On a bright and shining day, the majesty of Canterlot beamed for it inhabitants. Nobles walked about, nobling nobly, still busy with the pleasantries of a Saturday's mid-afternoon, as a loud cry sounded throughout the streets of the marketplace. Lyra, appearing to the gentry as little more than a crazed bright green streak, sprinted through the crowds, shouting at any in her path. “Woah! Outta the way! Precious cargo here! I have to get this to Joe before the train leaves, people!” She carried a giant brown box of ingredients in her magic, hurriedly finishing up the final shipment of the week for Doughnut Joe's Diner.
She ran into the back of the restaurant, frantically opening the box and levitating the contents to the various places in the storeroom where they belonged. “I have to get the last bit of this job done before the train to Ponyville leaves. It'll be hours before the next one arrives, and Bon Bon will be worried sick if I don't get back home in time!” Running out into the diner, heading towards the front door to leave, she stopped at the sound of her boss calling out to her.
“Hey!” He Shouted. “I ain't letting you go until ya get your cash! Ya forgot last week and I had to run all the way down to the station!”
“Sorry man.” Lyra said, smiling.
“Ya haven't forgotten that mess already, have ya? I had to stop the train!” Joe said, grinning back.
“Nope, I haven't forgotten,” She responded. “I couldn't forget something like that. I'm just in a huge hurry when I leave! I always manage to get to the train just as the last few passengers board! It's a near miss every time and the next train usually comes too late! Bons won't be happy if I get back at midnight.”
“Gotta keep after that arrow in the knee, huh? I get ya...” Joe chuckled, tossing her a sack of bits. “Spend that wisely. Buy that sweetheart a' yours something nice when ya get the chance.”
Lyra kicked her hind legs up and caught the satchel in her saddlebag. “Certainly will, boss. Just as soon as I can afford to get some parts for the rift generator! I'm nearly done tuning it up!”
“Great!” He exclaimed. “Tell me how that thing treats ya when it's done, ya kook! I wanna hear about it!”
“Definitely will do, man!” She said, running out the door and waving.
Lyra's latest shift at Doughnut Joe's Diner had just concluded, her earnings for the day jingling in her saddlebag as she trotted briskly to the train station, hoping to save energy through a steady pace. Though her lively mint coat didn't show it, the day had been long, hard, and frustrating. After eight agonizing hours of work, always accompanied by two mind-numbing train trips there and back, she was ready to get home and relax.
She arrived at the station surprisingly early. The lines of ponies entering the stage cars were still fairly long. There was more than enough time to buy a last minute ticket and get on. Lyra quickly threw her money at the ticketmare, grabbed her punch-card and searched for a good place to board the friendship express. As she jogged, wrapped up in searching for the least crowded entrance, Lyra bumped into somepony head-first, knocking them both down.
“Agh! What kind of doltish ruffians are they letting into the capital these days?!” The stallion cried out.
“Sorry guy, I'm just in a rush and wasn't looking where I was going...” Lyra started. “The walkway looked clear when I glanced. I thought...oh, crap...” Recognizing the cuffs, ascot and pompadour of one of Canterlot's most renowned fashion designers, she quickly knew that she had run into Hoity Toity. Literally.
“You thought what, exactly?” He retorted angrily. “From your demonstration here, I'd say you weren't thinking anything! Celestia, if I had half a bit for every time I had to say that...”
“Look, man, I didn't mean to bump into you!” Lyra said back.
“Man?! What in the wide world of Equestria does that mean?” Hoity Toity scoffed. “It's obvious to me that you're not from around here. What is your name, exactly?” He asked, eyeing Lyra from above his sunglasses.
“My name? Well, if it matters I'm Lyra Heartstrings, musical minty mare and cryptozoologist extraordinaire!” She replied proudly.
“Lyra Heartstrings?” He said, raising an eyebrow. “You mean, the Lyra Heartstrings? Of Gabby Gums fame? I wouldn't normally have heard of such a small town writer, but news of you has certainly made its way around! So then you're the one with the ridiculous notion that these, what is it...'Human beings' exist, not to mention that dreadful fascination with claws!”
She winced at this. “Hands!” She corrected him angrily. “They're called hands! They aren't as scratchy as claws, and more opposable than paws!”
“What makes you think I'd care?” Hoity Toity responded, chortling. “Good grief, if I had known somepony like you would be allowed on the trains I'd sooner pay for a balloon than risk riding in the same car as you!”
Lyra was fuming. “Then why don't you go do that!” She snapped back.
“Oh, I would miss Heartstrings,” he said snootily, “But I've already paid for the train! I'll just take my spot in first class, since I know you'll be riding coach.” He walked off, guffawing as he boarded his car.
