The Mare Formerly Known as Lyra

by Dubs Rewatcher

Questions

Compared to the sprawling urban landscape that made up most of Canterlot, the residential neighborhoods made Lyra feel much more at home. Birds chirped, unicorn foals played in the neatly-trimmed lawns, and it seemed like the smell of homemade apple pie always lingered in the air. This warm and friendly atmosphere contrasted the weather; an icy wind rolled through the rows of houses, collecting the fallen leaves into a swirling red-and-yellow tornado. The turquoise mare pulled her matching scarf over her muzzle. Autumn had returned, and it was back with a vengeance.

The streets were lined with identical terracotta houses, differentiated only by the gold numbers engraved on each mailbox. Lyra searched up and down the road, looking for house ‘322.’ It was there that she would find the pony she was looking for.

As she reached ‘319,’ Lyra began to hear dulcet tones, echoing through the air like the angels themselves. However, following these notes were scratchy, off-key ones that made Lyra cringe, even from three houses down. They grew louder and louder, until Lyra was right outside ‘322’ and was able to make out distinct noises drifting out of the second floor window.

“Do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti do!” the first voice sang, accentuating the solfège with two piano notes, the first lower than the second.

Lyra could hear a faint sigh. “DO, rE, mi, fa, SO, La...uh, DI DA!” Somehow, even when singing, the second voice was dripping with sarcasm. Lyra imagined that this must be like what her singing voice sounded like; maybe Noteworthy wasn’t exaggerating. She approached the blue door that was built into the front of the two-floor gray building. She began to reach for the gold-plated doorbell, but stopped when the voice rang out again, still just as whiny.

“Miss Belle, why do we have to keep doing this this? I already know how to sing! Can’t we just skip straight to the actual songs?”

There was silence. “High Class, you may be...okay, but your parents are entrusting me with your voice, and I plan to make it as good as it can be. And that takes practice. Trust me on that. Now, let’s take it from the top. And a one, a two, a one, two three four!”

But the first voice didn’t get a chance to start, as Lyra quickly tapped the doorbell. She hated to interrupt what she could only imagine was a fantastic singing lesson, but they didn’t have much time, and, well...she had already come all this way, hadn’t she?

The voices stopped abruptly. Lyra could hear somepony trotting to the door, the clip-clops slowly becoming louder. Suddenly, the first voice rang out from inside. “Are you from the Fraternity of the Joyous Friends? If so, there are no stallions here-”

“Blue Belle, it’s Lyra. From the Music Festival?”

There was another click, and the door opened wide. Lyra hadn’t bothered dressing herself up, but Blue Belle looked just as professional as she had back at the festival. Her dark blue fur shined with the afternoon light, perfectly complementing her soft purple eyes.

“Oh, Lyra! What a pleasant surprise! Come on in.” Blue Belle offered. Lyra trotted after her host, admiring the beautiful decor that made up the blue mare’s home. “What brings you here today?”

“I was just wondering if we could talk for a little while.”

“I was just in the middle of giving a singing lesson, but it’s fine if I end it a bit early today.” Blue Belle said cheerily.

Not wanting to be rude, Lyra quickly rebutted: “Oh, there’s no need to stop what you’re doing, I can-”

“No, no, it’s fine.” She stopped Lyra at the foot of a long staircase. “Between you and me, the colt I’m teaching, High Class, isn’t exactly the most polite of ponies. His parents are some of the richest in Canterlot, and I think some of their attitude has rubbed off on him.”

Lyra nodded. “I know what you mean.”

The duo climbed the stairs, which led to a large sitting room. It contained the normal things you would expect in a house as big as this: a few leather chairs, a long couch, ornate wall-to-wall carpeting, and, on the wall, was a flat-screen television bigger than Lyra’s whole body. However, sitting in the corner was an object that stood out from the modern decorations: a large grand piano. Sitting on its bench, a bored look on his face and elbows resting on the keys, was a gray unicorn colt whom Lyra could only assume was High Class. He blew a lock of black hair out of his eyes.

