With her auditions finished, therapy session scheduled, and packet containing information on the Musicians Ball promised to arrive in the mail in the coming weeks, Lyra found herself with some free time.
‘Free’ is a relative term, of course. The majority of time utilized in the coming days was spent helping Bon Bon renovate her little shack. ‘Shack’ was a word she was going to be unable to use very soon, however; with each passing day, the building looked less like a janitor’s closet and more like a place that ponies actually entered. The pair had just painted the outside a calming cream, matching Bon Bon’s coat, and were gazing upon the sign they were about to hammer into the ground.
“Future location of Bon Bon’s Bon Bons,” the sign’s triumphant owner read. “Well, Lyra. We did it.”
Lyra ran a hoof through her mane, shaking off some sweat. She had to hand it to Bon Bon; the outside really did look nice. Still, though, she had to find a way to be sarcastic and oppositional. “Well, the inside still looks a market bathroom, but the outside looks great.” She levitated a hammer and began to tap the sign into the ground.
“There’s always time for that later. For now, we have something pretty on the outside, and with this sign up, we have some free advertising.”
“Great,” Lyra said, wiping her forehead as she finished hammering the sign in. She could really go for one of Bon Bon’s pieces of candy. Who would have thought that renovating a small building would be so difficult?
The pair took a step back. Even Lyra had to take a moment to admire what they did; with the walls were repainted, the roof re-shingled, and the windows fixed, all they needed to do was make some improvements on the inside and they would be open for business. After making a few more bits, they could start really sprucing the place up. Lyra imagined a beautiful awning overhanging a pretty window displaying all sorts of fantastic treats.
Her fantasy was cut short by a mare’s voice. At least... she thought it was a mare.
“Bon bons? And here I thought Ponyville was a decent town.”
Both Lyra and her marefriend immediately spun around. It wasn’t a mare. An earth-green stallion with a brown mane looked back at them. He wore a large coat that looked like it had seen better days, which was only matched by his torn brown shorts. There was something about his pose that seemed a little... off.
“Excuse me?” Bon Bon quickly questioned. “What do you mean by ‘decent’?”
The stallion scoffed. “Honestly, how can you expect anypony to take this town seriously if you’re going around displaying...” He shuddered. “Sugar-infested candies.” He spoke the last word with such distaste that anypony would think that it stabbed him.
Lyra cringed slightly at his voice. That should not be the voice of anypony under fifteen.
“Oh yeah?” Bon Bon retorted swiftly. “And what’s wrong with candy?”
The stallion condescendingly shook his head “Ugh. So disgusting, so unnatural, so... revolting. I mean, just look at what they did to you!”
Before Bon Bon could even be offended, Lyra pushed her aside and took a couple steps toward the offending pony. “Hey! That’s my marefriend you’re talking to!”
“Really? I couldn’t tell. You obviously haven’t adopted any of her eating habits.”
“Just who do you think you are?!”
The offending pony ran a hoof through his messy, and terribly unclean, mane. “I’m Herb, of course. I run the natural food store. Not that either of you have ever set hoof in there.”
That was it. Lyra’s horn glowed. She prepared to hit him with absolutely every ounce of magical energy she contained within her body. She watched with a strange satisfaction as a look of fear flashed across Herb’s face. The glow slowly increased into a blinding light as she reared up, ready to unleash... something.
She was stopped by Bon Bon’s hoof. “I think you’ve made your point.” She pointed at the now cowering stallion. Lyra’s horn slowly faded to a very light glow.
He quickly stood up and dusted himself off. “The big one is right. There’s never any need for violence.”
Now it was Bon Bon’s turn to lunge at him, only stopped by Lyra. She looked at how the stallion hid behind his hooves once more. “‘I think you’ve made your point’,” she quoted.
Herb picked himself up once more and immediately began to trot away. “I think this conversation is over. I’m taking my leave, and don’t even bother trying to catch up with me; you’d be too slow anyway.”
