A House of Three (Bon Bon, Lyra, Sweetie Drops)

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For the first hour or so of the journey, Bunny shivered and sniffled, hiding her face from the other passengers in the train car in her sister’s hug. She did not whine or cry out for anything; she did not know why it hurt or what she wanted. All she knew was that her mom, dad, and the rest of her sisters could not be seen once the train left the station, that after every bend that let a window face Manehattan, it grew smaller and smaller, and at last, one bend only showed a grassy hill. The engine of the train and the tracks rumbled around her without warmth, pulling her away from her family, her home, her toys, and her bed. Hills and thickets of green passed on one side and endless fields rich and brown rolled by for endless miles and other passengers mumbled between each other, and for everything and everypony except for one, she had no name. To them, she had no name, no reason to care; she was alone except for Bon Bon, and when the train passed into the long tunnel of the North Foal Mountains, it was her she reached for when the dark wrapped around the car and the rumbles reverberated off miles of black rock on the other side of the window. At some point she fell asleep, and when she woke, Bon Bon was still there, napping herself.

She snuggled up until Bon Bon woke up, and things got better. Bunny remembered her friend, Mr. Harestyle, whom only looked like a stuffed, floppy-eared white rabbit. To her, he was, in fact, old and wise, but always fun. He had been her friend for as long as she could remember, and before that had been her next sister’s friend, and then the next sister’s, and then the next all the way up to the oldest, the one who watched her with eyes both icy and warm. He came out of Bunny’s little bag and told her that everything was fine and that they were on an adventure together, that this was just the beginning, and all good adventures have big things like trains and the dark and family. He petted Bon Bon’s nose, and when she woke, she smiled, and Bunny smiled too. The train soon came out of the other side of the tunnel, and sunset filled the car. It was as though they emerged into a different world. She did not feel excited about anything yet, but she felt better than before. The new places were warm and golden. That night, in the bunk of the sleeper cab, she felt that feeling of being ripped away return after Bon Bon fell asleep next to her. But then Mr. Harestyle, who was snuggled between them, whispered to her. Tooie was so nice, and she had come from where they were going. It simply had, he said, to be a good place. This was all just part of the adventure. Bunny hugged him closer and soon fell asleep. Mr. Harestyle never let her or her sisters down.

When she woke up, the dining car had pancakes waiting -- big, fluffy buttermilk pancakes with blueberry syrup and orange juice. She grinned and hopped before stopping and looking to Bon Bon sheepishly. At this point, it started to feel like a true adventure. She wasn’t a filly who had left home feeling taken or sad, but one who was having pancakes with her sister on the way to someplace that was probably wonderful! Excitement set in at last when the buzzy intercom came on and the conductor said that they were only an hour away from the place that would be her new home: Ponyville. She had been told that it was much smaller than Manehattan, but that everypony there was nice, if a bit gullible (which she then learned meant “ponies who believe things too easily.”) Half an hour before they arrived, she was wide-eyed, her forehooves swinging off the edge of the seat, and it felt like this new home would never, ever come. When the intercom buzzed to life again, her eyes stood straight up and she heard it: next stop, PONYVILLE. The brakes screeched to life, and while she felt light and a little scared, she grinned and looked to her sister. What was this place going to be like?