Blue Belle cleared her throat, alerting High Class to their presence. He immediately sat straight up, attempting to regain whatever composure he had lost. Yet, the grimace on his face remained. “Yes, Miss Belle? Who’s this?”

“High Class, I’m going to have to cut your lesson short today. This is my friend Lyra, and we would like to have some time alone.” Blue Belle responded. High Class didn’t answer. “You can tell Upper Crust that today’s lesson was free.”

The foal’s blue eyes narrowed, fixing the two mares with an intense glare. “Are you two fillyfoolers?”

Blue Belle’s jaw dropped, and her face began to redden. If Lyra had been drinking something, she most certainly would have spit it out. “High Regibus Class!” Blue Belle snapped. “Why would you ask something like that?! It’s rude!”

High Class walked to a duffel bag that lay against a wall. “Well, are you? Because my parents told me not to talk to fillyfoolers.”

Blue Belle snorted in annoyance. “High Class, you can bet that your parents will-” She stopped, realizing that if she told his parents, they wouldn’t scold him. On the contrary, they’d probably praise him. She sighed. “I’m not answering. Just...have a nice day, High Class.”

The colt’s horn began to shine with a white light. The same light immediately surrounded the yellow bag, lifting it through the air and onto his back. “Of course, Miss Belle.” he said, his voice lined with sarcasm. There was a continued silence as High Class clip-clopped his way down the stairs, and out the door, which he slammed behind him.

Blue Belle laughed nervously. “Sorry you had to see that.”

Lyra realized that her jaw was still dropped. Quickly, she turned to Blue Belle and shrugged. “It’s fine. Trust me, I’ve seen worse.”

Blue Belle walked from the room into a kitchen. “Make yourself at home. Would you like anything? Tea, maybe?”

Lyra smiled. “That would be great.” As Blue Belle trotted into the next room, Lyra lay down on the long, velvet couch. She didn’t want to freak the blue mare out more than she probably already had, showing up out of the blue like she had. Lyra was amazed at Blue Belle’s hospitality; they barely knew each other, and already Lyra was being treated as if she was family! She felt almost guilty, accepting such special treatment.

After a minute, Blue Belle cantered back in gracefully, her horn aglow. Levitating beside her were two intricately designed teacups, filled to the brim with a piping hot liquid. She landed one ever so lightly on the table in front of Lyra, careful to not let even one ripple cross its surface. She sat in a leather chair across from Lyra.

Lyra stared at the cup in front of her. Obviously, she was meant to pick it up with her magic, and drink it like that. But it was just so hot...and she did not trust her magic to be able to pick it up. Magic had never been her strong suit. Lyra hopped off the couch and leaned forward, sticking out her tongue to lap at the tea.

Centimeters away from the brown liquid, Lyra looked up. Blue Belle was staring at her guest, obviously perturbed by her strange behavior. The aquamarine pony gave a small laugh. “Heh.” She lay back down on the couch, and shakily gripped the cup with a light green glow.

Blue Belle giggled and picked up her tea confidently. “So, what was it that you wanted to talk about?”

“Well, first of all, I wanted to say congrats.” Lyra said, sipping at her shuddering cup.

Blue Belle stared at her blankly. “I’m sorry, but for what, may I ask?”

“For placing so high at the Festival! I wanted to talk to you sooner, but I kind of got caught up in something right after the award ceremony.”

Blue Belle closed her eyes and chuckled. “Oh, right. That. You shouldn’t have worried yourself; I don’t deserve any congratulations.” She magically lifted her cup to her mouth, sipping slowly.

“What do you mean you ‘don’t deserve any congratulations?’” Lyra said. “You were amazing! Better than I was, I bet. Those judges-”

“Were right.” Blue Belle interrupted. “I came second place for a reason, Lyra. You can’t tell me that you didn’t hear my mistake at the end.”

