//------------------------------//
// 5.12 - Party For One - Slice of Life; No Spoilers 
// Story: Pony Stories: Season 5 
// by lunabrony 
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	Lyra Heartstrings sat alone at her kitchen table, gazing out the shuttered window at the scenes of life she could see through the dirty pane. She saw ponies shopping, running, laughing, doing all sorts of the things that she herself liked very much to do.  But she was staying indoors today, because today was a very special day. It was her birthday, a day that everypony knew came only once a year, and with varying degrees of importance depending on one's cultural background. 

The walls were decorated with streamers, balloons which had been inflated several days earlier had only just begun to show the first signs of limp drooping from being taped to the walls. All of these things had been put up the day before, decorated by her best friend Bon Bon, who had been eagerly anticipating spending a day with her bestie before getting called out on an assignment at the last minute, and had left two hours later, still protesting apologies and promising to make it up to Lyra.

"If apologies were bits, none should ever want for anything," Lyra's mother had been fond of saying. And she supposed that held true now. Lyra had been looking forward to spending the day with Bon Bon, and it wasn't that she didn't have anyone else to invite, it was that she didn't WANT to invite anyone else. 

Giving a soft sigh, she finally rose from the chair by the table. This wouldn't do at all, she decided. Sitting around and moping while the day passed her by was never the answer to anything. She took a deep breath, puffing out the candles in the cake that had already melted down to nubs and given the top of the cake an extra layer of wax, and plunged outside into the daylight, cringing at the sudden change from the dark of her home. 

Lyra exited outside into the street, and tried visiting some of her favorite shops. Quills and Sofas didn't have anything new, that wasn't surprising. Well, they did have a new reclining lounge chair that would look fantastic in the living room, but she could never afford that. Waxworks had some new scented candles, and she did wind up purchasing one on impulse that was supposed to smell like an old barn, she liked that musty smell, but it didn't smell anything like it was supposed to and she almost immediately planned on regifting it to Minuette for her birthday next month.

From the small rows of shops she trotted down the street and stopped by the remains of the old, burned library. It was an eyesore, and an eyesore that had stood for far too long. But every time a removal crew began to pick up speed and managed to get out here to try and tear the ruins down, a decree from Princess Twilight Sparkle came out of nowhere demanding that all work stop at once because they were infringing on sacred land or a historical landmark or that they didn't have the proper paperwork. It was bull, and everyone knew it, and sooner or later this thing WAS going to come down, nostalgic memories or not.

She stood by the side of the road for a few minutes watching young children play jump rope, but seeing as they weren't her children and she didn't want to be creepy, moved on after a short while. 

Quite simply, there wasn't much to interest her, although she did stop by Sugarcube Corner for a free cupcake. All she had to do was mention that it was her birthday, nopony questioned it. Although she did recall at one point last year Pinkie Pie had kicked out a young colt who'd had a fancy for cupcakes, and wound up having three birthdays in one week, or so he claimed. That had been the talk of the Bakery for weeks.

Lyra sat through the customary birthday song with patience, accepted her gift with thanks, and returned home. The cupcake was set down on the table just as a shadow fell over her, and she was grabbed from behind! Lyra shrieked, her martial arts training kicking in, and grabbed the hooves that had gone around her neck,  hauling all her weight forward to fling the attacker over her head and body slam them in an overhead arc onto the floor. Except... it wasn't an attacker at all. It was someone she knew very well.

"Bonnie!" Lyra cried.

Bon Bon groaned, dazed, stars quite literally dancing around her head. "Surpriiiiise..." She said weakly.

Lyra was overjoyed to see her friend, however improbable, but... "How did you get in here?" She asked. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm SUPER happy..."

"You left the door open," Bon Bon said. "You really shouldn't do that, it's dangerous."

"What... how... but you're supposed to be in Zebrabwe! You said you were going overseas!"

"I was," Bon Bon said, staggering slowly to her feet. "But I wanted to come home and surprise you. It's your birthday, after all. I told them I couldn't go, I told them I had diarrhea. They never question that. What are they gonna say, prove it?"

"Ewwww," Lyra made a face, and lunged for her friend, wrapping her hooves around her neck.

"You put your job on the line just to be here for me?"

"Of course, that's what best friends do."

"Oh and Lyra, I got you something."

Lyra looked up with hopeful eyes, and was shocked as Bon Bon slowly stroked her foreleg down her cheek.

"...Yes?" She whispered. Their eyes locked, gazing into each other.

"Bon Bon leaned closer, whispering low and sensually into Lyra's ear. "Something you've wanted for a long, long time now..." Oh, she was just teasing now. Surely she couldn't be offering what Lyra thought she was offering.

Lyra's throat was dry, her heart racing. "Yes?" She croaked, barely managing to get the word out.

Bon Bon grinned, and suddenly held out a barn scented candle from Waxworks. "Happy Birthday!"

Lyra tried to hold back her laughter and disappointment, which were both assaulting her with equal forces. "Thank you, Bonnie. It's perfect."