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Bon Bon had always been weirdly good at dealing with long train rides, especially alone. She didn't need books, or chatter, or any kind of distractions at all—it was a longstanding talent that she could just plop down on the seat, stare out the window, and wait patiently for hours on end. There was something kind of nice about being totally alone on the way to Manehattan. However, this hadn't remained the case on the way back, she discovered. Back home, she had found that everything was exactly as she expected. Her family all still had their heads up their ... clouds, and she was not going to be coming back anytime soon. But she'd found something else while she was there, which she'd missed out on for the past few years she'd been living in Ponyville. Sweetie Drops. Her youngest sister, and possibly one of the sweetest fillies she'd ever met. One of the relatively few gifts Bon had been able to send over, Mr. Harestyle, was apparently one of her most prized possessions. And her sisters, her older brother... even her parents, sometimes... they just seemed to pass her by. Eighth kid in line, right? Well, she wasn't having any of that. After some serious conversations, and a letter sent ahead to Lyra, and a shopping trip and an extra ticket—Sweetie was coming home with her for a while. With Celestia as her witness, Bon Bon was gonna show this filly what it meant to be appreciated and loved and to see a small town and to eat probably too many sweet things. (She'd have to keep a cap on that. Her natural instinct was see child -> feed child candy.) The intercom crackled with the news of their arrival. "Ahah," she said, smiling down at her little sister. "Here we go ~ you ready, kiddo? Bet you can see it through the window if you look now." She said that to buy a minute of distraction, as she slowly got up from where she'd been laying out and stretched, feeling a few telltale pop noises coming from her back. (Okay, so that was a part of travel maybe she could do without.) From there, she stretched up to the overhead compartment and started getting out their luggage. There was a lot more on the way back—Bunny had more things than Bon did, but that was to be expected, since she was basically moving here for a little while. "So, do you feel up to taking a little walk once we get off? I'll show you around town a bit, if you like, or we can go home and settle in first. There's still a good bit of daylight left." That was one thing she wanted to make sure of, that Bunny felt like she had more freedom here. Ponyville wasn't like Manehattan, not by a longshot.

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"Here we go ~ you ready, kiddo? Bet you can see it through the window if you look now." _{“Really?!”} Bunny’s smile went wide, showing twin rows of tiny foal teeth, and she let out a small & excited gasp as she climbed up the back of a seat and looked out the window, nose down, her eyes nearly pressing into the glass. She soon spotted trees organized into vast rows, all dotted with red, yellow, and green, an apple for every twinkling star from her little books back in Manehattan. This was some sort of farm, she thought, somewhat remembering what she had been told about this place. Sweet Apple Acorns … it was a funny name, she thought, considering everything was clearly apples.

But then, she saw the first actual buildings. There were really little houses and buildings, half-made of white walls mixed in with big logs of wood. She looked and looked, and couldn’t see a place that was taller than three floors! Ponyville was so short that when bunches of trees rolled past, they blocked her view of the town. The place looked so small that it looked like it was bring wrapped and swallowed by the mountains and a thick forest. It looked like a village in one of her storybooks, where a group of heroes would stop on their way to stop a dragon or save fairies or breezies, and so, with her grin already wide, she hopped a few times on the seat, as if to tell the train to hurry up, that she wanted to be there already! She pointed at Ponyville’s outskirts and looked to Bonny, who had brought down their luggage. A lot of Bunny’s bags were plain hand-me-downs, but she had a little Power Ponies suitcase showing Radiance dazzling henchmen, keeping them from seeing the silhouette of a giant Saddle Rager. She wanted to carry that bag the most.

"So, do you feel up to taking a little walk once we get off? I'll show you around town a bit, if you like, or we can go home and settle in first. There's still a good bit of daylight left." Bunny hopped down in front of Bonny and walked a circle in front of her, making a suitcase wobble as her tail brushed it. She knew exactly what to do in an adventure town! She would want to bring her things to the Heroes’ Hideout, make sure she had her’s and Mr. Harestyle’s best adventuring capes ready, then they’d be ready to see what secrets the town had! _{“C-Can I see home? I want to see there! Please?”}

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Tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick-Oh forget it. Lyra slumped against the glass of the window, groaning. When was Bon Bon gonna get back?! She was sooooooo bored! She'd already cleaned the house top to bottom... Literally. She had even vacuumed the ceiling. After that, Lyra put in some practice with every instrument she had owned. Then, she wrote up a research journal based upon her findings on Bighoof possibly living out in the Everfree. Then, she had made herself a totally awesome sandwich that tasted totally awesome. Then, she cleaned up the mess from that. Then, she did the laundry. Then, she did some gardening. Then, she waxed the floors. Then, she organized her book collection... And, all of that ran out two days ago. Lyra fell backwards onto the floor, plucking the strings on her lyre. "Lonely~ I am Miss Lonely~ I have no-po-nyyy~ for my own~." That was depressing. Lyra tossed her lyre onto the couch, and hopped back up to the window. ... Still nothing. Lyra turned to the opened letter sitting on the table. She picked it up. She read over it a few more times. She sighed. Lyra walked back into the living room, groaning melodramatically. "It's soooooo hopeless! I'm gonna be bored forever!" Suddenly, it was like the light parting the clouds. Seaponies sang beautiful melodies, pixies frolicked through enchanted forests, and a wonderful idea descended from the heavenly cities above. It was something she had forgotten. Lyra remembered her electric guitar. "I forgot to practice with that one!" The mint mare was a blur within seconds. She barged into her room, plugged up her amp, and got her guitar ready. "Aw, yeah!" It was a few hours away from midday. Perfect time for rocking!