“Well, yeah, but I mean-”

“That’s all there is to it, Lyra. I didn’t deserve to win.” Blue Belle said with an air of finality. There was a tense silence. “I may not know you very well, Lyra, but I doubt you came all this way just to compliment me. What is it you really need?”

Lyra rubbed the back of her head and broke her eye contact. “Well, uh...” Should she really be doing this? What she was about to ask was a big request, especially for one pony. But what other chance would she have? Lyra decided to just steam on through. “Remember how I said I got caught up in something?”

Blue Belle nodded, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, you see...”

----------

Lyra had recounted her entire story, leaving no detail spared. She had started right from the first time she had met Noteworthy, and gone all the way up to knocking on the door here. Blue Belle had listened quietly, only interrupting every so often to ask a simple question. Lyra sighed as her tale came to a close.

“And, well, that brings me to the guts of my visit.” Lyra said, smiling hopefully. She had been attempting to pick up the cup as little as possible, and as such, still had almost all of her tea left.

Blue Belle had almost finished hers. She looked at Lyra warily. “I...see. And what is it that you need, exactly?”

“I...We were hoping you would be our singer.”

Blue Belle’s eyes widened. “What do you mean by that?” For the first time since the conversation had started, she set her tea cup down on the table.

Lyra looked down at her curled up hooves. “Well, I’m no good at singing. But I know you are. Noteworthy is willing to offer you a full contract...if you choose to accept it, of course. You could start right away.” She looked up, hoping her words had swayed the blue mare, even just a bit.

Blue Belle inhaled and exhaled deeply. “Well, this is definitely a surprise. A position at Galaxy Music group, the largest recording company in Equestria. And all for free. It’s what I’ve always wanted. And that is why I have to...”

Lyra smiled wide. “SHE’S GOING TO SAY YES! SHE’S GOING TO SAY YES!!!” She thought. With a new found confidence, Lyra levitated her tea cup over and took a swig. It had been a nerve racking past few days, but it was all going to work out now. Blue Belle had said it herself: this was a dream job for her! And she would be great as Noteworthy’s new si-

“...decline your offer.”

The turquoise unicorn kept smiling. She blinked. “What?”

“I’m afraid I’m going to have to say no to your offer, Lyra. Thank you, though.”

Lyra’s tea cup fell to the floor, smashing into countless little shards. Despite only being dimly aware of her surroundings at the moment, the sound of impact was enough to make Lyra recoil. “Oh, buck, sorry.”

Blue Belle rose to her hooves and suppressed a sigh. “It’s...okay, I suppose. I can get that cleaned up in a second.” The pieces were lifted into the air by Blue Belle’s magic.

This was bad. Lyra had spent all her time just planning what to say. She had never considered what would happen if Blue Belle actually said no. Lyra put on what she considered to be her most “charming” smile. “Just to clarify: why are you saying no? Isn’t it your dream job?”

“Well, yes, it is.” Blue Belle called from the kitchen. “And I’m happy to report that I’m already living that dream.”

Lyra’s heart sank so fast, she could have sworn it made a sound. “I-I-I don’t understand, how are you-”

“You weren’t the only one who got ‘caught up’ in something after the festival, Lyra.” Blue Belle began. She stepped into the room. Rays of golden light seemed to shoot in through the windows, lighting up Blue Belle’s fur like a blue sun. “Despite my grievous mistake, it seems somepony took notice of me. Just a few minutes after I left the stage, he caught up with me. He sweet talked me a bit; at first, I thought he was trying to pick me up. But that was when he gave it to me: the contract.” Blue Belle walked dramatically to her chair, and collapsed onto the leather. She had gotten caught up in her story, and there was no getting her out. “It was such a surprise!”

Lyra managed a smile. “Yeah, I bet it was. I know it was for me.”

