What Once Was, Always Will Be
"Thank you and please come again!"
A cream coloured mare waved off the last of her customers for the evening and decided it was time to close shop. This mare is Bon Bon. This cream coloured mare sported a two toned mane style with one blue and the other pink that curls downwards towards her snout. Her tail is fashioned similarly but with three curls instead of two.
She owns a little sweet shop near the other end of town from Sugarcube Corner and is called Sweet Retreat. She makes a modest living of off selling sweets as well as other confectioneries but makes more than enough bits from her daily customers that she doesn't need to sleep in the same place she works at the very least.
After cleaning up the store and sorting out the inventory and bits, she exited the building but making sure the lights were off then locks the door. It was getting dark out but not so terribly dark that she couldn't see ten feet in front of her. She decided to go and talk to Lyra about their past adventures and she knew exactly where that unicorn was going to be.
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After a short trot of 10 minutes she stumbled upon the little corner house that Lyra is currently staying at. Bon Bon trotted on inside knowing full well that the door wasn't locked and trotted to where Lyra was.
Lyra was a mint green unicorn that had a Lyre for her cutie mark and sported a slightly messy mare next door mane style with two tones, one being a slightly darker green than her coat and the other being pure white as snow. Bon Bon smiled as she laid down to the side of the unicorn that she fell in love with and started to talk despite Lyra's eyes closed.
Bon Bon found out that Lyra sleep talks about 6 months ago and usually responds to her every now and again after ranting on one night about how the Cutie Mark Crusaders managed to tie themselves up in three giant candy wrappers just to try to earn their Surprising a Pony Cutie Mark.
Needless to say that they didn't get it but Bon Bon was surprised that Lyra answered that she thought that they were trying to become mini Bon Bon's and soon followed up with a light snore and a smile. The next morning Lyra would mention she felt like she mumbled in her sleep but Bon Bon would just say she was imagining things and from then on she found that she could talk with Lyra even when she wasn't really awake.
Bon Bon decided to talk about their last outing together. "Hey Lyra, you remember the time when we were both walking through Whitetail Woods?"
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A few days earlier
Lyra and Bon Bon decided to take a stroll out since it was scheduled for a sunny day with some clouds. "Hey Bonnie, race you to the top of the hill!" With that Lyra took off leaving Bon Bon behind.
"Hey, no fair!" And Bon Bon took off to catch up to her mare friend. Sure enough she caught up soon since Lyra led a fairly sedentary lifestyle and was almost always forced to spring a surprise challenge to win.
"Hah! Caught up with you!"
"Only for now!" With that, Lyra cleared off the last remaining distance to the top of the hill but tripped over a rock that evaded her vision and tumbled down the other side of the hill. "Woaaaaaaah!"
"Lyra!" Bon Bon sped up to stop her descent down but soon met with the same outcome. "Ahh!"
Both mares tumbled down the not so steep hill but Lyra still ended up banging into a tree with her back and Bon Bon falling into the nearby pond. With a loud bang and loud splash Bon Bon quickly swam out to check on Lyra knowing full well that she got the least painful outcome. With wet mane and tail in tow she rushed up to Lyra. "Lyra, are you okay? Quick, tell me are you in pain? Where does it hurt?"
"Oooh, heya Bonnie, didn't know that you had two heads." With that response Bon Bon let out a relieved sigh knowing if Lyra merely saw two of her meant she had a slight headache and not much more but still, she wanted to make sure Lyra was completely alright.
"C'mon Lyra, I'm taking you to Ponyville Hospital for a quick checkup and no running!" Bon Bon helped Lyra up to her hooves and supported her slightly shaky steps for a few moments before Lyra righted herself eventually and went on their way.
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Bon Bon admitted Lyra for a check up despite her protests. The nurse on duty gave Bon Bon a towel to further dry herself off and led Lyra to the physician.
After thoroughly drying herself off Bon Bon went to try and curl back her mane and tail. It was difficult the first few dozen times when using hooves but she soon got the hang of it and soon her man and tail were back to their normal curly selves. The nurse came back and said that Lyra was now seeing the doctor and should be out in about 10 minutes to get a thorough check through.
Bon Bon nodded and simply decided to read some of the magazines catching up on the latest gossip by reading the Ponyville Times. Some headlines caught her eye such as 'Aloe and Lotus claim to not be sisters!', 'Rarity 'pigging out' on sorbets!', and even 'Twilight and Spike more than just roomates?'. Bon Bon was so engrossed in these articles that she didn't notice Lyra calling out to her until she poked her head from under the paper.
"Hi!"
"Gyahhh!"
Bon Bon fell onto her back from the surprise but soon gathered her wits to leer at the cheeky smiling unicorn before her. "So, what did the doctor say? Is everything fine?"
"Hmm? Oh yeah, everything is fine just a minor bump to my back and my head and my everywhere in general."
Bon bon facehoofed finally knowing that Lyra is going to be alright. She trotted up to the counter and motioned for Lyra to there while she settled the bill only to find that Lyra had already paid for it. "Oh Lyra, you should save up your bits for yourself and not worry about little things like this."
"I feel bad for ruining our day out so I decided to foot the bill this time."
"You mean hoof the bill right?"
"Nope, foot."
Bon Bon had temporarily forgotten about Lyra's fascination with these beings called humans as well as their appendages so much so that she bothered Spike to near no end about wanting to study his claws first hoof until she had to drag her away from him.
"Well, it's nice of you to do so but next time let me be the one who pays alright?"
"Sure. How about I treat you to some soup when we get back?"
