"Loyalty" Begins With an L

by shortskirtsandexplosions

vii

"I dunno, Bon Bon," Lyra said with a wincing expression. Squinting through bifocals, she scribbled notes across a music sheet lying out on a table in the center of the mares' brightly-lit living room. "If I were you, I wouldn't sign up for it. It kind of sounds pretentious to me."

"Why don't you marry that word if you love it so much?!" Bon Bon's voice carried over the smell of various baked candies in the nearby kitchen.

"What word?"

"'Pretentious!'"

"Pfft!" Lyra rolled her eyes and smirked. "So color me purple."

"I really think it's a great idea!" Bon Bon trotted into the doorframe to the kitchen, wiping one of her hooves with a towel. "How many up-and-coming confectioners fail to make it big in Ponyville because the likes of me and Mrs. Cake are gobbling up all of the local market's attention?"

"Yeah, but switching baked goods with Apple Fritter for the upcoming Summer Sweets Competition?" Lyra made a face, shuffling through several music sheets. "I dunno, Bon Bon. If you ask me, popular candy-makers get that way cuz they earn it. Exactly what is this stunt going to accomplish?"

"What else?" Bon Bon stifled a giggle. "It'll help lesser-known bakers get their names on the map!"

"But is it worth lying to a bunch of taste-testers? Including the judge's board?" Lyra shuddered. "I just hate to see some harm come to your reputation."

"We're gonna come clean with the whole experiment in the end! Besides, Mrs. Cake and I have won top awards so many years in a row. I think it's time that new ponies got the spotlight, especially if it means showing how broken the judging system is!"

"Yeah, well, I'll back you up in anything you do, honey," Lyra murmured. "Even if it's something stupid."

"Heeheehee... Oh Lyra." Bon Bon trotted over and nuzzled the mint-green unicorn. "Don't you think I have more in life to make me happy beyond candy-making?"

Lyra smiled, shoving Bon Bon off with a shrug of her shoulder. "Pleasing you hardly earns us bits."

Bon Bon turned back to the kitchen. "It might if we paid a special visit to Los Pegasus."

"Oh, hardy har har..."

"Heeheehee—" Bon Bon froze in mid-trot upon hearing the doorbell ring. "Goodness me! Who's that at this hour?"

"Uhhh..." Lyra lowered the bifocals from her nose. "You don't suppose Derpy's confused sunset with sunrise again?"

"She'd better be delivering extra cinnamon if she is!" Bon Bon said from where she was removing several treats from a pair of ovens. "These rolls aren't going to perfect themselves!"

"Oh, Celestia forbid!" Lyra got up from the sofa and walked across the living room. "Better make sure your—I mean—Apple Fritter's goods don't go stale!"

"I see what you did there!"

"No you didn't!" Lyra chuckled and opened the door. "Lose your watch again, Miss Hooves—?" She froze in place, blinking. "R-Rainbow Dash!"

Bon Bon's head peeked out from the kitchen door, wide-eyed.

Rainbow stood outside the front entrance, digging at the doormat with a blue hoof. "Uhm... Hi."

"Hey," Lyra replied with a blink.

Bon Bon limply waved from afar.

There was silence.

"Uhm..." Rainbow Dash gnawed on her lip. "This... This is really late at night, isn't it?" More silence. "I mean, for 'chewing the fat' or whatever..."

"Huh?" Lyra's mouth fell agape. She gazed back at Bon Bon, then at a nearby clock. "Oh! Uhm... Hardly! Ten o'clock? Pfft. At this hour, I've barely tossed the day out of my mane! It's not late at all!" She gulped and smiled back towards the kitchen. "Is it, Bon Bon?"

"Er... No!" Bon Bon smiled brightly and skipped across the living room to stand by Lyra's side. "What a pleasure to have you drop by! I mean really, Rainbow Dash..."

"Have a step inside," Lyra said, gesturing.

Quietly, a squirming Rainbow Dash did just that. One tiny hoofstep after another, she stepped through the door and stood in the mares' foyer. She looked around, her ruby eyes squinting at the indoor lighting. "Heh... swell pad. It's certainly..."

"Comfy?" Bon Bon smiled.

"Bright," Rainbow Dash uttered.

"Yeah, well." Lyra rolled her eyes and motioned towards Bon Bon with a smile. "Blame Miss Sunshine here. Turns out candy isn't the only thing she likes to decorate."

"So what if I like everything to be cheerful wherever I go?" Bon Bon stuck her tongue out and gestured towards the sofa. "Here! Have a seat! Would you like something to drink?"

