Plan B

by SpongeOfManyColours

Can You Feel The Love Tonight?

Chapter 3 – Can You Feel The Love Tonight?

“Pipsqueak, come in. Echo darlington delta, three one two.”

“Miss Bon Bon, I can’t remember, is that code for ‘Pass the sugar’ or ‘Would you like wine with that?’”

“Just open the door.”

Pipsqueak slowly pushed the double doors of Ponyville Town Hall open, cautiously, but couldn’t work out why Bon Bon decided to cartwheel through the opening rather than simply walking in like any other pony. He looked down as she rolled under a coffee table in the corner, her eyes darting around like little sapphires as she peered into the crowd. Pipsqueak looked around too, then noticed Bon Bon sliding out of her hiding spot.

“Miss Bon Bon, why do you not want anyone to see you?”

“In my line of work, you need to know exactly who is in a room before you go in,” she said cryptically. Pipsqueak didn’t understand, but simply nodded.

“Oh, ok. Sorry we couldn’t find anything about the zebra in the library. I learnt a lot about the Summer Sun Celebration, though. Did you know…”

“It’s fine,” Bon Bon interrupted in a voice that suggested it wasn’t. “I’ll just go in tonight blind, and if anything suspicious happens, I’ll be ready. Besides, it wasn’t your fault.” She looked to the table behind her, taking a drink in her hoof. She looked down to Pipsqueak. “You had better scram, it won’t be safe.”

“Yeah, but it’d be fun, right?” Pipsqueak asked optimistically. The pony he knew as Bon Bon made an odd wince with her face, then shrugged.

“Not for a kid; it’ll be a bit of talking, and one loud bang. Besides, weren’t you supposed to be here anyway?”

“Oh?” Pipsqueak asked, then his eyes widened. “Oh!” A memory flashed in his head, and he nodded vigorously, the white and brown of his coat becoming one as they blurred together with the speed with which he nodded. “I’ve got to meet Dinky. Thank you for getting me out of the Everfree Forest, Miss Bon Bon!”

“Whatever, kid. Don’t bother me again.”

“You’re funny!” Pipsqueak shouted cheerfully, before walking away. It did not take long to find who he was looking for; the pink bow that Dinky Hooves always wore was difficult to miss, given that it was about the size of her head. When he approached, she looked directly at him and grinned.

“Pip!”

“Evenin’, Dinky!” He said, before frowning. He expected her to sound excited, but instead she almost sounded… scolding. The grey filly glared at him.

“Miss Cheerlie told me that you were lost! When she found me and asked me where you were, she realised that I wasn’t actually sick today!” She pouted irritably. “I’ve got a week’s detention because of you!”

“Why did you think it would be a good idea to pretend to be sick?”

“Adult ponies do it all the time!” Dinky said defensively. “Mom, Rainbow Dash… hey, remember when we got a substitute teacher because Miss Cheerilee had the cold?”

“Yes?”

“Well, that day, I saw her and Mom at Sugarcube Corner, drinking some of Mom’s special water that I’m not allowed to drink anymore,” Dinky proudly asserted, looking proud of herself for having worked it out. Pipsqueak just tilted his head.

“How did you know she was at Sugarcube Corner if you were at school?”

“Before you answer that question, Dinky, you should know that I listen to all of your conversations,” came a voice. Pipsqueak looked up, a toothy grin coming to his face.

“Mrs Muffins!”

“It’s, umm, Miss Muffins, now,” Muffins clarified, a blush coming to her face. “Dinky’s dad and I parted on friendly terms, and I definitely didn’t bury him in the garden. Oh, is that mud on my hooves?” Dinky smirked.

“Mom, stop being silly.”

“If I did, I’d stop being your Mom,” Muffins pointed out, a grin on her face. “Dinky, I’ll speak to you about your skiving later, but I’m being nice to you today so I’ll let you two have your fun for now.”

“You just don’t want to be telling me off in front of Rainbow Dash, Mom,” Dinky pointed out. Muffins frowned.

“It’s called being a responsible parent, and you’re right, I don’t want to be a responsible parent in front of Dash,” she said. Dinky giggled, and she smiled warmly. “Go on, enjoy yourselves. And don’t do anything I would!”

“We won’t!” Dinky clarified, before looking to Pipsqueak. “Come on, I think Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle are looking for help with their next cutie mark attempt!” The Trottingham foal followed eagerly behind the little grey filly, a smile on Muffins’ face as they went.

“She’s pretty damn awesome, isn’t she?”

“She’s more than that. She’s everything,” Muffins explained, before turning around. Rainbow Dash leant by the table, sipping on some punch and looking to her with wide eyes. Pinkish red orbs that Muffins felt she could get lost in. She looked to her hooves awkwardly. “Look, Rainbow, thank you. For everything.”

“Hey, it’s cool. After all, with how much you work, you can’t be home all the time. I’m just glad somepony appreciates my foalsitting talents,” Rainbow Dash boasted, a wide grin on her face. Muffins just smiled, though didn’t attempt to look up from her hooves.

“Well, there is something else that I need to say,” she began again.

