Plan B

Celestia’s warm sun shined brightly in the early morning sky as Lyra tiredly dragged herself through the snow that covered the path leading to Bon Bon’s home. The earth pony’s dark blue cloak that was abandoned the night before was neatly folded and held aloft within a golden aura of magic. Lyra was on her way to return the clothing but not without getting some answers from her friend.

Lyra had been up all night thinking about what happened at The Everfree Moon. Chris couldn’t sleep, either, and kept her company throughout the night, which she was grateful for. Even though they didn’t talk much, Chris let her lay on top of him while he petted her mane and massaged her hooves. She loved it when he would rub her soft and sensitive frog with his fingertips. However, she still couldn’t fall asleep, even with the relaxing hoof massage.

Lyra grumbled to herself as she tried to keep her eyes open. She walked up to the home she once shared with Bon Bon, stopping at the front entrance. She floated the clothing behind her before taking a deep breath. She raised her hoof, knocked on the door three times, and waited. She knew today was Bon Bon’s day off from the candy shop and it was too early in the morning for her to be out with her other friends, so she had to be home.

The unicorn waited impatiently for her friend to answer, tapping her hoof on the ground as she organized her thoughts. She really just wanted to know what went wrong, aside from Bon Bon smacking Chris’s hand away and spilling her soup all over. If she knew what was really bothering her friend, perhaps then they could start working towards some kind of solution.

“Come on, Bonny. I know you’re home,” Lyra quietly grumbled to herself. She moved her hoof up to knock again but the door started to slowly creak open before she was able to make contact.

Bon Bon peered through the crack of the door with only a single, cheerless eye showing. “Oh… hi Lyra,” she greeted softly as she opened the door completely, revealing the very stressed looking mare. Her eyes were puffy and red, clear evidence she had been crying most of the night. Her mane wasn't brushed out yet, her curls stuck out in every direction and she still had a little bit of her make-up on. She wasn’t wearing her dress or the firelily that Chris had given her. However, she was still wearing the gemstone necklace, which could be a good sign. It meant she didn’t throw it away in anger or something. Lyra really hoped Bon Bon didn’t throw away the firelily. Chris would be so heartbroken if she had.

Lyra cleared her throat and tried her best to not look like she had been up all night moping, forcing a bright, everything-is-okay smile. “G-good morning, Bonny,” she greeted in a friendly and cheery tone. “I-I umm… hope you’re, ehh, doing okay?” she asked awkwardly, trying to break the ice a little.

Bon Bon frowned sadly as she slowly looked down at her forelegs while she drew a little line back and forth with her hoof, not saying anything for a moment. “I-I’m… okay,” she finally answered, obviously lying as she looked back up to her friend. “H-how’s Chris’s hand?” she asked softly, sounding genuinely concerned.

Lyra’s smile started to turn into a more genuine one at her friend’s concern for Chris. It was reassuring that she cared enough about him to have asked. “Oh, he’s fine. No burns or anything,” Lyra reassured her.

Bon Bon closed her eyes and let out a soft sigh of relief, “Thank goodness.”

“Yeah, he’s a pretty tough stallion. Takes more than a little tap on the wrist and some warm soup to bring him down,” Lyra chucked lightly, hoping to ease the tension a little. “But, he’s really worried about you, you know,” she added in a soft, serious tone.

Bon Bon looked away slightly as she rubbed her foreleg with her hoof shyly, not responding.

Lyra’s smile slowly faded into a dejected frown. Sighing, she used her magic to float the cloak that was still behind her towards Bon Bon. “You, umm, left this at the restaurant last night,” she explained flatly.

Bon Bon looked up. “Oh, thank you. I guess I kind of forgot about it,” she admitted softly, reaching out her hoof to grab the clothing.

Lyra released her magic, draping the folded fabric over her friends foreleg. Bon Bon retracted her leg, pressing the clothing to her chest. She remained in the doorway, looking away slightly as she rubbed the cloak on her fur, not really sure what else to do with herself.

The two mares stood in awkward silence for what felt like forever before Lyra finally let out a loud, exhausted sigh. “Come on, Bonny. Tell me what's wrong. Whatever happened back at the restaurant, we can work through it. Please, just talk to me," she pleaded.

Bon Bon winced a little at the question before looking back to Lyra with a sorrowful expression. “Lyra, y-you promised," Bon Bon softly reminded her, stepping back into her home a little.

"I’m not asking you for another date," Lyra quickly defended herself, holding up a submissive hoof. "But, I know you saw something in Chris last night. I just want to know why you left like you did. Please, Bonny, just tell me?"

Bon Bon clenched the cloak in her hoof a little tighter as she turned her head farther away from Lyra. She bit her bottom lip as she thought about what to say. "I-I… I just..." she stammered, causing Lyra to perk her ears up a little so she could hear more clearly.

Bon Bon hesitated for a moment before sighing deeply. "I just can’t, Lyra," she finally answered regrettably, clenching her eyes shut, not wanting to look directly at her friend.

Lyra sighed heavily before taking a small step forward. "Bonny. You keep saying that, but why can't you? Is it because of the foal thing?" she asked gently, speaking to her in a more concerned tone.

"N-no, i-it's more than that," Bon Bon admitted softly, opening her now slightly teary eyes, still not looking in Lyra’s direction.