"Uhhh... I-I didn't come here to empty your well or nothing—"

"Pfft! Don't be such a silly filly!" Bon Bon waved. "You're our guest! If you're parched, it's the least we can do!"

"Yeah." Lyra nodded. "You look beat."

"Lyra!" Bon Bon hissed.

The unicorn shrugged. "Hey! Just saying!" She smiled at Rainbow Dash. "Crazy day of cloud kicking?"

"Heh. Yeah." Rainbow Dash managed a relaxed smirk, shaking the tangles out of her mane. "When is it not, though, is the question."

"So which thundercloud pulled the knife on you?"

"Huh?"

Lyra pointed at Rainbow's scraped forelimbs.

"Oh. That. Uhm..." Rainbow Dash stirred. "Let's just say that firefighters aren't the only ponies who have to rescue cats from trees."

"Say no more," Lyra remarked, waving both forelimbs. "Now sit down before Bon Bon has a heart attack."

"I am not!" the earth pony's voice called forth from beyond. She was already in the kitchen, rummaging around. "Lemme just turn these ovens off and I'll get you a glass of something! What do you like, Rainbow? Orange juice? Sarsaparilla? Ooooh! I know! Cider! You're crazy about the stuff, aren't you?"

"Uhm..." Rainbow Dash fidgeted until she found her way to the sofa. She sat on it, folding her hooves politely beneath her. "Just water is fine."

"Okay! I'll be out in a sec!"

"She really loves having guests over," Lyra remarked, sitting down on the opposite side of the couch from Rainbow Dash. She shuffled her song sheets together and telekinetically filed them into a manila envelope. "So stop feeling guilty about visiting at this hour. We're both late owls anyway."

"Alright..." Rainbow Dash nodded. She tilted her head up and sniffed. "This place smells different."

"Jee, thanks," Lyra droned with a wry smirk. "I make sure to secrete poached dragon glands all over the corners every morning. It chases the gargoyles away."

"Er... I mean..." Rainbow Dash winced. "I-I guess I don't know what I mean. It's... it's a nice smell..."

"Heh... I'm just teasing you," Lyra said. "What is it that you're always telling ponies, Rainbow? 'Chillax?' I swear to Luna, what's gotten you so tense lately?"

"I guess I'm just used to flying over rooftops," Rainbow Dash murmured, her eyes scanning a distant line of old photographs resting over a fireplace. "But actually going inside the houses? Aside from a few of my best friend's places, I rarely step inside anywhere. And when I do, the smell is... different. I dunno. It's just something I notice."

"I bet your house has a nice smell of its own," Lyra said.

Rainbow Dash bit her lip, avoiding the unicorn's gaze. "I... I wouldn't know..."

One of Lyra's eyebrows arched at that.

"Tall glass of ice-cold water, coming right up!" Bon Bon marched into the room with a tray balanced on her flank. Of the three glasses, Rainbow Dash clutched one and Lyra telekinetically lifted another. "Don't be afraid, Rainbow Dash," Bon Bon said. "It's bottled stuff. I know that most pegasi are exclusively used to drinking rainwater from clouds." She winked playfully. "No need for you to suffer from Maretazuma's Revenge."

"Eh heh heh..." Rainbow Dash raised the glass and took a sip. She swallowed and exhaled, "I think I'll be more than okay. Thanks."

Bon Bon lowered the tray and squatted on a stool across from the two on the sofa. "So, were you just out having a stroll?"

"Something like that," Rainbow Dash murmured. She gulped heartily from the glass. When she held it in her hooves, the leftover water rippled visibly in her feeble grasp. "Ever have a night where your body wants to sleep, but your brain refuses to let it?"

Lyra's eyes rested on the quivering water before rising up to Rainbow's dull expression. "Heh, all the time. If my horn had its way, I'd be up every night scribbling crappy attempts at a symphony."

"I used to have terrible insomnia," Bon Bon said. "Lyra, you remember. We used to take midnight strolls to the stone bridge over Deer River and back."

"Deer River..." Rainbow Dash took another drink. "You mean just north of the lake house?"

"Uhhh..." Bon Bon blushed furiously and glanced over towards Lyra.

The unicorn was fighting a rosiness to her own cheeks. "Erm... We wouldn't know anything about a lake house."

"Ahem." Bon Bon recovered with a gentle smile of her own. "Do you have any solutions for insomnia of your own, Rainbow Dash?"

"I dunno."

"Oh?"

"Haven't had sleeping problems until just recently." With that, Rainbow Dash unemotionally slapped the glass onto the tabletop in front of the sofa.

