An Expression of Love

by _Undefined_

Rating: mature
Tags: Romance, Sex, Bon-Bon, Slice of Life, Lyra, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 9878

Although they’ve been friends for over a year, Lyra and Bon Bon have been dating for only a short while. This is the story of two of the milestones in their relationship.

Although they’ve been friends for over a year, Lyra and Bon Bon have been dating for only a short while. This is the story of two of the milestones in their relationship.

The events in this story follow the events of My True Self. Things will make more sense if you read that story first, but it will all make enough sense even if you don’t.

Note that while sex does occur and is described – sometimes in detail – this story is not intended to be clop.

Published 2017-02-25 09:40:01 UTC
Last updated 2017-02-25 09:40:01 UTC

Verbal

Bon Bon looked at the sheet of wrapping paper laid out on the table before her. Then she looked at the tape dispenser. Bon Bon frowned. As an earth pony, she couldn’t use scissors to trim the paper. And trying to operate the tape dispenser with her hooves was no easy task, either.

The wrapping paper had been precut into individual sheets – a product marketed specifically toward earth ponies and pegasi who couldn’t operate scissors. This always resulted, it seemed, in there being either way too much or not quite enough paper to contain the desired present. In this particular instance, Bon Bon was looking at way too much paper. She hated to waste it, but she realized that she didn’t have much choice in the matter.

Because it was a task not designed to be performed by earth ponies, it was understandable that Bon Bon usually hated to wrap presents. But this time, she was eager to do it. She couldn’t wait to see the look on her marefriend’s face when she unwrapped this gift – and the only way Bon Bon would to get to see that look on her marefriend’s face would be to wrap the present in the first place.

Bon Bon had been dating Lyra Heartstrings for a little over a month. They had been best friends for nearly a year before that, but it was only recently that they had admitted their attraction toward one another. It was the first time Bon Bon had ever dated anyone, so in a small corner near the back of her mind, she was always a little anxious about determining when the usual milestones of a romantic relationship were supposed to occur and whether or not those milestones were occurring at the right times in her and Lyra’s life together.

So far, Bon Bon and Lyra’s relationship as marefriends wasn’t all that different than their relationship as best friends. They still went out and did things together; they still visited each other’s apartments and talked and laughed. The only differences were that now, when they went out and did things, they sat a little closer to one another. And when they visited each other’s apartments, talking and laughing often gave way to nuzzling and kissing.

While Bon Bon wasn’t sure whether it was progressing at a normal pace, she did know that her relationship with Lyra was everything she could have hoped for. For the past month, Bon Bon had been happier than she had been during any other time in her life, and she had a special green unicorn to thank for it. Bon Bon didn’t know whether spontaneous gift-giving was a relationship stage – and if it was, how long into the relationship it was supposed to occur. Luckily, in this instance, the present wouldn’t be viewed as inappropriately timed – Lyra’s birthday was coming up in just a few days.

Bon Bon absentmindedly hummed to herself as she placed Lyra’s present on top of the wrapping paper, then began to roll it until she had formed a tube of paper around the gift. Fumbling a little bit, she pulled a piece of tape from the dispenser and secured the paper cylinder in place. She then folded the ends of the paper inward and anchored them down with more tape. The end result wasn’t pretty, but Bon Bon wasn’t too bothered by it – the wrapping paper was destined to be taken apart anyway.

Surprisingly for an earth pony, Bon Bon had become quite adept at tying ribbons into bows – it was a skill that frequently came in handy as she decorated the boxes of candy she sold during the holidays. After all, the fancier the packaging looked, the more valuable the customer perceived it to be. So Bon Bon took a piece of ribbon and tied a bow around the cylinder to distract from the terrible job she had otherwise done in wrapping the present.

Bon Bon picked up the wrapped present and hid it in her closet. She smiled. Just the thought of Lyra being happy on her birthday made Bon Bon happy.

Lyra stood next to Bon Bon’s dining table. She was wearing a cone-shaped paper birthday hat with an elastic band stretched across her chin. She was also blowing a paper noisemaker. Neither of those items had been supplied to her by Bon Bon – in anticipation of this day, she had saved them from when she had attended a previous birthday party.

Lyra had worn the birthday hat throughout the day as she and Bon Bon walked through Ponyville. The noisemaker was a more recent addition.

Bon Bon returned from the kitchen. Lyra continued to blow her noisemaker every three seconds.

“Okay, I think you’ve made your point,” Bon Bon said, removing the noisemaker from Lyra’s mouth and placing it on the table.

“So, what’s the surprise?” Lyra asked Bon Bon.

“Dinner. It’s a surprise dinner.”

“You already said that. What kind of dinner?”

“If I told you that, it wouldn’t be much of a surprise.”

Lyra made a pouty face, but they both knew she didn’t mean it. Lyra had already had a great birthday. After some early morning smooches from Bon Bon, the two of them had spent the day having fun. First, they took a hot air balloon ride over Ponyville. This was followed by lunch. Lunch was followed by a trip to Sugarcube Corner, where Pinkie Pie gave Lyra a complimentary birthday cupcake. As Pinkie pointed out, it was complimentary in both senses of the word: Not only did Lyra not have to pay anything for it, but the cupcake had the sentence “YOU LOOK GREAT!” written on it in icing.

“You’ll find out soon enough,” Bon Bon said. “Right now, I want to give you your present.”

That caused Lyra to perk right back up. “And I want you to give it to me,” she said.

Bon Bon took the long, narrow present from the closet and gave it to Lyra. Lyra sat on the floor and held it in her hooves.

“You know, I really hope you didn’t go to too much trouble,” Lyra said. “Just being with you all day has made this a great birthday.”

“It was no trouble at all,” Bon Bon said. “I got this in a trade with an elderly stallion who lives by himself just outside of town. He’s the only pony I’ve ever met who likes horehound candy.”

“I’ve never heard of that before in my life,” Lyra said.

“And for good reason – it’s awful. That’s why nopony makes it anymore. But he really likes it, and I’m the only pony around here who knows how to make it. The problem is, he usually doesn’t have any extra bits to pay for the candy. He does, however, enjoy whittling, so I asked him to make this for you.”