"More?" Lyra asked, a little confused. “Does this have to do with Silver Wing? That was almost five years ago, Bonny,” Lyra pointed out sadly. “You shouldn't assume every stallion you meet would be like him.”

“I-I know Chris wouldn’t be as cruel as he was, but… but...” Bon Bon paused for a moment to gather her thoughts. She didn’t want to remind Lyra that Twilight was still finding Chris a way home. “I’m just scared, okay,” she admitted in a soft whisper that was barely audible.

“Scared?” Lyra questioned, raising an eyebrow at her friend. “Scared of what?”

“I-It’s complicated,” Bon Bon answered simply, looking down at the ground.

Lyra pulled her head back a bit and blinked a few times. "C-Complicated?" she repeated Bon Bon’s words to herself, dumbfounded. "Bonny, Chris has been here for almost two years now. He's one of the kindest stallions around and has never done a thing to hurt anypony. You can't still be afraid of him like that, can you?"

Bon Bon shook her head a little. “I-It’s more than that,” she trailed off.

Lyra groaned loudly and placed a hoof on her forehead knowing they were just going around in circles at this point. This was always something that bugged Lyra about her friend. Bon Bon would never open up to others when things like this were troubling her. “Bonny, you keep saying that," she exasperated, placing her hoof back down. "I can understand that, really I can. But, you have to let me in that beautiful little head of yours,” she lightly teased, hoping to make Bon Bon a little more comfortable with the current topic. “I’m sure whatever it is that you’re afraid of, it isn't as bad as it seems. We can all work this out together. Chris is understanding and would be more than willing to help you,” she added with a reassuring smile. “Chris really cares, Bonny. He's not just doing it for me. He wants this to work out.”

Bon Bon shook her head slightly. "I know. But, I just can't afford to be close to somepony like him," she explained vaguely as a single tear trailed down her cheek. "It’s just better for everypony this way."

Lyra's eyes started to widen in shock, not believing the words that were coming from her friend. "B-Better for everypony!? H-how can you say something like that!? Bonny, just let us help you please!" She begged as she raised her voice, feeling a little angry at her friends continued stubbornness.

"F-Forgive me, Lyra," Bon Bon whimpered as she took another step back into her home, placing her free hoof on the door.

"Bon Bon!” Lyra shouted. “You don't know what you're saying!" she argued, raising her voice a little more as her frustration mounted. "Chris is right for you! You need somepony like him in your life! You need to open up and learn to take risks and enjoy the moment. Chris can help you do that!"

Bon Bon only frowned sadly as more tears streamed down her cheeks. "Thank you for bringing my cloak back to me," she said softly as she started to slowly close her front door. "I love you, Lyra. Please keep your promise to me and don’t make Chris ask me about this either. This is hard enough as it is," she whispered sadly before softly closing the door.

"Wh-wha... I-I... B-Bon Bon!" Lyra yelled as the wooden door shut in front of her. "Y-you... y-you, stubborn MULE!"

Lyra grunted angrily, furrowing her brow. “Bonny, I forgive you now! Just come out here and talk to me!” she shouted as tears started to accumulate in her eyes. She glared hard at the door as thoughts of bucking it down, dragging Bon Bon out by the tail, and taking her to Chris’s house crossed the unicorn's mind several times.

Lyra stomped her forehooves on the ground repeatedly, grunting and growling angrily to herself. “You won't even give him a chance! Chris could bring you so much joy and happiness if you would just let him!" she yelled into the door as tears started to stream down her cheeks. "He needs you in his life just as much! He needs you like I need you!" she added, panting heavily.

After no sound was heard from the other side of the door, Lyra jerked herself around and started to stomp her way back home, but stopped and turned her head to say one final thing. "I’M NOT GIVING UP ON YOU! YOU HEAR ME!" she shouted as loud as she could before quickly galloping away.

Lyra stormed into Chris’s home, bucking the door shut behind her, causing Chris to run out of his bedroom. "Lyra?" he called out in concern. "What happened? What did she say?"

Lyra grunted in frustration as she sat on the floor and dropped her head down slightly. "She said she was afraid." She whimpered slightly as a single tear fell from her eye. "I asked her why and all she said was, ‘it's complicated,’" Lyra growled, feeling her anger rise again. "She always does this. Whenever something serious is bothering her she just locks up and doesn't talk to anypony about what's wrong."

Chris pondered Lyra’s words. "Maybe she’s just afraid of how we would react if she told us what she was really feeling," he muttered to himself softly.

Lyra huffed angrily, not hearing Chris’s comment. "She’s just so stubborn. I just can’t understand why she won't tell us what's bothering her!”

Chris rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, having a good idea about what Bon Bon was afraid of and why she was keeping it to herself. "I should’ve gone with you. I could have talked to her," he sighed sadly.

Lyra shook her head. "No, that would've made it worse. She probably wouldn't have even come out of her house if she saw you there."

Chris clenched his tired eyes shut as he rubbed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger, knowing she was right. He sighed sadly as he walked towards Lyra. He sat down on the floor next to her, wrapping his arm around her withers and gently pulled her into his side. “I'm really sorry, Lyra. I bucked everything up.”