Both marefriends stared fixedly at the empty container, exchanged glances, and faced their guest once more.

"Well... uhm..." Bon Bon fidgeted. "Maybe if you paid a visit to Nurse Red Heart, she could prescribe something for—"

"Are those your photos?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Bon Bon blinked. "Huh?"

"Those." Rainbow Dash pointed across the room. "The old-looking ones."

"Above the fireplace, I think she means," Lyra added.

"Oh!" Bon Bon brightened cheerfully. "Yes, they belong to my family!" She got up from her stool and approached the hearth, straightening the wooden frames around the black-and-white images of ponies in outdated fashion. "We've been here a long time—in Ponyville, I mean. Not as long as the Apple Family, of course..."

"Well, whose family has?" Rainbow Dash remarked.

"Hehehe... Exactly." Bon Bon pointed at one picture after another. "This is my Grandfather Pepper Skins. And that's my Great Aunt Falsetto. This group here are my distant cousin and his wife and foals—"

"I'm not seeing any unicorns."

"Huh?" Bon Bon briefly fumbled.

Lyra spoke up, "They’re all Bon Bon's relatives. I... uh... don't have any family photos. Not in the living room, at least."

"Besides, Lyra doesn't like showing off like I do," Bon Bon said with a flighty laugh. "But she likes sharing things in her own way. Oooh! Honey, how about playing that little number you wrote over the weekend?"

"Oh Bon Bon, I dunno..."

"Why not? Heeheehee—It's absolutely beautiful! Brings a tear to my eye!" Bon Bon smiled across the room at Rainbow Dash. "Don't let her cutie mark fool you. Lyra here can play the piano like an angel."

"Yeah..." Lyra smiled tiredly, leaning her chin against a hoof. "Like an angel of death."

"Oh hush! That latest piece is gonna be on record sooner than later!"

"Everypony is sick to death of sad ballads. I know I can whip up something better, given the time."

"Maybe if you stopped teaching at Ponyville High everyday and took some time off to be even more creative for once!"

"Hey! I happen to enjoy running the local band camp! Some unlucky sap in Equestria has gotta be into it!"

"But why's that sap always gotta be you?"

"Ugh... I really don't think this is the time or the place, Bon Bon..."

"Lyra..."

"Uhm..." Rainbow Dash was fidgeting.

"Oh dear." Bon Bon chuckled. "You poor thing. Listening to us go on like that. Why don't you tell us all about that sonic rainboom you performed in Canterlot?!"

"Yeah..." Lyra smiled. "You think you're the insomniac? Bon Bon won't lie still until she hears from the mistress of flight herself."

"No, I'm fine just... just talking about whatever," Rainbow Dash murmured, staring down at the couch cushion beneath her. "You both are really... cool. It's as though you read each other like a book."

"That'll happen after you've lived with another pony long enough," Lyra said.

"Heehee! Oh, absolutely." Bon Bon nodded. "Say, did you see these photos?" Bon Bon trotted over to an adjacent wall and motioned towards several far more colorful images. "Lyra and I have something of an album building. It's almost twice the number of pictures that I have of old family members. The way I see it, several decades from now, we'll have a rich history of our own for future ponies to share."

"Yeah..." Rainbow Dash said. "You... You really bring a lot of life to this village."

"Awwww... Thanks! That's so sweet."

"Do you... Do you find it hard?" Rainbow remarked. Her voice stammered, then produced, "Living together... around so many other ponies, that is. Doesn't... Doesn't it make you feel uncomfortable?"

"Hmmm..." Bon Bon's face scrunched past her own reflection in the picture frames. "Uncomfortable? I dunno. I find every day to be exciting and promising. It's good to have a positive outlook and all. But as for being uncomfortable around other ponies? Well, if you ask me, I try not to pay it too much mind. I mean, I can't speak for everypony, though a lot of them have done nothing but enrich our lives in this delightful town." She giggled. "And you should know a thing or two about enriching lives, right, Rainbow Dash?"

Silence.

"Rainbow?" Bon Bon turned around. The first thing she saw was the back of Lyra's head. The mint-green unicorn was staring fixedly at their guest. Bon Bon followed her gaze, and her expression went blank.

Rainbow Dash was curled up tightly against the far end of the couch. In an almost foalish gesture, she hugged her forelimbs to her chest and stared deeply into the floor. Her face was locked in a perpetually anxious wince.