“And that was before I even found out who he was!” Blue Belle continued. “He’s made so many ponies famous!” She turned to Lyra, excitement plastered on her face. “You’ve heard of that one stallion, right? Bustin’ Jieber?”

The already weak smile disappeared. Lyra felt like Nightmare Moon herself was trying to burst out of her stomach. “I-I...yes?”

“It’s the same pony who made him famous! His name is Key Change, and he’s just awe-inspiring!”

Lyra was utterly speechless. Blue Belle was their one hope, and now she was gone too. Lyra was beginning to understand why Noteworthy hated Key Change so much. She wouldn’t exactly call him evil, but he was definitely an annoyance.

Blue Belle snapped out of her ecstatic delirium. “Sorry about that. I got lost in my story.”

Lyra shook her head and sighed. “It’s...it’s alright. I guess it was pretty rude of me to try and force you into the position.”

“Not at all.” Blue Belle rose and crossed the room to stand beside Lyra. “I do apologize if I led you on a bit.” Lyra nodded wistfully. There was a lull in the conversation. For once, neither mare had something to say to the other. “I don’t want to be rude, but,” Blue Belle said. “Was there anything else you needed? Or was that it?”

“That’s it.” Lyra said, lifting herself off the couch. “Thanks anyway, Blue Belle. Sorry about the cup.”

Blue Belle led Lyra down the stairs, until they reached the front door. She slowly creaked it open, letting in a gust of cold air. “I hope we meet again soon.” said Blue Belle. “Actually, that reminds me; didn’t you mention in your story that you have a performance on Thursday?”

Lyra froze. She did not want Blue Belle coming to that performance. The best case scenario was that she humiliated herself in front of everyone, and Blue Belle lost what little respect she had for Lyra. Lyra didn’t even want to imagine what the worst case scenario was. But yet, she couldn’t lie; besides being a terrible liar, she had already told Blue Belle about it. There was no backing down now.

“Uh...yeah?”

Blue Belle clapped her hooves together. “Oh, good! Where is it?”

“...The Windwoods Hotel?”

“Great.” Blue Belle said, smiling. “You can count on me being there.”

“Oh, no, no.” Lyra said. “You don’t want to come see me! I’m terrible! You should...uh, stay home!” She was beginning to sweat, despite it being at most forty degrees out. “Stay home, and listen to your own great music! You’re so much better than me, it’ll be...you know...better!”

Blue Belle smiled doubtfully. “Ah-ah-ah, Lyra! I’ve told you, you are the better musician. There is no way I’m missing this performance. Look at it as my offer to be friends.” She held out a hoof to Lyra.

Lyra groaned internally, but still returned the hoofshake. “Right. Thanks.”

As the door closed behind her, Lyra was left staring out into the fall-time neighborhood. Things...hadn’t gone as planned, to say the least.

Noteworthy wouldn’t be happy.

----------

“I am not happy.” Noteworthy said, pacing around the room. Backbeat and Lyra stared on in amazement at his utterance of this phrase; it was the first thing he had said since Lyra had broken the news that didn’t have an expletive in it. “Not happy at all.” He paused, as if to gather his anger. He stared out the window. “In fact...I’M BUCKING ANGRY!”

Lyra recoiled. “I’m sorry, Noteworthy. I did tell you I couldn’t guarantee anything.”

Noteworthy pointed his muzzle at the ceiling, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. “Yeah, I know. I don’t blame you.”

Backbeat smiled. Noteworthy seemed to be calming down; she never liked to see him upset.

“I blame KEY CHANGE!” yelled Noteworthy, now pacing again. “That little bucking bastard! Goes right under your nose, right when you least expect it! He thinks he’s better than everypony else, just because he has a pretty face. I...I just hate it!” His eyes were frantic.

“Noteworthy, it’s okay.” said Backbeat as she rose to her hooves. “We can get through this. It’s just a matter of...uh, perseverance, I suppose?”

