Bon Bon was relieved when the trail of rose petals leading upstairs to her bedroom did not end with a sock wrapped around the door handle.

It had been a long day. There were a few more high-category monsters that needed defeating and high-stakes shady backroom deals that needed infiltrating than usual, but such was the day in the life of a S.M.I.L.E. agent.

Of course, Lyra didn't need to know any of that. Bon Bon wanted to keep her wife safe and happy in both mind and body. So, she sighed, wiped off her dirty hoofsies, and opened the door to their bedroom with a smile.

Inside, Lyra was already asleep, sprawled haphazardly across the bed and snoring loudly. Bon Bon giggled at the sight, which was enough to interrupt Lyra's nap. With a loud snort, Lyra fluttered her eyes awake and wiped away the drool from her mouth.

“Huh? You're home later than usual.”

“Yeah.” Bon Bon sighed again and hung her scarf on the wall rack. “You could say it was a busy day.”

Lyra grunted and flopped over so she could see Bon Bon while still remaining reposed. “Seems like it's been that way more often. Holiday season or something?”

Bon Bon snorted. “Of a kind.”

“At least they pay you well. Compared to the bits and ends I do, at least.”

“Hey, none of that.” Bon Bon finished unpacking and ambled toward Lyra, giving her a peck on the cheek, followed by a friendly snuggle. “You know I'd do anything for you.”

And it was true—Bon Bon really did love Lyra more than anypony in the world. She was the perfect de-stress machine—even a few minutes with her was enough to take her mind off work and the dangers within Equestrian society.

She turned her attention toward the pair of headphones that lay beside Lyra. “So, not a wrapped sock kind of night, but the roses meant…?”

Lyra blushed bashfully as she noticed Bon Bon's gaze. “Yep, that kind of night.”

It wasn't Bon Bon's kind of thing, but it certainly made her happy to make her wife happy. “Alright, let's do it.”

“Really?” Lyra got up and hugged Bon Bon tightly. “You're the best! Really, I mean it!”

Bon Bon laughed and booped Lyra on the nose. “No, you.” She picked up the headphones, scrolling through settings on the audio player with quick button presses until she found the right configuration. “So… you want to, like, do it now?”

“Hit me,” Lyra said, with a determined gaze. “I'm ready.”

Bon Bon nodded, gently wrapped the headphones over Lyra's ears, and hit play.

Time to watch it work its magic.

As Lyra curled up on the bed again, finding a comfortable position, Bon Bon could hear the beginning notes of the file. A low 'G' vibrated that matched the frequency and timbre of a low string on Lyra's harp, but with the note permanently sustained instead of fading away. It eased her into familiar territory—as if telling her it were a friend she could trust.

Next came little blips within the note—Bon Bon had learned they were called binaural beats. They slipped into Lyra's subconscious, and Bon Bon could notice her breath beginning to slow, her limbs tensing before relaxing twice as much as before.

At this point, Bon Bon knew the opening stanzas by heart. No doubt, Lyra would know them too, and a great deal else. “I want you to relax a little deeper for me,” it played.

Bon Bon gave Lyra one last reassuring touch, then got up and adjusted the environment. She closed the curtains, activated the magic switch that dampened noise from coming in, and lit a lavender-scented candle, placing it on the coffee table beside the bed.

As she watched Lyra's posture settle, she couldn't help but relax vicariously as well. As the voice told Lyra to focus on her back hooves, then her legs, then her waist and chest, working up her body in stages of progressive relaxation, Lyra responded compliantly to each step. Bon Bon responded in kind, loosening her own muscles as she curled up beside her wife, but not enough to disturb her awake.

As Lyra's full body was brought to peace, Bon Bon could hear the trigger words from the audio file that would bring Lyra into trance—“gold pocket watch.”

It was a phrase deeply ingrained within Lyra's mind. Even without any additional suggestion, it already eased her body even more than before. Bon Bon knew that with each successive repetition of the phrase, Lyra would picture the swinging watch in her mind's eye, going back, and forth. Back, and forth. A click of its chain every time it changed directions, almost like the ticking of a clock, synchronizing with the rhythm of the binaural beats. It told her to drop deep, deep into a calm, blissful, hypnotic trance.

Though Bon Bon had never tried the file before, she couldn't help but feel envious at how high on cloud nine Lyra must have felt in the moment. Maybe, just one day, she'd ask her wife if she could try it out, and something told her she'd be more than excited to accept. But for now, her job was to make Lyra the happiest mare on the planet.

There was no doubt Lyra loved how much being put in trance relaxed her, but that wasn't the sole reason she picked the file in the first place—far from it. So, Bon Bon waited for the file to reach the second trigger. When it did, she spoke the words out loud in tandem with the recording to enhance its impact: “Helping hands help you relax.”

Bon Bon chuckled slightly under her breath. Of course, what else could it have been?

She lifted her hooves and began to massage Lyra's back.

