//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 - Flashback: Lyra and Bon Bon // Story: Devotion // by _Undefined_ //------------------------------// Bon Bon was happy. Every day, she woke up happy. And because the sensation of such deep-rooted contentedness was so new to her, she was happy to be happy. Her happiness could be attributed to one remarkable unicorn: Her marefriend, Lyra Heartstrings. As soon as they had come out to one another, they began dating. It was the first time Lyra had dated anyone since moving to Ponyville and the first time Bon Bon had dated anyone, period. They both immediately knew that they would never date anyone else ever again. Lyra had been worried about how the small town of Ponyville would react to a gay couple. And Bon Bon, who was always hesitant to reveal any details about herself, simply wasn’t accustomed to ponies knowing that she was gay. Still, they both agreed that they didn’t want to hide who they were and how they felt about one another. They wouldn’t blatantly flaunt their love in front of other ponies, but if someone asked them, they would be honest about it. As a result, their relationship became sort of an open secret within the town. And to their relief and joy, practically no one had a problem with it. Sure, there were a couple of older ponies in the Ponyville Retirement Village who voiced their displeasure at seeing two mares so close to one another, but on the whole, Ponyville lived up to its reputation as one of the friendliest, most loving places in all of Equestria. Once they began dating, Lyra was the only pony to whom Bon Bon told everything about her parents. While she didn’t reveal where she had gone, she explained to Lyra that her parents effectively kicked her out of the house because of her orientation. She told Lyra about her failed reconciliation at Foal Mountain. And Lyra knew that Sugar Plum wrote to Bon Bon on her birthday as well as every time she and Straight Lace moved to a new city in order to keep her daughter updated on their current address. When Bon Bon and Lyra moved into a house together, Bon Bon wrote to her mother with the new address. But other than that, the only correspondence that Bon Bon ever sent was an annual Hearth’s Warming card. She didn’t even put her father’s name on the envelope. Lyra knew that it was a sensitive subject – talking about her parents clearly made Bon Bon unhappy. And because Lyra didn’t like to see Bon Bon unhappy, she never said anything about it. She wished that she could do something to make things better. But since she couldn’t, she had to settle for showing her marefriend just how much she loved her, day in and day out. Bon Bon supposed that as far as sheer mortal terror was concerned, the day she fought the bugbear was still the most terrifying day of her life. But terror comes in many forms, and the day she was currently experiencing was coming extremely close to taking the title. She and Lyra had just left the Canterlot Outdoor Café. That hadn’t been the terrifying part. At the café, they had eaten lunch with Lyra’s foalhood friends – something they had done a few times since officially becoming a couple. Bon Bon remembered how excited Lyra had been to tell her friends that they were dating. She was there when the three unicorns got the news, and the congratulations the two of them received was heartwarming. Now it was about five months into their relationship, and Lyra was just as excited to introduce Bon Bon to her parents. During the pre-meeting café lunch, it was evident to everyone, even without her admitting to it, that Bon Bon was nervous. Lyra’s friends assured her that everything was going to be fine. Lyra herself also assured Bon Bon that everything was going to be fine. In fact, Lyra had been assuring her of that during the entire train ride to Canterlot. And during the entire week leading up to this day. But lunch had ended, and now Lyra was leading Bon Bon through a residential section of Canterlot that Bon Bon had never been in before. It was about to happen. She was about to meet her marefriend’s parents for the first time. She was carrying a thin box on her back, but her brain didn’t register its presence. Her legs began to feel like wet noodles. As Bon Bon slowed down, Lyra looked at her. “Are you okay?” she asked. “I think you know the answer to that. I keep worrying that they’re not going to like