Bon Bon had been staring at her economics textbook for way too long, it seemed; her eyes were bleary and tired and the words had devolved into nonsensical gibberish—although the latter could have just be her hate for the subject. She must endeavor it, however, since the business half of her dual-major required three different economic classes. Fortunately, this was her last year of it, and with finals the following week, she had only a couple more days to put up with the droll of numbers and theories. She pressed on for another paragraph. Pause after every paragraph and reflect on what she read, just as she had been taught.
Her head planted itself into the book, shaking everything on her desk, from the lamp to the novelty bobblehead from the Manehattan boardwalk, and she let out groaning sobs.
"Hey, if you think you got it bad, try being a pre-law student," said a gravelly voice behind her. Bon Bon swiveled in her chair to meet her roommate Liberty Belle, a light pink pegasus mare, lying casually on the top ebunk across the small dorm, surrounded by papers and brown thicker-than-a-hoof textbooks. "Not only do I have all this"—the mare gestured to her bed of leather and paper—"but I have four more years of law school. I'd count your blessings."
"Yeah, I know, Libby. But do you hate legal jargon as much as I hate business jargon?"
"Sometimes." Libby scratched her chin with her hoof. "I definitely hate business legal stuff."
"Oh, heavens, that sounds like the worst," Bon Bon cradled her head in her hooves as Libby laughed. "That gives me a headache just thinking about it." She spun around and buried her head back into the textbook.
There was a knock at the door, and Libby fluttered down, reassuringly patted Bon Bon the back, and pulled open the door.
"Hey, Libby. Is Bonnie here?" One of Bon Bon's ears perked up at the melodious sound.
"Yeah, Lyra, come on in." Libby leaned around the door see Bon Bon's ears standing tall. "Your marefriend's here." Bon Bon looked up just as Libby left and a head peeped around the door, short spearmint-green and white hair dangling as the head hung sideways. Her horn was lit.
"Hey, Bonnie, I know you're studying, but some ponies are heading out for a quick game of baseball. I thought we could watch them and have a picnic—make a date out of it?" A picnic basket floated out from behind her, glowing incandescently.
Bon Bon smiled. "That sounds fantastic, Lyra, and it's sweet of you, but I really need to study right now."
"Oh. What're you studying?"
"Econ."
Lyra's face twisted in pity. "Oof, here, let me help you with that." A golden aura covered the textbook, slamming it shut, and it was flung into a nearby waste can.
"Lyra!" Bon Bon scolded, fetching the book and freeing it from the waste can. "Not only do I need that, and to study, but that textbook cost a lot of money!"
Lyra blew a dismissive raspberry. "You don't need to study, you're going to ace it anyway." Bon Bon leveled a flat stare at her. "Alright, alright, not ace, but you'll definitely pass!"
"Regardless, I need to study." Bon Bon put the textbook back on the desk, flipping through it to the page she was on. She sat back down at the desk and stared at the words within. Lyra glanced at Libby sitting in her bed, who offered only a shrug, and licked her lips. She leaned forward and whispered into Bon Bon's ear.
"How about this then: you come with me to the picnic and forget all about studying, and when we get done, I'll help you study for your econ exam. Deal?"
Bon Bon kept staring at the book, gears clearly turning as she contemplated the idea. "And you won't try to weasel out of it?"
"I swear on my mother's grave."
"Your mother is still alive, you dolt!" Bon Bon giggled. "But fine, let's do it."
"Yes!" Lyra surprised Bon Bon with a kiss on the lips, forcing a blush to rush to the mare's cheeks. "Oh, come on, how can you be embarrassed? We've been dating for almost a year now! We're not even in public, and Libby has seen us kiss before."
"And your make-out sessions make it hard to concentrate."
"Pssht, you're just jealous we won't let you join." Libby rolled her eyes and returned to one of the books on her bed.
"Oh, leave her be, Lyra." Bon Bon said, hopping down from the chair. She pulled open a desk drawer and pulled out a container. "Or else you won't get any of the peanut brittle I made."
A gasp. "You made peanut brittle? Gimme, gimme, gimme!" Lyra's magic enveloped the container, but Bon Bon pulled it away.
"No, not until you apologize."
"Fine. Libby, I'm sorry we won't let you join us. Now gimme!" Another failed attempt to steal the brittle followed. "Ack! Alright, I'm sorry, really! Can I please have a piece of peanut brittle now?"
