They’d met two years ago today, in a Ponyville pub on the first of St. Patrick’s week.
Bonbon had been there with a few friends. Or at least she thought she’d come there with friends, even if they’d since vanished into the general crush.
After a few moments casting fruitlessly about, Bonbon made her way over the bar for her third...fourth... for another glass of something nice.
She never got around to ordering it, though. There was a unicorn mare sitting alone in the corner; a very good-looking green mare, who looked just about as glum as you could get in the middle of such celebrations.
Bonbon noticed that the stranger’s glass was almost foamless and still full.
“Drink not doing you anything?”
The mare looked up, gold eyes blinking under sea-foam bangs.
“Sorry?” She asked. Bonbon assumed that’s what she asked, anyway. The noise of the band made it hard to hear anything lower than a shout.
It was getting cheerful real quick tonight.
So Bonbon pointed to the neglected pint sitting before the stranger, and leaned in very close.
“Your drink! Would you like to try something different?”
The mare eased back slightly, a little smile on her face, but shook her head.
“Ah don- Er, I don’t feel much up for drinks tonight, Miss..?”
“Bonbon!” Supplied the tipsy mare. “And if you won’t drink, then you should at least dance!”
Faster than she could think better of it, Bonbon tugged the unicorn off her stool and onto the crowded dance floor.
The mint green mare staggered a bit and tried to fjord back to the bar.
“Thanks kindly, but-“
Bonbon’s last three drinks reached out and reeled the pony back in, pulling them both to their hind hooves and pulling them close so they could speak without shouting.
“Come on, it’ll boost your ego to dance with me! I’m terrible at it~”
That got a laugh from the green mare, even as reluctant as she obviously still was.
But Bonbon hadn’t got this far by picking up on awkwardness, so she laughed too and charged them out among the dancers.
As bad as Bonbon’s dancing really was, her companion managed to steer them more or less out of harm’s way, though not without a few bumps and bruises. By the end of the first reel, neither of them could catch their breath for giggling, and they swung into the next two dances like berserkers rushing into battle.
“Right hoof, left hoof, right hoof-“
“Excuse us! Pardon me, coming through!”
“Whoa wait, Miss Bonbon! It’s the other right- Yowch!”
“Did I mention, I’ve already had a bit tonight? Probably should have warned you...”
“Not sure I’d have dared be your partner if you had!”
“Heeheeh~ That’s a joke, isn’t it~?”
“It is, even if the bruise on my ankle isn’t. Now, do a spin-”
“Wheee!”
Eventually, the five emptied glasses caught up to the earthpony, and Bonbon almost dragged the unicorn to the floor as the room listed suddenly to one side.
“Whoops! Heheh -hic- Sorry ‘bout that...”
“Never you fret.” The strange mare (Had Bonbon even asked her name?) reassured, looking round and guiding Bonbon over to a mostly empty table.
The earth pony looked back at the other dancers and grumbled.
“Wish I could dance properly. Bad when I’m tipsy, worse when I’m not....”
“Oh shush.” Chuckled the unicorn, steering her new friend towards a chair.
Settling Bonbon down, she pushed a bow of green cookies and an untouched glass of water into reach, then smiled.
“Now, you just tide here for a while with Berry-“ A green hoof patted the other table’s occupant on the head, making the distinctly drunk earth pony mumble sleepily. “-And I’ll put you on a little show, one to make all those ‘proper’ dancers feel every bit as green as you do.”
Bonbon blinked up into two bright and twinkling eyes, a bit surprised to see them alive with mischief when they’d looked so glum before.
“An’ how will you manage that, then?”
But the green mare just grinned and bounced off towards the musicians’ stand.
Suppressing another hiccup, Bonbon took a careful sip of water as she watched the unicorn speak to a raven haired fiddle player between songs.
Then the first bars of the next reel started up, and a great cheer rose from the crowd.
Instantly the dance floor was cleared of most ponies, though several new ones galloped up to help fill it again. The green mare bounded to the forefront, turning the whole crowd to face Bonbon, and crossed her fore-hooves, grinning as she waited the music to roll around again.
Behind her, over a dozen other ponies mimicked her movements perfectly.
And when the reel started for the second time, the flawlessly in-time clatter and thump of their hooves rumbled through Bonbon like thunder.
She’d seen things like this before, once or twice; but never from a front row seat, and certainly never with the lead dancer beaming at her like she was the prettiest mare in the room.
But’s that’s exactly what her strange new dancing friend was doing.
Blushing, Bonbon did her best to hum along with the tune. She watched the complex hoof-work out of the corner of her eye, and held the green unicorn’s gaze all through the spirited dance.
When it ended, the rush of noisy yells and whistles didn’t catch her by surprise, partly because she was stomping her hooves as loud as the rest of them. What did surprise her was the green mare running back to the table just long enough to nab Bonbon and pull her out onto the dance floor again.
There was no point trying to say anything, the cheers had suddenly gotten ten times louder, but the mare stood beside Bonbon and motioned to watch her steps and follow along.
So Bonbon did.
They danced at half measure to everyone else, bridging and filling the gaps in the music, and at first Bonbon worried she would trip and fall flat on her face.
But the unicorn stayed steady at her side, propping her up and following Bonbon’s pace as much as Bonbon was following hers. Soon dancing stopped being a worry for the earth pony.
Only the end of the music worried her, because she wished it never would.
It did, though. And they improvised a little flourish to the dance’s finish, before laughing their way off the stage to the roar of an enthused crowd.
Back at the table, they collapsed side by side, the mare ‘Berry’ just as unconscious as before.
“That was-“ Gasped Bonbon, trying to catch her breath again. “Amazingly fun! Is dancing your special talent?”
“Is cheering up poor sods yours?” Parried the unicorn, leaning over to nip a shamrock-shaped cookie from it bowl.
Bonbon gave her a playful shove, feeling as if she’d known the mare for ages...
She frowned.
“You didn’t tell me your name before, did you? I swear for all the noise and dancing, I can’t remember...”
“I didn’t.” Confessed the mare with a blush. A blush that deepened to a shocking scarlet as she held out a hoof.
“Sorry, I’m Lyra Heartstrings, and um-” She looked Bonbon up and down once, as if checking for something. “-I noticed you don’t have anything green on?”
Bonbon giggled.
“I think I was wearing a shamrock in my tail, sometime before my third drink~”
Lyra grinned, but glanced down at the table nervously.
“Well, it’s tradition to wear the green today...” She started, almost mumbling her words. “..So I was wondering if, since I’m a sort of greenish color myself, maybe for the rest of the night I could-“
Bonbon interrupted her with a kiss.
A little one, just a peck on the lips, but it turned the poor green mare as red as an apple.
Across the table, Berry snickered in her sleep.
Bonbon moved back a bit, keeping one hoof pressed over Lyra’s own, and smiled impishly up at her new ‘friend’.
“I’d like a date for the rest of the night, if you’ll be my something green for St. Patty’s week.”
Mutely, Lyra nodded.
The biggest, most ridiculously happy grin was spreading across her face.
Two years later, Bonbon was much better at dancing.
Lyra made sure to train her up special, so they could perform together, and be the stars of some pub every St. Patrick’s day.
It was, their friends agreed, a very cute way of celebrating their anniversary.