Harmonic Blue Skies

It had been a few days since Sky’s first trip to Ponyville. He now went to town every morning, but hadn’t seen Lyra again. Emerald was also nowhere to be seen, as he and Tree Hugger had gone to Vanhoover for the week. But Sky wasn’t completely lonely. Today he was at an outdoor cafe in Canterlot, as his favorite cousin had invited him to have lunch with her.

“It’s been a long time, Sugar.” said Sky. “How have you been?”

“It’s only been a month, Sky.” Sugarcoat replied in her characteristically blunt manner. “But I’ve been great. Things have never been better at the explosives factory.”

Sugarcoat was the only foalhood friend that Sky still had. Like Sky, she was a pegasus, with a cornflower blue coat, lavender eyes, and a silky silver mane tied into a pair of long twintails. Her cutie mark was a purple and yellow firecracker, which fit well with her job at Canterlot’s largest pyrotechnics company.

“Oh yeah, you told me you got a promotion there.” Sky remarked. “I guess you’re one of the higher-ups now?”

“I’m effectively the boss now.” Sugarcoat explained. “The owner of the company doesn’t actually do anything, so I’m in charge of pretty much the whole company.”

Sky grinned and gave Sugarcoat a hoof bump. “Wow, that’s awesome! Good for you!”

Sugarcoat smiled. “Thanks, Sky. I guess things have been going well for you too?”

Sky nodded. “Moving to Ponyville was a great decision. Instead of an old cramped apartment in downtown Manehattan, I now have my own amazing lake house far away from anypony else. It’s a very refreshing change!”

“I can imagine!” Sugarcoat agreed. “I never saw the appeal in Manehattan anyway. It may look nice from a distance, but once you’re actually there it’s just an overcrowded, noisy, dirty city. If you ask me, Canterlot and Ponyville are the only places to live.”

Sky chuckled. “Honestly, I agree with that – except for our old hometowns in the northeast, of course. I only moved to Manehattan so that I could start my career faster. I wasn’t staying there any longer than I needed to. Plus, rent there is way too expensive.”

“That’s because your apartment was on the 17th floor.” said Sugarcoat. “Higher floors are better than lower floors in pretty much every way, but that’s why they’re more expensive.”

“Yep. That’s why I had to move out.” said Sky. “The building owner jacked up the price, and I wasn’t going to stand for it.”

Sugarcoat nodded. “Of course. Anyway, how are you liking Ponyville so far? I’ve found it’s a lot friendlier than Manehattan.”

“Oh, absolutely.” Sky agreed. “Ponies here are much more approachable. I actually made a new friend just a few days ago.”

“Really? That’s great!”

“Yeah! He’s another pegasus named Emerald Leaf.” Sky explained. “I met him in a pretty funny way. He was walking in front of my house, and I thought he was trespassing on my property. But then we started talking to each other, and he turned out to be a really nice guy. He took me for a tour of Ponyville that same day.”

Sugarcoat smiled. “That’s awesome! I’m glad you’re opening up to other ponies. I can’t always be there to speak for you, you know.”

Sky thought back to when he was a colt and Sugarcoat was a filly. In his youth, Sky had been rather reclusive and antisocial, and as such, Sugarcoat usually spoke for him when they were around new ponies. “Well, I have come a long way since then.” said Sky. “I actually met a couple of mares this week too.”

Sugarcoat’s eyes lit up and she winked at Sky. “Ooh, tell me about them!”

“Well, during my tour of Ponyville with Emerald, I spotted the Ivory Estate and suggested that we take a tour of it. Do you know where that is?”

“Of course.” said Sugarcoat. “I’ve been there once, it’s a beautiful house. What did you think of it?”

“It was amazing!” Sky agreed. “I’ve been to lots of Gilded Age mansions, but the Ivory Estate was definitely the biggest and grandest one so far. Anyway, there were these two mares, a unicorn and an earth pony, who were in our tour group, and oh my gosh, the unicorn was just drop-dead gorgeous! I couldn’t decide whether to admire the house or her!”

“You have a crush on her, don’t you?” Sugarcoat giggled. “What’s her name?”

“Lyra Heartstrings – she has a really pretty name.” Sky replied. “And yeah, I really can’t deny it. I definitely have a crush.”

“I hope you got a chance to speak to her.” said Sugarcoat.

