Sweet Sweet Music

Chapters

First Impressions
Sweet Treats and Sweeter Music
Friendship and Kindness
A New Day

First Impressions

Sweet Sweet Music - Chapter One

First Impressions

It all started on a day like any other. BonBon had got up early, as per usual, and set up her sweet shop just off the main high-street of Ponyville. With the bell at the front of the shop to announce any customers, BonBon was busy in the back carefully tempering a batch of milk chocolate made of the finest ingredients available in Equestria.

These ingredients, combined with BonBon’s innate skill at crafting sweets, were the reason that BonBon’s Confectionary Emporium was well known as one of the finest provider of fine sweets outside of Canterlot.

BonBon had just finished the batch and was about to prepare a second batch when she heard the doorbell ring, signalling a customer had just entered. BonBon quickly removed her hairnet with her hooves and then used her teeth to remove the overalls, which she wore to avoid getting any mess on her coat. Finally, before heading through to the front of the shop, Bonbon peered through the magic viewing glass installed by the door, which gave her a perfect view of the inside of her shop.

Through the enchanted mirror BonBon could see that the customer was a mint-green unicorn with an unstyled mane striped white and a very pale blue-green. The mare was wearing a large pair of saddlebags, slightly straining at it’s fastenings with it’s contents, and floated a black case of some sort next to her by magic.

BonBon’s mind processed this information on a business level.

Profession: Professional something judging by the stylish black case

Hometown: Canterlot, Manehatten or other similar location based on the way she held herself

Age: Mid-twenties at a guess though she seemed to have an extremely youthful air.

Current Status: Looking fairly well fed, well rested and well outfitted

Overall: If played right this mare could earn BonBon a nice few bits

BonBon took a few moments to prepare herself for sales, working up a smile that she had spent years mastering. Finally ready, she pushed open the door to the shop floor.

On entering the front of House BonBon was greeted with a gentle and very tuneful humming emanating from the minty mare. BonBon would have usually started on introductions and asking the mare if she wanted any help, however the music that came from the customers throat was just too good to interrupt. Finally however the mare turned around in the course of her browsing and spotted BonBon.

“Oh, hi there.” said the mare, her voice had a happy almost tuneful lilt to it; perhaps the vague hint of a Shirish accent. “I didn’t see you standing there, m’names Lyra Heartstrings and I was just admiring all your wonderful looking sweets.”

Broken out of her trance BonBon quickly shook herself and responded, “Hello there, I’m BonBon and this is my little world of wonder known as BonBon’s Confectionary Emporium. Nearly all that you see before you are hoof-made by myself to the highest standards in all of Equestria, please let me know if I can be of assistance”

“Nearly all?” queried Lyra.

“Well the candy canes that you see over there are made by my new apprentice, despite her young age she is turning out to be quite the confectioner.”

Lyra seemed happy with this and went over to investigate the candy canes. Before reaching the canes however her attention was drawn to some mint drops, and before reaching these her attention was caught by the sugar mice. This cycle repeated itself as she bounced from item to item, the net effect of which was that she walk herself round in a circle. BonBon had to try hard to suppress her giggles at the mares filly like attention span.

Lyra was getting confused with so much choice feeling, quite literally, like a young filly in a sweet shop. Turning to BonBon she said “Errr. I’ve kinda got too much choice here, what would you suggest?”

“Well it depends what you’re into. If you are a big fan of chocolate then I would suggest some of my finest range of singular chocolates in a wide range of flavours.” BonBon replied indicating one display cabinet. “Or if you prefer hard candies then I have the selection over to your right including lemon drops, mint humbugs and assorted flower pastilles. However if you wanted my honest opinion of single most delicious sweet in this whole town; I would tell you it was these bonbons you see before me.

“Each of these bonbons is lovingly hoof crafted with a soft chewy sweet interior covered by a layer of my finest chocolate, finished off with a crisp outer shell before being lovingly and individually wrapped in fine foil. These are my finest creations and my ultimate passion when it comes to sweets.” BonBon reeled off her sales pitch by heart, and judging by the slack jawed almost drooling expression before her it had worked.

“So have you come to a decision?” BonBon enquired after a couple of moment silence.

