"Lyra, I've come to devour your soooouuuulllll!!!!!" A shrill raspy voice caused the carefully focused unicorn's fur to stand on the back of her neck.
"Bon Bon, come on. Stop with the voice thing already. Don't you think you've had enough practice?" Lyra turned back around and continued diligently working on her project.
"What if I get the part? What if I get the lead roll? Will you have me perform in front of an audience of thousands unprepared?" The dramatic earthpony turned her nose to the air.
"If, and when you get the part, you'll have plenty of time to practice your voice stuff after the fact. Now shush, I'm very busy." The focused unicorn didn't stop fiddling with her gadgets to speak.
"Oh, come on sweetie, I'm just bored. Are you almost done yet, you've been working on this derpy thing for weeks, what is it anyway?" Bon Bon pouted and placed her chin on her hooves as she leaned over the couch to catch a peek of what the stubborn unicorn was up to.
"Yes I'm almost done, and no, you can't see until it's finished!" Lyra scooted her project away like a secretive mad scientist.
"Sheesh, fine then! I'm going out for some apples, we've been out for a while now and your lazy bum isn't about to pick them up." Bon Bon scolded her belittled lover.
"Bah, away with you then!" Lyra shooed the pestering mare away with a hoof.
Bon Bon gave an unpleasant groan and trotted out the door. Lyra put on a sly grin and continued working on her latest invention. Less than an hour passed and a cocky-looking mare arrived home with an overabundance of apples.
"Sweet Celestia of Equestria! How many apples did you buy?" Lyra jumped up, stunned by the overflowing bags of fruit.
"Well, I got all these for free. I kind of locked myself into character and... and one thing led to another." Bon Bon placed a hoof over her mouth and deviously chuckled.
"Well you can't beat free, now are you ready to see what I've been working on?" The confident mare held a hoof behind her back.
"Yes! I'm actually dying to know for a change, this one took for-ever!"
"Okay, step back and prepare to be amazed." Lyra did a quick twirl and revealed a contraption attached to the tip of her hoof.
"Tada! What do you think?" She held up five thin and polished, wooden jointed extremities attached to her hoof by a seemingly complex string pulley system.
"... What is it?" Bon Bon said, confused.
"I call them, fingers!" The proud mare's horn lit up as she began pulling on the strings, causing the digits to wiggle creepily in her lover's face.
"You are so weird sometimes, you know that?" Bon Bon rolled her eyes at the invention and carried the load of apples into the pantry.
"You don't like it?! Come on, this is amazing, do you have any idea..."
"Stop right there. No, I have no idea, and I don't care. Just show me what they're used for and skip the speech this time." Bon Bon interrupted the excitable unicorn before she got sucked into a boring conversation about the benefits this would bring to the fields of science and music.
"Well, straight to the point huh? Eager I see." Lyra levitated her lyre over and placed it softly on the floor in front of herself.
With a deep breath, she closed her eyes and focused her magic, then put on a cocky grin. She placed her hoof in front of her instrument, and began pulling on the fingers. The result was more satisfying than she had hoped for. She quickly plucked several strings in specific orders as she waved her hoof back and forth in front of the instrument. She walked up and down complex scales with relative ease, then strummed down alternating strings in a captivating display of pure precision.
Needless to say, Bon Bon was stunned. "Wow, you've outdone yourself this time. I'm not even foaling around, that was impressive."
Lyra put on a grin and bowed. "Told ya these were gonna be great. Wait til I show them off at my next performance!"
The ego boosted unicorn began to raise her eyebrows in quick succession. "Ya know, Bonsie... There's something else I might be able to do with these."
"Ooh, are gonna show me or what?" Bon Bon took the hint then licked her lips and walked backwards into the bedroom, beckoning Lyra to follow with a hoof.
Lyra was eager to demonstrate the potential of her new device. She gave her lover a quick kiss then laid Bon Bon down on the bed, moving straight to the mane event.
"Wow, is romance really dead Lyra? Really?"
