Not All is as Sweet

Bon Bon - Bittersweet Memories

Bon Bon walked down the hill from the cottage, fighting a battle within herself the entire way.  I wonder how long that’s going to take to come back and bite me in the flank... she thought to herself.  Maybe I should just go back and give it a shot.  It’s not like Lyra is coming back to me...

The memory returned, unbidden, from the depths of her mind.  “I can’t believe I ever loved you!”  Not waiting for a reply, Lyra spun around and left, slamming the door behind her.

The confectionist shuddered, and not just because of the cool evening air.  No, it is for the best.  Fluttershy deserves a pony that isn’t broken...  Bon Bon sighed and continued her suddenly unappealing trek home.  She arrived and opened the door to the house that used to be her favorite place.  The pony you love makes the home, it seems; not the house itself...

Bon Bon grabbed her mail, as she did every night, and looked it over whilst eating a mostly warm bowl of some undefined soup.  She has just started her semi-appealing meal when she opened the first letter, looked at it, and almost spit out what she had already eaten.

Dear Bon Bon:

I know I’m probably the last pony you want to hear from, but I need to talk to you.  It’s really important.  I’m coming down from Canterlot tomorrow and staying in Fading Daylight’s inn, you know what room.  Please meet me there tomorrow night.

Vinyl Scratch

She finished her dinner on autopilot, leaving the rest of the mail for another day.  Besides, her thoughts were too busy bouncing around in her head to even try and attempt to look at her other mail.  Hopefully everything else in the pile could wait another day, because Bon Bon had more important things to think about.

Too tired physically and emotionally to do anything else, she crawled into bed and fell into an uneasy sleep.

She was floating in a patch of stars, overlooking a field of light.  Embedded in the light were shapes. Pony shapes.  They walked, and talked, and ran, and laughed together.  But at the same time, they were all sad.  She could not explain how she knew, but she could tell each and every one of them was sad, and just laughing to hide to pain, to try to save their friends from knowing the pain, for the ponies were connected by strings of thought.

Mothers and fathers connected to each other, and to their foals.  Friends connected to friends connected to lovers connected to enemies.  Even ponies that wouldn’t seem to know each other were connected in some way. Not one pony was alone.

In the middle of it all stood one pony, an earth pony.  Surrounding her were three other ponies: two unicorns and a pegasus.  The pegasus stood alone with strings stretching from her to another pegasus, two unicorns, and two earth ponies.  The other two were connected to each other, but one of them was also connected to two other earth ponies.

Time began to move, making strings bounce and twirl as more ponies connected to each other, and strings were cut.  The strings around the central pony twisted and warped, first connecting her to one unicorn, then another.  As the string switched ponies, the unicorn became connected to one earth pony, then another.  Right as it looked like the central pony’s string was going to connect to the lone pegasus of the group, everything stopped, the string hanging partway between the unicorn and the pegasus.

Bon Bon woke with a start, the complex map of strings and shapes still burned into her eyes in sharp contrast to the darkness of her bedroom.  She shook her head, willing away the shimmery lines superimposed over the dark shapes around her.  She was able to banish all but that last line, stuck between the pegasus and the unicorn.  She shuddered, totally because it was really cold outside, and snuggled back down into her blankets and dreams.

*****

The day passed by in a blur for Bon Bon.  Everything she did had an ethereal feel to it.  Ponies came in all day long buying sweets and just generally hanging around, as foals were wont to do in a candy shop.  Nothing felt like it had any substance to it.  The bags full of candy might as well have been clouds; the bits as good as rocks

Why is Vinyl back?  Why does she want to talk to me?  What am I going to do about Fluttershy?  What is Lyra doing?

Why can’t I just be happy?

All too quickly for the confused mare, it was time to close up shop and go face her greatest fear: her cheating ex.  Shutting down her candy crafters and finalizing her books for the day didn’t take long enough, nor did locking up the store and heading into the twilight-shrouded town of Ponyville.

The walk was also too short.  A mere ten minutes from her shop she found herself at the bright and inviting entrance to the inn owned by the unicorn known as Fading Daylight.  Bon Bon took a shaky breath and walked in.  Pausing before the dark front desk, she smiled at the pony sitting behind it.  “Hi, Daylight.  How’s it going?”  she asked, trying not to let her voice shake too much.  “Um, Vinyl Scratch is waiting for me in her room...?”  It wasn’t exactly a statement, nor was it really a question.

The light gold-coated unicorn smiled at her.  It was not a smile like Celestia’s, full of the warmth of the rising sun, but more like one of a friend, full of welcome.  “Of course she is.  Room three, hun.”

Bon Bon thanked her and mounted the oaken steps just to the left of the desk. Slowly, ever so slowly, she climbed the steps, each hoofstep landing with the finality of an executioner’s axe.  She arrived at the top of the stairs, turning left down the hallway, remembering how to get there from here... last time in the Ponyville inn.

It had been great then, but now the memory crossed her mind like a patch of brambles.  Shaking it off, Bon Bon walked up to the door with a large, gilded “3” on the front.  She raised her hoof to knock, and lowered it.  The cream mare took a deep breath, and, before she could talk herself out of it again, quickly knocked her hoof against the door.  Tatatatatat!

Bon Bon had next to no time to think about running before the door opened, revealing the white mare.  Her usually spiky mane was plastered down around her head, a wet towel thrown over a chair nearby, alluding to the fact she had just taken a shower.  She beamed, ears perked forward.  “Hey, Bonsie.  How ya been?”

Bon Bon flinched at the old pet name, not bothering to hide it.  “Hello, Vinyl Scratch.  Did you need me for something?”  Her voice was cold and devoid of all emotion.  She wouldn’t abandon her old friend, but she wouldn’t help with Pinkie Pie-esque enthusiasm either.

Vinyl’s ears drooped, and she took a step back inside, muttering so quietly it was almost impossible to hear her.  “More than you know...”

Bon Bon walked inside, taking a seat on the chair where...  She blushed, her cream cheeks lighting up a faint scarlet.  Vinyl noticed.  “Don’t worry, they wash these chairs.  I think,” she said, causing the other mare’s blush to darken.

Shaking away her current thoughts, Bon Bon brought the front of her mind back to the task at hoof.  “You sent for me.  Why?”

Vinyl, sitting across from her on the bed, looked down.  “I... I just wanted to talk to you...”  She sounded defeated.  “It... hasn’t gone too well for me the last couple of years.  I had to get out of Canterlot.  Tavi...”  She took note of the confused look from her friend.  “A friend of mine was kinda helping me work through some... issues.  She suggested I come here and talk through everything that happened between us.  Kind of, what’d she said...?  ‘Get it all out into the open,’ or something like that.”

Bon Bon nodded, unbidden rage blasting away all other thoughts.  “Ok, I’ll start.  YOU BUCKING CHEATED ON ME!”

