//------------------------------// // Chapter 6** // Story: What If...? // by solsticebrony888 //------------------------------// It always seemed to Lyra that when she assumed that time was going by slowly, that things went the fastest. She’d look forward to something and though she thought it was taking a long time, that event would come and go in the blink of an eye. However, she didn’t feel that way now that she was in the chapel to get married to Buckley. Everything was perfect from anypony else’s view. The whole inside of the building was gorgeous white marble, in which she could see her own reflection. There was three-tier cake in the middle of the room, surrounded by several tables where her and Buckley’s friends and family will sit. There were waiters, ready to serve anypony who needed something and most importantly, there was Buckley, who was in the dressing room to get prepared before they finally say their vows. Lyra’s sister Octavia was the first to arrive at the wedding, besides Roseluck. It made Lyra chuckle when her grey sister was apprehensive about entering the building because she didn’t see anypony else in it, until she saw the red-maned mare gazing at the cake Typical Octavia, too punctual for her own good… Lyra could only see who was coming in because the door to the room she was in was slightly open. She assumed this is where Buckley would find her when it was time for them to stand in front of everypony and say their vows. It was somewhat of a tradition for no one at the ceremony to see the ponies until they were up on the platform ready to say their vows. Soon after Octavia’s arrival, several ponies from Buckley’s family arrived. Having never met any of his family before, it surprised Octavia that they were much taller than Buckley, almost to a point where they looked like they’d fall over. Lyra decided then and there that they must have just been his friends and not family. Quickly becoming a force of habit, Lyra once again started to comb her mane, as if it needed anymore primping before it was time for her to be married. “Hey Ly-Ly” A deep voice swooned from behind the teal mare, ironically causing her to mess up her own mane. “Don’t call me that,” Lyra said with a laugh as she turned to face Buckley, with a tiny smile. “You look great darling, ponies are already arriving, finally. I Thought we were going to have to wait forever!” Buckley chided. “Oh, it’s fine. I actually think everypony that is arriving right now are quite on time,” “Can you believe it’s our special day?” Buckley said with a somewhat forced smile. He was at least making an effort to be nicer to Lyra, which she both liked and disliked at the same time. It sounded weird to her just to hear him say “special”. “Yeah, I’ve been waiting for this day my whole life,” Lyra said as she got up closer to the stallion to give him a peck on the lips. “See you soon, Ly-Ly,” Buckley teased as he backed out of the room, opening the door further. Just during that short exchange with her coltfriend, many ponies had arrived. It didn’t take her long to spot BonBon. Though BonBon put on a smile while she mingled with Roseluck and Octavia, even from across the room Lyra could see that her eyes were reddened from crying and heartbreak… I can’t think of her right now! I need to distract myself until it’s time. I’m going to get married to Buckley! Forcefully, Lyra turned around, studying the marble wall as if there was a point to it. However, she thought that she could go talk to BonBon and somehow convince her not to be so sad about this. She didn’t even know what she could say to help her friend be happy, but it made her sad to see her friend in such a state, Why did she have to tell me this before my wedding...? Lyra thought with a sigh. All she could hope for was that BonBon would eventually get over this once she was married. Conflicting feeling were now bothering Lyra more than ever, as she waited to be told it was time for her wedding. <><><><><><><> BonBon smiled as she spoke to Roseluck and Octavia and hid her emotions as best as she could. It wasn’t easy for her, but she knew that at the end of the day she would end up being a better pony because of this. The wedding was absolutely gorgeously set up in BonBon’s opinion. She loved seeing her reflection in the marble floors, which probably amused her more than it would for most ponies but she didn’t mind. Anything making her smile right now was good for her. What made BonBon feel slightly better was that she was in a better mood than she expected herself to be in. She was legitimately happy for Lyra and to a lesser extent for Buckley. The cream colored pony knew that she couldn’t control how Lyra felt about her, but could at least put an effort to be as supportive as possible. So, BonBon mingled with ponies, walked around casually and waited for the announcement to be made that it was time for everypony to sit down and watch as the two said their vows and were married. However, once Octavia left to talk with somepony else, Roseluck looked at the cream colored pony with a saddened expression on her face. “BonBon…are you okay, sweetheart?” The red-maned mare was less asking a question than stating that she noticed BonBon’s inner sadness. The cream colored mare stayed incognito, “Yes, of course, Rosey, “ “Oh I don’t know,” She responded, looking down as she tapped her hoof idly on the ground, “It must really break your heart to see Lyra getting married, huh?” BonBon was susprised by this question, but held her ground, “Well she is my best friend and I’m definitely not going to be seeing her often at all because of this, it’s hard to know that my