"Calm down you, this is an experiment! There'll be plenty of time for lovey dovey stuff later." Bon Bon rolled her eyes and was just glad to finally be getting some after Lyra's week of binge crafting.
"Now lets see here..." The unicorn began fiddling with her magic, focusing on ways to control the fingers that she hadn't fully practiced yet.
She placed them across the clearly aroused mare's soft white stomach and began tickling her. Bon Bon laughed and batted them away. "Come on, that's not how you do it!"
The easily angered earthpony normally would have told Lyra that she had just blown her sexy time, but Bon Bon probably wanted it more than she did this time, and that was pretty obvious as far as her partner was concerned.
About an hour later, they were both cuddling in bed. The stubborn unicorn continued to refuse to remove her device, or even wash it. Bon Bon didn't fight for long, she eventually caved and pressed her face into Lyra's chest.
"I love you, Lyra."
"I love you too Bonsie, forever and ever and ever and all that."
"You're so sweet, you know that?" Bon Bon laughed and closed her eyes.
"I know, I know."
Soon the two drifted off into sleep, curtains still open, and enjoyed a nice afternoon nap.
Before long, Lyra woke up to see the sun brightly shining into her window. During the events of their afternoon fun, Lyra had taken it upon herself to open the curtains. The open curtains were a bit of a fetish for her, not only that, but she liked the look on the easily angered mare's face when she was spotted by passersby. Although Lyra definitely now regretted opening them after being woken up in such an unpleasant yet familiar manner. She used her fingers to close them, simply for the sake of putting them to use, then crawled out of bed quietly, making sure not to wake Bon Bon. As she walked she flexed the fingers all the way out so they were level with her hoof and didn't impede her steps. She was hungry, and decided to go search for food.
Might as well grab an apple. She thought after seeing the large bags. She quickly devoured two apples and sat down on the floor, then began patting her stomach. She used her fingers to massage herself in various places, then stopped before she got carried away. Feeling bored, she ventured into the living room to check the mail. Sure enough, a few letters had been dropped off at some point in the day. Lyra gathered them up in her Hand, so to speak, and began going through each one. After a few moments of struggling with her fingerless hoof, she decided another set must be made. Bon Bon wouldn't be happy, but once Lyra made up her mind, it was going to happen one way or another.
She decided to give up on the hoof-only method and just sorted the mail with her horn. Most of it was bland junk mail or bills. However, one letter stood out. It was addressed to Bon Bon from Bluemere Canterhall, the biggest theater in Canterlot. Lyra decided this couldn't wait. She rushed into the bedroom and jumped on the bed.
"Bon Bon, wake up! Wake up! Wake up, wake up, wake up!" Lyra continued jumping on the bed and causing Bon Bon to bounce around.
"Stop it! I'm up! What the hay do you want?!" Bon Bon wiped her tired eyes and saw a letter being held in front of her face by Lyra's fingers.
Bon Bon focused her vision and read the letter, then hastily snatched it out of the hand with her teeth and opened it up.
Dear Ms. Bon Bon, Your audition here at Bluemere Canterhall went as well as anyone could have hoped. Your voice acting and talents as an actress by far exceeded our greatest expectations, and we'd like to formally invite you to join our permanent roster here at Bluemere Canterhall. Congratulations and we hope to see you soon.
~Sincerely, Astrid Stars
Lead Coordination
Bon Bon's eye twitched. "Lyra... Do you know what this means?!"
Lyra placed her fingers on her chin and stroked it thoughtfully. "We're moving to Canterlot?"
"Yes! Yes yes yes!" Bon Bon and Lyra began jumping on the bed in circles, hoof in hoof, and one hoof in... hand.
Lyra gripped Bon Bon's hoof with her fingers and smiled as they jumped around on the bed.
Bon Bon looked down at her gripped hoof and thought for a moment. "I actually like that, don't stop."
Lyra smiled and squeezed her tighter. "So when should we pack?"
Bon Bon stopped bouncing and began to think of the preparations that needed to be made. She jumped down and walked around the house. The furniture could be replaced, and there wasn't really anything big to move. They didn't own a lot. Most of the clutter were the scraps Lyra used in her random experiments and projects. Bon Bon looked around one last time.
