

Bon Bon shook her head, standing up and allowing Lyra to move freely. “I get it, but running yourself into the ground won’t help anypony. Follow me.”

Lyra felt her hoof grabbed tightly as Bon Bon led her from the couch to the stairs. “But-”

“But nothing. Follow me.” Lyra finally wordlessly complied, curious as to where she was being taken. They trotted into their bedroom together, side by side. Bon Bon quickly sat down and patted a spot on the bed next to her. “Have a seat.”

The unicorn did so, immediately wondering if this was some sort of new, adventurous and totally acceptable bedroom game they were about to try. However, she continued to hold her tongue, waiting for Bon Bon to tell her what they were doing. She was pleasantly surprised when Bon Bon didn’t tell her, but rather showed her; her gentle hooves ran across the unicorn’s shoulders, softly working away the tightness of her muscles.

“Now,” the earth pony said into Lyra’s ear, “isn’t this so much better than worrying?”

“Mmhmm,” was all she could reply, lost in a dream-like state. She had received massages before, but never when she really needed them. For the first time, she actually could feel her troubles just melting away from her body and floating off into nothingness. She would have been perfectly, content with feeling Bon Bon’s hooves on her shoulders for the rest of her life. Naturally, she was disappointed when her marefriend removed them.

“Lay on your stomach,” she said in a more commanding tone than Lyra was used to. However, she was in no position to argue, so she easily complied.

She waited for what felt like an eternity before, all of a sudden, she felt Bon Bon put her weight on her back. With a strange intense yet gentle touch, she felt the mare’s hooves work away all of the knots and tenseness of her back. She was wrong; she would be perfectly content with this for the rest of her life.

To her, there was a strange comfort in the fact that there was nothing sexual about it. There was an interesting, relaxing relief that came from the mare she loved driving her stress away with the power of her hooves. She wished and hoped that it would never stop.

“Comfortable?” the mare said above her.

“Y- yes...” she almost squeaked out. “Very, very comfortable. Just... p- perfect.” She sighed softly, enjoying the calming sensation. “Wh- where did you learn this?”

“A book,” Bon Bon said flatly.

“A book?”

“Yeah. I, uh, I saw that you were getting a little worried earlier this week, so I went over to the library.”

Lyra couldn’t help but laugh in between little relaxed sighs. “So I freak out and you check out a book?”

“Hey.” Lyra grunted as she felt Bon Bon press down on a particularly tense spot on her back. “It’s working, isn’t it?”

Lyra didn’t say anything. She just let the pony work her magic. She could swear that her marefriend could have easily had both a pencil and a massage table as a cutie mark. The way the earth pony so deftly moved her hooves was nothing short of amazing.

It could have been an hour or it could have been days that passed, but Lyra could feel that Bon Bon’s movements were slowing. Feeling her worries and fears completely alleviated, she turned an eye back to her marefriend. “Uh, Bonnie? It’s okay. You can stop now.”

Almost immediately, the mare removed her hooves from her back. She flopped down on the bed while Lyra crawled up to meet her. The unicorn saw how exhausted she was and immediately threw a sloppy kiss onto her, her coordination lacking due to her relaxed state. She had a lot to be thankful for.

“I love you, Bon Bon,” she said, kissing her on the forehead. She knew the mare heard her from the massive smile spread across the exhausted masseuse's lips. Before Lyra could get a proper response, the earth pony drifted off into a cute and well-deserved snooze. Lyra watched her for a moment before turning onto her back, contemplating while she stared at the ceiling. I really don’t deserve somepony as amazing as her, was all she could think. In her state of euphoric relaxation, she slipped into a deep sleep, not thinking about what the next day held.

*** *** ***

She was Captain Lyra Heartstrings, scourge of the seven seas. She took a breath of the salty ocean air as the ship splashed against the waves. Drawing her sword, she shouted out to her crew, almost all of which looked like Bon Bon.

“Prepare, mateys! We be in dangerous waters! All mares to their posts, on the double!” Ponies scrambled all around on the deck, climbing up to the crows nest and manning the cannons and sails. Lyra walked up to one mare in particular; she was one of the few that did not look like Bon Bon. “All except for you.”

The red pegasus gulped, but tried to retain her posture. “What would you have me do, C- Captain?”

The unicorn levitated a bucket and mop forward, “I need you to swab the poop deck from top to bottom. When I come out of my quarters, I expect this wood to shine.”

Cinnamon sadly lifted the mop to find that it wasn’t a mop at all. “But Captain, this is a giant fork.”

“I said swab!” Lyra said in her most commanding tone, watching with a satisfied smirk as the mare began to awkwardly scrape the fork on the ship. Happy with her progress, she turned around, heading to her quarters. “Now,” she thought out loud. “Where are my wenches?” She opened her door to find a room full of more Bon Bons. With a wide smile, she shed her captain’s coat and hopped onto her bed, happily closing her eyes.

“Glad to see you here,” came a voice that definitely didn’t belong to one of the Bon Bons. It was softer and more elegant. Lyra immediately jumped up to see a familliar gray mare.

“O- Octavia?! What are you doing here? You’re not Bon Bon!”

The mare looked at her with a sweet little smile. “No, I’m not.” She trotted over to the unicorn and hopped on the bed next to her. “But you don’t have a problem with that, now do you?”

“I... uhh... well...”

Before she could finish, she was interrupted by another Bon Bon bursting through her door. “Captain! Sorry to intrude, but we have a ship on the port side! They’re raising a red flag!”

Octavia looked disappointed when Lyra immediately hopped up and donned her coat. “A red flag?! Ready the cannons! Man the harpoons!” She rushed out to the deck, almost tripping over Cinnamon who was still scraping away with the giant fork. “At the ready, mares! Today, we fight!”

A united “yarr!” resonated through the ship, Lyra drawing her sword with her crew. She decided this was no time for motivational speeches and quickly ran to the side of the ship, drawing her spyglass.

“Yes,” she said to anypony who would listen, which was everypony. “They’re close; almost within range. “Bon Bon!”

The mares at the port cannons all saluted at once, saying “Yes Captain!” in unison.

“Fire on my mark!”

With each passing moment, the ship only drew closer; just where Lyra wanted it. She raised a hoof, her eyes scanning the outline of the sloop. There was indeed a blood red flag hoisted on top of the sails. A few more agonizingly long moments passed before she forcefully dropped her hoof.

“And, fire!”

The ship rocked from the force of multiple cannons launching their payloads at once. Lyra kept her eyes trained on the opposing vessel, watching as less than half of the cannonballs tore into the hull of the enemy ship. “Reload!” she ordered. The Bon Bons wasted no time in preparing a second volley.

“And, fire!”

The ship shook once more. This time, most of the projectiles struck true, ripping massive holes into the sloop. Lyra gave a hearty chuckle, imagining how scared their opposition must be. The distance between the closed in fast, and she prepared another order.

“Gentlemares, prepare to board!”

Once more, there was an excited “yarr!” as the ponies drew their swords and pistols, readying the gangplanks for their next course of action. It didn’t take long at all for the ships to be side by side, and it didn’t take long after that for the captain to give another order that anypony could understand.

“Charge!”

A sea of cream coats ran from one ship to the other, cutting right through the grimy, small-time pirates. Swords clashed and limbs flailed, Lyra’s crew proving themselves to be better trained and better armed. The enemies had nowhere to retreat and some abandoned ship, only to be shot by one of the Bon Bons. All was just as it should be.

Lyra casually trotted aboard the other ship, occasionally levitating her sword up to block without even breaking a sweat.
She made her way to the helm of the ship, finding its captain cowering in fear.

“No! Please! Don’t do this! I- I didn’t know who you were! I didn’t mean to declare war on the greatest pirate in Equestria!”

“Unfortunately, it’s too late for apologies.” With a quick slice, the cowering stallion was dispatched. Lyra turned around the
see that all of the enemy’s crew were either dead or taken prisoner, and that her crew of Bon Bons were awaiting orders.
Slowly, she raised her sword.

“Yarr!”

It was another victory for the invincible crew of Captain Lyra Heartstrings. She gave a happy cheer before her celebration was interrupted by the elegant voice.

“Congratulations,” Octavia said with a slight smirk. “Another victory for your crew.” The mare trotted closer to her, making her back up. “But what does your crew mean when you can’t even save yourself.”

“Wha- what? I’m fine!”

“Are you?” In a flash, the grey earth pony gave her a quick shove, pushing her over the edge of the ship. She hit the water with a loud splash. Quickly, an awful wetness surrounded her as she sank into the depths. She was warm, as if the life was leaving her body and an awful smell filled her nostrils.

The smell.

*** *** ***

The awful smell.

Lyra sat up with a start, gasping for the breath that was now attainable. Her eyes darted around the room, slowly adjusting to the low light. First, she noticed Bon Bon, softly snoring as she did. She took a deep breath, taking solace in the fact that she was still next to her marefriend. Next, she noticed that the salty, foul smell wasn’t just in her head.

The unicorn erratically moved, feeling the uncomfortable and disgusting wetness of the sheets she was under. She felt her nostrils plugged with the acrid stench. Her heart began to race. This hadn’t happened since she was a filly; why did it have to happen now?

She froze in fear. How would she explain this to Bon Bon? She couldn’t have her lovely marefriend think that she was some sort of disgusting, foalish bet-wetter. Her eyes darted to the mare next to her and then quickly back to the soiled blanket. Her head dropped to her hooves; there was no way that Bon Bon would ever let her live this down. She just wanted to cry. There was nothing worse that could have possibly happened on morning that could decide her future.

She looked at a nearby clock. It was only one, so there was still an entire morning that she should be sleeping through. As quietly as she could, she groaned, partially in fear. This was just the icing on top of her stress-cake. Soon, she was sure, everypony would know all about it. She’ll walk down the street with everypony pointing their hooves at her and calling her names. Her vision was like an awful flashback to her foalhood, only everypony was bigger. Her desire to cry was fulfilled, the tears flowing forth from her ducts.

With a dismal look, she slowly slid out of the bed, gingerly taking the ruined sheets and blankets with her. She dropped them off in the washroom, found a spare blanket and draped it over Bon Bon, giving her a fearful but internally reassuring kiss on the cheek before turning and heading into the bathroom. Seeing that a shower would disturb her marefriend too much, she damped a washcloth with soap and water and wiped down her rear legs, hopefully removing any trace of her accident.

Relatively clean, she made her way back to the laundry room. Seeing the messy fabric only brought another wave of tears, but she didn’t hesitate to fill a nearby bucket with soap and water. Just as she began scrubbing, more tears streaming down her face, she heard a soft voice.

“Lyra? What’s wrong?”

The unicorn didn’t look back before responding. “Go away.” She focused her attention on the washing, but she knew that Bon Bon was still there. She had to be. In silence, she continued to sloppily drag the sheets through the soapy water, hoping with all of her heart that Bon Bon would just leave and she wouldn’t have to talk about it.

She heard the mare take a breath, dispelling her hopes. “Please, Lyra. Tell me what’s going on.” She just continued washing, doing her best to ignore her. “Please...”

There was a certain shakiness in Bon Bon’s pleading now. It was an almost hurt sound. With a heavy sigh, Lyra stopped washing. She threw the wet sheets and blanket out of the way and angrily turned around.

“You want to know what’s wrong? What’s going on?” She felt her own voice shake and crack as she almost yelled at her marefriend with tears in her eyes. “Absolutely nothing is wrong, Bon Bon! It’s just that I woke up with a Luna-damned pee stain on the sheets and I’m a foal again!”

“Lyra... I... i- it’s not a big deal... I-”

“Not a big deal? Not a big deal?! Oh please! Just because I have a big bad audition tomorrow doesn’t just excuse everything! I’m a stupid damn filly who can’t control her bladder! Soon everypony will know and I won’t be able to walk down the street without somepony pointing and laughing at me or throwing stuff at me! It will be just like...” She paused, her words failing as she hung her head. “Just like...”

“Just like what, Lyra?”

She aggressively shook her head and pushed Bon Bon out of the way, heading down the stairs. “Don’t talk to me. Just... don’t.”

The unicorn stomped down the stairs and threw herself into the living room. Disregarding her magic, she took pillows into her hooves and angrily threw them upon the couch until they began to pile up into something that resembled a structure. She flung herself into the sloppy fort and buried her muzzle in her hooves, wanting to disappear. She released a string of curses at her inability to be who she wanted to be: to be a good pony and a good marefriend.

Loudly, she sobbed into her forelimbs, hoping that her tears would somehow allow her to melt into the couch. She shivered, cold, partially from the lack of blankets, but mainly from fear. Her ears perked at movement outside, but she didn’t pay it any attention, only letting her flood of tears leak out.

A warm body pressed against her. She felt Bon Bon’s soft fur on her back as the mare wordlessly warmed her. Slowly, Lyra turned around, moving her muzzle from her hooves to her marefriend’s coat. She dug in, finding comfort in her coat. The mare calmed her with her hoof and slowly began to sing.

Hush now, quiet now,
It’s time to lay your sleepy head,
Hush now, quiet now,
It’s time to go to bed,

Her voice was rocky, off-key, and, as many would call, awful, but it succeeded; Lyra joined in.

Drifting off to sleep,
Leave the exciting day behind you,
Driftin off to sleep,
Let the joy of dreamland find you.

They both stopped, Bon Bon giving Lyra a comforting nuzzle. It didn’t take long for her crying to finally subside. They laid there, staring into each other’s eyes.

“Is there...” Bon Bon began, breaking the silence. “Is there anything you want to talk about?”

Lyra sighed heavily. “No, but I’ll talk about it anyway.” She took a deep breath, the air not feeling satisfying at all. “Back when I was a little filly I... I sort of had a problem...” Bon Bon nodded coherently. “And... well, I got made fun of for it. A lot. Ponies would call me names and throw things at me all because this one time I... I fell asleep in class and...” She let out an unsteady breath. “And you can guess what happened.”

“Oh... oh my. That’s terrible.”

The unicorn nodded. “Yeah. It was. In a couple years, though, the name-calling stopped and not long after so did the... the bedwetting. The urinating unicorn was no more.” She let out a pained laugh at her awful former nickname. “I guess... I guess I didn’t want to have that happen again.”

“Oh, Lyra. That could never, ever happen again.”

“But it did. I peed the bed and it’s my fillyhood all over again. I... I was worried that you would laugh at me...”

She looked into Bon Bon’s eyes for a while before the earth pony opened her arms. “Lyra, come here.” She complied, feeling her hooves wrapped around her back. “You know that I would never do that, right? And I would never tell anypony.”

“I know, I know. It’s just... I was scared. I didn’t want to be banished to the couch because you thought I was disgusting. I thought-” Her voice began to shake once more, but she was all out of tears. Immediately, Bon Bon held her closer.

“Shh... shh... It’s alright. I’m here, you’re here, and it will be all okay. Just relax.”

Lyra drew a couple of raspy breaths before settling down. “O- okay.” She listened to the sound of her marefriend’s breathing for a moment before another issue caught her attention. What about that dream she had? What did it mean? She could ask Bon Bon, but there was no way she could tell her about how Octavia was in it. It was all just so strange, and she really didn’t like keeping secrets.

She forced the issue from her brain; now was not the time for that. With a clear mind, she slowly slipped into a nice, dreamless sleep.

*** *** ***

“Are you nervous?”

Bon Bon’s voice broke the silence between the pair. They were sitting on a carriage together on the way to Canterlot. Lyra was tightly hugging her lyre case.

“Me? No. Just a little... uneasy.”

“In other words, nervous.”

Lyra didn’t even bother to respond. She just turned her attention to the road, watching as it rolled past her. It didn’t take long for the shiny gates of Canterlot to come into her vision. Her eyes lit up at the brilliant sight; each time she went through them, it was always magnificent. It wasn’t long afterwards that the carriage came to a halt.

“Thank you very much,” Bon Bon said to their driver, paying him with a little extra for the tip. Lyra exited after her, her eyes lighting up once more at the sight of her marefriend’s elegant gown shining in the morning sun.

“Wow,” she said to her. “You look amazing.”

“I should say the same to you. I’m glad you listened to me.”

Lyra had originally wanted to go naked, as they would any other event, but Bon Bon overruled her, deciding that they would both don the most beautiful dresses they owned. “Yeah, well, I guess I do want to do this audition right. Come to think of it, it would be pretty funny if we came and we were the only ones without dresses. We’d look like nudists from Ponyville.”

Bon Bon chuckled. “Well, that is the basic truth.”

Lyra excitedly grabbed her by the hoof. “Come on, let’s go!” Without another wasted second, she pulled Bon Bon down a random street, taking off in the direction she thought could possibly be the right one. It had been too long since she was in Canterlot and she wanted to enjoy it.

“Lyra, do you have any idea where you’re going?”

“Nope.”

“Shouldn’t the letter have an address or something?”

The unicorn came to an abrupt stop. “Oh yeah. I should probably take a look at that.” She levitated it out. “Oh, I know where this is. It’s pretty close to Canterlot College.” Again, she took off, Bon Bon in hoof and her lyre slung over her back. It didn’t take long at all for them to arrive.

“Wow,” Bon Bon said as they looked at the building. “Fancy.”

Fancy was an understatement. Lyra looked at the building in awe. “‘Fancy’ is right. I’d be surprised if I’m even allowed in there.”

“They’ll have to. They invited you.”

“Right,” Lyra said with a smile. She was glad that her nervousness had changed to excitement. “Well, let’s head on in, shall we?” The unicorn scooted next to Bon Bon, her flank rubbing against hers as they pushed open the door to the building. It was just as breathtaking as it was from the outside. She wanted to rush in and see all of the ponies, the ones who would be her competition, but was stopped by somepony at the front.

“Do you have you invitation, madame?” It was a middle aged colt dressed in a very suave suit who spoke with an elegant cadence.

Lyra turned to Bon Bon. “Wow, I’m glad you convinced me to play dress up.” Turning back to the stallion, she levitated out the fancy little piece of paper. “Here you go, Tames Bond.”

He looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “I’m sorry, who?”

“Y’know. Tames Bond? Spy?” She pantomimed shooting and sneaking around, which was made difficult in her dress. She decided that she would make a much better Miss Moneybit.

“I don’t believe I’ve heard of him.”

Lyra leaned back to Bon Bon. “Gee. Somepony’s been living under a rock,” she said to her quietly, drawing a small giggle.

“Well, your invitation all checks out, Miss Lyra Heartstrings.” He placed it behind him among other invitations. “And who might this be?” the colt inquired, turning to Bon Bon with an almost condescending tone. “Your sister?”

“Significant other,” Lyra quickly said before Bon Bon could respond with something silly. “She’s my marefriend.” To emphasise her point, she tightly wrapped a hoof around her and pulled her in close. She debated diving in for a deep, passionate and awesome kiss, but she could see that the colt was uncomfortable enough.

“Very well,” he said, almost tripping over his words, but keeply regaining his poise. “Not necessarily the norm, but I was told it was acceptable.” He took a gulp of air and then directed the pair through to the hall. “Right this way. You’ll find the auditions immediately down the hall.”

“Awesome. Thanks, Pantsy Fance,” Lyra happily said as she took off, pulling Bon Bon with her. She was just about to reach the door when Bon Bon stopped her in her tracks.

The earth pony spun her around and looked into her eyes. “What was that about?”

Lyra sighed. “Look, I know that not everypony has seen Tames Bond, but-”

“Not that! The whole, ‘let’s flaunt our lesbianism,’ thing. Why’d you mess with somepony who was so obviously uncomfortable?”

“Well, I mean, somepony’s gotta take these Canterlot snobs down a notch. He just made a prime target. That was fun.”

“Well not for me!” Bon Bon snapped, but still in a hushed voice as two ponies walked by. “I would have been perfectly fine with him thinking we’re sisters. It’s just one pony.”

“Gee, Bon Bon. It almost sounds like you’re embarrassed to be around me.”

“I am embarrassed to be around you!” she said a little bit louder than was necessary, drawing a look from a passerby. “Look, this is your big chance, so first impressions are important. You can’t just walk around accusing ponies of being Tames Bond and then cuddling up to me. You’ve got to act proper. You and I both know that that’s how it is in Canterlot.”

Lyra rolled her eyes. “Pfft. You and I both know that I don’t care how it is in Canterlot. You learned that in college. Now don’t worry your beautiful little head. I’ve got this whole thing under control. Soon enough, I’m sure you’ll be the envy of all of Equestria when you have the great Lyra Heartstrings as your hot marefriend.”

Bon Bon giggled, but quickly silenced herself and looked sternly once more. “But could you tone it down a bit? I mean, back there, I was worried that you were going to put your tongue in my mouth right in front of that poor colt.”

“Oh, I wanted to. Believe me, I wanted to. But, at the same time, I didn’t want to give the poor guy a heart attack. It would be funny at first, but we’d probably have to stop laughing when the ambulance comes.”