best friend is moving on like this…” Roseluck sighed, “BonBon I…” Her voice trailed off, her own sadness for BonBon causing her to lose focus. “What?” “Nothing, BonBon, forget I mentioned it,” How did Rosey learn of my feelings for Lyra…? I couldn’t have been that obvious… Right as the two started to wonder why it was taking so long for the ceremony to start, the Pastor to marry Lyra and Buckley quietly asked for everypony to sit in their respective seats. She then noticed Buckley walk out onto the tiny platform in front of everypony, on which Lyra would face across from him. BonBon was determined to hold her resolve through it all, but as the time neared, she could feel dams of tears slowly building up behind her own eyes. <><><><><><><> “Lyra, it’s time, Buckley is waiting for you,” The Pastor’s deep voice called from behind her. He was a very old stallion and was Ponyville’s only Pastor for many years, which is why Lyra wanted him to marry her and Buckley, because he was the one who married her parents together so many years before. His voice startled Lyra and she took a few seconds to compose herself. She then got up and walked towards a back door that led to the podium where she would face Buckley and be seen by all the guests. Time went by slowly. The turquoise mare walked slowly, making sure not to step on her dress. When she passed through the door and saw Buckley, her heart fluttered when she she glanced towards the crowd. It was bigger than she had expected. Buckley greeted her with a grin as she walked towards him and up a few steps to meet him. Just look at Buckley, don’t look towards to crowd! In the crowd, BonBon marveled on how beautiful she thought Lyra looked in the dress she was wearing. She continued to fend off her emotions, but still hoped Lyra wouldn’t look towards her. One glance from Lyra’s wonderfully golden eyes would melt her heart. As Lyra faced Buckley with what was a phony smile, reality slowly started to come into focus for her. However, she fended off those thoughts because she felt she had gone past the point of no return. She felt a peculiar feeling in her chest that she only felt when getting increasingly nervous. She felt choked up and when the Pastor greeted everypony in the room, her eyes widened in fear for a split second before she quickly regained he composure. “Hello, everypony. It sure is a wonderful day, and I-I am glad to see everypony here. The smiling faces, young and old, in the crowd always warm my heart when I do a wedding and today doesn’t seem to be any different, “ The Pastor started, his deep raspy voice echoing past the silent crowd. “You ready?” Buckley whispered with a smile. Oh Celestia no… “Yeah,” Lyra whispered back forcefully, her heartbeat speeding up as she felt panic setting in. Lyra felt trapped, as if walls were closing in on her, inevitably closing in on her until she did something. “I always enjoy seeing young couples as these two so truly in love, because it reminds me of when I married my wife oh so many years ago. But enough about me, I’m sure nopony wants some o-old stallion like me to jabber on, because today we are to celebrate the uniting of two ponies who have decided they wanted to spend their lives together,” The Pastor then turned to Buckley with a warming smile, “OK, Buckley, repeat after me. I Buckley..” “I Buckley,” “…Swear by the grace of the two Princesses,” “I swear by the grace of the uh, two Princesses,” “…To take Lyra’s hoof in marriage,” “To take Lyra’s hoof in marriage,” Lyra gulped almost loud enough for Buckley to hear it. She tried to pace her breathing to ignore the flood of thoughts filling her mind with uncertainty and regret, but it was a battle she was losing. She looked to her side to see everypony in the audience, quickly spotting BonBon. Their eyes met for a split-second, sending a chill down Lyra’s spine, her heart skipping a beat and her mind racing quicker than ever. She quickly turned back to face Buckley, forcing the horrified look off her face. “…To treat with constant unconditional love,” “To treat with constant unconditional love,” He’s never treated me with unconditional love before. “…and I promise to do this for as long as we live,” “And I promise to do this for as long as we live,” The Pastor turned to Lyra with a smile, “Lyra, repeat after me,” Lost in her frantic thoughts, the teal mare didn’t respond to him, or even acknowledge that he had spoken to her. An awkward cough by Buckley knocked her out of her stupor. “I, Lyra, “ “I-I Lyra,” She said, voice cracking. Lyra could hear their guests mumbling about her obvious nervousness. She could hear her conscious directing her to respond to the Pastor. However what spoke loudest was her heart and she couldn’t bear to continue. Her eyes once again drifted over to meet BonBon’s, the cream colored pony crying from pure heartache. Even though BonBon was in the midst of a crowd, she was all that Lyra could see. “…Swear by grace of the two Princesses,” Lyra let her heart take over as she looked up at the Pastor and then at Buckley. The silence caused the crowd of friends and family members mumble, but what she did next shocked them all. Tears escaped, dripping down her cheeks as she avoided eye contact with Buckley, who was flabbergasted at her. Ignoring everything around her, she jumped off the platform they were on. The crowd gasped as she ran between rows of seats and out of the door, leaving everypony shocked and speechless. The stunned crowd immediately vocalized their disapproval, with insults and arguments flaring up between the two families almost instantly. Nopony ran after her, not even Buckley, who had his family