Stability

by SlightlyOnline


Batmare Doesn't Need Therapy

Lyra hated the train. Every little detail about it infuriated her; annoying ponies were chattering, constant bumps made her uncomfortable, and the window seat was meaningless when all there was to see was the boring countryside that overlaid the stretch of land between Ponyville and Canterlot. There was absolutely nothing to do; she had already let out a constant stream of complaints the day before, and her well containing things to complain about had run dry prior to stepping on the train.

Or had it?

“This air sucks,” she said to Bon Bon flatly, not tearing her vision away from the boring, endless hills outside of the window.

“What?”

“This air. It tastes like...” she took a deep breath through her mouth, “suckiness.”

“I think it’s fine.”

“Well that’s just your opinion,” Lyra snapped back, her eyes shifting from the window to the floor as she crossed her hooves.

Time seemed to drag on for eternity; Lyra didn’t remember the trip to Canterlot being this mind-numbingly boring. She knew that she just had to find something to occupy her thoughts; there was no way that she would let them drift over to... therapy.

She passed a quick glance over to Bon Bon. “This seat sucks.”

The earth pony closed the magazine, blowing a heavy breath out of her nose. “What’s wrong, Lyra?”

Lyra didn’t uncross her hooves, but she turned her body towards Bon Bon. “Nothing. I just hate this train is all.

“Well either everything about this train is absolutely awful or something’s bugging you.”

“It is awful.”

“I think it’s fine,” Bon Bon repeated.

“Well,” Lyra replied with a scowl. “That’s just your opinion.”

The unicorn returned her gaze to the window, only hearing the sound of her marefriend picking her magazine back up. The endless hills and farmland dotting the valleys all melded into one boring tapestry of suckitude; normally Lyra wouldn’t have minded seeing the hills pass by, but that day was anything from normal. Instead of going to Canterlot for a night out on the town or to visit with some old friends or, better yet, to get some fancy cider, she was going for therapy. Celestia-damn therapy! her mind screamed.

She forced herself to drift away from what she didn’t want to think about and back to how awful everything was. This window sucks, she thought to herself, quickly realising that Bon Bon couldn’t hear her thoughts.

“This window-”

“This window what, Lyra? Sucks?” Bon Bon quickly interrupted, tossing her magazine to the side. “Obviously something’s wrong. This is the most you’ve ever complained in... weeks!”

Lyra shifted slightly in her seat. “Nothing’s wrong. I just don’t want to be here. That’s all.”

“And why don’t you want to be here?”

“Because this train is uncomfortable.”

“And why is this train uncomfortable?”

“Because it- hey!” Lyra stopped, realizing what Bon Bon was doing. “You’re therapizing me!”

“Is that a word?”

“Stop with the questions! We aren’t even Canterlot and I’m getting treatment I don’t need!”

“Mhm,” Bon Bon replied, scratching her chin thoughtfully. “And how does that make you feel?”

“You aren’t helping.”

Bon Bon reached over, grabbing her magazine and pantomiming writing notes on it. “I see. I’m sensing some hostility here.”

In a flash of annoyance, Lyra snatched the magazine in her magic, simultaneously pulling down the window and tossing it out of the train. She crossed her hooves once more and grumbled. “Told you this window sucks.”

“Well that was uncalled for. I still needed to read about Celestia’s love affair with her student.”

Lyra shook her head. Why did Bon Bon always care so much about other ponies’ problems. “You realize all that stuff is made up, right?”

“So is Batmare.”

“Hmph,” Lyra huffed, digging into her seat. “Well... well that magazine was dumb. The whole thing was dumb. This train is dumb. Yeah.” Nice job, Lyra. You really know how to think of a great comeback.

Bon Bon took a breath; Lyra expected her to come back with something infinitely as witty as what she said, but, to her surprise, she just leaned over and kissed her on the base of the horn. “I still love you, Lyra. I know you’re kind of worried, but it will be fine. I’ve heard this therapist is the best at what he does. Don’t get too freaked out over it.”

