*knock knock*
Bon Bon gave the door two sharp taps as she took a moment to compose herself.
This is a totally normal situation. I'll explain everything and see how she handles the information and then I just ask her directly. What's the worst that can happen? She's a sensible mare I'm sure it will all work out
Bon Bon's thoughts were interrupted as the door flung open almost violently. The pony in the doorway was not who she expected to see.
"RARITY SOMEPONY IS HERE" The little white unicorn filly screeched after giving the earth pony outside a quick glance.
"Yes, Sweetie Belle I gathered that when I asked you to open the door." Rarity said sounding rather exasperated as she stepped into view through the door frame. "Oh, Bon Bon what a pleasant surprise. What brings you here of all places today?" The older unicorn asked the visitor excitedly when she realized who had knocked.
Oh sweet Celestia. Why is she here now of all times?
'Is something the matter darling?" Rarity asked when Bon Bon didn't reply.
"Oh. Sorry, I'm fine." Bon Bon responded realizing she was being awkward. "I just wasn't expecting that."
"Yes my darling little sister, well let us just say she won't be getting her cutie mark for her talents as a doormare." Rarity gave a small chuckle at her own joke. "So what brings you by this morning?"
"Oh right." Bon Bon had regained herself enough to remember why she was here. "Is Twilight here?"
"Oh that's right Twilight did mention she was expecting some candy to be delivered but I had expected the mailmare to drop them off."
"That's what I need to talk to her about. There was an incident." Before Bon Bon could finish explaining the unicorn stepped out of the library and shut the door behind her.
"Please tell me the chocolates are okay." Rarity pleaded with a batting of her long beautiful eyelashes "This event is so important for Twilight so a agreed to lend a helping hoof not realizing I would be babysitting Sweetie Belle today." She paused for a moment. "And well truthfully there have been a few setbacks. Shelves have been knocked over books are misplaced Twilight is doing her best to cope but I shudder to think what would happen if the candy she planned to hand out fell through."
"Derpy stopped by earlier to pick up the delivery." Bon Bon saw the glimmer of hope fade from the unicorn's eyes as she spoke. "The chocolates I made for the event were destroyed and my kitchen was left in such a state I couldn't make anymore."
"That pony's picture must be in the dictionary next to the word accident. Don't worry I'll break the news to Twilight. The least I can do is spare you from seeing the ensuing panic attack this news will bring." Rarity lamented.
"Well, I do have another solution." Bon Bon watched as the unicorn perked up at her words. "I have everything I need to make enough candy to fulfill the order." She gestured at the full saddlebag she was carrying. "I was just gonna ask if it would be alright to use the kitchen in the library."
"Absolutely not!" Rarity exclaimed. "I mean we simply can not let Twilight know there has been another issue." Her tone softened as she continued. "Even one with such an easy fix, the poor dear won't be able to handle the added stress." Rarity quietly opened the library door and ignited her magic until a small silver key appeared. She closed the door again softly "This is the key to Carousel Boutique you can use my kitchen for your work and we can just pretend nothing ever went wrong." She handed the key to Bon Bon before giving the earth mare a sudden friendly hug. "Just make sure the candies are here before the event. I'll work things out here and make sure everything goes smooth from this moment on." With a final wave, Rarity retreated back into the library.
Bon Bon placed the key in her bag and began the short walk to Rarity's house. She couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation.
Even though messing up the order in the first place can't be considered my fault I am indirectly fully responsible for all of Twilight's troubles today. It's not like there was no way I could have planned it, but ultimately my decisions did lead to Sweetie Belle being at the library and causing a mess of trouble for both Rarity and Twilight. I'm not sure how but I'll have to do something special to make it up to them.
***
*Knock Knock*
Bon Bon gave the door at Golden Oaks Library a pair of sharp taps for the second time that day.
"Oh good the candies are here," Twilight said excitedly opening the door.
"Sorry, it's a little more last-minute than your probably expected." Bon Bon apologized. It seemed things had calmed down since her early visit as the librarian seemed to back to her normal friendly demeanor.
"No need to be sorry. The candy is here everything else is already set up and guests should start showing up for at least another half hour. Everything is going exactly as planned."Twilight said cheerfully. Bon Bon could swear she saw the mare's eye twitch and nostrils flare but it happened so quickly she couldn't be sure.