He was right about one thing: he was fast! The pair hadn’t taken two steps and he had already disappeared around the corner.
Lyra watched as her marefriend’s rump dropped to the ground and while its owner pouted. “Why’d we just let him get away? That... little... annoying-voiced, happiness hating, inflammatory, squeaky, dirty, disgusting, wretched piece of manure! How could he say things like that?”
Lyra just shrugged.
“He’s probably just merrily skipping off back to his filthy house, singing to his plants.”
The unicorn started to chuckle. It didn’t take long for it to escalate into a full blown laugh. Soon, she was on the ground, wiping a tear from her eye.
“Why are you laughing? Singing to plants is kind of silly, but not that funny.”
Lyra slowly picked herself up, smiling widely at Bon Bon. “Oh, I don’t think he’ll make it very far.”
“Why so?”
Her horn glowed slightly once more, this time levitating out a small object out from behind her. It jingled as Lyra shook it in the air.
“Are those...”
“Yep. His keys.”
*** *** ***
“I still just can’t believe that colt. How could he say those things?”
They had just arrived home and Bon Bon hadn’t stopped talking about the offending stallion. “I don’t know, Bonnie. Some ponies were probably just born without the part of their brain that lets them be decent. Don’t let him get to you too much.”
“He called me fat!”
Lyra knew that tone. It was Bon Bon’s I-need-a-hug-and-kiss-right-damn-now tone. Lyra did just that. In an instant, her hooves were flung around her marefriend’s neck. She looked at her, trying to give a loving smile that said ‘You are the most perfect mare in existence’. Bon Bon smiled back, but it wasn’t the true smile that Lyra wanted. It was forced, empty, and almost cold; it quickly dissolved into a frown.
Bon Bon pulled away. Her eyes portrayed an awful sadness. “Oh, I’m doing it again, aren’t I?”
“Doing what?”
“Being that whiny mare that nopony likes.” She looked at the ground and moved her hoof in circles. Lyra opened her mouth, but Bon Bon began again. “I’m just too sensitive. I wish I could be tough like you, Lyra.”
The unicorn opened her mouth, but then closed it once more. Normally, she would be hugging Bon Bon again, telling her how beautiful she was and how she was the most amazing mare in Equestria; she would give her a kiss and tell her that she was perfect the way she was. Then it would be her checking to see if Bon Bon was in the mood. More often than not, she was. This time, however, she decided to do something... different.
Her horn glowed as her magical aura reached out and snatched the keys she had stolen from Herb. The sound of them clinking on the ground in front of Bon Bon seemed to grab her attention. Lyra walked over to her and draped one hoof around her neck. “You want to be tough like me, you say?”
Bon Bon sniffled a little bit. “Um. Yes?”
The unicorn’s magical aura returned once more, levitating the keys in front of the two mares. “Then how about a little... debauchery.”
“Debauchery?”
“Debauchery.”
Bon Bon slowly took the keys from Lyra’s magical grasp. Her snout scrunched up adorably as she intensely examined objects as if the were an alien life form. Finally, a grin appeared on her face.
“Oh, the things we could do with these keys,” she giggled. Her giggle turned into cackling laughter. “So many ways we could show that mean pony who’s boss.”
Lyra had to chuckle along with her. “This is so unlike you Bon Bon. I like it.”
The earth pony nodded. “He pulled the last straw. It’s time to get devious.”
“Great.” Lyra smiled. She was proud of her little Bonnie. “Let’s go tonight.”
The confidence in Bon Bon’s eyes seemed to melt away. “T- tonight? Oh, I don’t know about that. You see, I’ve got to-”
“Bon, you can’t do deviousness halfway. We’ve got to hit hard. We’ve got to show this pony that you don’t mess with Lyra and Bon Bon.”
Bon Bon stared at her with the most innocent looking eyes that Lyra had ever seen. It almost made her feel bad; she felt like she was teaching a puppy how to hunt for the first time, or taking Octavia’s vir-
Okay, she was not thinking about that.