The earth pony stared at her sternly. Lyra was worried that Bon Bon was suddenly in a humorless mood, but was relieved when she started giggling. Those little giggles soon erupted into all out laughter, which Lyra joined in on. The pair shared the good chuckle for a while before they were interrupted by the sound of a stallion clearing his throat.

“Ahem. Ladies. I know Miss Heartstrings must have said something dreadfully hilarious, but the auditions are about to start. I suggest you participate.”

Lyra slowly let her own laughter die down before looking up at the speaking pony. Upon seeing him, she raised her hoof and forced him to bump it. “Oh, hey. Concerto, my friend. You remember me, right?”

He put on what was obviously a fake smile. “Of course,” he said in a sardonic tone. “How could I ever forget what a joy you are?”

“Awesome. Hey, there’s free food here, right?”

The colt sighed. “Yes. There is a snack bar.”

“Cool beans. See you later, C-colt,” she said before trotting into the hall, Bon Bon in tow. As she walked away, she turned her head around and gave him a teasing wink while she swished her tail back and forth. Happy with the shade of red he turned, she looked back to Bon Bon.

“That’s the creepy stallion that you told me about?” the earth pony asked her.

“Yeah. He’s fun to mess with.”

Bon Bon shook her head. “It sounds to me like you’re the creepy one.”

“Heh. I’m okay with that. As long as I-” Her next sentence was cut off as they entered the hall that the auditions were being held in. Lyra’s jaw immediately dropped at the sight of the amazingly elegant room and massive stage. She looked at the judges table which had three stern looking mares observing the stage. Even scarier, though were the seats that were filled with different ponies. More ponies than Lyra had ever imagined herself playing in front of by herself. Worse, though; they were all also her competition. She was snapped out of her trance by the voice of another mare.

“Hello, Lyra. Glad you could make it.”

The unicorn turned to see the all too familiar grey earth pony, clad in her own elegant gown, accented by her signature bowtie. “Oh. H- hey, Octavia. I didn’t know you were auditioning too.” There they were; her nerves were back.

The cellist laughed. “Well, of course. This is only the auditions to perform at one of the most prestigious musical events in Canterlot. Who do you think recommended you, anyway?”

“B- but you’ve never even seen me play.”

“Call it a favor,” she replied with a smile. “I would have loved to, but they decided to send Concerto as a representative to observe your skills. He told me that he was impressed with your playing, but not with your behavior. I told him not to worry about it.”

“Oh. Well, thanks, Octavia.”

“Don’t mention it. That’s what friends are for.”

Lyra gave a genuine smile, but couldn’t find what to say next. Luckily, Bon Bon spoke for her.

“So when are these auditions supposed to start?”

“In a couple of minutes. In the meantime, we could go on over to the snack bar; I know how much you love free food. Vinyl’s already over there, wreaking some sort of havoc on the quiche and then complaining about it.”

The unicorn was about to speed off in that direction, but stopped herself, another question in her mind. “Wait... How’d you get Vinyl in here?”

“Oh, easy.” Octavia laughed her proper laugh. “I just told him she was my sister, as outlandish as it seems.”

Bon Bon flashed Lyra the ‘I told you so’ look, but didn’t have enough time to let it sink it before Lyra ran to the snack bar to find Vinyl eating what looked like some sort of improvised sandwich.

“Hey, Vinyl! What’s up?”

“Myra! No’ muph. Juf eatin’.” The DJ quickly swallowed her food and gave the Lyra a hoof bump. “My favorite drinking buddy. How are you doing? Would you believe that they only have wimpy wine here?”

“I’d believe it. And great, thanks. I’m pretty excited about this audition.”

Vinyl nodded. “Yeah, so is Octavia. I mean, she must be nervous or something, because she’s doing all these weird things. She told the dude at the front that we were sisters.”

Lyra turned and smirked at Bon Bon, who had just arrived next to her. “Really? Now that’s just silly.”

“I know, right? I’m just glad to be here, though. Free food is always a plus, and messing with snobs is the most fun thing on the planet.”

“Oh yeah. Definitely.” Lyra wondered if she and Vinyl were somehow sisters. That’d be pretty awesome. “Half of these ponies have a-”

Before she could continue, she was interrupted by the sound of a mare speaking into a microphone. “Fillies and gentlecolts! I would like to ask that everypony report to the seating. The auditions are about to begin!”

Lyra felt her heart rate suddenly spike. “Well,” she muttered to herself as Bon Bon took her by the hoof into the auditorium. “Here goes nothing. Celestia be with me.”

Author's Note

I was going to write an original song for Bon Bon to sing, but, due to time constraints, I decided against it. Maybe next time.

If there are any lines missing, please let me know. The Google Docs import feature will sometimes delete some.

The Auditions: Part Two

Lyra nervously sat in her chair as the first preparations we made upon the stage. Her mouth was dry and she felt that her coat was slightly matted with sweat. One hoof was tightly wrapped around her lyre case while the other anxiously massaged Bon Bon’s. She could feel her body almost shaking as a young mare stepped out onto the elevated platform to address the crowd.

“For our first audition,” the upbeat pony said, “we have Accent Accordion!”

Lyra quietly breathed a sigh of relief as the crowd broke into stomping applause; at least it seemed like they were going in alphabetical order. While she wouldn’t be going first she would still be able to get the auditions over with soon. The thought of being done with her anxiety was definitely reassuring. She drew out a nervous breath, and slowly her eyes focused again, revealing that Vinyl was talking to her from the seat in front. “I’m sorry, what?” she said on instinct.

“I said that that guy’s got some name. He probably made it up so he could jump to the front of the queue,” the DJ snickered.

Lyra wanted to chuckle with her, but she could only bring forth a weak “Yeah.”

Vinyl must have picked that something was wrong, because she lifted her glasses, revealing her brilliant eyes, an eyebrow raised above one of them. “You need something to drink,” she said as a doctor would give a perscription. “Why aren’t you doing the normal thing and making fun of that colt’s name?”

The lyrist wanted to tell her she was nervous; she wanted to tell the whole world that she was the most nervous pony in all of Equestria. At least that confession would take some of the edge off. She merely coughed, futilely trying to get the awful lump out of her throat. “Just... just a little tired. That’s all.” She wasn’t lying; she was wholly exhausted, but the reality was that she was too nervous to admit to being damagingly nervous. Vinyl shrugged and turned back to the pony on stage who was playing... something.

She thought of a nervous little pegasus that would sometimes visit Bon Bon’s store/home and be barely be able to order a box of sweets. She would stutter on the words ‘candy’ and ‘chocolate’, or basically anything with two syllables. This must have been exactly how she felt; trapped and unable to back out. Still, though, the mare would overcome her nervous stuttering and walk out of the store carrying a box of chocolates. Lyra raised her head up; that was exactly what she had to do. She had her own box of chocolates in sight.

She looked to her right to see Bon Bon looking at her in concern; she must have noticed her sudden change in posture. Lyra reassured her marefriend with a smile, scooting closer to her and planting a quick kiss on her cheek. She then turned her attention back to the stage where Accordion was taking his and everypony was applauding, somewhat less excited than before. She had hardly noticed he had even started, let alone that he had finished his performance. Lyra absent-mindedly joined the applause.

The same mare stepped out onto the stage, addressing the crowd once more. “Next up, we have Beauty Brass!”

Of course. More alliteration, Lyra thought. She considered that she should have changed her name to something silly before her audition; obviously, that was what ponies enjoyed. It made it really hard to tell if they were going by first name or last name. What about Octavia? Did she have a strange last name, or was she just Octavia? Octavia Octavariumfortissimostaccato? She never asked, even when they were dating.

Lyra almost facehooved. Here she was, getting ready to audition for what could completely change her life and she was worrying about the possible last names of an ex. Worse yet, there was a pony, her competition, on stage performing and she hadn’t even glanced at her. How was she supposed to know how well she was going to do if she didn’t have something to judge herself by?

Unfortunately, just as she turned her attention to the sousaphone player, everypony started applauding. The musician blew a kiss as she hopped off the stage, leaving Lyra to wonder what she had missed. The unicorn just folded her hooves. She’d have to catch the next musician to scope out her competition.

That made her worry, however; these musicians were getting on the stage and hopping off so fast that it would be her turn in no time. On the one hoof, she could finally get over nervousness that had suddenly returned, which she quietly cursed at. On the other, it was coming up awfully fast, and it made her question her preparation. She wanted to scream; nervousness coming in waves was the worst. She couldn’t, however, because the mare returned to the stage to announce the next contestant.

“For our next audition, we have our fantastic Concerto!”

Awesome, Lyra thought to herself. I could use a good laugh.

*** *** ***

She didn’t get a good laugh.

He was good. Very good.

That pianist definitely knew his instrument and, unfortunately, so did many of the following contestants. It made Lyra regret wanting to pay attention to her competition. If it wasn’t for one poor colt breaking down on stage she probably would have given up and left right there. Otherwise, she thought there was no way that she could possibly succeed; her competitors were just too skilled, making her just want to quit.

As well, if not for Bon Bon gently caressing her hoof and whispering reassurances, she might have followed Vinyl’s advice and grabbed a drink.

Or six.

Luckily, her marefriend was a reminder that she was not alone, no matter how desolate it seemed. Periodically, she forced weak smiles to hopefully reassure Bon Bon, her confidence and anxiety trading off throughout the performances. She just didn’t know what to feel. Should she be intimidated? Excited? Abashed? Horny?

Before she could contemplate her feelings in depth, that mare, whose name, Lyra learned, was Microphone Condenser, returned to the stage. Lyra gulped. They had just passed F on the last names, so unless there was somepony named Grey Guy or something, there was an intimidatingly large chance that she was next on the list.

Microphone cleared her throat. “And now, we welcome a newcomer to this audition.”

Oh no, Lyra thought. I’m a newcomer!

“Coming from Ponyville...”

Oh no. I’m from Ponyville!

“...we are pleased to announce...”

Oh no. I’m part of ‘we’! The anticipation was almost too much for her.

“Lyra Heartstrings!”

She could have fainted right there. If it wasn’t for the sudden applause, she would have jumped and hid behind the seats. Lyra looked out at all the eyes, all the smiling faces, that were upon her, cheering for her. Slowly, she rose from her seat, her nervous grin gaining in confidence by the second.

She could do this.

She took one step. Then another. Soon, she was walking up to the stage with confident posture. Think of the chocolate, she thought to herself. This is for my chocolate.

There was a chair already set out for her in the middle of the stage with a microphone for her lyre in front of it. She sat down on her chair, her dress folding just as it was designed to accommodate for her instrument. She took a breath, looked out into the blinding stage lights, and cleared her throat.

She should say something. That’s what ponies do at these kinds of things, right?

“Um, hi.” Her strangely oscillating confidence failed once more as she realized she had no idea what she was supposed to say at these types of events. A greeting seemed like the right thing to start with, although she mentally slapped herself for starting with somethings so lame. She could have at least added a formal ‘fillies and gentlecolts.’ Unfortunately, there was no place to hide on the stage with all the lights upon her.

Lyra cleared her throat and began again. “My name is Lyra Heartstrings. There’s a couple ponies I’d like to thank before I begin.” She paused, almost wanting to stutter, but the words seemed to come naturally. “First, I would like to thank my marefriend, Bon Bon.” She looked to the earth pony and smiled. “You’ve always been there for me. You’ve supported me in everything I’ve done and continue to do so. I only hope that one day I could be as good of a pony as you are. I love you, Bon Bon.”

A collective chorus of ‘awww’s sounded throughout the theater and Lyra gave a weak smile in response; thanking somepony she loved so much was the easy part.

When the ponies in the audience quieted down, she coughed and began again. “Also, I would like to thank Vinyl Scratch.” Her eyes scanned the crowd for the electric-maned DJ, finding nothing but an empty seat where she once was.

“I’m over here!” returned her voice from the direction of the snack bar. It didn’t take long for her to appear, levitating basically everything that was on the table. “I wanted to have something to eat during your performance.”

Lyra laughed. She supposed that she didn’t really have to say anything more about her. She took a deep breath of air, preparing for her next and final expression of gratitude. “Lastly, I would like to thank... O-” Her voice wavered, almost refusing to say the mare’s name. “Oct- Octavia.”

Instead of the professional tone she was going for, she sounded like a schoolfilly trying to say the name of her first crush. What the hell? What was that? She kicked herself mentally. She had no idea what is going on in her brain, but she didn’t like it. Her eyes made an attempt at glancing at Octavia, but found that that made her waver even more. Taking a breath, she just decided to drop it. It wasn’t important when she had an instrument to play.

“Thank you,” she said finally, a light applause following.

The unicorn relaxed in her chair, her hooves moving to the proper position on her lyre. They lightly tugged at the strings, making sure they were all nice and taught. With a raspy breath, she rested a hoof on the string that would be her first note. She looks up from her instrument, looking at all the eager faces in the crowd, save for Octavia’s. All those eyes were watching her, scanning her. Everypony was paying attention to and judging her every last move. Not a twitch would go unnoticed. Lyra gulped.

“We are ready for you to begin, Miss Heartstrings.”

Quickly, her head darted to the judges table where the voice came from. She gave a forced smile with a nod and turned her attention back to her lyre. Her hoof didn’t want to move. There was some sort of barrier preventing her from plucking that first note. Was it because of all the eyes upon her? Or was it because of just one pair of those eyes?

She forced herself to play it; it was an awful, twangy, sharp C. She cringed at the sound of the rough note, hesitating to continue her song. Forcefully blowing out her held breath, she shakily moved her hoof to the next string.

This one sang true; a beautiful, clear note resonated throughout the theater, amplified by the microphone. Lyra took a brief moment to glance at the crowd and saw what looked like a hundred eager, smiling faces.

She could do this. She had nothing to fear.

With each note plucked, she lifted her head up higher. That confidence she so missed slowly crawled back to her as she began to strum more strings. The volume rose slightly as her hooves continued to dance. Soon, the pretty sound of her lyre was filling the entire auditorium, each note falling perfectly in line. Lyra glanced at the crowd a few times, each time seeing more and more grins upon the faces of her onlookers.

She felt like she was floating higher with each tone struck. She reasoned that that must be what a pegasus felt like; she was in control and in her element. Now, she had the power and there was nothing in her way. She could play forever and see all those smiling faces.

Her eyes closed on their own; her music was taking her amazing places. She was soaring as if she had wings, feeling rather than playing. Each second that passed only brought more beauty, and she was what it flowed through. Deeper and deeper she fell into her trance, continuing to fly above the clouds while her instrument sang.

She was a musician; this was what her cutie mark meant.

Her physical body automatically swayed with the rises and falls in the notes as she played. Small beads of sweat appeared upon her brow. A hoof silently tapped, keeping time. Even with her consciousness elsewhere, she could feel her own breathing, heavy and deliberate.

Even with her eyes closed, she could feel Bon Bon’s beautiful blue marbles upon her. She just knew that her beautiful marefriend was lovingly staring at her, watching her each and every movement. She smiled at the thought of Bon Bon blowing a kiss to her as she played. She could almost feel the warmth of the mare next to her, as if she was soaring along with her.

Lyra’s flying mind landed as she continued to play. Slowly, she cracked one eye, then both eyes open; she wanted to take a peek at the mare she loved. Her eyes scanned the audience until they finally came upon one mare whose beautiful face was smiling wider than all others. She returned her smile the notes seeming to sound even sweeter. It made her happy to know that there was somepony out there who cared about her so much.

A harsh reality set in as she realized who the mare was that she was staring at. Instead of the blue eyes she had so longed to see, she was staring into Octavia’s purple ones. The mare continued to give her a warm smile as Lyra’s eyes widened. Her notes turned sour before she pushed too hard and the unthinkable happened:

A string snapped.

Author's Note

Microphone Condenser, or MC. Hopefully somebody caught that.

This chapter and the next one was supposed to be one chapter, but in the interests of time I decided to split it into two. I apologize for the brevity of this one; I dislike short chapters as much as anyone.

Batmare Returns

With her auditions finished, therapy session scheduled, and packet containing information on the Musicians Ball promised to arrive in the mail in the coming weeks, Lyra found herself with some free time.

‘Free’ is a relative term, of course. The majority of time utilized in the coming days was spent helping Bon Bon renovate her little shack. ‘Shack’ was a word she was going to be unable to use very soon, however; with each passing day, the building looked less like a janitor’s closet and more like a place that ponies actually entered. The pair had just painted the outside a calming cream, matching Bon Bon’s coat, and were gazing upon the sign they were about to hammer into the ground.

“Future location of Bon Bon’s Bon Bons,” the sign’s triumphant owner read. “Well, Lyra. We did it.”

Lyra ran a hoof through her mane, shaking off some sweat. She had to hand it to Bon Bon; the outside really did look nice. Still, though, she had to find a way to be sarcastic and oppositional. “Well, the inside still looks a market bathroom, but the outside looks great.” She levitated a hammer and began to tap the sign into the ground.

“There’s always time for that later. For now, we have something pretty on the outside, and with this sign up, we have some free advertising.”

“Great,” Lyra said, wiping her forehead as she finished hammering the sign in. She could really go for one of Bon Bon’s pieces of candy. Who would have thought that renovating a small building would be so difficult?

The pair took a step back. Even Lyra had to take a moment to admire what they did; with the walls were repainted, the roof re-shingled, and the windows fixed, all they needed to do was make some improvements on the inside and they would be open for business. After making a few more bits, they could start really sprucing the place up. Lyra imagined a beautiful awning overhanging a pretty window displaying all sorts of fantastic treats.

Her fantasy was cut short by a mare’s voice. At least... she thought it was a mare.

“Bon bons? And here I thought Ponyville was a decent town.”

Both Lyra and her marefriend immediately spun around. It wasn’t a mare. An earth-green stallion with a brown mane looked back at them. He wore a large coat that looked like it had seen better days, which was only matched by his torn brown shorts. There was something about his pose that seemed a little... off.

“Excuse me?” Bon Bon quickly questioned. “What do you mean by ‘decent’?”

The stallion scoffed. “Honestly, how can you expect anypony to take this town seriously if you’re going around displaying...” He shuddered. “Sugar-infested candies.” He spoke the last word with such distaste that anypony would think that it stabbed him.

Lyra cringed slightly at his voice. That should not be the voice of anypony under fifteen.

“Oh yeah?” Bon Bon retorted swiftly. “And what’s wrong with candy?”

The stallion condescendingly shook his head “Ugh. So disgusting, so unnatural, so... revolting. I mean, just look at what they did to you!”

Before Bon Bon could even be offended, Lyra pushed her aside and took a couple steps toward the offending pony. “Hey! That’s my marefriend you’re talking to!”

“Really? I couldn’t tell. You obviously haven’t adopted any of her eating habits.”

“Just who do you think you are?!”

The offending pony ran a hoof through his messy, and terribly unclean, mane. “I’m Herb, of course. I run the natural food store. Not that either of you have ever set hoof in there.”

That was it. Lyra’s horn glowed. She prepared to hit him with absolutely every ounce of magical energy she contained within her body. She watched with a strange satisfaction as a look of fear flashed across Herb’s face. The glow slowly increased into a blinding light as she reared up, ready to unleash... something.

She was stopped by Bon Bon’s hoof. “I think you’ve made your point.” She pointed at the now cowering stallion. Lyra’s horn slowly faded to a very light glow.

He quickly stood up and dusted himself off. “The big one is right. There’s never any need for violence.”

Now it was Bon Bon’s turn to lunge at him, only stopped by Lyra. She looked at how the stallion hid behind his hooves once more. “‘I think you’ve made your point’,” she quoted.

Herb picked himself up once more and immediately began to trot away. “I think this conversation is over. I’m taking my leave, and don’t even bother trying to catch up with me; you’d be too slow anyway.”

He was right about one thing: he was fast! The pair hadn’t taken two steps and he had already disappeared around the corner.

Lyra watched as her marefriend’s rump dropped to the ground and while its owner pouted. “Why’d we just let him get away? That... little... annoying-voiced, happiness hating, inflammatory, squeaky, dirty, disgusting, wretched piece of manure! How could he say things like that?”

Lyra just shrugged.

“He’s probably just merrily skipping off back to his filthy house, singing to his plants.”

The unicorn started to chuckle. It didn’t take long for it to escalate into a full blown laugh. Soon, she was on the ground, wiping a tear from her eye.

“Why are you laughing? Singing to plants is kind of silly, but not that funny.”

Lyra slowly picked herself up, smiling widely at Bon Bon. “Oh, I don’t think he’ll make it very far.”

“Why so?”

Her horn glowed slightly once more, this time levitating out a small object out from behind her. It jingled as Lyra shook it in the air.

“Are those...”

“Yep. His keys.”

*** *** ***

“I still just can’t believe that colt. How could he say those things?”

