The Strings of her Heart

Lyra swallowed down another glass of alcohol. She would take anything to numb the pain. It had been a month since Bon Bon had died. Derpy, not watching where she had been going, bumped right into her, knocking her onto the railroad tracks. Unfortunately, this was just as the Friendship Express was rolling in to the station.

Of course, nopony truly blamed Derpy. Everypony knew what she was like. But Lyra wanted somepony to blame, needed somepony to blame. Since Bon Bon died, nothing filled the gaping void inside her except alcohol. Lyra poured herself another drink.
“Excuse me, ma’am?” The pony behind the bar said. “You’ve been drinking for nearly four hours, don’t ya think it’s time to call it quits?” Lyra simply looked up and stared at him.

She was contemplating saying something, when she felt herself being hauled to her hooves. “Come on now, missy. I think you’ve had a little too much.” Lyra turned around and found herself face to face with a smiling cyan pegasus. She flicked her rainbow-coloured mane. “We’d better get you home.” Lyra found herself nodding in agreement.

She’d never really spoken to Rainbow Dash much. After all, they didn’t have anything in common (that Lyra knew of) but Lyra still felt comfortable around her. Or maybe that was just the alcohol talking. Celestia knows there was enough of it in her system. Rainbow led her out of the bar and into Ponyville’s quiet night-time streets.

Lyra rested most of her body against Rainbow’s; she was so drunk she couldn’t have possibly made it home without her. Rainbow Dash’s body felt warm against her. Just like Bon Bon’s used to feel… She quickly left that train of thought. She was stood outside of her house. “Well, here we are, right?”

They walked up to the front door. “You have the key, right Lyra?” Lyra nodded and her horn glowed. The key floated up to the door and clicked inside the lock. Rainbow Dash carefully helped Lyra climb the stairs and took her to the bed. Lyra simply fell onto it face down. When Rainbow tried to move her, Lyra simply brushed her hooves off. She seemed comfortable enough.

As Rainbow Dash turned to leave, Lyra, fuelled by loneliness (or perhaps alcohol), turned and said “Hey Rainbow, do you want to… Maybe… Hang out sometime?” Rainbow was unsure of what to say. She didn’t know Lyra very well; they’d never really spoken much. But she knew that Lyra must be hurting after Bon Bon’s death. She couldn’t just turn her down, she felt sorry for her.
“Sure Lyra. How about Saturday? I don’t have to work Saturday.” Lyra simply grunted in approval, before laying her head on the pillow and falling into a deep sleep.
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Saturday soon rolled around and Lyra was walking around Ponyville with Rainbow Dash. Lyra hadn’t drunk anything since that night, which she was quite proud of.
“So… What do you wanna do Lyra?” Rainbow said.
“Oh… I don’t know. What do you normally do on a Saturday, Rainbow?”

Lyra had been feeling awkward, but this was slowly starting to melt away as they talked.
“Oh. Well, normally on a Saturday…” Rainbow Dash thought to herself. “Well, Lyra, on a Saturday I normally practice all of my top flying techniques for the Wonderbolts.” Lyra seemed to be impressed, which made Rainbow Dash feel pretty good, though she didn’t quite know why.

“Wow, the Wonderbolts?” Lyra was genuinely interested now.
“Of course! I am the best flier in Ponyville, after all.” There was something about Rainbow Dash’s large ego that Lyra just loved. She felt like she could sit there for hours on end listening to her adventures. Rainbow Dash was on the same train of thought, glad she had found somepony who was actually willing to listen to all of her talk about how great she was.

The two went to the park, talking all the way.
“Wow, so that was you who performed the Sonic Rainboom?” Rainbow felt a smile crawl across her mouth.
“Yeah, that was me.” The sun had begun to set.
“Oh, wow, it’s getting late Rainbow.” Rainbow Dash turned to look at the orange sky.
“Yeah, I better go home.”

Rainbow hovered off the ground.
“Wait! I’ll… I’ll see you tomorrow… Right?” Lyra shouted to her. Rainbow looked back and smiled
“Of course! This is Rainbow Dash you’re talking to!” And with that, she winked and then flew off, leaving Lyra feeling truly happy for the first time in a month.
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Rainbow lay on her bed. She couldn’t get the aquamarine unicorn out of her head. She’d heard about how she and Bon Bon had been close, and Bon Bon’s unfortunate accident. But that was the past. Maybe Lyra needed somepony to cheer her up? Needed somepony to take the pain away?

These thoughts made a change for Rainbow. She found her mind flooded with images of Applejack late at night. However much she longed for the orange earth pony, she knew that her friend would never replicate her feelings. Lyra seemed to like Rainbow though.