The sheer volume of the exclamation made Vinyl lean back.  “I know, and I think I’m starting to see what Tavi wanted us to--”

“No.” Her voice was cold and unforgiving, years of unspent rage rushing to the surface, clamoring for a chance to make themselves heard, all blending into an icy nothingness.  “I loved you.  I gave myself to you totally, and you just threw it back IN MY FACE, then had the gall to lie to me about it.”

Vinyl winced, withdrawing back into herself.  “I-”

“Quiet!  I just...  How long, Vinyl?  How long did you cheat on me with her?”

“I-It was only once, I swear!  A-And I was drunk, and just finished a gig, and you... you couldn’t make it because you were with... with Lyra, and I was... I just...”  Tears were streaming down her face, mixing with the leftover water from her recent shower.

Bon Bon was shocked at the tears, but not exactly unhappy with them.  “And you think that is some sort of excuse?  That just because you were drunk I’m going to say ‘oh, well she was drunk and not in her right mind, I’ll let it slide I guess?’”

Vinyl shrank back into herself.  “N...No....”

Realizing she was being a little too harsh, Bon Bon took a deep breath before continuing in a softer voice.  “You... you didn’t even try to come talk to me, try to salvage what was left.”  She sounded broken, and hated it.

“You didn’t want me to!  I tried to explain, but you told me to shut it and ran off.  Besides, I’m pretty sure Lyra would have killed me if I had come after you.”  Now it was Vinyl’s turn to be angry.

Bon Bon’s ears folded flat of their own accord.  Without thinking, she found herself saying, “Well, you could always explain now.”

Vinyl took a mental step back.  Taking a deep breath, she began her tale.  “Well, I met Sweet Drops in high school, before I moved here.  She was the first mare I ever dated....”  She looked off into space, red eyes lost in the memories.  After a moment, she shook her head, still wet mane flinging little drops of water everywhere.  With a sheepish grin, she continued.

“Sorry... Anyway, when my folks decided we were going to Ponyville, Sweets was devastated.  We... We broke it off the night before I left.  That night I promised that I would always care for her, and that if I ever saw her again we could pick up right where we left off.  It was stupid to do, I know.”

Vinyl took a minute, the facade of invincible-unfeeling-Vinyl being replaced by the reality of just-a-mare-Vinyl; the mare Bon Bon knew she was.  “Years later, I met you, and we started going out.  Then, one day, she was at my door.  Turns out she had been to one of my shows near town and had followed me back home.  Creepy as that was, I let it slide because I hadn’t seen her in awhile.  We started hanging out again--just as friends.”

Mollified, Bon Bon let Vinyl continue, unaffected by harsh glares.  “So, I’m guessing around the same time that Lyra came to you about her feelings, Sweet Drops showed up at my door in the middle of the night.  She was beat up pretty bad, Bon, so I let her in.  She told me that, after I left, nothing had gone right for her.  Every mare just reminded her of me, so she turned to stallions.”

“The only problem was, every stallion she was with broke it off when she wouldn’t put out.  Sweets moved here because she was tired of all the prick stallions up in Royal Canterlot.  She had hoped to meet somepony nice, and had found Hard Hat instead.”

Bon Bon cocked her head.  “The construction worker?”

Vinyl nodded.  “Yeah.  Turns out he’s an abuser.  Whoda thunk it?  Actually... it’s much more likely she went to see one of her old coltfriends in Canterlot and they beat her up... Anyway, she stayed the night over at my place.  She was still pretty shaken up the next day, so I invited her to come backstage with me at my gig the next night.  She was going to be my backup.  So, long story short, we got really drunk at the afterparty, and went back to my place.”

Now came the part Bon Bon had been dreading.  She half-wanted to tell Vinyl to stop.  But at the same time, she wanted to know why.  She wanted to know what had made her first love cheat on her.  “Go on,” she said, bracing herself for what was likely to hurt.  A lot.

Vinyl took a deep breath.  “You sure?  I... I mean, we don’t have to do this if you don’t want to...”  Now even confident-to-a-fault-Vinyl was nervous.

Bon Bon just stared.

“Alright!  Alright!  Sheesh, calm down.  No need to murder anypony with death stares...  So, we went back to my place, and she reminded me of the promise I made her.  So, being as, uh, drunk as we were, we decided then would be a good time...”

Bon Bon was suddenly furious again.  A hard edge entered her voice, poisoned with sarcasm.  “Well, it sounds like you had a really hard time fighting her off.”

Vinyl cringed.  “Anyway, the next day she went back home, and I went to see you.  You... you know the rest...”  Having run out of words and courage, the white unicorn slumped down on the bed, staring at her hooves.

Bon Bon took a moment, stewing over this new information.  The wounds of the past had long since healed, or at least scabbed over, but scabs tend to reopen, and not all wounds heal perfectly.  Bon Bon felt tears welling in her eyes, but she fought them down.  This afternoon was looking like it was going to be very, very wet.  “Why, Vinyl?”

The white unicorn looked up.  “Why what?”

“Why did you do it?”  Bon Bon’s voice had a tint of desperation.  “Why did you c-- do that to me?  You should have known something bad was going to come of it, even if it was just one time...”  She stopped, a new thought making itself known.  “And the very next day you came to me, and the first thing you said was ‘I love you, Bon Bon.’”

Vinyl nodded.

“You... you said you loved me, after spending the night with another mare!?  What in Celestia’s name is wrong with you?!”

“I DON’T KNOW!”  Vinyl shouted, throwing herself face down into the pillow, crying without reservation; heavy sobs that wracked her whole frame.  Bon Bon sat, shocked, as her ex-marefriend cried her eyes out for uncountable minutes before slowly raising herself up.  Her eyes were red and puffy, and her expression was so full of grief it pulled at Bon Bon’s sympathies.  “I... I don’t know why I did it.  You were always so good to me, Bon.  You always made me happy, never did anything to hurt me, and I turned around and did.... that.  I just...”

“You didn’t even say sorry, Vinyl...”  The earth pony looked over at the unicorn with hurt in her eyes, all the anger having burned away long ago, leaving its old friends grief and depression in its wake.  “You just left me.  You left me here, and now Lyra left me here, and I just rejected the only other pony who cares about me and... I... it’s...”

The stinging in her eyes returned once again.  Bon Bon fought it, trying to choke out words to complete her half-finished thought.  She jammed her eyes shut, bravely fighting off the waves of tears that threatened to pour from her eyes.  She was largely successful until she felt hooves wrap around her and pull her head into a warm, furry chest.

Then the tears fell from their sky blue prisons, quickly running down a cream-colored hill before diving into the white ocean below.  At a loss for words, and unable to see her friend in such a state, Vinyl did the only thing she knew that could always make Bon Bon stop crying.

She gently lifted her muzzle with a hoof, and kissed her.