“Of all the lousy snobs I could bump into, it had to be him...” Lyra said under her breath. “I thought everypony forgot about that Gabby Gums mess ages ago, but there it is, flapping out of Toity's mouth and smacking me in the face. Well, at least it's someone I already dislike that's treating me like a lunatic. I can live with that.”
Lyra boarded the train and took the first empty seat she saw. There weren't many ponies in the car, but the fact that nopony sat next to her made her wonder if they all thought she was weird. “It's probably nothing...There are plenty of others that are alone. I'll just sit back and ignore it.” She shifted her posture, leaning her back against the seat's as the train started to move. She noticed some ponies occasionally glancing at her, and felt out of place. She closed her eyes to avoid feeling awkward, and found herself slipping into a nap.
Lyra awoke to the sound of the train slowing to a halt. The ride had gone smoothly, and the few Zs she caught had helped settle her mind. She stepped off the train, hoping to avoid another confrontation. It seemed that Toity was nowhere to be found, and Lyra couldn't be happier to not have to deal with him. Leaving the station, she stretched to wake up and prepare for her walk home.
“Oh, Celestia...fifty trucks of doughnuts in one day...” Lyra cried out, cricking her back. “The lifting, the unpacking, the organizing...no wonder Joe needed a unicorn for the job. Nopony else could do that much at once!” She gave out a tired sigh, and looked at the sun. Judging from its place, it was late afternoon. Night would fall in an hour or two. “Finally, I can get some rest...It'll be good to get home and slouch on the couch for a while. I might even polish off the last case of hard cider with Vinyl and Dash, just to keep things extra mellow. That'll be sure to restore me to full mintyness!”
While both Vinyl Scratch and Rainbow Dash were anything but mellow at a party, often planning some wild competitions, their resulting hangovers had become a bit of a local legend. They'd usually drop by a friend's house the day after a contest to crash and recuperate, and Lyra made a point of having them both over for some quality, do-nothing hangout time whenever they were willing to amble over to her house. Considering that she had gotten a drunk fly-by from Dash the night before, proclaiming her supremacy over 'the red-eyed menace', Lyra knew the two of them would be up for some good down-time tonight.
Remembering how much fun their weekends together could be, Lyra rubbed her hooves together in delighted anticipation. “Oh, man! This is going to be great! We'll play games, tell stories, I might even be able to get Bons to join in once I whip out the TV I made! I'm sure she'll get a kick out of it...” just as she started getting giddy, she recalled Bon Bon's plans for the evening, and let out another sigh.
“Ah, that's right...Bon Bon had wanted to have a sleepover at Roseluck's. I really don't want to hear about horticulture and candycraft for the rest of the night. Not to mention every time I'm over there I just want to eat her flowers. The last time I picked at her garden she practically had a fit! If Bons hadn't stepped in, I'd probably still be apologizing. Maybe I should just tell her I'm not up for going places...hmm...aha!”
Lyra became excited as she planned her strategy and picked up her speed, briskly trotting, coming up with the perfect relaxation-filled evening. “I know! I'll use the ancient art of compromise! She can visit with Rose, and I'll tell her that I'll be hosting Dash and the Deej! If she really wants me there, I can probably ask her to reschedule. We've always managed to reach an agreement. It'll be fine!”
She continued on her way happily, wandering further into town as visions of an awesome down-time danced in her mind.
“I can't wait to get home! I'll call them as soon as I get back. We can just sit down, chill out, and talk. I haven't gotten to catch up with them in weeks...”
She began a pleasant stroll toward the center of town, stopping occasionally to admire the scenery. The shops that had been open for the weekend were closing down, and the owners looked busy cleaning up or taking stock for Sunday. Most everypony else had already gone home for the day. Even after Luna's return, so many still seemed to avoid being out after dark. It always made her wonder how the princess of the night felt about this whenever she noticed the emptiness of the streets at dusk.
Lyra never minded a midnight stroll, and had taken such opportunities to talk with the few ponies that were actually out. The most notable time having been when she found a dour Rarity. The time was also good for deep thought, and ended up being the perfect atmosphere for experimentation. There was never any loud noise outside, making it much easier to concentrate, and if her contraptions needed more room than the house could offer, open space outdoors and a lack of interruptions were both things that the night could provide.
As she continued through the streets, lost in thought, Lyra felt a hoof tapping her shoulder. Returning her attention to the world around, she turned to see who was there.
“Oh, huh? Who's...”
Lyra only had enough time to turn before a CD case smacked into her face, startling her and blocking her vision.
“AH! WHAT THE BUCK IS THIS!”
A calm, nonchalant voice responded from behind the unlabeled case. “Don't worry, hand-head. It's silicon and plastic with some sick beats. It'll only bite your ears. In a good way!”
