//------------------------------// // Return and Lose // Story: Thirty Minute Express Train to Story Town // by Predhack //------------------------------// Bonbon grunted with exertion is as she heaved the heavy travel chest out from the niche that had naturally formed around it with years of tightly packed boxes and odds and ends. Once free it slid smoothly leaving behind a pefect empty shape where it had sat before. Solemnly Bonbon ran her hooves over the surface of the old trunk. She moved with trepidation as she flipped the clasps and flipped the lid open. She remembered a trip made years ago, on the spur of the moment to forget a heartache. Going to the beach and meeting a beautiful clumsy unicorn mare who could barely keep her hooves straight. An immediate friendship falling into place as the sea colored unicorn’s happy and fun-loving personality acted like a balm for Bonbon’s aches. They ran and played along the beach until the moon was high in the sky and the unicorn, Lyra, she said her name was, asked her if they could meet again tomorrow. Of course Bonbon agreed. Immediately she was assaulted by the smell of saltwater and the tiniest bit of mildew. Inside the trunk were clothes that she hadn’t worn in years. Left there since the last trip where she had actually used the travel chest for its intended purpose. Dirtied clothes, few as they were, lay limp and stiff from years in the trunk with no care. Casually brushing aside the top layer Bonbon’s eyes fell on the aquamarine blue skin that lay beneath. Right where she knew it would be. She remembered the second day, arriving at the beach after waking earlier than she’d promised herself she’d let herself wake up on her vacation. Anticipation shaking her down to her hooves. The unicorn came again, tripping as she ran to meet Bonbon, the clumsiness of the day before showing again. A day spent walking the shops on the boardwalk, enjoying the many things they offered. Time spent telling the unicorn all about Bonbon’s life in Ponyville. Boring old Ponyville that drew fascination and wonder from the eyes of the blue-green tinted mare. Then she’d been shocked when the unicorn had nearly broken down into tears when asked about her own home. Was she from around there? The unicorn had explained that the question reminded her that tomorrow was to be her last day in the area, and that no after that she would have no way to keep in touch with her new friend. Bonbon had felt her heart trip with fear at that. And after her friend left she decided to follow her to ask if maybe she could follow her back to her home. A candy shop could do business anywhere after all. Bonbon delicately reached into the box and withdrew the skin. Unlike the rest of the materials in the box the sealskin was always soft and smooth and had a beautiful sheen as if cared for with the finest oils. The smell of the ocean mingling with the natural scent of the skin’s owner. Soft as only seal skin could be. She held the skin in her hooves and she trembled. She remembered barely managing to catch up with her friend in a small hidden cove near where they first met, and turning a corner to see her friend slip on a strange garment that fit her like a second skin. She watched as the unicorns limbs shrank and changed, her hindlegs slipping together into one strong appendage. Bonbon stared as her friend slipped into the water and disappeared beneath the waves, and didn’t reappear again. She stayed there that night keeping the water in sight the entire time. Moving around the small cove trying to see if perhaps what she had seen was some trick. Finally she secreted herself between rocks and she waited. At dawn the strange unicorn with her new shape returned, and after dragging herself onto the beach Lyra rolled around and writhed until her shiny new skin split and she managed to wriggle out of it. Peeling it back and folding it carefully. She stood and staggered around the small cove’s beach once or twice. Getting a feel for the limbs. Then once satisfied she hid the strange skin and left the cove smiling. From her place of hiding Bonbon watched all this. Then she hatched a plan. Bonbon shivered as she held the skin to her muzzle and inhaled deeply the scent of the friend she’d made years ago. She shook and choked on suppressed sobs as she refused to let herself cry. Then she jumped and dropped the skin back into the box when a voice calling out startled her. “Hey Bons! Hurry up! If we don’t leave now we won’t be able to get a full day of searching in!” Bonbon swallowed and struggled to keep her voice steady as she called back that she’d be down soon. She swiftly shut the lid, closed the clasps and rammed the box as quietly as she could back into its niche, repiling everything that had been atop it back in place. Then she turned and climbed out of the old attic. She remembered a day of fun with a friend she had grown too attached to to let go. She remembered waiting carefully after they separated tearfully, promising to never forget each other. She remembered timing her arrival in the cove where her new friend lay sobbing loudly. She remembered she had consoled Lyra, and the panicked and terrified unicorn had spilled out everything, her fears overcoming her need for secrecy. She remembered that they had spent the rest of Bonbon’s vacation tearing apart the beach looking for the lost fur. She remembered offering to let the unicorn stay with her, promising that they would return as soon and often as they could afford to look again. She remembered days spent building her relationship with a unicorn that didn’t quite fit in, who was clumsy on her hooves and misunderstood little things everypony learns young. She remembered every smile she worked so hard to put on the unicorns face. She remembered frequent trips to the beach where they had met to spend the day looking for the lost skin and nights spent together. She remembered dozens of times standing in front of an old trunk holding what she had stolen and swearing that next time she would explain and pray that she could be forgiven.