Bon Bon smiled sweetly. "After we eat." She trotted over to Libby, popping open the container. The erupting smell of peanuts and sugar was pungent. "Want first pick?"
Libby grinned evilly as she spotted Lyra pouting out of the corner of her eye. "Why yes. Thank you, Bonnie." She scooped up a piece with her hoof and bit into it. "Mmmm, just heavenly, as always."
"Evil, just evil, the both of you," Lyra whimpered. "Come on, before I die from lack of peanut brittle."
The container was closed, and Bon Bon walked over and gave a peck on Lyra's cheek. "Maybe, if you're good, you'll get an early piece." A look back at Libby. "See you in a little bit, Libby."
"Yeah, see ya," replied Libby around a mouthful of peanut brittle and with her nose stuck in a book.
Lyra and Bon Bon exited the room, closing the door behind them. The container of peanut brittle was placed inside the basket.
"Get into it before I say so, and I'll break your horn."
"Yes, ma'am," followed by a short laugh.
The elevators were crowded, as they always seem to be, so the couple elected to take the stairs since Bon Bon and Libby's dorm was only three floors up. Outside, they were blasted by the brightness, heat, and humidity of late May, when summer unofficially arrives much earlier than expected or wanted. Little traffic was found, the pressures of upcoming final exams driving everypony to stay indoors to study. The most life they saw on their way to the baseball field were a pair of pegasi flying together overhead.
The game had already started when Lyra and Bon Bon arrived; everypony was in position and an earth pony mare and a unicorn stallion were at first and third base respectively. Neither mare minded the lateness however—the picnic wasn't really about the game.
They set up under the shady sanctuary of a large elm nearby. Lyra used her magic to unfurl the blanket.
"You never did say what you packed to eat," Bon Bon said. She sat on the blanket as it finally laid flat.
"Oh, you know, only your favorite thing ever." Two plastic-wrapped plates floated through the air, one of them plus a fork sitting in front of Bon Bon. A red pepper sat proudly in the middle, bursting at the seams with guacamole and chopped jalapeños, surrounded by by cubes of watermelon and cantaloupe.
Bon Bon's eyes glinted with anticipation. "Your guac-and-jalapeño-stuffed red peppers? I thought your allowance from your parents was almost up."
A nervous smile appeared across Lyra's face—Bon Bon knew that never meant anything good. The last time she could remember when that smile had the gall to show itself was when Lyra had to break the news that their request to share a dorm was rejected.
"It is, but it, uh, doesn't matter." Lyra levitated a pitcher of lemonade and two glasses. She filled a glass and gave it to Bon Bon. "I got a job. It's not lucrative or anything special, just waiting tables at La Zuli."
"Lyra, that's wonderful! That's...wait, so where are you going to stay during the summer? You're not going to take the summer semester, are you?"
"Tartarus no!" Lyra chuckled and sipped her glass of lemonade. "One of my great aunts recently went into a nursing home, leaving her apartment here in Fillydelphia rather vacant. I already talked to Mom, and I'm going to sublet it." She paused as she saw surprise spread itself across Bon Bon's features. "I did the math, and it'll be cheaper than room and board at the university." Lyra scooted a little closer. "And I would get to decide who stayed with me."
Bon Bon took note of the sudden close proximity and the weight and implication of the sentence. "Oh! You…" Her face burned, and she bashfully looked away. "Lyra, we haven't even been dating for a year! I think it might be too soon for us to move in together! And well, Dad..."
"We don't have to sleep in the same bed, you know? It's a two-bedroom apartment. Just...think about it, okay?" Bon Bon gave a nod. She certainly would have to think on it; it was interesting idea. Bon Bon had been dreading summer for a while now. After finals of the end of the spring semester, they would go back to stay with their parents, Lyra's in Canterlot and Bon Bon's in Ponyville. While the small town and capitol were close, it was still a larger distance than the flight of stairs that she had grown accustomed to.
"Now, shall we eat?" Lyra asked, holding up a fork with her magic. "I'm actually really starving after having to cook everything earlier."
"That's the life of chefs and bakers, Lyra." They unwrapped the plates, and Bon Bon speared a piece of the stuffed pepper with her fork. She shoveled it into her mouth, moaning in delight as she felt her entire mouth melt with just a single bite. "Oh, it burns so good."
"I find it strange how a mare destined to make candy absolutely loves spicy food—seems backwards."
