The Sun Never Sets

by Mr Fislewait

Bonus: Blackmail

Author's Note:

This chapter is a little different to the previous two. It wasn't originally planned to be included at all. The events were things I knew had happened but I hadn't intended to try fitting them into the story. After writing up the previous two parts though I felt like writing this up as a companion piece to round out the Lyra/Bon Bon subplot a little better.

20 Years After Evey's Birth

The rain hammered down against the windows in great torrents. It had come upon Ponyville from the Everfree, thick black storm clouds that the weather team had been ill-prepared to deal with. It wasn't too much of a problem for the town, realistically the pegasi would just lighten up on the rain for the next week or so, but it had thrown off Bon Bon's plans for the day. She and Lyra were meant to be having a picnic, just the two of them, but the rain had put a damper on that plan. Heavy rivulets of rainwater ran down the windowpanes and the sound of rolling thunder could be heard in the distance. The day wasn't a total bust though, neither of them had any work and they still had the lunch they'd prepared for the picnic, sure it would be eaten inside, but it would be a nice romantic meal for the two of them...

A furious knocking interrupted Bon Bon's thoughts as somepony began hammering furiously on the front door. "I'll get it!" Lyra called in from the other room. Bon Bon groaned, all of her regulars knew that she had plans with Lyra today, she thought she had made it quite clear to the townsponies that the two of them would not be able to entertain guests or business callers today, and that their private time together was not to be disturbed.

"Hey there, I..." Bon Bon could just about make out the hoarse and feeble voice of a young mare as Lyra opened the door, but whatever she was saying was drowned out by a great gasp of shock from Lyra.

"Sweet Celestia! What happened to your face!?" Bon Bon winced slightly at Lyra's complete lack of tact, before considering the concern in her marefriend's voice. She wasn't poking fun at somepony's looks, she was genuinely worried.

"It's nothing, I just...I need to pick up some of my mom's things." Bon Bon recognized that voice, not well but she definitely recognized it.

"Get in out of the rain, you'll catch your death from the cold if you aren't careful!" There was a click as the door closed, and the sounds of somepony wiping their hooves on the welcome mat. Well that settled it, apparently they were accepting guests now. Bon Bon ceased putting the finishing touches onto the lunch and stepped through into the hall to meet their guest.

"Lyra, who is it? I thought we had plans for-" Bon Bon froze as she locked eyes on their guest. She didn't know Eventide as well as Lyra did, but she knew her well enough to recognize her at a glance. Bon Bon couldn't think of a single time in her life she had seen the unicorn looking so downtrodden and despondent. Her coat was drenched, her mane was matted and she had a dead look in her eyes. Her eyes... She had a nasty looking black eye, swollen shut and oozing blood, a recent injury from the looks of things. Sniffing the air Bon Bon also noted a curious scent. Liquor.

"What happened to you Evey? I mean, no offense, but you look like doodoo. Seriously, what happened?" Lyra had one hoof placed protectively across the back of Eventide's neck. She was a grown mare now but in Lyra's eyes she'd likely always be a little filly. Little fillies don't go about making inflammatory comments about national tragedies to the press though, she mused. It wasn't that she disliked the mare, she barely knew her, but she and Lyra could really do without the kind of trouble that Eventide's reputation seemed to be bringing these days.

"I...I fell down some stairs," Eventide mumbled, raising one hoof to her eye. "Really, it's nothing. I just wanted to pick up some of my mom's belongings and then I'll be out of your hair," Bon Bon was no doctor, but she was pretty sure a pony didn't get an eye like that from 'falling down stairs'.

"Go get the medical supplies from the bathroom, I'll get some ice from the fridge," trouble as she was though, Bon Bon was not going to let Eventide leave in her present state.

"Uhhhhhh yeah, about that..." Lyra chuckled with a familiar nervous laugh that roughly translated into 'I did something dumb and forgot to tell you'. "I may have kinda used up a lot of the supplies in a little bit of an arts and crafts project," she paused. " And by a lot, I mean all of them, we are completely out." Bon Bon's eye gave a very slight nervous twitch, almost unperceivable to the casual observer, but easily recognized by her marefriend. "I didn't forget though! I put it on the shopping list and everything! Look!" Lyra thrust the list into her face and, sure enough, 'doctoring stuff' had been scribbled at the bottom of it.

"Okay... how about you go see if any of the neighbors have some spare?" Bon Bon diplomatically suggested between her gritted teeth.

"But it's raining!"

"She's your friend, and you're the one who used them all up, Lyra," a vein bulged very slightly on Bon Bon's forehead, the second sign of the average conversation with Lyra.

"Fine..." Lyra finally caved in, "I'll be back in a bit, don't go anywhere!" As Lyra grabbed an umbrella and stepped outside into the rain, Bon Bon turned to her 'guest'.

"You've been drinking, isn't it a bit early for that?" Bon Bon had a strict 'no alcohol in the house' policy, sure she'd indulge in the occasional mug of cider, but she liked to keep the booze well away from her home and her business.

"Wasn't too early when I started," Eventide muttered under her breath.

"You're unbelievable! You realize that right? Have you any idea the kind of trouble Lyra has been in around town for standing up for you? She's had the good sense to not agree with any of the things you've been spouting around Canterlot, but even so, she's not made any friends by sticking up for you."

"That's her choice, not my fault if she wants to back me up," Eventide winced in pain as Bon Bon applied the ice to her eye.

