Middle Canterlot
Episode 4 - Heartbreaker
It was a busy day in the middle quarter marketplace. Ponies of all shapes, sizes, and bright colors went to and fro, sampling a little of everything. Recently a branch of a relatively well-known clothing store chain had opened up in place of the not-so-popular "shoes" store. Half of everypony in the marketplace today was there to check it out. There were a few that had even come in from out of town for it.
Three such ponies walked out of the store at once, laughing from their conversation. Two of them were unicorns and looked almost identical. They had purple-violet manes, styled just-so, and particular amounts of make-up, setting them apart from the average pony. They never seemed to open their eyes all the way, giving each a perpetual condescending stare. They even had matching Cutie Marks, showing the masks of comedy and tragedy, although in a different order on one pony compared to the other. This was perhaps the only distinguishing quality between the two.
The third, however, was quite different. She was an earth pony, with a mane that was a cross between navy blue and pink swirls and a tail to match. She had a cream colored coat, matching with her bright blue eyes. Her Cutie Mark depicted three neatly wrapped candies, a show of her own tidiness. She smiled, pulled a sun hat from her bag, and worked it onto her head.
"I must say, Bon Bon, you look rather dashing in that hat," said one of the evident twins.
The other agreed, nodding and saying, "Oh, yes."
Bon Bon giggled, striking a pose for a moment. "Thanks, you two. This was a great idea, taking a little time off in Canterlot," she said.
"Well of course. Anypony with any self-respect just has to visit a Bloomingtail's at some point! And of course, now that there's one in the royal city..." started one of the unicorns.
The other finished with, "Well we'd be letting you down if we didn’t bring you here, right?"
Bon Bon smiled. "Well you didn't have to. Thank you, though. I am grateful. And I'm loving this hat!" she said, fixing it in her mane.
Just then they were interrupted by an excited, slightly raspy voice, that said, "Hey, I'm back with the food, everypony!" A mint-green unicorn with a white-striped mane and tail trotted up to the group, setting down a bag inbetween all of them. The bag itself was dripping with caramel, matching the newcomer’s orange eyes. The twins winced at the bag and paused, looking at each other uneasily.
Bon Bon smiled and walked up to greet the newcomer. "Thanks, Lyra! Did ya find everything okay?" she asked cheerfully.
"Yup!" said Lyra. "Got us four caramel apples, two slices of pie for you and me, Bon Bon, and," she added, levitating over a cup tray, "an apple juice for each of us!"
"Great! Thanks again for running!" said Bon Bon, digging into the bag for her caramel apple.
The twins looked at each other, then at Lyra. "Excuse me, I wanted an apple cider, not juice," said one of them.
Lyra frowned. "Oh, I'm sorry! I'll go get you one," she said, "Wait up for me, will ya!" She ran off back into the marketplace.
"Why did she come along, anyway?" one of the twins asked out loud.
Bon Bon looked shocked. "She's my best friend! I invited her!" she said in more of a whisper, hoping Lyra wouldn't hear the conversation.
The twins looked at each other and smiled, then looked back at Bon Bon. "Is she really?" the one on the left asked.
The other chimed in, "I mean, there's a good reason any pony would want to hang out with you of all ponies."
Bon Bon frowned and asked, "What do you mean?"
"Well between your family's business, and your cooking... Well is it really you she likes?"
"Of course it is, she—"
"A small fortune, and practically never having to fend for herself... she has a lot to get from playing up to somepony like you, huh?"
"Well sure, but—"
"And play it up she does, doesn't she, Dee?"
"Well certainly, Doe. She's always so eager to do little nice things for Bon Bon here, can it really all be for nothing in return?"
"Of course it i— well I mean, she— I..."
Bon Bon slumped over. She saw what they meant. "I never thought about it, I guess. But what can I do?" she asked, frowning.
"Well it isn't fair to lead her on. If you want a real friend, and she isn't going to be that for you, then, well..."
"What? I can't do that!" Bon Bon whispered fiercely, gasping.
"If you're sure. Just remember, the longer you hold off on it, the longer you'll be living a lie..." said Dee, putting one hoof on Bon Bon's shoulder for comfort.
"But we've been friends for so long,” Bon Bon whimpered, “I can't just... break it off..."
Meanwhile, a crudely nailed-together stand was making its own debut in the marketplace today. The sign read "Apple Juice - 1 bit". Azure had made her sister practice magic to write it, so it was a little sloppy-looking, but it was passable for a child's stand anyway. Business was booming, relatively. This ended up being a good day for a cool drink. Rose had a customer every few minutes or so.
