The cold hoof of winter had reared its head upon the small but bustling town of Ponyville, and in an instant it was felt by all. An ever present chill wind hung over the town, entrapping every inhabitant in its snare of bitter cold, accompanied by the sporadic bout of thunder that would signal a period of rain to fall upon the mares and stallions going to and fro. Yet even with such a seemingly bleak state of weather that the small town of Ponyville found itself in, this was to be expected, and was in fact welcomed by some for it signalled the beginning of what someponies considered to be the most wonderful time of the year.
Hey, nopony ever said that winter had to be full of a delightful windless months with a soft cuddly blanket of snow for all the little fillies to play about in. On the contrary, the arrival of snow was quite dreaded by some, for the snow was not the warm blanket that could be enjoyed by all, but a bitter hard coat of sharp ice that was the cause of more than a few injuries amongst some of Ponyville’s inhabitants with a lesser sense of balance.
It was one on this particular night that a certain mare was navigating her way home through the treacherous streets, taking good care to avoid the parts where the slippery was at its most slipperiest. For Bon Bon, she felt like she was in just the right mood despite her state of precaution, for she heartily agreed that this time of the year was the best, for a multitude of reasons.
On no other period or season did the same atmosphere be captured like it was here, nothing but love, excitement and happiness held emotional reign over the ponies in the days leading up to the festive holiday that was Hearth’s Warmth Day, more commonly referred to as Hearth’s Warming Eve, for it was the preceding day that everypony seemed to enjoy the most. That final stretch into the following celebration was enough to induce feelings of giddiness in even the most stoic of stallions and the mundane of mares.
The humble earth pony was soon to be arriving at her destination, something she had been looking forward to all day, for Bon Bon was an immensely tired mare at the moment, and the fellow mare that awaited her always knew what to do to ease her aching bones and make her forget about all the cold that hovered throughout the town. Right now, all Bon Bon wanted to do when she got home was to lie in front of the fireplace with the unicorn of her dreams and content herself to let the fire in the log and the fire in her heart warm her through the night.
Sad to say, things would be turning out a little differently than what she hoped for.
“Lyra honey, I’m home!” Bon Bon exclaimed with gratitude for finally being able to get out of the storm as she stepped through the door to their residence.
Her roommate did not answer her, but that was to be expected, she thought. It wasn’t like she was expecting a reply, Bon Bon was simply preforming the rudimentary announcement of her return. What she did not expect, however, was to see her unicorn partner sitting in the way she was in the living room, perched on the couch in a way that was unlike any other pony except for Lyra, who was fond of such eccentric ways to contort her body. However, it was the way she was sat that worried Bon Bon, a certain pose that suggested she wanted to discuss or confess something. Lyra was fiddling about with her hooves, and didn’t seem to register that Bon Bon was there until she spoke again, this time with the intent to get a reaction from her unicorn partner.
“Lyra…honey.” Bon Bon began. “What is it?”
Lyra brought her light green unicorn head to meet her earth pony’s beige one. Her eyes meet Bon Bon’s, but in just a second she darted them away, as if there was something about them that caused her pain.
“Lyra.” Bon Bon started again. “What is this? You’re never like this. Have you done something?”
“Yeah I done something.” Lyra finally said meekly. “Something bad.”
“O…Kay.” Bon Bon said. “What have you done?”
“I…I…” Lyra was struggling to get out. “I done gone and, err, cheated on you.”
Bon Bon needed a couple of seconds to register that particular phrase. Its meaning was crystal clear, but that didn’t make it any less painful to hear. Her head became a vacuum as her mind went deaf, but soon, a dozen odd questions began to fill the void, darting all around her empty space, and making it difficult for the mare to form a coherent response.
“Sorry, I guess.” Lyra said, bringing her back to reality. She felt suddenly offended, but in a very different way to what Lyra had confessed.
“Sorry, I guess?” She parroted back, finding how casual Lyra had said that particular set of words to be just as offensive as her confessing her affair.
“Well.” Lyra began, in a very different manner to the one of fearfulness that had dominated her. “I’m sorry… I am. But… in a way, I’m kinda glad too.”
Bon Bon tilted her head to observe her unicorn partner in an inquisitive manner.
“How long?” She asked.
“Wha…?” Lyra said, not having properly registered the query.
“Just… tell me. How long?” Bon Bon reaffirmed herself, eager for the answer, but yet, fearful too.
Lyra drew her gaze away from her partner again. “About a year.”
Whoa, now Bon Bon was threatening to enter another phase of stunned silence, but she managed to press on.
“Ur, excuse me.” She pleaded in disbelief. “About a… about a year?!”
“Well.” Lyra said quietly. “About a year… and a half.”
Now Bon Bon entered into another bout of numbness within her head. Part of her wanted to press Lyra for more, find out everything there was to know, how something like this had come to happen, who the mare or stallion that she was having this thing with was, and most of all, why?
But then there was another part inside her that did not want to pursue such an endeavour. The part that felt that, if she did, no sense of satisfaction or pleasure would she find, but rather, only more pain. As it turned out, it was that part that proved the strongest.
“You know where the door is.” She simply stated to her… unicorn.
“That’s what I thought.” Lyra bitterly remarked, before her horn was enveloped in a bright green aura, a set of bags levitating in front of her, before she made her way to the front door.
Bon Bon didn’t register her movements, her gaze now drawn to the fireplace, burning a deceitful orange.
“One more thing.” Lyra called back to her, causing Bon Bon to rear her head to at least grant her the courtesy of a final glance. “It’s been emotional.”
And with that, she waltzed through the door, out into the bitter cold of the streets, before the door swung shut in one swift thud.
As for Bon Bon standing stoically, gazing to where her once unicorn partner had been just a few moments ago, she did not know what to think. As if drawn by her subconscious instinct, she trotted over to the couch and sat herself down, looking into the fire as if there was something meaningful to be had in doing so.
It was cold outside. But it was colder inside.