Lyra growled, not wanting to hear Chris blame himself again for something that wasn’t his fault. She scowled and pressed the side of her head against his chest, shutting her eyes. “I don’t want to hear that anymore. You were only trying to help. Nothing that happened last night was your fault.”

“But I should have known that Bon Bon would react like she did,” Chris admitted dryly. “She’s still afraid of me…”

Lyra shook her head against his chest. “No, she isn’t afraid of you like she used to be. Its something else that's bothering her,” Lyra pulled her head back to looked into Chris’s eyes. “We just have to help her get through whatever it is that she’s having trouble with.”

Chris frowned slightly as he gazed back into Lyra’s eyes. “Lyra, I just don’t know if we can… I mean, you saw what she did back there. She’s not going to want to come anywhere near me again, let alone talk to me."

“Don’t say that!” Lyra exclaimed, raising her voice a little as more tears started to build up in her eyes. “You don’t want to give up on her, do you!?” she asked loudly in a near-panic.

“N-No Lyra that’s not—,”

“Bonny could use somepony like us in her life!” Lyra interrupted him. "And I know you can help her to enjoy life and loosen up. You can make her so happy, just like you make me happy.”

Chris paused for a moment as her words settled in. “You really think I could do something like that for her?” he asked with an unsure tone.

“I know you can,” Lyra retorted with a sad sigh as she laid her head back against Chris’s chest.

Chris frowned for a moment. “I believe you, Lyra. I really do, but I just don’t know what we can do now. You told me last night that Bon Bon made you promise her to not bring this up with her again.”

Lyra groaned a little, knowing he was right. “We'll think of something,” she sighed sadly. "I'm not giving up on her."

Chris nodded his head even though Lyra couldn't see the gesture. "I don't want to give up, either," he said as he sighed deeply. “I would give anything to have a second chance with her. I really thought we were just starting to connect," Chris said, exasperated. "If only I had more time with her, I know I could get her to come out of her shell. Or at least get her to tell me what's wrong.”

"I know you can," Lyra agreed. "We just need to get you two together for a while. She needs time to get to know you more and open up."

Chris wrapped his other arm around Lyra, holding her a little tighter as he laid his head on the back of her neck. "Assuming I could get her to hang around me for more than a second," he mused.

Lyra knew that getting Bon Bon to spend enough time around Chris was going to be next to impossible at this point. Bon Bon could be a very stubborn mare at times, but she knew if anypony was going to get Bon Bon to come out of her protective bubble it would be Chris. But, how could she get them together?

Maybe I can tie them together with a rope. That way, Bon Bon would have no choice but to talk to Chris, Lyra thought to herself, giggling slightly at the ridiculous thought.

Wait...

Could she actually do that?

What if there was a spell that would let her do something similar to that? Like, make it so that they couldn't leave each others side for a while. That way Chris could start talking to Bon Bon, then she would...

Lyra jerked her head up, startling Chris a little. "Whoa, you okay?" he asked, relaxing his hold on her.

"Y-yeah, I... just.." she trailed her answer off, not really paying attention to his words as she stared off into space, losing herself in her thoughts.

She couldn't really be considering trying to tie Chris and Bon Bon together like that, could she? Chris wouldn't agree to something like that and Bon Bon definitely wouldn’t want that. She would have to make it seem like it was an accident of some kind and it wouldn't be too hard to play it off as some kind of spell mishap.

But, was there even a spell like that? She would have to do some research at the library, but if she could find such a spell, then she could bind Chris and Bon Bon together. That way Chris could start to get Bon Bon to open up and he could even help her in her shop and keep her company! Oh, this idea was almost too perfect!

Chris did say that he would do anything to have another chance with Bon Bon, so he couldn't be too mad at her about doing it, right?

This could really work. It was crazy, nuts even, but it could work! Plus, this little plan wouldn't really be breaking her promise to Bon Bon. She wouldn't be asking her friend to another date or anything like that. It would just be a happy little accident and they didn't need be stuck together for long. Just long enough for—

"Lyra?" Chris called to her, waving a hand in front of her face, snapping her out of her thoughts. It seemed like he had been calling to her for a while, but she was zoned out. "You alright?"

"Oh! Uhh, yes! I, umm, just remembered! That I need to, umm... help... Twilight… at the library, today! Yeah!" she explained a little nervously with an awkward smile.

Chris cocked his eyebrow at her a little. “Uhh, you do?”

Lyra nodded her head. “Yeah, sorry I didn’t tell you before. I just almost forgot about it after what happened, you know?” she explained, almost a little too quickly as she picked herself up, making Chris release his hold on her completely. “I might be out for a bit, though, so I’m not sure when I will be back,” Lyra clarified as she backed up in the direction of the front door.

“You will?” Chris asked sadly. “Well, will you be home for supper?”

“I’m not sure,” Lyra answered as she turned around and used her magic to open the door. “Just save me some of whatever you make. I love you, bye!” she added as she practically leapt out of the door.

“I love―,” Chris tried to say, but the door slamming cut him off, “―you too.”

Chris sighed to himself, not quite sure what got into his marefriend so suddenly. He picked himself up off of the floor, thinking about what he could do about the Bon Bon situation. He wanted to just go over to her house and talk to her, but knew Lyra was right. Bon Bon would just run away from him. Maybe he should just lay low for a while and wait for Lyra to return before he planned his next move. That is, whenever Lyra got back from… whatever it was that she was helping with at the library.