“Q.E.D.,” Lyra surmised.

“Quid pro quo,” Bon Bon corrected her. “Anyway, everything works out – you get a birthday present, plus you’ve made an old stallion’s day by letting him have his gross old-fashioned candy. Go ahead – open it.”

Using her magic, Lyra slid the ribbon off of the gift, then removed the wrapping paper. In her hooves she held a long, polished wooden stick with an elaborate carving at one end.

“Ooh,” Lyra said with fascination in her voice. She examined the carving.

“It’s a back scratcher,” Bon Bon said.

Lyra stared at the scratching end. Unlike most back scratchers, which came to a single long, curved edge, the end of this back scratcher was shaped like an elongated monkey’s paw. Each of the fingers on the paw was spread out so there were five individual points of contact.

“Is that close?” Bon Bon asked.

Lyra couldn’t help but smile. She knew that Bon Bon didn’t understand her fascination with humans. Which made the gift all the more meaningful.

“It looks great,” Lyra said. “Thank you.” She levitated the back scratcher in her magic and lifted it up, over and behind her head. She scratched her back with it.

“Ooooohh,” Lyra said, shuddering with pleasure. “Why did I never think to get one of these for myself? This is wonderful.” She stood up, stepped over, and gave Bon Bon a short kiss. “Thank you so much. This has been an amazing birthday.”

Bon Bon let out a small sigh of relief. “You deserve it,” she told her. She kissed Lyra back, then said, “While you’re enjoying that, I’ll go make dinner. No peeking until it’s ready.” She walked through the doorway into the kitchen.

“Okay,” Lyra said. She sat down at the table and looked over her new back scratcher. She could hear the sounds of mixing and frying coming from the kitchen, but she spent most of her time staring at the wooden fingers and daydreaming.

Time passed quickly while Lyra was lost in thought. Her reverie was broken when Bon Bon stepped out, carrying a large bowl of cheese grits. She set it on the table. Bon Bon walked back into the kitchen, then returned with a pan of hash browns. She made another trip into the kitchen.

Lyra’s mouth began to water. A grin spread across her face. “Did you make…?” Lyra said as Bon Bon returned. Bon Bon nodded as she set down a plate of scrambled eggs.

“Breakfast for dinner?!” Lyra exclaimed. “Yes!” She looked at the many side dishes. “You didn’t have to do all this!”

“Pfft,” Bon Bon said dismissively as she returned from the kitchen one last time. “It wasn’t that difficult. I just want to be sure my marefriend has the best birthday possible.” She set a plate of pancakes, already topped with butter and syrup, in front of Lyra. As Lyra hungrily eyed the food, Bon Bon stepped to the side.

“Dig in.”

Lyra didn’t need to be told twice. She immediately took a bite of her pancakes. “Mmm…” she said, closing her eyes to savor the taste. “These are so good.”

As Lyra took a second bite, Bon Bon picked up the back scratcher. While Lyra was chewing, Bon Bon ran it along Lyra’s back. Lyra said “Mmm…” again, although it was now unclear whether it was because of the pancakes or because she was having her back scratched.

“You’ve made this the best birthday ever,” Lyra said, her hind leg involuntarily kicking as Bon Bon found just the right spot on her back. As she swallowed the pancakes and leaned into the back scratcher, she emitted a sound somewhere between a sigh and a moan, followed by, “I love you so much!”

Lyra abruptly froze in place. Her eyes went wide but her pupils shrank.

It was the first time she had ever said the L-word to Bon Bon.

Bon Bon saw Lyra’s rigid posture and stopped scratching. Silence filled the air.

Lyra’s mind was racing. Even though it had been roughly a year since she first met Bon Bon, they had only been dating for a month! It was way too soon to admit to that! Especially over pancakes!

“I…” Lyra finally said. “I didn’t mea— well, I did, but… to say… I shouldn’t… it just… I’m…”

As Lyra continued to stammer, Bon Bon stepped toward Lyra and kissed her on the cheek. Lyra fell quiet.

“I love you, too,” Bon Bon said. “Happy birthday.”

Physical

Bon Bon and Lyra had been dating for about three and a half months in total. Bon Bon was glad that Lyra had been the first to say “I love you” – even if it was by accident. Bon Bon had wanted to say the same thing, but wasn’t sure how long she was supposed to wait. Now that it was out in the open, both mares were happy and their relationship was still as strong as ever.

It was mid-afternoon, and Lyra was at Bon Bon’s apartment, helping her sort through her books. Bon Bon had finally acquired a bookshelf so she would have a proper place to store her recipe guides. Lyra had agreed to help her, both because she liked helping Bon Bon and because she didn’t like not being with Bon Bon.

As the two of them sat on the floor, removing books from boxes and sorting them into piles, Bon Bon couldn’t help but notice that Lyra wasn’t acting like her usual effervescent self. Bon Bon tried to figure out what might be on Lyra’s mind. She hoped Lyra wasn’t mad at her about something. She especially hoped Lyra wasn’t thinking that for a pony who didn’t really believe humans were real, Bon Bon seemed to have a higher than average number of books about fantastical creatures and monsters. Bon Bon hadn’t realized it herself until she saw the growing pile on the floor. She worked on concocting a plausible excuse involving an inheritance from an uncle, just in case Lyra asked her about it.

They continued to organize books for a few minutes in silence. Bon Bon began to shelve the all-purpose cookbooks.

Finally, Lyra spoke. “There’s something that’s been on my mind,” she said. “It’s going to be an uncomfortable conversation, but I think we need to have it.”

Bon Bon set down the book she had just picked up. She didn’t particularly want to have an uncomfortable conversation, but she also didn’t want to say no to Lyra. “If it’s important to you,” she said, her tone prompting Lyra to continue.

“It is,” Lyra said. “Okay, so we’ve been going out for a while now. And you and I have known each other really well for over a year. Honestly, we should have been going out for a lot longer than three and a half months, but I blame myself for that.” Lyra briefly but rapidly shook her head. “Anyway, I’m getting off-track.”

Lyra took a breath and started again. “It’s obvious that this isn’t some short-term thing. This is clearly a real relationship – the best relationship I’ve ever been in, and I’m not just saying that to you to be nice. You really are the best marefriend I could ever imagine having.”

