//------------------------------// // Ch.2 - Breaking Down // Story: Another Odd One Out // by ulquiorra1 //------------------------------// Ch. 2 – Breaking Down Bon-Bon’s POV Finding my way back home, the sun had started to set in the evening sky. A light orange had now descended on the horizon leaving light shades of gold and crimson following behind. ‘We really had been late leaving.’ I approached the square where my sweet shop resided. Looking up to the second story window, I didn’t see any lights on the side of the apartment that held Lyra’s room. I was pondering whether to look elsewhere or search the shop first. I quickly glanced around and found Roseluck closing up her flower stand for the day. I quickly made my way over to where she stood gathering a few leftover flowers. “Bon-Bon what’s the matter? You look worried about something. Is somepony hurt or…” I had just approached her and already hadn’t even gotten to so much as catch my breath let alone say anything. “Roseluck, have you seen Lyra around? Did you--” “Why? Is Lyra missing? What happened Bon-Bon?” “I was with her earlier and she started acting weird. She had started to walk away while she was…” I had to pause for a moment and realize just how worried the next word made me feel. “…Crying.” Roseluck, noticing how worried I actually was went silent for a moment. “Wait here for one second, Bon-Bon.” Roseluck had quickly run around the corner. Like I had been told, I awaited Roseluck’s return patiently. Only a moment later, I heard the sound of hooves running towards me. Looking in the direction of the sound, I saw Roseluck. “Like I thought, Lily was just a little ways over from where I set up shop. She said that she did see Lyra head in this direction in a hurry, but she is not sure where she was going.” I was relieved to know I was at least headed in the right direction. “Thank you so much Rose. You sure you didn't see her go inside?” “Positive. I would have seen her for sure.” “Then I have to go.” I turned and began to run again when I turned my head back to Roseluck. “Thanks again Rose!” She waved back at me as I directed my thoughts back to the task at hand. I needed to find Lyra before Luna’s night fell over Ponyville. I had no idea where to look. I was feeling horrible for having upset Lyra. My eyes started to water from frustration, anger, and panic. ~----^---~*~---^----~ ‘Lyra where the hay are you?’ My pace was now starting to slow. I had run by Twilight’s library, the spa, the schoolhouse, and the Carousel Boutique. There was no sign of Lyra anywhere. I literally didn't know where else to turn. Any path that I decided to go down would only lead me to nothing. I was exhausted and upset. In no way is this the best combination of emotions to have when looking for somepony. I had stopped walking altogether. My legs had started to tremble as I stood in place, holding in my sobbing. I was at the very least holding it in to the best of my ability considering the situation I found myself in. “Please, Lyra…” My voice would go no higher than a pathetic whisper. A few tears had now worked their way out of my now clenched eyelids, slowly trickling down the sides of my face. “W-where are you? I-I’m so s-sorry, Lyra.” The moon had now fully risen into the dark sky, illuminating the sad scene the stars gazed upon. “I-I just w-want to help y-you.” The tears had now been let loose to pour down to my quivering jaw and lips. I could do nothing to change this situation. I was the one in need of help now. If I couldn't help myself how was I going to be of any use to Lyra and her troubles? ‘I need you with me. If you aren't here to keep me together, then I don’t know what use I could be to anypony else.’ I had now collapsed on the ground. Wallowing in my small pool of pain and tears. All I could do to try and stop my tears in their attempt to drown me was to bury my face deep into my hooves. ‘Lyra…’ I couldn't take it anymore. I was in a complete state of panic mixed with pain, sorrow, and loneliness, without any hope of finding the one pony that could pull me from it. “I need you to be right beside me! I can’t STAND not being around you! I only want you t-to be happy. I-I h-hate seeing you so s-sad, it hurts inside m-my chest…” “I l-love you, Lyra. S-so m-much that it’s killing m-me from t-the inside. Why couldn't I have j-just told y-you th-that before? I a-am just t-too a-afraid of losing you. I l-love you…” ‘…And she is never going to find out because of your own cowardice!’ I had no idea how long I had been laying there, in the light of the moon. All I knew was how horrid I felt and how cold it was in the streets of Ponyville. I was somewhat glad that nopony was out wandering the streets to see the scene I must be putting on. Then again, I really didn't care about my humiliation at this point. Having nopony on the streets is the exact problem I was dealing with, wasn't it? After letting myself collect whatever part of me that hadn't been taken away with the stream of tears, I attempted to stand up. I had just about as much strength as I thought. Upon getting up on all fours once again, my right foreleg gave out and I sunk back down for a moment. The second attempt at standing appeared to be much more successful. I had no clue as to the identity of my whereabouts. I was simply on a random road of Ponyville. I looked at my surroundings to try and hazard a guess as to where home would be. I could see the top spire of the town hall. ‘Home is to the East of there so…’ I slowly made my way down the path that I had to hope would take me home the quickest. This would surely be one of the longest walks I will ever take. All I can do on the way back is think about Lyra and our most recent event that had occurred only hours ago. Feeling the stains that my tears had left in the fur of my cheeks only made me want to reestablish their earlier flow as they reminded me of how low I really felt. Lyra is still nowhere to be found, and now I am a complete emotional mess. I could do nothing but look for her in the morning. No matter what, I can’t give up. If I were to do that, then I would never leave my apartment again. Eating would certainly be out of the question as well as sleeping and talking to anypony. ‘Living without knowing you are alright is going to be impossible.’ Should Luna have any pity on me, she would allow me to at least sleep tonight. However, I had a feeling that not even the Princess of the Night could help ease my troubled mind into even the littlest bit of sleep. ~----^---~*~---^----~ I had finally found my way back to my lonely shop in the center of its ever-growing seclusion of the surrounding homes and businesses. Lyra’s whereabouts are still in question. She was either staying out of sight on purpose or she was lost. The area I was approaching was so dark. Everypony’s windows that were once lit with light, illuminating the darkness alongside Luna’s moon, were now deprived of all light so those inside could rest until Celestia’s morning light would break through the glass panes to wake them from their slumber. Thankfully the streets still held on to the moonlight so I could get home safely. The night truly was a beautiful time. However, this night seemed to defy that statement. I had drearily walked up to my front door. The closed sign still hung in its original place from earlier. It’s odd how today started off so calm and full of joy as Lyra and I looked forward to our day off. As I reached forward and put my hoof on the door’s wooden handle, I looked back behind me, yearning for Lyra to approach me from behind one of the neighboring buildings. She did no such thing. Dropping my head slightly, I noticed something I had not seen when first approaching the shop door. There was a sliver of warm, golden light lying across the ground a short distance behind me. I slowly turned to face it. Wondering where it could be coming from, I walked over as to get a closer look. Approaching the strip of light, I noticed it would flicker like the glow emanating from a flame. Upon getting within a hoof of the light, I could see a shadow being cast through the middle of the strip. It was my shadow. Suddenly filling up with hope, I immediately spun around and looked to the second floor of the shop. That was the floor that held the apartment rooms. That is the floor in which the light was being cast from. Most importantly, the light was coming from the one window in all of Equestria that I was hoping it was coming from. The light was radiating from Lyra’s bedroom. I was filled with so many emotions all at once. Overcome with joy, excitement, and so many more that I had no hope of describing. Just as quickly as all of these feelings had appeared, the light from above had gone out. My heart sank slightly as I stood frozen in place for a moment longer trying to comprehend all that had just happened. I snapped out of my daze and bolted for the door. Ripping it open, I ran inside finding the stairs in the dark. Making my way up them while surprisingly not tripping doing so, I found Lyra’s doorway. Locked. My heart sank slightly, realizing that she was obviously still upset. In my excitement, forgetting something so important was unbelievable. I calmed myself down as quickly as I could. Hoping to leave out any hurt or delight in my voice. “Lyra? Are you in there?” No answer. “Lyra please, you have to talk to me if you are in there. I have to know if you are all right. Please are you in there?” No response once again. “Lyra, I have been searching for you everywhere. You have had me so worried.” “I’m not…” My ears shot up in response to the gentle whisper from inside. “What?” “I’m not alright.” My heart sank again. It fell much farther this time, however. “What’s wrong, Lyra? Please talk to me. I need to know how I can help.” I now had the side of my face pressed against the cool wood of her door. “You can’t help me this time Bon-Bon…” My lips started to quiver as my eyes began to tear up once more. “You can’t fix this like how you fix everything else that goes wrong in my life.” “Tell me what is wrong, Lyra. I can’t do anything if I don’t know what the problem is.” “Fix me. That is the only way you can help. You have to fix everything that makes me who I am. That is…” I could hear quiet sniffles coming from the other side of the