Come to think of it. Why didn’t Twilight ask him to help out at the library?

“No… This won't work either,” Lyra grunted in frustration as she closed yet another spell tome. She used her magic to set the tome on the large, already-read tower of books and picked out another one from the smaller too-be-read tower. She had spent hours in the crystal castle library, looking over dozens of spell books. Nothing seemed to match what she was looking for and the candle she was using for extra light was slowly melting into a wax puddle on the table’s surface.

Lyra found lots of spells that could fuse Chris and Bon Bon together, but she didn’t want them to have to share one body. From the looks of it, if she messed up any of those spells even a little it could end in disaster and getting them separated would be even more of a complex nightmare.

One spell she found was a little closer to what she wanted. It would’ve linked their minds together, but that couldn’t work, either. They would both have to be placed into a coma and if the spell lasted too long their minds would eventually meld into one, which meant cutting the link between them could cause a lot of irreversible damage.

She found dozens of mind controlling spells. If she was desperate enough she could just make Bon Bon fall in love with Chris, but she didn’t want that. She wasn’t about to take her friend’s free will. Even thinking about it made Lyra sick to her stomach. It was bad enough that she was thinking about forcing the two of them to be close to each other, but she wasn’t going to just brainwash her friend. That would be horrible. No, Bon Bon had to open up to Chris on her own.

Lyra slammed her head down in the book she was reading, feeling like she should just give up. Nothing seemed to come close to what she wanted and she wasn’t talented enough to make her own magic like Twilight was.

Maybe she could just teleport them both to some island where they would be forced to live together. Then Bon Bon would have no choice but to talk to Chris at some point. Well, maybe she didn’t have to teleport them to an island. Maybe she could just lock them in a closet together and force them to do ‘seven minutes in heaven’ or more like seven days in heaven...

Lyra tilted her head to the side, laying her cheek on the cold pages of the book as she looked towards the almost completely melted candle, thinking more about how ridiculous an idea like that would be. “I should just lock Bonny in with Chris and let him give her the best hoof massage of her life. Then she would come around for sure,” she remarked sarcastically to herself.

Lyra closed her exhausted eyes, smiling to herself as she thought about Chris giving her friend an enlightening massage with those magical fingers of his while they were sealed in a room. “Yeah, that would do it, all right,” she sighed as the sleepless night finally started to catch up with her.

Suddenly Lyra’s eyes shot open as she jerked her head up. “WAIT!” she shouted a lot louder than was necessary.

Lyra quickly looked towards her already-read tower of books and knocked them over, spilling them out across the table in front of her. She started to frantically dig around for a book that she previously read. “Where is it?” she questioned herself, pushing the books around with her hooves. There was one spell she remembered reading about, but passed over it, thinking such a spell couldn’t really help in this situation.

The unicorn quickly found the book. “Yes!” she cheered, using her magic to quickly open it. She flipped through all the pages until her eyes fell upon the section of spells she was looking for.

“Seals and Barriers,” Lyra read the chapter title aloud to herself, continuing to read until she found the spell in question. “Restriction Barrier,” she mumbled as her eyes started to frantically read the spell’s history, usage, and execution.

Lyra quickly learned that the spell itself was mainly used to detain evil creatures that threatened Equestria long ago. It was a lesser form of banishment that they could easily use on smaller threats like manticore and timberwolf attacks. The spell would imprison anything within a barrier for any desired amount of time set by the caster. It could last over one thousand years if necessary, but you would have to be an alicorn to achieve that spell level.

This was a difficult spell for sure. It was definitely beyond Lyra’s current abilities to cast, but not impossible for her to learn and be able to use in time. She would need to practice and memorize the spell for it to last longer than a minute. She wouldn’t need long to learn it. If she really tried hard and concentrated enough, she could get it to work for a week, maybe two.

Lyra read the spell’s instructions over and over again, burning it into her memory before turning her attention to the candle next to her. She was confident she could do a small test of the spell and see if she could cast it correctly. If done right then she shouldn’t be able to touch the flame at all.

Lyra lit up her horn with magic, focusing on the candle in front of her until a small light of gold flashed around the flame. She slowly inched her hoof towards the flame, until her forward moments were halted just before the edge of her hoof could touch the small, flickering fire.

It worked.

Lyra relaxed her foreleg, letting it drop down on the table. She could cast the basic level of the spell easy enough, but how would she get those two together in the same room? She shouldn’t be thinking about locking them in just one room for two weeks. If she was planning on putting them together for longer than a day, then she would need to find a place were they could live comfortably, but where?

A home of some kind would be preferable, but she couldn’t put them in their own homes. If somepony came by and saw them, they would know something was up and help them get out. It would have to be somewhere secluded.

Lyra massaged her temples with her hooves as she tried to think of a place she could act out her plan. Her parents had a cabin a few miles away from Ponyville that they lived in during the summer when they came down from Canterlot. It was small with only one bedroom and bathroom in it, but she didn’t really have a lot of other options at this point.

It would have to do and it had everything they needed to live comfortably. All she had to do was make sure it was stocked with food and any other essentials. That would cost a pretty bit, but it would all be worth it if this worked out. She might even be able to join them in that cabin to make sure that everything went smoothly.