This time it was Lyra’s turn to shake herself back to reality. Quickly setting down the case she had absentmindedly been levitating she now pulled out a small money pouch from one bag and upturned it; catching the coins that fell out in her telekinetic grip. The amount of coins that actually came out of the purse was rather small and after a moment Lyra asked “How many of those bonbons can I get for eight bits and seventy three cents?”

BonBon was about to respond when she caught herself. Taking another look over the bits in midair she cleared her throat and said “Is that all of your money?”

Lyra, looking sheepish and a bit upset at the comment replied “Well... yeah... I mean there were these bags and then train was more expensive than I thought and...” She lapsed into silence for a moment before continuing in a more irate tone “Anyway it doesn’t matter how much money I have. I will spend my money how I wish. How much for the bonbons?”

“They are a bit apiece or five for four bits. I’m sorry for...”

“Save it. I’ll take ten of those bonbons and less backchat.” Lyra said tersely slinging four bits down on the counter. Canterlot indeed thought BonBon.

Meekly BonBon put the bonbons in a bag and handed them to the mare across from her, all the while cursing her blunt manner for getting her into yet another awkward situation. 'Not that it was entirely my fault,' she muttered inwardly, 'that snooty mare didn’t have to be so uptight.'

As soon as Lyra had received the sweets she abruptly turned on the spot, picked up her black case and left the shop. BonBon watched as she quickly trotted away past the storefront and towards the town centre. 'Good riddance!' she thought.

Shaking her head BonBon slipped into the back room to continue her work on the sweets. Before long she was engrossed in her work and didn’t realise as she started to hum out a tune she had heard for the first time only a few minutes before.

Happily humming she slaved away over chocolate, candy, nougat and all other manner of sweet treats lost in her own little world. Little did she know that today’s excitement was far from over and that her chance encounter with one mint green unicorn mare would turn her life upside down.

Author's Note

Welp here's the first chapter of my first ever fan-fic and really first ever story that I have embarked on. Please give constructive criticism in the comments as I would love to improve my writing style.
Fun fact: This was my attempt at writing a one shot single chapter story. Yeah, that ain't going to happen, we'll find out together how long this goes on for as I don't really have a clue :P

Sweet Treats and Sweeter Music

Sweet Sweet Music - Chapter Two

Sweet Treats and Sweeter Music

Lyra trotted briskly down the street away from the shop owned by that nosey mare. ‘Who does she think she is?’ she thought as she marched away ‘I should have given her a proper piece of my mind. How dare a commoner mouth off to nobility like...’

Lyra stopped short as the unbidden thoughts entered her head. ‘No no no no! I came out here to escape that life! I will not be like that!’ Shaking these thoughts away she turned her attention back to where she could find a place to play.

Looking around Lyra found she had come to what she supposed was the town centre. Shops lined the main street and just around one corner she could see they were holding an open air market of fruits, vegetables and other miscellaneous wares. However what caught Lyra’s eye was the park on the other side of the small river that ran through the town.

Accessible from the nearby footbridge the park was a luscious plane of grass, trees and little walkways. There were all sorts of ponies wandering about enjoying the warm sun of mid-spring and the time spent with their friends and family. Regaining her look of fillyish enthusiasm she happily trotted towards the park.

That was until the smell of freshly baked bread hit her.

Instantly her stomach growled in protest of having nothing to eat since Canterlot, early that morning, when she had departed. It was now well past noon and she hadn’t realised how hungry she had gotten. A quick change of direction had her jauntily trotting towards the local bakery only to stop short a dozen yards from the door.

The realisation of what had happened in the sweet shop hit her. She had spent nearly all her money on just a handful of sweets to prove something to that pink and purple maned shopkeeper. Now however Lyra was regretting that decision, realising that eight bits would have bought her a very hearty meal around now.

Mournfully Lyra forced herself to move past that deliciously warm yeasty smell and onwards towards the park. Once there Lyra started wandering around to find a place to perform and soon spotted an unoccupied park bench in a prime location.

On reaching said bench Lyra unhooked her saddlebags, laying them under the seat, and floated the case down to join them. Once these were in place Lyra got up and sat on the bench in the most unusual manner; rump resting on the wooden slats, her back against the back of the bench and rear hooves dangling over the edge. A few ponies gave her an odd look as the passed by but made no comment. ‘Hah! No-one here cares how I sit. I told you so Mother!’

