Sweets And A Dash Of Rainbow.

I walked to work, stretching my arms as I went. "Don't ya..nu nu nu nu...dooo doo, da...." I mumbled to myself as the sun rose in the distance. The dull grey morning slowly melting away into a lovely morning. I strolled to Bon Bon's shop, pushing against the door and bouncing off. "Uh...." I pressed my hands against the window, "Bon Bon...hello?"

Things inside were dead quiet, "Anybody...?" Things remained still, leaving me standing against the window. Little by little the sun grew higher and brighter, time passing slowly as I waited for Bon Bon.

"Ryan." Bon Bon's voice broke the silence, causing me to jerk forward and bop myself against the window.

"Jesus!"

Bon Bon put a hoof on my leg, "Ryan...what the buck?"

I took a deep breath and steadied myself. "Snuck up on me...."

Bon Bon cocked her head, "How long have you been waiting here?"

"I left at six, so, a few minutes."

Bon Bon gave me a sympathetic look. "We don't open until eight...and we--"

"Yeah but I wanted to get inside and make sure everything was cleaned up and ready to go." I explained, accidentally cutting her off, "I'm sorry, that was rude."

Bon Bon just lowered her head and walked to the front door. "That's great...but you-- We really need to talk."

"Alright, about what?" I asked, walking inside the cool candy store. "What's going on?"

Bon Bon stood before me, "Ryan...your contract's gone."

I froze, "What!?"

Bon Bon nodded, "Maybe you didn't hear yet, but Hellas went under. You're not working here anymore."

I just let my hands fall to my side, "Are you--"

"That said! I'm sure we could work something out. Find you something to do, get you rehired." Bon Bon smiled warmly, "I wasn't sure about you, but you...you seem like a good guy."

I let out a loud sigh of relief. "Bon Bon, thank you."

She blushed a little, swinging her head left and right, "Eeeh, don't thank me. You got here two hours early, how could I fire someone like that?" She covered her mouth and let out a short huff. "So...I guess...we should get started?"

I nodded, moving behind the counter and finding a few rags and some cleaner. "Just let me clean up first." I moved to the two front windows, cleaning them spotless and wiping down the door. With my smudges cleaned I rushed back inside, wiping down the jars and bins.

"Ryan...you know you it doesn't have to be spotless, right?" Bon Bon asked, stepping between me and the wall of bins.

I shrugged, "There's no reason it can't be."

Bon Bon scratched her head, "I guess not. Hey...can I ask you something?"

I resumed my cleaning of the small spacious shop. "Sure."

Bon Bon looked me up and down, "What do you do for fun?"

I went bolt stiff at her question, "I uh.... Stuff."

"What stuff?"

I scratched my head, "Like...books, TV--"

"Nothing outdoors?"

I shook my head, "I guess not."

Bon Bon nodded, "Mmmhmm, I could tell." She trotted victoriously behind the counter and into the production room, "Come here!"

I let out a soft groan and hurried after her, "So, what did you need?"

Bon Bon was standing at a long table, rows of molds and assorted metal tools laying about, "Making some chocolates, should be fun with some help." She trotted over to a large tank and started tossing cooking grade chocolate into the vat. "Just let me melt this...and we can...get to work." she jammed a button, turning on the vat.

I just stood there, stretching out. "So...do you order your stock, or is it all ha- hoof made?"

Bon Bon walked over to me, "Little of both. I can't really make my whole stock, but most of it is! And taffy week is always fun." She propped herself up on two legs, resting on the table with her foreleg, "So...Ryan, I have an idea...and...this might be my old room mate talking, but we should go grab dinner when work is over."

I let out a short cough, "Whoa, what? Did you just ask me out?" I asked with a laugh.

"Maybe I did, what of it? You don't have anypony...do you?"

I thought back to Rainbow Dash for a brief moment. "Not...officially.... But hey, it sounds like fun!"

Bon Bon let out a quick huff, "That pause...that scared me." She fixed her mane and dropped to all fours, "Alright, so we'll have to close up shop early today."

I chuckled lightly, heading over to the sink and washing up, "Are you serious?"

Bon Bon scoffed, "The shop is closed anyways, Sundays are always production days." A loud buzzer went off. "So everything's nice and fresh on Monday." She put a bag onto a small nozzle at the base of the tank and pressed a button. "Careful...careful Bon Bon."

The plastic bag quickly flooded with a disturbingly brown liquid. She waited until it was decently full and wrapped the bag up with her hoof and mouth, "Got it, catch." She swung the bag, tossing it to me. It was rather hot, but I suffered through and found a pair of scissors.

