//------------------------------// // A Secret Mission // Story: Stability // by SlightlyOnline //------------------------------// “Broke? What do you mean broke?” Bon Bon flashed her partner a stern look. “We have nothing. We have no money.” A shocked Lyra stammered. “Wh-, what do you mean ‘nothing’? Your business has been doing great! I’ve seen it!” “Not great enough, apparently.” The earth pony didn’t move her gaze from the floor. “If I can’t pay rent by the end of the month, I’ll lose the shop.” “We’ll lose the shop,” Lyra corrected. “We’re in this together.” Bon Bon stood up and hugged her marefriend. “Oh Lyra. I just don’t know what to do. I’m scared.” The unicorn ran her hooves up and down her partner’s back. “We’ll figure this out. Together.” The cream colored mare looked up at her before digging her face into her neck, desperately searching for whatever comfort it could offer. The pony made her best attempt at holding back her fearful tears, but to no avail. Lyra tousled the pony’s mane. “C’mon. Let’s go sit down. You need a break.” The mare couldn’t protest. However unwilling to move she was, Bon Bon was herded to the cushions in the living room, tiredly falling down upon them. The mint pony sat next to the mare, continually trying to be a handkerchief for her. Time caught itself in a limbo as the two stared off into space. Lyra continued to trace the edges of the earth pony’s back on the couch, Bon Bon slowly moving to lay on her lap. The unicorn watched the mare sigh, her partner longing for security in her body as she played with her mane. Her mind started searching for answers; she tried to think of everything she could do, if not just to make her marefriend happy. Her brain danced towards different notions and possibilities, only for her trance to be broken by Bon Bon’s stirring. The earth pony rolled off of the couch to her hooves, silently making her way to the stairs. Lyra followed her slowly, still weighed heavily upon by her contemplation. By the time she reached the bedroom, she saw Bon Bon already curling into the bedsheets, herself wordlessly slipping under the covers. It wasn’t long before the sound of her partner snoozing was the only noise resonating within the house. Although she was happy that she had returned to her own bed, she found her eyes only wandering the ceiling, her thoughts not wanting to yield her any rest. The unicorn’s brain continued to sprint through her alternatives. She considered all the things she could sell; she thought about asking her parents for money; her mind even flashed to doing a swimsuit photoshoot, but all of her options returned to one thing: She had to get a job. ***                        ***                        *** The crackle of cooking eggs and aroma of french toast greeted Lyra as she awoke, her lack of sleep urging her to keep her eyes shut. She sat up and shook her mane, looking at the impression her chef and marefriend had left on the bed. Yawning and not even bothering to run a comb through her hair, she made her way down the stairs and into the kitchen. The fantastic smell, coupled with the sight of Bon Bon cooking away in her apron, hit her as she entered the room. She considered making her jump once more as her eyes traced up her flank, but quickly decided that it was not in her best interests. The unicorn trotted over, pecking her on the cheek and greeting her with a “good morning”. “I don’t know what’s so good about it,” the earth pony replied. “I’m here, you’re here, and I’m going to save your store.” Bon Bon frowned, flipping the eggs onto a plate. “How? Are you going to start working the streets?” Lyra couldn’t stifle a laugh. “You know I wouldn’t do that. Well... Nah, I wouldn’t.” She levitated a healthy helping of eggs onto some freshly made toast. “Anyway, I’ll be back tonight. I’ve got some things I need to take care of.” The unicorn kissed the cream mare, not even letting the pony get a word out before she trotted towards the door. “Love you, bye!” Bon Bon may have replied, but she wouldn’t have heard her over the sound of the door shutting. She took a breath as she stepped out into the sunlight. She prepared for her job hunt to begin. ***                        ***                        *** In a near sprint the mint unicorn left a factory, her chest heaving as she tried to regain her breath. She collapsed to the dirt road face first, quickly rolling herself over onto her back.  “Well,” she muttered in between pants. “I am not working for Elmer.” Slowly, the unicorn lifted herself up, trying to break into a brisk trot as she escaped from the adhesive factory. “It seems like every place is either not hiring, or absolutely insane,” the pony said to herself. “I don’t know how anypony finds a job in times like these.” She looked back at her flank. “Oh, right.” There were times when she despised having a musical cutie mark. To make any sort of living in the musical field, let alone a profit, was a nearly ludicrous notion. She would play her lyre in small halls or bars as much as she could, but nopony knew better than herself how little space there was for small musicians like her. Unfortunately for the unicorn, it was what she was destined to be good at. She was good at it; the music industry was unforgiving at best, more classical musicians such as herself being tossed aside for new genres. Lyra sighed, walking back into Ponyville and scanning shops for “Now Hiring” fliers. The familiar streets were just that: too familiar. None of the family owned businesses around could possibly need a new employee, let alone one such as herself. She turned a corner as she prayed for a sign, tripping over an object and falling to her stomach with an “Oof!” The pony quickly turned, looking to apprehend the culprit to see that it was, in fact, a sign, the words “Now Hiring” displayed proudly at the top with an arrow pointing to the building next to her. She muttered a thanks to Celestia for the blessing and blindly trotted into the structure. ***                        ***                        *** The lyre-flanked mare’s ears perked at the familiar ding of the bell as she entered Bon Bon’s sweet shop; her home. The evening sun was setting, basking the landscape in beautiful shades of red. She was happy, tired and, most of all, surprised as she levitated her new work uniform through the doorway. Smiling to herself, she walked into the kitchen. “What’s that?” At the sound of Bon Bon’s voice, she quickly threw the clothing aside. “Nothing. Nothing at all.” “Lyra, where have you been?” the earth pony questioned as she approached her, her eyes widening at a realization. “Lyra! I know I joked about working the streets, but prostitution is not the way to save us!” The unicorn almost fell over. “What? I’m sorry, what!? That doesn’t even make sense! It’s way too early in the evening for that!” Bon Bon let the notion slip away, not wanting to embarrass herself anymore by jumping to conclusions. She speedily trotted past her marefriend, making her way to the clothes Lyra had discarded and picking up the fabric in her mouth. “Welf? Then wafs thif?” She dropped the dress shirt from muzzle and coughed. “Well, what’s this, then?” Lyra sighed, levitating the clothes up and dusting them off. “I suppose this is important enough for you to know.” The mare drew a slow breath. “I got a job.” Her partner’s glare turned to a look of confusion. “You mean a real one?” “Ouch okay. Yes, a real one, Bon Bon.” The earth pony looked down. “Sorry, I didn’t mean that. I’ve just been really on edge lately.” Lyra walked forward, wrapping her hooves around the mare. “We both have. Believe me, this isn’t easy for either of us, but I think we’ll make it.” She smiled as she kissed Bon Bon. “Thanks. You’re too good to me.” The unicorn broke away, heading towards the stairs. “Well, I better put these new clothes up.” “Wait, you never told me what your new job is.” Lyra stopped. “That’s not important.” “Not important?” Bon Bon replied as she trotted to her marefriend. “Of course it’s important! I need to know where to go to visit you at work.” “No, it’s really not important.” The cream mare frowned. “Please? I’ll be your best friend.” “No.” “Come on!” Bon Bon playfully poked at the unicorn’s sides before wrapping her hooves around her neck. “I’ll make it worth your while.” Lyra’s ears perked up. “Well... I guess I can be persuaded. You promise not to laugh?” “Promise.” “You won’t say anything about it?” “Not a word.” Lyra took a step back, floating out a paper a recently obtained paper name tag. She took a deep breath. “I’m a waitress.” ***                        ***                        *** “Bon Bon. Hello? Bon Bon! You can stop laughing now!” Lyra watched as the mare tried to pick herself up from the floor, only to fall back down. At this point, the unicorn had seated herself, propping her head up with her hoof as she waited for her theoretical partner to stop. “I’m- I’m sorry Lyra. You know I love you, but this is too good.” The unicorn hopped to her hooves, trotting over to the couch and levitating pillows. For another time, she began to construct her fort, Batmare clenched in her hoof. The mare soon found herself entombed by the pillows, tackled by Bon Bon in a crushing and loving hug. “I forgot to say thank you,” Bon Bon said to her as she stared into her eyes. “For what? Giving you a good laugh?” “No, for doing this. You really care about us.” Lyra smiled. “I care about you. Waiting tables will be all worth it to keep you happy.” “Promise me one thing, though,” the earth pony said, pecking her with a quick kiss. “And what would that be?” “Please, please, treat your customers well. I don’t know how to say this, but you aren’t always the best with whiney ponies.” “What’s that supposed to mean? I treat you well, don’t I?” “Yes, well- hey!” Bon Bon drew back as Lyra snickered. “Oh, come here.” The unicorn tightly wrapped her hooves around her marefriend, the pair continuing to lie in the pile of pillows. Lyra felt her ear twitch as Bon Bon whispered into it. “I’m tired. How about we head up to bed?” “I’m alright with sleeping here, though. These pillows are pretty comfortable.” “No, I mean bed.” “Oh. Oh! Yeah, I’m really tired too, let’s go,” the almost oblivious unicorn spat out as she scrambled to her hooves. “You still