This was Bon Bon's favorite part of the day: the few moments when the morning has just begun and wakefulness was slowly spreading across her mind. Awareness dawned on her, and she felt the mattress sinking beneath her weight and the blankets embracing her body.

She also felt a foreleg draped over her chest and a warm, furry barrel against her back. She felt her mane rustled by a slow, steady breath and smiled. This was why she loved this time of day. In these hazy moments of dream-like floating on the edge of the world, there was nothing else in the world, but the sunlight streaming down onto her face and the comforting warmth of her wife cuddled against her...

"Mom! Mama! Wake up, wake up, wake up!"

The door burst open and a surprisingly heavy weight leapt up onto the bed, jumping up and down excitedly on the mattress.

"Mom, come on! Mom!" Tootsie Flute complained, shaking Bon Bon's shoulder.

"Your daughter is awake," Bon Bon groaned to her wife.

Lyra let out a little snort. "Before noon, she's your daughter," she mumbled in reply.

"Come on, mama!" Tootsie Flute cried, turning her attention to Lyra. "Tomorrow's Shamrock Day, we gotta get going!"

As soon as Tootsie said "shamrock," Lyra was wide awake. She bounded out of bed with a great leap and bounced downstairs. "Come on, Bonnie! We've got a breakfast to make and a train to catch!"

With a groan, Bon Bon surrendered to the call of the morning, pushing the covers up off herself and climbing out of bed slowly. "I swear, I'm living with two children," she muttered to herself. Following her two girls down the stairs, she trotted into the kitchen that lay behind the main shop floor of Bon Bon's Bonbon's. Lyra was already at the grill, standing up on her hind legs while she prepared toast, hay bacon and eggs. Her voice eagerly joined Tootsie's in song:

"And it's no, neigh, never,
No, neigh, never, no more,
Will I play the wild rover
No never, no more!"

The sight reminded Bon Bon why she put up with the hassles of having two fillies in the house and a smile spread across her face. "Lyra, honey, careful. You're gonna scorch the toast."

"Well, you'd better take over then," Lyra replied with a grin that warned everypony what was coming. "Or else breakfast will be toast! Get it?"

Bon Bon collapsed against the countertop in helpless laughter. She should have developed a resistance to her wife's ridiculous puns by now, but no matter how bad they were, they always made her laugh. "You're ridiculous," she said, shaking her head as she replaced her at the grill.

"And you're beautiful when you smile," Lyra replied, kissing her on the cheek.

A few minutes later, breakfast had been consumed, the dishes washed up with Tootsie's help, and Bon Bon and Lyra went back upstairs to prepare themselves for the rest of the day.

"Will you be wearing your special dance dress?" Tootsie asked Lyra, excitedly bouncing up after them. "Will you be dancing with everypony else? Am I old enough to drink cider at the party?"

"Yes, yes, and no," Lyra answered, ruffling her daughter's mane. "Now, make sure you're all packed. Our train to Trotterford will be leaving in about an hour." Tootsie pranced towards her room to collect her things.

"She gets more excited every year," Bon Bon said, running a brush through her mane and coat.

"So do I!" Lyra squealed, bouncing up and down excitedly with a huge smile glued onto her face. "Shamrock Day seems to come later every year!"

"I know what you mean," Bon Bon answered, trying to brush Lyra's mane but failing due to her inability to sit still. "You know, you'd better try your dress on, just to make sure that it still fits."

"Ooh, good idea!" Lyra skipped over to the closet and flung it open. From the selection of hanging garments, she selected a dark green and orange dress decorated with clovers with a flat, pleated skirt. Slipping the dress over her head, Lyra pulled it down over herself, pulling her forelegs through the shoulders and smoothing out the skirt. The dress fit perfectly, as Lyra proved to herself when she looked in the mirror.

"You always look beautiful in that," Bon Bon said, taking the opportunity to smooth out Lyra's scruffy mane.

"I look beautiful in anything," Lyra smirked. "Including nothing!"

"Mmm, that's true," Bon Bon cooed, leaning in and kissing Lyra on the cheek. Lyra purred happily and turned to her wife, leaning in close to kiss her on the lips, becoming intoxicated on the scent of candy that always stayed in Bon Bon's mane.

"Mom, I'm ready!" Tootsie called from the door, dropping down her bags in the hallway.

Bon Bon sighed as she pulled away, internally reflecting that it wouldn't surprise her at all if their daughter earned her special talent in ruining the moment. "Great, sweetie. We'll be ready in a little while. Somepony forgot to pack just like last year, didn't she?" she added, giving Lyra a sideways look. Lyra's smile became nervous and she chuckled softly, suddenly becoming very interested in the opposite wall.

An hour later, the trio was standing on the platform of the Ponyville station. Lyra and Tootsie were, of course, bouncing up and down in excitement, while Bon Bon internally rolled her eyes at them.

There was a whistling from the distance. "Here it comes! Here it comes!" Lyra squealed, watching as the train approached. With a rush of steam and squeal of brakes, the train trundled up to the platform and the doors opened wide.

"All aboard!" the conductor called, summoning everypony onto the train. The family carried their luggage onto the train, squeezing through the crowds of boarding ponies.

"Careful, Tootsie!" Bon Bon called after their daughter, who had run off ahead. "Don't go too far!"

Tootsie turned to reply and bumped into another pony, who grunted in surprise and dropped his suitcase. Turning, the pony looked down at Tootsie. He was a pale green-coated unicorn with a light brown mane and mustache. His blue eyes sparkled with kindness and his cutie mark was a suitcase with a couple of gold bits.

"Careful, there, sweetie," he said in a rumbling voice, smiling. "You might hurt yourself, running off like that."

"Okay," Tootsie smiled back. "Are you going to Trotterford, too? What's in the suitcase?"

"Tootsie!" Bon Bon called from their seats. "What have I told you about talking to strangers?"

"It's all right," the unicorn grinned, picking up the suitcase and watching Tootsie returning to her parents, leaping up onto the seat beside them. Cute kid, he thought as he returned to his seat. That was the thing that he loved about Ponyville; lots of kids, not all of them under the eyes of their parents, and gullible enough to try his product. Make them a customer early, and they'd be customers for the rest of their lives.

Finding a seat, the unicorn set his suitcase up on the luggage rack above him. The bits inside jingled with their beautiful music. With a smile, the pony settled down onto his seat and pulled out a novel, preparing for the long journey ahead.

If he had looked around, he might have noticed another pony sitting on the opposite aisle from him. A pony with a dark brown coat, black mane and wearing a green vest. He appeared to be looking out of the window, but his storm cloud gray eyes were focused on the reflection of the pale green unicorn in the window.

With a start, the train pulled away from the platform and began to carry its passengers away on their journey up north.

Author's Notes:

And so begins another adventure in the Phillip Finder series, this one taking place in Mareland, the land of magical mystery.

This will be a lighter, funnier story than the past adventures, starring everypony's favorite "best friends." I hope you're looking forward to more!