"So just fill these molds?" I asked, snipping a corner of the bag and pinching it.

Bon Bon nodded, "Hold on though, let me-- just wait a second." I complied, finding a tray of frozen peanut butter balls placed next to me. Bon Bon nodded to me, "Just give it a light coat, just enough to cover--"

"Bonbons.... This...seems appropriate." I laid a small base into each of the molds, plopping a ball into each of them and coating them in chocolate. Little by little a tray of thirty two bonbons sat happy in their molds.

"Wooow, good work." Bon Bon walked over, "You learn that in Jersey?"

"Ha, no damn--" I turned to her with a concerned expression, "How do you know I was from Jersey?"

Bon Bon flicked her ear. "It was in your contract. Your age, your height, weight, all sorts of stuff!"

"Oh.... That's still a little creepy." I pushed the Tray aside as Bon Bon pushed a lump of thick sugary goo onto the table, "What's next?"

"Next? Next we play with sticky sugar paste." Bon Bon pressed her hooves against the loaf, laying it in a flat square and trying to roll it, "I- come on-- This is the worst par--"

I bumped her out of the way with my hip and rolled the sheet of doughy sugar. "Like a tube?"

Bon Bon pouted adorably, "Yes.... But leave a space for a stripe, I'll go get it." She wandered off while I kneaded the large roll of sugar. She reappeared, planting a large stripe of red into the white loaf of candy dough. "There, now just keep rolling it. Once it's all nice and smooth just taper it off and cut it into strips."

I nodded, watching as Bon Bon slammed another roll onto the table and replicating, with a bit of difficulty, my technique. Little by little, minute by minute the dough took on a beautiful look, "That's good, go ahead and make a few sticks."

I pinched an end, dragging the thick paste across the table and copping it with a small knife. They looked like floppy candycanes as I laid them out over the table. Once I had twenty or so I started rolling them into long solid strips, "This is how they make glass I think." I noted to myself.

"It's pretty- similar." Bon Bon let out a short huff as she caught up, "Alright-- oh come on! I've been doing this for three years, how are you--"

I waggled my fingers before her. "Magic touch."

Bon Bon huffed, "I'll show you a magic touch."

"Hey now." I finished up with the solidified candy rods, "Anyways, now what?"

Bon Bon thrust a hoof towards my knife, "Chop them into little bits and put them in a tray."

I looked to my right, finding a small glass tray. I took my knife, slowly chipping the rod of solid sugar into twenty bite sized lumps. "Oh, wonderful." I picked up one of the small treats and held it in my palm.

"Let me see?" Bon Bon grabbed my hand, looking over the candy and mumbling. She pressed her lips against my palm, flicking her tongue against my skin as she scooped up the candy. She chomped it, releasing a pleased, mmmm as she smiled. "Alright, you got it."

I just looked at my damp palm. "Couldn't you just have...oh I don't know, taken it?"

Bon Bon licked her lips, "Yeah, but you taste like sugar." she stuck her tongue out and went back to work.

I rolled my eyes and went to wash my hands again. As I did a soft tapping drew my attention to the window. "What the-- Dash!?"

"Hi!" Dash waved from the window, "Hi there!"

I finished washing my hands and went to the window, "Rainbow Dash, I'm working!" I whispered angrily, "Go home!"

Dash flattened her ears, "I just wanted to say hi...see if you wanted--"

Bon Bon came from behind me, pushing me aside, "He's got a date Rainbow Dash."

"What!? With who!?"

I walked away as Bon Bon started yelling. "With me! Now get off my...."

I went back to working, creating sticks and chopping them into bits. The two mares intensified their shouting match. "Doo do do...do--" A loud thud rang out from the window.

"I don't bucking care! He's mine you whore!"

"Shut your fucking mouth you rainbow maned dumbass!"

"Moves like mmnnna...." I drowned out the noise and just filled tray after tray with red striped candies. I popped one into my mouth, enjoying the apply taste. Bon Bon returned as I reached a quarter done. "Bon Bon...."

"What's her deal with you!?"

I rubbed my face with my shoulder, "We got drunk, had a stupid night in a hotel room." I shook my head, "I make poor choices when drunk."

"Pfff, that's not a poor choice. That's just a mistake."

"Hey, ease off. She's just...really clingy." I chopped up another string of candy, "Really...really clingy."

Bon Bon just kept working, angrily kneading the sugar. "It just makes me mad! It's just like my roommate, she started going crazy, stalking humans, all for some weird fetish or something!" She slammed her hooves against the table, "Do you have a roommate?"