“Alright, Muffins, but could you make it quick? I need to get to those cider cups before the last one goes.” With this added urgency, Muffins felt her stomach twist within her belly.

“Ah, right, o-ok,” she stuttered. “This isn’t really the thing to rush, but given that… well, that’s kind of what I want to s-say, I guess. I know, I mean. It’s just that, well… it’s not just been helping me with Dinky that you’ve done for me, but I… I really enjoyed your c-company. You’re such a wonderful pony; you’re funny, you’re n-nice, you see past my, umm, eyes and clumsiness and stuff. I think you’re the only person I’ve not heard call me Ditzy or whatever it is they’re saying now.” She paused to catch her breath, her eyes dropping to the floor again. “Wh-what I mean to say is that I… I think I… Dash, I luh…”

“YOU GET THAT HOOF AWAY FROM THAT TABLE RIGHT NOW!”

“Dash?”

Muffins’ gaze whipped up to confront the empty space that Rainbow Dash had occupied. Instead, there was merely the remnants of a dust cloud, and in the middle distance a cyan blur, as Rainbow Dash leapt dramatically towards the cider table. Only one mug was left, and there was a terrified looking pony with a singular outstretched hoof. The grey mare frowned, and she could feel her eyes starting to drift farther apart than usual. She then heard a set of titters from behind her.

“Is Ditzy talking to an empty space?” One spiteful voice asked.

“Probably just something mental she does, the daft poor thing,” a second said.

“Ssssh, she’ll hear you,” came a third. Muffins whipped her head around, a snarl coming to her face. It was the three flower ponies, because of course it was. They were the usual suspects when it came to gossip, and Muffins had enough experience to know when she was the subject.

“Actually, I can hear you three!” Muffins shouted angrily, turning around. They were on the other end of the table she stood by, and they all looked to her with shock painted across their faces. She intentionally put on her best scolding mother face and voice, something she had plenty of practise with Dinky. “And you know what? Maybe you shouldn’t talk behind a pony’s back like little school fillies!” She lifted a hoof dramatically, before dropping it on the table for emphasis. “This is me putting my hoof down on your behavi-”

WHAM!

As her hoof came down, straight onto the edge of a metal tray, there was a small ‘clonk’ sound, before the tray slammed into her snout. It bounced off, and Muffins’ head was thrown upwards. The lights above went in and out of focus, a hazy series of white and yellow bulbs in a dark grey sea. She didn’t move, but she felt a pair of hooves re-direct her gaze. A blue blurry ball was in front of her, slowly coming into focus, as was her hearing. She heard a raspy, deep scratch of a voice asking her questions.

“… came as soon as I heard. Muffins, are you listening? Oh, snap, you’re bleeding!”

“It’s fine, Rainbow,” Muffins pointed out, bringing a hoof to her snout. She inspected her foot as she pulled it away, a scarlet stain across it. As her stunned giddiness faded, the pain set in, a dull throbbing in the centre of her face. “Doesn’t feel broken. Hurts like hell, though. Did you get your cider?”

“Forget the cider, are you… well, no, I didn’t, but that doesn’t matter right now… it doesn’t matter that much, anyway... just a little.”

“Sorry,” Muffins said with a slight choke to her face. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes.

“Look, don't apologise so much, just… let’s get you cleaned up,” she said, leading Muffins away. Muffins just kept her head down, her cheeks becoming as fiercely red as her nostrils. The cyan Pegasus looked just as embarrassed, pulling the pitable mare away from the table.

---

Lyra felt lucky in getting the last cider, but overall it had been a very lucky day for her.

She was a city girl by heart. Her world was one of huge crowds, of towers of steel and glass, of sprawling streets, impossible to navigate to all but the locals. Some little crum-bum town in the middle of nowhere, with dainty little houses and exactly one shop for each thing, did not sound like a raucous amount of fun for her. Then there was what she had given up to be here; she had originally planned to go to the party that her friend Moondancer. Apparently, Moondancer had pulled out all of the stops; she had somehow managed to invite even Twilight Sparkle, and if that closed off introvert had expressed interest in going then it must have been good. But no, there was work.

And yet, Lyra had found herself loving her time here. The town itself didn’t really appeal to her, but her company? Octavia and Vinyl Scratch were city girls by nature too, and birds of a feather may flock together. Their conversation had run the gambit all day and night, from their mutual love of music to the joys of city life. A lot of comparing and contrasting between Canterlot and Trottingham had occurred. She barely knew either of these ponies, but now she felt like they were firm friends.

Though that’s not to say there was no conflict between them.

“Why would you call them ‘crisps’?” The mint unicorn asked frustratedly. “They’re potato chips! They are literally chips of potato!” To this, Vinyl Scratch made a series of hoof gestures that Octavia nodded in approval to.

“Vinyl’s correct, I must admit,” the grey earth pony said, sipping from her glass. “Crisps do make a ‘crisp’ sound when you bite them, and they do taste crispy.”

“And how often have either of you heard that name outside of Trottingham?”

Both Vinyl and Octavia, at first, looked a little defeated by this, before Octavia’s lips curled upward. “And where were they invented? Oh, that’s right; Buck Lane, Trottingham.” Lyra blinked to this, a brief pause in the conversation, before all three of them started to giggle. Lyra looked to Octavia.