me.” “For the millionth time, they’re going to like you. They want to meet you. They’ve been wanting to meet you.” “Of course they want to meet me. Because they’re going to judge me. What if they hate me? What if they say you can’t see me anymore?” “They’re not going to say that.” “They will if I screw this up. And if I say or do the wrong thing… if they say you can’t keep dating me but you do, then I’ve ruined your relationship with them. But I don’t want you to stop dating me, either. But I don’t want to put you in that position.” Lyra stepped directly in front of Bon Bon. It was easy to do, as Bon Bon had stopped walking altogether. She looked directly into her eyes. “None of that is going to happen. I’m positive. There’s no point in getting worked up over something that I one hundred percent guarantee isn’t possible.” Bon Bon stared back blankly. “I love that you care about our relationship so much that you’re this worried about it. But I promise you that everything is going to be fine. Better than fine. Just be your normal amazing self.” Still no response. “Bon Bon, breathe.” Lyra took a deep breath by way of example. Bon Bon did the same. They exhaled together. Then repeated the process a few times. “Let’s do this,” Lyra prompted. “Let’s do this,” Bon Bon said. She didn’t say it confidently, but she said it. They resumed walking. Lyra chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. “You know, I don’t like being the down-to-earth one,” she said. “After this, I’m giving the job back to you.” Bon Bon didn’t hear. Her mind was elsewhere. Lyra exhaled through her nose and walked on in silence. Shortly before they reached the end of the street, she finally turned and headed toward a tasteful two-story house with a neatly-tended lawn. “What time is it?” Bon Bon suddenly said, panicked. “We’re not late, are we?” Lyra put her foreleg over Bon Bon’s withers as she led her to the front door. “I told my parents we’d be stopping by after lunch. I never said when lunch would end. You’re fine.” She rang the doorbell. “I feel like I’m going to be sick,” Bon Bon said. “Oh no – what if I throw up?” “Give me a couple seconds’ warning and I’ll float over something that’s okay to throw up in. Just keep breathing.” She watched as Bon Bon shakily took another deep breath. The door opened to reveal a middle-aged unicorn stallion with a smile on his face. “Lyra!” he greeted her. He stepped out to give her a hug. “Hi, dad,” Lyra said, returning the embrace. “This is Bon Bon. She’s a little nervous about this, so please don’t pretend to be all strict and stern.” “Aw, you’re no fun,” her dad said. “I remember what you did when Chorine brought Gale over.” “Hey, they still wound up getting married, didn’t they?” he said. “Whoops – sorry. Too early to be talking about that, I know. Pleasure to meet you, Bon Bon.” He shook her hoof. “Come on in, come on in!” Lyra and Bon Bon followed him into the living room. Lyra gestured to Bon Bon to sit next to her on the couch. Bon Bon sat down on the center cushion, completely forgetting about the box on her back. As it slid off, Lyra caught it in her magic and placed it on the empty cushion next to Bon Bon. Lyra’s mother entered the room, introduced herself, gave Bon Bon a hoofshake, and sat down alongside her husband in a pair of plush chairs. Lyra’s father broke the ice. “Well, I was going to start by saying,” he lowered his eyebrows and made his voice deeper, “‘So… you’re dating our daughter.’” His expression returned to normal. “But Lyra says I can’t do that. So instead: Tell us about what you do for a living.” Bon Bon was grateful that they were starting with an easy one. “I’m a confectioner,” she said. “Candy maker. Oh! I brought you something.” Bon Bon turned around to look at her back. However, she turned her head in the direction of Lyra, thereby completely missing the box sitting on the cushion next to her. When she saw that her back was empty, a look of panic engulfed her face. Lyra caught sight of that, ignited her horn, and levitated the box in front of Bon Bon, who saw it in her peripheral vision. She took it from the air and stepped off the couch to give it to Lyra’s parents. She then stumbled a little bit getting back on the couch. Luckily, Lyra’s parents were too busy examining the box to notice. “I hope it’s candy,” Lyra’s father said as Lyra’s mother untied the ribbon and opened the lid. Inside there