There was no mistaking the Deej.
Lyra moved the case aside to see that the hoof belonged to none other than her pal Vinyl Scratch. Her coat was unusually healthy for a day after competing against Dash, and the shocks of blue in her mane looked exceedingly lively, even for her. She seemed very active and energetic for somepony who was still recovering from a defeat at the Friday drinkening.
“Vinyl?! Hey! What's up? How are you feeling? And what are you shoving in my head this time?” Lyra asked, excited to hear what crazy cool stuff her friend had been up to.
“I'm feeling terrific! Kicked some hangover ass in my search for aural ecstasy! And this, good Lyra-” Scratch levitated the case to her side, presenting it excitedly. “This is the number one hit album of the century! I've spent weeks looking for it online, and it ended up being in Ponyville's old record shop, under my nose the entire time!” she exclaimed.
“That's awesome!” Lyra cheered happily, “But what exactly is it?” she asked, confused.
Vinyl moved the case closer to Lyra's face again, shifting its angle to accentuate the spectrum of lights shining off of the disk. Watching the rainbow spin around on the album was mesmerizing, but didn't explain much.
“This is pretty cool, Scratch,” Lyra said, “but I'm not getting it.”
“You don't see it?” Vinyl responded. “Keep looking at the colors. Something's off, right? Do you see that shit?”
“I'm still missing it. It looks...woah, wait a minute, what is-” Lyra saw what was wrong. The colors seemed to change after looking for a while, and were not any shade that was normally reflected from a disk, appearing to have become an inverted spectrum. Along with this, the disk itself changed from a clear color to an opaque reflective black.
“How is it doing that?” Lyra asked.
“Magic.” Vinyl responded.
“Oh...ok. It looks cool, but that doesn't seem so special, really. I can't say I'm too enthused” Lyra replied.
“You're not seeing it! That's exactly what makes this amazing!” Scratch exclaimed. “Magic is never put into CDs, and even when it is, it never comes from the contents inside! The music itself has mystical mojo!”
Lyra wasn't buying it. “Are you sure? I mean, weird colors aside, I'm not feeling any mojo coming from that thing. It might be a fake...”
Vinyl leaped forward, shoving her face into Lyra's, taking on a more serious tone. “It's no fake, mint. I found this baby on the most knowledgeable database of urban legends that there is! Scarysoup!”
Lyra backed up to regain some personal space. “Scarysoup?” she queried. “Isn't that some sort of website?”
“YEAH!” Scratch shouted. “Scarysoup.com! Scary Soup is the head moderator and creator of the site. He's the best rumor, myth, and legend finder in Equestria! I've been helping him debunk all kinds of crap in my free time, and I've made this disk my special case!”
Vinyl was ecstatic, but Lyra was still scratching her head, confused and incredulous.
“Alright, so...what IS it?” She asked.
Scratch popped up onto her hind legs, gesturing with her forelegs in the air to denote the importance of her discovery. “It's the last remnant of the greatest musicians of all time! The fabled Sonnet Trio!”
“...Who?” Lyra asked.
“The Sonnet Trio!” Scratch repeated.
“I've never heard of them...” Lyra replied, “and I've never heard anyone mention that name before...how are these guys the best? This isn't another one of your rave band buddy groups, is it?”
“Of course not...” Vinyl said, suggestively flashing her eyebrows up and down, “And I hadn't heard of them either until a month or so ago. But trust me, they're the real deal. Scary Soup personally gave me the full story on them after I asked about their page. You might want to sit down for this...”
Both of them plopped their butts on the ground, and Vinyl continued.
“The legend goes that a trio of famous musicians, each amazing on their own, came together under one banner to form the greatest group of all time. BUT, the music they produced was too awesome, and they chose to lock it away. They managed to use their own kickass powers to erase themselves from history, ensuring that they and their super sounds could never harm anypony. Even with that, though, traces of them still pop up, and the rumor says that they left one last Vinyl record of their greatest hits in the world so that they could still be enjoyed.”
Lyra was trying not to crack up. “That's one epic story, Vinyl, but that's a CD, not a record.”
“That's exactly the point!” Vinyl stated, stamping a hoof down and smiling wryly. “Scary Soup told ME the truth about the legend! He said that all of the records had disappeared along with them. That their music was stored on a single CD he found, but that it disappeared after he tried to destroy it because of its mind blowing, bass dropping, rhythm weaving, beat bringing fantasticness! He said the entire album flows into itself, and ends with a perfect tasty lick! The music was too intense for him, I guess.”
