Bon Bon looked forward to these mornings. The mornings where it was too early to get up but too late to go back to sleep. Where she could just lay in bed with her marefriend.
Lyra laid with her back turned towards Bon Bon, fast asleep. The white sheets were loosely draped over the mare, leaving only her head and green and white mane poking out.
Bon Bon sat up in their queen-sized bed and stared at the back of Lyra’s head with love. Bon Bon only woke up ten minutes ago, but she did not feel drowsy. In fact, she felt wide awake.
Maybe it was years of working as a confectioner, or more appropriately, a business mare. The years of waking up at obscenely early times, of working hard to set up the store for the countless customers, and of course, cleaning up at the closing time. All of which would have driven Bon Bon insane if there hadn’t been a mare she could depend on through it all.
She gently ran a hoof through Lyra's mane, relishing its texture and the memories it brought. Of picnics in the park, of late movie nights, and the mornings just like this one. Breathing shakily, Bon Bon began to slowly lift the sheets off of Lyra, careful not to wake her.
Inch by inch, the sheets were slowly removed until Bon Bon finally pulled it away, revealing Lyas body in the open air. Lyra stirred, and Bon Bon's heart nearly stopped, afraid her morning would come to an abrupt end. Thankfully, it was only a false alarm as Lyra did not stir again.
The sunlight bathed Lyras body through the window, painting her in a light reserved for only the most special of ponies. Bon Bon never covered their bedroom window, so that she could be greeted with fresh sunshine every day. And so she could see Lyra.
Her smile returned, Bon Bon laid back down on the bed and gradually shifted herself closer to her marefriend until her forearm was touching Lyras back. Then, shifting on her side, Bon Bon draped her hoof over Lyras stomach and rested her chin on Lyras neck.
Lyras coat was so soft. Even after so many years, Bon Bon was still amazed by how soft Lyras coat was. She swore it was softer than cotton itself. Bon Bon sometimes wondered how soft she was herself. She knew her coat was much stronger and tougher than Lyra’s, but Bon Bon still liked to think it was pleasant to the touch.
Smiling broadly, Bon Bon nuzzled Lyra’s cheek and gently rubbed the tuft of fur on her chest. Her heart fluttered as Lyra let loose a small gasp. Bon Bon was happy to know even in her dreams, Lyra was enjoying this. Slowly, Bon Bon started to rub lower and lower down Lyras chest, closer and closer to her legs, until…
Bon Bon mentally batted her hoof away from between her legs. That type of stuff was for the night, not for the peacefulness of the morning. So instead, she returned her hoof to Lyras chest and began rubbing once more.
Bon Bon held Lyra close, and tight enough to where Lyra could still go on with her sleep. Bon Bon was overcome with adoration for the unicorn, her hooves playing with Lyras knotted fur.
It was in these mornings that Bon Bon realized how much she truly loved Lyra. She came into her life just at the right time, too. She’d been struggling with her business up to that point, and she was seriously starting to think of quitting.
Then she met Lyra with that jubilant enthusiasm and childlike worldview. Back then, Lyra was just a wild animal, not interested at all in a relationship. But Bon Bon was diffrerent, and Bon Bon herself didn’t know what made Lyra stay. Sure, the unicorn would claim it was for free sweets, but that was just Lyra being Lyra. Whatever made Lyra stick around, Bon Bon never lost it. They lived with each other for a year now, only a couple of fights to show for it.
She kept Bon Bon sane during those years, and now look where she was. Number one candy store in Ponyville! Lyra was the one, and Bon Bon would always love her. They just needed to get married, and-
Marriage. The ring.
The thoughts of guilt were so sudden and great that Bon Bon nearly pushed herself off of the bed. There was just one blemish, one problem in this perfect relationship.
The ring.
Bon Bon wished she never saw the thing. She was just cleaning up their bedroom, around a month ago. She didn’t think there would be anything wrong with it. But of course, she just had to open up Lyra's special drawer without asking, and there she saw it. It was just this beautiful Diamond ring, and from how well done it was, she knew it couldn’t have been cheap.
And it was just for her.
She quickly shut the drawer then, not daring to look any further. There was a big problem with seeing the ring. Bon Bon knew she would say yes in heartbeat, there was no doubt about it. That wasn’t what worried Bon Bon. It was just a violation of trust! The ring was probably going to be this big show of love, for Lyra to show her how much she cared about her. And now that big surprise was gone because Bon Bon knew.
It was in the middle of these thoughts that Bon Bon felt Lyra stir underneath her hoof, and her head wiggled just a bit.
"Huh? Wha-wha?” Lyra moaned sleepily.
Bon Bon smiled warmly, her guilt quickly replaced with loving thoughts. “Good morning honey. Did you have a good sleep?” Bon Bon whispered breathily into Lyra’s ear.
Lyra hummed pleasantly, and Bon Bons heart leaped at the cute little noise.
“Bon Bon? Is that you?”
