//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: New Ponies to Meet // Story: My True Self // by _Undefined_ //------------------------------// Lyra Heartstrings arrived at the Canterlot Outdoor Café to find her three foalhood friends already there. The four unicorns sat down at their usual table where they met for lunch every week. This week, they had something special to celebrate. “There’s the mare of the hour!” said Minuette. Her blue eyes sparkled with life against her blue coat, framed by her two-toned blue mane. She was very blue. “Congratulations!” said Twinkleshine. Her pink mane and tail seemed to float on her eggshell-colored coat. “What’s next?” asked Lemon Hearts. Her lemon yellow coat was accented by a bright cerulean blue mane. Even though at first glance she resembled Twinkleshine, the two of them were unrelated. “Jeez, guys, I just got here,” Lyra replied. She was a unicorn with an aquamarine coat. Her mane and tail were straight and slightly unkempt, primarily a muted cyan with a white accent. “There are other things we could talk about.” But it was clear that she was loving the attention. “Sure, but what’s more interesting right now than you graduating from music school?” gushed Minuette. “How does it feel to be a full-fledged lyre…cist? Lyre-ist? Lyre player.” “Lyrist,” said Lyra. “It feels… good, I guess? It hasn’t really sunk in yet. It feels more like I’ve just gotten a couple of days off from classes – not that I never have to go to classes ever again.” “And now you have to join us in the real world!” exclaimed Minuette. Even when discussing the mundane, Minuette always projected a certain intense energy. To ponies who weren’t used to her, her enthusiasm levels when she found a topic she was excited to talk about could become a little uncomfortable. But her friends all understood that that was simply who she was. “So, what are you going to do now?” asked Lemon Hearts. She was the most practical member of the group – immediately out of school, she had gotten a job working for the royal kitchen. And she was already receiving promotions to increasingly supervisory roles. “I… haven’t figured that out yet,” admitted Lyra. “I assumed you’d join one of the orchestras here in Canterlot,” said Twinkleshine. Of the four, she was the friendliest and the most optimistic. “Maybe not as the main…” she tried out the word “…lyrist, but as an understudy or something.” “That’s the thing,” Lyra said. “None of the orchestras here want a pony who can play the lyre. It’s too ancient of an instrument, even for them.” She glanced down. “I’m not exactly sure what I’m going to do.” “You could always teach music,” suggested Lemon Hearts. “You might not be able to play the other instruments, but you sure know a lot about music in general.” Lyra scrunched up her nose at the mere idea. “Ugh. School was boring enough the first time around. Having to stand in front of a bunch of students and lecture, year after year? I spent all this extra time learning about music so I could do something with it, not just talk about it.” “Maybe Moondancer can come up with some ideas,” Minuette said. “You are going to her party this afternoon, right?” “Of course,” Lyra said. “Is this the first one she’s ever thrown?” “I don’t know if it’s exactly right to say she’s throwing a party,” Lemon Hearts said. “I think it’s more of a small get-together – not a huge celebration.” Minuette clapped her hooves together. “A celebration!” she said. “That’s what we should do! We should do something special to celebrate your graduation!” “Like what?” asked Twinkleshine. Minuette thought for a moment. “What about the Summer Sun Celebration? Are any of you doing anything for that?” The other three shook their heads. “It’s in Ponyville this year. Let’s all go down there tomorrow, stay up all night, and watch Princess Celestia raise the summer sun. It’ll be like we’re celebrating the dawn of Lyra’s new life!” “Okay, even I think that’s cheesy,” Lyra said. “But I do like the idea. I’m in if you all are.” “Sure, I’m in,” said Lemon Hearts. Twinkleshine exclaimed, “Me too!” “Perfect!” said Minuette. The waiter, Urbane Charm, arrived with their usual drinks. After he levitated the glasses onto the table, Minuette immediately picked hers up in her magic and raised it in a toast. “To Lyra’s future!” she said. Lemon Hearts added, “To a new beginning!” Twinkleshine chimed in, “To great success!” Minuette said, “And to not being completely petrified by the increased number of decisions and endless options she faces as the result of a completely independent life!” The other three stared at her. “You didn’t feel that way when you first set out on your own?” Twinkleshine and Lemon Hearts shook their heads. Lyra said, “Way to put me at ease, Minuette.” It had been slightly more than a year since Bon Bon moved