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Seeing the suitcase wobble, Bon Bon stuck a leg out and nudged it back over. Eesh... wouldn't really do to have Bunny's first Ponyville experience be getting smacked down to the floor, now, would it? She smiled and stood among the suitcases, getting ready to haul them off once the train stopped. She'd have preferred to rent a cart, but it wasn't that far from the station to home if they were going straight there, so it wouldn't be a big deal. "We sure can! And, um, if she's there, I can introduce you to my roommate too..." She sounded a little less certain by the end of the sentence. She still felt a bit bad about springing this on Lyra—what if she didn't like kids? Or she didn't want the house a three-way split? Heck, what if she never even got the letter? The last thing she wanted to walk in the door with Bunny to see was a ticked-off unicorn... or worse, an empty house and a note. Blagh. No. Couldn't think depressing thoughts like that. She brightened immediately, though not without effort. "Anyway! You know the drill, kiddo. Stick close by while we're at the station, and after that make sure you don't wander off where I can't see you. It's really different from Manehattan here, though, so I don't think you'll have to worry about being lost in a crowd." As if to punctuate her point, the brakes squealed again underneath their hooves, and Bon Bon put out a foreleg again—this time to steady Sweetie when the train finally rocked down to a halt, and keep it from tripping her. A couple of bags fell over, but the casualties were minimal. She saddled up and strapped on the luggage, then picked up Sweetie, and put her down again. "Oop! S-sorry..." (In her defense, her sister was about the same size and color as that canvas duffel.) "Right... is that everything? We didn't leave anything out or behind? Then let's get moving ~" Outside the compartment were relatively few ponies on the train, disembarking the few passengers still aboard. And once the two followed them out, passing through the steam pouring out from the undercarriage... they stood at the Ponyville Station in a light breeze, with that same creaking little sign and the same sturdy wooden deck. The other passengers milled about, meeting connections or just passing onward, train attendant making his rounds, but they paid the sisters no mind. Right away, this was obviously an alien world—even Bon boggled at how many things were made out of wood when she got here. But what amazed her now was that she realized it looked exactly the same as the day she arrived. In the past few years not a thing was different.

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"We sure can! And, um, if she's there, I can introduce you to my roommate too..." Sweetie Drops listened a little more as Bon Bon’s voice fell a bit at the end of her sentence, and she looked up to her sister with a quiet, curious hum. She knew Bon Bon had a roommate, and knew that a roommate was a friend you shared a house with, like family even though you’re friends. Did that mean that this roommate was going to be a new sister, then? Even though they had different moms and dads? Her little tail gave a little swing as she thought about this, her ears perked with her smile. If Bon Bon and her roommate were great enough friends to be like family, then everything would be great!

"Anyway! You know the drill, kiddo. Stick close by while we're at the station, and after that make sure you don't wander off where I can't see you. It's really different from Manehattan here, though, so I don't think you'll have to worry about being lost in a crowd." Bunny immediately nodded. “_{Okay! I won’t go away, Tooie!}” She remembered the stations at Manehattan, so many adults swarming everywhere, and they all looked so important but in hurries to get everywhere. Once, and only once, she let herself wander away from her parents at once of the subway stations, and she couldn’t find them. She cried a little, and even more when strangers ignored her. However, a mare in a uniform came and helped her find her parents. After that, she didn’t wander off in crowded places like that again. There were adventures, but then there was getting lost. She was about to ask something when the brakes squealed.