They had just arrived home and Bon Bon hadn’t stopped talking about the offending stallion. “I don’t know, Bonnie. Some ponies were probably just born without the part of their brain that lets them be decent. Don’t let him get to you too much.”

“He called me fat!”

Lyra knew that tone. It was Bon Bon’s I-need-a-hug-and-kiss-right-damn-now tone. Lyra did just that. In an instant, her hooves were flung around her marefriend’s neck. She looked at her, trying to give a loving smile that said ‘You are the most perfect mare in existence’. Bon Bon smiled back, but it wasn’t the true smile that Lyra wanted. It was forced, empty, and almost cold; it quickly dissolved into a frown.

Bon Bon pulled away. Her eyes portrayed an awful sadness. “Oh, I’m doing it again, aren’t I?”

“Doing what?”

“Being that whiny mare that nopony likes.” She looked at the ground and moved her hoof in circles. Lyra opened her mouth, but Bon Bon began again. “I’m just too sensitive. I wish I could be tough like you, Lyra.”

The unicorn opened her mouth, but then closed it once more. Normally, she would be hugging Bon Bon again, telling her how beautiful she was and how she was the most amazing mare in Equestria; she would give her a kiss and tell her that she was perfect the way she was. Then it would be her checking to see if Bon Bon was in the mood. More often than not, she was. This time, however, she decided to do something... different.

Her horn glowed as her magical aura reached out and snatched the keys she had stolen from Herb. The sound of them clinking on the ground in front of Bon Bon seemed to grab her attention. Lyra walked over to her and draped one hoof around her neck. “You want to be tough like me, you say?”

Bon Bon sniffled a little bit. “Um. Yes?”

The unicorn’s magical aura returned once more, levitating the keys in front of the two mares. “Then how about a little... debauchery.”

“Debauchery?”

“Debauchery.”

Bon Bon slowly took the keys from Lyra’s magical grasp. Her snout scrunched up adorably as she intensely examined objects as if the were an alien life form. Finally, a grin appeared on her face.

“Oh, the things we could do with these keys,” she giggled. Her giggle turned into cackling laughter. “So many ways we could show that mean pony who’s boss.”

Lyra had to chuckle along with her. “This is so unlike you Bon Bon. I like it.”

The earth pony nodded. “He pulled the last straw. It’s time to get devious.”

“Great.” Lyra smiled. She was proud of her little Bonnie. “Let’s go tonight.”

The confidence in Bon Bon’s eyes seemed to melt away. “T- tonight? Oh, I don’t know about that. You see, I’ve got to-”

“Bon, you can’t do deviousness halfway. We’ve got to hit hard. We’ve got to show this pony that you don’t mess with Lyra and Bon Bon.”

Bon Bon stared at her with the most innocent looking eyes that Lyra had ever seen. It almost made her feel bad; she felt like she was teaching a puppy how to hunt for the first time, or taking Octavia’s vir-

Okay, she was not thinking about that.

Bon Bon spoke up; just in time, too. “Alright. We’ll do it.”

Lyra jumped up and hugged her. “Fantastic! You get the toilet paper, wrenches and masking tape. I’ll go get ready.”

She received a blank stare. “I don’t even want to know what those are for. I’ll just follow your lead. But what do you mean by ‘ready’?”

“Oh, you’ll see,” Lyra responded with a smile. Her eyes traced Bon Bon’s frame for a moment, but then she spun around without another word.

She wasted no time in darting up the stairs, going straight for her and Bon Bon’s bedroom and opening a secret little chest that she kept under their bed. Out of it, she levitated some pieces of jet black fabric. She was saving it for when she could convince Bon Bon to be a little more open minded in the bedroom, but now was as good a time as any.

Enjoying the experience, she donned the garment. She relished the soft feeling of the fabric hugging her fur. Tonight was going to be just perfect.

*** *** ***

“You look ridiculous!”

“Batmare never looks ridiculous.”

The night was cold, quiet and unforgiving. It was on nights like these that the scum of Ponyville would prowl the streets, committing heinous crimes beyond anypony’s wildest dreams. When the authorities fell short of their duties, there was one mare that the citizens of Ponyville could count on. One mare that fought for one thing:

Justice.

The wind sliced through Batmare’s coat as she breathed in the cool air of twilight. She looked up at the sky, taking a whiff of the tumultuous winds.

“There’s a storm brewing. We must act swiftly if we are to succeed and bringing these crimelords down before the heavens pour.”

Bon Bon sighed. “Lyra, can you stop that? You’re really starting to scare me.”

Batmare raised an eyebrow under her mask. “Lyra? Lyra Heartstrings? Never heard of her; there’s no Lyra here. I am Batmare, the harbinger of justice for the justice-less.”

“And why are you talking like that? You’re doing all sorts of weird things with your voice.”

“It’s the way bats talk.”

The earth pony sighed again. “Take that off. Stop being silly.” She reach a hoof to the mare’s mask.

Batmare quickly recoiled, swatting the hoof away. “No! Batmare’s secret identity must never be revealed!” Despite her pleas, Bon Bon yanked the mask off in one swift motion. Naturally, it revealed that Lyra Heartstrings was indeed Batmare. “Could you just play along for once?” she asked in her normal voice, sounding as pained as she could.

Her eyes grew wide as she stared at Bon Bon; she was trying to give her that heart-melting look that foals would when they wanted something. It worked.

“Oh, alright,” her marefriend said, hoofing the mask back to her. “Just for tonight, you can be Batmare.”

A massive smile overtook Lyra’s face as her hooves tightly squeezed Bon Bon. I hope that means what I think it means. She quickly tossed on the mask and dropped her voice once more. “Despite that minor hindrance, the mission is still on. Follow me.”

The pair continued down the path they were previously trotting on, Lyra trying to pull ahead but occasionally tripping over her cape. She would dart between trees and dark allies, peeking out slightly to look for any signs of danger They came to a halt outside of Bon Bon’s building. Lyra peeked inside the window for any immediate threats.

“The coast is clear,” she said as Batmare, quickly scanning her surroundings. “That criminal Herb appeared from somewhere around here. Logically, his store must be close by.” She looked around to make sure she wasn’t being followed. “Now Bon Bon, I need you to stay-”

“Found it.”

Lyra looked up at the mare to find that she was pointing at a building across the street and two buildings down entitled ‘Equestria’s Natural Foods’. Lyra frowned, but then returned to being Batmare.

“Aha! There is the villain’s lair!” She quickly galloped over, making sure that her cape flapped adequately in the wind. “The night is still young. Let’s see if we can get a better look.” Lyra cantered to a nearby tree and attempted to scale it, only to embarrassingly slide back down. She tried again, only to have to her rump come in contact with the ground once more.

“Um, Bon Bon,” she said quietly in her normal voice. “Can I get some help here?”

Her marefriend scoffed in obvious mockery. “But I thought Batmare was a powerful, independent harbinger of justice? Why would she need help from a normal pony like me?”

“Because I’m not being Batmare right now,” she said in a slightly raised tone, making sure that Bon Bon heard that she was using her regular manner of speaking.

“Oh, alright,” the earth pony said.

Lyra put her hooves on the trunk. “Alright, now just give me a boost.” The unicorn could hear the trotting of her marefriend, and soon felt her hooves upon her butt. She had to stifle a giggle. “Alright, now just push up.”

She felt her body shoved into the tree as Bon Bon grunted, presumably from exertion. Once she was in, she turned back to her marefriend. “I hope you enjoyed the view,” she said with a smile before reverting back to her gravely-voiced alter-ego. “Now, let’s see how we can take this criminal down.

She proceeded to climb higher in the tree, slipping a couple of times and then looking back to make sure that Bon Bon didn’t see.

She did.

Shrugging off Bon Bon’s smirk, she finally managed to scramble to the highest safe spot on the tree. Snuggling into her perch, she looked out at the roof.

“Alright, citizen,” she said to Bon Bon in her admittedly awesome voice. “There are multiple points of entry that we can utilize. If we-”

She was interrupted by Bon Bon’s cough. “Or we could just use the keys you snagged.”

Lyra sighed. Bon Bon always wanted to do things the easy and less cool ways. “Fine. We’ll go the civilian route.” She started shimmying down the tree, but stopped when her keen, bat-like senses caught something.

There was a window at the top of the store. Lyra squinted her eyes. It looked like a bedroom. She kept squinting until she noticed something absolutely despicable.

“He’s sleeping naked! That fiend!” He must have had a spare key. That, or he just kept his doors unlocked anyway.

She could hear Bon Bon from under the tree. “Uh, Lyra- I mean, Batmare. You sleep naked. I sleep naked. We all sleep naked.”

Obviously, Bon Bon just didn’t understand. “But he does it in a fiendish way!”

Lyra couldn’t see, but she was sure that her marefriend facehooved. “Just get down here.”

Slowly, she swung down from a branch landing as gracefully as possible. That is, if graceful was akin to falling on her face. Picking herself up and wiping the dust from her coat, she made short work of the distance between her and Bon Bon. “You ready to enact the plan?”

The mare seemed to smile for the first time since they got out there. “Oh yes. Time to show that whiny voiced little... jerk-face not to make up crazy lies about another pony’s weight.”

Lyra stared at her and reverted to her normal voice. “You just leave the insults to me, alright?” Bon Bon responded by smiling sheepishly and nodding. “Good,” the unicorn said in her Batmare voice. “Now let’s bring the one thing that this town needs: justice.”

The two mares slowly trotted towards the door. “You have the markers?” Lyra asked. Bon Bon nodded and held them up. “And the tape?” She held the tape up as well. “Then it’s go time.”

Steadily, she levitated the keys up to the door, slowly aligning them perfectly with the lock. She inserted them and slowly twisted them until-

“Stop.”

The voice came out of nowhere. It was Bon Bon’s.

“Stop? Why?” Lyra said as Lyra.

“Do you think... do you think we really should be doing this? I mean, this is breaking into another pony’s home.” Bon Bon suddenly looked wholly distressed. Her gaze was shifted down. Lyra doubted that she ever even walked on grass that she wasn’t supposed to, let alone brought down a war criminal for his heinous crimes against being nice.

Lyra just stared at her, her magical grip releasing the keys. She thought for a moment. It was kind of illegal... Then again, Batmare operated where laws couldn’t cover. Batmare was somepony who cleaned the scum off the streets of her city. Batmare was Lyra. Now was the time to act. Now was the time to take out the trash. Now was the time to dress in spandex and sneak around.

“He called you fat, Bon Bon.”

The earth pony didn’t say another word. She just unrolled the tape and turned the key.

Author's Note

Will Batmare survive this encounter? What is she planning to do with a marker? How did Bon Bon unroll the masking tape? Find out in the next issue of Batmare!

If this chapter seems a little silly, it's because it is. After the recent triplet of The Auditions, ~~I~~ Lyra decided to have fun with something.

Special thanks to spaghettified for coming up with the name "Herb". I'm absolutely awful at coming up with names.

Some awesome art drawn by my good friend InsanebowDash!

Source and larger size

Breaking and Entering

“So what do we have here? A candy maker and... Batmare? Oh Celestia, we bring in weirder and weirder ponies every day.”

Lyra’s horn glowed as she ripped off her mask. There was no point in wearing it anymore; they were caught.

The stallion in front of her turned to another uniformed pony. “Get these mares out of my sight. I mean, really? Breaking and entering? A health food shop, no less!”

Her hind hooves scraped against the ground. There was no point in moving them; they were cuffed.

“I’ve put away a lot of scum in my day, but you... you are some of the worst,” the officer dragging her spat.

She clenched her mouth shut. There was no point in arguing; she was trapped.

Her eyes fell closed as she was thrown into a dark room. She heard the sound of a cell door loudly slamming shut, making her eyes clench tighter. She shivered. It wasn’t cold, but she shivered. She could feel the cell walls closing in around her as the loneliness of her solitary confinement truly sank in.

But she wasn’t alone, was she?

“Bon Bon,” she croaked, her throat dry and exhausted. “Bon Bon, you there?”

She heard a groan from the other end of her cell. “Lyra? Is that you? What happened?”

Lyra began to crawl towards the source of the voice. Eventually, her hooves met something that wasn’t the cold, unforgiving floor. She hugged it tightly; it was the soft fur of her marefriend. “I... I think we got caught.”

“Caught?”

“Yes, Bon Bon. We’ve been caught. We’re done for. Busted.”

“What? How could this happen?”

Lyra couldn’t see her face in the dark, but she could tell that she was scared. “I... I just don’t know. We were just pulling a harmless prank, right? And he deserved it!”

Instead of a response, Lyra only heard choking sobs. Bon Bon was crying, but what could she do? Slowly raising a hoof, she searched around until she found Bon Bon’s head. She pulled herself in closer, feeling Bon Bon’s tears run down her own coat.

“Shh. Shh, Bon Bon. It will be okay. We’ll get through this, you and I. It’s all just one big misunderstanding. We’ll explain what happened and how that stallion insulted you and we’ll be free, alright? Just please don’t cry.”

She felt Bon Bon nod.

Lyra took a deep breath. “I know that it’s dark and cold right now, but we’re still together. As long as we stick with each other, we’ll be fine. There’s nothing to worry about, alright, Bon Bon?”

The mare nodded again. Lyra then felt a pair of soft hooves pull her closer in. She could feel Bon Bon’s labored breathing upon her neck. “I’m just so scared, Lyra. I- I’ve never been in prison before. Prison isn’t right for me. I’ll never survive.”

“Neither have I, Bon Bon. I just know that we won’t be here long. Just wait, and I’ll find a way.”

Bon Bon resumed crying. Her tears were cold, like a storm in late fall. They didn’t stop; the salty torrent of fear came in a constant stream. Despite Lyra’s previous reassuring words, there was nothing else she could do except hold her marefriend and wait for something to happen.

“You should have stayed with Octavia,” Bon Bon suddenly said in between sobs.

“What?”

“If you had just stayed with Octavia, this never would have happened. You’d still be safe and happy. The only reason you’re even here is because of how I overreacted.”

Lyra just stared for a moment. Was she right? Could this entire mess be because of Bon Bon?

She shook her head vigorously. No. There was no way she could pin this all on the mare she loved.

“Don’t you ever say that, Bon Bon. You know that I will be there for you. I won’t let you take the blame.” She kissed something. She guessed it was a cheek, but she wasn’t positive in the dark. “Now, I’m going to go find an officer to talk to, alright?”

Bon Bon whimpered as she left her hooves, but released her. The moment Lyra turned around, she heard the noisy clank of the cell door once more. She was just about to say something to whoever was on the other side, but decided to listen to the two ponies who were talking instead.

“-we’ll take the unicorn to the other cell. We can’t have these two together; they broke into a poor pony’s house and vandalized it, so they’re probably pretty crafty together.”

“What about the fat one?”

Lyra’s ears perked at the exaggeration of her marefriend.

“Leave the fat one here.”

Almost instinctively, she lunged out. She didn’t know what she was tackling, but it was solid and felt like a pony. An angry yell resonated from her muzzle. The consequences didn’t matter at this point; nopony, nopony, talked about Bon bon that way.

Her hooves repeatedly slammed into her victim. Whatever it was she was hitting, it screamed at her assault. She was pretty sure she heard a tooth clink against the ground.

It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered. Some ponies needed to learn to never talk about anypony that way.

A minute may have passed. An hour may have passed. Two seconds may have passed; she couldn’t tell. All she knew was that she was fighting and she was crying. She couldn’t stop now. She had to keep fighting. She had to make things right. Somehow.

Suddenly, she stopped. Not by choice, but by force. An electric warmth shot through her body, locking her muscles and shocking her nerves. Her entire body shook violently, falling to the ground. She felt two metallic prongs in her chest then she could hardly feel at all.

She just wanted to sleep. She wanted to relax. Every part of her started to do just that. Even her bla-

No. Not this time.

Lyra jolted awake. Besides her gasp, the only sound in the room was Bon Bon snoozing softly. At least she was safe.

Fear overtook her. She threw the sheets off of herself and felt the area around her legs.

Still dry.

She breathed a sigh of relief. She didn’t think that she could take explaining to Bon Bon all over again that she wet the bed; it was bad enough the first time.

As comfortable as the bed was, she knew that she couldn’t stay there. Reluctantly, she pulled herself up, wobbling slightly in an early-morning stupor. Although it was dark, she passed a glance at the clock. She could just make out three-twelve.

She sighed and began the painfully long walk to the bathroom. Her fear subsiding, she quickly found that her mind was turning to thoughts of her dream. Unlike her last one, this one seemed pretty straightforward; the police had caught her and Bon Bon and charged them with breaking and entering and vandalism. But that didn’t happen. She and Bon Bon were safe, right? Safe enough, she supposed.

But what was it that Bon Bon said about Octavia? That she should have stayed with her? Lyra shook her head. Bon Bon would never say that. She knows that I love her. I mean, yeah, I’m having some problems, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t love her, right?

“Why does Octavia invade my dreams?” she said out loud.

Finishing her business, she stood up and slowly trotted back to her bed. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness; she saw the impression her body left and the misaligned blankets. More importantly, however, she saw Bon Bon sleeping soundly. Silently, she slipped under the covers and cuddle up next to her marefriend.

I’ll figure it all out later. For now, I just need sleep.

*** *** ***

“Come on, Lyra! I want to see what happened to Herb!”

The unicorn wouldn’t admit it, but she was afraid. The criminals always return to the scene of the crime. “Do we have to? I mean, I’m sure he’s really devastated after the pranks we pulled. We should just get to work on your shop.”

“We can do that later; it’s in the same area. C’mon!”

Reluctantly, Lyra allowed herself to be pulled all the way to the square where Bon Bon’s, and Herb’s, shops were located. The whole time, however, she kept her eyes open for any ponies in uniform trotting about.

She hadn’t told Bon Bon about her dream; she figured that her marefriend had enough to worry about without her telling her all about her own increasing insanity. It wasn’t too pressing of an issue, anyway. The worst case scenario would be that she would just have to change her sheets again.

They passed Bon Bon’s building, and, despite Lyra’s protests, dove into some bushes across the street from Herb’s store.

“Shouldn’t you be trying to sell sweets right now?” Lyra asked sarcastically, only to be shushed by an excited Bon Bon.

“Lyra, hush up or he’ll hear us. I think he’s about to come out.”

The earth pony hunkered down in anticipation, but Lyra soon turned her attention elsewhere. Her eyes were peering out of the opposite end of the bushes, searching for any officers that might apprehend them. She tried to ignore Bon Bon’s excited giggling.

“Oh! There he is!”

Lyra stole a quick peek. Well, their pranks definitely had their desired effect. Quickly, she returned to her post, looking out for the police, first glancing at Bon Bon.

Her marefriend looked like a volcano that was about to erupt. Her hooves were clamped over her muzzle as tight as possible, and her hind legs were about to collapse in on themselves.

“Ooh! Look at that!” she said in between giggles. “Now that was a great use for the glue.”

Lyra just shook her head. It was almost like it was the first time Bon Bon had pranked anypony.

Oh wait, it was.

She was just riding out the high that came with causing another pony, albeit a pony who deserved it, misery. “You ready to go?” Lyra asked, just wanting to not be associated with their joke.

“Almost,” Bon Bon squeaked. “That mare Carrot Top is about to walk by. I want to see her reaction.”

This actually made Lyra a little curious. Carrot Top had been known to be a little... jumpy at times. Increased exposure to Ponyville’s mailmare would do that to a pony.

Perfect.

Carrot Top took off full speed at the sight of the thoroughly pranked Herb, screaming her head off. Lyra had to admit, that would definitely be worth going to prison over. Maybe this prank wouldn’t have adverse consequences after all.

Herb immediately went back inside his store and changed his “open” sign to “closed” and closed the blinds.

Mission accomplished.

Lyra received a quick kiss on the cheek from Bon Bon. “Thank you, Lyra.”

“What for?”

“For helping me deal with that awful pony. There was no way I could ever have done that without you.”

“Oh, don’t mention it,” Lyra replied. “I got to be Batmare for a day. And a night,” she added with a wink, making Bon Bon blush. “Anyway, now that the show’s over, want to head back and work on your store? We’ll have to start selling candy again tomorrow, so if we can get it usable by tonight, we can really start making those sales.”

Bon Bon nodded. “I almost forgot. Let’s get on that right away. I just can’t wait to finally have a real shop instead of my kitchen.”

The two mares walked side by side, Lyra’s fears of apprehension by the police completely gone. They continued to laugh about their little expedition, Bon Bon continuously complementing Batmare’s alter ego and her skills. Even though it was only a few hundred feet back to Bon Bon’s building, it was a very enjoyable walk.

The pair was just about to start working when they caught the sound of a cough. They looked back and forth, but nopony was to be found. They heard the cough again, and this time looked up.

It was none other than Ponyville’s local mailmare, Derpy Hooves, hovering above them.

