//------------------------------// // Sweet Treats and Sweeter Music // Story: Sweet Sweet Music // by Ybrad //------------------------------// Sweet Sweet Music - Chapter Two Sweet Treats and Sweeter Music Lyra trotted briskly down the street away from the shop owned by that nosey mare. ‘Who does she think she is?’ she thought as she marched away ‘I should have given her a proper piece of my mind. How dare a commoner mouth off to nobility like...’ Lyra stopped short as the unbidden thoughts entered her head. ‘No no no no! I came out here to escape that life! I will not be like that!’ Shaking these thoughts away she turned her attention back to where she could find a place to play. Looking around Lyra found she had come to what she supposed was the town centre. Shops lined the main street and just around one corner she could see they were holding an open air market of fruits, vegetables and other miscellaneous wares. However what caught Lyra’s eye was the park on the other side of the small river that ran through the town. Accessible from the nearby footbridge the park was a luscious plane of grass, trees and little walkways. There were all sorts of ponies wandering about enjoying the warm sun of mid-spring and the time spent with their friends and family. Regaining her look of fillyish enthusiasm she happily trotted towards the park. That was until the smell of freshly baked bread hit her. Instantly her stomach growled in protest of having nothing to eat since Canterlot, early that morning, when she had departed. It was now well past noon and she hadn’t realised how hungry she had gotten. A quick change of direction had her jauntily trotting towards the local bakery only to stop short a dozen yards from the door. The realisation of what had happened in the sweet shop hit her. She had spent nearly all her money on just a handful of sweets to prove something to that pink and purple maned shopkeeper. Now however Lyra was regretting that decision, realising that eight bits would have bought her a very hearty meal around now. Mournfully Lyra forced herself to move past that deliciously warm yeasty smell and onwards towards the park. Once there Lyra started wandering around to find a place to perform and soon spotted an unoccupied park bench in a prime location. On reaching said bench Lyra unhooked her saddlebags, laying them under the seat, and floated the case down to join them. Once these were in place Lyra got up and sat on the bench in the most unusual manner; rump resting on the wooden slats, her back against the back of the bench and rear hooves dangling over the edge. A few ponies gave her an odd look as the passed by but made no comment. ‘Hah! No-one here cares how I sit. I told you so Mother!’ Once comfortable Lyra finally turned her attention to the bag of bonbons she was still lazily floating by herself. Figuring that as she had no more money and she had already paid for these she might as well eat them. They had probably been oversold and would be just the bog standard sugary bite that all bonbons were. Letting the bag fall into her lap and pulling out a single bonbon wrapped in red foil she unwrapped it and popped the whole bite into her mouth. She took one chew and instantly fell still, her eyes having a distant glazed look. … ... Seconds past before Lyra started chewing on the sweet in earnest. The taste was amazing; sweet, yet not too sweet, with a rose flavoured soft and slightly chewy centre. The chocolate was sublime and despite all the other flavours Lyra could tell that it outclassed any of the best chocolate she had ever eaten. To top it all off the crispy sugar coating on the outside cracked crisply when she bit into it and then seemed to melt in the mouth leaving a mellow sugary aftertaste. These sweets had not been oversold in the slightest. In fact, despite the heavy sales pitch that BonBon had given them, these were completely undersold. They were ambrosia wrapped in sunshine. They were heaven. All regrets about spending her last 8 bits were completely forgotten. Lyra polished off the entire bag in a few minutes savouring every single flavour of every bite. Each sweet was different to the last; different fillings, chocolates and even coatings all combined to make each sweet a unique experience. Finally done with the bag, and with her hunger slightly sated, Lyra reached down with her magic and pulled out the black case. Undoing the clasps she pulled out her most prized possession, her beautiful Lyre. The Lyre was made of the finest maple shaped after her cutie mark. It was inset with gold leaf in a vine pattern running around the sides and onto the top where the tuning pegs for it’s 6 strings rested. Embossed in gold leaf, just under where the vines met in the middle, was Lyra’s name in a calligraphic font. Plucking a few strings with her magic, Lyra carefully tuned the Lyre by ear until it rang out perfectly. Next Lyra opened up her case fully and propped up the small sign inside asking for donations. Preparations were now done. All Lyra had to do was sit back, relax and get into her zone. She let the thought of her music wash over her getting lost in an almost trance like state. Finally she pictured the hands that all her favourite characters in her favourite series had and formed magical representations of these with which to play her piece. By this time Lyra had gathered a small group of curious ponies who had stopped to see what she was about to play. Lyra paid them no heed, lost to the music that she was ready to play. ‘Well at least I shan’t go hungry tonight’ were her last thoughts before she started. “And a one and a two and a one, two, three, four” she muttered to herself before strumming out the first few notes of her first song.