Once comfortable Lyra finally turned her attention to the bag of bonbons she was still lazily floating by herself. Figuring that as she had no more money and she had already paid for these she might as well eat them. They had probably been oversold and would be just the bog standard sugary bite that all bonbons were.

Letting the bag fall into her lap and pulling out a single bonbon wrapped in red foil she unwrapped it and popped the whole bite into her mouth. She took one chew and instantly fell still, her eyes having a distant glazed look.

…

...

Seconds past before Lyra started chewing on the sweet in earnest. The taste was amazing; sweet, yet not too sweet, with a rose flavoured soft and slightly chewy centre. The chocolate was sublime and despite all the other flavours Lyra could tell that it outclassed any of the best chocolate she had ever eaten. To top it all off the crispy sugar coating on the outside cracked crisply when she bit into it and then seemed to melt in the mouth leaving a mellow sugary aftertaste.

These sweets had not been oversold in the slightest. In fact, despite the heavy sales pitch that BonBon had given them, these were completely undersold. They were ambrosia wrapped in sunshine. They were heaven. All regrets about spending her last 8 bits were completely forgotten.

Lyra polished off the entire bag in a few minutes savouring every single flavour of every bite. Each sweet was different to the last; different fillings, chocolates and even coatings all combined to make each sweet a unique experience.

Finally done with the bag, and with her hunger slightly sated, Lyra reached down with her magic and pulled out the black case. Undoing the clasps she pulled out her most prized possession, her beautiful Lyre.

The Lyre was made of the finest maple shaped after her cutie mark. It was inset with gold leaf in a vine pattern running around the sides and onto the top where the tuning pegs for it’s 6 strings rested. Embossed in gold leaf, just under where the vines met in the middle, was Lyra’s name in a calligraphic font.

Plucking a few strings with her magic, Lyra carefully tuned the Lyre by ear until it rang out perfectly. Next Lyra opened up her case fully and propped up the small sign inside asking for donations.

Preparations were now done. All Lyra had to do was sit back, relax and get into her zone. She let the thought of her music wash over her getting lost in an almost trance like state. Finally she pictured the hands that all her favourite characters in her favourite series had and formed magical representations of these with which to play her piece.

By this time Lyra had gathered a small group of curious ponies who had stopped to see what she was about to play. Lyra paid them no heed, lost to the music that she was ready to play. ‘Well at least I shan’t go hungry tonight’ were her last thoughts before she started.

“And a one and a two and a one, two, three, four” she muttered to herself before strumming out the first few notes of her first song.

Author's Note

This is a rather short chapter, it was going to be longer, including the next chapters contents but I thought it better to split them up as I'd rather have a bunch of short chapters than take forever to come up with one monster chapter that drags.

Anyways, enjoy :D

Friendship and Kindness

Sweet Sweet Music - Chapter Three

Friendship and Kindness

BonBon was once more in the back of her shop after having seen to several more customers throughout the day, when the door rang once again. She was just about to strip off her hairnet and gown when she heard a familiar voice ring out “Hey Bonnie it’s only me! You in the back?”

“Yeah! Come through to the doorway!” BonBon cried out resuming her work.

The door opened and Berry Punch stood in the doorway nibbling on a chocolate liqueur with a satisfied smile. BonBon didn’t even bother looking up from the truffles she was finishing off when she sternly said “You know you’ll have to pay for that.”

Berry smiled in response. “That’s cool just add it to my tab.”

“That wouldn’t be the tab that you have been promising to pay off for more than five years now would it Berry?”

“The very same.” Berry replied, licking her lips as she finished off the chocolate.

“You know if I ever get that tab paid off I’ll be able to retire.” Said BonBon tersely. However as she finished up the truffles and turned around to speak to her friend directly all façade of annoyance was gone.

“How have you been Berry? And Colgate and little Pina?”

“Pina’s fine, though off to visit her Dad this weekend, and as for Colgate and I... Well that’s kinda why I came round just now. I wanted to invite you to our engagement bash.”