“Did I hear you guys right? You two were the ones who those things to Herb?”

Lyra’s fears were realized; they had been caught.

“Um, of course not,” Lyra stammered. “Why would you think that?”

“I just heard you two talking about it.”

“That doesn’t prove anything!” Lyra snapped, trying to do anything to defend herself. She was met with Bon Bon’s hoof on her shoulder.

“Lyra, it’s okay. I’m sure that, if anypony, we can trust Derpy.”

Reluctantly, Lyra nodded; Bon Bon was right. “Alright, Derpy, you caught us. We played those practical jokes on Herb, but only because he said some mean things to Bon Bon. Please don’t think that we’re mean ponies or anything.”

“Think you’re mean ponies?” Derpy said, landing on the ground. “I came over here so I could thank you two. Herb is the one who’s the mean pony.” Her expression and tone changed to one that was a bit more somber as her wings drooped. “Some time back, he saw my eyes and called me all sorts of awful things. I wanted to get back at him, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I’m glad that you guys could.”

Lyra smiled. Everything seemed like it would work out for the best. “Yeah, well we didn’t exactly have the best first impression when we met the guy. We just couldn’t let any of his nastiness stand. Especially not after what he called Bon Bon.”

“Which was a complete lie and exaggeration,” the earth pony quickly added.

“So we did what we could.”

Derpy giggled in glee. “Well, I wanted to say thank you. I know you weren’t standing up for me, but I’m happy that you put that pony his place.”

There was a smile on Bon Bon’s face. “Say, Derpy, why don’t you come over for a bit? You can have some candy, on the house.”

Derpy’s wings flapped. “Oh, I’d love to, Bon Bon, but I’ve really got to get back to my mail route. Maybe some other time?”

“Of course.”

Her wings began to flap harder until she was hovering in the air. “Thanks, Bon Bon! And, both of you, thanks again for dealing with Herb!”

“No problem!” Lyra and Bon Bon replied in unison.

With that, the pegasus took off and flew away...

...right into the front wall of Bon Bon’s shop.

Author's Note

The exact nature of such a prank is a secret hidden deep within the Canterlot Archives.

This chapter was somewhat of a test to see what I could write in a short span of time. I passed, I believe.

Butt Touching

Lyra just stood in shock for what seemed like an eternity. All she could see was Derpy’s rear sticking out of the side of Bon Bon’s building, her legs flailing all about. She wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do. Laugh? Chuckle? Giggle? Help her? Laugh some more?

She quickly dispelled her urges to chortle at the mare’s predicament, realizing that there was a pony stuck in a wall that definitely needed some sort of assistance. She grabbed Bon Bon by the hoof and started trotting briskly to the building. “I’ll pull on her hooves from the inside while you push from the outside. She should slide right through.”

Bon Bon stopped in her tracks. “Wait, so you want me to touch her butt?”

“Well, yeah. She is kind of stuck. Besides, you should be pretty good at touching and pushing butts by now.”

The earth pony shook her head and reluctantly trotted over to the still flailing mare. “Fine. I’ll do it, you’ll laugh at me, and then we’ll never talk about it again.”

“Deal,” Lyra replied, herself entering Bon Bon’s store. It was there that she found the front end of Derpy, desperately flapping her wings and moving her arms in an awkward swimming motion.

“Oh, hey Lyra,” she said as the unicorn walked in, a goofy grin on her face. “I’m a little stuck here. Can I get a little help?”

Lyra put on as big smile as she could, damming a river of what would be her laughter. “Sure, Derpy,” was all she could say; anything more would rupture the dam and then she’d be on the floor, rolling around in amusement, unable to help save Derpy at all.

“You ready Bon Bon?” she called out to her trusty partner. “I’m going to start pulling! You push!”

There was a pause for a moment, but suddenly Derpy flailed her arms as her eyes went wide in surprise. “Alright!” Bon Bon’s reluctant voice called back. “I’m... ready, I guess.”

Lyra was trying her best to stop herself from just breaking down in laughter at the thought of Bon Bon’s hooves all over Derpy’s butt. The most entertaining part was Derpy’s face; she didn’t look like she expected it, but she wasn’t protesting either. She couldn’t resist. “How’s it feel back there, Derpy?”

“Um, it feels like somepony is fondling my butt.” That was Derpy. Never one to be inaccurate.

The unicorn decided to push it a little further. “What about you, Bon Bon?” she called. “How does it feel on your end?” She could help but laugh just a bit in the middle of her question.

There was another pause, but suddenly Bon Bon spoke. “It’s... soft. A lot softer than yours. More fun to touch as well, Lyra.”

Okay, ouch. Lyra though, wincing slightly. I deserved that one, I guess.

“In fact, I think that I could get used to this. What do you say, Derpy?”

“It doesn’t feel... bad,” the trapped pegasus replied, the look on her face confirming that it wasn’t bad at all. “But I’m kind of already seeing somepony!” she immediately blurted out, blushing like mad.

This piqued Lyra’s interest. “Oh really? Who would that be?”

Derpy made another futile attempt at flapping her limbs. “I’ll tell you all about it after you help me out of here, alright? And as soon as Bon Bon lets go of my butt.”

“Oh. Right,” Lyra quickly said, remembering that originally they were going to help the mare embedded in Bon Bon’s wall. She grabbed Derpy’s forehooves. “Bon Bon, are you ready?”

“Oh, no. In fact, I would like to keep my hooves here a while longer,” came her sarcastic sounding reply.

Lyra rolled her eyes; that was enough of a yes for her. “Alright, push!” With all the strength she could, she yanked on Derpy’s hooves, leaning back with all of her weight. She could hear Bon Bon grunt on the other side and felt the pegasus’ wings flap wildly. She might have enjoyed the breeze in other circumstances.

Derpy wasn’t budging.

Damn. Earth ponies have it nice with all that strength they have. All I have is this dumb horn.

Lyra stopped pulling, feeling stupid. Duh. Her horn glowed, enveloping Derpy in her magical aura. Instead of focusing on the lodged pony, however, she directed the energy outwards, instantly widening the hole in the wall.

Immediately, either because of Bon Bon’s pushing or Derpy’s wild flapping, the pegasus popped out of the wall, her face running straight into the ground. Lyra winced a little, but it didn’t take long at all for the gray mare to lift her head right back up, a smile as big as ever, despite the red mark on her forehead. “Thanks, Lyra!” she said.

“Yeah,” the unicorn replied awkwardly scratching the back of her own head with a hoof. How can Derpy be so... happy? “Don’t mention it.”

The mare giddily flapped her wings, but they quickly drooped and her eyes fell as she turned around. “I’m sorry about the wall, Lyra. I didn’t mean to do that. It was an accident.”

Lyra glanced to her left to see that Bon Bon was just entering the building, gawking at the massive hole in what was going to be her store. She decided to speak before Bon Bon took over. “I know, Derpy. It’s fine. We’ll fix it.”

The pegasus dug around in her mailbag that must have fallen off her shoulder when she crashed. Clumsily, she drew out a small bag that clinked as she tossed it to Lyra, who caught it in her magical grasp. “Here. I know it won’t be enough to fix the wall, but it’s all I have right now. I’m sorry it’s not more.”

Being that happy and nice must be some sort of crime. Lyra decided to speak once more before Bon Bon accepted. “No, Derpy. It’s fine, really. I know that you’re a single mother and all, so we can’t take your money.”

Luckily, Derpy accepted the small pouch as Lyra tossed it back to her. She slipped the container back into her bag before... blushing? “Well... not single anymore...”

Lyra passed a glance to Bon Bon to find that she had an expression that she was sure was similar to her own. Derpy? Met somepony? That’s... different. I mean, she’s not a bad looking mare or anything, and apparently she has a soft butt... but still, she doesn’t peg me as the dating type. This time, Bon Bon took the reigns, which was much better than Lyra staring off into space with her mouth open.

“Oh really? Who’s the lucky colt?”

The pegasus’ blush intensified, her gaze shifting away from the two ponies in front of her. “Um... She’s not a colt.”

If Derpy didn’t have one hundred percent of Lyra’s attention before, she did now. Not that Lyra was one who particularly enjoyed talking about other ponies’ romantic interests; Derpy, sweet, clumsy and lovable Derpy, dating a mare was something that was just too good to pass up. “Really?” Lyra asked with a little more excitement than she intended. “Who is it?”

Derpy’s gaze continued to wander around in two different directions, taking extreme interest in the hole in the wall, the wall itself, and basically anything that wasn’t her two interrogators. Her face continued to redden before she took a deep breath and finally spoke.

“Berry.”

“Berry?” Lyra and Bon Bon questioned in unison.

“Berry.”

An awkward silence set in, Derpy sitting on her flank and gazing at... everything seemingly absentmindedly. Lyra just stood there, occasionally passing a glance to Bon Bon to see that she was doing the same.

“H- how?” she finally spoke. An alcoholic and a klutz? This cannot end well.

“Well... Um...” Derpy’s expression changed to one slightly more contemplative than her normal one. “Well she came over with her kid for a playdate, and we just started talking. And then she passed out on my couch.”

Oh! All that time ago when Bon Bon bought that awful building and Berry was over here. She said something about trying to get Derpy. “Who’s couch hasn’t she passed out on?” Lyra joked; Derpy didn’t seem to notice.

“And then she woke up and said her head hurt. I had already brought Dinky and Pinchy to school, so I just took care of her for the day.”

With the initial shock wearing off, Lyra found herself able to push a little further. “And what does ‘taking care of’ involve?” she asked with a wink. Bon Bon was going to scold her for this; she just knew it.

Either Derpy completely missed what she was asking, or decided to ignore it. “Oh, I just gave her some coffee and let her rest for a bit. It was... nice.”

Probably so Lyra couldn’t add any more innuendo to the conversation, Bon Bon spoke next. “Really? So you two must have really hit it off, then.”

“Oh yes. We’re both single mothers, so we had a lot to talk about. And since our kids go to school together, we can help each other out.”

“Have you told your kids?” Lyra asked with genuine curiosity.

Derpy awkwardly shuffled a bit, but when wasn’t her shuffling awkward? “Well... no. Not yet. We will... eventually.” The mare blushed once more. “Dinky has been curious about our sleepovers and pillow forts.”

Lyra snickered slightly and then looked over to Bon Bon to find her jaw on the floor. See! Lyra excitedly exclaimed in her mind. Pillow forts are awesome!

“That’s... great, Derpy,” Bon Bon said quietly, smiling. “I’m happy for you.”

“Yep,” was the pegasus’ reply. Derpy may have been fun to talk to, but deep discussions were really difficult to have. Moments that felt like hours passed before Derpy’s ears perked up. “Oh yeah! Now I remember why I came here in the first place!” She dug around in her mailbag and pulled out a rather fancy looking letter. “It looks really important and I didn’t want to leave it at your house, so I came here to find you.”

“Thanks, Derpy,” Lyra said, grabbing the letter in her magic. It did indeed look really important. There were some familiar looking musical symbols clasping it shut.

The mailmare fluttered her wings until she was on her hooves and slung her bag over her shoulder. “No problem! I’d love to stay because you guys are really fun to talk to, but I need to get going! I’ve got a date!”

With a massive smile, she awkwardly flew out of the massive hole in the wall that she had earlier created. “Bye, Derpy!” Bon Bon called after her. Immediately, though, she turned to Lyra, giving her an all-too-recognizable stern look.

“Umm,” Lyra began, but was immediately stopped by Bon Bon snatching the letter out of her magical grip and hitting her on the head with it.

“What did you think you were doing?!” Bon Bon yelled during her barrage of fancy paper. “Corrupting poor innocent Derpy like that!”

The earth pony didn’t stop until Lyra was on the floor, covering her head with her hooves. “Ouch, Bon Bon! Paper hurts!”

“She’s so cute and blissfully ignorant and you just want to ruin that!”

Lyra popped up to her hooves and took the now-crumpled letter from Bon Bon. “She’s a grown mare. Yeah, she is adorable, but she’s got a kid and she’s a dating Berry! I don’t think she’s ‘blissfully ignorant’.”

Bon Bon sighed. “Yeah, I know. I just want to believe that there’s one mare in the world that you haven’t corrupted.”

The unicorn raised an eyebrow, still levitating the letter safely out of Bon Bon’s reach. “Oh really? You didn’t mind when I corrupted you.”

“Are you trying to be sexy?” Bon Bon asked flatly, to which Lyra nodded. “Well it’s not working.”

“Damn it,” Lyra said, not realizing that it was out loud. “Anyway, the point is that Derpy isn’t an innocent filly, especially not after the way you fondled her ass, and this is definitely not worth ruining a fancy letter addressed to me. This paper looks really expensive.”

Bon Bon paused, looking at the folded paper. “Whoops.”

“Yeah. ‘Whoops’,” Lyra responded as she began to smooth out the envelope. “I’ll be lucky if I can even read a word of it.” With a flick of her magic, though, the letter returned to its original state. “There,” the unicorn said, rather proud of her handiwork.

“Well? Aren’t you going to read it?”

“That depends; are you going to beat me with it?”

“Oh, come now, Lyra. Just read the letter. It looks important.”

Lyra didn’t say a word. She just allowed her horn to glow and rip open the top of the letter, levitating out multiple sheets of paper that she would describe as ‘classy’, because there was no better word for it. Her eyes narrowed as she squinted at the relatively finely printed words, the gears in her head slowly turning as she tried to decipher them. It was only seconds before she gave up.

“Bon Bon? Could you translate this for me? I’m not good with fancy words. If I was half as good with words as you are at touching butts, I’d be a scholar.”

Her marefriend sighed, taking the the papers from Lyra, but not passing up the chance to smack her once on the head with them. Her eyes passed over the paper a couple times before she straightened her posture and cleared her throat, adopting a nearly perfect Canterlot accent.

“Basically, it says: Lyra Heartstrings, first off, congratulations on successfully auditioning for the Musician’s Ball. Blah blah blah, fancy words. We can’t wait to see you there. Enclosed are the required forms and information needed to enter. Fill them out, and get back to us. Hugs and kisses, the Canterlot Musicians.”

Lyra stared at her for a couple moments. “That accent was really good, but there’s no way it says that.”

“Thanks, I’ve been practicing my voices. I was paraphrasing the letter, but that’s the gist of it.”

“Oh, cool. So when exactly is this shindig?”

Bon Bon sighed. “Considering you auditioned for it, you probably should know that.” Still, she looked at the paper. “In a couple months. Looks like it’s in the middle of winter.”

“Oh. Playing with cold hooves doesn’t sound fun.”

“Well you should have thought about that before you auditioned.”

Lyra hated it when Bon Bon was right. “Well... w- yeah. You know I’m not good at thinking things through. Anyway, at least I got in. I am I kind of curious about Octavia though. Aren’t these musical events kind of her thing? She gave up her spot for me.”

Bon Bon just shrugged.

“Maybe I should ask her.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea after... what happened.”

Lyra cocked her head. “Since when have I had good ideas?”

Bon Bon facehooved. “And yet you still trust your own judgement.”

“Which is another one of my bad ideas. Really, Bon Bon. It’s not that hard to figure out. I mean, I have my moments, like when I told you to get your hooves all up on Derpy’s butt, but those are rare flashes of brilliance.” Lyra slowly made her way out of the little shop smirking at how clever she was; their constant work on it really was making it start to come together. Although... that newly formed hole would take some patching up; Lyra reprimanded herself for not immediately taking the cash Derpy offered.

The unicorn felt her ears droop as she looked at the massive breach in the wall; it would take forever to fix. However the longer she stared at it, the more fixing it seemed... wrong. Her ears perked up excitedly. “Bon Bon!” she exclaimed.

“What, Lyra?” the earth pony asked, seeming equally disgruntled by the large hole. “Is this another one of your bad ideas?”

“No, this one’s actually a great one.” She could picture her amazing idea in her mind. “Do you know a company that makes fancy windows?”

*** *** ***

It had taken a few hours of looking through ads and asking around, but they had finally found a custom window manufacturer. Sure, it would be expensive, but, after some number crunching, Bon Bon found that it would be less expensive than replacing half of a wall.

Lyra was just looking over their calendar, reviewing her current schedule. “Alright, so we’ve got that window arriving in a couple weeks.” She marked that down. “We’ve got the Musician’s Ball in a couple months.” Another note. “And I’ve got to go have a chat with Octavia sometime soon.” She marked just a general note for sometime during the next week. “And that about covers it.”

“And don’t forget about your therapy session,” Bon Bon said, her eyes pouring over some number-related things that Lyra didn’t want any part in.

The glow faded from Lyra’s horn and her pencil dropped. “My what?”

“Your therapy session. The one Octavia scheduled for you that’s next weekend.”

Lyra’s face flushed; she had thought that Octavia was just being nice, not that she would actually do it! Therapy was a definite no-go for her. There was only one pony that she needed to talk about her problems with, and that was herself. She turned to Bon Bon to protest, but found that she had adopted that you-are-doing-this-because-I-say-so look.

Dammit.

Author's Note

Now, I want to remind everybody to go out and touch a good butt. We all know Bon Bon did.

A big thanks to Krebons12 for reminding me of a little story element that completely slipped my mind.

Batmare Doesn't Need Therapy

Lyra hated the train. Every little detail about it infuriated her; annoying ponies were chattering, constant bumps made her uncomfortable, and the window seat was meaningless when all there was to see was the boring countryside that overlaid the stretch of land between Ponyville and Canterlot. There was absolutely nothing to do; she had already let out a constant stream of complaints the day before, and her well containing things to complain about had run dry prior to stepping on the train.

Or had it?

“This air sucks,” she said to Bon Bon flatly, not tearing her vision away from the boring, endless hills outside of the window.

“What?”

“This air. It tastes like...” she took a deep breath through her mouth, “suckiness.”

“I think it’s fine.”

“Well that’s just your opinion,” Lyra snapped back, her eyes shifting from the window to the floor as she crossed her hooves.

Time seemed to drag on for eternity; Lyra didn’t remember the trip to Canterlot being this mind-numbingly boring. She knew that she just had to find something to occupy her thoughts; there was no way that she would let them drift over to... therapy.

She passed a quick glance over to Bon Bon. “This seat sucks.”

The earth pony closed the magazine, blowing a heavy breath out of her nose. “What’s wrong, Lyra?”

Lyra didn’t uncross her hooves, but she turned her body towards Bon Bon. “Nothing. I just hate this train is all.

“Well either everything about this train is absolutely awful or something’s bugging you.”

“It is awful.”

“I think it’s fine,” Bon Bon repeated.

“Well,” Lyra replied with a scowl. “That’s just your opinion.”

The unicorn returned her gaze to the window, only hearing the sound of her marefriend picking her magazine back up. The endless hills and farmland dotting the valleys all melded into one boring tapestry of suckitude; normally Lyra wouldn’t have minded seeing the hills pass by, but that day was anything from normal. Instead of going to Canterlot for a night out on the town or to visit with some old friends or, better yet, to get some fancy cider, she was going for therapy. Celestia-damn therapy! her mind screamed.

She forced herself to drift away from what she didn’t want to think about and back to how awful everything was. This window sucks, she thought to herself, quickly realising that Bon Bon couldn’t hear her thoughts.

“This window-”

“This window what, Lyra? Sucks?” Bon Bon quickly interrupted, tossing her magazine to the side. “Obviously something’s wrong. This is the most you’ve ever complained in... weeks!”

Lyra shifted slightly in her seat. “Nothing’s wrong. I just don’t want to be here. That’s all.”

“And why don’t you want to be here?”

“Because this train is uncomfortable.”

“And why is this train uncomfortable?”

“Because it- hey!” Lyra stopped, realizing what Bon Bon was doing. “You’re therapizing me!”

“Is that a word?”

“Stop with the questions! We aren’t even Canterlot and I’m getting treatment I don’t need!”

“Mhm,” Bon Bon replied, scratching her chin thoughtfully. “And how does that make you feel?”

“You aren’t helping.”

Bon Bon reached over, grabbing her magazine and pantomiming writing notes on it. “I see. I’m sensing some hostility here.”

In a flash of annoyance, Lyra snatched the magazine in her magic, simultaneously pulling down the window and tossing it out of the train. She crossed her hooves once more and grumbled. “Told you this window sucks.”

“Well that was uncalled for. I still needed to read about Celestia’s love affair with her student.”

Lyra shook her head. Why did Bon Bon always care so much about other ponies’ problems. “You realize all that stuff is made up, right?”

“So is Batmare.”

“Hmph,” Lyra huffed, digging into her seat. “Well... well that magazine was dumb. The whole thing was dumb. This train is dumb. Yeah.” Nice job, Lyra. You really know how to think of a great comeback.

Bon Bon took a breath; Lyra expected her to come back with something infinitely as witty as what she said, but, to her surprise, she just leaned over and kissed her on the base of the horn. “I still love you, Lyra. I know you’re kind of worried, but it will be fine. I’ve heard this therapist is the best at what he does. Don’t get too freaked out over it.”

