Patch sat on the bright blue couch in the living room, rocking back and forth nervously as she stared at the clock on the wall. Eight twenty-four?! Bon Bon could be late, but not that late… they'd parted ways really excited! Did she forget? Or did her mom say no?
"Patch, don't worry yourself over this," Knit Knack called from the other side of the couch. Patch looked over at the light-colored pony, who was holding a red ball of yarn and two needles. "It's entirely okay if they're a few minutes late. And even if they can't come, then it's a friendly get-together we can schedule for tomorrow."
Patch emphatically motioned towards her mom with her hooves, her gold eyes wide. "Just a get-together? Mom, you don't understand anything about this."
"Enlighten me, then."
"Mooom!" Patch yelled, before looking back up at the clock. "8:25! That's twenty-five minutes late! Ooh…"
Knit Knack gave her daughter a knowing look. Patch tried to glare at her mother, though it came out more like a desperate stare with annoyance mixed in. "Patch, I wouldn't be your mother if I didn't tell you that you are an open book."
Patch crossed her forehooves and sighed, sinking into the blue fabric. "Are you serious?"
Knit nodded. "Yep, but we all go through it at some point. You know, once I felt that way about another pony."
"Really?" Patch asked, scooting a bit closer.
Her mom nodded. "Yep… and now, he's your father."
"MOM!"
Knit laughed with mirth as Patch swung her hoof out at some unsuspecting air in front of her. "You're so embarrassing! No, I'm never getting married!" she crossed her forehooves and stuck her nose up. Knit rolled her eyes playfully.
"You haven't denied it, sweetie," Knit noted before smiling easily. "You're just adorable. I knew this would happen someday… I just didn't expect it to be a girl. You have my blessing."
Just stop talking… Patch glared at the yellow carpet below her hooves. Why did she have to fall in love…? Dumb emotions.
Almost immediately after she thought that, she squinted up at the clock again. 8:27. She sighed, a perfect cross between annoyed and worried. Where is she?
With that thought, thankfully, mercifully, there was a knock at the door. Patch ran up to it and swung it open, her eyes glowing at the sight of the yellow pony on the step. She leapt on top of Bon Bon in an embrace, and she wobbled and tripped under her weight. She tightened her hooves around her friend's stomach in a hug. "Patch!" Bon Bon shouted indignantly.
"I guess she's really excited," Slice Cake remarked as Knit Knack came up to the door. Both parents shared a laugh as Bon Bon shuffled, trying to get Patch off her back.
"I demand you get off of me or else!" Bon Bon barked before wiggling madly.
Patch practically jumped off and smiled euphorically. Bon Bon got to her hooves and, with an annoyed look at Patch, began to dust herself off. "Euphoric," Knit Knack agreed. "Would you care to sit down before you go on your way?"
Patch and Bon Bon both looked up as Slice Cake shook her head. She opened her mouth to say something, but she just ended up releasing a giant yawn. "No thank you, Knit. I'm feeling very tired tonight." She took the large white and purple bag off of her back and put it on the ground. Patch glanced at her mellow yellow friend to realize that a satchel was on her shoulder, then returned to watching the parents' exchange.
"Alright. I'll drop by with Bon Bon tomorrow morning. Drive safely."
Slice Cake nodded before putting her hoof on her daughter's shoulder. "Have a wonderful time, okay dear?"
"Yes mom."
Slice Cake smiled and pulled her daughter in for a brief, not bone-crushing hug with just one arm. Bon Bon sank into it, smiling and putting her head over her mom's shoulder.
With that, Slice Cake trotted away from the tall, dirty white house and disappeared around her light blue car. She only waved one more time before driving away.
The second that the golden-colored mare disappeared, Patch yanked Bon Bon by the neck in another hug. Bon Bon forced her friend's arms apart. Patch moved her hooves a little downwards to her shoulder area (i.e., the normal place to hug someone). Bon Bon at least tolerated it that time for a moment before pulling away again. "…Let's go."
