Bon Bon woke up with a rather ungraceful yawn, stretching her limbs in her comfy bed. It felt a little bigger than it had been last night, but that thought was pushed to the back of her mind. She had to get up, get ready and get cooking. Opening her eyes, she sat up.
“Oh, you’re awake. Good morning!”
She blinked, staring at Twilight. Had she come to greet her again? It was nice, but seemed a little excessive. Then she looked down at the bed.
It was Twilight’s.
“AAH!!” Bon Bon screamed, throwing off the covers and skittering out of the bed, landing in a heap on the floor. It was most unceremonious.
“What?! What’s wrong?! Was it something I did?!” Twilight exclaimed, trotting around the bed and over to Bons.
Bon Bon pointed at the bed, staring at Twilight. “We didn’t—” She clenched her teeth. “Did we?”
It took Twilight a few moments to board Bon Bon’s train of thought. When she did, she squeaked, her wings flaring as she hopped back. “No! I would never!” Blinking, she quickly shook her head. “No, I—I’m not trying to imply that you’re not attractive—far from it actually—but I’m not trying to put the moves on you either because that simply isn’t polite etiquette and—”
Bon Bon bit her lip, then burst out with, “And I’m not saying that doing that stuff with you is a bad thing but it’s something you should really ask me first although I’m not wanting you to ask but maybe somewhere down the line it could be something to consider and—”
The room filled with the sound of two mares rambling incessantly. Just when Bon Bon thought the awkward levels had reached their height, the door swung open, revealing the one pony she really didn’t need to see right now.
“Ah, good morning, Twilight.”
Twilight’s eyes widened, her body becoming stiff as a board. “P-Princess Celestia?” Meanwhile, Bon Bon immediately dropped to a bow, hiding her red face.
“Please, Twilight, we are equals now,” Celestia said with a smile, then brought her gaze upon Bon Bon. “Is this the mare responsible for all the racket I heard just now?” she asked, her voice gentle.
Bon Bon slowly looked up at her. “Er…”
“No!” Twilight hastily said, zipping next to Bon Bon and raising her up. “She’s the confectioner you requested, Prin—Celestia. Remember the Zap Apple candies?”
The ancient alicorn paused, licking her lips so quickly that Bon Bon completely failed to notice it. “Ah, yes, I remember. Those were quite lovely indeed. It is little wonder I enjoyed them so greatly.” She stepped closer to the earth pony, smiling. It was exactly the same as her statues; serene, tender, but also extremely knowing. “Bon Bon, I presume?”
Bons gave her a shaky nod, her voice equally so. “Y-Yes, P-Princess.”
“A pleasure.” She held out her hoof and it took Bon Bon a few moments to register that she actually had to shake it. “Don’t be so nervous. There really is nothing to worry about.”
“R-really?” Bon Bon stammered.
Celestia nodded. “Indeed. For you see, you have already passed.” Her lips twitched, barely forming a smirk right when both Bons’ and Twilight’s jaws dropped. “I tried the treats you made yesterday and I must say, there were even more delicious than the Zap Ppple ones,” she explained, her smile growing. “Congratulations.”
Bon Bon was a broken Bon, her eyes twitching. “B-but—how—why?!”
“I figured that you would not perform as well if you were under pressure. Therefore, I made the request that some of your treats from yesterday were delivered to me and my sister, which we both thoroughly enjoyed.”
Twilight gathered her composure, then let out a little snicker. “That’s just like you.”
Celestia chortled quietly. “Am I getting that predictable?” She looked to Bon Bon, who had fallen onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling. “I’ll allow you some time to take in the news, and to also travel back to Ponyville to collect your things, should you accept the offer.”
“Y-yes, Princess,” Bon Bon replied, without much thinking. Really, how could she say no to a Princess?
Celestia made her way to the door, nodding. “Excellent. I feel that we’re going to get along swimmingly.” She stopped just before exiting the room, looking back at Bons. “Oh, one more thing. Your cousin is here in the castle, working with the other astronomers.”
Bon Bon’s ears perked up. “Twinkleshine’s here?”
“Twinkleshine’s your cousin? I had no idea. Although…” Twilight narrowed her eyes, looking at Bon Bon closely. “I can see a slight resemblance.”
“My mom’s side,” Bon Bon replied, then peered at the door. Celestia was gone. Without her presence, she could let out a huge sigh of relief.
She took the time to finally evaluate her surroundings. The bed was of a modest size, but could definitely hold a pair with room to spare. There was a lot of purple around the room, although it didn’t make up the majority of the paint on the walls. They were mostly a light cream, with violets and pinks complementing it in wavy lines and designs. Apart from those things, it really didn’t look very grand. There wasn’t a chandelier suspended from the ceiling, nor were the wooden drawers and wardrobe particularly big. It felt basic, but appealing in it’s simplicity.
