//------------------------------// // Epilogue // Story: My True Self // by _Undefined_ //------------------------------// It was two weeks before the six-month anniversary of when Lyra and Bon Bon had begun dating. As the day approached, Bon Bon had pointed out that by definition, an anniversary could only celebrate something that occurred after a year. Lyra countered that while that may technically be true, their relationship was still worth celebrating, a fact that Bon Bon couldn’t deny. Lyra and Bon Bon were walking back into town, having successfully scouted out the perfect location for the romantic picnic lunch they planned to have in two weeks. As they began to work their way toward Beech Tree Apartments, they passed by a cottage with a sign out front reading “For Sale – Open House Today.” “Do you want to stop inside for a second?” Bon Bon asked. “I’ve been saving up for a house, and I want to get an idea of what I should expect once I start looking.” Lyra followed Bon Bon inside. The house was two stories tall, but it wasn’t large – only about three rooms on each floor. “It’s cozy,” Bon Bon said. “Not too big, not too small. This actually isn’t too far off from what I hope to find someday.” They walked into the kitchen. Bon Bon was awestruck. “Look at that,” she said. The room was nearly four times the size of the kitchen in her apartment. “All that space. I could do so much in here.” After admiring the kitchen for a couple of minutes, Bon Bon walked up to the real estate agent to find out what the asking price was. When the agent told her, Bon Bon’s face fell. She and Lyra walked back outside. “I can’t afford a down payment on that,” Bon Bon said. “If that’s what houses cost, I’m going to have to save up for at least another half a year.” Lyra looked at the house, then looked at Bon Bon. She thought for a moment. Finally, she asked, “Do you really like it?” “Oh, absolutely,” Bon Bon said. “I just hope I can find something like it once I have the money to start searching.” Lyra said, “Well, what if I put in some of my savings, and we both bought the house?” Bon Bon looked at Lyra. She was serious. “So we’d officially be living together?” Bon Bon asked. “Why not?” Lyra said. “We practically do already anyway.” Bon Bon took a minute to think about it. Lyra was right – they had been spending more and more nights at each other’s apartments. It was a significant decision – one that Bon Bon knew would affect the rest of her life. It couldn’t be made hastily. Bon Bon spent a few more minutes lost in thought. She came to the only sensible conclusion. “Let’s make an offer.” The day preceding their “anniversary,” Bon Bon and Lyra received terrific news: Their offer on the house had been accepted. In order to make it official, paperwork needed to be signed and money needed to be paid to the appropriate parties. Even though it would mean a lot of time rearranging accounts at the bank and sitting with the notary at town hall, the couple was looking forward to owning a house together. But before they did any of that, they were going to spend the entirety of the upcoming day celebrating their love. In a secluded section of White Tail Woods, Bon Bon and Lyra relaxed on the picnic blanket after having finished their romantic lunch. They were lying side by side on their backs, each with a foreleg wrapped around the other’s. They stared up at the vibrant shades of orange and gold on the trees overhead. “Six months already,” Bon Bon said. “Yeah,” Lyra replied. “It feels like it’s gone by so fast.” “Not like the year before it,” Lyra said. Bon Bon laughed. “Why did we stay single for so long?” she said reflectively. Lyra turned to look at Bon Bon. “Because I didn’t know it was possible to have a marefriend as great as you,” she said. Bon Bon turned her head and kissed Lyra right above the bridge of her nose. They both looked back up toward the sky. Bon Bon spoke. “Am I really the first pony you dated since you moved here?” she asked. “Yeah,” Lyra said. “Once I assumed you weren’t interested in me, I thought about looking for a marefriend in Ponyville, but I couldn’t get a good enough read on any of the mares here to figure out whether they’d want me to ask them out. It’s easier in Canterlot – you just go to one of the gay bars and it makes things a lot less complicated.” “So it wasn’t just me, that I couldn’t figure out how to get a date,” Bon Bon said. “It’s always hard,” Lyra said. “After a few months, I was getting so desperate to find a date that even though I don’t usually go for the athletic type, I nearly tried asking out Rainbow Dash.” “Is she?” Bon Bon said, turning to Lyra. “I thought she might be, but I’ve never been sure.” “That’s why I didn’t ask,” Lyra said. She looked at Bon Bon. “You’ve lived here longer – I was kind of hoping you knew.” “Oh,” Bon Bon said, pretending to be hurt. “So that was your plan all along? To use me to get to Rainbow Dash?” Lyra smiled. “Yeah, but then you seduced me and ruined it.” She gave Bon Bon a peck on the lips. Bon Bon smiled and returned her gaze to the sky. “Really, I think Rainbow Dash is more in love with herself than with anypony else.” Lyra laughed. “I think you’re right.” After lunch, the two returned to Bon Bon’s apartment to exchange gifts. “Who should go first?” Bon Bon asked. “Let me,” Lyra said as she produced a wrapped present shaped like a flat heart. “You know, you’re really hard to get a gift for. Normally, I could just buy a box of chocolates and call it a day. But what do you get a pony who can make all the chocolates she wants?” “I would say something from the heart,” Bon Bon said. “But it looks like that’s what you did.” “It’s the best I could think of,” Lyra said. “I’m sorry in advance.” Bon Bon unwrapped the gift. She gasped. “It’s beautiful,” she said. Bon Bon held a heart-shaped frame. On the canvas inside the frame was a painting of a lyre. Three yellow and blue wrapped candies were entwined in its strings. “I love it,” Bon Bon said. “I didn’t know you could paint so well.” “I can’t,” Lyra said. “Remember when Bold Palette asked me to play lyre for inspiration while she painted that scene of ancient Hippopolis? She made this for me in return.” “It’s perfect,” Bon Bon said. “Actually, it makes my gift look bad. You had somepony paint this amazing artwork, and I just made you some candy.” She gave Lyra a shallow rectangular pan wrapped in aluminum foil with a bow on top. “I love your candy,” Lyra said. “I’m never going to be disappointed if you make something special for me.” She removed the bow and began to peel back the aluminum foil. “I wanted it to be heartfelt,” Bon Bon explained. “To tell you what you mean to me. But I had trouble finding the perfect words. Or candy.” Lyra looked inside the pan to see a batch of swirled chocolate and peanut butter fudge. Written on the top in white icing was the following message: Lyra Heartstrings You make me the me I want to be I love you Lyra looked at Bon Bon as her eyes welled up. “I love you, too.”