"I brought five dozen chocolate. It was just easier to round out the assortment that way. And I won't take a bit more than what your original order was for. Consider it a donation." Bon Bon had followed Twilight inside and to a table where some juice boxes were set out and unloaded the boxes from her saddlebag. "Is Rarity still here?" Bon Bon inquired before hastily adding, "She had mentioned she would be helping you when I talked to her the other day." She decided to stick with the plan of pretending she hadn't stopped by earlier, at least until she had a better idea of what Rarity may have said.
"Oh, I hadn't realized you two close," Twilight said with a hint of surprise before magically procuring a notebook seemingly out of thin air. She quickly jotted something down and just as quickly as it appeared the book was gone. Bon Bon once again questioned if what she thought she saw had really happened.
"I wouldn't say we're especially close or anything. We've just run into each other more often recently." Bon Bon said truthfully before realizing Twilight wasn't listening.
The librarian had unboxed the chocolates and was now frantically rearranging the refreshments table carefully trying to create an equal number of every possible pairing between the several distinct flavored juice boxes and the variety of chocolate candies Bon Bon had delivered.
"Oh, how delightful the chocolates have arrived." Rarity entered the main hall of the library from a closed-off section in the back. "I told you it was nothing that needed to be stressed over Twilight." She gave Bon Bon a wink as she realized Twilight was fully entwined in her new organization project. "I'm gonna take Bon Bon into the kitchen for a glass of water dear." She said to Twilight before becoming the earth mare to follow her through a different door than the one she came out from.
"Well, it looks like you managed to get things sorted around here." Bon Bon said as they each took a seat at a cozy little table. "Twilight still seems a little stressed but the way you described it I expected her at missing a friendship lesson levels of worked up." She added recalling the time the librarian caused a city-wide uproar when she hadn't procured a weekly friendship problem report for Princess Celestia.
"Oh believe me I think we were approaching it but convinced Twilight to take a short break for tea. I used it as an opportunity to slip her a little something for nerves and she's been much more relaxed since then." Rarity said casually. "I also managed to set up Sweetie Belle with some arts and crafts supplies and that's been enough to keep her from getting under hoof again."
"Wow." Bon Bon wasn't sure what else to say to a confession like that.
"Oh, darling don't take that the wrong way." Rarity exclaimed turning a shade of crimson. "They're prescription. I on occasion succumb to my own fits of anxiety. I just hate seeing my friend so worked up so I broke up a part of one of my pills and mixed it in her tea. Now that I stop to think about it maybe it wasn't the best idea after all." The unicorn looked a little sullen now after reflecting on her earlier decision.
"I didn't mean to imply you did anything wrong." Bon Bon said trying to reassure her new friend. "You clearly had good intentions and just wanted to help. The same can't be said for when Lyra tries to slip me something." It was her turn to blush she hadn't meant to add that last part. "I mean in her own way I'm sure Lyra means well. She's just trying to get me out of my shell when we go out somewhere." She was saying too much but she couldn't stop herself. "I had a bad experience at a party once so it's hard for me to let loose and enjoy myself but Lyra is my best friend and she likes to drag me along. I agree mostly to make sure she doesn't end up overdoing it but it has encouraged her to try to swap out my drink for something alcoholic or slip in one of her party-favors" She put a clear emphasis on the last part.
"That's horrible." Rarity exclaimed her complexion still bore a red hue but it was one of anger, not embarrassment. "I have half a mind to go find that unicorn and give her real tongue lashing right now."
"She's out of town for the week." Bon Bon said with a strange mix of emotion. She was embarrassed about revealing so much to somepony she barely knew, but also she felt flattered that Rarity was so passionate about sticking up for her. "Besides it's nothing to worry about. I'm smart enough to know all her tricks and if I even begin to imagine she might have slipped past my defenses I just replace my drink with a fresh one." She said trying to reassure the unicorn.
"I know you're perfectly capable of taking care of yourself, but you shouldn't have to work so hard to protect yourself from someone you call your best friend. If she was a real friend she wouldn't try to change you to suit her needs." Rarity retorted showing no signs her anger was wearing off.
"I guess I never really thought about it like that." Bon Bon admitted shakily. Lyra had been her best friend, her only friend actually since they were fillies. It never occurred to her how little they had in common or how poorly compatible they were as friends. "I don't have any other friends though and it's not all bad. She always lends me a hoof when I actually need help."