"This was a great idea, Azzie!" Rose called from the stand as she took the next customer's money and put it in her jar.
"I told ya!" said Azure, smiling proudly. "Sell a little gem, get some startup money, put it to use to get more money, and boom! You're in a business. Just like Daddy taught us. Well, more or less."
Azure spotted a lost-looking unicorn in the crowd. She had passed by their stand before and bought from another juice vendor. On spotting Rose's stand, the stranger approached with an eager smile. Azure smiled too, thinking, "Oh good, she's still thirsty," which was surprising, given how many drinks she had gotten earlier.
"Hiya!" said the unicorn, "I don't suppose you know where I can get some apple cider, do ya?"
Rose frowned and shook her head. "Sorry, I only know how to make the ju—" she started, before Azure cut in.
"You can get some right here, as a matter of fact!" she said. She tried to remember everything her Daddy had taught her about salesponyship. "It just so happens," she started, levitating up an empty pitcher and a few apples, "that I spent a good bit of time living on an apple farm!" She mixed the ingredients together, shaking them in the pitcher a little bit. "I learned a few tricks of the trade there, from applebucking, apple peeling, seed planting, and even a little lasso twirling," she said. Inside the pitcher, a variety of magical surfaces mashed, diced, and swirled the apples. The mixture got thinner and thinner as it was quickly compressed thoroughly. "And of course, how to make the perfect... cup... o' cider!" With this, she finished with a flourish, showing the pitcher of now-apple-cider before herself. "With a bit of magic sprinkled into the recipe for good measure," she added as she poured a sample cup out.
Lyra smiled, clapping her hooves on the ground at Azure's performance. "That was awesome! You could make a show out of that, ya know!" she said, taking a sip of the cider. Her eyes widened, and she laughed happily. "And the cider's good too! I'm impressed, uhh—"
"The name's Azure," said Azure, bowing. "Just doing my best to help out my little sister here with her sales."
"Lyra Heartstrings, nice to meetcha!" said Lyra. She bounced in excitement. "Me and my friends are here on a little vacation, just to see the sights, ya know?" she added while Rose worked to pour a larger cup of cider for the customer.
"Nice to meet you too, Lyra! Say, if ya ever want a tour or anything, I can give it a shot. My treat!" said Azure. She had already taken a liking to the new, friendly face.
"Oh really? Thanks, girl! I'll tell ya what, I'll go ask if my friends'd want to, then I'll be right back, okay?"
Azure nodded, smiling. "Thanks, I'll be waiting right here for ya!"
Lyra smiled and ran off, levitating the cider with her, not noticing as she spilled a little in her haste.
Rose looked up at her sister, puzzled. "You don't know the city that well yet. What makes you think you can give a good tour?" she asked.
Azure shrugged. "Well I know some places. Its not like I can't just study a map on the way, right? Besides, I said free, but if I can make it entertaining," she said, smiling snidely to herself, "well, tour guides can get some pretty decent tips, ya know."
"Oh, Azzie," Rose said, rolling her eyes and laughing.
Not five seconds later, a familiar voice chimed in, grabbing the sister's attention with, "Hey, Azure, that offer still open?" Lyra had returned, with two unicorns and an earth pony in tow. The unicorns were talking amongst themselves, while the earth pony looked a bit off. Azure dismissed it though; it’s not like she was in any room to judge anypony.
"Of course!" said Azure, leaving from behind the stand. "Alright, everypony, are you all ready to see Canterlot?" she asked over-enthusiastically. The responses, except from Lyra, were a good deal less enthused.
"Hey, wait!" Rose called after Azure. It was to no effect. Rose turned back towards the street and saw the clock had just hit noon. The chimes rang out loudly, as a small rumble started coming from the streets leading to the marketplace. Rose gulped as she realized her sister had just left her alone. The timing almost couldn’t have been worse; the lunch rush was about to begin.
Azure led the group through the streets of the city, talking about random bits of information every now and then. They started through the cobblestone paths around her and Rose's home.
"Basically, Canterlot is divided between the upper, noble area, and the 'middle' quarter here. There is no 'lower' quarter because, well, come on, its Canterlot!" said Azure, laughing towards the end. Lyra and the twins laughed too. Bon Bon chuckled, although a bit uneasily.
"Which area are you from?" asked Doe.
"Well, technically I'm only visiting here myself, but I've been living with my sister here in the middle quarter."
The twins snickered to themselves; Azure didn't notice.
