Author's Note
Just a little thing I did in about an hour. ~~No planning, no pre-reading, no editing. Just thrown together.~~ I went back and tweaked it some. Hope you like it.
I should probably mention that Lyra and Bon Bon are somewhere in their early teen years.
What If...
“You know, pacing’s not gonna get you your response any faster.” Bon Bon shot at Lyra as she sat on the doorstep watching the mint green unicorn pace back and forth in front of the mailbox.
“I know… But what if I didn’t get in? I mean, the Unicorn Academy is for really talented unicorns. What if I’m not talented enough?” Lyra asked, anxiety dripping in her voice. She glanced around for any hint of the mailmare, but there was no sign of her. Bon Bon got up from her spot and walked over in front of Lyra to stop her pacing.
“Are you kidding? You’re a really talented unicorn. I’m sure the Unicorn Academy is dying to let you in.” Bon Bon draped a hoof over Lyra’s shoulder, but instead of relaxing, she felt Lyra tense up.
“Or they hate me so much they don’t even think I’m worth a rejection letter.” Lyra whined, pushing away Bon Bon’s hoof. “Face it Bon, I was way in over my head thinking they’d actually accept me.” With Lyra’s head held low and her ears flat, Bon Bon felt a pang of sadness in her chest seeing her friend so depressed.
“C’mon Lyra, you’re overreacting. Now tell me about the Unicorn Academy again. Why do you want to go?” Lyra pulled her head up slightly to meet Bon Bon’s gaze. Bon Bon gave her a soft smile.
“The Unicorn Academy is a great magic school for unicorns,” No kidding. “There are all kinds of classes for different kinds of magic in case you don’t really know what you can do with your magic. I’m not sure what magic I’ll study but I’m really hoping to study musical magic.” Lyra ‘Heartstrings’? I wouldn’t expect any less. “There’s gonna be a lot of work involved. Sure, I’m not gonna have as much time as I usually do to hang out with you, but I wouldn’t have signed up if I thought it was too much to handle. I’m just gonna have to focus on my studies.” That’s Lyra, focusing on her— What!? Bon Bon almost choked on the air when her friend said that.
“W-we aren’t gonna hang out as much?” she questioned a little surprised.
“Well yeah, I’m gonna have to work really hard. But we’ll still hang out, just, you know, not as much. It’s gonna be a little different, but I think it’ll be worth it.” Lyra sighed happily. Bon Bon just stared at Lyra. How could she even think it’s worth it?! Bon Bon screamed internally.
“So you’re gonna spend a lot of time on this, like, a lot of time?”
“Yeah. Why?” Lyra turned a confused face to Bon Bon.
“No reason!” Bon Bon quickly replied. “So what’s so special about this Unicorn Academy anyway?”
“I just told you. It’s a great school for unicorns that started in Canterlot.” Bon Bon’s ear twitched slightly as she looked at her mint green friend. Canterlot? Canterlot! If she gets accepted, I’ll never see her again.
“Why would you even want to go to some dumb Unicorn Academy? I’m sure there’s a better school for whatever you want to do.” Bon Bon chuckled nervously
“Dumb?!” Lyra hissed, turning on Bon Bon. “Bon, we’re talking about a school that specializes in a bunch of different magic. There’s absolutely no better school than that for unicorns. This is what I’ve been dreaming of. It’s NOT dumb.” Bon Bon began to panic. If Lyra moved to Canterlot, she’d never see her friend again. She couldn’t let it happen, no matter what she had to say.
“You might not even get in, so why try?” Bon Bon retorted sharply. As soon as she said that, she slammed a hoof to her mouth. Lyra winced as if she’d been struck, which she had been… well, her dreams had been struck.
“W-why would you say that?” Lyra whispered on the verge of tears. “Why are you trying to crush my dreams?” Bon Bon couldn’t look away from her friend’s teary golden eyes. She felt her own tears well up and she couldn’t keep it in anymore. She threw herself at Lyra and wrapped her in a tight hug.
“I don’t want you to move to Canterlot! If you do, I’ll never see you again!” Bon Bon cried, tightening her grip on the unicorn. Lyra struggled with Bon Bon’s death grip, but she managed to slip out.
“What are you talking about, Bon?” Lyra wheezed, trying to recover the wind that had just been squeezed out of her.
“You said that the Unicorn Academy is a school for unicorns in Canterlot. I don’t know if you know this, Lyra, but Canterlot is like really far away. If you have to do as much work as you say you do, you won’t have time to visit and we’ll never see each other again. I don’t want to lose you Ly, you’re my best friend!” Lyra started giggling as Bon Bon wiped a few tears away. “What’s so funny?”
“Oh Bonnie, you’re such a silly filly. The Unicorn Academy isn’t in Canterlot.”
“But you said—”
“Well, no. It is in Canterlot, but there are other parts of the school in different cities. There’s part of the Unicorn Academy here in Ponyville. It’s near the market square.” Lyra draped a hoof over Bon Bon’s shoulder in the same way she did to her not too long ago. “I’m not leaving, but I’m glad I have a friend who cares so much about me.” Bon Bon’s cheeks were tinged pink and her mouth hung open a little as Lyra continued giggling at her.
“Ugh, why are you such a jerk!?” Bon Bon shouted, pushing Lyra away crossing her forelegs across her chest. Lyra’s giggles died down a bit.
“Why am I the jerk?”
“For making me worry about losing my friend. I swear you’re gonna give me a heart attack or something.” Lyra gave Bon Bon a wide smile.
“Bon, you’re too young to get a heart attack.” Bon Bon tackled Lyra to the ground and they wrestled around. Lyra’s squeals were followed by Bon Bon’s growls and they kept rolling around in a tangle of limbs.
“Ahem.” They stopped their little tussle, and quickly got up to see a grey pegasus mare. She had a blue hat and coat and a satchel slung over her shoulder with a letter in her hoof. “I have a letter for Lyra Heartstrings. Do either of you know where I can find her.”
“That’s me!” Lyra squeaked with excitement, and Bon Bon rolled her eyes.
“Here you go, dear.” the mailmare said cheerfully. Lyra took the sealed letter, unable to do anything accept beam at the letter. “Goodbye.” called the mailmare, and she flew off leaving the two with the letter. Lyra sat looking at it for a moment, unsure if she wanted to open it.
“Well?” Bon Bon tapped her hoof on the ground impatiently.
“I-I don’t know if I can do this.” Lyra said with as much anxiety as before.
“C’mon, Lyra. This is what you’ve been waiting for. The thing you almost gave me a heart attack over.”
“Open it with me? Please?” Bon Bon rolled her eyes again, but took her place next to Lyra with a smile. “On the count of three. One?”
“Two.” Bon Bon said, starting to shake a little with giddiness.
“THREE!” They shouted in unison.
“I GOT IN!”