Lyra sighed, but didn’t respond. She saw the impressive spires of Canterlot rise out of her window; they were almost there.

Yeah, but Batmare never needed therapy.

***                        ***                        ***

“Let’s just look at one more store!”

“No, Lyra! You’ve stalled long enough!”

“Please!” Lyra pleaded, motioning to one that sold mane products; she didn’t even like styling her mane, but she would do anything to delay the impending doom that her therapy would bring.

“We’re going to be late as it is!”

“Might as well not go, then.”

“You’re impossible,” Bon Bon noted, her hoof coming in contact with her forhead. “This therapy will probably help you with that.”

Lyra shook her head. “Nope. It won’t help because there’s nothing wrong with me.”

“Then there’s no harm in just going to find out.”

Dammit. Why does Bon Bon have to be smart? I’ll need a new tactic. “I’ll tell you what, Bon Bon. I’ll give you all the bits in my pockets if we just pretend that I don’t have an appointment.”

“You don’t have any pockets, Lyra.”

Foiled again. It’s like she’s one step ahead of me. “Say, Bon Bon. How about we go home, head up to the bedroom, and I’ll do that thing that you like with that one body part.”

“And that is?”

“Uh...” Lyra stared at her, trying to think of all the nice, pleasurable things that couples do. “I’ll rub your tummy?” she moreso asked than said.

“That’s your thing, Lyra.”

Dammit. I knew there was a reason that was such an attractive idea.

“Look, Lyra,” Bon Bon said sternly. “I know you’re scared, but this visit is going to help you with your problems with Octavia.” She kissed her on the cheek. “And I’m here for you. Don’t forget that.”

Lyra stood for a moment in silence. “Thanks, Bon Bon,” she said, reluctant to continue to move, instead just wanting to be kissed by Bon Bon. “So that’s a ‘no’ on going back home?”

“Yes. Especially since we’re here.”

Right in front of them was a massive building with glass windows that was probably filled to the brim with offices. Lyra whistled at the size of it; these Canterlot types didn’t mess around with their construction.

“They probably use all that space to house their brain probes. They’ll never get a word out of me, though,” Lyra said, preparing her mental defenses for the onslaught of telepathic attacks that were sure to happen the moment she set hoof in the building.

“Oh, hush, Lyra. That’s not what therapy is.”

“How do you know? You’ve never been.”

Bon Bon blew air out of her nose. “Yes I have. And it helped me. I had some... problems in middle school.”

“Yeah? They probably just wiped your mind to make you think it helped. Maybe they even implanted sensors in your brain.” She lightly tapped Bon Bon’s head. “Hello?! Can you hear me?! I’m on to you!”

“Stop that!” Bon Bon giggled, pushing Lyra’s hoof away and fixing her mane. “Alright, I think you’ve stalled long enough.”

“I disagree.”

“Let’s head inside already.”

***                        ***                        ***

Lyra sat in her chair, crossing her hind hoofs and uncrossing them uncomfortably. Her eyes scanned the waiting room; they were the only ponies there; why was it taking so long? She looked over to Bon Bon, who looked like she was perfectly content to just shuffle through a random gossip magazine.

She leaned over awkwardly, trying to read whatever page Bon Bon was on. Huh. So those horn extension methods don’t work after all. Glad I didn’t buy that.

Unfortunately, her equine physiology betrayed her leaning attempts, and she ended up with her face on Bon Bon’s flank. Not that she was complaining.

“Whoops,” she said as she turned her face up to look at her marefriend and was met with a raised eyebrow. “I guess I slipped.”

“You want a magazine?” Bon Bon replied quickly.

Lyra thought for a moment; she wasn’t too big on reading that dumb gossip stuff- at least, she wouldn’t admit it to herself- but it was better than sitting there bored, awaiting the impending doom of her therapy. “That depends on two things. First, does it have pictures? And second, can I read it right here?” She lightly tapped Bon Bon’s flank that she was still relaxing upon; it was rather comfortable.

