You’re Such a Mal-Tease!
The sun peaked out from behind the distant horizon, slowly engulfing the colorfully decorated bedroom of the equine couple in its warm light as it ascended over the rooftops of Ponyville.
Lyra squinted as a lonesome ray of sunlight shone through the small oval window, caressing her face with its celestial touch and tickling her eyes open by doing so.
She looked up at the orange ceiling, taking in the piercing color somepony else had chosen and her mouth turned into a devious grin, shifting the idyllic scene to a display of pure, foalish excitement.
Bon Bon groaned annoyed as the mint-green unicorn lying beside her jumped from the queen-sized bed in one smooth motion, making her almost fall off on the other side through the sudden shift of the mattress.
"Hey, watch it!" Bon Bon exclaimed drowsily, holding the bedsheet with one hoof over her fluff before realizing why her marefriend behaved that way. "Oh, right! Happy Birthday, Lyra!"
"Thanks, Bonnie!" Lyra answered happily, not turning back to her partner as she hastily rummaged through the big chest in the corner. "Today's going to be amazing, can't wait!"
Bon Bon only frowned at that remark and the barely suppressed giggling that followed from the talented harpist. "Right..."
Today was Lyra's birthday. And Bon Bon knew she couldn't say no to any request, no matter what it was, as long as it stayed within the bounds of good taste.
Whatever 'good taste' entailed exactly... There were times their views differed on that matter somewhat.
It was a very fair agreement, though, as it saved them both the stress of finding an adequate birthday present for each other. That's what Hearth's Warming was for. And by 'handling' it this way they ensured that they made each other happy.
At least one mare at a time...
Last year hadn't even been too bad, Bon Bon thought back, a crimson blush forming on her beige cheeks as the memory took form. A truly 'bon-bonding' experience for their relationship indeed.
Furthermore, it wasn't like Bon Bon held back on her requests for Lyra. And the unicorn had always been more than willing to comply with anything that had been asked of her.
The special candy session had been something else, and she already had a plan ready for a follow-up on that one, so she had no intention of backing down, no matter what was to come.
Bon Bon was swiftly brought back to reality as the birthday mare suddenly made herself known again, holding something leathery up above her head in triumph.
"Found it!" A strange melody accompanied Lyra's gesture for a brief moment.
"A collar? ...You want me to wear a pet collar?" Bon Bon asked, raising an eyebrow as she stood up from bed. "That's a bit silly, don't you think?"
Lyra shook her head eagerly as the frowning earth pony approached. "No, no. I'll wear it, it has my name on the tag. However, you're the one putting it on me, as the very tall biped master of mine!" Lyra's grin rivaled that of Pinkie's at the clarification.
Bon Bon closed her eyes and slowly brought her left front hoof up to massage her temple. Of course, the human thing again, big surprise. Well, at least she was familiar with standing on two hooves by now.
"Ok, fine," Bon Bon agreed as she stood up on her hind legs with unrivaled grace. She took the purple collar with her front hooves and gave it an overall glance before leaning over to the unicorn.
She had become pretty skilled at moving like that after all those years together. Much to Lyra's joy, if her widening grin was anything to go by. After all, most of her prior requests had been quite similar in nature, which guaranteed the necessary practice.
Lyra wagged her fluffy tail with unrestrained excitement. "Thank you, Bon Bon! You're the best. Woof, woof!" She hung her tongue out like a dog as the collar was put gently around her neck.
Bon Bon couldn't help but cringe briefly at the sight before she turned around again. She sat down on the outer edge of the mattress and made a gesture with her hooves for Lyra to jump up. "Come here, girl, come here!"
Lyra tilted her head with half-closed eyes and smirked as she looked at her friend with amusement. "What are we going to do on the bed, Bonnie? You wouldn't buck your pet, would you? I think we should leave that to Fluttershy."
"WHAT?" Bon Bon exclaimed in shock at the accusation, a fierce red painting on her face. "I... I just thought..."
Lyra brought over a matching pink leash with her magic and dropped it next to Bon Bon on a pillow. "I think we both could use some fresh air. Let's go for a walk, bark bark!"
Bon Bon shook her head and grimaced in horror at the implied request, while Lyra embraced her role and started giving her best impression of a badly behaving dog, scratching the wooden floor as if trying to dig a hole.
It didn't take much more than two shredded pillows and a chewed chair leg for the candy maker to give in, and they soon found themselves outside on that lovely day.
"L-Lyra, how long do I have to w-walk like this?" Bon Bon stuttered as she looked around with a heavy blush and beads of sweat on her face. "It's kind of e-embarrassing!"
Lyra had her eyes closed and hummed a catchy tune as she walked happily and undeterred by her friend's question. Enjoying her friend's discomfort a tad too much.
"Lyra!" Bon Bon addressed her again, pulling the leash back with a bit of force. "Come, it's time to go home!"
The unicorn dog had no intention of going home already and grabbed the leash with its mouth, fighting over dominance as it pulled the leash back with hooves dug deep into the ground. "Grrrr!"
"For buck's sake, LYRA!" The beige biped yelled annoyed by her pet's defiance. "LET GO!"
The commotion made a flying pony notice them from above. The yellow-furred pegasus watched them for a while in interest before she descended close to the bickering couple.
"Do... do you need help?" The well-known animal caretaker asked shyly from the side. "You... you look like you need some help training her."
"Fluttershy!" Bon Bon exclaimed startled. "T-this is not what it looks like!"
It was exactly what it looked like.
Fluttershy trotted over and petted Lyra's head as she said, "Aww, she is so cute! I didn't know you had a pet. What's her name?"
Lyra let go of the leash and stared at her with mouth agape. Bon Bon followed her example, still standing on her hind legs, the handle of the leash falling to the ground.
"Fluttershy... it's Lyra," Bon Bon stuttered, unsure where this was going or if she was pulling their hooves. "It's just a play for her birthday."
"Breed?" Fluttershy asked with a blush forming on her face as she started giving Lyra rather intense belly rubs, eliciting some weird dog noises. "Good birthday girl, good girl!"
Bon Bon looked at the scene unfolding before her, blushing hard as she thought it over for a moment. "I... I'm not sure. Care to find out together?"
The belly rubbing stooped, and Lyra looked first up to Bon Bon and then to Fluttershy while she lay on the ground, nodding with tears. "BORK!"
Fluttershy looked deep into Lyra's puppy eyes as she agreed in a soft voice, "With pleasure."
Suddenly, the mint-green doggy was very eager to cut the walk short and they found themselves back home again, learning lots about proper caretaking from a true professional.