"Don't be ridiculous darling." Rarity butted in. "Of course, you have other friends. I see you talking and laughing with Mrs. Cake all the time at Sugarcube Corner. Plus we're friends now after all." The unicorn batted her eyelashes in that dramatic way Bon Bon was quickly becoming accustomed to. "Also I didn't mean to imply Lyra wasn't your friend or even that she was a bad friend. I only mean it seems like she can be a bad friend at times. Just talk to her, make your feelings perfectly clear about going out to places like that. And if you do find yourself in a situation where you need to go somewhere like that check with me. Assuming my schedule is clear I'd be more than happy to keep you company. If Lyra sees we're already having a good time she might be less inclined to try anything."
"No no I could..." Bon Bon began.
"You simply must darling." Rarity said cutting her off. "It wouldn't be an inconvenience at all. Believe it or not, I know the kinds of parties you're talking about. I think I can safely say we've probably already been at the same party a time or two before. I can't say I enjoy that scene myself but it's great for networking. Sometimes a potential client asks me to come along to a party. They introduce me to their friends which expands my potential client pool. I'll indulge in the occasional drink or two but never anything more. If I have to be dragged out another one of those events I'd much rather it be to help out a friend."
"Well, when you put it that way." Bon Bon said. She had to at least consider the generous offer her new friend was making. "I still think it would be best to use your first suggestion and talk to Lyra about dragging me to the parties, but if I find a situation where I think I still need to go along for some reason I will check to see if you can come too."
"Of course, it is much better to avoid the whole situation if possible but it never hurts to have backup plans." Rarity agreed just before the door burst open to reveal an excited unicorn filly covered in paint and glitter.
"Rarity look. Look. Look." Sweetie Belle was levitating a piece of paper with something on it Bon Bon couldn't see.
"Calm down Sweetie I'll look at your picture. But you do know it's rude to interrupt when grown-ups are talking." She took the filly's art project and began to look it over clearly at a loss for words.
"Of I'm sorry Miss Bon Bon." Sweetie Belle said just now noticing the other mare. "And I'm sorry for being rude when you were here earlier too. I was just cranky cause Rarity woke me up early to come help Twilight and she had been yelling at me for messing things up."
"I wasn't yelling. I was scolding you." Rarity corrected the filly. She still couldn't make heads or tails of the picture she was looking at. "Your picture is very unique Sweetie but I must say I'm not sure exactly what you're trying to convey."
"Isn't it obvious?" The filly said confused. She took the picture and laid it flat on the table.
Bon Bon looked at the picture on the table. Five large glittery blobs were in a box. Four of the blobs were bunched together on one side with the fifth blob separated to the other side by a series of little brown stars.
"It's a picture of our family. See this is us." She pointed at the group of four blobs. "And that one over there is actually Miss Bon Bon."
Hearing that Bon Bon felt a sharp pain in her chest. The picture made perfect sense to her all of a sudden. Sweetie Belle and done a somewhat abstract painting of a family outing to her candy store. The star shapes between them were the chocolate stars Bon Bon had guessed they were her favorite since that was what she ordered the few times she was in but the picture all but confirmed it.
"Seeing Miss Bon Bon stop by earlier made me think of candy and I wanted to do a picture of the four of us doing something fun so I painted us at the candy store."
"Hmmm." Rarity said she still couldn't see it. "But why are there stars between us and Bon Bon.
"Those are chocolate stars." Bon Bon responded before Sweetie Belle could speak up.
"See she gets it." Sweetie Belle said sounding a little frustrated that Rarity didn't get it.
"And you were going for an abstract appeal?" Rarity asked squinting as she looked at the picture again?"
"Abb what?" The filly asked not understanding the word.
"I'll take that as a no then." Rarity said flatly.
"I think you did a wonderful job, Sweetie Belle." Bon Bon reassured the filly. "Abstract is an art style where the subject is created in a way where it's not left entirely clear what you're supposed to see."
"But it's obviously five ponies and some chocolate stars." The filly remarked.
"Art can be subjective. Not everypony always agrees on the intended style or meaning." Bon Bon said sweetly. She understood Rarity's confusion considering the picture looked like something a much younger foal would have produced with the same intent as Sweetie Belle. She had been confused at first as well. But once she realized what it was supposed to be she couldn't see it as anything less than a masterpiece of art.
"Well, I don't think Rarity likes it very much," Sweetie said sadly before her eyes suddenly lit up with excitement. "But you like it Miss Bon Bon would you want to keep it?"
"I, uh." Bon Bon was at a loss for words. She couldn't take something so personal as a family portrait from the filly. But when she saw the sparkle in Sweetie Belle's eyes start to fade she found her voice again. "That's very sweet but if Rarity doesn't want it maybe you should just give it to your Dad or Mom." That last word stung worse than a bugbear bite but Bon Bon maintained her composure.