“Well, only i-” Bon Bon began, but was interrupted by the sound of a door opening.

“Lyra Heartstrings, the-” The mare at the door looked up from her clipboard and stuttered. Lyra blushed a little bit; this was sort of an awkward way to start therapy. “The... uh... the pony- yeah. He’ll see you,” the mare said, her face crimson as she slowly backed out of the doorway.

“Uh, thanks?” Lyra replied, lifting her head off of Bon Bon’s side. “That was weird.”

Bon Bon giggled. “Well, you were kind of massaging my rump.”

“Only a little bit. Now come on; the lady said that ‘the pony’ will see me now.”

The earth pony put down her magazine, only to pick up another one. “This is your session. I don’t think it involves me.”

Lyra’s face flushed. “It... it doesn’t?”

“Not unless they ask for me.”

“You mean I’m going to have to go in there,” Lyra took a deep breath, “alone?”

“Yeah,” the mare replied, putting her magazine down and kissing Lyra on the cheek. “You’ll be fine, dear. You’re Batmare, right?”

The unicorn took in a breath through her nose. “R- right.”

“Now get in there. I’ll be right here, waiting for you to get out in an hour.”

Lyra wanted to protest. She wanted to come up with a million excuses. It was way too hot in the room. She should have worn something nice. She was horny. She had a headache. All of the excuses died in her mind. For Bon Bon, she thought, taking a single step forward. And... and Octavia.

Her steps eventually brought her through the door from where the mare that freaked out entered. On the other side were, big surprise, more doors. It was a narrow hallway, and it was almost eerie how quiet it was. Worse yet, she had absolutely no idea which one she was supposed to go through. She wanted to turn back and use the numerous rooms as an absolutely fantastic excuse.

No. I’ve made it this far already. I can’t turn back now.

She turned to the first door on her left; pulling at it with her magic, she found that it was locked. The next door was open, but seemed to be storage for strangely shaped leather couches. Lyra sighed; there were at least six doors there. Did she really have the motivation to try them all?

The unicorn this time turned to her right, finding a door labelled Receptionist’s Office. She opened it to see that same mare that freaked out, this time looking calm behind a desk that was stacked with papers. Lyra wondered if she was going to run away again; that would be kind of funny. “Um, where is the-”

“Last door on the right.”

“Thanks?” she replied, backing out of the door and shutting it with her magic. That would have been helpful information a couple minutes ago. These therapy ponies are weird, she sighed.

Following the directions, she made her way to the back of the hall, finding a simple door with a name on it. “Doctor Neigh,” she read out loud. Interesting name. Sounds like he’s going to disagree with me a lot.”

Having no idea what the proper etiquette was, Lyra debated knocking on the door or just walking in. Unfortunately, her mind and body couldn’t seem to agree on one thing, and she found herself awkwardly knocking rapidly on an already open door. It continued for a couple seconds until she realized what she was doing. She turned around as fast as she could, hoping to Luna that nopony saw that.

Unfortunately, somepony did. Reclining in a chair was a grey earth pony, who was casually writing in his notepad. He adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat.

“Ah, you must be Lyra Heartstrings,” he said as he set the notepad down and rose from his chair. He walked over and extended his hoof to Lyra, who looked at it skeptically. “I’m Doctor Neigh. Pleased to meet you.”

The unicorn just stared at his hoof. Considering that she was about to be questioned and possibly have her brain extracted, was it against protocol to act friendly to her captor? Screw it. No need to be rude. She met the stallion’s hoof with her own. “I wish I could say that the feeling was mutual.”

Neigh raised an eyebrow for a moment, but then dropped it, gesturing to one of those weird looking leather couches. “Please, have a seat and then we can get started.”