Lyra didn't know what to think of her friend's internet rumor quest, but she was happy it had helped the DJ out of her natural post-drinkening grogginess. “So then I'm guessing that the thing has been showing up places, right? And this is-”
“This is it.” Scratch interjected. “This is the one. All the others on that site that say they've found the record can suck a fat one, because it's a freakin' CD, and I HAVE IT!” She said, poking the ground with her hoof, emphasizing her words. “A disk so moving, so magical, that anypony who listens to it is put into a trance. This thing has powers, Lyra...weird powers, scary powers...we've got to try it.” She said, an eerie look of delight on her face.
It seemed weird, but hey, if Vinyl could enjoy her rants on 'hairless monkey things', as her friend called them, then she could definitely give this band a try. Lyra found the idea of the CD pretty cool, too. “That sounds great! We can make it the main event for tonight's Saturday sleepover recovery night! Just let me tell Dash, and-”
“Woah! Sorry Lyra, but the S.S.R.N is a no-go on my end until I make sure that this thing is as good as I've built it up to be. I have to take it home and listen to it alone, with no interruptions.” Vinyl levitated the case closer to her, cradling it and affectionately rubbing it against her face. “If it really is as awesome as I think it is, then I'll bust your door down, and plant its sweet jams between your ears. For now though, I'm off to try it out!” she smiled widely as she walked off with the disk.
“I hope it kicks ass! See ya!” Lyra waved goodbye, and began on her way again. She walked past the fountain in the center of town, about to leave straight for home, when the wonderful smell of baked confections wafted through the air and into her nose. Sugarcube Corner was still open, and Pinkie Pie was quickly walking in and out of the shop, bringing a cart of treats out and quickly pushing it back into the store after making a ring around the fountain, taking new treats out and in every time. As always, Lyra found herself confused and fascinated by Pinkie's antics, and couldn't help but pause her journey home once more to get closer and see what was going on. Pinkie popped out of the building again, carrying a gigantic yellow cake on the wagon, decorated with all manner of cupcakes, cookies, and streamers, with a single chocolate-chip cookie placed atop the cake, held up by what appeared to be straight candy-canes. She beat her spectator to the punch, answering the question before it was asked.
“Hey Lyra!” she called out happily, “I'm airing out the last batch before closing! Wanna help? It's really fun!”
“Sorry Pinkie, but I'm zonked. I have to get home soon, too. I shouldn't keep Bon Bon waiting if I can help it. What does airing out a batch do, though? And what is this cake?!” she asked, amazed at the sheer size of the saccharine obelisk.
“OH!” Pinkie shouted, “It's my extra special, did-it-myself, super delicious clean-up cake! I make one at the end of every day out of the orders that get canceled or don't get picked up in time, and I'm airing out these treats since keeping some kinds of goodies inside the shop won't let them get all the air they need. And if they don't have enough room to breathe, they won't taste as good! But Mr. Special cake, here-” she pointed to the towering sugar and dough monstrosity, “I'm taking him out just so he gets a fair shake like the other treats before I eat em'!"
“I'll take your word for it, Pinkie. But, you're going to eat that whole thing? Seriously?” Lyra couldn't imagine the cake being completely eaten at all. Even an entire town wouldn't be able to finish it off.
“Well duh!” Pinkie said, widening her eyes and stretching her neck towards her friend. “I can't just leave the extras lying around the store! Besides, they deserve to be eaten just as much as the other scrumptious goodies that do get taken away!” she continued walking the cart past the fountain, humming to herself happily.
Just as she began to make the curve in her path, the cake began to sway with the turning of the cart, bending just enough for the cookie on the top to slip from its candy pedestal, slowly falling down towards the ground below. Pinkie's eyes grew large as she witnessed the crowning piece of her cake plummet. As slowly as the cookie fell, She stretched out a hoof to reach for it, crying out a long and resounding “Noooooo!”. Lyra watched the entire event occur, wondering how Pinkie, the cake, and the cookie could move so slowly compared to everything around them. After what felt like a few minutes or so, the chocolate chip treat finally hit the ground with a rather dense thud and sat on the ground, unmoving.
Pinkie snapped her hoof “Dang it! That was the best part of the cake! I can't eat it now.”
Lyra strained to hold back her curiosity, trying not to ask how it was possible to 'snap' one's hoof like a claw, paw, or hand, knowing the answer would only drive her to actually snap her hooves to pieces in the attempt to copy the stunt. Focusing instead on the matter at hand, she responded to her friend's plight. “Why not, Pinkie? It's only been a few seconds, it should be fine. Here, I'll put it back on...”
“No!” Pinkie shouted, leaping on top of the cookie to block any attempt at moving it. “You can't do that! It's dirty...you can't eat a dirty cookie like that! And it would take too long to wash!”