"They already have lots of pictures I did. I want you to have this one since you like it so much and you're even in it." Sweetie Belle said her excitement returning as she realized Miss Bon Bon didn't dislike she just felt bad taking it.
"Are you sure?" Bon Bon asked hesitantly. Sweetie gave her a reassuring nod. "Are you okay with that Rarity?" Even if the filly didn't think Rarity was interested in keeping it she didn't want to accidentally offend her new friend either
"Why wouldn't I be? Sweetie Belle wants you to have it so you should be the one to take it." Rarity said cheerfully. She leaned in close to whisper something to the other mare. "Thanks for being so nice about this I know it's a little weird taking something like that from a filly you barely know but she seems so excited that you understood her drawing it would mean a lot to her."
Bon Bon didn't know what to say. She couldn't admit how much the picture meant to her without making the situation truly awkward and possibly causing a bit of hysteria from everyone involved. Instead, she gingerly rolled the drawing up and placed it in her bag. That's when she spotted the whole reason she had stopped to talk to Rarity in the first place. She retrieved the silver key and another candy box and placed them on the table where the picture had been.
"With all that's happened I almost completely forgot to return your key and that I had made you some special candies as thank you for letting me use your kitchen earlier." Bon Bon said she was excited to show the pair the new experiment she had made. "I've never really made these before so I hope they turned out okay." She opened the box to reveal what appeared to be three clear bluish crystals arranged in the design of Rarity's cutie mark.
"Wow, those look just like the gems on Rarity's cutie mark." Sweetie Belle exclaimed excitedly. "Are they really candy?"
"Yes. Although I will admit these are just plain sugar flavored. I didn't have any extra flavorings on hoof when I made them."
"Can I try one? Please, Miss Bon Bon." Sweetie Belle asked excitedly.
"You have to ask your sister. I made them as a gift for her." Bon Bon said politely.
"Well, there are three candies and three of us. We should each have one." Rarity said she used her magic to remove one of the candies and brought it up to her face for closer inspection. "The craftsmareship is outstanding even up close they look remarkably like real gems. Go ahead girls help yourselves."
"No, I couldn't they are a gift I made for you." Bon Bon declined.
"Exactly they are mine and I want to share them with my friend and little sister." Rarity said with a bat of her eyelashes.
"Ww ths rr swt." Sweetie Belle tried to say something but her mouth was filled with the candy she took while the older mares weren't paying attention.
"Sweetie Belle please don't put the whole thing in your mouth!" Bon Bon scolded the filly as she looked at the horrifying sight. The candy's shape size and texture made it an exemplary choking hazard.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Sweetie Belle apologized after spitting the cand out into her magic. She missed the panic in the older mare's voice. "Rarity always scolds me for talking with my mouthful too."
"That wasn't the issue Sweetie Bell." Bon Bon said her panic had faded. "With large hard candies like these, it's really easy to choke if you accidentally swallow them. And with these in particular the design has some sharper edges that would make a bad situation that much worse. I just don't want to see you get hurt."
"That's a keen sister like instinct you have Bon Bon. Do you have any siblings?" Rarity asked as she took a quick lick of her candy gem. It was just on the borderline of being too sweet for her but delicious in its simplicity.
"No. I'm an older child although looking after Lyra can feel like foalsitting triplets sometimes." Bon Bon said with a chuckle. "Although when I went into the candy-making business I did take a fair few classes on food and general safety health and safety." She picked up the remaining candy and gave it a gentle suck. A little sweeter than she intended but she was satisfied with how they turned out.
"That makes a lot of sense." Rarity remarked simply.
"These candies are so good Miss Bon Bon. Do you keep them in your shop?" Sweetie asked she was now imitating the way Bon Bon was slowly sucking the candy after her previous mistake.
"No chocolates are my specialty so that's what I make mostly. I sometimes try out new recipes I learn that aren't chocolates and offer them as daily specials but mostly everything else is special order only. I would be happy to make them for you again sometime." Bon Bon explained. She was surprised at how much easier it had become to interact with the filly. There had been hiccups of course but one of her biggest reservations in considering Rarity as a surrogate candidate had been it might force her to be around Sweetie Belle and she wasn't sure she could handle it. That fear seemed to be unwarranted after all.
"Oh cool, can you make them in different colors?" Sweetie asked excitedly.