“Fine,” Lyra replied. “Let’s get this interrogation over with.” You can lead a pony to therapy, but you can’t make her drink. Or something like that, she thought. She hopped onto the sofa, finding that the strange shape was actually rather comfortable. “Now is this the part where you show me ink blots or wave a pocket watch in front of my face?”

To Lyra’s relief, the stallion didn’t say ‘yes’. Instead, he laughed. “Oh no, Lyra. I’m here to talk with you and help you get through whatever problems you may have.”

I see how it is. He’s using a more indirect interrogation technique. He’s posing as an ally and waiting for me to let my guard down. The same thing happened to Batmare once. “Well I’m fine. I’m not crazy, so I don’t need to be here. So whatever you need to do to let me go, let’s get on with it.”

“You don’t need to be crazy to have problems, Lyra.”

“But I don’t have any problems. I’m only here because my marefriend threatened to withhold sex.” Am I telling him too much already? I don’t want to give him anything.

To her surprise, Neigh scribbled on his notepad. “I see. Well, it wouldn’t hurt to just talk to me, now would it?”

Well, I suppose I could humor him for just a little bit. Heck, I may even find out a little bit about the enemy. “Fine. What do you want to talk about? Sports? Music? Gossip? Because I took a look at one of those magazines, and I just knew that Celestia had to have implants. Nopony’s rear is that sexy naturally!”

Again, the stallion wrote something. “Actually, I would like to talk about you, Lyra. That’s what you’re here for, after all.”

“What about me? There’s not much to know. My name is Lyra. I play the lyre, obviously. I live in Ponyville with my hot marefriend. Good enough?”

Lyra’s eye twitched, seeing the pony write yet another note. What could possibly be notable about that? “That’s all very interesting, Lyra, but I would like to talk about you specifically, or what’s going on with you. Of course, if you want to talk about other things, I get paid either way,” he chuckled.

“Fine, but first off, I’ve got a question for you,” the unicorn said.

“And what would that be?”

Lyra looked at the door to see that it was closed. “What is the deal with that receptionist? I was hanging out with Bon Bon, my marefriend, in the waiting room and she peeked in and ran away.”

Neigh’s ears perked. “You didn’t happen to be touching each other in any way, did you?”

“Well...” Lyra said, remembering the awesome moment that happened only a few minutes ago vividly. “I was kind of touching her ass.”

“Oh dear,” the stallion muttered, taking off his glasses. “That’s no good.”

“It wasn’t that bad!” Lyra protested. “And Bon Bon likes touching butts more than I do!”

“Oh it’s not that,” Neigh said, hastily scribbling more notes on his pad. “Our receptionist has just been a little traumatized after an incident involving some sexual therapy patients.”

The unicorn sat up. “Now that is something I’d like to hear about.”

“I’m afraid I can’t tell you,” the earth pony said, wiping off his brow and putting his glasses back upon his face. “It’s against our policy. The past is the past. Just... try to keep any sort of contact outside of the waiting room, alright?”

“Okay.”

“Alright,” Neigh said, straightening his back and regaining his professional posture. “Now where were we?”

Lyra fell back to the couch. “You were just about to say that I’m perfectly normal and you were about to let me go.”

“Nice try. But let’s move on. Now, I’m going to ask you some questions, if that’s alright.”

“Go ahead,” Lyra said, sitting up once more. “You can probe me all you want, but you won’t get through to me. I’m like Fort Clops; I’m impenetrable, impregnable, and I’ve got a really sexy name.”

The stallion didn’t say anything; he instead wrote more notes.

“Hey. What are you writing, anyway?”

The pony stopped writing and looked up at Lyra. “I’m keeping track of how many times you mention sex in our conversation.”

Uhh, what? Everyone has their hobbies, I guess. “Well of course I’m going to mention sex. I’m a really attractive mare.” It still was unnerving to see him make another note. “Whatever. Just get on with asking me some questions. Like I said, you won’t get a word out of me.”

***                        ***                        ***

“And... and that’s why I think I like being touched down- down there,” Lyra cried, gesturing to her stomach. “It shouldn’t feel so good to have my belly rubbed, but it just... it just does!”