“Washing a...cookie? Wait..." Lyra strafed around Pinkie, looking for a way to levitate the treat from under her guard. Strangely enough, her defense was perfect. It seemed that even without being eaten, Pinkie's tummy was the best place to hide a cookie.
Giving up on trying to get it, Lyra recalled some of the things her friend had munched on before. "Pinkie, I've seen you eat worse things off the floor that have been there longer. Why not just put it back?”
Pinkie rolled her eyes “BECAUSE...This isn't just any old cookie! It's the cookie for the day! Now that it's dirty, it won't be right. Nopony should eat it now. It might be bad...”
“Why? What will happen?” Lyra asked.
Pinkie leaped off the treat “Eat it and you'll see. But don't say I didn't warn ya! Just be careful, and don't chew too fast!”
“uh...ok...”
Lyra stared at the cookie, wondering what would happen if she ate it. She brought her face close to the cookie and could smell it's chocolaty goodness. Pinkie slowly inched her way closer to it. Standing on the opposite side of it from Lyra, she warned her again.
“Don't eat the cookie, Lyra” she whispered, “all sorts of crazy stuff will happen if you do...”
Hearing something like that from the craziest pony she knew disturbed Lyra's mintyness, causing her to visibly tingle with unease, and made her reconsider. “You know what...I think I'll just leave it be, Pinks.”
“Really? You're not going to eat the cookie?” Pinkie queried, astonished.
“Nope. I won't eat the cookie.” Lyra stated adamantly.
Pinkie looked at Lyra suspiciously and slowly walked backwards towards the bakery, grabbing the cake cart with a hoof as she went. “Make sure you don't eat that cookie, Lyra. You might not be ready for what you'll see...”
She backed into the bakery, the cake squeezing through the entrance once again. The door slammed behind her. Lyra was left alone in the center of town, with the sun slowly setting, nopony else around, and the cookie just sitting there. It's tasty goodness tempting her. She sniffed the cookie once, and instantly heard the door to the bakery quickly squeak open a crack. She looked over and saw Pinkie's head pop out near the bottom of the opening.
“Don't eat it!” she warned again before sucking her head back into Sugarcube Corner. The door slammed behind her, and the lights in the bakery shut off just after that. A pair of wide, blue eyes stared at Lyra from the window.
“It's still tempting...” Lyra thought to herself, “but if I do start seeing crazy things, Bons will probably think I rolled in poison joke again. By Luna, what an experience that was!”
Curious as she was, she didn't want to disrupt her journey home any further. She looked at the cookie one last time, shrugged, and walked off. There was always a chance to get a cookie or ten from Pinkie the next day, and Lyra knew that Bon Bon got antsy whenever she was late from Joe's. The sun was well into setting, and the streets were almost completely empty. From the looks of things, about an hour had passed somehow since first running into Scratch. Lyra picked up her speed, nearly running to shave some time from the path home. She knew her marefriend wouldn't be happy about her returning so close to dark. There was no reason for an hour to have passed so quickly. Running into Vinyl and Pinkie should only have taken half an hour at best. She couldn't imagine that she really took so much time to stare at a cookie. There was no way. Not even if it was the greatest treat ever confected.
As she made her way home, Lyra began searching the skies, realizing that she might have trouble contacting Dash. Bon Bon was prone to lengthy talk sessions, and may very well chat all the time away that Lyra would need to reach Rainbow if she had already returned to cloudsdale for the evening. To make sure that the Saturday Sleepover Recovery Night could happen in time, Lyra would have to try and find her on the way back. Fortunately, the last cloud cover being moved for the day was visible from where she was walking. Hoping the clouds contained her friend, Lyra Took a guess at the distance, squinted, pointed her horn towards them, planted her hooves firmly on the ground, and conjured up her magic.
A yellowy field formed around the clouds, and quickly dragged them over. “oh man, that's pretty fast” she thought, “maybe I should make it a bit slower...there! Oh...oops...” The clouds slowed abruptly, and Rainbow Dash slid from off of them, still sleeping. Falling towards Lyra, she woke up just in time to catch herself, springing her wings open and swooping upwards in front of her minty buddy, beginning to make a faint streak of rainbows behind her as she rose. As always, it was awesome, but still tired, she overdid her swoop and landed face-first in the road, getting up and spitting out a mouthful of dirt.
“Bleh! What was that? And how did I get down here?” she asked, noticing Lyra staring gleefully. She quickly realized who was probably responsible and went along with the assumption. “Hey, I know I'm pretty cool and all, and I'm glad you're happy to see me, but what's up with tossing me out of the air like that?”
“Sorry, Dash, but I needed to ask you if you're up for the S.S.R.N tonight. Scratch gave a hard maybe, and is bringing some new jams if she comes! I've still got the last case of hard cider, too, so you can knock off any of the last bits of hangitude you've got! It'll be great!” Lyra chirped.
