The sun hung lazily in the sky, casting a warming glow across the beach. The clear blue waves lapped gently at the hooves of ponies playing in the surf, building sandcastles, sunbathing, collecting seashells and napping with newspaper over their faces in an attempt to ward off sunburn.
To the two mares who were sitting on deckchairs, it was the perfect day. The sunlight warmed their coats, the water was cool and refreshing, and a cool breeze caressed their faces and made the palm trees sway in an almost hypnotic fashion.
One of the mares turned to her companion. "This is great," she said. "Wouldn't you agree, Lyra?"
Lyra nodded. "It sure is, Bon Bon," she replied. "It's just so peaceful here — a far cry from the chaos of Ponyville." She got up and stretched her legs. "Do you want some ice cream?"
"Yes, please," Bon Bon said. "I know I said 'surprise me' the last time — but after you got me that pineapple monstrosity, I think I'll play it safe and ask for vanilla."
Lyra stifled a chuckle, but quickly composed herself and trotted over to the ice-cream stand. She purchased a mint cone for herself alongside Bon Bon's vanilla, and took the frosty treats back to where her friend was lounging on a deckchair.
"Thanks, Lyra." Bon Bon gave the unicorn an appreciative kiss, which made her blush, and began to eat her ice cream.
The two of them sat in silence as they ate, the ice cream slowly melting and creating a sticky mess in their coats. Lyra was the first to finish, followed a few moments later by Bon Bon.
"I think we may need to clean up," Bon Bon said, noticing the stains around Lyra's muzzle. She stood up, firing Lyra a look of devious smugness, and began running towards the water. "Last one in is a rotten egg!"
"Hey!" Lyra shouted. "Bonnie, you cheater, that's not fair!"
She scrambled to her hooves and shot off after the retreating Earth pony. By the time she caught up, Bon Bon was already up to her ankles in the water — a torrent of which she sent towards Lyra. The unicorn yelped as the flood swamped her, drenching her from head to tail. She moved her mane out of her eyes and grinned, before lighting her horn with magic.
"Oh, no." Bon Bon tried to move, only to be hit in the face by a globe of water and fall down. Lyra cackled maniacally as Bon Bon stood up and looked her in the eyes. She then spoke slowly, mock malice coating each word. "Of course you realise, this means war."
She reared up onto her hind legs and came down hard, sending a large tidal wave surging towards Lyra. The other mare quickly fired another volley of water globes, then rolled out of the way. Bon Bon ducked, the water sailing over her head, then swept the water with her forehooves to send a cascade in Lyra's direction.
The sun continued its journey across the sky as the watery duel went on. Lyra cast a passive glance upwards, smiling as she noted that an hour had passed since the fight had begun. As she focused her attention back towards Bon Bon, she gasped at the sight of the earth pony leaping at her from above. Before she could react, Bon Bon had tackled her; the two of them rolled around in the surf before coming to rest, Bon Bon shocked to find herself pinned underneath Lyra, and the two looked into each other's eyes.
"Do you surrender?" Lyra asked, to which Bon Bon nodded. "Good. Now, tell me that I'm the greatest pony who ever lived."
"Not only are you the greatest pony who ever lived," Bon Bon replied. "You're also the best thing to ever happen to me, and I love you to bits for being a part of my life."
Lyra nodded, giving her a quick kiss before getting off and allowing her to stand up. The two of them left the water and returned to their deckchairs. Bon Bon took a couple of towels from a bag, passing one to her marefriend, as they both sat down with a contented sigh and a giggle.
"That was fun," Lyra said, squeezing the excess water from her mane. "But I think we're going to require a proper bath to get all of this sand out." She brushed some off in a futile gesture. "Ugh, it really does get everywhere."
"We can do that later," Bon Bon replied. "And then, once we're all clean, we'll go out for a walk along the promenade." She leaned over, putting her head on Lyra's shoulder. "Can you picture it?"
"I can, Bonnie, I can." Lyra nodded. "I can see it now: walking side by side, the moonlight casting its beautiful glow over us as the stars wink at us from above." She put her head on Bon Bon's. "Then we'll go out for a nice meal, at the best restaurant in town, and get the best seat in the house." She giggled. "We'll spend the whole meal telling the other how much she means to us, then pay our bill and go for a milkshake... which we'll share."
"And while I'm trying to drink said milkshake, you're busy blowing bubbles into it through the straw." Bon Bon rolled her eyes as she pictured the scene. "I would narrow my eyes at you, to which you'd respond by flicking your tail and smiling impishly."
"You know me so well, Bonnie." Lyra stuck her tongue out. "After our milkshake, we would then go to see a movie. It would probably be a rom-com or something, but we'd quickly lose interest, preferring instead to go as far to the back as we could and make out." She smirked at the blush creeping onto Bon Bon's cheeks.
Bon Bon shook her head. "Moving swiftly on," she said. "With the movie over, we would then go back to the hotel room and celebrate the end of our holiday." She giggled. "And then, tomorrow, we would go back to Ponyville and our friends — whom we would bore to death with photos the first chance we got."
"I can picture their reactions already," Lyra replied. "Feigned interest, which would slowly dissolve into mind-numbing tedious boredom, followed by looking around for a way to leave." She giggled. "Not that it would work; they would soon find – to their dismay – that all of the doors and windows were locked."
Bon Bon grinned malevolently. "No escape," she said, her voice dripping with malice. "And no mercy for those who try."
The two of them looked at each other for a moment before they fell over giggling. They laughed for a full minute, ignoring the stares of the other ponies on the beach with them, after which Lyra wiped tears from her eyes then pulled Bon Bon into a hug.
"Yep." Lyra sighed. "That's what's going to happen, all right." She kissed Bon Bon on the cheek and nuzzled her. "We're going to have such a great time when this is all over, Bonnie, and it's going to be the greatest time of our entire lives. Just you, me, and the beach."
The gentle beeping of the life support machine filled the room, the smell of disinfectant wafting through the air and filling Lyra's nostrils with a powerful stench. She sniffled, wiping her eyes with a tissue she held in her magical aura, while her forehooves gripped those of the mare lying motionless in the bed.
Bon Bon's eyes were closed, yet clearly visible on her face was the faintest of smiles. Her mane was matted and her body was swathed in bandages, but Lyra only cared for holding on tighter than she had ever held on before. She spoke softly and slowly, her breath on Bon Bon's ear causing the slightest flick.
"Can you picture it, Bonnie?" she whispered. "Sounds like a hell of a holiday, doesn't it?" She let out a half-hearted chuckle. "I can't enjoy it by myself, though; I need my best mare by my side."
A single tear made its way down her face and landed on the bed.
"But first, I need my best mare to wake up."
The sound of the life support machine was soon interspersed with wracking sobs, as Lyra lay her head on Bon Bon's chest and wept.
Author's Note
I deliberately omitted the 'Sad' tag as I'd much rather hit y'all in the face with that curveball, instead of letting you go into the story already expecting something sad to happen.
Ain't I a stinker? 