Inside, Bon Bon was torn.  Her ex-marefriend, who had cheated on her and then ran off, was kissing her.  On the outside, however, her body was falling back into the role she had occupied for months.  She kissed back, pressing her chest to Vinyl’s and letting the white mare pull her onto the bed.

Held on top of Vinyl, half held down by the mare’s hooves, half held down by her own desire, Bon Bon fought with herself.  Eventually, she gave in; she had been alone too long, and the stress of loss was weighing down on her.  Giving in completely, the ex-lovers repeated a first night of passion shared so many years ago.

As Bon Bon curled into her lover, drifting off at the end of their night together, she dreamed of yellow wings wrapping themselves around her, lulling her to sleep.

*****

Bon Bon woke, a funny but familiar taste in her mouth.  Uh, what happened last night? And why am I in bed with Vin- Bon Bon shrieked like a banshee when she realized what had transpired. Her expression went from shocked to disgusted to hurt in the span of seconds, even more so when her dream from last night hit her like a ton of bricks. What the buck am I doing here, in bed, with Vinyl? And what in the hay was that dream about? Why would I be dreaming about Fluttershy like that? Her face turned red, remembering the dream that she’d had. Do I really think of Fluttershy like that? I had no idea...

Bon Bon turned her head, only to see Vinyl’s flank staring her in the face. And then there's that. What was I thinking last night? Her mental monologue ground to a halt at the sight of Vinyl starting to stir. Ohmygoshomygoshohmygosh, I need to get out of here!

Bon Bon quickly but quietly rushed out the door, ignoring the DJ crying out her name, trying to get her to stay.  The cream mare tore through the inn, barely stopping to tell Fading Daylight goodbye.  She ran through the town, dodging the early Wednesday traffic.  Ponies shouted and glared at her as she galloped through the streets.  Forsaking her shop, she all but dove into the door of her home, locking it behind her.

The candy maker quickly pulled all the curtains shut, casting a premature dusk across all the rooms in the house.  She plopped down on the couch, thoughts whirling around her head without much definition.

What was I thinking, sleeping with Vinyl like that?  I never should have done that... and what about Fluttershy?  How come I wanted that to be her instead of Vinyl the whole time?  Why did I dream about her?  Bon Bon groaned, firmly planting her muzzle in a pillow.  Why is all of this so hard.  Why can’t Lyra just come back and save me from all of this...?

The door opened, causing the cream mare to look up from her book.  “Oh, there you are, Lyra.  Nice time to get home, isn’t it?  It’s only,” she glanced at a clock, “about two in the morning.”

The unicorn flashed her lover a sheepish grin.  “Sorry, Bonnie.  Records had me stuck up in that recording studio for hours, and I just got off the train.  But I brought you a present,” she said, beaming as she pulled a box of Canterlot chocolates out of her bag.

Bon Bon’s ears drooped.  She walked over and gave Lyra a hug.  “Sorry, honey.  I was just worried about you.”  She nuzzled into her lover’s neck.  Using the nuzzle as a distraction, she nicked the chocolates and whisked them away into the kitchen.

This made Lyra smirk.  “How did I know that candy was the way to your heart?”

Bon Bon walked back into the living room, flashing her bedroom eyes.  “There’s more than one way, you know.”

Lyra raised an eyebrow.  “Bubble bath?”

“Bubble bath.”

Against her will, Bon Bon smiled as the happy memory washed over her.  Sure, it had been rough when Lyra had started recording her songs, but they had made it through.  It wasn’t until she had started touring Equestria that things had started to get tense.  Yeah, it had been good for Lyra; she had been living the dream.  It had been even better for their pocketbooks, though they’d never had a problem with money--even alone, Bon Bon’s candy shop brought in enough for her to live comfortably--but the emotional strain had just been too much.

“Yay!  Yay yay yay yay yay yay!”  Bon Bon pounced, pinning her newly-returned marefriend to the wall, showering her muzzle and upper neck with kisses.

Lyra giggled.  “I missed you too, Bonnie, but would you mind not drowning me?”

Lyra’s attacker shook her head, the only pause in her kiss assault.  “Nope, not gonna happen.”

Fearing no other option, Lyra forcibly stopped Bon Bon’s muzzle with her magic, and planted her own lips against the cream ones held still in front of her.

The Bon Bon in the present lifted herself up off the couch, plodding her way into the kitchen.  The memories went with her.

“W...What do you mean you have to spend another week in Canterlot?”  The whine would not stay out of her voice, no matter how much Bon Bon tried to stop it.

Ears pinned down against her head, Lyra wrapped her lover in a gentle hug.  “I know, Bonnie, I’m sorry.  I don’t want to go either, but Records said I have to. Something about planning my next tour in Manehatten or something...”

Bon Bon pulled back far enough that her lover could see her face, but not far enough to break contact.  Forcing down her sadness, she painted a smile across her face.  “Well, if you have to...  I’ll miss you.”

Lyra brought their mouths together in a brief kiss.  “I’ll miss you too.  I love you, Bonnie.”

Bon Bon hugged her unicorn tighter.  “I love you too.”

The lonely mare munched a salad, barely tasting anything.  She glanced over at the writing desk in the corner, thinking of the letter she knew was sitting in the right-middle drawer.

Dear Bonnie,

How are ya doin, filly?  Sorry I couldn’t make it home.  Records has my schedule so crammed full of stuff I barely had the time to write you this letter before I was practically dragged out of my hotel room.  To be honest, I would have loved to see them try.  I would have fought off the entire Royal Guard so you could hear from me before I go.

I’m sorry, hun, but I won’t be back until the first of next month.  On the bright side, I managed to get Records to agree to send you a ticket to one of my shows, plus pay for travel.  Won’t be needing a room though, you can stay with me. (though I don’t know how well I play half asleep.  Guess we’ll find out, huh?)

So, look for the ticket, love.  I’ll be waiting.

Yours forever, hugs and kisses,

Lyra Heartstrings

She had gotten the tickets, she had gone to the show, she had spent three days there with Lyra.  Sales from the store suffered, but who cares?  She was with the pony she loved.  Records, however, was not quite so happy...

“WHAT IN THE NAME OF CELESTIA’S INVISIBLE BEARD WERE YOU THINKING, BUYING A TICKET FOR YOUR MAREFRIEND LIKE THAT?!”  The pale blue earth pony shouted at Lyra, who was practically cowering in her seat.

“I... I just wanted my marefriend to be with me... I wasn’t going to see her for almost three weeks...”  Lyra stuttered and mumbled, tripping over words under the ferocious gaze of her manager.

“Hey, that’s no way to talk to your--”  Bon Bon tried to interject, to defend her love.

“Quiet!  If I want your opinion, I’ll ask for it!”  Now the fury was directed on the cream earth pony, and she held up just about as well as the musician.

“Hey!”  Lyra jumped up, putting herself between her manager and her lover.  “Don’t talk to my marefriend like that!”