"As a matter of fact, right around this corner... there!" Azure led them right up to her sister's house, smiling proudly as the group Oooh'd and Ahh'd in reaction.
Lyra nudged Bon Bon. "Didn't you say your Uncle had a fancy place like that? That's gotta be nice to live somewhere as fancy as that!" she said.
"Y-yeah, I did," said Bon Bon, unable to look Lyra in the eye. At the moment, Lyra didn't notice.
"Alright, enough lookey-looin', there's plenty more to see here! Let's get moving!" said Azure, motioning for the group to follow her up the street.
A little ways up the street, Azure stopped, smiling and looking up. "Oh, wow, I never actually paid any attention to that! Look everypony, you can see Castle Canterlot from here!" she said, pointing and hopping in excitement. The castle itself was normally huge and in the sky above the middle quarter, but the view was mostly blocked by all of the buildings. A gap in the rooftops around this viewpoint allowed for a spectacular view of the castle's majesty.
Everypony in the group was in awe of this sight. Even Bon Bon forgot her troubles a moment as she stared. That is until Lyra spoke up again.
"That is just awesome! Remember last night, Bon Bon? You wondered what it'd look like up close?" she asked. She hopped up with one hoof on Bon Bon's shoulder, the other front hoof pointing at the castle, and said, "Well, there ya go! Isn't it everything you thought it'd be?"
"Well, sure, I guess," said Bon Bon. She smiled a bit, then frowning again. “She really is overdoing it,” she muttered to herself.
Azure shook her head and laughed at Lyra's enthusiasm. "You two seem like pretty good friends, am I right?" she asked.
Bon Bon looked away. Lyra smiled widely. "Of course, we're best friends, right Bon Bon?" she said, nudging Bon Bon. Bon Bon nodded, smiling weakly.
"Hah, I knew it!" said Azure, smiling with Lyra. "Come on, though, we still gotta see the noble quarter. Not too much farther now!" she added before trotting off uphill, towards the manors.
Lyra led the way. Bon Bon followed behind in a slump. The twins saw her and smirked, stifling laughter.
"So is it really true?" asked one of the twins.
"Is what really true?" asked Azure, confused by the out-of-the-blue comment.
"That the Canterlot guards will never move for anything, of course!" added the other.
The group stood in front of the gates to a massive mansion,. Two rather large guards stood at the ready in front of the doors. They didn't even seem to notice the group.
Azure shook her head. "Go ahead and try if ya want, I'd rather not take that risk," said Azure, shuddering as she remembered her first day in town.
Lyra smiled deviously. She whispered to Bon Bon, "Watch this," and snuck around behind one of the guards. Bon Bon watched intently, as her friend took a deep breath, then, at the top of her lungs, yelled, "Boo!"
Azure blinked, surprised by both the volume of the pony's voice and by the recklessness of her action. Even still, the guard merely blinked. Bon Bon looked at the guard curiously, wondering how that was even possible.
"I uhh, wouldn't recommend—" Azure started, but then was ignored.
Lyra poked at the guard's legs with one hoof, confused and wondering if he was even real. "Hmm," she said as she thought of other ways to test the theory. She clapped her hooves within an inch of the guard's face, but again, no reaction. She tried nudging him, pushing him, and even pulling the eye guard of his helmet down with magic. Only the last part received a response, but only as the guard fixed his own helmet.
Bon Bon found herself giggling at her friend and wishing she had the courage to do something like that. It wasn't until the twins nudged her that she remembered their words. She saw how this was all on purpose, meant to make her smile, just to uphold the illusion. Still, seeing Lyra sticking her tongue out at the guard made her laugh out loud a little, despite her reservations.
Finally, when Lyra poked the guard's face directly, he shook it off. "Enough!" he shouted in a deep, booming voice. Everypony except Lyra cowered. She just stood and smiled. "Aha! I knew it couldn't be true!" she said as the guard growled in her face. Even she couldn't keep from backing away from that.
"Uhh, come on everypony, I think there's just enough time to get back to the middle quarter for a late lunch!" said Azure hastily, already starting to back away. The others agreed. As soon as the guard's gaze sharpened, they all took off full-gallop.
Azure talked with Lyra as they all walked back down to the middle quarter, taking some back streets that were supposedly a shortcut. They laughed a bit through their conversation, but Bon Bon wasn't listening to the exact words. All she could see was her "friend" trying to manipulate somepony else, probably to get out of paying for the tour. It made her sick to think about. Still, she was sad. Was her best friend was really this monster of a pony, lying about so much? It wouldn't have been as bad if it was just some pony, but she felt like she had lost her best friend at the same time today. She knew what Dee and Doe had said was right; she had to break it off. But she didn't want to admit it was really happening.