Sky smiled. “I did! She was really nice, and was interested in hearing about my architecture career. I also liked hearing about her music career – she plays the lyre, one of my favorite instruments.”

“Sounds like somepony worth talking to again.” Sugarcoat agreed. “You should write a letter to her at some point. It’s not that hard.”

“I considered doing that, but I thought it might be a little weird writing to a mare I’ve only met once.” said Sky. “But I’ve been going to Ponyville every day now, so hopefully I’ll see her again at some point.”

“I hope so too.” said Sugarcoat. “But try to become friends with her first before you think about asking her on a date.”

Sky nodded. “Of course. I don’t want to rush it.”

Just then, Sky looked down the street and noticed Lyra and Bon Bon walking toward the cafe. As they turned to go inside, Bon Bon looked in Sky’s direction, then giggled and nudged Lyra, causing Lyra to blush. Sky was left feeling a bit confused, as he wasn’t sure what that meant.

Sugarcoat tapped Sky on the shoulder. “Sky, what are you looking at?”

Sky turned back to face his cousin. “Oh, nothing. Just looking around at the scenery.”

“Well, this part of the city is nice.” said Sugarcoat. “There are a lot of pretty buildings around here.”

“Indeed.” agreed Sky. “I like it here. All of these neoclassical buildings go together beautifully.”

Sky then heard a familiar voice. “Hey, Sky! I wasn’t expecting to run into you here!”

Sky turned to see Lyra and Bon Bon standing next to him. He felt his heart beat faster as he laid eyes upon the mare of his dreams. “Oh… hi, Lyra!” he chuckled. “I was just having lunch with my cousin Sugarcoat.” He motioned to Sugarcoat, who waved to Lyra. “What about you and Bon Bon?”

“We’re having lunch here too.” Lyra replied. “We just placed our orders.”

“Do you mind if we sit here with you?” Bon Bon asked.

Sky grinned. “Of course not!” He got up and grabbed two chairs from the next table so that Lyra and Bon Bon could sit down.

“Well, this is a coincidence.” Sugarcoat remarked to Lyra. “Sky was just talking about you earlier.”

“He was?” Lyra asked.

“Well… yeah.” Sky stuttered, blushing. “I was just telling Sugarcoat about my visit to the Ivory Estate. Remember?”

“Oh, right!” Lyra laughed. “That was really fun. Especially the story about Penny Pincher!”

“That’s the best Ivory story, hooves down.” said Sugarcoat. Sky smiled and nodded in agreement.

“I know, right! I just love how they marked where he landed!” Lyra giggled.

Bon Bon turned to Sugarcoat. “So you and Sky are cousins? You two must go back a long way.”

“Of course! We’ve known each other our entire lives!” Sugarcoat laughed. “We used to hang out all the time when we were foals.”

“Sugar’s parents owned this really nice beach house near Horseshoe Bay, and I spent a week or two there every summer.” said Sky. “Ah, those were some good times.”

“Horseshoe Bay is really nice.” said Bon Bon. “My parents live there now, so I go down there a few times a year.”

“Sometimes I go with her.” Lyra added. “The beaches there are some of the best in Equestria.”

“Oh, they are!” Sugarcoat agreed. “The water is always warm and clean, and the sand is really soft. Whenever Sky came to visit, he and I would spend most of the day on the beach, swimming in the water or sunbathing on our towels. Fortunately, we always put on lots of sunscreen beforehand, so we never got burned!”

“Well, that’s good!” Bon Bon laughed. “One time I forgot…”

At that moment, the waiter arrived with Lyra and Bon Bon’s plates. “The food here is so good.” Lyra said as she began eating.

“It’s the best cafe in Canterlot.” said Sugarcoat. “Just wait until you get dessert.”

“Anyway, how did you and Bon Bon meet?” Sky asked.

“Well, when I was a filly, I lived here in Canterlot, and I went to Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns.” Lyra explained. “I definitely wasn’t the most outstanding student there, but I still graduated. After that, my parents and I moved to Ponyville because my mom got a new job. A few days later, Pinkie Pie found out that I was new to the town, and decided to throw a welcome party for me!”

Bon Bon continued the story. “Oh, that was a great party! Nearly all the fillies in Ponyville showed up for it, including me. Lyra and I met and bonded really quickly, and we spent most of the party talking about, well, everything!”