have some making up to do.” ***                        ***                        *** “This isn’t diet soda!” “You sure these hay fries are low sodium?” “You forgot to put the lemon in my water.” “Where’s the bathroom? This train ain’t waiting!” Lyra was fed up. Not even done with her first day on the job and she had had it with the customers of the Everfree Café. While nowhere near the Everfree, and hardly a café, the customers sure acted like they were feral animals. At least to Lyra. “Heartstrands, go pick up table three.” “Heartstrings, and yes ma’am.” If there was anypony in the building that she didn’t like more than the customers, it was her boss. The fact that she had one at all was a completely new experience for her. The mare in charge, Cinnamon Swirl, was a short and stocky pegasus and, from what Lyra had seen, was always in a bad mood. It made her wonder how ponies like Cinnamon ever could even make it through high school, let alone open their own restaurant. “Done, ma’am.” Her magic could make quick work of whatever mess that could appear. “Good, good. Now get ready, the lunch rush is coming. That’s when the bulk of the customers show up.” Lyra contemplated talking back to the reddish-brown mare, but decided that it would not be a good idea to immediately get fired. She looked over the already packed restaurant, sighing heavily. “Great. Can’t wait.” Could this job get any worse? “Excuse me, miss, but my foal just had an accident.” Yes. The unicorn could see why the restaurant had been so desperate to hire a new waitress/busmare/custodian. She was beginning to rethink grabbing a position at the glue factory. The mare trotted into the bathroom to wipe some mess off of her clothes. She looked in the mirror, watching herself as she sighed. “I’m sorry Bon Bon, but I just can’t do this. I don’t think this job is right for me.” She put her weight on the sink, continuing to stare at herself. “What are you doing in here?” a male voice called out. Of course she had walked into the stallion’s restroom. ***                        ***                        *** “Hey honey. How was your day?” Lyra heard her marefriend call out as she walked past her store’s counter and into the kitchen. “It was... It was something,” she muttered as a reply, clenching her net tip in hoof; hardly a  hoofful of bits. Bon Bon wrapped her loving hooves around her as she turned the corner. “Oh, Lyra. I’m so proud of you. It takes a big mare to pony up and do this.” “Yeah.” Lyra didn’t break her gaze from the ground, not returning her partner’s embrace. Her mind raced; she couldn’t quit her job now. Not with Bon Bon thinking like this. Slowly, the mare broke away. “What’s wrong?” “Oh, nothing. It’s just that...” the mare searched for an appropriate excuse. “Just that we won’t be able to spend as much time together.” She put some effort into convincing her own mind into thinking that was the truth. Bon Bon kept her suspicions visible on her face for a spell, but quickly dropped it. “Well, I’m glad it’s all working out for you and I. We may be able to save the store yet!” She hugged the unicorn. “How has business been, anyway?” The earth pony sighed, releasing the mare. “Slow. Very slow. I’m mainly blaming it on Ponyville’s recent pushing of health food on school children. What kind of world do we live in when kids can’t even pester their parents into buying a box of candy?” Lyra quickly forgot about her own dilemma, hugging and kissing the mare. “Don’t worry, I still like your candy. In fact, I’d like to make an order.” “Oh, you would, would you?” The cream mare quickly grabbed an order form and a pen. “Hmm, let me think.” The unicorn put on her best contemplative face. “I’d like some Bon Bon. Perhaps for dinner.” The mare facehooved at the corniness of her marefriend, but couldn’t hold back a laugh all the same. “I think that one was a sign that it’s time to go to bed. I’m suddenly very tired.” “But what about my order?” “We have a policy about bad jokes.” Lyra trotted forward, planting a deep kiss on the mare’s lips. “I think your policy can be overlooked. I’ve been buying from the company long enough.” “Hmm... maybe.” The earth pony began to lead the unicorn up the stairs. “Just this once.” The mint pony met her at the peak. “It’s a pleasure doing business with you, Miss Bon Bon.” She opened her mouth to put out more innuendo riddled teasing, but was interrupted by a low grumbling noise. “I actually do want some dinner.” ***                        ***                        *** So far, Lyra’s second day had gone much smoother than her first. She was slowly getting used to all the quirks of working in a restaurant, and was quickly learning how to deal with less-than-pleasant customers. She had made it through the heavy lunch hour, and it was almost time for her own lunch break; she just had a few more tables to get situated. Dropping off drinks and a couple entrées elsewhere, she decided to pick up one more booth before she sat down, herself. She could feel her enthusiasm falling. “Hello. Welcome to the Everfree Café. How may I help you-” She looked upon the single pony seated in the booth. “Octavia?”