"Hey, Bon Bon!" called Lyra from the front.
Bon Bon shook off the bad thoughts and cleared her throat to keep herself from sounding as distraught as she really was. "Y-yes?" she asked with a quivering voice.
"Do you think you could make some more of those pastries tonight when we get back to the room? They were delicious with dinner last night!"
Bon Bon stopped cold. Was she really going to just outright ask for something now?! What nerve! She looked at the twins, but they just nodded in Lyra’s direction. “Remember, Bon Bon,” Dee whispered to her, “Be strong. You know what you have to do.” Bon Bon shuddered at the thought.
Lyra sighed and stopped in place. “You know, I’m just glad I got to meet such a generous pony as you, Bon Bon,” she said, winking at her.
Bon Bon took a deep breath. "Stop it, stop it, stop it!" she yelled, with tears welling up in her eyes. She dropped to the ground, holding her head.
Lyra tilted her head and frowned, as both her and Azure turned to face the hysterical pony. "What's wrong, Bon Bon?" asked Lyra.
Bon Bon couldn't speak. She just shook her head, crying, and galloped away into a side alley.
"Wait, come back!" said Lyra, running after her friend in a hurry.
The twins waited until the other two had gone, then started laughing hysterically.
"What's so funny?" Azure asked, glaring at the two.
"Oh... nothing," said the two, trading off on the words.
Azure shook her head. Something didn't make sense here. She decided to ignore the twins and go follow the two that had run off.
Bon Bon stopped in a corner, weeping into her hooves. Lyra found her like this, and approached her slowly. "Bon Bon, come on, what's bothering you this bad? You can talk to me," she said.
Bon Bon stopped crying for a moment and asked, "Can I, Lyra? Can I?" she stood up and faced her friend directly.
Lyra recoiled. "Of course you can! We’re best friends, remember?" she insisted cheerfully.
"Oh yeah, sure we are," said Bon Bon, rolling her eyes. "Best friends, so long as I can give you a place to stay, and whatever pastries you could ever want!"
"Wait, what?"
"I know what you're doing! Do you really think you can just pretend to be friends with somepony to get at her stuff!?"
"But I'm not—"
"I don't wanna hear it! I'm sick of your lying all of the time!" said Bon Bon, through thick tears.
Lyra's voice started to break. "When have I lied?!" she asked desperately.
"'Oh, how was your day, Bon Bon?', 'Your cooking's so delicious, Bon Bon', 'We're best friends, right Bon Bon?'" she yelled in a mocking tone.
"But, but—"
"Yeah, that's what I thought!" Bon Bon collapsed to the ground, sobbing.
Lyra tried to offer a hoof in comfort, but it was quickly swatted away.
"Just leave me be! I don't want to..." Bon Bon choked up in saying this. Then she swallowed her tears and painfully managed to say, "I don't want to be friends anymore if you're just going to keep doing this to me!"
Lyra's jaw dropped and a tear started to form in the corner of her eye. Before she could respond, Bon Bon turned and galloped away, sobbing heavily. Lyra frowned so hard it felt like it was dragging her mouth down and off her face entirely. She flopped down onto the ground, and asked, in a broken-up voice, "What just happened?"
Azure waiting a short while before rounding the corner herself. She had caught most of the argument but didn’t want to get in the way. It just seemed too sudden to be real. Eventually she took a deep breath and followed to face Lyra. She was crying softly on the ground, and hadn’t moved for at least ten minutes. "What happened? I'd like to ask the same thing,” said Azure. “Something just doesn't sit right with me about all of that.”. Lyra didn’t react. Azure looked at her sympathetically, then lay down next to her. "Hey," she started in a softer voice, "do ya wanna talk about it?"
Lyra sniffed back another tear and nodded. "We've been such good friends for so long now. I don't know what's gotten into her!"
"I hate to ask, but is any of that stuff she said—"
"None of it's true, I swear! I didn't even know about her cooking or her family or whatever it was until after I got to know her better. We became friends because— well I don't know, we just clicked, ya know?"
Azure smiled. "I know exactly what ya mean. It’s like me and Primrose. Sure, she's a teacher, and I've uhh, well, I've never really been to much school, and I've always had problems with authority figures, or so I've been told. But for whatever reason, she's all right."