Lyra raised her head in frustration. “Ugh, I’m getting off-track again. Okay, here it is. I’m not trying to rush anything, but before it becomes an issue, I think we need to talk about… about sex.”

Bon Bon stared at her marefriend, surprised by Lyra’s forthrightness. Sure, sex was a subject that Bon Bon had thought about more than a few times – especially once she and Lyra had officially started dating. But she always assumed it was just something that naturally happened in a relationship. Bon Bon didn’t know what to say.

However, it was clear that Lyra was waiting for Bon Bon to respond. After a few moments of silence, Bon Bon finally said, “This isn’t a topic I’m really familiar with. You’re the first pony I’ve ever dated.”

“I know,” Lyra said. “And that’s why I feel like I need to be honest with you. Full disclosure and everything. So here it is: I’m not a virgin. It’s not a story that I’m proud of, but I feel like you need to know.

“When I was a sophomore at the music academy, I started going out with a senior from the Art Institute of Canterlot nearby. After a couple of weeks, she started making it pretty clear that she wanted to have sex with me. She was really insistent about it – which I should have taken as a sign right then and there, but you know, I was still pretty new to being on my own, and I really wanted to know what it was like. And the relationship was going okay… though not as good as it should have been. Still, I agreed, and so, for about a week, we… well, we had sex.” Lyra looked at the floor and shook her head regretfully.

“About a week…” Bon Bon repeated. She knew there had to be more to the story. “What happened?”

“One day, I decided to drop by her apartment unannounced and surprise her with some flowers. When I walked in, I caught her… in a compromising position with a stallion from one of her classes.”

Bon Bon’s mouth fell agape in shock.

“Her face looked a lot like that, yeah,” Lyra said. “I threw the flowers down and ran away, crying. Obviously, that was the end of things between us. When I first met her, she had told me she was bi – I didn’t have a problem with that. But she never told me that she expected me to be part of an open relationship.”

Bon Bon finally got her mouth to close. After a moment, she said to Lyra, “You know that I’m not a violent pony… but right now, I have an overwhelming urge to find out who this mare is and make her pay for what she did to you.”

“Don’t,” Lyra said. “I’d rather just forget about her. Anyway, that was my only time. And don’t worry – a few months later, I got myself tested, and I never contracted anything from her. Thank Celestia for that, at least.”

“I’m so sorry,” Bon Bon said. “I really wish there was something I could say or do.”

“You did – you just did what I needed you to do,” Lyra said. “By listening. I needed to tell you. I needed you to know. Look, I’m not going to lie – I hope that someday, you decide that you want to sleep with me. But if that ever happens, I didn’t want you to have any doubts or questions about my past.”

Bon Bon nodded. She searched for the right words. Finally, she admitted, “I don’t know what else to say. I wish I could be as open with you about my past history, but I don’t have one.”

“That’s why I felt like I had to come clean,” Lyra said. “I wish I could have shown your patience and self-restraint when it came to my first time.”

“In fairness,” Bon Bon said, “it hasn’t been patience and self-restraint so much as it’s been a complete lack of opportunity.”

Lyra let out a small chuckle. “I’m only mentioning this to you now because it’s something that’s been on my mind. If you’re not ready, I completely understand. I promise that I’ll never pressure you into doing anything you don’t want to do. But before anything happens between us – if anything ever happens between us – I wanted to be open and honest with you.”

“Thank you,” Bon Bon said. “That really does mean a lot to me.”

“So now you know where I stand on the issue,” Lyra said. “If you ever decide that you want to spend the night at my place, I’m okay with that. We don’t even have to do anything intimate. I don’t want you to feel like you have to do something unless it’s your decision.”

Bon Bon was quiet for a moment. “This is a lot to take in,” she said. “Is it okay if I take some time to think about this?”

“Take all the time you need. I won’t say anything else about it.”

“Thank you,” Bon Bon said. She picked up one of the recipe guides from the pile of books specifically about candy. “Here – to completely change the subject, look through this book and pick out something you like. I’ll make it for the two of us tonight. Assuming I have all the ingredients.”

Lyra took the book and opened it to the table of contents. “And if you don’t have all the ingredients?”

“Then I reserve the right to make substitutions. A radish is about the same size and shape as a strawberry, right?”

They both laughed.

For the next couple of nights, Bon Bon had trouble falling asleep as she thought about what Lyra had said. So far, their relationship as marefriends hadn’t been much different than their relationship as best friends – would having sex change that? If so, for the better or for the worse? Bon Bon had no way of knowing. Was their relationship even at the point where it was time to have sex? How would she know when that right time was? Lyra brought it up, so if nothing else, Lyra must have seemed to feel that it was time.

It wasn’t a question, however, of whether Bon Bon wanted to have sex with Lyra. She had fantasized about it on numerous occasions, and now that she knew that Lyra was interested in sleeping with her, a significant part of Bon Bon was eager and willing to say yes, regardless of whether it was the right time.

And it wasn’t even an issue of keeping her virginity. To be sure, Bon Bon knew that she wanted her first time to be meaningful, with a pony she truly loved and trusted – Lyra’s story about her own first time only reinforced that conviction. But even though they had only been marefriends for three months, Bon Bon had known Lyra for over a year. She knew that she loved and trusted Lyra, and that Lyra loved and trusted her back.

So it wasn’t that Bon Bon was reluctant to lose her virginity to Lyra. On the contrary, it was Bon Bon’s complete lack of experience that was making her apprehensive. Bon Bon was gripped by the fear that she might do something wrong. Maybe she would reach orgasm too quickly. Or worse, she would be so inept, she wouldn’t be able to bring Lyra to climax at all. Bon Bon was terrified at the thought of disappointing Lyra when it came to such an important part of their relationship.

Bon Bon tried to remember the details from a couple of romance novels she had read years ago – she had quickly determined that she didn’t care for the genre, so she had never sought any out since then. As she racked her memory, Bon Bon realized that her primary problem was that the love scenes in those novels were between a mare and a stallion. And while the stallions in those love scenes did engage in some actions that Bon Bon could perform on Lyra, most of the prose had focused on how those actions made the mare feel. Which made sense, as the goal of the story, after all, was to get the reader – presumably, the female reader – hot and bothered. But Bon Bon needed some specific instructions on what exactly to do.

