Lyra Heartstrings yawned as she made her way through town, giving a half-attentive wave of her hoof to greet the ponies as she passed. It was a fairly nice autumn day, just a day or two from the winter snowdrop. That perfect time of year when ponies were halfway between taking down their elaborate Nightmare Night decorations and putting up their Hearth's Warming ones.
Lyra honestly loved this time of year. The air was nice and chilly, which was better than summer because while you could always bundle up more to stay toasty in winter, there was only so much you could do to stay cool short of shaving your coat off when Princess Celestia decided to lay the heat on especially thick. The long nights of winter also meant that ponies like her who enjoyed staying out late could head out earlier and stay out longer. Something Princess Luna probably appreciated now that she was back. And finally, this special time of year between Hearth's Warming and Nightmare Night was the perfect time to stock up on any surpluses of candy that hadn't been snatched up yet. And at fantastic bargains, too!
Speaking of which, she was already making a half-conscious beeline right for Ponyville's hub of all things sweet and confectionery: Sugar Cube Corner. "Oh, good morning Lyra, dear." Came the friendly voice of the resident matron from behind the counter. Lyra had known Mrs. Cake since she'd moved to Ponyville, and it always made Lyra smile to see her this time of year. "Come to browse the discounts again?"
"You know it." The still bleary-eyed unicorn yawned again, stretching one of her back and forelegs as she took a look around at what was on display. To her dismay, she found very little on sale. Which could only mean, "Don't tell me..."
"Afraid so, dear. Pinkie bought them all out the day before." Cup Cake shook her head, idly glancing past her as the door opened and shut behind her. "You know how she is, two hollow back legs."
"Yeah that sounds like my luck lately." Lyra sighed, taking another look around. "Any other sales going on?"
"Afraid not, dear. We've a small discount on pies and tarts, but that's about it." Mrs. Cake admitted. "How is Bon Bon, by the by?"
"Well, if she's not nagging me she's probably still sleeping." Mrs Cake's face paled just slightly at the bluntness of Lyra's statement, but Lyra hardly noticed. If she couldn't indulge her sugar addiction with leftover candy, she may as well get some sugary brunch. It was just a question of what to order. It all sounded so good! "You know she's actually trying to put me on a diet?"
Mrs. Cake somehow retained her smile. "Ah, Lyra-"
"It's weird as the Everfree, mare." Lyra continued, still trying to make a selection. Those cherry tarts sounded amazing right now, but part of her really wanted a piece of midday pie. "Can you imagine that? A candy maker trying to make somepony eat healthy? That's gotta be like, I dunno, cutie mark betrayal or something, doesn't it?"
"Lyra, I don't-"
"And she's so inconsistent about it too!" Lyra rambled on. Yeah. Yeah! Pie sounded good today. "One minute it's 'Watch what you eat, Lyra, you're getting pudgy!' " Mrs. Cake visibly winced at Lyra's impression of her marefriend. "Then its, 'Oh Lyra, won't you come taste test this for me?' I wish she'd just make up her mind."
By this point, Mrs. Cake completely gave up on Lyra listening to her and tried a different approach to keep her customer from digging her grave any deeper. Looking directly past her, she addressed the customer behind her clearly and with teeth clenched in a painfully sweet smile. "Bon Bon! How are you doing this morning?"
It was now Lyra's turn to turn such a shade of pale green she may as well be white. She didn't dare turn around, not that she needed to now that she could feel Bon Bon's stare boring into the back of her skull. "No, no. Don't mind me." She heard Bon Bon say, with a voice of frightening calm and sweetness. "Do go on, Lyra." Hearing her name spoken in that tone sent a visible shiver down her spine and made it very clear that she very quickly needed to say something that would make her previous statements seem smarter. That and she needed to begin writing nothing less than a mental opera of prayers to the Princesses that she'd be forgiven for saying them in the first place.
That said, she doubted even Discord himself could spindoctor what amounted to "She's an annoying naggy bitch who won't get off my case." into something Bon Bon would remotely buy into. And while Lyra knew for a fact that she was no Discord, she certainly had to try to save her hide and her relationship. "W-Well..." She took a deep breath, wracking her brain for ideas. "I was about to say... that I know she only does it because she cares about me, and, you know... maybe she gets kind of jealous when I eat other pony's candy instead of hers?" Smooth, Lyra. She honestly hadn't meant for the last part to sound like as much of a question as it did.
Bon Bon didn't say anything, and Lyra could still feel her eyes trying to drill holes into the back of her head. Finally Lyra heard her sigh and Bon Bon broke her silence. "Lyra. Look at me."
Lyra closed her eyes and braced herself before turning around to face the music. So much for that. Too bad, out of all the spins she could have put on that, that was probably the best one she-
Rather than a harsh slap on the face followed by yelling, which in retrospect she was beginning to recognize that she kind of deserved for the things she said, what she got was an affectionate peck on the cheek. It was enough to make her open her eyes back up and stare back at Bon Bon in surprise. "That's for understanding my intention." Bon Bon told her softly. She didn't looked particularly pleased, but it was a far cry from-
Slap!
And there we go. One slap right across the same cheek she'd just kissed. That one really stung, and would probably continue to sting for a while yet. "And that's for saying those things anyway, you stupid unicorn!" Lyra winced as she touched her reddening cheek and watched Bon Bon turn to leave. "Pick up some milk while you're out, okay? We're running low."
"Uh, will do." She called back meekly before catching herself smiling a bit, either in elation at having dodged a proverbial arrow or that she'd been able to get this off her chest and they could go back to business as usual. "So, hey!" Bon Bon paused halfway out the door and turned her head to look back at her. "In days or weeks, about how long do you think I'm going to be hearing about this one?"
"Years, Lyra!" Bon Bon replied with that same smile Lyra had on her face. A wave of relief washed over her as she realized that she'd been forgiven. It probably wouldn't hurt to still write a few prayers to the princesses, though. Maybe get some flowers too. She was pretty sure Roseluck would have some in stock.
"Get home soon," Bon Bon added, returning Lyra's attention to her marefriend. "I'm going to need help in the kitchen later today, okay?"
"You're the boss, Double B." Lyra smiled, watching Bon Bon roll her eyes before the door swung closed behind her as she left. She let out another long sigh before turning back to take one last look over the menu. "Princesses, I love that mare." Maybe she would wait on the pie. 'Help me in the kitchen.' tended to translate into taste testing and batch cooking. And Bon Bon probably wouldn't notice if a few pieces went missing from the bunch. "Think I'll skip out on brunch today, Mrs. Cake." Lyra said with a smile. She turned around and headed for the door, waving goodbye as she went. "Thanks for the talk!"
Mrs. Cake had watched the entire exchange in a state of silent bewilderment, not sure entirely what had just happened in her shop before letting out a long sigh. "Everything alright, Honeybun?" Carrot asked, finally finding some time to come up to the counter and check in on her.
"Just fine, dear." She replied at last. "You don't mind watching the counter for me, do you? I think I need a break."