“I’ll talk to anypony I want however I want, Heartstrings!  I recommend you don’t forget it, unless you want to forget your contract!”

Lyra opened her mouth to argue more, but Bon Bon quickly wrapped a hoof around her head and stuck it in front of her lover’s mouth.  “Shh, it’s ok, Lyra.  I’ll just go wait in the hotel room.”

Bon Bon walked out of the room just in time for the yelling to start again, though she did not hear it.

Lyra had told her when she got home.  Records had said that was their worst show, because Lyra had been so tired from her... antics... the night before.  He had banned Bon Bon from going to any more of Lyra’s shows.  It was unreasonable, but Bon Bon had agreed, to save her marefriend’s dream.  The only condition she had was that Lyra was not to be away for more than a week at a time.  Her manager had agreed, reluctantly.  So, instead of being gone for long periods of time, she was just gone frequently, often only having no more than a few measly days at home before being sent away again.

It was hard on the two lovers, but neither of them cared.  The way they saw it, it just made the time they had together that much better.  Besides, it didn’t really matter that Bon Bon didn’t open her shop when Lyra was in town.  They had plenty of bits.

But no matter how much you love somepony else, when they are never there, things can get tense.

“Lyra, please?”

“I can’t, you know that, Bonnie.”

“But, Lyra... I just want to spend our anniversary together...”  She put a hoof on Lyra’s cheek, forcing the unicorn to look into her glistening eyes.  “Can’t you just tell him to wait one day?”

Lyra bit her lip.  Everypony knew that Bon Bon had the best puppy dog face this side of Manehatten.  But as far as she knew, Lyra was the only pony unlucky enough to be on the receiving end of it with any sort of regularity.  Eventually, the pressure cracked her.  “Ok, I’ll try.  For you.”

“Yay!”  Bon Bon clapped her forehooves together.  “So, to celebrate, you thinking what I’m thinking?”  She winked.

Lyra beamed.  “Stay up all night and talk about music?”

Bon Bon bit her lip.  “Can we talk about it in a bubble bath?”

The unicorn reached over and wrapped her marefriend in a hug.  “Sure.  Anything for you, Bonnie.”

Lost in her memories, Bon Bon was surprised to hear a knock on her door.  Jerking in surprise, she knocked the porcelain bowl with half of her salad skittering across the table where it smashed into the wall.  She shakily got to her hooves and picked up the bigger pieces of the shattered bowel before walking into the front room.  Bon Bon peeked through the curtains, jerking back as she saw the white unicorn standing on her doorstep.

Why did she come here!?  Oh buck, she probably wants to talk about last night...  What would I say?  “Sorry, Vinyl it was a mistake.  Please forget I spent half the night with my muzzle between your legs”The thought brought a light blush to the earth pony’s cheeks.  No, don’t think like that.The knocking came again, that infernal, insistent knocking.

What I have to do is leave, yes.  But where do I go...She flinched.  Fluttershy would help.  She is the element of kindness, but could I do that to her?Another round of furious knocking, followed by a voice sounding both concerned and irritated.  “Bon Bon, are you in there?  Open the door, please.  I need to talk to you.”

Yup, I could.  As quietly as she could, Bon Bon slipped out the back door of her house, feeling like a little filly sneaking out to see her crush.  Slipping through backyards until she was sure Vinyl couldn’t see her from the front porch, Bon Bon slowly made her way to Mane Street, and from there to the outskirts of town.

Maybe I could go to somepony other than Fluttershy, I mean I did just sort of reject her the other day.  I don’t want to hurt her...

No, I need her help.  Obviously she was just trying to rationalize her frenzied flight to the lovestruck pegasus.

No, I really don’t.  Maybe I just want to see her...

Don’t be ridiculous, you said it yourself yesterday that you didn’t want to hurt her because you were stuck on Lyra.  Don’t go around playing with that mare’s heart.  It isn’t nice under normal circumstances, but this is Fluttershy.

Lost in her mental argument as she was, Bon Bon failed to notice the yellow pegasus waving a hoof in her face until she almost walked into it, causing Fluttershy to squeak.

“Wha..?  Oh!  Hi, Fluttershy.  Just the mare I was hoping to see...”  Bon Bon gave a nervous chuckle.  For some reason, her mission seemed much more shallow now that it was almost complete.

Fluttershy cocked her head.  “What do you mean?”

“I, uh,”  Bon Bon looked around.  She had run into Fluttershy on the outskirts of town, but in a small town like this it only took one pony to hear before the whole town found out.  “Actually, could we talk somewhere more private?”

“Sure.  I was actually going to town to try and, um, find you...”

Yeah, this is going to be a fun visit.  “Well, you found me.”

Fluttershy giggled.  “Kind of.”  She motioned towards the path to her rustic cottage with a hoof.  Bon Bon started walking as the pegasus fell into step beside her.  It wasn’t a very long walk, but the oppressive silence made it almost unbearable.

Over the creaky bridge they walked, stopping briefly at the front door so Fluttershy could nose it open.  She quickly pulled it shut, blushing furiously.

“Is something wrong?”  Bon Bon asked, concern clear on her face.

“I, uh, didn’t actually expect you to come back, so my cottage is a mess.  If you don’t mind, I’ll just slip in and clean up real fast.  Sorry, be back quick.”  She darted inside without waiting for an answer, pulling the door firmly shut behind her.

Bon Bon shook her head.  She remembered the last time Fluttershy had said her cottage was messy, but what can you do?  Benefit of the doubt.  A minute passed, then two, then three.  Bon Bon was just beginning to worry when the door swung open, revealing the pegasus wearing a small smile.

“Sorry that took so long.  It was a little messier than I thought,” Fluttershy said, moving to the side to allow her cream friend to enter.  Bon Bon walked into the house, taking her usual seat in the living room while the home’s owner trotted into the kitchen, appearing soon after with a pot of tea.  How she manages to make tea so fast I will never understand...

She poured two cups, keeping one for herself before giving the other to her guest.  “So, what did you need to talk about,” Fluttershy asked, taking a sip of tea.

Deja vu, Bon Bon thought, thinking back to the previous Sunday.  Stalling for time, she asked, “Uh, you first.  My story is kind of long and... I really don’t know if I want to share it right now...”

“O-Oh, well, I just... I just wanted to talk to you...”  She looked down, yellow cheeks dusted with a light coating of red.

Great...  “About anything specific?”  Bon Bon was fishing now.  She knew the answer, but hoped it wasn’t what she thought.

“I-I just, um, wanted to...” she trailed off, seemingly unable or unwilling to finish.

Bon Bon looked at her with a piercing gaze.  “Is it about the other day?”

Fluttershy opened her mouth to speak, but settled on a shaky nod when no words came out.