Bon Bon considered going to the library to see if there were any books that were dedicated to providing those kinds of details. But she quickly realized that even if the Golden Oak Library did have the books she was looking for, there was no way Bon Bon could walk up to Twilight Sparkle and ask if she could borrow them. Twilight knew her by name! And Bon Bon didn’t want some other pony – especially not a pony who knew her – to be aware of what she was planning on doing. Worse, what if Spike was the one on duty that day!

Bon Bon also had no plans to visit any neighboring towns in the near future, so she couldn’t go search their libraries. Besides, Bon Bon assumed that most of the books on the subject would probably be the ones parents gave to their maturing foals to explain where babies came from. Bon Bon already knew the biological requirements of reproduction. She wasn’t planning on doing any of that with Lyra.

So Bon Bon was stuck – she didn’t want to disappoint Lyra on their first night together, but she had no means of finding out a way to ensure that she wouldn’t disappoint Lyra on their first night together. She couldn’t look anything up, she couldn’t ask anypony, and she certainly couldn’t practice on somepony else first. The only thing Bon Bon was sure of, from reading those two romance novels and from looking at the articles in various magazines geared toward mares, was that everypony who was familiar with sex always talked about how crucial a good sex life was, and how it was so important to please your partner and to make sure your partner pleased you.

Bon Bon wrestled with those thoughts night after night until she came to a conclusion. She weighed the idea of never getting to have sex with Lyra against the idea of getting to have sex with Lyra, but failing miserably at it.

This was Lyra – her one and only love. The mare who meant more to her than any other pony in all of Equestria.

She had to try.

Soon after, Bon Bon and Lyra had one of what they called their “talent show” days. On days when Bon Bon was busy fulfilling a candy order and Lyra didn’t have any work to do, Lyra would visit Bon Bon’s apartment and practice her lyre to keep Bon Bon company while she made the candy. On this particular occasion, Bon Bon spent the day making chocolate chips and multicolored sprinkles for Sugarcube Corner. Lyra hadn’t made much progress in the way of writing any new music, but at least she was keeping her lyre-playing skills honed.

Shortly before dusk, Lyra put her lyre back in its case. “Well, I guess Cherry Berry’s house isn’t going to tend to itself,” she said. The earth pony had hired her to look after her cat, plants, and mail while she was away on vacation.

“Since you’re going out,” Bon Bon said, “can I ask you to pick up some produce? If you do, I’ll turn it into dinner for us.”

“No problem. What do you need?”

Bon Bon walked over to get some bits. “Some zucchini, some yellow squash, and some strawberries.”

“That’s all for one dinner?”

“The strawberries are for dessert,” Bon Bon said. After giving the bits to Lyra, Bon Bon gave her a quick kiss. “Thanks.”

Lyra headed out the door while Bon Bon finished making the order. A couple of hours passed – much longer than it should have taken for Lyra to pick up the mail, water some plants, feed a cat, and scoop out its litter box. After the sun had set, Lyra finally returned, carrying the groceries in her saddlebags.

“What happened?” Bon Bon asked.

“Well,” Lyra said, “I went to the marketplace first before all the vendors decided to go home. Then I went to Cherry Berry’s house and started watering her plants. As I finished, I saw the cat snooping around my saddlebags on the counter. I walked over to gently shoo her away, and when I did, she leapt onto the table and knocked over one of the flowerpots, spilling wet dirt all over the floor and one of the rugs.”

“Yeesh,” Bon Bon said. “Ten bits says she did it on purpose.”

“Oh, absolutely,” Lyra said. “The entire time I was cleaning it up, she just sat on the table, watching me. If she had the facial muscles to pull off an evil grin, she would have. I think the only reason cats haven’t evolved the ability to laugh is because if they did, they’d be doing it all the time and nopony would let them live in their homes.”

“Yeah, I’ve never seen anypony adopt a hyena.”

“Exactly. So anyway, the whole thing took longer than I planned.”

Lyra removed her saddlebags and gave them to Bon Bon. As she did, her stomach growled.

Lyra looked at the empty table. “Please tell me you got tired of waiting for me and already ate dinner for yourself.”

“Nope,” Bon Bon said from the kitchen. She was already putting the zucchini and squash on the counter. “I figured that whatever was holding you up, it would keep you from eating, and I was willing to wait. Don’t worry – dinner won’t take too long to make.”

As the two continued to chat about Lyra’s evening, Bon Bon prepared dinner. Before long, they were feasting on linguine with grilled zucchini and yellow squash in a roasted tomato sauce. The table was lit by four tall, thin candles.

“Because it’s dark outside,” Bon Bon explained.

“And because it’s romantic,” Lyra observed.

“Well…” Bon Bon said. “Yes, okay, that too.”

The mood set, the two enjoyed their pasta as they appreciated simply being in the presence of each other while staring at one another in the candlelight. When they finished, Bon Bon capped off the dinner by bringing out her fondue pot. They each took a fork and dipped strawberries into the warm, melted chocolate. The dessert began with Bon Bon and Lyra eating the strawberries off of their own forks, but the two soon switched to feeding strawberries to each other.

When the strawberries were gone, Bon Bon said to Lyra, “I think you have a little bit of chocolate still on your mouth.”

“Do I?” said Lyra. She made no effort to remove it.

“Here, let me get that for you,” Bon Bon said. She walked around the table and kissed the side of Lyra’s mouth, directly next to her lips. Bon Bon looked at Lyra. “There we go,” she said. “Now it’s clean. Just like this side of your mouth.” She kissed the other side of Lyra’s mouth to indicate exactly where she was referring to.

Lyra examined Bon Bon’s muzzle. “I don’t see any chocolate on your mouth,” she said. “But then again, it’s kind of dark in here. I’d better make sure.”

Before long, the two were passionately making out. They worked their way over to the loveseat for a more comfortable place to sit, Lyra using her magic to move the candles to the coffee table.

Somewhere around the 10-minute mark – a little shorter than the usual length of their make out sessions – Bon Bon’s wall clock chimed. Lyra looked at the time. She gently pushed Bon Bon away.