Bon Bon spoke up; just in time, too. “Alright. We’ll do it.”
Lyra jumped up and hugged her. “Fantastic! You get the toilet paper, wrenches and masking tape. I’ll go get ready.”
She received a blank stare. “I don’t even want to know what those are for. I’ll just follow your lead. But what do you mean by ‘ready’?”
“Oh, you’ll see,” Lyra responded with a smile. Her eyes traced Bon Bon’s frame for a moment, but then she spun around without another word.
She wasted no time in darting up the stairs, going straight for her and Bon Bon’s bedroom and opening a secret little chest that she kept under their bed. Out of it, she levitated some pieces of jet black fabric. She was saving it for when she could convince Bon Bon to be a little more open minded in the bedroom, but now was as good a time as any.
Enjoying the experience, she donned the garment. She relished the soft feeling of the fabric hugging her fur. Tonight was going to be just perfect.
*** *** ***
“You look ridiculous!”
“Batmare never looks ridiculous.”
The night was cold, quiet and unforgiving. It was on nights like these that the scum of Ponyville would prowl the streets, committing heinous crimes beyond anypony’s wildest dreams. When the authorities fell short of their duties, there was one mare that the citizens of Ponyville could count on. One mare that fought for one thing:
Justice.
The wind sliced through Batmare’s coat as she breathed in the cool air of twilight. She looked up at the sky, taking a whiff of the tumultuous winds.
“There’s a storm brewing. We must act swiftly if we are to succeed and bringing these crimelords down before the heavens pour.”
Bon Bon sighed. “Lyra, can you stop that? You’re really starting to scare me.”
Batmare raised an eyebrow under her mask. “Lyra? Lyra Heartstrings? Never heard of her; there’s no Lyra here. I am Batmare, the harbinger of justice for the justice-less.”
“And why are you talking like that? You’re doing all sorts of weird things with your voice.”
“It’s the way bats talk.”
The earth pony sighed again. “Take that off. Stop being silly.” She reach a hoof to the mare’s mask.
Batmare quickly recoiled, swatting the hoof away. “No! Batmare’s secret identity must never be revealed!” Despite her pleas, Bon Bon yanked the mask off in one swift motion. Naturally, it revealed that Lyra Heartstrings was indeed Batmare. “Could you just play along for once?” she asked in her normal voice, sounding as pained as she could.
Her eyes grew wide as she stared at Bon Bon; she was trying to give her that heart-melting look that foals would when they wanted something. It worked.
“Oh, alright,” her marefriend said, hoofing the mask back to her. “Just for tonight, you can be Batmare.”
A massive smile overtook Lyra’s face as her hooves tightly squeezed Bon Bon. I hope that means what I think it means. She quickly tossed on the mask and dropped her voice once more. “Despite that minor hindrance, the mission is still on. Follow me.”
The pair continued down the path they were previously trotting on, Lyra trying to pull ahead but occasionally tripping over her cape. She would dart between trees and dark allies, peeking out slightly to look for any signs of danger They came to a halt outside of Bon Bon’s building. Lyra peeked inside the window for any immediate threats.
“The coast is clear,” she said as Batmare, quickly scanning her surroundings. “That criminal Herb appeared from somewhere around here. Logically, his store must be close by.” She looked around to make sure she wasn’t being followed. “Now Bon Bon, I need you to stay-”
“Found it.”
Lyra looked up at the mare to find that she was pointing at a building across the street and two buildings down entitled ‘Equestria’s Natural Foods’. Lyra frowned, but then returned to being Batmare.
“Aha! There is the villain’s lair!” She quickly galloped over, making sure that her cape flapped adequately in the wind. “The night is still young. Let’s see if we can get a better look.” Lyra cantered to a nearby tree and attempted to scale it, only to embarrassingly slide back down. She tried again, only to have to her rump come in contact with the ground once more.
“Um, Bon Bon,” she said quietly in her normal voice. “Can I get some help here?”