were two distinct shapes of chocolate-coated candies, one type of shape on each side of the box. Bon Bon said to him, “Lyra told me that you like coconut…” she turned to Lyra’s mother “…and you like pecans. The rectangular ones are for you, and the round ones are for you.” Lyra’s father used his magic to pick up one of the small bar-shaped candies while Lyra’s mother picked up one of the lumpy disk-shaped candies. They each took a bite. “Mmm, these are good,” Lyra’s mother said, impressed. “Pecans and caramel. What’s in yours?” Lyra’s father had already shoved the remaining bite of candy into his mouth. “Coconut and almonds,” he said while chewing. He picked up another candy before he finished his current piece. “And you make and sell these yourself?” “I make them myself,” Bon Bon answered. “I have an arrangement with the local bakery to sell them. But I take direct commissioned orders, too.” “It’s not just chocolates,” Lyra added. “Peppermint sticks, gumdrops… you name it. If it’s candy, she’s the one who makes it. For all of Ponyville.” “All of Ponyville?” Lyra’s mother asked. “It isn’t a big town,” Bon Bon said. “But pretty much, yes.” Lyra’s mother smiled and nodded. Bon Bon’s posture became slightly less rigid. Lyra’s father, meanwhile, was picking up his third piece of candy. His wife looked over at him. “You know, it isn’t good manners to shovel candy into your mouth like that,” she said. “I’d say it’s rude not to,” he replied. “These are delicious – I’m showing Bon Bon my appreciation.” “Well, stop. You can’t eat your entire half of the box right now.” “Can I eat your half of the box?” She ignored the question. “What about dinner?” “You’re right! I’ll want to eat more of these for dessert after dinner!” Lyra’s mother rolled her eyes and placed the lid back on the box. She turned to Bon Bon. “Did Lyra say anything to you about dinner?” “No,” Bon Bon replied. “Well, we’d love it if you stayed. Provided you don’t mind chatting for the next few hours until then.” “Not at all,” Bon Bon said. Her tone of voice was a little too eager-to-please, but Lyra’s mother just gave her a reassuring smile. “Do you like grilled corn fritters?” Lyra’s father asked. “With a tomato and avocado salad?” “Yes, sir.” “Sir! You don’t have to call me ‘sir.’ But your politeness will be noted in your final review.” Lyra stage-whispered to Bon Bon, “There isn’t actually a final review.” Her father smirked. Then he stage-whispered to Bon Bon, “There isn’t actually a final review. But don’t tell Lyra.” Bon Bon’s gut told her how to respond. Her paranoia, still working at full throttle, questioned whether she should do it. She chose to go with her gut – she stage-whispered back, “Okay. I don’t think she suspects a thing.” Lyra’s mother smiled and exhaled a quiet chuckle as she looked at the three of them. “So you can tell which one of us Lyra took after. Anyway, tell us a little more about yourself.” Bon Bon was ready for that one. She launched into a description of her upbringing that had just enough details – only child, moved around a lot – to sound like a complete answer, but left out both the unpleasant details of how she left home as well as the classified details of what she did before moving to Ponyville. Lyra, who knew about the former but not the latter, was prepared to jump in to steer the topic in another direction if need be, but never had to. From there, Lyra’s parents chatted with the couple about how they first met, followed by stories of current events in Ponyville. With the town’s librarian having recently transformed into an alicorn, there was plenty to talk about. The hours passed, and by the time Lyra’s father prepared dinner, Bon Bon was feeling much more at ease. She was back to cracking jokes with Lyra and was happy to see Lyra’s father get in on the fun. Lyra’s mother wasn’t as much of the joking type, but she was a great conversationalist. Once dinner was over, Lyra’s parents let the couple leave so they could get back to Ponyville before it was too terribly late at night. As they were walking toward the door, Lyra’s mother said, “It was really nice to meet you, Bon Bon.” “It was really nice to meet you, too,” Bon Bon said. “Lyra’s told me that she misses you two and how great you are. I can see she wasn’t exaggerating.” “Aw, we miss having her around, too,” Lyra’s father said, giving Lyra a gentle noogie. Her mother said, “But we’re glad