BonBon stared at Berry for a short moment before leaping at her and giving her a huge hug. “Congratulations to you two! I mean it’s not really a surprise, we’ve all seen it coming for months now, but it’s nice to see you’re both moving on with your relationship. So go on, who asked who?”

“Colgate asked me, she was all romantic. Had a candlelit dinner set up for me when I got off work and proposed to me after we’d eaten.” Berry said, practically glowing.

“Oy! Stop being all mushy you.” BonBon said with a smile, “So you said something about an engagement party?”

“Oh yeah. Pinkie’s holding it at sugarcube. It was really bizarre, I was walking down the road this morning when she rushed up to me, jabbered about her pinkie sense, invited me to my own engagement party, handed me invitations and shot off again.”

“Pinkie being Pinkie?”

“Yep. It’s starting at eight by the way, if you wanna come.”

“Of course I’ll be there. Now give me an invitation and out with you. I have another batch of Truffles I need to complete for tomorrows orders, and I’ll have to work at double pace if I’m going to be ready for eight.”

“Alright Miss Bossy, I’m going.” She said as she turned to leave. Letting the door swing shut.

“Turn the sign to closed on your way out would you Berry?” She called out to the closed door. “And I’m sure Colgate will love those sugar free sweets you definitely didn’t grab on your way out!”

BonBon heard laughter float into the back room just before the bell rang to signal Berry’s departure. Shaking her head in exasperation, yet smiling, BonBon set to work on her last batch of Truffles. She had to get these sorted so she could box them up and drop them off with Derpy at the post office on her way home.

At around half six BonBon had finished the truffles She boxed them up with the rest of tomorrows orders, and was getting ready to shut up shop. She quickly cleaned up the back room and then cleaned the shop front until the polished wood and glass counters, upon which her stock rested, once again shined.

Closing and locking the door, as the town clock struck a quarter to seven, BonBon hitched herself into the small cart that she used to ferry around orders and set off for the post office at a brisk pace.

Arriving at the post office she greeted the ditzy yet hard working and dependable mailmare behind the counter. They went through the usual pleasantries and small chat, briefly discussing the engagement party that both would be attending that night. With the two of them working together they quickly got all the orders sorted out and thus BonBon was free to head home; safe in the knowledge that her packages would get where they needed to tomorrow in Derpy’s capable hooves.

Leaving the cart behind so she could easily pick up tomorrows incoming supplies, BonBon decided to take her usual route home through the park which, while taking a little longer than the direct route, was so much more relaxing. She was making good time, enjoying the sound of the birds in the trees, when she spotted the green unicorn from earlier sitting on the bench looking a little forlornly into a music case; her lyre lying next to her on the bench

‘Oh dear. I hope she’s alright’ thought BonBon as she trotted past. The mare in question didn’t even seem to notice her as she stared at the bits in her music case. BonBon caught a glimpse as she passed by and thought to herself ‘Wow, she must be really good! I’ve never seen somepony rake in over ten bits for an afternoon's performance here’

Trotting onwards she soon reached her house on the outskirts of ponyville. A decently sized two bedroom, two story house, with attached garden where she liked to spend her spare time gardening.

Once inside BonBon first went upstairs to get a shower, cleaning away all the sweat and muck of a day’s hard work. Once done BonBon wrapped a towel around herself as she went downstairs, still slightly dripping, as she went to the kitchen to get a quick snack.

BonBon put together a very quick and hasty lettuce and daffodil sandwich with a small bag of Trotters hay crisps. There would be food at the party sure, but knowing Pinkie Pie it would be extremely sugary, fatty and unhealthy. As much as BonBon would dearly love to just dive into every pot of chocolate and pile of cakes she saw, she knew that if she didn’t want to put on any more weight she had to be careful.

BonBon had always had difficulty avoiding sweet treats, working at her shop had helped some due to constant exposure and the fact she needed the products to sell. Regardless she still ate too many sweet foods than was good for her.

The clock in her house chimed to let her know that it was already half past seven and so she quickly rushed upstairs to put on a nice dress and curl her hair and mane into it’s usual style. Preparations complete BonBon headed out of her house and towards Sugarcube Corner, this time taking the more direct route through the town.

The party was in full swing and BonBon had been enjoying herself in her friends company for the past couple of hours.