“To be continued,” Lyra said, stepping down from the loveseat and back onto the floor. She knew that this was the time that Bon Bon usually got ready for bed. “I don’t want to keep you up.”

Bon Bon looked at Lyra. This was what she had planned. The moment felt as right as it was ever going to feel. She looked her marefriend in the eye.

“Actually,” Bon Bon said, “I was wondering if maybe… you wanted to sleep with me tonight?”

Lyra stood perfectly still. After a few seconds, she began breathing again.

“Yes,” Lyra said. “Absolutely yes. Now, before I jump to any conclusions, when you say ‘sleep with me…’”

“I mean that first, I would like to make love to you before we actually fall asleep.”

Lyra nodded. “Yes. I would like that very much.”

Bon Bon got down from the loveseat and turned to walk toward her bedroom. As she did so, she briefly flicked her tail upward. That was the one move she remembered from the romance novels. When Bon Bon heard the short intake of breath behind her, she knew she had done something right.

Lyra extinguished the candles in the living room and followed Bon Bon into her bedroom, where she watched as Bon Bon lit some different, wider candles she had placed on the nightstands earlier that evening. Once the vanilla-scented candles were aglow, providing both illumination and the proper atmosphere, Bon Bon stood at the side of the bed. She realized that other than the tail flick, she had no ideas on what else she should do. Lyra looked at her. Bon Bon had issued the invitation – it was up to her to begin.

Finally, Bon Bon admitted, “I… don’t know what the first step is.”

Lyra moved closer to the bed. “The first step is whatever we want it to be,” she said. “Why don’t we keep doing what we were doing out in the living room?” She walked around to the other side, pulled the sheets back, climbed up onto the bed, and sat down.

Bon Bon sat down next to Lyra near the middle of the bed. She leaned in, gently pulled at Lyra’s lower lip with her teeth, and the two went back to making out. After a couple of minutes, Lyra slowly leaned back and to her side. Bon Bon’s lips followed, and soon, the two of them were lying down on their sides, the kiss still unbroken.

As she always did while making out with Bon Bon, Lyra ran her hooves along the contours of Bon Bon’s body. But even as they lay on the bed together on this most special of nights, Lyra kept her hooves above Bon Bon’s hips. Eventually, Lyra broke off the kiss and leaned up on one of her forelegs. She looked at Bon Bon.

“You feel really tense,” Lyra said. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

“Yes – I really do want to do this,” Bon Bon said. For a brief moment, she didn’t want to elaborate, but she realized that if Lyra had already been able to determine how she was feeling, there was no sense in keeping it secret. “But I’m also really worried about doing something wrong. I know how important this is.”

Lyra gave Bon Bon a reassuring smile. “Sex isn’t all that different from making out,” she said, “and you’re great at doing that.”

Bon Bon blushed a little bit.

“Just let me know what you like and what you don’t like. Not in a demanding way, of course,” she said with another smile. “For example, when I do this…”

Lyra brought Bon Bon in for a deep, passionate kiss while running her hoof through the end of Bon Bon’s mane. After a few seconds, she separated.

“…and you respond with that little moan, I know to keep doing it. But when I kiss you on your chin, and that doesn’t do anything for you, just tell me ‘to the left’ or ‘higher.’ I want to know what you like best. Neither of us is a mind reader – it’s normal to offer a little bit of guidance.”

“Okay,” Bon Bon said. She still wasn’t very confident.

“Here, I’ll start first,” Lyra said. “But before I do, you need to relax your muscles. This will be a lot easier for both of us if you’re not tense.” She sat up and gently rolled Bon Bon toward her so that Bon Bon was lying on her stomach. Lyra leaned over and began to massage Bon Bon’s withers. As she tried to work out the tension, Lyra’s hooves traveled down to Bon Bon’s shoulders, then to her sides and her back.

The massage felt good – the sensation of Lyra’s hooves all over her body did allow Bon Bon’s muscles to loosen up. Still, Bon Bon couldn’t help but remain a little apprehensive. Lyra could sense it, too, as after a short while, she said, “Let me ask you this: Have you ever dreamed about me being here in bed with you?”

Bon Bon’s first instinct was to lie. It was… impolite, to say the least, to tell somepony that you’ve secretly lusted after them. But Bon Bon hated keeping secrets from Lyra. And considering that they were about to have sex with one another…

“Yes,” Bon Bon finally said. “I have.”

Lyra leaned in close to Bon Bon’s ear. Softly, she whispered, “Those dreams are about to come true.”

Suddenly, Bon Bon was too preoccupied with the sudden realization of how real this moment was to worry about the tension of her muscles. Lyra resumed massaging Bon Bon’s back. Satisfied with the results, Lyra then proceeded to slide down the bed and move her hooves further down Bon Bon’s back – no longer massaging, just slowly tracing symmetrical lines toward the base of Bon Bon’s tail. Once there, Lyra’s hooves separated, continuing around the tail and toward the backs of Bon Bon’s rear legs. For a moment, Bon Bon thought that Lyra was headed inward, but instead, Lyra moved her hooves out and against Bon Bon’s flanks, resting squarely atop Bon Bon’s cutie marks.

Lyra gently pressed against Bon Bon’s flanks in a motion that indicated that she wanted Bon Bon to roll over. Realizing what was about to happen, Bon Bon followed Lyra’s lead. Now Bon Bon was on her back, her underside exposed.

Due to their short coats and traditional lack of clothes, ponies were accustomed to having all of their external body parts out in the open. While it wasn’t scandalous for a pony’s genitals to be visible on occasion, social mores dictated that such body parts should not deliberately be flaunted or placed on display. Over the past year, Bon Bon had stolen her fair share of glances at Lyra’s underside, and she was certain Lyra had done the same of her. Still, this was the first time she was in a position to invite Lyra’s attention to that part of her body.

Lyra looked at Bon Bon’s face. Lyra’s eyes then traveled down the length of Bon Bon’s body. Slowly, Lyra placed her hooves on Bon Bon’s thighs and gently spread her legs apart. Bon Bon offered no resistance. Lyra’s eyes were focused squarely on Bon Bon’s vulva. In general, Bon Bon didn’t like being stared at, but she never minded when Lyra did it. Even in this situation. Bon Bon was relieved to see that the expression on Lyra’s face was one of anticipation and not of ridicule. Still, Bon Bon was feeling a little anxious. She considered disguising her nervousness by saying “Ta-da.” She decided against it.