"Lets go apartment shopping tomorrow morning, sound good?" Bon Bon smiled and grabbed Lyra's forearm.
"Sounds great! But... there's just one thing. We're gonna have to say goodbye to everyone in town." Lyra held her smile, although she was clearly torn inside.
"I know, but, we have to." Bon Bon dropped Lyra's hoof and looked outside. The town ponies were running around and playing in the beautiful summer sunset.
"I'm gonna miss this quiet peaceful town." Bon Bon sighed and stared out the window.
"Me too, but hay, we'll make new friends right? I mean, I already know a few ponies in Canterlot that I'm sure you'll love. They might resent you since you're the reason I moved here in the first place but they'll get over it."
"Reassuring as always dear." Bon Bon gave her supportive marefriend a kiss on the lips.
Lyra closed her eyes and took it for what it was worth. As she felt Bon Bon pulling away, she pushed forward and wrapped her hoof around her neck. Lyra playfully pulled her down to the floor and held the sweet kiss.
Finally, she let her go. "Bonsie, as long as we have each other, nothing else matters."
"I guess romance isn't dead, is it?" Bon Bon tightly hugged Lyra and rapidly began kissing her all over her face.
"Okay okay, stop it. That's enough." Lyra giggled and pushed the overly affectionate mare away.
"Tomorrow, we'll tell everyone we're leaving. Then we'll go shopping for a new home." The two mares came to an agreement and ventured off into the bedroom to celebrate Bon Bon's good news.
A long peaceful rest followed an exciting fun filled night. Lyra was, as usual, woken up to the intrusive light coming in through the curtains she insisted on opening. She shut them and rolled back over to face Bon Bon, who was still sound asleep. She wrapped a hoof around her and placed her fingers on her chest. She began softly massaging her and stroking her body with the flexing fingers until Bon Bon began giggling due to the tickling sensation being brought on. Lyra pulled Bon Bon's back into her chest as soon as she was sure the ticklish mare was up.
"Good morning sunshine." Bon Bon quietly spoke, still not fully awake.
"Morning, yes. So, ready to get up? We have a long day ahead of us." Lyra nudged Bon Bon closer to the edge of the bed, until she was at the point of nearly falling over.
"Yes, I'm getting up. Don't start your antics." Bon Bon flopped out of bed and glared at the one who woke her up.
"Guess what's for breakfast... Apples!" Lyra jumped out of bed and rushed into the pantry to grab a few apples.
She returned to Bon Bon with four apples, three caught in her magical aura, and one in her fingers. She held the one out to Bon Bon, prompting her to take it.
"No... wash your, fingers or whatever, then we'll talk. Give me a clean apple."
Lyra shrugged and ate the apple right out of her own hand and levitated two over to Bon Bon.
"Thank you dear, now lets get washed up and head out. Should we tell Pinkie Pie to throw us a going away party? Or would that be too much?" Bon Bon questioned.
"Whatever you want, I don't care." Lyra made her way over to her work desk and began assembling a second hand.
"No, not this again. We have have more pressing issues to worry about than your crazy inventions!" Bon Bon scolded the easily distracted unicorn.
"Yeah yeah, you go tell everyone we're leaving. I have work to do." The clearly troubled unicorn avoided eye contact and continued searching for the proper pieces.
"Oh, I see what this is. Come here sweetie." Bon Bon trotted up to her nervous marefriend.
"I can see right through you, it'll be fine okay? Saying goodbye is an important part of friendship that every pony deals with at some point." Bon Bon placed her hoof on Lyra's shoulder.
"Yeah but... I already did it once, not that long ago. It was hard say goodbye to my friends in Canterlot, and I don't want to do it again..." Lyra dropped her tools and placed her head on her desk.
"Please Lyra, you can't just leave without saying goodbye, that'd be much worse on you in the long run and you know it."
"Alright, let's just do this Bonsie. But if I get too sad, you better hug me..." Lyra looked up with a subtle smile.
"Of course."