The blue stallion’s golden eyes lit up with worry. “But how, Backbeat? This Blue Belle mare was our last hope. What are we supposed to do now? Nothing will work!”

Backbeat walked to Noteworthy, and place her white hooves upon his shoulders. She fixed him with an earnest glance. “That’s not true. We’ll get through this, Noteworthy. You’ve been in tighter jams before, I know!” She walked over to a small calender that hung from the wall. “Look: it’s Wednesday now. The budget meeting is Tuesday, meaning that the deadline is Monday. We’ve got a little less than a week to think of a plan. We can do this! All we need to do is focus.

“And right now, well...” Backbeat trailed off. She walked back to Noteworthy and gave him the once over. “You don’t look very focused.” Her horn shined for a moment. There was a small pop, and her red thermos appeared in front of her. “Do you want some coffee?”

Noteworthy stared down at the white mare. “Thanks, Backbeat. I think I’ll just go get some fresh air.” He trotted to the door. “Anypony care to join me? No? Okay, I’ll see you all in a few minutes.” He left after receiving two affirmative nods.

After a moment, Backbeat walked over to Noteworthy’s desk, and pulled out a clipboard and pen. She set them down on the desk. Lyra barely heard a small sigh. “I worry about him sometimes.” Backbeat admitted. With a small spell, she began to write something down.

Lyra chuckled. “That’s good. Somepony has to. Noteworthy is lucky to have you.”

Backbeat at Lyra. “Yeah, I guess.”

There was a pause before Lyra asked: “So, how long have you two been going out?”

Backbeat’s magic shorted out, as her snow-white fur grew a dark scarlet. “I, wait, I, no, we’re-” At that moment, her voice gave out, leaving nothing but a small squeaking noise. She stared at Lyra with wide eyes.

Lyra stared right back, confused. “What? Was it something I said?”

Backbeat swallowed, and managed to get her voice up to something just short of a conversational tone. “W-we’re not goi-going out. We’re just...f-friends.” Her whole body was shaking.

“Oh, crap! Sorry about that. You guys just had such a good relationship, I assumed...you know.”

The white mare took off her glasses, conjured a cloth, and began to wipe the lenses. “Yes, well...we’re not. We have a completely platonic relationship.” She managed to make eye contact with Lyra.

After a moment, Lyra broke out into a grin. She may not have been the greatest when it came to romance, but Lyra was still a mare. She knew what it looked like when somepony had a crush, and it was written all over Backbeat’s face. “So, it’s just professional?”

“Yes, of course.”

“That’s really it?”

“...Yes. Um, where are you going with this?”

Lyra, switched out her smile for a disappointed face. “Oh, that’s too bad. You know, considering how badly you’re crushing on him.”

Once again, Backbeat’s fur began to turn the color of a ripe tomato. “I, wait, but, but, but, who told you that?!” Trails of gray smoke began to rise from Backbeat’s hackles. “Was it Sunset Bliss? Because I swear, everything that mare says is a lie!”

Lyra held up her hooves defensively. “Whoa, whoa, I don’t even know a Sunset Bliss!” There was a pregnant pause. “So...am I right?”

Backbeat stared worriedly at Lyra. “Can...can you keep a secret?”

“Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!” Lyra swore, making sure to do the appropriate motions. Backbeat gaped at her. “Sorry. Ponyville tradition. But, yeah, I can.”

“Listen...yeah, it’s true. I like Noteworthy.” Backbeat said, ears drooping. Lyra gave a small cheering motion. “Stop that! Look. I’ve liked him for a while now.” She walked over to the couch where Lyra was laying and sat beside it. “He’s just so...great, you know? He’s the best friend I’ve ever had.”

“D’awwwww!” Lyra cooed. “That’s so nice! So, have you asked him out?”

Backbeat looked shocked. “Celestia no! How could I do that? I couldn’t just go up to him and ask him on a date! Even I know how shy I am.” She looked down at the floor. “He’s way out of my league, anyway. I don’t deserve somepony as good as him.”