Patch nodded and grabbed her friend by her hoof, pulling her along. In the hoof she didn't hold her ponyfriend's in, she pulled along the duffel bag along.
After a quick detour to grab the chocolate-chip cookies and milk Knit had made for them, the two went up the stairs to Patch's room and shut the door. Patch carefully put the duffel bag of her crush on the ground by her fluffy, pink-covered bed.
For a second, her friend's slightly-sweaty hoof in hers, Patch gave her room a quick scan. The wall was covered with its usual yellow and white-striped wallpaper. Her several shelves by her bedside were neatly organized with books; comics, fiction and nonfiction. The princess-style pink bed on which she slept was made to perfection, thanks to her father most likely.
And like usual, Patch felt a stab of pride when she noticed that nothing was on the floor. Her brand of messy involved disorganization, and having stuff sticking out of the dresser on the other side of the room, not having toys and what-not littering the place like most of her friends did.
Also, it was always nice having a private bathroom, the door slightly ajar with the slightly-dismantled chair sitting out front. Maturity came with having one's own place to do their business, and to keep clean.
"Alright, who knows about this entire crush thing?" Bon Bon demanded, pulling her hoof away and giving her ponyfriend a determined look. She was gonna get it out of her, no matter what.
Patch couldn't help the teasing grin that spread across her muzzle. "Wow, you sure do like cutting to the chase… Why don't we set up your sleeping bag or something first?"
Bon Bon looked away shyly for a second, as if thinking something over. Then, she looked right up at Patch. "Um…I-"
"What?" Patch asked
"Forgot the sleeping bag," Patch interrupted. Patch pulled Bon Bon's hoof closer to her and gave it a few small pats. "We kinda have choices. You could use my bag on the floor, you could take the bed while I pull out the bag for myself, or… we could just share the bed!" Or the bag!
Patch had no clue why the thought of sharing a bed with Bon Bon was so exciting. It wasn't like it was the first time they'd slept next to each other, or even slept while touching. But it was just one of those things she really didn't care to think about. "Whatever you're comfortable with."
"What do you wanna do?" Bon Bon asked, pulling her hoof away and holding it tenderly herself.
"What do you wanna do?" Patch retorted challengingly, her gaze hardening with determination.
Bon Bon put a hoof to her chin and frowned, anxiety spreading across her features as she grinned sheepishly in attempt to waive the feeling off. "Well… I don't want you to sleep on the floor," Bon Bon practically mumbled. "Or… to, um… put up with me in your, uh, bag, I mean bed…"
"Then sleep with me. I'm fine with it."
Bon Bon's face filled up with Cool-Aid. "O-Okay," she muttered.
Several minutes of eating cookies and drinking milk followed.
Patch smiled gently at the yellow pony across from her, who was currently stuffing her face full of cookies and sporting a pretty rockin' milk moustache. "So, what now?" Patch asked, perfectly happy to be led along.
"We arranged this originally so you could tell me how you ended up telling everyone," Bon Bon said, before wiping her moustache off with her forehoof. "M-Maybe, I was thinking, we should get started on that now."
Patch smiled challengingly. "Should I sing you a song about it?"
Bon Bon's ears folded irately. "Don't play with me, Patchwork," she warned.
Patch cringed and nodded for a second. "Got it." When Bon Bon's expression softened, Patch went on. "Starlight, Melody, Ace and Sweetheart all know. So does Teddy, and probably Lancer, my mum, Miss Hackney and Mr. Tidwell. Rosy, she's my old friend from the orphanage- I mean, a princess."
"Now answer me this…" Bon Bon leaned in closer. "How did this possibly come up in front of the boys?"
"Oh. Complicated story. It all started when you were being buddy-buddy with Teddy and I thought you were cheating on me…"
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"YOU MEANIE! YOU PONYFRIEND STEALING MEANIE!"
Patch hurled the bright blue cushion into Teddy's face. The blue colt stood there dumbfounded at her sudden outburst, so it slid down to the ground at his hooves.