She was finding these thoughts too difficult to comprehend. Perhaps she would go and speak with Twilight in the morning. Her friend always had an answer for everything and was always there for her. Rainbow Dash tossed and turned in her bed. She knew tonight’s sleep would not be any more peaceful than the last.
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Twilight was awoken by three loud raps at the front door.
“Hey, Twilight, you in there?” She recognised that voice. It belonged to none other than Rainbow Dash. Twilight frantically whipped her head around to look at the clock. It was 7:00 am. She was worried for a moment that she had overslept, since Rainbow Dash was NEVER up this early. Something must be wrong. Twilight thought to herself.

Twilight slowly got out of bed and began shambling towards the stairs. She hadn’t had much sleep, she’d been up most of the night re-organising the library. There had just been a shipment of new books, so it was Twilight’s job to make sure they were all in the perfect place.

Twilight’s slow pace drove Rainbow Dash to knock on the door again, this time twice as hard.
“YO, TWILIGHT, WAKE UP!” Twilight grumbled under her breath and unlocked the front door.
“Rainbow Dash, what are you doing here at such an early hour?” Rainbow came inside and sat down. “Twilight, I need your help.” Twilight thought something seemed off; Rainbow Dash was never this sincere.
“Of course Rainbow, what is it?”

“Well, it’s… About my cousin! Yeah! My cousin… Her head’s a bit messed up at the moment. We were talking and she said… She said she thinks she likes mares.” Rainbow Dash went eerily silent.
“I see. And where do I fit in?” Twilight asked.
“I was hoping you’d tell me your thoughts on mares wanting other mares.” Twilight picked up on it instantly, but to save Rainbow the embarrassment, she kept it quiet.

“Well, I personally have nothing against mares who like other mares. After all, we can’t control who we love and we shouldn’t be judged on it. The only trouble is that these mares have to keep in mind that they can’t have children. And not all ponies are as open minded as I am. I hope your cousin knows this Rainbow. But other than that I wish her every success, and hope that she is happy when she gets this other mare.”

Rainbow Dash was shocked. Having been brought up in Canterlot, she felt sure that Twilight would have a very strong, negative opinion on Mare-Mare relationships. Did Twilight suspect something? No, Rainbow Dash felt sure she didn’t. Twilight never was the best at gauging the social stuff. Regardless, she thanked Twilight for the advice and went to leave.
“Rainbow? Before you go, can I ask you something?” Rainbow stopped dead in her tracks. Maybe she had picked up on something. She turned around nervously.
“Sure, what is it Twilight?”
“Promise me you’ll… Remind your cousin to be careful? Love isn’t a game. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have books to sort.”
“Alrighty, thanks Twilight.” Rainbow turned around and ran out of the door.

Rainbow decided it was now or never. She realised that Applejack would probably never reciprocate her feelings, but Lyra did. The way Lyra looked at Rainbow, the way she leaned so closely to her on the night they met, the way she was happy to just sit there and listen to Rainbow’s stories. Lyra was perfect for her.

Rainbow Dash raced over to Lyra’s house as fast as she could, her heart pounding violently against her ribs. It was now or never.
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Lyra awoke to a loud banging at her door. Her clock read 7:05. Who could possibly be so desperate to see her at this time? Lyra got out of bed and walked down the stairs. The hammering at her door got louder and more intense.
“Alright, alright, keep your horseshoes on!” Lyra sleepily slid back the lock on her door, to reveal a breathless cyan pegasus stood before her. “Rainbow Dash? What the hay are you doing here at this hour?”

Rainbow took a deep breath. Her lungs were killing her. The last time she flew that fast was when Rarity and the Wonderbolts were hurtling at breakneck speed towards the ground.
“Lyra, I’ve been thinking. I know this may seem soon, but I think you’re a really great unicorn and I was wondering if you’d maybe want to go on a date or something sometime.”

Lyra simply stood there. It took her a few seconds for her brain to process what had just happened. She liked Rainbow Dash a lot. But she’d only known her a few days, not to mention that it’d only been a month since Bon Bon… But Lyra stopped there. She thought about Bon Bon. Surely Bon Bon would want her to be happy, wouldn’t she? Going on a date with Rainbow Dash would make her happy again. Rainbow Dash was the first pony who had been able to make her feel genuinely happy since Bon Bon had died.

Lyra decided.
“… I’d love to go on a date with you Rainbow Dash.” They both blushed.
“Really? That’s great! Erm… Is Thursday okay with you? 8 o’clock?” Rainbow Dash could barely contain her happiness.
“Yeah, Thursday is great! See you then?” Lyra smiled at her. “Yeah, see you then.”

With that, Rainbow Dash slowly hovered off the ground and flew away, Lyra watching her the whole time.