//------------------------------// // Friendship and Kindness // Story: Sweet Sweet Music // by Ybrad //------------------------------// Sweet Sweet Music - Chapter Three Friendship and Kindness BonBon was once more in the back of her shop after having seen to several more customers throughout the day, when the door rang once again. She was just about to strip off her hairnet and gown when she heard a familiar voice ring out “Hey Bonnie it’s only me! You in the back?” “Yeah! Come through to the doorway!” BonBon cried out resuming her work. The door opened and Berry Punch stood in the doorway nibbling on a chocolate liqueur with a satisfied smile. BonBon didn’t even bother looking up from the truffles she was finishing off when she sternly said “You know you’ll have to pay for that.” Berry smiled in response. “That’s cool just add it to my tab.” “That wouldn’t be the tab that you have been promising to pay off for more than five years now would it Berry?” “The very same.” Berry replied, licking her lips as she finished off the chocolate. “You know if I ever get that tab paid off I’ll be able to retire.” Said BonBon tersely. However as she finished up the truffles and turned around to speak to her friend directly all façade of annoyance was gone. “How have you been Berry? And Colgate and little Pina?” “Pina’s fine, though off to visit her Dad this weekend, and as for Colgate and I... Well that’s kinda why I came round just now. I wanted to invite you to our engagement bash.” BonBon stared at Berry for a short moment before leaping at her and giving her a huge hug. “Congratulations to you two! I mean it’s not really a surprise, we’ve all seen it coming for months now, but it’s nice to see you’re both moving on with your relationship. So go on, who asked who?” “Colgate asked me, she was all romantic. Had a candlelit dinner set up for me when I got off work and proposed to me after we’d eaten.” Berry said, practically glowing. “Oy! Stop being all mushy you.” BonBon said with a smile, “So you said something about an engagement party?” “Oh yeah. Pinkie’s holding it at sugarcube. It was really bizarre, I was walking down the road this morning when she rushed up to me, jabbered about her pinkie sense, invited me to my own engagement party, handed me invitations and shot off again.” “Pinkie being Pinkie?” “Yep. It’s starting at eight by the way, if you wanna come.” “Of course I’ll be there. Now give me an invitation and out with you. I have another batch of Truffles I need to complete for tomorrows orders, and I’ll have to work at double pace if I’m going to be ready for eight.” “Alright Miss Bossy, I’m going.” She said as she turned to leave. Letting the door swing shut. “Turn the sign to closed on your way out would you Berry?” She called out to the closed door. “And I’m sure Colgate will love those sugar free sweets you definitely didn’t grab on your way out!” BonBon heard laughter float into the back room just before the bell rang to signal Berry’s departure. Shaking her head in exasperation, yet smiling, BonBon set to work on her last batch of Truffles. She had to get these sorted so she could box them up and drop them off with Derpy at the post office on her way home. At around half six BonBon had finished the truffles She boxed them up with the rest of tomorrows orders, and was getting ready to shut up shop. She quickly cleaned up the back room and then cleaned the shop front until the polished wood and glass counters, upon which her stock rested, once again shined. Closing and locking the door, as the town clock struck a quarter to seven, BonBon hitched herself into the small cart that she used to ferry around orders and set off for the post office at a brisk pace. Arriving at the post office she greeted the ditzy yet hard working and dependable mailmare behind the counter. They went through the usual pleasantries and small chat, briefly discussing the engagement party that both would be attending that night. With the two of them working together they quickly got all the orders sorted out and thus BonBon was free to head home; safe in the knowledge that her packages would get where they needed to tomorrow in Derpy’s capable hooves. Leaving the cart behind so she could easily pick up tomorrows incoming supplies, BonBon decided to take her usual route home through the park which, while taking a little longer than the direct route, was so much more relaxing. She was making good time, enjoying the sound of the birds in the trees, when she spotted the green unicorn from earlier sitting on the bench looking a little forlornly into a music case; her lyre lying next to her on the bench ‘Oh dear. I hope she’s alright’ thought BonBon as she trotted past. The