“Mhm,” she could hear Neigh say. She looked to the side to find that he was pushing a box of tissues towards her. “I could see how that could make you feel alienated. Of course, it’s not necessarily uncommon for pleasure to be derived in different ways from different ponies. Now, you said that it wasn’t too long ago that your marefriend found out about it?”

“Y- yeah,” Lyra replied, wiping her eyes.

“Now, you said she ‘found out’; you didn’t tell her?”

“No...” The unicorn unceremoniously blew her nose.

“If I may ask, how did she learn of this interest of yours?”

Lyra took a moment to empty her nasal passages and clear her eyes of tears once more. “O- Octavia told her...” She could only hear the sound of a pencil making notes as she looked back up at the ceiling.

A painful amount of moments passed before the therapist spoke once more. “And how did Octavia know of the particular fetish of yours?”

“That’s none of your business!” Lyra yelled, suddenly lashing out. She shrank back into her chair. “I- I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. It’s perfectly normal to be defensive on such a sensitive subject.” The sound of her own breathing and that of pencil on paper was all that filled Lyra’s ear drums. Staring at the ceiling, she wondered if Neigh had just suddenly left. Luckily, though, he spoke up, although it was not the question she wanted to hear.

“I’m just going to ask this; did you ever have sex with Octavia?”

Lyra suddenly stopped crying. “What the hell type of question is that?! I thought therapists weren’t supposed to be perverts!”

“I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, Lyra,” he replied calmly. “You seemed rather open to talking about sex, and I’m just trying to get a better feeling of who you are. You don’t have to answer the question if you don’t want to.”

“No! I didn’t!” she snapped angrily. Well... there was that one evening I... Oh Celestia, that did happen, didn’t it? Lyra cleared her throat. “Maybe... maybe a little bit.”

“A little bit?”

The unicorn looked around nervously. “Y- yeah...” She hoped that Neigh would say something, anything, that wasn’t about her past relations. All he did was write some more. “Please don’t tell Bon Bon!” she suddenly yelled. “It was a long time ago and I’m past it!”

Neigh finally stopped writing. “Oh, no. These sessions are strictly confidential.” He passed a glance at the clock. “Now I need to ask, are you really past it?”

“O- of course!” Lyra quickly said. “I love Bon Bon.”

“And am I safe in assuming that you and your marefriend are active?”

Lyra felt at least a little uncomfortable with the therapist bringing Bon Bon into these. “Oh yes. We- we get it on at least five times a week,” she shakily replied, trying, and failing, to put on her most confident face.

Neigh jotted down a couple of notes, but fortunately didn’t linger too long on the notepad. “Do you miss Octavia?”

“N-... no.”

He flipped through his notes. “Well your previous descriptions of her have been rather fond to say the least.”

“I’m just a really nice pony,” Lyra replied, looking around the room. When will these questions end? I do not want to be interrogated about Octavia.

“How close would you say you are to Bon Bon?” The unicorn breathed a sigh of relief that he dropped it.

“We’re soulmates; I love her.”

“And you said that you are intimate multiple times a week. How important would you say sex is to your relationship?”

Lyra took a breath. She had gone days, even weeks without it. It wasn’t that important. Although... she couldn’t really complain about the frequency. “It’s kind of important. I’d be a little less happy without it.”

“Mhm,” he replied, writing even more. How much paper does this guy have?! “Have you ever fantasized about Octavia?”

“What?!” Lyra’s body bolted up and she scowled at the therapist. “What in Celestia’s name kind of question is that?! I’m beginning to question how professional you are ‘Doctor’ Neigh!” She craned her neck, trying to look at his notepad. “Are you sure that you aren’t writing some twisted lesbian story right there?”

“Lyra, I am asking these questions only to help you. How much you let yourself be helped is up to you.” Lyra watched his eyes pass a glance to the clock once more. “Now, we are almost out of time. We can pick up this session next week, if you’d like; you’ve had a rather turbulent time.”