Bon Bon ran a hoof through her mane, her foreleg shaking slightly. “So… I did it…?”
“Yes! I knew you would!” Twilight cheered, hopping once on the spot. “You’ll get your own quarters at the castle and I can make it so they’re relatively near mine. It’ll almost be like we’re co-workers, or something to that extent.”
“Aren’t I technically your subject?” Bon Bon asked, slipping off the bed.
Twilight snorted. “Yes, but I’m not going to start treating you as one. I see all my friends as equals.” Trotting over, she gave Bon Bon a nice, warm hug. “Congratulations! You definitely deserve it.”
“Thanks,” Bon Bon replied. With a coy smile, she returned the gesture. Working at the stand never got her this many great hugs and affection. Although the path she was going down was about to change drastically, she actually felt it was a good one. Sure, butterflies still fluttered around in her stomach, but that was just pre-job nerves.
All she had to do now she had to go back home and break the news. That might end up being the hardest part, actually. She didn’t imagine all her friends would take the news so well, especially Lyra.
A pang of guilt struck Bon Bon and she wormed her way out of Twilight’s grip.
“What’s wrong?” Twilight asked, stepping back.
“Nothing,” she lied, shaking her head. “It’s just a lot to deal with, you know? Anyway,” she swiftly said, “Can you take me to Twinkleshine? I’d like to see her before we go back.”
“Sure thing. But first, we should have breakfast. You only just got up, remember?”
Bon Bon’s stomach grumbled in anticipation of food, prompting an embarrassed giggle from her. “Heh, okay, that’s true. Let’s go then.”
After a very filling breakfast, Twilight took Bon Bon to the Royal Observatory. It wasn’t very big, as there was one already in Canterlot, but it served the astronomers’ needs just fine. After escorting her there, Twilight left Bon Bon to explore and find Twinkleshine.
The main section of the research center was a large, round room. The lighting was appropriately dark, as were the walls and ceiling. Some of the light came from a few small candles suspended around the room, but the majority came from the ceiling. Bright, shining lights represented different stars and constellations, which Bon Bon couldn’t help but be impressed by.
But what was more amazing was what stood in the middle of the room. A large, bronze tube going up at the ceiling in an angle: the telescope. It wasn’t the biggest in Equestria, but it certainly stood out and had presence. It had gears on its sides, turning and churning as a violet stallion adjusted some levers and knobs to make it move ever so slightly.
The low lighting made it difficult to identify ponies, but Bon Bon did her best. While she was more of a mare who would get her hooves dirty, Twinkleshine was an avid researcher. A bit like Twilight, in a way, but a lot more outgoing. Unlike Bon Bon, Twinkle had grown up in Canterlot and became obsessed with the stars after reading about them in children’s stories. She had gone through higher education and eventually became an astronomer at the Canterlot Observatory.
Bon Bon couldn’t see Twinkleshine anywhere, so she headed to the end of the room where there were two doors. A few moments of pondering, and she entered the leftmost one. This room, although still dark, was smaller and rectangular. It had shelves and shelves of books and scrolls, as well as tables in rows. Twinkleshine sat at one of them, her nose in a book.
“Twinkleshine, you never told me you relocated here!”
Twinkle blinked, turning around in her seat, beaming the moment she saw her cousin. “Bon Bon? What are you doing here?! It’s great to see you but… what?!”
“I’ll explain what I’m doing here after you do,” Bon Bon shot back. She began to frown, staring Twinkleshine down. The astronomer shifted in her seat, almost bending over backwards as she tried to find a way out from Bon Bon’s glare.
All the tension in the room instantly died when Bon Bon burst out laughing, almost struggling to stand.
Twinkleshine relaxed, pouting, but her lips trembled as she tried not to laugh. “That was a mean trick, Brawn. Geeze, you still have that death glare…” She casually waved a hoof. “Fine, fine, I’ll tell you. All it took was a lot of requesting, saying please, and…” She looked down, tapping the table. “... what else… oh—yes! Being great at spotting stars!” She gestured at her cutie mark, grinning proudly. “Now, seriously, what are you doing here? No offense, Bon Brawn, but you’re not the type of pony I expect to see in the royal castle.”
Bon Bon snorted, flicking her tail. “I haven’t worked at a forge since I was in Dodge Junction, Twinkie.”
“Touché. But the muscle you got from that has never gone away, so the moniker still fits. Anyway, stop delaying—answer the question!” Twinkle exclaimed.
“Yes, I’m getting there, calm down.” Bon Bon rolled her eyes, then cleared her throat and explained. “Princess Celestia just so happened to try out one of my candies, and she liked it so much, she’s chosen me to be her royal confectioner.” The way she phrased sounded like there wasn’t even a choice in the matter. Like it was all meant to be. Somehow, that felt good.