After a comforting hug, the two trotted outside to go find Pinkie. They decided it'd be easier to just tell everyone at once, so a party would be suiting. Pinkie never missed a chance to throw one anyway, no matter the reason. At least this was a good one.
The two made their way to Sugarcube Corner and walked in.
"Well hello there you two, I haven't seen... well I haven't seen you two in here at the same time before, what's the occasion?" Miss Cake inquired.
"Well we're looking for Pinkie, have you seen her?"
"She's out with Rainbow Dash I think. Did you need something?"
"Well, we're moving away and were going to have her throw us a going away party so we could tell everyone at once. Let her know we came by when you see her, thanks." Bon Bon waved her off while Lyra remained awkwardly silent.
"Will do girls. I'm sorry to hear you're leaving town, but good luck."
The two trotted out and decided to take a walk around town, simply to enjoy it one last time before they began the moving process.
"See? That wasn't so bad right?" Bon Bon placed her hoof on the sulky mare's mane.
"I guess not..." Lyra pouted.
"Oh come on, please cheer up."
"I'm trying okay? Lets go to the park, I like it there." Lyra smiled and nudged Bon Bon's hoof off her head.
It was a short walk to the Ponyville Town Park, the two merrily chased one another through the gardens and trees. Lyra ran in circles around a fountain while Bon Bon attempted to change directions and cut her off. Eventually, the playful unicorn allowed her to catch up and grabbed her into a tight hug. They stood there and held one another for a few moments while the large beautiful fountain splashed it's cool droplets on their warm coats.
"Remember?" Lyra vaguely asked.
"Of course I do." Bon Bon closed her eyes and kissed the blushing unicorn.
"This is where we had our fist kiss all those years ago. I want our last kiss in Ponyville to be here too. Wouldn't that be something special?" The golden white mare's coat shined brightly in the gentle summer sunlight as she smiled and looked over the love of her life with her beautiful bright blue eyes.
Lyra didn't seem so enthused, despite the captivation of the most gorgeous mare in the world seeking to comfort her. Even though it was hard to express it, this place was very special to her as well. No matter how disconnected from romance she seemed on the outside, this wasn't something she wanted to be so far away from, and that's all she was able to think about.
She forced a smile and chased her sad thoughts away. "Yeah, that would be special. Let's make sure we do that."
"Don't sound so glum sweetheart, let's go home and wait for Pinkie, alright?"
Lyra ran her fingers through her mane and cleared her mind. "Alright, lets do that."
They made their way home and let their time slip away. Both seemed to be procrastinating considering they wasted the day rather than get ahead on their plans to move. Late in the evening, Pinkie knocked at their door.
"So I heard you want a party! All I need to know is when!" Pinkie cheerfully let herself in and took a seat on their couch.
"How about tomorrow, if that's too soon then the next day, or whenever you can do it is fine." Bon Bon took a seat next to Pinkie.
"Tomorrow sounds great. Come to Sugarcube Corner at three o'clock and we'll get everything started." Pinkie happily agreed to host the party, as expected of her.
Bon Bon looked over to Lyra who was still busy sitting at her work bench fiddling with her devices. "Is tomorrow okay with you dear?"
"Mhm, whatever's fine." The intently distracted unicorn was hardly paying attention, it wasn't even clear if she was aware that Pinkie had entered her home.
"Well then Pinkie, tomorrow it is. Thanks for this, I'll owe you one."
Pinkie dropped her smile and put on a watery eyed frown. "I'm gonna miss you guys though. I wish you didn't have to leave forever."
Lyra dropped her things and forcefully pressed her head onto her desk again. Pinkie took a hint to go ahead and leave, the distraught mare was clearly going through heavy emotional distress and needed Bon Bon's attention.
"Thanks again Pinkie. I'll see you tomorrow okay?"
"Okay, bye for now." Pinkie calmly trotted out and headed back home.
"You okay sweetheart?" Bon Bon leaned over the moping unicorn.
"I couldn't even make myself look at Pinkie Pie, I knew if I did, I'd just start crying and have nothing to say. I just don't want to go through with this. I know it's going to be worse at the party tomorrow." Lyra looked up at Bon Bon with heartbreaking teary eyes.