"What, I'm not allowed to like anything other than sweet things?"
"No, no, just wouldn't expect you love it so much. You were basically drooling on the plastic covering."
"Yeah...well...maybe you shouldn't have made them then."
Lyra leaned her head to one of Bon Bon's ears, "Hot mares deserve hot things." Bon Bon's face glowed, and she slugged Lyra's shoulder when she laughed at Bon Bon's embarrassment.
A thunderous crack echoed, causing each of the mares to swivel an ear; both had forgotten the ballgame. A small wave of cheers rippled through the gathering crowd of spectators as an earth stallion, a senior, launched the ball into right field. A pegasus mare gave a beat of her wings and caught the ball before it landed on the far side of the fence at the back of the field. Some of the cheers died as a different set sounded.
Out of the corner of her eye, Bon Bon spotted a stray cloud moving. Glancing up, she spotted the pegasus couple that flew by earlier sitting on it. A mare and a stallion; the mare rested her head against the crook between his shoulder and neck. Bon Bon sighed; pegasi were always so free.
"Something wrong?" Lyra asked. She refreshed hers and Bon Bon's lemonade while her eyes followed the direction of the gaze. "Yeah, she's cute."
"What?"
"What? I mean, why are you staring at those pegasi?"
"...Will you promise not to laugh."
"I cannot, in good faith, make that promise. But, I promise I won't make fun of you."
It was good enough, Bon Bon supposed. "I've always wanted to...fly."
"Fly? Like in a hot air balloon?"
"No, like a pegasus. Freely, with nothing underneath my hooves."
"Oh." Lyra glanced up at the pegasus couple. "You know, I can just levitate you if you want to try it. It won't be the exact same, but you'll get to experience the whole 'nothing underneath my hooves' thing."
Bon Bon thought on this for a moment. "A-Are you sure you can?"
"Bonnie, I went to Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. I learned how to pull items from magical pocket dimensions. Getting the strength to levitate full-grown ponies is, like, first year of applied magics. So you wanna or not?"
Bon Bon chewed on her tongue and nodded meekly. She had not a minute to steel herself before her vision went yellow and her hooves left the ground, floating a tall three inches off the ground. Her plate tumbled out of her hoof when she was lifted. "Lyra!"
"What, you said you wanted to!"
"Yeah, but I also wanted a second to prepare!" Bon Bon inhaled through her nose and exhaled through her mouth. "Alright, I'm—whoa!" She floated up higher, now a couple feet high, and giggled. "Feels more like I'm drifting in space, to be honest."
"That can be fixed. Hold out your hooves, like pegasi do."
Bon Bon did so, and she soared. A rush of wind blew back her curls as she ascended several feet, only to drop the distance, like the start of a roller coaster. She couldn't control her trajectory, relying on trust in Lyra's magical prowess to keep her afloat and to not steer her into the tree; but it didn't matter—she was flying! She laughed as she made hairpin turns, giggled when she did barrel-rolls, snickered whenever she flew overhead and heard Lyra making the noises of a sputtering engine. At one point, Bon Bon noticed the pegasi couple looking at her curiously. She nodded and waved shyly at them, and they returned the gesture.
After seven minutes of flying, Bon Bon was held upside-down, her mane hanging by her scalp, slowly descending in front of Lyra. The mare had her eyes lidded and her mouth twisted in a smile. It was a smile that Bon Bon didn't recognize, but it sent a jolt through her heart.
Lyra leaned forward and kissed the upside-down mare as best she could. "So was it as exhilerating as you expected?"
"Exhilerating doesn't even cut it! I don't think I ever felt so alive! I—thank you, Lyra."
Lyra nuzzled Bon Bon's cheek. "Anything for you, Bonnie." Another kiss on the lips. Lyra pulled back, looking deeply into Bon Bon's blue eyes. "I love you, Bonnie."
Bon Bon was convinced her brain was dead. Breathless, her heart lay still, but she felt warm. She couldn't figure out if she was just blushing again or blood was rushing to her head.
She squeaked, "A-Are you sure?"
Lyra looked at her incredulously. "Of course I am! Mom always said to say what you feel, and I feel that I love you." The special smile faltered a bit. "Why? Something wrong?"
"No! No, of course not! I...I just thought...Lyra, we've been going out for less than a year! I thought maybe it was just...too soon to say that."