“Wow, that’s fantastic, Bons!” Twinkle suddenly shot up from her seat, engulfing Bon Bon in a tight hug. “I’m so happy for you! Plus, this means we’ll get to spend more time together; I never see you enough.”
“I’m looking forward to it. First I have to go back home, pack and all that. So, I really can’t stay too long.” She tapped Twinkle on the shoulder, causing her to end the embrace. “I’ve got time for a little chat though. What’s the atmosphere like?”
“I’ll describe it to you in three words: quiet, formal, relaxed. As long as you’re not a troublemaker, that is. But even then, I’ve seen some pranks committed around here from time to time.” She leant in, whispering, “I think Celestia enjoys them. It’s a break from the norm, y’know?”
“Having Discord around isn’t unusual enough?”
“Point taken,” Twinkle said, sitting back in her seat.
“And another thing, which I’ve always meant to ask you, but never found the time. Isn’t astronomy a bit…” She bit her lip, mulling over her next word. “... iffy? What with Princess Luna back and everything.”
If Twinkle had taken offense, she didn’t show it. An enthusiastic smile flashed across her face instead. “Not at all! Princess Luna sometimes does change some of the stars’ positions, yes, but there’s always a set of constellations that never change their position. Ones like the Great Ursa. You’ve heard of that one, right?”
Bon Bon confirmed such by nodding. “Yes, you showed it to me when you visited Dodge.”
“Well, those constellations are a constant, so that ponies at night can use them to track their position,” Twinkle explained. “Astronomers in the past found them and we advised Luna to keep them the same way. We actually have a very close relationship with her, you know. Sometimes she comes in and checks how we’re doing.”
“Huh. So you’ve actually spoken to her face to face?”
“Yep. She’s pretty nice. A little bit out there, but hey, who can blame her. Right?”
“Good point,” Bon Bon said. While she had never met Luna, she had seen her during Nightmare Night that one time. She did initially think that Luna had only the best intentions, but the Royal Canterlot Voice, creepy looking guards, and oddly well timed lightning strikes tend to give a pony the jitters. Still, everything turned out for the best in the end.
“We also develop better telescopes, track falling objects from the Great Beyond and—our current project—mapping the moon.” Twinkle let out a happy sigh. “I love my job, I really do.”
“The Great Beyond?” Bons asked skeptically. “Don’t most ponies use the term ‘space’, these days?”
“Pfft. The Great Beyond sounds more epic. Plus, this—” She waved a hoof around in the empty air, “is technically space.” Then, she looked up, stars in her eyes. “I mean, it is The Great Beyond. Who knows what’s out there? Stars, comets, maybe even new worlds!”
Bon Bon scoffed, shaking her head. “New worlds? You’re such an oddball, Twinkie.”
“Excuse me for exploring possibilities. You always were a bit of a stick in the mud, Bon. Except for your fascination with those silly fantasy toys. Speaking of, you should probably get back to them, right?” She revealed a cheeky grin. “They’re probably gathering dust.”
Bon Bon turned, whapping Twinkle in the face with her tail. Ignoring Twinkle’s squeak, she started walking. “Yes, yes, I’ll be getting out of your mane for now. See you in a few days or so, Twinkle.”
“You know where to find me.” Twinkleshine gave her a short wave, then went back to reading. Bon Bon left the castle observatory, a pleasant smile on her face. With Twilight and Twinkle around, she’d have at least some ponies to talk to until she made some new friends. And really, that couldn’t be too hard.
After packing her saddlebags, Bon Bon stood on the Canterlot train station platform, Twilight by her side. She had said that she wanted to see her friends again, which Bon Bon had no complaints with. It made the journey home much more pleasant.
Still, she had questions. And that awkward morning definitely had to be talked about. But even if she had every intention to do so, the execution of it all utterly failed her. At the moment, they were standing in a companionable silence, waiting for the train. A perfect time to say her piece, if only the words would come out.
“So…” For her great start, Bon Bon mentally gave herself a medal. Made out of cardboard.
Ears twitching, Twilight faced her. “Hm?”
For a moment that felt way too long for her, she blanked out. “Train’s taking a while to arrive, isn’t it…?” For that combo of awkwardness, she received a trophy made out of paper mache.
“We’ve still got five minutes, although taking into account several factors that come into play with public transport, I want to say six.” Smirking, she turned Bon Bon’s head so she could see the list of train times. “See?”
“Er, yep. I see it. Guess I just forgot,” Bon Bon said, forcing some laughs to come out. “Why did we get here so early if you know the train is going to be one minute late?” It wasn’t where she had intended the conversation to go, but hey, it brought some of the heat off her.
