The streets of Canterlot were packed as nobles hurriedly went about their day, making any last minute changes they needed before the Winter Solstice Ball that evening. A turquoise unicorn sat alone at one of the many cafes, lost in thought of the realization she had that morning.

"What would mother and father think of me if I told them?" She thought to herself, burying her head into her hooves. "Calm down Lyra, I-I'm sure a lot of ponies are like me..." She told herself, not believing in her own words. The simple thought of it made her feel worse about the situation she found herself stuck in.

"Your drink madam." Her waiter said, placing a cup in front of her head, the scent of fresh coffee beans wafting up to her nose eased some of her tension away. The steam felt good against her face, as she lifted her head from her hooves.

"Thank you." Lyra said as the waiter walked off to greet a new party. The smell of the coffee was intoxicating as she levitated the rich drink to her mouth. As she took a small sip of the hot liquid, a fleeting sense of happiness spread across her. The flavor washing over her tongue was simply divine, forcing a smile onto her lips as she sat there, her doubts temporarily blocked out.

The drink reminded her of happier times, times before the problems of life came crashing down on her head. She opened her eyes and smiled at the midday sun, "Maybe, maybe it just might work." As she got up, leaving her bits on the table, she noticed a commotion down the street.

"Get back here you thief!" A street vender yelled, giving chase to a soot-black mare. The mare had the same color mane, making her appear to be a shadow as she expertly wove through the crowds of ponies, easily managing to put ground between the two.

Lyra, along with the rest of the onlookers shrugged off the event, continuing their preparations for the night to come.

~~~

"Ok... I have everything prepared, now all I have to do is walk up the steps... and ask her out..." Lyra said to herself as she paced back and forth along the sidewalk outside the mansion. "Oh Celestia, what if she doesn't like me the same way, what if she hates me afterwards..."

Lyra looked up towards the mansion, its imposing figure placing her in a shadow as the evening sun rested behind it. "Oh, why does this have to be so hard!" She thought to herself, taking in a deep breath as she started trotting up the walkway, doing her best to not let herself turn back. Coming to the door she let out a sigh, "Almost there Lyra, almost there."

Grabbing the metal knocker with her magic, she hit the metal and wood together, "No turning back now..."

Nearly instantly the door opened, a light grey unicorn with a glossy black mane stood in the doorway, a black bow tie around his neck. "Yes? What do you want?"

"Um, I'm sort of here to see Octavia, wait, Silver Platter, is that really you?" Lyra said, cocking her head just a tad, as if trying to physically remember.

"Why yes, I am Mr. Platter, and what business do you have with Miss Octavia, Miss...?"

"Heartstrings, and I came by to see if she is going to the Winter Solstice Ball tonight." Lyra said, putting on a thin smile.

"Hm, well alright, although I do think she has already asked her father, she's in the sound room right now practicing." Silver Platter said, opening the door fully to allow Lyra in. "Just take the second right and it's the last door in the hallway Miss Heartstrings." Pointing at the hallway to take.

Lyra stood still, not knowing just how enormous the mansion really was, the sheer size dizzying to her. The foyer itself was half the size of her entire house. The walls adorned with riches she never even dreamed of.

"Miss Heartstrings, are you quite alright?" Silver Platter said, true concern in his voice.

"Oh, uh, ya, sorry about that, I guess I sort of lost myself there for a little..." She said, eyes still wide open from this 'simple' foyer.

"Alright then, now, if you'll please excuse me, I need to prepare dinner." He said before disappearing into one of the numerous hallways branching off the room.

"Ok then..." Lyra said more to herself then him. "Ok, take the second left and then the last door..."

~~~

"And... I'm lost" Lyra said to herself as she wandered around an inside garden, "Although I must say, these plants are quite exquisite."

"Well I'd hope so!" Somepony behind her said, causing Lyra to jump while her heart raced, "Oh, whoops, sorry, I didn't mean to scare ya like that." She said, chuckling softly.

"Oh, n-no, it's my fault, I... sort of got lost in this place" Lyra said, a faint blush coming over her face.

"Ah, it's no problem, you should have seen me when I first got here, they had to send in a rescue party after me!" The light orange mare joked, her blue and yellow mane bouncing as she laughed. "Anyways, I'm Flower Bed, what's your name?"

"Lyra, Lyra Heartstrings, and did they really need to send in a search party to find you?" She said, a small look of concern on her face as she thought of what could have happened, had Flower Bed not found her.

"Well, if you consider the butler, a filly, and my sister a search party then yes," She said with a smile, "Anyways, I bet you didn't just come here to smell the flowers, so, what did you need?"

"I came by to see Octavia, could you tell me how to get to the sound room?"

"Well, if I did that I bet you'd end up lost again, so, I'll take you." Flower Bed stated.

"Oh, thank you so much, but what about your garden?"

A sly smile appeared over her lips, "You think I spend every minute of my life here?"

"No... I just don't want to be a bother is all..."

"Don't worry about, now come on, we could have already been there by now."

~~~

"So... how'd you become the gardener here?" Lyra asked Flower Bed as they trotted to the sound room, passing an uncountable number of doors on their way.

"Well, I had always loved flora, especially shaping it into whatever form I wanted it to be. My mother enrolled me in a small school where I aced all my tests and my work caught the eyes of one of the teachers at Golden Roses Exquisite Gardening School, which is join-able by exclusive invitation only. To my surprise, I got an invitation asking me to enroll, full scholarship too. I graduated top of my class, and, my favorite teacher, the same one who sent me the invitation, is the mistress of the house here." Flower Bed explained, smiling as she reminisced in her past.

"Oh wow, so, what happened to your family when you left though..." Lyra asked, wanting to know more of her new friend.

"We were all sad and happy at the time, but it all worked out for the better I believe, in fact I'm going to meet my sister Carrot Top in Ponyville this coming weekend."

"Cool, um, how much further do we have to go?" Lyra asked, impatience getting the better of her.

"Why, we're here," She exclaimed, stopping at another one of the cherry wood doors that had been passing for a while now. "Well, I hope to see you again sometime Lyra, it was a pleasure to meet you!" Flower Bed said as she turned to leave.

"Definitely, I'll try my best to see you later too."

Lyra watched Flower Bed disappear into the labyrinth of hallways again, sighing as she left. She stared at the door for a few minutes now that she was alone, "Now or never Lyra..."

Raising a hoof, she knocked on the cherry wood door. Lyra was growing impatient as she stood there, "Maybe I missed her," she said with a frown, "Might as well look."