Her marefriend scoffed in obvious mockery. “But I thought Batmare was a powerful, independent harbinger of justice? Why would she need help from a normal pony like me?”
“Because I’m not being Batmare right now,” she said in a slightly raised tone, making sure that Bon Bon heard that she was using her regular manner of speaking.
“Oh, alright,” the earth pony said.
Lyra put her hooves on the trunk. “Alright, now just give me a boost.” The unicorn could hear the trotting of her marefriend, and soon felt her hooves upon her butt. She had to stifle a giggle. “Alright, now just push up.”
She felt her body shoved into the tree as Bon Bon grunted, presumably from exertion. Once she was in, she turned back to her marefriend. “I hope you enjoyed the view,” she said with a smile before reverting back to her gravely-voiced alter-ego. “Now, let’s see how we can take this criminal down.
She proceeded to climb higher in the tree, slipping a couple of times and then looking back to make sure that Bon Bon didn’t see.
She did.
Shrugging off Bon Bon’s smirk, she finally managed to scramble to the highest safe spot on the tree. Snuggling into her perch, she looked out at the roof.
“Alright, citizen,” she said to Bon Bon in her admittedly awesome voice. “There are multiple points of entry that we can utilize. If we-”
She was interrupted by Bon Bon’s cough. “Or we could just use the keys you snagged.”
Lyra sighed. Bon Bon always wanted to do things the easy and less cool ways. “Fine. We’ll go the civilian route.” She started shimmying down the tree, but stopped when her keen, bat-like senses caught something.
There was a window at the top of the store. Lyra squinted her eyes. It looked like a bedroom. She kept squinting until she noticed something absolutely despicable.
“He’s sleeping naked! That fiend!” He must have had a spare key. That, or he just kept his doors unlocked anyway.
She could hear Bon Bon from under the tree. “Uh, Lyra- I mean, Batmare. You sleep naked. I sleep naked. We all sleep naked.”
Obviously, Bon Bon just didn’t understand. “But he does it in a fiendish way!”
Lyra couldn’t see, but she was sure that her marefriend facehooved. “Just get down here.”
Slowly, she swung down from a branch landing as gracefully as possible. That is, if graceful was akin to falling on her face. Picking herself up and wiping the dust from her coat, she made short work of the distance between her and Bon Bon. “You ready to enact the plan?”
The mare seemed to smile for the first time since they got out there. “Oh yes. Time to show that whiny voiced little... jerk-face not to make up crazy lies about another pony’s weight.”
Lyra stared at her and reverted to her normal voice. “You just leave the insults to me, alright?” Bon Bon responded by smiling sheepishly and nodding. “Good,” the unicorn said in her Batmare voice. “Now let’s bring the one thing that this town needs: justice.”
The two mares slowly trotted towards the door. “You have the markers?” Lyra asked. Bon Bon nodded and held them up. “And the tape?” She held the tape up as well. “Then it’s go time.”
Steadily, she levitated the keys up to the door, slowly aligning them perfectly with the lock. She inserted them and slowly twisted them until-
“Stop.”
The voice came out of nowhere. It was Bon Bon’s.
“Stop? Why?” Lyra said as Lyra.
“Do you think... do you think we really should be doing this? I mean, this is breaking into another pony’s home.” Bon Bon suddenly looked wholly distressed. Her gaze was shifted down. Lyra doubted that she ever even walked on grass that she wasn’t supposed to, let alone brought down a war criminal for his heinous crimes against being nice.
Lyra just stared at her, her magical grip releasing the keys. She thought for a moment. It was kind of illegal... Then again, Batmare operated where laws couldn’t cover. Batmare was somepony who cleaned the scum off the streets of her city. Batmare was Lyra. Now was the time to act. Now was the time to take out the trash. Now was the time to dress in spandex and sneak around.
“He called you fat, Bon Bon.”
The earth pony didn’t say another word. She just unrolled the tape and turned the key.