“I like to be early. You never know what might happen—I’ve learned to expect the unexpected in life,” Twilight said.
“And we both know living in Ponyville really trains you up for that.” Bon Bon nudged Twilight, who nudged her back.
The train pulled in a minute late, just how Twilight predicted. They found a pair of empty seats next to a window and sat down, comfortably close to each other. Their tails entwined right when the train started to depart.
As much as she appreciated the contact, Bon Bon felt a little… confused. Everything was going a bit fast. A few days ago she would have never considered herself Twilight’s friend and vice versa. But now they were close. Really quite close. Even if they hadn’t slept together, Twilight had taken Bon Bon to bed. Clearly a line had been crossed, but what?
She shuffled around on her seat, her mind quickly becoming a muddled mess. The two of them needed to talk about, well, them. Now seemed like a good time as any, but…
“Nervous?”
Bon Bon jumped, looking at Twilight. “Uh, yeah. I’m not sure how my friends are going to take all this.” Especially Lyra.
She felt a gentle touch on her back, rubbing up and down. “When I became a Princess, I knew I couldn’t stick around Ponyville all the time, like normal,” Twilight began. “So when I told my friends that, they were understandably a bit shocked. Sad too. But mostly? They were happy for me, and I think your friends should be too.” She grinned, brimming with optimism. “You have to meet them soon, by the way!”
Bon Bon simply nodded, prompting a curious look from Twilight. “Sorry, not much else to add. Like I said, nervous,” Bons explained.
“Are you sure?”
“Sure.”
“Hm, well okay then,” Twilight said, leaving it at that.
Bon Bon looked out of the window, Equestria below them, green hills rolling and stretching for miles. “I’ll get to come visit, right? Like you do?”
Twilight tried to follow Bons’ gaze, but didn’t really find anything she hadn’t seen before, so she looked back at her. “Of course. Why wouldn’t you?” Bon Bon shrugged. “You’re having doubts, aren’t you?”
“What? No!” Bons hurriedly said. “Well, not really. I think it’s just nerves. I like having constants in my life, and this is a really big change, so…”
Twilight draped her wing around Bon Bon, pulling her a little closer. “I know how you feel. But look at it this way; change can be good.” After a beat, she added, “Right?”
Bons stared at her, and couldn’t help but smile at that pretty face. True, things had been hectic recently, but she had found a new constant of sorts in Twilight. She wasn’t always there with her at the castle, but she did her best to make sure she was alright. “Yeah, definitely.”
And without any prompting, the two shared a quick nuzzle. The moment felt nice enough that it made Bon Bon drop the serious talk she had intended. It wasn’t like she knew what to say to Twilight anyway. It didn’t matter much now; she was happy, and she was sure as hay Twilight was too. No problems here.
“So, you know Twinkle?” Bon Bon asked.
“A little, yes. We spoke only occasionally before I moved to Ponyville.” Twilight sighed, gazing back towards Canterlot. “I really wasn’t her friend—spent all my time studying, like a fool. Sometimes I shudder to think what would have happened to me if I never moved to Ponyville…”
Bon Bon moved to hug Twilight, wrapping her tail around her. “But that didn’t happened, did it? Heck, you may well be the luckiest mare in the world; a Princess, surrounded by loving, great friends.”
“I wouldn't call myself the luckiest pony in the world, but…” The smile she once wore returned. “My life is a lot better than it might have been.”
“See? Stop your worrying. It’s not healthy.” Especially for a unicorn as powerful as Twilight. Bon Bon shuddered to think what would happen if she lost control of her magic or something. She was bad enough sometimes when she was in control.
The rest of the journey was pleasant, involving a lot of small talk. Twilight seemed eager to talk about her friends, which Bon Bon didn’t mind so much; it was endearing seeing her so engaged and happy about something.
The train pulled into Ponyville station, puffing out steam like a dragon blows out smoke. The two mares got off, then set into town, both feeling relieved to be back in the casual, relaxed atmosphere. Ponies trotted about here and there, but neither of them had seen their friends yet.
“I’ll tell you what, it feels good to be back,” Bon Bon said, then paused. “Can’t believe I’ll be leaving it all behind.”
“You’ll get to visit, just like I do. It won’t be gone from your life forever,” Twilight replied. “The first couple of weeks are the most difficult, when you’re still adjusting. But after that, it does feel like a routine.”
“Mhm. I guess I’ll get use—”
“Bon Bon?!”
She jumped, spinning around to spot whoever had shouted.
Lyra came galloping towards them, a worried scowl on her face. “Bon Bon? Where the hay have you been?!”
Bon Bon felt a lump in her throat begin to form. “I was just in Canter—”
“You’ve been missing for days! What happened?!”
Her stomach tied up like a knot. I’m not so sure I thought this through enough…