"That sounds like me and Bon Bon almost," said Lyra, "She's kinda reserved and particular, while I'm always out and expressing myself." She laughed and wiped a tear from her eye. "I remember just yesterday she said that's what she likes, well, liked, about me," she said, frowning again towards the end.
Azure stood up. "I think she's just confused or something, honestly. I saw how you two were, when she wasn't thinking about it. I've never seen two ponies so close that weren't married!" She chuckled softly at that last part; her parents were so close, not even her Daddy's
failing business adventures ever could ever separate them.
"You think so?" asked Lyra, sitting up. It was a bit of an odd motion; she swung her rear legs forward, instead of just lifting her front. Azure ignored it.
"Of course! And that's what really counts, isn't it? I think Primrose would put it like, “Friendship is felt, not understood,” or something like that," said Azure. She thought for a second, then frowned. "Wow, I have been hanging out with her a lot, haven't I?" she asked herself.
Lyra giggled and said, "Sounds like it isn't too bad. You pick up some good stuff from her." She sighed, looking after the direction that Bon Bon ran off towards. "I just wish I knew how to use that to help make her see straight."
Azure thought for a moment again, then smiled. "Well, maybe you just have to remind her why she likes you, and tell her what you like about her! Not directly though, just make her feel it," she said, adding, "ya know?" in the style of her new friend.
Lyra laughed at the extra piece of the comment. "Well sure, but what can I do that does that?"
"Well, everypony has their own special talent that defines who they are, right? How about yours? What are you good at?"
Lyra nodded and answered, "I play music, specifically on the lyre, or anything like it really."
"Oh, awesome!" said Azure, excited. "I love music, I just haven't got any of the talent for it. Could you play something to show me?"
Lyra laughed and looked around.
"Oh, right, you'd need an instrument, duh," said Azure, embarrassed that she had forgotten common sense for a moment.
"Got one!" said Lyra, pulling a piece of cardboard and a few rubber bands out of the trash. Azure looked puzzled, until she fashioned the bands around the cardboard, each one different lengths, in the rough shape of a lyre or a harp. "What you gotta understand about my music," she said, starting to play a simple back-and-forth tune, "is that it's all from inside. Its like friendship, like you said. I feel it, I don't necessarily have to understand it to play." She shut her eyes for a moment, and the music picked up. It took Azure a second, but she soon recognized the tune, once it hit the chorus, as a song by Hooves Down, a rock band from her parents' time. Lyra started bobbing her head to the beat of the song, and her horn glowed, distorting the sound just so that it sounded like an actual lyre, instead of the makeshift one in her hooves. A few minutes in, she cut it off, smiling. "Its fun, playing music like that. I'll have to show ya how it works sometime, Azure!" she said as Azure clapped her hooves on the ground.
"That was amazing, Lyra!" she said with a wide grin on her face.
"All I need now is to show that to Bon Bon, right?"
"Yeah, although is there any song she really likes, or that she'd remember from sometime you two were having fun together?"
Lyra thought for a minute, then got an idea. "I think I can figure something out!" she said with a confident smirk.
"Perfect! I'll help out however ya need me to!"
"Hmm, can you make a spotlight with magic?" asked Lyra, almost mockingly. Light was one of the most basic spells for a unicorn. Even Azure knew the right way to cast such a spell, unlike her improvisations. In fact the comment made Azure realize things could go pretty well for the two of them; neither was afraid to figure things out for themselves every now and then.
Bon Bon and the twins sat down around a table with a parasol in the middle. Bon Bon sniffed back another tear. She had cried herself out, but she remained on the verge of dry tears.
"Oh, cheer up, deary!" said Doe. "I'm sure you'll find somepony else who can be a real friend to you, just give it time!"
"I know, I know," Bon Bon whimpered. She sighed. "I still can't believe it though. I—"
"Well at least you don't have to worry about it any longer, right?" said Dee impatiently.
Bon Bon nodded. "I guess. Well I have you two to thank for setting me straight. I'm just glad I found out before anything too bad happened. I guess."
The twins looked at each other, irritated. "You can't dwell on her forever, you know," they said in unison.
Bon Bon shook her head, and forced a smile. "I know, I know. Sorry, I don't mean to take away from the vacation with this. It is all of ours, after all!"
The twins smiled. "Yes, that it is. Don't worry too much, though. Enjoy yourself! That's all we ask," they said, once again alternating sentences.