door. “That is the only way to make this s-stop…” “Lyra…” I could feel a lone tear trickle down my cheek. “I--” “You c-can’t do that. I j-just…” She paused, trying to keep herself together. “The way they l-look at m-me. You don’t understand the f-feeling that c-comes with having ponies whisper behind y-your back, about what a f-freak you are!” It hurt so much to hear her in this much pain. “Let me in Lyra. I just want to talk you through this and see if I can do anything.” “I’m not opening the door, Bon-Bon.” I don’t want you to see me like this. Plus I already explained that you can’t help me… It would be better if you just left me by myself so people don’t associate you with somepony like me.” “Lyra, let me in. I will not leave this door until you have let me try to help!” I stomped my hoof into the planks just before the door. My body was starting to tremble again, both from frustration and sadness. “I d-don’t care what o-others would think of me, so l-long as I helped y-you…” The tears would not be far off by this point. Without a doubt, I would not be able to keep cool for much longer. I couldn’t break down in front of her like I had before in the street. “Bon-Bon I know you only want t-to help, but y-you don’t want other ponies to p-point a-and laugh at you behind y-your back whenever you hang a-around a pony that acts differently th-than everypony else. I w-will simply m-make things w-worse f-for you. I’m n-not going to unlock the d-door.” “Lyra! Open the door! I can’t listen to you be this miserable and in so much pain…” “Bon-Bon look--” “No Lyra, listen!” The tears would not cease flowing from my eyes. “I can’t allow for you to be sad by yourself! Not anymore…” I couldn’t stand anymore. I just sat down, not even attempting to dry my eyes. It would be pointless. “I d-don’t care i-if you th-think that I can’t help y-you. I don’t c-care what o-other ponies would think of m-me. I-I don’t care about a-anything like that!” “…” There was no sign of Lyra objecting or interrupting this time. “The only thing th-that I care a-about is m-making sure that you a-are n-never alone. I w-will always be here to s-support you, and t-take care of y-you, a-and make sure th-that n-nothing goes wrong. I o-only want the best f-for you.” I paused to catch my breath. “Meaning, if you are u-upset about anything, you are to talk to me a-about it. Please open the door, Lyra. It’s killing me knowing that you are all by yourself i-in there…” All that I could hear from the next room was small sniffling sounds. I hung my head and just let the tears fall off the tip of my nose. She was determined on not letting me in. I was determined as well. There would not be any moving from my spot so long as Lyra remained in her room. I couldn’t allow her to stay by herself. Then I heard the sounds of light hoofsteps getting closer to the door. I hastily backed up allowing more room in case Lyra stepped out. “A-alright. I-I’ll open i-it.” There was a small, metal click as the lock was released. The door swung open. Lyra was standing back, still holding the door open in her right hoof. Even in the dark I could see her eyes were red from crying. Actually, I could see a few tears glistening in the moonlight. Her mane was a mess as well as a few rustled patches on her coat. Her room behind her was in complete disarray. There was furniture and miscellaneous items strewn out on the floor. I could only stare at her with sympathy clouding my every thought. On the other hand, she would not look into my eyes and meet my stare. “Lyra, please let me in so I can--” “Bon-Bon? Why do you want to be so nice to me when nopony else even thinks twice about showing the same consideration?” She now looked up from the wooden planks at her hooves, and into my unblinking eyes. “You are so eager to be as nice as possible to me. Other ponies you are friendly to, sure, but why are you so much kinder to me?” Our tears had subsided for the moment. They simply sat upon our faces to dry up now. “I really don’t think I deserve such a good friend…” She now lost the strength to keep her head up and went back to eying her hooves. “Lyra of course you deserve good friends. You deserve to be treated far nicer than I could ever treat you, as well! The only reason that I am so kind towards you and care for you like I do is because I--” ‘No, don’t say it now! It will only ruin things!’ I sat there stupidly as my mouth hung open leaving my sentence unfinished. I couldn’t help but blush at the thought of embarrassing myself like that in front of Lyra. “What is it Bonny?” That really doesn’t help my blushing situation. “No it’s nothing Lyra.” I had to turn my head to the side as to avoid her now persistent gaze. “Bonny, please I want to know. What’s wrong?” “Nothing's wrong. It’s just--” Just then Lyra’s horn began to glow, shining a dazzling yellow glow over the dark hallway I was sitting in. I could see her beautiful golden eyes shine in the presence of her magic. “Well if nothing is wrong then why does it look like you have been crying? Your face is also really red. What is it, Bonny, please tell me. I can worry about you too, you know.” She continued to sit a step