Bon Bon was surprised by Lyra's offer as she usually only offered to cook once a month! Let's see, was it... Oh no wait, it's around now. Lyra doesn't offer exactly every thirty days but still offers up close to give or take. "Sure, what soup is it going to be this time?"
"Oh hoh, it's a secret!" Lyra casually walked past Bon Bon and flicked her tail by her ear. That cheeky cheeky mare... Not that she's complaining since she enjoyed Lyra's teasing every now and again.
Nearing their home Bon Bon noticed Lyra breathing slightly more heavily than usual "Lyra, are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine just a little tired is all."
"If you're tired then you should get some rest for today and save the soup for tommorow."
"No!" Lyra exclaimed suddenly. "I mean no, I want to do it today because I'm afraid I might forget tommorow!"
Bon Bon scrunched up her face scanning Lyra for any of her obvious sign's of lying such as her twitchy eyes.
After some time she pulled back and replaced her scrunched up face with a softer expression. "Alright then but if you need any help just don't hesitate to call me alright?"
"Don't worry, I will!" With that Lyra and Bon Bon reached their humble abode with Lyra entering first and heading towards the kitchen while Bon Bon shut the door. After closing the door she decided to see if Lyra needed any help at all but was ushered out immediately when Lyra saw her.
"Ah ah ah! No peeking!"
Bon Bon sighed in defeat and decided to go upstairs to organise her planner but not without telling Lyra of course.
Lyra and Bon Bon shared a room since they're a couple and thus they shared their messes too. Lyra with her musical sheets, drawings and clothes while Bon Bon had next to nothing lying around save for her planner which was under one of Lyra's clothing as per usual. Sighing at how spontaneous her marefriend can be sometimes she decided to at the very least set aside everything into neat piles before setting out on her planner.
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A couple of hours later all the musical sheets (hopefully in the right order) are stacked neatly next to Lyra's lyre, her clothes all neatly folded and set aside and her planner checked over for the following week. All in all, things went faster than expected.
"Bonnie! Soup's on!"
"Coming Lyra!"
Bon Bon left their room and as she reached the stairs she was greeted with the heavenly scent of her favourite soup; The Sweet Treat. As Bon Bon reached the dining hall she saw that the bowls and cutleries had been set out along with a salad bowl, a candle stand and a waiting unicorn.
"Hmm hmm... Like what you see?"
Bon Bon blushed slightly as the setting gave Lyra a very tantilising look. Lyra chuckled at her expression and motioned her to sit down and enjoy some early dinner and possibly something more after.
Bon Bon sat down and promptly thanked Lyra for her surprise but before more could be said Lyra cut her off.
"If you're wondering if the kitchen was cleaned up don't worry, it is."
"You're quite responsible today aren't you? Usually you leave the cleaning till after we're done."
"Yeah, thought I would try something new for a change and is it ever satisfying that I don't need to clean up as much later! But enough about that, let's eat!"
With that both mares dug into their dinner while having some light conversation.
"Let's not forget some dessert for later." Bon Bon noticed that Lyra was giving her some bedroom eyes as she said so.
"After we do the dishes sweet heart."
"Can do."
Soon after their dinner and dishes were done and both mares trotted up to their room. Lyra looked around and saw that there was a distinct lack of mess.
"So this is what you were doing huh?"
"Well of course, what else did you think I was doing?"
"Tending to yourself."
"Lyra!"
Bon Bon blushed slightly at her marefriends teasing but was ushered to the bed soon after. Both mares now lay on the bed and Lyra nuzzled Bon Bon affectionately.
"I love you Bon Bon."
"I love you too Lyra."
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The next morning
Bon Bon woke up later than usual and noticed the lack of a unicorn from their bed. She looked around and saw Lyra sleeping at her desk, possibly wrote down some inspiration for her next song. Bon bon got up from bed and gently nudged Lyra.
"Come on, sleepy head wake up."
After some slight prodding Lyra fell to the floor with a loud thump.
"Lyra!"
Bon Bon woken up by that rushed to check her marefriend. She couldn't feel her breathing, she felt no pulse and was cold to the touch.
"Lyra this isn't funny! Please wake up!"
She shook Lyra continuously but nothing happened, Lyra's body still laid motionless. In a fit of panic Bon Bon rushed to get a doctor but slipped on a piece of paper. She looked back as the paper gently fell down next to her and noticed it had some writing on it. It read:
Bon Bon,
if you're reading this then I will no longer be with you. When we went for the check up at the hospital the doctor ran some tests just like you wanted him too and he found that I had a heart tumor. He said judging from the scans that the tumor had covered at least one third of my heart.
Typically I asked if there was anything he could do but he said he couldn't. He told me that by removing the tumor at this stage would just kill me outright and told me that I had somewhere between sixteen to twenty four hours to live before the tumor cuts off the flow of blood at my heart.
I told the doctor to not tell you about this and decided to give you the best night you ever had. I was glad you enjoyed it Bonnie, I did too. Just remember that even though I'm not around anymore please promise me that you will live on and don't be too depressed about it alright?
Love,
Lyra
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Present Day
Bon Bon sat there next to Lyra in her coffin crying.
"You stupid stupid mare, the very least you could have told me instead of writing that letter."
Lyra had a small funeral yesterday but many of those that attended were close friends with her as well as Bon Bon. Many were saddened by the passing of such a talented unicorn. In the coffin Lyra laid peacefully holding a white Lilac close to her chest with a serene smile on her face. Bon Bon didn't open shop that day but did so the next day remembering that Lyra wouldn't want her moping around.
Tomorrow will be the day Lyra gets buried in the cemetery and she wouldn't miss it for the world. Bon Bon slowly got up wiping the tears from her eyes and slowly said;
"I love you too you silly mare."