"Absolutely this is how they come out naturally but with just a little food coloring we could do any color you wanted and as I mentioned earlier it's possible to add different flavors than just pure sugar." Bon Bon smiled at the filly.
"Here you guys are." Twilight's voice called as the door opened. "You missed the story reading but there are some refreshments left over. Everypony else has already left. I thought maybe you guys had gone home early or something." It was only then that she noticed Bon Bon was here as well. "Oh, I'm glad you're here too. Everypony just loved the chocolates you made. I was planning to stop by your shop tomorrow to thank you again. Sorry if I was a little rude earlier I tend to get a little wound up preparing for things and I think I might have spaced out in the middle of talking with you earlier. So thanks again and sorry."
"It was no trouble. I had asked about Rarity just as she was walking into the room. You said wanted to focus on setting up so we excused ourselves in here and just lost track of the time." Bon Bon said bending the truth a little. She hadn't been offended when the mare had got distracted and she didn't want her stressing over where or not she had come off as rude when everything worked out okay.
"Oh good. I was a little fuzzy on how our interaction ended." Twilight said sounding relieved. "We had enough copies of the book to give to all the foals who attended. I saved a copy for Sweetie Belle but I still have one extra that's already been paid for. Do you know anyone with a foal who would want free children's book, Bon Bon?"
"I suppose Mrs. Cake might be interested in having it for the twins." Bon Bon suggested.
"No Pinkie Pie was here for that," Twilight said wracking her brain for who else might be able to use the book.
"What about Scootaloo?" Rarity offered. The look on Twilight's face gave her the impression not finding the book home might be enough to set her off again.
"Rainbow brought her by," Twilight said her brow furrowing further.
"Was Apple Bloom here too?" Sweetie Belle asked.
Twilight just nodded.
"I missed an unofficial meeting of the cutie mark crusaders." Sweetie Belle said with a tone that was a little overdramatic, something that had likely rubbed off from spending time with Rarity.
"Couldn't you just add the copy to the library?" Bon Bon offered.
"We already have a copy," Twilight replied.
"Well an extra copy for the library to lend out wouldn't hurt anything would it?" Bon Bon suggested.
"Two copies?" Twilight pondered. "If we had two copies we could lend it out to twice as many ponies at the same time. Brilliant. It's so simple. It's simply brilliant." Her mind was racing at this newly discovered possibility. "We could add second copies of every other book as well. Sure some of the rarer books might take a while to acquire and I'll have to find a way to double our budget but I can do that."
Rarity exchanged a nervous look with Bon Bon while Twilight was distracted. The exchange swiftly turned to smiles and then the pair broke out into a fit of laughter.
"What's so funny?" Twilight asked the high from the thought of doubling the library's book supply abruptly fading.
"Twilight you don't need two copies of every book." Rarity said suppressing laughter. "You wouldn't even have space for that many books. But if the occasion arrives, as it has in this case, it's okay to have more than one copy of something."
"We could expand. I'm sure Mayor Mare would approve the permits." Twilight tried to rebuttal.
"You would simply work yourself to death trying to complete a task that large. If you want to expand the library's collection that way you could order additional copies of books that get a lot of traffic but you shouldn't overdo it." Bon Bon said sternly. She had accidentally created this mess and she felt it was only right she try to resolve it.
"You're right," Twilight admitted sadly. "I was just organizing a simple book drive today and I almost got carried away. Doubling everything at once is too much. I'll take things slow and start with books that are almost always checked out."
Rarity and Bon Bon exchanged another private glance. They could tell the box wasn't completely closed on this one right now but it seemed like it would be at least contained for now.
"Rarity can we go home now?" Sweetie Belle asked with a yawn. Her seemingly boundless energy had finally worn out.
"I really should stay and help Twilight clean up." Rarity said. "You can nap in the reading room until I finish though."
"You don't have to stay and clean up," Twilight interjected. "Tomorrow's our scheduled bi-weekly day. Spike will help me scrub the treehouse from top to bottom. There's barely any extra work it will be no trouble at all. You go on home and put Sweetie Belle to bed."
Light snoring broke the brief silence after Twilight stopped speaking. The three adult mares turned to the table to see Sweetie Belle was already asleep.
"She's already asleep Twilight. I insist you let me stay and clean up." Rarity said in a whisper.
"Nonsense. Leaving her sleeping like that for too long will leave her sore in the morning. You've helped enough for one day and Sweetie Belle should be in her own bed." Twilight whispered back.
"I suppose your right." Rarity sighed. "You're absolutely sure it's not an inconvenience?"