“I tell you what, meeting you two has made this trip a lot more enjoyable. How long do you think you’ll be in Ponyville for, Octavia?”

“Oh, me? I think I’m leaving early morning,” Octavia said. Lyra didn’t make note of it, but she did notice Vinyl’s usually cheerful demeanour drop immediately upon hearing this. Octavia didn’t seem the wiser, as she elaborated. “I might come back once or twice, just to see Vinyl, but I need to prepare for the next tour. Speaking of, I think I’m going in five minutes to prepare to play.” She then looked to Lyra. “How about you, Lyra? How long do you think you’ll be staying?”

“Well, I’ve still got your sousaphone to fix,” Lyra said, gesturing to Vinyl. She placed her cider on the table by her, wiping her lips. “Then after that, I think I’ll only be staying for…”

Suddenly, Lyra stopped, much to Octavia and Vinyl’s confusion. They watched as Lyra’s gold eyes widened, her mouth staying open. They looked to behind them, trying to see what she was looking at, before turning back.

“You’ll be staying for…” Octavia prompted. Then Lyra gave a dreamy smile, one that seemed drunken and distant.

“For the rest of my life,” she said, her cider mug illuminating with magic as she lifted it in front of Vinyl’s face idly. “Hold this for me,” she asked before simply dropping it on the floor. She certainly didn’t notice, and began to walk away from the two bewildered ponies. The mint unicorn marched forward, quite literally through the crowd. Any pony who didn’t move out of her way was shunted away, but she never seemed to notice. At one point, she bumped into a table and simply walked on until it was pulled out of her way by someone else. Soon, the crowd dove out of the way, as Lyra approached the opposite end of the hall.

---

Agent Sweetie Drops glared out of the window. There, in the darkness, she could see the zebra from the forest pacing about. Whatever she had planned must have something to do with tonight, she was sure of it. The cream pony looked around cautiously, before pulling out her trusty pistol and aiming it at the cloaked figure. The shot was far, but it didn’t matter; if she wasn’t hit, at least the zebra would probably be startled enough to run, and then Sweetie Drops could confront her at her leisure. She closed one eye, the other focusing as her hoof remained still and her breathing steadied.

“H-h-h-hiiiiiiii~”

Sweetie Drops stopped at what sounded like an angelic voice. She turned slowly, trying to keep the pistol hidden.

All of the world stopped.

Wide, golden eyes, like two suns staring back at her. Two toned flowing locks of an off-grey green and the most pearly white. A form unlike any other Sweetie Drops had seen, with a shimmering green coat and wondrous curves. For a moment, Sweetie Drops was convinced she was in the company of an angel. She dropped her pistol in shock, not noticing it fire at it dropped to the floor. The panicked screams in the background of the hall were drowned out by the voice of this mare, which to Sweetie Drops sounded sweeter than a choir of cherubs.
“What’s your name?” Asked the angelic beauty. Sweetie Drops felt her cheeks going pink.

“Sweetie Dr- no, Bon… no… yes, Bon Bon,” Sweetie Drops said in a complete panic, her mind going completely blank. She forgot about the zebra agent entirely, as well as where she was. If asked her mother’s name she would have struggled at that moment. Sweetie Drops struggled to continue the conversation, already perfectly content to simply stare into this mare’s eyes all night, but she forced herself to speak. “And you are…”

“I’m in love,” the pony said dreamily, her eyelashes fluttering as she did. Then she panicked in a similar manner to Sweetie Drops. “I mean I’m in Lyra. I mean I am Lyra.” She had a blush on her cheeks as she looked back to Sweetie Drops. Those blushes, like two pink roses; such beauty and fragility. She tentatively placed a hoof to Lyra’s chin, and the mint unicorn squeaked in surprise.

“Fillies and gentlecolts, as mayor of Ponyville, it is my great pleasure to announce the beginning of the Summer Sun Celebration!”

Neither pony was stirred by this distant voice. A grey pony in a pink bow tie approached Lyra from behind and tapped her gently on the shoulder.

“Lyra, they’re starting, haven’t you notic-” Suddenly, the grey pony was subjected to a loud, catlike hiss from Lyra, who wheeled around with a terrifying rage. The grey pony immediately backed off, and those golden orbs turned back to Sweetie Drops, freezing her in place and throwing her into a world of bliss.

“In just a few moments, our town will witness the magic of the sunrise, and celebrate this, the longest day of the year!” Came the distant voice again, one that Sweetie Drops might have recognised as Mayor Mare had she been able to recognise anything of what was going on around her. “And now, it is my great honor to introduce to you the ruler of our land, the very pony who gives us the sun and the moon each and every day, the good, the wise, the bringer of harmony to all of Equestria; Princess Celestia!”

Author's Note:

Well, that took longer than expected. Hopefully the next one take slightly less time, and I can get this fic finished within this decade. All of you enjoy!

Comments

[NobodieZ]

skiving? Crisps? I take it that you're from England.

Also Lyra and Bon-Bon falling in love at first sight? Insert Disney Princess joke here.