The unicorn looked at the clock, and then looked at him. She wanted to shoot him down and yell at him again, but what would she say? She had to say... something.

“Yes,” she replied, her gaze shifting to the ground.

“Hmm?”

“Yes. Sometimes I do think about Octavia... like that.”

Lyra continued to stare at the ground, expecting Neigh to laugh at her or scold her or... something. There was no way that he would just stay quiet, right?

Finally getting the courage to look up, she found that he was... smiling?

“I’m glad we could make progress, Lyra. You did very good. Is there anything else you’d like to say?”

Lyra wouldn’t like to say it, but she felt like she had to. “Y- yeah.” She gulped. “I... I’ve actually got a question.” She took a deep breath. “Ever since I saw Octavia here in Ponyville I... I’ve been thinking these things about her, no matter how much I love Bon Bon. Am I... am I sick?”

She shut her eyes tightly, hanging her head low and preparing to be hit with whatever massive realization was about to be tossed upon her.

“No.”

Lyra slowly opened her eyes, releasing a heavy breath. His voice was... nice to hear.

“But it does look like you are showing some symptoms of an addiction.”

The unicorn jerked her head up, staring at Neigh’s face. “A- an addiction?” How can that be possible? I don’t do anything bad! I just drink a little sometimes.

The therapist took off his glasses. “You’ve told me that sex plays a rather large role in your life, but it’s apparent to me that it plays a little too large a role.”

Addicted to... sex? Is that even possible?

“Now, it’s not an uncommon problem. For many ponies it’s not a problem at all, but it seems to be interfering with your personal life.”

Lyra took a breath. “Wait wait wait. What do you mean I have sex addiction? What could have told you that?”

The stallion put his glasses back on his face and looked back over his notes. “Now, I can’t diagnose anything yet, of course; this is just the first session, after all. From what you have told me, though, you sound like you’re almost perpetually in heat.”

Oh, no. When I am in heat, it’s much wor- hey! Lyra stood up. “You do not talk about a mare’s heat cycle!”

Neigh just adjusted his glasses. “Well, I am both a doctor and a psychologist who is just trying to help you, Lyra.” He looked at the clock and stood up as well. “And it seems that we are out of time for this session. I’ll see you in two weeks.” He walked over to the door and opened it, gesturing Lyra through.

The unicorn started to step through it, but stopped. “Wait! Aren’t you supposed to give me a perscription or some pills or something that will fix me? That’s what doctors do, right?”

“Not always.” He shook his head. “We’ll continue next session. For now, I just want you to talk to Bon Bon about what we talked about.”

“About.. about what we talked about? That was kind of personal, though.”

“And you should trust her with that information.”

Lyra stared at him. I should trust her, right? We’re partners; isn’t that what partners do?

“Thanks,” was all she said before exiting the office. She felt... relieved, but only barely. A weight had been lifted off of her shoulders, only to be replaced be a new one that was just as heavy; even with the session, she still felt like she had a lot of work to do before she could really resolve things with Octavia.

Sex addiction? she questioned as she trotted down the hall. Just because I enjoy a good time with my marefriend doesn’t mean I’m addicted! I’m sure that many couples would be plain jealous! Hay, I bet even Octavia and Vinyl wish they got it on as much as we did. I doubt that foursome is completely off the table.

She stopped trotting. Octavia and Vinyl... Her eyes glanced around the hallway, making sure that nopony was around to listen in on her thoughts. They are an... attractive couple, aren’t they? Realizing where her thoughts were going, she quickly shook her head. No. That quack is wrong. I’m not addicted to sex. She took a breath and resolved to stop thinking before resuming her trot down the narrow hallway.

Continuing her short walk, she walked past the office of the receptionist, the door still open. Deciding to have a little fun, Lyra trotted over and stood in the doorway, waiting to get the mare’s attention. As soon as she looked up, the unicorn slowly licked her lips and was rewarded with the sight of the receptionist completely falling out of her chair.