Bon Bon giggled. “Of course, silly! Who else would it be?” Another hum, and another giggle.
Bon Bon moved away from Lyra, allowing the unicorn to lay on her back face up, staring at the ceiling. Then, turning over on her stomach, Bon Bon cuddled right up against Lyras side, burying her face in her mane.
“You know Bon Bon, did I ever tell you how much I loved these mornings?”
“Hmmm, I don’t think you ever told me before.” Bon replied with another giggle before playfully nipping at her ear.
Lyra chuckled. “Well, I do. And you quit nipping at my ear,” Lyra said, gently moving Bon Bons head away with a free hoof.
“Why?” Bon Bon jokingly pouted. “Do you like it too much?”
Bon Bon felt Lyras cheeks stretching into a wide smile. “Exactly,” Lyra replied, and the two mares started giggling together until Lyra abruptly stopped.
“Wait, don’t you have a store to open up?” she pried, frowning.
Bon Bon waved a hoof. “Oh, it’s fine. I’ll just open it up later. I don’t think that many ponies will mind.”
“Can we afford to open up late?”
“Hey now,” Bon Bon shushed. “You don’t need to worry about money. We’ve got it all covered, I told you.”
Lyra sighed. “Alright, alright. I’ll drop it.”
It was a couple of minutes before either mare spoke again, both too busy enjoying the comfort of each other to really say anything.
“Hey, you wanna go to that new breakfast place around the corner?” Bon Bon finally asked.
Lyra hugged Bon Bon closer, nuzzling the top of her mane. “Sure. Sounds great. Probably should go now though.”
Neither made any move to get up.
There was something very different about this bedroom, Lyra could tell. The sheets were not nearly as soft as they usually were, the room was surprisingly dark, and even the atmosphere felt off, like it wasn’t as warm and welcoming as it usually was. Lyra really had no idea what any of this meant. She just woke up, after all, and it was possible her mind hadn’t fully adapted to its surroundings just yet.
She could feel herself lying next to somepony’s back, and she smiled. Even in her groggy state, Lyra began to think about her marefriend, the love of her life. She was going to marry that mare someday. She already got the ring for it, she just needed to find the right time to actually propose.
It wasn’t that she was scared Bon Bon would say no. Lyra had no doubt in her mind that she would say yes. She just wanted to make it right. Make it special. Lyra was wondering if a cruise ship would be nice. A nice vacation for the two, out in the open seas. She would take Bon Bon out on the deck, and they would look out at the endless blue together. Lyra would make some speech about how much she loved her and how she changed for the better, and then, then she would propose.
But cruises were expensive. She already spent too much on the ring, so maybe a nice dinner would be the right way to go. But what restaurant? Someplace fancy, to really celebrate the occ- wait, no. Bon Bon hated overly fancy restaurants. So where would she go?
Lyra groaned to herself. Now was not the time to get caught up in her thoughts, not when she had to figure out where she was. Her vision still blurry, Lyra tried to blink rapidly to clear her sight, but to no avail. Maybe Bon Bon could tell her where she was.
Lyra forced herself on her side and leaned against Bon Bon’s back before wrapping a hoof aro-
Wait. Now Lyra could tell something was definitely wrong. Bon Bon’s coat was not nearly as long or wavy as this one. Lyra sniffed Bon Bon’s mane and recoiled back. It did not smell at all like Bon Bon, of confectioner sugar and vanilla extract from the long days at the store. This smelled like alcohol, more specifically like cheap beer.
Lyra shot up in the bed, wide awake and sweating profusely. She looked around the bedroom, even though the darkness made it hard to see. This clearly wasn’t her house, but that wasn’t what scared Lyra. It was that the room was still all too recognizable to her as if she had been there dozens of times before.
She had done it again. How it happened this time, it didn’t really matter. It always resulted in the same thing, and Lyra doubted it would be the last time. When it first started, Lyra kept telling herself she would stop, that this would be her last time. After around the fifth night, she stopped trying to convince herself that.
Lyra quickly realized she needed to calm down and think. She found a way to get out of these situations before, and she could do it again. Taking a couple of deep breaths, Lyra began to run her story over in her head.
Sorry Bon Bon, I didn’t mean to get home so late. Me and the orchestra decided to go to the bar after practice. And I, well, I got a little carried away. I’m sorry, it won’t happen again, I promise. Yes, I know I always say it, but I mean it this time. No, of course, I would never lie to you, I promise. I love you. In fact, I need to ask you something, Bon Bon. Will you marry me? ...You will? Oh, I love you so much, honey! You don’t even care I’m a no-good stinking cheater, you love me, and I love you. Come here, sweetie. Let’s celebrate in the bedroom.
Pushing herself off the bed, Lyra did not dare look back behind. She didn’t want to see who it was, there was never any need to. Instead, she walked out of the bedroom with the pace of a marching soldier, muttering to herself the actual story, and walked towards the love of her life.