No… That wouldn’t work. She had to leave them alone to their own devices. If she was there, they would only pester her to break the spell and let them leave. Bon Bon would cling to her as well and not warm up to Chris. They had to be left alone for this.

But how can she get them in there together? Bon Bon wouldn’t agree to going into a cabin if Chris was there. She would have to fib a little… Yeah, just a tell a little white lie. If she could get them both to agree to a two week long vacation with her, she could get them to meet her there, then before they could notice each other, she would slip out and cast the spell.

It was a solid plan. A crazy one, but it could work. Chris might be upset, angry even, but he would understand and forgive her. Wouldn’t he? Bon Bon might be less forgiving, but if things worked out, then she might be thanking her by the end of this.

She had to do this if she was going to be with the ones she loved for the rest of her life, but did she have any other options at this point?

Lyra looked down at her open spell book, and stared blankly at it for a moment before nodding to herself. It had to be this way. It was her only option in order to get through to Bon Bon, and it still wasn’t technically violating her promise she made to her friend.

It was settled. She would start working towards making this plan a reality, starting with practicing the spell.

Lyra started to read more about the barrier spell and its execution, getting herself ready to start practicing it for the rest of the day.

Berry Punch downed the rest of her sangria, slamming the glass down on the bar counter’s surface as her whole body shivered in delight. “Oooo, that’s good,” she cooed. “My two favorite things. Punch and alcohol,” she sang with another slight shiver as she turned her head to look at her depressed friend. “Hey miss mopey pants. You going to tell me why you dragged me out to this bar tonight? Not that I’m complaining or anything,” she added as she started to munch on the little pieces of fruit left in her glass.

The bar Bon Bon took Berry Punch to was one of the smaller ones in Ponyville and was practically empty at the moment. They had gotten there shortly before dusk, right when the moon was just starting to come out, so the nighttime crowd hadn’t started to flood in yet.

Bon Bon kept her hooves on the side of her head as she stared down at the untouched mojito in front of her. “I’m sorry, Berry, I just have a lot on my mind,” she sighed deeply. “I just needed to get out of the house.”

“Yeah, doesn’t take a genius to see that you're down in the dumps,” Berry Punch stated as she waved an eager hoof in the air, trying to get the bartender's attention.

A brown unicorn mare with a dark red mane in a white vest walked up to Berry. “Yes ma’am?” she asked with a small smile.

“Another sangria!” Berry cheered, almost too excitedly.

"Right away, miss," the barmare replied, as she used her magic to pour out another glass while preparing to garnish the drink with various fruits.

Berry smiled as the barmare started to make her next drink, then turned to Bon Bon again. “Well, you came to the right mare to help you forget about all those pesky problems of yours,” she stated with a bright smile as she patted her mopey friend on the back. “We’ll have lots of fun tonight.”

Bon Bon groaned a little before placing her hooves down on the counter. “Berry…” she gently acknowledged her friend as she kept her saddened gaze fixed on her drink.

“Hmm?” Berry happily hummed.

“What did you tell Chris about the firelily?” Bon Bon asked, turning her head, giving Berry Punch a concerned expression.

Berry cocked her head to the side slightly. “Umm, who?”

Bon Bon sighed as she looked back down at her drink. “You know, the human that lives here. The stallion Lyra is dating.”

“Oh! You mean Crackers,” Berry stated in remembrance. “I talked to him about that a while ago.”

Bon Bon turned her head back to Berry with a scowl. “His name is not Crackers. It’s Chris,” she corrected in a slightly agitated tone.

“Chris, Crackers, whatever,” Berry shrugged. “I’m not real sure I remember telling him that much, though…” she paused, tapping a hoof to her chin for a moment as she thought back. “I do remember him pestering me a bunch about gift ideas for you, for some reason. I kept telling him to get you a cookbook or something, but he said others already suggested that to him.”

Bon Bon looked up at her friend again, raising an eyebrow. “Wait, so you told him to get me a cookbook?” she questioned.

“Yeah, but he wouldn’t leave me alone after that. He said there had to be something else that you might like, so I thought of something impossible for him to get you, just so he would leave me alone,” Berry huffed in annoyance, remembering how persistent the human was.

“So, that’s when you told him about the firelily?”

“Yeah, but that was like months ago,” Berry smirked as her new drink floated down in front of her from the barmare’s magic. “Thank you!” she cheered before turning back to her friend to continue her story. “He asked me why the firelily would be a good gift and I told him how it helped you find your cutie mark, then he thanked me and dashed off.” She chuckled before she took a small sip of her drink, savoring it this time. "I didn’t even bother telling the poor sap how rare a flower like that is. You want this cherry from my drink?” she added, pushing her cup over to Bon Bon a little.

"You told him that!?" Bon Bon goaned loudly, slamming her head down on the counter, causing Berry to jump in surprise and pull her cup back.

“Ahh… you okay there, Bon?” she asked a little worried.

Bon Bon tilted her head to the side, keeping her cheek on the cold countertop as she peered up at her friend with a saddened frown. “He found one Berry… He found a firelily and gave it to me as a gift on our date.”

Berry punch almost spit out the sip she was taking from her sangria, making her cough and choke. She hit her chest with her hoof a few times as she coughed. “Wh-what!?” she finally managed to choke out. “He actually went out and got you one?! You're lying. I want to see it! Do you still have it!?” she asked frantically in shock.