The taupe pony's eyes were glowing with rage is she picked up the second cushion from the couch and threw it at the Mohawked menace. However, Teddy was a lot better prepared that time and dodged out of the way. He glared at her and shouted, "What's WRONG with you?"
Patch hurled another pillow his way, and Teddy rolled over, effectively dodging it. Instead the cushion hit poor Lancer, who'd been poking his head over the side of an overturned blue armchair.
The dark blue colt put a shiny dinner pot on his head and shouted, "Patch, what are you talking about? I'm sure whatever he did to you was by accident!"
The tomboy totally ignored the redhead's reason and let out a vengeful roar before running at Teddy and jumping right at him. The blue colt's eyes widened with surprise as he narrowly dodged out of the way, causing Patch to fly into the chair Lancer was hiding behind. Lancer backed into a corner to get away from the raging female.
Patch ran at Teddy as quickly as she possibly could, and gave chase when he got away. But, considering he wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, he wasn't planning ahead… so eventually he was cornered by the co-captain of the soccer team.
Teddy's previous rage was replaced with a wide-eyed, desperate look. "What do you want from me?!" he demanded, a rare mask of worry on his voice.
"You're a drabblemouser!" Patch yelled, moving one of her hooves to his chest. Her eyes were cold and hot at the same time as her hoof wandered just slightly upwards. "You've got a lot of nerve to manipulate Bon Bon like you are!"
Teddy gasped. "No, I didn't manipulate her, she likes me, honest!"
"You're a nasty girlfriend stealer! All you know how to do is wreck lives and steal candy from babies!" Patch jabbed a hoof at the boy's muzzle, booping him harshly
Despite his situation, Teddy countered, "I do lots of stuff!"
Memories of earlier, seeing Bon Bon have to stoop to his level and feed him strawberries and massage his joints… it just made her blood boil. "You tricked one of my friends…" she practically hissed.
"Hey, if you love Bon Bon so much, here's an idea: you should just marry her!"
The rage on Patch's face dissipated as her jaw fell. Her right eye twitched just slightly, as wide as Teddy's was a minute ago. Her hooves swung to her sides, sitting idle. HE KNOWS?!
Teddy took a step to the side, as if he was about to escape… but then an evil grin came over his features. "Huh, are you serious? You want to marry a girl?"
The blue colt laughed with mirth. Patch's face fired up as she snapped back, "Shut up, I do not!"
"Patch, you of all ponies should be able to take a joke. Teddy… keep it a joke. You're taking it too far," Lancer said, looking irritated as he took the pot off of his head.
Patch crossed her forehooves angrily and hovered over the orange-maned pony in front of her as she pointedly added, "YEAH, Teddy. Joke."
Teddy grinned with impish glee. "You're blushing and everything. Are you SURE I'm joking?"
"You want me to SHOW you a non-joke?!" Patch exclaimed, swinging her forehoof back.
Lancer approached and gently pushed Patch away. He sighed patiently. "Guys, violence is never the answer. Whether or not it's a joke" – His sharp blue gaze lingered on Patch for a moment – "we need to support each other no matter what the circumstances. That's what the Aces do, even if Ace isn't here."
"Sure. I'll call a truce if you do," Teddy suddenly said to Patch, grinning easily. "Let me take her to the dance without trouble, and if I end up hurting her, just beat me up then."
Patch still had her eyes narrowed. It was so unlike Teddy to be so, so NICE… and it had her suspicious. And besides, it was not just Bon Bon, it was HER Bon Bon. Her sweet Bon Bon. And the thought of her being swept off her hooves, away from where the peach-colored hooves that protected her, and of Bon Bon completely forgetting about her, and her fantasies of hugging her friend and having her be totally tight with it and being comfortable with someone who would never hurt her… It was a painful and irritating deal to her, so she opened her mouth to say such.
"Patch," Lancer said, his articulation of her name lengthened and warning, "what Teddy is suggesting is perfectly reasonable. Say yes or deal with me."