That was the exact laugh she needed to make her feel better. Getting the mare’s attention again, she winked and shut the door.

Needless to say, she wasn’t looking forward to talking to Bon Bon. She knew that she was probably sitting in the waiting room with a stack of magazines that she had already read through, preparing a hundred questions about the therapy session.

Sighing, she opened the door to the waiting room. As expected, Bon Bon was there, surrounded by the latest celebrity gossip. The earth pony immediately hopped up from her seat when Lyra entered the room, cantering over to her and planting a light kiss on her lips while wrapping her hooves tightly around the back of her neck.

“How was your first session?”

Lyra slightly winced at the word ‘first’; the thought of needing more was not appealing to her whatsoever. “I learned nothing and didn’t cry at all.”

Bon Bon pulled away slightly, her eyes seeming to study every aspect of Lyra’s face and darting between her eyes and snout. Is it that obvious how much I cried? Lyra questioned, noticing Bon Bon’s sympathetic expression.

Instead of pointing it out like Lyra expected her to, Bon Bon just pulled her in closer, nuzzling her. The unicorn only wished that her marefriend could have been there while she was being interrogated.

“We should head home,” Bon Bon finally said, pulling away.

“Yeah,” Lyra agreed quietly. She couldn’t talk to Bon Bon about her experience here; that conversation just had to happen at home. “I don’t think that we can stay here much longer anyway. Pretty soon that receptionist will probably come out here and faint,” she said as she grabbed Bon Bon by the hoof, leading her to the door.

“Why is that?”

Hearing the door to the office shut behind her, Lyra finally felt free of a certain anxiety that had gripped her since she had arrived. “Just a feeling,” she replied, smiling.

***                        ***                        ***

Lyra still hated the train. This time, however, she didn’t have much to complain about. She knew that if she started talking about that therapy session, everything she discussed with Neigh would just come out, and she wanted to wait until they were home for that to happen. She just watched the countryside pass by her instead.

Bon Bon must have noticed her avoiding the subject, but, fortunately for Lyra, didn’t say anything; she just snuggled up close to her, offering a comforting hoof in case Lyra needed it. The unicorn felt like she had a time bomb next to her, though; at any moment it seemed like Bon Bon would inquire about her therapy session; Lyra had to say something first.

“Tell me about middle school.”

“What?”

Lyra looked at her marefriend with a smile. “Earlier you said something about needing therapy in middle school. Tell me about that.”

Instead of the smile she hoped for, she received a raised eyebrow from Bon Bon. “Why do you want to know about that now? You’ve never asked about it before.”

Because I wanted to break this weird silence and didn’t want to talk about being addicted to sex. “No reason. I’m just curious.”

Bon Bon still looked skeptical, but cleared her throat regardless. “Well, you probably know that I’m not the... skinniest of ponies.”

Well, yeah. You’ve got a heavenly shapely body. And don’t even get me started on your- no! I can’t be thinking about that now. “You’re beautiful, Bon Bon. You know that, I know that, and I’m pretty sure all of Equestria knows it.”

The earth pony smiled, but only a little bit. “Anyway, back in middle school, it was a lot... worse than it is now.”

I couldn’t see more to hold on to being worse in any situation. If only I could- she shook her head, snapping out of her thoughts. No! Bad Lyra! Don’t prove that doctor right...

“Is something wrong, Lyra?”

The unicorn looked up, realizing that she had been shaking her head and staring off into space. “What? No, everything’s fine. Please, continue.”

Bon Bon stared at her for a moment, but then cleared her throat once more, breathing somewhat heavily. “I’ll just say it; I was really big back then. And... and I was made fun of a bit for it.”

Any daydreams Lyra was going to have were broken. “Wait, what?” How could anypony make fun of Bon Bon? Sweet, adorable Bon Bon?