Lyra looked back up at Bon Bon’s face. “I’m going to start simple,” she said. Bon Bon nodded. Bon Bon noticed that Lyra’s hooves were trembling a little bit. What did she have to worry about?

Keeping her right hoof on Bon Bon’s thigh, Lyra placed her left hoof near the bottom of Bon Bon’s other leg. She lightly caressed the inside of the leg, slowly moving up, closer and closer, past the thigh…

Lyra’s hoof made contact with Bon Bon’s outer labia. Now it was Bon Bon’s turn to quickly inhale. Instinctively, she held her breath. Lyra used the toe of her hoof to massage the outer labia, then moved in toward the inner labia. Bon Bon remembered to breathe out.

Lyra’s hoof stayed near the vaginal opening, playing with and massaging the general area. Bon Bon closed her eyes and focused her complete attention on the sensation of Lyra’s hoof against her genitals. It was certainly different than when Bon Bon explored that area on her own. Initially, Bon Bon forgot to make any sounds to give Lyra guidance. After a short while, she began to moan softly when she felt something a little better than usual.

Then, without warning, Lyra’s hoof moved upward toward Bon Bon’s clitoris. Without even thinking about it, Bon Bon moaned more loudly. Bon Bon opened her eyes and saw a smile grow on Lyra’s face. It was the smile of a pony who suddenly understood what she needed to do.

Lyra began to tease the area around Bon Bon’s clitoris for a minute. Bon Bon found herself breathing more heavily. Finally, Lyra’s hoof made contact with the tip of the clitoris itself. Several parts of Bon Bon’s body involuntarily tensed and loosened. A concerned look briefly crossed Lyra’s face. Bon Bon emitted a soft “mm-hmm” to let Lyra know that everything was most certainly okay.

From that point forward, Lyra focused all of her attention on that specific area of Bon Bon’s anatomy. Bon Bon responded with little more than low moans and deep breathing, but that was all that Lyra needed to hear.

After some small number of minutes – Bon Bon had no idea how many – Lyra, while keeping her hoof busy between Bon Bon’s legs, shifted her body up the bed so she was face-to-face with Bon Bon. She leaned in and gave Bon Bon a gentle kiss on the lips. Then another. Bon Bon knew that it wouldn’t be long now.

Lyra then moved past Bon Bon’s lips and, slowly leaning over her, kissed Bon Bon on her right cheek. Then a little farther back on her cheek. Then slightly lower.

Bon Bon gasped as she realized what Lyra was doing. Very early in their relationship, Lyra had discovered a spot on the right side of Bon Bon’s neck that, when nibbled on, sent Bon Bon into a fit of euphoria. And Lyra was going there right now.

The realization brought Bon Bon to the brink – there was no going back. Just before Lyra reached the spot on her neck, Bon Bon experienced what was, without a doubt, the best orgasm she had ever felt. Granted, it was the first one she had ever received from another pony, so that wasn’t surprising, but such distinctions weren’t important at the moment.

After she savored the seconds of intense pleasure, Bon Bon’s breathing finally slowed down. Lyra’s hoof slowed down in tandem, and she shifted back and looked at Bon Bon.

“Was that good?” she asked.

Bon Bon tried to respond, but she had temporarily lost the ability to properly use words. She managed a weak, “Uh-huh.”

Lyra smiled. She brought her hoof away from Bon Bon’s groin and lay down on her side, leaning on her right foreleg. She looked at Bon Bon. Bon Bon looked at her.

Neither moved for a few seconds.

“Oh!” Bon Bon suddenly exclaimed. She snapped out of her daze. “Where should I…?”

“Wherever you want,” Lyra said. “I like massages, too.”

For lack of any other ideas, Bon Bon followed the same pattern that Lyra had initiated – she began to massage near Lyra’s neck, then gradually moved down her body until Bon Bon’s hooves reached Lyra’s tail. As Lyra had done, Bon Bon placed her hooves over Lyra’s cutie marks and rotated, encouraging Lyra to roll over onto her back. As Lyra rolled, Bon Bon placed her hooves on Lyra’s cutie marks again and kept rotating so that Lyra continued to roll until she was once again on her stomach.

Lyra looked behind her at Bon Bon. Bon Bon had an impish grin on her face. With a smile, Lyra said, “You little tease.”

Bon Bon rolled Lyra back onto her back. Lyra instinctively separated her legs. Bon Bon stared. She was aware that she was staring, but she couldn’t help it. She had been waiting a long time to see this.

Bon Bon knew that she couldn’t mess this up. Especially not after Lyra had done such a good job with her.

Bon Bon tried to take a deep breath without making it look like she was taking a deep breath. She slowly reached her right hoof forward until it made contact with Lyra’s outer labia. Lyra responded with a contented moan. Bon Bon began to give the area a small massage.

Bon Bon quickly learned that Lyra was more vocal than she was during the process. There were a fair number of “yes”es, “more”s, and even a “not yet.” Bon Bon was grateful for the help, as the only thing she could think of was to focus on using the sulcus of her hoof’s frog on Lyra’s clitoris. Plus, Bon Bon found that she enjoyed hearing Lyra talk while in the midst of pleasure. She especially enjoyed it when Lyra occasionally moaned “Bon Bon…” with raw desire. It made Bon Bon feel closer to Lyra than she had ever felt before – and not just closer because her hoof was buried between Lyra’s legs.

Bon Bon gradually realized that it was taking her longer to bring Lyra to orgasm than it had taken Lyra to do for her. But Lyra seemed to be enjoying herself, so Bon Bon supposed that was all right. She was determined not to stop until she was successful.

Eventually, Bon Bon found herself sitting down with her back toward Lyra so she could get a better angle at her current position: Massaging Lyra’s labia with her hoof while she pressed the area near Lyra’s clitoris with her fetlock, the hair on her fetlock grazing the surface. Lyra tried to reach out to grab Bon Bon’s body, but her foreleg wasn’t long enough. Instead, Lyra began to run her hoof through Bon Bon’s tail. Bon Bon wanted to do something similar to what Lyra had done when she kissed her. Bon Bon knew that Lyra loved having her ears teased, but she wasn’t dexterous enough to accomplish that.