Bon Bon only groaned, ignoring her friends questions and request as she lifted her head up so she could stare back at her mojito. “What would you do Berry?” she asked with a sad sigh.

“Ehh, do about what?”

“If you were me and the human gave you a gift like that on a date, and asked you to be a part of his herd would you give him a chance?” Bon Bon asked, looking over to Berry.

Berry Punch furrowed her brow a little. “I, ehhummm, don’t know…” she said, wincing a little. “I mean, I don’t really know him all that well. And he’s kind of weird.” she admitted rubbing the back of her neck with a hoof. "I mean, a gift like that is sweet and all, but if I was going on looks alone I'd say no."

Bon Bon frowned a little. “I don’t think he’s that bad looking…” she mumbled in a soft whisper as she looked back down at her drink again.

Berry cringed a little at her friends admittance to liking the humans appearance. “Listen Bon... I think what you really need to do is―,”

“THERE YOU ARE!” somepony from the bar’s entrance yelled, causing everypony in establishment to jerk their heads around to see who it was.

Bon Bon’s eyes widened when she saw a sickly-looking Lyra Heartstrings in the entryway. “L-Lyra?!” Bon Bon shouted out in shock, covering her mouth with her hooves. “W-What happened to you?! Are you okay?!” she asked in concern. The unicorn looked like she had been through tartarus and back. Her mane was sticking out in every direction and her whole body glistened with what looked like sweat.

Lyra galloped up to Bon Bon and Berry, jumping up into the stool that was closest to her friend. “Bonny! IcameheretosayI’msorry!” Lyra exhaled quickly in one breath, before starting to pant lightly, staring right into the Bon Bon's eyes.

Bon Bon dropped her hooves to her chest as she furrowed her brow slightly, examining Lyra’s condition a little closer. The unicorn’s eyes had heavy bags under them, like she had been up for days. Bon Bon fought the urge to scrunch up her muzzle at the overwhelming minty musk that was coming from the unicorn. “L-Lyra. What happened to you?”

“What? Oh, nothing! I was just, umm, running around all day, yeah! And I was thinking that it was wrong of me to keep pestering you about joining my herd, so I wanted to say I was sorry,” Lyra quickly explained, smiling brightly.

Bon Bon raised a confused eyebrow at her haggard-looking friend. “O-oh? N-no, Lyra. It wasn’t your fault. I understand why you did it, b-but I’m sorry things just can’t work out,” she sighed deeply, turning her head away from Lyra a little, “and for what I did…”

Lyra grabbed Bon Bon on the shoulders and shook her a little, causing her to jerk her head back up. “Forget all that! I feel bad for what happened and I want to make it up to you!”

“Y-you do?” Bon Bon questioned, frowning in confusion a little.

“Yes!” Lyra responded quickly. “I know since I’ve moved out, it’s been hard for us to hang and stuff, so I was thinking we should both go out and take a short vacation together. Say for… two weeks?!” she asked loudly, giving Bon Bon a wide toothy smile, nodding her head slightly to try and coax her friend into saying yes.

Bon Bon turned her head back to see how Berry Punch was taking all this. The plum colored mare just sat there with a stunned, wide-eyed look, but shrugged quickly when she noticed that she was being looked at.

Bon Bon turned her head back towards Lyra. “I-I don’t know Lyra. That sounds nice and all, but this is kind of sudden. And what about Chris?”

“Don’t worry about Chris, he’s TOTALLY cool with it,” Lyra reassured her. “He knows how close we are and he wants us to spend some time together.”

"H-he does?" Bon Bon questioned. “B-but what about my sho―,”

“Your shop will be fine for two weeks," Lyra quickly countered, interrupting Bon Bon. "It’s not like you get that much business this time of the year anyways.”

Bon Bon frowned a little more, deep in thought, looking down at the floor for a moment as she considered Lyra’s offer. It would be nice to get some time alone with her again, and she really could use a break from everything that’s been going on, but…

“I won't mention anything about the herd, or Chris, or the date. Pinkie promise!” Lyra quickly added, interrupting Bon Bon’s thoughts as she placed a hoof over her eye.

Bon Bon looked back at Lyra’s still-smiling face, as a small smile of her own started to spread across her lips. “I… I think I would really like that,” she answered in a soft and warm tone.

“Yes!” Lyra cheered, pumping a hoof in the air.

Bon Bon chuckled a little at her friend's enthusiasm. It was a little surprising and at the same time relieving to see Lyra taking this whole herd rejections thing so well now. Especially after how she left both of them last night. “Thank you for being so understanding about all this, Lyra,” Bon Bon thanked with a soft smile.

Lyra smile faded just a little at her friend words. “O-oh, umm, yeah of course, Bonny. I-I understand completely,” she answered awkwardly, darting her eyes left and right.

“So, where are we going for our vacation and when?” Bon Bon asked gently, with a slight blush.

“I, umm, have this nice little cabin a few miles from here where we can stay. It’s really cozy and we can go hiking and light a bonfire, it'll be fun!” Lyra chirped.

Bon Bon smiled a little wider at that, giving Lyra a more dreamy-eyed daze. “Oh, that sounds lovely Lyra.”