“Look, Fluttershy--”  Bon Bon began before a yellow rocket hit her in the chest, knocking her over.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,”  Fluttershy said, nuzzling into the cream coat under her, wetting the fur with her tears.  “I just... I couldn’t stop thinking about what you said to me.  I... I don’t really know what I was going to say.  I just wanted to talk to you...”  Sobs overwhelmed her once again, forcing her to stop speaking.

Bon Bon soothingly ran her hoof through Fluttershy’s pink mane, comforting the pony she had come to for comfort.  “It’s ok, Fluttershy,” she found herself saying.  “Just talk to me, anything you want.”

Fluttershy sniffed, steadying her nerves.  “If, um,” she took another shaky breath.  “if you... moved on from Lyra....”  Bon Bon knew exactly what she was asking.  Could I?  And would it really be for the best?“Could you, I mean, could we...”  She couldn’t see the pegasus’ face, but Bon Bon could hear the sadness in her voice.  She could hear the embarrassment.  She could hear the hope.

Bon Bon knew she couldn’t leave the yellow mare hanging.  Not again.  Not after what almost happened last time.  She recalled her thoughts as she left the cabin two days ago.  She thought back to the dream she had the night before, and she thought of what had brought her here in the first place.  She decided to listen to the part of her who thought she could do good, thought that maybe, just maybe, she might be good enough.

“If I manage it, and if you still think I’m worth it, yes.”

Fluttershy squeaked, a happy noise this time, and buried her face deeper into Bon Bon’s chest.  It’s so familiar...  Bon Bon thought.  Lyra practically did the same thing...  “Fluttershy,” the cream mare said sharply, causing the pegasus to look up with apologetic eyes.

“I’m sor-” she started, before being cut off.

“Hush. There’s nothing to be sorry for.  I just wanted your attention.  I have a story I think I need to tell...”

Fluttershy looked up at Bon Bon, content with not moving an inch.  She simply nodded, the action conveying more than words ever could.

*****

It had been a month.  One blistering, heartbreakingly long, lonely month.  Vinyl had moved a couple weeks ago, having just randomly decided to follow her beau Sweet Drops up to Canterlot to try and make it big in the nightlife there. Sometime after that, two, maybe three days--Bon Bon hadn’t paid much attention to time right then--Lyra had sort of moved in.  She’d still had her own place, but she had slept and lived over at Bon Bon’s.

She had said she was worried.  Maybe she’d had a reason to be.

Lyra had been the one who had kickstarted Bon Bon back to life.  Lyra had been the reason that Bon Bon had reopened her stall in the market.  Lyra had been the one who had stayed up into the late hours of the night making candy with Bon Bon, partly to distract her, and partly so she would have something to sell.

That’s probably why one night, a couple months after Vinyl’s affair, while Bon Bon and Lyra had been working together making candy for the next day’s sales, Bon Bon had leaned over and kissed her.  Not a deep and heavy kiss that would make the end of your tail curl and your heart flutter, but not a friendly peck on the cheek either.

Bon Bon liked to think now that she’d only done what she’d done because Lyra had been so helpful.  She had wanted to find a way to repay her.  She told herself that it had only been because they had been so close for that month; though she had only done it because what had happened with Vinyl had made her want to reach out to somepony.

After all the heartache that had come from her time with Lyra, Bon Bon didn’t want to think she loved Lyra.

What had followed then, it seemed like everypony in Ponyville knew the story.  Neither of them had exactly, “asked the other out,” but everyone had known they were together anyway.  They had been Ponyville’s paradigm couple.  Their relationship had been the one that every other pony tried to mirror.  Everypony wanted their special somepony to have the same kind of care and compassion those two had shared.

Some managed to pull it off, others didn’t.  No matter what the outcome, Bon Bon and Lyra had been secure in their love, so nothing else had really mattered.

Almost four months later had seen them with enough bits from Bon Bon’s candy stall and Lyra’s occasional small-time concerts that they had been able to buy the house Bon Bon still lived in.  It had been perfect--it was only after their last fight that Bon Bon had realized it hadn’t been the house that had mattered, it had been the pony she’d shared it with--and soon after they’d moved into the home, they’d upgraded from the candy stall at the market to a full-sized shop on Mane Street.

The new shop had also put them in direct competition with Sugarcube Corner.  Since they were no longer working at a stall, in every sort of weather the Equestrian Weather Service could throw at them the store had stayed open longer, and had made more sales.  It had been fine until the Cakes had noticed that the little sweet shop had been starting to take away some of the bakery’s profits.  Sometimes, you just want a sweet little snack instead of a huge cake.  None of the ponies working in either store were hostile to each other.  They were all friends and not much could change that.  But there had been a bit of friendly competition.

No, it wasn’t until Bon Bon had gotten the interview with that Celestia-damned recording studio in Las Pegasus as an anniversary present for Lyra that things had gone downhill.  Of course, Lyra had landed the contract--she was a brilliant musician--and that had meant they hadn’t had all the time together they used to.

That hadn’t been great, but Bon Bon had understood and anticipated it.

What she had not anticipated, however, was the press, the ever present rumor machine of Equestria.  They’d left Bon Bon alone for the most part; she wasn’t the one they’d wanted.  It was Lyra they had focused on.

But it had been Bon Bon who’d wound up getting hurt.

The press had noticed all the time Lyra spent locked up with Records in the recording studio, something that was actually quite common.  The only problem had been Records’ recent divorce.  Of course the papers had decided that his signing of this new, beautiful unicorn had been to make up for his lost wife.

Of course, Bon Bon hadn’t heard a single thing about it until a mare had walked into her shop almost two months later and asked, “How can you stay with a cheating mare like that?  I, for one, would have thrown her to the street long ago.”  It hadn’t been that hard to believe that Bon Bon had never heard of it.  Most of the gossip and such revolved around the newspapers of the bigger cities, and since she never spent time with anypony who really followed that, she’d never heard.

Needless to say, Bon Bon had not been very happy when Lyra had come home from Canterlot later in the week.  It had all boiled up to this point.  The lonely weeks, the sudden disappearances, and being banned from all Lyra’s concerts ever since that fiasco after the show in Trottingham.

It had happened one day, after Lyra had come home really late from one of her appointments.

“Well, someone is a little late,” Bon Bon said.  It was unusual for her to be so irritated when Lyra came home, something the unicorn was all too aware of.  She knew about the rumors, knew they had hit her lover hard, but she didn’t realize the extent of the damages.

“Yeah, sorry.  The train got delayed because of a cave in or something.  I had to take a later one home.”  She walked over, intending to give the cream earth pony a hug, but was shocked when she was rejected.  “Is something wrong, Bonnie?”  she asked, rubbing the side of her head with a hoof.

“I don’t know, Lyra, you tell me,” Bon Bon said, tossing down a tabloid with the most incriminating story she could get from the local paper stand on the table.

“The hay is this?”  Lyra asked, picking up the paper with her magic and quickly giving it a once-over.  “Oh, you’ve got to be bucking kidding me.  What is this?!”