The taupe pony gave the dark blue colt an irritated stare at his intervention. How dare he rush her into giving up her prized, prized friend?! And he was forcing her into it, the git!
But his eyes were piercing her soul, and so she begrudgingly sighed, remembering the super spy kit she had at home, and to the handcuffs she'd fashioned to go with it. "…Fine."
888
"So, you got mad at him for implying it?"
Patch nodded, crossing her forehooves. "Yeah. I thought he was blackmailing you or something."
Bon Bon looked away and chuckled uneasily. "Yeah, blackmail..."
"You never really did like Teddy, didja Bon Bon?" Patch asked, a sudden note of wistfulness in her tone that she didn't intend to make. She smiled affectionately and rolled to the ground, her face right next to Bon Bon's candy-smelling flank. She pulled her friend's purple tail around herself and ran her hoof right through it.
Bon Bon looked a bit uneasy at the contact, but seemed to shrug it off as she shook her head. "No. W-well, we could be friends, he and me. But I never loved him. I just figured out, you know, Sweetheart had some weight in what she said." Bon Bon's eyes suddenly stretched wide. "Not that I particularly like him or anything! We just decided we were gonna study together, because he fails tests, I pass them-"
"Don't worry about it," Patch responded suddenly. "I was just checking, but I never asked you… why were you feeding him strawberries, calling him handsome and giving him massages if you didn't like him?"
"C-Can we just change the subject?" Bon Bon asked, an edge coming in her voice that implied that she wouldn't take 'no' for an answer.
Patch wasn't going to push it, anyway. Why upset Bon Bon when you could snuggle her soft and awesome tail, anyway? "Mmkay."
"Um, okay… how did this come up with Miss Hackney? Why did you even THINK of telling Mr. Tidwell?"
"Mr. Tidwell? He's actually a pretty cool old coot. We hung out and cleaned stuff up out in the playground and he guessed it. But it wasn't because I was obvious, you know, just because he has a lot of experience. He told me about that one play, and… I-I formulated a plan to dramatically declare my love."
Bon Bon blushed a bit under her coat. "Did that plan involve snogging me under the spotlights i-in front of hundreds of ponies?"
"…Yeah, I didn't think that one through," Patch admitted, letting go of Bon Bon's tail and sitting up straight. "I seriously tried telling Melody to go for the NON-star role. That was dumb, and if I'd succeeded… yeah."
Patch switched between looking at the bathroom door, the huge orange teddy bear on her bed for decoration, and her closet with some of her many clothes inside. Then, she eventually broke the silence by saying, "Well, the story behind Miss Hackney is more interesting."
"Is it?" a fully-recovered Bon Bon asked, tilting her head just slightly. She got to her hooves.
Patch nodded, following suit and slinging her hoof around Bon Bon's shoulders. The yellow pony jumped at the contact before looking at Patch. "Yeah, I'll tell ya. It was one of the last days before holiday break…"
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Miss Hackney worked on her lesson with clear disbelief in her eyes when she glanced at Patch. For once, the taupe pony was… playing attention… in class. Not goofing around and listening passively, but studiously writing notes with one of the red pencils from the classroom box of them. She was grinning just slightly as she did so, too… not even with amusement, but with being genuinely interested in the use of coordinate grids.
Being professional in that case… well, she didn't truly believe Patch didn't have any ulterior motives, but at least she wasn't going to ask with narrowed eyes what she was up to. Not during class, anyway.
"So, this point here would be… negative two, three." Miss Hackney put a firm dot on the grid where said number was and looked over at the class. A few absent, as illness was abound, but otherwise everyone was paying pretty close attention and seemed to get it well enough. "Alright then, class, any questions?"
Not one of the children raised their hooves. Miss Hackney gave them an approving nod just as the cuckoo clock chimed its time: lunch and recess block.
Most of the kids had long since put away their notes, but Patch was amongst the few that had to stay behind and clean up. Miss Hackney curiously looked at the taupe pony as she put her notes away.