and the priest trying to calm him down. Not a single pony in the company of ponies had expected this, nor actually know how to react. In his rage, Buckley knocked over a big vase of blue roses that BonBon had prepared just for Lyra a few days ago, even through her own sadness. BonBon was struck by it the worst when reality hit her soon after. In no way did she feel better; in no way did she feel relieved that Lyra wasn’t getting married. As she watched Buckley flip out on the podium, she felt guilt strike her straight to her soul. Beside BonBon was a shell-shocked Roseluck. “I-I can’t believe she just did that,” The red-maned mare said as she turned to BonBon. “Me either, sugar,” BonBon responded, trying to find a reason why Lyra would do that without her own influence on it. She couldn’t find a different reason for Lyra’s leaving her own wedding, and it made the earth pony feel terrible. The red maned pony beside her knew what BonBon was thinking. It gave her an idea. “Go talk to her,” Roseluck said leaning over so BonBon could hear her over the increasing volume of family members. “B-But I caused this! It’s all my fault,” BonBon confessed, knowing Roseluck knew already. “BonBon, just go. She wouldn’t have done this if she didn’t have a good reason. She needs her best friend right now. Octavia and I will have to do some damage control, Buckley is tripping out…” The cream colored mare nodded, got up out of her seat and sifted through the panicking crowd to exit the chapel. She tried to ignore Buckley’s random insults towards Lyra and his families blindly agreeing with him as she left. Even as the large doors closed, she could still hear the arguing through them. She wasn’t surprised that Buckley wasn’t running after her, and was relieved that he wasn’t. At least, he wasn’t yet. As she ran towards Lyra’s home, she couldn’t help but regret ever telling the teal mare about her feelings. It made herself feel better, but has made Lyra run out of her own wedding, leaving a massive group of confused family members behind. BonBon felt selfish, even though her intentions weren’t bad. For once in her life, however, BonBon didn’t feel like crying in the midst of the stressful situation she was in. She did feel sadness and regret, but knew she needed to apologize. She also felt the need to apologize to Buckley, because she knew he wasn’t as bad as she had thought he was. She knew her own feelings got in the way of how she viewed him. She never even really saw him that often, and it caused her to be disappointed in herself for being judgemental before even knowing somepony. She arrived at Lyra’s home slightly out of breath and immediately noticed the one light on in her home. Lyra was there. She paced her breathing once more, knowing she needed to be calm if she wanted to help the unicorn after leaving her own wedding. BonBon walked up to the door, but had second thoughts before entering. What if she doesn’t want to see me, what if she hates me for this? The earth pony stepped back for a moment as she consider her uneasiness towards what she was about to do. She didn’t have a choice though, because the door opened up slowly from Lyra’s magic. The door opened to reveal a sobbing Lyra. They looked at each other for a few seconds, enduring a short tense silence before Lyra’s coarse voice asked BonBon to come in. Lyra slowly went and sat up on her couch. She sat normally, instead of on her flank with her back facing up, which never was a good thing, at least it wasn’t when she did it around BonBon. The earth pony paced her breathing and chose her words carefully, “Lyra, I-I’m sorry about this, I’m sorry about everything,” A few seconds of tense silence passed before Lyra responded. BonBon was standing a few away from the couch which the turquoise pony was sitting on. “You know me and him shouldn’t have even got this far…” “Lyra…I” BonBon started, but quickly lost her voice. “You know how he proposed to me?” Lyra asked, knowing that BonBon didn’t know. The earth pony shook her head in response, “He told me we were going to get married. Literally, he just told me. H-he didn’t ask, he just assumed that we were. A-and I guess I was okay with it,” “I don’t know how to respond to that…” BonBon said, grimacing. She usually always knew what to tell to her best friend. Lyra slowly got up from her couch and turned to face BonBon. They stood a few feet away from each other and the tense silence was getting longer, the short seconds of eye contact causing their hearts to skip a beat. Lyra sighed, breaking the silence, “Bonnie, what made you do so much for me so often ever since we met? I mean before Buckley, before all of this...” The cream colored pony looked away, “What do you m-mean?” A tiny tear dripped down Lyra’s cheek as she softly spoke, “Whenever I got myself into trouble, you were there for me. Whenever I was sad for no apparent reason, you’d cheer me up faster than anypony else. Whenever I was bored and had nothing to do, you’d go out of your way to come over and change that. W-whenever Buckley and I-I would fight, you were there for me, no matter how much it hurt you to do so.” The words nearly let loose more tears from the teal pony. Their eyes met again, but BonBon didn’t look away. She spoke in an equally soft voice, “I did these things because you’re my friend, Lyra. My best friend,” Surprising BonBon, the unicorn slowly walked to her until their noses were nearly touching. Before another tense silence could arise, Lyra leaned in with her eyes closed and gave BonBon a long, tender kiss that left BonBon stunned, and her face red with astonishment. ”What if we were more than friends?”