Lyra and Azure took a side path through a few alleys to get to the coffee shop the others had stopped at. On the way, they had stopped by the hotel Lyra was staying at and picked up her real instrument. "What'd you say you all are in town for again?" asked Azure.
"Well, we had this idea that, for this year's Grand Galloping Gala, we'd go to Canterlot a bit early, and just enjoy ourselves until the Gala itself," replied Lyra.
"The Gala?" asked Azure. "I've never been myself. It sounds too swanky for my tastes."
Lyra chuckled a bit. "Well, it probably is, but I'll just hang out for the night, maybe talk with somepony or another, and then head home. Really, Bon Bon's the one who's more interested." She sighed, trying not to think too much about her friend yet.
Azure caught this and walked closer to Lyra. "Don't worry, you'll still be going together," she said, nodding confidently.
Lyra returned the nod, then stopped suddenly.
"What is it?" asked Azure, but Lyra shushed her.
"I hear them!" Lyra whispered. She backed against a wall and glanced around the corner. Azure followed her to the wall, but wasn't about to press herself against it if she didn't have to.
Around the corner, Bon Bon and the twins were all sharing a meal and a laugh, as it seemed. There was barely any sign that Bon Bon had been crying at all. Lyra's heart sank.
"Maybe we should just go," she said, turning to leave the way they had came. Azure held a hoof up to stop her.
"No. I'm not about to let you give up, Lyra. Not now," she insisted.
Lyra took a deep breath, then turned back to face around the corner. "Okay, you're right, Az’. I sure hope this works, though."
Azure smirked. "Oh it will. Just trust me, or better yet, trust in yourself and Bon Bon," she said. “I don’t care how cheesy that sounds, just do it.” Lyra nodded, then started a last-minute tuning of her lyre.
The laughter died down around the table. Bon Bon fought the urge to start talking about Lyra again; that would be rude to the other two. Instead, she sat, faking a smile as the twins started gossiping about some of the other ponies from back home. It wasn't anything too bad, as Bon Bon thought of it, but it wasn't something she wanted to really get that involved with.
Suddenly the light changed. They all looked up. The sky above the square they were in was being covered by some sparkling blue film, slowly making it darker and darker. The twins recognized the shade of pure blue of the magic, and growled in their irritation. Bon Bon, however,
was quite confused. "What's going on!?" she asked, jumping out of her seat.
"Just sit down, I-I'm sure it will pa—" one of the sisters started, but then a booming, familiar voice filled the square:
"Ladies and Gentlecolts!" yelled Azure, through a conjured-up megaphone, "Presenting the magical music of the one, the only, Lyra Heartstrings!"
“Heartstrings?"
"Is that a band?"
"Sounds kind of mellow for my tastes"
The streets were abuzz as the crowd gathered, confused by the circumstances. A spotlight shone, waving around the square wildly, until finally settling on a makeshift stage built at the beginning of one of the alleyways nearby.
The megaphone fizzled. Azure turned her focus on maintaining the lights for the performance. It was quite a bit of work for one pony to handle, but this was important; Azure devoted every bit of her concentration on the spells. Okay, remember what Primrose said. Less force, more vision, she thought. Of course, this was all she managed to remember from the half-lesson she had gotten since Muffin Day, and it didn’t make much sense anyway. Still, it at least sounded motivational.
Meanwhile, Lyra stepped up on-stage with her lyre hovering next to her. She stood up on two hooves, taking the lyre with the other two. The crowd murmured in suspense...
She struck the first note, breaking into an upbeat song nopony had heard before. After a brief intro, and shutting her eyes, letting the sound adjust itself to the feel of her song, she started to sing:
“This is a little story / About a pony and the worry / That I’ll never get to see her again...”
Lyra started to tap her hoof to the beat. The crowd gradually hushed to a near-silence. Now every word echoed through their makeshift concert hall.
“She’s got a good little heart / But I’ve seen her fall apart / Yet I couldn’t help her just right then...”
Bon Bon averted her eyes from the stage. Dee and Doe rolled theirs.
“So I’d like to take the time / To make it up, for her mind / How exactly I came to see // It’s not about the money / Not the sugar, treats, or honey / Only how our friendship came to be...”
Lyra paused and took a deep breath before continuing. Bon Bon looked up during the silence with concern, but quickly averted her eyes again.
“I lost the stride to my step / And never realized the depth / That havin’ no friends could bring me down...”
Lyra smiled and struck an hard chord for emphasis. A few in the crowd cheered.