"Miss Hackney?"
The periwinkle teacher stopped watching the class clown to see Starlight standing in front of her desk with a bright smile on her muzzle. "Yes, Starlight?" she amiably replied.
Starlight reached into her satchel and pulled out a nice bright yellow banana and set it on the desk in front of her. "Ho ho ho, Miss Hackney!"
"Oh! Why, thank you, Starlight." Miss Hackney smiled, being reminded of the gift exchange they were having in a few days, and of the special gift she'd have to give to her favorite student the next day. "I'm honored you thought of this. "Will you be here tomorrow?"
"Of course, but I know how much you love bananas. I figured I'd give you one before I was off with my friends."
"I see. Well, I'll see you in forty five minutes, then, Starlight."
The pink pony nodded and trotted out the open door, her satchel still around her shoulder, and Miss Hackney smiled after her for a moment… before another voice said, "Um, Miss Hackney?"
She looked down and was more than a little bit surprised to see Patch standing there, smiling in a slightly self-conscious way. "Hello, Patch. I noticed that you were very attentive in class today. …Is that my very own Christmas present?"
Patch shook her head and smiled more easily. "Nah, but thanks for the tip. I'll keep that in mind when I don't take your gift in. Actually, I needed you to help me with something."
Miss Hackney's ears perked up. "Oh? And what would that be?" The teacher, admittedly, was baffled by Patch's behavior. First she pays attention in class without a fuss, and then she asks her for help with something? This would be interesting…
"I need a pass out of school for lunch today. To 6550 Small Street."
Miss Hackney thought for a moment before replying, purely baffled, "The Doe household – I mean, Bon Bon's house? Why do you need to go there?"
Patch glanced around nervously for a second before grinning self-consciously and, saying, "I said I'd drop by and say hi! I always wanna cheer my friends up when they're feeling down."
"But she is ill; her mother said that she had a terribly contagious cold. She has been trying to keep the family from getting sick, but she says that Amber is sniffling, and that she herself is feeling the effects."
Patch put her hoof on Miss Hackney's desk and gave what was supposed to be an easy grin. "Come on, Miss H, I won't get sick. I just need to see her to make sure she's doing alright."
Miss Hackney ran through everything in her mind. Patch's story simply did not compute! Her friends had been absent without her visiting them before, and she never wore a nervous, toothy grin the way she did then. "Are you sure?" was all she asked, in the most mollifying tone she could manage.
"Yes!" Patch nodded her head forcefully. "I just want to make sure she's okay, that's it!"
Miss Hackney adjusted her spectacles and reached for one of the passes she had… but she did so slowly and thoughtfully. Patch was eager to see Bon Bon even though she was home sick. She'd never been that way before. She was particularly embarrassed seeming, and clutching the edge of the desk uncertainly. Sweat was actually beading the taupe pony's forehead. She'd taken studious notes, and come to think of it… she didn't own a light blue folder like the one she'd crammed in her backpack.
But then, sharing notes was not Patch's style unless it involved passing them in class. And that wouldn't explain her nerves, and if that were the case, she would have been quicker to admit that than to admit her being worried.
She stared into Patch's dodgy golden eyes, and noted that as she did so… a slight blush erupted under her fur.
Then, the strangest idea, but the one that made the most sense occurred to Miss Hackney. What if… what if… "Patch, I ask this next question as a concerned friend, not as your teacher." Miss Hackney juggled around what she should say carefully. In all her years of teaching, it never once happened that she had to, as part of the job description, ask a student whether they were infatuated with a member of the same sex. Eventually, she just decided to be blunt. "…Do you have a crush on Bon Bon?"
Patch's eyes widened with terror as her blush intensified. "What? Me? No. Of course not! I, I'd never think of Bonnie, Buh… Bon Bon that way!"
And, with that, Patch's feelings read like a book to the senior teacher, who sighed. "You are an open book, Patch, and I assure you, nothing is wrong with feeling that way." Well, it made her feel funny, not to mention think about a certain gold-colored steed… but she quickly squelched the feelings. No, it wasn't the time.
