//------------------------------// // Chapter Two // Story: Dinner with the Folks // by RK_Striker_JK_5 //------------------------------// My little pony, My little pony Ahh ahh ahh ahhh... My little pony Friendship never meant that much to me My little pony But you're all here and now I can see Stormy weather; Lots to share A musical bond; With love and care Teaching laughter; It's an easy feat, And magic makes it all complete! You have my little ponies How'd I ever make so many true friends? Consciousness slowly returned to Lyra. She let out a groan and turned to Bonbon's side of the bed, only to find it empty. Her bleary eyes focused on a note on Bonbon's pillow. Had to open up the Confectionarium. Had a wonderful time last night and this morning. Love, Bonbon. A smile formed on her lips even as a sigh escaped them. She slowly rose and trotted to the bathroom. After a few minutes of freshening up, Lyra emerged, ready to face the new day. Her horn glowed and a set of saddlebags and her favorite lyre floated to her side, the saddlebags settling over her back and loin. She paused before a full-length mirror and crossed one foreleg in front of the other. “Not bad, not bad at all.” And with that, she trotted out of the bedroom, down the hall to a staircase that led downstairs. Lyra trotted down and entered the back kitchen of the Confectionarium. She barely paused before emerging into the front of the shop, right behind the display counter. Bonbon was to her right, a clipboard on the counter and a pencil in her mouth. Carrot Cake from Sugarcube Corner was on the other side, a clipboard in front of him. “Hi!” she said, grinning. Carrot Cake glanced over from his clipboard and smiled at the unicorn. “Well, hi there, Lyra. Lovely day today.” He looked over his shoulder. “Well, at least for now. Storm's coming in about 11 o'clock.” He looked back. “Might not get much sales today, Bonbon.” Bonbon shrugged and moved the pencil to the side of her mouth. “It'll give me more time to get your orders finished.” She wrote down some numbers onto the clipboard. She glanced to Lyra and smiled, the tip of the pencil hitting the counter and breaking off. “Oh, horse apples!” Her cheeks suddenly reddened. “Sorry about that.” Carrot Cake chuckled. He spat his own pencil up and over at Bonbon, who caught it and twirled it around. “Not a problem, Bonbon.” He looked down at what she was writing. “Do you think you can get some more of that taffy you sent us last week? Customers are asking for more!” Bonbon let out a nervous chuckle and scrapped a hoof along the hardwood floor. “Well... I don't know how to make it.” She glanced to the side. “Twist, Bebop and Sweetie Belle got into the kitchen that day and did something to the taffy machine. I got there after they had cleaned it out.” She rubbed her chin. “Twist will be in later today. I suppose I could ask her.” Carrot Cake nodded. “I'd appreciate that.” He collected his pencil and clipboard. “I'll be in Wednesday. You two have a good day.” And with that, he turned and trotted out. Bonbon turned to Lyra, leaned in and gave her a quick kiss. “You have fun at the park, and say hi to your fathers for me, please.” Lyra nodded. “Sure thing,” she said before walking around to the front door. She paused before cantering to the side as a half-dozen fillies filed in, coins jangling in their saddlebags. “Have fun with the pre-school rush,” she said, winking before dashing out. Bonbon let out a mild groan before staring down at Bebop, Applebloom, Scootaloo and a few others whose names escaped her. “All right, colts and fillies. Single file, like every time you come in here...” The Confectionarium's front door closed and locked behind Bonbon, a sign reading 'closed for lunch' rattling slightly against the glass. She glanced from side to side before galloping down the street towards the Residency. She made a sharp left before coming upon the two-story building. The gate swung open and she trotted up the porch. Bonbon paused for a moment before gently knocking on the door. “Hello?” she called out. The door swung open and Bonbon entered. She glanced around, quickly spotting Pokey Pierce sitting at his desk. Two quills floated before him, scribbling on scrolls. “Ah, Bonbon!” he said, grinning and waving a foreleg at her. “Do come in.” Bonbon trotted up to his desk. She looked around, quickly spotting Trixie's empty desk. “I see Trixie's out.” She looked back to Pokey and noticed Trixie's hat floating next to his chair. It was upside down and the interior was glowing softly. She cocked her head to the side and narrowed her eyes. “Trixie actually lets others use her hat when she's not around?” Pokey let out a snort as a few papers floated into the hat, disappearing into the magical vortex. “If she didn't, we'd be backlogged even more,” he deadpanned. He looked up from his writing. “Anything I can do for you, Bonbon?” Bonbon's muzzle twitched. “Well... “ Her gaze drifted to the hat. Gears turned in her head for a moment before she spoke. “I don't