Berry had, as per usual, had a few too many glasses of punch and was swaying slightly. A happy but glazed look adorned her eyes as she tripped, falling onto her new fiancé and using her as a crutch. Nuzzling close she held on tight.

Colgate was looking on happily; knowing, as all her friends did, how Berry would often over indulge when alcohol was available. She herself had also had a fair number of glasses and so staggered a little under Berry’s added weight before nuzzling her back. They held each other in a warm embrace wallowing in their love for each other and their friends.

Derpy was standing next to BonBon and they were happily chatting over small talk, such as Canterlot gossip, the rising cost of living and Derpy’s adopted daughters. Derpy’s left eye kept floating away from looking directly at BonBon and so every so often Derpy would have to screw up her face and blink really hard to realign them.

Carrot Top, Derpy’s roommate, was with Caramel and AppleJack talking about farming techniques no doubt. She and Caramel had met BonBon and Berry when they were at school together and had been friends ever since. For a few years after leaving school BonBon and Caramel had even dating, however when it didn’t work out they both remained good friends.

“Hi!” Exclaimed Pinkie Pie as she suddenly appeared right next to BonBon. “I hope you’re liking this party. I mean who wouldn’t. We’re all so happy to see those two finally get engaged. Not like there was anypony who hadn’t already guessed. I mean it was so obvious. But it’s still great. I was walking down the street and then all of a sudden it was itchy mane, floppy ear, scratch back, tickly nose which OF COURSE means that someone nearby recently made a big change in their relationship. Then I spied Berry just up ahead and I was like of course. So I MPFHM PHMBPH...”

BonBons hoof was now pressed against Pinkies snout shutting her up. As much as BonBon liked Pinkie Pie she really could be a bit much at times. Now was one of those times; especially after several glasses of punch and a couple of hours of loud music to contend with.

“Pinkie, I can’t take that sort of hyperactive speech at the moment.” BonBon said, mentally cringing as once again she had been almost painfully blunt. Pinkie however didn’t seem to notice, or at least understood there were not harsh intentions behind the words.

“Okie Dokie Lokie!” She said before literally bouncing off towards some other group of ponies.

BonBon shook her head and turned back to her conversation with Derpy, both of them completely ignoring the past minutes interruption. It was so much easier than trying to comprehend it.

Finally at around eleven o’clock BonBon left the party after saying her goodbyes and a final good luck to Berry and Colgate. Swaying ever so slightly she waltzed down the road humming one of the nights catchier tunes to herself. She was happy for Berry and Colgate. For this new step they were taking together.

Very happy indeed.

Definitely

Then why was her smile faltering?

She mentally cursed herself. She was, in all honesty happy for two of them, but being outside all on her own --and with a generous helping of alcohol to help spur her introversion-- she was feeling that old familiar loneliness welling up again. What she had had with Caramel was nice at the time, but she had soon realised that something wasn’t right. From her first kiss with him there was something ever so slightly out of place.

She couldn’t work out what it was for the longest time. He was handsome enough, a good laugh, generous, caring and a great friend. It wasn’t until about a year after their break-up that she realised what the problem had been.

He wasn’t a mare.

This had originally come as quite a shock to her. She hadn’t known that she was a filly fooler and to suddenly have that realisation crash on you, especially after a night of quite heavy drinking, was more than a little startling.

However in the light of the following few days she had come to embrace this new side of herself. She was no longer in denial, despite not even fully realising. A great weight that she didn’t even know she had been carrying had come at this revelation.

She hadn’t told her friends of course. She never told them about her most personal life, not even when she was with Caramel. Her private life was hers until she wished to share it and except for the occasional jibe her friends accepted this. Not that they would have a problem with her showing up with a marefriend, Berry had been openly gay for as long as she had known her.

BonBon sighed as she crossed the bridge into the park taking the scenic route home to try and clear her head. It was of no use to just wish for the perfect mare to drop out of the blue one day, but BonBon had never really known how to go about getting a date, especially with a mare; ‘I mean what if they aren’t even into mares?’ she thought.

As BonBon neared the centre of the park she noticed something odd. There appeared to be a pony on that bench over there. Curious BonBon walked over and her eyes widened in surprise when she saw Lyra lying shivering under a thin blanket in a fitful sleep.