closer, her eyes unwavering. “Lyra…” I couldn’t tell her the real reason why. The pain from holding it in was unbearable, but I couldn't bring myself to let that simple sentence escape my lips. It would scare her off. Then how would I help her? I can’t lie to her either. That would only hurt that much more. “Bon-Bon. I trusted you enough to come out here with the most pain I have ever felt. Whatever it is that you were going to say, won’t change the fact that I trust you more than anyone else. Whatever you say will stay with me and only me. It can’t be so bad that you can’t trust me with it.” “No matter what I say, it won’t change the fact that we are friends, alright?” I couldn’t hold it in and make her think that I didn’t trust her. ‘I can’t believe that I am about to say this. I don’t know if I want to believe.’ “Bon-Bon, whatever you say won’t change that. Nothing could change how I see you as a friend.” Here it goes. The very sentence that has caused me so much pain over so many years. “Lyra. I--” “Wait!” She quickly reached over and brought me into her kind embrace. “Before you say anything…” I put my hooves around her while she continued to hold me in hers. “Thank you for always being here for me. Whatever you are about to say, I know it is important. The fact that you trust me without judging me first…” I could feel a tear drip from her face and land on my shoulder. “I can’t thank you enough for being so c-caring.” Those words were more than enough to give me the courage to say the most important message of my life. I should be thanking her for letting me relieve this pain so easily. “I love you, Lyra Heartstrings.” Nothing louder than a whisper was uttered into her mane as we continued our embrace. I could hear her suddenly take in a breath of air and hold it. She slowly let go of me, and I did the same. Bringing her head back farther so she could look at me, all I could see was complete shock and awe on her face accompanied by the few teardrops that still resided in her eyes. I couldn’t have regretted what I had done anymore than I already had. “Lyra wait, I didn’t mean it like, I mean I didn’t want it to come out like that, I-“ My eyes had started to tear up again. “I’m so sorry…” I lowered my head in a poor attempt to try and hide my shame. Realizing what I just did only made the tears return that much faster. “Oh no you don’t. You are not crying again.” Before I could reopen my eyes to look up, I felt Lyra’s hooves cup the sides of my face as she lifted my head back up to eye level with her. She then pulled my face into hers, forcing our lips to meet. As her eyes shut tight, mine could only shoot open. I had absolutely no idea what was happening at that very moment until I truly felt her lips for the first time against mine. The sweet smell that originated in her mane and coat finally making itself noticed to my nose. Her gentle embrace seeming even warmer than before. I wrapped my fore hooves around her neck as I drifted deeper into the moment we were both sharing. I then kissed her back, deepening the moment, letting all of my love pour into that single kiss. No words could describe the happiest moment of my life that was occurring before me. As I started to relax my embrace around her she pulled me in even further, tightening her hooves around me, as she started to kiss me back harder than I had before. The light from her horn intensified the deeper she leaned into me. Not only was I experiencing the first kiss between Lyra and myself, I was sharing my very first romantic kiss with the one I had been dreaming about sharing it with. We both released each other slowly. Catching our breath Lyra looked me in the eye with a completely serious look on her face. “Don’t ever hide something like that from me again. Especially don’t ever try to take it back.” I couldn’t help but smile and give off a small laugh. I could also feel my cheeks start burning, almost as if they were really on fire. “You are lucky I love you too, or else you would be in so much trouble for not telling me sooner.” Lyra then smiled back at me, her cheeks also lit up, as she gave into one more embrace. “Don’t you ever be unhappy for being the wonderful mare that you are! There is no way that I would have you any other way than just being yourself. You are so unique and special. Never change, Lyra. No matter what anyone else says, just ignore them. They have no idea how important you are.” My eyes had watered up one last time. “It would be impossible for m-me to continue without th-the one mare in all of E-Equestria that could m-make me feel happier than I-I have ever been. D-don’t you forget th-that!” “Alright, Bonny, I won’t.” I pulled her away from me to bring her within inches of my muzzle. “Another thing, don’t you dare stop calling me ‘Bonny.’ Got that?” She simply gave me a light kiss on the tip of my nose. “Don’t worry about that. You can trust me.” I pulled her close to me once more to give her another hug. Lyra is such a liar for saying that nothing I could say would change how she saw me as a friend. I could forgive her for that though. For the first time that night, both of us were crying tears of joy.