"Look, I get that things are hard for you right now. What happened with Sunset was tragic, it really was. But all this?" she gestured towards a stack of newspapers on the table, most of them had an article or two that mentioned Eventide, if not quoting her directly. "All this is on you. Why couldn't you just have kept quiet, denied what they said and avoided antagonizing everypony?" Bon Bon sighed, Sunset had always seemed a nice enough mare, how had she managed to raise such a brat as Eventide? "Anyway, you're out of luck, I don't have any of Sunset's belongings, Twilight might but Sunset never left anything here-"

"I know," Eventide cut in, wobbling slightly on her hooves. Was she really still drunk? It was barely noon!

"Then why are you here, Eventide?"

"You have contacts in the MIB right? I want you to see if you can get me some copies of whatever reports they have on the- the unpleasantness. Something's being covered up, Sweetie Drops, I want to know why," Bon Bon could smell the liquor on her breath, it was disgusting.

"First things first, never call me that name. I'm Bon Bon. Second, no. I get you're hurting but there's nothing for you to gain from reading that information, not to mention it would be illegal. If you want to keep avoiding the truth then go ahead, that's your problem. But I'm not putting my neck on the line to give you some small measure of closure that you could just get by talking to Twilight," nothing was really being covered up, not really. If she wanted her answers she just had to go and swallow her pride and speak with her aunt, it was really that simple.

"I need those files, Sweetie Drops," there was a look of pain in her eye, of betrayal.

"Not going to happen."

"I'll go public, tell the whole of Equestria about the MIB, tell them that Sunset was a monster hunter on Celestia's payroll, bet that would turn a few heads," she was really desperate if she thought Bon Bon would succumb to such idle threats.

"That's not a fight you're going to win, Eventide," she snorted in derision.

"Maybe not, but it's a fight you'd lose. I doubt Ponyville will treat you the same way when they find out that you were her direct superior, that it was you giving her missions and calling the shots. Ponies will start asking questions like 'what was Bon Bon doing in Canterlot the day it all kicked off?'" in the silence that followed you could have heard a needle drop.

"What?" Bon Bon packed as much venom and menace into that one word as was physically possible. Eventide was playing a dangerous game and it wasn't one she had much experience in, Bon Bon however was an expert.

"The MIB won't help you either, they already threw Sunset under the carriage for whatever went down out there, they'll happily throw you under it too if need be. Doesn't have to happen though, all I'm asking for is a few little pieces of paper and we never need to speak of this again." Bon Bon wasn't sure which sickened her more, the smell of Eventide's breath or the insidious little smile on her face. Was she actually enjoying herself?

"You think you've got this all worked out don't you?" Bon Bon dropped her voice to a whisper, betraying none of the anger that she presently felt towards the unicorn.

"Pretty much, yeah. You value your quaint little life here too much to just throw it away, and nopony will actually be harmed by giving me what I want. The choice is pretty obvious if you ask-" whatever she had been going to say was cut off as Bon Bon slammed her against the wall, pressing one hoof firmly against Eventide's throat .

"Now you listen here, you vile, despicable little mare, 'cause I'm only going to say this once. What happened with your mother was tragic, I wish we could have helped her but it's too late for that now. What's done is done, we have to get over it," Eventide whimpered a little under her hold, she was pathetic really. "If you want to ruin your life by running around telling ponies that the changelings deserved what happened to them then fine, be my guest. But you stay away from me, and you stay away from Lyra. You want to try the blackmail game? Go ahead, I've got nothing to hide, nothing you'll be able to credibly prove anyway. And even if you do try to ruin my life, all you'll really be doing is hammering the last nail into your own coffin. Are we clear?" Eventide let out a fearful little squeak and furiously nodded her head as best as she could from her current position. "Good."

"Hey gals! I'm baaaaack," the front door swung open and Bon Bon heard Lyra waltz into the house. Quickly, she let Eventide go and straightened out the kitchen as best as she could before Lyra saw them. "Uhhhh what happened to your head, Evey?" Lyra asked as soon as she walked into the room, one hoof pointing at a small blood trail snaking down her head from where she had been slammed against the wall. Eventide wiped the blood off of her scalp with one hoof and nervously chuckled.

"I uhhh... tripped and fell, hit my head on the table. You know how it is, Lyra, clumsy little Evey," it was about as believable as her story on how she got her black eye but Lyra seemed to buy it, she was a trusting soul.

"Yeah well let's see about getting you bandaged up, huh? I think there's some ointment for the eye in here as well..." Lyra began busying herself with Eventide's injuries and didn't notice the glares they shot one another across the room.

'This isn't over,' Eventide mouthed silently.

"Jeez, Evey, maybe try not falling on your head next time huh?"

"I can try I guess," she chuckled halfheartedly. "Everypony has their weakness though, guess my head's mine." She placed one foreleg across Lyra's withers for support and then looked at Bon Bon. "Everypony has their weakness," the words were said like a joke, but there was a predatory look in Eventide's eyes that spoke of the intent behind them, her gaze flickering between Bon Bon and Lyra, back and forth. Lyra was too busy with the injury to notice it, but the look wasn't meant for her. Bon Bon felt a lump growing in her throat as Eventide hugged Lyra, perhaps she had been a bit too hasty in threatening Eventide. Perhaps she should have just accepted her first request.

Comments

[Granit]

Ladies and gentlemen! Our heroine!"

Mr Fislewait and I actually had a long discussion about what exactly Evey qualify as... I suggested anti-villain, but I am not so sure anymore.

[badninja]

Boy oh boy everyone was very deep in the crap. As For stated earlier there are no innocent parties in this story, just a ton of blame to be passed around. Except for the princesses as they just seemed to sweep it under the rug.