"Shut u- Just give me the pass to see her."
Miss Hackney sighed, and pulled out a pencil, writing out the pass quickly while marking the reason blank with "family problem." The she passed it to Patch and gave her a stern look. "Patch, it is of utmost importance that you get back here on time for class. I am not keen on lying for any reason, and if you are caught troublemaking outside of class, I could lose all of my hard-earned respect. Why, I'm tempted to send Starlight your way so you don't get in trouble."
Patch sighed, weak with relief, and snatched the slip of paper out of the old teacher's hoof. "Thank you so much, Miss Hackney." Patch bent down and planted a quick kiss on Miss Hackney's forehoof. The teacher snatched her hoof away and looked more than a bit discomforted at the contact as Patch stood up straight and saluted. "I'll be back within forty five minutes, Miss Hackney ma'am! Thank you so much, see ya!"
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"I never knew you were such a worrywart…" Bon Bon ribbed, a mischievous glint in her eyes as she winked.
Patch rolled her eyes and smiled at her friend's jest. "You should talk," she retorted, putting a hoof around her friend's back. Conveniently, she'd forgotten about kissing Miss Hackney in her retelling to Bon Bon, but she couldn't care less right then.
Bon Bon laughed before replying, "I guess. But you're so protective of us. I mean, did you really think I was going to the hospital over a cold?"
"Nah. That's nothing next to the time I almost had a breakdown because you were too sick to talk on the phone." Patch smirked and crossed her forehooves while Bon Bon's eyes widened. "And here's the crazy bit: I didn't even have a crush on you then."
"Gosh..." Bon Bon put her hoof around the smaller pony's back and smiled gently, getting out of her awed state. "When did you develop feelings like you have anyway, Patch? I-I never thought anyone really cared like that."
Patch gave her friend an amiable grin. "Oh, not much of a story there. I take it you remember the masquerade night?"
Bon Bon shuddered. Patch inwardly hardened up at the memory and nodded. "Yeah, that night. But what I really want to hear about-" Patch put her head on Bon Bon's shoulder "-is how you came to notice me."
The mellow yellow pony tensed under the tomboy's touch, and her face was a soft red under her fur. After a minute or two, Bon Bon's shocked, wide-eyed expression turned into a very markedly shy smile. "Alright, fine. Um, I guess it started during that prank."
888
Bon Bon's heart was reeling, still, at the thought of what had happened with Ace. How that was, she didn't know. Three full days after the entire manipulation trick with Ace, and she was STILL heartbroken. What was more was that Christmas decorations covered Ponyland's buildings and streetlights, especially the color red. If you'd looked at Bon Bon's block back in Mecklenburger, the only difference from the summertime was that ponies were wearing jackets.
But she just couldn't feel the holiday cheer, even when Clover was skipping in front of her, wearing a red Christmas Pony-styled hat and singing out Christmas tunes. "Fah-lah-la-lah-la, la-lah la la!"
Bon Bon, even in her terrible mood, just couldn't bring herself to stop her best friend's holiday cheer, so she begrudgingly tolerated her friend's bouncy steps in front of her (not to mention, her slipping on some of said steps).
"Cheer up, Bon Bon!" Clover eventually exclaimed. "Get in the Christmas spirit and sing with me! Frost-y the snowman!"
Bon Bon's ears, which were already lowered, flattened against her head as she stared irately at the grass, which was dancing to Clover's singing. What she wouldn't give to let Clover live with her holiday cheer with someone else who was exuberant about the holidays…
…Like Sweetheart in her frustration about not being able to wear mistletoe everywhere, thanks to the plant's toxicity to her cat, Springfield, and her insistence that everyone else have their own winter romances to make up for her lack thereof. And Starlight not being able to be at a club meeting because she had to decorate the Ice Cream Shop in red, green and gold.