“Those were probably the worst years of my life. I just kept getting picked on and nopony would stop it.” She looked away for a moment. “I became really depressed, so my parents worked some extra shifts and raised enough money to get me some help. And there I was. In therapy.”

How... how did I not know this? This seems like something kind of major in her life, and she never told me about it. Lyra’s gaze turned away from Bon Bon. Or I never asked about it...

Bon Bon sniffled a little. “I suppose I should thank those bullies. Without them, I never would have lost all that weight; I know that you definitely wouldn’t have loved me if I was still like that...” She trailed off and looked away.

Is that really what Bon Bon thinks? I would love her no matter what she looked like! She could only watch as Bon Bon continued to avoid her gaze, sniffling. Batmare helps ponies, and Bon Bon is in need of help.

The mare wiped her eyes. “I... I know it’s not the most exciting story you’ve ever heard, but-”

Lyra did the only thing she could do; she interrupted her with a forceful, yet controlled, kiss, pulling her in close as if her marefriend would just slip away if she loosened her grip for a moment. Would a sex addict do that? she happily exclaimed in her mind. That doctor was completely wrong.

Slowly, she pulled away and looked into Bon Bon’s eyes. She wanted to say something, but found that there were no words she could think of that could do the kiss any justice. Instead, she just wordlessly wrapped her hooves around the mare and squeezed her tightly.

“Thank you,” Bon Bon said quietly into her ear. “For everything. You’re really good to me, you know that?”

Lyra didn’t speak; she just pulled herself in tighter, basking in the warmth of the mare. How long had she been wanting to talk about this? she wondered. Actually, why did it take so long for me to even bother asking about her? I’m so... so stupid sometimes. She was bullied in middle school and I didn’t even care to know about it. I’m an awful marefriend.

She looked around, still locked in the tight embrace. Maybe if I just talked to her every once in awhile I wouldn’t even need to be on this train.

Reluctantly, she broke away from Bon Bon, but snuggled up closer to her; instantly, the train seat was just a little bit more comfortable. The pair sat in a comfortable silence for a while, perfectly content to watch the world go by outside of their window.

The world outside wasn’t where there was a mare in need of Lyra, however. She just had to prove that she truly cared.

“Tell me about your parents, Bon Bon.”

“Oh? Are you sure you want to know about them?”

Lyra took a breath; she had never asked about Bon Bon’s parents before. They had somewhat of a silent agreement to not ask each other about them. The unicorn was just a little worried; what if they were murderers? Or a part of the mafia? She would have to turn into Batmare and strike them with a hoofful of justice. “Yeah,” she replied.

She was relieved when Bon Bon spoke happily. “There isn’t too much to tell about them; they’re simple ponies who live a good ways out of Ponyville. I’d say that they’re the best parents a mare could have. They’re always supportive of me in everything I do, and I’m glad they live close by so I can visit them every once in awhile.”

“Huh,” Lyra said, mostly to herself. Bon Bon visits her parents? How have I never known this? What else happens around here that I’m not aware of?

“Actually,” Bon Bon’s eyes lit up, “Why don’t we invite them over for dinner sometime! You’d love them, Lyra!”

There it was; there was the bombshell that Lyra didn’t even know she feared. She didn’t even realize she was backing away until she fell over and hit her head on the seat. Be supportive, she reminded herself while rubbing the back of her head. Do things for Bon Bon.

“Sure, Bon Bon,” she said, finally sitting upright.

“Yay!” the earth pony excitedly cheered, giving Lyra an energetic hug. “It’s so nice of you to agree, Lyra. I had been thinking about this for a while, actually, and was worried you wouldn’t want to meet them.”

“Heh. Yeah... I’d love to meet them...” The unicorn replied nervously.

“Great! I’ll send them a letter as soon as we get home!”

Lyra groaned just quietly enough so that Bon Bon didn’t hear and faked a smile. Oh Luna dammit. Forget sex addiction; I’ve got to deal with Bon Bon’s parents!