Bon Bon reached down and kept her from tumbling forwards, and Bunny forgot her question as she grinned and looked out the window while her balance held thanks to the hoof. Outside, she saw many of the short buildings, and glimpses of ponies walking along paths. She saw flowers poking out of one saddlebag, and though she couldn't see what they were doing in passing, she saw a few other ponies her age playing with something in the grass. Her lower legs trembled and her knees tensed. She wanted to cheer and jump. And so she did, or at least tried once the train stopped. “_{We’re here, we’re here, we’re here! We made it! We –}” and then she went quiet and blinked as Bon Bon picked her up, bags suddenly on, looked to her, and then put her back down. Bunny stood there, a little confused.

"Oop! S-sorry... Right ... is that everything? We didn't leave anything out or behind? Then let's get moving ~" Bunny opened the flap of her bag, made sure Mr. Harestyle was inside and comfortable, then closed the bag on its snap so he wouldn’t get lost no matter what. “_{Ohkay! I’ve got everything!}” She waited, looking at Bon Bon, then the doors, and then back to Bon Bon again, waiting for others to leave. She shifted on her hooves, and when the time came, she simply could not help leaping forwards for her first step then hopping off the train onto the platform. She rotated in a quick circle, as if trying to take in every angle in two seconds. The steam hissed out, at first giving the platform the texture of a dream, but at the breeze, it cleared quickly, and she saw it all, first enjoying the little “dunk dunk” sounds of her hooves on the wood, and then the smell! The smell was way different here. In Manehattan, the smell varied by how close to the overflowing trash cans one stood, but here, the air was nearly thick with the smell of green, living things in Summer, the wind carrying the scents of flowers of grass and … apples? That’s right, the apples she saw on the way … she started to feel hungry.

She hopped to feel and hear the wood clunk under her and looked around again! The ponies here didn’t wear suits for the most part. They wore nothing apart from their bags, or maybe they wore clothes that looked like they were meant for some kind of work, having wood dust or dirt on them. And they seemed warmer, like they weren’t in a rush, like they wouldn’t just ignore her if she was in trouble. She was glanced at, not coldly, by a few of the nearby ponies, and though she stopped hopping, blushing in shyness as she stepped back towards Bon Bon, she still smiled a little. She looked to Bon Bon apologetically, realizing that maybe she was getting a bit excited, but then she just got excited again and rejoined her in a single prance! But then she realized that Bon Bon had all their bags! “_{I-I’m sorry. C-Can I help}?”

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"Let's do this! O-Where's my pick?" Lyra looked at the pick in her hoof. This wasn't her lucky pick. This was one of her random lame ones. Where was her lucky pick? Suddenly, she remembered vacuuming the entire house. Uh oh. Lyra set her guitar down, turned off the amp, and walked out. Hopefully she hadn't vacuumed it up. She had to check. Lyra pulled out the vacuum, and opened it up. A cloud of dust exploded in her face. She blinked. That probably wasn't supposed to happen... Ohhh... She had forgotten to empty it. Good thing she did. If her pick had been vacuumed and she had emptied it... The idea of dumpster diving without any hopes for finding a creature of legend was a sad one. But, Lyra had a pile of dust to search! She dug around through it, biting her lip. Dust, dust, dirt, dust, hair, dust... Mmm... Aha! Lyra pulled out her dirty hoof, with her lucky pick! Hm... Now she needed to clean herself up. And the pick. She closed the vacuum and put it away, quickly, before running over to the sink. Okay, time to wash up! Lyra squirted some liquid soap into her hooves, and started washi-The pick dropped right down the drain. Her eyes widened, and she plunged her hoof in after it. She caught it. And she was stuck. In hindsight, she should've used her magic. Lyra pulled on her arm. Nothing... And this water wasn't helping! Lyra shut the sink off, and groaned. Lyra yanked, repeatedly. "Ow, ow, ow, yyyyyyoooooowwww, ow, ow, ow, OW!" Noooo! What if she got stuck here for hours?! What if Bonny walked in on her with her arm down the drain?! She might not be trusted to watch the house by herself again! She didn't need a foalsitter!!! Maybe she was overreacting. Then again, maybe not. Lyra wondered if there were any tools under the sink. Lyra opened up the doors to the cabinet, aaaaand... Nothing. Just cleaning supplies. Obviously just slipping her hoof out was out of the question. Her arm was already soaped up. If that didn't work, not a single slippery material would. Sorry, 'butter' luck next time. Ha, ha, ha... oh, Faust, that was lame. SHE WAS STILL STUCK! Lyra launched into another session of trying to yank her arm out. Lyra stared at the bottle of liquid soap. Maybe she just needed more! Lyra ripped the cap off with her free hoof, and drenched her imprisoned hoof in it. She twisted her hoof back and forth to make sure the soap squeezed all around her wrist. Then, she yanked with all her might. It released with a solid "pop!" and threw off her balance. She fell backwards, and hit the floor. ....... Lyra triumphantly raised the pick in the air. "Success!!!"