Without a word, Bon Bon trotted briskly towards the center of the living room and squatted down on the floor beside her partner. The two of them stared intently at Rainbow Dash. Bon Bon eventually swallowed before saying, "Are... Are you feeling uncomfortable about something, Rainbow Dash?"

"I..." Rainbow Dash shuddered. Her teeth showed briefly as she took several short breaths and curled her forelimbs to her chest even tighter. "I-I don't know..."

Bon Bon smiled warmly. "Of course you do. Why... Why would you be here, Rainbow, unless there was something you wanted to share with somepony?"

"You can talk to us, Rainbow Dash," Lyra said in an even lower tone. "What are you feeling right now?"

Rainbow Dash shivered. She gulped and darted her eyes towards the corners of the room furthest from the two. "I..." Her lips quivered, and the next utterance positively squeaked out of her. "I feel."

Lyra and Bon Bon sat patiently, waiting, listening.

Rainbow Dash shuddered and repeated, "I feel. And all I'm getting is nervousness and butterflies in my stomach and this stupid insomnia and... and..."

"Are you feeling confused?" Lyra asked.

Rainbow Dash winced. Slowly, she shook her head. "No." She finally looked the two in the face, and when she did so it was with a vulnerable twitch to her ruby eyes. "That's just it. I kind of wish I was confused. But I'm not. I couldn't possibly be more sure of something in my life. I feel... no." She tensed her jaw. "I know, and now every stupid little thing suddenly screams at me at full volume." She closed her eyes and sighed. After a few seconds, she cast a tired glance at the pair. "Was there ever a day when you woke up and—like—you just knew?"

Bon Bon and Lyra blinked. They exchanged glances and smiled.

"Well, to be frank, Rainbow..." Bon Bon chuckled slightly. "We always knew. It's not like some light switch was flipped and suddenly we decided that we were going to like mares."

"Contrary to what some ponies might think, there's never some overnight epiphany," Lyra added. She leaned forward with a sympathetic look. "Why? Do you feel as if a switch was flipped for you?"

"Pfffft," Rainbow Dash reacted before even thinking. She glanced off towards the far end of the living room as she curled into the corner of the couch. "No. No, I guess I... I always knew. Only..." She winced through her teeth. "It... It suddenly matters to me now. It didn't always matter, but now it does, and I can't stop thinking about it."

"What happened?" Lyra asked softly. "What caused you to think about it so much?"

"Nnnngh..." Rainbow Dash clenched her eyes shut while her brow furrowed as if with a furious headache. "That stupid wedding. All that ceremony and sappiness and celebration and crud." She groaned. A few seconds passed, and she continued in a muttering tone. "It started first with me being asked to perform the sonic rainboom over Canterlot. I was like 'Cool, I can totally do that.' But then—like—the whole wedding became this crazy thing. There was a bunch of drama, and then the whole changeling crap happened. And—like—when all the madness was done with, and Twilight's brother and Princess Whats-Her-Name did their vows and k-kissed and got married and all..." She bit her lip as a soft breath flowed through her. Eventually, she dripped forth, "I... I saw how happy they were. And... And I liked it. I liked that happiness... because—like—I could feel it too."

Bon Bon smiled. "I think that's really sweet, Rainbow Dash. Twilight's your friend, and it's only natural for you to be happy for her brother—"

"It's more than that," Rainbow Dash grunted, shaking her head. "After they kissed and it was my time to pull off the sonic rainboom, I... well, y'know... I did it. But it was so easy. I mean, I knew it would be easy. I'm learning how to pull the stuff off in my sleep. And it's not like everypony wasn't impressed. All of Canterlot was screaming their heads off. I had tons of ponies asking for my autographs left and right. Even the rich snobs."

"Heh... alright..."

"But, like, I started thinking..." Rainbow Dash murmured. "The sonic rainboom was once something I thought would be impossible, but now it's so flippin' easy for me to do. So, like, what about joining the Wonderbolts? Will that become something easy for me too? I mean, I'll totally dig that when it happens, and I'd rock the skies and become the greatest Wonderbolt there's ever been or ever will be. But..." She squinted into the shadows of the place. "What if impressing all of Equestria isn't all it's cracked up to be? I mean, not to toot my own horn or nothing, but there are tons of ponies who kiss the ground I walk on here, how little I do walk on it..."

Bon Bon giggled. "Uh huh. No denying that..."

"I just..." Rainbow Dash squirmed nervously. "I just feel suddenly that all of that won't matter to me like I've always imagined it would. Being praised by tons of ponies is cool and all. But how will I know that I'll really be happy from it all? How will I know that I'll feel... like they felt... Twilight's brother and the Princess, I mean. They were in such a good place. And... and I think I want that too. I want to be in a good place so that when I make it big, I won't... I-I won't be alone. I can talk about it. I can share it. I..."