BonBon didn’t know what to do. Should she just leave her here-- it wasn’t her business after all -- or should she intervene. She thought back to the bad impression that she had made when Lyra had entered her shop earlier that day.

Making up her mind BonBon lightly poked the unicorn on the bench until she started to come around.

“Whuh?” Lyra said groggily. “Who are... Oh it’s y-y-y-ou” she continued with a shiver.

“Um yes. Lyra was it? Do you have anywhere to stay tonight?”

“Oh y-y-yeah the b-b-bleedin’ pa-l-l-lace. What d-d-do you th-th-think?” She responded before setting about breathing on her hooves to try and warm them back up.

BonBon’s temper flared for a moment at the unicorn’s rude rebuttal but she calmed herself before speaking to avoid insulting the unicorn. “Look I know we got off on the wrong foot. I’m afraid I have a bad habit of being overly blunt at times. But if you really don’t have anywhere to stay tonight I can offer you a place to stay.”

Lyra seemed to mull this over for a moment before giving a shivery sigh and seeming to mellow some. “Yes please, sorry if I was aggressive. I’ve had a lot on my plate recently and I’m more than a little highly strung.”

With this Lyra started giggling to herself like a school filly. At BonBon’s raised eyebrow, lyra motioned to her cutie mark which BonBon saw for the first time was shaped like a Lyre. BonBon chuckled to see this mare get so easily amused. Her cheerful demeanour was rather contagious.

Helping Lyra with her saddlebags and case BonBon lead the way towards her house, her new roommate in tow.

“Thanks again.” said Lyra, “I’ll try and make this up to you.”

“Oh don’t mention it. We all deserve random acts of kindness once in awhile.”

Lyra simply smiled at this and fell silent until they reached BonBon’s home.

Opening the door BonBon flicked on the light and helped Lyra, who by now looked about ready to collapse, out of her saddlebags. She then directed Lyra to the guest room in which Lyra performed a single bounce onto the bed. By the time BonBon was closing the door she could already hear a faint snore coming from the minty-green mare.

BonBon giggled a little at the other mares energy which stopped as suddenly as it started. Smiling softly BonBon walked across the hallway and into her own bedroom. Stripping of her dress and snuggling into her own warm bed.

Only a few minutes later the sound of sleeping ponies could be heard from both bedrooms as both BonBon and Lyra slipped into dreams.

Author's Note

Well I don't feel quite as happy about this chapter as the others but could have gone a lot worse. This still turned out to be quite a bit of a longer chapter than the others. I may even join chapter 1 and 2 together at some time. I'll have a look over the formatting when I'm done with the story I think.

Fun Fact: BonBon's reaction to Berry's announcement is more or less the same reaction that we got when we told our friends of our engagement a few days ago.

A New Day

Sweet Sweet Music - Chapter Four

A New Day

The sun was high in the sky when Lyra finally and reluctantly opened her eyes to the new day. Lazily stretching in the small slip of sunshine that shone through the curtains, the green mare gave looked around the room she had awoken in.

The room was narrow and sparsely furnished, containing a bed, a couple of paintings, a small ornamental clock, and a vanity table; underneath which lay her saddlebags and lyre case.

“Strange,” she thought to herself “I could have sworn that they were taken off downstairs”

Getting up and strolling across the room, Lyra spotted a note lying on the table, which she casually levitated to eye level.

Lyra,

Tried to wake you before I left, you sleep like a log.

I’ll be working until about half seven. Make yourself comfortable while I’m gone.

BonBon.

Oh.

It seemed that her original plan, which was to thank the sweet maker and leave as soon as possible, had now completely fallen through in just a few short words.

If BonBon wasn't here then Lyra wouldn't be able to thank her straight away; she’d have to wait for the other mare to return in the evening, as her note said. However that would mean that the musician would have to take further advantage of this hospitality shown to her, which would put her even more in this other mare’s debt.

Lyra had had enough of relying on others. She’d been doing it her whole life. Every day she had grown more aware of how she would not be able to survive without another pony’s efforts. The whole point of moving away had been to prove to herself she could survive on her own.

She hadn’t lasted a day.