As a matter of fact, Melody was trying to write "the best song yet" and wasn't hanging out much with anyone at all… So maybe she was the best one to have to tolerate it, but come on! She still didn't feel like it.
Clove halted her singing and pointed toward the clearing… which was the home to a certain UFO. One that made Bon Bon raise an eyebrow curiously.
She and her friends, along with Clover's dad, had built it to get revenge on Patch for her tricks. Eventually, Patch went on and on about improvements that could be made to the thing and it actually sounded INTERESTING to Bon Bon, so she sat in and helped out with the improvements before her cookies ran out and duty (read: her stomach) called.
But clearly, more had been made since then. It wasn't just a new coat of paint or the glowing bridge. The sun was already sinking behind the metallic thing, so darkness normally would have covered it…
…Had it not been for the creepy purple light coming up from below it and the flashing lights along the saucer part, replacing the Christmas bulbs that had been there before. Imposing metal legs extended from the bottom of the spaceship, almost doubling its height.
Bon Bon stopped her shocked staring as Clover pulled her mane just slightly. "Come on, Bon Bon, we have to hide!"
The two dashed into the nearest bush and bent down, looking through a gap in the leaves. Bon Bon's hoof went into a familiar texture, and when she looked over at where her hoof was, she noticed… a notice. In the middle of a large blue bowl filled to the brim with buttered popcorn.
She picked out the note and instantly recognized Patch's hoofwriting. Enjoy the show, the note said, with a little pink heart and a patch at the end.
After glancing rapidly between the two objects and puzzling over what it meant, she heard the sound of a very familiar voice: "Smartest pony in Ponyland you are."
Starlight's alien voice. So, Patch had arranged the prank to be pulled on the ponies she had in mind. But how was that so-
"Of course I am. My name is Ace after all."
Bon Bon's eyes widened as the last piece of the puzzle fell into place.
Patch had set up the whole thing, done all of those improvements, to get back at Ace for what he did to her. And she'd thought to let her watch it live.
G-Gosh… Bon Bon couldn't help the soft smile that spread across her muzzle, and the warm and fuzzy feeling that ran from her heart, which suddenly beat on overdrive. Patch had really thought of little ole HER when she doubled the height of the spaceship? When she'd repainted the surface area of the metal disc? …W-When she'd popped the popcorn just the way she liked it and told her to enjoy the show?
Bon Bon was jarred out of her reflection when a loud, creepy riff of music played out… and green smoke emerged from the entrance as a silhouette of a pony appeared. A pony with a custom-made alien costume with an extra-long cape and a long, unponylike snout. The two underling aliens bowed down to the supreme commander, as Ace said in awe, "Whoa… you're the leader of the aliens?"
A voice that could only be an altered version of Patch's male voice replied, "Yes earthling. I am Marsthan, the leader of the aliens. And I have a prophecy foreth you…"
888
Bon Bon smiled timidly, looking away from the pony whose head was still resting on her shoulder.
"It was that night that I figured something out, see," Bon Bon continued, looking away. Shyness, but not hesitance was evident in her tone. "I was trying to think things through that night. I felt closer with you, and I was wondering why you did what you did. I thought that it might be because of the rush of the prank, but I realized something."
"T-That you liked me like that?" Patch guessed, raising an eyebrow.
"No. That you didn't pull that prank because you just loved doing pranks, but because you cared a great deal about me. The effort you put into it had me thinking, b-but it was really the thought behind it. Pranking Ace was great, but there were the small things, like the popcorn being just the way I liked it, and filming the whole thing for me so I could watch it all over again, that told me that you are someone I can, umm… kinda-sorta trust. I thought that having a tough time speaking was part of that kind of trust, but… I didn't realize it was different than she other until Cookie." Bon Bon shook her head and groaned. "I mean, Spinner! I'm sorry. We're friends, and he likes me to call him Cookie, a-and I think it has something to do with this entire weird-crush thing, and-"
Patch put a hoof over Bon Bon's mouth and rolled her eyes. Then she giggled. "It's okay. We aren't gonna get cheesy and give each other pet names, are we?"