"I'm sure," Twilight said sternly still careful to keep her voice down.
"Okay but it's such a shame I'll have to wake her so soon but there is no way I'd be able to carry her to the boutique without dropping her." Rarity said sadly looking at the sleeping filly.
"Um." Bon Bon spoke up.
"Hmm?" Rarity seemed surprised at the mare's sudden interjection.
"I'd be happy to carry her back to your house if you could get her on my back without waking her. I'd just need you to carry my saddlebag but it's not too heavy." Bon Bon offered in a whisper.
"No, I ask you to do that." Rarity declined she couldn't inconvenience her new friend that much.
"You haven't asked me to do anything, I'm offering to help." Bon Bon reassured. "It's barely out of the way even and us earth ponies are built to carry heavier loads with ease." She added to ease any arguments the unicorn might try to make.
"You seem pretty set on this so who am I to argue." Rarity agreed. She used her magic to take move Bon Bon's saddlebag from the earth mare to herself before very lightly placing the sleeping filly on the other mare's back. "Have a good night Twilight." She whispered as she lead the filly packing mare slowly out of the quiet library.
***
"Thank you so much. You really didn't have to." Rarity said in a somewhat hushed tone.
"It was no trouble at all." Bon Bon assured standing at the door to Carousel Boutique. Sweetie Belle had been tucked away in the extra bedroom where she often spent the night as the older mares were saying their goodbyes. "Who could have looked at such an adorable sleeping filly and let her get woken up for no reason when there was such a simple way to help."
"Still you must let me make it up to you." Rarity said her eyelashes fluttered again. "I could treat you to lunch tomorrow if you're not too busy."
"That would be nice." Bon Bon said hesitantly. "But I'm not sure tomorrow is a good day. I'll need to spend the morning getting my kitchen back in order. So I might be a little behind." She didn't want to mention she had put off some of her own tasks today in her bid to be helpful but she also didn't want to come off rude and flat-out decline.
"Oh, it completely slipped my mind you might be a little behind after everything that happened today." Rarity said sounding a little guilty.
"Don't blame yourself." Bon Bon was quick to interrupt the unicorn's thoughts. "I had a lot of fun trying out those new crystal candies and getting to know you better, and your little sister is just beyond precious. We can just do lunch this weekend instead of tomorrow. Assuming that works for you of course."
"Oh, that gives me an even better idea. Would you be able to take a few hours off on Saturday around noon?" Rarity asked a look of pure excitement on her face.
"I don't have any special orders in and Saturday afternoons don't tend to be so busy that it would be big a loss." Bon Bon said puzzledly curious as to where this might be going.
"Every Saturday I have a standing reservation for two at the Ponyville spa. Normally Fluttershy would join me but she's going out of town to visit her parents. You should join me instead." Rarity exclaimed.
"Oh no that seems a bit much spa appointments like that are incredibly expensive." Bon Bon protested.
"Nonsense. You were a tremendous help today you more than earned it. Plus it's already paid for I'd be losing money if I couldn't find somepony to join me." Rarity insisted.
"Then I suppose could." It still seemed a bit much to Bon Bon but it felt wrong to turn down the offer a second time.
"Then it's a date. I'll pick you up around noon. Wear something appropriate." Rarity said jokingly.
Bon Bon laughed along with her new friend before saying a final goodbye and starting the short trot home.
***
The cream color mare stared up at the ceiling of her bedroom tears dripped slowly from her eyes. She looked at the painting sprawled out on the nightstand. The day's events hadn't fully registered until she got into bed. She was a mess of emotions. On one hoof she was the happiest she had ever been. For the first time in her life, she got to spend some quality time with her daughter and everything seemed to be falling into place for a wonderful new friendship with Rarity. But that also led to a sense of crippling guilt. Sweetie Belle she was sure had no idea she had been adopted and while Rarity had to know at least that much there was no way she could know who her real mother was. So all of these new relationships were being built on the foundation of a horrible secret. Then there was the faintest hint of excitement that Rarity might just be the one to help her with her surrogate plan but that was weighed down by the fear that Rarity might say no. That brought more guilt. Guilt for expecting something so huge from someone she was still just getting to know as well as the guilt that in doing so she was replacing the daughter she already had, the one that wasn't truly hers, for a foal she could call her own.
"Celestia guide me." Bon Bon muttered to the dimly lit room. She turned out her lamp and closed her eyes. Warm tears slowly dripped down her cheeks as she forced her way into the land of dreams.