Bon Bon trotted through the market place, her saddle bags laden with various ingredients that she was low on in her confectionary shop. She paused for a moment before Roseluck’s store, and picked up a dozen daffodils, knowing that they were Lyra’s favourite, and then kept moving.
“Bon Bon! Bon Bon, over here!” Bon Bon turned to see the town’s newest addition, the new librarian Twilight Sparkle.
“Can I help you?” said Bon Bon, turning to face the unicorn and moving a bit closer.
“Lyra lives with you, right?” asked Twilight, and she continued on after Bon Bon’s nod, “Do you know where she is? I haven’t been able to find her all day.”
“It’s the day after the Summer Sun Celebration,” said Bon Bon, giving Twilight a flat stare.
“What’s that got to do with it?” asked Twilight, and Bon Bon had to fight the urge to facehoof. Of course Twilight wouldn’t know yet-she’d only been in Ponyville for a year.
“Okay, Twilight. You know all those songs we sing at the turning of the seasons?”
“Oh, like Winter Wrap Up?”
“Yes,” said Bon Bon, and both mares had to pause to hum the chorus of the song under their breaths, or it would be stuck in their heads all day. Once they’d done that, Bon Bon continued on. “Well, Lyra writes them. Every year, she has to come up with four songs; one for each of the Season Turnings. And Mayor Mare always wants them two days after the Summer Sun Celebration.”
“Oh,” realized Twilight, “Well, I can wait until she’s done, then. I’ll see you later, Bon Bon.” Bon Bon waved as Twilight headed back to the library, and Bon Bon headed home. When she reached her home and shop, she could hear the delicate sounds of the lyre floating out of the open upper window, often closely followed by the harsher sound of Lyra’s emphatic swearing. Bon Bon, having learned from previous years what would happen if she interrupted Lyra’s creative flow, decided to stay away from the door to the upper portion of the house.
It was several hours later when a frazzled, fatigued and frantic Lyra fumbled her way down the stairs, her front hooves stained with ink, and nearly collapsing. Without a single word, Bon Bon picked up the bunch of daffodils, and shoved them at Lyra.
“Eat,” commanded Bon Bon, and the unicorn leant forwards and took a bite straight from the bunch. As she chewed, Bon Bon could practically see her calming down and re-energizing. Likely, this was the first meal that she’d had all day. As Lyra finished the last of the flowers off, Bon Bon braced herself.
[Time]
“Oh my Celestia, Bon Bon, I am never doing this again, I swear! Next year, Mayor Mare can find someone else to write her songs for the season turnings! Delivering four songs by nine in the morning is impossible!”
“Uh-huh,” said Bon Bon, “So how many did you get finished?”
“Seven,” muttered Lyra, “three were for Pinkie Pie, and you know how much notice she gives me. Why can’t Mayor Mare do the same and give me more notice?” Bon Bon just smiled as Lyra continued her rant about how nopony understood exactly how long it took to write a song properly, knowing full well that while Lyra may complain now, that would change the moment the town hit the first rehearsal, when the unicorn would get more excited than any other time and all the work would pay off. Lyra would agree to do the songs for the next year again, and the whole cycle would repeat itself, because Mayor Mare would forget about it until the next Summer Sun Celebration, and thus the day after it, Lyra would barricade herself in her room, and write songs all day, before turning them over to the mayor’s office the next day. As Lyra left the room to go and organise everything to hand in the next day, A tune began to run through Bon Bon’s head.
“Winter wrap up, winter wrap up~” sang Bon Bon, before catching herself, “Dammit, Lyra!”
Her only response was a cry of “If I have to suffer, so do you!”