“Bon Bon and I discovered that even though we weren’t the same type of pony, we had a lot in common with each other!” Lyra went on. “We’d only known each other for one day, but we were already talking like old friends. Over the next few years, she and I sat on many benches together, and had many long talks. Eventually, my parents moved back to Canterlot, but since I was old enough to live on my own by then, I stayed in Ponyville with my best friend.”

Sky smiled warmly. “That’s a really nice story. I wish I made long-lasting friendships that easily.”

“Well, as I said before, you just need to put yourself out there.”Sugarcoat said, patting Sky on the back.

“Do you have any other friends in Canterlot?” Sky asked Lyra.

Lyra smiled and nodded. “I was friends with several other fillies at Celestia’s school. You might not believe this, but one of them was Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship herself!”

Sky’s eyes widened. “Really? You knew Twilight Sparkle?”

“I sure did!” said Lyra. “She was the number one student in my class, absolutely no contest there! Her magic was so strong that she graduated two years earlier than the rest of us!”

“Wow! What was she like besides that?” Sky asked.

“To be honest, she wasn’t really the social type.” Lyra replied. “She was always more interested in studying and learning new spells than hanging out with the other fillies.”

“Well, she must have changed since then, if her title is the Princess of Friendship.” Sugarcoat quipped.

“Oh yeah, she’s much friendlier now.” Lyra agreed. “My other old friends and I had dinner with her a couple weeks ago, and she’s definitely changed a lot.”

“I can imagine that.” said Sky. “Do your old friends still live in Canterlot?”

Lyra nodded. “Yeah. I usually come here to visit them, but sometimes they come to Ponyville to visit me.”

“You have a lot more friends than I ever did.” Sky chuckled. “When I was a colt, I spent most of my time writing and drawing by myself. Kind of like Twilight, I guess.”

“Since you’re a pegasus, did you grow up in Cloudsdale?” Lyra asked.

“No, actually. I grew up in this town called Manebridge.” Sky replied. “It’s one of those smaller towns north of Manehattan. It’s mostly earth ponies who live there, so my parents and I were in the minority. Since I was one of the only pegasi at my school, my classmates were always asking me for help when they couldn’t reach something!”

Lyra laughed. “Not surprising!”

“Yeah, we pegasi get that a lot from earth ponies.” Sugarcoat chuckled.

“No offense, Bon Bon.” Sky added.

Bon Bon smiled. “None taken.”

By now, all four ponies had finished eating. The waiter returned with the dessert menus. “Would anypony like dessert?” he asked in a French accent.

Sky looked over the dessert menu. “I’ll have an ice cream sundae, please.”

“I’ll have one too.” said Sugarcoat.

Lyra and Bon Bon looked at each other. “Make it four!” said Lyra.

The waiter nodded and headed back inside. He returned with four ice cream sundaes. “Here you go. Enjoy!”

“Thank you!” said Lyra. She took a spoon and dug into her sundae. “Mmm… ice cream always hits the spot!”

Sky grinned. “That we can all agree on!”

Eventually, all four ponies finished their ice cream, and was time for them to head their separate ways. “Thanks for letting us sit with you.” Lyra said to Sky. “Running into you again here was a really pleasant surprise.”

“No problem, Lyra.” Sky said with a smile. “I mean, we’re becoming friends, right?”

“I wouldn’t have asked to sit with you if we weren’t.” Lyra laughed. “Hopefully Bon Bon and I will see you again soon. Maybe next time we can plan to meet up somewhere instead of just running into each other.”

Sky blushed. “That sounds good to me. I’ll try to write to you soon.”

“Or I could write to you first.” Lyra giggled. “Anyway, Bon Bon and I have to go now. It was nice seeing you again, Sky!”

“And it was nice meeting you, Sugarcoat.” Bon Bon added. She and Lyra turned and walked down the street together, while Sky and Sugarcoat flew back the other way.

“Well, this has been a great day for you, hasn’t it?” said Sugarcoat.

“Of course!” Sky agreed. “There I was, worrying that I wouldn’t get to see Lyra again, and then I did!”

“You should definitely write to her like you said.” Sugarcoat advised. “After today, I’d say you have a pretty good chance with her. And this is coming from a mare who’s turned down multiple stallions.”

Sky nodded. “Thanks, Sugar. I’m feeling really great about this.”