to Ponyville. Her first couple of days had been a little overwhelming – more so than expected because immediately upon arrival, she was greeted by Pinkie Pie. After a hearty hello, the vibrantly pink earth pony had disappeared as suddenly as she had appeared. Shaken, Bon Bon went to the bank to set up an account, then found an inexpensive apartment for lease. No sooner had she done that than Pinkie Pie had reappeared and dragged her – literally, for the first few yards – to Sugarcube Corner, where a “Welcome to Ponyville” party was being held specifically for her. Bon Bon, completely unaccustomed to having so many ponies introduce themselves to her at one time, didn’t do much socializing at the party. However, it did give her the chance to meet Mr. and Mrs. Cake, the owners of Sugarcube Corner. When they found out she was gifted at candy making, they asked if she would be able to provide them with gumdrops – Ponyville’s former resident candy maker had moved away a couple of months ago and it was taking up too much of their time and attention to make gumdrops on site. Bon Bon was thrilled that during her first day in her new home, she had already gotten work doing what she wanted to do. Bon Bon bought the necessary ingredients and supplies and went to work. When she lived in the Royal Guard dormitory, she got to do the occasional bit of candy making in her shared kitchen, although not as much as she would have liked to have done. Gumdrops in particular were something she hadn’t attempted in a long while. But when she delivered her first batch, the Cakes were so impressed, they agreed to hire her for all of their candy needs. Soon she was supplying them with ingredients like sprinkles and chocolate chips of all sizes. She even began making individual candy treats that the Cakes bought and then resold at their shop. Bon Bon couldn’t have asked for anything more. So Bon Bon began to settle into her new life. When she wasn’t making candy, she would walk around Ponyville, taking in the sights and activities. Throughout it all, though, she never found herself developing any close friendships with any of the other residents. Sure, she knew several of the vendors by name, and Pinkie Pie would always say hello and engage her in conversation, but it seemed to Bon Bon like most of the other ponies had one or two really close friendships that she never had. Still, the only other time in her life she had been greeted this familiarly by this many other ponies was during her time with the MCA – and in that case, it was because they were all coworkers and didn’t have much choice. Bon Bon was content with her association with the ponies of Ponyville, even if she wasn’t the closest of friends with any of them. It was the day leading up to the Summer Sun Celebration. Bon Bon was in her apartment, preparing to take a nap so she would be wide awake for the late-night festivities. Princess Celestia herself was coming to Ponyville to raise the summer sun, and Bon Bon was looking forward to seeing royalty with her own two eyes. It occurred to her that she should probably harbor some resentment toward the princess for forcing her to assume a brand new identity, but Bon Bon came to the conclusion that she liked her new life in Ponyville. Maybe the bugbear escaping was a blessing in disguise. It had led to her finding a job that she loved and to her surviving – nay, thriving – on her own. Plus, Ponyville was one small town within the vast expanses of Equestria. What were the odds of her seeing the bugbear ever again? As Bon Bon started to drift off to sleep with those thoughts in her head, there was a knock at her door. Startled back to a waking state, she grumpily got up to answer it. “Hiya, Bon Bon!” chirped Pinkie Pie. “There’s a new pony who just came to Ponyville and I’m throwing her a surprise party so she feels welcome. Be at the Golden Oak Library by 8:00 – we’ll party all night, then go watch the raising of the sun. I’ve got to go tell a couple dozen more ponies, so see you later!” Instantaneously, she was gone. Just another typical interaction with Pinkie Pie. Bon Bon made a mental note of the time and location, then went back to her nap. Lyra, Minuette, Lemon Hearts, and Twinkleshine got off the train at the Ponyville station in the middle of the afternoon. They had asked Moondancer if she wanted to join them, but Moondancer had seemed fairly upset by the end of her party and had declined. “Pretty nice place,” Lyra commented as they walked into town. “Yeah, but it’s small,” Lemon Hearts said. “I wonder why the princess would choose to raise the sun from here.” “You know how she likes to bring attention to a new city each year,” Minuette said. “I think it’s nice that she chose such a small village. Maybe it’ll help put them on the map.” A pink blur whizzed by the four. It