Bon Bon grinned a bit impishly. "No thanks. Your name is too short to make into a pet name anyway, Patchy."
"Heh, oh you." Patch reached up and gave the bigger pony's hair a good ruffle. "Bon Bon, I love you," she added with an unintentional note of affection in her voice.
Bon Bon's playful smile melted off her muzzle like an ice cream cone at the center of the earth. Patch continued giving her smile to Bon Bon in hopes that the corners of her mouth would turn up again… but they didn't. "Patch, I'm not comfortable saying those words yet. I mean, w-we just got together yesterday!"
The taupe pony frowned at the revelation, but then shrugged. "It's fine." Patch nodded and smiled. Yeah, even if that was a, for lack of a better word, a 'problem,' it'd be one that would be worked through. Both of them, working together to get rid of some of Bon Bon's tension… drool-worthy thought. "It'll be something we work on together."
Bon Bon nodded and smiled sweetly. "Thanks for understanding Patch. Erm, before we get on to the activities of the night… I need to write something about all of this in my diary."
"Of course," Patch replied with a nod. She happened to glance at the plate of cookies and milk that sat on the ground a little ways away, noting that the only sillage of what delicious delicacies were there being an undrunk milk glass (darn it mom, why didn't you make two glasses?!) and a few crumbs on the shiny white surface. She grinned and motioned towards it. "Uh, I'll get some more cookies and a second glass of milk. See ya in a bit."
Patch gave the milk glass and plate a good look, narrowing her eyes and inspecting the surface carefully before putting the plate on her head and the cup on her back. For good measure, she flashed Bon Bon a playful wink.
Not that she saw it, though. She had already plucked her diary out of her bag and was started fumbling through the pages.
Classic Bon Bon. Patch rolled her eyes and slowly, carefully trotted out of the room.
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VORFREUDE
Dear diary,
I'd like to title this entry "Vorfreude," if you don't mind. Because, honestly, that's what I'm feeling right now. Of course we remember when I wrote out that other entry. You know the one. I walked into this sleepover just a bit hesitant, but excited.
That doesn't fit 'vorfreude.' So let me give it to you straight… I LOVE this sleepover! Patch is making me feel special in all the right ways. She's just telling me about some of the times she messed up telling me how I feel, and it has been a long time she's liked me.
Well, I have mixed feelings about one or two of them, but she's being to sweet. I remembered the story about the UFO and how I fell for her, and… she's just being awesome… I really like her.
This sounds like a horrible cliché from one of Sweetheart's stories. But there's a special spark when I'm around Patch. I know I said the same thing about Ace, but… I don't know. I mean, Patch loves me back, unlike him, and she's just wonderful.
It's just, I don't know. It seems too good to be true. I'm uber-looking forward to whatever comes next, but… but, at the same time, I wonder what will happen when she eventually loses interest in me. It'll happen eventually. So far it sounds like she really likes me, but Ace seemed that way too.
I don't know. I think I shouldn't think about it like that, I know. I'm just so excited for the future – that's where the title of this entry comes in – that I can't help but hope this is love. I just want to finish this entry so I can spend more time with her, though, so I'll talk to you later. I'm just having so much fun!
With love and rare optimism,
Bon Bon
888
…Aaand we fade to black here. For the sleepover, you guys may think of what kinds of things happened for yourselves! I personally think a lot of playful banter and little pony games ensued. Unintentional snuggles? Kisses? Heart-to-heart moments? Whatever floats your boat happened at this sleepover.
Thank you guys for reading the story, though. On my profile I have a LIVE story progress spot where I'll comment on the progress of each work-in-progress fic. No spoilers, though, so no worries! But that's not all it's there for! Are you anonymous and don't want to leave a review? You can talk anonymously with me there! Have a request? Tell me there. Want to have an instant conversation? We can arrange a time.
There'll be a lot more Tales abound, PatchBon and otherwise, in the near future. So stay tuned!