"It'll be okay, I promise. If you feel like you need to take a break outside or something, I'll be there with you okay?" Bon Bon gently stroked her mane.
Lyra lifted her hoof up to hug her comforting marefriend but was quickly rejected. "No, sorry sweetie, but you need to wash those nasty things."
Bon Bon stepped back and looked at the stubborn unicorn with a serious expression.
"Psh, you wash em." She began flicking her hoof in the demanding earthpony's direction but the fingers wouldn't come loose.
"Eh, I guess their stuck. Whatever I'll go wash them in a minute. I'm almost done with the second set." Lyra continued delicately stringing the carefully cut and polished pieces of wood.
"I'm starting to get sick of these finger things of yours..." Bon Bon returned to her couch to warm by the fire, convinced Lyra was feeling better now.
"That's not what you said last night." The clever unicorn put on a slick smile and waited for the expected retort.
"You have a point actually. Yeah, I'm fine with the fingers, keep em." Bon Bon smiled knowing she didn't respond the way Lyra had anticipated and left her at a loss for words.
The busy unicorn blushed and continued her work. Less than an hour later the second device was completed and attached to her other hoof.
"Aha! Done!" Lyra held both hooves up and wiggled each finger.
"Sweetie, that's just creepy. Now go wash the dirty one." Bon Bon turned around and went back to reading her book.
"Ugh, fine!" She finally agreed and trotted off to the bathroom to hastily rinse them off. She made a point to use her fingers for everything she possibly could in her normal activities. Using them to turn the facet on and off, gripping the towel in each hand to wipe the other off, and many other tasks that'd be simpler and easier with the use of magic alone.
"Okay it's washed, now lets go get some sleep. Tomorrows the big day right?" Lyra trotted back out to her lover and forced herself to seem as enthusiastic about the event as possible.
"It sure is, and I'm tired too." Bon Bon marked her book and headed off to bed, this time just to sleep.
Lyra had other plans. Two hands meant twice the fun in her mind.
After another long adventurous night, Lyra awoke once again to the morning light shining through her widespread curtains. She cheerfully jumped up and crept over Bon Bon, only to return with two apples, one in each hand. Walking on her back hooves she approached Bon Bon.
"Bonsie Bon, Bon Bon Bon Bon, wake up." Lyra got uncomfortably close with the tightly gripped apples.
Bon Bon inched her eyes open and was startled by the sight of two creepily gripped apples right in front of her face. She groaned and smacked them away.
"No... Sleep..." The cranky mare rolled over and covered her face with the blanket.
"Time to get up, we have yummy apples for breakfast." Lyra climbed in bed and held the apples over Bon Bon's head.
The annoyed mare, now more awake, opened one eye and smiled, then quickly took a bite off an apple, startling her antagonistic marefriend.
"Easy there, don't damage the fingers." Lyra retreated.
Bon Bon glared and jumped up to snap at the apples her lover so carefully grasped, who then took it upon herself to flee and protect her hands. She chased after Lyra and knocked her down in the living room, then began to ravenously bite at the apples.
"No! My poor fingers, no!" Lyra dropped the apples and flailed her forearms around while trying to escape from Bon Bon's deadly grasp.
The tired pony finally let the panicking unicorn go. "Maybe you'll stop waking me up so early now?"
"Not a chance." Lyra quickly retreated into the kitchen after further taunting the grumpy mare.
"Why I put up with you, I'll never know." Bon Bon, lacking the energy to chase the annoying mare around the house, simply laid back down on the floor and began to doze off.
Lyra soon returned with two more apples clutched between her fingers and dangled them over Bon Bon's face. She accidentally lost her grip on one and dropped it square on her nose. Her eye twitched and horror struck as she imagined the consequences for what she had just done. The earthpony quickly placed a hoof on her nose and began rubbing it, her eyes shot open and stared deep into the fearful unicorn's soul.
"Bonsie I'm so sorry, please don't..."