Lyra nodded her head a little. “Yeah, it’s pretty bucking awesome! So, how soon can you go?”

Bon Bon thought about that for a moment. “Well, I guess I can leave as soon as next week if you like.”

Lyra winced a little, thinking she might need a little more time to perfect her spell. “Ummm, h-how about two weeks from now?” she asked in a more shaky voice.

“Two weeks should be fine,” Bon Bon responded with a slightly nod.

“Perfect!” Lyra cheered, quickly kissing Bon Bon on the lips, causing her to blush a little more. Lyra broke the kiss before hopping down off her stool. “Don’t forget! Two weeks from now, okay, Bonny,” Lyra stated as she slowly backed her way towards the bar entrance.

Bon Bon giggled. “I won't forget, plus I’m sure you’ll keep reminding me,” she slightly teased as she watched the slowly retreating unicorn.

Lyra gave her an awkward smile. “Y-yeah you know me, always the reminder," she chuckled nervously. "A-anyways, I got to go, but I will talk to you later, okay! Bye!” she said as she quickly turned around and bolted out of the bar, heading towards Chris’s home.

Bon Bon giggled softly and shook her head before turning back to Berry, who was now giving her a very smug smile. “What?” Bon Bon asked flatly, giving her a confused look.

“You really know how to attract the weird ones,” Berry teased, chuckling.

Bon Bon puffed up her cheeks and scowled angrily at her friend. “I thought that was very sweet of her to do,” she retorted.

Berry chuckled a little more. “Yeah, yeah,” she said, waving a dismissive hoof. “How about I buy you another mojito once you finish that one,” she kindly offered with a wink, pointing at the still full glass in front of Bon Bon with a lazy hoof.

Bon Bon’s scowl slowly turned into a more friendly smile. “I would enjoy that. Thank you, Berry.”

Chris tiredly pulled out a small container from his kitchen cabinet. He was going to use it to store some of the vegetable stew he made for himself and Lyra that night.

Earlier in the day, he tried to take a small nap, but just couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened at The Everfree Moon and how he could approach Bon Bon about it. He thought he should at least head over to her home and tell her that he was sorry. He understood why Bon Bon reacted the way she did, and he wanted to tell her that he understood and wanted to at least be her friend.

Chris let out an exhausted and sad sigh as he scooped up some of the vegetable stew from the pot with his wooden ladle. He slowly poured it into the container he was holding as he continued to think. Maybe he should talk to Lyra first before going over to apologize to Bon Bon. That is, once she got back from the library.

Chris knew that Lyra was a big pony and could take care of herself… sometimes. But he couldn’t help how worried he felt about her. She did leave kind of suddenly and her explanation of why she left was a little strange, to say the least. He just hoped she was okay and would return soon.

Suddenly, Chris could hear the sound of his front door opening and closing, followed by an all too familiar clip clop of hooves on the hardwood floor.

Chris let out a long sigh of relief. Lyra was home now.

“Hey Lyra! I’m back in the kitchen! I was just about to save you some supper but I can pour you some stew in a bowl for you if you like!” he called out to her as he poured the stew in the container back into the pot.

Lyra didn’t respond.

Chris listened to her hoof steps as they got louder but stopped once she hit the tile flooring of the kitchen. “Lyra?” he called out softly as he turned his head to see her. His eyes started to widen once he saw how haggard, sweaty, and out of breath she looked. “L-Lyra?! Are you okay!?”

Lyra just smiled up at him with a half-lidded gaze as she panted slightly. Without saying a word, she slowly started to make her way towards him, keeping her gaze fixed on his surprised and worried eyes.

“W-what happened? You look like you just ran a hundred miles,” Chris quickly pointed out, sounding even more worried the closer she got. His senses were hit with a strong minty fragrance that was no doubt coming from the mare since she had been sweating so much. It was a good thing ponies smelled nice when they perspire.

Lyra giggled at his comment. “Twilight needed... a lot of help... at the library,” she answered simply in between pants. Once she was close enough, she stood on her hind legs and wrapped her forelegs around Chris’s chest, hugging him tightly. She laid her head under his neck as she leaned her hot and sweaty body against him.

Chris wrapped his arms around her, ignoring how wet she felt as he held her close. “Lyra, you're burning up, is something wrong?” he asked, concerned about his marefriend's condition and odd behavior. Well, more odd than usual.

Lyra sighed lightly as she squeezed Chris a little tighter. “Everything is going to be alright, Chris,” she whispered sweetly as she rubbed her cheek against his collarbone.

“What do you mean?” Chris asked, feeling very confused at this point.

“Do you love me?” Lyra asked suddenly, throwing Chris off guard.

“Do I love you?” Chris repeated her question, almost as if he was offended that she asked something so ridiculous. “Lyra, I love you more then anything. You're the best part of my life. Why would you think otherwise?”

Lyra let out a heavy sigh as she rubbed his side with her hoof. “Would you still love me even if I did something really stupid?”

“Something really stupid?” Chris repeated her words again, this time sounding more confused. “Well, you do stupid stuff everyday and I’m still around, aren't I?” he teased lightly with a small chuckle, rubbing her soaked back with his hand as their embrace continued.

Lyra didn’t laugh like he thought she would. “Chris, I’m serious…” she responded softly, almost as if she was on the verge of tears.