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Bon Bon snickered quietly at Sweetie's first reactions to Ponyville. Spending so long sitting on the train, it was no wonder she was about to burst from all that energy inside her—this must've been so exciting for her, but at the same time, it kinda seemed like she was used to having to bottle up on that... well. No matter. That was just something she'd have to fix, right? She smiled at her, as if to say, it's okay—you can be excited. "Sure, if you like," she said, happy to give her sister a bit of an outlet nonetheless. She shifted a little, spotting one particularly small and colorful bit of luggage, and settled it down in front of her. "Do you wanna carry your Power Pony bag for me? You can just give it back to me if you get tired, though ~ I'm used to carrying around big carts, so I don't mind." Come to think of it, had Sweetie ever had a cart ride before? Probably only the Manehattan carriages, at best. She'd have to do that for her sometime. Just imagining the look on her face... and that was to say nothing of the hay rides, the festivals... oh, this was going to be great! When Sweetie was ready, she got them walking down through Ponyville. She could remember when she first got here, too—she visited before she moved, and the biggest shocker to her was that there weren't sidewalks. Ponies on hoof and on carriage alike just... shared the road, without incident, without yelling or grousing. That had seemed so alien to her at the time, but now she couldn't stand it any other way. Bon breathed in deep, tasting the fresh air, the lingering scent of fresh bread and old wood, springtime leaves and maybe just the hint of a shower in the evening... it was a full, heady lungful of peace to her. All she had to do was remember that, and she was centered again. Whole. And when she looked down to the filly at her side, she couldn't help but hope that maybe it'd be able to do the same for her. It wasn't too far a walk before they arrived home—Ponyville wasn't a huge town, after all. She felt that worry from before creep up again, that Lyra would be put out by this sudden change in dynamic, that she didn't like kids... but she took another calming breath as they walked up to the door, which had only a small few steps. She was sure that, even if they had to have a serious talk, Lyra would've made things nice and welcoming... the mare was nothing if not a total sweetheart. "Alright, Sweetie," she said, pushing open the door. "And welcome hooooh..." She trailed off a bit as she saw the state of things. The place looked perfectly clean... except for the big ol' cloud of dust hanging in the air, and from the sounds of it, some weird struggle coming from the kitchen. Oh, sweet Celestia... what is she doing? "Cover your mouth, Sweetie, so you don't sneeze," she said, carrying everything in and setting it down. They could sort out the room in a moment. She closed the door behind them and called out. "Lyra? Hey, are you okay in there? You need some he—ATCHOO. ...help?" Bon Bon subtly wiped her nose, and decided to follow her own advice.

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"Do you wanna carry your Power Pony bag for me? You can just give it back to me if you get tired, though ~ I'm used to carrying around big carts, so I don't mind." Bunny looked to her matching suitcase. She looked to her sister, carrying her grown-up bags, and then looked her own bag. “I’ll get it!” Though her voice was still quiet compared to all the sound around them, it had a little sing-song squeak to it, like the warbling of a restless robin just a day away from testing its young wings for the first time. “I’ll carry it and I won’t get tired and you won’t get tired!” She gave her sister her grin. There was dust and steam from the locomotive. Butterflies wafted by. If a butterfly could do it, she thought, then she could do it too. She slid her suitcase free, placed it on the wheels, and pulled it with her teeth, making sure to smile at Tooie with her eyes as the older sister began to lead them from the platform.