came screeching to a halt, immediately reversed direction, then whizzed back to where they had stopped to stare. Suddenly, a pink pony with an unbelievably curly pink mane was standing in front of them. “Hi – I’m Pinkie Pie!” she said. “What brings you to town?” “We’re visiting from Canterlot to see the Summer Sun Celebration,” Twinkleshine said. “Welcome!” said Pinkie Pie, rapidly shaking each of their hooves in turn. “Before that happens, do you want to come to this super fun surprise party I’m throwing?” “Sure!” said Twinkleshine. The others were slowly catching up with everything that had just happened in the last fifteen seconds. Soon, they also agreed. “Great!” Pinkie Pie said. “It’s at the Golden Oak Library – it’s a big oak tree near the middle of the town. You can’t miss it. Be there by 8:00. See you then!” With that, she turned back into a pink blur that receded off into the distance. Minuette watched the pink blur disappear. “Well, I guess that answers what we’re going to do tonight,” she said. “Wanna go find a place to eat?” The four Canterlot unicorn friends arrived at the Golden Oak Library around 7:00. A library inside a tree was a novel idea, and they wanted some time to explore it before the party began. Besides, after they had found a place to eat, there weren’t too many shops to visit – tourism wasn’t really a common source of revenue in Ponyville. When they entered the tree, they were surprised to find Pinkie Pie right there in the library itself, setting up decorations. “You made it!” she said with genuine happiness in her voice. She somehow scooped all four of them at once into a hug. “You’re the first ones here,” Pinkie said, letting them go. “Don’t worry, the other guests will start trickling in soon. Feel free to look around in the meantime. And when the other ponies arrive, say hi – everyone in Ponyville is really friendly!” She went back to hanging up streamers. The four friends examined some of the books in the library and chatted among themselves. They weren’t sure whether they were supposed to be quiet – they were in a library after all, but Pinkie Pie had been projecting at full volume when she greeted them. Soon, other ponies began to walk in. The four friends introduced themselves and struck up conversations. It wasn’t until Pinkie Pie finished hanging decorations and returned to talk to them that the four realized that she had been so busy, they had never introduced themselves to her. Within a half hour, the library was filled with ponies and the general din of party conversation. As the Ponyville residents found their own friends to talk to, the four Canterlot unicorns talked to themselves on one side of the room. Bon Bon arrived at the library at 7:45. She knew that unlike most parties, you were expected to show up at a Pinkie Pie party before the stated arrival time. But she was terrible at small talk and never had much to say to the other Ponyville residents in these types of social situations. She usually wound up keeping to herself while the ponies around her chatted, and she wanted to keep the amount of time she spent doing that to a minimum. As the sun began to set, the four friends from Canterlot were trying to determine what time it was, as there were no clocks visible in the library. They were also speculating on what kind of pony warranted a surprise party. They had learned from the other guests that the party was to welcome someone who was new to town, but no one knew who that pony was. The four unicorns from Canterlot assumed that it must be someone pretty important if the entire town was gathering together to welcome them, but the other guests were acting like this party was no big deal. Their speculation was cut short at the sudden sound of “EVERYPONY QUIET!” The entire library quickly fell still and all eyes turned to Pinkie, who was standing in the center of the room, mane vibrating. “She’s almost here!” Pinkie squealed. She went to turn off the lights, and the entire library went dark. “When I turn on the lights, we all yell ‘Surprise!’ Nopony make a peep until then, starting… now.” The four visitors were amazed at how silent everything became. They could barely hear anyone breathe. Lyra began to wonder whether the entire town had somehow been able to evacuate the library, leaving her and her friends alone in the dark. She put her hoof up to where Lemon Hearts had been standing, just to be sure she wasn’t alone. Soon, they could hear the faint sounds of conversation outside the door, although it was impossible to make out what was being said. Not too long after that, the door opened, then slammed shut. “Huh. Rude much?” said a young voice. Lyra swiveled her ear. That sounded like… “Sorry, Spike,” said a female voice. Lyra raised her eyebrows in surprise – not that anyone could see her. Twilight Sparkle and