Lyra sighed, but didn’t respond. She saw the impressive spires of Canterlot rise out of her window; they were almost there.

Yeah, but Batmare never needed therapy.

*** *** ***

“Let’s just look at one more store!”

“No, Lyra! You’ve stalled long enough!”

“Please!” Lyra pleaded, motioning to one that sold mane products; she didn’t even like styling her mane, but she would do anything to delay the impending doom that her therapy would bring.

“We’re going to be late as it is!”

“Might as well not go, then.”

“You’re impossible,” Bon Bon noted, her hoof coming in contact with her forhead. “This therapy will probably help you with that.”

Lyra shook her head. “Nope. It won’t help because there’s nothing wrong with me.”

“Then there’s no harm in just going to find out.”

Dammit. Why does Bon Bon have to be smart? I’ll need a new tactic. “I’ll tell you what, Bon Bon. I’ll give you all the bits in my pockets if we just pretend that I don’t have an appointment.”

“You don’t have any pockets, Lyra.”

Foiled again. It’s like she’s one step ahead of me. “Say, Bon Bon. How about we go home, head up to the bedroom, and I’ll do that thing that you like with that one body part.”

“And that is?”

“Uh...” Lyra stared at her, trying to think of all the nice, pleasurable things that couples do. “I’ll rub your tummy?” she moreso asked than said.

“That’s your thing, Lyra.”

Dammit. I knew there was a reason that was such an attractive idea.

“Look, Lyra,” Bon Bon said sternly. “I know you’re scared, but this visit is going to help you with your problems with Octavia.” She kissed her on the cheek. “And I’m here for you. Don’t forget that.”

Lyra stood for a moment in silence. “Thanks, Bon Bon,” she said, reluctant to continue to move, instead just wanting to be kissed by Bon Bon. “So that’s a ‘no’ on going back home?”

“Yes. Especially since we’re here.”

Right in front of them was a massive building with glass windows that was probably filled to the brim with offices. Lyra whistled at the size of it; these Canterlot types didn’t mess around with their construction.

“They probably use all that space to house their brain probes. They’ll never get a word out of me, though,” Lyra said, preparing her mental defenses for the onslaught of telepathic attacks that were sure to happen the moment she set hoof in the building.

“Oh, hush, Lyra. That’s not what therapy is.”

“How do you know? You’ve never been.”

Bon Bon blew air out of her nose. “Yes I have. And it helped me. I had some... problems in middle school.”

“Yeah? They probably just wiped your mind to make you think it helped. Maybe they even implanted sensors in your brain.” She lightly tapped Bon Bon’s head. “Hello?! Can you hear me?! I’m on to you!”

“Stop that!” Bon Bon giggled, pushing Lyra’s hoof away and fixing her mane. “Alright, I think you’ve stalled long enough.”

“I disagree.”

“Let’s head inside already.”

*** *** ***

Lyra sat in her chair, crossing her hind hoofs and uncrossing them uncomfortably. Her eyes scanned the waiting room; they were the only ponies there; why was it taking so long? She looked over to Bon Bon, who looked like she was perfectly content to just shuffle through a random gossip magazine.

She leaned over awkwardly, trying to read whatever page Bon Bon was on. Huh. So those horn extension methods don’t work after all. Glad I didn’t buy that.

Unfortunately, her equine physiology betrayed her leaning attempts, and she ended up with her face on Bon Bon’s flank. Not that she was complaining.

“Whoops,” she said as she turned her face up to look at her marefriend and was met with a raised eyebrow. “I guess I slipped.”

“You want a magazine?” Bon Bon replied quickly.

Lyra thought for a moment; she wasn’t too big on reading that dumb gossip stuff- at least, she wouldn’t admit it to herself- but it was better than sitting there bored, awaiting the impending doom of her therapy. “That depends on two things. First, does it have pictures? And second, can I read it right here?” She lightly tapped Bon Bon’s flank that she was still relaxing upon; it was rather comfortable.

“Well, only i-” Bon Bon began, but was interrupted by the sound of a door opening.

“Lyra Heartstrings, the-” The mare at the door looked up from her clipboard and stuttered. Lyra blushed a little bit; this was sort of an awkward way to start therapy. “The... uh... the pony- yeah. He’ll see you,” the mare said, her face crimson as she slowly backed out of the doorway.

“Uh, thanks?” Lyra replied, lifting her head off of Bon Bon’s side. “That was weird.”

Bon Bon giggled. “Well, you were kind of massaging my rump.”

“Only a little bit. Now come on; the lady said that ‘the pony’ will see me now.”

The earth pony put down her magazine, only to pick up another one. “This is your session. I don’t think it involves me.”

Lyra’s face flushed. “It... it doesn’t?”

“Not unless they ask for me.”

“You mean I’m going to have to go in there,” Lyra took a deep breath, “alone?”

“Yeah,” the mare replied, putting her magazine down and kissing Lyra on the cheek. “You’ll be fine, dear. You’re Batmare, right?”

The unicorn took in a breath through her nose. “R- right.”

“Now get in there. I’ll be right here, waiting for you to get out in an hour.”

Lyra wanted to protest. She wanted to come up with a million excuses. It was way too hot in the room. She should have worn something nice. She was horny. She had a headache. All of the excuses died in her mind. For Bon Bon, she thought, taking a single step forward. And... and Octavia.

Her steps eventually brought her through the door from where the mare that freaked out entered. On the other side were, big surprise, more doors. It was a narrow hallway, and it was almost eerie how quiet it was. Worse yet, she had absolutely no idea which one she was supposed to go through. She wanted to turn back and use the numerous rooms as an absolutely fantastic excuse.

No. I’ve made it this far already. I can’t turn back now.

She turned to the first door on her left; pulling at it with her magic, she found that it was locked. The next door was open, but seemed to be storage for strangely shaped leather couches. Lyra sighed; there were at least six doors there. Did she really have the motivation to try them all?

The unicorn this time turned to her right, finding a door labelled Receptionist’s Office. She opened it to see that same mare that freaked out, this time looking calm behind a desk that was stacked with papers. Lyra wondered if she was going to run away again; that would be kind of funny. “Um, where is the-”

“Last door on the right.”

“Thanks?” she replied, backing out of the door and shutting it with her magic. That would have been helpful information a couple minutes ago. These therapy ponies are weird, she sighed.

Following the directions, she made her way to the back of the hall, finding a simple door with a name on it. “Doctor Neigh,” she read out loud. Interesting name. Sounds like he’s going to disagree with me a lot.”

Having no idea what the proper etiquette was, Lyra debated knocking on the door or just walking in. Unfortunately, her mind and body couldn’t seem to agree on one thing, and she found herself awkwardly knocking rapidly on an already open door. It continued for a couple seconds until she realized what she was doing. She turned around as fast as she could, hoping to Luna that nopony saw that.

Unfortunately, somepony did. Reclining in a chair was a grey earth pony, who was casually writing in his notepad. He adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat.

“Ah, you must be Lyra Heartstrings,” he said as he set the notepad down and rose from his chair. He walked over and extended his hoof to Lyra, who looked at it skeptically. “I’m Doctor Neigh. Pleased to meet you.”

The unicorn just stared at his hoof. Considering that she was about to be questioned and possibly have her brain extracted, was it against protocol to act friendly to her captor? Screw it. No need to be rude. She met the stallion’s hoof with her own. “I wish I could say that the feeling was mutual.”

Neigh raised an eyebrow for a moment, but then dropped it, gesturing to one of those weird looking leather couches. “Please, have a seat and then we can get started.”

“Fine,” Lyra replied. “Let’s get this interrogation over with.” You can lead a pony to therapy, but you can’t make her drink. Or something like that, she thought. She hopped onto the sofa, finding that the strange shape was actually rather comfortable. “Now is this the part where you show me ink blots or wave a pocket watch in front of my face?”

To Lyra’s relief, the stallion didn’t say ‘yes’. Instead, he laughed. “Oh no, Lyra. I’m here to talk with you and help you get through whatever problems you may have.”

I see how it is. He’s using a more indirect interrogation technique. He’s posing as an ally and waiting for me to let my guard down. The same thing happened to Batmare once. “Well I’m fine. I’m not crazy, so I don’t need to be here. So whatever you need to do to let me go, let’s get on with it.”

“You don’t need to be crazy to have problems, Lyra.”

“But I don’t have any problems. I’m only here because my marefriend threatened to withhold sex.” Am I telling him too much already? I don’t want to give him anything.

To her surprise, Neigh scribbled on his notepad. “I see. Well, it wouldn’t hurt to just talk to me, now would it?”

Well, I suppose I could humor him for just a little bit. Heck, I may even find out a little bit about the enemy. “Fine. What do you want to talk about? Sports? Music? Gossip? Because I took a look at one of those magazines, and I just knew that Celestia had to have implants. Nopony’s rear is that sexy naturally!”

Again, the stallion wrote something. “Actually, I would like to talk about you, Lyra. That’s what you’re here for, after all.”

“What about me? There’s not much to know. My name is Lyra. I play the lyre, obviously. I live in Ponyville with my hot marefriend. Good enough?”

Lyra’s eye twitched, seeing the pony write yet another note. What could possibly be notable about that? “That’s all very interesting, Lyra, but I would like to talk about you specifically, or what’s going on with you. Of course, if you want to talk about other things, I get paid either way,” he chuckled.

“Fine, but first off, I’ve got a question for you,” the unicorn said.

“And what would that be?”

Lyra looked at the door to see that it was closed. “What is the deal with that receptionist? I was hanging out with Bon Bon, my marefriend, in the waiting room and she peeked in and ran away.”

Neigh’s ears perked. “You didn’t happen to be touching each other in any way, did you?”

“Well...” Lyra said, remembering the awesome moment that happened only a few minutes ago vividly. “I was kind of touching her ass.”

“Oh dear,” the stallion muttered, taking off his glasses. “That’s no good.”

“It wasn’t that bad!” Lyra protested. “And Bon Bon likes touching butts more than I do!”

“Oh it’s not that,” Neigh said, hastily scribbling more notes on his pad. “Our receptionist has just been a little traumatized after an incident involving some sexual therapy patients.”

The unicorn sat up. “Now that is something I’d like to hear about.”

“I’m afraid I can’t tell you,” the earth pony said, wiping off his brow and putting his glasses back upon his face. “It’s against our policy. The past is the past. Just... try to keep any sort of contact outside of the waiting room, alright?”

“Okay.”

“Alright,” Neigh said, straightening his back and regaining his professional posture. “Now where were we?”

Lyra fell back to the couch. “You were just about to say that I’m perfectly normal and you were about to let me go.”

“Nice try. But let’s move on. Now, I’m going to ask you some questions, if that’s alright.”

“Go ahead,” Lyra said, sitting up once more. “You can probe me all you want, but you won’t get through to me. I’m like Fort Clops; I’m impenetrable, impregnable, and I’ve got a really sexy name.”

The stallion didn’t say anything; he instead wrote more notes.

“Hey. What are you writing, anyway?”

The pony stopped writing and looked up at Lyra. “I’m keeping track of how many times you mention sex in our conversation.”

Uhh, what? Everyone has their hobbies, I guess. “Well of course I’m going to mention sex. I’m a really attractive mare.” It still was unnerving to see him make another note. “Whatever. Just get on with asking me some questions. Like I said, you won’t get a word out of me.”

*** *** ***

“And... and that’s why I think I like being touched down- down there,” Lyra cried, gesturing to her stomach. “It shouldn’t feel so good to have my belly rubbed, but it just... it just does!”

“Mhm,” she could hear Neigh say. She looked to the side to find that he was pushing a box of tissues towards her. “I could see how that could make you feel alienated. Of course, it’s not necessarily uncommon for pleasure to be derived in different ways from different ponies. Now, you said that it wasn’t too long ago that your marefriend found out about it?”

“Y- yeah,” Lyra replied, wiping her eyes.

“Now, you said she ‘found out’; you didn’t tell her?”

“No...” The unicorn unceremoniously blew her nose.

“If I may ask, how did she learn of this interest of yours?”

Lyra took a moment to empty her nasal passages and clear her eyes of tears once more. “O- Octavia told her...” She could only hear the sound of a pencil making notes as she looked back up at the ceiling.

A painful amount of moments passed before the therapist spoke once more. “And how did Octavia know of the particular fetish of yours?”

“That’s none of your business!” Lyra yelled, suddenly lashing out. She shrank back into her chair. “I- I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. It’s perfectly normal to be defensive on such a sensitive subject.” The sound of her own breathing and that of pencil on paper was all that filled Lyra’s ear drums. Staring at the ceiling, she wondered if Neigh had just suddenly left. Luckily, though, he spoke up, although it was not the question she wanted to hear.

“I’m just going to ask this; did you ever have sex with Octavia?”

Lyra suddenly stopped crying. “What the hell type of question is that?! I thought therapists weren’t supposed to be perverts!”

“I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, Lyra,” he replied calmly. “You seemed rather open to talking about sex, and I’m just trying to get a better feeling of who you are. You don’t have to answer the question if you don’t want to.”

“No! I didn’t!” she snapped angrily. Well... there was that one evening I... Oh Celestia, that did happen, didn’t it? Lyra cleared her throat. “Maybe... maybe a little bit.”

“A little bit?”

The unicorn looked around nervously. “Y- yeah...” She hoped that Neigh would say something, anything, that wasn’t about her past relations. All he did was write some more. “Please don’t tell Bon Bon!” she suddenly yelled. “It was a long time ago and I’m past it!”

Neigh finally stopped writing. “Oh, no. These sessions are strictly confidential.” He passed a glance at the clock. “Now I need to ask, are you really past it?”

“O- of course!” Lyra quickly said. “I love Bon Bon.”

“And am I safe in assuming that you and your marefriend are active?”

Lyra felt at least a little uncomfortable with the therapist bringing Bon Bon into these. “Oh yes. We- we get it on at least five times a week,” she shakily replied, trying, and failing, to put on her most confident face.

Neigh jotted down a couple of notes, but fortunately didn’t linger too long on the notepad. “Do you miss Octavia?”

“N-... no.”

He flipped through his notes. “Well your previous descriptions of her have been rather fond to say the least.”

“I’m just a really nice pony,” Lyra replied, looking around the room. When will these questions end? I do not want to be interrogated about Octavia.

“How close would you say you are to Bon Bon?” The unicorn breathed a sigh of relief that he dropped it.

“We’re soulmates; I love her.”

“And you said that you are intimate multiple times a week. How important would you say sex is to your relationship?”

Lyra took a breath. She had gone days, even weeks without it. It wasn’t that important. Although... she couldn’t really complain about the frequency. “It’s kind of important. I’d be a little less happy without it.”

“Mhm,” he replied, writing even more. How much paper does this guy have?! “Have you ever fantasized about Octavia?”

“What?!” Lyra’s body bolted up and she scowled at the therapist. “What in Celestia’s name kind of question is that?! I’m beginning to question how professional you are ‘Doctor’ Neigh!” She craned her neck, trying to look at his notepad. “Are you sure that you aren’t writing some twisted lesbian story right there?”

“Lyra, I am asking these questions only to help you. How much you let yourself be helped is up to you.” Lyra watched his eyes pass a glance to the clock once more. “Now, we are almost out of time. We can pick up this session next week, if you’d like; you’ve had a rather turbulent time.”

The unicorn looked at the clock, and then looked at him. She wanted to shoot him down and yell at him again, but what would she say? She had to say... something.

“Yes,” she replied, her gaze shifting to the ground.

“Hmm?”

“Yes. Sometimes I do think about Octavia... like that.”

Lyra continued to stare at the ground, expecting Neigh to laugh at her or scold her or... something. There was no way that he would just stay quiet, right?

Finally getting the courage to look up, she found that he was... smiling?

“I’m glad we could make progress, Lyra. You did very good. Is there anything else you’d like to say?”

Lyra wouldn’t like to say it, but she felt like she had to. “Y- yeah.” She gulped. “I... I’ve actually got a question.” She took a deep breath. “Ever since I saw Octavia here in Ponyville I... I’ve been thinking these things about her, no matter how much I love Bon Bon. Am I... am I sick?”

She shut her eyes tightly, hanging her head low and preparing to be hit with whatever massive realization was about to be tossed upon her.

“No.”

Lyra slowly opened her eyes, releasing a heavy breath. His voice was... nice to hear.

“But it does look like you are showing some symptoms of an addiction.”

The unicorn jerked her head up, staring at Neigh’s face. “A- an addiction?” How can that be possible? I don’t do anything bad! I just drink a little sometimes.

The therapist took off his glasses. “You’ve told me that sex plays a rather large role in your life, but it’s apparent to me that it plays a little too large a role.”

Addicted to... sex? Is that even possible?

“Now, it’s not an uncommon problem. For many ponies it’s not a problem at all, but it seems to be interfering with your personal life.”

Lyra took a breath. “Wait wait wait. What do you mean I have sex addiction? What could have told you that?”

The stallion put his glasses back on his face and looked back over his notes. “Now, I can’t diagnose anything yet, of course; this is just the first session, after all. From what you have told me, though, you sound like you’re almost perpetually in heat.”

Oh, no. When I am in heat, it’s much wor- hey! Lyra stood up. “You do not talk about a mare’s heat cycle!”

Neigh just adjusted his glasses. “Well, I am both a doctor and a psychologist who is just trying to help you, Lyra.” He looked at the clock and stood up as well. “And it seems that we are out of time for this session. I’ll see you in two weeks.” He walked over to the door and opened it, gesturing Lyra through.

The unicorn started to step through it, but stopped. “Wait! Aren’t you supposed to give me a perscription or some pills or something that will fix me? That’s what doctors do, right?”

“Not always.” He shook his head. “We’ll continue next session. For now, I just want you to talk to Bon Bon about what we talked about.”

“About.. about what we talked about? That was kind of personal, though.”

“And you should trust her with that information.”

Lyra stared at him. I should trust her, right? We’re partners; isn’t that what partners do?

“Thanks,” was all she said before exiting the office. She felt... relieved, but only barely. A weight had been lifted off of her shoulders, only to be replaced be a new one that was just as heavy; even with the session, she still felt like she had a lot of work to do before she could really resolve things with Octavia.

Sex addiction? she questioned as she trotted down the hall. Just because I enjoy a good time with my marefriend doesn’t mean I’m addicted! I’m sure that many couples would be plain jealous! Hay, I bet even Octavia and Vinyl wish they got it on as much as we did. I doubt that foursome is completely off the table.

She stopped trotting. Octavia and Vinyl... Her eyes glanced around the hallway, making sure that nopony was around to listen in on her thoughts. They are an... attractive couple, aren’t they? Realizing where her thoughts were going, she quickly shook her head. No. That quack is wrong. I’m not addicted to sex. She took a breath and resolved to stop thinking before resuming her trot down the narrow hallway.

Continuing her short walk, she walked past the office of the receptionist, the door still open. Deciding to have a little fun, Lyra trotted over and stood in the doorway, waiting to get the mare’s attention. As soon as she looked up, the unicorn slowly licked her lips and was rewarded with the sight of the receptionist completely falling out of her chair.

That was the exact laugh she needed to make her feel better. Getting the mare’s attention again, she winked and shut the door.

Needless to say, she wasn’t looking forward to talking to Bon Bon. She knew that she was probably sitting in the waiting room with a stack of magazines that she had already read through, preparing a hundred questions about the therapy session.

Sighing, she opened the door to the waiting room. As expected, Bon Bon was there, surrounded by the latest celebrity gossip. The earth pony immediately hopped up from her seat when Lyra entered the room, cantering over to her and planting a light kiss on her lips while wrapping her hooves tightly around the back of her neck.

“How was your first session?”

Lyra slightly winced at the word ‘first’; the thought of needing more was not appealing to her whatsoever. “I learned nothing and didn’t cry at all.”

Bon Bon pulled away slightly, her eyes seeming to study every aspect of Lyra’s face and darting between her eyes and snout. Is it that obvious how much I cried? Lyra questioned, noticing Bon Bon’s sympathetic expression.

Instead of pointing it out like Lyra expected her to, Bon Bon just pulled her in closer, nuzzling her. The unicorn only wished that her marefriend could have been there while she was being interrogated.

“We should head home,” Bon Bon finally said, pulling away.

“Yeah,” Lyra agreed quietly. She couldn’t talk to Bon Bon about her experience here; that conversation just had to happen at home. “I don’t think that we can stay here much longer anyway. Pretty soon that receptionist will probably come out here and faint,” she said as she grabbed Bon Bon by the hoof, leading her to the door.

“Why is that?”

Hearing the door to the office shut behind her, Lyra finally felt free of a certain anxiety that had gripped her since she had arrived. “Just a feeling,” she replied, smiling.