“What are you talking about?!” Lyra yelped. “You’re amazing! And you know as well as I do that he’s crazy about you.”

“He is?”

“Hay yeah!” exclaimed Lyra. “In fact, I’m amazed he hasn’t asked you out yet!”

"Do you...do you really think that?"

"Sure. I bet if you were to go up to him and ask him to go to dinner with you, he would say yes faster than you can say 'Heartstrings.'"

Backbeat grinned, her flushed face beginning to pale again. “Thanks, Lyra. I needed that. But I’m still not sure...”

“Don’t worry. Look, I’ll even help.”

----------

Backbeat and Lyra had to wait half an hour before Noteworthy finally walked back in. The remnants of a headache still lingered in his mind; maybe he should have some coffee. When he arrived, the two mares were huddled close together, speaking in hushed whispers. They looked up at him with faces that seemed to be hiding something.

“Oh, hey, Noteworthy!” Lyra called cheerfully. “How are you feeling?”

Noteworthy closed the door behind him. “...Fine. How are you guys doing?”

Lyra waved a hoof nonchalantly. “Oh, good, good...but, uh, Backbeat has something she wants to ask you.”

For the first time since he had entered, the blue stallion looked closely at Backbeat. She looked as if she was trying to force her body to swallow her limbs. She refused to make eye contact with him, instead opting to look at the ground. She only gave a small squeak when Lyra jabbed her in the side with a hoof. After another moment of unresponsiveness, the turquoise unicorn eventually pushed her friend off the couch.

Backbeat stumbled forward, stopping just in time to avoid crashing directly into Noteworthy. Slowly, she craned her neck upwards to look him in the eye. She let out a small laugh. “Heh. Well.”

Noteworthy didn’t seem to notice that Backbeat’s face was filling with blood. “What’s up?” he asked, blinking in confusion.

“I, um, well, uh, ah...” Backbeat stammered, rubbing one leg with a hoof. She looked pleadingly back at Lyra. The lyrest only winked, and mouthed the words, ‘Don’t worry.’ Backbeat turned back to face Noteworthy. “W-would you...” She clenched her eyes shut, bracing herself for her own words. “L-l-like to go ou-out to din-n-ner sometime...?”

Noteworthy stared at Backbeat while the gears turned in his head. Unfortunately, they were the wrong gears. While Backbeat may have been only a budding romantic, Noteworthy simply...wasn’t a romantic. At all. After what seemed like an eternity to Backbeat, his eyes lit up. “Oh, hey! That’s a great idea!”

Backbeat beamed. “Really? You mean it?”

“Sure, Backbeat! I hadn’t even thought of that; if we’re going to be making up a plan for how to pass Two Step’s test, we should be spending as much time as possible thinking. A dinner is just the right place to do that!” Noteworthy exclaimed, gesticulating as he went. He turned to Lyra. “You’re up for it, right?”

Lyra looked back blankly. “I, um...”

“Of course you are!” declared Noteworthy. Before either mare could respond, he trotted to the desk, picked up the pen in his mouth, and scribbled a note on Backbeat’s clipboard. “And I know the best place! Okay, you two meet me here tonight. Say, eight?”

Backbeat tried to protest, but no sound came out.

“Now, it’s getting late. I’ll see you guys there.” Noteworthy explained, heading for the door.

“But, wait,” croaked Backbeat as Noteworthy began to exit. “That’s not-”

The door slammed.

“...What I meant.”

Lyra stared at the door, ears folded back. “Well, that wasn’t what I was expecting.”

(Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, give me criticism on Blue Belle. I feel like I haven't really pegged down a solid character for her.)

Comments

[Apocalypse Pony]

Dunno, Blue Belle seems pretty solid aside from how she went from cool calm and collected to all dreamy over how she got her own contract. I'm not a critic

[Meta Knight]

Blue Belle seems fine to me