The best place in a story to start is the beginning. Bon-Bon's story went like this.
"Take these. Go there. Put these here."
Bon-Bon's monotonous way of life was work, work, work. Every day she would carry, find, stack. Excruciating and incessant toil was her reward.
She worked at a general store called Area 25. Odd name, she and her friend Lyra agreed, but it paid well. Bon-Bon was a fun-loving pony, and if one word could describe her, it would be bombastic. She was a tan mare with a loud, bouncy purple and pink mane. Her friend Lyra was the exact opposite. Sensible was the word for her. A green pony with a white and mint mane, the only thing that stood out, the only form of defiance from her personality were the sunglasses she always wore.
Yes, Bon-Bon's life was work every day--until closing time in the store. That was when Bon-Bon headed over to The Dropout, the only fast-food resturant to hold parties after 11:00 in the vicinity. Brilliant, she would always say afterwards. Lyra, with scalding wit, would always reply, "Pay more attention and stop daydreaming." She was fondly recalling this, when…
"Wake up! You aren't paid to daydream." The cruel irony in that statement was a wake-up call for Bon-Bon. "Take these to Cranky," her manager continued. "He's downstairs, I think. Lyra, you go too." She gave Lyra and Bon-Bon each a stack of clothes to put in the basement.
"This would be a great place for a party," Bon-Bon remarked, once down in the basement, fondly known by the employees as ‘the dungeon’. All it needs is a disco ball, lights..."
Lyra was about to say, "Put a horseshoe in it," when a creaking noise sounded behind them.
"PONY LIFEFORM DETECTED," a voice from behind the two mares said. Not taking it seriously, Bon-Bon said, "Aww. Someone already reserved this spot."
Then the thing, shrouded in a dark red XXL sweater, swiped at Bon-Bon's neck. Lyra, fearing for her friend, tried to tackle the thing, but with a resounding clang, she only managed to knock off the veil of crimson.
The thing was a metal pony, with a silver body, hollow metal eye sockets, rigid 'cheekbones', and an insignia on the underbelly. A charge of electricity ran up its hooves towards Bon-Bon.
Bzeeeep!
The metal pony collapsed and dissassembled. A brownish pony dropped from the ceiling.
"See, I told you it was a good party site," said Bon-Bon, still not quite getting that this was life-threatening.
"You were ALMOST KILLED!" Lyra raged.
"Was I?" Bon-Bon asked, oblivious.
"Uhm--yes," The stallion broke in, and continued: "I'm the Doctor. You lot?"
"Bon-Bon," the bouncy mare said, "And Lyra," she said, pointing to Lyra.
"So...you're the Doctor. But--Doctor Who?" Lyra asked.
"Let's save that for another time. Let's go, before it wakes up!" the strange brown stallion said.
Bon-Bon took a good look at this mysterious pony. His tan coat was ruffled and smudged. His brown mane was burnt and choppy. He had an oddity of a Cutie Mark: an hourglass, with deep brown ends and a little bit of sand on either side. He had a brown overcoat on, and a queer stick in one hoof.
"Why do you look like that?" Lyra said as they ran.
"Like what?" the Doctor inquired.
"...Burnt. Frazzled."
"Blame the TARDIS."
"The what?" Lyra looked thoroughly confused.
"Never mind. Just keep running--"
The Doctor stopped short. They had reached the end. Looking over the edge only served to elaborate on how grave the situation was. The entire city of Sarasoatsa was full of metal ponies. "Cyberponies," the Doctor almost affectionately remarked. They weren't just on the bottom of the city either--one had managed to sneak up behind Lyra and nab her. The only thing that had tipped the other two off was a scream.
"Well? Come on!" the Doctor said, but was stopped by Bon-Bon.
"Doctor...how do I know I can trust you?"
"Others...did." The Doctor had a look of urgency on his face.
"You traveled with others?" Bon-Bon asked.
"Yes, and they trusted me with their lives."
"Well, are they all alive now?"
Grinning, the Doctor said, "You bet they're alive! Although," he added, "Jamie might be drunk." They nodded and took off.
They found Lyra in the shop's basement, which was strange considering that they had just been there. It didn't shock them. What did shock them was Lyra, encased in metal over every part of her body except her head. Lyra looked helplessly at Bon-Bon, the sea-green mare renowned for such coolness in life itself finally losing her cool. "I'm sorry..." she said. “I couldn't help it, they trapped me." Even as she said that, the Doctor and Bon-Bon saw the two halves of a Cybermask close around her face and snout.
Clank. Bon-Bon's hoof was lodged in there firmly, the crack between the two halves widening slightly to accompany their obstacle. Hard eyes stared Lyra straight in the face, and she nearly broke down. "Not letting this happen," Bon-Bon said unwaveringly.
"Bon-Bon. Cyber-conversion wipes all traces of anypony it used to be. She's going to walk like metal, talk like metal--oh, and she'll even have this little 'You will be deleted' thing going on," said the Doctor.
Hearing this, a tear fell from Lyra's eye. A grinding noise came from the mask, as well as some yelps of pain from Bon-Bon.
"Take it out," the Doctor and Lyra both urged. There were some more grinds and some more shouts. Finally Bon-Bon couldn't stand it.
"Goodbye," were Lyra's last words.
All at once, though, the metal fell off Lyra, just like an automatic car door opening back up as if there was one too many passengers wedged into the doorway. The ponies gawked. Bon-Bon's hoof had even jammed the electronics in Cyber-conversion!
Their moment of triumph was short-lived when they saw half a dozen Cyberponies in the door. Terrified, the Doctor's new companions backed behind him. The Cyberponies each raised a hoof, sparking with electricity.
A dozen luminescent squares descended from a niche in the wall behind the Cyberponies, and the floor below them for about 10 feet was gone. Soon, so were the sparking remains of the Cyberponies. A blue pony with a blackish mane appeared from the niche, sporting a handsome jacket and watch. "Go!" was the only thing he said, until he saw that the two mares were still terrified. "Yes, you two. The adorable mares in the candy coats."