*** *** ***

Lyra still hated the train. This time, however, she didn’t have much to complain about. She knew that if she started talking about that therapy session, everything she discussed with Neigh would just come out, and she wanted to wait until they were home for that to happen. She just watched the countryside pass by her instead.

Bon Bon must have noticed her avoiding the subject, but, fortunately for Lyra, didn’t say anything; she just snuggled up close to her, offering a comforting hoof in case Lyra needed it. The unicorn felt like she had a time bomb next to her, though; at any moment it seemed like Bon Bon would inquire about her therapy session; Lyra had to say something first.

“Tell me about middle school.”

“What?”

Lyra looked at her marefriend with a smile. “Earlier you said something about needing therapy in middle school. Tell me about that.”

Instead of the smile she hoped for, she received a raised eyebrow from Bon Bon. “Why do you want to know about that now? You’ve never asked about it before.”

Because I wanted to break this weird silence and didn’t want to talk about being addicted to sex. “No reason. I’m just curious.”

Bon Bon still looked skeptical, but cleared her throat regardless. “Well, you probably know that I’m not the... skinniest of ponies.”

Well, yeah. You’ve got a heavenly shapely body. And don’t even get me started on your- no! I can’t be thinking about that now. “You’re beautiful, Bon Bon. You know that, I know that, and I’m pretty sure all of Equestria knows it.”

The earth pony smiled, but only a little bit. “Anyway, back in middle school, it was a lot... worse than it is now.”

I couldn’t see more to hold on to being worse in any situation. If only I could- she shook her head, snapping out of her thoughts. No! Bad Lyra! Don’t prove that doctor right...

“Is something wrong, Lyra?”

The unicorn looked up, realizing that she had been shaking her head and staring off into space. “What? No, everything’s fine. Please, continue.”

Bon Bon stared at her for a moment, but then cleared her throat once more, breathing somewhat heavily. “I’ll just say it; I was really big back then. And... and I was made fun of a bit for it.”

Any daydreams Lyra was going to have were broken. “Wait, what?” How could anypony make fun of Bon Bon? Sweet, adorable Bon Bon?

“Those were probably the worst years of my life. I just kept getting picked on and nopony would stop it.” She looked away for a moment. “I became really depressed, so my parents worked some extra shifts and raised enough money to get me some help. And there I was. In therapy.”

How... how did I not know this? This seems like something kind of major in her life, and she never told me about it. Lyra’s gaze turned away from Bon Bon. Or I never asked about it...

Bon Bon sniffled a little. “I suppose I should thank those bullies. Without them, I never would have lost all that weight; I know that you definitely wouldn’t have loved me if I was still like that...” She trailed off and looked away.

Is that really what Bon Bon thinks? I would love her no matter what she looked like! She could only watch as Bon Bon continued to avoid her gaze, sniffling. Batmare helps ponies, and Bon Bon is in need of help.

The mare wiped her eyes. “I... I know it’s not the most exciting story you’ve ever heard, but-”

Lyra did the only thing she could do; she interrupted her with a forceful, yet controlled, kiss, pulling her in close as if her marefriend would just slip away if she loosened her grip for a moment. Would a sex addict do that? she happily exclaimed in her mind. That doctor was completely wrong.

Slowly, she pulled away and looked into Bon Bon’s eyes. She wanted to say something, but found that there were no words she could think of that could do the kiss any justice. Instead, she just wordlessly wrapped her hooves around the mare and squeezed her tightly.

“Thank you,” Bon Bon said quietly into her ear. “For everything. You’re really good to me, you know that?”

Lyra didn’t speak; she just pulled herself in tighter, basking in the warmth of the mare. How long had she been wanting to talk about this? she wondered. Actually, why did it take so long for me to even bother asking about her? I’m so... so stupid sometimes. She was bullied in middle school and I didn’t even care to know about it. I’m an awful marefriend.

She looked around, still locked in the tight embrace. Maybe if I just talked to her every once in awhile I wouldn’t even need to be on this train.

Reluctantly, she broke away from Bon Bon, but snuggled up closer to her; instantly, the train seat was just a little bit more comfortable. The pair sat in a comfortable silence for a while, perfectly content to watch the world go by outside of their window.

The world outside wasn’t where there was a mare in need of Lyra, however. She just had to prove that she truly cared.

“Tell me about your parents, Bon Bon.”

“Oh? Are you sure you want to know about them?”

Lyra took a breath; she had never asked about Bon Bon’s parents before. They had somewhat of a silent agreement to not ask each other about them. The unicorn was just a little worried; what if they were murderers? Or a part of the mafia? She would have to turn into Batmare and strike them with a hoofful of justice. “Yeah,” she replied.

She was relieved when Bon Bon spoke happily. “There isn’t too much to tell about them; they’re simple ponies who live a good ways out of Ponyville. I’d say that they’re the best parents a mare could have. They’re always supportive of me in everything I do, and I’m glad they live close by so I can visit them every once in awhile.”

“Huh,” Lyra said, mostly to herself. Bon Bon visits her parents? How have I never known this? What else happens around here that I’m not aware of?

“Actually,” Bon Bon’s eyes lit up, “Why don’t we invite them over for dinner sometime! You’d love them, Lyra!”

There it was; there was the bombshell that Lyra didn’t even know she feared. She didn’t even realize she was backing away until she fell over and hit her head on the seat. Be supportive, she reminded herself while rubbing the back of her head. Do things for Bon Bon.

“Sure, Bon Bon,” she said, finally sitting upright.

“Yay!” the earth pony excitedly cheered, giving Lyra an energetic hug. “It’s so nice of you to agree, Lyra. I had been thinking about this for a while, actually, and was worried you wouldn’t want to meet them.”

“Heh. Yeah... I’d love to meet them...” The unicorn replied nervously.

“Great! I’ll send them a letter as soon as we get home!”

Lyra groaned just quietly enough so that Bon Bon didn’t hear and faked a smile. Oh Luna dammit. Forget sex addiction; I’ve got to deal with Bon Bon’s parents!

Author's Note

Enjoying tummy rubs are symptom of sex addiction, it seems.

And yes, I realize that I probably got the actual practice of therapy completely wrong, but all I had to draw on was an experience from a long time ago and two Google searches about couches. My argument is that this is Equestria and things work differently there, or something silly like that.

Thanks to Krebons12 for looking over the chapter for me.

Good Versus Evil

“So what are your parents like?” Lyra nervously asked, trying to alleviate the tension she felt in their train car.

Bon Bon didn’t seem to notice. “Oh, they’re great ponies. You’d love them. My dad is an ice cream maker and my mom bakes decorative cakes, so there will definitely be plenty of dessert when we invite them over tomorrow.”

Lyra was wrong in assuming that she wouldn't be surprised any more this train ride. “T- tomorrow?”

“Sure!” Bon Bon replied happily. “I’ll ask Derpy to give it to them immediately. As long as she doesn’t get lost, my parents will be able to come over with plenty of time. Why wait?”

Because I am dreading every little thing about this meeting. “Y- yeah. Why not?”

“Oh, Lyra. I’m so glad that you’ll finally get to meet them! You’ll get to tell them all about your lyre playing and how you’re going to be playing at the Musician’s Ball! Isn’t that exciting!”

Lyra just mumbled. She didn’t know what it was, but there was something about meeting the parents of the mare she loved that made her strangely uncomfortable. A thought crossed her mind, showing her what was just a little bit important. “Bon Bon, do they know about-”

She was interrupted by the sound of the trains brakes screeching. Immediately, all of the passengers stood up, loudly grabbing their bags and starting to exit the train.

“Let’s get going!” Bon Bon said excitedly, immediately standing up and getting caught in the flow of the ponies exiting the train.

“Us...” Lyra muttered, following Bon Bon in the direction of their home.

*** *** ***

“Now Derpy, I want you to go right to their home, got it? No getting sidetracked.”

Lyra watched as Bon Bon instructed Derpy, attempting to stifle her own laughter as the mare’s eyes looking in every direction that wasn’t Bon Bon.

“Derpy!” the earth pony said sternly, snapping Derpy out of her daze. “Were you even listening?”

The pegasus saluted. “I’ve got it, Bon Bon! You need me to take this letter home and get sidetracked!”

“Ye- no! Derpy, I need you to take the letter to my parent’s house and give it to them!”

Derpy stared at her for a moment with one eye, the other looking about. Lyra still stood to the side, doing her very best to suppress her laughter. The pegasus’ eye narrowed as if she was in deep concentration.

“Oh!” she finally said, a smile on her face. “You want me to take the letter to your parents! I thought you were giving really weird instructions before. That makes a whole lot more sense.”

Despite Lyra’s laughter, Bon Bon didn’t seem in the least bit amused. “Yes, Derpy. Can you do that?”

The pegasus tipped her hat. “They don’t give this mailmare’s outfit to just anypony. Only those that make the proper deposit. Of course I can! I’ll be over there as soon as possible,” she chirped happily, taking the letter from Bon Bon and tossing it into her mailbag. “I’ll be over there lickedy-split! They don’t call me ‘Lightning’ Hooves for nothing!”

“Uh, Derpy,” Lyra said, her laughter dying down. “Nopony calls you that.”

Derpy’s expression didn’t change. “Well, yeah! Isn’t that what I just said? They don’t call me ‘Lightning’ Hooves! I wish they would, though.”

Lyra passed her glance over to Bon Bon. She remained unamused. “Just bring my parents the letter, alright?”

The pegasus saluted, almost toppling over. Her wings flapped erratically until she finally found herself on her hooves once more. “You got it, Bon Bon. I won’t let you down.” With that, she turned and flapped awkwardly into the air, a couple of stray hairs left in her wake. Bon Bon sighed and shut the door.

“She may get the job done, but she will trip up every step of the way getting there,” the mare said, seemingly to herself. I hope she gets them the letter within the week at least.”

Her tripping up is exactly what I’m counting on, Lyra thought, mentally laughing maniacally. There’s no way that she’ll ever get that letter to Bon Bon’s parents. Then I’ll never have to meet them! It’s just perfect!

The plotting unicorn turned into her home and trotted to a nearby couch, plopping down on it. Yeah, this plan is flawless, she mused as her nefarious plot turned in her mind. Slowly, a realization dawned on her.

Except for the fact that Derpy has never failed a single delivery.

Her body bolted upright and she jumped to her hooves. Derpy has the best record of all of the mailponies! She brags about it all the time! Lyra kicked her hooves into gear, scrambling for the front door. She could not let Derpy deliver that letter; she could not have that meeting with Bon Bon’s parents that she feared for reasons she couldn’t explain. She didn’t even realize that she had rammed into her marefriend until her own forehead hit the ground. Lyra quickly picked herself up, rubbing her horn.

“Sorry, about that, Bon Bon. Gotta go!”

She tried to open the door with her magic, but found that her horn wouldn’t ignite. Her hoof reached out and pulled the door open, her other hooves immediately carrying her to the other side of it.

“Where are you-” Bon Bon began, but was cut off by the door slamming. Lyra, finally free from her home, immediately galloped down the road to get away from any of Bon Bon’s questions. Her eyes scanned the air, looking for a little grey dot floating along against a sea of blue. Finally, they came upon a figure, flapping in the distance. She was galloping at full speed in an instant, trying to catch up with the flying pegasus.

I should ask Bon Bon for a massage after this, she thought, taking in as much air as she could as she felt her muscles strain. She didn’t run much, and she was regretting it every step.

Finally, she was directly under the flying pony. Despite the fire in her lungs, she called out as loud as she could. “Derpy!” she yelled, hoping that the pegasus would somehow hear her. She just continued to fly. “Derpy!” she yelled again, feeling dismayed and wheezing a bit.

Lyra’s spirits perked as the pony looked down, but they dropped even lower when she saw that it was not, in fact, Derpy, but a grey pegasus stallion. “Sorry...” she said, letting her rear fall to the ground and watching as the pony fluttered on. She sat for a moment, pondering. That was it; she had failed.

“Hey, Lyra!” a familiar, upbeat voice called. The unicorn looked up to see Derpy, merrily trotting along, her mailbag in tow. “Wow, you’re really fast! You got to the water fountain before me!” The cheerful pegasus bent down and took a sip of water. “Maybe I should use my wings next time. Anyway, I’ll see you later, Lyra!”

The pegasus took off. Lyra sat there, watching. Waiting. Wondering.

Why am I not chasing after her? was what she wondered.

The out-of-breath unicorn hopped to her hooves and galloped with all of her strength, traveling noticeably slower than she was before. She was still gaining ground on this pegasus, who was merrily flapping along.

She opened her mouth to shout at her, but only a wheeze escaped her lips. What would I say anyway? she wondered. ‘Hey, give me that letter!’ probably won’t help. No, she had to come up with a plan. She had to be like Batmare.

“Derpy, look! A muffin!” she shouted with raspy breath. She could see the pegasus chuckle a little and continue on flying.

Damn, she thought as she continued to gallop as fast as her hooves could carry her. I guess those rumors that Derpy has an unquenchable desire for muffins aren’t true after all. I’ve got to think of something else.

Lyra’s head looked to her right and to her left, eventually coming upon a branch sticking out form a nearby tree. That’s it! I’ll run full speed into the branch and let it launch me into the air!

Her hooves skidded as she quickly changed direction, kicking dust into the air. She was travelling at full speed again, gunning straight for the branch that would send her to her target. The branch closed in, and she closed her eyes, preparing for the massive force that could only leave her sailing through the air. With her breath held, she slowly felt the rough bark come in contact with her fur.

Snap.

Lyra tumbled onto the ground, her hooves flailing wildly. Her body skidded across the grass, only to be stopped by a tree. She rubbed her head with a hoof before standing up and looking at the broken tree limb.

“You mean that doesn’t actually work?!” she yelled to nopony in particular.

She blinked, taking a deep breath, and the facehooved. That really was a stupid idea.

Her hooves sore, she trotted out of the wooded area and back to the road. Her eyes squinted, seeing that little speck of grey still flapping along. She debated giving up right then and there, but this was a mission that she couldn’t fail.

Despite the pain in her... everywhere, she forced her hooves to move forward. Her senses were dulled from the combination of her new exhaustion and the throbbing in her horn that was already there. Slowly but surely, she neared that little grey dot, heavily panting with each one of her painful steps.

Lyra looked around at the changing scenery, making note of the increasing amount of trees. That gives me an idea, the brilliant unicorn thought, pushing through her pain and discomfort and galloping full speed ahead.

She ran off of the road, running through the brush that barely qualified as a forest and dodging tiny sticks, blades of grass, and the occasional tree. After some time, she looked to her left to find that she was a good distance in front of Derpy. She put her amazing plan into action, climbing up the nearest tree, only to have it snap under her weight and leave her on the ground in pain. She couldn’t waste time being hurt, though; she pulled herself back up to regain the ground she had lost.

With all her might, she ran ahead of Derpy once more, this time keeping her eyes open for a tree that wasn’t a sapling. She spied a suitable candidate, and pulled herself up it with adrenaline-fueled skill. Using her momentum to jump, she flew off of the tree, right into Derpy’s flight path and perfectly replicating a move that she once saw in Batmare.

Just when she was about to make contact with the oblivious pegasus, Derpy dropped out of the sky for a soft landing. Lyra didn’t share the same fate and hit the ground with a thud, Derpy turning around to see her.

“Wow, Lyra!” she said happily. “I didn’t know that you did acrobatics! You’re a very talented pony, but you might want to work on your landings.” She smiled, but then turned away. “Gotta go! This mail won’t deliver itself!”

Lyra watched her trot, but only for a moment; in a flash, she jumped to her hooves, putting her last reserves of strength into catching up with her. She just had to get that letter.

Derpy looked back at her, grinned, and then quickened her pace. Shocked, Lyra ran harder, barely catching up with her, to which Derpy quickened again. “You’re going to have to try harder if you’re going to beat me in a race, Lyra!” she said gleefully.

That’s what this is to her? A game?! This isn’t some foal’s race! This is meeting Bon Bon’s parents! That was it; Lyra would have no more of her silly games.

She pounced on Derpy, tackling her to the ground and moving her hooves around her randomly, hoping that she would somehow gain access to her mailbag. The two rolled on the ground, each pushing against each other aggressively. Lyra grunted angrily while Derpy laughed like a school filly.

They tumbled until Lyra finally found that she couldn’t move anymore. The dust in her vision cleared slowly, eventually revealing that Derpy had her pinned to the ground. “That was really fun, Lyra!” she chirped, keeping her weight on her. “I didn’t know you liked wrestling too!”

The unicorn said nothing, giving up on struggling against Derpy’s weight and strength. Even worse, she gave up on her mission to retrieve the letter. Every move she made, Derpy was one step ahead. She had failed; she wasn’t Batmare.

Eventually, the pegasus hopped off of her. She flapped her wings, blowing all sorts of dirt off of her coat, but the majority of it still remaining. “That was really fun. We’ll definitely have to do it again sometime.” Derpy glanced up at the sun, seemingly unaware of Lyra’s real intentions. “I’d love to go for another round, but I’ve really got to deliver some mail. It’s getting late. Bye, Lyra!” With that, she began a slow trot down the path.

Lyra sat dumbfounded. She tried every trick in the book and still couldn’t beat her arch nemesis; she was not the superhero that she wanted to be. Well, there’s no point in staying on the ground, she thought, slowly bringing herself to her hooves. Her eyes inspected her body, not enjoying the sight of dirt, leaves, and some blood.

During her inspection, she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. It was something white. Turning her head, she could see that it also had a certain rectangular quality to it. Holding on to as much hope as she could, she trotted over to the object to see that it was in fact an envelope, face down in the dirt. She tried to ignite her horn, only to get a small spark. With a sigh, she picked it up with her hooves and flipped it over.

That’s my return address! she thought with a gasp, cheering inside her own mind. “Yes!” she shouted triumphantly, holding the letter in the air.

She had done it. She had won. She was Batmare.

I can’t wait to tell Bon Bon all about my victor- oh... I can’t really tell Bon Bon about this, can I? Her rear fell to the ground. Bon Bon will be really disappointed, won’t she? She could feel her spirits fall out of the sky. And she’ll be really hurt, she thought with a deep sigh.

“And Batmare doesn’t hurt the ponies she loves,” she said aloud.

I’m not Batmare. I’m not even like her! I’m like... like some sort of villain! she thought painfully, realising what she had done. And worse yet, I’m an awful marefriend. This is something Bon Bon wanted, and I just wanted to take that away from her. I’m terrible and selfish. She slowly fell onto her back. This is the worst plan I ever had and I can’t even fix it.

Her body bolted upright as a realization dawned on her. Wait, I can fix it! I just need to get this letter back to Derpy!

She would like to say that she immediately jumped to her hooves, but in reality it was an agonizing trip to a standing position. The unicorn focused on the letter, this time her horn sparking to life, her magical glow surrounding the envelope. It was only then that the pain of her injuries truly began to sink in. Lyra winced with each step and began to sweat from her magical exertion, but forced herself to push through it, finally getting her hooves to move at a canter.

Off in the distance, she saw a simple house sitting upon a hill, overlooking the trees in the area. On a path far in front of the house was that familiar grey dot, merrily skipping along the trail. Now that Lyra could see her goal, she just had to push herself to obtain it.

Each step was excruciating, but the pain was worth it if she had a chance to prevent herself from doing wrong by Bon Bon. With the letter in tow, she made her way down the path, grunting in pain until she was finally close enough to the pegasus. “Derpy!” she called hoping that she could make up some sort of excuse.

Derpy turned around, that smile still on her face. “I told you, Lyra. If you want to wrestle again, it will have to wait until later. I’ve got to deliver this letter.”

Lyra gulped. “Uh, yeah. You- you, uh, dropped this back there.” She levitated the envelope over to her, shaking off some of the dirt that was still on it. “I didn’t want you to lose it,” she added, forcing a smile.

Derpy raised an eyebrow, but then broke into a grin. “Thanks, Lyra! I appreciate it!” She took the letter in her mouth and merrily trotted up the path to what was presumably the home of Bon Bon’s parents.

Lyra sighed, turning around and examining herself; she was an absolute mess. She was covered in dirt, twigs, blood and leaves. She didn’t even want to imagine how awful her mane looked. She had no idea how she was going to explain this to Bon Bon; she questioned if she even wanted to explain anything at all. Maybe if she just didn’t mention it, her marefriend wouldn’t notice.

I’ll figure it out when it happens, she told herself. For now, I just need to get home,

*** *** ***

After spending a good thirty minutes under the water hose outside of her house, Lyra felt that she was finally ready to go inside. She opened the door and strode into her kitchen to find a worried Bon Bon tapping her hoof rapidly. Upon seeing her, the mare immediately hopped up and kissed her.

“Lyra, where have you been- and why does your mouth taste like dirt?”