All trace of a bounce completely gone from her gait, the mint-coloured mare walked out of her room onto the upper floor hallway. To her left was an opening to the balcony that hung out over the front of the house and ahead of her were another two doors.

Attempting to find the bathroom, she first opened the door on her right. On the other side was the master bedroom: a large, comfortable looking bed taking up most of the room, with a bedside table and ornate wardrobe taking up the remainder of the space.

Closing the door and turning around, this time she managed to find the bathroom.

It was turning out to be a slow day.

With so few customers trickling through to break her concentration, BonBon had managed to finish all of her outstanding orders ahead of schedule, which allowed her the rare pleasure of being able to give herself some time off for lunch.

After literally dusting off the “Out For Lunch” sign, she locked up shop and trotted onto the main high-street. Enjoying the warm sunshine, she briskly made her way to one of her guilty pleasures; which while being neither decadent or elegant she was about to get a very tasty and hearty meal.

Five minutes later she was trotting towards the park; a bag containing her Subneigh sandwich in her teeth.

Strolling along looking for a place to sit, she spotted the unfamiliar sight of possibly the shyest pegasus in all of Equestria sitting by herself on a bench. Despite never having properly befriended the yellow mare --being a couple of years her senior--, they were friendly acquaintances.

The mare was so timid that, as far as BonBon could tell, the only real friend she had made was the fashionista of Ponyville. Oh, and Pinkie of course, but Pinkie was friends with everyone, so that hardly counted. Because of her empathy for the younger mare’s situation, she made a point to try and chat with her whenever possible.

Giving a slight cough to announce her presence so as not to disturb the timid mare, as she walked up to the bench. Despite her best efforts however, the younger mare still gave out a quiet “meep” when she approached.

“Hi Fluttershy. Would you mind if I join you for a while?” she said, doing her utmost to avoid her naturally blunt way of speaking.

“Oh. No... I mean yes... I mean you can sit here, if you want. I don’t want you to feel like I’m forcing you, or...” The rest of her speech was drowned out by the quiet background noises of the park.

Sitting down, BonBon opened her bag and started munching on her sandwich, savouring the crunchy texture, and fresh flavors, of the salad and flowers in her sandwich, topped with warm melting cheese. “So Fluttershy, what brings you all the way out here? I would have thought you’d be at home tending to your animals.”

“Oh, well, normally I would you see but... well, I had to come and get some supplies, but then the shop was closed, so I thought that I’d come and stop by the park. It’s... nice... and quiet. I was kind of hoping that musician would be here again, though.”

“Musician?”

“Oh, yes. She was playing some sort of harp thing right over there, she was really really good. I’ve never heard anyone playing like that. I wouldn't have been disappointed if I’d paid for a concert from her.”

“That good? Was she a green unicorn?”

“Oh yes. Have you met her?”

Nodding, BonBon finished her sandwich before replying. “She;s actually back at my house at the moment. I found her here on a bench last night and offered her a bed. I’m rather intrigued as to why she didn’t have anywhere to stay, so I hope she’s still there when I get back.”

“Oh, that was good of you. Have you heard her play?”

“Not yet, do you think I should ask when I get back?”

“Oh well... I mean only if you want to but, well... she was really good. But I’m not saying you should... I’m just saying she was really good and it might be worth asking. As long as she doesn't mind, at least...”

The sweet maker had to resist giggling at this timid display by the pegasus next to her. After a few more minutes of small talk, BonBon said her goodbyes and walked off back to her shop.

Getting back to work, she let her mind wander. “I wonder what that mare is doing now.”

‘That mare’ was currently slumped in one of the two chairs in BonBon’s living room, idly plucking the strings of her lyre as she had been for the last two hours.

She was bored. This is what she had been doing for years at home and this isn't what she had left to do; sitting around in silence, idly plucking out notes on her lyre.

No audience. No fun.

Sighing, she carefully floated the lyre back into it’s cover and strolled over to the bookcase, for want of anything better to do. The impressive piece of furniture was huge covering the entirety of one wall and had a fair number of books but was in no way packed tight.

Lyra looked over the cover in a detached manner, the titles barely registering as they passed under her gaze. A collection of Daring Doo novel, enjoyable but nothing spectacular; Nightfall, a book about a pony falling in love with a changeling; Harry Trotter and the Chalice of Flames, a title from one of her favourite series.

