It was hot, hot, hot.

With great, round beads of sweat dripping down the bridge of her nose, Lyra opened the door to the Sweet Tooth and stepped into the inviting shade inside the candy store. The little “Closed” sign rattled against the door, breaking the serene silence inside.

Lyra took in a big breath of the wonderfully cool air. It smelled like powdered sugar and cocoa. Letting it all out with a sigh, she trotted past the customer area, through the little gate on the front counter marked “Employees Only”, and towards the back stairs.

“Bonnie, I’m back! Do we still have any of those daisies left? I’m starving.”

Just before making her way to the upper floor, she first shot a glance towards the kitchen. Empty and quiet.

“Bon-buns, where’re you at? The train leaves in an hour. You’ve got some judges’ socks to knock off in Canterlot!”

From the direction of the bedroom came an abrupt sniffle. Lyra’s ears swiveled at the sound.

“Are you okay, sweetness?” she called out, suddenly uneasy.

Trotting down the hall, she opened the door to the little living room, where the sound had come from. Bon Bon was inside, lying sprawled on her Having-a-Bad-Day couch, face in her hooves.

“Bonnie!” Lyra scrambled to the crying mare’s side and held Bon Bon’s head to her chest. The fur on Lyra’s forelegs became became matted and wet. “What’s wrong?”

“Oh, that featherbrained Rainbow Dash!” said Bon Bon. She leant into Lyra’s embrace and threw both legs around her shoulders. “Why can’t that mare ever do her job? It’s all ruined now.”

“Rainbow Dash?” Lyra shook her head. “Sweetness, you’re not making any sense.”

“It’s ninety-two degrees outside,” Bon Bon managed between frustrated sobs. “Ninety-two! The weather schedule said that today was supposed to be an eighty-two!”

“I don’t, uh…” Lyra bit her lip. “What do you—”

“Milk chocolate melts at ninety-two degrees, Lyra.” She dejectedly pointed to a wax-lined baking tray sitting on the coffee table that had somehow escaped Lyra’s attention. “This morning, I put it out on the windowsill to set, but it was too darn hot out. And now they’re all ruined.”

Lyra’s heart sank all the way down to her hooves as she took the sight of the melted candies. Little, shapeless mounds of chocolate sat in pools of hardened caramel filling that had spilled out when the treats crumpled in the heat. The ones at the edges had even run down the sides of the tray.

“Was this the batch for the contest?” Lyra spoke past the lump in her throat.

Bon Bon only nodded in response, smearing tears across Lyra’s coat.

“Oh, Bonnie, I’m so sorry.”

“I spent all night mixing everything.” Bon Bon sniffed again. “It was perfect, Lyra.”

“I know, I know, sweetness.”

Lyra cooed and shushed her, and together the two of them laid on that sofa as the departure time for their Canterlot train came and went. Finally, as the orange evening light found its way through the windows, her own rumbling stomach snapped Lyra out of her sleepy daze.

With Bon Bon snoring and snuggled tight next to her, popping down to the kitchen for a snack was out of the question. A moment’s consideration later, Lyra wrapped her magic around the most intact of the chocolate lumps on the tray beside them.

It broke off messily, leaving most of the bottom still stuck in the caramel sludge. Even then, the effort Bon Bon put into it was obvious; each piece had carefully drizzled swirls of white chocolate across the top, and even melted, Lyra could see at least two other kinds of chocolate layered one on top of the other. Wistfully, Lyra popped the candy into her mouth.

It was delicious. Sweet and salty, with a hint of savoriness from the heavy, rich caramel. It was the kind of treat that demanded a second bite as soon as the taste first faded from your tongue.

“Lyra?” Bon Bon stirred. “Lyra, don’t eat those, honey.”

“What? Why?”

Bon Bon’s ears flattened against her head. “They were going to be so much better. It’s not fair.”

“I don’t know, Bonnie,” Lyra replied with a tilt of the head. “These are really, really good.”

A ghost of a smile lingered on Bon Bon’s face, and she squeezed Lyra.

“Really? Give me a bite.”

An hour later, the tray was picked clean, and the tired couple fell back asleep with full bellies and warm hearts.