"I don't think it's never too soon to say what you're feeling." Lyra directed her gaze at the blue-and-white blanket underneath them. "So...what do you feel then?"
This time Bon Bon took the initiative, raising Lyra's muzzle with a hoof and kissing her on the lips. "I feel like I love a crazy, yet wise mare," she said, barely above a whisper, brushing her lips lightly against Lyra's. Something about saying it felt liberating.
Lyra's goofy grin returned. "What's her name? She sounds hot."
"Hush, you." They kissed again, more deeply than before. Bon Bon's heart purred—that was definitely new. When they parted, she said, "Hey, Lyra?"
"Yes, love?"
"Can you put me down now? I'm starting to get a migraine from the blood rushing to my head."
Bon Bon was rotated in the air and laid in front of Lyra. "Sorry."
Bon Bon snuggled her head into Lyra's chin and neck. "It's fine. And I think I will accept your invitation of staying with you. I haven't been looking forward to moving back to Ponyville and not seeing you everyday."
"Aren't you the clingy mare?" Lyra wrapped her hooves around Bon Bon. "I've been dreading it, too. I didn't want summer to come or this year to end."
"Try as we must to stop or reverse it, the flow of time is a raging rapid."
"But now, I get to look forward to getting a cool roommate." Lyra hummed. "I'm glad I met you, Bon Bon."
"And I, you, Lyra Heartstrings."
The two lay there, content with the other's company, as the world around them carried on. The stuffed peppers had been spilled during the excitement. The peanut brittle was forgotten in the basket. The cheers and shouts ringing from the baseball field faded into a dull murmur as the game entered its fourth inning.
* * *
Bon Bon's heart was still singing when she reached the floor of her dorm. The hallway was dimly lit by the occasional light fixture; the sun had set fully around thirty minutes ago. The baseball game finished an hour before that. They stayed under the same tree, talking, laughing. As she left Lyra at her own dorm, the words were repeated:
"I love you, Lyra."
"I love you, too, Bonnie."
Bon Bon danced through the hall, singing "Uh, oh, it's magic" as she threw open the dorm's door. Libby was lounging on her bed still, but the textbooks were gone, replaced by a novel. She looked up and down at Bon Bon in the doorway.
"Um, hey…?"
Bon Bon sighed dreamily. "Hey, Libby. Finished studying for the night?"
"Yeah, now I'm just chilling with a book. I guess your date went well."
"It went…" Bon Bon trotted over and sank into the desk chair. She couldn't exactly think of a way to describe it. "Libby, have you ever been in love?"
"I'm a red-blooded mare—of course I have. Not recently, mind you, but yeah. Why?"
"I used to think I was in love with Lyra, but now...I love her. I just love her."
Libby slid a piece of paper into the book and closed it. "I never understood what the difference was between 'I'm in love with...' and 'I love…'" She lay down, letting her right forehoof hang off the side of her bunk. "But I guess that's why I'm not the Princess of Love. So you and Lyra are good still?"
Bon Bon giggled, "Oh, we are beyond good. We're kind of moving in together, after the semester ends."
Libby smiled wide. "That's wonderful! That's a huge step in your relationship." The smile shrank. "I suppose that means you won't be my roommate again next year, huh? So much for four-for-four."
Bon Bon's mirth diminished at the little crestfallen crack in Libby's happy mask. "I'm sorry, Libby. If you want, I can move back into the dorms in the autumn."
"No, it's fine! Look, I know I might not love somepony the way you love Lyra, but I do understand how important she is to you. I'm not territorial." The smile returned full force once again, but it was accompanied with an impish shimmer in her eyes. "Maybe I'll have easier time studying without hearing"—Libby brought up her book and pressed her lips against the stallion on the front—"'Mwah! Mwah! Mwah!' all the time."
The color in Bon Bon's cheeks returned. She took the nearby seat cushion for the desk chair and chucked it at Libby, who kept smooching the book and saying things like "Oh, Bonnie! Mwah!" The cushion connected with Libby's face, and the mares roared with laughter in duet.
When the laughter died down, Libby asked, "So what about studying for your econ exam?" Bon Bon, swirling in the chair for self-amusement, dug her hooves into the floor and stopped. Libby donned a crooked smile. "She got out it somehow, didn't she? And you didn't realize it until just now?"
Bon Bon spun in the chair and buried her head into the still-open textbook.
"I hate you, Lyra Heartstrings."