Bon Bon gently said, "You want somepony to come home to..."

The light reflected brighter off Rainbow's eyes, and her voice cracked, "Yes." She sniffled and slowly nodded. "I... would really, really like that." She sighed heavily, as if confessing a great sin. Her hooves played foalishly with the colorful hairs of her tail as she blinked her eyes dry and muttered, "And for the life of me, I can't see that somepony being a stallion. I... I never have..." She slowly shook her head. "And now, I can't stop thinking of how... how strange that is..."

Bon Bon chuckled dryly. The brightness faded briefly in her face as she smiled with a furrowed brow. "Rainbow Dash, you're experiencing a very special moment of self-discovery. It's only natural to feel as though you've had a shock to your system. But don't feel as though you have to call it 'strange.’”

"But isn't it?" Rainbow Dash glared at her. "How many couples are there like you two around here in Ponyville?"

"Well—"

"Or in Equestria for that matter?" Rainbow Dash shivered at the words coming out of her mouth. "I... I don't know what my friends would think of me if I told them. Would they think I was weird? Would they pretend to not feel awkward around me? I mean... I-I actually do care about these crazy ponies I hang out with all the time. I don't want to scare them off..."

"Scare them off?!" Bon Bon chuckled. "Oh Rainbow Dash, you have some of the greatest, most dependable friends in all of Equestria! I mean—for Luna's sake!—you're all embodying the Elements of Harmony! That's an enviable bond no matter how you shake it! Even if it that wasn't the case, I've baked with Pinkie Pie constantly! I know Applejack and Rarity like sisters! I've even talked with Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle on several occasions! I know for a fact that they're all very tolerant and understanding!"

"I... I owe it to them to not freak them out," Rainbow Dash muttered.

Bon Bon briefly frowned. "And you owe yourself far more respect than that! Seriously, what's to fear about telling them how you feel? That's what this is all about, isn't it? You shouldn't be afraid of anything, Rainbow Dash. I mean—heehee—it's not like you're crushing really hard on any of them to make the whole thing awkward—"

Rainbow Dash winced visibly, biting her lip.

Bon Bon froze in mid-speech. She blinked, and then her face paled. "Oh... OH. Uhm..." She fidgeted and ran a hoof through her blue-and-pink mane. "Hmmm..."

"So stupid..." Rainbow Dash clenched her eyes shut and murmured over and over again in a hissing voice. "So stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid..."

"Hey... Hey, no. No, don't go there." Bon Bon leaned forward. "You're being too hard on yourself. Now stop. I mean it. You've opened up so easily to us, haven't you? What's to say that you can't do the same with your friends—even if you do... have feelings for one of them?"

"I'm a featherbrain," Rainbow Dash grumbled. "A stupid cloud skipper who doesn't know how to keep her wings down. This will all end stupidly. I know it."

"Not at all." Bon Bon shook her head. "Your friends love and care for you. It won't be as awkward as you think. I think you should go to them and tell them the truth, so that you can finally be at ease with yourself. I just know that they'll accept you no matter what, and all of your fears will be for nothing—"

"Bon Bon..."

She looked over.

Lyra was gazing at her silently, her eyes calm and meditative. She slowly shook her head.

Bon Bon blinked, her lips quivering as if attempting to protest. In the end, she gave up, and sadly hung her head in a quiet slump.

Rainbow Dash watched curiously as Lyra shuffled off the couch and squatted by Bon Bon's side. She rested a mint-green hoof on the mare's shoulder and looked over. "There's a reason why I don't have any photos of my family to grace the fireplace."

Rainbow Dash blinked. She swallowed and nodded. "I'm listening..."

Lyra took a breath and spoke. "I was born and raised in Canterlot," she said. "I'm not sure if I ever told you that."

To Rainbow Dash's neutral response, she calmly continued.

"I had a very nice upbringing, and when I say 'nice' I invariably mean 'rich.' Heh. My mother's a lawyer and my father works in the management of a popular jewelry store in the city's upper district. Since I was a little filly, they supported me in all of my endeavors. They taught me to pursue my dreams and aspirations with utmost zeal. When I got my cutie mark for musical talents, they invested a lot of money to enroll me in Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns—the music department, to be exact. I shot to the top of the my class almost instantly.”

Lyra’s eyes wandered across the bright walls of the living room as she continued speaking.