Bunny pulled the case down the steps from the platform, and as she descended those few clunky wooden steps, most of her view of Ponyville sank out of view, hidden by gently sloping hills, green humps with trees and shrubs growing on them. And then there was the dirt. Her hooves slid just a little with this soft, grainy, shifty sound, sounding out with pat noises, contrasting with the dull clop of concrete. With all this, Sweetie Drops imagined that her and Tooie had left the train in some wild place, a place ponies go where there aren’t many ponies but there’s a lot important things in the ground for them to find. They were adventurers, and naturally, there were treasures for them to find.

As she followed, she looked to the ponies walking around. Some waved and greeted her big sister and even her even though they had never met her before! It was strange and weird and she didn’t know what to do, so she walked closer to her sister and looked down until the ponies went their way. When she looked up from Tooie’s hooves, she looked up to the sight of Ponyville from atop a baby of a hill. The houses and other places weren’t much larger than from the windows of the train. Sometimes just one floor or two, there was more to see than on the tallest high-rise back home. Flower pots held in from of window sills showed blossoms facing the fun, tiny bees buzzing about them. Weird bumpy glass made the ponies indoors look wobbly and blurry, and she wondered what they were doing. Bells rang as carved doors tapped them, banners and signs flapped and swung in the brighter colors from her crayon box, vegetables poked out from the bags of passersby, and somehow, most of the ponies were smiling. She nearly stopped, just waiting to hear somepony say something mean to somepony that stepped in front of them, but it simply didn’t happen. Until she realized Bon Bon was starting to get far ahead of her, she slowed to a near stop to watch as the town came to her eyes like a kaleidoscope pointed at the brightest rainbow. She jogged, tugging her suitcase to catch up, yet her eyes wandered.

And then, just as she thought she smelled something like cupcakes, Bon Bon stopped. Sweetie Drops looked, and in front of her was a door atop a few steps. It was a light wood door. Somepony had painted and carved two ponies into the door, a green one with little yellow eyes and an unmistakable likeness of Bon Bon. More carving spelled it simply in green and purple lettering: Lyra and Bon Bon’s. The welcome mat was made of packed hay painted with a funny metal thing with strings and three candies. Bunny stared to the door and rubbed a forehoof into the dirt in front of the steps. This was going to be her new home! Bon Bon walked up and turned the knob, and Sweetie Drops held her breath reflexively.

"Alright, Sweetie," The door opened and Sweetie looked as though anything would be there and waiting. When her lungs went tight and she took a breath, she tugged her bag and went forward close behind her sister’s long, curled tail. "And welcome hooooh..." She peeked inside and heard some sort of clunking and clinking noise. There was a cloud inside somehow!

"Cover your mouth, Sweetie, so you don't sneeze," Bunny nodded and after letting the handle of the suitcase go from her teeth, she tried to cover her face, but something tickled her nose. "Lyra? Hey, are you okay in there? You need some he—ATCHOO. ...help?" At the same time, she sneezed too with a squeak that sounded like a tiny puppy’s first bark.

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At the sound of Bon Bon's voice, Lyra's eyes widened. She scrambled up to her hooves, breathing in to make a reply. Lyra never made it to that reply. The same affliction that had met the sisters greeted Lyra with open arms. Lyra sneezed loudly. "Cheeee-OWww~! Now that's a sneeze! Woo, head rush..."It was all fine and dandy, except for the cloud of dust in the air. She quickly lit up her horn and gathered the dust up into a compressed ball. Without a moment of hesitation, the ball of filth flew into the trash. Everything was squared away. She could focus on the wondrous news that Bon Bon was back, and... Wait... Rewinding... Processing... There had been two sneezes before Lyra had sneezed. There had been a Bonny sneeze. Then, there had been a cute, tiny sneeze. Lyra slooooooooowly leaned to look around Bon Bon. It was a foal. It was a cute foal. It was a filly. It was a cute filly. No, it was an adorable filly. No, it was an adorable filly that was familiar! Lyra gasped. Her smile grew wider and she took a few steps forwards. "Ohhhhh myyyy gooooooosh, she's so adorable~!" Lyra bounced over, giggling, but kept her distance. "She's like a little Mini-Bon! Can I snuggle her~?" Wait, it was rude to ask someone other than the recipient. "I mean, can I snuggle you? Please~?" Lyra smiled at Sweetie Drops, bouncing little enough to almost not be doing it at all. "I promise that I'm a good snuggler. I'm very responsible with my huggle to cuddle ratio. 4 out of 5 ponies have enjoyable experiences with it. The other one is a grouch. But, Bonny's one of the four~. So you have a reliable source~." She winked.

