As sunset rolled over Ponyville and tinged the kitchen interior in a red light, Bon Bon was frantically zipping around the cabinets, taking biscuits out of the oven and cooking the sugar for the caramel and then mixing some more pastry and checking the other oven and cutting the roses in very small pieces and putting them in the mixer as well and WHEN DID THE CARAMEL MANAGE TO GET BURNT she'd have to make another batch and she was FALLING YET MORE BEHIND ON SCHEDULE and she may have come partly to terms that she wouldn't be able to complete that order by tomorrow morning but some part of her still refused to believe it and IF IT HADN'T BEEN FOR THAT USELESS PINOT NOIR she would have gotten her order of Alchermes in time and NONE OF THIS WOULD EVER HAD HAPPE-
A gentle, yet steady rapping at the open frame of the kitchen interrupted her train of thought. She barely glanced to register a worried pony at the doorstep. "Hey Lyra."
The unicorn took a long breath. "Bon Bon, are you... Is everything going alright?"
"Yup, just peachy," the cream mare replied, obvious tension in her voice, as she poured yet more flour in the mixing bowl.
"...Bon Bon, you've been at this all day, maybe you should need a rest or something..."
"I'm FINE," she replied, a bit louder than she intended. She couldn't stop, she couldn't break the pattern, Not now that she had figured out how to slot the timings properly so that she wouldn't have to lose a single second to-
Lyra continued, voice meeker and more tentative than before. "Look, I-I'm just saying, I've never seen you so frantic around your tools, an-and honestly I can see why... You're kinda making a mess around here."
Bon Bon allowed herself to break her pace and concentration, take a step backward, and really take notice that the kitchen was in a quite inexcusable state. Even now the mixer was spilling some of the overflowing pastry around. She went to turn it off, and sighed hard as she allowed her few seconds of on-the-spot resting. "That's true, but I'm to keep working if I want to finish tomorrow's order," she monotoned.
"You don't seem convinced."
The earth pony rested her head on the counter with a small *thud* "I'm not entirely sure I can manage to complete the order this time."
"Oh." A few seconds passed in silence. "Well, why don't we ask Sugarcube Corner to cover some of the work? Even if it's kinda late, I'm sure they'll be more than happy to get more-"
"But that will put me into REMISSION!" Bon Bon jumped up, repeating something she had already argued with herself. "I'll lose money on the order if I do that!"
Lyra staggered back, and took a few breaths to recover from the outburst at her. "Bon Bon, I... think you might need to set your priorities straight here. First, how confident are you to keep this up all night, considering how... sloppy you're being even now, and finish that order?"
The cream mare stared blankly as she was forced to consider the issue sincerely this time around. "Not at all."
"...Which means you'll need some help to finish it," Lyra offered kindly. "Aaand I think I've already proved last time-"
Bon Bon allowed herself a nervous chuckle. "Yeah, letting you try recipes that complex was not our best idea."
"So that leaves someone else; and I'm pretty sure you know already how much more important is customer loyalty than a one-time profit."
The baker simply nodded.
"Not to mention, Bon Bon, y-you can't stress yourself like this, ok?" Lyra's voice was taking on a nervous, pleading tone. "I-I don't like-I mean it's not really good when you're being this nervous, ok? You get all... strange, it's not like you to do that!"
Bon Bon blinked, frowning, contemplating saying something rash, but then understood, and smiled as calmly as I could manage. "It's... still me inside Lyra, I promise. I can take a little roughing, I'll be fine. I'll... I'll just do the list for Sugarcube Corner, ok?"
"Ok," Lyra replied with a sniff and a nod. She just stood uncomfortably for a while at the doorstep, head low.
"I mean, I'm sure whatever lesson was to be learned here, you have probably already got it," she continued, "...Not that I could tell you, I wouldn't really know what it was about in the first place and what got wrong and you know a lot more than me about pastries and-"
She was interrupted by Bon Bon gently placing her hoof, holding the list, on Lyra's shoulder. "It's fine," the earth pony offered, reassuring her with the best smile her tired features could manage.
Lyra smiled and nodded, wordlessly levitated the list and her saddlebags from the living room, and walked for the front door.
As she opened it, Bon Bon spoke again. "Hey Lyra?... Thank you."
Lyra stopped and giggled, sharing one last eye contact with the earth pony. "What are friends for?"