Finally, Lyra’s moaning became louder and more frequent. After several seconds of that, Lyra let out a high-pitched squeal of bliss. She repeatedly pressed her genitals against Bon Bon’s hoof. There was no mistaking that Lyra had just climaxed.

After a few seconds, Lyra stopped thrusting her pelvis. She exhaled deeply. Bon Bon quit moving her hoof and turned to look at Lyra.

Lyra looked at Bon Bon with an expression of tired joy. “I didn’t think I would be able to get there with just your hoof,” she said. “That was… that was really good.”

Bon Bon felt a strange mixture of relief and pride.

Lyra looked over at the bedroom wall. “Sorry about the scream,” she said. “I don’t know how soundproof this building is.”

“Oh,” Bon Bon said. “That’s all right.” She hadn’t even considered that. She tried to remember if she had screamed during her orgasm.

“Come here,” Lyra said. She leaned up and pulled downward on Bon Bon’s leg so that Bon Bon would lie down next to her. Once Bon Bon did, Lyra pressed her lips against Bon Bon’s. They shared a long kiss.

When the kiss ended, they simply lay there, staring into each other’s eyes. Neither moved; neither had to say anything. It was a moment that Bon Bon was content to let last as long as it could.

Finally, Lyra spoke. “So,” she said, “do you want to go again?”

“Yes,” Bon Bon said without hesitation. Bringing Lyra to orgasm had kept her aroused. And she was feeling energized by the fact that she had succeeded at her task.

“Good,” Lyra said. She gave Bon Bon another kiss on the lips. “Because I’ve really wanted to see how you react to this.”

“It’s going to be tough to top the last time,” Bon Bon responded.

“Oh, Bon Bon,” Lyra said with a grin. “That was nothing compared to this.” She got up and started to move toward the end of the bed. “Scooch down here.”

Bon Bon began to scoot toward the end of the bed. Lyra climbed off the bed and sat on the floor. She pulled Bon Bon forward until Bon Bon’s rear legs were sticking out over the edge of the bed. Lyra was between them.

Lyra kissed the inside of Bon Bon’s left leg, down near the hock. She continued to plant small kisses up the inside of the thigh. Bon Bon held her breath as Lyra got closer and closer to her vulva.

Just before she reached that point, though, Lyra moved over to Bon Bon’s right leg and started again near the hock. Bon Bon exhaled. Once again, Lyra began to slowly move up Bon Bon’s leg. Once again, Bon Bon involuntarily held her breath.

This time, when Lyra reached Bon Bon’s labia, she didn’t stop. Bon Bon felt small kisses directly on her genitals. Then… a tongue.

It was the first time Bon Bon had ever experienced a sensation anything like that. It did not take her very long at all to come to the conclusion that it felt good. Very good. Very, very good. Bon Bon realized that she was still holding her breath. She resumed breathing, albeit deeply.

As she had done with her hoof, Lyra began by focusing her attention on Bon Bon’s labia and vagina. Some of Lyra’s actions were pleasurable and some weren’t as effective. Bon Bon tried to remember to say something, but she was so preoccupied by the experience, she once again merely moaned reactively. The moaning was more prominent whenever Lyra got near her clitoris.

After about a minute, Lyra finally shifted her attention away from Bon Bon’s labia and began to focus on the clitoris itself. As Lyra made direct contact, Bon Bon felt sensations the likes of which she didn’t know existed. She was going to have to revise her definition of what “very, very good” was.

Bon Bon’s moaning quickly became stronger. Lyra’s earlier comment about the apartment walls flickered through her mind – she closed her mouth to try to muffle the sound. Not moaning wasn’t an option. She also experimented with saying Lyra’s name the same way Lyra had said her name before. Bon Bon was surprised at how good it felt to simply express the name of her marefriend through the waves of pleasure she was experiencing. It made Bon Bon even happier. And she was sure Lyra enjoyed hearing it.

This continued for a short while – Bon Bon was relatively certain she was going to reach orgasm a little more quickly than she had before. She wasn’t sure whether that was good or bad. She decided to just keep enjoying Lyra’s work.

Bon Bon kept her eyes closed the majority of the time, as it helped her focus on what she was feeling down below. As those feelings continued to get better and better, she briefly opened her eyes to get an idea of what exactly Lyra was doing. From her angle, Bon Bon couldn’t discern very much, other than seeing the head of her marefriend between her legs.

At that same time, Lyra looked up toward Bon Bon. Bon Bon stared directly into Lyra’s eyes – her stunning golden eyes. The instant they made eye contact, Bon Bon felt the pleasure suddenly begin to build. It was about to happen. Another orgasm was imminent.

Bon Bon threw her head back, closed her eyes, and savored the moment as the sensation coursed through her entire body. As impossible as it was to believe, this orgasm was even better than the previous one. Bon Bon clamped her mouth shut, her moaning turning into impassioned grunting. When it was over, she let out a final, soft moan. She shifted her body up on the bed away from Lyra’s face to let her know to stop.

Lyra climbed back up onto the bed next to Bon Bon. Bon Bon reached out her forelegs and pulled Lyra onto her and into an embrace, pressing Lyra’s body against hers. She nuzzled her cheek against Lyra’s neck, burying her face in Lyra’s mane.

“You were right,” Bon Bon said softly. “That was amazing.”

Lyra stroked Bon Bon’s mane. “I’m glad you liked it,” she said.

“‘Liked’ is not nearly the right word. That was…” Bon Bon searched for the right word. Failing to find one that was sufficient, she instead opted for a drawn-out “mmmmm.”

This time, Bon Bon remembered that it was her turn. She began to kiss Lyra along her neck. As Bon Bon released the embrace, she allowed Lyra to roll onto her back. Bon Bon leaned over Lyra and slowly began to move down her body, lightly kissing her way past Lyra’s chest, stomach, and teats. Since they were still at the end of the bed, Bon Bon slid off and took her position on the floor.