“My parents were so proud of me,” she said in a quiet tone. “And on several occasions they took me aside to make sure that I was getting the best out of life. My father—as a matter of fact—had a philosophy that he always shared with me. He told me that the essential key to a unicorn's healthy living is to embrace love and joy as much as learning. So, taking his advice, I took time away from rigorous study to go out and socialize. I fell in love at a young age, and it positively changed my life. I was living in the clouds, and everypony in the family knew it. My parents begged and begged to be introduced my new coltfriend. And, so, one day I indulged them."

Lyra paused, fiddling with the ends of her hooves against the wooden floorboards. She smiled gently to herself.

"Only," she said. "It wasn't a coltfriend." She paused, then leaned back. "Looking back, I have to admit—I was really young. I didn't think. Or—at least—if I did, it was with a measurable degree of brashness, arrogance and... pretentiousness on my part." She glanced over at Bon Bon.

Bon Bon quietly smiled back.

"What..." Rainbow Dash murmured. "What did your parents say?" She gulped, afraid of the answer that she was already starting to predict. "What did they do?"

Lyra looked back. She exhaled, "The details aren't exactly important. The long and short of it: I moved out within the year. Not all places in Canterlot are as... inviting as Ponyville, Rainbow Dash. I've heard you speak less than favorably of Equestria's capital city on several occasions, and the only reason I've never argued the point is that—well—I believe it too, for I've lived it. And—in a lot of ways—I still do."

She looked Rainbow Dash in the eye from across the room.

"You say that every house smells different? That couldn't be farther from the truth. But living in that home? It smelled rotten. My parents never attacked me for who I was or who I chose to love. They never outright berated me or went out of their way to insult me. As a matter of fact, they did nothing. And because of that, I felt like nothing. I was suddenly some shell of a pony that they barely looked at anymore as we passed each other in the hall. And when I looked hurt or insulted, they acted all defensive, pretending that they were doing their best all along to avoid offending me."

Lyra suddenly frowned.

"But you know what? Ignorance is a poor substitute for tolerance. I had to get out of that environment. The funny part was that when I started packing my things, finally they showed signs of life. In a last-ditch effort to keep me around, they scheduled me with a psychiatrist, as if I had a sickness, as if there was something about me that needed to be fixed. My parents, the very mentors who taught me to embrace the joys of life in the first place, the ones who taught me to explore the lengths of myself..."

"So..." Rainbow Dash squinted. "You left home?"

"I left, yes." Lyra nodded. "And for a while, I didn't know where to go. My mother in particular has a lot of influence in Canterlot. I know that she never personally went on any crusade to hurt my image, but everypony could tell that she was displeased with me. As a result, friends and distant relatives who once offered open doors to me suddenly had them closed. Nopony bothered to think for themselves. All they knew was that there was something undeniably wrong with me, and they never bothered to challenge the issue, to second-guess the intoxicating power of absolute intolerance.”

Lyra chuckled, a bitter smile gracing her lips.

"The deliciously ironic part was that the fillyfriend with whom this whole thing started also wanted nothing to do with me,” she said. “Because she thought I had instrumented the whole thing as a desperate stunt to make me move in with her. Close-mindedness infects all things, you see. I learned that the hard way, and that's when I knew true hopelessness, for I had no place to call home. I wasn't entirely lost, mind you. I had money to my name. I had my education, and a career to get started on. But what point is achieving anything if there's no joy to it? If there's no security in living the way you want to live, the way you wish to live it?"

"That... that sounds pretty terrible," Rainbow Dash said.

"Mmm. Not half as much as what I went through the next two and a half years," Lyra said. "I settled in Ponyville, but I couldn't possibly have called myself 'happy.' I had just lost all connections with my family. There was... was so much bitterness and doubt in my life. I don't know if you've ever lived with that, Rainbow Dash, and I shudder to think of you dealing with it. Imagine if you felt guilt and regret every time you did something you believed in, like shaping weather clouds or practicing for the Wonderbolts. I... I clammed up. I became a hermit. I found my tiny little niche in the village and I sat there alone, writing songs and practicing music theory, content to do so in solitude until the end of time."

"What... What changed?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Not what..." Lyra said, and a warm smile blossomed under her cheeks. She turned towards Bon Bon. "Who." She leaned over and nuzzled the mare's face. Bon Bon smiled sweetly, her eyes watering. Lyra caressed her cheek and spoke, "She saw me. She saw all of the walls that I had erected around myself. And... and she loved me anyway. And slowly, those walls came crumbling down." Lyra swallowed and gazed back at Rainbow. Her voice was wavering slightly, "She taught me what my parents had always meant to, only she did so with love and sincerity and... and with loyalty."