Before Lyra could finish her apology, the infuriated mare stood up and began stomping towards her with a hateful expression.
"I'm going to break those fingers off one by one and make you eat them!" Bon Bon continued glaring and marching forward.
Lyra just held her fingered hooves up in an apologetic manner and put on an innocent smile. The earthpony was unphased. She began to charge. Lyra panicked, fearing the worst, and put up a magical barrier. Bon Bon walked face first into the wall and was only further enraged by the insulting act.
"I thought we agreed you'd never use magic on me..." Bon Bon was torn between being hurt and being spiteful.
"I... I just reacted, I'm sorry." Lyra lowered the wall.
"When I get my hooves on you, I'm breaking that horn of yours off too!" Bon Bon began charging again.
Lyra ran away and decided she couldn't do or say anything to make her situation worse. As she found herself cornered in the kitchen, she couldn't help but provoke her scornful lover one last time.
"Please don't break my horn off Bonsie. A unicorn without magic, well that's like a pegasus that can't fly... Or an earthpony without manual labor to keep it busy..."
During the course of the day Lyra recovered from her punishment as well as made peace with her lover, and her fingers needed extra cleaning before going out into public. The clock struck three and the two lovebirds were off to Sugarcube Corner. Lyra had mostly worked up the will to go through with this. She did her best to steel her easily shaken nerves and went inside. Pinkie had already heavily decorated and informed them that the guests would be arriving shortly.
"Thanks again Pinkie, this is going to make things a lot easier on us." Bon Bon smiled and nodded her head at Lyra.
"No problem guys, I'm just glad to help!" Pinkie trotted off and continued organizing the decorations.
The guests began to enter one by one, each bearing a gift and grim expression. They all gave their best wishes and offered their assistance in the move. Bon Bon for one was humbled by everyone's generosity, Lyra on the other hoof was finding it difficult to handle the situation at all. Her eyes were watery as she told everyone how much she'd miss them.
Carrot Top took an extra minute to congratulate Bon Bon on her success and another to offer her sympathy to Lyra. "I know it's hard to say goodbye, I've been saying goodbye for a while now. I'm going to move away to Appaloosa soon. I'll really miss you guys, you've been great friends, the best."
Lyra could hardly contain her fragile emotions as she offered Carrot Top a tight hug. "I'll... I'll miss you too. I'll miss all of you. I really love all of you ponies, and I love this town..."
Everyone around her offered their sincerest condolences. They took turns hugging the sentimental unicorn and letting her know just how much she means to them and that she'll always be in their hearts. Bon Bon was surprised that no one commented on the strange devices attached to her hooves, but figured it was better that way. Lyra would likely have too much fun explaining exactly what it was and how it worked, boring everyone to death.
"You're doing great love, I'm proud of you." The supportive earthpony wiped the struggling unicorn's teary eyes and kissed her on the cheek.
Before long the party was over and everyone made their way home. Lyra attempted to carry as many gifts as she could with only the use of her hands. Bon Bon rolled her eyes and instructed her to use her magic properly. Then the two made their way home, or to what was once their home. Lyra felt that she'd forsaken it at the party, her home was now in a distant place yet to be discovered. As the unicorn whisked away happy yet painful memories, she trotted into the pantry and grabbed a couple apples with her hands.
"Here, there's no way we're gonna finish all these." She began eating it in a strange manner while Bon Bon curiously watched her unique lover.
"I'm really going to miss this place. This house, this town, these ponies, I love it all so much." Bon Bon sat down and began eating her apple.
"Me too, we have a lot of memories we're about to leave behind here. But, we have even more to make when we move right?" Lyra smiled and cheerfully ate her apple.
"That's right, remember, as long as we have each other, nothing else matters, and that's where home is." Bon Bon made her way next to Lyra.
They shared their apples and leaned into one another. Bon Bon placed her arm around Lyra's neck as they leaned back against the wall. The reassured unicorn smiled then reached up and tightly grabbed her sentimental lover's hoof with her fingers. Then they shared yet another sweet and loving moment, much like they'll share the rest of their lives.