“Well, since you can’t figure it out, allow me to help.  It seems to me that I have another cheating marefriend.”  Bon Bon’s stare could have frozen Celestia herself.

“What?  Why would you even think that?!”  Lyra’s ears drooped as she read on further into the article.  “What a load of--”

“Save it, Lyra,” Bon Bon said, knocking the paper out of the air.

Lyra stared at the paper on the floor for a moment before looking back up, fire in her eyes.  “Look, there’s really no reason to be rude about anything.  Just calm down, and we can get this all sorted out.”

“What is there to sort out,” Bon Bon spat.  “All I see is another mare just as bad as Vinyl, and even worse at lying about it!”

“I’M NOT LYING ABOUT ANYTHING!”  Lyra shouted, unable to control herself any longer.  “Just look at the stupid magazine!  It isn’t exactly known for being the most reliable source of information!  Look, I’m tired, I’m sore, I haven’t had a proper shower in too long.  I just got out of a very important meeting with Records--”

“Yeah, ‘meeting’,” Bon Bon said.

“--Where I just laid my job on the line so I could spend more time with you, and you turn around and do something like this?  It’s a bucking tabloid.  They print nothing but lies!  That’s how they make their bits, by selling bogus stories about halfway famous ponies so that the headlines attract a little attention.  I figured a mare as smart as you could have figured that out.  Or, you know what, at the very least you should have gone to Rarity.  She is plugged into every news source there is in Canterlot.  Don’t you think if she knew, she would have told you!?”

Bon Bon paused, debate raging in her head.Maybe... maybe she is telling the truth.  It doesn’t really make sense that she would...

No.  It says so right there.  She’s gone all the time, she disappears randomly, and always seems to have some reason for being late, or to have to go back quickly.  She just... there is no other explanation.

Bon Bon shook her head.  “You just... I can’t believe it.  At least Vinyl was smart enough to give in once she was caught, but you just won’t stop, will you?  How much longer are you going to string me along, huh?”

“I’m not stringing anypony along!  Think, Bonnie, I was the one who sat with you after you and Vinyl split.  Why would I turn around and do the exact same thing to you?”

“I don’t know,” Bon Bon replied, “maybe you just think it’s funny.”

That broke it.  Any sort of restraint Lyra may have had was gone.  She was tired, overworked, underappreciated by everypony except Bon Bon, and now even she was fighting with her, about something that she should have known would never happen!  “Funny?  Funny!?  You know what’s funny?  I just... I can’t...” Lyra spluttered before shouting at the top of her lungs, “I can’t believe I ever loved you!”

Not waiting for a reply, Lyra spun around and left, slamming the door behind her.

*****

Fluttershy looked up at Bon Bon with wide eyes.  “Oh,” she said eloquently.

Bon Bon nodded.  “Yeah, oh.”  She looked down at the yellow pegasus lying sprawled on her.  Could she do it a third time?  And not mess it up?

Fluttershy’s stomach grumbled, throwing off Bon Bon’s train of thought and causing the yellow pegasus to blush.  “Sorry.  I didn’t eat before coming to look for you...”

Bon Bon grinned.  “It’s fine.  We’ll just go grab something to eat, my treat.  I insist,” she added, silencing Fluttershy’s protests

“Oh, well, if you insist...”  Fluttershy said, suppressing her smile.  “Where do you want to go?”

“I... don’t really know...”  Bon Bon said, scratching her head.  “Where do you want to go?”

“Um, we could go to that new restaurant Magni Helianthus if you want...”

“Sure, sounds fine to me.”  Bon Bon got up, forcing Fluttershy to jump off of her with a startled squeak.  The cream mare giggled.  “Don’t fall.”

Fluttershy humphed, stamping her hoof and glaring at Bon Bon before breaking down into giggles herself.  “That wasn’t very nice.  Oh!  Not that you aren’t nice, but knocking other ponies over isn’t.”  Bon Bon raised an eyebrow.  “N-Not that it was your fault, I was kind of on you, so it’s... it’s my fault.  Sorry.”  Fluttershy stared at the ground, avoiding eye contact.

Bon Bon walked over, using a hoof to gently push aside Fluttershy’s mane and raise her muzzle.  “Hey, don’t hide.  I was just teasing.  We’re going to have to work on that, aren’t we?”  Fluttershy just nodded.  “Well, come on then.  We can start at the restaurant.”

Ignoring the reason she had fled to Fluttershy’s cottage in the first place, Bon Bon led the shy pegasus outside and onto the path into town.  Their destination was a newly established place that offered foreign foods from the small towns of the Barrens.  It was a massive affair, done up to look like a bunch of palm trees stuck together.  Normally, it would have looked somewhat out of place in the tall, slim houses of Ponyville.  Anticipating this, the architect had placed it near the central park of the town, using the park itself to add to the establishment’s decor.

“Oh, this place looks nice,” Fluttershy said as she walked to their table, Bon Bon not far behind.

“It’s definitely got the atmosphere down,”  Bon Bon replied, looking around at all the flora and the wall frescoes depicting various desert scenes.  It was also hot, though it was a dry heat.  It lent that last little touch of authenticity, though one the cream mare would have been happy to do without.

“I... I can’t even tell if there is actually a ceiling,” Fluttershy said, trying to stare past the palm tree leaves that made up the roof.  Bon Bon could understand what she meant, there was much much more light than most building had, but she saw no windows to explain it.

Their pondering of the odd light source was cut short when an earth pony with a bandana over his muzzle walked over to them, menus slung in specially modified saddlebags that most waiters carried.  “Howdy, and welcome to the Magni Helianthus.  What can I get you two lovely mares?”

Noticing her yellow companion was blushing too hard to answer, Bon Bon spoke up.  “Um, we actually have never been here before.”  The waiter nodded, obviously having heard the same thing multiple times in the week since the place opened.  “Could you recommend something?”

“Well, I would recommend our home-grown giant sunflowers.  The seeds are imported from the Barrens and grown right here, in our very restaurant.”  The waiter took out a notepad, held onto his hoof with an odd-looking contraption consisting of an elastic band wrapped around his hoof with nothing but a clip on it to hold the paper down.

Bon Bon looked over at her companion, who peeked out from behind her pink mane just enough to offer the cream mare an agreeing smile.  “Ok,” Bon Bon said, “we’ll take two.”

“Mmm,” the waiter mumbled around his pencil as he took down the order.  Stowing his pad and pencil, he bowed to the two ponies seated at the small table.  “Excellent choice.  It shall be out soon.”  He placed two glasses of water on the table, and set off at a brisk trot to hand in their orders and take those of a new table.

“I hope these are nice...” Fluttershy said looking around at the multitude of ponies all eating the giant yellow flowers.

Noticing the shy peagsus’ gaze, Bon Bon looked around.  “Well, they can’t be all bad if everypony in the restaurant are eating it.  Besides, it is sort of the place’s appeal, it has to be good for the restaurant to stay in business, right?”