she has somepony keeping an eye out for her in Ponyville.” Lyra’s father added, “And that she has somepony who makes her happy.” Lyra’s mother nodded in agreement. “She makes me happy, too,” Bon Bon said. She put her foreleg around Lyra. “All right, we won’t keep you any longer,” Lyra’s father said. “Come see us again soon. You’re welcome back anytime.” Lyra gave each of her parents a good-bye hug. Bon Bon gave them each a hoofshake. The two ponies left the house and began their walk back to the train station. As they reached the first turn out of the neighborhood, Lyra said, “Feeling better?” Bon Bon stopped and shook the tension out of her body along with a long exhale. When she finished, she said, “That went really well, right?” “Yes, it did. See? I knew they’d like you.” Bon Bon saw the proud look on Lyra’s face. “Okay… you were right,” she said, conceding. “We’ll have a ‘Lyra was right’ party later,” Lyra said. “Right now, let’s just get to the station.” They resumed walking. Bon Bon said, “I really like your parents. I’m so glad they didn’t judge me.” “They did judge you,” Lyra said matter-of-factly. Bon Bon stopped. “What?!” Lyra stopped alongside her and gave her a sly smile. “They judged you to be great,” she said. “Just like I knew they would. Because you are great.” “Don’t do that to me,” Bon Bon said with a half-grin. They started walking again. “I’m just relieved that they seem to like me.” “Not ‘seem.’ They do like you. Of course, dad likes everypony. It was mom that you needed to win over.” “It was? Why didn’t you warn me?” “And make you even more stressed out? I wanted her to see the happy, funny Bon Bon that I love. Not the petrified, withdrawn pony who’s so worried about impressing somepony else that she forgets to be herself.” “I’m sorry,” Bon Bon said. “Thank you.” She looked around, then quickly gave Lyra a nuzzle as they continued to walk. Later that year, Bon Bon spent Hearth’s Warming with Lyra at her parents’ house. It was the first time since she became an adult that Bon Bon hadn’t spent the holiday by herself. Over the course of the festivities, as she saw how warm and accommodating Lyra’s parents and sister were to her, she was nearly moved to tears. They made it abundantly clear that they considered Bon Bon part of their family. Bon Bon realized that she had sent the Hearth’s Warming card to her mother under only her own name. She resolved that next year, the card would be from both her and Lyra. When Bon Bon stopped to think about it, measuring events by the passage of years was largely arbitrary. After all, the creation of a “year” only came about because ponies needed a shared point of reference so they could express the passage of time. The cycle of the seasons was useful for cataloguing events, but just because the cycle had reset one time since an event occurred didn’t make things any more significant. In this instance, however, Bon Bon’s right brain easily shouted down her emotionless, logical side. One year had passed from the date that she and Lyra had officially become a couple, defined as the night they shared that first kiss. One incredible year as the marefriend of her favorite musician, her favorite free spirit, her favorite unicorn… her favorite pony. And that was definitely something special worth celebrating. Both Bon Bon and Lyra had been looking forward to the day of their one-year anniversary. Because they had made the down payment on their house not too many months prior, money was a little tight, so they agreed on no extravagant gifts. The morning began the way one might expect a couple in love to celebrate their anniversary. Afterward, they went downstairs for a late breakfast of waffles topped with fresh strawberries and cream, followed by the gift exchange. “Let me go first,” Bon Bon said. As Lyra sat in the living room, Bon Bon stepped into the kitchen. Soon, she returned with a tray covered with multiple identical dome-shaped candies. “It’s a new flavor I made,” she explained. “Just for us.” Lyra looked at the candies. The exterior of each one was primarily cream colored. The top of each candy, however, was decorated with a pink swirl next to a blue swirl. Lyra figured it out immediately. “Bon Bon bonbons!” she exclaimed. “They’re adorable!” Bon Bon smiled. “Try one,” she said. Lyra picked one up in her magic and examined it more closely. “They’re almost too cute to eat,” she said. “But