mare in question didn’t even seem to notice her as she stared at the bits in her music case. BonBon caught a glimpse as she passed by and thought to herself ‘Wow, she must be really good! I’ve never seen somepony rake in over ten bits for an afternoon's performance here’ Trotting onwards she soon reached her house on the outskirts of ponyville. A decently sized two bedroom, two story house, with attached garden where she liked to spend her spare time gardening. Once inside BonBon first went upstairs to get a shower, cleaning away all the sweat and muck of a day’s hard work. Once done BonBon wrapped a towel around herself as she went downstairs, still slightly dripping, as she went to the kitchen to get a quick snack. BonBon put together a very quick and hasty lettuce and daffodil sandwich with a small bag of Trotters hay crisps. There would be food at the party sure, but knowing Pinkie Pie it would be extremely sugary, fatty and unhealthy. As much as BonBon would dearly love to just dive into every pot of chocolate and pile of cakes she saw, she knew that if she didn’t want to put on any more weight she had to be careful. BonBon had always had difficulty avoiding sweet treats, working at her shop had helped some due to constant exposure and the fact she needed the products to sell. Regardless she still ate too many sweet foods than was good for her. The clock in her house chimed to let her know that it was already half past seven and so she quickly rushed upstairs to put on a nice dress and curl her hair and mane into it’s usual style. Preparations complete BonBon headed out of her house and towards Sugarcube Corner, this time taking the more direct route through the town. The party was in full swing and BonBon had been enjoying herself in her friends company for the past couple of hours. Berry had, as per usual, had a few too many glasses of punch and was swaying slightly. A happy but glazed look adorned her eyes as she tripped, falling onto her new fiancé and using her as a crutch. Nuzzling close she held on tight. Colgate was looking on happily; knowing, as all her friends did, how Berry would often over indulge when alcohol was available. She herself had also had a fair number of glasses and so staggered a little under Berry’s added weight before nuzzling her back. They held each other in a warm embrace wallowing in their love for each other and their friends. Derpy was standing next to BonBon and they were happily chatting over small talk, such as Canterlot gossip, the rising cost of living and Derpy’s adopted daughters. Derpy’s left eye kept floating away from looking directly at BonBon and so every so often Derpy would have to screw up her face and blink really hard to realign them. Carrot Top, Derpy’s roommate, was with Caramel and AppleJack talking about farming techniques no doubt. She and Caramel had met BonBon and Berry when they were at school together and had been friends ever since. For a few years after leaving school BonBon and Caramel had even dating, however when it didn’t work out they both remained good friends. “Hi!” Exclaimed Pinkie Pie as she suddenly appeared right next to BonBon. “I hope you’re liking this party. I mean who wouldn’t. We’re all so happy to see those two finally get engaged. Not like there was anypony who hadn’t already guessed. I mean it was so obvious. But it’s still great. I was walking down the street and then all of a sudden it was itchy mane, floppy ear, scratch back, tickly nose which OF COURSE means that someone nearby recently made a big change in their relationship. Then I spied Berry just up ahead and I was like of course. So I MPFHM PHMBPH...” BonBons hoof was now pressed against Pinkies snout shutting her up. As much as BonBon liked Pinkie Pie she really could be a bit much at times. Now was one of those times; especially after several glasses of punch and a couple of hours of loud music to contend with. “Pinkie, I can’t take that sort of hyperactive speech at the moment.” BonBon said, mentally cringing as once again she had been almost painfully blunt. Pinkie however didn’t seem to notice, or at least understood there were not harsh intentions behind the words. “Okie Dokie Lokie!” She said before literally bouncing off towards some other group of ponies. BonBon shook her head and turned back to her conversation with Derpy, both of them completely ignoring the past minutes interruption. It was so much easier than trying to comprehend it. Finally at around eleven o’clock BonBon left the party after saying her goodbyes and a final good luck to Berry and Colgate. Swaying ever so slightly she waltzed down the road humming one of the nights catchier tunes to herself. She was happy for Berry and