As the curtains closed on the wedding of Cranky and Matilda, Equestria chose to respect the occasion with clear skies and cool, dry air. The sun was still setting, filling the atmosphere with a fading glow. It was one of those evenings that seemed to promise happy dreams and cosy pillows for anypony settling down to rest, which included many a tired celebrant. But along the main road, Lyra and Bon Bon - or rather, Sweetie Drops - walked together through the town.
Before they met, Lyra had always been an early sleeper. But every night since, the two always sat together and watched the sun’s descent until they could count stars in the sky. It was never anypony but the two of them, and neither would have had it any other way.
As they made their way, Bon Bon looked over at Lyra with a playful smirk. A bouquet of flowers was hovering beside her friend, kept aloft by unicorn magic. It was the only ‘real’ bouquet that had made it to the wedding, and now it belonged to Lyra Heartstrings.
“That was so funny.” Bon Bon remarked, “All those other fillies reaching for it, and it just falls right into your lap.”
Lyra had blushed enough for one evening, so she just smiled. “Yeah, well, luck of the draw, right?”
“I guess this means you’ll have to get married now.” Bon Bon teased. “I think it’s a rule or something.”
“I dunno.” Bon Bon’s comment was obviously a joke, but Lyra seemed to space out a little at the thought. Then there was a nudge at her side.
“I’m kidding.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“Besides, if you had a special somepony, you’d tell your very best friend, right?” Bon Bon nudged again.
Lyra’s ears fell back and her face became long. “Yeah... I guess so. That's what friends do, right?”
Bon Bon stopped walking. Lyra did the same after a few steps and looked back at her friend curiously.
“Look... I’m really sorry, Lyra. I should have told you about it sooner.” Bon Bon hung her head in shame. “I just… didn’t want it all to end. You and me, I mean.”
Lyra placed a hoof on Bon Bon’s shoulder and shook her head. “Don't be silly, I’m not upset about that anymore. I was just-”
“No more secrets between us, okay?” Bon Bon pleaded, her eyes large as she looked up into Lyra’s. “I want everything to be - you know - real from now on.”
Lyra nodded softly. “I do too... Sweetie Drops.”
‘Sweetie Drops’ bit at her lip. The old name stung a little. “Just … keep calling me Bon Bon, maybe? That’s still me. Whatever I was named when I was a foal, I'm still your Bon Bon, kay?”
This made Lyra beam. The two hugged, and Lyra whispered “Got it”.
The pair turned and continued toward their usual bench, the destination for much of their evening. It always had been, night after night. The memories here were so strong that both mares secretly loathed to see anypony else using it. It was as if they had a special claim to this piece of public property.
Bon Bon climbed halfway up to her seat before looking back at her friend and tilting her head, noticing immediately that something was wrong. She was staring into the flowers that she had been carrying, as though lost in them.
“Lyra? Are you alright?”
The unicorn snapped out of her trance and looked up at Bon Bon, and, without a reply, she climbed up onto her usual spot and set the bouquet down between them. “Not sure, really.”
“Oh.” Not the answer Bon Bon had hoped for. "Is it still the… thing… because if you want me to quit, I technically -“
“It’s not that, Bon Bon.” Lyra sighed, puzzling over her own words. “It's... I just realized why you didn’t want to tell me. I get it now.”
There was a pregnant pause, as Bon Bon waited for Lyra to continue with this thought.
“You want to have no secrets between us now, but that's just because it all worked out. What if telling secrets really did destroy a wonderful friendship like ours? Throw away all our days and memories together with no hope of ever coming back, y’know? That would be … that would be….”
“It would be awful but… I was wrong, right?” Bon Bon said, frightened slightly by her friend’s sudden concern. She sure hoped she had been wrong.
“No, you were... but what if you weren’t, would you have been glad I found out then?”
Bon Bon frowned, deeply. “No. But it’s all in the past now…”
“Yeah.” Lyra murmured, looking again at the bouquet. “Yours is.”
“My what is?”
“Your secret.” Lyra swallowed deeply, but still made no eye contact. “You said you want no more secrets between us, but what if one really could ruin everything? Would you want me to tell you? I couldn’t bear to lose you…”
Bon Bon raised a hoof and wiped it across Lyra’s lovely face, brushing her mane aside. “Then you won’t. Whatever it is, you tell me with honesty, and we will work through it. I promise.”
Lyra nodded, her eyes still uncertain. “I… I do have a secret. Bigger than the oats. And it really, really could end everything. You might never look at me the same way again. And I couldn’t bear that. But I really do want to tell you. We were supposed to be close enough to know everything. But I don't see how saying this wouldn't change anything.”
Sitting tall, Bon Bon placed a hoof to her breast, indicative of a heartfelt promise. “I have another one for you. A big one. The last one. You tell me yours, I tell you mine. And no matter what, I will always be your friend.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of…” Lyra immediately regretted her words, but since that was out, she continued - she had to, before Bon Bon jumped to far worse conclusions - and she even forced herself to finally make eye contact again. “The thing is you ARE the best friend I ever had, and I could spend the rest of my life like this. But..."
“But…?”
“But you don’t… we don’t… it doesn’t have to stop at friendship. For me. If it does for you, okay, I… ugh.”
Having thoroughly embarrassed herself, Lyra put her hoof on the bouquet to scoop them up like a shield, but a second hoof laid across hers. Lyra's beautiful eyes drew in close, round and wide.
“Are you saying what I THINK you’re saying?” Bon Bon whispered, her voice filled with electricity.
Lyra shrugged. “If I could read your mind we wouldn’t HAVE secrets.” It was a weak attempt to lighten the moment with a joke, but Bon Bon started to beam all the same.
“Oh, Lyra. Just say it. Say it like you always do. You always say things exactly as they are, and I adore that about you.”
With the deepest breath she had ever taken, Lyra said it.
“I like you way more than any friend, and what we are, the two of us, well… we can be absolutely anything you want to let us be. Best friends, sisters - “
Bon Bon already knew. “Or lovers, right?”
“… yeah.” Lyra smiled a small smile.
Bon Bon did not stop smiling for a moment. She looked down under their conjoined hooves and the bouquet beneath them. “You know,” she whispered, “maybe there really is some kind of rule about these things.”
Lyra’s smile grew a little. Bon Bon was teasing her, like she always had. “I dunno.” She answered, for the second time. “But… didn’t we make a deal?”
“Psh." Bon Bon snorted playfully. "I did. You never agreed to it.”
“No fair.”
“Well guess what, I’ll tell you anyway." Bon Bon winked, her eyes blazing. "I’ll warn you, though, my secret is a bit of a doozy!”
Lyra blinked. “What, so mine wasn’t?”
“Not like this.” Bon Bon giggled. “Are you ready?”
Lyra braced herself, but she never got a chance to respond before soft lips were pressing against hers. In that moment, Both ponies discovered something about truth: you can get absolutely lost in it.
Overhead, the very first twinkles of starlight appeared through the fading veil of sunset.
The newly-weds crept together through the streets of Ponyville, alone at last. A brisk detour around the block had allowed the couple to spy on their fellow lovers from a distance.
“It’s about time.” Matilda giggled, a hint of mischief in her hushed voice.
Cranky just shook his head, that piece of moustache still precariously waving on top. “You're not supposed to aim, y'know.”
The two looked at one another, then laughed in unison as they wandered together into the enchanted evening.