“And then along came that girl / Them pink and blue fluffy swirls / Who saw me there, stuck in place with a frown // She asked me what was wrong / And I sang a sad song / And she knew just what she had to do...”
Bon Bon winced.
“She took me back into her home / Showed me happy like I’d known / Back as a filly when I was first pickin’ tunes.”
Lyra’s hoof became a blur on the lyre’s strings as she picked away some fast riff for a transition. Bon Bon’s eyes lit up.
“I remember this one...”
“She’s ‘at Candy girl / Caaandy girl! / Just a little bit o’ sour an’ sweet // All she knows is bein’ nice / All sugar, no spice / Just the pony that I needed to meet!”
The crowd cheered as a whole now that the song had picked up. Bon Bon had hopped up on the railing of the parlor. One of the twins cleared her throat; Bon Bon hopped down with a guilty look on her face.
“Since, we’ve always stayed together / Just two birds of a feather / Since we met up that fateful day // She provides the smiles / And I provide the wild / When we go out and we wanna play...”
Lyra emphasized the “wild” by tossing her head back bending the string to bend the note. Bon Bon hid her snickering from the twins.
“I feel it worth a little mention / That between all our tension / I mean it sayin’ she’s a good cook // When she’s bakin’, I’m a-wakin’ / What’ she’s makin’, I’m a-takin’ / Smells so good ya never even need a look...”
Dee placed her hoof on Bon Bon’s shoulder. Bon Bon turned to see her smug face. Bon Bon met it with her own smirk. Dee frowned.
Lyra once again played the familiar transition riff. Bon Bon hopped back up on the railing. This time she was ready to bob her head to the beat.
“She’s ‘at Candy girl / Caaandy girl! / Just a little bit o’ sour an’ sweet // All she knows is bein’ nice / All sugar, no spice / Just the pony that I needed to meet!”
Lyra’s playing slowed down slightly after the second chorus. The crowd began to murmur, but soon saw the point when Lyra began to sing again.
“Now I know she’s havin’ struggles / And I know she thinks I’m trouble / But I’d like to think she knows / What I really wanna show / Is how I never coulda lied / Because she knows me deep inside / How I like her for herself / Not the cookies on her shelf / And no the money or the weath...”
Tears began to well up in Bon Bon’s eyes. Lyra let a chord ring out to hide a deep breath.
“Please...”
Lyra paused for effect...
“Believe me!”
Lyra broke immediate from the last word into a chord, then another, and soon into a shower of notes. It wasn’t just random and pointless, but a true solo fitting the beat and feel of the song. Or so the crowd seemed to think.
Bon Bon sighed.
“I do...” she muttered.
“This is a little story / About a pony and the worry / That I’ll never get to see her again...”
The crowd sang along with the repeated verse. Even Doe found herself mouthing the words, at least until a hard nudge from Dee.
“But what I really hope inside is / That we’ll never stay divided / And we’ll always stay the best of friends!”
Lyra jumped forward and slid on her back as she struck the second-to-last chord.
“YEAH!!”
The street was in an uproar on the final note; more and more ponies had gathered as the song had gone on. Lyra dropped to four hooves, catching her instrument magically, and took a bow, sweating from how much energy she had put into the performance. The light of the street picked up suddenly as Azure finally dropped the light-work spells. As much as she could, exhausted from the magic, she cheered along with the crowd.
Bon Bon hopped up on stage, finally having made her way through the crowd, and practically tackled Lyra over in a hug. They both smiled as tears of joy filled Bon Bon's eyes. "I'm so sorry, Lyra, I was being dumb!" she cried out over the roar of the crowd.
Lyra bounced up, grinning from ear to ear. "It's all right, just so long as we're still friends. We are, right?" she asked, looking uneasy. Just then, Azure finished climbing down from the rooftops, and waited for the response from Bon Bon.
"Well duh!" said Bon Bon. She laughed and squeezed Lyra in a hug. The crowd saw this and "Aww"'d in unison, with some cheers, as they began to recognize the pony from the song. "I don't know what I was thinking before. Could you ever—"
"Pretty sure she already has," Azure chimed in. "She never gave up on you, from what I saw."
Bon Bon smiled. "And of course, I know Lyra. That song was made up on the spot, wasn't it?" she asked. Lyra laughed, nodding. Azure's jaw dropped.
"And it was all true, of course," said Lyra, "I don't know what I'd do without ya, ya know?"
The two hugged once more, yet this time were interrupted by a loud, inconspicuous comment from Doe or Dee. It wasn't quite clear who.
"Oh, please! You aren’t you really going to believe all of that, are you?"
