“Hey, Bon!”
Bon Bon sighed, glancing behind her. A pony waved to her from across the hall. “Hi, Roseluck,” she replied wearily.
If Roseluck noticed her exhaustion, she didn’t show it. “Hey, are you going to Pinkie’s Hearth’s Warming party tomorrow?”
“Probably not, Caramel needs me to pull a night shift,” Bon Bon lied. She knew that if anything, Caramel would be insisting that she take the night off rather than ask her to work more.
Roseluck looked like she wanted to say something more, but Bon Bon turned away to face the door. She heard Roseluck sigh in frustration. “Alright, hope we’ll see you anyways. Good night!”
“Yeah,” Bon Bon replied as the earth pony headed into her apartment. Bon Bon stood alone in the hallway, staring at the closed door in front of her, before she finally summoned the courage to push it open.
Her apartment awaited her: cold and void of any welcome. There was a bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen, along with a tiny living space occupied by a table and a couple of sofas. Beyond that, there was nothing.
Most of the furniture came with the lease, but other than that Bon Bon hadn’t changed much of the interior. She hadn’t bothered, because nothing she could add would make this place feel more like home.
She slid Caramel’s gift off of her back and onto a table. It landed on the surface with a thud that seemed to echo throughout the room.
Bon Bon plopped down into a chair with a sigh, rubbing her eyes.
She looked around the dark apartment, at the barren walls and empty rooms, and frowned. As she turned her attention back to the package, she realized that a card had been tucked underneath the parcel string, and a pack of candles was taped to the side.
Happy Hearth’s Warming, said the card. Hope you’re enjoying Ponyville so far! Your friend, Caramel.
Bon Bon set the card and candles aside and unwrapped the parcel, revealing a creamy chocolate cake, already cut into slices.
“Huh.” Bon Bon tilted her head, staring at the cake. She wasn’t quite sure what to make of it.
With a shrug, she fetched a pack of matches from the kitchen drawer and stuck the candles into the pastry. They sunk deep into the frosting.
Within seconds the candles were lit, and the cake became a glowing beacon of light in the dark and dreary room. The tiny flames danced across her vision as she watched, shades of orange and red against a backdrop of black.
Bon Bon absently raised a hoof to the candle as it warmed her fur But the feeling didn’t carry down her foreleg to the rest of the body. Instead it seemed to stay at her peripherals, though the rest of her body cried out desperately for warmth.
There she goes again. Stone cold Sweetie. Her ear twitched as a ghost of a whisper rang out across her apartment. Never talks to anyone and never bats an eye. Now there’s a good agent…
Bon Bon was snapped out of her reverie by a flash of pain. She recoiled and swore, quickly realizing that her hoof was too close to the candle. Bon Bon hissed, hopping out of her chair and running over to her sink. She ran her hoof under cold water and winced as it stung.
After shutting off the water, she squeezed her eyes closed and kicked the cupboard below the sink. Bon Bon wiped the tears from her eyes, made her way back to the table and sat down.
She folded her forelegs on the table and rested her chin on them. Bon Bon had to blink fast to fight off the tears that threatened to trail down her cheeks.
Bon Bon sat at the table, in the glow of the candles, until the fire went out and left her in the dark.