She went slowly at first, enough to make Lyra shift slightly and stir but not enough to fully wake her up. She needed to ease her wife into it, as much as she wanted to massage her all over right from the beginning.

On the other end, in her own universe, Lyra was being asked to imagine floating hands materializing one by one around her. They would delicately surround and observe her before giving tentative touches here and there.

In all frankness, Bon Bon didn't really know what kinds of hands Lyra was picturing just about now—she'd always claimed they were a “human's”, whatever that was. It was one of Lyra's silly quirks that made her so cute and irresistible to Bon Bon. Though her research had yet to provide significant insight into their existence, being affirmed by a dozen of their appendages comforting her had increased her fascination tremendously, and only fueled her determination to find out all about them.

Of course, the hands she pictured weren't real. But as Bon Bon massaged and kneaded her all over, it felt just as real as the bed under her and the dark room enveloping her.

As the file continued to guide Lyra's mind, the imaginary hands became more insistent, their touch growing bolder. They caressed her shoulders, traced delicate patterns along her spine, and kneaded the tense muscles in her lower back. Lyra practically melted into the bed, her body becoming one with the soft mattress beneath her.

Bon Bon's own breathing matched Lyra's, slow and steady. The act of caring for her wife, of providing her with this deep relaxation, had a calming effect on Bon Bon as well. It was as if every time she tensed a muscle to press into Lyra's side, then released and pulled it away, thoughts of the day slipped from her mind and out through her hooves, dissolving into the air around them. There was no need for her to say anything, do anything more.

She could only imagine how Lyra must have been sinking deeper into trance with each passing moment, guided by the binaural beats and Bon Bon's touch. She must have felt so loved and worthwhile being at the center of attention of all those hands, stroking and petting her thoughts away. Seeing Lyra so utterly relaxed and content brought Bon Bon immense joy. She knew that every touch she gave, every careful motion, was making Lyra's experience all the more blissful.

It was almost like caring for a pet. As she continued to massage her wife's back, her hooves applied just the right amount of pressure to elicit soft sighs and happy moans from Lyra. She could hear the file whispering gently to Lyra, telling her to let go, relaxing and being a good pony under the guidance of the hands. And as Lyra sank deeper and deeper, the file rewarded her, increasing the intensity of the hands' touch and sending her floating in a sea of tranquility.

As Bon Bon's hooves explored every inch of Lyra's body, the hands found and released knots of tension Lyra hadn't even realized were there. Lyra's moans and sighs grew louder, her body responding eagerly to the pleasurable sensations.

It went on for almost an hour. As Bon Bon kneaded and squeezed her wife, Lyra continued to progressively relax more and more.

Blurring the boundaries between the imaginary hands and the real world.

Feeling so good, and calm, and relaxed.

Falling deeper and deeper into trance.

Being such a good pony who deserved all the pets and love she was getting.

All until the gold pocket watch told her it was time to wake up, and began counting her up out of trance.

One: feeling her body starting to come alive, her breath becoming more regular.

Two: feeling the sensation of the bed beneath her and the warmth of Bon Bon's embrace around her every curve.

As Lyra began to softly stir and twitch her limbs, Bon Bon finally slowed down her massaging as the number of hands in Lyra’s mind’s eye began to subside. One by one, Lyra saw them wave goodbye until they poofed away, leaving her in the blissful void of empty space.

Bon Bon’s job was done. She lightly squeezed Lyra's shoulder one last time and went back to lying down beside her. This time, there was no more need to avoid disturbing her—Bon Bon wrapped her hooves around Lyra and spooned her in a loving embrace.

Three: senses continuing to sharpen, the smell of the lavender candle becoming more distinct.

Four: awareness returning, mind clearing from the haze of trance.

Five: fluttering her eyes open, blinking to adjust to the soft light, now fully awake.

Bon Bon smiled as Lyra yawned, then snuggled into the crook of her arm with a contented sigh. She tightened her embrace and said simply, “Good morning.”

She snickered as she watched the cogs in Lyra’s brain turn and try to argue it was still nighttime before giving up. “I love you too, Bonnie.”

Bon Bon closed her eyes and allowed herself to be soothed by the slow exhale of Lyra’s breath. “How was it?”

Lyra's eyelids were heavy, but she managed to open them halfway. “Oh, you already know. Really, it was wonderful,” she whispered. “Thank you. I needed that.”

The room was dark and serene, the candle's soft glow casting a calming shadow over them. They stayed wrapped in each other's arms, listening to the chirping of crickets outside, savoring the moment.

Bon Bon nuzzled her wife’s mane and pressed a gentle kiss on her forehead. “You know, I actually am tired after all that. Let’s sleep now, for real,” she murmured. “Together.”

Lyra nodded. As she levitated the blanket over the couple, Bon Bon turned to blow out the candle. Cuddling each other under the blankets, they drifted off to sleep, dreaming of each other.

Author's Note

If you read and enjoyed, a like would be sincerely appreciated <3