Colgate. For this new step they were taking together. Very happy indeed. Definitely Then why was her smile faltering? She mentally cursed herself. She was, in all honesty happy for two of them, but being outside all on her own --and with a generous helping of alcohol to help spur her introversion-- she was feeling that old familiar loneliness welling up again. What she had had with Caramel was nice at the time, but she had soon realised that something wasn’t right. From her first kiss with him there was something ever so slightly out of place. She couldn’t work out what it was for the longest time. He was handsome enough, a good laugh, generous, caring and a great friend. It wasn’t until about a year after their break-up that she realised what the problem had been. He wasn’t a mare. This had originally come as quite a shock to her. She hadn’t known that she was a filly fooler and to suddenly have that realisation crash on you, especially after a night of quite heavy drinking, was more than a little startling. However in the light of the following few days she had come to embrace this new side of herself. She was no longer in denial, despite not even fully realising. A great weight that she didn’t even know she had been carrying had come at this revelation. She hadn’t told her friends of course. She never told them about her most personal life, not even when she was with Caramel. Her private life was hers until she wished to share it and except for the occasional jibe her friends accepted this. Not that they would have a problem with her showing up with a marefriend, Berry had been openly gay for as long as she had known her. BonBon sighed as she crossed the bridge into the park taking the scenic route home to try and clear her head. It was of no use to just wish for the perfect mare to drop out of the blue one day, but BonBon had never really known how to go about getting a date, especially with a mare; ‘I mean what if they aren’t even into mares?’ she thought. As BonBon neared the centre of the park she noticed something odd. There appeared to be a pony on that bench over there. Curious BonBon walked over and her eyes widened in surprise when she saw Lyra lying shivering under a thin blanket in a fitful sleep. BonBon didn’t know what to do. Should she just leave her here-- it wasn’t her business after all -- or should she intervene. She thought back to the bad impression that she had made when Lyra had entered her shop earlier that day. Making up her mind BonBon lightly poked the unicorn on the bench until she started to come around. “Whuh?” Lyra said groggily. “Who are... Oh it’s y-y-y-ou” she continued with a shiver. “Um yes. Lyra was it? Do you have anywhere to stay tonight?” “Oh y-y-yeah the b-b-bleedin’ pa-l-l-lace. What d-d-do you th-th-think?” She responded before setting about breathing on her hooves to try and warm them back up. BonBon’s temper flared for a moment at the unicorn’s rude rebuttal but she calmed herself before speaking to avoid insulting the unicorn. “Look I know we got off on the wrong foot. I’m afraid I have a bad habit of being overly blunt at times. But if you really don’t have anywhere to stay tonight I can offer you a place to stay.” Lyra seemed to mull this over for a moment before giving a shivery sigh and seeming to mellow some. “Yes please, sorry if I was aggressive. I’ve had a lot on my plate recently and I’m more than a little highly strung.” With this Lyra started giggling to herself like a school filly. At BonBon’s raised eyebrow, lyra motioned to her cutie mark which BonBon saw for the first time was shaped like a Lyre. BonBon chuckled to see this mare get so easily amused. Her cheerful demeanour was rather contagious. Helping Lyra with her saddlebags and case BonBon lead the way towards her house, her new roommate in tow. “Thanks again.” said Lyra, “I’ll try and make this up to you.” “Oh don’t mention it. We all deserve random acts of kindness once in awhile.” Lyra simply smiled at this and fell silent until they reached BonBon’s home. Opening the door BonBon flicked on the light and helped Lyra, who by now looked about ready to collapse, out of her saddlebags. She then directed Lyra to the guest room in which Lyra performed a single bounce onto the bed. By the time BonBon was closing the door she could already hear a faint snore coming from the minty-green mare. BonBon giggled a little at the other mares energy which stopped as suddenly as it started. Smiling softly BonBon walked across the hallway and into her own bedroom. Stripping of her dress and snuggling into her own warm bed. Only a few minutes later the sound of sleeping ponies could be heard from both bedrooms as both BonBon and Lyra slipped into dreams.