Spike were the ones visiting Ponyville? Lyra felt one of her friends attempt to nudge her shoulder as a means of soundlessly conveying their recognition. In the dark, Lyra heard the mare complaining about needing some time alone to study. That was Twilight Sparkle, all right. The lights turned on. “Surprise!” yelled all of the ponies. Lyra and her friends all looked at each other, trying to determine whether any of them knew that Twilight was visiting Ponyville, too. Pinkie Pie immediately jumped in front of Twilight and began talking. Twilight reacted exactly the way the four Canterlot friends expected her to react – by trying to walk away from the barrage of friendship. Before any of the four even had a chance to discuss whether they should go say hi, Twilight accidentally drank some hot sauce, ran upstairs, and shut herself in the bedroom. After Pinkie Pie welcomed Spike to Ponyville and the party got back underway, the four walked over to the baby dragon. “Spike!” greeted Minuette. “What brings you here?” Spike was happy to see faces he recognized, yet also confused. “What brings you here?” he replied. “We asked you first!” “Oh. Right. Well, Princess Celestia assigned Twilight to oversee the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration tonight,” he said. “And I’ve been helping!” He puffed out his chest. “No wonder she couldn’t make it to Moondancer’s party,” Lemon Hearts said. “Well, she…” said Spike, but decided it was better not to explain. “How did it go?” The four unicorns looked uneasily at one another. “We had… fun,” Twinkleshine said. “Anyway,” Minuette jumped in, changing the subject, “we’re here to celebrate Lyra finally graduating from music school.” It took half a second for the look of recollection to appear on Spike’s face. “Oh, yeah!” he said. “Congratulations!” “Thanks,” Lyra said. “So, what do you think of Ponyville?” Spike asked the group. “We like what we’ve seen so far,” Twinkleshine said. “Although we haven’t gotten to see too much,” Lemon Hearts added. “We just arrived earlier this afternoon.” “Well, I think this place is great,” Spike said. “Everypony we’ve talked to has been so friendly – this might be the friendliest place in all of Equestria. I’ll have to try to convince Twilight to come visit here again on her next break.” “When’s that?” asked Minuette. “With the way Twilight studies?” Spike said. “Probably five years from now.” “Only five years?” Lyra said. “She must be slowing down as she gets older.” Bon Bon had been at the party for an hour and a half, and her boredom was overwhelming. She had long ago walked the perimeter of the library, saying hello to all of her casual acquaintances. With no real topics for conversation after “hello,” Bon Bon had left them to continue her circuit of the room. Now she was just strolling purposefully from spot to spot, trying to make it look like she had a destination in mind – she didn’t want the other ponies to see her just standing around by herself. Even though that was exactly what she was doing. Bon Bon knew she was supposed to stay up for the entire night leading up to the raising of the summer sun, but she wondered whether anyone would notice if she slipped out and did so from the seclusion of her apartment. With nothing else to do, Bon Bon decided that she would go examine the snack table again. Pinkie had brought out another tray of cupcakes a few minutes before – maybe she could pick something up and start eating. That would make her look busy. Plus, the table was on the other side of the room, so she could take her time meandering over there. Bon Bon looked over toward the snack table. Standing on one side of it were four unicorns she didn’t recognize, all talking to one another. She elected to wait until they left before walking over. As she waited and watched, she idly noted that the green one and the blue one were both pretty cute. As the four continued to chat around the snack table, Bon Bon could see that they were all friends. She quietly envied the way they were able to just talk and generally have a good time in the others’ company. As three of them turned to walk away with their glasses of punch, the green one picked up two cupcakes with her magic. Each cupcake was finished with vanilla icing, on top of which lay a ring-shaped slice of pineapple. In the center of each pineapple ring was a single blueberry. The unicorn tilted the cupcakes ninety degrees in the air so the tops were perpendicular to the floor, then placed the bottoms of the cupcakes against her closed eyes. Calling to her friends, she slowly moved the cupcakes in and out in front of her face, acting as if the cupcakes were her eyes bugging out. Her friends all rolled their eyes and acted embarrassed at her behavior, although it was also clear that they were used to it. Bon Bon stared. An unfamiliar