Chris frowned a little. “L-Lyra…” he called out to her gently. “I don’t know what has gotten into you, but I would never stop loving you no matter what you did. You bring me nothing but joy and happiness and I want that to last forever,” he explained as he laid his head on top of hers. “I’m afraid you're stuck with me,” he added.

Lyra smiled as she lifted her head up, causing Chris to do the same. She locked eyes with him, giving him a loving gaze. “Chris, l-let’s…,” she paused, frowning sadly for a moment, losing herself in his eyes before smiling again. “Let’s go on a vacation together. Just the two of us,” she offered, sounding a little unsure for some reason.

Chris tilted his head to the side and cocked his eyebrow at her. “But, what about Bon Bon?”

Lyra slowly shook her head left and right. “Don’t worry about Bonny. She’s not going anywhere.”

“But, I think it’s important that we go to her and―”

Lyra interrupted him by pressing her lips against his, kissing him softly before pulling her head back. “Don’t worry. I think Bonny just needs her space right now. When we get back, we’ll go talk to her,” she stated calmly, keeping her loving gaze on Chris.

“I…” Chris thought for a moment. Lyra could be right. Maybe Bon Bon just needed time to think things through. Plus, it wouldn’t help if they kept pestering her. “I guess you're right…” he admitted with sad sigh. "So, when did you want to do this little adventure?"

"Two weeks from now."

"That soon!?" he questioned, raising his voice a little. "I don't know, Lyra. I have appointments to work for the Elements of Harmony for the rest of this month and I don't think they would be happy with me canceling on them like that."

Lyra frowned a little. “The Elements are kind mares. They will understand. And when was the last time you had time off?”

Chris couldn’t respond to that one because he has never had an extended amount of time off. “Ummm…”

“Exactly. And if they have an issue with it then I’ll talk to them personally. You work your flank off for them and deserve a break,” Lyra huffed angrily, standing her ground on this issue.

Chris chuckled nervously. “Th-that’s okay, honey. I can talk to them, but where would we go for a vacation?”

“A nice little cabin a few miles away from here,” she quickly explained, giving Chris a sultry gaze. “But, I’ll tell you about it more later,” she cooed as she kissed Chris deeply on the lips.

Chris pushed into the kiss a little, pressing her still warm and damp body against his. Her sweat was getting his shirt wet, but he didn’t care. He slowly broke off the kiss and smiled warmly at Lyra. “Well, I know you have been out for a while. I left you some vegetable stew if you’re hungry.”

Lyra hummed as she massaged Chris’s chest with a hoof. “Oh, I’m hungry alright,” she cooed, giving Chris a lustful stare as she licked her lips suggestively.

“Well, I can heat a bowl up for you,” Chris happily offered, as he let go of Lyra and turned to pour her a bowl of stew.

Lyra blinked a few times and she dropped back to the floor. “Wh-what? Chris!” she called, raising her voice a little.

Chris looked over his shoulder at Lyra, who was giving him a confused look. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

Lyra groaned, dropping her head down slightly. “Sweet Celestia, you’re dumb sometimes,” she sighed, looking back up at Chris. She took a deep breath and shut her eyes tight as she scrunched up her face in heavy concentration.

Chris turned around to face her, giving her a confused look. “Umm, what are you doing?” he asked as Lyra started to grunt and growl, clenching her eyes shut even tighter.

Lyras face started to turn a bright red as her horn slowly started to flicker and spark, but the unicorn soon gave up, exhaling the breath she was holding. “Oh, for buck’s sake,” she breathed, panting heavily.

“Did you exhaust all your magic today?” Chris asked, feeling very concerned. He had only seen Lyra struggle to cast a spell once before and that was when she was constantly practicing her preservation spell for the firelily he got Bon Bon. But, she had never been this exhausted before.

“Twilight... needed... a lot... of help—” she panted as she slowly made her way up to Chris. She bit the hem of his shirt and started to weakly tug him out of the kitchen.

Chris raise his eyebrow at her, but let himself be dragged along as she pulled him out of the kitchen and made her way towards his bedroom. He saw where Lyra was taking him and was finally able to put two and two together. "Umm, Lyra, you seem really worn out. You sure you want to do something like this?"

"Yesh," Lyra growled through the fabric in her mouth.

"Why don't you eat something and I can just give you a nice massage. I mean, it's not like I'm going anywhere anytime soon. We can do this once you're rested," Chris pointed out.

Lyra stopped her tugging for a moment as she looked up to Chris. She wasn't about to tell him she was going to be busy for the next two weeks getting things ready for him and Bon Bon to live together. She wouldn't be able to be with him for a whole month and wanted to spend the night with him while she could.

"When your marefriend axe you fur sex you don't question it," Lyra mumbled through the fabric in her teeth as she started to tug again, continuing to lead Chris.

"O-okay..." Chris surrendered as he was dragged into the room.

[Clop will be continued in part 2]

Author's Notes:

Wow Lyra... You crazy mint colored horse.

So... this is the final chapter that I have been stressing over (Well there is another crazy chapter but that's not for a while). The date and the plan were both BIG chapters as far as setting up this story. It will be interesting to hear what you guys think of all this and the direction this fic is going in.

I hope you guys enjoy.