Rainbow Dash smirked. “Hangitude? I have no such thing! I slept off the whole keg in the few hours before work!” she said, taking to the air again and puffing out her chest.
“The whole keg? You mean the whole keg? THE Keg?” Lyra queried, mouth agape.
“YES”, Rainbow Dash responded, “THE KEG. Fifteen gallons of pure, unfiltered, hard cider. I drank it all, Lyrs. Even the pulp. The red-eyed menace admitted defeat after that. Although I did let her lose gracefully. I kept my victory lap around the town short. Of course, Twilight had to ruin the fun a little...” Dash landed to do her best impression of the purple unicorn, ruffling her hair over her eyes in a mock-imitation of her friend's mane. “If by 'keeping it short' you mean cheering your victory so loud at Fluttershy's cottage that I could hear it, after having you float around my house saying the same things, then yes, Rainbow Dash, you kept it short” she said, gesturing professorially with a hoof and smirking.
“Not a bad impression” Lyra chuckled, “but you were pretty loud, you know.”
“Yeah, I know...” Dash said, scratching the back of her head and grimacing “Sorry about that. I can get a little vocal when I'm excited. Especially when I win. The Keg didn't help much, either. But I mean, hey, she got me back.” She grinned again, “If it wasn't for her scaring off those timberwolves I crashed into on the way back with that alcohol and chili fueled stink-break of hers, I'd probably be a little worse for wear.”
“Was it Chili Pete's chili?” Lyra had to ask.
“You know it!” the pegasus shouted. “It was the Strongest batch he's made since the last time Vinyl and I duked it out! Seeing as she and I both downed about eighteen bowls of the stuff though, I can't imagine the chili-breath did it. She must've used the wubs on them...”
“The power of the Deej cannot be denied...” Lyra exclaimed in a faux-serious manner. “But seriously, are you on for the S.S.R.N?”
Rainbow Dash furrowed her brows and lowered herself to the ground in a ready position. “Rainbow Dash for the Saturday Sleepover Recovery Night is a green-light! The S.S.R.N is a go!” she yelled, flying into the air once more. Lyra knew this meant the start of an excellent lounge night. “So when should I come over? Same time as the nachos?” Dash asked.
“Same time as the nachos.” Lyra stated proudly. She made sure that the nachos always arrived at base nine o'clock, on the dot. “This shall be our supplication to Princess Luna!” she yelled, charging homeward. “I'll see you at the time of great snacks!”
Rainbow Dash quickly flew off, offering an excited goodbye and returning to the last clouds of the day. Lyra continued on her way, delighting herself again with images of sitting on the couch, snacking, telling scary stories and watching some of Rainbow's latest Daring Do movies. If Scratch joined in, they could listen to her weird new favorite band while trying out Bon Bon's Parcheesi board. If she had enough money to spare from work, Lyra might even go so far as to take some of it out of her cryptozoology budget and buy the necessities for cheese Jenga! It would be an incredible evening. As she reached her home at last, slowing down to catch her breath, she wondered how her marefriend had been feeling in her absence, and opened the door.
Lyra walked into the house, exhausted, and slumped onto the couch in the main room of their cozy home near the outskirts of Ponyville. It was a simple place overall, with a kitchen, bathroom and living room on the main floor, a small bedroom and a minty 'pondering music nook' upstairs. The couple always had plans to expand the house, and managed to make a basement together for most of the tools and contraptions Lyra had produced in her experiments over the years. The few that didn't fit were left scattered about the living room for curious visitors to fiddle with, in the hopes they might open a portal or two. “Bon Bon! I'm home! You wouldn't believe the amount of work I did today!” she announced throughout the house as she closed the front door. “How's your day been, Bonnie? What are you up to?” The answer she received came in the form of hurried hoofsteps into the living room. Bon Bon's coat seemed lackluster, its normally cheery beige appearing dull. The blue and pink of her mane frazzling together, her normally well-groomed curls had poofed into a stress-ball. She looked a little bit worried.
“Lyra, where were you? You're home late again. I know you have good reasons, but you keep getting back after dark, and your stories about work keep getting weirder!” Bon Bon exclaimed. “What's happening over there?”
While Lyra did often run into some strange things on her way, she knew what her special somepony was trying to say. Another early morning weekend shift at Doughnut Joe's had Bon bon wondering where Lyra might be going on her Saturdays, and who she might really be with. It was a long way to go to Canterlot for something as trivial as a second job, especially considering that they had enough cash to sustain them from Bon Bon alone. Lyra told the truth every time, and Bons knew her well enough to trust that what would be an idiot's excuse to anypony else was nothing but the truth. As much as she hated it, her marefriend's constant questioning had turned her explanation into something of a mantra.