sensation, similar to yearning, took hold of her. It was a feeling that she had never experienced before in her life. She tried to rationalize it as something else – tried to find some other explanation. But even though she had never felt it before, instinctively, she knew there was only one thing it could be. Is this… is this a… crush? she thought to herself. Okay. So this is what it feels like to have a crush on somepony. I mean, I’ve been attracted to mares before, but never like this. This is what an actual crush feels like. The rational part of her brain tried to regain control. Calm down, Bon Bon. Yes, she’s cute. Yes, she’s fun. But you don’t know anything about her. You don’t know whether she’s taken. You don’t even know whether she’s gay or straight. It’s way too early for you to have a crush. Bon Bon’s emotional side had spent years being repressed. Now, it wouldn’t be quieted so easily. Yes, but this is how I feel. So what do I do? Bon Bon’s mind went silent for a moment. I’m not sure. She watched as the unicorns slipped back into the sea of party guests. She decided to stick to her original plan for the moment and slowly made her way over to the snack table. Then, for the next couple of hours, Bon Bon stayed about half a room’s length away from the unicorns, splitting her attention between looking preoccupied and stealing glances at the green one in order to get more information about her. It had finally occurred to Bon Bon that because she was in a library, she could pretend to examine the bookshelves – that way, it wouldn’t look unusual that she was spending long stretches of time by herself in one place. Observing an unfamiliar pony while that pony made conversation didn’t yield much information when the dull roar of party noise made it impossible to know what she was saying. All that Bon Bon was really able to gather was that the unicorn had some kind of stringed musical instrument for a cutie mark and that she seemed to smile a lot. Since the party was scheduled to last all night, Pinkie Pie would occasionally introduce activities to keep the guests entertained. It was during those activities that Bon Bon got to observe the unicorn in slightly different circumstances, and in each one, Bon Bon became more and more smitten. The unicorn did all of the sorts of things that Bon Bon wished her inhibitions would allow her to do. When the conga line started, the unicorn was one of the first ponies to join in. She readily volunteered to be one of the ponyquins for the toilet paper mummy race. And even though she really couldn’t carry a tune, the enthusiasm she displayed during the informal singing talent show just made her even more adorable. Bon Bon had to know more. So between activities, she turned to the one pony who she knew could give her answers. As Pinkie Pie was restocking the snack table with a tray of sugar cookies that she somehow had found the time to freshly bake, Bon Bon walked up to her. “Say, Pinkie…” she said, discreetly pointing across the room. “Do you know those four unicorns over there?” She asked about all four so her intentions wouldn’t be obvious. “Of course!” Pinkie replied. “Their names are Twinkleshine, Minuette, Lyra Heartstrings, and Lemon Hearts. They’re visiting from Canterlot to see the princess raise the sun. You should go over and say hi. They’re loads of fun!” “Thanks,” Bon Bon said. She turned around and began to walk, as if she intended to do just that. Instead, she slipped back into the crowd and took refuge by a bookshelf – the agriculture section, if she remembered correctly from her previous time there that night. Okay, so that must mean her name is Lyra Heartstrings, she thought to herself. That’s what that instrument is – a lyre. Or is it a lute? I don’t remember what a lute is. Did Pinkie say one of their names was Minuet? What if she’s Minuet? Bon Bon wondered whether she should go find a book on musical instruments. But she didn’t want another pony to catch her and ask her what she was reading – she couldn’t think of a good excuse as to what she’d need a music book for. She decided to go back to secretly watching the unicorn until she thought of a new plan. Another hour or so passed. Bon Bon figured that it had to be around 1:30… although since there were no clocks in the library, she couldn’t be completely certain. All she knew was that when she had stepped outside a little earlier as another means of looking preoccupied, the moon had already traveled past its peak in the sky. Maybe it was because she was fed up with doing nothing all night. Maybe it was because the lack of sleep had lowered her inhibitions the tiniest bit. But Bon Bon decided she was just going to go ahead and make a move – she was going to walk up to those unicorns and introduce herself. Bon Bon stood rooted to the floor, petrified.