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Well, from the sound of the third sneeze and the sudden, magical congealment of the room's dust, at least she knew Lyra wasn't out of the house. And as the little green unicorn came bounding over, Bon Bon let out a sigh of relief she hadn't known she was holding—that somehow Lyra would get all icy, or awkward, or just generally disapprove of Sweetie. The last thing the poor filly needed was more grownups who didn't know how to talk to her. But bless her heart... Lyra was being her sweet, energetic self. It warmed her heart to see her being excited and interested in Sweetie Drops' arrival—even if her little sis wasn't used to this kind of attention... Bon was pretty sure it would be good for her, in the long run, to have it. "Manners first, kids," she said, keeping a gentle and diplomatic tone as she moved the Power Ponies bag over with the others. She stayed close, but not too close, hoping her sister would feel comforted but not stifled by her proximity while meeting someone new. "Bun, this is Lyra, my roommate and good friend. Lyra, this is Sweetie, and be nice, 'cause she's a little shy." She looked down at Sweetie, smiling lightly. "You don't have to hug if you don't want to. But she is good at it. Canterlot ponies have nice fuzzy coats. Like Voyage's, remember her?" Come to think of it, Bon Bon wasn't sure of the difference between a huggle and a cuddle. Was one less close than the other? Did a huggle involve more tightness, but a shorter duration? Were cuddles only cuddles while sitting or laying? More likely, huggle was just a cute way of saying 'hug' and it meant only that. Yes, then. Either were permitted—but only with the permission of the recipient. (House Rule #3, in fact. Surprise hugs were limited to special circumstances.)

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Something had happened with the dust. She watched it turn into a glowing, floating ball, then float into a garbage can. She had seen magic before, but not enough times to stop her staring, big eyes open wide, and when she looked to the pony whose glittering golden magic glow matched the magic, she saw a big smile. The pony was green, and kind of blue too. The color brought a growing smile to Sweetie Drops’ face. She looked somehow like she’d be fun play with, though, of course, Mr. Harestyle would need to meet her too and tell Sweetie what he thought. And then suddenly the Unicorn gasped and bounced forwards! Sweetie Drops’ smile turned a wide look of caution, and she backed away a step. "She's like a little Mini-Bon! Can I snuggle her~? I mean, can I snuggle you? Please~?" Sweetie didn’t answer then in more than an unsure whimper as she backed away a little with just her forelegs until she was close to falling over backwards while she also lowered her head a little, looking down at the soft whine of the wood floor. "I promise that I'm a good snuggler. I'm very responsible with my huggle to cuddle ratio. 4 out of 5 ponies have enjoyable experiences with it. The other one is a grouch. But, Bonny's one of the four~. So you have a reliable source~." She still wasn’t sure what to say, so she quickly found Mr. Harestyle and held him close and in front of herself, peeking out at the new pony from under one of the stuffed animal’s floppy ears.

"Bun, this is Lyra, my roommate and good friend. Lyra, this is Sweetie, and be nice, 'cause she's a little shy." Sweetie looked up to her sister’s calm smile, and her grip on Mr. Harestyle softened. "You don't have to hug if you don't want to. But she is good at it. Canterlot ponies have nice fuzzy coats. Like Voyage's, remember her?" Her smile started to grow back immediately. Fuzzy was probably the best thing anypony could be in the whole world. Somepony told her that not everything that was fuzzy was good, like bears and tigers, and that she should watch out for those, but so far, she’d never seen those bad-fuzzy things; everything that was Fuzzy was then was one thing: the best. And sure enough, as she peeked out from behind Mr. Harestyle, she noticed that Lyra not only was Fuzzy, but seeing her mane and tail, was also … Fluffy?! Sweetie gave a little gasp, showed a wide grin to Bon Bon, and holding Mr. Harestyle by one foreleg, came forward quietly, showing Lyra more of a smaller smile, and very carefully, put out one of Mr. Harestyle’s paws and touched Lyra’s foreleg, looked to her stuffed friend, searching his eyes for his appraisal. After a moment of quiet, Sweetie put down Mr. Harestyle into her bag after giving him a little hug, and after a few tries, and with her ears nervously lowered, gave a little reach upwards towards Lyra for that snuggle, shaking just a little.

