“And now, the #1 new artist that’s been taking Equestra by storm! This is 102.7 FM, playing "You'll Always Be My Best Friend” by Backbeat!”
“I wish I knew you,
Way back when,
Before you were part
Of my plans..."
Lyra sighed contentedly. The sun was shining bright, reflecting off her pristine turquoise coat. She was laying on a plastic-and-metal lawnchair, just outside her cottage, sunbathing. A large cup of soda sat on her left, half-empty.
“Hey, Lyra!”
The unicorn looked up over her belly. Trotting happily toward the cottage, a small package on her back, was Bon Bon. Lyra waved her over.
Bon Bon giggled as she came closer. “Hey! So something funny happened...I accidentally made about five times more fudge than I needed for an order.”
Lyra blinked. “How in Celestia’s name did that happen?”
“I...I’m not exactly sure,” Bon Bon muttered, a thoughtful look on her face. “Anyway, I brought you some extra fudge we had back at the shop."
"Well, thanks, I guess. Can you go inside and put it in the kitchen?"
“Sure!” Bon Bon chirped. She walked past her friend and through the house’s front door, entering the living room. It was dimly lit, the only source of light being the windows. With a simper, the cream-colored mare noticed: on a small table filled with pictures, off on one side of the room, one frame towered over the rest. In it, Lyra, Backbeat and Noteworthy stood, smiling, in front of a brightly-lit stage. The lone stallion had a leg wrapped around Backbeat’s shoulder.
Bon Bon walked through and down the tight hallway that led to the kitchen. Once there, she simply laid the package of fudge down on the wooden kitchen table, checked to confirm that it hadn’t melted, and walked out.
When Bon Bon got outside, Lyra turned around in her chair and grinned. “Pull up a chair and stay for a while!” she called.
“Sorry, Lyra, but I really can’t stay,” Bon Bon answered. “I told Twist I would be back in under an hour. She’s running the shop alone!”
“Six months ago, you were completely willing to give her the shop.”
Bon Bon gaped for a moment before sighing and grabbing another lawnchair. “Please, let’s not talk about that. I was not myself.”
The two sat in silence for a minute, just enjoying each other’s company. Bon Bon began to hum the song playing. “Wow...it’s amazing, isn’t it?”
“Hm?”
“I mean, it’s only been a few months, and Backbeat has already become famous! And it’s all thanks to you!”
Lyra put on a sheepish look. “I can’t take all the credit. I mean, she basically has the greatest voice ever. It was just a matter of helping her realize that.”
“Yes, I suppose,” Bon Bon admitted. After a moment, she said: “I’m amazed that you’re not listening to your own album. I figured you’d want to bask in your “supreme glory” for as long as possible.”
“Hey!” Lyra yelped, laughing. “You’re making me sound like a braggart! Seriously, though...you don’t know what it’s like to make an album.”
“Oh? Enlighten me.”
“Sure, it’s really cool at first. But once you’ve been recording for about a week, it starts to get pretty boring. You’re just hearing the same songs, over and over, day after day...eventually, you just can’t listen to them anymore!” She took a long gulp of soda. “And it doesn’t help that I hate all my own songs.”
“Well, I like them,” Bon Bon said. “I could listen to your album forever! That’s why I bought ten copies.”
Lyra nearly started choking on her drink. “You what?! Are you serious?”
“Absolutely. And I’ve been telling everypony I know to do the same.”
“B-But, it’s, like, twenty bits a CD!”
“So what?” Bon Bon said. “So I’ll have to miss out on a few hooficures that I don’t need. Who cares? Anything to support my best friend.”
Lyra sighed. “You really didn’t have to spend two-hundred bits, just for me.”
“Well, I wanted to. So there,” Bon Bon replied indignantly.
“You know, I’m only getting a small part of the profits. Very small, actually.”
The earth mare’s face drooped a bit. “Really?”
“Yeah. The rest goes to a bunch of different places. The store you bought it from, the record company, High Note...and I decided to give a part of it to charity.”
“Oh. So...did I just waste a lot of money?”
Lyra considered the question. “Not really, I guess? I mean, I have absolutely no idea what you’re going to do with nine extra CDs. But that’s still more money going to me. And that increases the sales of the album, meaning that I get more popular, and it gets more likely that I’ll have a second album.”
“Well, good, then,” Bon Bon said, visibly relieved. “It’s really cool that you’re donating your profits.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t need a hooficure every week, unlike some ponies,” Lyra said, rolling her eyes.
“Oh, be quiet! Making candy all day, every day is tough on the hooves!” Bon Bon shot back, sitting up.
“Hey, I have to pluck at metal strings all day!” Lyra growled.
The two stared angrily at each other for a minute—before breaking out into raucous laughter.
Bon Bon clutched at her sides. “Oh, don’t scare me like that! I thought you were really mad at me!”
“What? I could never be mad at you!”
“Oh yeah? Remember when you punched me?”
The unicorn wiped her eyes. “That was a different time. I was a different pony!”
“Oh, really?” Bon Bon asked sarcastically.
“Yeah! I’ve learned things since then. I’ve learned how to enjoy life for what it is. I’ve learned to appreciate what I have. And, I’ve learned that while getting everything you want is cool, being nice is cooler.”
Bon Bon giggled and rolled her eyes. "Did you learn anything else, Miss Morals?"
Lyra thought for a moment before leaning back and slumping deeper into her chair. “Yep.”
“Oh? What?”
Lyra smirked. “I hate Canterlot.”