“I... I guess...”  Fluttershy said, staring at something just over Bon Bon’s shoulder.

“Uh Fluttershy?”  Bon Bon started, a little weirded out by the usually demure pegasus staring at her.  “Is something bothering you?  Is there something in my mane?”

Fluttershy shook herself, blushing once again.  “Oh, nononono, nothing like that!  I just think I see Vinyl Scratch over back there...”

Bon Bon whipped around, thoughts flying through her head.  Vinyl?  Here?  Oh, buck.  If she comes over here and starts bugging us... No wait, what if she wants to talk about last night.  Fluttershy will be heartbroken, and that is worse than just about anything else...

The cream pony worriedly looked around, eyes flitting all over the small establishment.  Spotting a white unicorn, Bon Bon was afraid she was going to let out a very unbecoming whinney, but when she turned around, the confectionist was relieved to see a he instead of the softer unicorn she was expecting.

Softer?  What am I thinking, softer?  Oh well, it doesn’t matter she isn’t--

“Hey Bon Bon, Fluttershy, mind if I chill here with you?”

Buck me.  “Hey Vinyl,” Bon Bon said in a sweet voice, layered above a distinct threat she hoped Fluttershy wouldn't notice.  “What do you need?”

“Oh, nothin’ much.  Just want to hang with a couple old friends before my train leaves.”  She gave the two mares at the table a pleading smile.

“I don’t know...”  Bon Bon started, voice trailing off.  She looked over at the yellow pegasus, eyes begging her to decline.

“Oh, of course you can,” Fluttershy said, jumping in the pause.  Buck!  Well, if it’s what Fluttershy wants...

Vinyl gave her old friends a goofy lopsided grin before sitting down.  “So, what are we eatin’?”

“The waiter recommended some of those huge sunflowers.  I don’t think that I can eat a whole one, if you would like half,”  Fluttershy offered in her gentle manner.

“If you are sure.  I don’t want to take your food Fluttershy,” the white unicorn said, flashing the pegasus a concerned glance.

“It’s fine, really.”  Bon Bon opened her mouth, about to butt in and say it wasn’t ok, say that she didn’t want Vinyl there, and that she just wanted to go home when their waiter walked over, tray balanced precariously on his back.

“Um, I apologize miss, I must have taken the order down wrong,” the flustered earth pony said, glancing at Vinyl.  “Shall I bring out you one as well?”

“Nah, you didn’t do anything wrong.  I just joined these two.  I would like a glass of water though.”  Vinyl beamed at the waiter.  He placed the food on the table, gracefully tipping himself until the plates slid home, before bowing to the white unicorn.

“Right away, miss,” he said before trotting back to the small serving table by the kitchen door, and returning with the beverage.  “Enjoy your meal, and please don’t hesitate to call if you need something.”

The waiter bowed once again, and left the trio of mares to their food.  Bon Bon tentatively sniffed the yellow flower before her, trying to figure out by smell if it was going to be good.  At the same time, Fluttershy was cutting hers in half, giving one part to Vinyl Scratch.  The white unicorn enveloped it in her magic before levitating it to her mouth and taking a massive bite.

“MMmm, Thith ith ‘eally ‘eally goo’ guyth,” Vinyl said around the petals of the flower.  “‘Ou thoul’ try it.”

Giggling at her old friend’s antics, Fluttershy leaned her head down and daintily took a small nibble of one vibrant yellow petal.  She let out a delicate little, “mmm,” before going back and taking a bigger bite.  Following the lead of the other mares, Bon Bon took a  bite of her own flower, chewing slowly to try and capture the flavor.

The first thing she thought was how warm it was.  They hadn’t waited long enough for it to have been heated, nor did it taste crispy as though it had been baked, but Bon Bon could distinctly feel warmth.  “This is pretty good,”  The cream mare said, taking another larger bite, though nothing nearly as large as Vinyl’s.  In fact, the white unicorn was still struggling with her initial tasting, having apparent difficulty chewing the whole mess.

“You should try to get some of these for candies Bon Bon,” Fluttershy said after finishing about half of her part of her food.  “You know, if you think you can use it...”

“What are you talking about ‘Shy, of course she can use it,” Vinyl tossed in, having finally choked down her massive bite.  “She is Bon Bon.”  The candy maker winced at the flirty tone of the white unicorn.  Too many bad memories, though she was trying to show restraint for Fluttershy’s sake.

Thus ensued a very painful lunch, at least for Bon Bon.  Vinyl Scratch seemed to be the only pony actually enjoying herself, not that Bon Bon was paying much attention.  “You know,” Vinyl was saying, “Canterlot is really a nice city Fluttershy.  You should come with me sometime, hit the clubs.”

“Oh, I’m sure it would be lovely, but I don’t really like loud noises.  Or other ponies I don’t know.  Or being out after dark... “  Fluttershy was saying, taking another bite to try and avoid further pressure.

“Oh, come on Fluttershy, it would be fun.”  Vinyl grinned, a vampiric grin.  “I promise I’ll look after you.”

Don’t pressure her Vinyl, it really isn’t worth it...  “N-No, thank you.”  The pegasus shrunk in her chair a little, as if hiding from the offer itself.  Bon Bon allowed herself a small smile.

“Well, how about you Bon Bon, fancy a night out in Equestria’s capitol, with yours truly?”  Vinyl asked.  Not even a second had passed before her eyes shot wide open.  “N-Not like a date, just like two friends out on the town, trolling for fun and stallions.  Or mares,” she added with a wink, before the cheerful facade fell once again.  “Just not, you know, each other,” she muttered bitterly, almost too low for the other mares to hear.

“Is something the matter?”  Fluttershy asked, voice coated in blissful innocence.

“No,”  Vinyl lied, eyes shifting off the table and to the floor.  If Fluttershy saw through the blatant lie, she didn’t say anything about it.  The yellow pegasus simply nodded her head and went back to finishing up what was left of her lunch.

Vinyl shot a quick glance over at Bon Bon, eyes darting away as they locked with the cream mare’s.

Come on, Bon, we should go on vacation together next week.  I hear there are actually some really nice places in the Barrens.  I hear they have these really awesome flowers that...

“--on?”

Bon Bon’s eyes shot open, taking in the sight of the two mares at the table staring at her.  Both had concern in their eyes, but one was tainted with sadness, while the other with hope.  Is this what I’m turning into?  A pony who does nothing but string her friends along and hurt them?  “Sorry, what?”

“Are you alright?” Vinyl repeated.  “You went kinda,” she waved her hooves around her ears while rolling her eyes almost impossibly fast, “on us there.”

“Yeah, fine.  I’m fine...”  “I... I don’t think so.  Lyra wants me to help her with her music.”

The white ears drooped.  “Oh.  It... It’s cool.  We can go another time.”