"I live in a rented shed I converted into a loft."

Bon Bon stopped dead, "A shed? You live in a shed?!"

"Mmmhmm, when I got here I was broke as shit. I'm still broke as shit." I chuckled, "It's not that bad though. My land lord's nice."

"Well buck.... I--"

"Thanks, I can see where this is going." I finished up with nearly half the roll, churning out candy like a mad man, "I'll think about it. I've been wanting to move somewhere bigger for a while."

Bon Bon laughed, "Well you'd be doing me a favor too. I've been eating into my savings for a month."

Things got quiet, I took advantage and finished up with the candy in record time. I stepped back, looking at my piles of candy compared to Bon Bon's. She just puffed her cheeks out, "That's fine. Now I can stop stroking your ego." she did her best to hurry, finishing up after an extra thirty minutes.

Bon Bon bumped me with her flank. "Proud of yourself? Making me look all slow."

I shrugged cheekily, "You're not slow. I'm just fast."

Bon Bon nodded dismissively, "Sure. Well...I don't think we're gonna go out tonight." Bon Bon felt her mane. "All sticky."

I felt my tacky fingers, poking them together and looking down to her, "Well...I'm free if you've got any other ideas."

Bon Bon shook her head, "Not today. But keep my offer in mind. Even if we don't end up...you know.... It would still be nice to have a roommate I get along with, not some random weirdo."

I rubbed my chin, the stickiness clinging to my stubble. "Well how much are you--"

"Ryan, I'm paying you--"

"Right, right...so...wait- am I the reason you're going broke!?"

Bon Bon shrugged, "Maybe. But you just made twice as much as I could, so we can sell twice as much!" She walked up to me, "So just remember, it's an option. ...And...since I kinda cheated you out of a date." She lifted my right hand with her hoof, taking my middle finger into mouth and sucking the sugary residue off it.

I grew slightly flustered as she pulled her head back, dragging her tongue along the length and letting out a pleased moan. "Geez...a little forward."

Bon Bon licked her lips, "A little. But you're covered in candy and I think I've made my position clear." She turned to the door, "You've lived here long enough to know," She pressed her flank against the door frame, holding it open for me, "A pony sees something they like, they're gonna let you know."

I started chuckling as I walked past her, "Then why are you so hard on Rainbow Dash?"

Bon Bon shuffed around, "Cause she's a stalker! I just...making sure you...you know...." She rubbed herself against my side, "I find you...attractive...and...am looking forward to spending more time with you."

I pressed my hand against her flank, holding her between my hand and my thigh and rubbing her cutiemark, "Well it's gonna be fun then."

Bon Bon wiggled free, flicking her tail and trotting off, "See you later Jersey boy."

"Jersey boy?" I chuckled to myself, walking towards home. My walk went by quickly the sun just starting to fall from high noon. The quiet town going about its day, a calm feeling hanging in the air on the warm spring afternoon. I walked towards Cranky's house, stopping half way as a familiar voice cried from my left.

"Ryan!" Ditzy ran over, sliding next to me and smiling wide. "Mail." She craned her head back, grabbing a bundle of letters and handing them to me.

"Thanks Ditzy."

She smiled wide, "Hug?"

I looked at my hands. "I can't...I'm all sticky and I don't want to screw up your jacket."

Ditzy frowned hard, "Well...alr--"

"Hey!" I stopped her, "Ditzy...you've known me a while.... Should I.... A mare asked me to move in with her. Not like, romantically, but roommates."

She let out a pleased squeal, "Who!?"

"No one! Look, point is. You think I should?"

Ditzy brought her hoof to her ear, "Depends, do you like them?"

"I can't say I don't."

Ditzy smiled wide, "Well then you should at least give it a try!"

I smiled to her, "Thanks. Oh, and how's Time?"

"Great! Everypony's great! But I gotta go, mail, you know how it is." She laughed joyfully and took off.

I looked down at the bundle of letters, the first one in the stack from Hellas.

Dear Mr. Bowen...Hellas has decided to liquidate your contract...compensation.

I flipped through the letters, slowly walking towards my loft.

Class action lawsuit...fraud...five thousand dollars should you wish to accept.

My eyes went wide as I saw the number. I walked balls first into a short fence post. "-Mother--" I leaned against the post, dropping my mail and slumping down. I just fell to my knees, sitting there and finding the letter again. Hellas was being sued, and any of the two-hundred that were let go were being compensated. "Yay...I've got money...and pain...." I groaned, rubbing my boys.

I let out a small huff as I sorted myself out, "Small victories...."