Rainbow Dash blinked.

"I had found joy again, and suddenly life in Ponyville had a purpose to it," Lyra murmured. "I... had a purpose. I started believing in myself, only because I realized there was nothing stopping me from doing so in the first place. I became a teacher of the local school band, and I've been an active member of the community ever since."

"And someday, she's gonna write a masterpiece of a symphony," Bon Bon said with a proud smile.

Lyra rolled her eyes. "One thing at a time, honey..."

"Mmmm—Heeheehee..."

"And... Since you and Bon Bon got together..." Rainbow Dash was wincing even before she was finished preparing the question. "Have you seen your parents?"

Lyra slowly shook her head. "Celestia knows I've tried," she said calmly. "I've written letters. Sometimes they reply—always ignoring every comment I've made about my new life and all. But I've come to expect that from them. I just wonder how they look and sound in person, of course. It's the little things that gnaw at me, the things that I know I won't get to savor again soon... if at all..."

"Wow..." Rainbow Dash made a face. "You must—like—really hate them after all this time."

"Hate them?!" Lyra frowned. She slowly shook her head. "No, Rainbow Dash, I can't. Sure..." She chuckled bitterly and smirked towards the ceiling. “I feel like wringing their necks on occasion, heh. But no, I can never hate them. They're my parents, Rainbow. They taught me things that I'll never forget, instilled me with strengths that keep me afloat even to this day. For better or for worse, they're still the same wonderful ponies who provided for me when I was a little filly, and they will forever be a part of my existence."

"But, like... they practically ignore you and stuff..."

"And I know them well enough to tell that somewhere behind all of their walls—their constructions of confusion and obstinate fear—that there is still a piece of them that's worth waiting for, that's worth cherishing..." Lyra took a painful breath. "Just as Bon Bon so... so humbly bore through all of my barriers to find me. Life is something built by ideas, Rainbow, and some of them are more painful and blind than others. But life is also short, and that's a truth that ideas hardly stand up against, no matter how solid their foundation. I can only hope that the stigmas my family has built will crumble before it's too late, and maybe they too will find a joy in their life that they've been denying all this time, a joy that I can help them seize."

"But... But what if that never happens?" Rainbow Dash gulped and stammered, "What if you're closed off from the ones you care for all the time? Would... Would it be worth it?"

"Rainbow Dash, that's just the thing." Lyra said with a sigh. "I... We can't tell you what to expect in this life, or what entirely to expect from your friends the moment you come out to them. But the fact of the matter is that ponies are ponies, and no single soul is open to absolutely everything. In a perfect world, your friends will accept you. But you can't go through life expecting everything to work out perfectly. All you have—the one thing you have control over—is yourself, and the ability to account for yourself."

"Yeah, I know all that and stuff," Rainbow Dash muttered, gazing past the sofa as she hugged herself tighter. "I've lived the dream, and I could continue to live it. But without... without my friends..." Her voice cracked, "I d-don't think I could live happily." She gulped and darted her eyes towards Lyra. "Could you?"

"Yes," she replied firmly. "And I have."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I could have just given into everypony else and what they thought in a heartbeat, and yet I didn't," Lyra replied. "You think I gladly and willingly let myself become ostracized by my family and all their acquaintances in Canterlot? Heh..." She shook her head. "There hasn't been a day when I haven't wondered what life would have been like if I just functioned by the 'norm,' whatever that is." She sighed. "I could easily have settled with my parents, wrestled myself a coltfriend, maybe even mothered a foal with a stallion. But..."

Lyra paused briefly, staring into space. She felt a gentle hoof touching hers. Smiling, she clutched Bon Bon's forelimb and breathed easier.

"It wouldn't have been right," Lyra said. "I would have been living a life, but it wouldn't have been my life. It wouldn't have been a happy one, a true one. How fair would that have been to my parents? To a stallion? To a child born from such a charade? And, what's more, how fair would it have been to myself?"

"Yeah, but look at you now." Rainbow Dash sat up straight for once, pointing at the couple. "You found Bon Bon. You found happiness."

"Don't you see, Rainbow Dash? Don't you get it?" Lyra smiled ardently. "There's a foundation to everything—an important foundation—and it's true for all the things in life, especially when nothing is ever... ever guaranteed. Yes, Bon Bon pulled me from the depths of despair, but that's because I was there for her to find, instead of living a lie elsewhere with my parents. Why was I there for her to find me? Because I took a gamble, Rainbow Dash. I came here to Ponyville and limped through years of loneliness with one faith: that more than anything in this life, I had to be loyal to myself."