The book list continued until she ran out of what appeared to be the fiction section and ran into the much larger non-fiction section: A collection of well read history books; several on the subject of Geography; a small pile of cooking-related literature; a heap of ones dealing with gardening...

Suddenly, she stopped.

She looked back at the cookery books. “She’ll have been out all day and probably won’t have had evening dinner. I could cook! That way I’m repaying some my debt - kinda.” Looking up at the clock, she saw that it wasn't long past noon. “I could go out, get the ingredients, and have a meal waiting for her when she gets back.”

The unicorn quickly scrutinised the titles until she found one entitled Easy Meals on a Budget. "Perfect!" she mentally exclaimed after looking over the recipes. The spring back in her step, she dashed upstairs to retrieve her small bag of bits.

Picking up the book to use as a shopping list, Lyra strolled towards the market to buy some supplies.

She was so excited about being able to cook for BonBon.

"It’ll be my first time cooking as well." the minty green bundle of joy thought, humming a catchy tunes as she went. "What could possibly go wrong?"

BonBon walked through her front door after a long, yet productive, day at the shop. “I’m home! Are you still here Lyra?” she tried to call out.

However her query was promptly interrupted, as she took one breath in and started coughing on the smoke that lay thick in the air.

After finally recovering she battled her way to the kitchen. Inside was her houseguest, happily humming to herself despite the chaos around her. There were pieces of chopped fruit and vegetables; unrecognisable bits of what looked like batter and a further selection of black burnt bits all over the floor.

“What in the blazes are you doing?” She cried at Lyra, being careful not to inhale too deeply.

“Hi!” said Lyra with a grin, “I’m cooking you dinner. I thought that, seeing as you were so kind as to let me stay, I’d make a meal for you.”

“Dinner?” BonBon asked in shock. Unable to think up a more reasonable question she simply enquired, “What did you make?”

“We have fresh salad,” she said gesturing to a smoking bowl of charred greenery. “Petal Fingers,” this time to a tray of the dish, which appeared to somehow be undercooked on the outside, yet burnt in the middle. “And finally we have an omelette each, yours is over there.” She finished indicating the bowl of something indistinguishable. It bubbled slightly.

“Why thank you, Lyra. It all loo- “ she managed to stop herself before she insulted her guest again.

Meanwhile the unicorn finished cooking her ‘omelette’, pouring it out into another bowl.

“I hope you don’t mind if I dig in.” she says. “I’m starving after all that cooking.”

Without a moments hesitation the green coated mare dives into her bowl. Almost instantly, she looks back up from the bowl, eyes and cheeks bulging. A quick spin allows her to spit out her mouthful into the sink before pouring the rest of both bowls down the drain as well.

“Sorry, it looks like the omelette didn’t work out.”

It didn’t take long for the petal fingers to be quickly disposed of, rapidly followed by the toasted ‘fresh’ salad.

Throughout all this, BonBon was just standing in the doorway looking bemused. Finally, the other mare turns to her, a few tears welling up in her eyes. Shocked by this, the cream coated mare reached out to give the other a hug.

Lyra quietly sniffles as she says, “I’m sorry, I wanted to make it up to you for all that you’ve done for me. But look at this, I’ve just gone and messed up again.” With that, she slumped dejectedly to the floor.

“It’s all right Lyra, it was a wonderful thought; I really mean that. Was this your first time cooking?” Receiving a nod in reply, she continues on: “Well, it was a valiant first effort. Now, let me show you the easiest way to make a meal out of all this.”

Author's Note

First this chapter was proofread/edited by the fantastic Scooty. His input was fantastic and thanks to him this chapter is at least 20% cooler. Thank you Scooty.

Second I'm not happy with the title for this chapter, so if any of you reading this can think of a better one whap it down in the comments and I'll choose one I like to be the title (Note that I like the titles to fit the overall theme/story of a chapter). I'll be sure to give credit for it here when I change it.

I hope you all enjoyed this and as always feedback is greatly appreciated.

Edit:
*I just thought I'd confirm, in-case anyone was confused by this chapter, that this all takes place before Twilight comes to Ponyville*