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Lyra looked back and forth between the shy Mini-Bon and Bon Bon. Sweetie was such a perfect name for a cutie like that. What did Bon Bon call her? Bun? Like the bunny she was holding? Just as adorable. Lyra could tell even if Bon Bon hadn't said it that Sweetie was shy. Her golden eyes watched the shy filly wander up. Her stuffed rabbit's paw touched Lyra's leg. All the while, Lyra simply waited, smiling. After an assumed approval from the stuffed guardian, Sweetie approached her with her hooves outstretched. She was shaking a little. Lyra would be sure to make this a good one. Lyra sat down to be on the same level as Sweetie and slowly wrapped her hooves around her. Mint fur brushed against cream colored fur. Lyra tenderly pulled her in close, rubbing her back and smiling all the while. Lyra learned from her grandmother that one of the biggest signs of trust and affection was a hug. Most ponies didn't think about it, but to allow a pony to get so close to them, where the other pony could do absolutely anything... Whether gross or loving or malicious... Lyra gave her hugs to the ponies who really deserved it or needed it. And she hugged that filly with all the warmth and tenderness that she could fit into one little embrace.

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Hugs were a tricky thing. Sometimes, she felt, they didn't seem to mean anything to ponies. A hug was usually just a nice thing that ponies did sometimes, especially if they were visiting and wanted to show that they were nice if front of the family. Sometimes, however, hugs meant a lot. Sweetie Drops knew the difference! The hugs that mattered, like from her mommy and Tooie ... they were extra warm and soft, and they didn't just let go after a few seconds. Somehow, they always knew how long to stay, and they didn't just put her down and walk away. At least ... Tooie never did.

Lyra put her forelegs under Sweetie Drops' and lifted her up, Sweetie just looking to the Unicorn's minty-green grin and pretty, golden eyes, which also seemed to be smiling too if eyes could do that. And then, after a breath's worth of time, Lyra pulled Sweetie close to her chest, and Sweetie wrapped her short forelegs around the base of Lyra's neck, and for the next instant, the filly waited, but she wasn't immediately put down. Her coat wasn't as fluffy as Tooie's, but it was still soft and warm, like a perfect naptime blanket. Sweetie Drops hung on a bit tighter, and felt the hug around her grow a little tighter, holding her in the cozy coat. She waited for a moment more, but Lyra held her warmly, the angle of her smile just barely there in the edge of the filly's vision.

And so she really was nice! And so, she wiggled her nose into Lyra's coat and give her shoulder a playful little peck, her little hind legs giving a wiggle to help her stay close. Did this mean that her and Mr. Harestyle were getting a new friend as well as best sister? 

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Bon Bon kept an eye on them for a moment. Not that she didn't trust Lyra, or was worried Sweetie would freak out, but she wanted to see for herself that her roommate was giving her best with this. And when they held together just a bit tighter, she was satisfied, and gave Lyra a little smile behind Sweetie's shoulder. Without interrupting the moment, she went into the kitchen to see exactly what kind of damage had been done. Fortunately, it didn't seem to be a cooking accident. There was no indication where that huge plume of dust had come from, but there was some soapy-water mess by the sink... and, floor. Which wasn't a big deal, but it didn't take Fetlock Holmes to figure out Lyra had fallen down while cleaning up for their arrival. The dust was probably from smacking out the cushions. It warmed her heart a little, knowing her roommate had done all this to accommodate them, even on such short notice. She grabbed a dishrag and made quick work of the wetness, then pulled out a big cucumber, block of cheddar, cutting board, butter knife; it had been a long train ride, and Lyra probably didn't eat if she was busy cleaning. Quick, easy cucumber-and-cheese sandwiches were in order. ...But after everything was set out, she peeked back out one more time. Just to check. "Anypony want some sandwiches? I'm famished."