Bon Bon glared at them as they walked onto the stage. "What is your problem?!" she asked.
"Our problem?!" they said in unison. "She's the one who's so, ugh, odd! She doesn't know the least thing about being a lady, just look at her!" They split the work quite randomly here.
Azure looked at the two and just shook her head.
Lyra glared at them. "Hey, I could be formal and fancy or whatever if I wanted to!"
"Oh, more lies!” the twins responded, continuing to alternate. ”Come on, Bon Bon, open your eyes!"
"Why are you so worried about them, huh?" asked Azure. "Lyra isn't hurting anypony, which is more than you two can say!"
Dee rolled her eyes. "Oh, nopony asked you, tour guide," said Doe. Dee held up a bill for five bits, and said, "Go get yourself something nice, just butt out already."
Azure frowned. Then her eyes lit up with an idea. She smirked and grabbed the bill. "Well, thanks for the tip, but what kind of pony would I be to abandon my friends like that?" she asked, laughing as she pocketed the money.
"Hey!" yelled the twins, a little confused by Azure’s sleight of hoof.
"Ha-ha!" said Lyra, pointing at them and laughing. "Serves you two right!" The crowd around them seemed to be in agreement, as what few were still paying attention to the stage and not trying to leave started to laugh at the twins as well.
Dee and Doe flushed red with embarrassment. Azure laughed haughtily at them, and said, "Face it, nopony's gonna take your side on this!"
At some point, they'd had enough, and with a "Hmph!", said, "Fine. Bon Bon, we're leaving, and we'll find a room at a different hotel this time. If you ever change your mind-"
"Which I won't, but please go on," said Bon Bon, smiling at Lyra.
"Well fine then! You won't be hearing from Tweedle Dee—"
"Or Tweedle Doe—"
"Ever again!" Their finish was impressive, but nonetheless, they were booed off-stage by the crowd.
Azure smiled, and turned toward the crowd, magic-ing up another megaphone. "Let’s hear it one more time for Lyra and Bon Bon, everypony!"
The crowd roared, even including those still trying to leave.
Later, Azure, Bon Bon, and Lyra walked at a leisurely pace down the streets, chatting and laughing over the day's events.
"So, pardon me for being a little out-of-the-loop here, but how much longer are you two gonna be in town?" asked Azure.
"Well, the Gala isn't for almost a month, but we were going to leave and head back to Ponyville after it was over," answered Bon Bon, thinking it over in her head.
Azure smiled and laughed happily. "Awesome! I hope you don't mind if I wanted to hang around with you two some more?"
Lyra laughed and said, "Its no problem, Azure! I still gotta show ya a thing or two about playing an instrument, remember?"
Bon Bon scoffed and nudged Lyra. "Good luck, Azure. Even I don't really get how she does it, as long as I've known her."
"Hey, I don't get really how I do half the things I do with magic, but it works, doesn't it?" said Azure, briefly blinking a megaphone to and from existence.
The three laughed together as they reached the marketplace. By this time of night, it was mostly deserted.
"So what was that you said earlier, Azure? 'You feel friendship, you don't learn it'?" asked Lyra.
"Something like that, yeah. Would you say that makes sense, Bon Bon?"
Bon Bon nodded. She smiled and leaned on Lyra. "I'm sorry I didn't see it that way earlier."
"Hey, enough apologizing already!" said Lyra with a laugh. "I forgave you the first time!"
Azure snickered at the two and shook her head. "I can see why you two are friends. Really."
"Thank you, I guess," said Bon Bon.
"Now why did I lead you two here again? I know I forgot something around here..." said Azure
"Well whatever it is— Oh wait, my hat!" said Bon Bon. For the first time all day she realized it had slipped off at some point.
"What? Oh, I'm sure whatever I forgot can wait, we can look for— Oh, no, Rosey!" Azure panicked, realizing her sister was nowhere to be found. Well, until...
"Up here," whimpered Rose, from atop a nearby lamppost. She was quivering, hiding inside a much-too-big-for-her sun hat.
"What happened!? What are you doing up there?" asked Azure, confused.
"So many ponies... lunchtime... not enough juice..." Rose shuddered as she spoke.
Azure broke out into a hearty laugh. She helped Rose down, as the other two joined in the laughter. Rose curled up at her sister's feet, still shaking. The group couldn't help but laugh at the poor filly's ridiculous situation, but it was a friendly laughter. Azure carried Rose on her back on the way back home, and Bon Bon let her keep the hat.