Rainbow Dash bit her lip and looked towards the floor. "I know what loyalty means..."

"Do you?"

Rainbow Dash looked up.

"Before you tell your most vulnerable secrets to your loved ones," Lyra spoke, staring fixedly at her. "You must first ask yourself: 'Am I loyal to my friends, or am I loyal to the idea of them?' Because if you're not prepared for all the ways in which they might reject you as you are prepared for the ways in which they might accept you, then you haven't yet figured out the difference between being loyal and just pretending. And would you pretend to be loyal to them any more than you would pretend to be loyal to yourself? Don't you think you both deserve more honesty, more sincerity, and more respect than that?"

Rainbow Dash gulped a lump down her throat and practically whimpered, "I... I just hate being alone. And if what I say changes things... if it makes a huge change—"

"Everything changes, Rainbow Dash," Bon Bon interjected softly. "The things that don't change, that refuse to acknowledge the love of one pony that's more intimate than mere friendship: those are the things that you should truly worry about, and should address as soon as you have the strength and courage to do so."

Rainbow Dash ran a hoof over her face, sighing. "I... I just wish that they could work the same."

"What?" Bon Bon smiled. "Love and loyalty? Heehee... Yes, they can work the same, but not for everypony."

Lyra added, "I think you owe it to yourself to make the divide, as well as to the pony that you particularly care for."

"And if it comforts you any, Rainbow Dash," Bon Bon added with a gentle smile. "We'll be here for you, to help you every step of the way." She squeezed Lyra's hoof and Lyra nodded.

"I thank you guys. Really, I do..." Rainbow Dash gazed wearily, dizzily at them. "But if there's anything I've gotten from this whole sap-fest, it's that the only pony that can help me... is myself..."

Comments

[Csquared08]

Hmmm... None of the Mane 6 are tagged. I wonder...

[Ponky]

Opening Scene = Anno Domini switch. You clever marsupial...

...

Holy. Fetching. Crap.

That was beautiful, Skirts. That was absolutely, stirringly, tear-jerkingly beautiful. Wow. I think I like this version of Lyra better than BP's. (That's probably because they're one and the same in my head, somehow. Somehow...)

Anyway, specTACular job with this chapter, and this fic so far. It's really moving me. Powerful stuff, immaculately written.

[Ponky]

I mean... I'm freaking out here! This was amazing! The way you characterized Lyra and Bon Bon... the way you made them so real, and how they interacted with this poor, lonely, confused, vulnerable Rainbow Dash... it was just beautiful! It sparkled, Skirts! These words sparkled!

Goodness gracious. This was so good. I have to read this again. I'm dyin', man. You're amazing. This story is amazing, and I don't even like this kind of stuff!

How can you write the likes of "Everypony is Made to Be Loved", "Nopony Needs to Know", and this gem and NOT BELIEVE IN LOVE?!?

[youtube=bVOoUTLl0dc]

[PhantomKirby]

"for Luna's sake!"
Celestia be damned!
Great fic, love how Lyra and Bon Bon have a happy and real no ghost forgetting relationship, and how well you portray them.
Keep up the amazing work!

[Emberspeak]

Hehehe, I love the references to the LOEG switch-a-roo experiment and Background Pony.

You really captured and conveyed the relationship between Lyra and Bon-Bon in such a beautiful way. Everything about that scene just seemed... real, and believable.

[Andy Soshal]

Aaand Dash is gay and now I'm bored.

[Carnation83]

Okay, so I was wrong. I still like my theory, but I have to say the way you wrote Lyra and Bonbon being kind to Rainbow was very well written!

[DrEggnog]

"Yeah, but switching baked goods with Apple Fritter for the upcoming Summer Sweets Competition?" Lyra made a face, shuffling through several music sheets. "I dunno, Bon Bon. If you ask me, popular candy-makers get that way cuz they earn it. Exactly what is this stunt going to accomplish?"

"What else?" Bon Bon stifled a giggle. "It'll help lesser-known bakers get their names on the map!"

"But is it worth lying to a bunch of taste-testers? Including the judge's board?" Lyra shuddered. "I just hate to see some harm come to your reputation."

Boy was this ever the fucking time to read this story!

Lyra and Bon Bon have such a human sincerity to them. They're precious, and I don't use that word in the cutesy way. This story makes me want to, I dunno, work harder to affect the world in a positive way.