“It's just a part-time job, nothing major! The only pony I see there is Joe, and I only ever get to work in the front, where there would be customers, when it's slow. Nine times out of ten Spike's the only one that comes in at all around those times, and that's if he's finished his work or gets moody. Besides, you know I'm just friends with those guys.” Lyra would say calmly. Unfortunately, it never quelled any concerns.
“And what about that one time? What if the most charming, handsome stallion in Equestria happened to stop by for a doughnut or hot chocolate? He could have you swooning in seconds!” Bons would usually respond, slightly smiling but still fairly serious.
The back and forth was always half jesting, but half real as well.
“Bonnie, first off, I don't swoon.” Lyra said. “If anything, you'd swoon before me, if I swooned at all. And second off, I don't swing that way.”
Bon always got anxious at this point, but it's most likely from Lyra's lack of ever swooning in their relationship more than anything else. Strangely, however, she seemed far more exasperated than usual.
“Oh yes you do! You swing! You swing all over the place, like a giant, flappy, wobbly swing thing!” Bon Bon cried.
“What?!” Lyra said, surprised by the outburst. “That was just a bunch of hoopla!”
Bons' anger flared. “Then what about a mare, huh? What if Rarity, or Fleur de lis, or Luna just happened to sidle up to you and start waving their plots around?! Things like that can happen, and you love the butt!” Bon Bon appeared to be on the verge of tears.
“Yes, I love the butt!” The minty mare shouted back. “Plots are awesome! But why would you worry?” Lyra rushed up to her, giving her a big hug. “You've got the best butt of them all. Besides, there's more to a mare than just the plot...” She moved her head from Bons' shoulder, looking into her eyes. “Especially you.” Bon Bon calmed down, blushing at the compliment. “You never get this bothered about things. What's on your mind, Sweetie Drops?” Lyra only called her that when she was concerned.
The two sat down on the couch, Bon Bon resting her head in Lyra's lap. Lyra levitated a hair brush down from their room. Gingerly Brushing Bonnie's mane, she waited to hear the story. Bons sighed, unsure of how to start. She took a breath, and explained.
“I haven't been getting good sleep for a while now...and had a horrible dream last night. I tried to ignore it, but I've just been pacing, thinking, and you had already left by the time I wanted to talk about it...” She drifted off. “I don't remember much...everything I do know about it seems so strange...The town was on fire, and everypony was trying to gobble me up! I was looking for you the whole time...there were so many of them chasing me! I wanted you to help me, but I couldn't find you, and they were always right behind me. I, I couldn't get away!” She said, her voice wavering. “It...it felt like hours...running, hiding...they kept getting closer to reaching me...a-and when I finally found you...” She looked up at Lyra, tears in her eyes. “You, you just ignored me! I woke up in a panic, and I was certain you were going to leave me!” Bon Bon wept, and Lyra bent forward to hold her. She had no idea that her Sweetie Drops had been so afraid of losing her.
Lyra smiled, hugging her beloved.“There's no way I'd leave you, Bonicula.” she said reassuringly, “We've already stuck through so much together. I might be away a lot more than I used to be, but I'd never leave you. Not in a million years.” She moved Bon Bon off of her lap, standing on her hind hooves on the couch. “Its only because I need the scratch to finally prove my theories right!” Lyra sprang off the couch.
“I've been the laughing stock of Ponyville ever since I made my ideas known, and everypony's doubt is too much to take! I have to prove to them all that I'm not insane, and this job is the only one that would have me after Gabby Gums released the front-pager on my fascination with hands. I thought the paper was actually interested in my ideas!” Lyra shook her right hoof in disdain.
She knew her antics always helped her special somepony out of a funk, and defending her hobbies always cheered them both up. Besides, she had yet to get her revenge on Gabby...
“It's not your fault, Lyra.” Bon Bon assured her. “Most ponies don't bother to look into the nature of magic, and this idea of different dimensions is something they probably think is crazy. Not many of us have the inclination to come up with wild ideas about the universe, let alone put in any time or effort into trying to prove such loony things. The whole thing is pretty hard to believe, you have to understand that. And with all of the muttering you do, not to mention the way you sit. That has to wrench your spine! It's no wonder so many ponies look at you funny. I mean really, Lyra...”
Lyra's face had scrunched a bit, her eyes growing watery, looking ready to cry.
Bon Bon paused, thinking to herself, unsure how to continue. “Oh no...I'm making this sound like it IS all her fault...what should I say?” She searched for an explanation, hoping to avoid hurting Lyra any more. “...The things you've tried to describe to me have all gone over my head, and that's with more lessons and explanations from you than I can remember! It's not the kind of thing most ponies understand or deal with, and they may not know what to do except scoff at the idea or call you crazy.”