Of all the places I forgot to wash. “Uhh...” Her ‘uhh’ lasted far longer than she would have liked. “I was out... wrestling.” It was the perfect excuse that wasn’t stretching the truth too much. “You know, getting some exercise. Working the old legs.”

Bon Bon’s gaze shifted down to Lyra’s legs and she gasped. “Is that blood?!”

“Uh, yeah, a little bit.”

“Oh, Lyra, what happened?”

“Derpy wrestles dirty,” she said automatically, mentally facehooving. Oh, good job, Lyra. Why don’t who just tell her the whole story while you’re at it?

Bon Bon just stared at her, her mouth agape. Lyra waited for her to say something, anything, but the mare continued to stare. Lyra didn’t like it. She didn’t like it one bit. She had to say something.

“Oh, and I’ve decided that I’m ready to meet your parents, and that I look forward to it.”

The earth pony’s facial drastically changed, a wide smile appearing on her face. “Really?!”

Lyra feigned confidence in her answer, deeply kissing Bon Bon. “Of course,” she said, breaking away. “I can’t wait.”

Bon Bon kissed her back, but it didn’t last nearly as long as the unicorn wanted it to. “Lyra?” she said with a small frown.

“Yes?”

“Please brush your teeth.”

Author's Note

It's been too long, hasn't it? I'm sorry I took so long for this chapter to come out, but it seems that I accidentally took a break. I took some time and, while I didn't write much, I decided where I want to take this story, and I'm glad for that. Thank you all for your patience and your comments.

I know this chapter probably wasn't what most were expecting, but it's me really getting back into the swing of things. The next chapter will be the dreaded parent meeting. I'll make sure it doesn't take as much time as this one.

Couch Forts

It had been five years. Five years since the mint green unicorn first laid eyes upon that cute, cream coated mare from science class at Canterlot College. Five years since she had accidentally tripped eying her candy embossed flank while walking down the halls, and five years since she was called a “creepy stalking weirdo.”

Things had changed since then. It was only one year after her awkward confrontations that she found out that she would be roommates with the pony that had so interested her, and one more after that for her to work up the courage to ask that blue-eyed beauty out to dinner.

That was all behind her now as she looked upon the face of her marefriend, lover and soulmate with a wide smile, observing her familiar features as the candy maker giggled and laughed. She hugged the pony tightly, thoroughly enjoying the time they spent together during quiet evenings like these.

“Well, the afternoon is all ours until our dinner reservations at eight,” the earth pony said to her, excited about the evening. “So what would you like to do until then?”

Lyra smiled. “Well your bed’s nice and warm. I think you know exactly what I want to do.”

The cream mare blushed, although she completely expected this to be the answer. “No. I mean yes, but not now,” she giggled. “I mean, three years together is an achievement. We might as well enjoy the afternoon before some waiter ruins it. For you at least.”

The unicorn glared, being reminded of how waiters always seemed to mess something up for her whenever she ate at, well, anywhere. She broke her expression and smiled back at her partner.

“I want to do what you want to do.” The pony had gotten used to saying that; she figured it scored her extra points for later.

“Hmm...” Bon Bon thought for a moment. “Well I do like laughing at you, and we have known each other for quite a while. Why don’t we look through each of our high school yearbooks?”

Lyra nearly sighed at the lameness of the idea, but quickly remembered what she had just said. “Sure, I’d love to see you in braces,” she replied with a smile as she hopped over the back of the couch.

“Great,” the earth pony smirked. “I’ll go get mine.”

The mint colored pony quickly trotted up the stairs, walking straight up to the attic and uncovering an old tome with the words “Canterlot High” strung across the top. She picked it up with her magic and blew off the dust, coughing as it dispersed through the lofty room. Her thoughts drifted to of what life would be like if they had attended the same high school, but she quickly tossed them aside. Seeing that all was as well as it could be, she levitated the book down the stairs with her, slightly grumbling to herself.

Upon her arrival at the bottom floor, she looked upon Bon Bon already casually flipping through her book. A wide grin spread across the unicorn’s face; in one motion, she hopped over the couch, loudly landing next to her marefriend and drawing a startled “Eep!” from her. Lyra fell on her back, rolling in laughter.

“My Celestia, you need to stop doing that!”

“No,” the unicorn replied, pecking the mare on the cheek. “Now let’s look through these, shall we?”

Receiving the invitation from her partner, the earth pony eagerly turned the pages of the Ponyville High yearbook, occasionally pointing out different ponies that Lyra might know. The unicorn tried to suppress a yawn, hoping that her marefriend wouldn’t pick up on her false interest.

To her dismay, Bon Bon forcefully shut the book and turned to her. “Why don’t we look at yours now?” she commanded more than asked.

“Uh, sure,” came all that the unicorn could respond, realizing she was caught as she levitated up her yearbook.

The mare swiftly opened it, a picture flying from the pages and into the air towards Bon Bon. Seeing what it was, Lyra instantly reached out with both her hooves and her magic, only for it to be snatched up by the earth pony before she could reach it.

“What’s this?” she questioned, looking it over to find a gray, purple eyed mare kissing her Lyra on the cheek. Her eyes narrowed. “More importantly, who’s this?”

“Oh, uh, just somepony,” the unicorn stammered, lunging for the photograph, only for it to be kept just out of her reach.

Bon Bon held the picture in the air, examining and judging Lyra’s high school sweetheart. The unicorn was nearly sweating, fearful of what the candy maker might say.

“She’s cute,” the pony suddenly stated. “But not your type. I know you made the right choice.”

Lyra exhaled, wholly relieved that her partner wasn’t mad at her for some reason. “Of course I did. Now could I please have that back?”

“Hold on.” The earth pony flipped the picture over, revealing a pretty hoof-written message.

“Dearest Lyra,” she read. “I wanted you to know that I had a most wonderful time with you throughout our years here at Canterlot High,-”

“Yeah, it’s all warm and fuzzy, but can you please give that back to me?”

“- and I am ever so glad that you decided to enroll in Canterlot College with me. Hopefully we can take this relationship to the next level, just like you always wanted.-”

“You don’t need to read on, do you? I mean, it’s just some boring sappy stuff.”

“-I look forward to seeing you-- all of you-- and eagerly await our next year together.
Forever the mare in your life,
Octavia.”

Lyra had dug herself into the couch, covering her head with her hooves. She slightly peeked out to be met with a stern gaze and a questioning raised eyebrow from her marefriend.

“Well Lyra?”

The unicorn immediately hid herself again as the pony spoke. “W- well what?”

“Are there any other lovers I should know about? Any other special someponies?”

“No! Of course not! That was a long time ago. Octavia was just...” the mint green pony trailed off.

“You’re thinking about her, aren’t you!”

“No!” Lyra shouted, snapping herself out of a trance as the treble clef on the flank of the pony became refreshed in her mind. “... A little...”

“A little!?” Bon Bon stood up, trotting towards the stairs.

“H- Hey! Where are you going?”

The earth pony was already up them by the time she had turned around. “I’m going to lock myself in our-, MY room, Lyra Heartstrings.”

The unicorn stammered, trying to speak but no coherent words came out.

“You can forget about dinner and you can forget about how warm my bed is!”

The door slammed, the noise echoing through the home. Lyra sat, dumbfounded at what had just transpired. A sigh escaped her lips as she wondered what she could have done.

“For starters, I could have lied better about picturing her rump,” she emptily laughed to herself. “Well, I guess it will be one of those nights.”

She levitated out her, as she called it, “emergency supply kit”, complete with pillows, blankets, snacks, comics and anything a pony could need when sleeping on the couch.

As she had done multiple times before, she began constructing her fortress of solitude, stacking up pillows and blankets into a small tent to keep herself entertained. The unicorn smirked to herself, trotting into her doghouse and laying down with a loud sigh as she cracked open a comic book.

The mare found her eyes aimlessly wandering the pages, unable to focus on the characters of the latest issue of Batmare. With a grunt, she shut the story, throwing it to the side and falling to her back.

“It never gets any easier, does it?” she muttered to herself as she stared at the ceiling of her fort, her hooves behind her head as she relaxed. “Why in Luna’s name did I keep that picture? It’s not like I’ve even seen Octavia since college.”

She wrapped herself in her hooves as she shivered, turning to her side. “I’m sure Bon Bon will remind me of my mistakes in the morning.”

Her eyes closed slowly, her last thought being of the image of that grey mare, it slowly disappearing as she fell into sleep’s embrace.

*** *** ***

The unicorn’s eyes slowly opened in her foalish fort, bright sunlight breaking through a strategically placed window in her pillow and blanket structure. Slowly, the mare sat up, brushing her messy mane out of her eyes as she stretched while yawning loudly. Her ears perked up swiftly as she heard the sweet voice of another pony.

“May I come in?”

“Sure. Nopony in here but me and Batmare.”

Bon Bon ducked into the structure, tripping onto the couch as she entered while the unicorn tried to suppress a giggle. The tan mare pulled herself up, immediately embracing her marefriend.

“I’m sorry, Lyra. I overreacted.”

“And I’m sorry that I’m such an attractive mare,” came the mint colored mare’s quick reply.

The earth pony laughed. “You’re pretty quick to forgive, you know that? Almost as quick as you are with building these forts.”

Lyra kissed her on the cheek. “Years of practice.”

Bon Bon sighed. “Well, we missed dinner, and I’m quite hungry. What do you say that we grab a bite to eat?”

“Oh, you’re hungry, are you? I’m right here, come and take me.”

The earth pony’s face lit up a bright crimson. “Not that kind of hungry, my dear. Well... Not right now.”

The unicorn looked up at Bon Bon, turning on the puppy dog eyes and the quivering lip guise, only for it to be broken by her own rumbling stomach. “You know what? I’m hungry too, let’s go grab a bite.”

“First we should probably clean up th-”

Lyra jumped up, destroying her couch fort and sending pillows flying across the room. “Did you say something?”

Bon Bon almost facehooved before the unicorn levitated all the pillows back to their appropriate places and returned her doghouse supply kit, complete with Batmare, to its hidden crevice, should she need it again. She looked over the still wrecked area, muttered “close enough” and turned back to her marefriend.

“Well, where would you like to eat?”

The earth pony thought for a moment. “Wherever you want to go is fine, Lyra.”

The mint green pony cleared her throat and recited as if she had practiced “I want to do what you want to do.”

“Oh yes, right. I nearly forgot your mantra,” her mare replied sarcastically. “Well how about where we usually go? Sandy’s Sandwiches is usually nice and quick.”

“Well it depends. Is that what you want to do?”

Bon Bon sighed. “Yes. I want to go there. Now comb your mane.”

Lyra levitated a comb as the couple began to trot towards the door. “Yes, mom.”

*** *** ***

“Tell me about Octavia.”

“Mmph?” Lyra questioned, in the middle of her sandwich.

“What was she like? How did you two meet?”

The unicorn swallowed, unsure of what she was to reply. “Are you sure you want to know that?”

Bon Bon smiled. “Yes, of course. Now tell me the story.”

After taking another bite, Lyra cleared her throat. “Alright, story time with Lyra I suppose.”

The cream colored pony giggled as she began her tale. “Well, as you know, I have a thing for earth ponies, and back then I was playing in high school band. Pretty boring stuff, right? But then one day, a dragon came swooping in and scooped up Octavia. Naturally, I was the only one who could save her, so I did.”

Her marefriend frowned as she spoke the final lines. “There, end of story.”

“Has anypony ever told you that you’re a lame story teller?”

Lyra leaned back and propped her hind hooves up on the table, sipping on her drink in hoof. “Yeah, but it is what it is,” she replied smugly.

“You’ll have to tell me the real story sometime, and you know it. But for now...” Bon Bon focused on the bill in front of her that the water had plopped down, opening her coin purse to see a couple of dusty flies float out. “For now we need to figure out how we are going to pay the check. Did you bring any bits with you?”

“Yeah-” the unicorn patted herself down. “-no.”

Her partner sighed, flipping out her checkbook. “I’m tired of doing this; just scraping by by the strands of our manes. That dinner would have killed us.”

“Good thing you got mad at me, then. Much cheaper.”

“I’ll have to do it again sometime. I mean...” The earth pony leaned in. “I don’t think we’ll be even be able to tip our waiter.”

“What a tragedy,” Lyra sarcastically stated, putting on her best surprised face to remind Bon Bon of her dislike of waiters.

“I never understood why you hate them so much,” the pony giggled. “I mean, put yourself in their horseshoes. They have to deal with snotty customers who don’t tip all day.”

“They’re always passing tables like they’re planning something. One of these days I’ll figure out what they’re up to.”

Bon Bon kissed her on the cheek. “Sure you will, my dear. Shall we head out?”

“Yeah, before the waiter figures out that I’ve uncovered their secret plan.” Lyra hopped up, taking her place beside her marefriend as they slowly made their way back to Bon Bon’s candy store.

*** *** ***

The mint colored pony seated herself on the couch, clutching a cup of soda in the cleft of her hoof as she sipped on it. One room over in the kitchen, her partner was sorting through the day’s mail that a grey pegasus had just dropped off.

Lyra listened to the letters being tossed aside, Bon Bon muttering as she sorted through them.

“Spam. Spam. Bill. Check? Oh, wrong house. Spam. Bill... There we go!”

“What is it?” the unicorn inquired, hopping off of the couch and trotting into the kitchen.

“Note from the bank,” the pony said as she tore the letter open, throwing it’s contents onto the island in the middle of the kitchen. “I’ve been eager to see how we’ve been doing over the past couple of months for a while now.”

She picked up her account details, her eyes quickly darting over them while Lyra watched as her expression grew cold. The earth pony slowly let out a heavy breath, throwing the piece of paper back on the table.

“Bon Bon... Bon Bon, what’s wrong?”

The pony allowed herself to fall to the floor, her flank hitting the ground with a thud as she sat up.

“Lyra... We’re broke.”

A Secret Mission

“Broke? What do you mean broke?”

Bon Bon flashed her partner a stern look. “We have nothing. We have no money.”

A shocked Lyra stammered. “Wh-, what do you mean ‘nothing’? Your business has been doing great! I’ve seen it!”

“Not great enough, apparently.” The earth pony didn’t move her gaze from the floor. “If I can’t pay rent by the end of the month, I’ll lose the shop.”

“We’ll lose the shop,” Lyra corrected. “We’re in this together.”

Bon Bon stood up and hugged her marefriend. “Oh Lyra. I just don’t know what to do. I’m scared.”

The unicorn ran her hooves up and down her partner’s back. “We’ll figure this out. Together.”

The cream colored mare looked up at her before digging her face into her neck, desperately searching for whatever comfort it could offer. The pony made her best attempt at holding back her fearful tears, but to no avail.

Lyra tousled the pony’s mane. “C’mon. Let’s go sit down. You need a break.”

The mare couldn’t protest. However unwilling to move she was, Bon Bon was herded to the cushions in the living room, tiredly falling down upon them. The mint pony sat next to the mare, continually trying to be a handkerchief for her. Time caught itself in a limbo as the two stared off into space.

Lyra continued to trace the edges of the earth pony’s back on the couch, Bon Bon slowly moving to lay on her lap. The unicorn watched the mare sigh, her partner longing for security in her body as she played with her mane.

Her mind started searching for answers; she tried to think of everything she could do, if not just to make her marefriend happy. Her brain danced towards different notions and possibilities, only for her trance to be broken by Bon Bon’s stirring.

The earth pony rolled off of the couch to her hooves, silently making her way to the stairs. Lyra followed her slowly, still weighed heavily upon by her contemplation. By the time she reached the bedroom, she saw Bon Bon already curling into the bedsheets, herself wordlessly slipping under the covers.

It wasn’t long before the sound of her partner snoozing was the only noise resonating within the house. Although she was happy that she had returned to her own bed, she found her eyes only wandering the ceiling, her thoughts not wanting to yield her any rest.

The unicorn’s brain continued to sprint through her alternatives. She considered all the things she could sell; she thought about asking her parents for money; her mind even flashed to doing a swimsuit photoshoot, but all of her options returned to one thing:

She had to get a job.

*** *** ***

The crackle of cooking eggs and aroma of french toast greeted Lyra as she awoke, her lack of sleep urging her to keep her eyes shut. She sat up and shook her mane, looking at the impression her chef and marefriend had left on the bed.

Yawning and not even bothering to run a comb through her hair, she made her way down the stairs and into the kitchen.

The fantastic smell, coupled with the sight of Bon Bon cooking away in her apron, hit her as she entered the room. She considered making her jump once more as her eyes traced up her flank, but quickly decided that it was not in her best interests.

The unicorn trotted over, pecking her on the cheek and greeting her with a “good morning”.

“I don’t know what’s so good about it,” the earth pony replied.

“I’m here, you’re here, and I’m going to save your store.”

Bon Bon frowned, flipping the eggs onto a plate. “How? Are you going to start working the streets?”

Lyra couldn’t stifle a laugh. “You know I wouldn’t do that. Well... Nah, I wouldn’t.”

She levitated a healthy helping of eggs onto some freshly made toast. “Anyway, I’ll be back tonight. I’ve got some things I need to take care of.”

The unicorn kissed the cream mare, not even letting the pony get a word out before she trotted towards the door. “Love you, bye!”

Bon Bon may have replied, but she wouldn’t have heard her over the sound of the door shutting. She took a breath as she stepped out into the sunlight.

She prepared for her job hunt to begin.

*** *** ***

In a near sprint the mint unicorn left a factory, her chest heaving as she tried to regain her breath. She collapsed to the dirt road face first, quickly rolling herself over onto her back.

“Well,” she muttered in between pants. “I am not working for Elmer.”

Slowly, the unicorn lifted herself up, trying to break into a brisk trot as she escaped from the adhesive factory.

“It seems like every place is either not hiring, or absolutely insane,” the pony said to herself. “I don’t know how anypony finds a job in times like these.” She looked back at her flank.

“Oh, right.”

There were times when she despised having a musical cutie mark. To make any sort of living in the musical field, let alone a profit, was a nearly ludicrous notion. She would play her lyre in small halls or bars as much as she could, but nopony knew better than herself how little space there was for small musicians like her. Unfortunately for the unicorn, it was what she was destined to be good at. She was good at it; the music industry was unforgiving at best, more classical musicians such as herself being tossed aside for new genres.

Lyra sighed, walking back into Ponyville and scanning shops for “Now Hiring” fliers. The familiar streets were just that: too familiar. None of the family owned businesses around could possibly need a new employee, let alone one such as herself. She turned a corner as she prayed for a sign, tripping over an object and falling to her stomach with an “Oof!”

The pony quickly turned, looking to apprehend the culprit to see that it was, in fact, a sign, the words “Now Hiring” displayed proudly at the top with an arrow pointing to the building next to her. She muttered a thanks to Celestia for the blessing and blindly trotted into the structure.

*** *** ***

The lyre-flanked mare’s ears perked at the familiar ding of the bell as she entered Bon Bon’s sweet shop; her home. The evening sun was setting, basking the landscape in beautiful shades of red. She was happy, tired and, most of all, surprised as she levitated her new work uniform through the doorway. Smiling to herself, she walked into the kitchen.

“What’s that?”

At the sound of Bon Bon’s voice, she quickly threw the clothing aside. “Nothing. Nothing at all.”

“Lyra, where have you been?” the earth pony questioned as she approached her, her eyes widening at a realization.

“Lyra! I know I joked about working the streets, but prostitution is not the way to save us!”

The unicorn almost fell over. “What? I’m sorry, what!? That doesn’t even make sense! It’s way too early in the evening for that!”

Bon Bon let the notion slip away, not wanting to embarrass herself anymore by jumping to conclusions. She speedily trotted past her marefriend, making her way to the clothes Lyra had discarded and picking up the fabric in her mouth.

“Welf? Then wafs thif?” She dropped the dress shirt from muzzle and coughed. “Well, what’s this, then?”

Lyra sighed, levitating the clothes up and dusting them off. “I suppose this is important enough for you to know.” The mare drew a slow breath. “I got a job.”

Her partner’s glare turned to a look of confusion. “You mean a real one?”

“Ouch okay. Yes, a real one, Bon Bon.”

The earth pony looked down. “Sorry, I didn’t mean that. I’ve just been really on edge lately.”

Lyra walked forward, wrapping her hooves around the mare. “We both have. Believe me, this isn’t easy for either of us, but I think we’ll make it.” She smiled as she kissed Bon Bon.

“Thanks. You’re too good to me.”

The unicorn broke away, heading towards the stairs. “Well, I better put these new clothes up.”

“Wait, you never told me what your new job is.”

Lyra stopped. “That’s not important.”

“Not important?” Bon Bon replied as she trotted to her marefriend. “Of course it’s important! I need to know where to go to visit you at work.”

“No, it’s really not important.”

The cream mare frowned. “Please? I’ll be your best friend.”

“No.”