that’s what I made them for. Take a half bite.” Obediently, Lyra bit through half of the candy – she had even subconsciously rotated it so the pink side was on her left, the same as when she looked at Bon Bon. The first thing she noticed was that the exterior was white chocolate – Bon Bon must have used a little bit of yellow food coloring to get it to match the color of her coat. And there was a subtle hint of strawberry and blueberry, presumably from the colorful dollops on the top. But the predominant flavor to strike Lyra’s tongue caused her to examine the interior of the remaining half of candy still in her magic. Underneath the cream-colored shell, she saw a minty green filling with traces of a greenish-white swirl – probably a second variety of mint, Lyra guessed. “I really wish that movie hadn’t made it such a cliché,” Bon Bon said, “but I can’t think of a better way to say it: You complete me, Lyra.” Lyra began to tear up a little, which made it difficult to swallow the bite she had taken. “I love them,” she said. She gave Bon Bon a peck on the lips. “I love you.” She put the remaining half of the candy in her mouth. “Those are just for you,” Bon Bon said. “For us. I’m never going to sell them. They’re our special treat.” Lyra nodded as she finished savoring the candy. “That’s exactly what I was going to say about my present for you,” she said. “I wrote a song about us. For us. To celebrate us being together. Did you know that you sometimes hum to yourself when you’re in the kitchen?” “I guess?” Bon Bon said. “I’ve never really thought about it.” “Well, you do. And it’s usually the same thing. It inspired me to create this song.” Lyra used her magic to pick up her lyre, which she had brought downstairs while Bon Bon was making breakfast. She began to play. It began with a bright, sprightly little tune using the higher-pitched strings. After a moment, Bon Bon recognized it as a variation on the bases of some of Lyra’s favorite original compositions. Like Lyra herself, it was bouncing and carefree, although in this instance, the tempo was slower than Lyra would usually play such an upbeat piece. Soon, the tune came to an end. Immediately, Lyra switched to a new tune centered on the lower-pitched strings. A more freeform sequence of notes that repeated after only about five seconds. Bon Bon momentarily couldn’t place where she had heard it until she remembered what Lyra said – it was similar to the mindless ditty she would often hum while she was busy making candy or cooking meals. Lyra had cleaned it up to be a little more musical, although as before, Lyra was playing it more slowly than Bon Bon would hum it. It made the tune sound… not completely sad, exactly, but a little down in the dumps. Lyra brought that tune to an end, then returned to the first tune. This time, she only played a portion of it. Then a portion of the second tune. The first tune, now a little faster. The second tune, matching that new tempo. A shorter snippet of the first tune. A shorter snippet of the second tune. First, then second. And again. She let the final note hang in the air expectantly. Finally, she began to play both tunes at the same time, with numerous brief instances of glissando between the notes, at the proper lively tempo. And they sounded amazing together. If Bon Bon hadn’t been witnessing it with her own eyes, she would have sworn that Lyra was playing two lyres at once. Before long, Lyra was adding joyous flourishes to the song – a celebration of the way the two different tunes had become one. Gradually, the song became more grandiose. Finally, it came to a perfect melodic conclusion. Lyra had had her eyes closed at the end so she could place her full attention on both playing and feeling every note of the song. When she opened them, she saw that it was Bon Bon’s turn to tear up. “That was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard,” she said. “Thank you so much.” She returned the kiss that Lyra had given her earlier. “I’m glad you like it.” “I love it.” She tried to blink the moisture from her eyes. “What’s it called?” “‘Unified.’” Bon Bon took a moment to appreciate the title. “That’s perfect. I love you.” The two shared a long kiss. That evening, they ended the day with more candies and another performance of the song. And on that same date in every subsequent year, they celebrated their anniversary with those two gifts.