Staring at Lyra’s genitals, Bon Bon’s confidence wavered a little bit. At least before, she’d had a point of reference – specifically, her prior experiences stimulating herself with her own hoof. But this was the first time she had ever attempted oral sex. She leaned in and made her first tentative kiss. Lyra reacted positively, which was a good sign.

Soon, Bon Bon began to experiment with her tongue. Among the many worries that had crept into Bon Bon’s head as she mentally prepared herself for this night was a concern and curiosity as to what oral sex would taste like. Bon Bon was relieved to discover that she did not react negatively to the taste of Lyra’s vagina. She couldn’t quite describe the flavor – it had a salty, slightly acidic quality – but she certainly didn’t hate it. Which was good, as she knew that she would be doing this many, many more times in the nights, months, and years to come.

Once again, Bon Bon found Lyra’s verbal guidance to be invaluable. She was able to pick out all of the parts of Lyra’s anatomy with her tongue and lips, but she wasn’t entirely sure what to do to each of them. It took some time – and a couple of instances of Bon Bon shifting her attention when her tongue temporarily got tired – but with a combination of licking, caressing, and sucking, Bon Bon eventually was able to cause Lyra’s breathing to become faster and more erratic. Bon Bon reached up and grabbed Lyra’s thighs with both of her forelegs. Lyra’s forelegs, meanwhile, dug into the bedsheets.

As Lyra’s breathing got faster, her instructions became little more than a combination of “yes,” “mm-hmm,” and “mmm.” Finally, Lyra used her magic to levitate a pillow over her face. As Bon Bon felt the muscles in Lyra’s legs spasm, Lyra screamed a scream of pure ecstasy, pressing her face into the pillow to dampen the sound.

When Lyra was finished, Bon Bon stood up at the end of the bed, planting one last kiss at the top of Lyra’s vulva for good measure. Lyra levitated the pillow back to its place near the head of the bed. Bon Bon checked to see whether the window was closed – luckily, it was.

Lyra scooted back up, moved over to one side of the bed, and patted the sheets next to her. Bon Bon climbed up and lay down at Lyra’s side. The two embraced and nuzzled one another for few seconds. No words were exchanged – only contented murmurs.

As they remained cheek to cheek, Lyra said, “That was everything I hoped it would be. Scratch that – that was even better than I hoped it would be.”

“So I did all right?” Bon Bon asked.

“All right? That was much, much better than all right. You had nothing to worry about.”

For the first time that night, Bon Bon let herself go limp in Lyra’s forelegs. “I credit my partner. She made it easy.”

Lyra paused. “…Nope. I like this moment too much to make an ‘easy’ joke.”

Bon Bon pulled back, leaned up on her foreleg, and looked at Lyra playfully. “Wow… really? Are you all right? Do you want me to feel your forehead?”

Lyra paused for another moment. She smirked.

“Why not? You’ve felt everything else tonight.”

Bon Bon laughed and dropped to her side again. “There she is.”

Lyra smiled at Bon Bon. “You love it.”

“I love you.”

“And I love you.” Lyra looked at the clock hiding behind the candles. “And as much as I want to keep going with you tonight – and believe me, there’s more to do – I guess we should go to sleep at some point.”

“Yeah, we should.” There was the slightest hint of disappointment in Bon Bon’s voice, but she knew that Lyra was right. She rolled over and blew out the candles on her side of the bed.

Lyra blew out the candles on the other side of the bed. They returned to face each other. “Good night, Bon Bon.”

“Good night,” Bon Bon said. Then, “Hey – now that I’ve slept with you, how do I know you’re not going to be one of those ponies who sneaks out before her partner wakes up in the morning?”

Lyra let out a single laugh. “After what you did tonight? You think I’m going to leave if there’s a chance of more of that tomorrow? You’re stuck with me forever now.”

With a teasing voice, Bon Bon said, “You seem pretty confident that there’s more of that to come.”

“Am I wrong? Especially when you know what you’ll be getting in return?”

“Yeah, you got me,” Bon Bon said. “Good night.”

“See you in the morning.” Even in the dark, Bon Bon could make out the smile on Lyra’s face as she said it. Bon Bon realized that the same smile was on her face. It was the smile of someone who knew that “see you in the morning” meant “the moment I wake up, you’re going to be the first thing I see, and that makes me so, so happy.”

Lyra rolled over, then inched backward until her back was directly against Bon Bon’s body. With Lyra’s head raised on the bottom of a pillow, Bon Bon tucked her left foreleg underneath Lyra’s neck. Bon Bon draped her right foreleg over Lyra’s body. Lyra held Bon Bon’s right foreleg in her own forelegs like a teddy bear. Quietly, Lyra said, “Good night.”

For a couple of minutes, Bon Bon simply lay there, breathing the scent of Lyra’s mane, lost in her thoughts. She was no longer a virgin. She had just had sex for the first time. She replayed the night over again in her head. Everything turned out better than she had imagined. Her fears had been baseless.

Bon Bon thought about Lyra’s story describing her first time. Then Bon Bon thought about all of the nights she had lay in bed alone, imagining what her own first time would be like. Wondering how she and her partner would instinctively know when it was time to take that step. Wondering whether sex would make their relationship stronger.

Now that she had experienced it, Bon Bon understood that she had been looking at sex the wrong way. There was no one specific time when it was right to first have sex. And it wasn’t a question of whether sex would strengthen the relationship. It was a question of whether the relationship was strong enough to have sex.

It turned out that the most important part of sex wasn’t physical – it was psychological. To agree to have sex was to offer the most vulnerable, most private parts of oneself to another pony. As she reflected on the night, Bon Bon realized that her favorite part of sex wasn’t the orgasm – although the orgasm certainly felt good in the heat of the moment. Her favorite part was the moment she was currently in: The time afterward, knowing that she had shared something extremely special with a pony she trusted – trusted with the most intimate part of herself. Knowing that she had a pony she could trust so completely.

As unconsciousness slowly began to overtake her, Bon Bon noticed that Lyra’s breathing had slowed. Lyra was asleep. Her marefriend was asleep in her forelegs.

Bon Bon smiled as the gentle sounds of Lyra’s breathing lulled her to sleep.