Lyra de-scrunched at this, and seemed to become her normal self after considering what her candyrific snugglepuss had said. She stood silent for a moment, glaring down at the ground in thought. Lifting her head, she gazed into Bon Bon's eyes and spoke. “Bonnels, I'm glad you're on my side. I know it can't be easy having somepony like me, constantly paying attention to something other than you...”
“It's fine, Lyra” Bons replied, “I may worry a lot, but I'm not normally paranoid or anything. These dreams are what's bothering me, not anything real. I should probably have thought about that first, but that didn't really occur to me before talking to you. And the job with Joe...I just miss you, that's all. I know it'll only be for a while, and we'll have more time after that. I really wish you would tell me how much you need, though. You've been at that job for so long now...” She knew she had just gotten Lyra into a funk, right as she was coming out of her own. This couldn't be good. She wanted to make sure Lyra was ok, wanted to help her as much as possible.
Bon Bon's expression changed, a look of subtle determination in her eyes. “I can just give you the money, you know. We have enough to cover the spare parts for the generator, and if I picked up a side job for a week or so, I'm sure we'd be able to get the rest for the gate stabilizer thing in no-time.”
“That's not the point!” Lyra snapped back. “The reason I need money for any of it at all is entirely my fault. If it weren't for me chasing humans, we'd both be living comfortably, able to afford more furniture than just this couch and a few pillows! If I'm going to keep up with this, I have to do it myself. I won't take money away from us, even if I do have to take time...” she looked down, trying not to cry. “It'll only be a bit longer. I don't want to take our money, not even if it's in the swear jar...”
“Have you been taking from the swear jar again?” Bon Bon asked, smiling coyly, hoping to make her mint respond in kind.
“Oh, uh...shit...OH...horsefeathers...sorry about that...” Lyra replied, ashamed.
Bon Bon shook her head and got up from the couch. She walked up to Lyra and placed a hoof on her shoulder. “Don't worry about it, it's fine. We've both added our fair share to the jar, and if you need the money, I think it's good to empty it for this.”
“Thanks, Bon...” Lyra said, sniffling. “But you know the rules...'Celestia's orders'...” she said, making quotations with her hooves and feigning a smile. The princess had made a fake decree one April foals' day, promoting swear jars throughout the kingdom, but many ponies took it more seriously than she thought. Lyra and Bon Bon hadn't done it entirely so, but the princess' joking support gave Lyra an out. “I can't take the money for this...”
“Alright, we can keep the jar full then. But please don't feel bad. We have more than enough to live nicely. I really like the couch...it's comfortable enough on its own. And we have a bed, don't forget. That's pretty comfy too.” Bon Bon retorted, raising her eyebrows. “Why don't we just call it a night, huh? I know it's early, but all things considered, I think we should both try to get some sleep. We both just need to relax.” She pulled Lyra into another hug, but was gently pushed away.
“NO!” Lyra cried out. “We can't...I, I had it all planned out to make tonight the Saturday Sleepover Recovery Night! I wanted to tell you, but...you were all out of sorts. I forgot to mention it...and I can't just let Dash down! Scratch might show up too...maybe...I hope that's alright. I thought...” she hesitated, “I thought you had wanted to eat at Rose's. We can't just go to sleep.”
Bons was surprised at this. “Lyra, you can have ponies over anytime! I wouldn't get mad about that. Plus, I already visited Rose today. I told you I would go on my own unless you wanted to come along. Weren't you listening?”
“Not really...” Lyra replied, trying not to sound sad. “I was tired, and I just wanted to get to work...” she started heading for the door.
“Lyra, where are you going? It's dark out, you should just wait for your friends...” Bon Bon didn't know what to do to help her.
Lyra's cheery demeanor had vanished completely. She opened the door, preparing to leave. She responded listlessly, looking out into the evening dark.
“I don't even know if Scratch is showing up...besides, I need to get supplies for the night and something for your bad dreams. You shouldn't have to worry about things like that if I can help it...” she walked out, closing the door behind her.
Bon Bon sat, speechless. In no time flat she had deflated Lyra, spoiling the mood for what her special somepony had intended to be a spontaneous, fun night for her and their friends. She couldn't think of how to restore her mint's mood.
Suddenly, she remembered something: Lyra hadn't called for the delivery of the most important ingredient for the night. Worse still, Bon Bon couldn't remember the number to reach them. She felt helpless. Looking out the window, she watched as her marefriend walked away, vanishing after the first turn further into town. Touching the glass, trying to reach out, she spoke to herself in the empty house. “But Lyra, what about the nachos...?”