A hug, a brief kiss.  “Sorry Vinyl.  You’re the best, you know that?”

“You don’t look ok,” Vinyl persisted.

“I’m fine!”  Heads turned in the restaurant, ponies of the small town looking for any form of gossip.  Bon Bon made sure everypony was looking away before continuing.  “Seriously, I’m fine.”

The white unicorn leaned over towards her friend, whispering in her ear, “you’re thinking about that vacation we never had, aren’t you?”

The little bit of color on Bon Bon’s muzzle drained away.  “...no...” she lied.

Vinyl took a shaky breath, the sound rattling around the candy maker’s attentive ears.  “We could still go you know... just you and me, alone down in the Barrens...”

Bon Bon gasped, looking at the captivating red eyes behind the purple glasses before her.  She probably would have gone for it, had Fluttershy not coughed quietly over on her side of the table.  The second Bon Bon’s eyes glanced away, the spell was broken.  The cream mare stood up.  “I... I think we need to go.  Fluttershy?”  The pegasus stood up, walking around to stand close enough to brush her wing against the cream coat next to her.

Vinyl narrowed her eyes for a second, almost too short for the other mares to notice.  “Yeah, cool.  We should meet up sometime,” she took a step away before turning back with a shark’s grin.  “Maybe when Lyra comes back, huh?  Oh well, you know where I’ll be if you need me.”  Still wearing her mischievous grin, she walked away.

WHAT!?

Lyra... coming back... here?  Bon Bon stared at the wall, somewhere near where Vinyl had last been standing, though Fluttershy doubted if she actually saw the red tile underhoof.  “Come on,” she said, gently coaxing Bon Bon out of her chair.  “Let’s go, ok?”

“Yeah, sure,” Bon Bon replied from her daze.  “Sounds great...”

Fluttershy led the pair out of the building, making sure to pay and tip the waiters like Rarity had taught her.  Thinking ahead, she begun to lead Bon Bon back to her cottage, figuring the cream mare wouldn’t want to go to her own home alone.  When she didn’t complain after the first few obvious steps in the wrong direction, Fluttershy picked up the pace, feeling like a shepherd with a lost sheep.

Once they had made it inside the door, Fluttershy slipped into her role of a nurse to a sick animal.  She planted the mentally-absent Bon Bon into the most comfortable chair in the house before quietly closing the door.  She then slipped off to the kitchen, intent on making another pot of tea for whenever her friend decided to return.  Once she was satisfied with the strength of the brew, she walked back into the main room of her cottage and planted herself on the couch opposite her charge to wait.

If... if Lyra is coming back, does that mean she forgave me?  Maybe she is just coming back to get the rest of her things from the house, and give me an actual good bye, though it’s been almost a month...  Maybe... Maybe she is coming back to apologize, and try to work things out.Bon Bon’s spirits soared for a moment before crashing back to the ground.  But Fluttershy would be devastated.

Minutes passed.  You know what?  I don’t need Lyra, just like I don’t need Vinyl.  They can go and have their lives, I have all I need right here.  I have my job, I have my store, I have my friends, and I have my house.  My... too big... too empty house that Lyra and I lived in together for over a year....

Maybe I could move into a room in Fading Daylight’s inn?

Hopefully not the room I slept with Vinyl in twice.  All kinds of awkward...

Maybe...  no.  I couldn’t ask that of her, besides there is still no guarantee that we will even get that far, assuming I don’t mess it up like I seem to do everything else...

Could always go back to Vinyl.  Apparently no matter how bad I mess up ponies still love me.

Then there is Lyra.  Always a chance she will want me back.  Always a chance that I’m worth the second try...

Bon Bon sighed, the first audible sound the mare had made in almost an hour.  Fluttershy looked up with sleepy eyes and took in the view of the sad pony sitting before her.  Unable to contain herself any longer, the yellow mare got up and walked over, giving Bon Bon a tight hug and a nuzzle.  “Is everything ok?”  she asked in her small voice, resting her head on Bon Bon’s shoulder.

...Manehatten is nice this time of year... wait, what?  “I, uh,”  Bon Bon started to lie, then thought better of it.  “No...”

“What’s wrong?”  Fluttershy asked.

No use trying to hide it now, was there.  Everything was falling back onto her, and Bon Bon didn’t know what to do.  “I... I screwed up Fluttershy.”

The yellow pegasus raised an eyebrow, before remembering that Bon Bon couldn't see it.  “How?”

“Where to start?  I pushed Vinyl away.  I got with Lyra and ended up being selfish and hurting her as well.  Now you say you have something for me, and I can’t help but worry I’m going to mess that up too.”  Despair was plain in the earth pony’s voice.

“I don’t think you will,” Fluttershy said.  “You were right to push Vinyl away. While I don’t know much about the details, what I do know is that you would never be cruel to anypony. You are too sweet for that.”

“You don’t know though!”  Bon Bon shouted, jumping out of her chair to begin pacing around the small room.  “Lyra was happy.  All I wanted was to spend more time with her, even though it cut into her job, and when she said we couldn’t I... I snapped at her.  I lost her because I was too selfish to share her.”

“I don’t think you should have to share a special somepony...”  Fluttershy said, tracking her friend’s anxious pacing.

Bon Bon turned and stared at Fluttershy.  “But it was my own fault!  I pushed her to get the contract, though she didn’t want it.  I went to one of her concerts, and messed up, then got mad when her agent said I couldn’t go to any others.”

“That isn’t your fault,” Fluttershy said, thought she was shrinking back from her friend’s intense stare.

“It was though.  Just like it was my fault that Vinyl left--”

“No!  Nothing with Vinyl was your fault.”  Bon Bon snapped back from her rant at her usually shy friend’s exclamation.

“I... I pushed her away though...” Bon Bon said, though with less conviction.

Fluttershy shook her head.  “Listen to me Bon Bon. I know what kind of mare you are, and you are not the responsible one in this. Yes, relationships can be hard, and when breakups happen, there is a lot of pain to deal with, but you cannot, I REPEAT, CANNOT blame yourself.”

Bon Bon blinked.  It wasn’t very often the little pegasus raised her voice like that.  “Uh, I...”

“No.”  A cold silence fell between the two.  Fluttershy pawed the ground.  “Sorry... I just... I don’t like seeing my friends beat themselves up over nothing.”

“Yeah I, uh, I noticed,” Bon Bon said, still shocked from the outburst.

“Don’t worry.  We’ll just talk to Lyra when she comes back, and Vinyl Scratch, and get everything sorted out so everypony can be happy again,” Fluttershy said, though her voice caught on the last few words.

Bon Bon just nodded before curling up on the couch and staring out into the sun hanging low on the Everfree Forest.  Fluttershy curled up next to her, tentatively brushing their coats together until she worked up the courage to lay her head on the cream mare’s forehooves.

Everypony happy, yeah right...

End of Part One