“Come on!” Bon Bon playfully poked at the unicorn’s sides before wrapping her hooves around her neck. “I’ll make it worth your while.”

Lyra’s ears perked up. “Well... I guess I can be persuaded. You promise not to laugh?”

“Promise.”

“You won’t say anything about it?”

“Not a word.”

Lyra took a step back, floating out a paper a recently obtained paper name tag. She took a deep breath.

“I’m a waitress.”

*** *** ***

“Bon Bon. Hello? Bon Bon! You can stop laughing now!”

Lyra watched as the mare tried to pick herself up from the floor, only to fall back down. At this point, the unicorn had seated herself, propping her head up with her hoof as she waited for her theoretical partner to stop.

“I’m- I’m sorry Lyra. You know I love you, but this is too good.”

The unicorn hopped to her hooves, trotting over to the couch and levitating pillows. For another time, she began to construct her fort, Batmare clenched in her hoof. The mare soon found herself entombed by the pillows, tackled by Bon Bon in a crushing and loving hug.

“I forgot to say thank you,” Bon Bon said to her as she stared into her eyes.

“For what? Giving you a good laugh?”

“No, for doing this. You really care about us.”

Lyra smiled. “I care about you. Waiting tables will be all worth it to keep you happy.”

“Promise me one thing, though,” the earth pony said, pecking her with a quick kiss.

“And what would that be?”

“Please, please, treat your customers well. I don’t know how to say this, but you aren’t always the best with whiney ponies.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? I treat you well, don’t I?”

“Yes, well- hey!” Bon Bon drew back as Lyra snickered.

“Oh, come here.” The unicorn tightly wrapped her hooves around her marefriend, the pair continuing to lie in the pile of pillows.

Lyra felt her ear twitch as Bon Bon whispered into it. “I’m tired. How about we head up to bed?”

“I’m alright with sleeping here, though. These pillows are pretty comfortable.”

“No, I mean bed.”

“Oh. Oh! Yeah, I’m really tired too, let’s go,” the almost oblivious unicorn spat out as she scrambled to her hooves. “You still have some making up to do.”

*** *** ***

“This isn’t diet soda!”

“You sure these hay fries are low sodium?”

“You forgot to put the lemon in my water.”

“Where’s the bathroom? This train ain’t waiting!”

Lyra was fed up. Not even done with her first day on the job and she had had it with the customers of the Everfree Café. While nowhere near the Everfree, and hardly a café, the customers sure acted like they were feral animals. At least to Lyra.

“Heartstrands, go pick up table three.”

“Heartstrings, and yes ma’am.”

If there was anypony in the building that she didn’t like more than the customers, it was her boss. The fact that she had one at all was a completely new experience for her.

The mare in charge, Cinnamon Swirl, was a short and stocky pegasus and, from what Lyra had seen, was always in a bad mood. It made her wonder how ponies like Cinnamon ever could even make it through high school, let alone open their own restaurant.

“Done, ma’am.” Her magic could make quick work of whatever mess that could appear.

“Good, good. Now get ready, the lunch rush is coming. That’s when the bulk of the customers show up.”

Lyra contemplated talking back to the reddish-brown mare, but decided that it would not be a good idea to immediately get fired. She looked over the already packed restaurant, sighing heavily.

“Great. Can’t wait.”

Could this job get any worse?

“Excuse me, miss, but my foal just had an accident.”

Yes.

The unicorn could see why the restaurant had been so desperate to hire a new waitress/busmare/custodian. She was beginning to rethink grabbing a position at the glue factory.

The mare trotted into the bathroom to wipe some mess off of her clothes. She looked in the mirror, watching herself as she sighed. “I’m sorry Bon Bon, but I just can’t do this. I don’t think this job is right for me.” She put her weight on the sink, continuing to stare at herself.

“What are you doing in here?” a male voice called out.

Of course she had walked into the stallion’s restroom.

*** *** ***

“Hey honey. How was your day?” Lyra heard her marefriend call out as she walked past her store’s counter and into the kitchen.

“It was... It was something,” she muttered as a reply, clenching her net tip in hoof; hardly a hoofful of bits.

Bon Bon wrapped her loving hooves around her as she turned the corner. “Oh, Lyra. I’m so proud of you. It takes a big mare to pony up and do this.”

“Yeah.” Lyra didn’t break her gaze from the ground, not returning her partner’s embrace. Her mind raced; she couldn’t quit her job now. Not with Bon Bon thinking like this. Slowly, the mare broke away.

“What’s wrong?”

“Oh, nothing. It’s just that...” the mare searched for an appropriate excuse. “Just that we won’t be able to spend as much time together.” She put some effort into convincing her own mind into thinking that was the truth.

Bon Bon kept her suspicions visible on her face for a spell, but quickly dropped it. “Well, I’m glad it’s all working out for you and I. We may be able to save the store yet!” She hugged the unicorn.

“How has business been, anyway?”

The earth pony sighed, releasing the mare. “Slow. Very slow. I’m mainly blaming it on Ponyville’s recent pushing of health food on school children. What kind of world do we live in when kids can’t even pester their parents into buying a box of candy?”

Lyra quickly forgot about her own dilemma, hugging and kissing the mare. “Don’t worry, I still like your candy. In fact, I’d like to make an order.”

“Oh, you would, would you?” The cream mare quickly grabbed an order form and a pen.

“Hmm, let me think.” The unicorn put on her best contemplative face. “I’d like some Bon Bon. Perhaps for dinner.”

The mare facehooved at the corniness of her marefriend, but couldn’t hold back a laugh all the same. “I think that one was a sign that it’s time to go to bed. I’m suddenly very tired.”

“But what about my order?”

“We have a policy about bad jokes.”

Lyra trotted forward, planting a deep kiss on the mare’s lips. “I think your policy can be overlooked. I’ve been buying from the company long enough.”

“Hmm... maybe.” The earth pony began to lead the unicorn up the stairs. “Just this once.”

The mint pony met her at the peak. “It’s a pleasure doing business with you, Miss Bon Bon.” She opened her mouth to put out more innuendo riddled teasing, but was interrupted by a low grumbling noise.

“I actually do want some dinner.”

*** *** ***

So far, Lyra’s second day had gone much smoother than her first. She was slowly getting used to all the quirks of working in a restaurant, and was quickly learning how to deal with less-than-pleasant customers. She had made it through the heavy lunch hour, and it was almost time for her own lunch break; she just had a few more tables to get situated.

Dropping off drinks and a couple entrées elsewhere, she decided to pick up one more booth before she sat down, herself. She could feel her enthusiasm falling.

“Hello. Welcome to the Everfree Café. How may I help you-”

She looked upon the single pony seated in the booth.

“Octavia?”

The Auditions: The Results

The next moments happened in a flash; first Lyra was on the stage, and then she wasn’t. Her instrument was left behind, dropped upon the cold wood. She was in the bathroom, tears streaming down her face before she even reached it. The stall door slammed shut and she started sobbing loudly, her head buried in her hooves. She was preparing fifty speeches to yell at anypony who tried to help her.

She had failed. She had reached the very essence of failure. There was no way to fix her mistakes, and she could only blame Octavia. Why did that mare have to be so... pretty? Was that the word she was looking for? She softly hit her head with her hooves. She should not be thinking these things.

But she was pretty, wasn’t she? Out of all the smiling faces in that crowd, it was her ex-marefriend’s that she focused on. It was wrong; so very wrong.

Lyra shook her head violently, hoping to somehow fling all those awful thoughts from her mind. She was with Bon Bon and Octavia was with Vinyl; that was that. They each had their loves and neither of them wanted to change that. She didn’t want anything to change, right? She loved Bon Bon... right?

She hated them. All of them; Bon Bon, Octavia, Vinyl and everyone else in that auditorium. But most of all, she hated herself. She wanted nothing more than to melt and disappear. Nopony should talk to her; nopony should even acknowledge her existence. She was too dangerous. All she did was hurt everypony that she came across.

No, she didn’t hate them; just herself. She realized that it wasn’t the other mare’s she hated; it wasn’t their fault; It was hers and hers alone. She was the one who was so confused that she couldn’t even tell who she loved. From that kiss to her dream to the events on the stage, she was positive that she was the cause of all of it. She was the one who had hurt so many ponies so much. Bon Bon, Octavia, and probably Vinyl too.

Maybe if she was just gone, she wouldn’t have to cause anypony else any more pain.

Her heart raced and she leaned against the stall door. What could she do? There was no way she could ever go back out there. She hoped, prayed --begged-- for some sort of intervention. Some sort of salvation. A back door. A way out.

Her ear twitched at a new sound. It was the low, solemn tone of a cello. She could hear the bow drag across the strings as it released a sad, strong note.

It was beautiful. Once more, she cried.

She knew it was Octavia’s cello. She knew from high school that there was only one mare in Equestria that could handle her instrument so masterfully, and that was the mare that she so feared seeing.

The dismal note suddenly changed. Lyra could hear the altitude of the bow shift, singing out a new note; this one felt... happy? Was it happy, or did she just want it to be happy?

It was happy. It was a song Octavia wrote for her years ago, back when love was easier. The entire melody flashed back to her; she was reminded of the first time the cellist ever played it for her. Memories of staying after band class for hours, just to get into all sorts of trouble with each other reemerged from the deepest crevices of her mind.

She wept more, her tears running down her face and dripping to the bathroom floor. She didn’t know what she wanted; she could run outside and apologize to Bon Bon and Octavia; she could completely leave the auditorium and never show her face in Canterlot again. The most attractive option, however, was simply locking herself in the bathroom and just melting into the floor, never to come out into daylight again. She realized that there was nothing she wanted more than that.

Mentally, Lyra kicked herself. Here she was, wanting to simply disappear while her former marefriend, and now good friend, was out on the stage, performing for Celestia knows how many. She should be out there, supporting her friend. That’s what friends do.

The moment she stymied her sobbing, she noticed that all sounds had ceased. There was no beautiful cello, no applause, and no crying; she hoped she hadn’t completely missed the performance. What kind of friend would she be? She slowly unfastened the bolt of her stall door. Stepping out of her enclosure, she looked around the bathroom.

There was Bon Bon.

“Hey,” the earth pony began. Lyra could only look at her sadly, wanting to hide. She was mad. She just had to be mad.

“H-...” Lyra tried to respond, but she just breathed.

Bon Bon nodded. “Listen, I know you’re upset about the performance. Things happen, Lyra; it’s okay. It’s not your fault that your string broke.”

The unicorn took a deep breath and opened her mouth but closed it again.

“I’m sorry,” Bon Bon said as she moved towards Lyra, draping a hoof around her back, the lyrist nervously shying away in response. “When you ran off the stage... I wanted to be there for you. I really did. I was about to run into the bathroom after you, but Octavia stopped me and told me to wait for her to play and then she volunteered. She said it was... a song for you.”

Bon Bon smiled at her but she only felt undeserving of such a beautiful smile. “I know,” was all Lyra could say. Could she bring herself to tell her marefriend what that song really was?

Bon Bon’s smile faded; it changed into a concerned, almost motherly stare. “Something else is wrong,” she asserted. “What is it, Lyra?”

“It’s nothing important,” the lyrist responded.

“No. Something else is bugging you. Please, tell me.”

“No.” Lyra found her voice shrinking and almost failing.

Bon Bon adopted a more commanding tone. “Tell me, Lyra. I need to know what’s wrong.”

“No!” she quickly retorted, talking quite a bit louder than she wanted to.

Her marefriend must have seen it as a challenge. “Lyra, tell me. Now you’re just hiding something.” Her tone was even firmer.

Lyra was about to open her mouth to protest, but received the most painfully stern look she ever had. “Alright! I messed up because I’m a horrible pony! I broke a string because Octavia is a sexy pirate!”

Bon Bon just looked baffled. “A sexy... what?”

“I was a swashbuckling champion of the sea and she was there and all of you were there and I was confused and didn’t know what to do! I’m sorry!” All the words seemed to flow out at once; Lyra wasn’t even aware of half of what she was saying. All she knew was that she was telling the truth. The whole truth.

“And then we were attacked and I was saved from Octavia and we fought another ship and we won! We won, Bon Bon! But then Octavia betrayed me and threw me in the ocean and I wet the bed!” Tears were streaming down her face. She looked, and sounded like, a foal who had just confessed to breaking a lamp and was being reprimanded by her mother. She flung herself into the mare’s arms. “I’m sorry, Bon Bon! Please forgive me!”

Before Bon Bon could even comment on Lyra’s incoherent babblings, another pony poked her head into the bathroom. “Oh, there you guys are.”

It was Vinyl.

“Come out. They’re about to announce the results.”

“No!” Lyra yelled. She, herself, had no idea where these outbursts were coming from. “I don’t want to hear the results!”

Vinyl stared at her for a moment. “Look, I know you don’t want to go back out there, but I really think you should-”

“No! Let me stay here!”

Lyra could only watch in horror as Vinyl and Bon Bon glanced at each other and then grabbed her by the forelimbs.

“Let me go! Let me stay in the bathroom forever!”

Vinyl let out an exasperated breath. “Look, if you would just come out here, you’d see that you have nothing to worry about.”

Lyra continuously struggled, futilely thrashing against the two ponies. “I don’t want to see anything! Just leave me!” Despite her efforts, they pulled her right through the bathroom door. Luckily, nopony staring at her; everypony in the room was staring at the stage where Microphone Condenser was speaking. Ponies were applauding and then dying down again; she was announcing the results.

“No!” Lyra shouted, not wanting to suffer the devastation of her name not being called.

“And for our next winner, we have Oct- oh?” Lyra stopped struggling to watch the mare on stage turn to the side, another pony whispering in her ear. “Well, it seems that we have had a change. We have Lyra Heartstrings!”

What? “What?!” the unicorn shouted as the two mares who held her in custody released her. She flopped to the ground, her mind abuzz with activity. Was that really her name she had just heard? Was she positive that the pony didn’t say ‘Myra Martstrings’? At this point, she would actually welcome her name being confused.

Out of the crowd of applauding ponies, the normally professional form of Octavia emerged. She slowly approached Lyra, a benevolent smile upon her face.

“Well?” she said, continuing to grin widely. “What do you think?”

Lyra felt a wet spot on her forehead where her sweat was aggregating as she sat up. She stared at the mare with almost cold eyes before allowing herself to flail back to the ground. “Why?” she muttered, almost to herself. “Why do you do this to me?”

“I’m sorry, what was that?”

“Why are you trying to confuse me?” the unicorn responded, a little louder than necessary. “It’s like I can’t do anything!”

Octavia drew back, her smile quickly fading. “What- whatever do you mean?”

Lyra pulled herself to her hooves, immediately advancing on the cellist. “What do you think I mean? All those looks! And now this! Now you gave your spot up for me! Are you trying to hurt me?!”

The unicorn breathed heavily and Octavia looked on the verge of tears. “Wh- why would you say such things?”

“Because I’m not supposed to love you, Octavia!”

There. She said it. She said what had been scraping in the back of her mind since she had arrived.

There were gasps all around, she was sure. She didn’t care to listen. What she did notice, however, was that quite a crowd was circling around them. She could see ponies leaning towards each other and whispering into their friend’s ears.

Luckily, Bon Bon shooed them away. “Get out of here!” she yelled multiple times. Her voice sounded distressed; hurt, even.

The two musicians stared at each other. Lyra was just realizing what she had done. So that’s the truth, is it? That’s what I wanted to say? That’s how I feel? If she thought that she had wanted to disappear before, she was wrong. She wanted to curse Celestia; the moon would be a much safer place.

“I...” Octavia spoke first. With that one word, her voice shook fearfully. “I thought we resolved this earlier. I thought... I thought that-”

“Well we didn’t, alright?” Lyra snapped, mentally facehooving. Is this what I’m reduced to? Attacking her like... like... She took a gulp of air and fell back to her rump. Like the damn stupid filly that I am...

Before she could make an attempt at correcting herself, Octavia spoke up, tears in her eyes. “I’m not trying to hurt you, Lyra... Not... not now... not ever.” She drew in an audibly rough breath. “I just...” She looked on the verge of a full breakdown. “I just want to be your friend, okay Lyra? That’s the whole reason we’re even here right now. That’s the whole reason I invited you to this silly little thing.”

That was it. She was crying. It wasn’t the elegant sort of light tears that was expected of one such as her. She fell to the floor, bawling her eyes out. Lyra could only watch as her ex-marefriend broke down. She only wanted... friendship? And I couldn’t even give her that! I don’t even deserve friends, she reprimanded herself.

It was actually surprising that Vinyl was the one who first trotted over to Octavia to comfort her. In the short time Lyra had known her, she didn’t seem to be the type of pony who would find value in involving herself in other’s feelings. It seemed that she was proven wrong. Again.

She didn’t know how long she sat there, staring at the two ponies. All she knew was that she had waited long enough and it was time to fix her mistakes. “Octavia, I... I’m sorry, alright? I... I thought... Oh Celestia.” Now Lyra just wanted to hit something. It didn’t take long for her to realize that that something was herself. “I want to be your friend too... but it’s just that- just that I don’t know if I can.”

“Well why can’t you?” the cellist quickly retorted. “Why is it so hard to separate your friends from your loves? I love Vinyl and you love Bon Bon. Is it really that difficult?”

“Yes it is!” Why was Lyra feeling this way? “Whenever I look at you... I just...” Why was she being so harsh on Octavia? “I just can’t! Alright? I can’t control myself because I’m a foal! I can’t stop myself from wanting... wanting what we had! “I can’t even be a good marefriend to Bon Bon!” She quickly glanced at the mare; her expression was impossible to read. “And you know what I really can’t do?” The last word sounded like an out-of-tune violin.

“I can’t... I can’t keep lying to myself...”

She was met with nothing but silence. No forgiveness, but no hell. It was painful.

Lyra’s eyes shifted back to her marefriend. Bon Bon was watching her with sorrowful eyes. The unicorn almost jumped back in fear when the mare stepped forward. With good reason, too, because Bon Bon’s hoof quickly came in contact with her muzzle.

“You’re really stupid, you know that?”

Before she could confirm that, her lips were silence by Bon Bon’s. It was the greatest thing she had ever tasted. It was also the reassurance she needed; she was out of emotional purgatory. At least with her marefriend, she was.

Breaking away slowly, Lyra turned back to where Vinyl and Octavia seated on the floor, watching them. She took a deep breath. “Listen. I’m sorry, alright? I... I think I’ve got some problems right now.” She winced at her own confession. “I shouldn’t have taken it out on you. I guess... I guess I’m not as okay as I tell myself.”

“Mhm,” was all Octavia responded.

“And I want to be your friend,” Lyra quickly added. “I really do, but I don’t think I can just yet. When I look at you... I still see that pretty pony from high school. I guess I still miss that sometimes.” At the risk of being slapped once more by Bon Bon, she decided to stop right there.

She was met with a thick silence. Lyra and Octavia just stared at each other. There was a million things she wanted to say and she was positive that it was the same for Octavia.

Lyra released the breath she didn’t know she was holding when Octavia spoke first. “Have you ever thought about therapy?”

“What?” That had never occurred to her. “You mean what people with messed up heads do?”

“No, it’s not for people with ‘messed up heads’, and your mind is messed up regardless.” She was slightly sardonic, but there was a sincerity in her voice. “I do think it would be good for you. I’ll even pay for it. I want to be your friend, Lyra.”

Lyra thought for a moment. She did want to be Octavia’s friend as well. Was that what the price was?

It was worth it.

“I’ll do it.”

Octavia moved away from Vinyl and closed the gap between her and Lyra, quickly embracing her. “Thank you, Lyra. Thank you.”

Lyra’s feelings were all jumbled once more. It was only when Octavia broke away that she could breath a sigh of relief. She wanted to say something, but Vinyl Scratch stepped forward next to Octavia and spoke up.

“Alright, I think we all know what we need to do. The four of us need to meet up at you and Bon Bon’s place and discuss this like adults. And by that, I mean sex.”

“That’s actually not a bad idea,” Lyra chuckled. Bon Bon’s stern gaze quickly caught her attention. “What? It’s not!”

There it was: Bon Bon’s hoof again.

*** *** ***

Home. She was home.

There was no fear in her home. There was no uncertainty. All of her pain, all of her sorrow, and all of her confusion was left at the door.

She did not return the same way she first exited. She had a ticket to the Musician’s Ball. She had an appointment with a therapist in a month. Most importantly however, she had Bon Bon. She’d be lying if she said all was well, but, nonetheless, all was right.

Things still weren’t perfect with Octavia, far from it, but she was taking steps in the right direction. She dreaded the therapy, but she dreaded not having Octavia’s friendship even more.

She didn’t have to worry about that now. Now, all she had to do was snuggle up to Bon Bon and fall asleep in her hooves.

She did just that.

Author's Note

Sorry for taking so long with this, in my opinion, boring arc. I will get the story back on track with perverted jokes with the next chapter.