suppose there's any way I could maybe possibly send a note to Princess Luna, is there? I swear it's not anything bad!” Pokey stared at her for a moment. His lips curled up slightly. “Oh, what the hay.” A piece of parchment and quill floated over from a stack and landed on the desk in front of Bonbon. He shuffled around, looking at a bookcase. “Oh, gee! Look at all these wonderful books! It's a good thing nopony else is here to, say, write down something and shove it into the magic hat.” Bonbon quickly grabbed the quill with her lips, scribbled down a brief note, then slid the note over to the hat. It fell in, disappearing with a brief burst of white light. “All done,” she said. “You can stop pretending not to see me.” She waited for him to turn back before speaking again. “And thanks. I'm actually pretty surprised you went along with this.” Pokey shrugged. “I figure you've got good intentions, or at least not bad intentions, considering how you're carrying yourself. And I don't think Trixie's bucked up anything too badly in the past week or so to warrant going to Princess Luna directly.” He suddenly paused and rubbed his chin. “Wait, she hasn't done anything too badly, has she? I'm usually able to keep up with her usual shenanigans well enough.” The earth pony waved him off. “Nothing of the sort, Pokey.” She stepped away from the desk. “Thank you again.” And with that, she trotted to the door and out of the residency. Bonbon took a left – only to spot Trixie coming down the street. Trixie had her head down with a scroll floating in front of her, a quill scratching over it. “No, no, no...” She glanced up, her eyes focusing on Bonbon. “Bonbon?” She increased her gait, quickly catching up to the pony. “What brings you around?” She stopped. “Wait, I didn't do it!” Bonbon blinked. “Do what?” Trixie's eyes shifted from left to right. “Exactly!” she exclaimed. She telekinetically rolled up the scroll and shoved it into a saddlebag. “Okay, so all joking aside, need anything? The residency's a little out of your way at this time of day.” Bonbon's eyes shifted back and forth. “Oh, no worries,” she finally said, a half-smile on her face. “I can truthfully say Pokey was able to help me out with my task.” Her jaw shifted slightly. “So, what are you up to?” Trixie froze for a moment. “Well, just getting some shopping done before heading to Ditzy's for lunch.” Her expression darkened slightly. “Just having a bit of trouble finding something in my price range and that I think they'll like.” She glanced up at the increasingly-cloudy sky. Pegasi moved clouds around, blocking out the clear blue. “And I'm on a time limit as is. I've got to get something for the lunch I'm having with Ditzy and Dinky, but having a bit of trouble with my budget.” She shrugged. “Just gotta figure this out. No problem at all,” she said, waving a foreleg at Bonbon. Bonbon clicked her tongue and shifted her eyes a bit. “Well, if you're interested, I could probably get you a good discount at Curry's Comestibles.” At Trixie's questioning expression she shrugged. “He's my dad. I think I can convince him to skim a few bits off the top,” she said, winking. Trixie slowly nodded. “Ah, all right.” She stepped aside and gestured down the street. “Lead on, then, Bonbon.” She reared up on her hind legs. “For the Great and Powerful Trixie-” A rather loud gurgling from her stomach sent her back down to all fours. “ – needs some food,” she finished, blushing. Trixie and Bonbon walked up to a building. Like most in this part of Ponyville, it was two stories, the first story dedicated to a business and the second story was living space. Rows of flower bouquets were set up outside, with price tags dangling from them. An awning was set up over the door, with a sign reading 'Curry's Comestibles' above that. Trixie paused at one of the flower stands and sniffed a bouquet of begonias. She opened her mouth and moved her head forward, but a grunt from Bonbon stopped her forward momentum. “What?” she said, looking back to the cream-colored earth pony. “I wasn't going to eat it!” Bonbon snorted. “Right.” She walked through the front door, Trixie following. “Hi, Dad!” A brown-coated earth pony with a pinkish mane and tail glanced over at Bonbon. “Hi, Bonbon,” Curry, the owner of the shop, said, waving back. He wore a pair of thick, square glasses that looked thick enough to block a spear thrust, and a large mustache adorned the tip of his muzzle, completely obscuring his mouth. On his flank was a cutie mark of a vase of flowers. “Nice timing,” Curry remarked. “Looks like the sky's gonna open up any second.” Trixie glanced over her shoulder at the darkened sky. “A storm is coming,” she intoned. Her cape rippled slightly as she stomped the floor. “And the floor is hardwood!” Bonbon facehoofed and Curry blinked. “Well, yes. Easier to clean,” Curry replied. “And yup, a storm's coming. It'll be nice to not have to water the outdoor displays.” He turned from his work and trotted over to Trixie and Bonbon. “So, what can I do for you, Bonbon?” “Well, Trixie is a bit short on bits this week-” “Thanks, Bonbon...” “-And we were wondering if there was any chance for a discount?” Bonbon finished, glancing to Trixie out of the corner of her eye. Curry chuckled. “Well, that's no problem for a friend of Bonbon.” He slowly turned and trotted off to the sales counter. “I'll be around here if you need any help,” he said, pulling open a drawer. Trixie looked to Bonbon. “Thanks,” she said, looking everywhere but Bonbon's face. Bonbon shrugged, also glancing away. “No problem. You did a good job with last night” Trixie's head bobbed up and down. “Oh, of course. Yes, last night. Organizing it. Very difficult, that.” She barked a laugh and scratched the back of her head, right behind a twitching ear. “So...” She looked around, stepping up to a shelf with three vases of flowers. “So, what's the best thing-” The entire building suddenly shook, rattling the windowpanes and sending more than one vase crashing to the floor. Smoke slowly curled up from cracks in the floor, coalescing near the ceiling. Trixie's head whipped around, her eyes wide. “What the hay was that?” Curry barely looked up from his work while Bonbon rolled her eyes. “Oh, darn. Dad, is Mom in the basement lab?” A door near the back of the room slammed open and a white-coated unicorn mare with a frazzled, aquamarine mane stumbled out. Honeydew, Bonbon's mother and Curry's wife, wore thick glasses over wide eyes, with even thicker goggles covering them. A pair of vials floated behind her. “I have DONE IT!” she bellowed. Her entire body shook from giggling as the vials shot around. “I have made sweet, sweet LOVE to these, resulting in a messy menage a' trois of science, magic and... more science!!!” She stood up on her hind legs and threw up her forelegs, her laboratory jacket flaring out. As lightning flashed and thunder boomed. The shop's front door suddenly opened and Raindrops stuck her head in, her mane dripping. “Hey, just to let you know, the storm's gonna be a bit more intense than we thought. No worries, though. We've got it under control.” And with that, she withdrew her head and flew off. Curry let out a sigh. “That's nice, dear.” Trixie, meanwhile, backed up against one of the shelves. She kept her eyes on Honeydew and her horn lit up. “T-that's y-your m-m-m-mother?!” she stammered out, horn instinctively lighting up. Bonbon let out a sigh. “Mom, you're scaring my friend. Stop it, all right?” Honeydew turned to Bonbon and Trixie, her head twitching. “I can't, my dear Bonnie. For I know it ALL!” She advanced upon the pair. “I know the secrets of the Valley of Dreams, the ones who walked before us! I know their lost technology, and with it, I have made the ultimate discovery!” The vials flew forward, stopping mere inches from a terrified Trixie's muzzle. “I know how to combine asparagus and chocolate!!!” She threw her head back and laughed. “And with this, I shall rule them ALL!” “That's nice, dear.” Trixie's jaw worked, but little more than a squeak came out. Honeydew sucked in a breath. “And you, Trixie Lulamoon...” The vials floated off and Honeydew's voice dropped to an almost normal tone. “Thank you for saving my dear Bonnie from Corona.” She extended a hoof to her fellow unicorn. Trixie's eyes narrowed. She looked to Bonbon before focusing on Honeydew. “N-no problem,” she said, reaching out and touching Honeydew's hoof with her own. Honeydew smiled and withdrew her hoof. Her head suddenly shook and the wild-eyed expression returned. “Now... NOW!” she exclaimed. “For my latest creation! I have mixed that which should not be mixed, I have made something new and... and...” “Revolutionary?” Honeydew turned to Curry and smiled. “Yes, thank you, dear.” She turned and focused on Trixie and Bonbon. “It has the nutritional value of chocolate, with the taste of asparagus!” Bonbon groaned and rolled her eyes. “Mom, you got it backwards. Again.” Honeydew's eyes shifted back and forth. “I did?” “Yeah.” Honeydew let out a sigh. “I'll be back.” With that, she turned and trotted for the door. She walked through, slamming it behind her. Trixie blinked twice. She began silently walking around the flower shop, picking out several bouquets and floating them over to the sales counter. Curry stepped to the cash register and rang her up, accepting a few bits from her and bagging up the flowers. Trixie trotted over to Bonbon, a fine sheen of sweat on her brow and the shopping bag floating behind her. “Bonbon... thank you for the discount, and thank you for introducing me to your parents. Your father is a good stallion, and your mother is... enthusiastic.” She bowed her head slightly. “Gotta go bye!” And with that, she turned and trotted out, her gait increasing to a full-blown gallop as soon as she cleared the doorjamb. Bonbon let out a sigh. “Well... that went better than expected.” She sniffed the air and her eyes widened. “Oh, no. Not the burner.” She turned and galloped for the back door. “Mom, remember what happened last time!”